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4 kids world tour year

agosto 2022 - julho 2023
With mum and dad, we visit 36 countries on a world tour in 365 days. We visit schools, homes, and hospitals to experience the lives of other children Leia mais
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  • 4 kids world tour year
    Dia 18

    Arusha to Nairobi: School start

    22 de agosto de 2022, Quênia ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Today, we travel back to Kenya, to Nairobi from Arusha. In Arusha, we had a lovely little hotel in a strange part of town. The bright star hotel is great value. Two rooms with breakfast for 6 people cost only $55. If you stay here, you might be disquited by the approach as the road is a total mess, and the area at 1st seems to be poor, but the hotel is well protected and has good rooms and nice staff. It also provides a good dinner for $5, but expect to wait longer than an hour that they say it will take.

    I also investigate how to get to the border. There are apps like Gettransfer.com & Rome2Rio and advisory sites like TripAdvisor, and if I had used them, we would pay $100-$220. So I asked the hotel and called the local taxi company, who both quoted $100. So, I resorted to the African approach. I contacted the friend of our driver in Moshi ( Praygod - really his name!), called Erasto, and asked him if he had a friend who could take us. Of course he did, stupid to even consider he didn't. Price $60. Stilla bit high, but should I waste time and take risks for maybe $10-15 savings? So we take the friend of the friend Felix. His English is not great, but he has a good car, but it looks like there isn't enough space for luggage because he has four large drums in the boot. I suggest he offload them and pick them up later. No, no, he has to deliver them on the route. heh, this is Africa, and so it all fits somehow.

    Kids are happy to start the school year by sending whatsapp photos to friends to tease them as Geneva school restarts today. They are schooling in the car. Then we have a surprise, we encounter 4 giraffes on the road. This is the main Tanzania to Kenya highway, so more photos, more stuff to tease friends in Geneva.

    Soon after, Felix stops at a post office to deliver his drums. A very small amount is spilt. It's cow's milk🥛 . Turns out Felix's sideline is to deliver milk in whatever drums he happens to have.

    After 90 minutes, despite the odd duststorm, we reach the border. We had already had our passports checked twice, 30km, and 10km from the border, and we are about to find out why.

    Felix is paid $5 to negotiate a good price for a taxi to Nairobi. So we cross the border at an unofficial crossing , where locals have damaged a concrete barrier enough that a car can cross. This is the unofficial taxi stand, whereby optically it's not like anything you would find in Europe. Cars, small busses, chaoticly parked, currency dealers, and plenty shady guys. Felix tells some locals what we want, and then two sprint off at high speed running to find their friend 😤. Two minutes later a car arrives. Felix negotiates $80 , so he gets his $5, and we go. By comparison, I paid $150 the other way.

    Bernard is our new driver, namesake of Flo's dad and Oscar's middle name. He tells us we are in Kenya as we drive aling a dusty narrow street. We then pass the official border, and to be clear, we pass it by, with no control at all. The shuttle bus has to stop there for 2 hours. So, the official route is 6 hours. The unofficial route is 4 hours. Onward to Nairobi with kids studying in the back 😀.

    I was intending to end there, but the fun continued. First, we saw vultures, loads of them feasting on a zebra carcass, and then later, the road is blocked by a herd of 🐫.    Leia mais

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  • 4 kids world tour year
    Dia 19

    Kigali sad past, hopeful future

    23 de agosto de 2022, Ruanda ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    On our way this morning to Kigali, the capital of 🇷🇼 Rwanda. A country with a terrible genocide not 30 years ago, that is now the fastest growing country in Africa. It's also a lot in the news because of its deal with the UK to take in asylum seekers.

    For the first time on this trip, Flo and I don't know what to expect, as we have never been to Kigali before.

    Departure from Kenya is very smooth, it's really nice that Kenya has become a much friendlier place to visit. ( But plan to be at airport early, as there are two checks before the check in, though white people seem to be waived through the 1st one). African airports, unlike those in Europe, seem to have a few delays, and there are no significant queues.

    I had lost a little sleep because I realized that our quick crossing of the border in Namanga by the back door, meant that we lacked an entry stamp into Kenya, but whilst the very jovial passport officer noticed it, he did not make anything of it. In the past, this might have cost time or chai. (If officials in Kenya ask for a cup of chai, you know you have a problem that only money will fix.

    Well, we arrive just before midday in Kigali, and wow, this is like a different planet, clean, modern, and organized. Beautiful streets lined with grass and trees. Modern, well constructed buildings. Something we haven't seen in Africa before. We thought maybe it's only a fancy show, close to the airport, but no construction, roads and the general environment is so much better than we have seen before. ( Let's see what it's like outside Kigali), but Rwanda at least initially surprises massively on the upside.

    Our first stop is the genocide memorial. It's a strange place. The small museum is ok, but quite close to what is in Wikipedia with good photos and videos added. Three of the children, who are under 12 are not allowed in, because it's too graphic, which I think is not the case, but hey I let Alex watch Kill Bill at age 4 or 5. So we don't learn much new. However, there are mass graves, I am not sure how many, and they are stark in their simplicity. Rectangular slabs of concrete, about 5m x 4m, with no decoration, no label, no names. In some ways, I feel it reflects the horror these people suffered. We can't pretend God took them, that it was justified.

    I attach only 1 photo of the memorial .

    After that, we visit a local market, Kimironko, and then we are back in the Africa we know, bustling, chaotic, and not that clean. The children are at 1st intimidated. Everyone wants us to buy veg, fruit, live chickens, geese, oils, coffee, household goods, trousers etc. It's quite large, and most sellers have little stock, so compared to Switzerland, the staffing level is maybe 100x higher. We have some fun buying two mangoes , some limes and avocados at about 20% of the Swiss price, and the sellers seem happy that we paid way too much.

    I'm off now to sleep in a hotel, where we have one room with 3 double beds. A "standard triple room" 😉    Leia mais

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  • 4 kids world tour year
    Dia 20

    Volcano Park Rwanda

    24 de agosto de 2022, Ruanda ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We leave Kigali at 0900 for the Northern province and Volcano park, which is famous for gorillas. We will not even try to see them as that would cost $12,000!. So we plan to chill after the hectic of the trip so far. Fun fact for gorilla watchers, you need a negative covid pcr test done locally.

    We plan to do some walks in the lutious tropical forest.

    The journey here is over high mountain roads that are higher than 2000m. There is a lot of activity along the road with goods such as sweet potatoes, bananas, coconut, and much more moving up and down on bycles. The bikes are carrying upwards of 100kg, and many need 2 or 3 people to push uphill. I ask the driver, they must have good brakes for downhill." No, he says they don't. They use their feet!

    I ask the driver why there is not a co-op approach to have a shared van. He says it exists, but the vast majority of transport from farms is still by bicycle.    Leia mais

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  • 4 kids world tour year
    Dia 21

    Gokoro & Twin Lakes

    25 de agosto de 2022, Ruanda ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Today, we went for a guided hike on one of Rwanda's "hills," colline Gakoro, to be precise. The description "hill" is a little misleading as it is 2400m high, as are many of the others. ( The land of the 1000 hills has approximately 8,500 hills). Gakoro has good views of the 3 volcanoes that are the border region of Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo. Unlike elsewhere in Africa, everywhere is green and lutious, no sign of drought. That is the case, right the way to the top, and the volcanoes look the same, and they reach 4100m. I asked our guide, Peterson, if it ever snowed. "No, never" was his reply.

    On the way to the start of our walk, we pass through several villages. The construction looks good, but the people lack running water, and the farmers here also transport potatoes by bicycle. Plots of land are small, and there are a lot of people. The average age in Rwanda is only 19!, and due to the genocide there are very few people over 50. These sights re-emphasise that lifting the countryside out if poverty won't be easy, and that is 60% of the population. ( In Switzerland, 2% are farmers).

    There is one tradition here that serves the people well, before you get married, you have to build your own home and plant an allotment with banana and avocados. Well, in theory, it's good, but I suspect that with a strong increase in population, it's unsustainable.

    Peterson had said the walk was easy, and technically, it was, even if it went up and up for two hours. He missed that for northern Europeans walking uphill in full sun at 28C, is a little strenuous. I am glad to say, however, that with a few short breaks, we made it with reserves to spare.

    Of course, just as we were reaching the top, we were overtaken by 3 ,15 year old girls, each of whom was carrying 20 kg on their heads in yellow plastic containers. The kids and Flo tried to lift one of them, and they just about managed to lift one off the ground. The girls, and especially their necks, must be really strong, incredible really from a European perspective.

    Also near the top is a nice new health centre, funded as the plaque says by the Chinese, via a company that they presumably own that provides television. Where the West fails to act or, in the case of the UK, drops out, China is ready to step in, which will have consequences.

    Throughout our walk, we are accompanied by between 3 and 15 local kids. It's school holidays and so there are plenty around. Nora made friends with one holding her hand and walking together for almost an hour. You can see in my photos a short video of her singing. Most of the kids speak a small amount of English. They ask our names and where we come from. Others we pass by simply shout "hallo." The children are warm and friendly to us , and don't hassle, as happens elsewhere.

    We picnic on the top, and half of our food that we don't eat is eagerly taken by our new friends. Their poverty is visible in torn clothes that often have holes, too, but they are nice, cheerful kids, with ambitions, and hopes for some at least of a better life.

    We decend to lake Burera, and then go down to Lake Ruhondo. We cross the lake in a small boat, and then go to a restaurant for a drink. I have a beer for $1. We joke about ordering some of the items on the menu, for example, a whole goat for $80.

    We head back to the hotel around 6 and order food by phone in the hope the kids will be in bed by 8 pm. We'll no fast food here. The beef stew is delicious even if it's just reaching the table at 8pm. Kids do go to bed relatively easily as at 9 pm they are more than exhausted.    Leia mais

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  • 4 kids world tour year
    Dia 22

    School, chilling and dancing in Musanse

    26 de agosto de 2022, Ruanda ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Today, nothing is planned. We all need to slow down a bit.

    Kids are getting better in home schooling, not asking questions all the time, being more focused, and mastering the basics of writing on tablets, managing files, etc.

    Another guest tells us there is something going on from 2pm, local arts, crafts and music, do we go at 1730, only to discover it closes at 1800, but, but, but, boy did we have fun in that hour, dancing almost the entire time. After my hilarious attempts, one by one, the whole family joined in, and then two boys from the dance group took it upon themselves to show the kids how to dance like a local. See the videos. There is a lot of unplanned fun.    Leia mais

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  • 4 kids world tour year
    Dia 23

    Leaving Rwanda

    27 de agosto de 2022, Ruanda ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    We had planned to leave Musanse around midday, but late yesterday the driver who was coming from Kigali said there was a problem that between 0800 and 1100 was umuganda. That is once a month , when everyone is obliged to serve the community, it is also a time to make friends. If you get caught skipping it, you get a $5 fine, which is not insignificant for most Rwandans. The driver explained that is how they clean up the cities and villages and do other useful work for the community. We told him not to risk trouble, so he left at 1100 and arrived just before 1400.

    See here the bbc on umuganda
    https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200105-the…

    The children home schooled in the morning, and then the little ones played with the local kids. When it was time to leave, the kids and especially Nora, were sad to leave. The hotel hosts, Alice and Peterson were outstanding at their jobs, and truly nice people. Alice gave Oscar some sugar cane as a leaving present, just as she had given him some banana beer the day before, after he demanded it. However, he was not so keen on it. Note that it's 14% alcohol 🍸 🤣.

    On the road back it was a lot quieter than on the way there, but there were a few new sights, for example a wedding, and many people going to church. Apparently, Adventists here go to church on a Saturday. The bride and groom are an illustration of just how poor people are: they are walking a long way because they can't afford a car and the driver thinks they borrowed the wedding dress and suit from the church.

    Quiet night watching the last hour of Out of Africa, ready for tomorrow's early start to Namibia. Not forgetting dinner in the nicest airport hotel ever. Beautiful tropical garden, views of Kigali and the hills.    Leia mais

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  • 4 kids world tour year
    Dia 24

    Stopover Day

    28 de agosto de 2022, África do Sul ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today, we don't do much because we fly Kigali, Lusaka, Johannesburg, and finally Windhoek.

    The 1st plane stops in Lusaka, Zambia, we don't get off the plane. We get to Johannesburg more or less on time, then navigate our way through transfer, which includes all passports being checked and stamped.

    12 hours after we started, we were in Windhoek. The only thing I had not reckoned with is that the airport is 50km from the city, so we have to take two long taxi rides.    Leia mais

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  • 4 kids world tour year
    2
    Dia 25

    Kalahari Dessert

    29 de agosto de 2022, Namíbia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We left Windhoek around 1400, after 2 hours spent picking up the camper, which was mostly useful advice and instructions, and two hours stocking up at a local supermarket. I have no idea why the latter took so long, as I stayed in the Camper, and in that time, read the entire history of Namibia (Lonely Planet version). That would form the basis of a history and politics lesson later in the day.

    The GPS instructions to get to our campsite in the Kalahari could hardly be simpler. Drive South for 188km, turn left for 40km, drive South for 8km. There are so few roads that a taxi driver could know them all. There are basically two standards of road "B", and "C" or "D". They could also just call them "good" and "bad" roads, with the good ones having tarmac and the other ones not. Those instructions on driving the camper were worth the time.

    We arrived at the campsite around 1700. We are greater by the owner, Louise Janssen. She explains how here workers heat the water with a wood fire, twice a day, and a few other practical things.

    Her husband shows up, and he offers a quick tour of the living area, if you don't mind standing on the back of a jeep. We don't, so we are off. There are Giraffes springbok and other wildlife. Louise explained that outside the 2km × 2km area she has 1200 sheep, and that she is pretty sure, when asked by the children about lions, that there are none around, because there are no dead sheep. Since the kids are always interested/worried about deadly animals and reptiles, she did say we might see snakes, but the only real danger is standing on scorpions 🦂. So wear proper shoes, not flip-flops! Advice noted 😉.

    The cousins Audwyn and Cedric, who joined us in Windhoek, set up a barbecue using their scouting skills ( kindle with grass, then small sticks, and so on) We all settle down to enjoy the food because we are really hungry, though not in any way starving. That metaphor is out in place here. Delicious 😋.

    Before we settle down for the night 🌙, we spend a good half our staring in amazement at the charity and number of the stars 🌟. My various attempts to photograph this fail, but Florence wins penis points for having chosen the best phone camera (Samsung S20 Ultra), and her pictures are amazing 👏.

    Children go easily to bed, which allows time and peace to enjoy the stars and a Namibian beer for another hour.    Leia mais

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  • 4 kids world tour year
    Dia 26

    Ai Ais & Fish River Canyon

    30 de agosto de 2022, Namíbia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Today, we travelled the loooong road from the Kalahari to Fish River canyon and Ai Ais hot springs.

    Google Maps claimed it would take 6 hours, but in fact, it took 9, which was a little critical because we arrived at 18:46. The reception closes at sunset, in this case, 18:45. Now in Africa, timing is rarely exact, but in this case, it was however. As we approached the gate, a car came the other way and gestured that we stop. Hi I'm Mathew, do you have a booking? Yes, we do. Ok, then just use any vacant parking and come see me in the morning. Swiss punctuality without the fixation on following the rules.

    In parts the road was terrible, and the camper shook like crazy stress testing everything, and indeed a couple of latches fell off , and the trim around the microwave cracked But all in all given the level of stress and the duration, the camper held up well.

    We visited Fush River canyon, and although it is supposedly the 2nd largest in the world, I was somewhat underwhelmed. Similarly, the hot springs at Ais-Ais, which it turns out, are 65C and, as far as we could tell, not visible at the surface. They do provide hot water for the largish pool.

    Since the trip was so long, and it was getting late, we ate at the site restaurant and tried out onyx steaks and hamburgers. Not bad, I have to say, and $70 for eight meals, including drinks, is not bad.    Leia mais

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  • 4 kids world tour year
    Dia 28

    Lüderitz

    1 de setembro de 2022, Namíbia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We wake up unexpectedly to thick fog. Yes, we are on the Atlantic coast, but we are in the tropics and in the Namib desert 🏜. We get up later than usual, and around midday, we head for Kolmanskopp, a ghost town near Lüderitz. The town thrived 100 years ago mining diamonds. Later, as cheaper sources were available, it fell into disuse. Now it's a bit eerie with pushchairs and toys that were left a long, long time ago. The atmosphere is, however, disturbed somewhat by a large American film crew using the site for a drama.

    In the afternoon, we head down the coast to Diaz Point, where there is a lighthouse, beach, and very lonely coffee shop. We have a picnic of cheese and ham sandwiches on the rock's next to the beach. Nora announces she needs a Kaka , so I, never one to turn down a coffee, volunteer to take her to the loo at the coffee shop. Nora does her thing, whilst I enjoy my first latte in 3 weeks, for the meagre sum of $1.8. The waitress says to me, "You see those tourists there please tell them to come here." I smile politely. (We see six other people all afternoon).

    Then, there are two little dramas. 1st, I don't quite trust my eyes, but that looks like a snake! Is it dead? I call the others, especially snake fan Lennox. Still, the question is, "dead or alive?", but after a short time, the snake answers the question. Stand back, children! Later, we identify it as a rather dangerous thorn headed viper.

    The 2nd is the other tourists, who also came to photograph the snake, tell me you should replace that tyre it's not safe and yes the 4cm long tear does not look good. Then, without asking the others, a local and German set about changing the tyre for us. We all feel a bit stupid but thankful we learned how to do it.

    "Stop after 1km and check the bolts are tight," so we did, and by chance, we stopped where there were lots of very pink flamingoes. Every time the children moved closer, the birds moved the same distance away, until after about 800m, the birds had had enough and flew off.

    In the evening, for food, we visited Lüderitz downtown. It was the days 2nd ghost town, except for three bars with pool tables. Eventually, we found a restaurant open, and several of us were so hungry we ordered twice.

    Flo and I had beer, and although the menu suggested ladies should take 250ml Flo risked it and also took a half litre.

    After food we ordered a taxi. The price is $1.1 each. The driver has a 4 seater Toyota, but he is happy to take all 8 if we don't! 😀    Leia mais

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