On safari in South Africa which was great i saw 4 of the big 5 game animals . I haven’t been updating much due to laptop problems but I have it working for now.
Category: Uncategorised
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late update
After many days of stops in 8 countries i have time for an update. On the first day In capetown the Safari we had planned was cancelled due to the ship being late. The taxi driver offered to take us to a vineyard which I was not interested so he suggested going to a cheetah sanctuary and rehab. It was raining and cold when we left from the cruise terminal. After a 30min drive we got to the sanctuary and the weather had cleared. we had to wait 20min for the next booking after lunch. When we arrived the first cheetah we saw was having a sleep and didn’t care about the group of people. because he was bottle fed by one of the staff he knew it was lunchtime when his “mum” arrived.
Not knowing what to expect the staff moved a table into the closest enclosure to us and then put a harness on one of the 8 cheetahs. Then everyone in the group had to disinfect hands and shoes so that the cheetahs were safe from disease because they have low immunity. We were first in the enclosure were the cheetah was sitting on the table being fed. because he was distracted by food he didn’t react to me driving past. after getting as close as possible Nicole pulled my arm out so i could touch and stroke him . After a few strokes he started purring just like a domestic cat but much louder. it was amazing to get so close and hear the purr of the fastest cat on earth.
This was one of the best days so far and it was because of a cancelled safari which we had the next day instead.
The link for the cheetah sanctuary is https://cheetah.co.za/ they made a big effort to include me so i highly recommend going there
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South Africa pt.1 Durban
Durban was an unexpected stop due to bad weather. The cruise terminal was named after Nelson Mandela.
uShaka marine world was 30min walking distance from the ship. Not having other plans we went to have a look.
Not having any expectations we went to the aquarium first. The entrance through a realistic 1920s steam ship added to the theme nicely.
The ramp down into the aquarium was easy to use and gave a 360 degree view of the whale skeleton hanging from the roof.
It was only 117 Rand ($11 NZD) for entry p.p so i didn’t think it would be that good. it was amazing we were there for over 2 hours and didn’t see it all. i was impressed with how clean the water is and how healthy the animals looked.
got a great shark photo too.
there were many sea creatures i haven’t seen alive before including a Peacock mantis shrimp one of my favourites. there are about 300 species in the aquarium so i can’t write about all of them but here are some of the better photos.
The Shipwreck aquarium is the seventh largest in the world and certainly looks it. overall a nice day in Durban with clear skys and 28c. not bad for an unscheduled stop.
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Mauritius pt2
On the way to La Vanille nature park we saw a huge hindu statue and temple.
We had about 40min at the park and i wanted to see the giant tortoises so we went to them first.
It was much better than i had expected with more than 100 tortoise in a open area where they could be hand-fed.
It was awesome to get so close but almost got my toes bitten when one tried to pull off and eat my sock. We were feeding them leaves and my socks must taste the same lol They are faster when food is around
We had about 10min to take some quick photos of the lemurs and iguanas.
Also on display was a dodo skeleton one of the two left in the world.
Overall it was a great day out and well worth it . Big thanks to Chris from Holidays Tropic Mauritius for recommending places to see that were accessible.
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Mauritius pt1
We got a 6.30am breakfast as the ship came to port for 8am, Nicole had booked a tour for the day through Holidays Tropic ltd. who provided a driver and a tour guide. the van was from global rainbow foundation a local disability trust. The van had 8 seats plus a wheelchair.
We were picked up from the terminal at 8.45 and dropped off 10min later at the waterfront and city centre of Port Louis. We spent half an hour looking around the umbrella street and the original colonial era buildings before getting a coffee to go.
Next stop was the Pamplemousses Botanic Garden, a 20min drive away from Port Louis. The entry is free for wheelchair users and 8eu for others. being over 90 acres there is a lot to see. I was looking forward to the seeing the giant water lilies from the amazon one of the only places to see them alive.
We spent about an hour looking around before going to La Vanille nature park. more in part 2…
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Onwards to Freemantle
Sea conditions got worse during the last day of the 3day crossing with waves reaching 6m to 8m and gusts of wind 120km/h.
The weather conditions delayed arrival by 8hrs because the ship was slowed down for safety reasons.
We eventually arrived in freemantle at 4pm which was good because it meant staying overnight until 11am the next day.
My uncle works in western aus so he met us at the port. The 3 of us then took a wheelchair accessible taxi to the town.
First we went to buy a few things I needed, After we walked/wheeled to Freemantle prison for a night tour by torchlight.
We had the 7.15pm tour which was great because It was after sunset with a full moon rising so it felt like a horror movie set.
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Stop no.2
The leg from Sidney to Adelaide was mostly uneventful with stormy seas in the last few hours.
The train station is a 400m walk from the cruise terminal so after the ship docked we intended to take the train to the city.
When we disembarked it was 8 deg C, windy and raining. Hoping for the weather to clear we waited for 10min.
It is 40min to the city on the train so it would be about 2hrs until I could warm up somewhere. I was starting to get cold waiting so we went back to the ship. Despite the very short stay I can say have been to Adelaide.
Eventually The stop in Adelaide was extended by 12hrs to let the bad weather pass.
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first week
Farewell to NZ. Its been 6 days since we left Auckland, boarding was quick and easy taking about 20min from van to cabin. The port staff were very helpful taking all our things to our room. My hospital bed was set-up already which was a nice surprise
The crossing to Sidney was smooth for the first 2 days but we hit force 9 winds (About 80kph) on the 3rd day which made the ship move but its so big that it was nice to be rocked to sleep. there was a solar storm so Nicole got a photo of the aurora too.
It was raining and cold but we got to the Sydney Opera House between the showers of rain
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Around the world in 80(113) days
23 countries, 42 ports and 113 nights.It’s an epic circumnavigation so I am looking forward to a once in a lifetime trip. A big thanks to family, friends and everyone who made this cruise possible with support, encouragement and donations via my Give-a-little page.
A special thanks to Mum for driving us to port, to Ronda for looking after my 3 cats (and me when im home), to katie for housesitting and to Nicole for being my friend, nurse, personal assistant and no-1 supporter for 15years who will be joining me for the adventure.
For a detailed itinerary go to: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zbea4otCE9GvA7ZFlHirBpXpUDOPSgS8pQ_l1HGjHj0/edit?usp=sharing
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3 weeks to go…
After 2+years of planning its down to 21 days before departure from Auckland. Myself and Nicole have been very busy organizing my equipment and medications for packing. Because the cruise is nearly 4 months i am taking backups of essential things like my wheelchair and bi-pap. Princess allows extra mobility equipment onboard so I am taking a hospital type bed to stay comfortable when out of my wheelchair. All up it will take two trips to deliver all my stuff to the ship good thing that accessible cabins are bigger otherwise it wouldn’t fit.
Life at sea with DMD : by Oli Groom 