It was my very first day in Africa, and I was about to embark on my first ever safari. Can you be off to a better start? Although I was staying in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, the destination for the day was the Chobe National Park in Botswana. It’s not that far from Vic Falls to Chobe, but it does include crossing the
As we all know the first day of September is the start of the new school year in Hogwarts. The perfect opportunity to tell you all about the day I travelled on the Hogwarts express. And visited Hogsmeade. And Diagon Alley. All of that happened at a magical place known to the muggles as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando,
Seeing rhinos in Botswana is no easy feat, because they are very rare animals in this country. They are almost extinct, except for one place: the Khama Rhino Sanctuary near Serowe. I spent two nights there during my recent Africa trip to see these beautiful animals. We stayed in a little chalet right in the middle of the Park. As we didn’t have
I never particularly wanted to do white water rafting. When I saw that it was on the itinerary for my Africa trip my first reaction was wondering if it’s too late to chicken out. I was meeting up with a friend and some of her co-volunteers (they’re all Peace Corps) in Livingstone. We were going to travel together for a week. They
When I prepared for my first Africa trip I heard a lot of advice beforehand. Unfortunately, some of it painted a very negative image of this continent. Sure, there are the jealousy-inciting accounts of wildlife encounters and the amazing photos of the landscape. But then, there’s also warnings of crime and tourist-scams, the threat of exotic diseases, and the knowledge that culture shock
Staying in the town Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe for two days, there was no question I had to see the famous falls of the same name. Bad enough it took me two days to do so – not counting the short glimpse I got of them from the plane when flying in. When I finally got around to visiting the falls properly,
I’ve only been back from Africa a few days, and I still haven’t gotten over everything I experienced over there! It was the first time for me to visit that continent, and it was surely something different. I started out at Victoria Falls, then travelled through Botswana and ended up in Johannesburg. While I’m trying to structure all that into some more
I spend a weekend in Edinburgh earlier this month. It was my second visit to this beautiful city after last year’s Scotland trip. It’s so unique, with its many old buildings and the history that surrounds everything. You feel like you’ve been transported through time to a former century. Except for the cars, that is. And there may not have been so
Some years ago I took a trip around Western Australia. It’s a beautiful part of the country. Less crowded than the East coast, and with at least as much to see. I started out in Perth and first set out on a three-day trip down South, and then a ten-day trip in the opposite direction up to Broome. Both tours were organised
The small ship slowly makes its way through the water. The many people on board stroll around the railings, changing from one side to the other. They don’t sit down to enjoy the beautiful weather. Instead, they seem to be looking for something. A feeling of excited restlessness pervades the ship. Then, suddenly, a movement in the water. Someone has spotted it,