May 10, 2013 - Jeffrey's Bay South Africa

After 5 long, but extremely enjoyable months at home in Canada, I decided it was time once again to get amongst the waves and adventures of a new location. It was time to experience South Africa. With my eagerness to get back in the water reaching its max, I decided to meet up with an old friend, Brendan, in Jeffrey's Bay for some surf at one of the world's best right hand point breaks.

Mar 31, 2013 - Capetown

When we arrived in Capetown on Friday pm and are staying at Seapoint which is a short walk to the sea. Saturday was 44km /hr winds which was pretty amazing, but we had a perfect day on Sunday weatherwise. We have spent a bit of time on the hop on hop off bus seeing the sights and also getting stuck in the traffic jam for 2 hrs all going up to Table Mountain as it was such a nice day, hence we didnt get to the top and went down to the Waterfront for lunch. Capetown is a really nice city but it can have weather like Melbourne and when it...

Mar 29, 2013 - Oudtshoorn

Yesterday we travelled over the Outeniqua Pass to the Cango Caves, these are one of the 7 wonders of Africa.They were quite spectacular. We then went to the Ostrich farm which was quite interesting even got to sit on an ostrich put definitely did not want to ride one! Even thou they demonstrated how they raced them. Today after a long drive we arrived in Capetown, Table mountain was clear but it was blowing a 40km/hr gale so the cablecar was shutdown. We went out to a nice thai restaurant in Seapoint tonight. We now have three days to...

Mar 27, 2013 - Knysna

Today we travelled onto Knysna from Port Elizabeth. We visited the Tsitsikamma forest which is a national park where the mountains meet the sea. The scenery and bush reminds you very much of New Zealand, quite a scenic coastline. The town of Knysna is very touristy but has its shanty shacks on the outskirts. We are staying at Knysna Hollow which is just out of the town but is like Hippo Hollow where we stayed with little huts with thatched roofs spread around lovely gardens and a few pools, quite relaxing. Tomorow we are off to the Cango...

Mar 26, 2013 - Port Elizabeth

We have had a few problems with internet and wifi so haven't been able to do it for a few days. We had an overnight stay in Durban, lovely beaches and waterfront, but the hotel wasnt the best one we had stayed at. From Durban we went up to the Drakensburg mountains. On Sunday we had a trip up the Sani Pass to Lesotho which was really spectacular and the 4wd driving was very scary but well worth it. The highest pub in Africa is at the top and it was really interesting to see how the traditional people survive at such high altitudes with...

Mar 24, 2013 - Budgets and planning

Category 11: Suite with Balcony: Booking ref: 12305746 Andre (adult) Lorna (adult) Des (child - 17) CRUISE FEE PER ADULT – R13, 019 X 2 = 26, 038 13,019.00 2 R 26,038.00 PORT CHARGES PER PERSON – R500 X 3 = R1500 500.00 3 R 1,500.00 ON BOARD SERVICES PER ADULT – R350 X 2 = R700 350.00 2 R 700.00 ON BOARD SERVICES PER CHILD – R175 X 1 = R175 175.00 1 R 175.00 INURANCE PER ADULT – R168 X 2 = R336 168.00 2 R 336.00 TOTAL R 28,749.00 LESS DEPOSITS R -3,336.00 TOTAL Balance payable for booking ref 12305745 R 25,413.00 SFR TRAVEL – MSC...

Mar 21, 2013 - Swaziland

From Hazyview we travelled is into Swaziland to the capital Mbanae thru the border into another country. It has a very hilly terrain and relies on farming,sugarcane and forestry and is ruled by a King.With the high terrain we encountered the first rain of our trip. The next day we travelled on KwaZul-Natal where the Zulus come from. The afternoon we went on yet another game drive in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi park one of the oldest game parks in SA. It is reknown for its rhino and it didnt disappoint as we saw a few as well as...

Mar 19, 2013 - Kruger National Park

After two days to chill out after Vic Falls we started on our tour. We left Joburg on Monday to head towards Hazyview and the Kruger. We drove thru the panoramic route thru the Blyde River Canyon which is like a mini grand canyon very picturesque. We arrived at Hippo hollow late in the afternoon another unique african experience where the hippos graze around the grounds at night, thank goodness I havent seen any too close yet! Tomorow we leave for Swaizland. Today we were up at 4.30am for a trip around the Kruger in an opentop vehicle lots...

Mar 11, 2013 - Pilanesburg National Park

Today we have come back from Pilanesburg National Park which is about 2hrs from Joburg. We stayed at a lovely resort called Bakubung which is a timeshare resort also. It is like something like "Out of Africa" with two bedroom units with thatched roofs looking out onto the National Park. On Saturday we went for a drive in the Park very early in the morning and saw lots of animals zebras, warthog, widerbeast, giraffe,wild dogs, impala, rhino to name a few, it is very easy for 4hrs to disappear! Yesterday we went to Suncity which is a huge...

Mar 7, 2013 - Soweto

We are still in Joburg getting spoilt by Pete and Jane and there homehelp/cook Arnold who does all our washing and ironing so what more can we do but sightsee and relax! Yesterday we went on a tour to Soweto and the apartheid museum and had lunch at an african restaurant. Soweto is much bigger than anticipated. It has 5mil people and is about 30min outside Joburg, we went inside a shack in the shantytown area which gives u a good perspective on life! There is whole range of houses from shacks to some very nice ones but there is definte...

Mar 6, 2013 - Johannesburg

We arrived in Johannesburg yesterday afternoon safely complete with all our luggage! Pete and Jane picked us up at the airport and it took about 50min to get to there place. Its lovely relaxing place on an acre with lots of trees and garden and swimming pool complete with a high fence, razor wire and beams to keep them safe. Tomorow we are going on a tour in Soweto which includes lunch at a local restaurant there and then going to the Apartheid museum. It should be good.

Feb 25, 2013 - Arrival to Johannesburg, South Africa

Arrived in Johannesburg at about 3.45pm today after the 14 hour flight from Sydney. We flew down the NSW coast and then over Tasmania and across the Southern Ocean to the edge of Antarctica. The views of the sea ice, icebergs and the edge of the Antarctic continent were simply stunning. It is an amazing flight. Once in Joburg, we caught the hotel shuttle. The hotel is around the other side of the airport. We are relaxing in the hotel watching (believe it or not) a three year old episode of Master Chef Australia!!! The hotel room is quite...