Today we went on a boat trip to the Farne Islands. Decided to write a single blog entry about this as there are a lot of bird photos (they go onto a second page)! The Farne Islands are one of the reasons that I wanted to come to Northumberland. They are home to a wide variety of sea birds including 70,000 puffins! All the boat trips go from Seahouses and although there are 4 companies running trips there is really nothing to choose between. They all cost the same and leave at about the same time (they stagger the departures by 5 minutes as there is only one space to board the boat). We went for serenity II for no real good reason apart from the fact it had a toilet on board! It takes about ... read more

We left Franschhoek yesterday for our last destination, Simon's Town. The roads around Cape Town were far busier than we had seen anywhere. South African drivers don't seem to be a patient lot. They change lanes every 2 seconds if they think that another lane is moving quicker. Earlier in the trip we were stopped on the highway for roadworks. We were only stopped for a minute or 2 but even so people had switched off their engines and were out of their cars trying to find out what the problem was. These people clearly have never been stuck on the M25. Anyway, on the way to Cape Town we stopped at Kirstenbosch which is Cape Town's massive botanical garden. The gardens were lovely and we spent several hours wandering around. Apparently in the spring it ... read more

We are living it up in a 5 star delux guest retreat! Arguably we have the smallest (and cheapest!) room. It has its own little eco reserve with two Burchel zebras and some springbok. It also has a hot tub which over looks the eco reserve so we got to sit in it and watch the wildlife, how cool is that? The hotel gardens are lovely. There are several plants that attract the sunbirds so I spent ages watching them flit about. I tried to take a photo but it is no easy task! All of this is in Swellendam which we are visiting so we can go Bontebok national park. Bonteboks are a type of antelope which have been heavily hunted in the past and the world population dropped to 17! The park was set ... read more

To say it is hot here in Kynsna does not even come close to describing it. It reached 40.5 degrees yesterday and even when we are in the shade it is well into the 30's. I have never been so hot in my entire life. It is like being in a furnace. We were not expecting it to be this hot and from what everyone else says neither were they! We are staying in a really great apartment on the quayside. It has its own balcony and mooring for a yacht! There are a lot of very expensive boats parked nearby. Of all the apartments we have stayed in I have one question. “Why no colanders?” How ever well equipped an apartment is - this one has a washing machine, tumble dryer, bread bins and multiple ... read more

We are back on the coast and the Garden Route, and are currently in Tsitsikamma National Park. We have got 2 nights in a very cool chalet with ocean views. I am looking out to sea as I write this. I can even see Dassies clambering about on the rocks in front of me! This is the life. We thought we might just melt on the way here as the temperature reached 38.5 degrees!!! It was already 34 degrees by 9am. Thankfully it cooled down considerably to 28 degrees by the time we arrived. Went on a walk this afternoon to a suspension bridge over Storms River and then up to a look out. We did not realise exactly where the look out was, otherwise we would have been put off! It was a lot of ... read more