Traveling solo to my 50th country – Ethiopia..!

I am happy that my 50th country is one of the only nations in Africa never to be colonized.  It makes it just that little bit more ‘special’ and ‘unique’.

Ethiopia is also the spiritual homeland of the Rastafari movement, which globalized its flag colours worldwide via pop culture and Reggae music. They even have their own religion (Ethiopian Orthodox) which believe in Saint Mary more rather than focusing on Jesus.

The streets of Addis Ababa..
The streets of Addis Ababa..

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Exploring Uganda and back to my Masai family in Kenya..

I went to Uganda by myself by overnight bus to Kampala.  I had a rough border crossing with my visa but eventually got there.

That first day in Kampala I found it strange not to hear the East African language of Kiswahili anymore.  It was odd to be a tourist in a foreign country again but now I was much more experienced in how things worked.  I knew how to haggle down and felt completely comfortable jumping on the back of a boda (motorbike) to get where I needed to go.  It’s all about confidence.

The city of Kampala..
The city of Kampala..

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Road tripping around Kenya..

One of my Kenyan friends who I met in Mombasa, Ivan, is a freelance photojournalist, Ivan Lieman Photography.  Ivan was going on a road trip from Mombasa to the Turkana Region in North Kenya to take photos of the ‘rare solar hybrid eclipse’ and invited me to join him.

I was lucky enough to have some friends living in Nairobi so I stayed at their apartment before Ivan picked me up on for what ended up being my favourite road trip ever.

The start of the road trip. On the road to Lake Naivasha.
The start of the road trip. On the road to Lake Naivasha.

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My first, of many, steps in Kenya..

Little did I know how long the coastal town of Mombasa, would become my home..

I was at Mombasa Backpackers for a few days exploring the city and figuring out what I was going to do on my travels next.  I arranged to go live with a Masai tribe through a volunteer company but as things happen, I met some great people including Linnea (American) and Hannah (Aussie).  Linnea had recently started up her own NGO, Local Push Global, in Mombasa and Hannah had just moved in with her to help out.

Children jumping the puddles in the OId Town of Mombasa..
Children jumping the puddles in the OId Town of Mombasa..

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Our African adventures..

We were finally in Africa!!  We arrived in Cape Town where we had a few days to chill out and catch up on life before our 35-day overland tour, with Acacia Africa, to Zanzibar.

We spent the first few days checking out the magical city of Cape Town and walked to the top of Table Mount, which was stunning.  We also did a day trip to Cape of Good Hope (the most south-western point of Africa) and surrounding areas (Haute Bay, Chapman’s Peak etc).

Chapman's Peak..
Chapman’s Peak..

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My volunteer experience on the island paradise of Zanzibar..

I was off to Africa to volunteer for my first time, and I chose Zanzibar (an island of the coast of Tanzania) to offer my services (although it does cost to do this!).  What an island paradise!

I arrived a few days before I was scheduled to help and went to the Northern tip of the island to Kendwa.  This place was incredible.  I have never seen such white sand with pristine waters – it was like a dream.

Kendwa Beach
Kendwa Beach

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Three continents in six weeks..

My first stop was Amman in Jordan my original tour was meant to head straight to Syria followed by Jordan and Egypt but with all the conflict happening at that time, the Syria leg of the trip was cancelled. Therefore, I had quite a number of extra days in Amman so I did some research about heading to Jerusalem in Israel for a few days (this is not as easy as it sounds because of the border crossing).

I arrived at the hostel in Amman (Jordan) where I met one of my roommates who told me that a few of them heading to Jerusalem the next day and asked if I wanted to join – perfect! There were four of us in total which helped a lot with the cost of the taxis to and from everywhere.

The view of Amman (Jordan) from my hostel window..
The view of Amman (Jordan) from my hostel window..

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First stop, Europe and a little Africa..!!

Goodbyes are never easy and I had my family there to bid me farewell, I had a two-year visa but no real idea of when I would be back.

After a mammoth flight, I landed in Lisbon, Portugal (Adelaide-Melbourne-Hong Kong-Istanbul-Lisbon). It was a solid 25 hours on a plane.

I was doing a ‘Top Deck’ through Spain and Portugal for two weeks as a ‘welcome to Europe’ for myself.

What I saw of Portugal was beautiful. We went from Lisbon to Porto which was stunning. A boat ride down the Douro River was ideal and a great way to see the sights.

Douro River in Porto
Douro River in Porto

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