After our very official welcome to the USA with finger printing and a photograph we felt more like criminals than tourists. LA Airport was not as big as we thought it would be but we were happy to escape without a rubber glove examination!We gathered our bags together and made our way to the car hire company to pick up our American gas guzzling car which was, in fact, a small two door car but hey it was a Pontiac at least and looked kinda sporty! We were grateful for forking out the extra cash for the Sat Nav which ensured [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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It was nice to be back on home soil for a while, with a whirlwind tour of most of the big island undertaken in the 6 weeks or so we had. Started back in Perth where our travels had all began. Had a great week with Gleeson's, the kids having grown up so much since we left almost 2 years prior. Got to enjoy the lovely Perth beaches once again, the water is still freezing though, and see the demolition zone that was Fortescue street residence. Next stop was Melbourne for a catch up with Fay and a road trip up [View Full Entry]

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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, [View Full Entry]

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Our final country on our African adventure. We crossed the border into South Africa from Botswana on yet another long driving day. Had to limit our fluid intake today as toilet stops would be limited to major towns due to the risk of truck-jacking! We were happy to hold on! Drove through some spectacular scenery on our way to Blyde Gorge. Almost remeniscent of driving through Hammersley Range in Western Australia. Set up our tents for the very last time at a camp ground on Blyde Gorge. We took a lovely walk to see the Gorge at sunset with beautiful colours [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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Unbelievable is the right word to sum up our experience of Zimbabwe, for both the right and the wrong reasons. To form a complete opinion on what is going on in Zimbabwe would be crazy, considering our VERY brief and limited time and experience of the country. Our time in Zimbabwe was restricted to spending time in the now quite deserted tourist resort of Vic Falls. What we certainly did notice was the complete disparity between each side of the border, the change almost surreal in how distinct it was. From the debauchery of the previous night in Livingstone, the border [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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A big driving day which took us via the number one highway through Mkumi National Park. Amazing to be driving on a main highway and passing giraffe and elephants along the way! Saw our first impala, some baboons and as well as vultures, Kirst was lucky enough to spot a Hornbill. Saw lake Malawi for the first time as we arrived at our campsite on the shore at Chitimba Beach. Whilst staying at Chitimba Beach we spent a day walking up to Livingstonia, named after the missionary who established a mission and town here. The museum at the top was housed [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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