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Our greatest passion in life! We have...... ...travelled abroad 145 times ...visited 110 different countries ...taken 431 flights ...used 93 different airlines. ...been through 209 different airports ...taken 31 train journeys abroad ...been on 246 boat trips. ...stayed in 369 hotels ...camped in 15 different places. ...used 60 different tour operators, but we always book all our travels through Trips Worldwide, a small independent tour operator and travel agent in Bristol (although recently announced a merger with First Choice). Check them out on www.tripsworldwide.co.uk, they really are THE BEST! We try to fit in as many travels as time, money and work allow. Here is a small selection of the places we have visited recently. You can find further pictures of these holidays under 'Travel Photos'
Other interesting places we've been include most of Europe, Antigua, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bolivia, Borneo, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, The Gambia, Guatemala, Guyana, Hawaii, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Macao, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tahiti, Tajikistan, Thailand, Trinidad, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe.
Cruising the Galapagos Islands United Arab Emirates Djibouti and Ethiopia |
An amazing journey from Lhasa in Tibet through the Himalayas, on what was the most adventurous and uncomfortable road trip we've ever done, to Kathmandu in Nepal. It was a real trip of a life-time. 
A safari in Ranthambore, India's premier tiger reserve, with an excellent sighting of this magnificent animal!
A short tour of the historial sites in Libya, dating from the Greek, Roman and Phoenican periods. Also visiting Berber villages and staying in a troglodyte lodge. 
A short safari to the Masai Mara Game Reserve, where we were lucky enough to see 13 cheetahs, 12 lions, a leopard and herds of other plains game. A definite highlight was a hot air ballon flight over the reserve.
A pioneering journey through the deserts of Sudan with a camel caravan. Also visits to Khartoum and the pyramids of Meroe.
The wooden city of Paramaribo, colourful Amerindian villages, canopy walkways, stunning waterfalls, treks and boat trips through the jungle, enormous creepy crawleys and sleeping in hammocks!
After a long journey through Uganda to Rwanda and a two hour trek through the jungle, we came face to face with man's closest relative. WOW! Also saw chimps and many different species of birds. 
Stunning scenery, challenging trekking, bears and wolves, the mediaeval town of Brasov and Saxon villages. 'Dracula's Castle' was a great disappointment, whilst Bucharest was full of history.
Not so much a beach holiday as a trip to see the sights of this large Caribbean island. Visits to a rum factory, waterfall, boat trip amongst the mangroves for spotting crocodiles, Sea Trek, bamboo rafting and a bird sanctuary. 
Bustling and cosmopolitan Buenos Aires with wide boulevards, excellent shopping and some of the best steaks in the world; a Ranch stay on the Pampas where we went riding with the gouchos, bird watching and walking; Ushuaia in Pategonia (a real frontier town on the edge of the world surrounded by stunning scenery) and a trip into Colonia in neighbouring Uruguay (more akin to Cuba with crumbling architecture, cobbled streets and old American cars). 
WOW: Our seventh continent - stunning scenery, majestic mountains, calving glaciers, enormous icebergs in various hues of blue, playful whales, several species of seals and of course hundreds of thousands of penguins - much to Grete's delight. Drake's Passage lived up to its reputation as the roughest sea crossing in the world! 
Christmas on the beach, with a curry and a Kingfisher in 30ºC, with the bars playing a mixture of Xmas carols and Techno music and at night the fireworks and fire-juggling on the beach were really spectacular. We hired a car and a driver to explore various attractions of this small Indian state including waterfalls, churches, temples, wildlife sanctuaries, markets and colourful villages.
A short break to Tysfjord to experience the gathering of up to 600 Orca whales in the fjord - a beautiful experience, culminating in a marvellous natural phenomenon, the mysterious Northern Lights.
A large island unfrequented by mass-tourism. Highlights included close encounters with many species of Lemurs, chameleons, birds etc. Travel was 'interesting' on varying road conditions but the stunning scenery, fascinating culture and wonderful wildlife more than made up for any discomfort. 
A short break to Vilnius with excursions to the amazing 'Hill of Crosses' (see picture right), the former capital Kaunas and the wonderful restored castle at Trakai. 
An overland truck safari visiting the wonderful sand dunes of the Namib Desert with a hot air balloon ride, petrified forests, ancient San Bushmen rock drawings, 1000-year old desert plants, the flamingoes at Walvis Bay, seal colony at Cape Cross and seeing plenty of wildlife in Etosha National Park (Elephant, Giraffe, Lion, Springbok, Rhino, Zebra, Warthog etc.). Camp sites en route were well-appointed with a bar and a shop, some even had a swimming pool!
Our first fly-drive holiday, covering most of the island with some wonderful walks, stunning scenery, spectacular roads and numerous waterfalls. We were lucky enough to be there during carnival time (see picture right) which is said to be second only to Rio.
Visiting Churchill in Canada for the amazing polar bear migration; Peru for Lima, the Nazca Lines and the wonderful wildlife sanctuary of Isla Ballestas; Santiago in Chile for some wine tasting; the mysterious Easter Island; Australia (Sydney for the Bridge Climb and meeting old friends, Cairns for a hot air ballon ride, Darwin and Kakadu National Park for wildlife and nature exploration); trekking in Papua New Guinea with the colourful and primitive Huli Wigmen; Singapore and Kuala Lumpur for shopping and then chilling out on the luxury resort of Pangkor Laut off the west coast of Malaysia. A fitting way to celebrate our Silver Wedding!
We stayed on the Zimbabwean side of the falls, and spent our time going out for explorations of the various national parks in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana by Land Rovers, open sided safari vehicles, on foot, helicopter, canoe, jet boat and various other water craft. Lots of amazing wildlife, especially elephants, who even frequented the hotel garden and wandered freely around town.
Lots of Mercedes cars, bunkers left from the communist era, some interesting Roman ruins, ugly concrete housing and great castles as well as the beautiful city of Berat clinging to the hillside (pictured left), a UNESCO heritage site. Very untouristy and uncommercialised.
Totally untouristy with an absolutely fascinating culture - many festivals, markets, temples, caves and monasteries amongst incredible architecture and beautiful scenery. Although not a politically correct destination, we found the people were delighted to see foreign visitors to know they were not forgotten by the rest of the world. We started in Yangon, on to Mandalay, Sagaing and then cruising the Irrawaddy River on a beautiful old paddle steamer to Bagan, took a hot air balloon ride over the temples of Bagan, stayed in a stilt hotel on Inle Lake, went on to the mountain retreat of Pindaya and finally by sedan chair to the golden rock at Kyaiktiyo (pictured above).
Amazing destination with burning hillsides from natural gas seepage (pictured left), oil drilling areas, mud-volcanos and ancient petroglyphs. Not another tourist in sight!
Exotic location with superb beaches, spice plantations, historic Stone Town, dolphins off shore and indigenous monkeys in the forests. Not our usual kind of destination, and we did find it a little restricting in terms of things to do.
Travelling overland from the capital of Bamako and market town of Segou to Djenne with its famous mosque - the largest mud brick structure in the world (see left). We even met Michael Palin in our 'campement' in Djenne. Trekking the Bandiagara Escarpment amongst the incredible architecture and culture of the animistic Dogon peoples for five days, then three days on a pinasse on the Niger River from Mopti to the legendary city of Timbuktu. The most adventurous trip to date! 
