Archive for October, 2009

Fortunately, 2010 can be the best excuse for all sports-cum-tour lover to spend savings. Why not? FIFA will be on date with South Africa. Let’s join and be part of the romantic FIFA World Cup 2010.

The whole sport’s fraternity now fixes on one event that is FIFA World Cup 2010. Undoubtedly South African tourism industry will get huge impetus next year and if you are planning a trip to South Africa then for sure you would like to add something more than world cup hullabaloo. Here are we present a list of ten things to do in South Africa during World Cup 2010.

FIRST
Ride on an Ostrich South Africa 2010 – Oudtshoorn, in the Karoo is home to large number of Ostrich. There are number of Ostrich Farms, which is surely an exciting thing to see. And what more if you literally ride on some Ostrich! It is strange and little awkward to ride on Ostrich and at the same time relish your supper with Ostrich recipes like Ostrich steaks and Ostrich pate.

FIFA 2010 SOUTH AFRICA

SECOND
Tree House South Africa 2010 – To savor the beauty of fantastic Outeniqua Mountain Range, try to book a tree house and stay there for a couple of weeks. The lodges are in the foothills of soul stirring Outeniqua Mountain Range. You can choose various tree lodges but recommended are Jaci’s Tree Lodge, Sycamore Avenue in the Drakensberg Mountains or Pezulu Tree House Game Lodge in Timbavati, South Africa.

THIRD
A Walk On The Wild Side South Africa – Some of the remarkable coastlines are in the South Africa. Drive up to the Eastern Cape region, and enjoy the isolated beaches and natural waterfalls and forests on foot. You can also book 5 days walking tours. Enjoy the overnight stays in shacks on the beach.

Tree House (South Africa)

FORTH
Swim With Penguin South Africa 2010 - Penguin colony is located near Cape Peninsula near Cape Town. Get acquainted with serious face penguins from the specially constructed boardwalk, which has been erected around the dunes.

FIFTH
Dive With Sharks In South Africa – This is surely not for faint-hearted people. Enjoy the adventurous spirit with Great White Sharks in South Africa. Pump your adrenaline with cage diving, which has gained much popularity in South Africa. Shark Alley is situated just couple of hours drive from Cape Town in Gangsbaal.

SIXTH
Luxury Train Travel In South Africa - The famous Blue Train, which travels between Pretoria and Cape Town, South Africa. If you want to travel in style between world cup venues, 2010, please check before the time table for South Africa’s luxury train services and enjoy fantastic landscapes.

Green Hills

SEVENTH
Raft The Orange River – Again, the activity that excites most of the adventure loving person across the world. River rafting on torrential Orange River, which originates from the Drakensburg Mountains and winds its way through mountains and heads down to the Atlantic Ocean is not just piece of cake. You can’t just parade down the river alone but need to book a trip in the Richtersveld National Park.

EIGHTH
Elephant Safari In South Africa – Strangely more temperamental than Indian counterparts, South African elephants are not generally shy from tourists. Several lodges in South Africa are now organized elephant safari tours to their tourists. Check with your tour agent about Camp Jabulani in Mpumalanga Province, Addo National Park or the Elephant Sanctuary.

NINTH
A Trip To Robben Island South Africa – Your trip would be flavorless if you miss Robben Island, Cape Town. This former penal colony was home to Nelson Mandela for 18 years of his life, and the tour guides are usually ex-prisoners for Robben Island. Get the unique experience in Robben Island and get the first hand experience of life of South Africa.

LAST but IMPORTANT
Football World Cup Finals – If you will be in South Africa, please don’t miss World Cup Finals Check the timings with the FIFA world website and book your ticket as early as possible.

– Shubhajit Chakraborty

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

QUESTION
I am about to make a plan for a trip to the Doiran military cemetery, which lies in the northern Greece. My great-grandfather is buried in this cemetery. Me and my wife is planning to fly to Thessaloniki and then hire a car there. At Thessaloniki we plan for a short stay, may be only a couple of days, but we wish to enjoy a relaxing end of the trip to somewhere else in the region.
– Laura Vickers, Sutton Coldfield

ANSWER
Better visit Greece in the months of May, June, September or October. These are the best time to visit Greece. At this time the weather of Greece is warm. From Thessaloniki, about three hours of drive lies superb and little-developed beaches of the Sithonian Peninsula.

You can stay somewhere between the roads Sarti and Panagia. From this place you can be staring straight at the Athos Peninsula. The Athos Peninsula is a World Heritage Site now and it is dominated by 20 working monasteries. It is a wonderful and pleasant site.

Thessaloniki - Greece

Oops! Only male visitors are allowed and that too only 10 and non-Orthodox each day. Of course permits is required to be arranged, sometimes more than six months in advance.

Well, if beaches are not your taste then consider driving south and west of Thessaloniki to a place called Litochoro. It is in the shadow of Mount Olympus, the highest peak Greece.

If you walk or climb on it, you will enjoy a lot. If not, even then it is a relaxing place for a few days. There are several ancient sites close to it. Few miles out of Thessaloniki is Pella. This place is the birthplace of Alexander the Great and it was also home to some of the wonderful mosaics. If you simply stroll around the town you may discover some.

QUESTION
Hi, I want to know the differences between the gap-year schemes in Australia and New Zealand. Is it that one longer than the other and what is the age limit for it?
– James Lydeard, by email

ANSWER
Both the place operates Working Holiday Visa schemes. These visa schemes are available between the ages group of 18 and 30.

Let us first talk about the Australian visa. It allows traveler to stay in Australia for a maximum period of one year. As of now the visa costs A$230 (about £120). Travelers can easily work there for up to half the year with each employer. Employees in industries such as farming, fishing or construction can apply second year renewal of the visa.

The basic differences between the Australia and New Zealand visas are that the NZ visa is available for 12 or 23 months and it costs only NZ$120 (about £50). Moreover, the New Zealand visa can be applied for once you are in NZ. In the case of Australian visa, travelers must apply for it from outside Australia.

Selinunte in Sicily, Italy

QUESTION
Me and my wife are planning for a sightseeing tour to Italy. Till now I did not find any company providing us what we are looking for and we would definitely appreciate your help.

What we plan is to spend some, say, 4 to 6 weeks touring Italy and the major offshore central Mediterranean islands such as Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. From there after 6 weeks, may be, we would like to depart in mid-April next year, though we are flexible here.

Now what we need is that our starting and finishing point should be in the southern France. Here we live part of the year. Again we are flexible here. The options that we have are:

(01) To drive to the places and organise hotels and ferries ourselves.
(02) To rely on the public transport like trains, boats and planes.
(03) To keep on looking for a travel company that could organise our whole trip as planned.
(04) To find such travel company that can provide us a series of inter-inked trips.

– Tom Craven, by email

ANSWER
Keeping in mind the superb public transport, I would suggest you both to undertaking this journey mainly by train, bus and ferry. This will first of all save your money on either car hire or getting to Italy in the first place and you won’t have to find somewhere where you can leave your car after you are done with the stressful part of driving into big cities. Oh yes, if you nee a car for exploring some remote areas then you can easily hire a car for a few days from major cities.

The valuable suggestion is that an InterRail pass allows unlimited travel for 8 days within a month and it costs only £199 for second class and for the first class it const not more than £275. The passes are available from Rail Europe. Keep in mind that if you are planning for visiting fewer places and that too for longer then you may enjoy having point-to-point tickets in advance at around same price.

InterRail, Europe

On ferries there are some discounts with this pass. Well, on routes like Reggio Calabria to Messina (Sicily) and Trapani (Sicily) to Cagliari (Sardinia) there are no discounts.

Now let me come back to the route. Start with taking a train from your home in southern France to Genoa, Venice or Trieste or else you can hop on a flight from the UK. There are easily available budget carriers for all these cities.

Now, after this head south down the mainland. Next travel up through Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica and then catch a ferry to Marseille, Toulon or Nice from the north of the island.

ALSO READ
10 Things to do in Europe, that too absolutely free
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