Backpacking... it's not as fun as Insurance - lizziecarver
I'm going round the world but I don't know where yet.

Bye bye England
London, United Kingdom
I'm finally doing it... I'm going travelling. Its my last day at work and by the time everyone else gets into work on Monday and finishes chatting about X- factor I will be sitting on my own in the departure lounge.
Insurance desk
Given that its a Friday I'm obviously incredibly hungover following another boozy night in the city. For everyone that made it down last night thank you so much for coming, I had a brilliant night. Here are a few of the (pretty dodgy) photos from my phone.
(n.b. Anna having a Jager- possibly the one that tipped her over the edge)
Swify having a nice time
My personal highlights from the night were, having a deep and meaningful with the boss- none of which I can remember, looking around to see my sister with Kevvo's tie on his head, getting a fireman's lift from Adrian, finding Anna dead to the world in the toilets, leaving Anna in the toilets for 45 minutes so me and Fiona could go back to the dancefloor, having a charcuterie in the back of the taxi on the way home
and... waking up this morning to find that, in addition to Anna being broken, so was her laptop.
The two victims of my leaving party
Thank you all for being brilliant, I'm genuinely sad to be going.
See you all next summer! xxxxxxx
written by  lizziecarver on October 15, 2010 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Backpacking... it's not as fun as Insurance

I'm here!
Nakuru, Kenya
Hello All,
I have to be very quick because we have just stopped for a lunch break so I don't have long.
I had the worst journey ever getting here (Its a long Story involving 3 cancelled flights and a detour via Saudi and Dubai)... but I got here Tuesday nights.
I met the group across town on Wednesday morning. Everyone is very nice. Mostly late 20s, people that have worked for a few years and then decided to go on an adventure. A mix of brits, Kiwis and Canadians. After introductions we got on the bus.. and headed through the Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley
The truck is big and yellow and fits 24 passengers. There are 13 of us at the moment and we are picking up another 10 when we pass back through Nairobi. We have lockers under our seats, a safe in the floor and on the outside lots of storage for fuel, water, camping gear and the kitchen.
Our Truck
Yesterday we spent the day doing Safari which was ace. We saw antelope, giraffes, zebras, white and black Rhino and a shed load of flamingos.
View of lake Nakuru Park
Lions having a cuddle
Black Rhino
Me
Impala
Its going into raining season at the moment and we had a big down pour yesterday. Pretty smug that I've got my walking boots and waterproof jacket but the next 2 weeks are going to be WET until we head down south. I wish I'd packed waterproof trousers and a hat!
Tonight we are bush camping (camping in the middle of nowhere) in a forest near the Ugandan border. I am on cook group so I've just been to the market to buy all the ingredients for jacket potatos and vege chilli. We are cooking over an open fire so I've stocked up on marshmellows too.
Anyway have to dash because the truck is leaving soon. We are heading north east towards Uganda today.
me! x
written by  lizziecarver on October 22, 2010 from Nakuru, Kenya
from the travel blog: Backpacking... it's not as fun as Insurance

All the Gandas
Kigali, Rwanda
Hello All,
I am currently in Rwanda in just about the worst intenet cafe ever, complete with power cuts and a terrible connection.
Rwanda is incredible definitely the most stunning place I've ever been. Its a but like the alps but with tea plantations, padi fields and mud huts. We arrived here yesterday and stopped of in the capital (Kigali) to visit the genocide memorial. I have read a couple of books on it but they didn't really prepare me for the brutality of some of the images. Its incredible the the Rwanda has recovered so well in the 16 years since it ended. In the evening our guide hooked us up with a local man who gave us a personal account of his experiences... We are very lucky to live in the UK.
This morning we went Gorilla Trekking. This was the whole reason I booked the Africa trip in the first place. We met our guide and got taken to the bottom of the volcano where the gorillas live. We only had to walk for about 40 minutes when we found the trackers. Then we left our back packs and our guide started cutting his way though the undergrowth. Suddenly we were surrounded by gorillas. It was incredible. The babies were playing about 3 feet in front of us and they kept moving so we would have to make way for them. The silverback was huge and gave us all a fright when he walked past. By this point we were covered in nettle stings but I didn't care. It was one of the best things I've ever done. I would really recommend it.
To get to Rwanda to make our Gorilla trekking date we had to drive through Uganda fairly quickly. We stopped in Kampala for a few days because our driver had the squits and went on a slum tour. It was really fun playing in the streets with the children. They love having their picture taken and then seeing it on the screen on the camera.
Due to this crap internet connection I cannot upload any pictures. One of the girls from my group is on the computer next to me and has been trying to get onto Facebook for 1 hour 20 mins and counting.
When I get somewhere with broadband I will upload some pictures and maybe even a video to Youtube.
Having a great time.
Hope you are all well xxxx
written by  lizziecarver on October 27, 2010 from Kigali, Rwanda
from the travel blog: Backpacking... it's not as fun as Insurance

Photo Update
Kampala, Uganda
Here are a couple of photos from the past week...
This is how I spend my days... hanging out the top of our truck
Trekking for Gorillas
Baby Gorilla Playing
F*** me he's big
Hot, sweaty, covered in nettle stings, but having a lovely time sitting in a pack of Gorillas
me x
written by  lizziecarver on October 28, 2010 from Kampala, Uganda

The Source of the Nile
Kampala, Uganda
After a very eventful Journey we arrived in Jinga (about an hour from Kampala) on Sunday night. Ginga is the watersports capital of Uganada and sits on the Nile just at its source on Lake Victoria.
On Monday we all signed up to go white water rafting. Having never been rafting before I very much underestimated how big these grade 5 rapids were going to be. After an hour of drills we reached our first set of rapids. It was all going well until we got to a rapid from called the Silverback. We all got thrown out and sent flying down the rapids in different directions. There was a brief moment when I thought I was probably dead before being rescued by a kayaker. It took me a couple more rapids to get my confidence back but the rest of the day was incredible. I must have been thrown out 4/5 times but the rest of the just funny, no getting sucked under. Our favourite part was a 5 meter waterfall that we dropped down. Some how we all stayed in the boat.
Rafting Team
I'm the one in black with my eyes closed pretending its not happening
After a few G&T's last night we got up this morning and me and Meg decided to visit one of the local community projects. It was a really inspiring project set up by an English tour leader 10 years ago. They provide free schooling for all the local children, a local clinic and wider community education to adults on efficient agriculture methods, sustainability, health and family planning and ICT. They take on lots of volunteers and get a lot of their funding from tourists who have visited and UK university societies. It was quite cool to see an effective project that has found solutions to some of the local issues.
Playing with the kids at the Soft Power Primary School
The rest of today was spent eating Japatis and sunbathing on the Nile... its a hard life :)
written by  lizziecarver on November 1, 2010 from Kampala, Uganda

Another Equator Crossing...
Entebbe, Uganda
Me and Meg at the Equator again... this time its not raining!
Another equator crossing (Me and Meg)
written by  lizziecarver on October 31, 2010 from Entebbe, Uganda

Another Hideous Campsite
Kabale, Uganda
We spent the end of last week chilling out at Lake Bunyonyi. Uganda is stunning. The lake is 6500 ft deep and surrounded by mountains, perfect!
Another hideous campsite (Lake Bunyonyi)
written by  lizziecarver on October 29, 2010 from Kabale, Uganda

Lake Naivasha
Naivasha, Kenya
This week we spent a couple of days camping on Lake Naivasha on the way back to Nairobi. The camp ground itself was pretty basic but the location was incredible. You can wake up in the night and hear all the hippos from your tent. On the first day we got there it was one of the girls birthdays so we decided to get dressed up and go for afternoon tea at Elsemere. Elsemere was the home of Joy Adamson of the Born Free books/films/charity. Its now a museum and afternoon tea venue! We spend about 2 minutes in the museum part and then got our dollars worth in tea, quiche and cake. YUMMMY!
Afternoon Tea at Elsemere
Ladies Wot Lunch
The next day we decided to go on a bike safari through Hells Gate National Park. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was stunning. We rode past Zebras, Antelope and Warthogs before getting off our bikes and climbing through a gorge.
Mountain Bike Safari at Hells Gate National Park
We're back in Nairobi today (7th) just waiting to pick more people up before heading to Tanzinia. I'll be in Zanzibar next weeked... LUSH!
written by  lizziecarver on November 4, 2010 from Naivasha, Kenya

The Bumpy Road to Tanzania
Arusha, Tanzania
Today we took a very long and bumpy road from Nairobi, Kenya to Arusha, Tanzania. The journey was fantastic. Quite suddenly the scenery changed to arid plains. Somewhere near the Tanzanian border we started passing through tribal villages. The tribal costumes were amazing, they have lots of piercings and face paint and still carry spears. It was a really good drive day made better by the fact that we picked up 5 new people at the beginning of the day.
Hanging out the Roof with the Ladies
During one of the many toilet stops along the way (we opened the beers early afternoon) we attempted some classic jumping shots
1,2,3, Jump (4th attempt)
Epic Fail
written by  lizziecarver on November 8, 2010 from Arusha, Tanzania

More Safari :)
Arusha, Tanzania
We spent the next couple of days on Safari. From Arusha we first drove to the Ngorogoro Crater which backs onto the Serengeti and is the remains of a Volcano. The remaining Crater is full of animals almost like a little eco-system. We saw lots of animals that I haven't seen in the wild before like jackals, hyenas, ostriches etc. The scenery was incredible but by midday we had to get out because of the heat.
Stupid Buffalo
Miles and Miles of Africa
Ngorogoro Crater Safari
In the afternoon we had lunch on the rim of the Crater and then headed into the Serengeti National Park. The Serengeti is famous for seeing cats and everyone knows I LOVE CATS. Almost immediately we saw a cheetah on the side of the road with a kill, and then a couple of minutes later her 4 cubs emerged we also saw leopards and heaps of lions. It was such a good day, I could watch them for hours. They are just like massive moggies!
Lion Posing for the Camera
Serengeti Safari
That evening we slept inside the Serengeti in our tents, in the middle of the park, with no fences, just a guard with a gun. It was a brilliant experience, I went to sleep listening to hyenas laughing, and it was crazy to wake up, get in the vehicles and see elephants less than 100m away.
written by  lizziecarver on November 11, 2010 from Arusha, Tanzania

I Heart Zanzibar
Zanzibar, Tanzania
At the moment we are spending some time in Zanzibar. On top of the fact that we are getting to sleep in beds and not in tents for the first time in a month its ABSOLUTE PARADISE! I have spent the last couple of days frolicking in the sea, catching some rays, eating incredible food, driving mojitos and banana-coladas and watching sunsets from my hammock... SWEET. I am definitely going to have to come back here.
Last night we went of for dinner while one of the couples went out on their own for a sunset boat ride. When they came back Alice had a huge diamond on her ring finger. We were all so happy for them that we decided to go and get completely smashed... some things never change.
Tomorrow I'm going scuba diving in the National Park just of the coast. I can't wait. I have my fingers and toes crossed, i would love to see some turtles.
Zanzibar Beach
The view from my hammock
Frikin Sweet
x
written by  lizziecarver on November 16, 2010 from Zanzibar, Tanzania

More Zanzibar
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Me, Meg and Alice
Profile Picture
We spent a couple more nights in Zanzibar. The highlights being:
-Diving with a huge turtle
Diving
-More banana-coladas
-A very boozy night out where I got my hands on some terrible white wine, made a dance floor with Jessica, got a approached by some Massai Men (thanks, but no thanks mate!) and ended up having a midnight swim out to some local fishermans boats so we could practice bombing of the top deck.
With a dirty white wine headache we had to pack up and move on to Stonetown which is the capital/principle city of Zanzibar. It has a massive Arabic influence and sort of reminded me of Morocco. We spent the day getting lost down side streets and eating some incredible food (Zanzibar is famous for its old spice trade). We also visited the site of the last remaining slave market in Africa which was really interested and made me realise how little I actually know about slavery... must find a book to read.
Stone Town
The source of the dodgy tummy
Meg in a Slave Cell
In the evening we went to the local food market. The food was out of this world I had BBQ tuna and prawn and falafal, then I had a Zanzibar Pizza ( a cross between a pizza and an omlette) and then had to be rolled back to the hostel. The downside to all the delicious food is, without going into detail, we have all spent the last with dodgy tummies. This has been particularly interesting and quite a bonding experience because we spent 3 days on the road in the middle of bloody nowhere with no bathrooms.
written by  lizziecarver on November 21, 2010 from Zanzibar, Tanzania

I am soooo bored of driving.
Mzuzu, Malawi
Africa is massive... fact. The roads are shocking and the police like to stop you every 5 minutes, not because there's anything wrong, but because they're bored and like chatting.
We spend 3 days in a row driving this week. Day one was fine I was terribly behind on my journal and hadn't listened to my ipod for a while. Day 2 was boring as hell, the book I was reading at the time was going through a really slow patch. By Day 3 I was looking for sharp objects. We stopped each day in the early evening pitched our tents in a clearing, made dinner, had a camp fire, went to bed, got up just after Sunrise, packed back up the tents and got back in the road.
Bush Camp
Fire Making at Bush Camp
The only saving Grace for day three was that we crossed into Malawi. Malawi is lovely, incredible poor but so friendly, reminds me a bit of Rwanda in that respect. Tanzania had felt a bit hostile so it was nice to be greeted by a zillion excitable kids, plus parents, plus grandparents where ever we went.
written by  lizziecarver on November 23, 2010 from Mzuzu, Malawi

Lake Malawi
Mzuzu, Malawi
One of the main attractions of Malawi is lake Malawi which is so huge you can see it from space. We spent 3 days on the lake relaxing, celebrating birthdays and having a leaving party for the couple that are leaving the trip.
I've never been in a lake that big before and its bizzare because there are tides and surf but its fresh water. Really refreshing when its a bizillion degrees and 100% humid.
The highlights were:
-Going on an epic, very very long swim out to an island of the coast.
-Fancy dress. Prior to getting to the lake we stopped in Mzuzu town to pick up fancy dress costumes for a party. This route is so well trodden by overland trucks that the locals knew exactly what we were looking for. Once we parked up they came running with bags of quite frankly hideous clothes shouting lines such as 'you want ugly clothes'. I wish I had taken some pictures because its was one of the most bizzare things I've ever seen. We came away with lots of 80s, animal print, lumo, sparkly, items... nice. So basically when we put all our old, out of date clothes in charity bins they go to charity shops in the UK. The items that the old biddies/trendy wendys don't want then get sent to Africa. Once in Africa they get SOLD at markets to the locals. The completely hideous left overs are then sold back to absolute mugs like me on overland trucks at a huge mark up so that we can have fancy dress parties.
-Pig Day. We decided to buy a pig to spit roast one day form the local village ( I am obviously vege so it wasn't my idea). I don't know what came over me but I decided to reconfirm by vegetarianism by going to see it get killed in the morning. Poor little Percy's eyes burnt holes into my heart when we got there and he was tied up. Apart from the squeeling the death wasn't actually too bad as it was quite quick- knife straight into the heart. I had to go for a lay down afterwards but I'm glad I did it and I think everyone appreciated the hog roast a bit more afterwards.
T making a punch
Anna doing a Percy impression
Making Roast Potatoes to go with Percy
Percy the Pig
Colin in Fancy Dress
Fancy Dress
At the moment we're in Lilongwe which is the capital of Malawi. Tonight we pick up 5 more people (3 Canadians, 2 Yanks) before heading to the Tete Corridor in Mozambique for one night and then ino Zimbabwe.
Can't wait to get back on the truck... NAAAAAAT.
written by  lizziecarver on November 24, 2010 from Mzuzu, Malawi

Zimbabwe is outdoorsy heaven.
Chimanimani, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is beautiful...
Chimanimani
Wet....
Lightening displays in Chimanimani
and full of very corrupt policemen.
We arrived in Zim last week and headed straight to the Capital Harare. Its much more developed than anywhere we've been so far and there are a lot more white people than I had expected (or perhaps I was just a bit ignorant before). The capital itself was a bit unremarkable apart from the fact that I could get a lump of decent cheese for under $2- yesssss. Afterwards we headed to the Chimanimani mountains for a bit of outdoorsy fun. Chimanimani itself is incredibly beautiful and loks a bit like Scotland but better (see above). Our campsite....
Chimanimani Camp
... was set on a hill so the views from our tent were incredible (see above). Zimbabwe has the second highest number of deaths from lightening strikes in the world which is obviously unfortunate but makes for great lightening shows. We watched a storm one night that had a flash of lightening every 2 seconds for about 3 hours- incredible.
Without realising quite how wet Chimanimani was going to be I had planned to cook a root vegetable stew which we had the perfect weather for. I don't know what's happened to me but I've worked out how to cook since I've been away.
Dinner time under canvas
We went trekking on one of the days which was really hard work but really beautiful and rewarding. It rained, no suprise there, so we stopped in a cave for lunch and built a fire to dry our clothes.
The most uncomfortable journey ever- jeep taxi to Chimanimani NP
Sheltering from the weather in a cage for lunch
written by  lizziecarver on December 1, 2010 from Chimanimani, Zimbabwe

Rhino walking safari
Matopos, Zimbabwe
On the way to Vic Falls we stopped at Matopo NP to go walking with Rhinos. We had two guides. Andy- ex military, game hunter, liked talking about how many animals he'd killed amd Wally- late 60s, ex military, vicar, on the board for the SPCA. Both men wore tiny safari shorts and were probably the most interesting people I've ever met. We spent the day walking through the bush looking at plants, tracks, poo, bugs. In the afternoon we picked up the tracks of some white rhino and after a bit of a trek in the pouring rain (obvi) we came across them. It was pretty intimidating and it looked like they might charge at any given moment.
I love Africa!!!
I'm a massive Gortex wearing safari geek and I love it.
written by  lizziecarver on December 5, 2010 from Matopos, Zimbabwe

Money, money, money
Harare, Zimbabwe
The money situation in Zimbabwe is crazy. I knew a little bit about the economic situation before I came here but not that much. Because the government got a bit Liberal with the money printing the Zim dollar was devalued so far that they had to start printing 100 TRILLION dollar bills. Prior to this trip I didn’t even know how many zeros were on the end of a trillion. The currency is now obsolete and they now use $US which means you can now buy the notes as souvenirs.
Perhaps the only good thing about the situation is that they don’t use anything smaller than one dollar notes so if you go to the supermarket, spend $3.15 and give them $4 you get 2 chomps, one lolly pop and 3 chewing gums as change.
With so many sweets and chocolate on offer its easy to forget how much destruction this caused for even a wealthy Zimbabwean. Wally, our guide from Matopo is in his late 60s but cannot give up work because despite having a pretty decent job, saving all his life and keeping a pension has no money. By then end of the economic disaster his entire life savings were worth the equivalent of US$6.
50 TRILLION dollars
written by  lizziecarver on December 1, 2010 from Harare, Zimbabwe

I love cats
Gweru, Zimbabwe
Pussy cat of the week!
written by  lizziecarver on December 10, 2010 from Gweru, Zimbabwe

4 nights in Ibiza (Victoria Falls)
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
We are constantly on the move at the moment so rarely get to spend more than one or two nights in the same place. So when we got the opportunity to spend FOUR nights in Ibiza (a.k.a Vic Falls) with a choice of 2 bars and reasonably priced drinkable South African white wine things got a little bit messy.
In between the hangovers and next visit to Shoestrings Bar we actually managed to do quite a few activities…
Victoria Falls sits on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. We got to see it from the Zimbabwean side which was incredible. Its so loud and powerful that at certain points you can’t see much for all the spray. We spent the morning taking in the views and posing for an unnecessary amount of photographs.
Near the end of the falls they’d got a bit slack at putting up fencing so you could dangle yourself right over the Zambezi.
The next day Jessica and I came up with the stupid idea of doing a gorge swing. A gorge swing is a bit like a bungy jump but the rope isn’t elasticated and you are attached by the waist rather than the feet. I can’t believe we actually did it, but after the initial jump the feeling was amazing. Just to prove we did it here is a picture of us just as we left the platform.
The internet connection is too slow to upload a video but if you YouTube “gorge swing Victoria Falls” you should get a good idea of how brave we were!
After all that adrenaline we decided to take the pace down a notch or two with afternoon tea on the lawn at the Victoria Falls Hotel. It was by far the best afternoon tea we’ve had so far, made better by the stunning backdrop of the falls.
We also did a little bit of celebrity spotting while in town. We saw Chelsea Davey 3 times. Twice in Shoestrings Bar and once in Chicken Inn (she’s a classy girl).
written by  lizziecarver on December 14, 2010 from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Heaven is the Okavango Delta
Maun, Botswana
Another week another country... Botswana.
Botswana is bloody expensive and the most modern place we've been yet. On the upside it has the Okavango Delta which should just be renamed Heaven. Its probably the prettiest place I've ever been.
We just returned from a 2 night Wilderness canoe safari. Our guides took us out in canoes deep into the delta where we bush camped on little islands.
General Schedule for the day in Heaven:
-5am every morning to go bush walking for 4 hours
-11am swam in the delta and practiced our punting skills
-napped in the shade to escape the midday (40 degree sun)
-4pm sunset canoeing
-6pm cooking on the bonfire
-8pm teaching the Okey Cokey to the locals with a G&T
-10pm bedtime istening to hippos and hyenas in the background
SWEEEEEEEEEET
Meg
Catching some rays
Punting in Botswana
Bush Camp
Mobile Bar
Me and Meg in the Canoe
Sunset in the Delta
written by  lizziecarver on December 14, 2010 from Maun, Botswana

Tsodilo Hills
Maun, Botswana
After the Delta we stopped for a night at Tsodilo Hills. Its a national heritage site famous for its really old rock paintings. I don't have any real interest in rock paintings but we'll take any excuse to get of the bus and do some exercise at the moment. In addition to this I was pretty confident rock paintings meant there would be an opportunity for rock climbing which is much more exciting.
Happy!
It was a really awesome bush camp in the middle of nowhere. The sunset made the clouds go funny.
Awesome Clouds
written by  lizziecarver on December 15, 2010 from Maun, Botswana

Ngepi camp, the best toilets and showers ever.
Katima Mulilo, Namibia
After crossing over the border into Namibia we reached our camp by afternoon. There were no tourist attractions in the area the tourist attraction was the campsite. Ngepi Camp is set on the kavango River which is teeming with hippos and crocks. The camp has made a name for itself with incredible toilets and showers.
The thrown- overlooking the Hippos
The Throne
Poop-a-Falls- A toilet with a view and a very long long-drop
Poop a falls
The Holiday Bathroom- come with in built sunglasses
Holiday shower- complete with in-built sunglasses
and my favourite... The bath with the view
Having a bath hippo watching
The view from my bath tub
written by  lizziecarver on December 16, 2010 from Katima Mulilo, Namibia

Etosha National Park.... (who needs Bolivia)
Outjo, Namibia
We spent the next couple of days on safari in Etosha National Park. We didn't spot any cats other than some lions way off in the distance but we there were tons of grazing animals. In one camera frame you get giraffes, zebra, warthogs, kudu, Springbok etc...a bit like a scene from the lion king. It was awesome.
The other fun thing about Etosha is that it has a massive salt pan in the middle of it. This means you can mess around with the perspective on your camera and take pictures such as...
Love hunters cider
Me eating Meg
Tampon boxercize
In the evenings we stayed in a camp in the park. The camp had a flod-lit watering hole next to it so we took down a few ciders, midnight snacks and sleeping bags and sat out under the stars all night watching animals come into feed. At about 3.30 a female white rhino and her baby came in to drink. They stayed with us for a couple of hours. It was awesome to watch them being completely natural. You could see the calf being naughty, getting told off by its mum and then being told to lay down and go to sleeep.
Sunset
3.30am at the watering hole
written by  lizziecarver on December 19, 2010 from Outjo, Namibia

I Love Cats (Part II)
Kamanjab, Namibia
On the way to the coast we stopped at a campsite called Cheetah Park. The owner has 4 domestic hand reared cheetahs. They also have a little yappy dog. The cheetahs thing they are dogs and the dogs think they're cheetahs.
So excited
written by  lizziecarver on December 20, 2010 from Kamanjab, Namibia

We've crossed Africa!!!!!!
Khorixas, Namibia
We've finally done it, we've travelled right across Africa and reached the Atlantic Ocean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally reached the Atlantic... dressed like Artic explorers
written by  lizziecarver on December 21, 2010 from Khorixas, Namibia

Lots and lots of desert
Spitzkop, Namibia
We've been driving through deserts for the last week. The Kalahari first and now the Namib. The driving is awful- really really dusty, but the scenery is out of this world. So vast, really arid and beautiful. The camping has been brilliant because you get to see Sunrise and sunset from the same spot.
One problem is does create is wee stops. Its fine for the boys, they just line up facing outwards...
Desert moooney
but for the girls we have to hide round one side of the truck and tell the boys to keep themselves busy.
On Chistmas Eve eve eve we stayed a my favourite bush camp by a country mile- Spitzkoppe. After Miles and Miles of nothing massive rock formations rise out of the desert. We arrived late afternoon which gave us a couple of hours before nightfall to go climbing yey!!!!
Best bush camp ever
Spitzkoppe (our bus is just at the base of that big rock
Spitzkoppe
Sunset at Spitzkoppe
Me
Me and Meg Spitzkoppe
written by  lizziecarver on December 22, 2010 from Spitzkop, Namibia

HAPPY CHRISTMAS
Swakopmund, Namibia
HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM Namibia!
We're in Swakomund for Christmas which is a really odd german colonial town in the middle of Namib desert in the Atlantic.
I've got some sandboarding lined up for christmas day followed by dinner on the beach.
After Chistmas we've got a fairl long 4 days of driving to get to Cape Town in time for NYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
written by  lizziecarver on December 24, 2010 from Swakopmund, Namibia

Christmas in Namibia
Swakopmund, Namibia
Here are some pictures from Christmas in Namibia. Unfortunately I made the age old mistake of getting too drunk on Christmas Eve. There is no photographic evidence of this night but it involved 2 nightclubs, 2 bars, a drinking session on the beach and far too much white wine.
Anyway I woke up the next day to find 2 stockings at the end of the bed.
Christmas Stockings
Sweeties
Stocking time (still drunk)
I had a terrible hangover/was still drunk but had already comitted to going sandboarding. Sandboarding involves lying on a bit of 6 by 4 and going head first down a sand dune. The MOJOR drawback of it is that there are no lifts so it also involves hiking up massive sand dunes in the heat, which doesn't mix well with a wine hangover. It was really good fun and by dune number 3 the adreneline had made me feel a little bit better. After a couple of epic fails (with a lot of sand in my mouth) I clocked 69 km/hour, which is pretty fast when your face is so close to the sand.
Christmas Day, trying to hide the hangover
Sand boarding
Sand Angel
In the afternoon we went down to the beach for drinks, secret santa and sunset...
Christmas on the beach
Sitting on Santa's knee
Sunset on Christmas Day
written by  lizziecarver on December 25, 2010 from Swakopmund, Namibia

Sand in my boots, sand in my hair, sand up my nose, sand in my sleeping bag....
Maltahohe, Namibia
Because we needed to make it Cape Town in time for NYE we had a couple of days where we had to cover a lot of ground in the desert. It was a really unconfortable jouney, plus 40 heat and very very very dusty. It made for some awesome scenery though and some even better stars. One night I could see Orion, the Southern Cross, 2 planets and the milkyway all in one!
We stopped at some of the dunes along the way to go climbing an get even sandier. The climb was really tiring, took down both Jess and Meg's cameras (lens error- bleep of death), but it gave us another opportunity to do some quite blatent posing.
More sand dunes
Hot after the long walk up
Massive poser
Sand in my boots
written by  lizziecarver on December 27, 2010 from Maltahohe, Namibia

Fish River Canyon
Keetmanshoop, Namibia
On the jouney to Cape Town we also stopped at FIsh River Canyon. Second biggest after the grad canyon but still bloody impressive. After walking around it for a bit we had a wine and cheese evening watching sunset!
written by  lizziecarver on December 29, 2010 from Keetmanshoop, Namibia

Wine and Cheese
Stellenbosch, South Africa
After the wine and cheese sunset. We crossed the border in [[South-Africa]] for the wine and cheese marathon. We stayed for a night a half way between [[South-Africa/Springbok]] and [[South-Africa/Stellenbosch]] and decided to do wine and cheese tasting...
Warm up wine & cheese tasting the night before
The next day we got up and travelled to [[South-Africa/Stellenbosch]], THE wine region of SA. We were booked on the 'Easyrider' wine tour which was obviously a very sophisticated affiar involving 4 wine tastings and a cheese tasting.
Beautiful Stellenbosch
Tasting number 1
My new career
Jess didn't rate the Chardonnay either
I didn't think much of the Chardonnay
Tasting no. 2
Wine Tasting
4th wine tasting of the day
written by  lizziecarver on December 29, 2010 from Stellenbosch, South Africa

I'm a social hand grenade
Cape Town, South Africa
The less said about NYE the better. It was all going so well at the beginning of the evening...
Social hand grenade no.1
NYE
but it turned into absolute carnage. I only have these two photos because I lost my camera just before midnight, spent an hour distraught with all the staff looking for the camera, then found it in Edward's bag (I'd asked him to look after it for safe keeping). We decided to celebrate this miraculous find with a bottle of champagne and more dancing. Jessica didn't even make it to midnight and had to be taken home in a taxi after treating Meg's leggings to a multi-coloured yawn. A good night had by all!
The rest of our time in Cape Town has been spent Climbing Table Mountain, visiting Robben Island where Madela was jailed and doing lots of other touristy stuff.
Freezing from the top of table mountain
Above the clouds on Table Mt
Tourists on tour
Cape Town
written by  lizziecarver on December 31, 2010 from Cape Town, South Africa

I'm going to Argentina... tomorrow!
Cape Town, South Africa
I had been putting off making and decisions as to where to go next for a while. It finally came to a head on New Years Day when I was slightly hungover and decided I needed to take some positive action because everyone I knew was leaving the next day. I had been toying with the idea of going to India but hadn't done anything about it.
Soooooo I'm going to Argentina instead, tomorrow. It was a bit of a hasty decision based on the fact that I found a really cheap direct flight to Buenos Aires at the last moment. I have spent the last couple of days cramming Spanish into my head unsuccessfully. I literally know zero Spanish.
I've booked a hostel, I've got a guide book, I'm really good at miming, I'm going on a new adventure...
written by  lizziecarver on January 4, 2011 from Cape Town, South Africa

Hello Argentina
San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
Hello from Argentina!
Apologies for not updating the blog for a while.
I´ve been in Argentina a week now. The flight here was absolute paradise. I normally despise flying but the flight was empty so I had 3 seats, a choice of terrible movies and unlimited blankets.
Buenos Aires was a bit of a shock to the system. Its a really big trendy city. It feels a bit like London and the bars and restaurants are gorgeous but I actually felt really claustrophobic because I´ve got used to being outdoors doing stuff. I spent a couple of Days there with a really nice girl called Claire who was also from the UK. We spent our time visiting the sites, drinking red wine, visiting museums, drinking red wine, and talking rubbish. After a couple of days I decided that I needed to get out of BA because it was eating a hole in my bank account and I wanted some greenery.
I booked a bus ticket to Bariloche in Northern Patagonia for the next day so me and Claire decided to go out and celebrate... until 6.30am. My bus left at 13.00. I woke up at 11.50 and paniced. The bus station was all the way over the other side of town and I had no idea where I was going. I packed (stuffed) my bag, but because i didn´t have time to fold I couldn´t fit all my things in so I decided there and then to dump my sleeping bag (mistake no.1) and thermarest matt (mistake no.2). I ran to the metro station and got on the underground to the bus station. When I got to the bus station I was greeted by no less than 250 bus counters (not an exageration) and I had to find which one corresponded with my e-ticket. I finally found the counter and used the only Spanish phrase I´d managed to learn so far "¿Hablar Ingles?" to which he answered no. I spent the next 5 minutes using the power of mime, loud slow english and smiling to communicate. Eventually I established that he needed the credit card I booked with (Tarjeta de credit for future reference). I made it to the platform just in time and boarded the bus. The jouney was 22 hours long, 22 HOURS LONG. Luckily, the buses in Argentina are very comfortable. The seats recline pretty much fully, you get served meals and drinks and you get to watch films that sometimes haven´t been dubbed over in SPanish. Since arriving here I´ve heard about a bus company that do bus bingo in the mornings so i´m going to make it my mission to get on that one next time.
I´m now in Bariloche and I like it a loche (Rausa I´ve completely stolen that from you and use it at every opportunity). Its basically a ski resort so all the buildings look very alpine, there are a million outdoors shop, a load of outdoorys people, far too many chocolate and ice cream shops and a shed load of activites on offer. Since I´ve been here I´ve turned into my mother and spent most of my time walking and cycling. The scenery is out of this world and i find myself walking around with a grin on my face for no reason.
South America has proved quite a challenge so far because I´m predominantly travelling alone and I speak no Spanish. Its normally not a problem travelling in countries where the language isn´t English because the tourist industry is geared caters for English speakers. Here the tourist industry is all aimed at Spanish speakers so its A LOT harder. All the backpackers here also speak at least enough SPanish to get by so I am quite a bit behind.
This week I´ve been attending SPanish school in the mornings to try and pick up some language. Its a complete pain in the A but its definitely worth while. Last night I went to Tango lessons with the other pupils from the school. I used my Jenny Reeds School of Dance (circa 1995) skills to pick up the moves quite quickly. We were then given partners. I was paired up with an overweight Mexican with sweaty hands and two left feet. Brilliant. We got the hang of it eventually but by this point I wanted to get out of there because the Mexican seemed to be having too much fun.
I´m going to be in Bazza for at least another 5 days because I have more SPanish lessons and want to do some more hiking.
Pictures so far...
don´t cry for me
Me and Claire talking BS over numerous bottles of Malbec
walking geek (mother, please don´t comment on my bare midriff)
bike geeks
This isn´t a postcard, its real life
wind swept
mmmmmm... beer and nuts in the sun
Getting in the groove
Me and the large sweaty mexican
Bite my ear... no thanks
written by  lizziecarver on January 12, 2011 from San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina

Getting some "value for money" out of my travel insurance policy
San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
There's nothing I like more than a bit of insurance... everyone knows that. Today I sent in my first and hopefully last claim form to my travel insurers (ACE, by the way given that Kevvo was smart enough not to give me a deal on the Allianz book). You may notice that there are no pictures in this blog entry. That's because my camera, my wallet, my ipod, my geek fleece and my very overpriced gortex jacket all got stolen. The incident can only really be compared to a dramatic reconstruction in an episode of '999'. In years to come I'm sure I will take great pride in retelling the Story of the time I got robbed at gun point in Patagonia but for now its a bit of a sore point. F*CK&NG ARGENTINIAN B@RSTRDS!!!!
Other than being a bit shaken up by the whole event I am fine. As I don't have a round-the-world ticket and I now have a bit of a complex about the dangers of South America I've decided to bosh some cash on some flights to Bangkok. I'll be arriving on Tuesday lots of beach bum, green curry eating, Chang drinking action. Sweeeeeeeet.
p.s. Hammond/Barney- go on, say it..... "I told you so"
written by  lizziecarver on January 27, 2011 from San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina

Loves a temple
Siem Reap, Cambodia
I'm back on the road!!
I landed in Bangkok last week and spent a couple of days flexing my drinking muscles before heading to over to Cambodia. I've spent the last couple of days in Cambodia in Siem Reap which is famous for the Ankor Temples (8th wonder of the world according to LonelyPlanet).
My 1st night in Cambodia was quite frankly ridiculous. I got there at about 7pm after a very long day and border crossing. I really wanted to go straight to sleep but I couldn't because I'd run out of water and so had to go out at least to get that. I'm not sure really what I expected from Cambodia but it wasn't what I got. Siem Reap is Uber cool. So cool that on my first night I decided it would be 'very london' of me to eat overpriced cupcakes for dinner.
Dinner
After my cupcakes I thought I might as well go and have A drink so found myself a pub/bar called 'Ankor What?!' sat at the bar and ordered a pint ($0.50). 5 pints later I end up in a gay bar being set up with an overweight Cambodian lesbian who complemented me on having a body shape similar to her own. Cringe. After a couple of swift G&Ts me and my new bessies Josh and Grant went to a nightclub and danced our little feet off to the likes of Britney and Lady Gaga. Josh and I occasionally lost Grant in the crowd but after a brief search would find him playing tonsil tennis with a very keen Cambodian lad.
Having a gay old time.
Auggghhhh its Lady Gaga
The rest of the week has been spent hanging out with a girl named Hattie. I got up at 5am one morning to try and catch sunrise over Ankor. I hadn't arranged any transport and decided to try my luck at bumping into some people to share a tuk tuk with. I didn't have to go far, I found Hattie, Babsi and Leo at the gates trying to work out how to open it and jumped in their tuk tuk.
Hattie and co.
Sunset would have been AMAZING had it not been Chinese new year. The whole of the population of China (all 1.3 billion) had decided to visit Ankor for sunrise that morning. It was still pretty spectacular though...
China
Ankor Wat
We spent the rest of the day visiting temples and eating pineapple.
written by  lizziecarver on February 9, 2011 from Siem Reap, Cambodia

Budget accomodation
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Cheapest bed I've found so far...!
94662 beds! breezy but with some slight security issues
written by  lizziecarver on February 12, 2011 from Siem Reap, Cambodia

Snooky- a bit like shagaloof but in Cambodia.
Sihanokville, Cambodia
Last week I had a brief stopover in Phonm Pehn to see the killing fields. I had been feeling under the weather so after doing some cultural stuff I decided to do what all girls do best, shop and pampers myself! I got a haircut for $3.50 where the lady continually showered me with compliments, I got a manicure and a pedicure for $2 and a new pair of demin short in the style of Fiona Hemming. Armed with my new look I got on a bus to Sihanoukvile, a beach resort in Cambodia. Sihanoukvile, or Snooky is easily the trashiest place I've been in Cambodia. The days started very late and were spent on a particularly dirty beach, in the early afternoon the promoters (Mainly British gap yearers running out of money) come around ang give out drinks tokens. The evening is then spent cashing in all these free tokens and heading to the beach nightclubs. Luckily I met some really really fun girls on my first night and also bumped into my friend Lisa from Dahab so we had a really funny time. I tried to drink through it as best as I could (I was still sick)...
Bad wine and rehydration salts
After my pampering in PP I decided I hadn't had quite enough so we all decided to get our legs threaded. After which the beach lady accused me of having hairy armpits, so that had to go as well. This slippery slope continued until I had a small Cambodian lady in between my legs threading my bikini line....
Getting threaded on the beach
Laaaadies
Karen the burns victim
A day on the beach
written by  lizziecarver on February 14, 2011 from Sihanokville, Cambodia

The perfect beach!
Sihanokville, Cambodia
After a couple of days in Snooky I decided to move on and try and find a better beach. I brought a boat ticket to Koh Kong which is a couple of hours from the mainland. It was one of those really awful boat journeys where you seriously start considering what your going to do if the boat goes over. It was all worth it in the end because Koh Kong was out of this world beautiful. The island is 70km sq, has 100 locals and 3 sets of tourist bungalows the oldest of which has only been there 18 months so its fairly new to touists. I cannot describe how incredible the island was. The beach with the pier on was a couple fo KMs long and had some shacks on. Then if you walked around the head land I found a beach that must have been 4kms long, pure white sand, turquoise water and I had it ALL TO MYSELF. Literally just me.
I had such a nice couple of days there. I found a cheap bed in a dorm owned by a diveschool on the mainland where the divemasters stay. After being ill for ages I finally got my appetite back, ate incredible food and read 3 books.
deserted beaches do still exist in SE Asia
smmmmmmuggggggg
My private beach on Koh Kong
written by  lizziecarver on February 17, 2011 from Sihanokville, Cambodia

I heart Kampot
Kampot, Cambodia
After Koh Kong it was going to take a lot to find anywhere nearly as nice. I had heard from a couple of people that they really liked Kampot so I decided to head there. Kampot is a lazy little town next to Bokor National Park. We stayed at the best backpackers ever, Bodhi Villa, which was set on the river, had amazing hummus, $3 dorm beds, the friendly staff ever. The backpackers also had a recording studio attached to it which also meant that there were a couple of bands there. On Friday night they have live music nights so the bands that stay there play. I met some incredible people and had probably the best night out I've had since I've been away.
What budget...? cocktails all night yes pleeease.
Twin Towers
The biggest Jagerbombs I have ever encountered
I would have loved to stay longer but I was working to a deadline to meet Laura 'Cole the Mole' Collman and Matt in Ho Chi Min City.
written by  lizziecarver on February 19, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

I'm in Vietnam!
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
The bus journey from Kampot (Cambodia) to Ho Chi Mihn City (HCMC) in Vietnam was without a doubt the worst of my life. I got on the minibus at 9.30 and was lulled into a false sense of security by a relatively wasy border crossing. Once across the border we stopped, were taken off the bus and onto motor bikes, with out packs. After a short, but almost deadly journey we arrived at another bus. It definitely wasn't the shiny aircon bus I'd been promised. It was more like a tin can on wheels. They crammed more and more locals onto the bus. Everyone that got on seemed to bring bags of miscalaneous seafood onboard. I had a bad of live crabs by feet and at one point a box containing squid burst so there was squid everywhere. No one like a humid fishy journey. I had no local currency and then also realised that I had given in my bus ticket to the driver from the first bus so I didn't actually have a ticket anymore. It was another 10 hours and a further bus jouney before we got to HCMC aughhhh.
I was meeting Collman and Matt who are here working as spies but pretending to teach English. Its sooo nice to see people from home. Hopefully we are going to the beach together tomorrow!
Today I went to the Cu Chi Tunnels which are the tunnels used by in the Vietnam War. The highlight was a very scary trip down the tunnels. We hadn't really prepared for how small and hot they actually were. If anyone had farted it would have been fatal.
Ricky in the tunnel
I could have been in Nam
Felix leading the way like a gentleman
Cu Chi Tunnel entrance
written by  lizziecarver on February 22, 2011 from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

I need a job.
Mui Ne, Vietnam
With less than 3 months until my return I need to start thinking about the J-word. If anyone knows of any jobs going please email me on carver.elizabeth@gmail.com. Obviously only jobs insurance or becoming Americas Next Top Model.
written by  lizziecarver on February 23, 2011 from Mui Ne, Vietnam

Mui Ne
Mui Ne, Vietnam
After leaving HCM we headed up the coast to Mui Ne. According to the Bible (Lonely Planet) Mui Ne is an up and coming beach paradise. There must have been a typo in there somewhere because it turned out to be a massive resort, filled with Russians dedicated to Kite Surfing. This would have been fun if Kite Surfing wasn't do expensive to learn. Being a wind surfing Mecca meant the beach was windy as hell and too dangerous to go on for fear of being struck by a kite.
kite surfers paradise
The other activity on offer was visiting some sand dunes (just as windy but with lots of sand around)...
cole and me loving the sand
sunset at the sand dunes
...and drinking which we resorted to due to the lack of other activities in the area
written by  lizziecarver on February 25, 2011 from Mui Ne, Vietnam

Nha Trangy Trang
Nha Trang, Vietnam
After the slight disappointment of Mui Ne we arrived in the eagerly anticipated [[Vietnam/Nha-Trang]]. [[Vietnam/Nha-Trang]] is a large Vietnamese city on the coast. Days are spent recovering from the night before and the booze is CHEAP. Buckets are on offer for $1, everything is BOGOF and bad Mojitos are free.
Ankor Wat
recipe for disaster
Me and Stan on the buy 1 get 2 frees
Because I'm a right nan I could only hack 2 days before having to go somewhere to get over it. I found a place on the internet which sounded quite cool. It turned out to be a hippy commune/homestay on an empty beach about and hour away from [[Vietnam/Nha-Trang]]. I spent a couple of days reading books, eating incredible food and going to bed before midnight.
Hippy beach
dog friend
written by  lizziecarver on February 26, 2011 from Nha Trang, Vietnam

Shopping Paradise
Hoi An, Vietnam
After a long journey on the nightbus I arrived in Hoi An.
Night bus chaos
Hoi An is a little quaint town on the coast famous for tailoring.
cute dog
Hoi An old town
Hoi An by night
I could have spent longer here but I had to leave because I couldn't stop spending money. I got 2 pairs of shoes made and 3 new work dresses tailored all to the Carver dimensions (i.e. Chicken legs and a beer gut).
I went to the bakery and had tea and cake at least 3 times a day. When I wasn't shopping or eating cake I was cycling around with my new Dutch friend Margreet. We went out one day and found a completely empty beach all to ourselves. I heart Hoi An.
Me and Margreet on our secret beach
written by  lizziecarver on March 3, 2011 from Hoi An, Vietnam

TUUUUUBING
Vang Vieng, Laos
WHAOOOOOO.
I've been very slack in recent weeks at updating the blog.
After Hoi An I traveled further north through Hue, Hanoi and Halong Bay. I'm sure all of these places would have been incredible (especially Halong Bay) but unfortunately it was bloody freezing so I rushed through.
From Hanoi I got the night bus (30 hours!) across the border into Laos. As soon as I got here I was so happy. Its lovely to be back in the sun, away from big cities and traffic. Our first stop was the capital, Vientiane. Vientiane must be the smallest, calmest capital in the world. It about as hectic as your average village in the UK and a welcome break after Hanoi.
Following this first stop was Vang Vieng, the birthplace of tubing. I was really excited because I came here a couple of years ago with Claw on holiday. Vang Vieng is focused on an activity called tubing. Essentially this involved hiring a big rubber ring, floating down the river, drinking whiskey buckets and doing massssive rope swings. i.e. a massively cultural experience.
I spent 5 days partying, hanging out with Jess from Africa and generally having the time of my life. On the 6th day I woke up and knew I had to make a decision. Either I leave and get on with some proper travelling or stay and get a job....
I had already been approached by a couple of bars to see if i wanted to stay so I decided to stay. So now I'm "working" here for a couple of weeks. I use the term "working" very loosely in this context because Its the easiest job I've ever had. I get to work at 11.30 on the river. Hand out free shots, do some body painting, a couple of rope swings (trying to perfect a flip) and play beer pong for 3 hours. Then in the evening I go to a bar in town and spend a couple of hours behind the bar until the music gets good and then I'm free to partayyyyyy.
Some pictures of tubing.... more to follow x
Trekking for Gorillas
written by  lizziecarver on March 21, 2011 from Vang Vieng, Laos