The Adventure Begins

March 2008

So I’ve FINALLY booked some tickets to move on after three months in Auckland, and I thought you guys might be interested in what I have planned. Now, I know what you’re thinking:

“Geez Oliver, the last thing I want is a group-email every week with a list of checkpoints around the world that you’ve ticked off. Even though, knowing you, I could probably expect some rather interesting stories and lashings of humour, you rascal…”

- And that’s fair enough, I hate those emails too. So if you are interested in what I’m up to, just check out this blog every now and again. Maybe put up a comment, maybe just be inspired by it, I don’t mind. Anyhow, love it or hate it, it’ll be out there and probably the best chance you have of keeping updated on my travels.

Anyway, back to the plans… I’ll be leaving Auckland on the 31st of March and flying through Hong Kong to Nairobi in Kenya (over 24hrs of flying) then taking another plane down to Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. This is not too far from Arusha, where my Uncle lives and where I will call home for a few days before I take off on a safari around East Africa. Now my Swahili has never been great, but to my knowledge, ‘safari’ means journey and this looks like a big one. I’d rather write about it as it happens, but here’s an idea for you:

For just under two months I'll be checking out (among other things):

 •  the game parks of Kenya
 •  the Gorillas in the rainforests of Uganda (or Rwanda)
 •  Tanzania’s Serengeti
 •  the markets of Zanzibar
 •  the beaches of Malawi
 •  the sunny skies of Mozambique
 •  Victoria Falls in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

I have also booked a one way ticket to London from Nairobi for June 1st, and from here I have absolutely no plans at all until the rest of my family visits in July. I foresee myself running out of money somewhere between Malawi and Zimbabwe, so by the time I get to England I’ll most likely start working straight away. In fact, I haven’t put much thought to it at all yet, but hey, that’s more than two months away. I’ll just play it as it lies, and hope that everything works out like it always does.

First I should really just work on surviving Africa. I couldn’t afford the rabies shots you know…

I’ll keep you updated.

Don't ever hesitate to comment, I'd love to hear from you too.

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