Malawi - Kande Beach

We were woken this morning by other campers out and about so we were organised earlier than planned. A small group of us walked into town and met the truck there as Eunice had more shopping to do. 

We did some shopping in the local markets which are made up of people who cannot find work elsewhere so  turn to arts and carving to make a living. There is a 30-40% unemployment rate in all of Africa so it is great to see them trying to find a way to make money. They are generally quite talented too which makes it hard to decide what to buy!!

We also went shopping in the local 2nd hand clothing market for our fancy dress party that would be this evening.... oh man there really were some great finds!

Our new campsite was at Kande Beach on the shore of Lake Malawi. Lake Malawi is 580km long, 75km wide, and between 280 - 930m deep. It is the third largest and second deepest inland lake in Africa and apparently is the home to the widest range of fish species in the world.

Our evening started with the making of the punch... 13 bottles of Malawi’s “finest” white spirits, 1 bottle of Lemonade, 1 bottle of Champagne, a fair amount of fresh fruit, some juice concentrate, and lots of water.... lets just say it was extremely potent, and not that tasty :-). We then, whilst starting to drink the punch, exchanged clothing which we had bought as a surprise for each member of the group in a modified secret santa style. It was very amusing to see what each person purchased within their budget of 350 Malawian Kwache (approx US$2). And... as you can imagine the rest of the evening was more of the same, combined with some added dancing on the bar at the campsite.

Malawi - Lilongwe

Today we crossed the border into Malawi which means ‘warm heart of Africa’ in Chewa (one of the national languages). We spent quite a bit of time in the truck making our way to the capital city of Lilongwe. We were able to spend a little time in the city whilst our cook, Eunice, stocked up on supplies. Unfortunately the power was out so there was not a lot to do.... T.I.A :-).

We reached our campsite which was located not far from the centre of town sometime after 5, helped cook dinner, had our brief about tomorrow, and then retired for an early night.

Zambia - South Luangwe NP

Up before sunrise for an early morning game drive through South Luangwa National Park. The sunrise was beautiful and the park equally as picturesque. Within our first hour we had seen our final member of the Big Five.... the Leopard! It was very cool. And then within the remaining 3 hours we saw Hippo’s, Elephants, Buffalo’s, Hyena’s, Warthogs, and lots of Impala and similar animals.... what a fabulous morning!

Then whilst relaxing at the campsite whilst awaiting our evening game drive some Elephants with their calf came to visit, graze on the trees and explore the bins in the campsite. They were so close you could see the hair on their face, it was slightly scary but absolutely awesome!

Our evening game drive was a little less exciting but still an experience looking for animals by spotlight after dark. The highlight was that we got to witness yet another spectacular African sunset.

Zambia - South Luangwe NP

After a lovely morning walk where we were joined by some local children, we boarded our truck bound for another campsite in the north of Zambia across the river from South Luangwe National Park.

On the way we stopped off at a textile factory where they make cotton items and hand paint them with various traditional and contemporary designs.

We arrived not long after lunchtime and just chilled for the afternoon watching Hippo’s in the river which forms the external border of the National Park.

Zambia - Chipata

A very early wake up this morning to get on the road for a long day. We spent 10h in the truck today driving through north east Zambia. The changes in the villages and hut architecture is really interesting. The huts have gone from completely straw, very communal living in Namibia, to straw with little fences and private sections in Botswana, to mud and brick walls with thatched roofs in Zambia. The villages in Zambia also have straw storage tanks scattered amongst the huts.

Tonight we stayed at Mama Rula’s campsite at Chipata which we shared with the President of Zambia. He obviously wasn’t camping :-).

Zambia

With our new crew - Chris (Guide), Eunice (Cook), and (Magic) Johnson (Driver), new truck, and some new additions to our group we set off this morning bound for Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. 

We spent 6h on the truck today and played cards for most of it. We camped outside Lusaka at Eureka Campsite.

Zambia - Livingstone

Today we went White Water Rafting on the Zambezi River. It was so much fun! 

The Zambezi contains rapids of grade 2-5 but because of the high water the Grade 5’s were closed so our trip was mainly made up of grade’s 3’s & 4’s. We were on the water for over 2h and went from Rapid number 11 - 25. We deliberately flipped the boat at our first grade 3, Rapid 12A, and Brii managed to lose her grip on the boat so went for a swim down 12B by herself and 12C on the front of the rescue Kayak... she had a ball! We all had only just got our selves back into the boat before we hit Rapid 13 which was a grade 4... lucky! After this swim we were all pretty happy to try not to flip the boat and managed to stay upright, we did jump out a couple of times for a swim through some ungraded, unnumbered rapids. All in all, we had a blast... a great day!!

Zambia - Livingstone

This morning we were set to have our first of 2 adventure filled mornings with abseiling, flying fox, and a gorge swing in the gorge over the Zambezi River. We also said our good byes this morning to our crew and a few of our group who were continuing on bound for Pretoria. 

The abseiling was off a 53m cliff and was our first activity. Jack teed up with the guides to be allowed to go fast so got down in 4 jumps. Brii on the other hand hadn’t abseiled since grade 10 camp so didn’t say anything and was unfortunately slowed a little too much for her liking but still had great fun. 

The flying fox options were either to be in a seat harness or to have a full body harness which allows you to fly like Superman. Needless to say, we both chose to fly like Superman! The challenge was to try to make it to the other side and touch Zimbabwe but none of us made it.

Our last activity for the morning was the gorge swing. This sounds like fun... and it was when we finally started to swing. You see before one starts swinging one must step off a cliff either forwards, backwards, or roll of backwards with feet tied together, and then fall 53m free fall!! Absolutely terrifying!!

After coming down off our adrenalin high we made our way back to the campsite for a quick lunch before we went on a Helicopter ride over Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls was named by Dr David Livingstone after Queen Victoria but is known to the locals as ‘Mosi-Oa-Tunya’ which in English means ‘The Smoke That Thunders’. By flying we were able to see the Falls from both the Zambian side and Zimbabwean side as well as the entire length of the 1.4km waterfall. It was spectacular! Definitely worth its title as one of the 7 wonders of the world.

Zambia - Livingstone

We crossed another border this morning and entered another new country... we are now in Zambia. The border crossing involved getting out of Botswana and crossing the Zambezi River and then staying on the bus whilst our tour guide sorted out passports and visa’s for all of us for Zambia. To get on the ferry efficiently  there was some wheeling and dealing done by our trusty guide which just confirmed to us why we don’t do Africa without people who know the local way!

After getting through the Zambian border we drove to our campsite at Victoria Falls and chilled out for a while before heading out on another sunset cruise, this time on the Zambezi River!

Botswana - Chobe NP

After falling asleep to the sounds of Hippo’s playing in the water and a noise which we could have sworn was a Lion right outside our tent we woke at 05.25 to go on an early morning game drive through Chobe National Park. We saw a family of Baboons with a number of young babies. Baboons normally stay in family groups of 50 or so, so the dynamics are entertaining. We were also lucky to see a Sable Antelope (extremely skittish), Impala, Fish Eagles, Red Billed Hornbills, Hippo’s, Elephants, and Warthogs. It was pretty cool even if none of the cats came out to play :-).

After a “brunch” of sorts Brii went for a walk with Marcus, one of the other guys in the group. Whilst out they saw Elephants from the roadside so they decided they would climb through a wire fence and creep a little closer. To get within 30m of them and watch them graze was awesome! 

This afternoon we went on a sunset cruise on the Chobe River through the National Park. To be cruising along and witness Elephants crossing from an island to the mainland area of the park for the night was an amazing and beautiful experience. We also saw lots of Hippo’s and Croc’s, and some Baboons. The sunset was stunning, once again!

Botswana - Chobe NP

A relatively short transit day today in the truck, crossing the border back into Botswana and driving through part of Chobe to our campsite.

As we were driving through the park we were lucky to see a Sabel Antelope which is quite rare.

We stayed in Kasane which is a small town just outside the National Park and spent the rest of day washing and chilling out.

Botswana - Okavango Delta

Today the plan was to leave the house boat and return to the Gecko’s truck so we could continue on our journey north east. Our start was little delayed because the tender that was meant to be taking us was very late.... our favourite saying T.I.A (This is Africa) was used a lot.

We eventually got back to the Gecko’s truck after a 2h speed boat ride, again spotting a few crocs and loaded our gear. 

After about 5 hours in transit, a border crossing back into Namibia, and a “Happy Tree” (pee) stop that nearly got our bus driver a ticket, we made it to our campsite at Zambezi River Lodge which is on the banks of the Zambezi River.

We watched a beautiful sunset over the River and witnessed 3 Hippo’s playing in the distance and then retired to bed ready to head to Chobe National Park tomorrow.  

Botswana - Okavango Delta

We were woken this morning to the sound of an African drum... cool alarm clock! Overnight we heard many Hippo’s very close to our camp and in the morning saw some of the destruction of trees that they and possibly other animals had caused.

Before breakfast we went for a short guided walk around the island we were on to learn a little more about the local flora and fauna. We saw that the Hippo’s had made their bed extremely close to our camp and the girls toilet... lucky none of us got lost on the way to the toilet!!

After breaky our trusty Poler’s delivered us safe and sound back to the transport truck which then took us to Seronga Village. We took a guided walk through this village which reminded us of an Aboriginal community at home, although possibly a little more ordered. We visited the local post office, shop, community hall, and clinic. 

We were then delivered by speed boat to our House Boats which were to be our home for the night.

During the afternoon we took a half hour scenic flight over the Okavango Delta which was a great way to see the true form of the Delta. Essentially it is made up of a series of branches which get smaller and smaller and  are surrounded by Papyrus and Reeds. It was also a fabulous way to see animals. Whilst in the air we saw around 30 Hippos, lots of Buffalo, and many Elephants, it was great!

We spent the evening relaxing on the house boat playing board games and cards.

Botswana - Okavango Delta

After a morning walk and breaky we boarded a couple of trucks for a short drive to another section of the Delta to meet our hosts for the next 36 hours. 

Our hosts were of 2 different tribes, both of whom live on the Delta. They transported us to our new campsite with Mokoro’s. Mokoro’s are traditional canoe’s which were once dug out from the trunks of ‘Sausage trees’ but these days are fibreglass. To move these canoes the guys (“Poler’s”) stand in the back and use a long pole and propel the canoe forward using the bottom of the river. Initially the thought of this ride was a little scary because we all were very aware of the inhabitants of the Delta and had been advised of what to do in case a Hippo tipped our Mokoro... ie swim very fast away and try not to get eaten by a croc!! 

Thankfully our trip was very pleasant and uneventful!

Once at our island campsite, our Poler’s helped everyone set up their tents and orientated us to our surrounds including the all important ‘pit’ toilet :-)... no showers tonight!

After lunch and a bit of a relax we were back in our Mokoro’s heading toward another island in the Delta for a “Bushman” walk. This walk was really interesting, we learnt about some of the local tree’s, wildlife, footprints and droppings. We were fortunate to see a herd of Zebra’s and a couple of warthogs. We learnt of the symbiotic relationship that Zebra’s have with Warthogs, ie. they are quite often found together because the Zebra’s fabulous vision allows them to see what the Warthog can only sense. Brii was also very interested, from a medical perspective, to learn that Wild Sage (nothing like the conventional Sage at home) is the “Bush cure” for Syphilis and Gonorrhoea.

We arrived back near our campsite in time to witness a magnificent sunset from our Mokoro’s over the water of the Delta. It was stunning.

After dinner, our fantastic day was topped off with some dancing and singing by our Poler’s. Unfortunately they didn’t explain the stories behind their dances but it was entertaining if not sometimes a little strange. We were asked to also perform for them... as a group we did the Hokey Pokey which was a great hit and finished with Waltzing Matilda which they also seemed to enjoy. Our 2 Irish companions also did a song and dance from home that was also pretty cool.

Botswana - Mbiromba

An early start this morning because we had to cross the border and make our way to our campsite in Seronga in Botswana. 

The drive didn’t start so well as about 10min down the road the truck went off the side of the road! The road was narrow and had been built up with rocks but looking at it, it was only just wide enough for our large truck. We climbed out carefully whilst the truck was at a 25-30º angle being careful not to tip the balance and then, with the help of some locals, the boys proceeded to dig the front wheel out. We escaped unscathed. 

For the border crossing we departed Namibia and walked to Botswana... the borders were about 200m apart. Thankfully both borders were relatively free flowing with the Botswanan border control rating as some of the happiest and friendliest customs officers in the world!

A couple more hours down the road close to the river where the ground is considerably sandy... we stopped again... thankfully not quite as dramatic as earlier today - this time we were bogged in the sand! Our trusty driver, Thinkwell, was not having a good day :-)

After lunch on the bank of the Okavango River we boarded two speedboats bound for our campsite. The trip was approximately 1 and 1/2 hours and during that time we saw about 7 crocs and 1 Hippo with her calf... so swimming is out the question! :-)

For the rest of the afternoon we chilled out around our new campsite, Mbiromba.

Namibia - Rundu

We left Etosha this morning and drove north east toward Botswana. We stopped briefly along the way to look at some wood carvings at some of the small villages which were dotted along the side of the highway. 

A supply stop in Rundu gave us a couple of hours to catch up on a few things... like posting, and internet... unfortunately the town’s Internet was down so we had one less thing to do to kill time!

Our campsite tonight, Nkwazi Camp Site, Rundu, was situated on the Kavango River. The Okavango River is called Kavango on the Namibia side but is one and the same and forms the Okavango Delta in Botswana, it also forms the border between Namibia and Angola. The scenery was beautiful. We relaxed for the afternoon enjoying the surrounds.

Namibia - Etosha NP

After a night of waking intermittently to the sound of Lions we departed today for one long game drive through Etosha to another campsite within the park. What amazing experiences!

About 1 minute after setting off we spotted a Black Rhino grazing in the plains. We saw many animals today - it was phenomenal! Giraffe, Springbok, Oryx, Impala, Kudu, Elephants, Wildebeest, Zebra, and two Lion Prides.

We visited Etosha Pan which is a large salt pan in the middle of the park measuring 160km across. Every 10 or so years when there is a big rainy season the pan floods to become a lake and becomes home to thousands of Flamingoes but unfortunately it was dry today. 

So far we feel extremely fortunate to have seen so many animals including 3 of the “big five”.... and we still have 48 days to go

Namibia - Etosha NP

This morning we made our way to Etosha National Park and arrived around lunch time. Within 20m of driving into the park we saw our first Giraffe... very cool!!! 

Our campsite was only about 150m from a waterhole and this was amazing. Whilst sitting here writing postcards we were spoiled by the company of, firstly, 3 rather large bull Elephants having a drink and then 2 herds of Elephants came to join them. The 2 herds were breeding herds as well, so they had a few baby Elephants with them.

Later in the afternoon we went on a game drive. During this 2 hour drive we saw lots of Kudu, Springbok, and Oryx. We also saw a number of Giraffe’s and a Lion! 

After dinner, we ventured down to the waterhole again and were completely blown away when we noticed a Black Rhinoceros and its calf at the waterhole having a drink. Not long after they were joined by yet another herd of Elephants with calves in tow....and then a herd of 5 Rhino’s joined the waterhole later. Watching the scene before us was mesmerising... despite the cold!!

Namibia - Otjitotongwe Cheetah Sanctuary

Today we drove from Spitzkoppe to a Cheetah sanctuary near Etosha... so we are not yet in the game park but we did get to pat and play with some Cheetah’s!

On the way to our campsite at the Otjitotongwe Cheetah Sanctuary we stopped at Gilbegen station where some Himba people live. The Himba people live here on land which was given to them by the station owner. They still live quite traditionally in mud huts doing everything by hand but they are supported by the station owners if required, eg. for medical care. The Himba women cover themselves in ochre which gives them an orange appearance. The ochre protects their skin from the elements and insects. The females do not bathe or wash their hair, and their young girls also wear necklaces around their necks until they are “able” to have children. We were able to buy some hand made jewellery from them.

The Cheetah sanctuary is actually a cattle property which once had a big problem with wild cheetahs picking off its stock. It now has 3 “pet” cheetahs which were cubs orphaned in the Cheetah control process but they also have about 17 “wild” cheetahs in another paddock. We were fortunate to play with the 3 pet Cheetahs and then were taken on a safari drive to see the wild cats out and about. They also feed these Cheetahs as there is not a lot of other food available but we were assured that if there was a stray warthog or other animal that wandered into the enclosure it would not last very long... ie. they are still wild. 

All in all another great day in Africa!!

Namibia - Cape Cross, Spitzkoppe

This morning we got up and went for a walk before breakfast to enjoy the beach one last time before heading back into the desert.... a very nice way to start the day.

After restocking the supplies of food, we were off again towards our campsite at Spitzkoppe. On the way, we detoured to Cape Cross which has one of the largest seal colonies in the world... between 80,000 - 100, 000 seals at any one time! Huge numbers, very cool... and very smelly :-0! 

We also stopped at Kotara Primary School in Spitzkoppe. This was a beautiful experience. A number of the kids at this school live at the school and travel for 2days by bus to get home to Northern Namibia. We listened to them raise their voices in harmony as only African kids can and then watched as they showed us a few dance moves... and Brii was picked to show them a few of hers whilst trying to learn :-). 

We arrived in the campsite by mid afternoon and set off for an exploration walk. Our campsite is quite stunning... although does remind us a lot of Yulara National Park (Uluru etc). We found some nice scenery but not much else... saw a few animals but are still waiting to see the big animals. Although it must be said we have seen lots of Springbok and a few Oryx, Kudu’s, and we may have spotted some Zebra yesterday... We go to Etosha National Park tomorrow... Game parks here we come!

Namibia - Swakopmund

After breakfast we were picked up to go quad biking and sand boarding. We received a brief run down of how the bikes worked and we were off. 

The first hour was really fun riding through the dunes and doing roller coasters, the guide was entertaining too, always doing tricks. We stopped for a brief moment to take a closer look at a ‘Side Winder’ Adder which was pretty cool.

Our second hour was spent flying down sand dunes on a piece of melamine?? which was great fun! The only downer was having to climb back up the sand dune to go again :-).

After plummeting down sand dunes for an hour and emptying the sand from our pockets, we got back on our quads for another round. With a little more speed this time because everyone seemed to have gained a little confidence we travelled up and down dunes seeing some amazing scenery for another hour.

We finished our morning with a couple of beers back at the headquarters and decided that we will go sky diving another time.

Namibia - Swakopmund

After a not so peaceful night sleep with wind howling and showers of gravel landing on our face we woke early and made haste. We were fortunate that the campsite we were staying at had a bakery which was famous for its apple pie... so that was breakfast on the bus because it was too windy to eat normally.

We made our way to Swakopmund which is a small city on the coast of Namibia. This is where we had a first break from camping .... 2 nights in bungalows ... luxury!

Our first stop in Swakopmund was the Adventure Centre where we listened to a run down of all of optional activities for the next couple of days... quad biking, sand boarding, sky diving, go karts, catamaran trip... the list goes on... oh what to do?!

The quad biking and sand boarding combination trip for tomorrow morning is booked, Sky diving is possible but we thought it best to wait and see what the weather and wind are doing tomorrow.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and wandering around the town, as well as trying to change money... which was next to impossible and very frustrating. Along with Marieka and Trent (friends from our tour group) we went to Ombo (Namibian for ‘Ostrich’) Restaurant for dinner and enjoyed some Ostrich and Springbok... both were delicious!

Namibia - Dune 45, Sossusvlei and Deadvlei

Everyone was up well before sunrise this morning as our plan was to head into the Namib-Naukluft National Park and climb dune 45 to watch sunrise. Unfortunately there are a lot of tourists with the same idea but we still made it. The view from the top out over the desert and dunes was spectacular! The colours were amazing. It was definitely worth the quite taxing climb :-). 

We ate breakfast at the base of the dune before heading further into the desert to take a guided “Bushman’s walk” through a different part of the desert called Sossusvlei. It was fascinating. Sossusvlei means ‘river plain’ and is where the river is cut off by the dunes as they grow together. This cycles over hundreds of years until the river again breaks through the dunes and separates them. Our guide for this was a local man who had grown up in the desert and knew it like the back of his hand. He showed us how to find spiders, and lizards, and taught us about different plants, as well as the history of the people of the desert. He took us to Deadvlei which literally means ‘dead plain’ and is the dead section of the desert which used to be the end of the river. It is this amazing area of limestone rock with dead trees still standing throughout. It was beautiful!

We returned to camp after a fabulous morning to find our tents blown to the ground... well most of the groups tents... ours and 2 or 3 others were still standing. We were experiencing our first sand storm! It was awful! We ate lunch in the truck because it was impossible to eat outside and well we hid inside the bar after lunch trying to stay out of the sand. Thankfully our tour guide got the green light to move us an hour down the road to Solitaire, another campsite with not so much sand!

The wind here was not quite so bad and the ground was more gravel than sand so even though we still had to eat in the truck... it was much better! 

Namibia - Sesriem

Today we spent 6-7h in the truck driving to Sesriem. Sesriem is in the middle of the old desert and close to the famous sand dunes.

We arrived at our campsite around lunch time which gave us time to explore a little on foot... not that there was a huge amount except sand :-). The scenery is amazing though.

Namibia - Fish River Canyon

After an early morning walk with Trent and Marieka, and a lot of warnings about the border control, we set off for our first border crossing into Namibia. We were all a little nervous but seemed to get through extremely quickly and unscathed.

We then entered the Namibian Desert towards our campsite near Fish River Canyon. Only a couple of hours driving today and we had arrived. Our campsite was ... in the desert, but did have a few rocky hills breaking up the landscape. It was quite picturesque. Brii climbed one of these small hills with Marieka and then met up with the boys for a beer in what would have to be one of the coolest pubs in Namibia. This pub reminded us very much of the pubs in outback Australia. It had lots of character especially with its collection of vintage cars.

We then travelled to the Canyon for sunset. Fish River Canyon is apparently the second largest canyon in the world. The canyon was quite spectacular and the sunset was lovely except unfortunately we left as soon as the sun had gone and as we were driving out the sky changed to some amazing colours....oh well hopefully there will be plenty more!

South Africa

An early morning this morning, with us all up and on the ‘truck’ before sunrise.... although we are now back in the Southern hemisphere and it is winter... so sunrise is around 7.30. With the fog rolling over the vineyard sunrise was absolutely beautiful.

We drove for about 5h today via the little mining town of Springbok to our second campsite on the Gariep (Orange) River. Gariep River forms the natural border between Namibia and South Africa. We spent a relaxing afternoon going for walks, playing cards, and enjoying the tranquility.

South Africa - Cape Town & Langa Township

Our group of 23 (mostly Aussies with an added couple of Kiwi’s, a couple of Irish, one German, and one Canadian) rose early this morning to pack the truck and then we went on a township tour. During the Apartheid all the population were segregated into racial groups. The non white people were relocated from the areas they were living into townships which were all at least 20km out of town. The township we visited was Langa. We were fortunate to have guides who were locals from the township - “born, bread, and buttered” as they said. During the tour we tried some locally brewed beer (made from corn and wheat) and visited the various styles of housing, some of which reminded Brii of the Indigenous communities in the Cape. There were also sections of the township which were shanty like which were quite interesting. We were also able to visit the local Kindergarten which is funded entirely by donations and parents fees. The really lovely thing was that everyone was really happy, welcoming, and the kids were extremely cute!

After the township tour we boarded our ‘truck’ with our crew Innocent (Guide), Irvine (Ivan) (Cook), and Thinkwell (Driver) bound for a winery on the West coast of South Africa. 

The scenery was very much like home - we felt like we could have been driving through any part of northern Australia.

We arrived at our beautiful first campsite at the winery - it was lovely. After erecting our tents we did some wine tasting... of course! And the wines were delicious! What a great first day!

South Africa - Cape Town

And... it may have taken 10yrs but we are finally in Africa!!

We arrived in Cape Town this morning at 11.10am and made our way into the city to our hotel. 

We spent the afternoon wandering around the city centre and taking the cable car up Table Mountain. Unfortunately the smog from the city is very thick in Cape Town but the views from the mountain were still spectacular. We walked around the plateau for a while taking in as many angles as possible before heading back into the city. 

Back in the city we visited the Castle of Good Hope which was built by the Dutch East India Company in 1666 and is the oldest building in South Africa. 

Then Jack had his first African haircut... and well, lets just say his words were “it looks like it was cut by the council!”. We perhaps should have found time to get him a haircut in Europe :-).... luckily his hair grows fast.

Tomorrow we start our 60 day journey to Rwanda.

Netherlands - Amsterdam

Our final day in The Netherlands and our final day in Europe. 

Ernst very generously picked us up after we had checked out of our hotel in order to take us to the airport. Although, before heading out to the airport, we made a very important stop. Ernst’s son, Ernst jr and his partner Eva last night had their first baby. A baby girl named Fee. So we stopped by the hospital to meet the absolute newest edition to the van Beekhuizen family. She was beautiful. It was also fabulous to meet another member of our family Ernst jr, and his partner Eva. 

We then embarked on our long journey to Africa via Frankfurt, which was made not so comfortable because, even though we were very early to check in, there were no leg room seats left... we still are not quite sure how this happens... but hopefully we can work it out before our next 11h flight!

Netherlands - Amsterdam

Typing the blog was our plan for this morning. When we were finished ... and ‘over it’, we headed into Amsterdam city to explore a little more.

Our exploration started with a 1hr canal cruise which was a lovely way to see the city and allowed us to see it from a different angle. We then walked around the streets in the older districts, including the Jordaan district and Noodermarkt. Jordaan is where the ‘Anne Frank House’ is but unfortunately because of the crowds we did not go in (Brii had been 10yrs ago). We also visited Begijnhof, which is a beautiful amazingly quiet garden/courtyard surrounded by beautiful old homes in the middle of the city. It was originally built for women who did ‘Nun-like’ acts without living in a convent and taking vows. The apartments around the garden are still only occupied by women. 

We also managed to wander into a non touristy area behind Noodermarkt which was lovely. The homes were gorgeous and the atmosphere very ‘homely’. One wouldn’t think they were in the middle of the capital city of The Netherlands.

After dinner, we took another wander through the ‘Red Light District’ ... it really is quite interesting from a tourist perspective.... it was also quite amusing just people watching and seeing how many people were completely stoned out of their brains. 

Netherlands - Amsterdam

Our day today was planned around... you guessed it... the Formula One... Jack was very excited to find that the hotel had BBC so he could not only see the GP but it was in English!

After breakfast we went into the city and visited the Rijk Museum which is the home of many of Rembrandt’s paintings, including the magnificent ‘Night Watch’. A beautiful museum with many beautiful paintings and Dutch artefacts giving a little more insight into Dutch history. 

We then wandered around the area surrounding the museum before heading back to the hotel to watch the Formula One. 

Around 6pm we met up with 2 of our friends from Australia, Juanita and Viv, who happened to be in Amsterdam over the same time. We spent the evening wining, dining and laughing with them and their Dutch friend Myka. We also briefly wandered through the ‘Red Light District’ to satisfy everyones curiosity.