Our Travels

Africa Tucan Trip

jamie_candice — Mon, 6 Aug 2012 16:54:00 GMT

We've been on the road for a month and a bit. So far we've been to some amazing places. We started in Kenya where we met up with Mitch and Sianne and had our first night camping. Wasn'tu a very good nights sleep little hard to get used with only airline pillows, so that was our first purchase. We all left Nairobi on route for Masai Mara to Safari 'Game Drive' through the National Park to encounter our first African animals. Lots of pinching was going on as we couldn't believe our luck with what we were able to see. Zebra, Gazels, Vultures, Impala, Antelope, Buffaloes, Wildebeest, Elephants with huge tusks, Lions devouring a Buffaloes kill including the daddy Lion with his awesome maine, Jamie was very excited as Lion is his fav. Candice's are the Giraffes - such awesome animals the way they move, their shape and their coloration they look like they should be prehistoric. They talk about seeing the Big 5. This includes Lions, Elephants, Buffaloes, Leopards and Rhino. We were very lucky to see the top three. Unfortunately we couldn't find the Rhino or Leopard that day. We travelled to Mara River where the famous migration of the Wildebeest takes place every July in the Serengeti to get to the Masai Mara and return crossing the treacherous river with Hippos and Crocs again in October. Unfortunately we had no wildebeest crossing as they were still in the Serengeti, however we did get to see a massive herd run across our path on our way out of the Mara. We also got to see a wonderful African sunrise and yes the opening song to Lion King was hummed through our heads. We also got to visit a Masai Village with tourist trap written all over it. Although we got to see the Masai people dressed in their traditional dress and they did a welcoming jumping dance which is one tick off our list.

Next up Uganda, where we stayed at Jinja right on the Nile. We did some community work with Soft Power - local charity helping improve education in Uganda. We helped paint the school classrooms for the afternoon and enjoyed a few cold beverages after we were finished at the bar overlooking the Nile.

Next up Musanze in Rwanda. The scenery in Rwanda is just glorious with mountains surrounding small villages and crops on the mountain which gives different colours to the mountains depending on the crops. Just breathtaking views of the valleys. On our way to Musanze we got to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre which has been built to commemorate the horrific 1994 genocide where around one million Rwandans died. It was a very emotional place to see what these poor people have been through. To drive around the country there are wooden memorial logs in the trees with ribbons attached to it, which symbolises a mass burial site below it. There were hundreds just in the short area we travelled. Despite their tragic history the people are lovely, giving us a hello whenever they could - especially the cute children on the side of the road as our big yellow bus drives past.

Got to Musanze and got to go in a dorm room instead of a tent. Rare joy on this trip. Got to have a good nights sleep before our trek the next day. We left early and started our steep climb towards the rainforest. Started to soon realise how unfit we were. We had trekked straight up for abound an hour and then reached the rainforest In the Parc National des Volcans. Once we entered it was like walking into a movie set. The moss hanging on the trees, the shape of them and the dense vegetation was so beautiful. The guide said it would take us about another hour to trek in, before we would hear word of where the trackers have found the Gorillas and if we were able to beeline a shortcut straight to them. We met the trackers and we had to only take our camera with us into the Gorillas territory. We walked in and Candice hadn't realised that we had arrived at where the Silverback was sitting. She got a surprise and instant tears from the sight of them. The feeling was overwhelming and humbling to see evaluation at its greatest. We got to spend an hour with the Gorillas and that was not enough time to watch them interact with each other and us. The Guide would make a noise - like we do when clearing our throat, this would let the Gorillas know we were friendly and that we meant no harm. The experience most one of the most memorable of our travels and we're so glad we did it.

Went for another Game Drive through Lake Nakuru. The lake had thousands of birds and buffalo swimming around. We were meant to see Flamingos but the was too much fresh water on the lake and they had left due to not enough algue and shrimp in the water. Thereis meant to be 400 bird species in the lake and we got to see a lot. We also got to see black Rhino at a distance and Lions sleeping in the trees. We had lunch at a resort in the national park that overlooks the lake and the wildlife just roam outside just outside the resorts fence line.

Next up Naivasha where we got to cycle in Hells Gate national park. The scenery in this park is just breathtaking an you cycle down a road with Giraffe, Zebra, Baboons and Warthogs on either side of you. We tracked down a gorge into a valley where apparently the thought of Mufasa's kill scene in the Lion King was conjured from. Also a scene that Angelina Jolie had filmed in Tomb Raider, where she sleep on a valley? Not sue will have to watch the movie.

Hells Gate had amazing towering cliffs and volcanic peaks with natural hot springs leaking through the rock face and it's boiling hot.

That afternoon we went to Elsemere, where former late Joy Adamson lived, she was famous for her bond with a Lioness Elsa. It's in the film Born Free. We got to have a lovely afternoon tea with colobus monkeys in the trees that came down and stole the food off our plate while eating still. "Cheeky monkeys!!"

We returned to Nairobi where the group went to a place called Carnivores - local restaurant that used to serve game meat but don't anymore but still sell croc, buffalo balls, ostrich - all you can eat meat so Jamie was in heaven.

Met the new people for our next leg of our tour changed bus to a more uncomfortable one, boo, then headed to Arusha where we got to travel into Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater to visit the amazing animals and see the forever changing scenery. The Serengeti had a very long rough rocky shake the shit out of your 4WD entrance and for a whole there we though we were just going to nowhere as there were just gazelles everywhere and no trees, grass or water for them. We drove for what felt like forever then came the vegetation and rocky terrain. We got to see all the big five apart from Rhinos. Got to see hyenas feeding on a kill which made for amazing photos! We got to camp out that night in the Serengeti with the wildlife and fear of lions coming into our tent. Jamie wanted to hear them roar but the only noises we got to hear that night were the ones from the other tourists around us snoring!

The next day we went to the Ngorongoro Crater, an old volcano that before it erupted and collapsed 2 million years ago was one of the worlds tallest mountains. The crater is 610m deep with an area enclosed of 260 square km's. The crater is so massive and steep which creates a natural enclosure for the wildlife down in there as they don't go out of the crater as their food and water source is all there. We got to see Elephants, Zebra, Buffalo, Hippo and Lions - lots of them. In one area they were laying on the road exhausted from killing and we got to see the lioness and dad lions together eating and resting. One of the lions decided to walk along worth the safari truck and we go sooo close to them it was freakin awesome!

We really enjoyed this place, Zanzibar to most stunning beach you will ever set eyes on. We only had two nights but being able to just have that there was worth it. We relaxed on sunbeds on the beach at Zanzibar, cocktails in hand, white silk sheets ruffling in the breeze around our gazebo. The ocean a stunning blue and the sand blindingly white. Might just be the most beautiful place we've been - must see if you have a chance before it gets to touristy! We go a full seafood buffet with all the trimmings for next to nothing, most amazing place.

On the same island we then visited Stone Town gorgeous place reminded us of Europe with windy narrow alleys with a splash of Arab architecture and mosques as well. We got to visit the night market which served fresh seafood and AWESOME pizza parcel things. Jamie was so excited for all the variety and how raw and amazing like it was to 'street food' in Asia. One for Candice though with crapes Nutella and Red Banana. Candice felt sorry for a poor homeless guy as he was digging through the bin for food so she gave him hers. There are many spices in Zanzibar for such a cheap price. We've got many blends that will be used for dinners when we get back - if we can get them home.

Left Zamzibar for two massive drive days in the truck. Sooo over the long trips. Especially when you're hungover!!!

Went to lake Malawi and stayed at Kande Beach where we stayed at a really nice beach but right on the water front really cheap too. Because the lake is so large it has waves and you can hear them crashing through the night.

Made it to Victoria falls where we have been for three nights, gorgeous place. Got to see the Victoria Falls at its best with not too much mist do you can see everything. Did a micro light flight over it and also walked with two lionesses in the wild - amazing experience!

More to come...

Update on our time and the orphanage and travel

jamie_candice — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 20:04:00 GMT

Firstly we apologies for no pictures on here or Facebook, the internet is as slow as a snail and to upload even one takes a long time. We know you’re all eager to see where we are staying and the children however we will need to designate a day to uploading photos.

We’ve really grown attached to the children and their own little personalities that they bring. We only have a few more days to spend with them, so we are growing very sad to leave them. One month is not enough time to learn their names, learn their traits and bond with them as you have to leave to soon.

We got to travel last week to a place called Princestown, a little seaside town with a Castle on a hill overlooking the ocean and the village. For $3AUS a night we got to stay in the Bell Tower of the Castle and laze about on the deck bed overlooking the ocean and the village. The Castle called Fort Gross – Friedrichsburg is about 4hrs away from where we are staying. To get there you have to take a bus from Swedru (we caught the nice bus luckily) then a tro-tro (van) to Princestown. The road in is a little rough with some dirt and being the rainy season there are lots of pot holes and water over the road.
We had our very own cook at the Castle, his name was Joseph who made amazing food for 6 Cedi each meal ($4AUS), which made it nice to just relax and not have to worry about doing anything! While we were there, we went to a small seaside town called ‘Mie Mia’ that we had to Kayak to, down the river. First of all, don’t think of a nice plastic yellow Kayak, as Jamie first thought. It was a calved boat from wood that water had to be bailed from before even getting into the boat – not off to a good start! We jumped in and rowed for an hour to get to the local village where we were greeted with “Obruni, Obruni” (meaning: tourist, white person) and children asking for money. We met a local fisherman there that asked if we wanted to buy Lobster for 15 Cedis per kilo ($8AUS), so we jumped at the opportunity for CHEAP Lobster!!! The fisherman then took us to the beach where a local guy ran down to the water and pulled a netted bag from the ocean, FULL of Lobster and gave us three kilos worth. Greedy we know, but when it’s that cheap why not - we did share with Joseph and our guide Matthew though. We had a lovely time and learnt about the history of the Castle being the only German Castle built in Ghana. Ghana has 80 Castles in the country built from Dutch

When we left Princestown it was raining heavily and Joseph had advised us that we may not get out of the town due to flooding of the roads. We walked down with him to the village square where lots of locals where waiting for the only tro-tro to leave. The driver didn’t want to risk driving through the water so he said he wasn’t going. Low and behold though as soon as Obruni’s are around, for a sure price we are able to get a tro-tro to take us through the flooded water! Just to give you an idea of how cheap a tro-tro is meant to be, we paid 6 Cedi for the both of us and our bag to get there, but to take this ‘special’ tro-tro it cost us 50 Cedis. Candice wanted to stay another night as it was cheaper, the food was great and so relaxing, but the weather was rainy and wasn’t very inviting. Jamie was keen to leave as we had organized to meet the other volunteers from our program at Busua and due to him losing his phone we were unable to contact them so we had to go. So we reluctantly agreed to fork out this amount to get to Agona Station. We were told that if other locals were to join us it would lower the price but they would still be able to pay the normal 2 Cedi per person amount. So after receiving 14 Cedi’s from a full van, off we went. A quarter of the way there the driver pulls up and connects his ‘snorkel’ which is a PVC pipe on the side of the van. We go though the first water over road and we get through easily, the next one wasn’t the case…

We pulled up at water over a road you would not go through in Aus in a 4WD with a snorkel, let alone a busted broken looking tro tro. Never the less, everyone starts piling out of the van. They tell us, stay there, stay there – as we had paid so much money we were meant to stay in the van and be pushed across the flooded water while everyone else walks and the men push. As you’re all aware we like to help and not just sit around, so we hoped out and push the van also through the water. We asked if our bag in the back would get wet as the seals on the van had long been perished! We get the usual response of “its fine”, knowing full well it’s not. As this is the Ghanaian way, similar to ‘she’ll be right’, we fobbed off the comment and pushed the van across. Candice started pushing while the other women (including Jamie) walked behind. Jamie then saw the trend and soon took over from Candice! Once floating the van to the other side, we checked our bag as the water well and truly went inside. It was wet and we soon noticed that there was a little Goat that had been wedged between the back seat and the spare tire that also get wet too, poor little thing! As Candice has been doing the Cap Animal Aid foster program, she has had to learn that animals are very mistreated here and you just have to deal with it. Or as Jamie puts it, “harden up princess”. We got through other water over the road, a few large ones where the water actually came up to our ankles whilst still sitting in the van. Got to our destination still in one piece so we were happy.

Busua wasn’t one of our favorite spots, however we did have a nice time there staying right on the beach for 10AUS a night, not the nicest of places but cheap and close to everything. We stayed at ‘Peter Place – Bar and Restaurant open 24hrs’, however there is no bar and the restaurant is just his wife that cooks and brings it to you. We got to try Fufu which wasn’t overly pleasant but it’s a traditional dish so we had to try it. It’s Cassava and Plantain (unripe banana) mashed together to create a sticky ball. It is rolled into a ball and put in a bowl with a oily broth around it. The consistency is like eating glue, if that paints a picture for you. Although it’s a great belly filler, makes you feel fuller longer so it’s a good meal for Ghanaians.
We sat around the beach reading and relaxing some more with the other volunteers from our program. Candice was going to do a surfing lesson with a chick from Belgium she met the night before, but it was too expensive to hire so gave it a miss. So we ended up hiring boogie boards and riding the waves into shore. The waves were very forceful and after half an hour of being dunked we were water logged and gave it away! We would eat at a local ‘spot’ which is a restaurant over here – Ghanaian standard, not ours – very open style with no walls just a hut with table and chairs.

We have been very busy at the orphanage, playing with the children and helping the Madam (Aggie) and Mama Sarah (owns the orphanage with her husband and hires Aggie) with duties that need to be done like cooking, cleaning and washing their clothes. There are 36 children and only two ladies to do it all, while keep order! The childrens rooms are VERY basic and there are two children to a bed and about four bunk beds in one room. They all have their stuff spread everywhere so it’s always a hassle to find uniforms in the morning as they will blame each other of moving it on them. It seems like organized chaos everyday and somehow they all seem to brush their hair, clean their teeth put their shoes and uniform on (optional underwear if they don’t have any),sit on your lap for what seems like and hour then go to school. To be fair it’s not always on time, however they do try with a little coaxing and sometimes walking them to the door!

The donation money has really helped us achieve a few purposeful goals at the orphanage. We have started by making a cupboard for the children. From our donation money Jamie and I (mainly Jamie) built a cupboard with ten shelves and picked which room needed it the most, no surprises it was a girls room! He had to cut all the timber by hand with a blunt saw and no power tools, so he is happy to go home with the appreciation of having power at home. He was so sore that night after cutting all day, the Ghanaians aren’t educated well in the maintenance of their hand tools and if a saw is getting stuck in wood it needs oil not the teeth spread apart evenly. Never the less Jamie put his heart into the project (being a perfectionist it was hard for him tolet the little imperfection go) and the girls were so happy to receive their gift. Augustina even did a little dance in front of it with a huge smile.
The children are born with rhythm and they like to dance as much as they possibly can and they know how o shake it, especially when they are happy. So when they see the effort we put into making something for them they are so happy and proud.
Some of the children commented about Jamie when he arrived “finally a real man” as mainly uni students and young adults just out of school without trades volunteer here. (They are still very much needed and appreciated, more so for tutoring as we have been out of the education system for quite some time now) The comments from the children helped Jamie find more motivation when he was struggling with the saw.

The children are always so eager to help you, no matter what they just want to be in your presence and when you’re not around they are always asking after you.
When we were sanding the cupboard down we had about six kids all with sandpaper helping us, so the job took no time at all. Did have to guide a few of them not to sand the whole cupboard away; however they were so happy and eager to help through their lunch hour.

More of the donations have been spent on the orphanage, buying an ironing board as they were using the kitchen table, putting new fly screen in the windows and buying timber to go around the windows to hold it on so they mossies don’t get through any gaps. We have fixed doors with new hinges and ply so they are able to close the doors to keep the mosquitoes away. Malaria is so bad here and some of the children’s rooms don’t even get a fly screen door, so it’s worrying that we have run out of time to do more. It’s also hot over here and mossie nets are useless as the children pull them down due to it being too hot. We are trying to suggest they use them, like we do every night, however it’s easy for us to say that when we have a fan in our room and they don’t. Another cost needing donation is the children’s healthcare cards. Luckily Ghana has health insurance and each individual person is eligible to receive a card (similar to Medicare at home) with this card it lowers the cost of seeing a Doctor. The children have their healthcare cards except two, but each year they need renewing and they have to be renewed three months out from the expiry. It’s not that expensive, although when you have 36 children plus a few of your own it starts adding up and that cost can’t be met, so the volunteers help. It’s an easy process to renew them, you pay your money they put a sticker on it and your good to go. However EVERYTHING in Africa takes forever, there is no easy or quick process it’s always long winded and difficult to understand the logic. We have used the money to renew the children’s Health Care Cards for another year and the children are always very grateful. It’s so sweet to see some of the children that have other siblings in the orphanage looking out for each other. There are these three children Emanuel, Marta and Maphia– Ema is the older brother and came up to one of the other volunteers Emma and asked if Candice and Emma once home from the insurance office if his sisters had been renewed before asking of himself. It’s so sweet and they are such good kids, they don’t deserve their circumstances but they are better off here then on their own.

We are off to Cape Coast this week to see the Castle built there where majority of the slaves were kept, it will be an emotional day but great to learn the history.

This could be our last journal before we leave Ghana for our tour. We have enjoyed our time here so much and wish we could have stayed longer. One volunteer left today and seeing the emotional goodbye the children give you there’s going to be tears – it’s inevitable!

Achiase - Ghana

jamie_candice — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 21:20:00 GMT

We arrived after 34hrs of travel, exhausted but eager to see where we were staying. We met with our coordinators at the airport after walking past them and had a little panic attack. They took us to the accommodation house in Accra where we stayed for one night before orientation where we got to meet other volunteers that were going to different areas of Ghana for their placement. Majority of the people were from USA with a few from UK, AUS and NZ.

We left the next day on our 'Green' program for Achiase which is a small village about 2hrs (depending on traffic) to get to from Accra. As we pulled into the Orphanage complex the children were waiting for us cheering and wanting to get into the bus while we were trying to get out. They were very excited and eager to help us with our bags and beds that were strapped to the van (Tro-Tro). We got to meet the other volunteers who had been at the program for a few months. We then met with our cook who feeds us breakfast lunch and dinner everyday and keeps us healthy! We felt very overwhelmed on our first night there and were wondering what we had got ourselves in for.
After being here now for over a week, we have come to know all the children’s names and have become friends with the other volunteers and we are really enjoying the experience. It is completely different from any other place we have been before. There is no structure here and it's all very random and laid back. The people are very friendly and have looked after us.

Swedru is our closest town with internet and it's a 70pesewas (40cent) taxi ride into town where the taxi driver will pull up along the way to fill the rest of the taxi with more passengers so it is a full car. Very different to home where you pay if there is only one person in the taxi, it is a set fair per person here.

We have become very attached to the children and they have really started to warm to us. Jamie and I have picked our favorites which we said we wouldn’t but it happens! Agnes and Patrick have been the two we spend most of our time with, as they want to be around us all the time. Most of the children have a brother or sister or cousin or aunt that is in the Orphanage with them, so they aren’t alone which is nice. We tutor the children every evening on school nights to help them further with their studies. They really enjoy it as we give them stickers for a job well done so they usually finish their work.

We went with the other volunteers to a disabled school/home in a village about half an hour away to play with the children and spent the night there. The children were extremely excited to see us, as they thought we weren’t coming as we arrived late. It was an amazing experience to see how happy and healthy the children were and how they have helped take care of each other. The coordinator Joe (Ghanaian) and his wife (American) have really set up a comfortable place for the children to feel proud to live and learn at. They don’t have very many volunteers, so they struggle to find enough finances as they have to pay for staff to help care for the children.

We went to the beach at Winneba for a day trip which was really nice and clean compared to the rest of the area surrounding it. The locals come to chat to you as they don’t get to see many westerners. When you walk around, many of the local children and adults yell out their word for tourist “Obruni” and want to wave to you. The children always want to touch our skin and hair because it is so foreign to them and some just stare in amazement.

We have been to Accra a few times and we really enjoy coming back to our small village it’s not hectic and crowded like the city is.

We are looking forward to this weekend as we are travelling to Buswa, a small beach town about four hours away.

We are both enjoying our time here, wish we could stay longer than just this month.

Off to Africa!!!

jamie_candice — Wed, 30 May 2012 19:45:00 GMT

Said our goodbyes in Rockhampton with our wonderful family and friends, arrived in Brisbane and the nerves subsidised. Met up with Rebecca an Kevin for a last steak before no meat!! In the airport at Brisbane with mixed emotions and fear of the unknown. Very excited to experience something completly out of our comfort zone and looking forward to gorgeous children to entertain (good luck to us). Love yas talk to you as soon as we can. xoxo Candice and Jimmy. GOODBYE!!!

Gallery: Poland and Hungary

jamie_candice — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:49:00 GMT

Gallery: Czech Republic

jamie_candice — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:10:00 GMT

Liechtenstein

jamie_candice — Fri, 7 Aug 2009 02:17:00 GMT

Well it's been a long time and more than likely we won't get it up to date right now but it's best to give it a go.

We finished up in Germany at the end of the romantic road and decided to take a bee-line to Liechtenstein. We breezed through Austria, though we did go back later to take some more in, just stopping for a vignette (pre-paid motorway toll). We set up at a campsite that had the most gorgeous views of the apls around us and made the best of the light we had left and had a few beers and some spaghetti for dinner (once again).

The next day we headed to the high alps of Liechtenstein for a little look. When we got to the ski village, obviously no skiing now, we saw that there was a little pub on top of the mountain. Not wanting to pay for the gondola we thought it best to trek to the top, some of us in our pluggers. Of course with the prize being a nice cold beer we made it to the top of the mountain 90 minutes later. The real reward though was the glorious view of the alps surrounding us. Being able to see the Austrian and Swiss alps from the same point in Liechtenstein, with the sound of the cow bells down in the valley below us, was something that we stay in our minds for a long time to come.

So we had our beer and made our way back down the mountain to the car for the drive back to our little campsite. Later that afternoon we decided to take a little drive through some more of Liechtenstein. The drive went a little further than we though though and we ended up in Switzerland twice. After our nice little drive we went back to camp to get some much needed sleep for the drive to Austria.

On the road again in Germany

jamie_candice — Wed, 5 Aug 2009 00:09:00 GMT

It was a very exciting moment when Cidy arrived back in Kothen at our little campground at 2am with their new mode of transport. We decided that long enough had been spent sitting, drinking and admiring our stream, so we packed up and headed for a new destination.

Cindy had bought a friend with her to keep her company on her trip from London to Germany which we were very pleased about, as we didn't want her to drive on her own. So Dave roughed it with us for a few days before we took him to Wurzberg train station and said our goodbyes. We then continued on from Wurzberg and headed down the Romantic road to our first stop at Rothenburg. This town was so beautiful with it's typical old German buildings. We walked around the old town wall where we could see the town from above and all the narrow streets with horse and carriages through it.

The next day we drove to a new town on the Romantic Road route, called Dinkelsbuhl which was a very coulourful town and lovely to have a wonder around in. We then kept driving and found a maze in a corn crop along the way where from the sky it was a piture of a wasp, but from in the maze, was very difficult to find the tower in the middle. We all eventually got there after trying to beat one another running around like little kids. Now the difficult part of getting out...we ended up walking through the undesignated path and through the crop to the start, cheaters!

The following day we drove the rest of the Romantic Road where at the end there is a lovely suprise (if you aren't aware of it being there, as Candice wasn't due to eveyone not letting her see postcards to make it a great suprise) of Neuschwanstein Castle. You come around the corner and there it is purched in one of the mountains glistning in the sun...gorgeous. We then went to find some tickets to go to this Castle, however the lineup was huge and there where people eveywhere, they must have had the same reaction of wanting to explore it.
So we ended up walking up the mountain to get to it, as it's beauty was just drawing us towards it. We got to the top where we were pleasently suprised that you could get inside the castle gate and into the courtyard without a ticket! As we walked around to where the viewing bridge was the view is just amazing with the lake and another caslte in the background. We took some photos from the bridge however being summer, scaffolding seems to be VERY popular in Europe!

Gallery: Liechtenstein & Austria

jamie_candice — Sat, 1 Aug 2009 04:04:00 GMT

Slowing down in Germany

jamie_candice — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:50:00 GMT

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We left Holland and headed for Germany, steadily driving along at Bertha’s 90 km/hr pace. Once we reached the autobahns of Germany we really felt like we were just crawling along. Seeing as we had spent a little too much money over the last week and the huge fuel bill that Bertha the camper van was racking it up for the others, we decided to just find ourselves a spot where we could park up for the night. We found ourselves a nice little spot on the edge of some woods that did very nicely. The next day we had planned to head for Berlin, but Cindy still hadn’t heard back from her friend that lives there. So we thought it best to give Berlin a miss, as we figured it may not be too camper friendly. Instead we headed for the South of Germany, toward Wurzburg, where the Romantic Road begins. Only 400 kilometres, surely not too much of a stretch for us to drive in a day we thought. But as the roads began to ascend Bertha’s speed declined and it seemed the fuel gauge was travelling faster than our small convoy. We only made it 200 kilometres that day. We found ourselves a spot to pull up for the night out the front of a farmer’s paddock. The farmer came along a few minutes later and through some hand signalling gave us the okay to stay there. He then led us to his place so that we could fill up our water bottles. That night Brett, Rick and Cindy decided that Bertha had to go. The fuel bill was costing them their daily budget alone (about 220 klms from a tank of fuel that cost 50euros or $100 aus) and travelling along a German autobahn at 40km/hr up the inclines isn’t the safest way to travel. So the decision was made to try and trade Bertha in for a car and tent.

In the morning we took off for Wurzburg where we thought they might be able to find a place to trade Bertha in, being a larger city. We made it about 50klms along the road before we had to pull in for a toilet break at a service station. As we went to leave the car park Bertha made the chance of trade in a little more difficult. It seemed that Bertha was sick of being bad-mouthed and wasn’t going to take them any further. She did manage to cough her engine alive, in the smokey way that we had become used to, but Cindy found it impossible to get it into gear as the clutch had gone “kaput” as the road side assistance guy put it. So we pulled out Bertha’s awning and waited around the back of the servo for about 4 hours for the tow truck to arrive. Bertha was winched on the back of the truck and Brett and Cindy then had to climb into the campervan, as there was only enough room for Rick inside the tow truck. With us following in our car behind the truck, we made our way gingerly to the mechanics. The news got even worse once there, about 600 euros to fix the clutch and a lot of laughs from the mechanics as they took a peek under the van. It seemed that a turn of events had forced the Camper Trio into a dismal decision, Bertha had to be CRUSHED!

So Candice and I went and set our tent up at a nearby camping grounds, then made a trip back to the mechanics to pick up the homeless trio and some of their gear. The next day we went into town for Cindy to get a plane ticket back to London so that she could buy them a new car. They also got themselves a tent so that Brett and Rick had a place of their own to stay while we spent our time waiting by the little stream in the small town of Kothen, in a beautiful part of Germany.

And a week after we dropped Cindy off at Frankfurt Airport, here we find ourselves still at the little stream, enjoying the subtleties of getting to know a small foreign village and the locals and more importantly the beer.

Gallery: Germany

jamie_candice — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:18:00 GMT

Gallery: Bertha's End

jamie_candice — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:03:00 GMT

Belgium, Netherlands

jamie_candice — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:01:00 GMT

We ended up in Belgium on the day that Cindy, Brett and Rick rang to say that they were finally ready to hit the road. We went to stay in a small town not far from the French border so that they could meet up with us the next day. We gave them some directions to where we were staying and waited for there arrival that night. Unfortunatly Jamie's instructions turned out to be too confusing for them. Not helped by the late hour they were arriving, so we decided to meet up in the morning.

Morning came and we packed up our tent and car. Then we tried to call them to work out where to meet but for some reason none of the calls went through. So we thought we might see if we could find them near the lighthouse that Brett said he saw while on the phone the night before. We found the light house but no sign of Bertha (the name of the campervan). We sent them a text to tell them that we would wait for them at the lighthouse. After about an hour of waiting we finally got a call from Brett to say that they found the campsite and had been looking for us for the last hour. So they turned back around and met up with us, finally the fellowship of the euro-campers was together.

First things first we decided to head towards Amsterdam. We knew that Bertha wouldn't make it in one trip so we just headed toward Holland for a while then pulled off the main road looking for u place to pull up for the night. We found a large grassed parking lot in what seemed like the middle of nowhere and seeing as how it was deserted thought we may just stay there for the night. After about 30 minutes two guys pulled into the parking lot to fill there tralier with rocks that were pilled up on one side of the parking lot. We approached them to see if it was fine for us to stay the night. One of the men turned out to be the caretaker of the tourist farm behind the parking lot. He used to be the owner of the farm that had been in his family since 1740's, his son didn't want to take it on so he sold it to the tourist department and now he looks after the farm for them. He was more than happy for us to stay the night and showed us around, he even gave us some shots of his homemade spirits.

The next morning, after drinking way too much, we packed up and headed to Amsterdam, where we set up at a camping grounds on the edge of the city. There was a metro station near the grounds, so it was a handy place to be able to head into the city and try some more of the local treats. We basically just spent the next two days over-indulging and walking around the same block (unintentionally) at one point. We also managed to find at random a free street party. After Amsterdam we headed to the north of Holland to a town called Groningen, to do a little more 'relaxing' before leaving The Netherlands. On the second day, while we were going for a drive to check out some of the country side, we came across a cow that was having trouble giving labour, with the calf half hanging out. Being the good citizens that we are we thought that we had better alert the farmer. That turned out be be a little difficult, the farmers wife was only at home and there was a major language barrier that took two trips to the farm house to explain the problem. But eventually the farmer came and the cow and calf were saved, HOORAY.

Gallery: Hazy Holland

jamie_candice — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:51:00 GMT

Gallery: Loire Valley, Brittany and Normandy

jamie_candice — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:19:00 GMT

France

jamie_candice — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 21:07:00 GMT

We spent 2 weeks travelling around the north of France with our little car and tent while we waited for Cindy, Brett and Rick to buy a camper and join us in Europe. After leaving Paris we went to the Loire Valley, home to some very beautiful chateaus. We found some lovely little medieval towns explore in particular Bloire and Amboise. Then we heading up to Normandy where we went to visit Mont St Michel an extraordinary old town set on a small rocky island only connected by a causeway to the mainland. It is such a beautiful place, needed to be seen to believe. We also went to the beaches where the D-day landings took place in the 2nd world war.

We then headed onto Bayeux where the Tapestry for the Battle of Hastings in 1066 had been made for the illiterate people of that era to understand what had happened at the time of the battle.
We got to know the supermarkets very well, as we would go and get food everyday because we couldn't cook anything and didn't have an esky.

We needed to kill a couple of days before Cindy, Brett and Rick arrived in Europe with their van.
So we stayed at a little campsite in a town called Jumieges along the Seine river that leads into Paris, where we took the opportunity to just relax a lot.

PARIS

jamie_candice — Sat, 4 Jul 2009 07:43:00 GMT

So our time is up in the UK and we are off to travel around Europe in our little car and a tent for accomadation. So we packed up said our good~byes to Brighton and off we went. Cindy, Brett and Rick will be joining us in a week or so, until then we are off to Paris and touring the north east of France.

We travelled to Calais from Dover via the ferry on Wednesday, we travelled on the motorways to Paris which was a huge cost of 20€ in tolls for being on the bloody road for only 2 hours!!
So it's non toll/motorways for us now. We then got caught up in the Paris traffic and where running low on fuel, so we where starting to get worried. Managed to get through the cars to an offside servo, phew.
Then to top it off we made a wrong turn which added another 15-20 mins to the trip cause there are WAY to many roads in the city. With first hand experience, we highly suggest you don't drive any where near Paris city Centre!!!

When we finally made our way to Mevs, it was an epic battle tring to find where we would be able to leave our car the following day. We thankfully managed to snag a closed down railway station that we just parked our car in and worried about it being towed or clamped while we where siteseeing the next day.

We jumped on the Metro and went to the Le Louve, which was an amazing place. It is just so beautiful round there. We where in there for about an hour looking for Lisa, when we found her in a totally non obvious place. There is SO many fantasic paintings and sculptures that your could be in there for HOURS! It suprised us that you could take photos in there and the 'non flash' policy isnt enforced.

We then walked down to Arc Du Triomphe from the Louve on a very hot day, it felt like we were back in Aus!
We went to see how much it was to go up the top, however our budget wouldnt allow us to touch it, so we just 'people watched' and got out of the sun.

We then met Mev at her place and headed to the Eifel Tower for a picnic. We got to meet some Frenchie friends of Mevs who were lovely, so we havent had the 'rude' French experience yet.
We had a very French picnic with everyone bringing along salami, fruit, cheese, baguettes and wine for all to share, very special sitting right near the Towel watching it light up. Very romantic!

The following day we slept in and made our way to Notre dame which is free to go inside and have a look at which we were suprised at!
It's just lovely inside and out. We then went to Sacre Coeur, a church high up on a hill with fantastic views over Paris. We wandered down the streets afterward to make our way to the see where the Moulin Rouge and all the strip clubs are. But at €80 for the cheapest seats I'm afraid we won't be seeing the show.

We found a supermarket so we bought some food and wine and had ourselves a lovely little picnic with views overlooking the river and the Eiffel Tower. After lunch and a lot of kissing, trying to get a photo with the tower well placed in the background, we walked along the river seine to the Statue of Liberty. Its almost the same as the one in NY, but alot smaller.

Feeling pretty knackered after all of our walking we headed back to Mev's place for some much needed rest before we head off to the Loire Valley tomorrow.

Gallery: Paris

jamie_candice — Fri, 3 Jul 2009 21:38:00 GMT

Gallery: St Paddy's Day

jamie_candice — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:19:00 GMT

Candice's Birthday and St Patrick's Day

jamie_candice — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:51:00 GMT

First of all we had to make our way to Manchester. When we booked our flights to head out to Dublin we were still planning to live in Manchester again. Of course no plan goes to plan so we had a bit of a journey before the fun could begin. We decided to make a little trip out of it and we left Brighton 2 days before we had to fly to Dublin, so that we could spent a bit of time travelling around and checking out some castles and such so that we could make some use out of the English Heritage passes that we all bought a few weeks ago. We made our way to Oswestry, a little town near the Wales border, and stayed there for the first night. We checked out Witley Court and Gardens, a spectacular ruin of a 19^th century mansion. We also took in Stokesay Castle a 13^th century Manor house still very much intact. The next day on the way to Manchester we went to see the remains of an old Roman City and the ruins of an Abbey at Haughmond. The Abbey was closed for the season, but seeing that it was such a stunning place we simply climbed through the fence to check it out. Candice didn’t stay in very long though before the guilt got the better of her and she stepped back through. Spent the night in Manchester checking out a few of our favorite watering holes and a few new ones, then went out to the curry mile for dinner at an Indian Restaurant that we went to with Mum and Dad Stait when they where her for 07 Xmas.

The next day we took off from Manchester for Ireland. The line up at customs in Dublin was huge, lots of thirsty people lining up for their share of partying. We made our way into town to check into our apartment but we were told that our room wouldn’t be ready until 4pm. So with about 5 hours to spare we thought we’d better find out how Guinness is made before we made our major contribution to the Guinness family. After enjoying the tour and our pints at the end of it all (this is a clever technique) we found ourselves in the souvenir store, where of course we contributed a little more of our money in exchange for a few items. Afterward we made our way back to check into our rather cozy apartment. That night we went out to the pub for some Irish music and liquid treats. We met a group of Irish girls after Jamie got roused on by them for yawning before the music had even begun. One of the girls had had quite a bit to drink and chatted away to Candice for some time before we thought that we better save some of our well being and money ( a pint was costing us about Aus $ 11) for the real thing tomorrow.

Candice’s Birthday and St Patrick’s Day:

The streets started to get packed quite early in preparation for the parade, so after some chocolate muffin and chocolate filled pastry for breakfast (birthday girl breakfast not our staple diet) we donned our Irish party gear and we walked up and down the crowds a bit looking for a spot where we could check out the parade. Luckily we managed to snag a nice little spot right up against the barriers. The parade started to come our way after about 2 hours of waiting. The theme of the parade this year was the sky is the limit and was filled with lots of imaginative displays as well as the customary brass bands. It took about 2 hours for the full parade to pass us by. There was one couple that kept trying to squeeze into our space (quite to Candice’s annoyance) but after a telling off by Jamie they kept their distance.

After the parade we made our way back to apartment so that Candice could have a little rest before really partying it up that afternoon. Jamie and Brett had other ideas however and went out for a drink before returning to collect Candice. The streets of Dublin were absolutely packed with revelers. There were some streets that were near impossible to walk through. We were lucky enough to get a seat at the bar in the first pub we went to, some people left while we were drinking our first pint. The place was overflowing with people though, as was every pub that we went into. We didn’t want to be spending all our time at one pub though so after a few pints we moved on the next pub and the next pub and then the next pub, I think you get the idea. A good night was had by all; we met a few Irish people, drank our fair share of the town and thoroughly enjoyed celebrating Candice’s Birthday.

Of course the next day wasn’t so exciting. Candice got out of bed at 3:30pm, Brett and Jamie had a little stroll around town and we generally just felt a little sorry for ourselves. Also Jamie’s knees were feeling a little sore from where he skinned them tripping over the stairs that suddenly appeared out the front of our apartment. The next day we got up and headed back to the airport made our way back to Manchester and then drove back down to Brighton that afternoon.