Free things to do in Cape Town
Isolated at the southern end of the vast African continent, Cape Town bustles with activity at the foot of Table Mountain. With a sunny Mediterranean climate and striking scenery, Cape Town offers outdoor adventures, history, some marvellous wines and even penguins! Cape Town has a lot to keep cost-savvy travellers busy. Here are some ideas of free (and very inexpensive) things to do in Cape Town. Drive the Cape of Good Hope If you have access to a car, a drive around the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve is a must. Marvel at how brave early seamen must have been to negotiate the waters of the southern Atlantic as…
Exploring Zanzibar’s Spice Island capital, Stonetown
Few places in this world are truly exotic, but Zanzibar Island, 25 kilometres off the coast of Tanzania, is one of them. Stonetown, the capital of the ‘Spice Island’ as it is also known, is a blend of cultures, ethnicities, flavours, and history. Everything from the food to the architecture seems to feature elements from countries miles away The historic trading centre is fascinating and has to be seen to be believed. Here are my favourite things to do in Stonetown. Former capital of the Zanzibar Sultanate, Stonetown is the main settlement of Zanzibar’s main island Unguja. The town has a long history as a spice and slave trading centre,…
Lights, Camera, Location!
It is all too easy to find yourself stuck in a routine and to slowly come to recognise that maybe there is more to life. If there are reasons that you can’t escape the routine just yet, then sit back and enjoy some armchair travel. Be inspired and plan your own adventure. These are some of the movies that have inspired me to travel. The Beach – Thailand This story follows a young backpacker who leaves Bangkok for Thailand’s beaches and discovers an island community where he realises he has a lot to learn. This is probably one of the first travel movies that ‘spoke’ to me. As an impressionable…
A drink in Marrakech
The souk of Marrakech is a huge sprawling, hot, dusty and confusing place. It is a fantastic web of little streets and alleyways where each shop seems to only be 1m wide and every inch of the inside is covered in merchandise. We saw shops selling metal-work, leather, jewellery, random electronics, clothes, shoes and food. There was so much going on in the souk that after a frantic morning exploring it my friend and I felt the need to seek out some peace and we settled in a cafe high above Marrakech’s main square for a drink and a bit of people-watching. The main square is called Place Djema el…
Mountain climbing for beginners
Imagine my surprise one afternoon at work in Egypt, when two backpackers who I had taught to dive a few weeks earlier turned up in front of me asking me to teach their Advanced course. We had got on really well so I was delighted to see them again and when it turned out none of us had climbed Mount Sinai yet we decided to go together. Early start We met at an entirely inhuman hour and made our way to the meeting place. After what seemed like forever in a minibus bumping through the Sinai desert and the armed police check points in the hazy pre-dawn we came to…
Dahab Dive Sites
Dahab, as well as being a cool little settlement, is home to my favourite dive sites in Egypt. Unlike the reefs around Sharm El Sheikh the reefs here get far fewer visitors so are in better shape. While living in Dahab I taught many people to dive and had a fantastic time exploring the varied local dive sites, both by camel safari, believe it or not, and loading everything into a pickup truck. From deep blue holes to coral gardens it is all here. The reefs are in good nick, fish populations are healthy and there are lots of critters too. Here is my guide to the best dive sites in…
Cage Diving: How to cuddle a Great White Shark
Do you want to get up close and personal with an apex predator? Or do you think that people who do, like me, are crazy? If you’re keen but cautiously wondering what it involves, or perhaps not so keen, but still curious nonetheless, read on. Magnificent Great White sharks can grow up to 6m in length and are most commonly seen off the West coast of the United States, South Africa and Australia. Cage diving businesses operate in all of these locations (more specifically Guadalupe Island off Baja California, Gaansbai in South Africa and Port Lincoln in South Australia). So if you’re keen for a close encounter with Jaws, head…
Best things to do around Jinja, Uganda
Jinja is a large town on the shores of Lake Victoria, to the East of Uganda’s bustling capital Kampala. It is a friendly place and known as the source of the Nile river. In recent years it has become a popular place for travellers to visit and there are many exciting activities on offer. Bujagali Bujagali, near Jinja, is a small unassuming settlement, but it is also Uganda’s adventure sports capital. Several operators offer whitewater rafting and kayaking activities here, on the Nile. I’m told it is one of the slower and safer parts of the river to raft on, but it still scared me too much frankly. Everyone who…
