Blogs from Africa - page 2779

It’s 2am, and Hilary keeps turning the air conditioning up (or is it down?)… so he can try on his new lightweight thermalater chillfactor coat. We did a city tour in the rain on the open deck of a double decker bus. Very cold here. Winter has just hit. Cape Town is a glorious city, nestled between mountain ranges and stormy seas, where more than four hundred ship wrecks lie waiting for some brave souls to discover them. Great swimming apparently, as an Antarctic current, 9 degrees Celsius, runs through these waters. We were very touched by the story of District 6 and will be visiting the Distric 6 museum tomorrow. The people here are very friendly and relaxed, similar to N.Z. Still feeling disoriented and spaced out by all the travel and sooo happy ... read more

I didn’t make the 2:30pm bus to J-Bay I was originally planning on taking (I was enjoying the Knysna waterfront too much) so I caught one at 4pm instead, which unfortunately meant getting into J-Bay soon after dark. The owner of the hostel I was going to stay at, Jeffrey’s Bay Backpackers, came to fetch me at the bus stop. The hostel is a very cute little place on the downtown end of Jeffrey’s Bay, and they have great facilities - it really feels more like staying in your own house than a hostel. There’s a comfy living room with a satellite t.v., huge kitchen, laundry, and very nice bathrooms with a bathtub! And the owners, Anders and his wife, are super nice. I dropped off my bags and then wanted to head out to get ... read more

Participants returned to field base over the weekend looking tanned and healthy, albeit a little scruffier as another phase took its toll on their expedition kit. There were lots of hugs and kisses as friends reunited to tell tales of the past three weeks and exchange gossip and photos of their time away. With two phases down and just one remaining they are now a hardened bunch and expert fire lighters, porridge makers and long drop constructors. We wave goodbye to five more Explorers who swap expedition for home life and welcome two new faces for the final phase. As before, we hear now from those out in the field who have put pen to paper to share their experiences. Once again, there were enthusiastic responses to the messages sent via the blog, so thanks ... read more

Well hello there folks! Lets recap..when we wrote last, we were looking forwards to our weekend away with Lara (roomie) Kat (i-2-i guru), Mat (i-2-i Oz big Boss) and Erica (Queen Chauffeur!), and also planning our evening out with Lisa and Cliff (Help 2 Read peeps!). Dinner was a great sucess, Lara joined us which was great and the company was very easy going. We went to the Brass Bell in Kalk Bay. The food, as always, was fantastic and in the interlude between dinner and mains, we were treated to a display of insanity like never before witnessed! (And it wasn't by either of us!!!) The waves were enormous...crashing over the top of the wave barrier, and earlier that afternoon the alarm had been raised as someone had spotted a 4metre long great white ... read more

Today, after a lovely buffet breakfast at our hotel, we headed out to see the Great Pyramids. Our first stop was at the Pyramids themselves. These things really are quite spectacular, very . . . big. Didn't go in one, apparently you have to get there very early to do so and buy a special ticket. The most memorable thing about this visit was the swarms of vendors that accost you the whole time you are in the area. Make eye contact with one and they will follow you for 10 minutes. Take anything they hand you and they won't accept it back. Shake their hand and they'll put goods on your arm. Of course, Dad gets in a long conversation with one - picture attached. No sir, we are not going to walk over ... read more