Caroline and Margo were chatting in the room next door early in the morning. That was a bit strange to me (for reasons that I can’t fathom) and I woke up with a sneaking suspicion that we were supposed to be somewhere. I had a moment of selflessness the night before and buried my watch underneath some clothes. Along with that moment, I had a lapse in judgement by letting Lisa set her alarm to wake us up half an hour before meeting with Dan at 7:15am. It was seven. I leaned over between the beds and tapped madly on Lisa’s [View Full Entry]

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Unfortunately for the last few days Lisa has been waking up at 6:30am and it is all my fault. My wristwatch alarm has been permanently locked in at 6:30, well 6:24 but let’s not split hairs. I guess I could have smothered it at the bottom of my backpack but where would the fun be in that? Today was one day I wanted to be up early, voluntarily. Prague in summer is just a step shy of an amusement park during school holidays. The beauty of Charles bridge would be lost in a sea of daypacks and scantily clad tourists drenched [View Full Entry]

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Enroute to the Heart of Bohemia with Child There is something about watching people just wander across train tracks with their bags, children and dog in tow that makes you realise you are in a country where the concept of 'safety' is more in tune with Darwinsim then with 'potential litigation'. If you get hit by a lurching rusty train, then you probably deserve to die for the sake of the gene pool. Train traffic at Cesky Krumlov is relatively infrequent, missing, slow or any combination of the above. "So what do we need to know about Prague?" Lisa asked Dan. [View Full Entry]

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Good Morning Cesky Bears There is nothing like wanting to avoid the crowds to make you jump out of bed early in the morning on your holidays. My first priority (after caffeine that is) was to climb Cesky Tower for the morning view of the UNESCO Heritage listed town. The town was already basked in early morning sun and in the pit of my tummy, I knew today was going to be a wonderful carefree day. The Cesky Castle bears thought so too as they were padding around their humble moat from one side, under the bridge and out to the [View Full Entry]

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“Uh, I cannot find your breakfast, she says she has left out breakfast, but I cannot find it. I am so sorry. So sorry, sorry,” he repeated while pacing back and forth. Lisa and I both tried to interrupt his rapid apology and calm him down. “Let me look again, uh you, um, you um…” he did a three sixty degree turn and held up his hands, looking around again before Lisa and I told him we were more than comfortable sitting where we were. “Juice? Coffee? Tea?” he offered in way of compensation. “Coffee,” I said. “Juice,” Lisa rep [View Full Entry]

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I’ll be honest. I have tried to write about this particular day for the past month. I have looked at it from every angle and toyed with different styles, trying to think of different emotions I would like to evoke in you. I wanted today to have some meaning for me which I can share to you in some profound way whether it be a childhood dream realised or a small stepping stone to some greater understanding of myself or the world’s existence. Do I want to create profound inspiration or inspire through laughter and funny stories? Do I make [View Full Entry]

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Memorable Giant Weiner Schnitzels. When a backpack similar to mine was frustratingly dumped on the floor and a weary traveller plunked down into the padded airport seat next to me, two thoughts crossed my mind. The first “Why on earth haven’t you checked your backpack in?” and the second, “Bet she’s on the same Intrepid trip as I am”. She was wearing comfortable clothing, hiking boots, had a backpack; albeit not checked in and looked tired. All signs of a young backpacker. I refrained from asking her if she was on the same tri [View Full Entry]

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Johannesburg take... five? Twenty-five percent of South Africa’s Police Force is illiterate and as luck would have it, one of them pulled us over with an over-inflated sense of importance. “Can I see your license?” Derick pulls out his license. “You cannot drive this truck, wrong license,” he says. Incensed, Derick took a deep breath and asked why. After all for over three years now, Drifters have issued him this license to drive their trucks without problems. “Because sis truck is modified, it seyz that you cannot drive sis truck,” the s [View Full Entry]

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Chasing a Prehistoric Animal. The most passionate, remarkable and interesting man I have ever met is a six foot three chain smoking Zimbabwean who runs after rhinos in a pair of worn out tevas. He was waiting for me at the bottom of the boulders, jeep idling and the only seat available, right next to him. “Take the front seat, I don’t like to be a chauffer,” he instructed with a grin behind a pair of 80’s style gold rimmed brown lens glasses, secured with a chain around his neck. He puffed on a Peter Stuyvesant as he drove us to [View Full Entry]

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Hwange - The Express Version ‘They are going to die eating a Whimpy burger in Vic Falls,” Derick commented as he saw the Norwegians head into a dilapidated Whimpy outlet. I am certain the residual gin will kill any bacteria and or parasite that are hibernating in a limp Whimpy burger. We drove out of Vic Falls with a truckload of very sore tourists. Alex hung his head out of the window and Hendrik was waving an arm outside for some reason I couldn’t fathom. Albert looked incredibly washed out and relegated himself to the back seats to try and sober [View Full Entry]

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