I will be hopping in the Tardis soon to head back east towards home, but on the way I have had an exciting few days taking a detour to the sands of the Sahara desert in Tunisia. Sand to see for miles, salt plains, olive trees, sand, date palms, more than one oasis (what is the plural for that anyway- oasiss, oases, oasis's?????), naturals springs and waterfalls, a ride on a camel, markets, shisha pipes, apple tea, sand, mint tea, roman ruins, old berber towns, old WW2 tanks and jeeps left behind. Did I mention lots of sand, fantastic food, some [View Full Entry]

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Today checked out the town of Tozeur and some of the ancient berber villages which are set amongst beautiful Mountain Oasis settings near Tozeur. Chebika is really pretty with a narrow gorge with Waterfalls and a spring and also has fantastic views across the Oasis. The old walled town of Tamerza in the Mountains has a great rugged setting and is one of the most photographed in Tunisia. Mides is known for its stunning gorges thorugh the mountains and has been used as a movie set for vairous movies such as the English Patient and Star Wars. You can walk through [View Full Entry]

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Star Wars set "Mos Espa' in the middle of the desert near Chot El Jerrid [View Full Entry]

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On the road again.......big day today, drove from Matmata, thought some rugged mountain ranges and some beautiful scenery, with our first stop in a small town called Tamazret, cute little village atop a mountain awash with the early, morning sunlight, very pretty indeed! Next Stop the bigger town of Douz, which is served qs an entry point for tours into the Sahara. Visited the Souq or Medina which was so laid back and friendly, some great people watching, old men sitting on the ground having a chat, or walking around the streets, stopping for a chat at every opportunity. Even saying [View Full Entry]

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Destination today was Matmata, we stopped in Toujene which is a picturesque little whitewashed village in the mountains, just typical village life. Then drove onto Tijma where we were welcomed into a Troglodyte home (a circular courtyard cut out below the earth and rooms coming off the courtyard), where the couple served us Berber Bread and olive oil and Tea. It was pretty cool being dug out of the ground like that and we can see why as it is much cooler! Next into Matmata to see the famed Sidi Driss Hotel - Lars Homestead in Star Wars films (which was [View Full Entry]

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Today we were both excited as we left Tataouine for our drive to Ksar Ghilane which is a small Oasis on the Edge of the Sahara in an area of the dunes called the Grand Erg Oriental. It was approx 2 and half hour off road 4 x 4 haul to get there but with some facinating desolate scenery. Every now and again we would see a bloke walking along - in the middle of nowhere, probably looking for his camels! At Ksar Ghilane we were escorted to our A\C tent at the Pansea Hotel. It was pretty cool staying on [View Full Entry]

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G'Day! Up early to enjoy the sights before the sun gets too hot! First stop was the huge Ksar Ouled Debbab, which is currently being done restored and the back part is being made into a 5 star hotel (it will be a fantastic place to stay once finished) It is perched on a low hill and has incredible views with a great restaurant and cafe to just relax and enjoy a sheeshah or cafe olé. Visited the Museum which is at the entrance to the Ksar, the restoration work is great as it gives a different perspective ie. how it [View Full Entry]

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As-salam 'alaykum! (a little Arabic for ya aka G'Day) Today we left Djerba headed to Tataouine, very excited as the photo's of this region are what made us decide on coming to Tunisia! We are entering the Ksour Region. First stop was Medenine which was pretty cool saw the ghorfas, although it rained when we arrived (not expected when so close to the Sahara!) but it didn't damper our enthusiasm. Climbed up onto the rooftops of the Ksar then headed off again on the road to Ksar Haddad which is another of the Ksour in the Tataouine. This was also made [View Full Entry]

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Bonjour! Today we left Tunis for our big drive down to Djerba via El Jem, which is a big old colosseum 138m x 114m approx and 30m high and was the film set for Gladiator, seated 30,000 people in its hay day! Pretty incredible actually....also was where Amazing Race teams had to collect a clue so would be famimiar to those Amazing Race fans out there!! We headed off to Djerba via Gabes, which was nothing exciting, walked through their souq, lots of baskets in this region and also spices, but we were not up for a purchase of either of [View Full Entry]

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Woke up to a yummy breakfast, pastries, breads, coffee etc. Went off to get our driver sorted for the rest of our travels around Tunisia after an eventful morning of trying to get money out of the teller machines. Then off to Carthage to see the ancient crumblies! Straight to the Antonine Baths on the Mediterranean Sea and then up to Byrsa Hill to see the Cathage Museum and Ancient Forum ruins. We then caught a taxi to Sidi Bou Said, which is a small village on the top of a hill overlooking the Sea. It is famous for its Whitewashed [View Full Entry]

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