New Zealand is one of our favorite countries, a place we would love to live one day. While there we were fascinated by penguins. At one viewing spot, near Omaru, we were told to be very quiet, turn off cell phones, don’t make any quick movements because they were shy birds. What a laugh we all had when, after 45minutes of fruitless scanning the brush for a sighting, someone pointed out that the penguin was hanging out right next to the viewing platform…NOT hiding in the bush!
Africa has always been a dream destination, one for the bucket list. Romanticized in such movies as Out of Africa and I Dreamed of Africa, a land of adventure and amazement. A decade ago, the tour company I work for, Grand European Tours, first started selling a trip to South Africa and lucky us, we were one of the first in the company to get to go on tour and check it out!
While camping in the Carnia Gorge area of Australia, we got the chance to help feed these amazingly colorful birds.
Over landing Africa is an amazing, and often challenging way to travel. Spending the time to drive the arduous route from Nairobi through Tanzania, following the lake in Malawi before veering SW into Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Continuing through arid Namibia and finally reaching South Africa you will travel thousands of miles on a trip that takes several months to do properly and, even then, you feel as though you missed a lot.
Foto Friday comes to you from the Okavango Delta in Botswana, one of the best concentrations of wildlife on earth. I love zebra stripes and have countless pictures of them, in particular zebra butts. What can I say, the stripes are hypnotic!
The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the natural marvels of the world, two to three million years old, 2000 feet deep and over 100 square miles, it is surely one of the more remarkable places we’ve ever been. Located 110 miles west of Arusha, Tanzania, thousands of tourists flock here every year to see one of the most amazing wildlife displays on the planet.
Bugs, insects, annoyances. However you like to refer to them, they’re the bane of every travelers’ existence. From the deadly, malaria carrying mosquito to the astonishing strength of the the dung beetle. From the vicious no-see-em’s that strike w/ no warning and whose bites itch unbelievably, to the enormous, beetle-like creature shown below. In a rare move, Foto Friday this week is actually two photos. The first shows a close up of this terrifying bug and the second showing it’s true size compared to a bottle of the worlds best hard cider; Savanna Dry. Be glad you’re not camping in the Namibian bush with him tonight!
Although all of our time in Africa has been amazing, I was especially drawn to the wildlife of Botswana.
Watering hole in Botswana
Egypt, a country of thousands of years of history and a still amazing, vibrant culture. We spent a month traveling throughout the country and were fascinated by the “ships of the desert”, the always cranky, never comfortable to ride, camels.
Camels at the pyramid
They say the lion is the King of the Jungle. You only need spend a short time in Africa to realize they are absolutely correct. We’ve seen many of these majestic creatures during our time there, this handsome fellow was in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. (and we were close enough that this was NOT taken w/ a zoom!) Enjoy
