liveˈliv:v; to have a life rich in experience

Where to begin?

We left Brisbane, on 2 September, and flew to Perth, and had 12 hours before our flight from Perth to Johannesburg. We spent a few more hours at a care waiting for the check in counter to open at 9am, before flying to Nairobi, Kenya. Once at Kenya, we were welcomed at Boma Hotel. They covered our room with beautiful roses and rose petals, and wished us a lovely honeymoon.  After all of our travels, we crashed. The next day was spent in the city visiting the Giraffe Centre (next to Giraffe Manor), an elephant orphanage, Karen Blixen coffee plantation, Kabuzi Bead Factory, and Karen Blixen Hotel for lunch.

Initially we had a 6:30pm flight to Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania  -a direct one hour flight. We arrived to Nairobi airport around 4pm, and we told at the check in that our flight was cancelled. We would not fly out until 12:50am. It would not be a direct flight. It will stop over in Zanzibar first. We would wait another 8 or so hours until we board our flight. This was the worst part of the whole trip. Everything that happened onwards, was just a little bumpy, but not the worst, because, this. was. the. worst. part. So overall, everything else would be just another part of the African experience. As they say, TIA (this is Africa).

Over the next 27 days, we had very little internet access during our travels across East Africa and Madagascar. It was a fun filled, full-on adventure! Very dusty, bumpy, and at the same time, serene. Every day I returned to the room, feeling pretty wrecked. It was the best trip. I feel so lucky to have been able to experience this kind of adventure early on in life, with the person I love most.

Favourite moments:

• elephants in the forrest @ Ngorongoro Crater
• elephants in Amboseli
• trekking with the gorillas in Rwanda
• walking through the spiny forrest to see the lemurs in Madagascar
• resting oceanside in Manafiafy

Pictures to follow.