Flying from the small Uluru airport transported us further across the outback and looking down from the aircraft revealed a dramatic change from the red sand and featureless landscape into the verdant green sward of the tropical rainforest of Queensland. A dramatic change in weather was also apparent with hot and humid conditions and occasional torrential tropical thunderstorms!! A 90 minute catamaran trip took us out to the Great Barrier Reef. WanderingAlison & Jackie had an amazing experience with a short helicopter flight over the reef seeing the turquoise colours of the Coral Sea. Now kitted out in latex stinger suits and lifejackets we all enjoyed a fantastic snorkelling experience seeing the brightly coloured corals in shades of blue, purple, yellow and red together with a myriad of small and large reef fish swimming in and ... read more

We are in the land "Down Under" which, as our 18 hrs of flying testified, is a long, long way from home - as far as the other side of the world! For the first section of our tour we have been joined by WanderingAlison's sister, Jackie. We arrived into Perth in Western Australia in the early evening. Having checked-in to our hotel we head straight out, down to the Swan Riverside, to watch a spectacular firework display to celebrate Australia Day. The following day we wandered around Perth, visiting the Perth Mint, an excellent tour through the old mint, hearing stories of gold prospectors, large gold nuggets, seeing molten gold being poured to form an ingot and the world's largest gold coin weighing in at 1000kg - too heavy to slip into the back pocket ... read more

After a two hour flight from Johannesburg we arrived in Cape Town late at night and it was only the following morning that we appreciated what a wonderful city we were in. A curving harbour and bay on one side of the compact city and looking in the opposite direction Table Mountain, recently voted as one of the new seven wonders of the natural world. Our first views of Table Mountain showed it to be partly covered by 'the tablecloth' - a layer of cloud covering the top!! We were, however, unable to take the aerial cable car to the top due to high winds - a big disappointment but we still had three further opportunities. A walk through Kirstenbosch botanical gardens was wonderful with colourful Protea flowers, the symbol of South Africa, providing a splash ... read more

Our journey continued south to the border with Swaziland. Leaving South Africa, for one day and night, involved passing through border control, walking through 200m of no-mans land, and then having our passports stamped with no great formality, at the Matsamo border control, allowing us to enter the Kingdom of Swaziland. A cultural dance show was performed for visitors followed by a traditional lunch. We drove south through farmland growing sugar cane, wheat & vegetables together with numerous cattle farms. The flat-lying farmland was set off by a backdrop of high mountains - leading some to use the term 'little Switzerland'. Cattle are held in high regard in Swazi culture, and can still be bartered and a gift of enough cattle can result in obtaining a wife or even secure an audience with the King!! Overnight ... read more

The road to Sikkim sees us driving up and down steep mountain roads with more pot holes than road and many long stretches of dirt and loose stones where the original metalled surface has been washed away by previous monsoon rains. The roads are narrow with just enough space for two vehicles, steep hillside on one side of the car and sheer drops on the other - incredibly challenging driving but fortunately we have an excellent driver!! We are travelling up through ancient forests of giant bamboos, massive ferns, small and large trees of numerous varieties - including figs, laurels, pines, oak, chestnut, maple, birch, silver fir, magnolias many of which are in flower - together with immense rhododendron bushes with dark red flowers - all of which cover the incredibly steep mountain sides. Looking back ... read more