One Man Travelling...

I had booked a return ticket from South Africa to the UK for six months time non transferable. Due to a change in the visa regulations I could only remain in South Africa for 180 days at a time. Where could I go? My permit ended on New Year's Eve? I booked a trip to neighbouring Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls only to discover that cross-border visits would not allow a visa renewal.  I investigated countries to visit which only required a British passport and came up with Thailand. A country on my 'wish list' where I could stay for 30 days without a visa and a return ticket from Johannesburg was cheaper than returning to the UK for a short break. I packed a bag and off I went.  Follow my adventures there with the usual photo diaries at   www.onemaninthailand.blogspot.com

After one last attempt to see the interior of the Anglican Church in Mahikeng it is time to head south to Kimberley.  Before we leave here is a link to the South African Tourist Website which will tell you all about the history past and present of Mahikeng. It includes the Anglo-Boer War and Baden-Powell's formation of the scout movement during the 217 day siege of the town. All the information you need on Mahikeng, Mafikeng or Mafiking Now we could go the easy route down the national route N18 but that would be boring. Instead we will head off down the R503, longer but, I hope, more interesting. I was amazed at the vastness of this fertile countryside. An abundance of water makes this area rich in golden grain rather than gold nuggets. I stopped to talk to a group foraging for firewood to try and find out what type of trees and why they were there in the acres of flat field. I only succeeded in a clamour for a group photograph. If the size of the fields was amazing so too was...

My time in Tenerife has drawn to an end, my bags are packed it's time to go.  An evening out with Jose-Luis,Teresa and Yaiza in Santa Cruz, a sad farewell to an island and friends I have come to love, then an early 'plane from Tenerife North to Madrid. British Airways will then fly me to Port Elizabeth, South Africa via London and Johannesburg. 36 hours in the air would take me to my next adventure at www.undersouthafricansky.blogspot.com now renamed  onemaninsouthafrica.blogspot.com My blog and its photographs at  www.tenerifebybus.blogspot.com  remain to remind me and show you what there is to see and do in Tenerife and all achievable by bus too.

During August 2013 I was staying with friends in Madrid when we decided to visit Aulos in France where my sister and her husband lived. Jose-Luis planned the journey with a final check by his wife Teresa. A rather portly me looked on. Travelling by car would restrict the views and items of interest I could capture as I was the "back seat driver" on eye level with the crash barriers alongside the road. I deleted more photos than I kept due to this, cropping would not work as the focus was distorted too. Later as we climbed into the clouds swirling around the mountains the rains then darkness came precluding photography altogether. We departed mid-morning on the 6th from the residence in Colmenar de Oreja, Madrid heading in the direction of Barcelona before turning north parallel to the coast until we entered the Pyrenees. My first encounter with one of the many tunnels cut through these mountains. We were now climbing into the mountains through the province of Catalonia. F...

Into the unknown Redundancy at the end of August loomed. What to do next? Don, a colleague of mine who, unfortunately was to join me in the unemployment queue had been prompting me to visit Tenerife for years. Why not, another job at my time of life was a remote possibility, I owed nothing to anyone?  I commenced browsing the internet during July 2011 discovering a substantial drop in the price of a ticket to Tenerife South airport on Monday 1st November of that year. Easyjet would transport me, a cabin bag and my suitcase from Gatwick for the princely sum of £60.00. I booked.

May bank holiday weekend and I am still without my car which was quite fortuitous as I would never have heard about or made this trip. Browsing Woods Coaches for a suitable day out I came across a coach trip to Llandudno's 'Victorian Extravaganza' weekend. Living in Leicester at the time this is about as far away as you can get and I would never have dreamt of driving there on my own.  Going by coach was cheaper than filling my tank and no hassles finding a parking space on arrival.

The next event which formulated future my travel plans, and subsequent blogs, came about when my car failed its MOT requiring replacement headlights which proved very hard to find! I found myself approaching the Easter holidays with no means of transport. Harking back to my youth I remembered the 'Mystery Tours' which ran from Durham City bus station during the summer months on a Wednesday afternoon. A bit of 'Googling' revealed that coach trips are still very popular and I eventually settled on Woods Coaches of Leicester where I happened to be living at the time. A trip to Whitby by steam train caught my eye. Born in the North East of England this was a destination of choice when my dad was feeling exceptionally keen.