Travel in Style with Fred Olsen
Cruise & Tour - two holidays in one!
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Day 2 included a walk over the bridge into the quant little town of Karesuando in Sweden. Although the temperature was -7, it didn't feel that cold because there was no wind and the climate is very dry.
The afternoon was spent at the husky farm, where we took the dogs on a 5km trek around the surrounding area. A wonderfully exhilerating experience.
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12 September 2022
Once again Jethro picked us up in Cape Town to drive us to the lovely little town of Hermanus, where we spent two nights at the Auberge Burgundy, a delightful little guest house in the centre of town.
https://auberge.co.za/
After a couple of murky days weatherwise in Cape Town the sun was shining once again and it was a beautiful drive down the coast to Hermanus. Sitting on the edge of Walker Bay, this small coastal town offers an array of experiences; Whales and Great White Sharks, the most diverse Floral Kingdom in the world, mountain walks and pristine beaches, secluded forests, crashing surf, lagoons and a hidden valley so beautiful it’s named ‘Heaven and Earth.’
Hermanus is a sleepy little town for eight months of the year but from June to September the bay is populated with dozens of Southern Right Whales, who come to the warm shallow waters of Walker Bay to give birth and build up their calves ready for the long journey back to Antarctica for the summer feeding frenzy. These whales can be seen from the cliff tops on a calm day and this year it was exceptional for whale viewing.
The town boasts a Whale Crier, a local that has the sharpest eyes and blows his horn when whales come into sight, thus calling the tourists that flock to Hermanus to come to the viewing points to see the mothers and babies. This ritual has been ongoing for decades and sets Hermanus apart from anywhere else in the world.
13 September 2022
Eight of us decided it would be a good idea to take a shark diving excursion out of Gansbaai so off we went early this morning after a hearty breakfast. In retrospect, this was the first mistake of the day!
We were taken to the headquarters of the Shark Lady diveboats, where we met Karin, a very chatty local lady that has been involved with the Great White sharks of the region for many years. After a brief orientation for the five mad people that had elected to go down in the cage (typical South African pep talk, consi
Elephants on land in the Chobe National Park.
The warm Bakwena welcome!
OK, so I am horribly late with my updates from my recent group travel to Africa, which I blame on coming home with Covid. Luckily, the first tickle in my throat came as I was queueing up to check in at Cape Town Airport for the flight home and by the time I walked through my front door 20 hours later I felt as if I were at death’s door and am only just back on my feet eleven days later!
Anyway, enough self pity – what an amazing trip! We started off at Heathrow on the 3rd of September (Terminal 5 was a dream with no queues at all), taking the long flight down to Johannesburg followed by a short hop over to Kasane in Botswana. Again, everything was easy and within an hour of landing we were whisked off to Bakwena Lodge on the banks of the Chobe River, our home for the next three nights.
https://chobebakwena.com/
This is a lovely, friendly lodge – not the height of luxury and placed just outside the Chobe National Park but the food is fantastic and the staff are just amazing. Each time we arrived back from a safari we were met with singing and dancing, hot or cold face towels depending on the time of day and a delicious glass of punch. The pool provided a welcome respite during the heat of the day between game drives.
From Bakwena Lodge we took two jeep safaris into the Chobe National Park, where we saw three of the Big Five - elephants galore, buffalo & lions, not to mention a whole host of other animals such as giraffe, hippo, warthog, impala, kudu, bushbuck, crocodile, monitor lizard and the most incredible birdlife.
However, my favourite activity was the boat safaris on the Chobe river itself, surrounded by elephants crossing back and forth between the Botswanan side and the Namibian. The peace was indescribable as these magnificent beasts went about their business, aware of us but totally unfazed.
This part of Africa is the only place in the world where four countries meet in the middle of the river – Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia & Zambia – so our
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Beautiful Canada
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Pumba at Pumba! 🤣🤣
Warthogs are some of my favourite creatures to watch on safari, as they never fail to give me a laugh. Think of Pumba from Disney's The Lion King and this is exactly what they are like.
Pumba Private Game Reserve in South Africa's Eastern Cape is a fantastic way to do a safari for the first time, as it is Malaria free and easily accessible from Port Elizabeth airport. Not only that, it is a brilliant way to end a self-drive route along the Garden Route from Cape Town.
Watch this space over the next few days for offers including Pumba.
Lion at Pumba
Could you be this close to a wild animal? It is the most exhilarating experience, one that we have enjoyed many times on safari, as you will see from this video below, which I shot on an iPad at an Eastern Cape game reserve in 2015. The video doesn't quite do justice to the vibrations you feel throughout your body when that lion roars - you have to experience it for yourself.
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