Australia

After arriving in Sydney we spent a couple of jet-lagged days there before heading down to Canberra to stay with our friends Api and Cath and their baby Logan for 3 nights.
We didn't do too much in Canberra, some might say that's because there isn't much to do, but we got over the jet lag there and managed to go National War Museum which was actually quite impressive. We also saw the Old and New Parliament Buildings.
Next stop was Melbourne where we stayed with Vicky.
Melbourne is a great city and we both were really impressed with it. We went into the city and took the free city tram on the circle tour. We then did a tour of Parliament House which was really informative.
In the weekend we went out to Healesville Sanctuary where we got our first taste of Australian wildlife plus others; Kangaroos, Koalas, Wallabies, Tasmanian Devils, Kookaburras, Wombats and Platypus. It was quite cool and Craig got to hold a Carpet Python Snake. Not as slimy as he thought. We had a BBQ with some work friends Suz had made in London. Craig brought some prawns to get a real feel for the great Australian barbie but alas no one there knew much about how to prepare and eat this fine delicacy. Still we had a laugh and a catchup.
Next stop was the Gold Coast to catch up with Craig's sisters Paula and Nicola. Paula has been there for about 3 years so knew the lay of the land, Nicola and the Joneses had only recently moved up from Sydney. Craig meet his niece Teagan for the first time and again caught up with his nephew Finley. Teagan was abit bamboozled by the term uncle and refers to Craig as Auntie Craig.
The Gold Coast was not as hot as we thought it would be but does have impressive beaches and a great nightlife so we will probably be making a few trips back to keep in touch with the family.
Back to Sydney for a night before finally setting off to Wellington and we had dinner in the Sydney Tower revolving restaurant, the food was average the view was fantastic and we had a table next to Chris Latham the great Australian FullBack and for Craigs mind the best Australian player of recent years. I'd pick him in an All Black starting 15, if we were playing Japan or Italy...

Week 8: 18 - 24 November 2006: Zimbabwe/Botswana/South Africa

Victoria falls was a great place.
The first full day we were there Craig went rafting on the Zambesi with all of the boys on the truck and a few of the girls. I got into a raft with the 6 lads, Dean, George, Dimi, Jerry, Graham and myself. I set the tone of the day by falling out even before we had hit the first 'practice' rapid. We were all about false bravado with phrases like "lets go hard"and "bring it on" being bandied about like a schoolyard cockfight, until we got chucked out and jostled through 'The Morning Glory'. I thought I might die. We were battered so much that Jerry ripped his shorts and spent the rest of the day with his third eye showing, I had had enough and it was only rapid no4 out of 26. The rapids were big and fast and powerful but we were getting the hang of it and thanks to Jerry's expert tutoring and by the end of the day we could outpaddle Ian Ferguson and I actually enjoyed the day. Mind you it must be said that Jerry struggled with the practical application of what he had taught us, he was our backup paddler and only if absolutely necessary to avoid certain death could he be called upon to actually paddle. The cable car lift out of the gorge was definately a bonus for us as its a 600 metre uphill hike if you rafted with the other company, not a pleasant prospect after a day of shattering extreme sports. Much beers were consumed on the 'bus' ride back to Zimbabwae and false bravado again reared its ugly head. While the rafting was going on the girls had 'high tea' at Victoria Falls hotel, a luxurious hotel with beautiful views of the bungy and the Zambesi - you could also see the spray from the Falls.
The next day we were up early to cross back over to Zambia (which borders Vic Falls) to go Gorge Swinging, it looked terrifying but out of our large group we were 2nd and 3rd respectively to jump! Better to get it over with than to sit and watch others throw themselves off a cliff. We did the first ones solo and forwards but then we did a tandem one backwards. On this one you fell so much faster!
We then went on a 30min helicopter ride over Victoria falls and through the gorge where the rafting took place. It was spectacular seeing it from the air.
At night we went to dinner by ourselves at the Vic Falls hotel and had one of the best meals and services we've ever had anywhere.
On the last day we finally went and saw Victoria Falls from the ground. we spent two hours there and even though it was the end of the dry season so the water was less it was still impressive and we got drenched by the spray.
We then left Zimbabwe and crossed into Botswana. we only spent one night there and did an afternoon game drive in Chobe National Park. This has to be one of our favourite parks, this might be slightly biased because of what we saw, but still the scenery is pretty good. There we saw the elusive Leopard and not just a distant sighting like we saw in the Serengeti, an up close one and on two different occasions. Now we had seen The Big Five. We also saw a Leopard Tortoise which is one of the Small Five. It was our final game drive and what a way to finish.
The next day we left the truck which was very sad because of the friends we had made and the knowledge they still had heaps more to see and do.
Another kiwi couple and us transferred to our own truck and then drove straight to South Africa and Johannesburg where we just spent one night before flying to Sydney.
This tour has to be one of the best we have ever done in terms of people, sights, organisation and once in a lifetime experiences. On tour we also had 7 birthdays (incl. three 30ths) and 2 engagements!!

Africa Week 8

Week 7: 12 - 17 November 2006: Zimbabwe

Our next stop in Zimbabwe was Antelope Park just outside Gweru. Ironically we never saw an Antelope, but it was famous for it's Lion Rehabilitation Programme, so during our 3 night stay we did some amazing things.
We went on two 2 hour walks with lions, one with 6 month old cubs Ltalo & Landela and one with 18 month old cubs Praise, Phyre & Panka. You got to be really close to them all and pat them. Craig also saw all of the being fed. We also got to play with the adorable 3 month old cubs Amgela, Acacia and Amadhla.
One of the most crazy things we did there was go swimming on the backs of elephants. We were on Ellie the one that rolled from side to side, we thought this was going to be 'nicer' than Tombe the one that dived!! But we spent more time under the water than the couple on Tombe.
Probably the nicest place we stayed in the whole of our african trip was a place called Big Cave Camp. As it was Liv & Al's last tour they often made our kitty stretch to great dinners out or upgrades to beds, but this place was fantastic. We had our own cabin with amazing views around Matopas National Park - it was luxury.
In Matopas we also got to see original Bushmen paintings and go trekking on foot to see wild Rhinos.
After Matopas we headed to Victoria Falls where we were left to our own devices for four days and could do any of the activities we liked.

Africa Week 7

Week 6: 6 - 11 November 2006: Zambia/Zimbabwe

We then crossed in Zambia and had our longest border crossing - 3 1/2 hours - the guy was the most easily distracted and slowest guy on the planet, after an hour he had done 6 out of 30 but hey we were on african time. We then just had a couple of long transit days through to Zimbabwe.
We reached Zimbabwe and saw the Kariba Hydro Dam which was pretty spectacular and then a few minutes in we saw 3 wild elephants - the start of many wild sightings throughout Zimbabwean towns.
We spent 2 nights on a house boat on Lake Kariba which was relaxing. We stayed one of those nights in a National Park and saw elephants, hippos and crocodiles right next to where our boat moored for the night. we also had another punch night and although it lasted long into the night the only thing lost overboard was the head of our mop - lost by our guide Liv no less.
The night we left the houseboats we stayed at a campground that had TV and Sky at the bar - also elephants the would pop in occasionally - so we got to see the All Blacks beat France which was a bonus.

Africa Week 6

Week 5: 31 October - 5 November 2006: Zanzibar Island/Tanzania/Malawi

After reluctantly leaving the beach we headed back to Stonetown where we went to a local seafood market for dinner. There we had 'Zanzibar Pizza's' which were delicious!
The sailing back to the mainland was so rough there were people being sick everywhere it was like a chain reaction. Craig was sick heading over but managed to last the journey back.
We then drove solidly for a couple of days through Tanzania, driving through Mikumi National Park, until we reached Malawi.
We spent one night beside Lake Malawi at Chitamba and another two nights beside the lake at Kande Beach. This was a great sandy beach and extremely hot, so naturally everyone risked Bilhazia (the nasty worm the eats your insides) and went swimming. Guess we'll find out in three months if we have it!!
At Kande Beach we had a 'Bad Taste Punch Night'. Everyone had drawn another person's name out of a hat and for whom had to but an ugly outfit for. We wore these outfits and drank a whole chilli-bin/eskie/cool-box full of punch that Liv had made up for us. Apparently according to Al this was drank in record time and the rest of the night was messy and a bit of a blur.
The other night there we had dinner at the local chiefs house where all of his kids sang and danced for us and even did a performance of the haka which was pretty good.

Africa Week 5

Week 4: 23 - 30 October 2006: Tanzania/Zanzibar Island

We crossed the border into Tanzania and then after a visit to Arusha headed to the Serengeti, passing the Ngorongoro Crater. We did this trip in smaller trucks of about 6 people per vehicle.
We spent the night in the Serengeti which means 'endless plains' in Swahili and boy was it that.
We did a game drive and saw quite a few animals, but kept narrowly missing the elusive leopard that the other trucks kept seeing.
The next night we spent on the rim of the crater, it was freezing cold but had some amazing views and a beautiful sunrise.
We descended down into the Crater which is a complete eco-system and saw so many animals including a Cheetah.
The ride out of the Crater was one of the worst roads I have ever been on and was extrememly painful on the ribs!
After that we drove to Dar es Salaam and crossed on the ferry over to Zanzibar Island which wasn't the smoothest of sailings.
Although Zanzibar is still part of Tanzania they have their own government so you have to produce your passport on arrival and get stamped.
Reknown for it's spices we did a Spice Tour when we arrived into Stonetown and got to learn about all of the different spices; taste and smell them.
On Zanzibar we spent 4 great days relaxing in lovely cabins in the northern part of the Island going swimming, snorkelling over coral reefs and fish. We also went on a sunset 'booze cruise', played volleyball and recharged the batteries.
At the beach we left behind 5 people including Brad and Sharon which was sad.

Africa Week 4

Week 3: 15 - 22 October 2006: Uganda/Kenya

For the first couple of days we just headed back the same route we had come until we arrived at Jinja - The source of the Nile River.
We quad biked the first day and then did a whole day rafting on the White Nile with 7 of us in the raft plus 1 guide. After a few training rapids we headed off to the main ones, there were 12 of these ranging in grade from 3 to 5 with 1 grade 6 rapid (too big to commercially raft) which we walked around. The first few rapids our guide tried (and failed) to flip us out of the raft, but it wassn't long before we were flipping without his 'help'. The best/worst (depending on your outlook) rapid of the day for us was a waterfall which you had to paddle accross the face of the rapid to reach. Only 2 rafts managed to get to the waterfall, we were all pumped at the top until our raft drifted around and our guide said "We are going over the waterfall... backwards...". Our raft teetered on the top before gracefully sliding over the edge and dropping the 4-5 metres to bounce rather hard and remarkably pop back up the right way with all people still aboard. All was were well except Suz who, although not confirmed, probably had a broken rib.
We had another day in Jinja nursing wounds and hangovers before heading back to Nairobi in Kenya. We stopped at a Giraffes Sanctuary for the endangered Rothschild 'White Socked' Giraffe, where we were able to feed then by hand from a raised platform, they even took food out of your mouth which was fun but also extremely wet!

Africa Week 3

Week 2: 8 - 14 October 2006: Kenya/Uganda/Rwanda

We started the week at Lake Baringo, where there were more Hippos to be seen.
After crossing the border into Uganda we stayed at a place called The Hairy Lemon which was a camp on it's own island, there we could play volley ball in the water.
We then headed to the capital Kampala and picked up 3 more people (The British) and headed to Entebbe where we caught a traditional canoe out to Ngamba Island.
This is a Chimpanzee Sanctuary currently rehabilitating around 40 chimps. We saw them being fed and boy were they badly behaved, there was so much screaming, yelling and fighting - just like children.
Leaving Kampala we crossed the Equator, on which we watched the 'water demonstration'; in the Northern Hemisphere the water drains clockwise, in the Southern Hempishere it drains anti-clockwise , but on the Equator in drains straight down very fast.
The children in Uganda were so friendly, always waving at the truck.
We then crossed in Rwanda which was such a lush country and one of our favourites. Almost every piece of land was farmed and cultivated which looked amazing but meant erosion was constantly occuring.
We stopped at the capital Kibale to visit the Genocide Museum - remembering the 1994 Genocide of the Tsutsis - a moving experience.
We then stayed at Ruhengeri where we got beds!! Quite a luxury after 2 weeks in tents.
From here we could go to the Parc du Volcans to trek the endangered Mountain Gorrilla's, starting at 5.30am!!
8 of us trekked the Amohore (meaning Peace) Group which had 16 members led by one Silverback. It was the most amazing experience, we saw about 13 of them including a 3 month old with the best hairdo!! We got so close to them, providing the Silverback is between you and any young ones it is fine and he keeps an eye on you.
That night we crossed back into Uganda and everyone was in high spirits after seeing the Gorrilla's so a big night was had by all, helped by some banana whiskey (horrible) and plastic packets (!?) of vodka.
Check out some more photos below.

Africa Week 2

Week 1: 1 - 7 October 2006: Kenya

We arrived in Kenya excited and apprehensive. Our first stop, The Heron Hotel in Nairobi was much better that expected, with really nice rooms, even by European Standards, good food and drinks.
We met our tour group which included amongst others a guy Suz went to primary school with and also guide and truck driver (Liv & Al). We started off with 24 people on tour.
Our first stop was David Sheldrick's Animal Orphanage, where we watched (& touched)babyElephants and Rhinos being bottle fed and bathed.

We left Nairobi and headed to Elsamere, home of 'Born Free' writer Joy Adamson.
We stayed 2 nights at Lake Naivasha where Hippos roamed the campground at night. We took a boat trip to a national park where we walked to Green Crater Lake, home to thousands of Pink Flamingos. The walk there took us through fields of Giraffe's, Zebra's and Impala's. We ended the day by watching Fish Eagles dive and catch fish hurled into the water.
We then headed to the Masi Mara, on some of the worst roads ever, negotiating a tire blowout and a jack-knifed truck taking up the whole road.
The Mara was quite amazing, we saw our first pride of Lions and the migrating Wildebeast.
After that we headed to Lake Nakuru which had a huge Soda Lake which stunk of Flamingos and coated the soles of your shoes, and in Brad's case even swallowed them! There we also had our first close-up encounter with a White Rhino.
At the end of the first week everyone felt like the tour had been going for much longer as we had done and seen so much.
Click on the following photo for more week 1 photos

Africa Week 1