Idi

Day 1: Admittedly, a little hungover but grateful for the quiet buses to Te Anau. Driver of 2nd bus borderline racist, true Southlander as it were. Very much in love with the landscapes. Paired up with Dutch elephant zookeeper, adventure guide, Stefan. Wonderful 20km in thick rainforest. Crystal clear waters. Nutters at the hut, one very against radiation and lived off the grid for over a year (See letter for more context). Sandflies aren't as bad as I thought they would be. Gambling without a tent...36km day in two days time... Day 2: New year's Eve. Birdlife is off the charts. Greeted by a resident local on his dingy, of which turned the day from scenic walking and waist-high bog trudging to jetting up the Pyke river with Bruce Reay. Learning about the place from someone ... read more

Day 57: Missed the bus to Stansted due to standard train delays - so a quick change to other rail options ironically. Living out of grandparents picnic backpack for the next 2.5weeks (to meet Ryanair's infamous luggage requirements). Good 2 hour night walk around the streets of Barcelona, with Ryanair only 30 minutes late this time. Rather odd seeing a few drivings lessons after 10pm. Day 58: I'll keep most of the commentary to myself, but the urban planner in me is loving it here. And in general it is a really vibrant place. Can't wait to see the Sagrada Familia complete. Live music on metro. Bluebird day and covered most of the key attractions. Very much addicted to white chocolate Twix's. Day 59: Monserrat day trip. Thoroughly enjoyed this place. While not religious, there was ... read more

Day 25: Went for a nap as soon as I sat on the plane. Woke up still at the gate. Missed connection flight at Cairo. Stood waiting for the bus to the hotel (5 minutes walk away) longer than the transit flight itself. Swish hotel nevertheless with lunch included. Another delay upon departure with EgyptAir, of course (only an hour this time) Casablanca taxi driver loved 60km/hr on motorway while simultaneously taking calls at 1am. Day 26: Casablanca has a few highlights, but seemingly was renovating every public space. Massive mosque on the coast. Old medinas are cool. Love the tram. Grateful for four years of mediocre focus in French. However, continue to hybridise french and the more-recently learned spanish. Some lavish haircuts amongst the young lads here. Day 27: Booked another night, purely to watch a ... read more

Day 13: Picked up a car and blitzed 3 hours NE to Waterberg national park. Plenty of Timon's Pumba's on the road side. Speaking of roads, their straights are so long - I could see the mirage fade into the horizon at one point. The park itself is a table mountain plateau, with rhino's on top, if I heard the guide correctly... I shan't lie, I did splash out a little, relative to the backpacker scene. But it was cheaper than any other solution I could conjure up. And the four-post bed with rhino-themed sheets shamelessly justified it. Venturing out, I did a 10km loop through the valley, reaching a spring surrounded by deer and baboons. Felt like a little scene from the jungle book. In saying that, the heat of the day led to a ... read more

Decided to use this format because it's easier to put together on a phone. Day 1: A f*cking long flight. A constant stream of food. Good movies. A cheeky 4 hour nap. Doha airport is huge. Day 2: Still flying. This time over the Horn of Africa for a sunrise and no one on my row of seats. Arrived in Namibia to a rather nonchalant international airport. Got off the plane thinking "it's too hot" - a stance I hold passionately by between the hours of 10am to 6pm. A hairy shuttle to the Windhoek, weaving between cars and trucks at an average of 120km/hr and briefly thinking, 'maybe it's over before it's begun'. Got to the quaint backpackers at midday, and started browsing the options for the days ahead. Went for a stroll to the ... read more