jasonkirstyn

We only had a couple of night stop over in New Zealand as our round the world trip has to fly through Auckland. Not to say we didn't really want to stop there, we were just a bit exhausted, low on funds and had both already been to New Zealand, Jason to Auckland as well. Not to let the opportunity to see something else pass we decided to escape the city and head up to check out the Coromandel Peninsula. Hired a car and stayed a couple of nights in a very funky old retro caravan near Thames. Did a couple of driving excursions around the peninsula, a few walks to check out the huge Kari trees, and a hot soak at hot water beach. On our last day we went further south to see the ... read more

By the time we got to Singapore our energy levels were low and our tourist enthusiasm was waning significantly. By now we had been on the road for almost 6months and were very ready to get home to visit family and friends. Subsequently we didn't really do any justice to what Singapore can offer. The humidity was killing us and the place seemed to be just one big shopping centre. Having not worked for so long, and with another month or two of travel still to go, our finances didn't really allow Kirst to let loose in the many shopping malls, although we were very grateful for the a/c and some respite from the outside weather! We managed to wander about the city seeing a few sights and different areas including China markets and little India, ... read more

The debauchery from the previous night in Vic Falls did not leave us in good shape for our first day in Botswana with a 7am departure and all of 2hrs sleep under our belts. Today was the first day with our new truck and tour leader, the other truck would follow a similiar path for a bit but with an extra day up their sleeves for Chobe and the delta and then continue across to Cape town. So after some final farewells to our great guides Matt, Pete and Nick and all the people staying behind we managed to leave close to on time miraculously! The day was to be a huge day including a long drive, a boat cruise and an afternoon game drive. We crossed into Botswana in the morning which was uneventful apart ... read more

We had a long wait at the border into Zambia and entertained the locals with our attempts to keep ourselves entertained playing charades. We camped the night at a farmhouse campsite and sampled our first Mosi beer…the Zambian original. Two more driving days and many snacks later we arrived at Livingstone just on the Zimbabwian border after a night in Lusaka. Highlights included Zebras wandering around our campsite near Lusaka and spotting a giant Flatty Spider thanks to our ever-enthusiastic tour leader, Mat. We were getting used to the long driving days by now and had developed a real appreciation for the vastness of the continent. Days on the truck were spent reading, sleeping and playing cards with our ‘tour family’. On route we did our outfit swap for our fancy dress river cruise party which ... read more

Arrived late to the campsite just out of Arusha and put our tents up in the dark……interesting exercise considering we’d never put them up before. Had drinks that night in ‘Ma’s Bar’….a rough shack with as much paraphernalia as an outback Aussie pub. Went into town the next morning for money exchange and to buy ‘snacks’ for the days ahead….something that would contribute to the ’extra baggage’ we would eventually take back to Australia with us. That afternoon headed out to a campsite in a small village just outside of the Ngorongoro Crater. The campsite was an add-on to a flash hotel and we were entertained by a local dance troup that night. Rising before the crack of dawn we headed off up and into the Ngorongoro Crater arriving at the top of the crater just ... read more