After a much welcomed rest in our room, from our exhausting walk this morning, we received a call from reception to say that our tour guide for our ‘desert safari’ had arrived to pick us up. After a quick get-ready, we jumped in our white Toyota Land Cruiser, which we were soon to realise was pretty much the only kind of 4WD Dubai seems to know exists. It still surprises me that we managed to actually get thought the city, pick up the other people in our car and get to the meeting place out in the dunes without having a serious accident. I think someone forgot to tell that driver that he wasn’t driving on the sand dunes at this stage, and in fact, those are actually other cars on the road. It made the ... read more

Well I knew this day would roll around quickly, but not this quickly!! Following a wicked week of leaving parties including the official send off at the infamous Empire Tavern the weekend before, I seem to have very little time to complete many tasks which were considered 'essential' not that long ago. I not surprisingly found myself trying to jam everything into my already overweight suitcase minutes before I had to leave for the airport. Though, mum and dad didn’t seem to be panicking much. Somehow I managed to arrive at the airport before my traveling partner, Brendan. We checked in our bags and headed upstairs for the usual idle chit chat and coffee with those who were game enough to brave the Auckland Traffic. Before long, it was time to head through. I managed to ... read more