...The Real Island Life

And so... from Singapore it was off to Phuket. A destination that I have since realised leaves mixed responses and opinions in the minds and on the tongues of those who have set foot on its shores. Something owing I believe to the type of personality combined with the particular location the visitor has chosen as their holiday spot.

If a particular person is not akin to the hustle & bustle of 3rd world "chaos", ladies of the night propositioning from street corners, and neon lights inviting people in for some of the local brew & a ring side seat for a Thai Boxing match, Patong is not the place for them. If they do find themselves staying in Patong, they may be left with a bitter taste in their mouths and a negative impression of a place.

What they didn't know is had they bothered to venture only 10km's South on the island, they would have discovered a far tamer and more tranquil Phuket in the form of Karon Beach. Karon is a beautiful, white beach that stretches for miles. Karon Village is a shoppers paradise, from the market place, offering bargains an Indian would be proud of to little boutiques that the Queen of England would enjoy. It is gentle on the nerves but not without a great vibe at night and a bit of entertainment on offer.


If however, a quiet getaway with absolutely no interruptions, unspoilt beaches and moonlit swims in the ocean is what this travelers ideal holiday is (this sounds like an informercial), then they should have climbed in a tuktuk and headed even further South to Kata, Kata Noi (Litte Kata) or Nai Harn.


We stayed in Kata which really was ideally situated. Good cheap, t-shirts a few kilometers North in Karon and tranquil beaches and sunset views just South of us. The best thing about the island is that where we went and when we went there was our choice because we had our very own wheels... 125cc of pure two stroke grunt (except on the steep hills where Jenn decided this was a little too much for the poor scooter and vacated the back seat to walk instead). Down the winding mountain hills was a different story, where Jenn was convinced she maintained control of the scooter by twisting my hips in the direction she felt we should head. Parking didn't pose a problem either and even if it did, the locals relocate any scooter whenever the need arises, so take note of which scooter is yours because it may not be where you left it when you get back to it after your authentic, incredibly delicious Thai Green Curry. On your way home, it is a prerequisite to stop at a sidewalk vendor to buy the trademark of Phuket snacks... Banana Pancakes smothered in chocolate sauce.

Where Phuket is a far more family orientated destination with lovely beaches and well priced food, Phiphi Island is more for the backpacker, adventure seeker also looking for... well priced food. As we headed across the ocean sharing the front deck of a ferry with some interesting travellers,chunks of rock began jutting out of the horizon... what we didn't realise is that these chunks of rock were where we'd be spending the next two days. They're incredible spectacles, prehistoric in form and uninhabitable to the eye but offering the most spectacular photographic opportunities and an adrenaline junkies best dream... offering kayaking, climbing, snorkeling and diving and exotic beaches that you only find "in the movies". "The Beach" (where the movie was shot) is a good reason to visit Phiphi, a hidden bay called Maya Bay with turquoise waters and shadowed by towering buttresses really is a mystical place to be and when you're fortunate enough to be there when the crowds aren't, you truly can imagine being a Robinson Crusoe stranded on an inhospitable yet breathtaking island. I for one would not mind being "stranded" for a week or two on Phi phi Island.

City Island Life

As always, I'm writing a seriously back dated account and I'm sure if anyone was in fact following this blog, they gave up on me a long time ago. Nonetheless it's time I shared some experiences with the great 'cyber void" out there again so here goes...

December's are always bitter sweet times for me because although they're the best time to go away from an industry point of view, they're also the time where I'm least inclined to spend too much money. Fortunately I learnt a long time ago that life is too short to think that way and when we're blessed financially, so long as we feel we've given back sufficiently, we sometimes need to bite the bullet and experience life a little...

With that in mind, it was off to Singapore, Phuket and Perth for the December holidays. It is of course easier to justify such a trip when there is family in two of the three places to be visited. Singapore would never be an option if it weren't for a free bed and meals, not to mention a car and personal tour guide (in the person of my sister). It's a city that like many other cosmopolitans is difficult to define particularly with obvious influences from both the Western and Eastern Worlds.


What impressed me most, apart from the Singapore Slings at the famous Raffles Hotel Long Bar and the cityscapes at night from the river side,


were the vast green belts that surround and exist within Singapore.


As I photographed monkeys in the Mc Richies Reservoir Forest, and strolled along kilometers of paths through the Botanical Gardens, I was so completely enveloped by the natural surroundings that I forgot I was "within city limits". This island city is the epitome of organisation and without compromising the need that people have to escape into natural environments. Singapore Zoo embraces this ethos, particularly the nocturnal Zoo & is something not to miss even for those who have an aversion to Zoos. It was an education for me to catch but a glimpse of the diversity of wildlife in South East Asia. I was truly humbled by my lack of knowledge, in fact, complete ignorance of the animal kingdom within this part of the world... Africa is apparently NOT the only continent with wild and interesting creatures, although even they can be found on exhibit in the bird park offering me my first sightings of the elusive Shoebill which occurs in only two places on the African continent.
I'd like to say one day that my photographs of a Shoebill are taken in the birds natural environment, but for now, these will do. After exploring this "city island" it was time for real island life...

Another place, another experience

Just when I thought I had seen it all... The question people ask about lodges in the bush, "what unique selling point does this lodge have?" has been answered again. By the very nature of the word unique, I have no doubt that this question will be answered again numerous times in my life, but this one is definitely worth a mention.


I recently returned from a press trip to the Kafue National Park in Zambia. It's claim to fame, the largest National Park in Africa. We were fortunate enough to visit two lodges situated on the serene Kafue River. Wilderness Safaris' Lufupa tented camp and Hippo lodge. Both lodges offered outstanding hospitality and due to the location on the Kafue River, beautiful views and river based activities.
A Lufupa sunset boat trip treated us to a fresh new vantage point from which to watch a leopard surveying all that flowed by as it caught the last rays of a setting sun.

Of all the leopard I've seen, it may not have been the most up close and personal but given our position relative to his, it has to be labelled a "wow" experience. Unique it was but that brings me to the unique experience that I alluded to earlier.

Right from the word go, a banana boat transfer to Hippo Lodge, there wasn't time to get bored and wonder what next at Hippo. We were spoiled by one activity after the next, game drives, bream fishing & island brunches but the most memorable of all, the unique experience unlike any other I've had in any bushveld location was arriving shortly after sunset directly off a game drive at an "oasis", crystal blue waters enclosed by richly coloured volcanic rocks. The rising bubbles indicating that this was no ordinary pool, this was a hot spring, heat bubbling up from somewhere near the core of the earth to heat these mineral rich waters.
Floating weightless in water the same temperature as our bodies surrounded by 24000 square kilometres of woodland bushveld and nocturnal sounds permeated by the popping of tiny bubbles rising from beneath the water, gazing at the Milky Way overhead is an experience that cannot be justified by words.

Yes, it could be labelled a selling point but I hesitate to publish this in fear of betraying a deeply kept secret. It is an experience that must be shared but such a place, a place as unique should be guarded closely. The "gatekeeper" Hippo lodge is one that I can highly recommend as a unique bush destination and one that will offer you unparalleled experiences.

I've found the pot of gold

My apologies, it's been an entire month since I last posted anything. A clear indication however of how busy I've managed to find myself again. For the third year in a row, I have to admit that I landed my proverbial butt in the butter for my birthday. Two years ago, it was in Lower Zambezi at Chongwe River camp, last year at Vuyatela in Djuma game reserve and this year I was privileged to be staying at Lion Sands River Camp on my birthday. The experience was truly a personal one... the staff sang to me at dinner time, brought me an enormous chocolate cake and stencilled out "Happy Birthday Paul" in green twigs on my bed. As if that wasn't all enough, they included a pair of binoculars as a gift on my bed... at this point I feel it is only fitting to give Lion Sands a little bit of a punt.

This was not the pot of gold however... A few weeks later having travelled to Cape Town for a week already, an assignment took me off to Zambia, truly one of the most exquisite countries on this continent. We spent four days in and around Lusaka, an experience in itself as previously I've only really driven through this buzzing city. Apart from typical African Beaurocracy, it proved to be an okay city (as African cities go) & our presenter, Chilu managed to "paint it red" one night as we hopped from one nightspot to the next. It was our next port of call however that impressed on me the most in the past month.

Livingstone, or more simply... Vic Falls, is a destination that I would encourage everyone of you to visit at least once in your life. Despite the fact that it was my second visit, the place still impacted on me. We stayed in Songwe Village, a cultural experience without the exception of luxury. Once again (it seems to be becoming a habit) I found myself dancing to a drumbeat around a fire with local inhabitants. This time even wearing a "Chitenga", their traditional cloth that they sling over their shoulder. It never ceases to amaze me what liberty it is to let all inhibition go and to just go ahead and "dance like nobody is watching". (In Chilu's case however, all "Africa Within" viewers will get a glimpse into his evening).

The true pot of gold however, was found at Vic Falls itself. The spectacle, the thunder, the wet spray in your hair, the sheer vastness are reason enough to go back, and so we did... Having visited it once already to get some links with our presenter, we decided to go back late one afternoon to capture some more magic... and magic it was! They speak of the "pot of gold" at the end of a rainbow, I found that pot of gold. I struggled at first mind you because finding the end of a rainbow that completes a full circle is quite a challenge. After a few moments however, I realised that with the sun towards your back, the mighty Vic Falls below you and the "smoke that thunders" surrounding you, when you're truly getting soaked, the rainbow is the most intense rainbow you can imagine. Every colour is distinctly visible and the rainbow ascends out of the gorge, into the sky and arks all the way over the ridge, plunging into the surrounding rainforest. Spectacular!! For others standing a little way off, provided I was deep in the spray, it would appear that I was standing in the rainbow and let me tell you, I found the pot of gold! More valuable than any tangible amount of money or possessions was that sense of hope, of exhilaration, of Joy and of the presence of our creator and a realisation that we exist only to give glory!!

To get just a sense of this place (and other magnificent places), watch Africa Within on Friday's at 18:00 on SABC Africa Channel 53.

Up to the challenge.

I have a good friend who organises a bike trip every so often. Whenever he mentions a trip to me, I know it will be no ordinary bike ride. It'll be nothing short of an African adventure. That is of course why I say "count me in" with very little consideration regarding the challenge it'll be every time. It's all about rising to the challenge, it's about conquering the aprehension I feel immediately when presented with the opportunity. Recently (less recently than I would have liked), eight of us, (a two year old daughter of the friend included), headed off for the inhospitable "salt lands" of the Magadigadi Salt Pans in Botswana and as usual, when it comes to adventure, it didn't fail to dissapoint.
It was a challenge for man and machine, possibly more the man than the machine.
The adventure was accompanied by a couple of firsts for me, the most significant being my first "big" fall off a motorbike. Only a few kilometres into Botswana on a gravel road, and a wrong decision to follow two other bikes on a not so good line, I hit a rock, the bike spun around 180 degrees and next thing I knew my left leg was being scorched by a hot exhaust under the bike, it's amazing the strength a man can find when he smells his own flesh roasting. All that said, all I really suffered was a bruised ego. The challenges continued, from deep sand to flooded salt pans and metre deep water. There were more thrills and spills from all bikes involved but we came, we saw and we conquered, it was magnificent!!
The isolation and desolation of the Magadigadi Salt Pans is breathtaking, the closest I would imagine this world comes to a moonscape. At times, distinguishing real water from mirage was impossible and all we could do was chase mirages to determine absolute verses illusion.
Even more intriguing is possibly the fact that living organisms, plants, insects and birds have adapted to live in this hostile environment. They represent a lonely yet a unique strength and witness what few people will ever have the privelage of seeing. It's a land of contrast and texture that will always be imrinted in my mind. Thanks to Ilan for helping us rise to the challenge. Thanks to Elaine for being our guardian back-up driver. Thanks to Divan, Lindi, Theo & Bernie for new friends made and for putting up with this "soutie" for 2000km, lets not forget little Caylie for being the most tolerant two year old I've ever known and finally, all thanks and praise to our Father above for creating beautiful, unique wilderness places and with His help, may we contribute to their continuing existence for generations to come.

Living out of a travel bag...

I have just returned from Tanzania. A trip that took me to some of the most beautiful places on the face of the planet. Mnembe Island just north of Zanzibar has iridescent turquoise water surrounding it, I could not attempt to describe it in my most profound english... in this case, seeing is believing. I don't even think my camera could represent the contrast between white sands and turquoise water. I walked the streets of Stone Town, slept in a Sultan's palace and watched sunset from a dhow. I gazed upon Mt. Kilamanjaro above the clouds as we flew into Arusha and met people whose soul purpose in life is to live in harmony with the land they occupy and the people they call their neighbours. What more could you ask of a job you may ask? It sounds wonderful, glorious, even perfect... but I have painted the picture that exists in most people's minds. The reality is not what is perceived however. The reality, although not wanting to distort the beautiful images I have experienced, is a little less "perfect". It's exhausting carrying heavy camera gear, moving a tripod inches to the left, to the right, slightly higher or lower from sunrise 'till 10pm to create these images. It's frustrating organising people and itinary's to get the "contrived" image we search for, it's heartwrenching to watch beautiful sunsets through black and white viewfinders and it's a blatant lie to say I've experienced a place when I've been there all of three hours before moving to the next location. My bag remains packed between brief laundry stops at "home" and every time I close the door behind me I struggle to take my heart, soul and mind with me.



Having said this, I must thank the Lord my God and provider for sustaining me through these trips AND... despite the difficulties and frustrations, for the rich experiences that He has afforded me, for the vast variety of subjects I have been exposed to and for the wonderful people I have met along the way, people who have taught me through their hospitality, humility and simplicity.

The key to living a content, fulfilled life is this... Accept and embrace your present circumstances, find the positive aspects in all that you do and paint yourself the best possible picture because for all the smiling faces, white beaches and turquoise oceans, packed bags and goodbyes are a necessary evil, there really is a price for everything, the grass is never greener on the other side.