Merry christmas to everyone! I'm having a bit of difficulty getting into the right mood, but i try my best :)
I'm currently in Melbourne with my old violin teacher and her family - it's nice being able to calm down again and stay in the same place for several days in a row! I arrived late on the 24th, and then christmas day was just spent lazying around (and eating a lot!), swimming in the pool and resting. Yesterday (26th) we had a trip into Melbourne, which i really like - it's quite small but really arty and pretty. We went up this 280m tower to get a 360 degree view of the city - it doesn't look all that nice frmo above but it was still quite cool.
I've been back in Australia since the evening of the 23rd. I was very sad to leave New Zealand.
Lake Taupo wasn't a veyr exciting day for me as it was raining almost solidly the whole day. I did a tiny bit of walking but spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the hostel watching movies!
I caught my own bus the next day to Rotorua because there was no magic bus service that route that day. There's a lot to do there, especially as it's the Maori cultural capital, and also because it's a center of geothermal activity, but as a result it tends to smell a bit. I went to this really cool maori thermal village in the afternoon, and we had a hilarious guide. It's really interesting to see how they used the water and mud pools for their benefit - they have this cooking pool which is naturally at a constant temperature of around 100 degrees (it's not known how deep it is), and they have these natural ovens in the ground where they can steam meat and make deserts, and they also have a constant supply of hot water for baths! Pretty cool - you can see some of it on pictures.
The next day i went to the Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland. The first bit was a bit disappointing because they have this geyser that 'goes off' at 10.15 every day, but basically they make it go off by adding soap to dissolve the barrier between the 2 pools of different temperature. The rest was cool though, seeing all these natural different colors of yellow (sulphur) and orange and red (iron-oxide) etc.
Then i went to Mt. Maunganui for the afternoon which is a beachside town further north. It's a really popular place with kiwis to go for christmas and new years so it's not always that nice, but after having been to glaciers and rainforests i was really happy to get to a beach again for a bit. It also had prtty good surf!
And the last day i popped into Auckland for like 2 hours before having to rush to get my plane. And that was the end of New Zealand! New Zealand's been really good to travel around, especially because it has these isites (information sites) at almost every town that has some sort of tourist attraction, so there's a ton of information where-ever you go, almost meaning you don't need a guide of any sort! Plus it's reasonably cheap and they speak english - one of my favorites so far!
So the current plans are to go to Sydney for new years and then Asia on the 5ht of january! Pictures are up as well by the way...
Saturday 27 December 2008
Friday 19 December 2008
4 days of NZ left...
Queenstown was really small for what i thought it would be, seeing as it's pretty much the adventure capital of new zealand, and definitely the party capital! People pretty much go there to party every night.
The bungy was good, not as exciting as the first one, i have to say, maybe because i was used to it, or maybe because it was gentler... But i'm glad i did it anyway! boughyt a dvd of it...
Milford sounds was pretty cool too, the boat itself through the sounds not as much but the scenery on the way was stunning!!! All these snow-capped mountains and glaciers, it's so beautiful! Not much in terms of a decent town there but then again that might be part of the attraction.
In Queenstown i got to know some aussies of the bus better, as well as this german and finnish girl, and i decided to go to dunedin with the former 2.
Dunedin was way bigger than i thought! I think it's the 2nd biggest city in the south, mainly because of its prestigious university. It's ok, and we went to the beach which was still cold but it definitely had some good surf. I reckon in summer the town's not so bad! Winter may be slightly more depressing though.
Then onto my new favorite place in the world: Lake Tekapo. The lake is the most beautiful greeny-blue surrounded by hills and a snow-capped mountain in the back. STUNNING! a week there doing nothing, biking here and there, maybe one or two hikes would've been ideal. We (i.e. me, the german girl anna and the 4 aussies) rented some bikes for an hour and then soaked in the hot pools - not too shabby!
Then the next day off to christchurch and a goodbye to the aussies. Christchurch is really nice (i thought!) it has a nice big park and some nice pedestrian-ised streets, and clearly is o9lder. It also has some punting too - which adds to the romantic feel of the city! However, i didn't have much time there, and to make it through the circuit in time for my flight means one stop at each place.
Alone off to Kaikoura was slightly more depressing. The only real reason to go to kaikoura is to see the dolphins or whales, but as money is currently in short supply i skipped it. To be honest, i needed the rest.
Then a short stopover in wellington and i am currently in Napier, which is north-east of wellington. it's known for its art deco (built up after all destroyed by 1931 earthquake) and there's lots of wineries but i didn't have any chance to visit any of them.
Next stop: Lake Taupo!
The bungy was good, not as exciting as the first one, i have to say, maybe because i was used to it, or maybe because it was gentler... But i'm glad i did it anyway! boughyt a dvd of it...
Milford sounds was pretty cool too, the boat itself through the sounds not as much but the scenery on the way was stunning!!! All these snow-capped mountains and glaciers, it's so beautiful! Not much in terms of a decent town there but then again that might be part of the attraction.
In Queenstown i got to know some aussies of the bus better, as well as this german and finnish girl, and i decided to go to dunedin with the former 2.
Dunedin was way bigger than i thought! I think it's the 2nd biggest city in the south, mainly because of its prestigious university. It's ok, and we went to the beach which was still cold but it definitely had some good surf. I reckon in summer the town's not so bad! Winter may be slightly more depressing though.
Then onto my new favorite place in the world: Lake Tekapo. The lake is the most beautiful greeny-blue surrounded by hills and a snow-capped mountain in the back. STUNNING! a week there doing nothing, biking here and there, maybe one or two hikes would've been ideal. We (i.e. me, the german girl anna and the 4 aussies) rented some bikes for an hour and then soaked in the hot pools - not too shabby!
Then the next day off to christchurch and a goodbye to the aussies. Christchurch is really nice (i thought!) it has a nice big park and some nice pedestrian-ised streets, and clearly is o9lder. It also has some punting too - which adds to the romantic feel of the city! However, i didn't have much time there, and to make it through the circuit in time for my flight means one stop at each place.
Alone off to Kaikoura was slightly more depressing. The only real reason to go to kaikoura is to see the dolphins or whales, but as money is currently in short supply i skipped it. To be honest, i needed the rest.
Then a short stopover in wellington and i am currently in Napier, which is north-east of wellington. it's known for its art deco (built up after all destroyed by 1931 earthquake) and there's lots of wineries but i didn't have any chance to visit any of them.
Next stop: Lake Taupo!
Thursday 11 December 2008
Queenstown
So this past week has been pretty exciting to say the least!
Wellington is pretty cool, really hilly though, so after walking around for 4 days i could feel my leg muscles getting considerably stronger. It's a really pretty city, nicer than most others that i've seen so far, not just high risers. It has a beautiful botanic garden, and has a lot of cool random art scattered around the place as a result of an art festival held in 2002.
One thing that is nice about New Zealand is that it really embraces it's Maori heritage, in contrast to the aboriginals in Australia. They still have the language written in most places and the main thing is that it's not just a tourist attraction, which i feel is the case with the Aboriginals. Might have to do with the fact that New Zealand was a real colony whereas Australia was used as a place to ship the prisoners off to... But it's definitely a different approach! And much more pleasant.
After hanging out with Ian and his lab mates for a few days we went to this wine festival called a day on the green, where we saw john mellencamp and sheryl crow perform, which was pretty cool, but also saw slightly too much wine consumption and resulted in me having to trek out on monday to retreive my camera. But after a lot of stressing out, i made my way over to the South Island and went straight to Nelson.
I realized that i'm pretty short on time and skipped Abel Tasman, which i'll do next time because i'm pretty sure i'll be coming back here! Went straight down on the magic bus to Greymouth. Our driver is really cool, he likes to organize social things for the evenings, and it's all pretty relaxed, i'm definitely glad to be doing it. Met some cool people as well, including some nice germans (they're EVERYWHERE! no offence), fins and some Belgians and spent some time, funnily enough, speaking dutch again! Didn't think i'd be doing that too soon!
Greymouth isn't very nice, and the weather was pretty rainy all day. The day after, however, we went to Franz Josef, which is where one of the 3 (also one at Fox Glacier slightly further south) only glaciers in tropical climates are - the 3rd being in chile.
We were going to do a heli-hike up there, which is going up in a helicopter and walking and coming back on the helicopter, but the clouds were far too low so it got cancelled. Possibly considering spending another night there, i decided to do a 4 hour hike instead, where i saw some blue ice (pretty cool if i may say so!) and was walking with crampons. How sporty am I! Will put some pictures up soon...
I was going to do a skydive the next morning (this morning) and head further south, but the clouds had hung around from yesterday so it got cancelled (just my luck!) However, i did one at lake wanaka on the way to queenstown from 12,000 ft (3500km) - it was AMAZING! couldn't afford any pictures or anything but the one thing you never see on those is the speed that you get when falling - i screamed a little and it made my eyes water! But it was sweet, and the guy i jumped with was hilarious!
In queenstown today and tomorrow i'll be bungy jumping again, off the 2nd-highest jump in the world - Ben Nevis at 134m, and the day after i'm visiting milford sounds - one of the top 10 places to visit in the world apparently! So i couldn't say no...
Wellington is pretty cool, really hilly though, so after walking around for 4 days i could feel my leg muscles getting considerably stronger. It's a really pretty city, nicer than most others that i've seen so far, not just high risers. It has a beautiful botanic garden, and has a lot of cool random art scattered around the place as a result of an art festival held in 2002.
One thing that is nice about New Zealand is that it really embraces it's Maori heritage, in contrast to the aboriginals in Australia. They still have the language written in most places and the main thing is that it's not just a tourist attraction, which i feel is the case with the Aboriginals. Might have to do with the fact that New Zealand was a real colony whereas Australia was used as a place to ship the prisoners off to... But it's definitely a different approach! And much more pleasant.
After hanging out with Ian and his lab mates for a few days we went to this wine festival called a day on the green, where we saw john mellencamp and sheryl crow perform, which was pretty cool, but also saw slightly too much wine consumption and resulted in me having to trek out on monday to retreive my camera. But after a lot of stressing out, i made my way over to the South Island and went straight to Nelson.
I realized that i'm pretty short on time and skipped Abel Tasman, which i'll do next time because i'm pretty sure i'll be coming back here! Went straight down on the magic bus to Greymouth. Our driver is really cool, he likes to organize social things for the evenings, and it's all pretty relaxed, i'm definitely glad to be doing it. Met some cool people as well, including some nice germans (they're EVERYWHERE! no offence), fins and some Belgians and spent some time, funnily enough, speaking dutch again! Didn't think i'd be doing that too soon!
Greymouth isn't very nice, and the weather was pretty rainy all day. The day after, however, we went to Franz Josef, which is where one of the 3 (also one at Fox Glacier slightly further south) only glaciers in tropical climates are - the 3rd being in chile.
We were going to do a heli-hike up there, which is going up in a helicopter and walking and coming back on the helicopter, but the clouds were far too low so it got cancelled. Possibly considering spending another night there, i decided to do a 4 hour hike instead, where i saw some blue ice (pretty cool if i may say so!) and was walking with crampons. How sporty am I! Will put some pictures up soon...
I was going to do a skydive the next morning (this morning) and head further south, but the clouds had hung around from yesterday so it got cancelled (just my luck!) However, i did one at lake wanaka on the way to queenstown from 12,000 ft (3500km) - it was AMAZING! couldn't afford any pictures or anything but the one thing you never see on those is the speed that you get when falling - i screamed a little and it made my eyes water! But it was sweet, and the guy i jumped with was hilarious!
In queenstown today and tomorrow i'll be bungy jumping again, off the 2nd-highest jump in the world - Ben Nevis at 134m, and the day after i'm visiting milford sounds - one of the top 10 places to visit in the world apparently! So i couldn't say no...
Wednesday 3 December 2008
In New Zealand
The Barossa valley was great!! Though i felt really handicapped without a car.
I stayed in a village called Angaston, which was nice and small, and the night i arrived they had this christmas parade, whcih was fun, all the people from the village joined in, kids were dressed up as presents, santa drove on a car with a pumpkin next to him (as you do!)...
then i went to the farmer's market, but because it was a weekday the only type of public transport (a dial-a-ride service) wasn't operating, so i had to get a taxi which left me $30 out of pocket... but i got my bike and went driving around.
The first place i went to was turkey flats, nice and small (maybe because it was morning!) and i had my first sparkling red wine - something invented by the aussies as they don't want a heavy red on their hot christmases with the turkey dinner! it wasn't too bad though, i quite enjoyed them. also loved the desert wine, and they had a nice red. Much of their whites here are rieslings, which i've not tried before - all new experiences!
then off to peter lehmans, but that was too big, and then to this other one called richmond grove - and after this i really needed some food to be able to bike straight! Seriously, they give big glasses here!
Cockatoo ridge next, not very impressed, and then penfolds (again really commercial) and then back to rest! Actually, i was so unfit that i spent the rest of the evening watching movies in bed because my legs were hurting.
The next day i went to jacob's creek which, despite it being huge, i really enjoyed. they had a really nice shiraz, as well as an excellent sparkling red and desert wine - the latter was more fresh than sweet so i'm presuming quite a lot of people would like it!
I was going to go biking the next day, but after two days' heavy biking around the barossa on a rental bike my ass hurt too much! So i went to a place called mount lofty - the second highest point in south australia next to wilpena pound in the flinders range apparently! And then relaxed and used the state library's free internet!
For those who didn't know yet - my plans changed! I decided to go to new zealand early as my friend cancelled on my, so i'd be with people i know for christmas and new years in australia! I got here 2 days ago (into Auckland and then a bus down to wellington) and will be here till the 23rd. Scenery looked really good - lots of green rollling hills and lake taupo looks amazing! I'm really looking forward to the 134m bungy jump in queenstown, no matter how expensive!
I'm staying with a friend that i met at Imperial (Ian) and will be in wellington till probably monday when i go to south island.
I stayed in a village called Angaston, which was nice and small, and the night i arrived they had this christmas parade, whcih was fun, all the people from the village joined in, kids were dressed up as presents, santa drove on a car with a pumpkin next to him (as you do!)...
then i went to the farmer's market, but because it was a weekday the only type of public transport (a dial-a-ride service) wasn't operating, so i had to get a taxi which left me $30 out of pocket... but i got my bike and went driving around.
The first place i went to was turkey flats, nice and small (maybe because it was morning!) and i had my first sparkling red wine - something invented by the aussies as they don't want a heavy red on their hot christmases with the turkey dinner! it wasn't too bad though, i quite enjoyed them. also loved the desert wine, and they had a nice red. Much of their whites here are rieslings, which i've not tried before - all new experiences!
then off to peter lehmans, but that was too big, and then to this other one called richmond grove - and after this i really needed some food to be able to bike straight! Seriously, they give big glasses here!
Cockatoo ridge next, not very impressed, and then penfolds (again really commercial) and then back to rest! Actually, i was so unfit that i spent the rest of the evening watching movies in bed because my legs were hurting.
The next day i went to jacob's creek which, despite it being huge, i really enjoyed. they had a really nice shiraz, as well as an excellent sparkling red and desert wine - the latter was more fresh than sweet so i'm presuming quite a lot of people would like it!
I was going to go biking the next day, but after two days' heavy biking around the barossa on a rental bike my ass hurt too much! So i went to a place called mount lofty - the second highest point in south australia next to wilpena pound in the flinders range apparently! And then relaxed and used the state library's free internet!
For those who didn't know yet - my plans changed! I decided to go to new zealand early as my friend cancelled on my, so i'd be with people i know for christmas and new years in australia! I got here 2 days ago (into Auckland and then a bus down to wellington) and will be here till the 23rd. Scenery looked really good - lots of green rollling hills and lake taupo looks amazing! I'm really looking forward to the 134m bungy jump in queenstown, no matter how expensive!
I'm staying with a friend that i met at Imperial (Ian) and will be in wellington till probably monday when i go to south island.
Thursday 27 November 2008
Good times!
I have decided i really like south australia! (i always want to write south africa whenever i see SA). There's a lot more to do than the coast - i had a good time, but i've learnt from my mistakes.
Adelaide is ok, but around there there's beaches and lots of wildlife (the supposedly good kangaroo island does make your wallet a little lighter though!) and there's lots and lots of vineyards (barossa and mclaren are only the beginning!) and there's supposed to be stunning outback up in the north - you get places like coober pedy (i'll mention it later), the flinders ranges (where you get stunning views from wilpena pound, good hike though and in this heat not really recommended) and lake eyre (massive dried-out salt lake).
However i only have 6 days here! that and i don't have a car or driver's license to rent one, which limits me slightly.
I was originally going to go to coober pedy but this german girl in my room said (about 3000 times) DON'T GO TO COOBER PEDY (an underground opal-mine place)! there's nothing to do there, and when thinking about it, it wasn't really worth the $170 24-hour return bus ride! so i spent an extra few days doing nothing in adelaide!
I can't really say a lot of eventful things have happened, the highlight probably being hahndorf, which is this german village just south of adelaide. it's beautiful, the people are really friendly, and because it's in the adelaide hills, there's lots of wineries there! i only went to one though. Also cool about it is that they're into the fine foods thing, so lots of delicatessen there! Including thsi one yummy herbed goat cheese.
It's crazy, to be honest i never thought that i would want enjoy the smell of cows (quite pretty ones at that!)and agriculture as much! seems like i really needed to get away from the coast and experience the different scenery. I think i'm just too restless at the moment, it's a very laid-back country and it's not like there's tons of culture to see, so at the coast mainly people would go surfing and that's a day done whereas i like to move from place to place more, or pack more into my days... definitely a learning curve to relax more and think that it'll be ok!
Also went to see Australia yesterday - one i'd recommend! I wasn't too keen on it at the beginning, but then it turns into a good movie. Not the kind of australian experience i'm having though, with the whole lack of outback thing and all!
Off to the barossa tomrrow - one of the reasons i came here! I have 2 nights and will be biking around yay! and then after i'll probably spend a day biking around the coast (called the fleurieu peninsula) and then new zealand! exctigin!
love love
p.s. pictures continuously updated
Adelaide is ok, but around there there's beaches and lots of wildlife (the supposedly good kangaroo island does make your wallet a little lighter though!) and there's lots and lots of vineyards (barossa and mclaren are only the beginning!) and there's supposed to be stunning outback up in the north - you get places like coober pedy (i'll mention it later), the flinders ranges (where you get stunning views from wilpena pound, good hike though and in this heat not really recommended) and lake eyre (massive dried-out salt lake).
However i only have 6 days here! that and i don't have a car or driver's license to rent one, which limits me slightly.
I was originally going to go to coober pedy but this german girl in my room said (about 3000 times) DON'T GO TO COOBER PEDY (an underground opal-mine place)! there's nothing to do there, and when thinking about it, it wasn't really worth the $170 24-hour return bus ride! so i spent an extra few days doing nothing in adelaide!
I can't really say a lot of eventful things have happened, the highlight probably being hahndorf, which is this german village just south of adelaide. it's beautiful, the people are really friendly, and because it's in the adelaide hills, there's lots of wineries there! i only went to one though. Also cool about it is that they're into the fine foods thing, so lots of delicatessen there! Including thsi one yummy herbed goat cheese.
It's crazy, to be honest i never thought that i would want enjoy the smell of cows (quite pretty ones at that!)and agriculture as much! seems like i really needed to get away from the coast and experience the different scenery. I think i'm just too restless at the moment, it's a very laid-back country and it's not like there's tons of culture to see, so at the coast mainly people would go surfing and that's a day done whereas i like to move from place to place more, or pack more into my days... definitely a learning curve to relax more and think that it'll be ok!
Also went to see Australia yesterday - one i'd recommend! I wasn't too keen on it at the beginning, but then it turns into a good movie. Not the kind of australian experience i'm having though, with the whole lack of outback thing and all!
Off to the barossa tomrrow - one of the reasons i came here! I have 2 nights and will be biking around yay! and then after i'll probably spend a day biking around the coast (called the fleurieu peninsula) and then new zealand! exctigin!
love love
p.s. pictures continuously updated
Sunday 23 November 2008
Finished with the coast
As nice as it's been on the coast and the beaches and everything (i can't believe i'm actually saying that!) i'm ready to move on to see a different australia!
My days around brisbane were pretty rainy.
The people i stayed with lived in tweed heads, which is just over the new south wales border, and the whole of the next day it rained. Then i made my way back up to brisbane and went to this excellent exhibit called game-on where you can play your way through the history of video games. Of course i spent most of my time playing mario on the SNES, probably one of the best games ever! But it was great for anyone who grew up with video games, they had the original space invaders and doom and a heap of older games, and then they had a wii too as well as guitar hero and stuff. They even had this japanese dating game!! but it was very fun.
I then stayed with someone, also met in africa, who lives in this really nice apartment in the suburbs, with a beautiful garden.
Went to see the new bond film the next day, came out here on the 19th, and was slightly disappointed - too much close-range action and not really a great story line.
The next day i just hung around again and went to the natural history museum and then stayed with some other people, again that i'd met in africa. So all in all it was great seeing those people again! BUt that night, constant lightning, i'm not kidding! these storms have been pretty insane.
Then i went on to coolangatta, which is just north of the border between queensland and new south wales and took 2 surfing lessons! Really damaged my toe on the 2nd one, and it's proper hard, but i would like to do it some more. Met these nice norwegian girls who surfed both days. Coolangatta was really nice, it's obviously beachy but it's not too commercial yet, and there's quite a few locals there. Maybe my favorite place along the coast so far!
Am now in byron bay. Just hiked up to the lighthouse for sunrise (yep, got up at 4.45!) and then to the most easterly point of the australian mainland... good exercise i tell ya!
Off to adelaide tomorrow after an overnight bus ride...yay!
My days around brisbane were pretty rainy.
The people i stayed with lived in tweed heads, which is just over the new south wales border, and the whole of the next day it rained. Then i made my way back up to brisbane and went to this excellent exhibit called game-on where you can play your way through the history of video games. Of course i spent most of my time playing mario on the SNES, probably one of the best games ever! But it was great for anyone who grew up with video games, they had the original space invaders and doom and a heap of older games, and then they had a wii too as well as guitar hero and stuff. They even had this japanese dating game!! but it was very fun.
I then stayed with someone, also met in africa, who lives in this really nice apartment in the suburbs, with a beautiful garden.
Went to see the new bond film the next day, came out here on the 19th, and was slightly disappointed - too much close-range action and not really a great story line.
The next day i just hung around again and went to the natural history museum and then stayed with some other people, again that i'd met in africa. So all in all it was great seeing those people again! BUt that night, constant lightning, i'm not kidding! these storms have been pretty insane.
Then i went on to coolangatta, which is just north of the border between queensland and new south wales and took 2 surfing lessons! Really damaged my toe on the 2nd one, and it's proper hard, but i would like to do it some more. Met these nice norwegian girls who surfed both days. Coolangatta was really nice, it's obviously beachy but it's not too commercial yet, and there's quite a few locals there. Maybe my favorite place along the coast so far!
Am now in byron bay. Just hiked up to the lighthouse for sunrise (yep, got up at 4.45!) and then to the most easterly point of the australian mainland... good exercise i tell ya!
Off to adelaide tomorrow after an overnight bus ride...yay!
Sunday 16 November 2008
A week later, a bit further down the coast
For my 21st i went diving on the Yongala! The club left from this town called Ayr, aka deadsville, and so we only stayed as long as we needed too! The other divers were nice though! The dive eventually lived up to expectations once the 'wow' factor wore off and you could really appreciate the wreck lying in the middle of nowhere with tonnes of coral growing off of it so that it's become this cleaning station for masses of fish! amongst others saw a 2.5m long giant queensland grouper, moray eel, green and hawksbill turtle, marble ray (2m in diameter), batfish and lots of disgusting giant trevallys. Pretty good birthday present to myself i have to say! one of the top 10 dives in the world!
We (i'm travelling with the friend i met in cairns still) went down to airlie beach, with this other guy who did the yongala, because that's where most stuff out to the whitsundays leaves from. Had a few birthday drinks at night.
2 days later i left the girl and went on a one-day trip around the whitsundays - whitehaven beach, one of the most photographed beaches in the world, is absolutely stunning! because the sand is so clear white, the ocean is beautiful shades of blue! gorgeous! i imagine an aerial tour would've been spectacular. The snorkelling there however is abit of a let down compared to up north, but the views over the white beach made the trip worth it!
As exciting as the one street in airlie beach was (that was sarcasm btw!) the whole backpacker mecca was getting to me so i headed down to Noosa beach. I'm finding that, with the lack of culture here in Australia and wanting to really experience it, i'm not getting any of that here on the coast in tourist centers. So i've decided to steer my path towards more local spots (therefore slightly less party-y but that's not what i came here for!).
Noosa is a very fancy place, and it's where the rich and retirees live. Very pretty and not too exciting, plus there's a lot of surfers there too. yesterday (the2nd day) i went to Australia zoo, perfectly timed to coincide with Steve Irwin day (aus zoo is where steve worked). It's really scary how much they idolize him, and think he's god-like (i personally didn't always agree with what he did, think his death was his own fault and will love david attenborough any day over steve) but it was fun nonetheless and i saw terri and bindi (who is now idolized too) and robert irwin (last 2 = kids), and saw some dingoes and koalas, and even a sumatran tiger!
I'm now somewhere south of brisbane, with some people i'd met in Africa! and it's nice to have free internet and a private room...!!
We (i'm travelling with the friend i met in cairns still) went down to airlie beach, with this other guy who did the yongala, because that's where most stuff out to the whitsundays leaves from. Had a few birthday drinks at night.
2 days later i left the girl and went on a one-day trip around the whitsundays - whitehaven beach, one of the most photographed beaches in the world, is absolutely stunning! because the sand is so clear white, the ocean is beautiful shades of blue! gorgeous! i imagine an aerial tour would've been spectacular. The snorkelling there however is abit of a let down compared to up north, but the views over the white beach made the trip worth it!
As exciting as the one street in airlie beach was (that was sarcasm btw!) the whole backpacker mecca was getting to me so i headed down to Noosa beach. I'm finding that, with the lack of culture here in Australia and wanting to really experience it, i'm not getting any of that here on the coast in tourist centers. So i've decided to steer my path towards more local spots (therefore slightly less party-y but that's not what i came here for!).
Noosa is a very fancy place, and it's where the rich and retirees live. Very pretty and not too exciting, plus there's a lot of surfers there too. yesterday (the2nd day) i went to Australia zoo, perfectly timed to coincide with Steve Irwin day (aus zoo is where steve worked). It's really scary how much they idolize him, and think he's god-like (i personally didn't always agree with what he did, think his death was his own fault and will love david attenborough any day over steve) but it was fun nonetheless and i saw terri and bindi (who is now idolized too) and robert irwin (last 2 = kids), and saw some dingoes and koalas, and even a sumatran tiger!
I'm now somewhere south of brisbane, with some people i'd met in Africa! and it's nice to have free internet and a private room...!!
Sunday 9 November 2008
Photos
Some photos are now up - click on the slideshow.
I have now left Cairns and stayed in Mission Beach last night. It's a sleepy little town with a really nice beach though the weather isn't great today. I'm currently travelling with this other girl, Jamie, who i met on the OceanQuest diving boat, and tomorrow we're diving the Yongala wreck - one of the top 10 dives in the world! EXCITING!
p.s. mozzie bites - driving me insane.
I have now left Cairns and stayed in Mission Beach last night. It's a sleepy little town with a really nice beach though the weather isn't great today. I'm currently travelling with this other girl, Jamie, who i met on the OceanQuest diving boat, and tomorrow we're diving the Yongala wreck - one of the top 10 dives in the world! EXCITING!
p.s. mozzie bites - driving me insane.
Thursday 6 November 2008
Australia
So, after a hectic few days both at home in belgium and back in london during and after graduation, i'm now back in the sun, but in Australia this time!
It's a massive change from what i'm used to - for the past 3 years i've gone to developing countries, and now to be somewhere quite like home!
Sydney is quite cool, though i've only had a 2 days there, and 1 was trying to kick jetlag, so i was forcing myself to go shopping to stay awake... i'm not complaining of course but it didn't work completely! However i got over it in 1 night and after headed up to cairns. It's not very exciting here, reminds me a bit of florida actually, but a day later and i was on a boat in the barrier reef! and this is how amazing it was:
snorkelling (between dives) i see a barracuda swim past, look down and there's a blue-spotted stingray, look up and there's a pipefish, look down and there's a white-tipped reef shark! all within like 15 minutes. It's pretty amazing. The biggest parrotfish you've ever seen along with some more sharks, including some that i dived with at night, turtles, cuttlefish, huge maori wrasse and at night giant trevallis. a-mazing. definitely do it!
I met some cool people, one whom i might go travelling with further for another 2 days. tomorrow: cape tribulation and the daintree reserve. woop woop!
It's a massive change from what i'm used to - for the past 3 years i've gone to developing countries, and now to be somewhere quite like home!
Sydney is quite cool, though i've only had a 2 days there, and 1 was trying to kick jetlag, so i was forcing myself to go shopping to stay awake... i'm not complaining of course but it didn't work completely! However i got over it in 1 night and after headed up to cairns. It's not very exciting here, reminds me a bit of florida actually, but a day later and i was on a boat in the barrier reef! and this is how amazing it was:
snorkelling (between dives) i see a barracuda swim past, look down and there's a blue-spotted stingray, look up and there's a pipefish, look down and there's a white-tipped reef shark! all within like 15 minutes. It's pretty amazing. The biggest parrotfish you've ever seen along with some more sharks, including some that i dived with at night, turtles, cuttlefish, huge maori wrasse and at night giant trevallis. a-mazing. definitely do it!
I met some cool people, one whom i might go travelling with further for another 2 days. tomorrow: cape tribulation and the daintree reserve. woop woop!
Friday 17 October 2008
End of 1st leg
Pictures are now on Picasa - if you click on the slideshow and go to my user profile you can see all of them.
The Masai Mara trip was really cool, saw some more lions and cheetahs, not a leopard though, which was what i was hoping most. But it's a nice place, and the accomodation was a mile better than ordinary tents! it was tents with solid beds in them! Pretty lush, for me.
We also saw traditional dances performed by the masai and went into a village - it was really interesting!
But all in all, i'm ready for a break, because being clean is the best thing ever at the moment.
On tuesday i'm off to London for graduation, and will be heading off to Oz on the 29th.
Till then!
The Masai Mara trip was really cool, saw some more lions and cheetahs, not a leopard though, which was what i was hoping most. But it's a nice place, and the accomodation was a mile better than ordinary tents! it was tents with solid beds in them! Pretty lush, for me.
We also saw traditional dances performed by the masai and went into a village - it was really interesting!
But all in all, i'm ready for a break, because being clean is the best thing ever at the moment.
On tuesday i'm off to London for graduation, and will be heading off to Oz on the 29th.
Till then!
Saturday 11 October 2008
Tanzania
We have now reached Nairobi and said goodbye to the driver and cook of the trip, as they will most likely not be joining for the last few days.
Tanzania was pretty cool; a very big change from Malawi in that quite a few parts are high up so despite the heat there's a very cool breeze. And it's so weird to see evergreen trees next to palm trees!
But the peolpe are so friendlY! They would come up and talk to you saying 'jambo' (hello) and when they say mambo (hows things) and you're able to say 'poa' (cool) back they love you!
The first place we stayed at was slightly chilly but had steamy hot showers and was famous for its amarula hot chocolates. Personally, i wasn't the biggest fan but others liked it! Then we moved on to dar, which possibly has the worst traffic in the world! It took us 3 hours to get out of it one day. It's pretty smelly and very busy, but i didn't have any time to really explore it, which is a shame.
The next day we went to Zanzibar! Which was AWESOME! i'd highly recommend it to anyone. It's a small island but so fun! Stone Town is the capital, and its really safe just walking around the streets. I went to the food market, which was pretty insane, and there's this alley that at night becomes this food alley where they sell all sorts of meats, this nice cane juice and 'zanzibar pancakes' which are basically fried dough with mince in them of banana and chocolate. And so cheap! The panckes are good, and i had soem shark too which was intersting but not my favorite...
We then went up north to this place called nungwi for some beach action and i finally went diving!! It wasn't cheap, but it was so cool! We went on this dhow, which is a traditional fishing boat, and saw lots of pretty fish. You also get some sharks there and turtles and octopi and even humpback whales but we didn't see any of them. We did see dolphins though... one of the highlights of the trip!
After that we had the longest drive to Arusha in the north, where we departed for the Ngorongoro/Serengeti. It was a 3-day trip and so cooL! I really want to watch the lion king now. We saw lots of buffaloes and hyenas and wildebeest and quitre a few lions including the CUTEST little lion (simba in swahili) cubs that were like 2 weeks old, as well as some cheetah cubs and 2 male cheetahs (called duma in swahili) hunting. No jaguars (chewi in swahili) which was shame. But the lions cubs were SO cute!!
And that was basically the end of teh trip. Tomorrow we depart on a 3-ady masai mara trip and that will be africa for me! Exciting!
Nairobi is really built up, quite nice, but there's not a whole lot to do here...
At least i filled up time writing this!
Tanzania was pretty cool; a very big change from Malawi in that quite a few parts are high up so despite the heat there's a very cool breeze. And it's so weird to see evergreen trees next to palm trees!
But the peolpe are so friendlY! They would come up and talk to you saying 'jambo' (hello) and when they say mambo (hows things) and you're able to say 'poa' (cool) back they love you!
The first place we stayed at was slightly chilly but had steamy hot showers and was famous for its amarula hot chocolates. Personally, i wasn't the biggest fan but others liked it! Then we moved on to dar, which possibly has the worst traffic in the world! It took us 3 hours to get out of it one day. It's pretty smelly and very busy, but i didn't have any time to really explore it, which is a shame.
The next day we went to Zanzibar! Which was AWESOME! i'd highly recommend it to anyone. It's a small island but so fun! Stone Town is the capital, and its really safe just walking around the streets. I went to the food market, which was pretty insane, and there's this alley that at night becomes this food alley where they sell all sorts of meats, this nice cane juice and 'zanzibar pancakes' which are basically fried dough with mince in them of banana and chocolate. And so cheap! The panckes are good, and i had soem shark too which was intersting but not my favorite...
We then went up north to this place called nungwi for some beach action and i finally went diving!! It wasn't cheap, but it was so cool! We went on this dhow, which is a traditional fishing boat, and saw lots of pretty fish. You also get some sharks there and turtles and octopi and even humpback whales but we didn't see any of them. We did see dolphins though... one of the highlights of the trip!
After that we had the longest drive to Arusha in the north, where we departed for the Ngorongoro/Serengeti. It was a 3-day trip and so cooL! I really want to watch the lion king now. We saw lots of buffaloes and hyenas and wildebeest and quitre a few lions including the CUTEST little lion (simba in swahili) cubs that were like 2 weeks old, as well as some cheetah cubs and 2 male cheetahs (called duma in swahili) hunting. No jaguars (chewi in swahili) which was shame. But the lions cubs were SO cute!!
And that was basically the end of teh trip. Tomorrow we depart on a 3-ady masai mara trip and that will be africa for me! Exciting!
Nairobi is really built up, quite nice, but there's not a whole lot to do here...
At least i filled up time writing this!
Thursday 2 October 2008
Zambia and Malawi
Sorry for being MIA the past 2 weeks.
Basically the white water rafting was one ofthe best days ofthe trip so far. We had a boat with 6 people, and went down some awesome level5 rapids.We onlyfell oiff once. Our guide was the best, and he let us swim where it was safe and even down a level 2 one we drifted down.It's hard to describe but basically - awesome! If anyone isin zimbabwe and wants toraftdownthe zambezi - let me know!
The bungee jump was pretty amazing too. It was onlya 110m drop but a friend video-ed it for me and it will be put up when i get back.
So then we got the new people who are all really nice, and we went into Zambia.I can't say i'vegotten to know zambia well at all, because all we really did was drive through it, which is a bit of a shame.
Then Malawi. The transition from Southern Africa into Eastern Africa wasreally noticeable i found, because the roads were very well done compared to before,and mainlythat everyone had brick houses!They make their own bricks from the soil so even the poorer people have sturdy houses. And it was also very green!
I was possibly going to dive in lake malawi but we didn't haven enough time. I saw in it anyway (and bought thepraziquantel) and it's gorgeous!! We stayed at 3 different camp sites along the lake and every place was beautiful (Senga bay, chintechete and chitimba). The last day at the last place was torture though because we decidedto do the optional excursion to do a hike up a mountain. We were told it would be 4 hours, and we wanted to get outofthe heat (you sweat there by 8.30am) sowe left at 4 inthe morning.
We got back to camp at noon!!! This waslike 4 days ago and my shins still hurt. Probably the 2nd worst 8 hours of my life and there'sno sense of achievement. The interesting thing was that at the top though there'sthis viollage called livingstonia and it has some clear remnants of colonialism in the houses as well as strangel;y enough having a university and a technical college!
Oh well,we're in tanzania now, the air is so much colder here than malawi and strangely enough there's pine trees nexttopalm trees!! Zanzibar (where i am now)is so humid, it's unbelievable.
Basically the white water rafting was one ofthe best days ofthe trip so far. We had a boat with 6 people, and went down some awesome level5 rapids.We onlyfell oiff once. Our guide was the best, and he let us swim where it was safe and even down a level 2 one we drifted down.It's hard to describe but basically - awesome! If anyone isin zimbabwe and wants toraftdownthe zambezi - let me know!
The bungee jump was pretty amazing too. It was onlya 110m drop but a friend video-ed it for me and it will be put up when i get back.
So then we got the new people who are all really nice, and we went into Zambia.I can't say i'vegotten to know zambia well at all, because all we really did was drive through it, which is a bit of a shame.
Then Malawi. The transition from Southern Africa into Eastern Africa wasreally noticeable i found, because the roads were very well done compared to before,and mainlythat everyone had brick houses!They make their own bricks from the soil so even the poorer people have sturdy houses. And it was also very green!
I was possibly going to dive in lake malawi but we didn't haven enough time. I saw in it anyway (and bought thepraziquantel) and it's gorgeous!! We stayed at 3 different camp sites along the lake and every place was beautiful (Senga bay, chintechete and chitimba). The last day at the last place was torture though because we decidedto do the optional excursion to do a hike up a mountain. We were told it would be 4 hours, and we wanted to get outofthe heat (you sweat there by 8.30am) sowe left at 4 inthe morning.
We got back to camp at noon!!! This waslike 4 days ago and my shins still hurt. Probably the 2nd worst 8 hours of my life and there'sno sense of achievement. The interesting thing was that at the top though there'sthis viollage called livingstonia and it has some clear remnants of colonialism in the houses as well as strangel;y enough having a university and a technical college!
Oh well,we're in tanzania now, the air is so much colder here than malawi and strangely enough there's pine trees nexttopalm trees!! Zanzibar (where i am now)is so humid, it's unbelievable.
Friday 19 September 2008
Botswana
The past 6 days have been... interesting.
Botswana was the first country we entered where we heard people speaking a foreign language more often, as Afrikaans is usually the language used in Namibia too. But you can see that it has an up-and-coming economy, and that the government puts a lot of money into programs fighting aids (40% of its budget in 2001). There are about 11-15 different tribes here but the main language is Tsetwana.
The main events here have been going into the Okavango Delta and Chobe national park.
We went into the Okavango in Mokoros, which i felt very unstable in both others didn't seem to mind. The weather has finally gotten relentlessly hot, being pleasant in the evenings, but mid 30's from 10 onwards. In the delta we did a few walks, where we saw zebra, elephants, kudu, impala etc. You can tell that they're a lot wilder because they are so scared of humans! And then at night we did a "cruise" to see some hippos and probably the most beautifully bright red sunset i've ever seen. Our polers (2 people to a mokoro and 1 person poling) danced for us in the evening and to reciprocate we did sumemr loving by grease (very poorly), a camp skit which they loved and the macarena!
However, on the way back, when we were on the truck from the mokoros back to camp (not our usual one, but one of the delta rain, the company that organized it for us) we managed to get bogged down in the mud. No phone reception and no luck pushing, another company's truck drove past. They tried so hard to pull our's out, that they got stuck too!!!
Finally, one of the locals picked us up on his 4x4 (without our gear) (he had a fresh goat's head in the back might i add) and we managed to get on another truck belonging to delta rain, and just about made it back in time to catch the scenic flight across the delta.
We did a 45 minute fight over like 1/4 of it, and it made me appreciate how vast the whole thing was!
The next day was an early start, but as if tension in camp was high enough, we didn't leave early enough! Our trip leader had trouble getting signal, and therefore we were 15 minutes late for our sunset cruise on the Chobe river! We managed to get on the boat at another jetty but we were not happy with our trip leader's organizational skills. Lots of complaining!
That night we went for a late night swim (circumstances remain undisclosed) and we saw this massive heard of elephants crossing like 500m away from us! It was so scary but impressive! We were trying to be as quite as possible not to attract them but the jack russel managed to scare 2 of them off :)
The next day tension was still riding high, we weren't happy at all about one person's behaviour as well as the trip leader's so our chobe overnight was probably the best money spent ever. Chobe is probably my favorite park out of all of them so far, and we saw a leopard! The camping was like 5* colonial-esque, being waited on and we had beds in tents! Didn't see very much in the morning, sadly enough.
So now we're in Zimbabwe, losing 6 of our team, though we're going rafting on the zambezi tomorrow and a bungee jump awaits on sunday! Exciting!!!
Botswana was the first country we entered where we heard people speaking a foreign language more often, as Afrikaans is usually the language used in Namibia too. But you can see that it has an up-and-coming economy, and that the government puts a lot of money into programs fighting aids (40% of its budget in 2001). There are about 11-15 different tribes here but the main language is Tsetwana.
The main events here have been going into the Okavango Delta and Chobe national park.
We went into the Okavango in Mokoros, which i felt very unstable in both others didn't seem to mind. The weather has finally gotten relentlessly hot, being pleasant in the evenings, but mid 30's from 10 onwards. In the delta we did a few walks, where we saw zebra, elephants, kudu, impala etc. You can tell that they're a lot wilder because they are so scared of humans! And then at night we did a "cruise" to see some hippos and probably the most beautifully bright red sunset i've ever seen. Our polers (2 people to a mokoro and 1 person poling) danced for us in the evening and to reciprocate we did sumemr loving by grease (very poorly), a camp skit which they loved and the macarena!
However, on the way back, when we were on the truck from the mokoros back to camp (not our usual one, but one of the delta rain, the company that organized it for us) we managed to get bogged down in the mud. No phone reception and no luck pushing, another company's truck drove past. They tried so hard to pull our's out, that they got stuck too!!!
Finally, one of the locals picked us up on his 4x4 (without our gear) (he had a fresh goat's head in the back might i add) and we managed to get on another truck belonging to delta rain, and just about made it back in time to catch the scenic flight across the delta.
We did a 45 minute fight over like 1/4 of it, and it made me appreciate how vast the whole thing was!
The next day was an early start, but as if tension in camp was high enough, we didn't leave early enough! Our trip leader had trouble getting signal, and therefore we were 15 minutes late for our sunset cruise on the Chobe river! We managed to get on the boat at another jetty but we were not happy with our trip leader's organizational skills. Lots of complaining!
That night we went for a late night swim (circumstances remain undisclosed) and we saw this massive heard of elephants crossing like 500m away from us! It was so scary but impressive! We were trying to be as quite as possible not to attract them but the jack russel managed to scare 2 of them off :)
The next day tension was still riding high, we weren't happy at all about one person's behaviour as well as the trip leader's so our chobe overnight was probably the best money spent ever. Chobe is probably my favorite park out of all of them so far, and we saw a leopard! The camping was like 5* colonial-esque, being waited on and we had beds in tents! Didn't see very much in the morning, sadly enough.
So now we're in Zimbabwe, losing 6 of our team, though we're going rafting on the zambezi tomorrow and a bungee jump awaits on sunday! Exciting!!!
Saturday 13 September 2008
Off to the Okavango Delta
Last week was amazing! One of the reasons i came to Africa!
And this could only mean... Animals!
We left Swakopmund and went to Spitzkoppe, which has also been called the Matterhorn of Africa. It was pretty hot out there - no water available at all! But at least the night hacve gotten warmer and i'm comfortable enough in pjs and my sleeping bag without liner. The days are very hot - low 30's, and wind-less so the only breeze we egt is when the truxck is driving.
In spitzkoppe we had a punch party which was done with the fines collected for calling the truck a 'bus', which got most people quite drunk, leading to a lot of sleepy heads on the next morning drive (including yours truly). We went to a cheetah park which was A-MAZING! the people had 3 tame cheetahs which we got to pet, and then we went out to see the 'wild' ones get fed donkey meat, and then we saw some babies. It was so adorable! Alex, if you're reading this, you would've loved it!
And from thereon we went to Etosha National Park, where we did one afternoon game drive and the whole of the next day. We saw a black and a white rhino, lots of elephants, giraffes, zebras, springbok, kudu, hartebeest, ostrich, warthog, jackals, and german tourists. But i went all snap-happy and already have over 1000 pictures! Namibia is absolutely beautiful!! I would highly recommend it. Very poor though, it's mostly arid desert and has about 2million people. Which is why Botswana will be a massive contrast - it has the fastest growing economy in the world over the last 40 years due to booming diamond trade.
I can't seem to upload any pictures, so i'll probably add a lot at Victoria falls in about a week.
Hope everyone's well!
Love love
And this could only mean... Animals!
We left Swakopmund and went to Spitzkoppe, which has also been called the Matterhorn of Africa. It was pretty hot out there - no water available at all! But at least the night hacve gotten warmer and i'm comfortable enough in pjs and my sleeping bag without liner. The days are very hot - low 30's, and wind-less so the only breeze we egt is when the truxck is driving.
In spitzkoppe we had a punch party which was done with the fines collected for calling the truck a 'bus', which got most people quite drunk, leading to a lot of sleepy heads on the next morning drive (including yours truly). We went to a cheetah park which was A-MAZING! the people had 3 tame cheetahs which we got to pet, and then we went out to see the 'wild' ones get fed donkey meat, and then we saw some babies. It was so adorable! Alex, if you're reading this, you would've loved it!
And from thereon we went to Etosha National Park, where we did one afternoon game drive and the whole of the next day. We saw a black and a white rhino, lots of elephants, giraffes, zebras, springbok, kudu, hartebeest, ostrich, warthog, jackals, and german tourists. But i went all snap-happy and already have over 1000 pictures! Namibia is absolutely beautiful!! I would highly recommend it. Very poor though, it's mostly arid desert and has about 2million people. Which is why Botswana will be a massive contrast - it has the fastest growing economy in the world over the last 40 years due to booming diamond trade.
I can't seem to upload any pictures, so i'll probably add a lot at Victoria falls in about a week.
Hope everyone's well!
Love love
Friday 5 September 2008
In Swakopmund
We are now a week into the trip!
The weather is finally looking up. It was pretty wet in cape town, and further up into the Namib desert pretty warm, high 20's, but in the evening it is absoultely freezing! I've been layered up to the max, but last night was pretty good. The camp sites have all been really good so far - warm water and some even have had swimming pools. The driving isn't too bad, max of like 5 hours a day, so they're typically action-packed, but the roads can be pretty bumpy! we have lots of space in the truck, luckily, because there's space for 29, and we're only with 16. We're losing 6 people tomorrow so for the next 2 weeks up to Victoria Falls we'll only be with 10.
Africa is beautfiul. I've seen many gorgeous sunsets, and as much as they look the same after a while i still love to watch. I was going to put some pictures up but i can't use the USB cable here! It's not as cheap as SE Asia or S America, but thepeople are all very friendly. The cook is amzing, so i might actually gain weight on the trip! We've had some amazing lasagna ad then yesterday we had kudu!
We've been pretty busy so far. I went for a canoeing trip on Orange River, which was beautiful. Then later we had a day off but we climed about 100m to catch the sunset. Then yesterday we went on a walk in the Sossusvlei in Namibia, which is all desert and dunes. Going to go quadbiking in the desert on sunday. We're here for another 2 days, so it's a nice bed and some relax time for me!
The wildlife is stunning, opbviously! Lots of springbok and ostrich along the road,a nd we also saw a few oryx.
The people in the group are really cooL! There's a group of 6 americans who are doing a semester in cape town, and they're leaving us tomorrow. The rest of us get along really well, there's a few australians and some brits mainly. We're only just getting to know each other better so from now on many more drinking parties and fun nights a coming!
This has now become a very long post, and i'm kind of sickly (stuffy nose, sore throat) so that's all for now!
Lots of love.
xxx
The weather is finally looking up. It was pretty wet in cape town, and further up into the Namib desert pretty warm, high 20's, but in the evening it is absoultely freezing! I've been layered up to the max, but last night was pretty good. The camp sites have all been really good so far - warm water and some even have had swimming pools. The driving isn't too bad, max of like 5 hours a day, so they're typically action-packed, but the roads can be pretty bumpy! we have lots of space in the truck, luckily, because there's space for 29, and we're only with 16. We're losing 6 people tomorrow so for the next 2 weeks up to Victoria Falls we'll only be with 10.
Africa is beautfiul. I've seen many gorgeous sunsets, and as much as they look the same after a while i still love to watch. I was going to put some pictures up but i can't use the USB cable here! It's not as cheap as SE Asia or S America, but thepeople are all very friendly. The cook is amzing, so i might actually gain weight on the trip! We've had some amazing lasagna ad then yesterday we had kudu!
We've been pretty busy so far. I went for a canoeing trip on Orange River, which was beautiful. Then later we had a day off but we climed about 100m to catch the sunset. Then yesterday we went on a walk in the Sossusvlei in Namibia, which is all desert and dunes. Going to go quadbiking in the desert on sunday. We're here for another 2 days, so it's a nice bed and some relax time for me!
The wildlife is stunning, opbviously! Lots of springbok and ostrich along the road,a nd we also saw a few oryx.
The people in the group are really cooL! There's a group of 6 americans who are doing a semester in cape town, and they're leaving us tomorrow. The rest of us get along really well, there's a few australians and some brits mainly. We're only just getting to know each other better so from now on many more drinking parties and fun nights a coming!
This has now become a very long post, and i'm kind of sickly (stuffy nose, sore throat) so that's all for now!
Lots of love.
xxx
Monday 1 September 2008
Cape Town to Springbok
So this is the first time i can get internet. There was a big stormin CApe Town on saturday evening so everything was down.
The journey into S. Africa was good, though i had an hour's delay with BA because of damage to the luggage compartment.
Cape Town is pretty cool, it really doesn't feel like AFrica. It's veery modern and it has lotsof shops. They're obsessed with surf clothes! I guess it makes sense it being on the coast and all. There's a waterfront with lots of malls and shops lik ethe body shop, and nando's everywhere. I went there with this random maltese/italianh couple i met on the street, they were really nice! It was very cold though and lots of rain. Then i met the people in my group, who're pretty cool. IT's s small group, 16 of us, from all over, UK, oz, kiwis, spain.
We left on sunday morning and the highlight may have been seeing babboons cross the road, randomly! Pretty cool, for someone like me not used to that. I've also seen some lone impalas grazing.
We got to the first camp site in the cold and rain, and did some wine tasting there! Was v. nice, fromthe birdlife co-op, the 3rd biggest producer inteh s. hemisphere apparently. Bought some rooibos-infused vermouth, because they don't export it.
Didn't get much sleep last night because the cook got slightly drunk and fell off a ledge hurting himself badly. He's currently in hospital, but he gave us a good fright because he was asking for help, opening up tents and we thought he was a randombegger!
Oh well, am now off closer to orange river to do some canoeing tomorrow.
Will be in swakopmund in about 5 days, will report back then!
The journey into S. Africa was good, though i had an hour's delay with BA because of damage to the luggage compartment.
Cape Town is pretty cool, it really doesn't feel like AFrica. It's veery modern and it has lotsof shops. They're obsessed with surf clothes! I guess it makes sense it being on the coast and all. There's a waterfront with lots of malls and shops lik ethe body shop, and nando's everywhere. I went there with this random maltese/italianh couple i met on the street, they were really nice! It was very cold though and lots of rain. Then i met the people in my group, who're pretty cool. IT's s small group, 16 of us, from all over, UK, oz, kiwis, spain.
We left on sunday morning and the highlight may have been seeing babboons cross the road, randomly! Pretty cool, for someone like me not used to that. I've also seen some lone impalas grazing.
We got to the first camp site in the cold and rain, and did some wine tasting there! Was v. nice, fromthe birdlife co-op, the 3rd biggest producer inteh s. hemisphere apparently. Bought some rooibos-infused vermouth, because they don't export it.
Didn't get much sleep last night because the cook got slightly drunk and fell off a ledge hurting himself badly. He's currently in hospital, but he gave us a good fright because he was asking for help, opening up tents and we thought he was a randombegger!
Oh well, am now off closer to orange river to do some canoeing tomorrow.
Will be in swakopmund in about 5 days, will report back then!
Saturday 19 July 2008
Hello!!!
Hi all!
This is where i'll be putting up comments and pictures from my travels over the next two years. I'll be checking this website whenever I can, so if you want to contact me it's probably best to post on here or email me at esterderoij@gmail.com.
The provisional itinerary is:
29/08-16/10 = southern Africa
29/10-01/04 = Australia & Asia
May-March (2009-2010) = teaching in Japan
April-October (2010) = travelling across the Americas.
Hope you like the blog!
Ester
This is where i'll be putting up comments and pictures from my travels over the next two years. I'll be checking this website whenever I can, so if you want to contact me it's probably best to post on here or email me at esterderoij@gmail.com.
The provisional itinerary is:
29/08-16/10 = southern Africa
29/10-01/04 = Australia & Asia
May-March (2009-2010) = teaching in Japan
April-October (2010) = travelling across the Americas.
Hope you like the blog!
Ester
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