Last time I came to France I ran away. Literally. At least from the luggage dropoff point to the departure gate at Charles de Gaulle Airport, not even stopping to retie the shoelaces flapping in all directions. Two days earlier I had arrived back at the hotel to find my passports and wallet hadn't. The next day was spent doing the rounds of embassy/police/lost and found (or as in my case, lost and not found). True to their word the staff at the New Zealand embassy had my emergency passport waiting for me the next morning, which I signed for before [View Full Entry]

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The '80s and '90s were a tough time for the Medellin tourist board, with the city's murder and kidnapping rates during that period being some of the highest in the world. Pablo Escobar's cocaine cartel, engaged in a bloody war with both its main rival in Cali and the Colombian government, had made their leader's name synonymous with the city. $10 assassins riding on the backs of motorbikes were so common at one stage that the government banned pillion passengers. Foreigners on the streets were likely to be assumed to be DEA. A decade later, though, Medellin has made determined efforts [View Full Entry]

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Our Thanksgiving holidays were spent in Germany, totally immersed in the advent of Christmas! The three of us, Kate, (colleague, not daughter) Keith and myself, headed out of Poland to see what the Christkindlsmarkt was all about. Kate and I have been looking forward to shopping the traditional markets, tasting the "gluhwein", and eating hearty German food! And I think Keith was ready to get on the autobahn. I can hear some of you snickering! Yep, he was speeding down the highway! Well, speeding for him, we were getting passed left and right! The recommended speed limit is 130 km/h (81 [View Full Entry]

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When we start the nightly game drive, Jaco tells us that conditions are still muddy which means we’ll be staying on the main roads again. But, we’re lucky that a giraffe has chosen to eat dinner very close to the road. Jaco stops the Land Rover so that we can watch as the gangly animal stretches his long neck to taste the leafy branches of a treetop. He moves gracefully from tree to tree as the Land Rover follows along. Later, we see wildebeest and cape buffalo with rhino in the distance. Soon, Jaco drives up a steep incline to a [View Full Entry]

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Motorhome News from New Zealand 7 30th November 2008 Wellington - Wanganui - Taupo - Taumarunui - Stratford - New Plymouth - Hamilton - Auckland Returning to North Island for more mountains, volcanoes, and old friends. The clock is ticking ever faster now. The rhythm rising a notch each day as we approach the end of our journey through New Zealand. That's how it is with holidays, isn't it?. As spring rain continues to fall along the western reaches, New Zealander's thoughts of summer holidays and barbecues on the beach mingle with the jingle of Christmas, now modestly evident i [View Full Entry]

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The initial period post-wedding parties period was very quiet. We needed a full day to recover, and Monday (thankfully a national holiday here) was spent doing barely more than nothing. Richly deserved and thoroughly enjoyed. The week started slowly for her Mothership, just a coffee with a student of mine on the Tuesday and very little to report on the Wednesday. Things then got busy and interesting from Thursday onwards. Thursday- more sightseeing, this time it was Nara on the menu. Two trains to Osaka, another one in Osaka and then another one to Nara- or so I thought. I missed [View Full Entry]

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Up bright and early to pay a morning visit to Dettifoss in Jökulsárgljúfur National Park, Europe’s most powerful waterfall with an estimated 110,000 gallons of water passing over the falls every second which tumbles down the huge gorge of the Jokulsa-a-Fjollum river, the longest in Iceland. If I wasn't awake before, the spray was certainly enough to wake me up if not drown me! We first visited the slightly smaller waterfall of Selfoss before continuing the walk up to have a picnic lunch by Dettifoss. Dettifoss is 144 feet (44 m) high and 330 feet (100 m) wide. In my personal [View Full Entry]

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November first is the official end of hurricane season, so it was time to leave Trinidad and start our trek north. We are very excite to start another cruising season in the Caribbean, not only because our first stop is Grenada and the Grenadines (which are amazing) but also because we have so many islands to explore this year. Unlike last year where we had to travel over 2,500 miles and therefore skip many countries along the way, this year we are already here in the Caribbean and can take our time to explore all the islands. And our first stop [View Full Entry]

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