Travel – Adventure – Life
December 2019 was crazy, we did a trip that took us almost around the world in two weeks.
5 countries
3 Airlines
You’ll get to hear all the good and bad…..there is some bad, well maybe just one bad.
From swimming with dolphins to rum and coke, island hopping, a beautiful wedding, and crazy parties if you stay tuned you get to hear it all and more.
After our trip to New Zealand, we decided to take a break from travel and explore our new home in Adelaide, Australia.
Seeing as though we had not had much luck in spotting any Koala’s in Australia, our friends recommended we go check out Cleland Wildlife Park. It’s around 20 minutes from Adelaide CBD, it’s open 09:30 – 5 pm every day with free parking available.
So that was it, we were going to Cleland Wildlife Park to find the Koalas.
The entrance fee is $30 per adult and kids are $15 each. There is also an option to pay a couple of dollars for some animal feed, which I highly recommend you get.
I was blown away at how beautiful the park was, it felt like you were miles away from the city but in actual fact, you’re still pretty close to the CBD.
The number of animals running around freely was incredible and if you’re there in the morning all the animals are hungry so they happily approach you and would eat out of your hand.
The park offers so many daily experiences that you can watch or take part in, for example, the koala experience allows you to meet and touch a koala, there is also a reptile and wombat experiences plus much more.
Youll receive a map when you arrive at the park and you are able to follow the pathways and cover as much ground and you wish. Dingos, reptiles, kangaroos and the butterfly garden are just some of the great enclosures you will see, so wear great sneakers and just expect to be there for 3-4 hours.
Lastly, we packed a picnic which you can store in lockers provided at the entrance of the park, and once we had finished walking through the park we grabbed a table and set up for an amazing feast whilst little critters walked around and you could watch the birds chirp in the trees above you.
Here is the website to Cleland Wildlife Park, I highly recommend you take the family out for a day, you won’t be disappointed, it’s a great place to visit if you’re a local or in Adelaide on Holiday. Add this spot to your bucket list.
https://www.clelandwildlifepark.sa.gov.au/Home
We were lucky enough to be given a gift of travel to New Zealand, how spoilt are we?
So perhaps not a country that is on top of our bucket list, we were going to arrive with no expectations. (Which I think is the best way to do things going forward)
We arrived in Auckland late at night, it was dark and we could not see a thing, we checked into a air bnb for the night and went to sleep. The next morning we woke up, had a lazy morning and then head off into the city of Auckland. Decided to see the city on the hop on hop off bus, which you can purchase tickets near the ferry terminal downtown. Included with our 24hour bus pass we got a ticket on the ferry to Davonport included, which is a 12 minute ferry ride across the bay.
The town of Devonport is so beautiful, its quaint, the old buildings have been maintained and offers tourists everything and I highly recommend everyone to check this place out.
Not having breakfast, and being now lunch time we decided to share a seafood platter at a great road side cafe. It had everything from oysters (which i tried for the first time) to fish, mussels, roast potatoes and ciabatta. YUM!
After our bellies were full we walked up our first extinct valcano, called mount Victoria. I very quickly realized how unfit I was and huffed and puffed all the way up the hill.
We made it to the top and the views were spectacular! Well worth the walk. 360 degree views across the bay. If its a warmer day I recommend you pick up some lunch and picnic up Mount Victoria and enjoy watching the boats glide across the bay and the views of SkyTower.
Oh and for the less fit people out there, the walk is very do-able, slow pace you should get up in about 20 minutes, so go on, do it!
By the time we left Davonport, it was starting to get late, so we jumped on the ferry back to Auckland then jumped on the bus and cruised around without getting off for the next hour. There are great places to stop, some you pay to gain entrance and others you can enjoy for free. Check out their website for more info https://www.explorerbus.co.nz/
So this was our first day in Auckland, it was beautiful, lush and green. The people were so friendly, the food was delicious and we could not wait to see what the rest of New Zealand had to offer us.
South West from the city of Adelaide lies a small town known for its German style architecture, gorgeous wines and variety of delicious foods.
Its one of Australians oldest German settlements and has been preserved for the enjoyment of local residents and tourists to enjoy.
A 45 minute scenic bus ride from the city which allows you to have a stress free journey, with the hundreds of visitors on a weekly basis, this is by far a good choice if you are in no rush for the day. Alternatively you can drive, just head there early in order to find parking.
Shops open at 10am on Sundays, there is everything from Copenhagen Ice Cream, bakeries, horse rides for the kids, Italian and German eateries, wine tastings, kid stores, high end fashion stores, authentic German merchandise shops and so much more.
There is something to do for the whole family, its a great getaway from the city and in autumn its just breathtaking as the streets are lined with all shades of reds, oranges and yellows.
I highly recommend this trip to Hahndorf for anyone of any age, grab the whole family for an outing or show off this town to visiting friends, or simply grab your partner for a day on the town.
For anyone who is interested in finding out more, see the link below.
https://hahndorfsa.org.au/
We have arrived in the beautiful Adelaide, Australia.
Blown away by the beauty of this city. Since arriving we have loved everything about this place. Access is so easy with public transport, granted its nothing like New Your City, or London Underground, but its simple and efficient and between the trains, buses and trams we are able to get anywhere we wish in the city and surrounds. A trip can cost you anything from $2.50 – $3.70 depending on the time of day. Also a handy trick we learnt if you travel multiple trips within 2 hours, you only pay for the first trip. So when we having a cheap day,we catch the train to the beach, spend 1.5hrs on the beach then head home and only pay for one trip, its amazing!
Oh and the beaches, they are beautiful, warm, turquoise waters and white sands, but no shark nets?!??! SO that was weird. Thank goodness the water is so clear, and no waves so I just paddle around close to the shore.
Being able to walk the streets of Adelaide late at night is another aspect of living in Australia we are absolutely loving! Everywhere has crime, sure, but in general its pretty safe to walk around and there are people in the streets all the time.
So all in all our first impressions of Adelaide exceeded all expectations and we cannot wait to explore the city more and the wine estates, Botanical Gardens, and The Outback.
I hear they have really good wine in The Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills. SO Ill have to share that with you in the near future.
Adelaide you BEAUT, we love you!
So huge news, we are moving to Australia!!!
We decided to make a holiday out of our stop-over in Dubai, probably not everyone’s cup of tea, we we just had the most amazing time in Dubai. From the weather everyday to the people, public transport and the beautiful dessert, we defiantly gave Dubai the thumbs up as a stop-over destination.
So after almost 2 years of paperwork and planning we received our visa for Australia, YAY!! When we went ahead and used Pentravel to book our flights, we realized how long the journey to Australia would be from South Africa, so we decided to make our stop over a holiday, after all there is always time to take a holiday.
After weeks of packing we hit the skies! Landed in Dubai in the early hours of the morning and set off for our hotel. The hotel was great we had this amazing roof top pool which had amazing views over Dubai, we were close to the train station so access to anywhere in Dubai was so easy. And we were walking distance to the mall of Emirates.
The highlight was the dessert safari that we did. First day we arrived, we were picked up at our hotel in the afternoon and driven to the dessert (approx 60min drive). It was beautiful the sun was out, and the sand looked so inviting. Cruising through the dessert was wild, fast and exhilarating at times. How we didn’t flip the vehicle I have no idea. We arrived at our dinner spot where we enjoyed camel rides and a fantastic buffet dinner, henna tattoos, and a show of belly dancing, flame throwing and so much more! Our evening was fabulous! You have to experience this when you’re next in Dubai!!!
Any of your hotels would be able to arrange an book a Dessert Safari for you.
Breakfast was well earned as we were off to explore. We walked around the beautiful marina, filled with fancy yatchs and high rise glass buildings, then we were told to head to the observatory in The Marriott Hotel to enjoy a beverage and watch over The Palms. Our afternoon we spent on a beach with The Burj Al Arab as our backdrop. Our day was almost complete, but we had to make one last stop, the singing fountain at The Mall of Dubai! It did not disappoint, there were hundreds of people surrounding the dam, Whitney Houston started to sing through the speakers and the water rose into the air, it was incredible, this was one of my highlights of our trip, although don’t be late, its one song and thats it, if you miss the show you have to wait until the next show in 30mins. There is also a cool aquarium inside the mall which is a must see, you can either pay to walk through the aquarium or just enjoy it whilst walking by the mall. We ate dinner at the mall which was very expensive, so make sure you choose wisely.
Our last day in Dubai we decided to have a lazy day up on the roof around the pool, we ordered lunch and swam and enjoyed the warm winter sun on our bodies. Then we headed to the airport and caught a 2am flight to Adelaide, Australia.
Dubai has a lot
of attractions to offer, I recommend 3 nights near the city, we stayed in Jumeirah area as its close to everything and considered one of the nicer areas to stay. Winter is the best time of year to visit which is December through to March.
Enjoy xxx
After a few lazy days we decided that some adventure was in order so we booked a dolphin interaction and a quad bike booze cruise.
An early morning wake up and a short walk into the town we arrived at the meeting point for the dolphin interaction. I was thrilled this was something I was waiting to do for years.
We were educated in the conservation of the dolphins in Ponta de Oura and how to interact with the dolphins – who knew that when the dolphins “smile” at you, showing their teeth, this is actually aggressive behavior and usually means you should swim away from the dolphin.
Off we went, it was about a 20 minute drive out on the boat to find these dolphins, once we spotted a pod of dolphins we would situate ourselves about 50 meters in front of the pod and all jump into the water.
Being underwater is my absolute favorite thing, it was dead silent until…we could hear the dolphins coming! High pitched screeching and chattering amongst themselves, it felt like hours until they appeared right underneath and around us. Their big eyes watching us as they go by. Some of the younger dolphins were inquisitive and stuck around us and did somersaults to show off how excited they were. The feeling of having 30 odd dolphins surround you is something Ill never forget, you dont realise how large and beautiful these animals are until they are right next to you.
After being out at sea for about an hour we made our way back in. BEST experience ever and so professional, I highly recommend this if you have never swam with dolphins.
We got back into town and grabbed a quick bite before we were off quad biking. So this was a sunset cruise which started at 3pm and we cruised through town to a local bar for our first beverage, then off to the next and the next until it was 9pm and we landed up at a club in town many drinks down, sun burnt and just loving life in Ponta de Oura.
The next morning waking up to coffee and sunshine was rough but we had a great time and were ready to celebrate my good friend Charlene’s Birthday. She turned 30 and it was amazing, we ate and drank and celebrated with good people in paradise.
Our holiday came to an end and whilst we all could of stayed another couple of days we all had jobs to go back to and knew that that meant we could now start saving for the next holiday.
Mozambique you were a treat, we loved our time spent here and if you’re looking for a small town, beach vibe, white sand and turquoise water holiday this is the place for you.
We were off to celebrate my good friends 30th Birthday Party in Paradise (Mozambique/Ponto De Ouro)
We had been travelling locally on and off for weeks and were welcoming the idea of lying on the beach sipping rum and Raspberry for 5 days. While we did this……there was also lots of activity, walking, eating and drinking.
Day 1, 2 and 3 we explored the town of Ponto, we walked the sandy streets and local salesmen trying to you in their shops to purchase their goods, anything from beautifully wooden carved key rings, local beer bottles, serving platters and more. Literally anything was sold from these road side shops, from clothes, alcohol to coconut ice cream and wedding dresses.
The smell of freshly baked bread, we found the most delightful bakery that sold freshly baked goods on a daily basis, our firm favourite quickly became a Portuguese dessert called pasteis de nata, custard and pastry where can you go wrong.
We drove about 15km to find a restaurant called 360degrees and had the best peri peri chicken with the most amazing views stretching to the boarder of South Africa.
Our days started with early morning runs on the beach, coffee with a sea view and ended with sun kissed bodies with the smell of factor 50 sunscreen and full bellies.
Ah bliss….but the adventure was just about to begin
I have been working on some exciting new ideas and will introduce you all to this in my next blog, but first I thought I would tell you all about the Aloe Steam Train in Creighton, Kwa-Zulu Natal.
You may be thinking where is Creighton….well you very right, its a small town South of Durban. Staying in Hillcrest/Kloof it took us roughly 2 hours to get there.
So aloe season is around June/July and we were lucky enough to catch the last train of the season to check out the flowering of the Aloes.
Get up and get onto the road as soon as you can so that you arrive at the station with time to grab a bacon and egg roll and a cup of hot coffee. Then you board the train, depending on what ticket you bought you are allocated a coach, there is a “A” class coach, then a middle class and i guess a lower class.
Once we got started the views were spectacular, we passed beautiful landscapes, clean clear rivers and then we got to see the Aloe’s who didn’t disappoint they were vibrant in colour by the thousands along the rolling hills.
We enjoyed a sherry whilst catching up with friends and family, and we had a helpful gentleman who gave me useful information about where we were and what rivers we were passing, and finally what town we were stopping at.
Riversend was a quaint little town and the locals welcomed us with song and dance, all the children were dressed up in traditional gear and had some entertainment for us as we waited for the rain to turn around. This is an opportunity for the locals to make some extra money 🙂
I think the highlight for me was when the train stopped and everyone jumped off, the train then backed up and we had an opportunity to stand along side the railway as the train raced by leaving us with the trembling ground underneath our feet, the sound of the engines ringing through our ears and the feel of the soot on our faces and through our hair, what a feeling!!!!
This is a great day out for the family and kids if you don’t mind the drive.
Booking information
The entire trip is 3 hours long, starting at 10am – 1pm
Adults R200.00 – R300.00 dependent on where you sit
Kids R170.00 – R250.00 dependent on where you sit
www.creightonaloefestival.com .
You can prebook lunch at the country club for around R90.00 per person.
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What an amazing trip to Central berg, 2.5hour drive from Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal.
This was a birthday gift for JH (me too😊) and I booked us into a cave for the week end. It is situated 300km from the Drakensberg Boys Choir, on a private property overlooking a rock pool.
Living like the flintstones we arrived to find a beautifully lit rock cave, fully self-catering we had a kitchen, a queen-sized bed which was heated and a stunning ensuite bathroom.
On Saturday we woke up bright and early and had breakfast by the pool, which is technically our dining room while the birds chirped away and heard nothing but the wilderness.
Then off we went to a bird of prey show, which was AMAZING!!! Set in the valley is a rehabilitation centre which holds anything from vultures, owls, falcons to eagles.
On our arrival there were some of the “show birds” on display on the open field awaiting their moment in the lime light. We got to see and learnt about the black eagle, fish eagles, owls and falcons the birds were amazing and free to spread their wings in the sky. These birds were so well trained to fly high above the clouds until summoned by their instructor to come home and grab a chicken neck treat.
If you in the Central Berg area please support these guys they are doing amazing work – Falcon Ridge Birds of Prey Centre
Day made!!!!
Lunch time – we found the most divine bakery called The Champagne Valley Bakery, walking in we could smell the freshly baked goods just waiting for us to enjoy them, the place was packed full of tourists and locals purchasing their bakes for tea parties, dinner dates and much more. We found a quaint table inside which was full of local artists work on sale. Lunch was amazing I enjoyed a wrap and a cappuccino.
It was a fairly crisp day and after the lunch I felt like kicking my gorgeous boyfriends butt at a game of putt-putt. We played at Monk’s Cowl, a 18 hold putt-putt coarse, winner paud for drinks…. lets just say I enjoyed my well-deserved free beer 😊
That night we had a braai and star gazed. Not only because we wanted to but because there was load shedding – this is when our electricity is cut for several hours to conserve power.
Sunday was great we had breakfast out at the pool and put on our takkies for a hike at Monk’s Cowl.
R40 per person gets you into the Ezemvelo Wildlife Estate. A 3-4km hike through the amazing Drakensberg, JH skinny sipped in a clear, cold pool of water, we drank from this water too and it was delicious.
Overall this was a great week end away trip, hit me up if you need any details on the activities we did.
Stay safe and spread the love <3
