An unabashed tourist and her family explore the world one holiday at a time.
The imposing wrought-iron gate swings open revealing an ivy-covered 19th century sandstone manor house. Already I am in love with this place. We park the car and head to reception. A knightly suit of armour guards the entrance where we are met by Byron, the ever-smiling Assistant Manager of Lords of the Manor, the boutique hotel where Gareth and I...
Gareth and I attended the Getaway Travel and Wildlife Photography Workshop hosted by Dylan Kotze this past Saturday. The workshop was 4 hours long and we were presented with such a wealth of information, tips and tricks that I almost feel like I should now be certified as an Advanced Beginner Photographer! Not only did Dylan fill the session with...
Gareth and I spent a blustery August morning exploring Cape Point and its surroundings inside the Table Mountain National Park just outside of Cape Town. I can definitely recommend this outing if you’re a nature lover. While we climbed up to the lighthouse and then, legs quivering like jelly, spent the rest of the morning driving from viewpoint to viewpoint,...
“This was not a good idea.” I’m only halfway up the mountain, my legs are killing me and already I’m holding my breath when people pass me on their way down so they won’t hear me wheezing in agony. Yes, I’m vain enough not to want random strangers who I will never see again think I’m having trouble walking up the...
I was delighted to find out that South Africa now has its own version of TBEX in the form of the Getaway Travel Blogger Conference (more fondly known as GTBC). It took me all of 5 minutes to make up my mind to go when I read about it two weeks prior to the event, so I hastily reserved our...
According to the clever guys at NASA, we are currently experiencing a peak in an 11-year sunspot cycle, which among other things will bring more auroras than has been seen in a long time. Apparently this Solar Max is due in the 2012/2013 northern hemisphere winter period. And so… Gareth and I are heading over to the Arctic Circle to...
When two people are travelling together, there are bound to be some things that the one didn’t enjoy quite as much as the other one. I think it’s a good idea to reflect on the trip afterwards, to learn from possible mistakes and to better plan for the next one. So… the verdict is out on our African Adventure 2011...
Our final evening in Zimbabwe was spent at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge’s Boma dinner. It wasn’t an activity that we had booked originally, but came as a complimentary gift from our tour operator. And what a fantastic evening it turned out to be! We were dressed up in traditional clothes, had our faces painted and drank mageu from tin...
Up until recently I was completely unaware that the African lion was in danger. After all, what could possibly threaten the animal king? And the answer is, of course, humans. Through hunting, loss of prey, and natural habitat destruction, the free-ranging lion populations of Africa have declined by so much as 80% in the last 50 years! A shocking statistic...
The last few days of our trip to the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe was spent at the four-star Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. The lodge borders the Zambezi National Park and, situated as it is on a natural plateau, offers a fantastic view of a nearby waterhole and the park’s residents as they come each day to quench their...