Monthly Archives: July 2012

OK You’ve seen the proof, you now know where the most beautiful sites in the world can be found, so let me try and breathe some life into the pictures.

Just quickly to touch on the train trip between Prague and Zagreb. Enchanting! Travelling through pretty, small, towns in the Austrian Alps, coming in through Vienna to change trains and kicking back letting a beautiful world float past, was a great way to get from point A to B. Whenever in Europe I will try and do more train travel – I noticed it was also a particularly good way to leave and enter a country unnoticed in case you should ever have the need….

 

Plitvice Lakes

Well one, two, skip a few and voila, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. Hands down THE most BEAUTIFUL natural wonder I have ever seen. Kerrie agreed and between us we have had the good fortune to see some beautiful places. This park is declared by UNESCO as a world heritage area, and may it be ever protected. It was hectically busy, so I would recommend a visit outside peak season. The impact of many people is keenly felt as the journey through the park is mostly on wooden bridges suspended over the lakes, so you only travel as fast as the slowest person. Highly annoying.

Kerrie and I are no novice bushwalkers or map readers but at any point we had absolutely no idea where we were as the provided maps bore no correlation to the signs at pathways. Unfazed, we found some stunning walks that got us away from the crowds. This is a place where getting lost just means more time to let the soul drink in it’s awe-inspiring surroundings.

Reluctantly leaving Plitvice we headed on the road to Split. We had decided the trip from the lakes to Dubrovnik was probably too much of a hurdle in half day and anyway we wanted to see the Diocletian palace – the oldest city area in Europe.

 

Split

Split was not quite what we expected, though if you were to ask what we expected we probably couldn’t tell you. We arrived in the high season with no accommodation bookings so we parked the car in the first place we could find and prioritised the accommodation. With no idea what we were doing we found ourselves in an office agreeing to something , paying a ridiculously small amount of money for it and following a strange man into the unknown to find it. Turns out it’s good to put all your misgivings to one side as the place we found ended up being fantastic. We also snagged a car park right out the front – unheard of in Croatia! This was after being told  by the accommodation man that we already broken three traffic laws by parking it where we had initially stopped, and I think we broke another two on the way out…

Anyway logistics taken care of we set of to explore Split. We headed down to the water first and were met with our idea of beach hell. Thousands of people, rubbish in the water, no sand, no rocks only concrete, an aussie nightmare! Too be fair I don’t think we found the nice swimming hole as on the drive on the way out we saw some stunning beaches. We then headed into the Diocletian palace and wow! What a site. At first we weren’t too impressed as there was graffitit and shabbiness but as we turned ore and more corners and walked down more and more enchanting skinny lane ways we started to love the place.

 

Dubrovnik

Having said that I won’t spend too long here as the highlight for us was really Dubrovnik. The drive there walked the line between, traumatic, spectacular, frustrating and amusing. Turns out you drive through Bosnia on the way, who knew? We got to a place where everyone was stopped and some frantic man was asking us for our passport. We explained it was in the boot and he then made a ‘Oh stuff it’ type of phrase and hand gesture and waved us through without checking. We were throroughly amused to be suddenly driving through a different country and spent time trying to figure out why it was that Croatia had allowed itself to be split in half.

We finally got to Dubrovnik and I kept knocking the steering wheel on my jaw I was so amazed. What a stunning city – I keep using this word but I really did find myself in a state of being physically stunned by what I was witnessing. Never have I seen such a mix of architectural, historical and natural beauty all jumbled together and setting each other perfectly like a well designed outfit.

We checked into our run of the mill, but very comfortable hotel, happy to be in one place for a few days. Parked our little red car and vowed never to move it again until the horrible day of airport departure arrived. Then we grabbed the bus and set out for the Old Town. We had decided that the priorty was dinner and sight seeing could wait, however we were highly distracted finding our way to the restaurant as we discovered lane upon lane of ancient beauty and wonder. Finally we tore ourselves toe by toe away from each new brillint site and found our proposed dinner location. Unfortunately so had everyone else, the restaurant was packed which of course made us all the more keen to eat there. We made a reservtion for 8:15 and oh what a shame we now had 30 minutes in which to explore. If it wasn’t for our rather intense hunger it’s possible we may not have made it back. However we did get back, sat down and opened up the menu to find that we could happily sit there all week and sample every last item written down.

The food was absolutely delicious and we promptly made a booking for another night. Afterwards we walked of our food by soaking up the busy happy ambience of the town which regardless of the time, still had people queueing for dinners up and down different alley ways. The atmosphere was electric, however our batteries were a little flat and we knew had to be early for the next days adventure so we jumped on the bus home and passed into happy dreams.

We had a delicious breakfast and were rather upset that we had to leave quickly as we could have spent much time sampling everything on offer. So we illegally stole some snacks and lunch for the road and headed off to the port to get a ticket for our day on the island! I was very excited about this trip as the pictures and write up about this place sounded like the thing dreams are made of. The island was called Mljet and we managed to get tickets fter some initial confusion and off we went.

High expectations frequently result in disappointment, but not so this time. Even as we pulled into the busy port I could tell we were about to have a magical day. We quickly hired some bikes from the first guy who offered and they were amazingly good, with the exception of Kerrie dropping her chain in the first 200m, but a replacement was found and we trundled on. Or trundled up I should say as the island s quite hilly and some rises must be conquered before one is rewarded with never before seen vista of salt water lakes, with crystal clear turquoise water, surrounded by lush vegetation and with an ancient monastery sitting on an island in the middle of a lake.

Kerrie and I really wanted to visit the island but didn’t want to cycle all the way back to get a boat. We could see that it was a swimmable distance but we couldn’t arrive at the monastery in just our swimming costumes, none of the diners at the al fresco cafe wanted to be put off their gelato by me strutting around in my bathers. So it was a condundrum and we had decided that the monastery would have to be missed. Until! I had the cracking idea that the zip lock bags carrying our snacks for the day could transport our clothes in a dry state and some plastic bags, checked for holes could transport shoes… So we decided to give it a go, with much giggling and feeling rather daredevilish we made it across to the other side and got out just where the no swimming placard was located. It worked! Well almost, Kerrie’s new shoes may never be the same again but everything else did just fine. So we joined the gelato chowing crowd, looked around the old monastery and swam back feeling very pleased with ourselves.

After that unforgettable day we hustled back into the old town for a movie, but there was no chance of making the movie before we could be seated at the yummy cafe we wanted to try. Food of course took priority and the movie could hang. We then joined the alcohol swilling public in one of the large out door squares and partook in some people watching and listening to the live music being played.

On our last day I was torn, having had such a glorious time swimming I was keen to dip myself into the Adriatic Sea again but there was too much else to do! We took more time at breakfast which allowed me to have two banana and nutella crepes and I only had to elbow small children out of the way once. We then did a thorough exploration of the lanes, alleyways, stairs and various adorable squares before plonking ourself at a bar just outside the walls staring at the Adriatic and watching people jumping from the rocks into the magic looking water. I seriously tossed up going and buying a bikin and towel so I could join them but choose to look on with a glass of wine instead.

After having had lunch and dinner in our favourite restaurant from the first night we then went to something called the National Lado which was a collection of music, song and dance from around Croatia. It was held outdoors in the ampitheatre of an ancient beautiful building and we sat there mesmerised by the display of dancing and atmospheric music. Kerrie and I just kept looking at each other with silly grins on our faces because we were lovnig it so much.

And so with much sadness we left, passing by all the blinged up party goers who were heading to the very building we had just came out of for a much more modern version of song and dance… 

If you go to one European place in your next summertime trip to Europe make it Dubrovnik. I’ll be back and next time my reservation will be for weeks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20 July 2012

 

Pull up a chair, settle in, get comfy and let me tell you about Croatia. You MUST go. 

 

THE END

 

p.s I’ll let the pictures do the talking and if you’re intrigued (as well you should be) you can read on.

 

Vive Le France! No I’m not in France, but it is Bastille day and we went to a french celebration in Prague the other day so I am sharing France’s patriotism today.

Kerrie and I have had a fantastic time in Prague. It was just as special as I remembered, if not more so. We chose on day one to extend our stay by a day and we were so thank ful that we did.

We flew in from London on Wednesday and checked in to a fantastic ‘backpackers’ called Czech Inn. It is managed by an aussie guy and the room Kerrie and I had was more fitting a 4 star boutique hotel than your every day backpackers. It was not right in town but was smack on the tram line. The public trasport in Prague was cause for many a happy comment as Kerrie and I ‘waited’ for a train or a tram. I think our longest ever wait was 5 minutes, having just got to the previous train as the doors closed.

Day one:

We booked our train tickets to Croatia and bought tickets to the black light theatre for that evening.

We found a brilliant vegetarian restaurant and Kerrie proceeded to have a bucket of salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a walking tour through town and finished with a Haagen-daaz icecream in the Old Town Square watching the astronomical clock chime away.

We picked our way through the streets by choosing the streets the other tourists avoided. When every street is just as beautiful as the other, why share it??

We learnt, nearly to the detriment of our show, and certainly to the detriment of our stomachs, that Europe is one hour ahead of the UK. Slipped our mind, but remembered just in time.

Day Two:

We love holidays with no rush in the morning! Sleep in thoroughly enjoyed. We spent breakfast time doing some organising for Croatia. Love the free WiFi

We were pleased the weather forecast was wrong so we dressed for sun and went to explore Prague castle. Along the way we found a little french market/fete/festival which was celebrating Bastille week. Kerrie had a delicious champagne (the real stuff!) and I had beautiful white. We shared a yummy cheesy bread and sat down to listen to the live french music and watch the passer-bys passing by. Then as we walking toward the end we found the crepe stand and I got to renew my love for nutella and banana crepes. Much happiness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We climbed 297 steps to the top of Prague Castle (well the church tower anyway) and spent the time in mathematical discussion about their claim that the the church bell is 177m in diameter. We decided they must mean all the church bells, not just the really big one incase you were wondering.

We rode the furnicular down the hill from the gardens and monastary, which conveniently deposited us right in front of the tram to take us back to our hotel.

After some sprucing up we hit the town and looked hopelessly for a restaurant that was recommended (thanks a lot lonely planet) and instead found a beautiful little one where we tried Beef Goulash with bacon dumplings. We nearly made it all the way through, but had to leave room for CHOCOLATE FONDUE!!!!! What quirk of fate had me born in a country where this dish is not the norm?? So I tried to make up for 34 years of depravation by licking the bowl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We sat in happy awe watching the ballet – excerpts from Swan Lake, it was so much fun but I must admit I was waiting for the Billy Elliot moment and it never came (if you’ve never seen Billy Elliot, it’s your loss).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then looked for a pumping jazz venue but only found ones that would result in escalation of our sleepiness, s we found a pumping bar instead and proceeded to have many mojito’s and play drinking games with some American and Canadian guys. They don’t get drinking games by the way, you’re more likely to finish up stone cold sober, but Kerrie and I found a way ove this hurdle.

Day Three:

We found out about hangovers and the despair of trusting lonely planet recommendations when you are hungry, tired, hungover and now have your heart set on the dishes they enthuse about it in the book and the cafe no longer exists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But it’s OK beacuase then we found the shops.

We shopped.

And we shopped.

We shopped until we could no longer support the weight of our bags and had to come home.

We then thought we had run out of time to get to our classical music concert and have dinner beforehand, but we found a fantastic bar called Wine Food. They had a deli at the back filled with delicious cheeses, meats, tomatoes, spiced onions and soft bread. They lovely and very patient man, then selected for us some soft and hard cheese, nice hams and salami’s and yummy semi-dired tomatoes and tasty onions. Couple that with one of the nicest wines I have ever tried and much happiness was achieved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We LOVED the concert, with the only disappointment bein the reltive shortness of the show. The show was piano conerto’s with accompanying orchestra playing Mozart and Choping (turkish march, humorsque etc). Smetna Hall where the concert was performed was just beautiful and the ‘cheap’ tickets we got had us sitting in the second storey balconey, which was absolutely perfect!

We then shopped some more! The concert finished at 9:15pm and th shops didn’t close until 10pm, happy coincidece.

We then wanted some dessert and were advised that people don’t have dessert at 23:00, so we made our way home and at Lindt chocolate. Same happy effect achieved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was last in Prague over 8 years ago, having a great tiem with my mum, and I am leaving now even more impressed than the first time. Every road is stunning, the food is fantastic and the people are lovely – I love it!

We are now on our way to Croatia by train, via Vienna. The countryside is fantastic and I’m writing quickly so we can go check out the restaurant car

Forward warning to friends and family. I am going to come down from this trip with a loud thunk and a wail – everything has been sensational!!!

Just a couple of the beautiful images from the park. I never get tired of Zebra and the lovely sweetness of the antelope!

 

So where do I start?

The Mkhuze Game Reserve game count was an amazing, unforgettable, rough, tough, mentally and physically exhausting experience.

We got in late and the place was pitch black except for the light coming from the braai fire. This was probably a good thing because if I’d seen the camp in the daylight this little princess might have jumped in the car and raced back to Durban.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lets just say the accommodation was rough and leave it at that. It renewed my love, passion and appreciation for hot showers, absence really does make the heart grow fonder (and, lets be honest, a little desperate). The kitchen was in such a bad way that by the last couple of days I was demurring any offer of meat for dinner, by that time I was keeping the butter in the deep freeze and it close to melted. The blood pooling at the bottom of the freezer elevated my suspicions in the quality of the meat and so veggies with tinned tomatoes looked delicious by comparison.

I was introduced to my walking partner, a lad called Jeff, who was a brilliant opportunist and having been there a week had figured out the best way for everything. I was in good hands. He had sorted out who the best guide was and next day introduced me to lovely Mandla. The guides that walked with us were the eyes and ID guru’s, able to spot and identify a fleeing antelope through thick bush at 200 metres. Amazing!

The game counting hippies

 

 

 

 

 

They also carried big guns. I’m pretty sure these guns were useless in a dangerous wildlife encounter, guaranteed to only further enrage an already enraged animal. However it was nice to have him there.

My trusty guide and his ‘wife’ as he called his weapon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mandla and the other guides usually spent their time as the anti poaching unit (APU) for the park, hence the guns. The park is suffering from the impact of subsistence poachers, those who steal the animals for meat to live. They lay snares for the animals and then retrieve the dead animal to feed the family. We came across numerous spoor (footprints ect) of poachers while out walking, and one sad day found an impala buck caught by a snare.

I learnt quickly that Mandla was the best because, he spoke good English which was important for me and he didn’t get lost, also important for me. Some of the other guides got lost in between transects and long days walking were made a fair bit longer for some of the other teams.

We would walk two transects a day, each transect was about 8kms long and they were separated by approx 2km give or take. So most days we were walking close to 20km’s per day through the bush. There was one set of transects though that quickly became legendary and the topic of most conversations. Transect 9 & 10 involved two transects of close to 9kms each, then you needed to backtrack along 9 for 2km before walking another 2 kms to get to transect 10. Once you had finished transect 10, you then had to backtrack a further 4km to reach the place where you would be picked up by the sweetest soundng bakkie you’ve ever heard. Close to 30kms of walking and numerous of the other groups got lost. I faced this challenge in my usual way, with copious amounts of food. Jeff and Mandla couldn’t beleve the sound of constant munching coming from behind him, though as I repeatedly demonstrated if I wasn’t making noise munching, my stomach sounded like an angry elephant with embarassing rumbling noises.

Having now laid out all the trials, let me say this. What an amazing experience!!!!! To be abe to walk through an African game reserve all day, everyday coming close to zebra, giraffe, impala, rhinos, buffalo and once a spotted hyaena is something truly special. There were the inevitable couple of close calls. I was dismayed to learn that after all my so called experience and knowledge my first instinct in a rather close encounter with the tempermental black rhino was to run. Wrong. So wrong. However the next day when we literally stumbled over three white rhino having a snooze, Mandla turned round and told Jeff and I ‘RUN’. We obeyed and headed straight for the nearest large tree. Later I accussed Mandla of telling us to run just so that the rhino would go straight past his quiet, stationary body and charge at the two noisy fleeing bodies, rhino of course having poor eyesight but good hearing. Got the heart pumping! At the time we were heading to a hide over a waterhole that was between two transects. Jeff and I later confessed to each other that it did occur to us that walking through the bush close to the only known water for some distance in the middle of a hot day was potentially not wise. I’ve never seen Mandla look so alert, staring around every bush, you could almost see his ears rotating to pick up all the noises around us.

On the very last day Jeff and went back to the hide, by car this time. We were treated to an amazing show as three rhino’s came down to the waterhole for a drink and a roll in the mud. One decided to clean his massive horn on the hide structure and it felt like the hide was going to fall down! Then two of them took a mutual dislike to each other and while screamed and grunted the other just put down his head and charged! They clashed for a few seconds and then both wet their own way, we never did work out who won.

It was nice to leave by the last day and I am REALLY looking forward to the home comforts at my sisters house. I won’t get to enjoy them for too long though as Kerrie arrives straight after and we head off for our Eastern Europe adventure.

The fun never stops!!!