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Pucon: A guide to Chile’s adventure capital

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One of my favourite places in Chile was the adventure capital of Pucón. Not least because of my excursion up the side of an active volcano. But more on that later.

If exciting activities grab your attention, then Pucón is the place for you. There is a whole heap of activities to try out, from hiking and hot springs to white-water rafting and skydiving. It takes roughly 8.5 hours to travel south to Pucón from the capital Santiago, some 800km away. Alternatively, if you’re travelling north through Patagonia as I was, then it’s a good stopping point after the likes of Puerto Montt, Valdivia, Puerto Varas or even Bariloche to the East.

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How to drink maté

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As an Englishman it always confuses people when I say I don’t drink tea. “But you’re British!” they protest. Well sorry to ruin your stereotype. I don’t drink coffee either and that really messes people up. “Well what do you have with breakfast?” As difficult as it seems for some people to understand, it’s nothing compared to the complexity of drinking maté. (more…)

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12 days, 5,453 km, 4 countries, 2 tents, and another VW: Part Two

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To read the first part of our African road trip click here.

While we were in Maun we had some free time so decided to take advantage and plan our onward route. Louise had to be in Windhoek in a couple of days and was planning to take a bus from Maun, whereas myself and Céline were hoping to go to Kgalagadi National Park. Unfortunately that appeared impossible from the Botswana side without a 4×4. We’re gonna need some bigger tyres for the Polo!

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12 days, 5,453 km, 4 countries, 2 tents, and another VW: Part One

Read more about the article 12 days, 5,453 km, 4 countries, 2 tents, and another VW: Part One

I’d been back in Windhoek barely an hour after my week exploring some of the highlights of Namibia when the next part of my Southern Africa trip began. I was chatting to the people in my dorm when I met Céline, a girl from Belgium who was travelling alone and happened to have a rental car. As we talked it appeared we had similar plans and she asked if I’d like to join her.

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The Wondrous Victoria Falls

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One of the things I really wanted to see on my recent trip to Africa was Victoria Falls. Now you might think that would be fairly easy to accomplish. Just organise your itinerary around a visit to the waterfalls. However, on so many trips I’ve never actually reached several of the places I wanted to visit. Usually because I get distracted by new, amazing sights I hear about on the way and I run out of time.

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3 Nights in Kasane: Hungry, Hungry Hippos

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I was travelling around Namibia and Botswana with two girls I met in Windhoek, Céline and Louise. One of our first stops was a three night stay in Kasane, just across the Namibian border in the north-east of Botswana.

I’d never heard of the place before we decided to travel there but it was in a perfect location for other sights we wanted to visit and it’s such a beautiful area. The border crossing alone was one of the most stunning I’ve seen. As we entered Botswana we drove straight through the Chobe National Park and saw plenty of wildlife. We found a place to stay right next to the Chobe River; Chobe Safari Lodge. It was one of the nicest places I stayed during my three months in Africa. Just as we were checking in we were treated to a beautiful, red African sunset over the river. We knew we were in the right place.

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Etosha National Park: Elephant Bullies and Noisy Rhinos

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As part of my week-long tour around the best of Namibia I visited Etosha National Park. This was my first African safari experience and the clear highlight of the week. I had two nights there with Benjamin, my guide, arriving mid afternoon at Namutoni on the east side for our first camp.

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Namibia Part 2: R Kelly and a VW Viva

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After eventually leaving Swarkopmund the guides I was supposed to meet in Usakos hadn’t arrived yet. Instead we met them further along towards Windhoek at a random gas station. I had already met one of them, Kefas, from a couple of tours in Windhoek and now I was introduced to Benjamin.

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Namibia Part 1: Germans, taxis and sand dunes

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Namibia was my first real taste of Africa and somewhere I’d been wanting to go for a few years. I just wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do there. I’d read about Etosha National Park in the north, but other than that I had no idea what there was to see. In Windhoek I found a company that booked excursions and they organised a whole week of activities for me, including Etosha, together with accommodation, transport and some meals. The plan was altered on pretty much a daily basis after this. In fact, on the day I was supposed to leave the plan changed so I would be doing it the opposite way round. For a very German country, organisation is not a strong point.

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A guide to Windhoek

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I spent more time in the Namibian capital than I’d have preferred or recommend but that at least allows me to give a decent guide to the place. I landed in Windhoek airport, which is a whole 45km from the actual city, pretty late so didn’t get first look around until the following day. At which point my first task was to find out what there was to do. (more…)

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