Travel moments that sparked joy
When you close your eyes and think of your travels, those happy moments, those places that sparked joy, the smile that the memories create… where are you? Here’s where those moments take me:… Continue reading
Category Archive: Africa
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Africa, with travel love
Dear Africa, I know your wild and wonderous. I know some of the humans of your land hurt you and your incredible wildlife. I want you to know that you’re the destination that… Continue reading
12 Days of Christmas – the travel edition
Here’s my top pick for the best destinations around the world that I’ve been to that would be great at Christmas 1. New York, New York Though I went a bit early at… Continue reading
3 Years on.. Places I can’t get out of my head
Back in 2015 as part of the monthly bloggers linkup I shared my passion for Africa as the place I couldn’t get out of my head. Three years on and is it still… Continue reading
Journeying into the unknown
This month’s travel blog linkup is all about Journeys, somewhat appropriate for me since my entire life feels like a journey! For me a journey is discovering the unknown around the world and… Continue reading
Travel Fears and Scares
Note: Probably don’t read this if you’re about to head off on a solo trip to a dodgy foreign country… read it when you get back. This month’s blog linkup is a goodie…… Continue reading
The ultimate travel menu of locations
As part of this month’s travel blog linkup, I’m sharing my ultimate travel menu of locations. From an entrée (short haul) to a main (long haul) and a memorable desert. This menu will take… Continue reading
That place that Inspired me…
How can a travel destination be inspiring? Is it a place that changed your perspectives in life? A place that encourages you to do something more in life? Is it simply a destination… Continue reading
Hidden Gems of Travelling
It’s those places that you never considered visiting. Those spots that you stumble upon. Those aspects that etch away at your mind, heart and soul. Those places that you can never forget. Those… Continue reading
Hitting the sandy slopes: A Top Travel Experience
77km/hr. Steep sandy slopes. Helmet, board, GO! Sandboarding is not for the faint hearted. It will test your fear of heights, fear of speed and fear of falling and injuring yourself. First time… Continue reading
Petra, Jordan – A Top Travel Experience
Some places take dedication to reach. This ‘Top Travel Experience’ is one of those… Petra, Jordan, from Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt… yes it’s quite a way. It involved a couple of buses,… Continue reading
Pyramids of Giza – A Top Travel Experience
I can’t believe I’m here. Standing infront of ‘the’ Pyramids of Giza. Am I actually here? I ask myself. It’s one of those places we see in books, we read about, but we… Continue reading
Near-Perfect Travel Experiences: Travel Linkup
Well, nothing in life is ever perfect… right? At least my travels are never perfect. I think that’s what makes them some of the best stories I have to share! So this month… Continue reading
Wildlife volunteering: Top Travel Experience(s)
Getting down and dirty, deciding there’s no point in washing your shorts because you’re on enclosure cleaning yet again or it’s just so wet and humid, why bother? These are the joys of… Continue reading
Walking amongst chimpanzees in Uganda – A Top Travel Experience
Lush green forests. A scurry amongst the leaves. The call of the wild amongst shaking trees. These are the things that make me feel wild and free. As part of my East African… Continue reading
Unexpected Places
Consider for a moment a place you’ve never thought you’d visit. Is it dangerous? Is there some strange noises that you can’t quite comprehend? Do you find yourself holding a baby baboon in… Continue reading
A Greatest Travel Experience: Safari in Africa
Snap. Leopard darts from a tree. One of the only photographs taken of it was mine. Eyes wide open. Lion’s munching on a zebra on the side of the dirt path. They didn’t… Continue reading
A Greatest Experience: Hiking in Rwanda to see Mountain Gorillas
5 years on and the one experience that comes to mind when someone asks about my favourite trip – as hard as it is to pick just one, this one is usually the… Continue reading
10 Things I love about travel
This month’s travel linkup is all about love… here’s 10 things that I love about travel: 1. Waking up in the middle of nowhere and pinching myself that I’m actually there 2. Being surprised… Continue reading
One Year. 20 Locations. A year of memories
On this day last year I left my home of almost 5 years, London, to begin a world adventure and return to my homeland of New Zealand. It’s hard to believe it’s been… Continue reading
10 realities of returning home from travel / life abroad
A few months ago I returned back to my home country, after 7.5 months of travelling through Africa and Latin America and close to 5 years living in London in the UK. I… Continue reading
Places you can’t get out of your head
One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things – Henry Miller This month’s travel linkup is all about places you travel to that you can’t get… Continue reading
The travel and adventure year ahead
As you may realise, I’m on an eight month stint of travel around Africa, South America, Central America and even a brief visit to North America. As we begin the new year I… Continue reading
Day Trips from Cape Town, South Africa
Wine, incredible landscapes, chocolate, boutique shops. Penguins, lighthouses, mountains. All the incredible sights I saw during a few days trips out from Cape Town. Visiting the wineries of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch South Africa, like New… Continue reading
Sights of Cape Town
After almost 6 weeks travelling around Africa I had just under a week in Cape Town, staying in an apartment with friends for a few days and then a hostel for a few.… Continue reading
Victoria Falls to Cape Town Tour: The End
It seems fitting that after such a variety of landscapes that our tour ended in an incredible spot in South Africa called Highlanders – a camp ground surrounded by vineyards in South Africa. I… Continue reading
Fish River Canyon, one of the biggest in the world
‘Coffee, Tea & Kudu Pies’ a sign says as we pass Fish River – more of a pond under the bridge rather than a river. Despite trying Kudu, Oryx and Springbok steaks I… Continue reading
Happy Birthday to me: Visiting the famous Sand Dunes of Namibia
5am. I’m hiking up Dune 45, 100 metres up a thin ridge of a massive sand dune. Terrified I manage to pass the sitting people to find a spot to see the sunrise.… Continue reading
Sandboarding in Swakopmond
In the centre of Namibia lies a colonial German town that has moved to the modern age in recent years and is now a tourist hub. It still has German road names and… Continue reading
In Namibia, but somewhat transported out of this world in Spitzkoppe
Wandering through the desert I was once again in a completely different landscape at Spitzkoppe. Greeted by a friendly meerkat we gazed on towards the area known as the ‘Matterhorn of Namibia’. The… Continue reading
The Cape Fur Seals of Cape Cross
The moment you hit the Skeleton Coast (part of the Atlantic coast down from Angola) you feel the change in temperature. I’m talking about going from wearing shorts and a sleeveless top and feeling hot,… Continue reading
Etosha National Park, wildlife galore
Elephants bathing in the waterhole, surrounded by giraffes, oryx, kudu and impala. This is Africa. Moreso, this is Etosha National Park, filled with wildlife around waterholes and hiding away in the desert planes.… Continue reading
Meeting the San Bushmen of Namibia
Crossing over the border to Namibia the next activity was going to meet the San Bushmen. A group of people living in the desert who showed us their traditional ways of life. Making… Continue reading
Scenic flight over the Okavango Delta
Elephants, water buffalo, hippos, giraffes galore – some people even saw lions! This was the subject matter for our scenic flight over the Okavango Delta – a river and lagoons that runs from… Continue reading
Going bush in the Okavango Delta of Botswana
Loading ourselves into a dugout canoe, known as a ‘mokoro’ (or makoro) we set out for a 1-2 hour canoe trip to our bush camp. Bush camp meant a hole in the ground… Continue reading
Camping and Game Drives in Chobe National Park, Botswana
After a few days of relaxation in Zimbabwe and some much needed pool time after volunteering for two weeks, came Botswana. The border crossing took a long time because of 3/4 of our… Continue reading
Walking with Lions in Zimbabwe
Walking with lions was an activity that I wasn’t 100% sure was conservation-friendly. The more I travel the more I want to know more about what is good and what is bad for… Continue reading
Touching down in Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls
The moment you step foot into the town of Victoria Falls you can hear the gushing sound of the falls and the mist rising up at the edge of the town on the… Continue reading
Finishing up at N/a’ankuse Wildlife Sanctuary
By now I’ve described many high and low points at my time at the N/a’ankuse wildlife sanctuary in Namibia. Many people come here multiple times and love it. The volunteers range in numbers… Continue reading
Wish Day at N/a’ankuse Wildlife Sanctuary
Friday rolled around and it was my last full day, the weekend would be mainly food prep and less animal related. On your last day you have a ‘wish day’ where you can… Continue reading
Babysitting a baby baboon
They may be cute, they may make you go awwww, but they may also make you cry in pain and frustration…. all in the course of 12 hours of babysitting a little baboon.… Continue reading
N/a’ankuse, week two on the wildlife sanctuary
My second week at the wildlife sanctuary I started to get an understanding of what it’s really like there. Saturday was the social night – sushi making at the lodge, which my group… Continue reading
Week one at N/a’ankuse – Namibia Wildlife Sanctuary
Top to toe in dirt everyday, from cleaning enclosures, picking up poo to feeding big cats to cuddling baboons. The odd baboon (or five) gives the volunteers entertainment in the evenings as they… Continue reading
And so the adventure begins…
With any of my big trips the start to this one wasn’t going to be smooth. I should have expected that by now. I’ve ended up in a Thai hospital 2-3 days after… Continue reading
Crossing the globe back to New Zealand: The travel plan
As I mentioned in last week’s post, I’m leaving the UK to travel the world back to my home country of New Zealand. What lies ahead of me for the next 8 months is… Continue reading
Photography Friday: U is for ‘Uganda’
Uganda is more than just wildlife, it’s culture, nature and reality. Since I did a ‘Photo Friday’ a few weeks ago from ‘Queen Elizabeth National Park’, this week I’m avoiding any wildlife photography from… Continue reading
Making the decision to leave the UK
Making the decision to leave the UK is probably the hardest decision I’ve had to make so far in my life. I’ve lived here for almost 5 years and as my visa comes… Continue reading
Room with a view
Nature, sunrises, sunsets, ocean… these are all the things we look for in a view when we travel. Sad thing is I usually don’t have a decent view. I travel cheap and far,… Continue reading
Favourite travel photos
As part of this month’s link up with a few other brilliant bloggers, it was put to us to choose our favourite travel photo. This was by no means an easy one for… Continue reading
Photography Friday: E is for ‘Egypt’
Sunrises, Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, Snorkeling… this could be a dream, but it’s not it’s Egypt! A few years ago I managed to check out a country that was temporarily safe to… Continue reading
‘Pinch me’ moments to last a lifetime
Imagine this: you’re sitting on some stairs in the center of Prague’s town square. It’s St. Patrick’s Day 2008 and dusk has just kicked in. You are surrounded by Easter market stalls, brightly… Continue reading
Most memorable night’s sleep while travelling
Bang! Bang! That’s the taxi driver thumping on the window as I wake up inside, stranded on a back road in Nairobi. Brushing the sleep from my eyes I see the road covered… Continue reading
Face to face with a silverback (East Africa: Part 3)
Exhausted, stepping through the brush I suddenly became spellbound. Sitting just a few meters away were the most incredible creatures on earth that I’d ever met. There they were, a group of gorillas… Continue reading
Chimps, National Parks and lush landscapes of Uganda (East Africa: Part 2)
Moving onwards from the amazing animals in Kenya I headed to Uganda. Uganda is definitely worth the wait as you cross the border. Keep your head down; get through to see some amazing… Continue reading
Baboons, elephants and game parks in Kenya (East Africa: Part 1)
It’s never ideal to fall asleep in the back of a taxi when the driver has left you stranded on a country road while he goes to get petrol. However, I was jetlagged… Continue reading