An outdoor adventure to Canada’s great white north.
Tag Archives: Family
The Backpacking Trap
3 DecSometimes on the road you run into a place that it is very hard to leave but Mombasa Backpackers is a whole different animal. People arrive here expecting to stay a few days and end up staying months. I was supposed to stay here two days and ended up staying two weeks. Within the massive walls you have a very family feel as the backpackers itself is in an old family mansion. Don’t let the family atmosphere fool you though as bathing suits are forbidden after dark in the pool (for some reason only the guys follow this one). Beers are cheap and a few sunrises on the beach are always in the cards. Brush up on your beer pong skills as games are a nightly occurrence. I managed to finally peel myself away but I have the feeling I left numerous brain cells and a large chunk of my liver there.
Foggy
Different Cultures
25 NovOne good thing that came out of 27 hours in seat F3 is that in seat F4 was a very nice man named Iddi. He gave me his information and wanted me to call him once I got to Arusha in Tanzania. I gave Iddi a call and he immediately came and picked me up and drove me to his house. I met his wife Mariam and their three children and then his daughter made us all cups of coffee. They wanted me to stay for dinner so I was ordered to sit and relax with Iddi as the women went about cooking. A little over an hour later a huge portion of beef stew and flat bread were put down before us. Mariam came over with a pitcher of water and a bowl so I could wash my hands to eat with and then did the same for Iddi. I waited for the women to join us but was instructed that they were not eating with us. The food was amazing and it is always fun to eat with your hands. After dinner the women came and cleared the plates, washed our hands and then gave us coffee. Every time I offered to help I was shot down and Iddi told me it is seen as an insult to offer help almost saying that I could do it better than them. It was a really cool experience to have a proper dinner in an African household, I am just glad my mother wasn’t there to tell my lazy ass to get to work on the pots and pans.
Foggy
Reuniting with Mates
16 OctSome of you might remember old Sammy from my adventures in Turkey. As I wrote back then he is one of those people you meet traveling that you know you will connect with later on in life in one way or another. When I found out that one of my layovers was in London I immediately sent him a message seeing if he was around. He of course said he would clear some beer cans off the couch so I could rest my weary head for a few nights. There was no time for Jetlag as I arrived on a Friday night that just happened to be Sam’s 27th birthday(I know I am surprised I am friends with such an oldie as well). He is looking pretty good for 27 and has even avoided the *Heathrow Injection so far.Even Alastair aka Big Bear from the Turkey cruise made it out. For the next four days we didn’t see much else except for the inside of pubs but I feel I got a true London experience, even though it was at the hands of a *JAFA. Here’s to the next time Sammy and I meet up around the globe but by that time he will have probably be on the wrong side of 30.
Foggy
*Heathrow Injection- The inevitable weight one gains for an extended stay in London.
*JAFA- See End of an Era
Foggy’s Back!
11 OctEveryone’s least favourite travel blogger is back! Check out the new video put together by my good friend Andrew Noon, hope you enjoy!
My Wellington Farewell
24 SepI may have had a few drinks my last night in Wellington with the boys and forgot a couple things in the apartment when I left New Zealand for good. Luckily Will made a visit back home and returned my trusty handheld and I found this gem on there.
Foggy
Soloman Islands
3 AprAfter the reunion of the family in Sydney we flew out early in the morning to Honiara the capital of the Soloman Islands. The small airport was a sign of things to come as you could see the infrastructure just was not there. The three boys took the first cab and we got an early taste of the hostilities on the island. Our driver pointed out all Chinese owned shops on the island and all the ones they burned during the last riot (we got the feeling they were not the favourite people on the island). We later learned that a lot the conflict came from the money being earned on the island was not staying there to re invest and was going overseas.
The next surprise was finding out the island we were on was Guadalcanal the scene of the biggest fighting between the Japanese and US during WWII. I am not the biggest history buff so I am not going to stand here and lie to you and say I knew that before watching The Pacific (which was in so many ways inferior to Band of Brothers). But since I had watched the series I had an idea of the significance of the tiny island in the South Pacific. We visited the US memorial which had views of the major battle fields and then drove out to see some old canons and planes left from the war. As for ranking other WWII sites I have visited this has to rank on the lower end but that is probably just my naivety on the happenings on the island. All I know is I was drenched in sweat in my tiny shorts and b-ball jersey and I couldn’t imagine running around in army fatigues.
Foggy
Chur New Zealand!
1 Apr6 months rolled by pretty quickly in New Zealand. I landed right in the middle of the Rugby World Cup and the party kept going right up to the last night with the boys. I saw some amazing things in the country and met some pretty bad ass folk. The weather wasn’t always the best in the little town of Wellington but it kept you on your toes as you always seemed to bump into that one person you hoped to avoid. I leave New Zealand knowing I will be back as it truly felt like a second home. I want to thank everyone who made my stay in this South Pacific nation amazing and look forward to seeing you again.
My life has officially been reduced to the size of a backpack again as I set out on my next set of adventures. The best part about these adventures though is the gravy train is once again at the station, see you soon Mom and Pops!
Foggy
Farewell song from work
19 MarWork was so happy to see me leave they wrote me a song. Thanks a ton to Jono for taking the time!
Foggy
Summer Vacation…
9 JanSurfboards on the roof, camping gear in the back, Tom, his brother James, his girlfriend Bridget and myself started our drive up North to the Coromadel. We drove to a friend Mitch’s holiday park and picked up a buddy Redo on the way. We set up camp and went to go watch the India vs. Australia test cricket at Mitch’s cabin. For dinner we had fresh fish and chips that Mitch’s family had caught that day. We had a great night full of beers and cricket and then headed off to bed. That night the sky’s opened up and our trip got thrown for a big loop.
With our tent soaked in the morning and more rain coming down, we decided to pull the plug on camping in that spot. We loaded the car and drove back to Thames, to head to the east coast of the Coromadel. We then found out there were severe weather warnings on that side so our trip was diverted back south to Waihi Beach. We got there and the weather was the same so we all decided to drive back to Taraunga and rethink a plan. After being back in doors for a night we packed up Mitch’s van and were heading for Lake Rotorua, the only problem was that we found one of the hoses for the radiator was loose. 4 hours later the problem was fixed and we drove down to the lake to meet a friends family in their cabin on the lake. We had a big dinner waiting for us and then were shown to our own cabin.
The next day we went out on the boat and then the rain started coming down, Tom and Redo were in the back of the boat and had to block their faces from the onslaught of rain pelting them. We drove to a great cliff jumping spot and then went to warm up in some natural hot springs on the lake. Night came and we jumped into the hot tub, and all we could do was laugh on how hard the rain was falling on us. The countdown to New Years came and we exchanged kisses before hitting the water slide naked. It was such a simple night but we all had an awesome time playing in the downpour. We stayed a couple of more nights and then went back to Tom’s house.
The next morning I caught a bus up to Auckland to meet up with my friend Meghan. Meghan is one of the girls I stayed with in Dubai and she was in Auckland for the night as she is cabin crew for Emirates. It is always great to see somebody from home and we went out for dinner and beers. The next day we said our farewells and I boarded my bus for Wellington. A long 12 hours later I arrived back home to start work the very next day.
Foggy
Foggy Travels Himself
Foggy Travels 