Travels

Photos: SA

guycowie — Sun, 8 Jul 2012 19:01:00 GMT

Photos: Dubai

guycowie — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:09:00 GMT

Photos: random - SA

guycowie — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:02:00 GMT

zoo, museum, caves

(10) I'm off...

guycowie — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:30:00 GMT

25 day overland tour taking in the Kruger, Vic Falls, Namibia and a few other places on the way to Capetown and then...

Some tour blurb:

HIGHLIGHTS
Kruger National Park
Victoria Falls - Livingstone
Chobe National Park
Okavango Delta
Kalahari Bushman Walk
Windhoek
Etosha National Park
Cape Cross Seal Colony
Spitzkoppe
Swakopmund
Namib Naukluft Park
Sossusvlei Sand Dunes
Fish River Canyon
Cape Flats Township Tour
From Africa’s premier attraction, Victoria Falls to its most beautiful city – Cape Town – via the world’s oldest desert, the Namib-Naukluft, the tranquil wilderness of the Okavango Delta, the dramatic Fish River Canyon and the prime game reserves – Etosha, Chobe and Kruger– this is a superb introduction to southern Africa!

Cant imagine there is much internet access on the way so will blog again when im in Cape Town somewhere around 21 August....

(9) Its snowing - no really

guycowie — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:20:00 GMT

Didint expect this...

Countrywide snowfall has left travellers stranded and children elated while bringing hardship to people living in shacks.

"Over the past 24 hours extremely heavy snowfalls and rain have been experienced across large parts of the country, resulting in the closure of various roads,"

http://www.news24.com/Galleries/Image/Images/South%20Africa/Traffic%20chaos%20in%20KZN%20due%20to%20snow

(8) Cradle of Mankind

guycowie — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:11:00 GMT

A day trip out to meet the ancestors....wikipedia puts it better than i:

The Cradle of Humankind is a World Heritage Site first named by UNESCO in 1999, about 50 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Gauteng province. This site currently occupies 47,000 hectares (180 sq mi); it contains a complex of limestone caves, including the Sterkfontein Caves, where the 2.3-million year-old fossil Australopithecus africanus (nicknamed "Mrs. Ples") was found in 1947 by Dr. Robert Broom and John T. Robinson. The find helped corroborate the 1924 discovery of the juvenile Australopithecus africanus skull, "Taung Child", by Raymond Dart, at Taung in the North West Province of South Africa, where excavations still continue.

The name Cradle of Humankind reflects the fact that the site has produced a large number, as well as some of the oldest, hominid fossils ever found, some dating back as far as 3.5 million years ago. Sterkfontein alone has produced more than a third of early hominid fossils ever found.

The days was spent first on a guided tour of the cave complex at Sterkfontain where many of the fossils have been found followed by a trip to the Maropeng tourist centre, want to know more about your great great great^. grandmother go here

(7) Joburg Zoo and War Museum

guycowie — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:00:00 GMT

A day out at the Zoo which is next door to the War Museum. Lots of animals to see at the Zoo but no Leopards which is surprising considering its the most common of all the big cats in Africa.

Pic of some meerkats <insert your own insurance quote/joke here>

As you can see there really is no need to go on safari...

For those not into fluffy animals here's some tanks (I took these photos just for you Dad thought these particlar tanks might be of extra special interest)

(6) Mkomboti - beer powder !

guycowie — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:50:00 GMT

Africa's home brew - mkomboti - pronounced your guess is as good as mine - comes in packets !! Just add 5 litres of water leave for 24 hours and Hey Presto! you have beer...is it possible Jesus used something similar in Cana. Francis and I never got round to trying this special brew and by all accounts thats quite a good thing....I'll be taking orders for this when i return to the UK...It costs £1.20 a packet

(5) Mpumalanga* - easy for you to say

guycowie — Sat, 9 Jul 2011 16:38:00 GMT

Fly fishing trip - East SA

Stayed at a very nice lodge near a place called Lydenburg ((now renamed to Mashishing - the ANC govt. are renaming many places in SA ~~to piss off the Boers~~ in an effort to shed their colonial past) The capital Pretoria was renamed to Tshwane in 2005 - i didnt know that until last week!)

The Calverton lodge website http://www.calverton.co.za/

I've never fly fished before and still havent (I didnt catch a thing) however Mrs Amman was very successful and caught a 200g rainbow trout - unfortunately no camera lens exists that can photograph such small subjects so heres a photo of her in action instead

Located on the eastern edge of the escarpment - the area is surrounded by pine forests and mountains and has some stunning scenery. Its also home to a troop of 20 or so baboons who bark very nosily when you get too close...

Francis and I walked to the top of Mount Hamilton, summit almost 2000m, spectacular views and a disused weather station / look out tower

great panoramic photo by Francis of Holly and Cathy at the top of Mount Hamilton

*formally the provence of Eastern Transvaal

(4) South Africa - Jo'burg - a city of gated communites and electric fences

guycowie — Fri, 8 Jul 2011 18:54:00 GMT

Arrived 26 June to be met at the airport by Cathy who drove me back to their (Francis and daughter Holly) house in Bryanston. Its deep mid winter here - temp at night gets down to freezing...some pics of the winter garden:

Way too cold for swimming...

Below is my cottage in the grounds...hard at work on this blog

The neighbours dont trust the Amman family hence the 3m high wall with electric fencing at the bottom of the garden

The next day started with a trip to Soweto - surprisingly we were not mugged or car jacked - in fact quite the opposite - we visited a local museum, Mandelas old house and would have got out for a beer at one of the local bars had it not been a bit early in the day.

(3) Tourist things to do in Dubai

guycowie — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:28:00 GMT

We did all the usual things a tourist would - went to the ski slope, raced Audis at the Dubai Autodrome and shot pistols and rifles at the local gun club...obviously i was a natural at all of them*

The pic below shows the indoor ski slope. Top middle of the photo shows the cafe on the slope - the 'outdoor' balcony of which has patio gas heaters - why didnt they just drill a hole in the roof ?

*Steve may have been better but he cheated by keeping his eyes open

(2) Chez Williams

guycowie — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:25:00 GMT

The William's house - surrounded by skyscrapers and motorways...

Chrysler Building x2 No - youre not seeing double - and Yes we're still in Dubai...these are views from their local beach - the only place that wasn't air conditioned !

(1) 23 June Arrive in the air-conditioned world of Dubai

guycowie — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:58:00 GMT

Met by Steve Williams at Dubai airport after a very comfortable 6hr flight on Emirates. First impressions...building skyscpapers and tailgating are the national sports...and boy was it hot...dont think it ever went below 35 C even at night.

Everybody drives big 4x4s because (A) theyre the safest thing to be in when you crash (B) petrol cost 15p a litre and (C) they like to tastefully modify them like the one below (btw Steve drives a Volvo estate)