Australia - The Road Trip

After a 13 hour flight we got off the plane in Sydney it was Friday the 2nd of November. We stayed at a hostel called Wake Up which was more like a hotel it was really nice and in the centre of Sydney. As it was Friday night we had to keep up a long standing tradition and go out and have a drink (or 2!).

The next day we walked around Sydney exploring the city (a little hungover) we went to Darling harbour , the Opera House, botanic gardens, Sydney harbour bridge, the rocks and had a look round all the shops we really enjoyed our self's it was so different from being in South Africa and we felt so free.

In the hostel there was a notice board with lots of things for sale, jobs and people asking if anyone wants to share petrol costs and travel with them. We saw an advert from 2 English guys Ed and Will that said they had a car and wanted 1 or 2 people to share petrol costs and travel round Australia from the 5th of November and back to Sydney for Christmas. We called them and then met up it was perfect as we have 2 months to travel before Faye and Mark are due out to Sydney for New Year. We talked about what we wanted to do and agreed that we would try and make it round Australia and back to Sydney by Christmas.

We left Sydney on the 5th of November and headed for our first stop Coffs Harbour. We have 7 weeks which is 49 days to try and drive all the way round Australia. We are going to camp most of the time and stop at all the main places Byron Bay, Brisbane, Fraser Island, Whitsundays, Cairns, Darwin, Perth, Aires Rock, Adelaide and Melbourne. We are really excited about our road trip and plan to have as much fun as possible. We are also very glad we get to see so much of Australia and if the boys ever let us we may even drive the car which is a Holden Commodore named "the Polar Bear".

Saying goodbye to South Africa

It is the 1st of November 2007 and the end of our first Continent. We have spent the last 7 weeks in South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique and it has been the best start to our trip we could have ever wished for. We have made good and bad decisions but it has always worked out OK, we have had few if not no real arguments or problems and are so glad about everything we have done. We have made friends we will hopefully always stay in touch with and see along the way in the year to come.

South Africa is a beautiful country and we have learnt a lot. Australia is the next chapter of trip and it is sad to say goodbye to South Africa and all the people we have met but this is only the beginning.

Watch out Australia!!!

Kruger

We left Swaziland for Nelspruit on which was to be our last baz bus journey. We went through the Swaziland/South Africa border and got even more stamps added top our passport. We went through customs and the guy was trying to get Zoe's number but luckily she managed to get through without giving him it. We got Nelspruit mid afternoon and ventured out for a tour. It was a lovely place, very pretty and clean. That night we talked to some South Africans we had met about our nearly ending trip to SA.

We got picked up around lunch time by our Kruger tour guide. Once we got there we were welcomed with a drink and set off for our night drive. It was hard to spot the animals in the dark but we had a strong spot light which Zoe was in charge of and managed to see a few animals including giraffes catching their eyes with the light.
We went to our tree house lodge where we were going to be staying whilst on the tour. We were shown to our tree house (which wasn't exactly in the trees but was amongst them on stilts) We had dinner altogether and were told what was happening the following day. We went back to inspect our room and Zoe lifted her pillow up to find a huge frog. We spent about an hour trying to chase it our the hut with Books and magazines but were failing miserably. We decided to go and find someone to help us but when we opened the door we were surrounded by buffalo!!!! There were about 12 of them all watching us. When they had finally gone we went up to the main house to find some help but everyone had gone to bed. By the time we had got back we had lost the frog so decided to top and tail in the same bed tucking our mosquito net into the mattress so nothing could get us. We got up the nest morning and told everyone of our traumatic evening over breakfast. We then set off for our game drive. We were in a huge safari truck which was amazing. We drove round for a bit and saw giraffes first then some elephants which were really close. The guide said that we had to stay clear of the younger one which was still huge and just as he had that it the elephant came towards us. (the driver still took his time to move though) We then saw a leopard resting in a tree but was quite a distance away. Next we saw a group of sleeping lions, the females were sleeping and the male had got up to do a number 2!!! and we managed to get some good pictures of that. We also saw buffalo, zebras, wildebeest, wild cats, crocodiles, hippos and lots of other weird animals. That night we went back to check out hut for animals that had gotten in during the day but it was OK. We were warned that monkeys would try to get in and steel anything laying around!!! We shared a bed again and hardly slept as all we could hear were animal noises then in the morning we went on a 6am bush walk.

We left for jo'burg through a very scenic route which was beautiful. We stopped at Blayde River Canyon and the views breathtaking and we arrived at In Africa Lodge hostel early evening. We went for a look around jo'burg with a couple (Brain and Caroline) who we met on our safari. That evening Zoe and i went out for a meal to celebrate our last night in Africa. We wanted to go for a traditional African food but ended up in an Italian as there was our only choice. We tried snails which were lovely and ate far to much sea food that we could hardly move. We went back to the hostel and chatted to Caroline and Brian before going to bed excited about our journey the next day to Australia.

Swaziland and Mozambique

We arrived in Swaziland at about 6pm on Friday the 19th of October we had booked to stay at a backpackers called Always the Baz bus would only drop us at Legends so we stayed the night there this was the start of our run of bad luck!!

We got up the next day and had planned to travel over to Mozambique for a few days we had met Katie and Dave previously who had recommended hostels in Mozambique to stay. We travelled from Swaziland over to Maputo in Mozambique we got a "taxi" which is basically a mini bus rammed full of as many people possible we ended up sitting next to 3 kids who at the end of the trip were sick on Hayley's leg. We arrived at Mozambique at 5pm and got dropped of at a "bus station"we then had to pull our backpacks out of the trailer with loads of people surrounding us trying to get us to go with them in there taxi it was really horrible and me and Hayley just looked at each other not knowing what to do after being ripped off by a taxi we got to our first hostel in Mozambique called The Base. It was just a stop off as we wanted to go all the way to Tofu which is about a 7 and a half bus ride from Maputo. We had to get up at 5am to get our bus to Tofu, we got to the bus station and where ushered into a mini bus "taxi" we paid the small fee to take us to Tofu we then had to sit and wait until the mini bus was full which took 3 and a half hours!! So before we even left Maputo we sat in a mini bus with thousands of people around us in the market just waiting to leave. We finally left the bus station at 9.30am and left for Tofu we already had numb bums and we hadn't even left yet!

We got to Tofu at 5.30pm and hadn't stopped once we shared the mini bus with men, women, babies and a distressed chicken!! All we could do was laugh after all we had ended are nightmare bus ride in Tofu which was beautiful. We had to walk along the beach to our hostel the water was warm and very colourful it was stunning.

The hostel we stayed in was called Bamboozi and we booked to stay 3 nights the setting was so nice huts dotted around the beach the journey felt worth it now. Are first full day in Tofu we went to the beach and swam in the sea for hours which was warm, we said to ourselves we deserved to rest for the day. The next day we went snorkeling which was brilliant we swam with a whale shark and saw a dolphin close up playing in the sea. In the evenings we drank beer and watched the sun set, we decided after alot of talking that we would do anything not to have that taxi journey again and booked are selfs onto a flight from Inhabane to Maputo which is only a 45 min flight. The airport was tiny and so was the plain! We left Maputo in Mozambique and went to Swaziland which took another 3 hours

We arrived at the backpackers called Sonzela's in the evening which was situated in a nature reserve. We stayed 3 nights and on our first morning we opened the door to our hut and we saw Zebra an Ostrich and dear which were about 15 feet away! It was a really nice place very peaceful and obviously loads of wildlife. During the day we went on walks and saw a crocodile by a watering hole we also walked past Zebras and warthogs. In the evening we drank wine and had food by the fire we also started playing cheat (a card game) and soon got everyone addicted!!

Tomorrow is Saturday the 27th and we are heading to Nelspurit and then onto Kruger National Park to go on safari the park is said to be massive 2 million kilometers!! We have been told to wear neutral colours so pink and yellow it is!!

Coffee Bay, Umzumbe, Durban and St Lucia

We left Bulungula and had the same eventful journey back which seemed to take slightly less time but still just as scary. I had my eyes closed and Zoe kept telling me it was ok and no steep hills or cliff edges were coming up. (she is a good liar). We got dropped off in the middle of nowhere and were pretty much left to our own devices. We had to get a local taxi to our next stop (Coffee Bay) which was like squeezing sardines into a rusty tin. We had all our bags on top of us for which felt like 4 hours but was infact only about 45 minutes.

We got out at Coffee Bay and went to our hostel we were shown to the bar where we met the loveliest friendliest bar men we have met yet. We were given a welcome drink and we chatted to the staff and practised some more pool. We went for a look around, which took about 5 minutes. It consisted of a tiny shop, a pizza place and an Afitude shop which sold really nice tshirts. That night we got to know the staff and locals and got very drunk!!

The next morning we had planned (again) to go surfing as the weather was bad it was cancelled so we decided to polish up (again) on our pool skills with Joseph and the other guys an finished about 2am.
On the day we were leaving, the sun came out, which was lovely as set off on our 8 hour bus journey to our next stop.

We arrived at Umzumbe (Banana beach) about 8.30 and were shown to which we thought was our dorm but actually turned out to be a tipi. The hostel was really nice and set in a jungle forest. They had unsuite tree houses (but they were for the luxury backpackers) and a Jacuzzi which we went in but had to keep getting out as it was to hot. we swam in the sea and went to the only restaurant there and watched the monkeys which apparently try to steel the food. they also had a really small shop which didn't even sell chocolate!!!!!!!!!!
we met Dave and Katie who were also staying at the Mantis and Moon in Umzumbe. We sat in the Jacuzzi again on our last night with them talking about where to go next on our trip and drank lots of wine.

we left on Monday to go to Durban and got there about 10pm. We had arranged to stay at Nomads as it had been recommended to us. We decided to go straight to bed as we were so tired. we went to the dorm and it was of old men. we asked to move to a twin room but they were full. We to the bathroom and found a cockroach then Zoe stood on another one reception. The next morning we decided to move hostels and went to Tkwinis and stayed in a twin room which was cockroach free. It was just off a road called Florida road which was really nice and full of lovely res truants and bars. We ventured out into the city and went to the largest mall in the southern hemisphere. We went out for a really nice meal that night as we needed to treat ourselves which helped us get over our first cookroach experience. We both has Ostrich which was amazing.
On Tuesday we went to Durban Sea world and watched to dolphin and seal shows then saw the sharks being fed.

Wednesday morning we got up at 7am to catch the bus to St Lucia. We went for a look around when we got there and it was lovely. There were lots of little gift shops and restruants. We went on a river boat in the afternoon and saw crocodiles, hippos and watched the sun set with a beer on the way back. The hostel put on a free meal of Impala stew which we sat and eat with some people we had met and watched a group of people from the community sing to us. We went to a cocktail party that night with the staff from the hostel and left early afternoon the next day for Swaziland.

Bulungula 04/10/07

On Thursday the 4th October we headed with Lorna and Pippa to Bulungula which is a rural village home to the Xhosa community (which is pronounced with a click) they own 40% of the lodge and people can get a chance to share their life. We were picked up by a 4x4 which transported us through rolling hills to the village which is cut off from the outside world by forests rivers and the ocean. The drive was very scary and something Hayley described as "the reason she couldn't come back". There were a few moments we thought we were going to roll over. Hayley had her eyes closed the whole way!! We were in the 4x4 with 14 other people (and it could only carry 10) and i had to sit on Hayley's lap. (she told me after that i had given her dead legs)We finally arrived at the lodge about 7pm. The backpackers is made up of a lodge where you can eat chill out and have a drink, huts dotted around where you can sleep, toilets and a shower hut. We shared a dorm with Pippa and Lorna which is made up of mud cow poo!!! The whole concept of the lodge is Eco friendly so everything is solar powered. The showers are called rocket showers and you pour paraffin in the end of the tube, light it and it heats up the water for your shower which was the nicest shower we have had so far. The toilets have no water/flush so once you have been you just close the lid. There was also a hen in one of the toilets keeping her eggs warm to hatch! a very strange experience!!

On the first full day we went canoeing which was a four hour canoe trip down the river. The scenery was beautiful and it was so tiring. Then we all went in the sea and played Frisbee.
On Saturday, we Lorna and Pippa left and Hayley and i went on a traditional herbalist walk. We walked through the forest and the herbalist showed us what he used to treat different illness. for example there was a tree he took bark from and you would crush is and drink it if you had a cough or one you would wash with if you wanted to find a girl/boyfriend. We then went to a hut which was a restaurant on the top of hill looking over the ocean and we had a chicken and spinach curry in a pancake which was gorgeous.
On Sunday, we went on a trip called Woman Power which we went to someones house in the village experienced how they live. We collected wood and water and carried them on our heads (well tried to) and watched them live their lives. they say a good wife always has a big pile of fire wood outside the house!

We had dinner at the lodge that night which was fish cakes made by the "mumas" as they are known.

We were leaving on the Monday morning and ate breakfast watching the dolphins jump around ion the sea. It was truly the nicest i have ever been to. we both loved it. we only booked to stay two nights but ended up staying for four.
On Monday we said our goodbyes and headed for Coffee Bay where we are staying for three night. We are staying in the Coffee Shack backpackers and getting there in time for their themed party night.

If you want to see where we were in Bulungula go to their website. It is amazing!!!

www.bulungula.com

Island Vibe

We got of the Baz bus at Island Vibe and by coincidence some of the girls we had met were also going to Island Vibe. We shared our dorm with Claire and Claire and Shaan and Katie where in the next dorm along. Lorna and Pippa where staying in a different hostel but where coming to Island Vibe the next day. We went straight to the bar and had a few drinks with the girls.

We woke up on the Sunday and the weather was quite bad we were planning to either go surfing or sand boarding but they where both cancelled because of the weather so we went for a walk around the town to the factory shops which sold mostly surf stuff. We had lunch in a cafe along the beach and then went back to our hostel. We sat in the bar and chatted to our new friends and practised our pool skills (Zoe is now a semi pro). We all signed up for the meal that they cook for everyone one and had grilled Hake with rice and salad it was so nice and only cost about 2 pounds. That night we sat around in the bar and chatted to the locals and learnt about surfing, had a game of limbo (which i won by the way) and went to bed hoping the weather would get better the next day.

It wasn't..... they guys at the hostel had arranged a group walk which we assumed would be a tour of J bay and info on the place but turned out to be a walk on the beach looking at jellyfish it was still nice though. We went back and had dinner before we had to leave again on the Baz bus.

We had to stop at Port Elizabeth just for the night before heading for Cintsa. We stayed at a place called Base camp Backpackers and the lady there was the funniest women we have ever met. The hostel was full of weird boys but luckily we were with all the girls and shared the same dorm. The lady showed us around, the place had a bathroom with a mirrored selling that looked like something out of a horror movie!! She told us stories which sounded very fictional and the place itself was quite bad but we all laughed about it and all said we were glad to be leaving the next morning.

We arrived at Cinsta at lunch time and had to say bye to Shaan and Katie who had to travel straight to Durban. Pippa, Lorna, Zoe and I were all sharing our own little cottage in the wood which overlooked a lagoon which was followed by the sea. The place was really nice except they had a slight ant problem which Zoe found hard to cope with and they also had a few Geekos which i had a problem with !! We met up with the two Clairs who where on there 2nd night at Cinsta. We decided to go canoeing which turned out to be very comical!! Lorna and I decided to go first and as i stood in the canoe it started to move apart from the bank so i held onto the bank and tried to pull the canoe back but it just kept moving and i ended up falling into the river, it was very funny and no one could help me as they were laughing to much !! Zoe and Pippa went in after and had a much more successful time. There was a mud fight in the afternoon but we just watched for a bit then ran away as we thought they would try and get us as we were clean!!

We signed up again for the hostel meal which was an Indian Buffet and we both said it was the best Indian we have ever had (even better than Alishan). We all went to the bar after and tried to teach the locals some drinking games.

On Wednesday we all went to the beach to sunbath as the weather was lovely except when we got down there the wind was really strong and we got sand everywhere. We were planning to go to a bonfire on the beach that night but we had to walk though the woods in the dark and were all to scared so we all just stayed in our cottage chatting the night away.

We got up early the next day which was Thursday to pack up and check out. We went to the supermarket to stock up on supplies as we were heading to a remote place called Bulungula which is a small place with huts on the beach in a Xhosa community.

Hermanus

We left Cape Town on Monday the 24th September and went on the Baz Bus to Hermanus it was a 4 hour drive to the next Hostel which was called Hermanus backpackers. We got there on one of the last days of Hermanus whale festival we walked round the town and saw some whales in the sea but none close enough to see fully. We spent two nights in Hermanus on the second day we walked to the beach which was a 2 hour coastal walk and we saw so many different things in the water loads of whales, this time a lot closer up.

We left Hermanus on the Wednesday morning and headed to Mossel Bay. We booked to stay on the Santos Express which is a train on the beach!! when we got there the first two carriages were a burnt out wreck we were told a fire had started as someone was smoking on the train. We got to the dorm that we had booked and it was awful so small and really dirty we both looked at each other and just said there is no way we can stay here!! So we went in search of another hostel we walked through Mossel Bay and found Mossel Bay backpackers were we booked for one night we had to get a taxi to get are bags from the train (far to heavy to carry).

The next day we went to Buffalo Bay which was a place recommended to us. We stayed for two nights at Buffalo Bay Backpackers it was an amazing place a massive house right on the beach we spent the first day on the beach and only saw about four other people it is the nicest place yet (just very quiet). In the evening we had are first Braai which is a traditional south African BBQ.

Today we are going to Jeffery's Bay and staying for two night at Island Vibe which seems to be where everyone is going. Jeffery's Bay is supposed to be very lively and full of surfers so after a few days of relaxing we are ready to party !!

Cape Town

We arrived in Cape Town on Monday after an 11 hour flight and headed to our hostel. The hostel was ok, we dumped our stuff and went to look around. We went to V&A waterfront which was really lovely.

We had a few drinks in the hostel bar which was like 80p a glass of wine (Amazing).

On Tuesday we went on a wine tour which was really good. We were drinking wine all day from about 10 am. We went to 4 different vineyards and tried about 60 wines. We were quite tipsy by the end of the day and carried on drinking in the bars on Long street with the people we had met that day.

Wednesday we had to change hostels as they were fully booked and the thought of carrying our heavy backpacks around looking for a free hostel was awful. Luckily the first one we came to had rooms and the Hostel itself was lovely. We sat by the pool looking on to Table mountain.

Thursday we went up Table Mountain in the cable car. The view was amazing, you could see the whole of Cape town then we went to a few Museums to try to educate ourselves a bit then had a look around the city and some of the shops.

Friday we went to the beach and sunbathed all day. The water was freezing but the weather was lovely and we got a bit of a tan.

Saturday we wet on Township tour which was so interesting, we went to some of the towns where the people live in little shacks made of wood. the children were lovely and loved having their pictures taken. We went into a pub which was basically a wooden hut and the men sat around drinking beer out of one giant pot which was shared around. It is so crazy how they live and how happy they all are.

In the afternoon we went to Robben Island to see the prison Nelson Mandela was in. It was also really interesting and we both learnt loads. On our way back we stopped and had a few drinks in a bar which later turned into a lot of drinks and ended up getting quite drunk.