My Life in Words

Hi All, One last post from Africa.  I’m really not that keen to go back to Australia and to work on Tuesday. I could easily just take a few more weeks off and go up to Namibia.  I’ve met a few people who are doing two week trips from here in Cape Town up the coast of Namibia.  I think that will be my next trip to Africa. Anyway, I’ve spent the last 4 days in Cape Town and it’s a great city. Unfortunately I didn’t get the best weather while here, as it is winter. All things considered, it could have been worse if it poured the whole time, but I had a lot of grey skies and clouds. So I didn’t quite get to do everything I wanted, but it was still good. Just means I’ll have to come back. On Wednesday when I arrived the weather was wonderful.  Sunny and warm. Unfortunately I didn’t arrive until 2:45pm, so by the time I was checked into my hotel it was already 3:30-4. Not wanting to waste the afternoon though, I booked it down to the V&A waterfront, which ...

Hello again Thank you to everyone who read my last post and sent me nice messages. I’m never really sure if anyone other than my family reads this, so it’s nice to hear from so many people! Since you are all on the edge of your seats waiting for another instalment, here it is! I am on my way back to South Africa now (Cape Town) after a busy, yet relaxing, 4 days in Victoria Falls.  I have to say, I had a great time, and I would highly recommend a visit. I flew right into Vic Falls airport, which was handy. Like the world’s other major waterfalls (Niagara, Iguazu) the falls are split across two countries; these ones are split between Zimbabwe and Zambia. There are two options for accommodation -you can stay in Livingston in Zambia which is nearby or you can stay right in the town of Victoria Falls itself, in Zim.  I did the latter (all the locals call Zimbabwe Zim, so I’m not just trying to start a trend).  I decided to splurge on a nice hotel... and what ...

Hello hello hello For the past week I have been in Johannesburg for work. I’m at the airport now, waiting for a flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe for a short holiday. I figured since I came all of this way I should take advantage and take a few days off at the end before going home. So I’m headed up to Vic Falls and Botswana for 4 nights and then going down to Cape Town for 4 nights before flying home. I wasn’t sure what to expect with regards to Joberg. It gets a pretty bad rap as a dangerous place and it’s never been high on my list. The stories you hear of of people getting robbed and gun point while walking down the street and the high murder rates give the impression that you pretty much need to lock yourself in a high security hotel.  But thankfully, that’s not the case.  While I’m not going to pretend it’s a safe city, like most places if you stay in the right area and don’t walk around alone, in the dark or flashing your valuables, it’s not a scary place (oth...

Jambo Second instalment of the blog from Tanzania. Just leaving Zanzibar now and heading back to the mainland on the wonderful Precision Air. We have a 3 hour stopover at the Dar es Salaam airport (because the flights do a big Zanzibar-Dar-kill loop) and it may be one of the worst airports I've ever been in. There is one store, which is closed. And no one who works at the airport knows or cares why.  Zanzibar, however, was absolutely awesome. The beaches and beautiful and quiet and the water was so clear and turquoise. I think it’s a lot like Mexico must have been 30 years ago before all the tourists came. Only I think the beaches were nicer than in Mexico. I would definitely recommend a visit if any of you are in Africa. There isn’t heaps to do, but there are some day trips and excursions one can do (snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, some boat trips to nearby islands, etc). Seems like there are a few museums in stone town as well which might be ok.  I arrived on Mon...

Jambo!  After 10 months without a 'real' holiday (no, Mongolia and Kansas City don't count) I'm finally getting some extended time off. And it could not have come at a better time!  I had this crazy idea back in March when I was planning my annual holiday that I should do something adventurous for my time off this year. Silly me. Why go to the beach and chill out, when you can climb a mountain during your time off? And not just any mountain....Kilimanjaro. Which, for those who don't know, is 5895m tall. That's nearly 20 thousand freaking feet. Believe me, I walked up all of them. And back down. So here I am, in Tanzania. To climb Kili, relax on the beaches in Zanzibar and go on safari. Turns out Kilimanjaro has its own international airport, with flights from Doha, Qatar arriving daily. So I flew Qatar airways, which was as good as its reputation suggests. The flight from Doha to Kili was interesting - every single person on that flight was carrying trekking bac...