New born foals and sick camels

Less than 9 months ago I had a "normal" job in an office, now I am injecting sick camels in Kenya - how did that happen?!

To explain that one, there are a number of camels on Lewa that are used for walking safaris. One of them got sick and the guys who run them asked for my help. They seem to think that because I look after the horses, I might know something about sick camels!! I can safely say that I don't, but decided that antibiotics for the swelling / infection it has under its stomach might work. Trouble is how much does a camel weigh? If you don't know that, you don't know how much to inject so it's kind of tricky. Also discovered that camels have skin like leather and it was not happy about being injected - teeth barred and spitting. Have decided it is easier to just give the camel guys the drugs and some needles so that they can administer it themselves going forwards - I have enough problems of my own to deal with right now as I have a very sick little foal.

So in the early hours of Christmas morning, a foal was born (2 weeks early but the mare had milk a few days before so I wasn't that surprised). He is a huge foal, light bay and just adorable. Sadly not that bright and needed help learning how to drink from mum. It's her first foal so she wasn't that helpful either. Unfortunately on day 2, the foal just got really weak and we nearly lost him. His temperature was almost 40 degrees and his heart was racing. After speaking with the vet, we injected him with super strong antibiotics and got him on a drip. Trying to find a vein on a 2 day old foal is not easy let me tell you!! He started to improve though only to relapse again the following day. This time he seemed to have colic as he was lying on the stable floor groaning. For the second time in 24 hours, I definitely thought we would lose him. For the past couple of days, he has been too weak to get himself up so he has to be lifted up every hour and put on the mare to drink. The poor syces (grooms) have worked so hard keeping him alive through the night. Amazingly, he has started to improve and has just spent his first two hours out in the paddock with mum as he can now stand up by himself and walk really well. I am feeling more positive that he will make it, but I also know that he might relapse at any point. We will just have to wait and see - he is certainly a little fighter. Will be devastated if we lose him after all this..

Suffice to say the last few days have been quite stressful and tiring. I could not even begin to count how many times I have driven back and forth from the farm where the mares and foals live (it's a couple of miles from the main stables here at Wilderness) Also busy with lots of guests riding. I saw a cheetah out riding the other day which was just so brilliant - we were just metres from it whilst it sat in the grass looking at us. That was an afternoon ride but I particularly love going on the morning rides with guests as we surprise them with a bush breakfast. Once we reach the breakfast destination, the horses are untacked, let loose and they make their way back across Lewa to the rest of the "herd" (usually they head off in the right direction but sometimes they decide to go on a little adventure first. I worry about them as they usually end up cantering and the terrain is so rough and full of holes, but they are used to it and its fun to watch them go). The guests then enjoy breakfast in the bush before taking a camel or jeep ride back to Wilderness.

Also before Christmas and the foaling dramas, I found time to get one of the Masai guides to take me walking in the bush. It was so cool as there is that sense of danger all the time as you never know what might be round the corner. We were able to sit on a rock and watch a big herd of elephants crossing the river 100 metres below us, and also see a rhino and her calf at the same time - pretty cool I think.

So that's the latest news from Lewa. Another foal due in less than 2 weeks..

Life on Lewa

After a hideously long journey, I finally arrived in Nairobi at 6.30am on Sat 3^rd Dec. I was met by a driver at the airport and then it was a 5 hour drive north to Lewa. Fantastic to be back in Africa. November is rainy season so everywhere was very green in comparison to my last trip through Kenya. Indeed, I have to say that I really did not recognize the Lewa area although it transpires that we must have passed by it when we drove south from Samburu in June (there aren’t that many tarred roads in Kenya so I’m told this is the only route we could have taken).

The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is a 64,000 acre expanse of land. It is stunning – the landscape (savannah and acacia trees, forests and rivers) seems to go on forever and the views of snow capped Mount Kenya are incredible. At the moment, it is all so green and the grass very long but I’m told it doesn’t stay this way for long. The downside of all the rain is that getting to Wilderness Trails (the lodge on Lewa where I am based) is impossible without four wheel drive. As soon as my taxi turned off the tar road, it was clear that we weren’t getting any further in a regular car and we had to call the lodge to come and collect me. It’s a good few miles along very bumpy tracks to actually reach Wilderness Trails – very remote but I am gradually getting used to driving on these crazy African roads!

The nearest big town to Lewa is Nanyuki (an equator town) which is about an hour’s drive south. It has the most amazing supermarket which has seemingly transformed the lifes of the many white settlers (Europeans) living in this area since it opened 18 months ago. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how many English / international products this supermarket has too! On checking back through my photos of Kenya from earlier this year, it turns out that Nanyuki was our first equator crossing and I have a photo of me by the equator sign. Who could have known that six months later I would be back to live in this area?

So what is living on Lewa like? Well my accommodation is great. I have a small lodge to myself – nice big double bed, huge bathroom (including bath), a verandah, TV and DVD player – so it’s all good. I am having to adjust to a life of being waited on – it’s kind of like living in a hotel as my bed gets made, room cleaned, etc each day. Even my laundry is done for me and in the evening my bed is turned down and a fire lit – so I’m thoroughly spoilt really! It is all quite rustic though – lots of insects and you have to be careful that monkeys don’t get in. The generator is only on for a limited time each day and goes off at 10.30pm so it is a life of early nights and early rises.

Food wise, I can either eat with the guests (everyone eats together at one long table), or just go to the kitchen and grab whatever is on offer. Eating with the guests is good – lots of interesting people stay here – but it does mean you end up having a cooked breakfast, 2 course lunches and 3 course dinners each day – will soon be getting fat if I carry on like this! Thankfully I normally miss out on afternoon tea and cake as I’m at the stables then.

As for the job, well there are 38 horses – there were 40 but two had to be put down in my first week. Not my fault, I would like to stress! They had come to the end of the road so it was the kindest thing to do. Nine of the horses are polo ponies that the owners’ children compete on (when they are here – they all work/study in the UK). The other horses are either for guests, retired, youngsters or brood mares. I have one gorgeous cheeky palomino foal and two more due to foal in January.

There are 14 syces (the Swahili word for groom) so I don’t actually do any hard work like mucking out, feeding, grooming, etc. My role is really to oversee the running of the yard, work out exercise programs for the horses, check on the health and welfare of all the horses (some of the syces are not at all horsey and really wouldn’t notice if the horses leg was hanging off), administer drugs, etc. Looking after horses in Africa is so different from the UK though so learning lots. The stables get shut up completely at night because of lions and in the day the horses graze out wild in the conservancy alongside zebra, giraffe, impala, etc. One of the syces is always with the horses acting as a herder.

Most mornings I am out riding soon after 7am. It is such a beautiful place to ride and the polo ponies are especially fun. They are off at a tournament this week though so I have a bit more time to devote to the other horses. Before going to the tournament, the polo ponies get moved to stables at the local polo club to practice. As that is a 45 minute drive away, that was pretty much my whole morning taken up driving up there and exercising them.

The game on Lewa is impressive. Been on a few game drives so far – lions, cheetah, elephant, rhino, waterbuck, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, oryx, eland, impala, warthogs, Grants gazelle – the list goes on.. Lewa is particularly renowned for its success with rhino conservation. There are 60+ black rhino (the most rare) and loads of white rhino – you basically can’t go on a game drive here and not see rhino. I saw eight on my first game drive which considering I only saw two the whole five months I travelled through Africa  previously says it all. This morning I was out riding with guests and we stumbled upon a sleeping black rhino. As the grass is so long, we literally did not see it until the last minute. Fortunately, it got up and ran away rather than charging us (black rhinos are particularly renowned for being aggressive). As four of the guests couldn’t ride it could have been a bit hairy had that happened! Lewa also boasts the largest Grevy zebra population in the world.

So that’s a brief overview of life on Lewa. There is so much to see and learn here. Am struggling to learn some Swahili as that would really help me when dealing with the syces and other staff here – it is quite a hard language though so I don’t hold out much hope of ever being very good at it. The downside of living in such a remote place is that the internet is often not working and when it does it is very slow – hence the lack of blogging recently.

Goodbye New Zealand

Well, it's my final day in NZ. Not sure what has happened in the past three days but I think it's probably a good thing that I finished the Flying Kiwi trip early. I never would have got myself organised for the next stage of my adventure otherwise!

So for those of you who don't already know, I am heading back to the continent that I love - Africa. I have been lucky enough to land a job working with horses on a game reserve in Northern Kenya (website is www.lewawilderness.com if you are interested). I definitely rediscovered my passion for horses during my travels in Africa so this provides me with a fantastic opportunity to live and work in a beautiful place. Has to be more fun than working in finance anyway?!

The last few days have largely been spent trying to shift this cold, shopping for horsey stuff and all other essential items that aren't so easy to come by in Africa (toiletries, etc), doing laundry and generally just chilling out in my hotel room. So much nicer than hostel life. Mind you, the unfortunate people who had to share a dorm with me in Wellington the other night must have been cursing me - coughing and sneezing all night long. Still, I consider it karma for all the nights I have been disturbed by people coming in late, getting up early, etc - that's backpacker life for you. A cheap bed means a rubbish night's sleep. Staying in a hotel has been fab - my own bathroom and a TV. NZ TV is exactly like English TV - has all the same shows, even Emmerdale? I can't say that I've missed TV whilst travelling but it is quite nice to be able to lie in bed watching Michael McIntyre (my favourite comedian) on TV. Reckon tonight is going to be takeaway pizza and more TV - must enjoy these things whilst I still can..

Anyway, sounds like it is all kicking off in the UK with the strikes (even NZ news programs have reported this). Just read that Jeremy Clarkson announced that strikers should be shot - is it wrong that I found that funny?!

Well, enough from me. I haven't actually done anything news worthy in the past few days. My most exciting adventure was locating an equestrian store (what did we do before internet?) and getting the bus out to Newmarket, an Auckland suburb, to buy a hat, chaps and boots. Other than that, my hotel is right in the centre of Auckland so everything else I need is right on my doorstep.

Tomorrow, flight to Bangkok, than on to Nairobi. Hopefully, they will actually let me in to Kenya and ignore the fact that I have no onward flight ticket. I'll soon find out anyway....

North Island Photos

Cathedral Cove



Spurting geyser, Rotorua




Champagne Pools, Rotorua




Huka Falls




Enjoying the river en route to Taupo



The rest of North Island

From the Coromandel Peninsula, it was on to Rotorua, famed for its thermal wonders - hot springs, exploding mud pools and geysers. There were a number of different activities on offer, but I elected for an afternoon at the Polynesian Spa to enjoy the hot pools and a revitalising back massage - much needed after all the exercise I am getting on this trip. Nice to have a bit of luxury before a night at a wilderness camp by Lake Rerewhakaaitu. Went for a cycle ride around the lake before dinner.

The next morning, we went to a geyser which goes off each day at 10.15am (with a little chemical help so not entirely natural) and some mud pools - not the type you go in unless you fancy third degree burns. Then it was on to Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland which included numerous craters, pools and crazy coloured lakes ranging from browns to flourescent greens due to the minerals.

Next stop was Huka Falls where the bus dropped us and we walked into the lakeside town of Taupo. Lake Taupo is the largest lake in NZ and one of the largest crater lakes in the world. The walk was lovely all along the river with a refreshing swim at the end. There was also a hot waterfall where you could sit in the pool below if you didn't fancy a cold dip in the river.

We spent the night at a camp in Turangi. The next day, most people did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. This is one of NZ's greatest day walks and the weather held out (for once!). Unfortunately, I couldn't do it because I have a stinking cold and thought that a day hike probably wouldn't help me get better any quicker. Now in Wellington (again) and I've decided to leave the Flying Kiwi trip at this point. Only three days left to go but loads of travelling - another ferry crossing back to Picton, then a drive down the coast to Kaikoura and then to Christchurch before a flight back to Auckland. Rather than do this, I'm just going to spend one night in Wellington then fly to Auckland tomorrow. That will give me three nights in Auckland to prepare for the next leg of my adventure and hopefully shift this cold. Treating myself to three nights in a hotel which I'm very excited about. I know I shouldn't complain about travelling as I'm getting to see and do so many amazing things, however, you can get sick of sleeping either in a tent or a shared dorm room with shared bathroom facilities. 

Been pottering around Wellington today. It is often referred to as 'windy Welly' by locals and today I could certainly see why. The wind was gusting to such an extent that it was actually hard to stay on your feet and you have to dodge flying debris. Crazy - glad I'm not on the ferry crossing to Picton tonight - could be a rough one. Went to the Te Papa national museum this afternoon. Not normally a fan of museums but this was quite interesting - particularly the giant squid and the earthquake simulator - and it's all free.

The Bay of Islands

From Auckland, we headed up to the Bay of Islands in the top north east corner of North Island. Cycled the last 12km into our camp site by the river where we stayed for two nights. The following day, I did my longest cycle ever - probably around 35km. Started by taking a ferry from Paihia over to one of the islands then cycling from the small settlement of Russell to Okiato, then another ferry to Opua. The road from Opua back to Paihia was so long and steep. Ended up walking up the steeper hills! After lunch in Paihia, we were sufficiently revitalised to do the cycle back to camp. A very hot day so I then spent the rest of the afternoon comatose by the pool topping up my tan - the first time I've actually had the weather to sunbathe in NZ.

Next day, we drove to Oponoi dunes where we went sand boarding. This basically involves sliding down dunes on a boogie board. As the tide was right in, it was a case of down the dunes head first then straight into the water - such good fun! Apart from when you come off your board and end up sliding on your belly which inevitably I managed to do. Later on we did some walking in the Waipoua forest to see giant Kauri trees, then a further drive to our camp in Owera just outside of Auckland. In the evening, we went to some hot pools which was really nice. There were several outdoor pools of varying temperatures but some as hot as a good hot bath. Given I don't get the opportunity to have too many baths whilst travelling, this was quite a treat. One pool even had a movie screen so that you can watch movies whilst relaxing in the pool. There were also some awesome slides particularly the Black Hole which was great fun.

I never cease to be amazed by how NZ can literally have four seasons in one day. It was blowing a gale last night (not good when you're in a tent), then pouring with rain as we drove into Auckland this morning. I found it particularly satisfying to be stuck in rush hour traffic watching all the miserable commuters in the rain. It reminded me what life used to be like for me, but not any more! Makes me appreciate travelling so much more when I have little reminders of how rubbish working is. So we dropped off some  passengers in Auckland and picked up some more. The bus is now quite full with 27 passengers on board.

A busy afternoon with a cycle ride followed by a walk to Cathedral Cove. Beautiful beaches here - this is the east coast of North Island and the place where lots of Aucklanders come on holiday during the summer. Time for a shower and an early night as we are bush camping tomorrow. Have treated myself to an upgrade tonight. Have my own little cabin with a double bed - luxury indeed but a bargain at just 13 dollars (or about 7 pounds).

South Island Photos

Mount Cook in the background

The group hiking in the snow near Mount Cook



The Flying Kiwi bus




Views on the Routeburn Track




Horseriding on the beach at Punakaiki




Abel Tasman National Park




The marae



Nelson to Auckland

Nelson - the centre of NZ right at the top of South Island. Did the touristy thing of walking from the town up the hill to the monument that signifies the exact centre point of the country. From Nelson, we headed to a Maori village (Maoris being the indigenous people of NZ - many of whom still live a traditional tribal life). The "Flying Kiwi tribe" were invited to stay in their "marae" which is basically a huge room used for weddings, funerals, village meetings, etc. It was a beautiful building with incredibly intricate carvings - no shoes, food or drink are allowed inside. There is a formal welcoming ceremony for visitors to the marae which includes the "hungi" - the touching of noses. Later we had a traditional meal which everyone got involved in preparing. It is basically a huge tray of potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and meats - whole chickens, and legs of pork, mutton and hogget. This is then cooked in the ground for a few hours using a kind of steaming method. A fire is lit earlier in the day to heat up the hot irons buried in the ground. The tray of food is lowered in and covered with wet clothes, then quickly covered with earth again to create the steaming effect. Tasted delicious! The following morning, we went out on the water to experience a waka paddle - the types of canoe the Maoris use.The men in the group were also taught how to do the "haka" (the warrior dance that the All Blacks always do before each rugby game).

Next stop was Picton - a pretty little town on the tip of South Island from where you can catch a ferry to North Island which we did that evening. The ferry takes you to Wellington (the capital of NZ) where we spent the night in a hostel before meeting the new bus, driver and guide the following day. Lots of the group have now left as many were just doing the South Island loop, but we are picking up various new people along the way so the group is constantly changing.

The last couple of days since leaving Wellington have involved quite a bit of driving. The scenery on North Island so far seems less dramatic than that in the south. It is very much farming country (mostly dairy) and reminds me of rural England and Wales. We spent a night in the Taranaki region at New Plymouth. Yesterday, we went to Waitomo Caves which are famed for their glow worms. Took a black water rafting trip through the caves which was fun but a little bit tame if I'm honest. Being NZ, I was expecting more adrenalin to be involved but we were mostly just drifting through the caves slowly in our inner tubes (black water rafting or tubing basically involves making your way through a cave or canyon using a rubber ring as a flotation device). Only one jump and one slide involved which was actually a white plastic slide that had been put in rather than a natural waterfall slide?!

From Waitomo, it was a long afternoon drive all the way back to Auckland where we have just spent a night in a backpackers hostel. Did something different last night which was going to a 1940s swing dance night. Why you may ask? Well one of the girls from the trip is into swing dancing and asked some of us if we fancied coming along to see the band and watch (not to dance I hasten to add). It was really good fun - a little bit like a live version of Strictly Come Dancing without the judges.

Off to the Bay of Islands today..

Horse riding in Punakaiki & Sky Diving in Abel Tasman

From Fox Glacier, we headed to the Okarito Lagoon where we camped by the beach. Nice campfire on the beach, an early night, and then a 5.30am walk the next morning. Haven't been up that early in a while. The hope was to see the elusive kiwi bird - we didn't but the sunrise over the lagoon was worth it anyway. When I can drag myself out of bed, I really do love the early mornings.

We then headed towards Punakaiki further up the coast. On the way we stopped off at the Bushman's Museum which was really interesting. I now know a whole lot more about NZ's deer farming industry. In short, wild deer started to decimate the landscape so they started a massive cull. They then realised that there was great demand abroad for venison and that they would be better off capturing the remaining deer and farming it. Capturing the deer is described as "NZ's last great adventure" and methods included men throwing themselves out of helicopters to wrestle a deer to the ground!? Eventually, they came up with slightly more sophisticated methods such as using net guns fired from helicopters rather than just humans!

A beautiful sunny afternoon in Punakaiki which was great for those of us who went horse riding. Had a great ride along and across the river and then on to the beach. Myself and one of the guides went off separately to the rest of the group so that we could go faster. Had a brilliant gallop along the beach. The horses went flat out racing each other - the wind and the speed making my eyes water - so much fun! Another camp fire that night on the beach.

Next day, a long winding coastal drive up to the northwest and Abel Tasman National Park. The coastline has such a rugged and raw natural beauty - all very untouched. Arrived in Abel Tasman just after lunch and headed straight to the sky dive centre. Sky diving has to be one of the most amazing things I've ever done. Pretty terrifying on the way up in the tiny plane looking down at the world below. As we were doing the highest jump of 16,500 feet, they gave us oxygen masks to breath through before we jumped. Then the plane door opens and all I could really see were clouds. Before you know it, you have been flung out of the plane attached to your jump master. I guess I probably closed my eyes at that point but after a couple of seconds, I felt my jump master tap me on the shoulders which means you can uncross your arms and start enjoying it. Freefall is such a fantastic sensation. Had over a minutes worth of freefall before the parachute opened and I can honestly say that I didn't want it to end. You don't really feel like you are falling, you feel like you are flying because the air pressure is so strong. All over far too quickly and I would love to do it again.

Spent the next day walking in Abel Tasman NP along a coastal path - finally the weather seems to have turned in our favour. Today we are in Nelson and now I must sign off as the bus is about to leave... Bit of a rushed blog post but yesterday's plan to blog was ruined by a bee sting on the way back from our walk. Very painful and today my face is swollen and my eye half closed - very attractive!

The West Coast of South Island

What a beautiful drive to Queenstown. The sun was shining, everywhere is so green, and it is great to see so many happy healthy animals enjoying the spring grass - lots of lambs, calves, deer (deer farming seems to be big here), alpacas and horses. Queenstown is the home of adrenalin and the town where bungy jumping was first done. I was expecting Queenstown to be big and very commercialised. In actual fact, it is in a beautiful setting and really not a big place at all. There are so many activities to choose from here. If I had unlimited time and cash, I could literally not be bored for several weeks - 3 bungy jumps, sky diving, paragliding, mountain biking, handgliding, bridge swings, jet boating, zip lines, quad bikes, canyoning, climbing, abseiling, horse riding - the list of possible activities is endless. There are also lots of great walks so the first afternoon, a few of us climbed up Queenstown hill which gave brilliant views over the whole area. Despite all the adrenalin activities on offer, I ended up doing the zip trek whereby you take the gondola up the mountain, then follow a series of tree top to tree top zip wires down through the forests to the bottom. This is fun but it's not really that scary. However, a few people fancied doing it so it was good fun to all go together. The bungy jumps here are a bit lame in comparison to the one I did in South Africa - the largest is only 134m compared to 216m in SA. I probably should have sky dived as that is still on my list of things to do, however I have at least two more opportunities to do that in NZ so I was saving it for another day. It was a beautiful sunny day in Queenstown though so may be I should have done it whilst the weather permitted.

We also had a big night out in Queenstown. Hilarious times at Cowboys bar where they have a mechanical rodeo bull you can ride. What I found particularly entertaining was that they make you sign a disclaimer before you get on! We also paid a brief visit to Altitude Bar which is now more commonly known as "The Mike Tindall Bar". Suffice to say, we didn't even stay for a drink as it is quite sleazy. Hardly surprising that the England rugby team did so poorly in the World Cup if this is the sort of venue they frequent!

Also bumped into Cherie and Jason (from my Africa trip) in Queenstown. They too are travelling around NZ and they were staying at the same camp site. Lovely to have drinks with them and catch up. May well see them again as we seem to be heading up the west coast in the same direction.

From Queenstown, we headed towards Wanaka. Once again the proposed bush camping option had to be abandoned due to the weather - just the one day of sunshine in Queenstown then back to rain. I think I mentioned in a recent blog post that I was looking forward to camping again? I take that back. I hate camping and I am upgrading to a dorm room / cabin / chalet / whatever bed option is available at every given opportunity. Why suffer if you don't need to?!

Saturday morning, I went jet boating on the Wilkin and Makora rivers. Good way to start the day. Then we drove up the west coast, stopping off here and there for short walks, photos, etc and an awesome and very steep downhill bike ride over the Haast Pass. The day finished with a 30km cycle ride into our camp near Fox Glacier. Our guides said it was 20km but they lied as we saw road signs that clearly stated otherwise- exhausted and aching by the time I got to camp that night!

So today the plan was to go heli hiking on the Fox Glacier. That is, a helicopter ride up to the top of the glacier, a couple of hours hiking and then helicopter back. Sounds very cool, doesn't it? But for the second time this trip, my attempt to get a helicopter ride failed due to the weather. I shall console myself with the fact that I have saved $400. Been walking instead, but it has been quite miserable, foggy and wet all day. Let's hope it improves soon...

Tramping & Cycling on South Island

Last time I updated my blog I was in the town of Oamaru. Many people describe NZ as being like England 20 years ago. If they mean in terms of it being slightly backward, then I would agree. On a Saturday afternoon in town, most places are closed. And on Sunday, well everything is closed! I'm not sure where all the people are in NZ - parts of South Island seem so remote and uninhabited - incredibly beautiful pristine scenery though.

We continued down the east coast of South Island. My first cycle ride was a nice easy one along the coast into our camp where we had a campfire and fireworks on the beach as it was the 5th Nov. The next day, we stopped off at the Mouraki Boulders, then onto the city of Dunedin which is apparently the furthest city in the world from London. Did a great downhill bike ride (i.e. minimal effort on my part) into Dunedin and then climbed up the world's steepest street. That night, we camped at Kaka Point (in the rain naturally) and had a bbq at the local pub.

The following day we headed further south to the town of Gore. It is the country music capital of NZ and also claims to be the world capital of brown trout fishing. There is not much else to be said about Gore really! We then headed across to the south west corner of NZ and Fiordland National Park. Another nice bike ride into camp in the Hollyford Valley. In Fiordland, it is either raining or you are being attacked by sand flies (or sometimes both). Joking aside, the scenery is stunning - dense beech forests and snow capped mountains. Amazing drive to Milford Sound the next day. Milford Sound is probably one of the most photographed areas of NZ - the one you see in all the books and ads. The boat cruise is a bit of a "must do" whilst you are here although the rain and mist meant that the views and photos we got weren't as spectacular as the pictures in books and on postcards. The sun did come out towards the end though in time for our Routeburn hike.

The Routeburn trek (or "tramp" as they call trekking / hiking in NZ) is one of the most famous three day tramps in NZ. Eight of us on the Flying Kiwi tour decided to undertake the challenge. The track is closed throughout winter due to snow but should theoretically be open in spring. However, we were told before we set off that part of it was still impassable but it may be possible to take a helicopter flight over that section. As you can imagine, I was hugely excited about the prospect of hiking and helicopters particularly as I've never been in one before. Unfortunately, conditions meant the helicopter wasn't guaranteed either. We would trek to the first hut on day one then find out from the warden on day two if we could continue. We were very fortunate to have beautiful weather in the afternoon that we set off on the trek affording us amazing views of the mountains. Sun was shining and we were trekking in t-shirts (and carrying huge packs with enough food to last us about a week, not to mention cold and wet weather gear). As it turned out, we were not able to complete the trek. Two more avalanches that day meant the second section of the trek was not passable so we wouldn't even be able to reach the helicopter point. Still we had an entertaining evening in the hut playing cards and eating freeze dried packet meals - chicken a la king and mashed potato. For anyone who hasn't done multi day hiking or been in the armed forces, then you probably haven't had the pleasure of eating freeze dried meals. Basically it is a complete meal in a packet comprising of a dried powder that you add boiling water to, stir and then leave to "develop" for ten minutes. You will then have a tasty dinner to eat!! Suffice to say, they are pretty bad..

So we retraced our steps this morning and got a bus back to Te Anau to join the rest of the group. Next stop tomorrow is Queenstown.

Spring time on South Island.. and it's snowing?!

Yes, it really has been snowing. What a shock to my system after six months of largely dry, hot weather!

Actually, when I landed in Christchurch to start the Flying Kiwi tour, it was reasonably sunny. I met up with the bus and the group near the airport. Four of us joined that day, but it is a hop on / hop off type of tour so some people had joined up beforehand. At the moment, we are 20 people - mainly English, and also some Americans and Germans. Ages range from 16 to 60ish, but most people are 20s and 30s and mostly people travelling by themselves. Lots of really nice people. The bus has a trailer attached for the bikes, tents, food and cooking stuff.

The first afternoon was a drive to a camp site near the Rongitata River. The countryside is beautiful (so good to be out of the city) - lots of lush green grass, rolling hills and spring lambs playing. I haven't seen so much green since leaving the UK that's for sure!

First night's camping was okay. Nice and cosy in my sleeping bag, but the wind got stronger and stronger during the night. The noise of your tent flapping in the wind is not entirely conducive to a good nights sleep! However, despite the weather, our white water rafting trip was still set to go ahead that morning. As we drive up the mountain to the put in point, it starts to snow. And I do mean proper settling snow! Who would go rafting in the snow on a glacial river? Well they do in NZ so away we went. It was a battle to maintain circulation in one's feet and hands but the adrenalin of going through the rapids does help. The guide did stress that given the conditions, the aim was definitely to stay in the raft and not flip over. Sadly, it didn't quite work out that way.. On the final grade 5 rapid (the highest grade), it went horribly wrong for our raft as we flipped pretty much as soon as we entered it. Not good when the rapid is around 350m in length, the white water is raging and it is absolutely freezing. Ah well, we lived to tell the tale so it was okay in the end. I don't think my body temperature has ever dropped that low before - very painful trying to regain feeling in my hands which were like blocks of ice.

The plan to bush camp that night near Mount Cook was abandoned given the dreadful weather conditions. More driving snow as we stopped off for a photo stop by Lake Tekapo so we stayed at a proper lodge with nice warm cabins to sleep in. Although some brave souls in the group did still opt for tents - crazy people..

Today we were planning to do a 3 hour hike by Mount Cook but again that wasn't possible - the route was closed due to snow. We found a shorter hike to do instead. So strange tramping through ice and snow and wearing all my cold weather gear - I knew I'd been carrying it around with me for the past six months for a reason. Although it's cold, the weather is better today so hoping to do a cycle ride later into camp on the beach. The scenery so far has been simply stunning. Incredible snow capped mountains, blue / green glacial lakes, etc. Loving NZ!

Arrived in New Zealand

So at last here I am in New Zealand. I did think at one point that I might not actually make it. When I tried to check in for my flight from Sydney to Auckland, they refused to let me because I didn't have a flight out of NZ booked. Mad panic to buy a ticket before check in closed. I am assured that the ticket I bought back to Sydney is fully refundable. I was particularly irked that I had to buy it from Qantas who already owe me money for the cancelled Brisbane flight! I suppose every cloud has a silver lining and mine was that because this made me late checking in, there were no seats left in economy and they had to upgrade me to business class. Never before has this happened to me, although I know lots of people who it seems to happen to all the time. May be the trick is to check in late, but this seems a risky strategy just for the sake of an upgrade. I have to say that apart from the reclining seat and extra leg room, it wasn't really that exciting. It would be good on a long flight but I was only on the plane three hours so it didn't make much difference.

Well, when I landed in Auckland (late at night to wind and rain), I was at least one of the first off the plane - that is the plus side of travelling business class. Did they ask to see my flight ticket out of NZ at immigration?? No. Did they automatically issue me with a six month visa? Yes. Very annoying!!

For the past two nights, I have been staying in possibly one of the most depressing backpacker hostels I have ever stayed in. There is something about large city centre backpackers that I really dislike. May be it is the 500 beds, the windowless rooms, the disinterested staff and the general filth? I will definitely never stay in a "Base Backpackers" again. I stayed in one in Sydney on my last night and it was equally as depressing. The female only "sanctuary" rooms look most appealing on their website. In reality, they are anything but and the towels are most definitely not fluffy as they claim! Small, independent (not chain) backpackers is the way forwards. Or may be I should just treat myself to a hotel room when I am back in Auckland at the end of the month. At least I am now genuinely looking forward to camping again - fresh air, a view, and not being disturbed by fellow room mates.

Auckland seems a bit grey right now. The weather is not great which doesn't help. I did go up the Sky Tower yesterday which was quite good. It is 220m high which is only slightly higher than the bungee jump I did in South Africa. Looking down from the tower yesterday, I really have no idea how I ever did that! You can also do a sky jump from the tower although I didn't take that option. Very expensive and I am saving myself for sky diving..

For the next month, I will be on an organised tour of NZ via the Flying Kiwi bus. The original plan was to start this in Auckland today, but they've asked me to start in Christchurch instead - presumably due to numbers. Anyway, they are paying for return flights to Christchurch and have refunded the cost of my bike hire as an added incentive so that is all good. Hopefully, lots of walking and cycling this month so I will be super fit by the end of it! I fly to Christchurch later on this morning and meet up with the group. I'm told the weather on South Island is very wet right now so camping could be fun?!

New South Wales & Queensland photos

Sydney Harbour Bridge & The Opera House



Bondi Beach, Sydney



The Three Sisters in The Blue Mountains, NSW



Katoomba Falls, The Blue Mountains




Hervey Bay, Queensland



Western Australia photos

Kangaroo and her joey in Yanchep National Park



Koala in Yanchep National Park



Coral Bay



Dolphins at Monkey Mia




Me on Rottnest Island



Fraser Island Photos

75 mile beach



Dingoes




4 wheel drive tracks through the forest (burnt out trees due to a government controlled burn getting very out of control!)



Lake McKenzie



Final days in Oz

Well, the 16 hour bus journey actually wasn't so bad in the end. I got a ticket no problem and it was a lot cheaper than flying, so I guess that's a positive. Not that I have got my money back from Qantas yet as it's impossible to get through to speak to anyone at the moment. The bus wasn't as busy as I thought it might be and by the time I wanted to sleep, I had two seats to myself. The advantage of being short is that I can curl up relatively comfortably on two seats and sleep pretty well!

When I got to Sydney, I had a call from Sue and Bruce (from my Africa trip). They were coming to Sydney later that morning so we met up for lunch and coffee. Lovely to see them after missing out on the Sunday BBQ with everyone. Sue and Bruce have put together the most amazing (and very professional) photobook of our African odyssey so they were also able to give me my copy. It really is a fantastic keepsake to have of our travels. I shall bore you all with it when I'm back in the UK..

My final evening in Australia was spent enjoying a BBQ at Katie and Sean's. I really am very lucky to have met so many lovely people on my travels so far.

My month in Australia is now over and I fly to New Zealand later today (thankfully not with Qantas). A month actually isn't very long in Australia. It really is such a vast country and I've only had time to see a very small part of it. Would certainly like to come back at some point, although I think the way to see the country properly is probably to drive yourself in a camper van so that you don't have to follow the standard backpacker routes. May be some day..

Queensland

From the Blue Mountains, I took the train back to Sydney and then a flight to Brisbane where I stopped off at Chill Backpackers. As always, I carefully selected my backpackers based on its proximity to the transport centres. The one thing I do not enjoy about backpacking is carrying my backpack! Chill Backpackers is not only conveniently situated close to the bus/train station, but it has a great roof terrace with views over the city. It is aptly named because it is nice and friendly, but not too party, party.

Brisbane was only really a stop off before taking the bus up to Hervey Bay, but I thought I should make the most of the few hours I had in the morning and look around the city. Took a walk along the South Bank and through the botanical gardens. All very pretty but I think one of the reasons that Australian cities seem so much nicer than UK ones is that the sun is shining making everything look so much cleaner and brighter.

After that, it was a 5 hour bus ride to Hervey Bay. Another really nice hostel - The Woolshed. Small, family run and not the standard dorm rooms with bunk beds but single beds instead. Well done, Lonely Planet guide book - you definitely got it right with your rating on this one. My only complaint would be that someone stole my left over pizza from the fridge. I should point out that I don't normally eat pizza but I arrived in Hervey Bay too late to contemplate food shopping and cooking so went for the easy takeaway option. As the pizza was huge, I thought I would save half of it for the following night. And yes, I know that is somewhat skanky but I'm a backpacker on a budget, plus after my time in Africa I feel bad about wasting food! Anyway, perhaps it is just as well someone took it as I was saved from eating pizza two days running.

My first day in Hervey Bay was spent on the beach - need to top up that tan as it must have been all of a week since I last sunbathed... I also went to the Vic Hislop shark exhibition place which was interesting. Sharks are big news in Australia at the moment as a diver was killed by one last week, just a couple of weeks after someone else was killed by one in the same area. So there is a lot of debate about what should be done. Some say that there should be some culling of sharks given that they have no natural predators and we are reducing the numbers of all other fish (i.e. their food) thus it becomes more likely they might attack humans. Not sure what I think but it does make you nervous about swimming in the ocean.

The last couple of days have been spent doing a two day one night trip to Fraser Island (just off the coast from Hervey Bay). Fraser Island is quite unique. It's the biggest sand island in the world. There are no roads, just four wheel drive tracks. Driving along 75 mile beach was very cool. No swimming in the ocean here as the rips and undertows are lethal and the waters are shark infested (that is not me being paranoid - they genuinely are!). However, there are lots of gorgeous fresh water lakes and creeks to swim in, along with massive sand dunes and rain forests to explore. Dingoes live on the island. They look like wild dogs but are closely related to the Asian wolf. Definitely a fun couple of days, although the sun didn't put in much of an appearance which was a shame.

Took the bus back to Brisbane today and was supposed to be getting a flight to Sydney tonight. Got on the plane, was about to take off, then Quantas announced the grounding of its entire fleet indefinitely. So I'm currently stranded in Brisbane. Luckily Chill Backpackers has a bed (shame they only have a bed in the slightly more luxourious female only 4 bed dorm - can't say I'm disappointed, it's worth the extra money). Fortunately, I do have until Tuesday to find my way back to Sydney as that's when I fly to New Zealand. That said, I was supposed to be meeting up with a bunch of people from my Africa trip for a reunion BBQ tomorrow so it's really disappointing that I now am not going to be able to make it. I fear I am looking at a very long bus trip back to Sydney as there are zero flights available via other airlines for the next two days. And the Greyhound bus website keeps crashing which probably means that it is also being inundated with ticket sales...challenges, challenges.. However, I refuse to be stressed out by all this and become like some of the people at the airport who were majorly stressed - very entertaining to watch!

The Blue Mountains, New South Wales

The Blue Mountains are just beautiful. I've had a great few days here. They aren't strictly speaking mountains, but more huge sandstone cliffs with dense rainforests below. They are called the Blue Mountains because of the blueish haze that seems to cover the valleys. There are numerous walking trails to do - all very well sign posted making it easy for a tourist like myself. A lot of the walks are cliff top walks, or trails cut into the sides of the cliffs, and lots of steps down into the forests below, cascading waterfalls, etc. I've had quite a few "wow" moments out walking as you turn a corner and are met by a stunning vista. The weather has also been fantastic - lots of sunshine.

On Thursday, I went horse riding in the Megalong Valley, a 20 minute train ride from Katoomba. Saw a red-bellied black snake (poisonous but not normally fatal!) whilst riding and four wombats. When we saw the first wombat, our guide said it was incredibly rare to see them in the day. We subsequently saw another three on the ride so I guess we were lucky.

Yesterday, I went on a full day of abseiling and canyoning. The morning was spent learning how to abseil, starting with a 5m descent, then a 15m and finally a 30m. It is a spectacularly stunning place to abseil once you get over the fear of walking backwards off a cliff and actually look around at the view! In the afternoon, we went canyoning. For those who aren't familiar with canyoning, this basically involves a trek down into a canyon, then walking, clambering, swimming along it, jumping off rocks into deep pools, etc. It is great fun but the water was icy cold even with wet suits on. The finale for the day was abseiling down a 32m waterfall - hence the training in the morning. However, abseiling down a waterfall is a whole different ball game because it is so slippery that it's hard to keep your footing and before long you are hanging on the end of a rope being pounded by water. Because of the sound of the water, you can't hear anything the instructor might be telling you do, so it's time to face your fears and try and remember what you were taught in the morning! Keep letting rope out and descending as quickly as you can seemed to be the best option. I can't say that my descent was in any way stylish but it was a massive adrenalin rush and a brilliant end to a great day. I should also mention that you then have to hike up out of the canyon so at least that warms you up.

Today is Sunday and I've had a day of planning and organising my onward travel plans. The Blue Mountain Backpackers isn't the greatest hostel in the world, but it does have free internet and free laundry - the things you get excited about when you're travelling?! So train back to Sydney tomorrow morning, then a flight to Brisbane. Only an hour and a half but Queensland is a different state and a different time zone. After a night in Brisbane, I will be getting a bus to Hervey Bay and then doing a trip out to Fraser Island for a couple of days. Have also been thinking further ahead about my post New Zealand travel plans. As yet, I only have a flight to NZ booked and nothing beyond that.  So the world is my oyster as it were. My original plan was to then go to SE Asia and India, but as you speak to different people whilst travelling new ideas start to develop in your mind. Am thinking perhaps South America instead. I was going to "save" South America for another trip but my desire to go there is probably greater than my desire to go to Asia so perhaps I should just do it now. It will also give me an incentive to learn Spanish and I'm thinking that I need to start using my brain sooner rather than later. Have downloaded some Spanish language books onto my Kindle so we'll see...

Sydney

Have spent a relaxing few days in Sydney exploring the city on foot and by bus taking in all the sights - the harbour, the bridge, the opera house, the botanical gardens, etc. It is spring time here but the weather is still pretty good - the occasional bit of rain but still hot enough to go to the beach when the sun does come out. Took a ferry across the harbour to Manly yesterday and braved a dip in the ocean at Shelly Beach. The water was seriously cold compared to Western Australia! Katie and I did the Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach coastal walk at the weekend and had a gorgeous breakfast - sweetcorn fritters topped with crispy bacon - Australians are certainly a lot more inventive when it comes to brunch / breakfast than us Brits.

I have to say that I wasn't massively impressed by Bondi Beach. It may be what everyone associates Sydney with but I have been thoroughly spoilt when it comes to beaches over the past few months and it doesn't compare with the white sand and turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. The ocean here is still beautiful but the beaches are so busy - full of surfers - and I have got used to the less crowded beaches in WA and the stunning desolate coastlines in Mozambique and South Africa. Don't get me wrong - if you came to Bondi straight from the UK you would think it was amazing. 

A lovely few days in Sydney was topped off with a cocktail at the top of the Shangri La Hotel yesterday evening (Vic - this is what used to be called the ANA Tower that you recommended as a must do). 36 floors up, the view over Sydney harbour and the rest of the city at night is just stunning.

I'm now in the Blue Mountains - a 2 hour train ride from Sydney - staying in a backpackers in the small town of Katoomba. Walking, horse riding, abseiling and canyoning all lined up for the next few days....

The rest of WA

After Coral Bay, I headed south to the town of Denham and the Shark Bay area of WA. The overnight bus  was an hour late arriving in Coral Bay so it was 1.30am by the time we boarded. Definitely ready for sleep and I was lucky enough to have two seats to myself so I pretty much slept through to the morning when we arrived at the Overlander Roadhouse. Our four wheel drive transfer to Shark Bay was waiting so we headed off. Our driver stopped off at Shell Beach for us to have a look around. Shell Beach is literally a beach of shells (about 5 metres deep) and is quite unique. It was then on to Denham and the Bay Lodge Backpackers. A very quiet little town. There are about 2 million people living in WA but 1.5 million of them live in Perth. Outside of Perth, there is very little. Denham looks like a reasonable size town on the map but in actual fact, it is little more than a couple of streets! I'll be honest - there wasn't a whole lot to do there as many of the tours into the national park area weren't available during my stay. So my first day in Denham was spent relaxing and doing practical stuff like laundry, food shopping and internet.

The next day, I took the free shuttle bus to Monkey Mia. MM is famous for the dolphins that come into the beach each day to be fed by the public. I hadn't really intended to come here as I don't really agree with interfering with nature in this way. However, there wasn't anything else to do in Denham and MM at least has a decent beach. It turned out to be a really good day as there was a good walking trail from MM out into the bush and red sand dunes. I am trying to do more walking and exercise now that I'm in Australia as I spent way too much time in Africa sitting on a truck, eating too much and not exercising. It is starting to catch up with me!

After my walk, I took a catamaran cruise and saw dolphins, dugongs and turtles. The dolphins were bow riding on the boat which was great. I must admit that I had not heard of dugongs before coming to Australia. In case you too are wondering what they are, they are basically sea cows and look like fat brown dolphins without the fins. They feed on sea grass and need to air breath so you see them when they come up to the surface of the ocean. The cruise also included a trip to a pearl farm which was really interesting to see how they create and harvest the pearls.

So that was Denham. It was a very relaxing couple of days as the backpackers was quiet. I had a dorm room to myself which was quite a treat. Funnily enough, there were a couple of Irish guys sharing my kitchen and living area and they too had just finished an overland trip through Africa. So we had fun comparing notes on our respective trips and reminiscing about places.

A horribly early start to get the transfer back to the Overlander Roadhouse (4am!). Four wheel drive vehicles don't have bull bars in Australia - they have "roo bars". The number of dead kangaroos on the road is incredible, although we managed not to hit any. Our driver took great pleasure in running over a wild cat though?! It was an interesting journey as the driver insisted on talking continually (I don't want to talk to people between the hours of 4 and 6am) and sharing his views, most of which were racist, sexist or homophobic. Was glad to get out at the end!

From the Overlander Roadhouse, I took the Greyhound bus back to Perth which took most of Sunday. An old friend from London, Kate, had invited me to stay with her (she moved to Australia several years ago and settled in Perth with her husband, Greg). They live in Scarborough just 10 minutes walk from the beach. Kate and Greg made me so welcome and provided a great base from which to explore Perth further. I spent a whole day wandering around the city. I'm not normally a fan of cities but Perth is lovely. A very compact, clean city with great public transport and friendly people.

One of the best things I did whilst staying in Perth was take the ferry to Rottnest Island. Once there, I hired a bike and spent the day cycling around the island. There are no cars on the island and there are over 60 beaches and bays to explore. Once away from the main settlement, it is easy to find beautiful secluded beaches. The island is famed for its quokkas which look a bit like big rats but they are quite cute. There are also a lot of venomous snakes and I did see one on the side of the road as I was zooming by on my bike. I didn't stop for a closer look! Rottnest Island would be a great place to spend a few days relaxing as you could just go to a different virtually deserted beach every day.

Probably the only bad thing about WA is the risk of being eaten by a Great White Shark. Kate and Greg laughed at me when I mentioned this saying that only one person a year gets killed by a Great White. However, I had also heard that Cottesloe Beach in Perth is renowned for Great White attacks. Lo and behold, the very next day a 64 year old man disappeared whilst on his early morning swim. All that was found were his bathing shorts with shark bite marks on. If I went in the ocean there, I would definitely be a little uneasy and staying very close to shore!

Travelling in Australia is very easy after being in Africa. You can drink the water, there are an abundance of public toilets, decent roads, a wide array of food and drink to choose from, etc... That said, I still prefer the simplicity and wilderness of Africa. Australia is a little too similar to England although people seem more relaxed and the weather is notably better so I can see why so many Brits emigrate here.

My two weeks in WA are now over and I arrived in Sydney yesterday evening. I'm staying with Katie and Sean (from my Africa trip) at their fab apartment right in the centre of the city (Kings Cross). Will venture out shortly but right now I am loving just being in an apartment and relaxing whilst Katie and Sean are at work...

Coral Bay, Western Australia (WA)

Lots to report since my last post..

On Sunday, Jen and Jason took me out for the day. First stop Kings Park in Perth which is a lovely place (bigger than New York's Central Park apparently) with great views back over the city. Then we drove on through the centre of Perth and down to Freemantle (or Freo as Aussies call it because they like to shorten most words) which is a town about 20km south of Perth on the coast. Freemantle is a very laid back place, quite hippyish, lots of street performers, markets, quirky shops, etc. We then took a scenic drive home along the coast past Cottesloe and Scarborough beaches. A lovely day out - thanks for having me to stay guys!

Monday - an early start and a 15 hour bus trip up north to Coral Bay and the Ningaloo Reef. Why so far? Well, I had been trying to decide what to do with my two weeks in WA given it is a vast place and I don't have much time. However, I have always wanted to see manta rays and you are pretty much guaranteed to see them on the Ningaloo Reef so that was my mind made up. I am so used to long travelling days now that 15 hours doesn't seem so bad to me anymore. Lots of time to gaze out of the window and contemplate life. It also gives you the opportunity to see more of a country. What I got from this bus trip is that WA is huge, mostly bush / desert and very few inhabitants. You could drive for miles and miles before you came across a very small settlement or perhaps just a roadhouse (kind of like a service station but on a much smaller scale). The other plus to heading north is that it is warmer since it is only spring time in Perth.

So I arrived in Coral Bay at 11.30pm where I am staying at the backpackers. Coral Bay is simply stunning - beautiful beaches stretching for miles on end and the colour of the water is just amazing - better than anything I came across in Africa. Backpacker life is good. After travelling on an organised trip through Africa, it is quite refreshing to be by myself fixing my own agenda and travel plans. Hostels have definitely gone upmarket since my student travelling days. They are now a lot cleaner and smarter with different dorm options. Since I'm not a student anymore, I really don't want to share a dorm room with lots of random strangers. Most places in Australia seem to offer 4, 6 and 12 bed dorm options so 4 bed dorms for only an extra $2 a night is the way to go... you meet more discerning travellers rather than students on their gap years!

Coral Bay is a tiny place. Basically just one road, a couple of shops, a dive centre, a few restaurants. Sunbathing, walking on the beach, swimming and snorkelling have been my main sources of entertainment for the past few days. Yesterday, I went out on a boat trip and got to snorkel with manta rays three times and do two scuba dives. Seeing mantas was fantastic!!! They are up to 4 metres across from wingtip to wingtip and just glide through the water so gracefully. On the first snorkel, we saw one but it was in quite deep water so it wasn't a clear view. The second time, the manta was more obliging and swam really near the surface so we really got to see the white underside of its belly clearly (they are black on top, white underneath). The spotter plane pilot then called the boat to say they had found four mantas swimming in very shallow water. It was fantastic because the water was crystal clear and only about 4 metres deep so we got to see them so close up and swim along with them for ages. The diving was also great later in the day - beautiful unspoilt coral. The Australian girl I am sharing a dorm with and dived with says that Ningaloo Reef is way better than the Great Barrier Reef, so there you go. If you are going to dive in Australia, come to Ningaloo - it is stunning. The diving does surpass anything I did in Africa and is up there with diving in the Caribbean.

Also worth mentioning is the shark nursery. A walk up the beach and there is a really shallow area where all the little reef sharks gather in schools together to capture fish. You literally just stand on the beach or in the water and the sharks are swimming around just metres away from you. There were about 10 there today but sometimes there are 50+. Very cool to watch!

So now I am playing a waiting game as my bus does not leave until 12.35am tonight - well tomorrow morning technically. Luckily the backpackers are nice enough to let us use their showers and facilities even though we officially checked out this morning. I am heading south to Denham, the most westerly town in WA. The bus journey is around 6 hours to the Overlander Roadhouse. The bus stopped here on the way north for the evening meal break. I have to say that the Overlander Roadhouse is grim - only revolting deep fried food on offer. So I am hoping that the tranfer vehicle onto Denham is ready and waiting because it would be a depressing place to have to spend any length of time! Two other people in my dorm are heading that way too though so at least we will be waiting around together. Plus travelling through the night saves a whole night's accommodation cost. Given Australia is very expensive, that is a plus. Food and drink is almost double UK prices. Even a dorm bed in a backpackers is 15-20 english pounds a night so money doesn't go far here. Probably a good thing I'm only in Australia for a month..

Africa - animal photos

Lion in Samburu NP, Kenya

Silverback gorilla in Uganda

Wildebeest in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania 

Giraffe in Ruaha NP, Tanzania

Elephants crossing the Chobe River, Botswana

Africa photos

Just so people know that I am still alive and haven't changed too much... apart from my hair having gone a lot blonder in the sun

On the way up the Sani Pass to Lesotho

The very official Lesotho border post!

At the top of Table Mountain, Cape Town

Australia!

Just a quick blog update to let those who care know that I have arrived safely in Australia. It was so lovely to be met at Perth airport by Jen and Jason (and kids). After a long flight via Kuala Lumpur, it was awesome to see a friendly face at the other end, get driven home and made a great steak dinner. Not to mention a good gossip and catch up with Jen as it has been several years since we last saw each other (Jen and I used to live together at uni).

Had a great night's sleep and feel remarkably un-jet lagged. My first proper day in Australia and already I have seen kangaroos and koala bears! Jen and Jason are being great hosts and have given me a tour of the surrounding area today. They live in Butler, just north of Perth and about 5 minutes from the beach. Today we've been out and about, including a visit to Yanchep National Park. I am struck by how new, modern and clean everything is about Australia. Most of the houses are very new and the malls and shopping centres the same (quite American in many ways but I know Aussies hate it when they are compared to America!).

Just off to the beach to watch the sunset and enjoy some "coldies" - that is Australian for a cold drink / beer. Luckily, as I've spent the past five months in the company of several Aussies, I am able to understand the lingo fairly well now..

The African Odyssey comes to an end..

As this will be my last blog entry in Africa I feel that I should be writing something deep and meaningful about my time here. Before I think about that though, an update on what I've been up to over the past few days.

After transferring to a backpackers hostel in the centre of the city, Friday in Cape Town was spent lunching on the waterfront and then taking a ferry to Robben Island. Did the touristy tour of the island including a visit to the cell where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for thirty odd years. Not massively impressed with the tour but the ferry ride across to the island gives you a fantastic view of Cape Town and Table Mountain so worth it for that alone.

On Saturday, Rogan, Claire and I went for a beautiful drive along the coast out to Camps Bay and beyond - simply stunning scenery. On returning to Cape Town, we decided to climb up Lions Head which is like a mini version of Table Mountain that still affords spectacular views over the city but its free. It's fair to say that the climb was somewhat tougher than anticipated especially in the midday heat with no water! It was a spontaneous idea so we hadn't really prepared ourselves for a hike. However, it was well worth the effort and it's a fun walk / climb with quite a few ladders and clambering over rocks to actually reach the summit.

Sad times on Saturday night as it was a final dinner with friends from the trip. We went to a Kurdish restaurant which was fantastic, great atmosphere - sitting on cushions, belly dancers and shisha. Since we have spent so many nights around the campfire smoking shisha on this trip, it was only fitting that we went to a restaurant that sold shisha. Cherie, Jase, Claire and Jon - thanks for making this trip awesome - it would not have been the same without you guys..

The past few days have been spent in Kynsna, five hours out of Cape Town. Kynsna is a great place on the coast (we visited it earlier on the trip) that has been voted South Africa's favourite holiday town and one of the world's top 100 destinations. Rogan's family have a holiday home here in a spectacular location overlooking the lagoon. It has been so lovely to spend a few days living in a house after 20 weeks on the road. Have done very little other than go to the beach and walk along the coast.

So it is hard to believe that in just two days time I will be in Australia. I have loved being in Africa and in many ways don't want this section of my travels to come to an end. Africa is an amazing place. I would like to try and record my highlights at this point but there are so many it is hard to know where to start. I probably need to read my own blog to actually remember them all! Beautiful sunsets, starry nights and happy people all stand out. Africa definitely teaches you that you don't need lots of material possessions to be content. It also makes me ashamed of our throwaway society in the UK - nothing ever gets wasted in Africa as someone will have a use for items that you or I might consider worthless.

Well, my next blog post will be from Australia. Next stop - Perth....

The rest of South Africa

I will need to backtrack slightly from my previous blog as I got so carried away with the bungee that I missed a few days before that.

From the Wild Coast, we went to Addo Elephant Park. Amazingly enough, we saw lots of elephants! The most exciting creature that we saw was actually in our campsite and appeared whilst we were cooking chicken. It was a spotted genet (not something that I had heard of before). It looks like a tabby cat with very striking silver and black markings and the longest thickest tail ever. A very cool creature - check out the Odyssey Overland official trip blog if you want to see a picture of one.

From Addo, it was on to the Storms River / Tsitsikamma National Park area where the coastline is rugged and beautiful. Did a good walk along the coast and saw dolphins playing in the surf. Then it was bungee day (see previous post) and after that excitement on to Knysna for a couple of days relaxation. Kynsna is a great holiday town on the coast where we enjoyed meals out and a game of golf (I was shockingly bad but it was fun anyway). We camped just outside of town near The Heads where the cliffs overlook a large lagoon.

Then on to Cape Algulhas which is the southern most point of Africa and where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. Cape Point is not the most southern point as many people believe. Cape Algulhas was windy and wet. We took the obligatory picture of us all and then sought refuge in the pub. Frankly there is little else to do in this town which was borne out by the number of drunk locals in the pub. I imagine the town has a high suicide rate as it would be a depressing place to actually live. Still the locals were so drunk that they kept buying us shots and Man Utd v Chelsea was on the TV so it wasn't all bad!

Next stop was the town of Hermanus which is famed for whale watching and Great White Shark cage diving. As I did the shark experience on my last visit to South Africa, I just enjoyed wandering around Hermanus, shopping and getting my hair cut (in desperate need after over four months on the road). There are so many whales (mostly Southern Right Whales) in the bay of Hermanus and it is an impressive sight, but having just seen so many in Mozambique I think we were not perhaps appreciating them to the extent that we should.

Final stop before Cape Town was the Stellenbosch area - home to numerous vineyards. I should also mention that the drives for the final few days have been incredibly beautiful. Winding ocean roads with huge mountains coming right down to the sea. In Stellenbosch, we visited a couple of vineyards and did some wine tasting followed by a group dinner out - a nice penultimate day to the trip.

Thursday 22nd Sept - the final day. Mixed emotions - obviously sad that this epic journey through Africa has come to an end, but also looking forward to some time out from group travel and truck life. It is over ten years since I last came to South Africa. Cape Town is a very modern city and clearly lots of work was done as a result of them hosting the World Cup last year. However, the shanty towns remain and the startling divide between rich and poor is still there. That said, what a beautiful location for a city right on the edge of the ocean with Table Mountain dominating the background. After checking into our hotel, most of us headed up the cable car to the top of Table Mountain - the view from the top is truly spectacular and we were fortunate that it was a very clear sunny day. Final drinks and goodbyes with everyone last night, although there are a few of us that will be hanging out a little longer together in Cape Town before we go our separate ways..