Our day started with a short flight from the Mara back to Nairobi, prior to driving south to Amboseli. As tends to happen in Africa, our 8.45am flight finally got away at 10.15am. The only disappointment was that on our way to the airstrip (note, I didn’t say airport!), we got word that a rhino (the only one of the ‘Big Five’ we hadn’t seen in the Mara) had been sighted some distance away. As we didn’t want to miss the flight, we passed up that opportunity but in fact would have had plenty of time to check it out. The bonus for us was that the strict 15kg total luggage limit, which would have had us both in trouble, was disregarded as there were only the two of us plus two Mexican women on the ... read more

Well, what a contrast of two successive mornings. After an overnighter in Joburg, we were due to take the short flight to Livingstone, Zambia (gateway to the Victoria Falls) leaving around 10.30 am. We duly arrived at the airport around 7.30am to be greeted by a mammoth ‘peasouper’ fog and a flight schedule board full of ‘delayed’ status on almost every flight, including ours. After an hour or so, the fog lifted and planes got away, but not ours. We were then designated ‘delayed indefinitely’ with no indication of when a plane and crew would become available. Eventually, the former landed but apparently the crew had worked their designated hours and they had to track down a new crew. To cut a long story short, they suddenly listed our gate number and time and scrambled us ... read more

So, here I am back on my travels, accompanied once again by my regular travelling companion in remote regions, Bruce. This time we are doing the rounds of East Africa. However on this trip we are on individual tours in each region (six in all) rather than touring with a group. And as double cause for celebration, this is my 100th blog with TravelBlog, and being somewhere as unique as Madagascar, I hope you find it good reading. Our trip started with a direct flight from Sydney to Johannesburg, taking just under 14 hours in all. There is rarely anything good to report on a flight of this duration, but travelling Premium Economy with Qantas did soften the ... read more

The Caucasus is a real cultural crossroad, the region where Asia meets Europe, as well as being a fascinating blend between yesterday and tomorrow. Each of the countries visited has had a chequered history, having been invaded at various stages by each of Russian, Persian and Turkish forces, but all of them have shown their resilience at fighting back to where they are today, which is with rapidly modernising capital cities but still slow-placed countryside where most families still live off their land. Our trip concluded without incident or any disruptions, which is something that cannot always be said for tours through this part of the world. The scenery and attractions in each of the three countries visited were certainly varied and at times spectacular, all three country guides were excellent, both in terms of their ... read more

Our land border crossing from Azerbaijan into Georgia was pretty streamlined, with the exception of the 500 metres or so uphill climb through their no-man's-land with our bulky suitcases. Similar to Azerbaijan, Georgia is situated at the junction of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, and shares borders with many countries, including the Russian republics of Chechnya and North Ossetia to the north and north-east, along with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey to the south, while the shoreline of the Black Sea forms its western border. While Georgia generally has good relationships with its neighbours, there has been an ongoing dispute with Russia over the northern border regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are now recognised by Russia as independent states. This has made these areas in effect out of bounds for tourists and we made no ... read more