Just on my way back from a safari holiday in Tanzania, taking in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Basin. The wildlife was absolutely stunning and a visit to a genuine Masai Mara village was an interesting visit. The first night on the actual safari was spent in a super tent and wildlife such as Zebra, Wildebeest, various antelope and mongoose were grazing nearby, giving a feeling of tranquility. Whilst in the Serengeti we stayed in one luxury tent and at night lions could be heared roaring (we were not allowed to leave our tents at night) and Cape Buffalo rubbed their backs against the tent guide ropes, rocking the tent! Saw the big five, but the best animal experience was being amongst thousands upon thousands of Wildebeest during their migration to Kenya: it took one hour in a jeep to drive past the herd!
Up there with our best holidays and highly recommended
I'll only offer the favourite country I've visited and thats Namibia, mainly due to the diversity of landscape, scenery and the wildlife, from rugged beaches, to typical African bushland and the highest desert sand dunes in the world. Not to forget the wildlife; the image of a lone oryx in the middle of the Namib desert is one that's been photographed many times but nothing beats actually seeing one.
Just on my way back from a safari holiday in Tanzania, taking in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Basin. The wildlife was absolutely stunning and a visit to a genuine Masai Mara village was an interesting visit. The first night on the actual safari was spent in a super tent and wildlife such as Zebra, Wildebeest, various antelope and mongoose were grazing nearby, giving a feeling of tranquility. Whilst in the Serengeti we stayed in one luxury tent and at night lions could be heared roaring (we were not allowed to leave our tents at night) and Cape Buffalo rubbed their backs against the tent guide ropes, rocking the tent! Saw the big five, but the best animal experience was being amongst thousands upon thousands of Wildebeest during their migration to Kenya: it took one hour in a jeep to drive past the herd!
Up there with our best holidays and highly recommended
Really glad you enjoyed your trip Peter and I really don’t mean anything by this but I read your quote in the voice of ‘Steven, Cassandra’s boss on only fools and horses’
Have been lucky enough to live and to travel to some amazing places for work and holidays. Madagascar was pretty amazing and North Korea one of the most fascinating
Have been lucky enough to live and to travel to some amazing places for work and holidays. Madagascar was pretty amazing and North Korea one of the most fascinating
Madagascar
was pretty depressing for me. The poverty is suffocating and where there are
people the environment is totally spoiled. When you do get out in the
wilderness though it's magical. Ranomafana was my highlight, I pretty much
bribed a guide to find me black & white ruffed lemurs and we got REALLY
lucky in my short visit.
Manuel
Antonio in Costa Rica is the best place I've been to recently. Beach hotels with
a national park 15 minutes’ walk away, it has a really high density of animals
and amazing scenery (obviously). Even just sat around your accommodation you
can see sloths, capuchins, agoutis, Jesus lizards, crabs etc. Costa Rica is
really special.
Have been lucky enough to live and to travel to some amazing places for work and holidays. Madagascar was pretty amazing and North Korea one of the most fascinating
Madagascar
was pretty depressing for me. The poverty is suffocating and where there are
people the environment is totally spoiled. When you do get out in the
wilderness though it's magical. Ranomafana was my highlight, I pretty much
bribed a guide to find me black & white ruffed lemurs and we got REALLY
lucky in my short visit.
Manuel
Antonio in Costa Rica is the best place I've been to recently. Beach hotels with
a national park 15 minutes’ walk away, it has a really high density of animals
and amazing scenery (obviously). Even just sat around your accommodation you
can see sloths, capuchins, agoutis, Jesus lizards, crabs etc. Costa Rica is
really special.
Sadly a lot of the most beautiful and exotic places are near to poverty. Real poverty not the relative poverty thta gets reported on in the UK (and put more children 'in poverty' when the pension goes up a few pence)
Just on my way back from a safari holiday in Tanzania, taking in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Basin. The wildlife was absolutely stunning and a visit to a genuine Masai Mara village was an interesting visit. The first night on the actual safari was spent in a super tent and wildlife such as Zebra, Wildebeest, various antelope and mongoose were grazing nearby, giving a feeling of tranquility. Whilst in the Serengeti we stayed in one luxury tent and at night lions could be heared roaring (we were not allowed to leave our tents at night) and Cape Buffalo rubbed their backs against the tent guide ropes, rocking the tent! Saw the big five, but the best animal experience was being amongst thousands upon thousands of Wildebeest during their migration to Kenya: it took one hour in a jeep to drive past the herd!
Up there with our best holidays and highly recommended
Really glad you enjoyed your trip Peter and I really don’t mean anything by this but I read your quote in the voice of ‘Steven, Cassandra’s boss on only fools and horses’
Sorry, but I dont understand what you are saying or implying
Just on my way back from a safari holiday in Tanzania, taking in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Basin. The wildlife was absolutely stunning and a visit to a genuine Masai Mara village was an interesting visit. The first night on the actual safari was spent in a super tent and wildlife such as Zebra, Wildebeest, various antelope and mongoose were grazing nearby, giving a feeling of tranquility. Whilst in the Serengeti we stayed in one luxury tent and at night lions could be heared roaring (we were not allowed to leave our tents at night) and Cape Buffalo rubbed their backs against the tent guide ropes, rocking the tent! Saw the big five, but the best animal experience was being amongst thousands upon thousands of Wildebeest during their migration to Kenya: it took one hour in a jeep to drive past the herd!
Up there with our best holidays and highly recommended
Really glad you enjoyed your trip Peter and I really don’t mean anything by this but I read your quote in the voice of ‘Steven, Cassandra’s boss on only fools and horses’
Sorry, but I dont understand what you are saying or implying
Ah right, get it now (tired, writing this at Doha Airport at almost midnight). I can assure you that I retain my Charlton-born accent!
New York or New Zealand would be my favourite places, but very different from each other.
Boiling it down to a smaller place/event though, when we were in New Zealand, we were driving down to Milford Sound. I was really looking forward to the scenery but as we were driving up the mountain road, the sky turned grey and heavens opened and thought my once in a lifetime trip was going to be ruined by the weather. Instead, we drove through a tunnel and as we came out the other side we were in a steep sided, rocky valley and the place was absolute teaming with these silver ribbons of water as they ran off the mountain side. It was absolutely stunningly beautiful and it turned out we were really lucky to see it like that.
Another spot in New Zealand, we took a turning off down a side road, just to explore and ended up on this dead end gravel road that led out onto a headland over looking the Marlborough Sound. It was a beautiful sunny day and we might as well have been the only people left on earth, we had the whole place totally to ourselves.
New York or New Zealand would be my favourite places, but very different from each other.
Boiling it down to a smaller place/event though, when we were in New Zealand, we were driving down to Milford Sound. I was really looking forward to the scenery but as we were driving up the mountain road, the sky turned grey and heavens opened and thought my once in a lifetime trip was going to be ruined by the weather. Instead, we drove through a tunnel and as we came out the other side we were in a steep sided, rocky valley and the place was absolute teaming with these silver ribbons of water as they ran off the mountain side. It was absolutely stunningly beautiful and it turned out we were really lucky to see it like that.
Another spot in New Zealand, we took a turning off down a side road, just to explore and ended up on this dead end gravel road that led out onto a headland over looking the Marlborough Sound. It was a beautiful sunny day and we might as well have been the only people left on earth, we had the whole place totally to ourselves.
Milford Road is a great stretch to enjoy driving on...
Sadly the day I drove from Te Anau the tunnel was closed due to a week of controlled landslides so only got to go as far as that point rather than go all the way through to the Sound
Have been lucky enough to live and to travel to some amazing places for work and holidays. Madagascar was pretty amazing and North Korea one of the most fascinating
Madagascar
was pretty depressing for me. The poverty is suffocating and where there are
people the environment is totally spoiled. When you do get out in the
wilderness though it's magical. Ranomafana was my highlight, I pretty much
bribed a guide to find me black & white ruffed lemurs and we got REALLY
lucky in my short visit.
Manuel
Antonio in Costa Rica is the best place I've been to recently. Beach hotels with
a national park 15 minutes’ walk away, it has a really high density of animals
and amazing scenery (obviously). Even just sat around your accommodation you
can see sloths, capuchins, agoutis, Jesus lizards, crabs etc. Costa Rica is
really special.
Sadly a lot of the most beautiful and exotic places are near to poverty. Real poverty not the relative poverty thta gets reported on in the UK (and put more children 'in poverty' when the pension goes up a few pence)
I'm a fan of Rio de Janeiro, this fits your description.
Cheating slightly, but the scenic railway between Picton and Christchurch in New Zealand with a stop off at Kaikoura to go whale-watching. I can't say much about Picton as it was basically just a place to crash between the last ferry and the first train, but the journey down to Kaikoura was interesting, and I absolutely loved going whalewatching. Christchurch was lovely, but it was before the massive earthquake, so I'm not sure how much it resembles the place I visited now.
And let's face it, we're on page 3 of a Charltonlife not sports related thread, and no-one's mentioned trains yet, so someone had to do it.
Yeah that railway trip is pretty spectacular. Loved Kaikoura too. I’ll still hold out hopes I might live there one day.
If we’re talking railways there’s a fantastic trip you can do at Lake Maggiore in Italy. You get a train through the mountains from Stresa in Italy to Locarno in Switzerland and then get a ferry back down the Lake to Stressa.
New York or New Zealand would be my favourite places, but very different from each other.
Boiling it down to a smaller place/event though, when we were in New Zealand, we were driving down to Milford Sound. I was really looking forward to the scenery but as we were driving up the mountain road, the sky turned grey and heavens opened and thought my once in a lifetime trip was going to be ruined by the weather. Instead, we drove through a tunnel and as we came out the other side we were in a steep sided, rocky valley and the place was absolute teaming with these silver ribbons of water as they ran off the mountain side. It was absolutely stunningly beautiful and it turned out we were really lucky to see it like that.
Another spot in New Zealand, we took a turning off down a side road, just to explore and ended up on this dead end gravel road that led out onto a headland over looking the Marlborough Sound. It was a beautiful sunny day and we might as well have been the only people left on earth, we had the whole place totally to ourselves.
I definitely want to go back to NZ. Didnt see Milford Sound but Doubtful Sound was amazing; went kayaking with dolphins nearby
We are having a 5 day break to SF in Feb. We are going to visit Alcatraz, take a full days journey to Yosemite Park, take in the Bridge and also the windy road (forgot the name).
First question. Does SF have excessive snow (asking cos I know the Sierra Nevada mountain range, to the East of SF has plenty during the winter). Asking cos I may otherwise hire a car to drive south on the coastal road to Carmel etc
Second question: Any other advice or tips would be appreciated.
Comments
Up there with our best holidays and highly recommended
The Tsukuji Fish Market, Tokyo
Madagascar was pretty depressing for me. The poverty is suffocating and where there are people the environment is totally spoiled. When you do get out in the wilderness though it's magical. Ranomafana was my highlight, I pretty much bribed a guide to find me black & white ruffed lemurs and we got REALLY lucky in my short visit.
Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica is the best place I've been to recently. Beach hotels with a national park 15 minutes’ walk away, it has a really high density of animals and amazing scenery (obviously). Even just sat around your accommodation you can see sloths, capuchins, agoutis, Jesus lizards, crabs etc. Costa Rica is really special.
Very jealous of some of the places people have been and not doing something like a year out travelling when younger will always be a big regret.
Sadly the day I drove from Te Anau the tunnel was closed due to a week of controlled landslides so only got to go as far as that point rather than go all the way through to the Sound
One day!!
Lake Como next June for our 50th anniversary & hoping it's as memorable.
If we’re talking railways there’s a fantastic trip you can do at Lake Maggiore in Italy. You get a train through the mountains from Stresa in Italy to Locarno in Switzerland and then get a ferry back down the Lake to Stressa.
The town is a bit of a hole (Blackpool), but the Falls itself is just breathtaking.
We are having a 5 day break to SF in Feb. We are going to visit Alcatraz, take a full days journey to Yosemite Park, take in the Bridge and also the windy road (forgot the name).
First question. Does SF have excessive snow (asking cos I know the Sierra Nevada mountain range, to the East of SF has plenty during the winter). Asking cos I may otherwise hire a car to drive south on the coastal road to Carmel etc
Second question: Any other advice or tips would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance