All Posts

Knowing Australia is as big as it is, we did not even attempt to see all or most of it. Our travel cadence after the frequent stops in the RV in New Zealand also had us craving less movement. We flew into Brisbane and spent one week on the Gold Coast, then flew to Northern Queensland to spend another week in Cairns (pronounced ‘Canes or Cans’ if you are trying to fit in).  Gold Coast The Gold Coast is famous for its sun, beaches and surf - we got lots of the first two but had

Auckland From the moment of arrival you know the environment is whakamiharo  (amazing in Maori) and special in New Zealand. The magnitude of biosecurity procedures alone that you pass through upon arrival give a hint. The luxury of being an island is the control that is possible to protect those things that cannot be replaced - flora, fauna (and people in the case of COVID when New Zealand was among the most restrictive in the world and thus saw a much lower fatality rate). A

Decisions decisions How did we end up in Singapore? The route decision matrix gets complicated! One decision starts the dominoes falling, then we pick up the pieces to solve the rest of the journey puzzle. Like throwing a dart at a map but with slightly more planning. Tanzania for Safari and Zanzibar were pegged early as must dos. We originally thought to end our trip in New Zealand (in June), but wise advice (thanks Susan!) told us to avoid the winter season. Ultimately, we

Zanzibar Following our amazing but very busy safari adventures, we settled on the island of Zanzibar for a much-needed rest and relaxation for two weeks. This also coincided with the half-way mark of our 10 months on the road: it is crazy how time flies. We had all been looking forward to a few weeks unprogrammed and to live beach-forward.   We stayed in the town of Paje on Zanzibar’s east coast – facing out to the vast Indian Ocean. This town is a mecca for kite surfing on t

Pole Pole It is hard to put into words the magic of safari in Tanzania. We came out of the bush tired, dust covered and delighted by all that we saw and experienced. This was a wow for each of us - keeping us individually and collectively engaged and interested throughout. This will be a memory that we will all keep with us. *There are videos uploaded into this blog post be patient with the loading   Our supreme leader, Boniface, is a 20-year veteran of safari guiding - havin

Nairobi We left the dusty streets of Cairo behind and headed south, officially crossing into the southern hemisphere. We landed in Nairobi, Kenya at a very uncivilized hour of 4:30am. We have learned this is common for air travel on this continent: Weird departure and arrival times help facilitate some of the immense distances involved. Thanks to some local contacts we were able to arrange for a driver, James, who picked us up at the airport in the wee hours of our first day.

Reflections on Europe Other than a quick trip to Morocco for a week we’ve spent the last 4 months exclusively in Europe. For those keeping track we’re technically not in Europe anymore; this blog is meant as an interlude as we work on our first post from Africa. We’ve had a great time immersing ourselves in European history and culture. We started by finding our family roots in a small cemetery in the Scottish midlands. Exploring ancient (Stonehenge) and more “recent” history

Egypt has represented a significant step change in our travel - from the relative ease of independent travel around Europe to a place presenting significant language, cultural and logistical complexities. The pay off for the extra effort is to have experiences and see sights that amazed us. The best part was that we were joined by Grannie Annie (Erin’s Mom) and Lito (her partner Miguel, who we call Lito - a short form of grandpa in spanish) for the adventure.  Cairo We arrive

After Ian’s unplanned trip home to Canada, we were all glad to have that behind us and resume our travels to Germany, Greece and Turkey. This leg saw us hop some flights to squeeze in a few final stops in Europe before we journey onwards to Africa after Christmas.  Germany Berlin is a fascinating city for students of history - this capital has had a front seat to virtually every major historical event of the 20th century: World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the C

Hauts-de-France & Holland We looped back to France to complete our history lesson of World War 1 - and to spend more time eating french bread and cheese. We chose a lovely little town called Arras, in the Hauts-de-France region, a short drive from Vimy Ridge. The shelling of the town and subsequent “Battle of Arras” left the town largely destroyed by the end of the war in 1918. The town was rebuilt as closely as possible to its prewar look. Unfortunately, further rebuilding w

Venezia  We left Italy on a high note, visiting the magical city of Venice - thankfully without the crowds. We were surprised to find ourselves staying right on the island of Venice, but in a neighbourhood where our courtyard filled with Italian kids and teens in the evenings. The day we arrived was college graduation day with hundreds of students partying in the streets wearing corona di alloro (laurel wreath crowns) to celebrate their accomplishments.  Gondola ride Overlook

Italia has been high on the list for the Sharps. We consider ourselves lovers of Italian-ness by nature: pizza, pasta, espresso, talking loudly with our hands…. We have immersed ourselves in many different facets of Italy over the past 2+ weeks - uncovering the beauty and the quirks of living in Italy. Scuola di cucina Milano Duomo Finlay is introduced to cappuccino Milano We started off in Milan - a modern, vibrant city in Italy’s north. We opted to stay in a not-at-all tour

We moved to the south of France and wow the differences are amazing: the climate, the food and the architecture were distinct while still giving us the quintessential french feel. We settled in to a quaint little town in Provence called Vaison la Romaine(VLR) for a week-long stay. The area has some of the oldest and best maintained Roman ruins in France and has a wonderful museum dedicated to the life of Romans in the area. VLR is a mecca for road biking, hiking, eating and w

We connected with the ease of train travel with a trip on the Chunnel between London and Paris - how amazing it is to go from one global city to another so quickly and easily. Alas, the Sharp boys were a bit disappointed as they had thought/hoped the Chunnel would be a giant, transparent tube where they could see the bottom of the ocean while in transit like at an aquarium (LOL).  The Sharps are learning the beauty and subtle, yet meaningful differences of life in France comp

Our travels to Morocco began with an introduction to “Morocco time”: This unique time zone seeps all the way to Orly airport in Paris...

Our luck with weather ran out in northern England and Wales – we now know that per square inch of rainfall that hits you, there is more...

We are 10 days in our time travelling around the world. And time flies when you are having fun. Scotland is teaching us about our...

Over the long months of planning and getting ready a question we’ve often had is “what and how are you packing?” The easy answer is...

Great summer connections and fun before departure. Departure feels imminent for us - we leave in two weeks! This trip has been a dream...