One of my favourite places in the world is Gibraltar and one of the main attractions is of course the Rock. From on top of the Rock you can look out over the whole of Gibraltar where you see Spain on one side and Morocco on the other on a cloud free day.
Safaris are just one of the many things that Africa is known best for, and for good reason. They are an amazing way to see the incredible wildlife up close in its natural environment, in a way that you just can’t at the zoo. No matter how many safaris I went on in my 4 months travelling around Africa, I was always overawed every single time.
This photo of a male and female lion relaxing together was taken in Etosha National Park in Namibia. Even though Etosha is not as well known as some of the other African national parks, it was one of our favourites as the animals were in abundance.
After 3 months doing volunteer work and travelling overland through Africa, Alex and I were thrilled to finally get some time alone at the end of the tour when we planned on hiring a car and driving up the Garden Route. Having been on a set itinerary for the overland tour it was a huge relief to just have free time to be able to go where we wanted, when we wanted (well, as much as my plan-aholic self would allow!).
I thought I was prepared for India. I had researched for months and got tips from those who had already been, bought and packed everything we could possibly need; but I don’t think anything can really prepare you for this place.
It isn’t the culture shock of this country that is so different to England or anywhere else I’ve ever been. I tend to thrive on culture shocks and like to go to places that are as different as possible to what I am used to, but India is on another level!
This weekend has been a pretty fun one so I thought I’d update you on my latest antics and adventures around London.
On Friday night I went to Traverse Mingle, a big event for travel bloggers and anyone in the travel industry to get together to socialise, network and have fun. It was held in the plush Cumberland Hotel on Oxford Street and we even had a mini red carpet to get our pic snapped on! So of course I had to put a pretty frock on! Everything was free all night – entry, canapés and drinks so it was bound to be a messy night for most!
After a short drive out of the city and into the bush in the back of a dusty truck, I found it hard to believe what I was seeing. Inside a fenced off area a group of people were sitting on a picnic bench chatting away and…wait…what…this can’t be right…several lion cubs and two full grown cheetahs sitting within a few feet of them? Was I seeing things?!
But no, my eyes were working perfectly fine it seemed, as we were shown to our room within the fence. Yep, our little cabin at the lion reserve was actually inside the lion enclosure. I knew that we would be working closely with lions – that’s what we’d signed up for when we decided to volunteer at a lion sanctuary in South Africa that looks after orphaned cubs – but this went far beyond what I could have imagined.
The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa – for he has so much to look forward to.” Richard Mullin
For my first post about one of my adventures, the only thing that I could possibly talk about is somewhere that is very close to my heart. In fact, it’s somewhere so close to my heart that I’m pretty sure I left it there when I returned home and it’s been calling me back ever since.
Mama Ayla's Adventures 