Syria - Land of ?

Hi again,

As you all know (all 2 of you who read this blog - Thanks, Mum's), we finished our African leg of the trip by heading back to the Middle East for a few weeks. Our first stop was Syria - Land of, well, we're not sure. Let's see...

South Africa - Road trip part 2

After finally managing to sneak our way through South African immigration officers we triumphantly started our driving trip in big, bad Johannesburg. We based ourselves in Soweto the notorious township/slum area which in all honesty we found pretty charming. Despite being told to get in and out of Jo'Burg quickly we managed to while away a few days at the Apartheid museum (wow overload) and getting down and dirty in the hood on a Soweto bike tour.

Namibia - Road trip part 1

Hey guys,

No doubt you've all been living a depressed and meaningless existence whilst our blog remained un-updated - Sorry about that.

Following Botswana we finally got into South Africa and collected our hire car (Nissan Tida) to begin our 10 day camping trip in Namibia. From the moment we crossed the border, we could tell things we're going to be a little shaky - The roads went from being paved to dusty/dirt/sand roads with potholes most Iraqi's would deem big! Was the Tida going to survive Namibia?

Botswana - 8 Days in Exile

Arriving at Johannesburg airport we were so pumped for the South African leg of our trip – getting a car and self driving instead of long sweaty buses – how first world of us!! Unfortunately all our aircon dreams came crashing down at immigration when we were told that because we had come from diseased Rwanda and we did not have our yellow fever vaccination cards we were not being permitted entry into South Africa.

Uganda and Rwanda - Green, green, green.

As some of you may know, we were fired from our hotel job in Entebbe (hooray!) and have since been on the road again! Here’s what’s been happening in Uganda and Rwanda…

After our side trip to Ethiopia we headed from Nairobi across the border to Uganda. The first thing we noticed after crossing was how beautiful Uganda was! Rolling green hills coupled with thick forests, cute little village towns and a more relaxed pace – It was a very pleasant surprise!

Ethiopia - Churches, mountains and tribes

We began our Ethiopian sojourn in the country’s capital, Addis Ababa. Not long after touching down it became very apparent that we had left our safety net of Nairobi! We knew that Ethiopia wasn’t going to be a picnic, but it’s always hard to adjust out of the comfort zone. Within the first few days we were attempted pick- pocketed, pinched, pulled and ominously shouted at in the streets with calls such as “the white man is the devil” – What a warm welcome to Ethiopia!

Kenya - Weekends

WAIT! This blog isn't as long as the last one, promise! We've just finished up in Ethiopia (which we'll write about soon) but, we thought a few photo's from our weekend expeditions in Kenya would suffice for now.

As mentioned previously, we did plenty of exciting things in Kenya during our weekends including Masai Mara National Park, Nakuru Game Reserve, and a visit to Mombassa and the island of Lamu - There's not a great deal of explaining needed here...

Kenya - IDP Camp Pt 1

Jambo!

Firstly, apologies for this delayed posting – Ren and I have finished our volunteer placement at the IDP Camp and have been enjoying some relaxation time at the beach in Mombassa. Because we haven’t written in quite some time, we’ve broken down our IDP Camp experience in to the sections below – We hope you can make it all the way through to the end (That’s where all the good photo’s are)!

1. Introduction/Arriving at the IDP Camp



After an in-depth volunteer training and induction program (visiting an animal orphanage and hugging a doped up cheetah), we left the comfort of Nairobi with our co-volunteer Carol (65, USA) to head off to our placement – The Ebenezer A Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Kikopey. From the main highway we could see the flapping canvases of the ripped UN tents and groups of camps across the Rift Valley - what had we got ourselves into?

Kenya IDP Camp - Pt 2

4. The Kids



What can you say about these kids except they are the most lovable, starved for affection kids you could ever encounter? They are also probably some of the roughest kids you could ever meet because they are completely left to their own devices as soon as an older sibling is able to carry them around on their backs.

Tanzania - Part 2 - The highs and lows...

From our little 'holiday' style break on Zanzibar we headed north to Tanzania's 'adventure gateway'. After a long journey by bus, ferry and then another mega 10 hour bus we finally arrived in the beautiful Arusha, where we were met with
cooler, more tolerable weather - hooray! Surprisingly, we bumped into two
lovely Aussie girls Fleur and Jess - one who we know from home - and
went out for a mega BBQ feast... we were loving Arusha already!! The girls
also happened to be heading out on the same Northern Safari circuit- Yay, some
friends!

Tanzania - Part 1 - Jambo Mambo!

Jambo!!

So begins our journey into 'dark Africa' in the land of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

From Cairo, Ren and I took the last of our booked flights (!) to Dar Es Salem. To put it bluntly, Dar isn't really and interesting place and doesn't have much to offer. Dar is known for shonky tour operators, hassling touts and well... lots of men. Groups line the streets, shops and pathways not really doing much other than checking out the passing trade. At times it can grate on the nerves with the constant tirade of touts, 'Jambo! Where are you from? What's your name? What hotel are you staying at? Do you need a taxi, safari, t-shirt, directions...' so on and so on.

Egypt - Walking like an Egyptian

Destination 4 - Egypt; Mission - Do not get ripped off!!
We arrived in Cairo with our guards up and security hats on after constant warnings from fellow travellers about how unsafe Egypt is. Alas, we were here for about 2 hours when we realised that our 'defences' (John - Locked wallets and underpants) were excessive. Infact, overall the Egyptian people have been very friendly and helpful (with exception to the overzealous touts).

Jordan - H for Hommous!

Destination 3: Jordan. Objective of trip: To find the restaurant that serves the best hommous and felafel in the world (according to a poll in the middle east). Mission Status: Complete! Accomplished within 3 hours of touching down in the countires capital of Amman - would you expect any less of the McBryde's?

Dubai - Land of the brunch

Hello again,

Following the tightarse back-packing theme of our last blog, we flew from HK to Dubai on the red eye flight via Doha, Qatar and arrived at 3am. Despite this ridiculous time our friends Trev and Alli (T&A) were there with open, albeit tired arms! Finally we were in Dubai - After 18 months worth of emails, phone calls and late night text exchages we had finally arrived to see their current home!

First stop - Hong Kong

Welcome!

So, this is our first blog ever which coincides with the beginning of our overseas trip! This time round we're headed to Africa (specifically Kenya) to do some volunteer work at an Internally Displaced People's Camp (IDP Camp).

But, before we start work in Kenya we have some 8 weeks travelling around including stops in Hong Kong, Dubai, Jordan, Egypt and Tanzania!