Archive for the 'Ethiopia' Category

Happy 11th birthday Trevor’s Travels

No Comments »28th December, 2016; Category: Africa, Ethiopia, Himalayas, Morocco, Photos, Thailand

Swamp wallaby and joey in pouch

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY TO TREVOR’S TRAVELS

I can hardly believe that I started this blog 11 years ago. It was started with an account of my travels in Thailand and Nepal. During that trip I trekked with my daughter up towards Everest Base Camp. It was an amazing experience and one I highly recommend.

You can read about my adventures in those countries in one of the following ways:

use the search function in the top right-hand corner
use the archives button on the top bar of each page
click on the “Contents” heading in the sidebar
click on one of the topics in the cloud on the sidebar on the right

Each of these ways will take you to well over 1000 articles about my travels around the world. In many cases, I have included photos taken on our travels. The main places covered include the following:

Australia: my wife and I have travelled extensively throughout many parts of our home country. Along the way we take photos to share here and on my other site Trevor’s Birding. I enjoy taking bird photos where I can, as well as scenery shots to share here. I also like taking shots of native Australian flowers and plants which are of interest to my wife, as well as many of our friends.

Thailand: I only spent a few days in this country on my way to Nepal. Despite that, I made the most of my time, seeing some of the highlights of this interesting and beautiful country.

Nepal: my visit to Nepal was to meet up with my daughter who was on her way home from teaching in England for a year. Together, we had some amazing experiences on the route to Everest Base Camp. On this site I have shared some stunning scenery we saw on that trip.

Ethiopia: a few years ago my daughter again showed how adventurous she is by going to Ethiopia to teach for a semester. At the end of her time there my wife and I joined her, travelling around Addis Ababa and nearby parts of the country. This year our daughter has returned to teach in Ethiopia, this time for two years and we are hoping to make another visit soon.

Morocco: after our visit to Ethiopia the three of us continued on to travel around magical Morocco. This trip included many of the principal cities as well as rural highlights and the magnificent Sahara.

Spain: we concluded our wonderful journey by exploring southern Spain. We came away having fallen in love with the people and country, not to mention their food. We would dearly love to return to scintillating Spain.

An apology

I must apologise to my readers for a lack of new articles and photos on this site over the last few months. We have been very busy this year. Some of that time was taken on two trips to Sydney to look after our two grandchildren, ages 8 and 5. Each trip took about five weeks.

The rest of the time was occupied helping our daughter pack all of her belongings and putting them into storage for the time she will be in Ethiopia.

Life is now getting back to normal, so look for new articles and many more photos over the coming months.

Happy travels.

Trevor

Laughing Kookaburra Sydney

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Sydney

Australian Brush Turkey, Sydney

Sahara Desert in Morocco

1 Comment »2nd February, 2016; Category: Africa, Animals, Ethiopia, Exotic Destinations, Morocco

Camel ride on Christmas Eve in the Sahara

On our tour of Morocco we spent the last hour or so of daylight on Christmas Eve riding camels into the Sahara Desert. I have already written about this adventure several times here on this site – just look back over recent posts – or check in my archives.

While I felt uncomfortable riding the camel – not my preferred mode of transport – I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being in the desert. This once-in-a-lifetime adventure was all I hoped it to be. The colours are astounding, especially just before and during sunset which was the time of day we entered the desert. Because it was mid winter the air was crisp and clean; very little pollution out there.

I have called this camel ride a once only experience. I would love to return to Morocco some day but at my age, time is probably against me. Besides, in the limited number of years I still have I would like to experience other countries and cultures. Sadly, ill health has restricted me a little over the last year, but I am still hopeful of travelling in the coming years.

In fact, one of the reasons we went on this particular tour was at the request of our daughter. (She features in earlier posts here.) She had just finished six months of volunteer teaching in Ethiopia. After visiting her there the three of us continued on into Morocco and then Spain (photos of Spain to follow in coming months). Later in 2016 she returns to teach in Ethiopia again, but this time for two years. During that time I hope we can visit again, and visit several more European and African countries. Time will tell.

Christmas Eve in the Sahara

Camel ride, Christmas Eve in the Sahara

Happy 10th Birthday Trevor’s Travels

No Comments »28th December, 2015; Category: Africa, Australia, Ethiopia, Exotic Destinations, Himalayas, Morocco, Nepal

Alhambra, Spain

CONGRATULATIONS!

TREVOR’S TRAVELS SITE IS TEN YEARS OLD TODAY.

Ten years ago today I started this travel blog.

Over the years I have shared hundreds of photos and over a thousand articles describing the places I have been.

Over that time I have travelled extensively here in Australia, had a short visit to Thailand, been about half way up Mt Everest in Nepal and visited many places here in my home state of South Australia.

On a more recent trip I visited my daughter who was teaching in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, had a wonderful holiday in Morocco and then went wandering around Spain for a few weeks, falling in love with the country in the process.

All of these I have shared with readers on this site – except for Spain; those photos and articles are coming in 2016, as well as a few more featuring our trip in Morocco. And more travels in Australia.

Over the coming years my wife and I intend travelling to many more places. We just hope that both our health and our budget allow it. These travels may include another visit to Ethiopia; our daughter returns there to teach again in 2016. If this trip eventuates we plan to visit several more countries on our way. Some possibilities include Italy, France and… oh, it is so tempting to return to Spain. We’ve only just had a taste of that wonderful place.

In the meantime, readers can enjoy the many articles and photos here on this site already. Just go to the archives, click on any of the categories on the sidebar, or use the search facility near the top of each page.

Happy reading.

Trevor

Mosque in Casablanca

Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia

Ama Dablam, Everest region, Nepal

Floriade, Canberra, Australia

Animal markets in Addis Ababa

No Comments »29th September, 2012; Category: Africa, Animals, Ethiopia, Exotic Destinations, Holidays

Animal markets in the streets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

On our last evening during our stay in Addis Ababa late last year my wife and I went for a stroll through the local streets and marketplaces. It was interesting to see a way of life in complete contrast with what we are used to here in Australia. Of particular interest were the many animals for sale in the main street of the suburb where we were staying while visiting out daughter. The animals – cattle, goats and sheep – were very docile and despite not being yarded in any way were not at all spooked by the noisy car, truck and bus traffic a metre or so away, nor did the many pedestrians upset them either.

I must have looked like a very rich person because I was offered many animals as we walked along. I was not sure what the going price for a nice lamb would have been, so I politely declined to buy any. Besides, we were scheduled to fly out a few hours later; I didn’t want to try explaining a live goat or lamb under my arm as carry-on luggage.