http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Si-and-Jess---2009-RTW-adventure/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Si and Jess 2009 RTW adventure en-us Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:46:02 +0000 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:46:02 +0000 Bula There's a word which Kiwis tend to often overuse 'awesome'. However there have been times on our travels where the word can be used wholely appropriately. After arriving in Fiji I was already missing New Zealand not only for its scenery that really was genuinely awesome but also the freedom of our campervan home that let us go where and whenever we liked. For the first 4 days of our ti http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/blog-424948.html Kia Ora What a fantastic new world of adventure we've discovered Luckily we've been largely blessed with good sunny weather having really only had two miserable days over the last three weeks that's better than your average English summer ain't it. The scenery has been incredible even better with the winter's snow and the list of things to do endless so we've got a fair bit of catchin' u http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Christchurch/blog-418374.html Hello again is the weather still nice over there We've ended up driving 4163 miles over a 1000 miles a week between and around Melbourne to Cairns settling into fine sunny dry weather by the second half of our journey and now via a 4hr flight have been put back right where we started or so it seems Auckland like Melbourne can't make up its mind between being sunny and overcast or wet http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Paihia/blog-415966.html Pleased to say the weather has got a lot better here Another example of how huge this country is and how far we've come it may have been cold and wet in Victoria but here in Queensland we've had perfect sunny blue skies with temperatures now in the very comfortable midtwenties Upon leaving Coff's Harbour we came across one of Australia's icons a 'big' icon Australia is famous for its 'big http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Airlie-Beach/blog-413602.html G'day How's sunny England Melbourne was a bit of a shock to the system. There I was thinking 'it's Australia it can't get that cold' going out in just a tshirt and hoody and later returning to the hostel to grab my jacket hat and gloves Apparently they had just been hit by a particularly cold spell plus the on and off rain made matters worse. Melbourne is a great city though despite lacki http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Coffs-Harbour/blog-409983.html Sawatdii Khrap We've been loving Thailand over the last three weeks experiencing a new culture and way of life. To sum up in as little words as possible... elephants temples Buddhas snakes shakes rice noodles tuktuks songthaews jungles waterfalls ladyboys monkeys markets monks massages beautiful beaches geckos....Following on from the River Kwai we spent the next day relaxing a http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/CBD/blog-402939.html Hello from steamy Thailand Yes it's very hot here 29 degrees and its sticky heat not like the hot dry heat of most of Africa and far removed from the changing weather of Cape Town which was a bit like a British summer all but a relatively good one. It's also the wet season here however when it rains it only pours for a short time then clears up. Most of the transport and the hotels have ai http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Western-Thailand/Kanchanaburi/blog-399931.html Our time in Africa has sadly come to an end so I thought I'd finish this chapter of our travels before we fly to Thailand on Saturday 16th to experience a whole different culture and new array of experiences As you may know by now we have been spending Monday to Fridays volunteering in Hout Bay about 15 minutes from Cape Town where we are living at the primary high school and township co http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Cape-Town/blog-398967.html We were up early for our first day at school. I was a little nervous and if Si was then he didnt show it. Our first job was to help the little ones 56 yrs with extra literacy work. This consisted of reading with them and talking through various lettercolour books and talking about items from containers all beginning with the same letter. Naturally the kids were most excited and tickled by the http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Cape-Town/blog-396244.html Wow done so much since last wrote btw sorry last blog has only just been published from Namibia wouldn't work before. In summary we've stroked cheetahs gone canoeing winetasting and quadbiked over dunes and walked and rode horses in the Namib Desert and I've sandboarded gone karting abseiled and jumped out of a plane from 10000ftFrom where we last left off first went to Cheetah Park whe http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Cape-Town/blog-393536.html Ok back to the blog got to be quick as limited on time will post some more photos as soon as we get enough time it takes an age probably won't be until Swakopmund at the weekend.Anyway back to last Thursday we were taken by Mokoros into the Okavango Delta where we slept out for the next couple of nights. A Mokoro is a specially designed dug out canoe from an eighty year old sausage tree whic http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Cheetah-Park/blog-390853.html On Monday we started our 3 week southern Africa overland tour and left Victoria Falls for Chobe National Park. We are now travelling via overland truck with a group of 19 1 other english 3 dutch 2 spanish 2 american 1 romanian and 8 australian most of whom are around our age however the americans are in their 70s We also have a Kenyan crew consisting of a tour leader driver and a cook. We http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Maun/blog-388733.html The last 4 days have been amazingOn Thursday morning we started our 3 day Hwange experience. Hwange is Zimbabwe's largest national park. We arrived at the travel agent meeting point at 845 to find we were the only 2 people on this trip. We were previously surprised by the lack of tourists around Victoria Falls and it is evermore apparent that the bad political state of the country is putting off http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zimbabwe/Victoria-Falls/blog-387687.html Hello EnglandWe arrived today in Victoria Falls after a 11 hour flight first to Jo'Burg then a 2 hour flight transfer. Was shattered when first arrived but after hour kip went a stroll to meet the local wildlife the first of which were Wild Boar These were actually wild ones though not like those being served on The Vine menu Lots of monkeys also we were told to keep windows shut to stop the http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zimbabwe/Victoria-Falls/blog-386809.html Thanks to everyone who came to our surprise shock leavers party last Friday was great to see everyone and we were left touched by all the great friends we have. Special thanks to Abbie and Paul for organising it between them. Also thanks to Mojo Risin' for setting up the gear for a farewell performance also really enjoyed last gig private 40th birthday I had before we go the following night http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/West-Midlands/Stourbridge/blog-384461.html