Travel Rob - Rob Thomson

This journal is a place to record my travels and the adventures along the way. It may not get updated all that often since it depends on my a) finding an Internet Cafe or other connection, b) the connection speed and/or state of the equipment involved, and c) feeling like making use of it at the time. Time will tell.

I have travelled in Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East but my principle love is Africa. From the moment I first set foot there in 2004 I fell completely and utterly in love with the place. I feel very much as if I have left a piece of my heart there and I have to keep returning. As I write these words I have now travelled through seven African countries from Kenya in the north to South Africa and all of them I wish to revisit. There are also many, many more new places to see...

Comments and suggestions are encouraged, and indeed, deeply appreciated, but I may not always be able to respond quickly.

I prefer doing things myself - truly independent travel, i.e. me, plus a guide book, plus whatever transport I can find at the time. This year I'm taking my tent for the first time, and even more than ever, I'm not going to know where I'm going until I get there.

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Joined on: June 25th 2007
Last Login: July 19th 2008

Blog Entries: 12
Photos: 18

TB Code: [blogger=41683]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Travel-Rob, order by Date newest first.

By Travel Rob
July 19th 2008

Quick update

Africa » Namibia » Windhoek

I'm afraid that this isn't really one of my usual entries, but just a real quick update about where I am and what I'm up to. First off an apology; the email address I had set up with travelblog has been having problems for the last few months so I haven't got any recent messages. I've set up a new one now, so future communications should get through. I've just had a short holiday (18 days) in the UK. It used to be that the leaving the UK meant going on holiday for me, but these days it's the other way [View Full Entry]

By Travel Rob
May 15th 2008

Saving the wild cheetahs - part 1

Africa » Namibia » Waterberg

Cheetah female
An orphaned female cheetah living at the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia.

I’ve spent the last six weeks volunteering for the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia. I’ve had a fantastic time so far, and the best part is that I’ll be here for six more weeks as well. CCF was founded in 1990 by American born Dr Laurie Marker and in the decades since has made one of the greatest single contributions to the future survival of the wild cheetah population of Africa. In 1900 there were around 100,000 cheetahs in the wild, but the twentieth century saw a sharp decline in their numbers due to the pressures of an expanding human [View Full Entry]

By Travel Rob
March 16th 2008

Gaborone is...

Africa » Botswana » South-East » Gaborone

Gaborone Mall

Gaborone is an odd city. It was built from scratch as a capital, but despite it’s modern origins, it seems to have sprung up with little forethought or planning. The land area that it covers is vast, and long taxi or combi rides are needed to get anywhere. Much of the population live in the widely dispersed suburbs, now organised into numbered ‘blocks’ some of which are themselves as large as small towns. Dividing these blocks are major highways that cross each other at great ‘circles’ (the local name for roundabouts). In theory, all the streets have names. In practice though, [View Full Entry]

By Travel Rob
March 9th 2008

People, people, everywhere...

Africa » Botswana » South-East » Gaborone

As I've mentioned in previous entries, I've stayed in pretty much every type of accomodation there is to be found during my African travels. I've lived in converted stables, family homes, mud huts, luxery lodges & hotels, plus most things in between. During that time, I've met a great many of my fellow travellers, and it really is amazing what a melting pot Africa is these days. Almost uniformly however, the most interesting people to be found are staying in amongst the cheapest accomodations. In the luxery lodges and the big hotels, all I seem to encounter are rich Americans on [View Full Entry]

By Travel Rob
March 6th 2008

Maun and the Old Bridge

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Maun

I arrived in Maun on February 26th with the intention of staying four or five nights. Eight days later I finally dragged myself away with great reluctance to continue my journey south. If it were not for the fact that I have to be in Gaborone by Friday I'd certainly have stayed longer. In Maun I found a true home from home in the shape of the Old Bridge Backpackers. In four years of travels through nine African countries I have stayed in expensive hotels, flea pit hotels, tents, mud huts, tin shacks, the floor of a landrover and a miscellany [View Full Entry]

By Travel Rob
February 29th 2008

Out on the water in deepest Botswana.

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Maun

Early on Wednesday morning a small group set out from the wonderful Old Bridge Backpackers in Maun, Botswana. We were bound for the Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta. The Okavango River empties not into the sea, but instead into the Kalahari desert and is home to an amazing collection of wildlife including over 400 species of birds. We took a high-speed motor lauch to the edge of the protected area and there transferred to Mokoros. These traditional fishing boats can seat two people in relative comfort, while the boatman poles them through the reeds, much like an Oxford punt. [View Full Entry]

By Travel Rob
February 25th 2008

A Shoestring for each foot...

Africa » Zimbabwe » Victoria Falls

This morning I walked over the border from Zimbabwe to Botswana, and then caught a local bus into Kasane. Over the river I can see Namibia, but it will be weeks yet before I set foot there. I flew into Johannesburg last Tuesday, and stayed overnight at my favourite local hostel; Shoestrings. It's located close to the airport, in an area safe enough to walk about in, and the owners offer free pickups to and from the airport. There are a remarkable number of private rooms and dorm beds, plus a rather nice little pool in the back garden. The owner [View Full Entry]

By Travel Rob
November 29th 2007

Roaming the Streets of Nairobi

Africa » Kenya » Nairobi Province » Nairobi

rtp074-0889
The railway yards.

I spent the day wondering around Central Nairobi and am safely back in my hotel with no harm done. It can be done, but there is no doubt you have to be wary. Anyone spontaneously wanting to talk to you is after money, and there are some streets to stay well clear of, although those east of Moi Avenue seem to be generally safer. I'm staying in the aptly named Comfort Hotel. It is pleasant, with excellent staff, good security, reasonable prices, and a twenty-four hour restaurant on the first floor. Internet access is a little pricey at about 1GBP an [View Full Entry]

By Travel Rob
November 27th 2007

Preserved Parking

Africa » Kenya » Nyanza Province » Kisumu

Kisumu rests on the shore of Lake Victoria, the largest fresh-water lake in Africa. Once called Port Florence, after the wife of the chief engineer that completed the railway from the coast, it is now a bustling, friendly town. Men or women, locals or foreigners, can walk in perfect safety, day or night here. The only hazard is the potholes, mostly in the pavements, where surface slabs have collapsed into the subterranean drainage systems. I saw one partcularly huge gash today that plunged over ten feet down and was more than twice that in length! I'm not sure I'd want to [View Full Entry]

By Travel Rob
November 23rd 2007

Adventures in the Maasai Mara (pt 2)

Africa » Kenya » Rift Valley Province » Masai Mara NP

My last day in the Mara started with an early morning game drive, supposedly to catch the predators still out hunting. The Maasai guards and cooks at the camp helped push start the landrover, since no garage had been open when we got back last night, and we were off. Still no leopards or cheetah, but we did see a group of Spotted Hyena! The Mara population contains animals much larger than anywhere else in the world and a research team is in the reserve to try and establish why. They certainly looked impressive. There were not many other vehicles about, [View Full Entry]

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