Cape Town was not all smooth sailing unfortunately. Our hotel that we were meant to stay at was having an issue with the hot water system. There was no hot water! Everything else was fantastic there though. To the hotel's credit they moved us to another hotel free of charge, they went above and beyond though and moved all five of us to The Westin which is a part of the recently built Cape Town International Convention Centre. But for those of you who come to Cape Town we highly recommend Hollow on the Square.

There were two clear highlights of the Trip to the Cape, for those who know Corrine it would come as no surprise that one of her highlights was the wine! Even Craig's mum who likes to declare herself as a non drinker even got in on the act. We are even hoping that we can get one of the bottles home to share with Nathan and Mel!! When people think of South Africa wine is probably not on the forefront of their minds but if you enjoy a drop or two Cape Town should definitely be on your list to visit.

The other highlight is quite understandably Table Mountain and the surrounds. A trip here is not complete with out a trip up to the very flat peak. Once up there the views were spectacular. Unfortunately the "Table" is often covered up with a "Table Cloth" a think blanket of cloud. Luckily the day we chose to go us was the day the sky was the most clear.

One thing that stands out in Cape Town is the devastating effect that the apartheid had on the town. There are still areas of the town that have not finished rebuilding since almost everything was demolished in District Six. Hopefully in the coming years this can be rectified and the town can be rebuilt.

We are leaving today for Hermanus and will be sad to leave behind Cape Town and all her friendly citizens including the little rabbit like creature called a dassie that is the closest living animal to an elephant.

written by  craigandcorrine on October 22, 2011 from Cape Town, South Africa
from the travel blog: Cape to Kruger and a Waterfall
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Our second hurdle was it seemed no matter how hard we tried and how we packed our cases and the boxes of donated sports equipment we could not get everything in and come close to our weight limit. Thanks to Craig's parents who came to the rescue and packed the extra stuff.

The third hurdle was when our luggage still came in heavier than what we were allowed. We all had our fingers crossed that the person checking our luggage in was compassionate to our cause and would let it go through. Our crossed fingers did the trick and there was no extra charge.

We were finally on our way! The flight to Singapore was a dream flight, not many people on the plane so we were able to spread out. The stopover at Changi airport went relatively quickly with a visit to the Butterfly Garden and a quick bite to eat. The second leg of the journey we were not quite as lucky, with the flight being packed! Corrine had her knee caps almost shattered when the man in front could not work out his chair and rammed it back.. This was even before takeoff. It was a long flight.

We eventually made it to our destination after one of the longest journeys that either of us have ever taken. We were rewarded with the beautiful scene that is Cape Town and with renewed energy we all looked forward to what laid ahead of us!

written by  craigandcorrine on October 20, 2011 from Singapore, Singapore
from the travel blog: Cape to Kruger and a Waterfall
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A sample of the sporting equipment to take to Zambia with us!

Over the last couple of months in preparation for our volunteering stint in Zambia we have organised morning teas and had a hot roast beef roll night at our place to raise funds to buy much needed items for the school. We have been astounded by the generosity of our friends, family and work colleagues. THANKS GUYS!!

After many months of planning you would think that we are all ready to hop on to that plane, well you would be wrong. Even though we have had our immunisations and our safari suits are all ready to be packed we still need to do just that, along with 40 Australian rules footballs, 15 basketballs plus some t-ball gear and a bunch of other bits and pieces of sporting equipment.

Now to finish getting ready for our big trip, next on the list pick up our plane tickets!

See you in Cape Town!

PS Don't forget to leave your comments or crazy ideas for photo suggestions. If you leave a suggestion for a crazy photo for example different poses, we will try and do it and put it up next time!

written by  craigandcorrine on October 13, 2011 from Perth, Australia
from the travel blog: Cape to Kruger and a Waterfall
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We arrived in Las Vegas on the bus from hell, it was the hottest bus in the world, well that is probably a slight exaggeration, but it wasn't pleasant. We checked in to The Luxor and then went in search for food. The casino in the hotel was not as impressive as we thought it was going to be. Maybe it is because we have a casino at home so it wasn't really anything new for us.

The next day it was an early start to go the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam, it didn't take that long to get the dam which didn't look as big as we imagined it was going to be. Although you can't actually get as close to is as you used to be able to since there are always threats to it. Security had to search the bus before we could even drive over it. Not only does the dam provide water for many people it also provides electricity for LA. From there it was a long drive to the Grand Canyon which included a couple of stops in very unusual places. We even saw “coon hats” which seemed to be fury hats with some sort of animal tail attached to the back of it.

We finally arrived at the big hole in the ground, it was a great sight to see. It looks just like it does on post cards, which make you wonder if you are looking at a giant back drop. After seeing two different places around the canyon it was time to head back to Vegas, but the fun did not stop there, five minutes from our stop the bus blew a water hose. Another bus and driver came to our rescue and we were back to the hotel. We had a bite to eat with a new friend that was on the tour with and also had a cocktail that made Corrine rather ill. There was cream on the top and that is the only thing that we can think that made her ill during the middle of the night.

The next day we walked the strip and checked out the was going on. We picked up tickets for Cirque du Solei, Mystere and had a great time at the show that night. The performance was stunning and every act that came out was better than the one before. The show blurred the lines between human and animal with the way that the performers moved and the things that they were doing such as climbing up poles like monkeys.

As we were leaving the theater extremely satisfied we were handed coupons for buy one get one free cocktail at the bar where we happened to have lunch just next to the theater. We figured lunch was good we will go and have a quiet drink there. The coupon said one per person. After two cocktails each the bartender who happened to look like Toadie off Neighbours told us to go grab some more so we could continue to get half price cocktails. We did and thats when the night took a turn. There was also a competition for the bar tenders to see you could throw the cocktail shakers around the best when making a cocktail, for some reason which eludes our memories this turned into free shots for everyone in the bar, one was given to us in a glass and the next was given to us poured into our mouths straight from the bottle by the bar tender who was standing on the bar at this stage. The bar eventually closed and we hung around with our new friends that we had met for a while longer. It was time to make our way back to the hotel which was at the other end of the strip. We caught the bus but somehow missed our stop. We ended up a 45minute walk past our hotel. When we finally went to bed it was close to 6 in the morning.

The next day after less than three hours sleep. Crawled out of bed and made our way down to the all you can eat buffet. You pay $30 and you can keep going back all day. After picking at breakfast which we were sure our very hungover bodies were going to reject we went and had another look at the strip including the Coca-Cola and M&M's store. At the Coke Store we bought a sample tray of all the different soft drinks of around the world. There were some very strange things on the tray. After trying them all we decided it wasn't the smartest idea in the state that we were in. (we are not talking about being in Nevada either). From there we went to the second M&M's store of our American Leg of our trip. Even though the Las Vegas one is the original and the apparent best we both thought that the New York one was better. We checked out the old Vegas where all the wedding chapels are and even saw the chapel that Britney Spears got married in.

That night we went to the Criss Angel BeLIEve show, it was so good. Corrine is in love. The illusionist is a master and every trick he did kept us wondering how he did it. The show combined just enough comedy with the magic. Even though our bodies were screaming for sleep we ignored the screams and went and checked out the Mirage Volcano show and the Bellagio fountain show. Both shows were quite impressive and certainly worth a look. We then walked back to the hotel to get some sleep before the early bus departure for Anaheim.

written by  craigandcorrine on February 18, 2010 from Las Vegas, United States
from the travel blog: World Tour
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We arrived in LA after flight made very long by awful passengers behind us, they were a teenage brother and sister who's mother was sitting next to them but didn't care that they were hitting and kicking each other and our seats at the same time. Craig had to say something to them it got that bad, the mother of the brats gave Craig a dirty look.

It was a flying visit to LA starting with an NHL game at the Staples Center which was fantastic. Unfortunately LA Kings lost to the Edmonton Oilers is a 10 round shoot out. We went back to the hotel tired and ready for a good nights sleep.

The next day we went to Universal Studios and checked out all the things to see there including the back lot, we were not lucky enough to any celebrities though. Highlights of the back lot would have to be the Desperate Housewives Wisteria Lane set, and the war of the worlds set where the plane crash is. We also saw where Jaws was filmed. It was very interesting to see some of the tricks of the trade. We went into the “warehouse" to see where Back Draft was filmed and saw the place “on fire”.

We checked out some of the rides, there was no lining up for us because we bought front of the line passes, something that I would recommend for an extra $20 each. the Simpson's ride was very good considering we didn't move anywhere, it is a 3D screen and a “car” that you sit and shakes and jolts you around. The Mummy ride was pretty crazy with a sudden jolt then you go backwards. It was a warm up for what is to come at Disneyland.

written by  craigandcorrine on February 13, 2010 from Los Angeles, United States
from the travel blog: World Tour
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Once in NY we struggled our way to our hotel with our bags which weighed 21 and 26kg. The subway was one of the most scariest thing that we had ever experienced. We finally got to the hotel with out any stab or gun shot wounds. Yay we had survived our first 45minutes in The Big Apple.

It was time to eat so we headed to a burger joint that we had heard that was good. The place offers 50 different types of burgers. After struggling through the menu and after asking lots of questions, there were so many strange words on there. The food lived up to it's reputation.

After an early night and a very good night's sleep we went out for breakfast and hired bikes for a cycle around Central Park. We saw lots of squirrels. Since it was Superbowl Sunday we headed into Times Square, we were lucky and snagged a spot at the ESPN Zone, which is a bar/restaurant. We didn't really understand but we had a great time. Everyone seemed to be very happy that the Giants won, and every one was saying what a great thing it is for New Orleans.

The next day we went up the 82 floors to the observation deck of the Empire State Building. The elevators were very fast. It was extremely windy on the deck and you couldn't spend much time up there as it was so cold. We also made the ferry trip to Liberty Island, home of The Statue of Liberty. The statue really wasn't as big as we imagined. We also both thought that Lady Liberty looks like a man in a dress.

We went and had a look at Times Square and discovered that there is a whole store dedicated to M&M's! Could you even get a better shop?? After catching a stand up comedy show that was in a basement starring Craig Carmean, and getting made fun of by the comedians we stopped by a street vendor selling kebabs on the way back to the hotel, (just like in the movies) We grabbed one and it was fantastic and full of late night kebab goodness.

One thing that New York has to offer is sports! We started our sporting tour off with as mentioned above in a bar for Superbowl Sunday, we continued it with a tour at Yankee Stadium including going into the players locker room and the dug out. It was by far the coolest thing we did while in New York. Even though neither of us really follow baseball we will be coming home as fans of the Yankees. That night it was off to see the Knicks play at Madison Square Garden. The home team blew a 16 point lead in the 4th quarter and went down by 4 in overtime. We thought that the atmosphere was going to be a lot more intense that it was but it did pick up in the 4th and overtime. We are also the proud owners of a big bright orange foam finger that we bought at the Garden.

Our sporting excursion did not end there, we found the NHL store and marveled at all the merchandise that one can buy, including a golf putter that looks like a hockey stick. The next night we went to a game to see what this crazy game is all about, we still don't know. Since the game was not a sell out we decided to upgrade our selves to better seats. We sat down and a kid next to us threw up!! Karma is a bitch, although we must have done something nice cos we moved closer to the rink (using the spew kid as an excuse) and ending up talking to some really nice people who gave us a couple of Rangers beer cups to take home with us, all because we were from Australia.

Our trip to New York had finally come to an end and it is now off to LA for a couple of nights before going to Vegas and Disney Land.

Blog You Later.

written by  craigandcorrine on February 11, 2010 from New York, United States
from the travel blog: World Tour
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We went back to the English Pub for tea where Craig had a meat pie and chips and Corrine enjoyed a nice seafood salad. Aside from the meals with our families this meal would be one of the best we had in Europe. On the way back to hotel we called into a supermarket and a couple of items caught our attention. The first one was Dickmans puddings but the one that really caught our eye was the Bum Bum icecream. It was cold outside but like two little kids we decided we couldn't resist buying one each and trying it out. Our first Bum Bum experience was quite an enjoyable one.

Off to the airport and head off to New York City.

Blog you later

written by  craigandcorrine on February 5, 2010 from Frankfurt, Germany
from the travel blog: World Tour
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After briefly seeing the country on the way through to Feldkirch and only 20 minutes away by bus we decided to visit Vaduz, the capital city of the 6th smallest country on the planet. It was a nice walk around the city (it only has 35,00 residents) and is amazing that a prince who lives in his castle up on the mountain overlooking the city still rules. We did read that once a year he opens the castle and invites all the residents of the town to join him for a drink. Was quite strange seeing postcards of him in all the souvenir shops.

Also we visited the Prince's winery and tasted some local wine and even saw some Australian wines showcased with other wines from around the world in the Cellar. Saw some strange looking horse statues and enjoyed the balmy weather of 8 degrees which saw us eat lunch outdoors and earn the name “Vikings” according to one of the locals.

Blog you later

written by  craigandcorrine on February 3, 2010 from Vaduz, Liechtenstein
from the travel blog: World Tour
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Feldkirch, Austria is a little town that is close to the Switzerland, Lichtenstein, German borders, a total change from what we are expecting when we head to the mayhem of New York over the weekend.

It was another place where English was not very common at all we navigated around the town quite well on the buses and footpaths. It was a very quaint little town with a medieval square one of the highlights. Also for those who are travelling through smallish towns, don't trust the churches as a location marker as we found out. What Craig thought may have been church across the road from the hotel, turned out to be wrong and we had to wait another 15 minutes in the cold for the next bus. Although this was a great time to let the beer, just purchased from the supermarket, chill off in the ice on the footpath. Ended up being a sign that the beer was very ordinary and the worst Craig had tasted all trip.

On our final night we went to the basement level of the hotel and found the local Kegelbahn alleys. A game with nine pins (all attached to strings, no need for fancy machines) and smaller balls than ten pin bowling, provided for a couple of hours entertainment. We even got to witness a local competition happening on adjacent lanes. For the record Corrine's name goes down as the Copes Kegelbahn Champion and gets her name on the wall alongside plaques from competitions dating back to the 60's between Austria, Germany and Switzerland held at this venue. It is a shame we had to rub her name off the blackboard and leave it clean for the next players.

Blog you later

written by  craigandcorrine on February 2, 2010 from Feldkirch, Austria
from the travel blog: World Tour
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Deciding we needed a holiday within our holiday we headed towards Ispra in Italy, town where some of Craig's relatives live. After a marathon 10 hour – 3 different trains – journey we got picked up at a train station by Giambi and Luca, some of Craig's Italian cugini (cousins). After the formalities of the hugging and kisses on the cheek (3 in Italy) we headed off to Ispra. 'Casa di Mario e Liboria' was our accomodation for the three nights over the weekend. We got a great feed that night of pasta, schnitzels and potatoes, and as always we finished with some good chunks of cheese. We also got a quick refresher course in Italian with Luca and Robi (Giambi's wife) doing a bit of translating and teaching...

After a nice sleep in, and waking up to temperatures above zero whilst being in mainlaind Europe, it was time for some more of Liboria's wonderful cooking, Pizzoccheri. Strange sounding name, strange looking pasta but lots of potatoes, pasta and plenty of cheese make up this pasta dish.

We stuffed ourselves to the brim and decided we needed to walk some of it off so we headed into Varese, the local city. Giambi, Robi and Luca showed us the sights of the city, some shops and we stopped by a local cafe for some hot chocolate. For those that have not tasted European hot chocolate, imagine melting a block of Cadbury chocolate, pouring it into some mugs and serving with a hefty blob of whipped cream on top. Very rich but also very nice.

That night involved going out at a local restaurant with some of Giambi and Robi's friends and having some more traditional Italian food, rissotto and pizza with sausage and potato chips on it.

Our final day in Ispra involved a healthy serving of Polenta (mmm, more cheese) for lunch, a nice walk near the lake, saying hello to more of Craig's family, eating some freshly made pastries by Giambi and finally watching a game of football with a drink in hand. Juventus ended up drew 1 all but a great day to end our trip to Ispra.

Next stop Lichtenstein, the 6th smallest, country in the world. We will actually be staying in Austria, near the border as there are not many hotels in Lichtenstein, can't blame them really, as the country is only 6km wide!

Blog you later

written by  craigandcorrine on January 31, 2010 from Ispra, Italy
from the travel blog: World Tour
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