Mistybleu

Heading hwest out of Kathmandu by completing a 6 ½ hour drive (200 km) or an hour plane ride in the Pokhara Valley is the city of Pokhara. Known as the “city of 7 lakes” it brings you even closer to the Himalayas than in Kathmandu.

Pokhara second largest city in Nepal and can be considered a ‘holiday resort’; as it is one of the main centres where people can access the mountains. Only 30km away you can start climbing the first peak. There are wonderful views of all around the city of the Annapurna ranges within a sub-tropical setting.

Sarangkot stands at only 1592 meters high and a climb up takes about 3 hours if completed from the trail near the Phewa Lake in Pokhara. It is also possible to cheat and take a taxi (for around 100 NPR) up there. From the taxi drop off point there is a lookout point so if you are really unfit this is the best place to get some really great pictures of the Annapurna Ranges. Failing that, you can continue up a mixture of concrete steps and footpaths to the top for really majestic views. It is meant to take 45 minutes and the climb is a little strenuous, but it kind of takes your breath away when you see the full glory of the Himalayas.

One of the best spots to sight tigers, Ranthambore national park has only 38 which is probably 3% of the world’s total wild population. It is set on 400sq miles of lush green Indian jungle and has a wealth of animals to spot, the most common being the spotted dear, plus wild boar, peacocks, mongoose and marsh crocodiles; but definitely the main attraction is the tigers.

There are many picturesque spots that offer views over the lakes and mountain ranges and for some reason it has an air of mystery, maybe it comes from its heritage. Originally the park used to be the hunting grounds for the maharajas and the fort and palace can still be seen here.

The Park is opened from October to June and is located just outside the small town of Sawai Madhopur. It costs around £6 to enter and can be reached easily by train from Delhi, Agra or Jaipur. It is a perfect add on to the Golden Triangle trip,

I never really considered going to Poland, but after a recent trip to the Czech Republic, I was told ‘if you like Prague, you’ll love Krakow’, so naturally it I had to see for myself.

The old town is very compact; the medieval main market square (Rynek Glowny), complete with pigeons, is a hive of activity, and I spent all day just wondering around and enjoying the cafes, restaurants, shops and street performers, and then in the evening just party the night away. There was even a Christmas market what added a nice touch.

All building that surrounds the square tells a fairytale, from the old post office to the most famous restaurant in Krakow Wierzynek that comprised of three houses.

Some of the things to see are: Cloth Hall, this building was originally a covered market with stall and shops selling textiles; now it sells souvenirs whilst upstairs has a museum; the Statue of Adam Michiewicz (a poet) is more of a meeting point however at present it was being renovated; the town hall located inside the tower and at each end churches – St Adalbert Church (a small and oddly shaped) and St Mary’s Church.

I classify this as the day I nearly died. White water rafting can be fun, but on the grade five Zambezi River, in the dry season when the river is low, seemed suicidal.

It started early with huge breakfast at our campsite, then we went into the briefing room to learn how to raft in one easy lesson. I was a little unsure, but I kind of thought ‘what is the worst that could happen?’ What they didn’t tell us was the about 3 people a year die doing this. But maybe it was just as well, because I so wanted to bail out.

It was at the Three Ugly Sisters where I nearly drowned after the raft capsized. My nightmare wasn’t over, I still had 10 rapids to go… Now I can look back as say what an incredible experience.

On the Zambian side access to Victoria Falls is from the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park aka ‘The Smoke Which Thunders’. Flanked by the mighty Zambezi River, the park is an UNESCO World Heritage site and is separated into two parts, the falls area and the wildlife sanctuary that has only remaining white rhinos in Zambia and roaming elephant.

I took the opportunity (even though the sign said not to) amble across the riverbed, and walk all the way around. I think that was the highlight of being at the falls. There were a few local guys who showed me the safest way to cross for a small fee; but it was definitely worth every penny.

In the flood season March-April the falls are at its strongest. At its lowest during November to December, it only has a few cataracts and most of the river is dry. However this is the best time to white water raft all the way through the Batoka Gorge.

My main 6 areas that should be discovered when visiting Botswana are:

Kalahari Desert – the vast area receives too much water to be regarded as a ‘classic’ arid zone. However desert areas exist and are inhabited by the San people.

Okavango Delta – The Okavango River rises in Angola and empties in the Kalahari Desert and produces a wonderful delta where birds and animals enjoy abundance.

Chobe National Park – provides an ideal opportunity to do some bird watching as it encompasses the Chobe River (personally not as great as Etosha NP in Namibia) but there are a myriad of animals to be seen.

Makagadikgadi & Nxai Pans National Park – These cover over 80,000 sq km and the landscape is like no other. The pans sizzle in the heat of the day creating mirages.

Kgalakgadi Trans-Frontier Park – the Mabuasehube-Gemsbok NP and South Africa ‘s Kalahari-Gemsbok NP have combined to form a wilderness of over 28,00sq km. Mixing red dunes and salt pans.

Ghanzi – The San People who were formally know as the bushmen are indigenous to Botswana (and Namibia) and have lived here for over 30,000 years. It was truly an incredible experience to get an understanding of what Africa was like so many years ago and how the people survived in these desert conditions when their very existence was based on the land.

When the park was first mapped out it covered over 100 sq km. Now at around 23sq km, it is still a massive park and a wealth of animals can be found there. When people do a safari they expected to see the big five (buffalo, rhino, elephant, lion and leopard) and Etosha doesn’t disappoint.

One of the park’s greatest selling points is the watering holes that surround the camps (there are three main camps – Okaukuejo, Halali and Namutoni Gate). It’s like being in a theatre and you sit in the dress circle as the animals enter stage right, perform their lines, drink and then exit the stage as the audience applauds and this happens night and day.

We spent a cosy late night, huddled together, sipping hot chocolate with marshmallows as the animals performed their evening performance – a lion, hyena, giraffes, elephants, one after the other. It was pure bliss.