Again very sorry for the lack of posts (there is Italy and Paris Missing we will add at some point if we can), Africa is not especially well endowed with internet cafes and those it does have all seem to run off the one dial up connection for the whole of Africa. Anyway excuses out the way our trip is going fantastically well. Africa as you would expect is very eye opening in many ways. Our group is great and we have been very lucky with our game viewing having already seen Elephant, Giraffe, Hippo, Wildebeest, Buffalo, Lions etc. The best viewing came in the Serengeti when we watched close range a Cheetah chase down a Hare coming close enough to whack it with its paw but the Hare managing to drop down its hole milliseconds before its heads would have disappeared down the Cheetah’s mouth.

We are now in Zanzibar about to go back on a boat to mainland Tanzania. For the last 3 days we have replaced dirt, bumpy roads, and tents with hotels white sand beaches and cocktails.

France (Part 2)

Next stop on our tour of the Cote d'Azur was Antibes Juan les Pins. Great place to stop the camper if wanting to visit Nice, Monaco and Cannes.

We expected a lot from Cannes, the city where movie stars all flock to once a year. However the weather did not hold out for our day trip to the famous town. Cannes is very similar to St Tropez but without all the glitz and glamour that St Tropez seemed to have. A walk around the shops, purchase of the most expensive lollies in all of France and a look at the boats and we were ready to head back to Antibes for a swim before dinner.

Nice was a beautiful city and one which we would love to go back to. It has a stunning harbour and historic town. We managed to arrive in time for the markets and were very disappointed not to be able to buy lots.

Next stop Monaco, when we finally managed to find our way out of the train station we had a fabulous time surrounded by luxury cars and yachts. Within minutes we saw a red ferrari being driven by what looked like an 18 year old boy. Feeling very jealous we then wandered down to the marina where we found the place where you could hire the ferrari for the hour and drive around the formula one track. We managed to spot all the big name cars all of which seemed to be parked outside the casino. Unfortunately we were turned away from entering the casino as we didnt have any ID on us probably a lucky escape for our bank balance but disappointing all the same.

France (Part 1)

After leaving Geneva we headed south to Annecy, a small historic town close to Mont Blanc and on a very pretty lake. Here we started our now daily purchase of bagette, cheese and ham. Phil had visited Annecy previously in 2007 while driving Betty over to Italy with Matteo. Matteo you will be pleased to know the dancing old man at the camp ground is still well.

Next stop was Lyon, which meant Beaujolais sampling and a nice meal in the gastronomic and beautiful old town of Lyon. We were at this point staying off the motorways and avoiding the horrendous road tolls made worse by the fact that Betty was over 2m high. We took the back roads into the Vacores, a set of ruggard mountains which Phil explored on his 2hour run which was meant to be 30minutes but he got lost. After a nights stop in Orange we moved to the heart of the Cote du Rhone wine region and a little town called Chateauneuf du Pape. After shunning the over priced 17euros a day bikes for rent and opting for more money for wine purchases, we headed off on foot to do some serious wine tasting. Our first few wine houses we got a serious telling off for not holding/smelling or swirling the wine properly - so we apologised each time and said sorry Mr French Man please show me how again on another bottle of your lovely wine. Adrienne even got a telling off for not holding her glass properly when it was filled with water!!! By the end of the day we were pros or at least in our own minds we were which could have just been the 35 degree temperature and all the walking. Chateauneuf du Pape, meaning the 9th charter of the Pope was a mere 20km drive from Avignon our next stop.

Avignons main claim to fame was that the Pope, well 3 popes, lived here in the 1300s xhen they were having a few troubles at home in Rome. Needless to say the pontifical court had a bit of money and in the 70 odd years they were in Avignon they made quite a nice palace etc. In Avignon we heard that Adriennes Mum operation had gone well and so we had a celebratory bottle of the local red and meal out in her honor (which of course was one of the many things that we choose not to include as a travel expense against our budget - creative accounting!!!) The shock did come however when Phils steak came out well done and he had asked for it rare. Who would have thought that we would have to send a steak back in France cause it was over cooked!!

Next stop the beach!!!! After much anticipation by Adrienne and some (quite a lot) of whinging by Phil (it being too hot, too crowded, camping grounds too expensive etc etc etc) we arrived on the Cote d'Azur via a quick stop in Marseille. St Tropez our first stop was great with a camp ground in the middle of a vineyard and a 5 min walk to the beach and to top it all off a covers band playing Crowded House! We had a great time at the beach however the next day had to walk for 2 hours to get to St Tropez as the bus driver did not stop at the allocated place grrr. St Tropez would have been less than impressive if it was not for the super yachts and the herds of super rich that come with them. We spent most of the day looking at the boats and spotting some good ones for Uncle Brian. Luckily we got a lift from a Belgium couple some of the way back, they had a car and no map, we had a map and no car so all worked out well. Our walk back along the 3km of beach towards our campground, revealed that the French's attitude to the need for bathing suits is as everything liberal.

TO BE CONTINUED

Switzerland

First stop in Switzerland was Luzern for one night moving on after a swim in the lake (Phil only) and a visit to the market (where cheese and fruit were needed). After some driving the next day the mountains started to get higher and there was more snow around, Adrienne (who expected lots of sun, lakes and gorgeous weather) asked where are we going to which Phil replied (with a smile) in the middle of those mountains of course. Adriennes note to everyone, always check the route before Phil gets behind the wheel.

We spent 3 days in the Jungfrau region (the origin of the Rhone and Rhine rivers). The mountains here are spectacular and it is typically Swiss with green valleys, lots of cows with bells, lots of cheese and pointy houses.

On one day we took the train to the top of the Jungfraujoc (commonly known as the top of Europe, even thou its not) which is 4200m –ish high. Yep thats right by train! The train goes up to about 3000m then goes into a tunnel only to pop out into a station with lifts that take you to the top of a rocky outcrop overlooking all of the mountains, glaciers etc. ONLY the Swiss could build this, then again only the Swiss have enough money.

Our remaining time in Switzerland was spen driving through Bern and Geneva which are two very pretty citys both of them on water (one a river, the other lake geneva).

Italy 1st Stop

We flew into Bologna, and were picked up by Matteo and Danilea and it was as if we had not left them. We spent the night at their place before they took us away for the weekend to the Dolomites for our wedding present. The Dolomites were amazing and we had a great time going for walks, taking goldelar trips up very impressive mountains (the top of the gondelar was in clouds at the time of arrival) and visiting some really pretty mountain towns, as well as relaxing in the spa that accompanied the hotel. As always Matteo managed to find some brilliant restaurants, one of them spotted while driving past at 80km/h (Matteo remarking that is where we should eat tonight as the restaurant was named after a piece of meat) sure enough it turned out to be a very nice and very fancy restaurant where we had to roll back after eating too much fabulous food.

On Monday (seems strange to use days of the week again) we picked up our campervan from Matteos (the van is now affectionately known as BETTY) and drove to Milan. In Milan we stayed with Bec and Dave (and soon to be 3rd member of their family “the bump”). We had a great time catching up them and exchanging travelling stories, over a BBQ in the park. We however did not pay any attention to the time and the distinct lack of people in the park only to find out the gates to the park had shut and we (including the car) were locked in for the night, after some anxcious moments we were released by a friendly park attendant. While Dave had to go to work, Bec took us for the day and showed us the sites of Milan. The duomo was very impressive and we had a great time wandering the streets until we got to HSBC where again the bank disappointed us. A quick trip to the supermarket and some NZ cookies and Becs home baking cured all of that.

We then set off in Betty to Lake Como and to our fist camp site. It is funny how the little spot on the GPS never looks like it is at the top of a very very large hill. On the way up said hill the GPS often got confused as the switchbacks were so steep the GPS thought they were on top of one another. The GPS led us into a small village with a very beauitiful little courtyard and archways etc which I’m sure would have looked great if we had not been wedged underneath them with nowhere to go in a long wheel base high top van. We were being observed by the elderly locals through their windows and soon enough most of them came out to see what this big van was doing in their village, needless to say they all tried to help us get out ( not sure if they were being nice or just wanted us out). We finally made it to our campsite only to be greated the next day when we dropped off the hill into Switzerland with what must be the steepest street in Switzerland nae Europe nae the world. Betty luckily (with all parties inside the van keeping their fingers crossed) made it down in first gear even though she had to do a three point turn at each switchback.

Rio De Janiero

Rio is a beautiful city and although we had heard a lot about the dangerous parts of Rio we really didn’t experience any of that. We stayed a couple of nights in a hostel in Ipaenma and experienced Cocacabana and Ipaenma beaches during the day. The caiprinhas and cold coconut drinks were fantastic but we managed to stay away from the McDonalds kiosk that is on the beach. We then stayed with Gabo and Alessandra in Flamengo, their beautiful apartment with stunning views and their hospitality to us while we were there made us really love Rio.

Gabo and Ale bought us both a handgliding flight over Rio for our wedding present. Although given Adriennes fear of heights (such as large buildings, bridges and any mountain over 3m tall) the concept of jumping off one was not for her. Gabo graciously accompanied Phil although Adrienne still was the most scarred of all as can be seen by the shaking video (not attached). It was an amazing experience and even Adrienne was slightly jealous that she didn’t go when they were safely on the ground.

We took a drive south of Rio to a town called Paraty which is set in a beautiful bay dotted with small islands some of which consist only of a bar and restaurant and a dock for the boat. On our way to a small beach we had an encounter with the local constabulary who were not too pleased with the lack of papers for the car. Lucky for us / unlucky for Gabo, it was able to be sorted out in true Brazalian style in the back room of the station with a little hard cash.

We spent a very pleasant day spear fishing with a friend of Gabos. Unfortunately Phil did not manage to catch anything but did manage to finally fire the gun 5 times (but the little b……. were too fast). Gabo and his friend did catch many and guaranteed our dinner that night. The next day we spent another great day with Alessandra’s dad and brother on their boat and stopped at a few of the island bars for caiprinhas and fresh seafood.

We very sadly boarded a flight and said farewell to South America.

Iguacu Falls (Brazil)

Phil woke up on his official Sth American birthday to a cooked breakfast in bed – not an easy feat for Sth America to find Bacon so sausages were the next best thing. After a few presents we were packed and ready to leave for Brazil. Unfortunately that was there the good morning ended and the stress started. We hadn’t realised how good it was to know a bi of Spanish until we got to Brazil and our Portuguese was non existent. After crossing the border with no problems our bus didn’t stop at the pre arranged stop so we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere with all our bags, no Brazilian reals and in a bit of a state. Luckily a taxi driver found us 10 minutes later and we went to the hotel Adrienne had booked as a treat for Phils birthday.

As part of Phils birthday present, Adrienne had bought him (and subsequently her) a helicopter flight over the falls and a rafting trip up to one of the falls and back down the river. The helicopter ride was amazing and gave a really good oversight to how big the falls really are. The rafting trip took us right in and under one of the falls which at the time was incredibly stressful as the organisers idea of a dry bag was a plastic bag that we use to collect fruit so our camera and cash were lucky to come away dry; the driver did get an earful when he tipped the boat so a wave would splash all over us. With no camera it would have been exhilarating and fun. The falls were just as spectacular from the Brazilian side and you didn’t need much time there to get a great picture.

After returning to the hotel we had a lovely birthday dinner at the hotel restaurant that Phils parents and grandfather had given Phil for his birthday.

The issue with Brazil unfortunately started when we tried to book buses. In Argentina the buses are good and the seats fold down to almost a bed. As we were travelling to Rio de Janiero the next day that is exactly the type of bus we wanted. Unfortunately they are not what Brazil offers from Foz du Iguacu and the best we could book was a completely upright seat at approx USD 100 each for our 24 hour journey. We did not think that was a great idea so opted to go back to the Argentinean side and book a bus from there. That would have worked out great if everyone hadn’t had the same idea and there was more than one bus company doing the route from Argentina as all the seats were booked. To cut a long story short we flew – bugger the budget.

Iguacu Falls (Argentina)

We arrived in Porte du Iguacu after a very tiring 3 hour plane ride – compared to the potential 22 hour bus ride we were in luxury! We recovered after our hard journey and took about to plan our first trip to the Iguacu Falls the next day – which at midday co-incided with Phils 48 hour 30th Birthday extravaganza.

There are two sides to the falls where you can get a different perspective. The Argentinean side is very up close and personnel with the falls and the Brazilian side you get an overall picture of the falls from further away. The Argentinean side of the Falls did not disappoint after a quick birthday cake made entirely of caramel and chocolate and the wonderful rendition of “Happy Birthday” by Adrienne we were off on the walking tracks of the falls. As you will see from the pictures the falls are spectacular and the walkways are an amazing engineering feat in themselves as they got so close to the falls and some went right over the top of them. After a very pleasant day at the falls we were back to Porte du Iguacu for an early night to catch the first bus to Foz du Iguacu on the Brazilian side.

Buenos Aires

We spent about 5 days in BA, it was very European and hence we (Phil) were able to get good coffee for the first time on our South American experience. The food was also great, the ubiquitous Argentinean Steak lived up to its billing. Adriennes steak at the recommended La Cabrera restaurant was the size of a plate and not any ordinary plate, a huge one, and about 6cm thick. Unfortunately Adrienne was recovering from her first bout of stomach bug so she significantly paled at the sight of her first meal. Phils steak was a more modest 2 to 3cm thick and about 10cm long, but there were 4 of them on the one plate. Needless to say he excelled himself by finishing his meal plus some of the vast array of accompaniments that were also served.
We were lucky again in BA to meet up with our new Irish and English friends, Ken, Eadaoin, Kelly and Steve. Along with them we experienced a live Tango Show and a number of restaurants and cafes within BA. We also made a trip to Colonia in Uruguay where it was unfortunately rubbish weather and very expensive. Not the best way to have our one and only experience of Uruguay. Luckily though we did manage to find a great meat restaurant and have another good steak meal!

We were sad to leave BA and our friends but Iguacu Falls beckoned and it didn’t feel quite so difficult to get there on a plane as the past buses had been.