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December 3rd 2007
On Sunday 2 December 2007 I landed on Planet South Africa. It is a friendly planet but feels very alien in many ways. Its 13% white population seem to speak a language not unlike English and mostly seem to drive large 4WD or Mercedes cars. Its black population seem to be often poor and many live in unbelievably large sprawling shanty towns or townships away from the white dominated central parts of many cities. Tom and I have been here nearly two weeks and we are having a truly wonderful time . Yet I am still experiencing the most intense culture shock. We have travelled from Durban to the mountain kingdom of Lesotho via the Sani Pass and sheared sheep in cold temperatures with Lesothan sheep shearers who seem strangely out of place in a climate ... read more
Swaziland 100% Positive - The Bicycle Safari
Published: December 18th 2007Africa » Swaziland » Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary
December 3rd 2007
Out of the 47 countries in the world which I have visited, the tiny Kingdom of Swaziland has to rate in my top 5. It is a fascinating mix of relatively wealthy whites and a few middle class blacks, and many fairly poor blacks and feels very friendly and relaxed. It is green and very beautiful and has influences from South Africa in its lifestyle and supermarket culture. It feels quite wealthy after countries such as Malawi. Unfortunately up to 40% of its population is reported to be HIV positive but in spite of this horrendous statistic and a very low average life expectancy, most Swazilanders seems cheerful, optimistic and friendly. Tom and I stayed at a great backpacker hostel called Legends which was very friendly and welcoming. We hired bicycles and cycled a fair old ... read more
November 26th 2007
I like to spend some time in Mozambique The sunny sky is aqua blue And all the couples dancing cheek to cheek. It's very nice to stay a week or two. (Bob Dylan on the album Desire) Well my dear friends, Tom and I have spent a week (or two) in Mozambique and I am glad to say Bob Dylan, the greatest living American, has got it right, at least in part. It is hard to know where to start. We did some of the most amazing deep sea diving off Tofo Beach and swam with dolphins and saw humpback whales. We saw honeycomb moray eels and some amazingly beautiful fish. We saw lion fish, octopus and giant manta rays and many, many more. Tom and I did three dives together which was a wonderful experience ... read more
November 14th 2007
Dear Blog readers It has been a long time between blogs. Tom and I have been on the islands of Chizumulu and Likoma on Lake Malawi for the last week or so. I will attempt to fill in the gaps since my last entry. Since cavorting with the elephants in the Serengeti much water has passed under the proverbial bridge. As I write I am in the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe which feels like a big city after chilling out on the islands but is in fact not very big at all when compared with London or New York. We travelled from Dar Es Salaam to Nkhata Bay in Malawi on a variety of buses and minibuses. It was wonderful to reach Butterfly Lodge in Nkhata Bay for it was here that we met Aili and ... read more
What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be an elephant!
Published: October 29th 2007Africa » Tanzania » North » Serengeti National Park
October 29th 2007
When I was a child of 4 years old I caused much hilarity to my parents and other rellies by answering the question, 'what do you want to be when you grow up?' with a very honest 'I want to be an elephant!' Well this week I almost got my wish. I certainly got the next best thing which was to be close to my spiritual brothers although I think their memories are superior to mine. For the past 5 days I have been on safari and have probably rubbed shoulders (almost literally) with a good 200 elephants. Tom and I have visited Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Nogorongoro Crater and Tarangire Safari Parks here in Tanzania and have seen more animals in their home than I would have believed possible. In fact, I had an overwhelming sensation ... read more
Life's a beach and then you die.
Published: October 20th 2007Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City
October 20th 2007
In the words of the Buddha 'all life is suffering'. I can confirm this as I return to Stonetown, Zanzibar after a week on Zanzibar's northern beaches which fulfil every promise made and more. Tom and I have snorkelled, swum with turtles and generally had the life of Riley this week. Who is Riley anyway? Please forgive my novice attempt at this blog. I am literally learning as I type and hopefully I will improve providing I can remember from one session to the next how to do it. After two weeks in Bangkok where I got new dentures for 5 bob, I arrived in Dar Es Salaam (Place of Peace), the main commercial city and port in Tanzania last week on Tuesday to be met by Tom. We had a couple of days in Dar ... read more
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