Philippines

After 24 hours of trains, taxis, planes, buses, layovers, delays and ferries we managed to make it from Tokyo to a tiny island called Malapascua, on the northern tip of Cebu in the Philippines. On the way we'd flown through a progressively worrying lightning storm, and once we landed it hadn't taken long to realise that it wasn't appropriate weather for snow boots.

The contrast with Japan was immediately noticeable, electronic toilets had been replaced by bowls where you had to use a jug to flush away any contents left by yourself or previous users.

Our first real glimpses of the country came from our taxi ride to the bus station, weaving between ridiculous traffic and hoards of people. The radio was blasting out an interview of a government official screaming about the country's war on drugs, before the news reporter told of extrajudicial killings by the police. We decided at that point to stay clear of narcotics.

Once in Malapascua we settled into a routine which even the most talented writer would struggle to make interesting for a blog. Early nights, early mornings, eating, drinking and laying in the sun. I settled into a week long gym routine which lasted 13 minutes of the first day, with my only other exercise consisting of poking Sammie with a stick every 30 minutes to make sure she was still breathing.

The island was beautfiul, we were staying in a basic little wooden shack on the beach only a few yards from the water, with the sound of breaking waves sending us to sleep every night. This was all very soothing until a storm hit one night with the water nearly up to our door and the flimsy wooden walls threatening to fly off into the night.

We managed to escape our daily routine only once, going on a boat trip around the island to some snorkeling sights. We hadn't managed to make it onto our boat before Sammie once again impressed with her ability to locate and stand on sea urchins, this time managing to fall into a hole in ankle deep, clear water. After a good day swimming around some coral reef and through a shipwreck just off the island, we were rushing back for happy hour and our £1.15 cocktails.

Another day of travel started as we left Malapascua to head back to mainland Cebu. Our 30 minute boat ride took well over 2 hours, with half the passengers having to unload onto dinghies before we left because we were stuck on a sandbank, followed by a long wait at the other end as we couldn't make it to the pier in the low tide. Once across we took a couple of buses to Moalboal at the opposite end of Cebu.

Our time here promised to be a bit more energetic, with plenty of activities to try and lure Sammie away from her sunbed. The first of these was Kawasan falls, a series of waterfalls and turquoise lagoons which looked like something out of a Peter Andre music video. We spent the day here swimming, playing on rope swings and arguing when Sammie forgot to press the button to record me jumping off a waterfall.

The next morning we were up at 5 to head across the island to Oslob, where whale sharks had been lured towards the coast for tourists to queue up and swim with. It was an amazing experience, swimming a couple of meters away from fish which looked like they could swallow you whole. The staff were pretty strict, making sure that you kept your distance and didn't touch the sharks. Riding one was out of the question.

Back at the hostel we rented a couple of snorkels, the decision to save a tiny amount of money by renting from a local woman backfired, when what she gave us were basically oversized straws. We were staying on panagsama beach, where virtually as soon as you step into the water you can see coral reef and colourful fish. About 20 meters from the beach there's a steep drop, where millions of sardines swim together, making huge black clouds in the water. After spending some time swimming with the sardines we spotted a huge green sea turtle slowly gliding along below us. In my excitement to get near him I sliced my foot on some coral, cancelling any plans for our last day in Moalboal.

That was about it for the Philippines, we took a taxi back to Cebu City to get some sleep before an early flight. The country exceeded our expectations, it was completely laid back which was a refreshing change after Korea and Japan. I'd recommend for everyone to visit, particularly if you're old, fat, white and male as they seemed to have a real knack at finding young, slim, attractive Filipino women. Dirty old bastards.

In our taxi to the airport the driver created a festive atmosphere, singing along to 'Santa Claus is coming to town' before nodding off at the wheel. Merry Christmas.

Japan

After a year in Korea we were back on the road again. We left our apartment in Hwamyeong and caught the metro to Busan’s airport, after a short flight we were boarding another train into the heart of Osaka.

An old city port, Osaka is a city thriving with a blend of traditional Japanese culture fused with culture brought in from the port. We thought we’d take advantage of this mix by heading to the one of the city’s hidden gems, Universal Studios Japan. Here we managed a pretty good ratio of five hours of queuing for every four minutes of rides, with Sammie walking around Harry Potter World looking ten times happier than when I proposed to her.

That night we headed into the downtown area of the city, Dotonbori, where the streets were lit up with multistory neon lights and ridiculously crowded with people. We made our way round the alleys to find some street food, before spending a good amount of time trying to find the area’s famous ‘running man’ sign, which it turned out that we were stood directly under.

After Osaka we headed on a surprisingly cheap train to Kyoto, a nearby city famous for its 400+ shrines. We had a picnic lunch on the riverbank listening to an elderly Japanese man playing some oriental sounding music on his flute. After that we spent our time in the area visiting several shrines that seemed to be dotted along every street, climbing a couple of mountains and endlessly searching for cheap food and beer.

A popular theme in Kyoto, and the rest of Japan, was trying to get a decent picture of the landmarks whilst surrounded by hundreds of tourists trying to do the same thing. This was particularly true in the bamboo forest, where the natural beauty of the area was ruined by the line of people who looked like they were queuing to get out of there.

However next to the forest was a national park, where the peak of a mountain was home to hundreds of monkeys. They had a good system in place where people where kept inside a cage and the monkeys roamed free outside, sticking their hands through the wire to grab some peanuts or banana from you. The whole area was made even more beautiful because of the autumnal leaves which turned the hillsides different shades of red and orange.

After a good few days in Kyoto we were gently broken back into travelling life, with a 5am rise for a 7 hour bus to Hiroshima. This wasn’t too much of an issue due to the absolute luxury of Japanese buses and because we’d been going to bed around 8pm every night to watch Making a Murderer. I think our partying days are a distant memory.

Despite going to Hiroshima almost solely to see the city’s history, it turned out to be our favourite place in Japan, alongside Kyoto. The city had a really laid back atmosphere, everything was easy and everyone was friendly. The city was great to walk around, with rivers, castles and a good mix of traditional Japanese areas alongside a modern centre. The Christmas songs and twinkling lights were enough to keep Sammie smiling and it was only infrequently that she told me she hated me for keeping her away from home for Christmas.

Miyajima island is a major tourist hub and just a short tram ride and ferry from the centre of Hiroshima. We got their expecting a floating shrine and similar architecture as we’d seen throughout the shrines in Kyoto, but we were amazed to find the island swarming with deer. They were everywhere, stealing people’s maps, nicking people’s food and making kids cry. You can’t have a bad day when there’s deers about.

After filling an SD card with deer pictures, we headed on a walk over a mountain to the far side of the island. Here we saw some pretty waterfalls and learnt that even strong looking tree branches can’t hold the weight of an 80kg adult male.

On the final day in Hiroshima we visited the area directly below where the atomic bomb exploded, which had been turned into a peace park to commemorate those lost and educate people about the dangers of these bombs. In the centre of the park is a museum, which gave us eyewitness accounts of what happened on the day, alongside mangled steel, burnt roof tiles and bloodied school uniforms. It was all pretty graphic and disturbing, but something we’re glad we saw.

On the banks of the river in the peace park is the Hiroshima A-Dome, a building which miraculously was left standing despite being 160m below the point of detonation and surrounded by rubble. This was a great example of Japan’s history and present, where a strangely beautiful building with such a grave history could still be a wifi hotspot and surrounded by fairy lights and a Christmas tree.

After a serious day we were soon back to reality, heading to the bus station on a tram which had us both crying with laughter because the sound it made when it stopped sounded like a fart. Once we were at the station we composed ourselves and caught a 13 hour night bus to Tokyo. The next morning friendly people from the country’s capital were trying to greet us and have a chat, after a night and morning without brushing our teeth and shrimp crisps for breakfast, we decided it would be less offensive to ignore them, rather than talk to them.

On arrival we caught a train from what we’ve been told if the world’s busiest train station to our hostel in a slightly more chilled area just outside the centre. Tokyo was another place where the best thing to do seemed to be just walk around and gawp at the tall buildings and neon lights. This took us to a street which was filled with multistory buildings selling games, magazines and posters of fairly provocative looking female animation characters. We slipped away from the hoards of creepy looking old men to grab a beer, where our Japanese translation let us down and we ended paying an extortionate amount for a glass of mainly froth.

A day of high action was kicked off with a trip round a lake on a peddle swan boat which Sammie insisted would be worth the money. After this we headed to Maricar, where you get to race through the centre of Tokyo in go-karts whilst dressed as characters from Mario. Unfortunately you needed an international driving permit to drive the karts, Sammie didn’t have one so I was forced to to decide whether I’d enjoy the experience enough for both of us.

The go-karts were amazing. I drove with a bunch of Korean guys through the busiest areas of Tokyo, with people waving and stopping to take pictures of us. I can see how fame goes to people’s heads, as after a few minutes I was beeping my horn at everyone and slowing down to high-five strangers.

The morning before leaving Japan we decided to take one more trip out, to a scenic spot where Mount Fuji could be seen towering in the distance over the skyscrapers of Tokyo. The viewing point was down a little alley in an old part of the city, so you had the old area, modern centre and Mount Fuji all in one beautiful shot. Unfortunately recently a huge apartment block has been built at the bottom of the alley, limiting your view to about 10 meters.

That was about it for our time in Japan. We managed to eat most of the local dishes including some delicious ramen and sushi, and our obsession with counting steps (and my unwillingness to pay for transport)  meant that we walked 110 miles there. If there’s one thing we’ll remember from our time here its the toilets. Japan is so futuristic that the toilets lids and seats go up and down at the touch of a button, the seat is always heated, there’s a suction button to consume any unpleasant smells and a loud music button to maintain your dignity when nature calls. And back in England we’re still sitting on cold plastic like cavemen.

Mozambique and Egypt

After a few warnings about corrupt border officials and refusal of entry into the country, we boarded a bus from Johannesburg to Maputo. We had a surprisingly smooth crossing through the hectic border controls and rode through onto Mozambique soil. After some interesting driving, avoiding potholes by sharing lanes with oncoming traffic, we made it to the capital and settled down for the night. 

The next day was spent walking round the coastal city for a good few hours. Again warnings of corruption and danger in Maputo appeared unfounded, as we wondered around the laid back and friendly city. I could tell Sammie had spent a fair while in Africa as she said how chilled and pretty the city was as she stepped over a pile of rubbish floating in stagnant water. 

The next stop was Tofo, 10 hours north on the east coast, with a packed bus playing the ever popular game of stopping every 50 metres to let somebody on or off. Upon arrival we found a hostel on a beautiful beach stretching on for miles. The first night we thought we had come to a bit of a dull place, we were the liveliest at the bar and we playing scrabble in silence. Fortunately there was a few arrivals the next day. 

Realising that leaving this place would mean 2 full days on a bus, we decided to settle in and spend the next 10 days relaxing here. We soon established a daily routine, nipping to the market in the morning to get our fresh bread, tropical fruit and vegetables. We then spent the days at the beach, with surfing and volleyball breaking up some long stretches of sunbathing. In the evenings we cooked our meals in the communal kitchen, often eating some of the catches the boats bought in that morning. One night a big group of us chipped in to buy lobsters in bulk, with my 4 costing me £3.54. It was delicious. 

Leaving Tofo we headed on a bus back to Maputo, then a second bus back to Johannesburg. Here our hostel had double booked a couple we were travelling and the owners proceeded to call me a little boy who knows nothing and told our entire group that we were the wrong crowd and they didn't want us staying there. They then kicked us out and left us in the centre of Johannesburg with no transport, phone or accommodation. Sammie was the angriest I've ever seen her, she slightly raised her voice and said 'I think you're very rude'. She was furious. 

After finding expensive new accommodation we settled here for a day to relax after the bus journeys. We then took a long flight to Abu Dhabi before our connection to Cairo. Here we stayed in Islamic Cairo, where dirty, winding, cramped little streets were lined by stray dogs, street stalls and beautiful architecture. The area was bustling with life and you could quite happily lose an hour or two walking round and watching the life around you.

A busy first full day here was spent visiting the famous Giza pyramids and the Sphinx, riding round on camels and bribing police so we could climb the first few steps of the pyramid. We then visited a couple more pyramids across the other side of the city. In one of these we climbed the 1600 steps down into the tombs at the centre of the pyramid, before a power cut caused a complete blackout. It was like a scene from The Mummy. 

In the evening we went on a pretentious sunset cruise down the Nile which we thought would be a chilled event but everyone else turned up in suits paying £7 for a beer. Fortunately a belly dancer turned an awful night into one of the best of the trip. For me anyway. 

We explored the rest of the city, visiting the citadel, mosques, churches and synagogues. Here guards asked to take pictures with us, but wouldn't let me hold their guns, which was pretty unreasonable. The Egyptian museum showed us some amazing treasures retrieved from the tombs of the pyramids and the local bazaars made us happy as the sellers called us Rambo and Shakira. 

After 3 great days in Cairo we took the 40 minute flight to Sharm el Sheikh and spent the next week doing nothing in an all inclusive hotel. Sammie was happy as she got to spend all day roasting in the 45 degree Egyptian sun. The only entertainment here was a few games of volleyball and watching the friendly Russians compete to see who could get the most horrendously burnt. 

This signalled the end of the trip and after a flight home and a night slept on the floor of Birmingham airport we went home to surprise some tearful family members. 

After 10 months of amazing experiences and learning about a completely misunderstood continent, we both feel lucky to have had the chance to see so many beautiful and diverse places. The people we've met have virtually without exception been friendly and welcoming, with none of the danger so many warned us about before coming. The whole thing has been amazing. 

South Africa

Once out of Lesotho we headed on a long drive to South Africa's capital. With just a street name to go by and no map or gps, finding our hostel in a city with a population of 2 million took a good few hours. We spent the next day chilling and doing the monthly wash of rancid towels and clothes.

The next morning we were up at 5am excited despite the early start, long drive and expensive airport parking fees, as we were going to pick up the well organised, efficient and trustworthy David Reid from the airport. After a few hours in the arrivals lounge at the airport we started to worry, only to find out that young David had told us the wrong date, he was still in Hong Kong and would be arriving the next day. We left the airport and were stopped by the police who tried to charge us for not completely stopping at a stop sign. We talked our way out of it. We then made the unplanned trip to Soweto, a township rich with apartheid history, museums and former houses of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. We couldn't see any of these as there was a huge storm all day. The entire day was ruined by Dave. 

The next morning we were up at 5am with a strange feeling of déjà vu. Luckily Dave arrived this time and we headed on a long trip to Durban, celebrating the belated arrival with a curry night. The next day was spent on an overcast beach in the city, with Sammie trying to sunbath whilst me and Dave kicked a ball around. 

Another long drive later and we were in Coffee bay, where a day on the beach taught us all how hard surfing is. This was followed by an eventful night, where a few too many drinks caused us to leave the car keys on a table. These were subsequently taken and bags removed from the car, fortunately the thieves must have panicked as the bags were left in the car park with no valuables missing. The next day was spent in a police station, where we were told that we didn't have a case and if anything, we had committed the crime of negligence and were liable. It wasn't a fun day. 

A new car was eventually towed out to us, as the people who took the keys weren't kind enough to return them. After this we finally exited Coffee bay in our new vehicle and headed to the surf capital of Jeffrey's bay. Excited for the Mayweather Pacquiao fight, we started playing beer pong in the hostel with Sammie and Dave teaming up against me and a French guy. After a few early wins for my team, my partner appeared to consume copious amounts of drugs, leading to a dramatic loss of form and handing victory to an undeserving Sammie and Dave. The night got a bit out of hand and saw us fall asleep about an hour before the fight started. 

As a hangover cure we jumped off the 216m high bridge bungee, a ridiculously fun few seconds. We then drove to Mossel Bay and settled in for a relaxed evening before cage diving with great white sharks. This was one of the highlights of the trip, with the Sharks swimming so close that they knocked into the cage and occasionally gnawed on the metal to feel what it was. A pretty scary feeling when your inches away looking down its throat.

We topped off the few days of adventure with a tandem skydive. A 30 minute plane journey, sat next to where the plane door should have been, unsettled the nerves slightly. Our professionals then flung us out of the plane for a 30 second free fall before a 5 minute parachute ride back down to the floor, definitely one of the best feelings we've experienced. Unfortunately the weather turned before Dave's plane could take off and he was unable to do the skydive. We felt sorry for him before remembering that we arranged his 2 week holiday for him and he couldn't even give us his correct arrival date. 

Cape Town was the next destination, with the first couple of days here spent seeing jackass penguins, walking around the harbour and getting the ferry to Robben Island to see Mandela's old cell. We then hiked the infamous table mountain to see the beautiful views of Cape Town and the city's coast line. A final meal and farewell for Dave was supposed to signal a night out in the city, but we showed our age by staying in and watching The Office in the dorm.

After a well organised airport drop off, it was back to just the two of us. We headed through the Cape's famous wine lands on route 62, staying in a riverside camp in Robertson. A day was spent here sampling various wine tastings, explaining that we were searching for the perfect wedding wine, when in reality we were seeing if we could get drunk for free. A brandy tour and tasting session made us realise that even expensive brandy brewed for 25 years tastes like urine. 

Our final activity in South Africa was seeing the caves at Oudtshoorn, where a two hour tour took us through some beautiful open caverns and through some tight tunnels where we had to slither on our stomachs. We slept in an exciting dorm, where we walked in on one girl naked and her friend woke us up in the night with a piercing scream whilst sleepwalking.

We then headed back to Johannesburg and dropped the car off before getting on a bus to the Mozambique border, ending an eventful stay in a beautiful and diverse country.

Swaziland and Lesotho

Flying was the cheapest way to get out of Namibia, so we boarded for the hour flight to Johannesburg. After a night here we attempted a trip to the centre of the city to find a minibus to the apartheid museum. The centre is insane. We walked round for hours without any luck, but fortunately got to see all the life and sites of the city. We then finally got a ride home from a minibus in one of the multi-storey car parks full of minibuses.

After that failure we decided to walk direct from the centre to the museum, which we thought was about 5km. After 2 hours walking down the side of a motorway with no path we admitted we were lost and a lovely bloke we spoke to in a garage drove us the rest of the way. The museum was worth it with a walk through South Africa's shameful past.

After this we picked up our new beastly automobile. The Chevrolet Spark Lite was the cheapest option, possibly because of its likeness to a children's toy. We skimped out on a gps to save money, making every journey an adventure involving at least a couple of wrong turns. A manic trip out of Johannesburg took us into the countryside, then over the border and into Swaziland.

After a drive through the rolling hills we made it to Ezluwini valley, where we pitched up and had the first nights sleep in our new tent. We took a walk to the craft markets and the super friendly ladies made us buy stuff we didn't need, then hugged us. We spent the rest of the day chilling in the valley and playing some badminton, Sammie got the hint I was bored after kicking a football at her several times.

We then ventured to Maguga dam, where we pitched up on the shores of the crystal clear lake. We were ready for a swim before we saw he warning signs for crocodiles and hippos. The place was completely deserted, so after a short walk around the lake we settled down and cooked a braai for dinner.

Next on the list was Hlane Royal national park, where two days self drive safari and camping overnight cost £15 between us. It was worth the money as soon as we arrived, with a dozen rhinos ridiculously close to us at the waterhole next to the campsite. They spent most of their time rolling around, coating themselves in mud to keep cool. 

On a drive we came around a blind bend and realised we were only a couple of metres away from an elephant. He became very aggressive, blowing his trunk and starting to charge at the car. I absolutely pooped my pants, flooring the car away from him. We then drove round a loop only to find the same elephant, locally known (by us) as psycho Bill, waiting at the end of the road. He started coming towards us forcing me to reverse pretty fast down the narrow, bumpy mud track. It was genuinely scary. 

After watching sunset and sunrise over the waterhole, we went for a quick drive around the park then headed out. On the way back to the border the police caught me doing 71kmph in a 60kmph zone and fined me £3.40. After his warning we slowly headed out of the country. 

The plan was to make it to Lesotho in a day, but after 7 hours of driving it was getting dark. So we camped in a town called Newcastle, not before our first McDonald's of the trip. After 8 hours driving the following day we finally made it to the Lesotho border. The trip was reminiscent of home, with fog slowing us to snails pace and the biggest hailstone storm I've ever seen. In the capital Maseru, we slowly made our way through a city void of street signs to our hostel and treated ourselves to a bed away from the cold and rain.

We headed south down the country, stoping in Quthing to see some dinosaur footprints preserved from 200 million years ago. Our guide told us they were from the Lesothosaurus, but I'm not sure if he was having us on. Our campsite that night was in Moroosi mountain, where an abandoned lodge left a sign with a number to ring if any customers turned up. With no phone we pitched up in the empty place. 

A clear sky and no moon showed us an impressive sheet of stars, we had a braai under them and went to bed. Our sleeping bags are designed for temperatures as low as 9 degrees, when we woke my tshirt which I left out side was lined with icicles, and our Savanna bottles were completely frozen. It wasn't the best nights sleep. 

A short distance turned out to take 6 hours on a horrendous road, but it was worth it to find a beautiful lodge in the hills. Here we were better prepared for the cold night, wearing 3 pairs of socks, 2 jumpers and Sammie's tights under my trousers, it was still cold but not as bad. 

The next morning we went horse riding, heading up and down steep valleys, next to cliff edges and through streams. A small hike in the middle took us to a waterfall hidden in the hills. The horses then took us back, with my stubborn one refusing to let Sammie's go in front, with both of them misbehaving and trying to run past each other. 

The rest of the day was spent killing Sammie at table tennis, pool and table football, before being legitimately beaten at pool by a 7 year old girl. We even got treated to chocolate cake and custard from the lovely owners. The next morning we were up and out of Lesotho, finishing our short but sweet stay in the two tiny countries.

Namibia

Immediately as we entered Namibia we realised it was pay day. We sat at a petrol station trying to sort out transport, watching every driver step out of his car unable to walk or speak. A later taxi driver told us the government was trying to introduce a point system on driving licenses for drink drivers, but it wasn't too popular with the public.

Whilst waiting at the station a friendly drunk man invited us for a free breakfast at his dad's restaurant, made us cheese and ham toasties for the journey and offered us a free nights accommodation. He soon revealed his motive for the kindness, admitting he was only doing it because we were white and he wasn't too fond of black people, to put it mildly. We were glad to get away from him as he turned increasingly offensive. Lovely toasties though. 

A 1200km minibus journey took us from the border to the capital; Windhoek. We arrived after midnight and our driver told us the taxis were all waiting to take us into the bush and rob us. He proceeded to take us to our hostel and tried to rip us off massively. We just wanted to go to bed.

Besides the dodgy start we soon discovered Windhoek to be a very easy and attractive city, it was small, pedestrianised and surrounded by mountains. Much more comfortable than a lot of the capitals we had visited. A couple of days chilling and organising later we picked up our new car, a stunning Kia Rio, the Lamborghini of Namibia. 

Once in the car we took a 7 hour journey south to Fish River Canyon, where we spent our first of  10 nights sleeping in the car (we couldn't afford accommodation or a tent). In the morning Sammie turned round from watching the sun rise over a deserted stretch of the canyon to find me down on one knee, with a glorious and very expensive engagement ring in hand. It must have been a magical experience for her.

After a few tears and breakfast we explored the rest of the canyon, with some stunning views. The rest of the day was spent celebrating with a few drinks at the Ai Ais hot springs, where natural water is pumped into indoor and outdoor pools. The outdoor pool was open 24 hours, so we swam in it under the stars and got pretty drunk.

We made an overnight stop in Luderwitz on our way back north, mainly for a night in a bed and some fish and chips. Our next stop was a big drive to Sesriem, where our journey was halted a couple of times with our car getting stuck in the desert sand. Using lunchboxes to dig we soon made our way out. 

By sunrise the next day we had already climbed to the top of a sand dune, watching the sun climb over the red sand. We then had a hike up one of the bigger dunes, where a decision to hike away from everyone else meant that instead of stepping on trodden, condensed sand we were ankle deep every step. It took us 3 hours to get to the summit, with us having to stop for a break every few steps on the steep bits. This was all worth it when we saw the amazing landscape and got to run down the steep side of the dune, which was possibly the most fun I've had this trip.

Another long journey in the car took us to spitzkoppe, one of the biggest mountains in Namibia. Along the way I shouted and slammed the breaks on, scaring Sammie quite a bit. I'd spotted 2 leopards walking along the side of the road, a rare find on a safari let alone when just driving. When we were unpacking the boot at Spitzkoppe Sammie was scared again, letting out a scream when she realised a meerkat was licking her foot.

The campsite was right at the base of the mountain, so we were parked in privacy between a few large boulders. After exploring the rock arch and natural pool we hired a guide to show us the rock art around the site. This dated back between 2000-4000 years, depicting people and wildlife and painted on with blood, rock and ostrich egg.

A night in swakopmund gave us another chance to sleep in a bed and eat real food. After this rest we explored a seal colony along the coast, where over 100,000 seals live. The crazy goat like sounds were topped by the smell of thousands of piles of seal poo. We spent a good hour here watching the seals mess about. When trying to leave we realised one had somehow got into the fenced off walkway and when we tried to leave he tried to bite us. We had to jump over the fence and run away.

We drove through the skeleton coast national park, looking at the shipwrecks, abandoned oil rigs and diamond mines along the way. After this we headed inland to Etosha, Namibia's best known safari park where we decided to spend a day as it only cost £5 each. On the way we stopped at a farm to see cheaters, leopards and hyenas getting fed which we didn't enjoy as we didn't realise the animals would be in enclosures. The only exciting thing here was getting followed by an oryx who ended up head butting me. 

Once in Etosha we immediately spotted a pride of 9 lions walking alongside the road and then resting under a nearby tree. The rest of the day was spent watching the usual suspects, and then seeing a rhino in the distance at the end of the day. 

On the way to the next destination we stopped to visit a Himba village, where a traditional Himba tribe lived. We were pleasantly surprised by this as our guide simply told us about their way of life and the tour didn't feel too intrusive or degrading to the people. After this we visited the petrified forest, where huge trees had travelled down from central Africa 260 million years ago in an ice age flood. The trees had then been buried without oxygen or carbon dioxide and had since been 'petrified' or turned into rock.

After all this travelling we decided to have a few days rest in Uis, where we laid by the pool in the day and cooked on the braai at night. It was perfect. We somehow adopted a dog for the few days, who Sammie decided to name 'Wiggle Waggle Munchkin'. I'm ashamed to say the name caught on.

On the trip back to Windhoek we travelled on the worst road we'd seen in Namibia, causing damage to the suspension and wheel alignment, making the car drive like a kangaroo with uneven legs. After 15 days in the car we'd travelled over 4500km and seen quite possibly the most beautiful and diverse country either of us have ever seen.