Africa Travels

Only 4months till i am travelling again, so excited ! i am almost ready now with 99% of my itinery sorted. Booked my accommodation for johannesburg @ bobs'bunkhouse, spending 8days in Durban @ Gibela Backpackers, and then 6days in Cape Town @ The Backpacker & Africa Travel Centre before joining my Cape Desert Safari with Acacia Africa...... Also booked my flight between J'Burg - Durban & Durban - Cape Town with Kulula Air.

Only thing left for me to sort out is accommodation in Windhoek, Namibia post tour and when i return to Cape Town for my flight home plus my transport from Namibia to S.Africa.

Riga : Come & Gone !

Well what can i say about Riga, Latvia.........

This time of the year it was freezing cold but the hotel was good, restaurants we visited were nice and friendly - good food and excellent service from one particular lady on our first night out! Peoples english was good and helpful. relatively cheap especially getting about on public transport, only bad thing about that was being packed like sardines on the airport bus.......

Winter Hols

In one weeks time my father , sister and i will be off to Riga for a long weekend ! i certainly could do with a break.... Kind of looking forward to it, booked into a hotel and have ordered my latvian lats ( their currency )

and it would appear that latvia is one of thee places to go !

Riga, Latvia

Not somewhere i would have in my top 10 places to go but you never know .............
i am going along with my sister and father, we are treating him to a belated birthday getaway. Our Father has not been abroad for years and the time has come for him to be able to experience someplace different and to enjoy his retirement.
So something else to look forward to in November............ a fun packed family long weekend !!!

Namibia

Have finalised part of my trip with a tour from cape town to windhoek. 11 day safari, camping under the stars in the Namib Desert, quad biking over huge sand dunes and much more to look forward too ! Woo Hoo !
now just the rest of the trip to sort out..........

Africa 2010

Booked my flight for one of next years adventures, another african safari. managed to get a cheap flight to south africa after hours of getting quotes for cheapest route. It seems that if you fly to/from windhoek ( Namibia ) it raises the cost and i tend to think if you can get a really good cheap flight, then you can spend more on travelling within that continent ........! so my plans changed slightly from my originals but still be seeing new places and adding more countries to my list !
Africa, here i come ..................... woo hoo !!!!

Perth Inclusion

and yes, the Perth photo has been included in the new edition of the online guide to Perth !
woo hoo !

online guides

last month had a few surprises in store for me, could be a new direction of career for me .........
had 2 photos included in online guides and have a 3rd one being shortlisted for this months edition. first it was my pic of Canberras Houses of Parliament, then an absolutely gorgeous one of Manly Beach and now one of London Court, Perth is awaiting to be included in Perths edition of the online guide.
www.schmap.com
so excited ! what's next in line.............

New Adventures..........

After being unemployed for 2months, i am starting to settle into my new job in a local coffee bar. oh the joys of working ! I am not complaining, i am happy to do whatever comes my way .......
Went out with some of my new colleagues and saw Marley & Me, Jennifer Aniston was great! Good movie but get the tissues ready !
Now that i am back at work, i can now think about where to go on my next major adventure. The options are endless..........
Won't be waiting a whole year without holidays though, have weekends off so there could be some memorable short breaks away visiting friends !
First plan is where to go for my birthday in 6months time .............?
and then where to go for New Year?
Woo Hoo !!!!

Innsbruck

A tiny little town with the austrian alps as a wonderful background ! Not alot you can do if you are not into skiing. But when you travel it's not always about where you go, it's about the people who you are with that makes the trip worthwhile ...............!!!!! I had an excellent time visiting the city, drove to other provinces, drank wine, ate good food, talked and shared company, all with very good friends. I am glad i went when i did, worth every single penny !
Good friends are hard to find but even harder to forget ...............................

Kicking............

I have been kicking myself for returning home early, but all is not lost...............
I am off to Innsbruck on wednesday, to visit a good friend that i met in WA. I am sooooooo looking forward to it !!! Lots of fun to be had and plenty of good wine among good friends.............
Perhaps even playing in the snow................

Why do good times have to end ?

If it wasn't for my volunteer project being cancelled and me going on a Western Australia tour i would not have met so such good friends. met up with a couple back in sydney and had a great time, didn't want the fun to end but all is not lost !
Needing a reunion in austria as soon as possible to catch up with a very good friend.......

New Found Friends

Had a wonderful time in Perth after the tour had finished. Enjoyed the tour, don't get me wrong but the time spent once back in Perth was even better. spent the last few days of my time in the western city with my new friends in the same hostel. We went out every night for dinner and always bumped into each other during the day. eventhough they were austrian & germans, still had amazing evenings. and now i am already missing them ! It was fate that brought us together, had the volunteering project gone ahead i would not have had the fun and new friends that i have now. Something different about these new friends, can't explain but it makes me want to take up german again.........how wierd is that, especially as i am not a language person !
Plans already for New Year in Innsbruck, Austria............

Western Explorer

Arrived in Perth to hot weather, averaging 35c. Spent a few days with mums' friends and then off on a tour of WA with a company called Western Xposure. 7 Days of touring the west coast, temperaure rising everyday reaching a mega 48c . Sweltering hot, hardly felt like eating at all but ate for the sake of keeping healthy. Sunbathed, got close to dolphins, saw the Pinnacles and walked many a mile in the very humid heat. Group was a mix of europeans which included a group of 4 scots from glasgow who didn't care about themselves in the strong sun rays by not putting suncream on therefore one of them getting really bad sun blisters which are going infected and by drinking lots of beer every night for the majority of the trip. This was one of the many things that puts me of going on tours, as there is likely to be young immature people who kind of ruin it. Food wasn't exactly appealing for those with special dietary requirements such as i and those veggies, one night i almost got nothing. The only good thing about it was meeting some really good people and the places we went to. Now back in perth and staying in the YHA with several of my new friends. Offers of a proper cold New year in Innsbruck may be accepted..................

A New Year

7 days into the new year and nothing has changed except for the fact that i am in a warmer climate than normal..... how many more times can i mention that ?

After having left sydney by train,  for an overnight stay in melbourne and 2 nights in Adelaide, am now in Perth. Should have taken the Indian Pacific train but was fully booked so had to fly, which was ok. had a trainee captain and was sitting by a guy who has bought a share in a stretch of beach in tanzania with some mates of his ! he spends quite sometime travelling as well, and is moving to england for a few years. 

Spending a few nights with a friend of mums' and then my WA tour begins on friday, looking forward to that....... then it's back over to Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to end my journey.

take care and talk soon