We arrived in Nairobi at 3am to unexpectedly cold weather which lasted for the two days that we spent in Kenya. Having arrived without much camping gear as we did not want to lug around extra weight our first mission was to find some sort of mattress. We were lucky enough to find big foam mattresses and torches at a local supermarket cheaply, SUCCESS! After meeting with our tour group we piled our gear into the overland truck which would become our home for the next 40 days. The drive from Nairobi across the border into Tanzania was a long introduction to overlanding however the scenery was beautiful. We passed through colourful villages where we waved to the locals and the savannah grasslands where giraffes roamed in the distance. At the Tanzania boarder we were bombarded ... read more

We arrived into Israel from Dahab at the Taba land border. The process was thorough but easy enough; we did have our passports stamped so there will be no trip to Iran for us this year. We were met by our guide who took us to visit Mount Masada, the famous palace built by the paranoid King Herod and also the place where the Jews made their heroic last stand against the Romans and committed mass suicide in preference to surrender. The palace was built on a hill 462 meters above sea level so we caught the cable car up rather than taking the path. The site was in very good condition and we both enjoyed our time up there with the secret palace built on the cliff face being the highlight. After exploring Masada we ... read more

After an amazing time in Cairo we were very excited to continue our trip through Egypt. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the world's greatest open air museum, as the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city. Immediately opposite, across the River Nile, lie the monuments, temples and tombs on the West Bank Necropolis, which include the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. After taking the overnight train from Cairo and feeling a little worse for wear, as the train speed swayed us back and forth in our beds (poor Aaron nearly fell off the top bunk) we checked into our hotel and slept until the rest of our tour group arrived from Aswan. Like Cairo, Luxor had very few visiting tourists while we were ... read more

My grandmother grew up during the air raids on Malta in WW2, she immigrated to Australia from Malta in 1955 at the age of 13. During World War II, Malta became the most bombed place on earth. At the outbreak of World War II, Malta was Britain’s most important Mediterranean naval base. As such, it was to protect east-west supply lines while blocking the passage between Italy and North Africa. When Mussolini plunged Italy into the war on June 10, 1940, Malta knew for sure that it was destined to play a frontline role. Malta’s worst period of the war was in early 1942, when the air raids never ceased. In April alone, 6700 tons of bombs rained down on the island and on the 15th of that month a special message from the British king, ... read more

We arrived in Valencia after a short flight with a very famous budget airline. These budget flights can end up costing much more if you don’t read the fine print. First if you do not print your boarding pass it costs you 50 euro, if you do not pre purchase checked in baggage it costs you, if your bag does not fit in the carry on section (which they make you demonstrate before you are allowed to board then it costs you 40 euro, one poor girl fell into this category). You are not allocated seat numbers instead its a first come first seated basis on board which would explain why there was a massive line at our gate as soon as it opened (We will remember this for our flight to Malta). Arriving into the ... read more