Kimberley Height

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Travel Blog Posts


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kimberley_in_europe
December 29th 2011

After an amazing 4 months, my time in Malawi has come to an end. It was incredibly sad to have to say goodbye to Malawi and all the animals at the centre and the wonderful friends I've made, but I promised them that I'll be back as soon as I can. Living in Malawi was such an incredible experience and I've learnt so much about so many things. I can't even begin to tell you all the things I've learnt, but I'll give you a brief insight: -Babies (in my case, animal babies) may be cute but they're a lot of work, especially when they're hungry or tired and throw temper tantrums. I'm definitely not ready for a baby of my own for quite a while! -It's difficult to be a minority and have to deal ... read more



This is How You Eat Nsima

Published: December 8th 2011Africa » Malawi » Central » Lilongwe
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kimberley_in_europe
November 16th 2011

I know you've all been waiting for this, so here it is - update number 3 on my amazing life in Africa! Life here has been incredibly busy, especially in the past month. There have been a lot of ups and downs but in general, I love life here so much that the downs have been manageable. There's a lot to say about the past couple of months, it's difficult to know where to start because I just want to explain about everything. There's been a whole new group of volunteers who have arrived since I last wrote, at one stage there were 10 of us here, which is the most we've ever had since I arrived. It was nice to have so many other people around but it did get pretty hectic taking turns with ... read more



Happiness in Africa's Warm Heart

Published: September 29th 2011Africa » Malawi » Central » Lilongwe
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kimberley_in_europe
September 29th 2011

This place is amazing! After 5 weeks of being here in Malawi, I'm still really loving it. I'm learning more and more about African life and everything is always so fascinating, even if it's really frustrating at the same time. Things generally happen pretty slowly here, which can be frustrating if you really need to get stuff done, but I find that I've adapted pretty well to “African time”. I walk and work a lot slower here than I do in Australia. And I'm hardly ever the person that everyone else is waiting for, which is a first in my life! I had to go to the immigration office a couple of weeks ago to renew my visa and it was the most frustrating, complicated process! It took me two hours just to get a stamp ... read more



The Monkeys Are Coming

Published: September 19th 2011Africa » Malawi » Central » Lilongwe
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kimberley_in_europe
September 5th 2011

Hello from Malawi! Muli bwanji? (This is where you answer “Ndili bwino, kaya inu?). This phrase was my first in Chichewa (the national language of Malawi) and definitely the most important phrase to know. It means “How are you?”, “I'm fine, and you?”. That's the standard greeting here so it's been very useful. After 3 weeks of living in Malawi, I have to say, I'm really happy here. It feels so right and so comfortable to be here and I'm so glad for that. I love everything about the place. I was expecting to be quite overwhelmed with Malawi for the first couple of weeks and experience some culture shock, but I haven't really been overwhelmed by much and definitely haven't had any culture shock. I feel like I've slotted into life here quite easily. Anyway, ... read more



Living in an Alternate Reality

Published: August 24th 2011Europe » Austria » Styria » Graz
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kimberley_in_europe
August 22nd 2011

My time in Europe is drawing to a close, but before it ends I have an amazing month to update you all on. I'm spending my last few days in Europe staying with my friend Friedolin in Graz and I couldn't think of a better way to say goodbye to Europe than to spend time with a friend I haven't seen for 3 years. A lot has happened since I left Sweden a month ago. So much that I don't know where to start or how to describe all the amazing, fascinating, fun things I've experienced. Let's start in Serbia. Belgrade was our destination when we flew out of Stockholm. A lot of people wondered why we were going to Serbia and some questioned whether or not it was a safe decision, but I think it ... read more



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kimberley_in_europe
July 18th 2011

Hej allihopa! Greetings from my future country of residence. ;) Aka Sweden. I arrived in Sweden 3 & 1/2 weeks ago and I have to say, my love for this country remains as strong as ever! I know this blog entry is a little bit long but believe me, it's full of enthusiasm, happiness and wonderful occassions so it shouldn't be at all difficult to read. :) People often ask me what it is I like so much about Sweden. It's a hard question - there's a lot to like (besides the expensive prices). The country is physically very beautiful, both the countryside and the cities. I love Stockholm for its beauty, large range of things to do, cultural diversity, familiarity and most of all, for being my second home. The Swedish people are wonderful and ... read more



A Cyclist's Paradise

Published: July 11th 2011Europe » Netherlands » Friesland » Leeuwarden
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kimberley_in_europe
June 23rd 2011

The decision to leave Prague was a difficult one to make, so much so that I only decided where I was going about 2 hours before the bus left. After buying bus tickets and booking a hostel, I headed to the station to take the bus to Belgium. It was an 11 hour overnight bus trip to Brussels, but because I didn't like the idea of arriving at 5am and having to find my hostel, I continued on to Bruges. Going to Bruges was a bit of a gamble because I didn't really know anything about the place. It paid off though because luckily it turned out to be a really nice place. The buildings in the city centre are really old and charming. It's so well preserved because the city was quite poor and not ... read more



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kimberley_in_europe
June 12th 2011

Čau, It's taken a long time for me to get around to writing this and letting you all know that I'm still alive and enjoying myself. That's exactly why it has taken so long - I've been enjoying myself so much. It's been wonderful to be back in the Czech Republic, I definitely made the right decision coming back here. I must have looked like such an idiot on the bus from Berlin to Prague. As we entered the Czech Republic, and later as we entered Prague, I was so happy and just sat there smiling to myself. I felt like I'd come home. Being here has been like when I used to live here, I definitely don't feel like a tourist. I really know Prague so well, probably much better than a lot of its ... read more



Part 2: The Aussies Invade

Published: February 13th 2009Europe » Sweden » Stockholm County
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kimberley_in_europe
July 26th 2008

My return from Turkey brought with it quite a jolt back to reality and a fair bit of culture shock - indicated by the fact that my first thought as I was flying into Bratislava was “where are all the mosques?”. But, it also implied lots of exciting arrivals and reunifications and the end of travelling alone! After a long and exhausting journey from Istanbul, which involved: a bus trip where the driver nearly made us late to the Istanbul airport because he stopped to buy a packet of cigarettes and then drove round the city in circles for ages; a flight in the early hours of the morning, meaning that no sleep was had that night; somehow managing to get from the Bratislava airport to the bus station without any Slovakian money, thanks to the ... read more



Part 1: It Started in the East

Published: October 6th 2008Middle East » Turkey
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kimberley_in_europe
July 5th 2008

So after such a long silence, I guess some of you are wondering where I’ve been these past months. Well, where haven’t I been is more the question! Let’s begin from the start, shall I? It all started 4 months ago, in a small city called Brno, far, far away in the Czech Republic. There I boarded a bus which was to take me to Budapest, via Bratislava. In Budapest I waited at the deserted bus station for 2 hours in the middle of the night to catch my next bus to Romania, which would turn out to be a bit of a nerve-wracking bus trip, for several reasons! This was my first big trip by myself so I was quite nervous about a lot of things and sitting in a minibus with just the driver ... read more






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