The holiday thread
Wow, sounds incrediblePaddington Bear wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 4:06 pm Did the West Highland Way this week on something of the spur of the moment - done in 4.5 days.
Hell of an experience, stunning scenery, well waymarked etc, and would recommend to anyone. Similarly would recommend how I got home on the Sleeper - watching the last couple of hours of daylight pass on the West Highland Line whilst having a beer and some food, chatting with strangers before waking up in London is quite the experience in of itself.
The process of drying my clothes/kit seems likely to enter a second day!
All the money you made will never buy back your soul
Just back from Madeira. Lovely place, great food, very safe and unbelievably cheap for Europe’.
Is definitely still an older destination but big changes since we were last there and lots of stuff for young families like ours
Is definitely still an older destination but big changes since we were last there and lots of stuff for young families like ours
All the money you made will never buy back your soul
What was the landing at the airport like?
It can be, interesting, from what I gather.
My wife's parents used to go there and I know others that are older who loved it there
Went to Madeira in June.
Lovely island, beautiful gardens, cool to see dolphins. Poncha was tasty too!
We thought the food was a bit mixed though.
Very glad not to be driving there - some steep hills about!
Over the hills and far away........
Our pilot had a couple of attempts and eventually diverted to the little island next door. I thought we’d be stuck in the airport lounge overnight but after an hour or so we dashed back on the plane to have another go. All survived. Glad we’ve been there but I wouldn’t bother going again.
Great place, I have been to Cyprus loads and Paphos and Coral Bay are very well served by public transport etc.
More than happy to give you tips and recommendations, PM me if you want.
Will be going there next year for a Villa holiday
We were fine this time but it can be interesting. There are a row of cafes down the coast from the runway where you can spend hours watching pilots abort landings
All the money you made will never buy back your soul
That’s fair re the food actually. My in laws have an apartment there so we followed their recommendations which were spot on but have been caught out before.
My favourite was one where all the waiting staff were in tuxedos and it looked very upmarket but ended up being rubbish with a guy dispensing all you can drink wine from a backpack.. that was a few years ago
All the money you made will never buy back your soul
Good to hear. Just booked for next August.
I was thinking that somewhere there has to be a sweet spot between nonstop rain and 40+ degrees.
Third time in two years we have booked Ryanair flights at decent times, only to find them cancelling the flight months later and putting you on flights at really shit times. I know people will say 'what do you expect it's Ryanair" but sometimes they are the only option we have up here. You just wonder if it's a scheme to trap you into shit flights.
Define really shit times?Blackmac wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:41 pm Third time in two years we have booked Ryanair flights at decent times, only to find them cancelling the flight months later and putting you on flights at really shit times. I know people will say 'what do you expect it's Ryanair" but sometimes they are the only option we have up here. You just wonder if it's a scheme to trap you into shit flights.
Going to Barcelona. Initially flying at 1210 but new flight is at 2045 which means getting into Barcelona at 0030 so unlikely to be at you hotel until nearer 0200. Did the same with a Dublin flight. Moved from 0930 to 2100. As to their call center. That's another joke. Tell you its a 5 minute wait, but that's just to the first call handler who can do fuck all but direct you into the hour long queues.Gav wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:57 pmDefine really shit times?Blackmac wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:41 pm Third time in two years we have booked Ryanair flights at decent times, only to find them cancelling the flight months later and putting you on flights at really shit times. I know people will say 'what do you expect it's Ryanair" but sometimes they are the only option we have up here. You just wonder if it's a scheme to trap you into shit flights.
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Dinsdale Piranha
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A friend had the following stunt pulled by BA a year ot 2 back - Worth checking if Ryanair are pulling the same trick.Blackmac wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:04 pmGoing to Barcelona. Initially flying at 1210 but new flight is at 2045 which means getting into Barcelona at 0030 so unlikely to be at you hotel until nearer 0200. Did the same with a Dublin flight. Moved from 0930 to 2100. As to their call center. That's another joke. Tell you its a 5 minute wait, but that's just to the first call handler who can do fuck all but direct you into the hour long queues.Gav wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:57 pmDefine really shit times?Blackmac wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:41 pm Third time in two years we have booked Ryanair flights at decent times, only to find them cancelling the flight months later and putting you on flights at really shit times. I know people will say 'what do you expect it's Ryanair" but sometimes they are the only option we have up here. You just wonder if it's a scheme to trap you into shit flights.
Flight booked London to Glasgow for 2pm. Price is pretty good. A couple of weeks before he is notified that the flight is moved to 7pm which is too late for him to make his appointment.
Now, a quick check shows that A new BA flight does London - Glasgow at 2pm the same day on the same plane type but because it's a different flight number he has to book a new ticket if he wants it at 3x the price - almost £300.
BA decided he hadn't paid enough so found a legal way to effectively 'cancel' his flight and sell it for more money.
We think that's what they did with our Dublin flights. They effectively forced us to cancel and book with Air Lingus. Three weeks later the earlier flights reappeared but about 30% more expensive.Dinsdale Piranha wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 9:14 pmA friend had the following stunt pulled by BA a year ot 2 back - Worth checking if Ryanair are pulling the same trick.Blackmac wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:04 pmGoing to Barcelona. Initially flying at 1210 but new flight is at 2045 which means getting into Barcelona at 0030 so unlikely to be at you hotel until nearer 0200. Did the same with a Dublin flight. Moved from 0930 to 2100. As to their call center. That's another joke. Tell you its a 5 minute wait, but that's just to the first call handler who can do fuck all but direct you into the hour long queues.
Flight booked London to Glasgow for 2pm. Price is pretty good. A couple of weeks before he is notified that the flight is moved to 7pm which is too late for him to make his appointment.
Now, a quick check shows that A new BA flight does London - Glasgow at 2pm the same day on the same plane type but because it's a different flight number he has to book a new ticket if he wants it at 3x the price - almost £300.
BA decided he hadn't paid enough so found a legal way to effectively 'cancel' his flight and sell it for more money.
I would have to agree with that until post pandemic where we have started to get our problems, but to be fair, flying anywhere with any carrier has become a pretty miserable experience. Twice this year with Jet2 we have boarded our plane on time only to be informed of a 3 hour wait on the runway.
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mat the expat
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Headed to Magnetic Island in QLD for some winter sun - training 2 days but swimming, beach bbq and brewery visits locked in 
We managed to get a cottage on the river in Wilderness for the full first week of January....Us boys had other ideas of where we would like to have gone, but mom was very adamant and we do have lots of fun there......last year we paddled up the river and saw the camp...packed with kids...so the 2 boys should have a great time...we also want to give the Titsikama Zipline a go.....the boys are working through all the local ones......
Our wish was to go to the 4 corners of the world.....a camp at the junction of Botswana, Zimbabwe , Zambia and Namibia....mainly for the wildlife.......Mom wasn't very keen and put together a full presentation of the activities for the boys at Wilderness. Swung the deal.....
Our wish was to go to the 4 corners of the world.....a camp at the junction of Botswana, Zimbabwe , Zambia and Namibia....mainly for the wildlife.......Mom wasn't very keen and put together a full presentation of the activities for the boys at Wilderness. Swung the deal.....
Next year will be a tight call between going there , or going to Witsands.....we normally book in the beginning of the year for that December/Jan..... , but this year we left it very late.There are more than 150 tripoints in the world (ed. a place where the borders of three nations meet) but only one international quadripoint and here we were. Perched precariously, in the top of a 2,000-year-old baobab tree, looking out over the only place in the world where four countries meet and two great African rivers join. We were on Impalila Island, on the banks of the Chobe River, at the eastern tip of the Caprivi Strip, a small slither of land that belongs to Namibia. From our vantage point at the top of the tree, we could see Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia as well as the confluence of the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers.
I have been to Mowana lodge as a single man. Loved the time spent there. Time was too short. Did the sunset boat cruise. Saw enough wildlife to rather go tiger fishing instead of a day safari. But then we are really spoilt for that. With all the game ranches around. Just on a drive up the West coast this weekend we saw a variety of foraging animals from the road including a herd of giraffes. It's like so meh for the kids but I still get a thrill seeing wildlife thriving
My biggest Hollywood regret was buggering around trying to find the sprog a replacement pair of earphones and getting to Amoeba Records just as they shut their doors for the day... I wanted to talk to them about my records, but we never made it back.
I see there are 4 x 4 self drive tours available to the Chobe area....that may be a great call for next summer.....you really can make a holiday of it with all those countries at your fingertips....I would have to go through my 4 x 4 with a fine tooth comb mind.
And then its just a short stretch to Mocambique
And then its just a short stretch to Mocambique
Last minute dot com we decided to celebrate my 60th birthday away from home. We are inviting 4 families of our closest friends and have booked a weekend away at a 15 bed house on the Breerivier at a place called Malgas . Loads for the kids to do. Swimming at our own private beach. Boating. We have a jetty too. Fishing.....and of course as much noise as we like being quite isolated. We haven't done this for a few years now since our favorite place got burnt down . Hoping we have found our next location. We always feel that our birthdays should be celebrated with only close friends and over a weekend instead of just an evening. Makes it more special. And the kids look forward to it. Even for the boys birthdays we go away with a group of friends for the weekend. If you calculate the costs involved it's pretty much the same as throwing a big party and people get invited that are not close. So amped for this now....I was pretty meh about my 60th before.
When is your birthday? Swimming in the Breeriver in winter isn't for sissies.Sards wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 7:17 am Last minute dot com we decided to celebrate my 60th birthday away from home. We are inviting 4 families of our closest friends and have booked a weekend away at a 15 bed house on the Breerivier at a place called Malgas . Loads for the kids to do. Swimming at our own private beach. Boating. We have a jetty too. Fishing.....and of course as much noise as we like being quite isolated. We haven't done this for a few years now since our favorite place got burnt down . Hoping we have found our next location. We always feel that our birthdays should be celebrated with only close friends and over a weekend instead of just an evening. Makes it more special. And the kids look forward to it. Even for the boys birthdays we go away with a group of friends for the weekend. If you calculate the costs involved it's pretty much the same as throwing a big party and people get invited that are not close. So amped for this now....I was pretty meh about my 60th before.
Should we tell him about the crocodiles and the sharks?Sandstorm wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 10:12 amWhen is your birthday? Swimming in the Breeriver in winter isn't for sissies.Sards wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 7:17 am Last minute dot com we decided to celebrate my 60th birthday away from home. We are inviting 4 families of our closest friends and have booked a weekend away at a 15 bed house on the Breerivier at a place called Malgas . Loads for the kids to do. Swimming at our own private beach. Boating. We have a jetty too. Fishing.....and of course as much noise as we like being quite isolated. We haven't done this for a few years now since our favorite place got burnt down . Hoping we have found our next location. We always feel that our birthdays should be celebrated with only close friends and over a weekend instead of just an evening. Makes it more special. And the kids look forward to it. Even for the boys birthdays we go away with a group of friends for the weekend. If you calculate the costs involved it's pretty much the same as throwing a big party and people get invited that are not close. So amped for this now....I was pretty meh about my 60th before.
Springboks, Stormers and WP supporter.
Just back from a week at the coast. Watamu must be one of the best beach holidays in Africa. Incredible scenery, loads of things to do, great food.
Camped in Tsavo on the way down. Had to wait for 7 lions to leave the campsite before we could set up, and had a lot of hippos nearby during the night. Didn't get much sleep but what a buzz.
Camped in Tsavo on the way down. Had to wait for 7 lions to leave the campsite before we could set up, and had a lot of hippos nearby during the night. Didn't get much sleep but what a buzz.
Yeah, we had a barn owl outside our bedroom last night. Nightmare.assfly wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 10:33 am Just back from a week at the coast. Watamu must be one of the best beach holidays in Africa. Incredible scenery, loads of things to do, great food.
Camped in Tsavo on the way down. Had to wait for 7 lions to leave the campsite before we could set up, and had a lot of hippos nearby during the night. Didn't get much sleep but what a buzz.
Mid October.Sandstorm wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 10:12 amWhen is your birthday? Swimming in the Breeriver in winter isn't for sissies.Sards wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 7:17 am Last minute dot com we decided to celebrate my 60th birthday away from home. We are inviting 4 families of our closest friends and have booked a weekend away at a 15 bed house on the Breerivier at a place called Malgas . Loads for the kids to do. Swimming at our own private beach. Boating. We have a jetty too. Fishing.....and of course as much noise as we like being quite isolated. We haven't done this for a few years now since our favorite place got burnt down . Hoping we have found our next location. We always feel that our birthdays should be celebrated with only close friends and over a weekend instead of just an evening. Makes it more special. And the kids look forward to it. Even for the boys birthdays we go away with a group of friends for the weekend. If you calculate the costs involved it's pretty much the same as throwing a big party and people get invited that are not close. So amped for this now....I was pretty meh about my 60th before.
It's 25km from the river mouth. Doubt the Tiger Sharks will be that high up. Up till 28km there is fishing. So just before that point. It's " the Spanish house". Located on a bend in the river, so a sandbank has built up just before the shore which shelters swimmers from the deep river. It will be nice and warm then and the kob season will just be under way
Sards wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 10:49 amMid October.Sandstorm wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 10:12 amWhen is your birthday? Swimming in the Breeriver in winter isn't for sissies.Sards wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 7:17 am Last minute dot com we decided to celebrate my 60th birthday away from home. We are inviting 4 families of our closest friends and have booked a weekend away at a 15 bed house on the Breerivier at a place called Malgas . Loads for the kids to do. Swimming at our own private beach. Boating. We have a jetty too. Fishing.....and of course as much noise as we like being quite isolated. We haven't done this for a few years now since our favorite place got burnt down . Hoping we have found our next location. We always feel that our birthdays should be celebrated with only close friends and over a weekend instead of just an evening. Makes it more special. And the kids look forward to it. Even for the boys birthdays we go away with a group of friends for the weekend. If you calculate the costs involved it's pretty much the same as throwing a big party and people get invited that are not close. So amped for this now....I was pretty meh about my 60th before.
It's 25km from the river mouth. Doubt the Tiger Sharks will be that high up. Up till 28km there is fishing. So just before that point. It's " the Spanish house". Located on a bend in the river, so a sandbank has built up just before the shore which shelters swimmers from the deep river. It will be nice and warm then and the kob season will just be under way
The largest bull shark known to science was caught in a river in South Africa. The shark, measuring over 3.5 meters long and weighing between 550 and 600 kilograms, was caught in the Breede River by a team of scientists
Sounds amazing...will look into it. Fishingassfly wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 10:33 am Just back from a week at the coast. Watamu must be one of the best beach holidays in Africa. Incredible scenery, loads of things to do, great food.
Camped in Tsavo on the way down. Had to wait for 7 lions to leave the campsite before we could set up, and had a lot of hippos nearby during the night. Didn't get much sleep but what a buzz.