Top 10 activities on our trip

We've been asked about what the best activities on our trip were. There are so many memorable things that we've done together in our year away, its difficult to distil this to just ten, especially with a 'late contender' from our recent time in Borneo.

As we talked about this as a family and also started trying to rank them, we found it very hard to compare, say, the thrill of swimming with a sea-lion with the wonder of staring in awe at one of the highest mountains in the world.

So we decided to just put a list together of the things we enjoyed the most, not to worry too much about the order of them and not to feel guilty about many other things we enjoyed doing that aren't on this list too.

Skydive Taupo, New Zealand

Ready to jump.....(as if you have much choice at this stage!)

No doubt about the biggest adrenalin rush of all - Skydiving.

Whooooo-hoooo!

Snorkelling with sealions at La Loberia, Galapagos, Ecuador

Sunset at La Loberia

Amazingly, this is something you can do quite easily in the Galapagos - and it's free.  La Loberia is a deserted beach on the small island of San Cristobal, with sealions everywhere - you are very much on their beach. The younger ones in particular are very playful, they swim right up to you at high speed, inches from your face, and then arch away, or they'll swim rapidly around you in circles. There is always a large bull sealion patrolling to remind you not to get too close!

Observing amazing wildlife by boat and on horseback in the Pantanal, Brazil

Horse ride at sunset along the river bank on obedient horses!

We spent a few days in the Pantanal, and were amazed by the abundance and richness of wildlife there.  It was a fantastic experience for the boys, already fascinated by animals thanks to Steve Backshall's Deadly 60, to have so many up-close wildlife encounters. The caiman, jabiru, great black hawk (especially the one with the water cobra in its talons!) giant otter, hyacinth macaw, piranha and of course toucan are just a few we remember seeing there. 

The caimen are so still, sometimes you don't
see them even if you are really close!

Sandboarding and surfing in Cabo Polonio, Uruguay

Fabry, the boys and Louis' new birthday gift!

We're sure Louis won't forget his 9th birthday.  

Staying at the tiny, remote and querky coastal village of Cabo Polonio, Louis had a sandboarding lesson in the morning and a surfing lesson in the afternoon. 

Fabry, the sandboarding teacher even gave Louis the sandboard they were practicing on as a gift, afterwards!

Frankie had a go too!

Louis getting the hang of the waves

Dolphin and whale watching at Puerto Pyramides, Valdes Peninsula, Argentina

One of the whales duly obliged with this classic pose

The Valdes peninsula is famous for the orcas that beach themselves in February to catch and feed on unsuspecting young seals.  

We were there in December so missed this (perhaps just as well...the boys might have been a little upset!) but did get to see the orcas from a distance, as well as marvelling at the majestic southern right whales passing directly under the boat.

We were leaning out over the front and this 15 metre
beauty passed by directly underneath

Buller Gorge Jetboat, South Island, New Zealand
The Shotover ride in Queenstown normally gets all the attention but this trip on Buller Gorge, also on the South Island, is longer, less busy, cheaper, just as fast and definitely very exhilarating!

High-speed thrills

Did I mention you get a bit wet?

Trekking to Poon Hill, Nepal
We did a five-day trek in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas. It was a real challenge (especially the going up part!) and gave the boys a strong sense of achievement, especially when we reached 10,000 feet and were rewarded with memorable views of some of the Top 10 highest mountains in the world.

Annapurna South, at 8,091m, 10th highest mountain in the world

With our guide, Ratna and Dhaulagiri, 8167m, in the background

Machupachare, the famous, sacred, 'Fishtail', just before sunrise

White water rafting and "cool river running" in San Rafael, Argentina
We rafted a few times on the Atuel river, and Louis and I also went down in a kind of converted inner tube, which they call "Cool River".  It kept you very close to the action! My father came over from England and celebrated his 80th by white-water rafting with us too!

Rafting on 31st December - great way to see out the old year!

Louis and Frankie loved getting wet!

Louis getting face to face with a rapid while "Cool river" running

Tropical island hopping on Ovalau, Fiji
We spent three weeks in Fiji, mainly at Bobo's Farm.  As well as introducing us to the wonderfully hospitable villagers of Rukuruku and guiding us on hikes into the jungle, Bobo took us to the the most beautiful local islands enjoying excellent snorkelling, drinking and eating fresh coconuts, and sampling the fish he'd just caught with his spear!

Approaching Mystery Island

Just moored on our very own Moloi Island, only surfaces at low tide!

Going home to Rukuruku

Amazing wildlife in the tropical rainforests of Borneo

Frankie with a crested lizard

In our month in Borneo, we stayed in jungle camps and wooden shacks to experience wildlife encounters we'll never forget.  We saw orangutans, proboscis monkeys, silver-leaf monkeys, huntsman spiders, snakes, frogs, lizards, bats (over 2 million of them) and more - it's a very long list!

Proboscis monkey having a bad day

The youth of today are so uninhibited.....

2 million bats head out of their cave each night here in Mulu, Borneo

Icebergs and glaciers in Patagonia, Argentina
We spent three weeks in Patagonia and got up close to the amazing - and advancing - Perito Moreno glacier. We saw an enormous shard the size of a house slide into the water - and our treks took us to the windiest and coldest parts of our entire trip.

Ice crashing into the water at the giant arch that heads the glacier

Real icebergs!

Not surprisingly, the ice is very cold

Travelling around Western Australia in an RV

Breakfast on the beach at Cape Range

We spent a month - and 5,000 kilometres - working our way up the west coast and returned on an inland route back to Perth. The spectacular Cape Range National Park, the beautiful, rugged gorges of the Karijini, and the endless salt flats of Lake Ballard were three of the many highlights.

The unusual statues dotted around the vast salt flats of Lake Ballard

Paragliding over Lima, Peru

A great introduction to alternative air travel, over the beaches, parks and traffic of Lima.

All good up here....

I'm loving this!

Yes I know.  There are more than 10. Sorry.

Too many smiley photos.....

No-one has actually said this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some people were thinking it by now.  I probably would.  Not all our photos are happy smiley ones, its just generally we don’t have the camera to hand when, for example, Louis emphatically declares that he is NOT doing comprehension this morning. 

However here are a few.......

This one was Frankie having an argument with his hairbrush, i think he said something like "Why do I have to brush my hair ANYWAY, Daddy?"

And another taken at 5am in Sao Paolo bus terminal just after leaving the warm cocoon of our overnight bus, in search of a) breakfast, b) warmth and c) tickets for the 7am bus that would get us to Ubatuba by lunchtime. 

........and this one when the orange juice in the Galapagos was somewhat more citrus than expected

And in Bonito, Brazil, I had banking problems and it seemed to take an age before the cashpoint actually worked and gave me some money, so when I got back to the cab that had taken us there.......







Of all the places we visited, and left, the Estancia La Margarita was probably the one that the boys were saddest to leave, as depicted in the photo below while we were trundling down the drive just after saying goodbye.....

And finally, an anxious Louis and Charlie on the swoop, (although this turned to smiles moments later!) 

My far away birthday!

My birthday was always going to be a little different given the situation. For a start there was nowhere on the Ilha do Mel, this little island off the Brazilian coast, to buy birthday cards. (Although Phil had ample opportunity in previous weeks!!) However there was a little shop that sold beach clothes and little wooden rings and Phil and the boys chose me a lovely coconut wedding ring to replace the one that is safely at home and a nice little beachy number to wear over my bikini. 

I've always loved the French....

Thanks to Louis' new-found film-making skills from Apple Summer Camp, they also put together a movie with some of the better bits from the last month, and this formed part of my birthday celebration that kicked off the moment I woke up. (see album below if you want to enjoy this)

The boys of course jumped on me and sang me happy birthday first of all, and then I opened my solitary birthday card (not counting emails and e cards, thanks for all those!) from Mum and Dad that had survived relatively unscathed in Phil's rucksack. 

After a pancake-based breakfast, we took a boat over to Nova Brasilia, the “Capital” (same as Encantadas but with a couple more restaurants and pousadas) and from there we walked 30 minutes to the “Farol” (lighthouse) and stopped at the beach there to watch a surfing competition.   We ended up having lunch overlooking that beach, and then climbed the hill afterwards to see the lighthouse.  Frankie can probably still tell you how many steps there were (actually just checked and Louis reliably informed me that it was 175 stone steps. We then walked about 4km after lunch along several beaches on the opposite edge of the island to Encantadas, and headed through the forest as darkness fell to get home just in time. 

The boys playing on the rocks before the scary bit

We had something of an adventure along the way when we got to the end of one of the long stretches of beach and there was no longer an obvious route.  We stepped up onto some rocks to see if we could find a way round.  The waves were crashing around the rocks as we stepped a little further on to try and find a way.  We were all wearing ridiculous shoes for this particular adventure.  Phil and I in flip flops and the boys in their crocs, although I’m sure the Brazilian folk wouldn’t have thought so.   The rocks were getting bigger and steeper and the waves seemed to be creeping up on us.  I questioned whether this was a sensible route to take (if it was indeed the route at all). My least favourite pastime is rock-hopping especially in flip flops!  The boys sensed my panic and started to get upset, which I felt very bad about.  Phil said he would have a look a little further and for us to wait while he did.  As he hopped ably over a few more very large rocks the boys dramatically said they didn’t want Daddy to die!  I tried to calm them down feeling extremely guilty that I had caused this total panic in the first place.  Phil beckoned us to come over and we crept slowly across. I was still unsure that we were going the right way but Louis shouted and pointed to an arrow that was painted on one of the rocks.  We all felt  a sense of relief and the boys started hopping more confidently over some very large and pointy rocks.  My heart was in my mouth for most of this as I can’t bear watching them do this.......can’t help having visions of them falling, especially given Frankies' accident in Canada a couple of years ago where his chin still bears the scar from the slippery rock he fell on.

Back at our Pousada, recovered and enjoying dinner, the boys then surprised me with a lovely Birthday cake that Phil had organised.  I think it turned out to be a little bigger than he expected, as it took us several days to wade through, and we were somewhat conflicted because the kind french owners of our pousada made such good pancakes!

All in all though, a lovely day and made better by so many kind emails from family and friends at home.




Here's the video that Phil and the boys made for me........

Floating around in Bonito

We spent a very pleasant few days in Bonito, (translated, means “beautiful”) in Brazil last month, after the Pantanal trip. Following a short flight from Cuiaba to Campo Grande and a four hour van journey, we arrived late in the evening to this town which has established itself pretty much along a very long single road. We were staying a good kilometre past the town so had a good chance to get a look as we drove through, although the boys at this point were decidedly sparko. Bonito is famous for being a centre for all sorts of interesting outdoor activities like swimming, caving, kayaking on some of the clearest river water in the world.

The Pousada Chao de Pedra gave us a simple, clean room altogether, with the obligatory bunks that the boys are loving. Thankfully at this stage there is never any argument, Louis always gets the top, as we’d be more worried about Frankie being able to prevent himself tumbling out. There was a spacious open area where you ate and met other people.  We also managed to catch up on a couple of Skype calls with the family and remember Frankie telling people this is a good place for "relaxisation"!

It was also a good place for our first proper foray into introducing the boys to a little holiday school for part of the mornings while we were there.  Strangely, at a time when we are gradually losing track of time and day, since we have left our watches at home, the thing that struck us was how the boys have gone the other way and suddenly became acutely aware of what day it is.  At home, we could have just had a great weekend together and been back at school for a day, and on Monday night ask “What day is it tomorrow, boys? The response would be entirely random - “Is it Sunday?” they might suggest, and you think “How can you possibly think it’s Sunday, you’ve just been back to school for the first time in three days.....”.  Out here however, the boys will be very quick to point out “its Saturday today so no holiday school!”

We did a few trips to the local swimming baths, “Balneares Municipales” which out here constitute a very pleasant swim in the crystal clear waters of the local river, with fish for company. The local children were very friendly and the boys hooked up with a couple of kids sitting near us who were very generous with fish food.  They kept throwing it in the water just where we were swimming so you felt this flurry of large fish all around you in the water which was fine providing they stick to the fish food.   

At another similar place, there was a little waterfall that you could swim up to, and, with a bit of effort and underwater rock-clambering, actually get behind and look out from!  And I couldn't let the boys down when they chanted for me to go on the zip line, that started up quite high and ended in the water.  No problem, except that its fairly important not to get distracted, since if you don't jump off in the water, you would go crashing into the rocks at the other end!  Health and Safety very much at the other extreme over here to what we are used to at home. 

One of the highlights of Bonito was a trip to Rio Sucuri, where you can swim - or rather float - in the river downstream, with your snorkel and mask, and watch the fish as you go. Its a good row upstream in a little canoe altogether to get to the point of being able to do this. Rowing upstream meant that you couldn’t go at too leisurely a pace or you’d never get there! (Could have done with Croftie in the canoe to get us there with a bit less effort on our part!) 

It was great snorkelling experience for the boys, which they will be doing a lot more of while we are away. It was lovely for us too, just holding hands with one of the boys each and seeing and sort of hearing their excitement as they saw different fish on the way down. They decided to design a little leaflet on the trip that day, which we have copied below this entry. 

We visited an interesting bar called Taboa while we were there and the boys were amazed that you were allowed to write on the walls without anybody getting upset.  We made a few entries ourselves, (including my contribution of “Romanus aeunt domus” which the boys were somewhat puzzled about.)

Frankie has just surfaced as I write this and I just asked Frankie what he remembers about that bar. “Mummy was very jealous for our food.  She had fish with lots of bones. Louis and I had chips, a cube of rice, and a little omelette with bacon, it was very nice.”  Louis has just woken up and not to be outdone in the memory department, chipped in that in fact Daddy had Lasagne. 

Here are the leaflets that the boys created to record their visit. 

First Louis.......

....and then Frankie