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Africa
  • Nancy and Doug Trips
  • Nancy and Doug Trips

Africa

En 46-dags äventyr från Nancy and Doug Trips Läs mer
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  • Resans start
    21 juni 2025
    Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    At Kelowna airport ready to go
    Why do airlines post On Time when I already got a text it is 2 hours late?1This was 3rd of 5 courses but only one I had

    Out To Africa

    23 juni 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    On my way on the first day of summer / South African winter! When we realized 2025 was not going to work for Nancy and I to take our next trip, I revived my dream of an African bucket list trip, which she was not interested in. It has been a year of planning, but here I go.

    11:40 departure was listed on time when I arrived at YLW. The plane didn't arrive until 11:10, at which time they announced a 20-minute delay .Then, a text was sent with a new departure time of 13:40. They said it was due to a "passenger medical emergency." In the end, they boarded at 13:00. After we were on, the captain announced it was the First Officer who was ill with a bleeding nose he couldn't stop, but "Captain Mark" stepped in. I am very lucky as he lives in Kelowna although based in Vancouver.

    Overnight layover in Toronto getting in at 10 and heading back to the airport at 7am. Very long 13 hour flight but excellent service and a really good Ethiopian meal. Basically no sleep at all as the time was really not in line, plus a lot of people stayed up and talked, unlike late night flights where everyone sleeps. Got maybe an hour. Got into Addis Ababa 15 minutes early. Quick security screening but no immigration as I was connecting right out and got to my gate 10 minutes before boarding (50 minutes before departure).

    Six and a half hours to Cape Town, again with excellent service on Ethiopian. Entry formalities were quick. Uber pickup was distant. So took a cab in.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    WINK ApartHotel Thibault
    View from hotel room

    Arrival in Cape Town

    23 juni 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Got to the hotel in the very modern Central Business District. Arrived at 1430 or 0530 Pacific. Since I left home at 0930 on Saturday, that is 44 hours. I am thankful to see a comfy room, and the internet works. Heading out to explore the immediate area.Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    BoKaap Museum
    Downtown Cape TownBo-KaapBo-Kaap

    Iziko Bo-Kaap Museum

    23 juni 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    As I was at my hotel at 1430h, it was important to get some fresh air and stay active until a reasonable bedtime. Walked about 15 minutes to Bo-Kaap and popped into this small three room museum that detailed the history of the district.

    Bo-Kaap with its brightly coloured homes and cobblestoned streets was formerly known as the Malay Quarter, and is the oldest surviving residential neighborhood in Cape Town According to the South African Heritage Resources Agency, the area contains the largest concentration of pre-1850 architecture in South Africa.

    The origins date back to the 1760s when numerous rental houses were built and leased to slaves. These individuals, known as Cape Malays, were brought from the Dutch East Indies including Malaysia and Indonesia to work in the Cape. The area was allowed to remain Muslim during apartheid and today is a very multicultural neighbourhood, and almost 60%% of its population identify as Muslim.

    The museum is housed in a historic building that was once the home of a wealthy Muslim family in the early 19th century.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär

    Cape Town Diamond Museum

    23 juni 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Caught a Bolt from Bo-Kaap to the V&A Waterfront and found the Diamond Museum as part of the Shimansky jewelry store, the Tiffany of South Africa. Had a great one hour private tour with a very in-depth story of diamonds and their history in SA.

    The first diamond was found by a boy just laying on the ground. It triggered something very much akin to the Klondike gold rush with stakeholders panning for diamonds or digging pits in a frenzy. Many interesting anecdotes. Replicas of some of the huge diamonds found in South Africa like the Cullinin and the British Crown jewels    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    V&A Waterfront

    V&A Waterfront

    23 juni 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    The Waterfront is a re-developed docklands area which has been transformed into shops, restaurants and a mall. It was fairly quiet on this night, as I have been informed by most of the people I meet that this is the off season. There were people around, and buskers and drum / dance groups to entertain those who were present. A very nice area to spend an evening in, and even more going on durimg the day.Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    L-R Springbok, Impala, Kudu

    Karibu Restaurant

    23 juni 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    I don't usually devote a footprint to a meal, but this was a real find. Enjoyed wandering the V&A waterfront and just looked for an African restaurant. Turns out it is quite famous and has won many awards. Chose the venison medallions, venison being generic for game, in this case Springbok, impala and Kudu. Paired with a glass of really good Cab.Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    On the way up to Table MountainLions Head

    City Sightseeing Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus

    24 juni 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Always a good way to see the city where you get cheap transport to all the attractions and the downtown stop was a few blocks up the street. Weather was so much better than predicted, so I bought a ticket that included the Table Mountain gondola.

    This bus tour actually had a fairly informative and entertaining audio guide. The city is very attractive with nice homes and landscaping along the residential streets as we made our 20 minute trip to the first stop at Table Mountain.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    Signal Hill with Robben Island beyond and downtown to the rightTable Mountain is connected to Lions Head which is then connected to Signal Hill

    Table Mountain

    24 juni 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    The first stop after I got on the bus was the Table Mountain cable car. It was a quiet day, I was told, but the queue was over an hour before I got on. Well worth both the cost and the wait! It is quite a spectacular view on the 65 passenger gondola as it goes up the face of the sheer cliff to the 1,086 m summit.

    The top is very expansive with a large number of hiking trails allowing views in all directions    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    Camps Bay
    Camps BayCamps BayCamps BayCamps BayLunch at Tigers Milk pub in Camps Bay1Lunch at Tigers Milk pub in Camps BayGreen Point

    Camps Bay and Cape Town Shoreline

    24 juni 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    After leaving the cable car stop, the bus makes its way down to the Atlantic shore, first at Camps Bay, then a series of stops such as Clifton, Sea Point etc. These are all very (very) affluent with beachfront and ocean views and a number of pricey homes.

    I got off at Camps Bay as it was near lunch and walked the length of the beach, then back along the promenade. Stopped for lunch at a Tigers Milk, which I think is a chain, but had a nice second floor balcony and the chicken sandwich and local pale ale were great.

    Back to the hotel at 3pm, too late for the walking tours but it was a great day, before heading out for a quick bite and what turned out to a very eventful evening    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    2
    I really don't take a great selfie. Happier than this.Lovely view of Devils Peak and some of Table Mountain comes with my suite

    Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital

    25–30 juni 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Dr. Barnard is famous for performing the world's first heart transplant here in Cape Town, almost half a century ago, and is a local hero. A private hospital named after him was replaced with a state of the art facility in 2017.. Seemed like a worthwhile sight.

    So, on Tuesday evening, I walked into a glass window in the lobby of my own hotel and fell to the floor. Lots of pain with left arm and leg/hip. Managed to get to my room, but in the morning called Canada Life, who very quickly approved my request and sent me here. Very efficient emergency department found I had broken the little knob at the tip of my elbow. Also, bruised hip and a micro fracture of the pelvis. Elbow needed repair, but the hip was minor (in terms of the injury as the quads were so painful I could not walk). Canada Life approved surgery quickly, but the paperwork to have it directly billed instead of me paying and submitting expenses took a few hours. Surgery was done Friday to allow my anticoagulant prescription to clear.

    Very impressive facility and medical care and fantastic nursing staff. Food as expected. Operation went well with my latest installation of tungsten. I am feeling well, not much pain. Great view of Devils Peak from my room too!

    So I missed my first Namibia to Botswana safari and now plan to continue my trip from the 9th of July forward. This was the more "civilized" portion compared to Namibia with 3 to 4 star hotels and good roads, etc. I will have to just drop a couple of excursions as I will not want to rush, and I will have a sling on my left arm.

    Obviously, it's not a great thing to happen, but I am recovering really well and getting great care, and listening to the advice of my surgical and physiotherapy team about what is safe to do.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    The Annex Restaurant
    1The Annex attached to hotel is a decent restaurantView across plaza from hotelOne ThibaultTop end of St. Georges MallEnd of the MallSt. Georges CathedralTable Mountain always present hereHeaven Coffee in old church - a new religion?Greenmarket Square1

    A Walk in the CBD

    2 juli 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    I was discharged on Monday, and moved back into my hotel mid-afternoon. Made a lot of progress with my pain that day and Tuesday.

    On Wednesday after lunch, the weather cleared a bit and I went for a walk around downtown. It is quite pedestrian-friendly downtown with plazas and squares. Across the plaza from my hotel is one end of St. Georges Mall, a wide pedestrianized retail street with many vendor tents and stands. It ends at St. Georges Cathedral where I came back via the historic, cobblestoned square with craft vendors galore.

    So it was nice to get out and feel I am improving, having accomplished some 8000 steps today.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    1Yes ... Clownfish sleepThere is an octopus hiding hereLionfishKelp forest

    Two Oceans Aquarium

    4 juli 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    I spent all of Thursday in the hotel, although the rain eased and sun came out late as I did not get up especially early and just felt it better to stick around. Friday opened stormy and it has stayed that way, but my plan was to go to the aquarium.

    South Africa is at the tip of the continent where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet and mix, producing conditions for a diverse and abundant sea-life. There are over 2500 species of fish here, or 16% of all the diversity in the world, and of those, a fifth are found only here, so the aquarium has much to present the visitor.

    It was pretty busy with a lot of quite young kids having a great time. I spent 3 hours here, and went over most of the exhibits rather quickly. It is one of the better aquariums I have ever been to with some magnificent large tanks, many very informative displays about just about every type of sea-life you can imagine. One large annex was dedicated to penguins of which there is a footprint to itself. There was also a very cool gallery for jellyfish. These brainless and heartless creatures range from fingernail size to over 200kg and in blooms have stopped aircraft carriers and shut down nuclear power plants. A big exhibit on sharks had a tank with some really big ones and a display with tons of cool information about the world's most deadly predator.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär

    District Six Museum

    5 juli 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Woke up to a threatening day, as I hit the road at 0800 and sure enough it started to rain just as I arrived after the 500m walk to the other hotel for breakfast, after which I caught an Uber to the District Six museum. This exhibit tells the story of one of the most notorious episodes in South Africa in the context of the background of the entire apartheid system. In 1966, the regime forcibly evicted 60,000 residents of this historic neighbourhood to outlying townships far from the city and razed the buildings to the ground to create a new whites only residential area under the Group Areas Act.

    The displays are extremely detailed with loads of small print and photos and memorabilia of the personal stories of the displaced.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    Furnished in the British style of the 19th centuryOriginal floor and furnishings from 1695Four famous African kings

    Castle of Good Hope

    5 juli 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    It was not a very long walk to the Castle to catch the early history of the Dutch colony. While the Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive at the Cape in 1488, there was little European contact until the Dutch East India Company (VOC). a commercial operation but with the mandate, reach and military power of a nation, established a halfway supply station in 1652. As trade grew and the Dutch began to import workers from Malaysia and settlers arrived, the VOC built this castle from 1666 to 1679, and it is the oldest building in South Africa.

    The VOC was not able to support their empire, and after the English captured the Cape in 1795 when the Dutch were allies of France, it was returned to the Dutch government after peace, but fell to the English yet again in 1805 when the Dutch were again allies of Napoleon. So, it is a nice strong looking fort but did not prevent conquest in the end.,

    Today, it has been well restored with some late 17th century rooms on display and a small museum of the military history,

    It was then a reasonable walk back home where I arrived at 13h30 having had over 5 hours which is quite enough time on my feet for one day,    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär

    Tour and Chapman's Peak

    6 juli 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Yesterday evening, it looked like today's weather forecast would not be a complete washout, so I booked a last minute tour through Viator. Chose a condensed half-day tour. Got picked up by my guide Bizo, then added two young Brazilian women and we headed up the coast.

    Hout's Bay is a fishing and commercial harbour and also the departure point for tours to a seal sanctuary.

    The highway along Chapman's Peak was spectacular despite wind and rain (which really doesn't show up in the photos!)    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    2
    11

    Boulders Beach Penguin Colony

    6 juli 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    The drive from Chapman's Peak soon ends in Simon's Town, which we didn't stop at, but is nicely developed with colourful period buildings, cafes, etc. around a harbour next to the SA Naval Base. Simon's Town would be a very nice base for an extended stay in the Cape.

    At the outskirts of town lies Boulders Beach Park, home to a colony of the endangered African penguin. Such cute critters!    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    Female ostriches in the wild

    Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point

    6 juli 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    We drove into the Cape National Park and stopped at the actual Cape of Good Hope. The original name given by the Portuguese in 1488 was Cape of Storms, but they wanted to promote this route as the best way to the East Indies, so changed its name for marketing reasons. The two minutes I was able to last in the wind and rain fit the earlier name better.

    We drove to Cape Point and took the funicular up to near the lighthouse from which we could see the Cape down below.

    It is neat to think you are standing at the end of a continent with nothing but Australia far far to the East, Brazil far far to the west and Antarctica far far to the South.

    We then drove back into the city. The area is all very scenic, sometimes spectacularly so, and roads and development is all very nice. We did not go into any townships, of course. Got back to my hotel about 1:30, so a nice length to the day.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    1Cape Town airport
    1Arriving at Livingstone. Accepted a wheelchair and whisked to the front of immigrationLivingstone airportNew Fairmount HotelNew Fairmount Hotel lobby1Fairmount hotelThe end of 11 248 steps1Main streetCraft and curio market

    Going to Zambia

    8 juli 2025, Sydafrika ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    At 7pm. last night, Kenya Airlines texted me they were canceling my flight today and booking me for 2 days from now. Didn't like that, so I went online to book the only alternative, an early flight on Airlink. So here I am at an empty Cape Town airport waiting for 4am and check-in to open.

    However, good breakfast in the lounge, smooth 2.5 hours to Joburg, a 2.5 hour layover, and another good flight to Livingstone. Airlink is a very good airline. Hotel picked me up, and I was in by 1:40 for a quick rest before heading out to explore the main shopping street, get some local cash and a SIM ($2.26 for 1.5gb). Livingstone is a laid back market and tourist town with lots of activity and a pretty craft market along the main street.

    Back to enjoy an iconic $1.60 Mosi lager by the pool. Hotel a blast from the past but clean, comfy, and like all of Africa so far, extremely friendly.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    JacanaBuffalo1Water Monitor LizardImpala by the river

    Chobe Game Cruise

    9 juli 2025, Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    The end of my canceled Namibia to Falls safari was in Chobe Park, famous for the wildlife along the river, including hippos, crocs and Africa's largest population of elephants. My stay in Livingstone was to include a hike in the rhino preserve, but I can't do that, so I booked an all day trip to Chobe.

    Pickup at 7 and joined two young Germans who were doing a year volunteering as teachers in northern Namibia and now is their 2 week holiday.

    Drive about an hour on the highway to the four country meeting point of Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia with multiple border crossings between each and then the crossing to Botswana on the new bridge after the various immigration formalities and a disinfection of our shoes against hoof and mouth.

    At 9am got to the meeting point at a very posh Lodge, where my bad luck reappeared. After waiting a long while, it turned out a large group who were to cruise with us were stuck in long queues at the border, so finally at 10:30, we were off on a smaller boat. It is 20 minutes up the river to where the National Park actually begins, but after 10 minutes, our motor conks out, the driver managed to get going at a slower speed, but at our first wildlife sighting -- two hippos in the distance, our motor once again died as we tried to push through thick weeds to get closer. After an hour and an attempted rescue by another boat, we finally got going, but now had little time to get into the best places. Sigh. I am not known for being a boat lover, and the whole point of this was to get to areas of high animal concentration inaccessible by land.

    However, today we saw Cape buffalo, hippos, a couple of elephants, crocs, and lots of birds. And it was an interesting and scenic ecosystem., which in most contexts of lower expectations, would have been a great outing.

    We returned to the lodge at 1pm    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    Cresta Mowana Safari Lodge
    Impala1It isn't easy having lomg legs!Greater kuduBushbuck1

    Chobe Game Drive

    9 juli 2025, Botswana ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    So back at the lodge, we had a fantastic buffet lunch before hopping on the 4x4's at 1:45 for a game drive into Chobe. Although we knew at the outset that mid-afternoon expectations for sightings are lower, this was very good with a fairly good number of sightings including a lion family hiding under some trees. Incredible numbers of antelope, especially impala, also kudu, bushbuck, zebra, giraffe, and several groupings of elephants, including a large group of thirty that crossed the road 3m in front of us on their evening move from the river to the bush for the night. I can't remember all the birds we saw, but there were eagles, pretty rollers, and tons of water birds cranes, spoonbills, hornbills, etc.

    Our driver/guide had incredible eyesight and told us lots of information about the park and its inhabitants. He drove us back to the border to meet our Zambian driver who had waited there the whole day and I got back at 6:30, so a very full day.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    1Mother-to-be. About 20 months of 22.

    Chobe's Elephants

    9 juli 2025, Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Chobe is famous for the large number of elephants, so I will make a dedicated entry on these majestic creatures. We saw several groups of elephants, both by the river and inland. Probably saw 75 or so in aggregate.

    With these elephants and other species as I was to learn throughout the various game drives, it is more than a matter of "OK I have seen that species, we can go home now". Each sighting is different -- you get to see the same species of animal, but in a different environment (water / grassland / bush), and different activities (eating / socializing / nursing / fighting / hunting), and see them at all stages of life from pregnant females, to babies to seniors.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    1

    Microlight flight over the Falls

    10 juli 2025, Zambia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    I had had this booked as a great way to truly see one of the seven wonders of the world, and it requires no physical risks to my broken limbs, so I kept it.

    They picked me up at my hotel at 8:30am and I was quickly booked in and climbed aboard.

    We did two circles over the Falls, seeing both sides and different angles. We also flew over the game reserve where some of the last white rhinos in the world live. I had booked a walking safari to see them, but had to cancel, so was delighted to see the rhinos, albeit from 300 feet. There were also two 1 day old newborns with their mother that was special to see.
    Short flight and a lot of fun.

    Was not allowed to take photos as they take a video plus stills they send via download link. Hope the video shows what I saw from my seat.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär

    Livingstone Museum

    10 juli 2025, Zambia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    After the flight, they took me right back to my hotel where I just chilled until lunch when I headed down the main drag, stopping for lunch at a nice restaurant along the way to what is considered Zambia's best museum.

    It had galleries covering just about every topic, from early hominids to stone age tools to village tribal life and the complete history of Zambia to modern politics. The natural history gallery had a pretty complete set of nice dioramas of just about all aspects of animal and plant life.

    Finally there as a room devoted to David Livingstone with many of his own possessions and a collection of his letters. An interesting life and he is actually still admired by the Zambian people today.

    The museum is quite old and the style of the displays old school, but the descriptive text is very complete. The main issue was the lighting was poor and half of the text placards were too dark to read.

    Walked all the way back to the hotel, and just had 20 minutes before getting picked up by a driver I booked to take me to the falls national park entrance.

    No photos allowed inside, so just the Penguins footprint here.    Läs mer

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsAfricaResenär
    There is a man with fishing nets out there!1

    Victoria Falls at Moonrise

    10 juli 2025, Zambia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The driver we took to the border for the Chobe tour was very nice and a safe driver, so I booked him to take me out the next evening. My driver went by a couple of the interesting places to visit on a 'future' trip before dropping me off at the park gates where I paid the admission and walked to the viewing points. The first couple to the left showed my my first glimpse of the amazing power of the falls. I kept going towards the Knife Edge Bridge, but soon the trail got very wet and started down a series of steep staircases a bit past spot 19 on the map. It was too dangerous for me to proceed with a crutch, only to just get a soaking at the end anyway, so I turned back. Then I went right from the entrance past the lunar viewing point at spot 17 down the Rainbow Trail to an area of the rapids just above the Eastern Cataract, Amazing fast flowing river, then I see a man walking from rock to rock or knee deep in the river with a fishing dip net in each hand scooping in the water for fish. Incredibly dangerous looking and I would be amazed there would be many fish to catch and from I could see, he did not have any success.

    I made my way back to the viewing pint at 6:30 and was the only person there, but I had been told the moonbow looks good after 7pm. Soon enough, the sun was completely down and this misty, delicate rainbow appears in front of the falls. I had a prime position at a stone pillar to support my camera, and when I looked back, noticed I had been joined by 30 or more sightseers.

    Quite a unique sight that only happens at a few places in the world.
    Got back to the driver and my hotel and a dinner comped by the manager!

    The 5 miles I covered for the day left me a bit sore and tired, but I was quite recovered even by bedtime, and the exercise aids in my healing.    Läs mer

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