Brian Johnson
Well, some years ago I caught the travel bug. So every now and then, I leave the farm behind and head off in search of new adventures, immerse myself in different culture's, discover ancient history, and experience every day life in another land. That Pic is me at the World Cup 7's in Hong Kong March 2005 - AWESOME event.BJ
Hmmmmmm.....it's been a couple years since I accessed this blog! But that doesn't mean to say I haven't been on a plane. In 2006, I took a trip with my girlfriend across to England for my bro's wedding. Mangaed to make stops in Disneyland LA, Toronto, Brussels, Croatia, Rome, and Fiji to catch up with a number of friends and catch the sights of a couple new places I hadn't been to before.
We are gearing up for a trip to Africa in June 07 so stay tuned.....I might have to record the adventures......
Travel Blog Posts
July 6th 2007
After customs?? (aren't we still in Tanzania?), we were lead to our hostel for the night by a local tour guide, and made arrangements to do a spice tour the next day and then head north to Nungwi Beach. The hostel was comfortable (hot shower), and set in a great location for exploring the narrow winding streets of Stonetown. 1st stop was a water front restaurant for a late lunch where the food was good and cheap. We then wandered aimlessly admiring the canvas paintings, carvings, bracelets etc in every store. Eventually we hit the markets which was Kra-zeeee. Anything and everything was offered for sale, and we even passed through the meat and fish market... complete with the flies! Mmm mmmmm. The Spice tour was very interesting as it started in town viewing a couple ... read more
July 6th 2007
And the wheels of the truck go round and round..... Long travel days as we head for Dar es Salaam - the gateway to Zanzibar. The roads are very dodgy and not conducive to fast speeds. However truck drivers haven't figured that out yet and on our 1st day we passed by 6 accident sites where the trucks lay where they crashed. Tanzania seems to be a diverse country with better agricultural systems in place than previous countries travelled through. We saw plantations of tea for as far as we could see, Banana, pineapple, barley, sunflower, forestry, all in great quantity, and the list goes on. The women in the 1st village we passed through had changed from carrying water, wood on their heads to carrying huge bunches of banana or pineapple....with the baby strapped to ... read more
July 6th 2007
Well, here we are back at a computer...... Last week was spent travelling through Malawi. The 1st day/night was at Blantyre -a big city where we needed to restock the truck with provisions and obtain the local currency from a bank. Doogles Campsite was a pretty good place to spend the night right in the city but next time we'll check the dorm conditions before opting for a bed over our tent!!!!! Live and learn. The next 5 nights were spent on the shore of Lake Malawi - 1st stop Senga Bay. 2nd stop was Kandi Beach and final stop was Chitimba Beach. Not a lot to do in these places but the campsites offered a safe sanctuary from the locals harassing us to buy their curios or the kids asking for money or pens ... read more
June 25th 2007
It's a long road trip, so we stopped for another night at Tete in Mozambique. The roads are pretty bumpy and customs very slow..... Here's a few photo's anyway........ read more
June 25th 2007
Not much to say about this city. Next destination is Malawi but it's a long drive from Gweru so we stopped off for a night in the capital city. It was certainly interesting driving through, and wondered why soo many police checks along the way - later found out a planned assasination of President Mugabe was foiled.....exciting stuff. The main mode of transport around these parts is foot or bicycle as petrol is unaffordable for the majority. It is also possible to hitch a ride on the back of a truck or ute. People line the sides of the roads trying to sell what little produce they grow to support families. Inflation is terribly out of control and in the one week we were here, some everyday common products rose 300% alone. It is certainly ... read more
June 25th 2007
We moved onto Antelope Park which is high on the plateau and very cold at night and fairly cold during the day! This place was set up in the 70's as a lion breeding program to re-introduce lions back into the wild as their numbers slowly dwindle. Set on 33000 acres complete with a lake and all forms of wildlife it is truely a great spot to camp for a week in the summer. They also raise elephants here along with a number of other projects. The main higlight here for us was to go out on their night time lion stalk. This is where the lions are taken out to hunt naturally and armed with spotlights we got to see the 3 lions in action and successfully catch an impala for dinner. The whole ... read more
June 25th 2007
Well, here we are back in a country with no power cuts so we can use internet again. Zimbabwe had many power problems and we've spent the past week having cold showers and early nights...... The Kumuka Tour started with 2 days at the Vic Falls which seemed to drag as we had pretty much seen all we wanted in the 1st week. We did do a sunset cruise on teh upper zambezi though which was pretty cool. Only saw a few hippos and a croc but the sunset was spectacular. Also paid another visit to the markets for last minute bargaining, and just so happened to bump into another traveller from good ol' T/A. There is only 5 of us on the trip plus 2 crew - Mick & Deb and Alex (from Auzzie), ... read more
June 14th 2007
Day trip to Chobe Africa » Botswana » Chobe National Park By BJ June 14th 2007 Brian Johnson On Tuesday we headed over the border to Botswana on an organised tour to visit the Chobe where elephants are supposedly in the greatest number than any other part of Africa. After an hour's drive and border formalities we started a cruise down the Chobe River. The area is rich in bird life but it was the big animals we came to see. No sign of elephants but we meandered gently past many hippo's and croc's in the water, and saw plently of other wildlife on the shore. It was on our way back that we caught our 1st elephant sighting.....one of many. After lunch we set off on... read more
June 14th 2007
After an arduous flight we finally arrived at the Vic Falls. It might be winter here but the days are sunny and hot. We have adapted well to the laid back atmosphere created at Lokuthula Lodge where we are based for this 1st week. It is set in the Vic Falls National Park and the main bar/ restaurant overlooks a water hole which is frequented by the animals. We have been fortunate to observe buffalo, elephant, hyena, impala, kudu, and a variety of birds. It's certainly a great spot to wish the day away with a drink or two. We went to see the infamous falls, but unfortunately the volume of water is at it's peak so the mist (or rain drops) ruined any chance of great photos. Not to be beaten we took to ... read more
June 28th 2005
The biggest difference between Lima and the rest of the places we've visited is the lack of sunshine and clear blue sky! Located on the coast, Lima is shrouded by a melancholy coastal fog. But at least it doesn't rain, and it is fairly warm although the locals seem to think I look out of place in shorts and t-shirt. Just one day here, so we headed into central Lima from our hostel in Miraflores, and wandered about the pedestrian st between plaza de Armas and Plaza San Martin. It's lined with shops, food places and old buildings. We also visited the Monasterio de San Franciso, famous for it's catacombs. Approximately 70,000 burials took place beneath the floor in special tombs up until 1808, but when discovered years later, bones were rearranged and just piled up ... read more
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