Now in New Plymouth in the Taranaki Peninsula but rain and mist all day so hoping for better tomorrow. This is a photo down to the Emerald Lakes descnding from the top of Mt Tongariro. Great walk and I was lucky with the weather; it was clear all day without the winds they predicted. We've come around Highway 45 from Wanganui stopping last night in sight of Mt Egmont and next to the black sand dunes at a small recreational campsite near Manaia on the south coast. The cliffs and dunes there were quite different from what we've seen previously with layers of volcanic debris. Also we know where all the House Sparrows from England are, they're here! Everywhere they're busy nesting, chirping away and with the Yellowhammers, Skylarks and numerous Goldfinches, it is like the countryside when we were younger. We're not sure what we'll do next as we plan to canoe a stetch of the Whanganui river soon but this depends on the weather as we'll be camping at DOC sites and with rain, the river will be up. Otherwise we'll go to the east coast and south.

A Variable Oyster Catcher in the sand dunes amongst flowers. They're different from ours without the full white breasts, more like the Black Oyster Catches in South Africa. They were breeding amongst the dunes, together with New Zealand Dotterels, on the east coast of North Land.

We're now in Whanganui city till Tuesday and still hope to do some canoeing on the river for a few days. At the momet they're busy with school trips so we're keeping clear! I'll put some pics of the Tongariro alpine crossing later; it was great weather for it.

Stanley I presume? the explorer along the banks of the mighty Waikato river during our short "Tramp" from the Falls to get a view downstream. Our first Warbler sang for us near here and lots of "Pheasant Berry" growing wild. Helen made our first rope out of the NZ Flax that is everywhere, a trick we learned at the cultural centre. A little easier than nettle string but still hard work!! Anyway, the weather is changing to summer so we'll spend a few days here at L. Taupo.

Then back through Auckland to Cambridge, and further to Rotorua and the hot springs where we spent 3 days of good weather amongst the smelly steam and mud! The photo is the largest Geyser (30 foot) Pohutu that seems to erupt often. Also went to a Maori cultural event and wood carving and weaving schools. The park near the campsite and lake shore had areas steaming and mud bubbling, the whole area seemed alive. Lots of new birds on the Lake and our first large supermarkets to stock up. Really enjoying the relaxed driving (no cameras!!) and warm welcome at all the campsites. The sites are well equipped with kitchens and dining areas set aside for campers. So far they have not been very busy even though the weather is improving. The hot tubs have been nice in the evening as it doesn't get dark until about 8.30 -9.00 pm. On Sunday we did a great walk along the side of one of the volcanic lakes (Okareka, just S of Rotorua) in sunshine and each day we come across laid out walks somewhere; today it was the Waikato river near the Huka Falls.

Hello, this is the end of our journey to the north at Cape Reinga, the tip of Northland. You can just see the Puhutukawa tree where the Maori spirits leave to return home. From here we travelled down the west side of Northland to Ahipara and onto the Gannet colony at Muriwai beach first camping in the Waipoua forest amongst the giant Kaori trees. The walkway takes you right above the Gannet colony so we got great photos of the nesting birds including Terns. Our camper wasn't allowed to go down 90 mile beach!! but the scenery and waves reminded us of the Skelton coast of Namibia.

Helen relaxing and our hire camper at Pakiri Beach.

At the arch, the turning point on the Mangawhai walk.

10 th November: now at Mangawhai Heads in Northland on the east coast, north of Auckland. We've had good flights and time in Singapore. Did the usual bus tours, visited the Botanical Gardens to see their collection of Orchids, really amazing. The rest of the time we visited Changi PoW museum and the beaches nearby,
The camper is great, an older shorter version of the one we have (Fiat Ducata) so feels like home!! We've been stopping at campsites on beaches, Pakiri and Mangawhai Head and guess what, we've got a bird ID book already and the number of "new" on the list is increasing each day!! Almost spotted the really rare Fairy Tern! but have seen lots of others (won't bore you with details). Next it will be a tree book as the plants are so different from home but have seen lots of the Pohutukawa tree that will have red flowers at Christmas time and that seems to grow near the coast, even near sand dunes.
Today we did a walk along the Mangawhai Cliffs north with great views of the nearshore islands. We were supposed to return along the beach but even though it was 3 hours from high tide, the water level was up to our chests, so we decided against it.
The weather is mixed with some light showers and then sunshine, but it does change very quickly. It gets cool at night, down to 10 C and daytime up to 19 C. It should get warmer as we go north over the next week or so. Will try and post a picture of us at Mangawhai.

October, 2009. I've just finished a 100 mile stretch of the Southwest Coast Path from Barnstaple, Devon, to Padstow in Cornwall. The path between Hartland Point and Port Isaac was tough going at times with continous ups and downs. Only about 160 to 200 m each valley but several following each other in quick succession. Did a combination of camping and Bed & Breakfast. I was lucky with the weather, only 1 day of rain with mostly sunshine and cloud cover and no high winds. The route is well marked but not many supply points after Hartland quay for quite a while and had to ask villagers for water or take it from streams (treated this). The scenery is teriffic and it is hard to choose one photo from the hundreds I took. Only disappointment was the area around Clovelly which seemed to be overun with pheasants and the local gamekeepers were using the tracks to feed grain; sometimes I had 50 pheasants walking in front of me! The highlight was the cliffs at High Cliff and the path climbing up. I only met 2 other long-distance walkers, a young man who had come from Brighton and was a "pebble artist" walking the entire coast of the UK, and another chap walking the South Coast path. Of course, there were many dog-walkers particularly within a few kilometers of villagers or towns. All set now to continue through Cornwall, perhaps next spring.

Pyrenees, July 2009. GR11 in Catalonia, hot walking but a few springs still running. There were many changes to the route and some long days but great scenery with a rapid change in vegetation as I approached the coast. Only a few camp sites near the route and some camping places mentioned in the Guide (Paul Lucia) were not possible because of new National Reserves or developments.

Pyrenees, June 2009. View across the Lac du Col de Arratille at the Spanish border ridge, on route to the Ara valley and Ordesa and Refugio Goriz. Camped at Bujarelo before climbing over to Anisclo canyon. Great weather with clear skys all the way.

June 2009. Another great time in Pyrenees walking for 3 weeks, first in the high mountains around Ordesa Canyon starting from Cauterets and walking west to Bielsa. The 2 weeks on te GR11 from Setcases to the coast at Llanca. This is the route up the Marcadau valley in France.

On the way to Italy we travelled around some parts of the Pyrenees including Gavarnie and it's famous cirque where I walked earlier in the year and also Cauterets, Lac de Gaube and views of the north face of Vignemale on the border between France and Spain. We took the camper up the Tourmalet pass and saw the cyclist struggling up the steep incline. The weather was cooler at altitude in September and we did have rain in the mountains so left for warmer climes in Italy.

Here is another sunset, this time at Paestum ( Poseidoniain) Southern Italy, where we stayed for several days in October (2008) on a beach with great weather and lots of cycling in the area.

Well there has been a long interval since our last posting. We're still in Dorset and over the last few months have been busy sorting the house and gardens out. We have managed some travelling with a two month trip to France and Italy in the summer 2008, a trip touring southern India for 2 months earlier this year (February to the end of March) and 5 days walking along the South West Way from Minehead to Barnstaple in Somerset.

November 25 th 2007. This is us with our new camper (Tribute) on route from picking it up from Geoff Cox near Denby. All the power for the hills compared with "Blossom" our old kombie and lots of additional comforts such a toilet and shower, central heating!, swivel seats, big fridge, cooker and even a deep freeze. Hot water also available and still a van. We look forward to lots of tours and camping in UK and Europe and then who knows?

Before leaving the Southern Uplands and Gala I had to walk a route over the three Eildon hills near Melrose and visible from miles away when approaching the uplands. Although they’re not an amazing height, they rise from near to sea level and give excellent views of the hills and terrain around Melrose and Galashiels. There are three hills. I started from Melrose, climbed the middle hill first, the highest of the three, then the other two with a pleasant walk through the Beech woods as well. This was before the first major winds of autumn and so the trees were very colourful.

October 2007. Loch Skeen, White Coomb and Cerrifran Gans loop. I started this from the ranger hut near Gray Mare’s Tails, the waterfall from Loch Skeen. The path starts up following Tail Burn keeping to the right of the burn to reach a good view point of the falls. After this the ascent is more gradual eventually levelling out to reach the hanging valley containing Loch Skeen.

Ferral goats on route to Loch Skeen

The Loch appears quite suddenly and gives great views of the hills surrounding the loch and also the peak of White Coomb to the west (821 m). From the mouth of the Loch I crossed the stream and headed up the western hill on the side of the loch and then, in a large loop, approached the summit of White Coomb.

View of Loch Skeen and western hill to be climbed.

The weather was fine and gave good views across the Moffat valley. After this, the route goes down a little and became very windy before climbing up to the peak of Cerrifran Gans. The climb down is very steep, mostly following the wall or fence, but a walking pole came in useful at times. There is no real path after gaining Loch Skeen and so I mostly followed the contours and chose a route to avoid the peat and marshy areas. The descent route from Cerrifran Gans follows the ridge down and a footpath is discernible. The only downside to this route is the walk back along the road to the car park at the ranger hut. I chose a clear day and got great views of Hartland Fell and the surrounding hills but even though it was a calm day at the ranger hut, the wind after the summit was very strong and cold.

Summit of White Coomb

Picture from near the top of Neptune's Staircase
October 3, 2007. We've been away on one of the long distance walks, The Great Glen Way, GGW, in scotland going between Fort William in the west and Inverness in the east, transversing Scotland along the Glen alongside the Calidonian canal and Lochs. The walk took us 5 days of continual walking to get to Drumnadrochit covering 73 miles, which is averaging 14 miles each day including all the additional bits that made up the day.The weather wasn't bad including some sunshine and drizzle but only heavy rain at night when we were tucked away in an hostel or B&B. No problems with midges either or the route (the signing was very good and hardly needed a map but nice to see our position and the names of the lochs and nearby summits). We didn't get a clear view of the summit of Ben Nevis but took several photos at different angles as we left Fort William and disappearing from view on the second day passed Laggan.We enjoyed the walk and met others on route, either walking or at the hostels or B&B. The route is not difficult and there are a couple of long sections that can be split up. The hills on route are small and didn't present problems.The weather was changeable with sun followed by rain and sometimes some wind but I think we were lucky not to have had heavy rain whilst we were walking. If we'd left it a week later we'd have had sunshine for the 5 days!!. You do need to carry cash as the B&B only take cash or cheques. Way-marking is excellent and you'd really need to try hard to get lost !

Picture of the canal at Gairlochy

Day 1. We had travelled by coach to Fort William the previous day going via Edinburgh and Glasgow. We set off from the Calluna Hostel in light rain, but it soon cleared as we found the end of the canal. Most of the day we were on a vehicle track (good pista in Spain) alongside the canal to pass Neptune's staircase (8 locks) and Moy swing bridge to reach Gairlochy by the evening. Stayed at "Dalcomera" B&B just off the canal and it was very nice with a possibility of views of Ben Nevis at breakfast (NGR 17661 84010). In the evening we went a stroll down to the lighthouse/beacon at the south end of Loch Locky. It is also possible to camp aside the lock as they have toilets and a nice grass area.

Day 2. Some mist but it was a great walk at first near shore of Loch Locky to reach our next destination of Laggan. Later we had light rain and some difficulty as we has intended to find the Great Glen Water Park in South Laggan but it was actually in North Laggan. Anyway, we found the Scottish Youth Hostel (NGR 29403 97175) after a walk through a muddy track in the forest and then along a busy road, but did not get a great welcome and it didn't open until 5 pm. We then went back to Laggan Lock and to the floating pub/restraunt "The Eagle" and arranged to have a seafood dinner there later. This worked out fine with the help of a fisherman with cash as the B&B's don't take debit cards and neither did the barge !

Day 2 along side Loch Lochy and through the woods
Day 3. Continued along the forest track which had much improved to meet Loch Oich. The weather had improved and we saw blue sky as we wandered alongside the loch on a good track, sometimes an old railway track and often reaching the shore of the loch. I took a photo of a abandoned cottage along the track that had a great view of the loch and the island in the centre. After crossing the railway bridge and Cullochy lock, we headed along the north side of the canal to Kytra lock and on to Fort Augustus. The later track was a vehicle track and well maintained but the walk did seem endless with the same scenery for several miles. However, we enjoyed the brambles along side the canal and the track and seeing the well kept locks with their cottages. It was a relief to be in Fort Augustus and have a meal at the "Bothy" near the centre. Our accomodation "Thistle Pubh" was on the GGW as we walked out of town, very convenient (NGR 37674 09865) and pleasant. We shared breakfast with an American lad who started at the same time as ourselves and we'd seen several times but not had a chance to chat; he was enjoying the experience and seemed to like the changeable weather.

Mushrooms seen in the forest but not eaten !
Day 4. This was to be a short day to Invermoriston along a forest track. The track at the end seemed long and pointless as a short cut through the woodland would have taken us to our destination without the long loop around the valley. Even a short-cut before the path veared south west was closed, and we had to keep to the cycle path. Invermoriston itself was very pleasant with a spot of sunshine for our picnic lunch on the village green aside the shetland cattle. Spoke to our fellow walkers, the young american and the french couple who had been camping. The B&B was pleasant (NH 42192 16739) at Mr and Mrs Gregg's. We shared breakfast with a couple of German girls also hiking and having seen on previous days. They intended to get a bus for part of the next day as their packs were heavy (18 kg). We had a great meal at the hotel in town. There is also an excellent little shop that sells sandwiches, pizzas, tea and coffee and other supplies but there is no ATM machine.

Day 5. The start from Invermoriston was different as we climbed up above Loch Ness and got good views to the south. We did a slight detour to get a view from a stone seat (NH 42913 16961) at 204 m, of Loch Ness towards Fort Augustus. Further along we reached the highest point so far at 292 m (NH 47126 21243). After that we were on a path (not a track) that was a pleasant change with lots of places suitable to camp with water. We eventually came out near Balbeg and had lunch in the sunshine looking through the silver birch to the loch but had to move on as a shower descended. After that, the GGW followed a minor road, sometimes on the road and others on a path alongside the road. I'm sure this could be avoided as most walkers, including ourselves, detest walking on tarmac especially with such grand country all around. We found the Back Packers in Drumnadrochit (NH 51291 29225) and as it was raining, stayed in for a while before making some pasta meal and walking to see Urquhart castle on the side of the loch. This was about 1.5 miles from the hostel and by 7.30 pm was all lit up. We were the only visitors so nice to see but getting cool. The next morning, Helen fell from her top bunk bed in the hostel and we had to abandon the rest of the walk; after a rest she was mobile again and saw a doctor and then left to get the bus to Inverness and then to Tain. She's much better now but sore with the bruising so it will take a week nor so to get back to normal. Hopefully we'll finish the last 18 miles in the future.

This is a view of the harbour at Cadaques on route to the most easterly point of Spain, Cap Creus (where the Gr11 ends). We spent a week in the Cost Brava starting on Roses and a few days in Empuriabrava and ending with a night in Girona before flying out to Newcastle. The weather was a little mixed with a days rain but otherwise it was fine with some hot days. We had opportunities to get into the pyrenees and also spend a few days at the coast and the nature reserve near Empuriabrava (Park Natural dels Aiguamolls) where we saw Egrets and White Storks nesting near the water, and a bee eater! The area was busy being the peak season with lots of French and other European tourists. However, a few kilometres out and away from the coast, the roads were very quiet. We visited Olot and had a brief visit into France, and I got a brief view of Mt. Carnou in the eastern pyrenees.

Great adventure in the pyrenees walking from Somport through to the Ordessa Canyon. This is a view of one of the high peaks in the pyrenees taken from the GR11 (Vignamale). My first view from the pass was better but the summit was covered with cloud. In this picture you can see the ancient glacier, appearing a grey colour, on the side. The mountains in this area are stunning together with all the lakes. The walking is difficult because of the gradients, lengths and also the snowfields. I had to use my "spiders"across the snow because of the angle of the route.

I had one very wet day but had a companion, Martin Walsh, for that day and we got soaked because of the rain and the river crossings. I spent the day in the Hotel Balaitus in Gallent drying my rucksack, tent and sleeping bag.

Reached the Refugio de Respomuso at 2,200 m and enjoyed meeting others hiking and climbing in the area. Looked at the next days climb and was surprised to see the incline and amount of snow on the Collado de Tebarray (the pass of the next day). Joined up with a spanish couple the next day and enjoyed the climb and great scenery from the pass and the lakes down to the valley. Panticosa itself was a building site but the Refugio was very nice and I ate well needed dinner and wine at the end of the day. Tebarray is the second highest pass on the GR11 at 2782 m and I wouldn't have tried it alone because of the snow/ice and lack of crampons.

Then several good days with varied scenery in the valleys, lakes and high passes seeing deer, marmots and lots of new flowers. Also, because of the previous rains and snow melt, the rivers were swollen and difficult to cross without removing boots, so this slowed down progress.

The Ordessa canyon and Torla were pretty and there were quite a few tourists around but the campsites were not as busy as I imagine they must get later in the year. It was still a novelty passing people on the GR11 !! Also chances to eat wild cherries and strawberries. So that's the GR11 until next time!!

On Thursday I'm off to continue my walk along the GR11 starting at Candanchu and ending on the coast at Cabo de Creus, the most easterly point on the Spanish mainland. This will take about 6 weeks and then Helen comes out to Empuriabrava (northern Costa Brava) for a weeks rest by the sea. Also Bex will join me in July for a weeks trek on the GR11 from Puigcerda to Setcases passing through the highest point on the route, so that is something to look forward to. I intend to do a combination of camping, refuges and hostels on route and I expect the first three weeks will be most difficult in terms of the gradients but hopefully there will be less snow on the high passes than there was in 2004. I should get to Cabo de Creus by the end of July.
The photo is the first section I will do and was taken in June 2004 when it was the last section I did before reaching Sallent de Gallego.

Had a trip to Snowdonia staying at a nice hostel near Pony Pant. We had a bad weather forcast but had already decided to go ahead with a climb up Snowdon on the "Watkin Path" and down on the "Miner's Track". In the event, the weather was worse than predicted with rain and high winds but we (Bex and myself) did get a good view of the mountains below the cloud. The route up was good until about Bwich y Saethau when we entered the cloud and the path became vague, steep and loose. There appeared to be several routes and we couldn't see the summit or marker standing-stone at the top and there were few cairns to indicate a route. We chose as best we could and continued upwards to the ridge close to the summit. On the ridge we checked our compasses again but decided that the GPS was correct and to head up to the summit to the west. Here we met two men who we'd seen in the distance on the way up; further on we experienced a chilly gale at the top. We both climbed to the Trig station on the summit and had to hold-on in order to stand, such was the wind at that time. We quickly took the route along the ridge past the railway station (not in use because of building works) and shortly found some shelter behind a rock to have lunch (including hot tea !) and get warmer underlayers on. After that, it was OK with the rain stopped and we soon reached a clear sky (see photo) with Glaslyn in view. A standing stone on the ridge marked the Pyg and Miner's tracks down, steeply at first but on solid rock tracks (different from the path I remember from about 40 years ago). Eventually the "Miner's track" and "Pyg" part at another standing stone and we dropped down to the lakes to follow a "stone road" around the lakes and across the concourse. The old "Miner's track" was visible in places.

When we reached the road, we both felt fine and up for a walk along the valley's edge and back around to the start of the Watkin's Path. This was a great walk, a little wind in places but no serious rain. The path crossed a stream which we had to ford but otherwise, apart from area of bog (i.e. wet feet!), the path was reasonable to follow through pastures and woodlands but needed navigation as there were very few footpath signs. We got back about 6.30 having started around 10.15 am and covered over 20 km (GPS was on and said 19.7 km but there was no signal in the lower woods at the start).

We went for a beer and a welcomed dinner at the hostel and had the place to ourselves for the rest of the evening. Bex is teaching me about wild foods, their identification etc, so education as well which will come in handy for my trek in the pyrenees starting next month.

On the Saturday the weather predication was worse and so we decided to stay lower and explore the local area. In the event, we found a nice lake in the hills in pleasant woodlands and had our sandwiches in the wet at the head of a lake. We picked a few plants to taste for dinner and I learned about nettle cordage, but I need to practice this more, although I have the basic technique. I liked the Wood Sorrel lemonade that Bex made but she didn't.

Next will be Ben Nevis if we can persuade the others to join ! We marvelled at the group we met in the car park who were doing the three peaks race (Ben Nevis, Scafell and Snowdon in 24 h) starting up Snowdon on the "Miner's track" at about 4 pm.

Just completed a 80 km walk to the coast from Galashiels along the Southern Upland Way over a period of two days.

This is the first view of the North sea from the Penmanshiel Woodland, and as you can see the weather behaved giving clear views all the way, even from the highest points (about 460 m). The highlights were through the ancient woodlands, high moors and the coastal section near the end. The finish of the route is at Cockburnspath where helen met me at the end of the walk. I had one nights camping and woke to a frost and an early start. This is my first walking with a full pack since Fish River canyon and I felt the weight, so that means much more training before the GR11 in June !! However, the distances covered each day were longer than I expect in the pyrenees but the height differences perhaps less.

We're enjoying life here in Gala and the open spaces. We've even managed some gardening and have some Rundu type camping chairs to enjoy our patch of garden.

Now settled in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. We have rented a flat not far from Emily and Helen on Magdala Terrace, only a stone throw apart so we can easily pop in for coffee. So far things have gone OK with the usual problems of telephone connections and boilers not working, but the weather has been great with temperatures 10 degrees above the seasonal average.

We are on the outskirts of town overlooking Meigle Hill to the south and have already got to know the area and town, sorted the small garden and made the flat a bit personal with our things.

Yesterday, Saturday, we went on a longish walk starting at Newtown St Boswell along the St Cuthbert's way to Bowden and then over th Eildon Hills to Melrose for coffee. We did a different route back around north hill and then through the woods to a lane leading to a track to Newtown. Nice because of the rolling hills, lots of primroses and warm temperatures although the mist on higher ground reduced long range visibility. I'm sure this will be the first of many walks in the area.

We plan to leave about the 15 June, me to trek the rest of the pyrenees from St Gallent to the coast and meet up with Bex on route and Helen at the end for a weeks rest on the Costa Brave before flying home. Meanwhile Helen is going to Poland and other eastern european countries backpacking with Katy for 6 weeks whilst I'm in the mountains. Then it's back to our flat here until about the 10 October and the end of the 6 months rental. We plan to go off then to Asia but have a lot of planning to do before that.

Meanwhile, we have plans to meet up with Bex and Tony and do some walking in Northern Wales and trips to parents to help out.

We did meet up with Margaret, Doug and Dot in Edinburgh for a meal and hopefully will see them over the coming months whilst in Scotland. They are all well and extremely busy with activities.

Here's a picture of the North Hill Eildon on our walk yesterday. Also on route I picked up a copy of "Forever Free" by Joy Adamson from the book shop in Melrose and into that at the moment. Really interesting as I can relate to the places, as we visited her house and the Serengeti, were the cubs were eventually, released on our travels.

Now in Exeter staying at Bex and Tony's flat whilst they are in Equador doing some surfing and hiking. Managing to get a bit fitter with some great walks in the area and exploring city life in Exeter. We have sold the Kombie, so that was sad but I think it has gone to a good home; the buyer looked the part with a pony tail anyway and seemed very keen.

The picture is on Dartmoor, one of the higher "peaks" (547 m !!) but great views all around. These are the standing stones on route, with an ancient grave at one end. Further on there was a stone circle to the west end of Cosdon Beacon.

Didn't really finish off the SA trip report, but so much to write. We ended in Cape Town in a BP in Long Street and did the usual thing, Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch Gardens and Robin Island.

This is the Devon coast near Hern Point rocks and Landram Bay on a mild February day. This was the last section of the south west coast path up to Exeter, so now completed from Bournemouth to Exeter and heading next down the River Exe estuary as the ferry across does not run in the winter.

There is a nice circular route from Budleigh Salterton, along the coast to Sidmouth and then back but going inland before the "High Peak" to Otterton and then southerly down the Otter on the west bank to Budleigh, about 17 km in all. A nice pub in Otterton and also a Mill to look around.

We haven't decided on our next trip yet and lots of research to do before then but will update as our plans take form and meanwhile, lots of things to do here !!

This is Helen resting on "Leopard Rock" overlooking the Oribi Gorge. There is a great cafe there and lots of birds in the gardens; we saw a pin-tailed Wydah and some Weavers nesting.
Weavers at their nest at Leopard Rock.
After Coffee Bay we reached East London in the rain and decided to stay dry in a BP in the town. Very quiet and a little dismal with unfriendly staff giving us the impression the place had seen better days. So with the tent dried in our room, we moved off to Jeffrey's Bay, or J-Bay as it is known. We originally sought camping as the weather had improved but got offered a BP "Misty Cove" (13 th November) and double room with en-suite for the same price (40R ppn) so stayed for a couple of days. This is South Africa's big surf beach and although it was the quiet season, the place was full of surf shops etc. The beach was long and windy, but only a few surfers around. We did catchup on the cinema with a personal showing of "My ex-girlfriend" and shopping put into their fridge!! We found a great restaurent "The Wallklipper" further south along the beach from J-Bay, lots of seafood options so Helen was in her element of course.

We then travelled down to the coast around Shephed and a day in "The Eland Game Reserve" in Orbi Gorge. This was fun with the car on a gravel track that had been washed-out in places and under repair; we saw more animals, walked a suspension bridge and generally enjoyed the scenery. On the route back to the "Beach" BP, we stopped at Leopard's Rock to take some photos of us sitting overhanging the gorge and watched the weaver birds building nests.
Onwards through the Transkei to the "Wild Coast". At first we were going to give this a miss, but saw that the road was fine and the area completely different from elsewhere in the SA we seen so far. Lots of villagers along the long windy road and shortage of unleaded petrol in the service stations. It felt as if we were back in Rundu in the small towns on route and in complete contrast to Nelspruit and the small towns around there. It was a puzzle what the people did for a living as there was a lack of agriculture (maybe the time of year), although some of the soils looked good. Maybe a lot on pensions, but little sign of any activity really. We reached Port St Johns and camped overlooking the sea. Did a short walk to a blow-hole, climbing down with the aid of a wire rope, but got some good shots. After that, we decided to go onto "Coffee Bay" for a couple of days as this had been recommended by a group of South Africans that we had met at the BP at Port St John. The BP at Coffee Bay was very nice and also busy. Unfortunately we got our tent burnt with a spark on the first night and so moved to another camp site on the other side of the river for the second night when it rained, luckily I had a repair for the tent that sealed it OK. Did a walk along the coast to "Hole-in-the -Wall" with a local guide. It was fine when we set off, but it soon became wet and windy. The guide didn't seem bothered but we got soaked. It cleared up by the end of the walk for our picnic on the beach. However, with thunder clouds around we made for the gravel road in the hope of getting a hike back. That worked out OK in the end but a little uncertain about the quality of the kombies brakes on the hills.

Hello, we're now back in England with the rain and winds. We've had lots of adventures on route and no time to update the BLOG so you can guess it has been fun.
We did go to Mozambique, hiring a car in Nelspruit and driving straight to Maputo, the capital. Quite a shock as we had to dry through the city centre to reach the only road north going up the coast. The city appeared run-down with poor roads, traffic congestion and many traffic lights not working. We did try a road in the northerly direction along the coast but this petered out to a sand track, so a Nissan Almeria was not the ideal car for this. Then headed north to Tofu on the tarred coastal road and this was a long journey on some pot-holed roads and also temporary roads of sand and gravel. It took most of the day and the backpackers we had chosen was inaccessible without 4-WD so ended up at Fatima's Nest next to Tofu beach. Yes, the beach was magnificent, very quiet and blue sea and white sand for miles. We then found out the road further north was also a pain to drive and averaging 20 km/h so we decided to stay put and then return to S.A. To enjoy Mozambique you really need 4 WD as the tar roads north of Maputo are limited (coastal road) and so it is necessary to travel to and fro on the same road. The border crossings, even with the car were really easy and didn't take long as we had a visa already.
By 5 November, we were back in Nelspruit at the "Funky Monkey" BP that had been recommended by Bex. By coincidence a group of new Peace Corp volunteers were meeting there and partying so it was fun to hear of their experiences in Education in S.A. A lot sounded familiar and not so different from Namibia.
On the road again and this time actually travelling south towards our eventual destination of Cape Town. We had a great drive through the interior to the Drakensburg Mountains with the idea of camping and doing some gentle walking in the mountains. On route it had changed from sunshine to a cold dreary day so we were a little apprehensive about camping. However, we got ourselves some braii wood and made camp in the KZN Wildlife camp at Monk's Cowl. The next day it started cloudy but soon cleared to a brilliant day and ideal for walking. We went to Sterkspruit Falls and then on the Hlatikhulu Forest walk that took the rest of the day. We'll remember this as we passed some many different plants, many flowering and a variety of birds that were new to us including a black head oriole, red collared widow and double collared sunbird feeding on the nectar. I would have liked to stay longer and explore the area but again time was limited and so much to see. (to be continued).

Hello from Nelspruit in South Africa (SA). Blyde Canyon was good but we had a few wet days; we found the north part of the canyon the most stunning as you can see from the image.
We're getting ready to go to Mozambique tomorrow. We've had great times in SA and also travelling through Swaziland. In Durban, and particularly Anstey's beach on the Bluff to the south, we found ourselves amongst the surfers and had a great 4 days rest by the sea; it could have been Bournemouth in the summer with similar weather and scenery. Went to "town" by bus shopping and also walked by the sea in sight of whales and dolphins.
We left Durban and headed north along the coast to St Lucia and the wetlands reserve. All by ourselves in the "Blue House" campsite. We did a trip up along the coast through the reserve and also a boat trip to see the whales and dolphins. The first day was cancelled by the bad weather, i.e. high winds by the sea, but the next morning we got out and saw Humpback whales and dolphins. At first a lone calf whale and then it later rejoined it's mother and we also saw a large pod of dolphins, all very close to the boat. Needless to say we got wet as the sea turned rough. The beach landing was also interesting !!
From there we went to Swaziland, the borders were straight forward and even managed to get a visa for Mozambique in a morning. We camped in the mountains and had a night of wind and rain with mist in the morning. Again we were the only people in the hostel but it was a brilliant position overlooking the valley. From there we went north to Sabie and Graskop to visit Blyde Canyon. It started wet but cleared and we had a great drive along the escarpment and up to the three roundels in the north. We ended up the day at Hazyview camping in a forest. This was a great site and able to have our first braii of the trip. We then visited Kruger Park cos it was only 10 km away and it seemed a pity to miss the chance. However, it was in the high 30s and humid so it really got to us. We did see lions, kudu, impala, hippo, waterbuck and bush buck amongst others, but not in great numbers that we've gotten use to ..spoilt by Namibian and Zambian reserves I guess. So now we are almost ready for Mozambique and the Indian Ocean before we return to SA and Drakensburg.
To our overlander friends, hope you've enjoyed Namibia and got that adrenaline rushing again with sky dives and dune maddness. and you're still looking forward to a little luxury such as blueberry muffins and good coffee in Cape Town,...so for now adios

We're now in Livingstone, our second visit here but the Falls on the Zambian side are a trickle compared with the rainy season. We have travelled across Tanzania into Malawi and then west into Zambia. In Tanzania before the border we passed through Baobab valley along the Great Ruaha river with lots of the so called "Upside Down Trees" or Baobab trees; so many along the river valley and slopes. We also visited Isimila Stone Age Site because we had a days wait whilst a new trip member caught up with us. We reached the Malawi border on 6 October and then travelled south to Lake Malawi at Chilumba. The next day was onwards south up a steep valley side and then down to "Kandy Beach" on the shores of the lake. This was our home for a couple of days. The top of the escarpment was about 890 m with the lake shore at about 370 m so still above sea level. We commissioned some "T" shirts with a map of Africa on the back with the countries we've visited on including Angola (keep this to yourself) and Rwanda but they missed off Uganda and also used second hand shirts, so I guess we should know better!!
By Monday we were on the road again out of Malawi into Zambia. It was beginning to feel like we knew the area more as we approached Namibia! It was a long-long day as we had to catch up on a missed day, but worth the very rough drive to the Laungwa park. This was a great experience as we were able to walk with a guide in the reserve and see the animals at first hand. There are lions and leopards but we didn't see them whilst walking but did see hippos, buffalo and elephants at close quarters. We slept on a tree platform and saw elephants going through the camp. The highlight of the trip was a night drive when we saw a leopard kill an Impala at close quarters, within 3 metres. There was torrential rain during the drive, their first rain in October for 5 years !!, but it let-up a little for us to see the leapard and also many hippos going for an evening stroll. We also saw a pride of lions crossing the river and dodging the crocodiles (we could see the light reflected in their eyes). Luckily the rain was localised and when we got back to the camp everything was dry (we'd left the flysheet off the tent so it could have been a different story).
From there we drove south to Lake Kariba and 3 nights on a house boat. Didn't see much of the lake but it was luxury to have a proper bed and a boat not a truck to live in.
The campsite here in Livingstone is not as nice as "Fawlty Towers" where we stayed before with Alison and Margaret, but with a name like "Grubby's Grotto", what can you expect. The money is called Kwatcha and is difficult to get use to with 7000 to a pound so I'm almost a millionaire here. We did an activity yesterday, a jet boat trip up and down rapids, the closest we'll get to white-water rafting. We drove downstream of the falls and got a wire lift down to the river. As it is dry season (no real rain here yet) the river was low. Some of our group were doing rafting and we met them on the way down. Of course we all got very wet as the waves on the rapids came over and he kept doing these rapid turns with the aim of wetting everthing. Helen was stood on a sand bank next to the river and literally got swept off her feet as a wave from the boat came ashore and she ended flat on her back covered with water. Anyway, it was hot and we all dried off quickly during the journey back to the campsite.
Now looking forward to independent travel as we are both feeling the effects of the truck and group travel. It will be nice to decide where we want to stop and for how long. In retrospect, it would have been easy to do the trip with the Pajero, it would have taken twice as long because we'd have stopped longer in places but there are no problems finding accomodation or the state of the roads is nothing worse than we met in Nambia. However, the down side is still the cost and also selling the car at the end.
Next is Durban where we plan to hire a car and travel up the coast to St Lucia wetlands. Not sure after that....keep in touch.

Hello from Zanzibar. We're in the north of Zanzibar island having got here after a long, long journey yesterday, so just chilling out today, Dar (the capital of Tanzania) is quite modern and we're back in Dar on Tuesday for a couple of hours so we'll see a bit more. This place is great and reminds me of a more developed Indonesian island. We're at sea level and enjoying a tropical climate. Last week we reached 2300 m at the Ngorogoro crator and it was cold in the evening and mornings. Last week we had a demanding time with early morning starts and quite long drives over terrible roads, particularly in Serengeti, very corrugated but it was worth it. We've seen an amazing number of lions, hyenas, wildebeast on migration and the dead ones in the river that failed the crossing, together with mighty crocs that line the river in anticipation ! We've seen a huge variety of wild life including leopard, more hippos and loads of lions as well as a cheetah; the latter is difficult to see even in the Masai Mara. I won't bore you with a list of birds but I expect you can imagine; I'll just say our Namibian training has put us in good stead here.
We're both fine and ready for the next 2 weeks race through Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia. We have a lot of people leaving the trip after this stage and only 3 joining so we'll have more room in the truck, its called the "flying pig" and we wish it could fly sometimes! particulary up the hills.
We had a great Spice tour when we arrived here and saw all the spices being grown in a mixed woodland, Helen has photos of every spice, believe me. Also saw a Masai village etc with great photos of dancing and their compounds etc. They seem to live a traditional lifestyle in the region we travelled through particularly near the crater itself. We also have some videos on the camera of elephants demolishing trees at close quarters with full sound effects. We had elephants and wild pigs in camp at the Ngorogoro crater camp site. Again we had a 5.30 start in the rain and dark yesterday, so nice to forget the tent for three nights until Tuesday night. Our third trip starts on Wednesday from Dar. We haven't being stopping long enough to do any laundry so we gave it in here but it has returned in poor shape and wet so Helen is trying to sort that out. It is sometimes difficult to get internet access and often frustrating when we do, just like Rundu! Hope you're having an Indian summer in UK. Take care ....next posting is likely to be Durban after our flight from Livingstone. Still seeing Pajeros in Tanzania so I guess they've become an African vehicle after all.

Hello, we are now up in the north west of Rwanda and have been to see the gorillas this morning 12 th and this was great, and it was not a difficult climb at 2500 m. We saw a whole group with a silver back, the oldest and biggest in the region. We got very close, within a couple of feet and one touched my leg as it passed by. Lots of great photos including some of the younger members of the family. This area and all that we've seen of Rwanda is very pretty with lots of hills and streams and cultivation everywhere except the parks. We had guides on the trek and two soldiers to protect us !!. We went up in a group of 8 and spent one hour with the family of gorillas. Words can't describe the area but we'd certainly come back as there are walks in the hills around here and other parks to visit as well. We've even got our certificate to prove we did it !!...sad huh?
We're off back to Nairobi over the next week stopping on route in Kampala and also at Jinja the mouth of the Nile on Lake Victoria for a couple of days. Lots of photos but they will have to follow I'm afraid.

We're now in Nairobi relaxing after our airflights. There was a delay in Windhoek but didn't miss the connection in Jo'burg. The weather is a surprise as it is cooler than Rundu with cloud cover and jumpers at night. I have had a swim in the pool but too cold for long. So far we have been to see the orphan elephants at the 'David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust' at Mbgatha on the outskirts of Nairobi and learned alot about elephants and also one orphan rhino that we saw. This is a great project and has been going for years now. They seem to kow all the tricks for keeping the orphaned elephants alive after their mothers have been lost, poached or whatever. They had just been covered with coconut oil so that they don't get sunburn. Their human mothers stay with then 24 hours a day including sleeping next to the elephants.
Also went to the Karen Blixen museum/house from the film 'Out of Africa' and enjoyed seeing the house and original furniture and gardens although they were prepariing for a very large wedding. Nairobi itself is a bit disappointing, very busy with crazy driving and hassle from people in the centre but did have coffee in the Hilton and saw around a few markets. Took a trip to the snake park and saw my first Puff Adder having missed it in Namibia ! Hope we don't see any of the Mambas in the bush, apparently the Puff Adder is the biggest killer of all the snakes in Kenya. We start our trip on the 6th...so for now..

We're into our last week in Rundu. On 29 th we travel to Windhoek and then fly to Nairobi on the 30 th August and stay there a few days before starting out trip to see the Mountain gorillas in Rwanda. This trip starts from Nairobi on 6 th September and last for 6 weeks in total when we arrive in Livingstone near Victoria Falls. From there we fly to Durban and spend 6 weeks in Mozambique and South Africa and leave from Cape Town on 2 December, so we have lots of travelling. We have now sold our Pajero but have use of it until we leave Rundu so that is very convenient. Now busy packing a few things to send home via the post and trying to get all our things into 2 rucksacks and a day bag each, so that is a challenge. We are taking enough that we can still camp and be self sufficient and hope to do some camping in South Africa. Found a fuel for the stove, Benzine, that seems to be similar to Coleman's White gas at home and works much better than petrol which blocked the jet frequently as we found in Botswanawhen camping. Also have spares from home. Helen's also pleased with her Goose Down sleeping bag that I bought in Windheok and isn't bothered by the cold desert nights anymore.
We'll try and update our Blogspot when we have access to the iternet but can't say when this will be....so bye bye from Namibia and to Namibia for the time being!!

View from a koppie in Spitzkoppie as the sunset but this is looking to the east ! Our campsite is in the distance between the two outcrops. We had climbed to the "Bushmen's Paradise" earlier in the day and found the rock paintings in a hidden valley on top of a kopie. Their are chains to help with the climb up the rock face but it made us puff!! 

14 August 2006 This is the last of the floods in the desert at Soussevlei. The photo was taken from the top of the dune and you can clearly see green areas in the desert landscape.We saw a Gemsbok as we drove in the 4WD track but it didn't stay around. 

15 August 2006. This is Helen on a dune during our visit to the desert. We walked up the dunes at Soussevlei and along the ridge. It was early in the day to aviod the worst of the heat but the scenery was amazing as the rains had brought life to the desert with lots of birds around and grass. There was even water in the vlei although it had dried up in dead vlei.