Peeking around the Peak District

Having arrived back in London after the excitement of the wedding and honeymoon we expected to feel a bit flat. And true to form, the weather was cold, grey and January was starting to feel like a very long month. So, armed with the very generous gift Shaun's parents had given us for the wedding we decided to head north to Stoke on Trent to buy a dinner set and while we were at it, do a tiny bit of exploring in the Peak District.

Home for the weekend was a tiny little stone cottage inside the Peak District National Park, with the lowest ceilings I've ever seen (challenging) but with a nice log burner and a separate gas fire which made things toasty - in stark contrast to the chill air outside. Shaun found the kitchen ceilings the most challenging of all - even I had to duck which makes you wonder how those growth hormones have affected the human race over the last few centuries...

There was just enough time to go for a little explore into the hills - nice and muddy and a little bit of clambering involved but good to get outside into the brisk air and make a (token) start on some training for a bigger walk we're hoping to get done later this summer.

M

Kicking back in the sun...

Following the arduous! week on safari it was time to kick back and relax.  First on the beautiful Pongwe beach on Zanzibar for a few days...

and then back off to the Tanzanian mainland via a flight on the tiniest plane imaginable to spend our last 4 days at idllyic Ras Kutani. 

Ras Kutani is a bit more rustic than Zanzibar but our hilltop suite was beautiful, with monkeys playing in the trees every evening and with enough active water activities to do to keep us occupied during the day in between lazing around with a series of books and the odd cocktail or two. 

M&S 

Super Safari

For the first week of our honeymoon we spent an amazing few days on safari in Tanzania. After a marathon flight in from New Zealand, and a day or two recovering in Arusha we were rested, revived and keen to hit the bush. Our first adventure was with our guide Freddy, to the Ngorogoro Crater via Lake Manyara National Park.

(Freddy and Michaela testing out the roof canopy on the Landcruiser.)

Lake Manyara was great - full of elephants, baboons and birds and with a hippo pool in its centre featuring a great host of different animals resting in the mud and the summer breeze.

Next stop it was on to the crater - a vast expanse stretching out towards the horizon on all sides, with an incredible variety and concentration of animals on the crater floor.

The next morning we were up bright and early to investigate what the crater had in store. We weren't disappointed - zebras, lions and a rare black rhino were all on hand together with more baboons and numerous gazelle.

Leaving the crater we woke on Christmas morning for an unforgettable Christmas Day - a drive out to our remote mobile tented camp (which moves to follow the wildebeest migration), featuring a strange mix of luxury and roughing it on the edge of the Serengeti Plains. Our tent was wonderful - even with a flushing toilet!, hot water brought for showers on demand and a daybed at the front of the tent with an uninterrupted view of the plains stretching out as far as the eye could see.

That evening Alex, the owner, surprised everyone with a special Christmas Day feast with dancing by warriors from the local village and a whole roasted calf killed earlier that afternoon.

The next morning we woke up to find the wildebeest had come in on the plains and we could see herds of them stretching for miles into the distance.

In total we spent 3 days at the camp, going on game drives to see the wildebeest and stalking the prey that were stalking them.

What a fantastic place and a great way to start married life.

M & S

18 December 2010