Travelocity’s blog

Swakopmond was really great.  I ended up going sand boarding twice as it was so much fun, even though I swear I got concusion on one of my wipeouts, and twisted my knee the second time around, but it was most definitely worth it.  I even did the lie-down option too where you flew down the steepest dunes at around 80kph, even catching some air at the end of one of the runs.  Quad biking was also great fun too among the dunes, kicking up some sand and even getting some air between the bike and the sand.  The highlight was definitely sky diving which most people on my trip did.  We had an amazing view over the dunes and the ocean on the way down.  It was my 3rd jump to date, so I'm turning into a little bit of an addict.  On our last night in town a few of us girlies went out with the the sky diving and sand boarding instructors to a typical German Brauhaus restaurant where we were drinking 2 litre steins of beer.  The guys also got a 3 litre glass (the 5 litre one was already in use) which was full of beer.  It got passed around, and whoever finished it last, the person before had to pay!  We ended up having 3 throughout the night. 

After swakop we travelled south, where we went to see the famous dune 7 and have a guided dune tour.  We also climbed dune 45, which was a bit of a hike, to watch the sun set which was absolutely spectacular.  We also visited fish river canyon which boasts to be the 2nd deepest canyon in the world.  We also watched the sun go down over the canyon. 

After Namibia we travelled onto South Africa where we went on a wine tour in Stellenbosch visiting 4 wineries throughiout the day, before going out for a meal and a few bars that evening in town.  The next day we travelled the short distance to Cape Town.  I've been here 4 days now.  So far I've eaten Kudo and Springbok at a game restaurant, been shopping at the waterfront, been to lots of bars and restaurants, fell in love with Long Street as they have also surf and vintage shops, as well as markets.  I've also been up table moutain, and abseiled down it.  I'm off to Robbyn Island for a tour tomorrow, and who knows, maybe more sand boarding and sky diving is yet to come!!!

Christmas at Vic Falls was awesome.  The weather wasn't too great, but we made the best of it.  On new years eve I went white water rafting on the Zambezi river, apparently the best rafting in the world, and had a great time.  We started the rafting at the bottom of the Zimbawe side of the falls.  I was still pretty scared throughout, especially after getting dunked into a whirlpool and getting stuck under for a while, but it was still fun!  The only downside of rafting at the bottom of a gorge was that we had to climb back out of it which was quite an effort, but we were met with cold beers at the top.  After rafting we went back to our hostel where the celebrations had started.  We sang Xmas carols, and I even ended up singing the Pogues Christmas song with Andy and a guy called Rob playing guitar who we'd at the hostel.  It was really fun!

On Christmas day we went to a plush hotel where we had a Mongolion style Xmas lunch, sadly without turkey and all the trimmings, although I did have a mince pie for dessert.  We gave out our secret santa presents too that evening.  I ended up getting long black hair extensions and some pink pants!  Afterwards we went for a sunset cruise above the falls, although strangely the cruise ended before the sunset so we had to watch it on our drive back.

The next day a few of us visited Victroria Falls.  I hadn't realised how far they streched!  We got pretty wet at certain points along the route and even saw some rainbows in the mist of the falls.  Later that day we travelled in Botwana.  Half of our group decided to go on a 3 day trip in the Okovanga Delta on kayak type boats and bush camping.  I decided to take a scenic flight over the Delta instead which was great as we flew quite close to the ground where we got to see all the waterways weaving their way through the land, as well as see elephant, hippo, buffalo, giraffe and other game from the air.  Those that stayed behind spent a few relaxing days camping at a really nice hotel with great facilities.  When everyone else got back on New Years Eve we celebrated at the hotel where there was a marquee with a DJ and lots of drinks flowing.  It was a really good night from what I can remember.  New Years day was really good as we were on the truck most of the day, but still in high spirits so in the morning we had the music blaring where everyone was up dancing and singing throughout the journey. 

I'm now in Namibia.  So far we've been to Etosha National Park for 3 days staying at amazing camps.  We saw a lion kill a warthog on our first game drive.  We also saw cheetah, an elephant right next to our truck, giraffes at watering holes which is funny to watch when they reach down for the water.  I've also seen more that enough lion sex for my liking!  One night at a watering hole in camp we saw a herd of around 50 or so elephant with a sunset in the background.

We also went to a cheetahj farm where we played with3 tame cheetahs before going out to feed the wild ones.  We also visited the Himba tribe which was great spending time with them and the children there.  We're now in Swakopmong where we have 4 nights.  I'll be sky diving, sand boarding and quad bioking.  I can't wait!

Well its been exactly a month since I last updated!  A lots happened since then...

Kenya: Spotted lots of rhino, giraffe, flamingo and even lions in the distance in Nakuru National Park.  Then it was back to Nairobi for a last knees up in Kenya at Carnivores where we tried ostrich and crocodile.

Tanzania: In Tanzania we stayed at a Snake Park where they have all sorts of poisonous African snakes on display.  I hadn't been worried about snakes until now!  We spent 3 days in the Serengeti on game-drives in open topped vehicles.  We spotted a cheetah with its kill, a pride of 9 lions with their 3 cubs right next to our truck, lots more giraffe, some elephant, buffalo, wildebeast, hyena's, hippo, crocodile. impala and a whole host of other animals.  We even had an elephant in our campsite when we were camping on top of Ngorogoro crater on our last night in the Serengeti. 

We then drove to Dar Es Salam which is a muslim city on the coast where we spent a couple of nights on the beach before catching the ferry to Zanzibar.  We spent a night in Stone Town where we went out for a traditional meal.  The next day we had a tour around Stone Town including the old slave market and a spice tour out on the spice farms which was really interesting.  We then travelled to the north of the island to Kendwa where we spent the next three days chilling out on the beautiful beach.  I went snorkelling which was really fun as we saw lots of different fish.  We had a booze cruise on our last night which was carnage, but all good fun!  We said goodbye to quite a few of our group in Zanzibar.

Malawi:  We then entered Malawi where we had a few relaxing days staying at campsites on the lake which had sandy beaches where we swam and played cricket.

Zambia: We were just on transit through Zambia so we didn't do much, which was lucky as we had torrential rain a few nights.  Torrntial rain + tents = no fun whatsoever!

Zimbabwe: We spent 2 nights on house boats on Lake Kariba which was fun.  We saw elephants frolicking around in the water at night, as well as hippo and crocodile.  A few people went fishing and on game cruises.  I chose the lazy option and stayed on the boat the whole time.  After that we travelled to Antelope park where we spent 3 nights.  We upgraded to a family lodge which meant no tents for 3 nights and no cooking!!!  I did a lion walk with 3 15 month old lions.  You walk right along side them and can even stroke them.  After that I went horse riding through the national park where we came across various games and also giraffe.  In the afternoon I went in an enclosure with 2 lion cubs where we got to play around a little with them.  The next day I went for a ride on an elephant through the park, then in the afternoon actual went for a swim with them.  It was ridiculously hard trying to stay on the back of the elephant when it rolls on its side in the water!  I also went in an enclosure with the 15 month old lions during a feed which was awesome.  The next day we travelled to Bulowayo where we went rhino tracking.  i thought we'd be on the truck the whole time, but once we found the rhino we got out and walked up to them.  We were about 5 metres away from them at the closest point when they were walking towards us staring us down.  It was slightly scary at times as they were so close that if they'd decided to charge us I doubt there was little we could do.

Today we travelled to Victoria Falls where we'll be spending Christmas.  There are lots of adrenaline activities to do here such as gorge swings, bungy jumps, abseiling, helicopter rides etc, but I'm just sticking to the white water rafting on the Zambezi river as I had such a good time doing in it in Uganda.  Tomorrow night we're having Christmas carols at the hostel, and then on Christmas day we're having Christmas lunch with a booze cruise in the evening.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year!!!!

We now have a full truck (well almost as 2 people have dropped out since and one's in Nairobi seeing a doctor about his back)!

Since I last updated we travelled 1 1/2 hours by boat on Lake Victoria to go to Ngamba island which is a chimpanzee reserve. We spent an hour observing all the chimps and watching them get fed. The little ones were play fighting with each other and kept knocking each other out of the tree which was really cute.

After we left Entebe we went to Queen Elizabeth National Park where we encountered elephant straight away. We also saw a lion chasing a warthog with the male in the distance. We went for a game cruise onLake Albert where we saw hippos close up including their babies, as well as crocs, buffalo and a whole host of bird life. The next morning we saw elephant again, but this time it was a mother with her child. Before long she started to charge at us so we left. Later it was back to Hairy Lemon where more drunken antics were had, followed by volleyball in the Nile the next morning with a hangover!

Our truck down at the Lemon so we travelled to Jinja by bus. We spent 3 days in Jinja at a gorgeous little campsite with elevated views over the Nile. I did a zip wire head first lying down across the Nile which was cool, followed by quad biking around the local area and alongside the Nile which was really awesome especially when we got stuck in a huge mud puddle as we ended up having a mud fight. All the locals laughed at us on the way back as we looked such a site covered in mud from head to foot. On our last day there I beat my fears of water/rapids and went white water rafting for 35km on grade 5 rapids, the hardest you can do commercially. It was scary at times, but fun as hell, even when we got dunked straight into a rapid. We got it videoed and watched it on a big screen in the bar that night.

We crossed the border back into Kenya yesterday where we stayed the night at that cool bar Raj's in Eldoret I mentioned earlier. Right now we're back in Nakuru spending a couple of hours in town before we go to the National Park on a game drive. White rhinos and flamingo are really prevelant in Nakuru. Also hippos and buffalo are likely to walk through our camp at night, so no wandering around after dark by yourself!

We go back to Naivasha one last time to go to Hells Gate National Park on a cycling tour, and then go back to Nairobi for a group meal as a couple of guys on our tour leave us then. After that it'll be off to Tanzania and Zanzibar!

Just a quick update...

I started on safari last Monday.  There's currently 14 of us.  There are 7 including myself from the school building project so its good to have some friends to travel with, but everyone on the trucks really cool.  We meet 10 new passengers tonight so there won't be a whole lot of room on the truck anymore as we're currently used to spreading out loads and leaving all our stuff everywhere.

I'm currently in Uganda at the moment.  We crossed the border from Kenya a few days ago.  In Kenya we went to Lake Naivasha again, and Lake Baringo where we got pretty close to hippos at night as they wandered up to the bar area from the lake and apparently nearby our tents while we were sleeping.  We also had to get pretty close to a crocodile to get through the gate to go swimming!  Luckily there are guards around to warn you of their presence and to ward them off.  We also visited a local Pokot tribe which was an awesome experience as they live with minimal things in tiny round mud huts.  They were really friendly, and we spent a few hours with them joining in with their dancing!

On Friday we stayed on a little island in the middle of the Nile called The Hairy Lemon.  Its a really cute place where you get to by boat.  We ended up swimming and playing volleyball in the Nile which was pretty cool.  We're currently in the capital Kampala where we're having a bit of a lazy day today as we haven't got far to travel.  Yesterday was a killer truck day as we traveled from 6.30am to about 5pm!  But the scenery is awesome and ever changing so you don't get board.  We're on route to Rwanda where most of the truck are off to go trek to see the Gorillas.  At over 250 pound plus visas etc I didn't bother, so instead we stay in Uganda and hang out by a really picturesque lake for a few days.

I'm thinking of extending my trip further as the time is flying by and I don't want it to end.  If I do, instead of hopping off at Zanzibar, I'll be going onto see Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe ending at Victoria Falls for Christmas which would be pretty cool!  We'll see!

The building project has finally come to an end.  We finished work on the school yesterday.  For the past few days Gemma, Stacey and I worked long and hard on a mural for the end wall of the school.  It turned out so much better than we expected!  The mural consists of a quote on either side of the end walls both in English and Swahili.  The middle wall is a map of the world to scale showing all the continents, and people holding hands around the outside. 

We had a leaving ceremony at the school yesterday where Kate and I along with our standard 5 class performed our animal song.  Lizzi and Jess performed a song and dance with standard 4, while all the volunteers performed the song Lean On Me accompanied by Andy on guitar which was a right laugh.  It worked surprisingly well considering we only started rehearsing the night before.  After the ceremony we all hopped into the back of a pick-up to be taken back to our house to catch matatus back to Nairobi where we currently are.  We're back in Karen again after what seems like a lot less than 5 weeks. 

Last night we all went out to a really cute restaurant for our final dinner together.  The food was amazing.  I had feta cheese and coriander samosas to start, thai chicken curry for main, followed by the most amazing chocolate and carrot cake with vanilla ice-cream.  Afterwards we went out to a place called Black Cotton where they have a monthy rave type thing.  We all danced the night away until the wee hours.  I ended up getting back about 4.30am, so I had a lie-in today after a fry-up.  This morning we had to say our goodbyes to 4 volunteers as they're off to the Masai Mara today.  On Monday I head off on safari for 5 weeks which I'm really excited about.  We've seen the trucks we're going on as they're currently at Karen camp where we're staying, and they're absolutely huge! 

As for the past couple of weeks since I last updated, we celebrated Jess's birthday on the train on the way back from Mombasa.  We all crammed into one of the cabins and were armed with balloons, a card and a cake to surprise her with.  We also celebrated Andy's birthday a few weeks later back at the house.  We had amazing food all day beginning with pancakes in the morning, a delicious chocolate rocky road cake in the afternoon, and a big feast in the evening which included skewers of meat and veggies, swahili chicken, a type of beef stew, and various other things.  We also had quite a few tuskers (Kenyan beer) and had a bit of a sing song. 

Last weekend we went back to the orphanage in Naivasha where a group of us did up the sleep room by painting yellow stars in clusters around the room, hanging glitter stars from the ceiling, and writing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star around the walls.  Megan also bought some sheets and blankets for the beds to spruce them up a bit.  After a few hours of work the place looked so much better than before.  They even treated us to lunch as well as showing us how to make gepattis from scratch.  We stayed by the lake again that weekend but at a different place which was so pretty.  We had little cottages as well as hammocks and day beds outside the bar.  At night they prepared a delicious buffet for us and lit a fire which we all sat around in arm chairs below ground level.  After a big night on the Friday night I climbed a mountain called Longonot the next day with a few of the girlies, although I was feeling decidedbly rought as well as having lots of blisters to begin with.  Longonot was really steep and a lot of the terrain was dusty so each step you took you seemed to slide back down a little.  It was incredibly hard work and a lot tougher than I expected as it was so sheer at certain points.  Half way into the climb you reach a crater which is 8km in circumference.  Its an amazing site looking down into the heart of the crater, and around the surrounding views.  The views were definitely worth the effort.  From the crater onwards it got pretty tough work as we reached rock.  At certain points we were literally climbing up the rock on our hands and knees.  Once we eventually reached the top it was so quiet and relaxing as there were only a few people around.  You got a complete 360 degree view of the surrounding area of the Rift Valley which is absolutely spectacular.  You also get a view of Lake Naivasha too which is huge.

The next day we visited a craft fair in Naivasha at the Sports Club.  It felt like a typical English fete as there were hoards of white people everywhere.  We managed to buy some quirky gifts for our project leader, but unfortunately when we got back to camp we found out that she had just left for the craft fair and once she'd gotten back she'd bought herself the same thing.  It was slightly different in design, and she was really pleased with it when we gave it to her yesterday.

This evening we're going to heads into Nairobi and go bowling, and hopefully go for a Sunday roast tomorrow which should be nice.  I can't believe I'm already at the half way point of my trip already.  The time just seems to fly by.

After the weekend in Naivasha it was back to work at the school on Monday morning chiseling the floors ready to lay the concrete and finishing off the last of the plastering.  I taught a music lesson with Andy which was pretty daunting as there were 60 kids in the class and just me and Andy at the front with a guitar.  We taught them the Beatles song Hey Jude which they loved.  We had some requests for reggae and current music next lesson, so that should be a challenge as the most listened to songs out in Kenya are Sean Paul, Akon, Rhianna and believe it or not Dolly Parton!

Last week I had two arts and crafts lessons.  One was a complete success and one was a nightmare.  The nightmare lesson was due to the the size of the class which was about 50, the age of the kids between 7 and 10, and the facilities as we were in one of the old classrooms which was a metal shell with mud floor so out idea of making a large mosaic turned into mayhem.  A lot of the kids didn't want to share the materials we handed out and some even tried stealing them at the end was a little hectic to say the least.  My next lesson later that day was with Kate where we're teaching them a song with actions and animal movements which they'll perform at the closing ceremony.  It went really well and they really enjoyed it!  Fortunately we didn't have any art lessons this week as we're currently on our mid-project break. 

On the Tuesday Lizzi and I went to Karunga medical centre where we'd be helping out at the clinic.  We sat in on the doctors consultations for the morning where we had to discuss the symptoms, diagnose what we thought was wrong and what course of treatment we would prescribe so it was pretty much straight in at the deep-end.  Over the morning we saw two pregnant woman who we got to examine.  One was due to give birth that day.  We got to measure the baby and listen to its heart beat.  We also had a guy with pneumonia, a girl with conjunctivitis as well as a bizarre case where an old man was coming in for a check-up as a few days previously he'd been run into by a cow and damaged his scrotum needing stitches.  Luckily it wasn't a physical examination.  We also got to see two babies getting immunised.  At the end the doctor said we got 92% right throughout the day and that next week he expects 95%.  We've also been told we'll get a more hands on role next week which will be interesting no doubt.

I'm currently in Mombasa which is right on the coast where we've been since Thursday morning.  We took a 17 hour over-night train journey to get here which was really fun as we had a whole carriage for our group.  The only downside was that the electricity in a lot of the train was off so walking down to the restaurant carriage in pitch black at times was a little scary especially when you bumped into other people.

Mombasa is absolutely stunning.  We're staying at a big cottage right on the beach.  We have a girls cottage and and boys cottage for 12 of us, with the rest staying further down the coast in tree-houses on stilts.  The beach is pure white sand and the ocean clear, turquoise and warm.  Yesterday I went snorkeling out on the reef in a traditional fishing boat.  The snorkeling was really good fun once I got used to the mask, but I got sea sick after a while so I couldn't wait to get back to shore.  Last night we all went for a BBQ at the tree-houses before heading to our favorite bar which we've been to every night since we got here to watch the rugby.  The bars called Forty Thieves and is set right on the beach, with a sandy floor.  Its an absolutely gorgeous place, and they do really nice food too.  Even though we lost the rugby it was a pretty good night. Its our last day in Mombasa today before we board the train back to Nairobi this afternoon where we'll arrive tomorrow afternoon. 

Hey all,

Internet access hasn't been great, but I've finally found somewhere with broadband!

Ok, so obviously I arrived safe and sound 2 weeks ago, but my bags got left behind which was a pain in the ass.  I got picked up by our project leader Celia, who is fab.  One other person arrived early too, Rich, so we spent the next few days in Karen on the outskirts of Nairobi while various other volunteers arrived over the next few days. 

We headed to Gilgil, about 2 hours north of Nairobi on the Monday where our project is, at the next village Langa-Langa.  There are 16 volunteers plus Celia in a little house.  We sleep on little matresses on the floor with 4 or 5 to a room.  Its cosy, but it feels like home.

The school we are teaching at is called Ngumo and is a strenuous 20 minute walk up a hill which we have to do twice a day as we go home for lunch.  We're at quite a high altitude at the top of the rift valley so its a little more difficult than it should be.

The work at the school has been going well.  Its hard work but we're all getting stuck in and building up muscles!  We're on the final stage of the school build so we're doing all the plastering work, flooring etc.  I've definitely become a master chisler and pick-axer, although yesterday I really strained my fingers from over work using the pick ax so I currently have a bandaged finger as its swollen and won't move.  At least its the weekend now so it'll have time to recover.

On the first weekend we went to a place called Naivasha and stayed at Fishermans camp which was set on a lake with Hippos.  The lake is surrounded by electric fence to stop hippo attacks.  The bar a the camp serves delicious food, as back at the house it is vegetarian, basic and carbohydrate based.  The evenings at the camp were spent eating, drinking and watching rugby.  On the Sunday we went for a boat trip on the lake to see the hippos close up which was awesome.

On the Monday of the second week I finally got my bag couriered from the airport to Gilgil!  On Tuesday Lizzi and I who are doing a medic role went to visit the doctors surgary we;d be wotking at in Karunga.  Madventurer had previously helped out at he project building a maternity ward, showers and water tank.  Recentky they'd won an award for best centre in the area.  We start work there next week where we'll be assisting with analysing blood samples, blood pressure monitoring and dispensing medication and well as registering new patients.  Doctor John also said he'll give us a ring when someone goes into labour so we can help out.

On Wednesday we visited an orphanage in Naivasha to see sopme of the work Madventurer carried out there, as well as playing with the kids.  We'll be going back again in a few weeks to decorate the bedrooms as they look extremely tired and dilapidated.

Today us girls headed into Naivasha where I'm currently at.  We're going to hit the market, go to the supermarket and get lunch at a delicious restaurant we went to the other day. 

Next week we finish work at the building site on Wednesday and get the overnight train to Mombassa where we'll spend 4 days at the beach.  I can't wait!

Hey all, so you found my blog!

Keep checking back for updates and pictures from my Africa trip.  I leave on 27th September (just 7 days!) and come back on 12th December.

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New Zealand and Australia (South Australia and New South Wales)

February 2007

I've still got to upload the majority of the New Zealand photos and the rest of the Australia ones, but as I seem to be editing every single one it'll take me a whole lot longer! 24/09/07