I've met some wonderful people during my world travels, and more than my share of complete nutters. There was Henry, the homosexual pensioner with full-face tattoos who I met in Samoa. Stavros, the pizza-crazed Slav who I saved from certain death in Hobart. And who could forget the pleasant chap who I saw giving a dog a bone in Guilin? … Continue reading It’s a Rudi-ful Day
The day starts early in Semonkong, with doneys and goats and sheep and people bubbling out into what passes for streets as soon as the sun peeks over the mountains. I was up at sparrow's to catch the sunrise, then made the most of my early start by heading out into the wilderness to explore … Continue reading The Kingdom in the Sky
Lesotho is known for three things. 1) Being the highest country in the world, with every scrap of land above 1400 metres. 2) Having the highest rate of AIDS on the planet, with around 45 per cent of the locals suffering from the nasty disease. 3) Being the only nation to have a name that … Continue reading Lesotho is remote, oh!
I would've loved to stay in Hogsback for the rest of my life and become a tree-hugging hippie, but when a rancid strain of flu swept through my hostel and people started dropping like flies, I knew it was time to get out of there. I've spent a lot of time on the coast, so … Continue reading Running to Lesotho
I've been told that Hogsback draws people to it, that the mountain has a soul and personality of its own, and that certainly seems to be the case. A South African girl I met told me to come to this tiny village in the Eastern Cape hills, and I'm so glad I followed her advice. … Continue reading Hog Wild! Hogsback is the best place you’ve never heard of!
What's big, spiky, and welcomes thousands of visitors a year? No, not your mum's bush, I'm talking about the Big Pineapple. I mean the one in Bathurst, South Africa, because it's the biggest Big Pineapple on the planet. Yes, bigger than Queensland's much-loved Big Pineapple, and that's hard to admit as an Aussie, because we … Continue reading Everyone loves pineapples!
After yesterday's epic journey into the African savanna, complete with a near-death experience with a rampaging elephant, I woke up this morning with a hunger for more animals. So I headed to the shop to get a meat pie. But after that, I headed to one of Addo, South Africa's, most popular hiking tracks - … Continue reading Doring: not boring!
There are some days I'll remember for the rest of my life, such as the Raiders winning the '94 Grand Final, and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to add today to that list. I dodged wild elephants and lions in the splendid Addo Elephant National Park, just north of Port Elizabeth in South Africa, … Continue reading Elephants, lions, warthogs and… what the hell is that?
If you asked a surfer where he'd like to go in South Africa, he'd probably answer, "Jeffreys Bay", followed by some incomprehensible babble along the lines of, "Totally tubular hang ten, duuuude!" That's because Jeffrey's Bay is widely regarded as the greatest surf spot on the planet, and is a place of pilgrimage for people … Continue reading Surf, sand and slums: Jeffreys Bay isn’t as ‘swell’ as I’d hoped
Of all the monkeys in the world, the baboon is definitely the sexiest. Sure, some people prefer orangutans, and gibbons certainly have their charms, but baboons really know how to turn on the charm and flaunt their simian sexiness. I've seen plenty of beautiful 'boons loitering by the side of the ride as I've ruised … Continue reading A baboon with a view
The Drunk and Jobless World Tour 