Botswana & Zimbabwe - September 2010

After a busy summer of work and the inevitably hectic enrolment at College I felt I had really earned my holiday in September and I had long been looking forward to visiting sub-Saharan Africa. I have always wanted to go on safari and this was my chance!

Ross and I went together and the reason for our trip was primarily to see the Okavango Delta. In fact, we started in Zimbabwe, with a trip to Victoria Falls, on the border with Zambia and close to the border with Botswana.

The first thing that strikes you about Zimbabwe is the poverty. It is not possible to walk down the street in Victoria Falls without being harassed by locals wanting money. They are not unpleasant about it, but they are persistent. Some try to sell you wooden carvings, others try to swap the now useless Zimbabwean dollars for US dollars. It's sad! Away from the town itself is the falls, in the national park and they are the sole reason this town exists. What strikes you most about the Falls is the sheer length of them - it goes on and one and on! We were there in the dry season, but even still the water cascading over is deafening and the spray is incredible - it is also a nice way to cool off in the hot weather.

There are a host of activities to partake in at Victoria Falls from bungee jumping or white water rafting on grade 5 rapids, to more sedate wildlife encounters. We opted for the latter and took an elephant back safari. Our elephant was a 32-year0old matriarch called Coco and our guide was the charming and very knowledgeable Wellington. It was wonderful experience.

From Zimbabwe, we crossed the border into Botswana and made our way to Kasane, the gateway to Chobe National Park. Although I had not necessarily expected it to be, this was the highlight of my trip. We took two sunset boat cruises along the Chobe River and a more relaxing way of seeing game I can hardly imagine. So much wildlife comes down to the river to drink and cool off, so we saw elephants, hippos, crocodiles, impala, buffalo, lechwe, kudu and loads of birds. We also took an early morning game drive, which turned into a late morning game drive after we got a flat tyre and had to wait around in the bush for 2 hours! I think it may have been a blessing in disguise as once we got going again we saw so much wildlife that we might not have otherwise seen. This included lion, elephant, giraffe, buffalo, kudu, impala, warthog, vultures, bee-eaters and the beautiful lilac-breasted roller (pictured below). We almost saw a lion kill, but the hunt failed. It was magic to see such amazing wildlife so close.

We left Kasane and headed to Maun, from where we took a 3-day 2-night trip into the Okavango Delta. Mokoros (like canoes) were the only form of transport to access our camp and we roughed it with fairly basic camping. I must admit the inability to have a shower was a little wearing, but the place itself is great. We did not see as much wildlife there as I expected, but it is not until you are there that you realise the limitations - the long grasses tower above you when you are in a mokoro, so you have to be very close to wildlife to see it. That said, we did have a close encounter with hippos and saw elephants while out walking too.

We finished our trip with a flight over the Delta in a small plane and you get a totally different perspective of these wetlands from the air.

All in all, a wonderful first taste of bush safari-ing in Africa - it has whet my appetite for more in the future!

Croatia - June 2010

Croatia is one of the up and coming holiday destinations for Brits apparently and I now know why! I was drawn here after seeing a photo of Plitvice Lakes National Park, so I decided to combines the national parks with the coasts of Croatia.

 

I rather ambitiously decided to do this trip entirely on my own, including hiring a car and navigating on my own. AS my holiday drew closer I questioned this decision, but I need not have worried.

 

I stayed in Zadar for the first few days and looked around this lovely coastal city, before heading to the main reason for my visit, Plitvice Jezera. If there is a place for which the words "are of outstanding natural beauty" was made for it must be this national park. Full of lakes and waterfall, it is stunning! The water is emerald green and with towering gorge walls and lots of trees it is so worth visiting. There are wooden boardwalks throughout the park to help you find your way and to protect the landscape. It is a busy place for tourists, but if you take your time you can avoid the worst of the crowds.

 

The other national park I visited was Krka, which is also a place of lakes and waterfalls. One of the falls has 17 steps to it and it beautiful to behold. A boat trip to Roski Slap is also worth doing and the park is a lovely day out.

 

My trip was completed by visits to the towns and cities of Split, Trogir and Sibenik to soak up some Croatian culture. The only places I did not get to see were the islands off the coast and the city of Dubrovnik, so I'll add them to my list for next time!

 

 

Cornwall - May 2010

Having not been away since October 2009, I was desperate to go somewhere and this weekend came along. The weather was gorgeous and that is the main reason I went. Clear blue skies and warm sunshine made this the ideal time to visit Cornwall.

 

I headed for Penzance and took a boat trip out to sea. Hoping to see dolphins, basking sharks and other marine life, I had to be content with seals and an exhilarating rise on a speedboat.

 

A detour to Lands End before visiting friends made for a great weekend and I even got a little bit sunburned!!!

 

 

Iceland - October 2009

Iceland is one of those countries I had been promising myself I would visit for more than 5 years. I always worried about how expensive it was there, but in October 2009 I took the plunge and what's more I found a relatively cheap way of doing it. Reasonably priced flights and the decision to go self-catering were the answer and so off I went to Reykjavik.

 

In truth, if you just stick to the city, you will get round the sights quite quickly. The time of year I was there probably had something to do with this, but I found Reykjavik to be one of the quietest cities I had ever visited!

 

For me, what made the trip truly worthwhile was what I saw outside of the city. Most visitors do the Golden Circle tour and I was no different. I went to Thingvellir (incorrect spelling, but we don't have that first letter in our alphabet!!!) to see the first ever Parliament and the deep fissures that scar the landscape there. It was fascinating to think I was on top of an active fault line.

 

I also saw the fantastic waterfall of Gulfoss - I took my life in my hands by clambering on the very wet rocks beside the waterfall. It was supposedly 6 degrees Celsius, but I am not convinced - it was so windy and bitterly cold, but a spectacular sight.

 

The nearby Geysir, from which all other geysers are so named, was also well worth a stop. Although that geyser is no longer active, Strokkur right next to it is and spouts out boiling hot water and gas very frequently. Of course, it waiting until I turned my camera off to do one of its large eruptions - Murphy's Law!

 

My trip to Iceland concluded with a visit to the Blue Lagoon and I think I may have saved the best till last! I would happily visit this place once a month (once a week even!) for the most relaxing dip in hot waters you can ever have! I made the mistake of getting in the water straight away and then getting out to take photos later. A wet body in 6 degree temperatures is not recommended, but a trip to this magic place certainly is!

 

 

Shakespeare's Stratford - August 2009

At school I developed a fondness for the works of William Shakespeare and had long thought I should visit his birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon. As is often the case with places that are close to home, you just never get round to it, so in August 2009 I decided to put that right!
There are actually about five houses you can visit in Stratford which have some link to the Bard, but I settled for just visiting his actual birthplace and the church where he is buried, as well as Anne Hathaway's cottage, which is stunningly beautiful.

I also walked by the river and went to the lovely Butterfly Farm, which I would recommend to anyone visiting Stratford.

China - July 2009

For the past few years, China had been high up on my list of places to visit. I kn ew it was not going to be cheap and there were so many places I wanted to visit. Ross and I decided to go together and me made a mental list of the places we wanted to see and then ranked them, finally weighing up where we wanted to go with the cost of the trip. The outcome was a whirlwind tour of three of the biggest cities in China.

We started off in Beijing. Our lovely guide took us to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Summer Palace amongst other places. We enjoyed a traditional Chinese tea ceremony and had a delicious duck dinner. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people everywhere we went. I had expected to be surrounded by foreign tourists, given the places we were visiting, but there were so many Chinese people at these places too that we often felt like the sole Western people there!

Next, we headed by overnight sleeper train to X'ian, where we visited the Terracotta Warriors (one of the highlights of the trip for me). Expectations cane sometimes let you down, but when I walked into the main hall of this place my jaw dropped, it was so vast! We also saw the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, enjoyed a dumpling banquet in X'ian and watched a Tang Dynasty show, which was bright and colourful and beautiful.

Our last stop was Shanghai. It was the place I had least been excited about, but it really surprised me in so many ways. It is unlike any other Chinese city I have been to. What surprised me most of all is how Western it is - big, high rise buildings that are so modern and fantastic shopping! Out of the main city, more traditional Chinese life goes on, of course and the shops and stall round the Yuyuan Gardens are there to cater for tourist expectations of what China "should" be like. The Yuyuan Gardens themselves are beautiful, as is the Jade Buddha Temple. We also took in the Shanghai Acrobats Show, which is truly spectacular.

One of the main reasons we went to Shanghai and went to China at all at this time of year was to take in the total eclipse of the sun. Unfortunately the weather did not co-operate throughout Asia and we had torrential rain! That said, we did still have the very eerie sensation of seeing pitch darkness fall across the city in a matter of seconds - really weird!

Pembrokeshire - May 2009

I love to visit places far and wide, but actually you don't have to go far to see some places of real outstanding natural beauty and Pembrokeshire in Wales is one such place.

I spent many a summer holiday in St David's, playing on the beach at Whitesands Bay. I remember it as a massive long beach, but having visited it as an adult, it is typically not the size I remember it as.

This trip took me to a stretch of coast further south and walked along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, viewing the sea birds, the stacks in the water and the rock arches.

I also went to Carew Castle and looked around the ruins.

Bath & Stonehenge - April 2009

Like my last post, this is not exactly an exotic travel destination, but both Bath and Stonhenge are high on the list of tourist destinations in England and I got some smashing photos so it is worth sharing.

I went to Bath first and visited the Roman Baths and the Abbey - both are lovely and well worth a visit. You get an audio guide at the Baths in a range of languages to help give you information about the history of the place. My only advide would be to get there early so as to avoid the queues of Japanese and American tourists!

Stonehenge is not far away from Bath and is one of the most iconic sights in the country. As with many such sights, it is all about whether the reality matches up to your preconceived ideas. This is a very commercial tourist spot these days, which can spoil it for some. You will undoubtledly run into lots of tourists from all over the world here. However, if you can put that aside, the stones themselves are an impressive sight.

Warwick Castle - February 2009

I'm not sure Warwick Castle really constitutes "travel", but this was such a lovely day out that I have decided to include it.

I took this day trip to one of Britain's top tourist spots because I had long wanted to visit it and I thought the snow on the ground would make it particularly lovely. Turns out I was right. After weeks of terrible weather this day dawned bright and sunny, but still cold, so there was still snow on the ground.

Warwick Castle is well worth a visit and the ground are stunning too.

Copenhagen - September 2008

My last trip of 2008 was taken with my twin Ross and we went to Copenhagen in Denmark.

It was only a long weekend, but it was enough time to see the main sights of the city. We visited Nyhavn, where the boats dock in the canal, which is a bright and bustling place. We saw the Little Mermaid and took a boat trip along the waterways. We also visited many of the churches and the Palace, went up the Round Tower and went  to Tivoli Gardens to while away a lovely evening.

I actually arrived earlier than Ross as we were flying from different cities and I made the most of my time my heading just north of the city to Helsinor to visit Kronborg Castle, famously the castle in Shakespeare's Hamlet. It is a stunning place and is also responsible for giving me one of the scariest travel experiences. I decided to head to the dungeons, only to find myself as the sole person in there and it pitch black. I am not normally afraid of the dark, but I had no idea where I was or how to get out and resorted to taking photos with the flash to guide my way out!!!

Disneyland Paris - June 2008

This holiday wins the award for most exhausting trip ever taken!!! I went to Disneyland Paris with my darling friend Helen and her children William and Georgia (my God children). Needless to say the kids were very excited.

We stayed in one of the Disney Village hotels and had passes to get into the theme parks every day. We made the most of it and went on ride after ride after ride. The kids had a birthday lunch with the Disney characters coming to visit and enjoyed the parade each day.

My feet and back protested on this trip, but the kids loved it (as did H and I) so it was all worth it.