Jenny's blog
|
-
6 Feb 2012, 5:45 pm
 I have recently spent an exhausting 6 days working on an exhibition stand at the Adventure Travel Show and the Destinations Show in London, promoting the Kingdom of Swaziland and Sense Africa. After only 1 day it dawned on me how limited the general public's knowledge is about the Kingdom of Swaziland. I had all sorts of questions thrown at me, and a lot of people avoiding me because they didn't want to admit that they had no idea where the Kingdom of Swaziland...
Read More...
-
19 Jan 2012, 10:03 am
I am often surprised to hear that people think it is always hot in Africa, this is far from the truth. It can get exceptionally cold at night and I have been pleasantly surprised to discover a hot water bottle in my bed while staying in one of the lodges in Swaziland. I have to admit, I was not expecting this, so it was rather a shock when I got into bed, I mean, there could have been a dangerous furry animal residing in my bed, admittedly unnaturally overheating to a...
Read More...
-
10 Jan 2012, 3:33 pm
Yesterday I watched in horror as Erin Laung Worth's bungee cord snapped over Victoria Falls. It brought back memories of the three times that I had bungee jumped from exactly the same spot on Victoria Falls Bridge. I felt sick watching it, it was exactly how I felt when I jumped, all three times. To date there have been no accidents at this particular bungee jumping launch pad, and this time the company, as well as Erin, were very very lucky.
All over the world there are numerous adrenaline sports that those of us that are crazy enough...
Read More...
-
2 Jan 2012, 6:21 pm
The hamerkop has a curved beak and a head with a crest at the back which is reminiscent of a hammer, hence its name. Another creative naming for a dull brown bird of Africa. Or is it that dull?
Remarkably this average sized brown bird has numerous myths, legends and local beliefs surrounding it. It seems to have taken far more than its fair share of mystical stories and sayings, making it rather an interesting sighting in the bush. However, most seem to be about your own death, death of your...
Read More...
-
19 Dec 2011, 11:53 am
It is funny how we all try to create a Christmas that we are used to at home, even when we are overseas in some exotic country. I know that our Antipodean friends have Christmas cards with snow on then, it is the height of their summer for goodness sake, and I have just received a Christmas card from Zimbabwe with a Christmas tree on it - there are no spruces in Zimbabwe.
I have to admit that I have fallen into this category (quite happily), and in particular I remember a Christmas that I had in Zimbabwe, exactly...
Read More...
-
14 Nov 2011, 3:22 pm
Your neighbours in Gorongosa
Luxury tented accommodation in Gorongosa
Visitors to Explore Gorongosa
Yoga on the beach
Your accommodation in Guludo - barefoot luxury
Sense Africa for Yourself
Read More...
-
27 Oct 2011, 4:11 pm
I am not really a cat person but they do seem to like me. Normal moggies seem to find my lap attractive, as do the not so normal ones - I have woken up to find a cheetah lying across my legs. Admittedly it was used to taking advantage of people, being cared for at a cheetah sanctuary, but I had lost the feeling in my legs. The very same cheetah had licked me on the face the previous night, which was quite painful as their have sandpaper for a tongue. But my most memorable...
Read More...
-
26 Sep 2011, 2:40 pm
It was a typical morning in Africa with Karen, we had got up early with the sun, been down to check the hippos that Karen was studying and were back at the house by breakfast time. I call her place a 'house', in fact Hippo Haven is more than a house, it is beautiful thatched home on the side of the River Turgwe in Zimbabwe, built and sculpted by herself and her able husband Jean. There is no glass in any of the windows, just lots of frames of mosquito netting so the house is really cool in the heat...
Read More...
-
5 Sep 2011, 1:02 pm
My first time in the African bush was in Zimbabwe and the whole experience was something never to forget.
I was staying with my good friend Karen Paolillo, the person who I was to later describe as the Dian Fossey of hippos. She single handedly saved a pod of hippo during the drought of 1992 in Zimbabwe, as well as countless animals in area, and it was during this time that I met her and had my first 'true bush experience'. I stayed with her for 5 days, to learn...
Read More...
-
26 Aug 2011, 10:45 am
I am often asked what people should take whilst on safari. There are the normal things such as mute and natural coloured clothing, sturdy walking boots and decent sunglasses, but there are other things I always take that you might not think of. So here is a list of my Alternative Top 10 Items to Take on Safari:
1. A Warm Hat. It is often assumed that Africa is always hot, not so. A warm hat is greatly appreciated for those early morning safaris. To get the best game viewing you may find yourself up even before the...
Read More...
-
18 Aug 2011, 9:05 am
I love the desert, the large wide open spaces where the distance never seems to end and the heat on my face warms my soul. I love it how the warmth bounces up from the hot sand and makes my skin prickle from the sweat and the smell of dust and sand is intoxicating to me. That was what I was looking forward to in my Sahara trek, travelling through one of the last true wildernesses of the world. Little did I know that I was going to get more than I had...
Read More...
-
10 Aug 2011, 3:40 pm
I love spending a night out on the salt pans, it's an out of this world experience. Nothing really seems real. Imagine spinning around and around and around and the view simply not changing at all, just a white expanse of nothingness. This is what it is like out on Makgadikgadi Pan in Botswana.
The first time I spent a night out on Makgadikgadi Pan is still a fresh memory.
We travelled in two vehicles - I was in the one behind and I learnt from this mistake for the...
Read More...
-
2 Aug 2011, 11:49 am
Biltong - you either love it or hate. And I love it. But then I am a bit of a carnivore and I love cured meats of any kind. Biltong is a kind of cured meat that originated in South Africa. Many different types of meat are used to produce it, ranging from beef to game meats to fillets of ostrich. It is typically made from raw fillets of meat cut into strips which are dipped in vinegar and then have salt...
Read More...
-
18 Jul 2011, 9:12 am
I am off to France for a holiday on Monday, and I am really excited. It will be the first beach holiday which I have had a for a long time and I can not wait; the sun on my face, feeling warm, reading books and swimming in the sea. I was contemplating taking my snorkel when I realised that the last dozen times I have been in the sea I have been with the most extraordinary creatures and that the Mediterranean may not have the same sort...
Read More...
-
12 Jul 2011, 10:42 am
I was recently working in Swinley Forest and had the opportunity to hold a meerkat..... again. I know that it seems a bit of an odd place to find a meerkat, near Bracknell, but I was working on a team event called 'I am a Team Player, Get Me Out of Here', loosely based on the very similarly named popular TV show. We were providing a scaled down version of the hit series and there was a guy who pitched up with £5,000 worth of creepy crawlies and other exotic animals in the back of his van for 'animal encounters'....
Read More...
|
|
|
|
|
