A year ago today, we were sitting in my brother’s kitchen with a bottle of wine to celebrate the closing of a chapter and the start of our new adventure. It was a crazy few days. I can still vividly remember feeling a whirlwind of emotions including fear, anxiety, nervousness and excitement … all at once. Everything had happened so fast and I was feeling...
Read More
Packing for long term travel can be difficult. I know I personally debated for a long time over what I should pack. To see exactly what I packed see my previous post about packing for long term travel. Looking back, I spent most of my time searching for the right clothing and shoes to bring, and probably not enough time thinking about the “other”...
Read More
My middle name definitely is not Grace. I often wonder how I ever managed all those years skating on a quarter of an inch of steel and avoided any serious injury, outside of the compulsory stitches in my chin. These days, basic activities like riding a bike, walking a bike and simply walking have all left me with a few unexpected aches, pains, and bruises! I...
Read More
One of the items on my packing list for our trip was “chip clips”. I had read somewhere that clips or clothes pins can serve multiple purposes during long term travel, including: hanging things to dry, keeping things together (like window coverings to block out light), or even sealing food products for storage or transit. So, I tossed in three for good measure.
Read More
I am known to be compulsive about recycling. In my mind it is one small and easy thing that we all can do to make a small difference in the world for our future generations. So, when I saw crates containing empty beer bottles at the local market in Seychelles, I took note. It meant we could recycle our empty beer bottles at the local market! Somewhere in our first...
Read More
We were pleasantly surprised to find that South Africa has not been inundated with the American fast food chains. Yes, if you are in dire need of some American-based grease and in a large town then you will most likely be able to find a McDonalds or a Kentucky Fried Chicken. However, the two local hamburger chains, Wimpy’s and Steers, seem to far outnumber all other chains. Since we definitely love a good hamburger, we could not pass up the opportunity to conduct our own independent taste test to see how each chain’s burgers would stack up.
Read More
Another day, another use for duct tape. As we concluded our sand boarding session in South Africa, we made one final run down the “Dragon Dune” lying flat on our stomach clinging to a plastic belly board. The guide instructed us that it was best to use bare feet to steer and slow down. So we proceeded to take off our shoes and socks in preparation for the ride down...
Read More
One of my favorite activities during our month long stay on the North Island of New Zealand was “riding the sand” at the Te Paki Sand Dunes. Thus, when I saw another opportunity to sand board in South Africa, I immediately added it to the top of our list of things to do.
Read More
The coast of South Africa is home to one of the world’s largest populations of great white sharks. Sharks feast on seals and thus can often be sighted near one of the many seal colonies along the South Africa shores. Although the sharks are present year round, a sighting is never guaranteed. With so many sharks in South Africa, cage diving has become one of...
Read More
We read mixed reviews about Addo Elephant National Park. As a result, we heavily debated whether a visit to the game park was even worth our time and effort. We almost decided to skip it entirely since we had already booked a four night safari in Madikwe Game Reserve at the end of our time in South Africa. Ultimately, since we were so close, we decided to experience...
Read More