World Wide Travel Blog

 The 2010 world cup is now only months away and the whole footballing world will be descending on South Africa. I have compiled a list of sites that will help you on your travels;

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/index.html - World governing body of football and organisers of the world cup
http://www.sa2010.gov.za/ - South African government website for 2010
http://fifaworldcup.durban.gov.za/Pages/Default.aspx - Official Durban world cup website
http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/2010/Pages/default.aspx - Official Cape Town world cup website
http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/654/167/ - Official Johannesburg world cup website
http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/home - Official South African tourism website

http://www.thefa.com/ - The English football association
http://www.ussoccer.com/ - Official USA soccer home page
http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/ - Football Association of Autralia
http://www.figc.it/index_en.shtml - The Italian FA

http://www.capetownactivities.co.uk/ - Cape Town Activities
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1071886.stm - Basic over view of South Africa from the BBC
South African Safaris - African Travel Experts South African Safaris
Great white shark diving - Great white shark diving in South Africa from White Shark Ecoventures

Camps Bay - The Sexy and Glamorous Holiday Hub Of Cape Town

Camps Bay is one of the most beautiful and sought after areas in Cape Town, South Africa. Residents enjoy panoramic sea and mountain views, beautiful beaches and a bustling cosmopolitan beachfront with trendy restaurants and bars within a few minutes drive from Cape Town City Centre and it’s about 27km (17 miles) from Cape Town International Airport.

Tucked at the foot of Table Mountain, trendy Camps Bay is Cape Town’s most exclusive resort.  It has some of the most sought after, and expensive real estate in Africa, and regularly attracts celebrities and film shoots.

Camps bay is a dazzling, self-contained holiday resort where you can shop at exclusive boutiques, dine at a vast selection of restaurants, party in glamorous style, tan, paraglide, enjoy mountain walks and view cutting-edge architecture.



Restaurants and bars are dotted all along the hip and happening beachfront and spill over onto the pavement, creating a real café-culture, cocktails-in-the-sun feel. In the summer, the sun sets only around 9 0’ clock and provides the most beautiful sunsets and views.

Over summer from October to April, Camps Bay is packed with European tourist and local visitors and attracts affluent people looking for luxury in a beautiful setting. This time of the year daytime temperatures generally reach 22-250C (72-770F), perfect for lazy days on the beach.  The Beach is marked by beautiful white sands, a row of palm trees and a lovely grassy picnic area, ideal for families.  Camps Bay beach has been granted Blue Flag status, and is the place to do a spot of people watching.

Camps Bay boasts a fine selection of gourmet dining with many different restaurants to choose from. From casual light meals to five star international cuisine, Camps Bay offers it all. After dark Camps Bay’s bars and restaurants become a strip for fun and laughter that buzz well into the night. After dinner move on to a sophisticated nightclub or The Theatre on the Bay which regularly host cabaret and light entertainment and numerous shows for all tastes.

In short, Cape Town and more specifically, Camps Bay has become one of the holiday destinations of choice and is considered to be in the top 10 of places to see and beseen. Other notable destinations are as follows;

• Cape Town
• Rio De Janeiro
• St. Tropez
• Portorino
• Aspen
• Cannes
• Monte Carlos
• Ibiza
• St. Moritz
• Miami

5 things you should know about Etosha (other than looking for the animals):

1. The gates open at sunrise and close as sunset – there is generally a mad rush to get to the gates for sunset so make sure you don’t get caught in  someone else’s dust otherwise you will miss the magnificent sunset

2. If the sign says stay in your car, they mean STAY IN YOUR CAR!

3. The only accommodation within the Etosha National Park is run by the Namibia Wildlife Resorts.  Visit the old German Fort of Namutoni – great views and a super waterhole with a resident group of very entertaining striped mongeese

4. You should not miss out on Sproukieswoud (Fairy Forest), the amazing Moringa Trees – known to feed people as well as animals.  In Etosha these are growing uniquely in soil and not on rock

5. The main road in Etosha runs from East to West or visa versa.  It can easily take a day to drive just along this road (there and back) so don’t get caught out by thinking it is not that far!

5 Things you should know about driving in Namibia:

1. Always have at least 5 liters of water in the car with you.  It is very hot, and dusty and there are not a lot of water stops

2. Know how to change a tyre and make sure your car comes with a spare one!

3. Fill your car up regularly – don’t chance it to “make it to the next town”

4. Have plenty of music and plenty of battery life in your iPod.

5. Estimate the time you think it will take you and then add on another hour or two (don’t always rely on the map) – road conditions are generally good but driving on dirt roads makes for a longer trip

5 of the amazing things to see in Damaraland:

1. Views Views and  more Views
 
2. The Organ Pipes – a series of dolerite pipes that resemble organs pipes - though these ones were created 100 million years ago.  Caught at the right time, the colours are amazing and this is a geologist’s dream stop.
 
3. The mighty Brandberg, the highest mountain in Namibia (2,573m).  Its name meaning “Fire Mountain” which comes from the glowing colour it can get around sunset.  It also houses the famous “White Lady” rock painting of the San (Bushman) tribes – a spiritual site.
 
4. The imposing silhouette of Spitzkoppe – the Atlantic wind blowing sand particles and significant temperature changes between day and night have sculptured the ochre granite of these mountains into polished curves, arches, columns and countless extraordinary shapes.  The light generated by the setting sun is magical – rock and sky merging together in a blaze of gold, crimson and deep purple…..

5. Twyfelfontein – 2 thousand rock carvings created over 2 thousand years – in 2007 this was approved as Namibia’s first World Heritage Site

5 amazing things about Sossusvlei:

1. The colours and scenery here is some of the most contrasting and remote that you will find anywhere in the world

2. The combination of Sand Dunes, Grasslands, Mountains, Desert & Game – which all make for a photographers paradise

3. The highest Dune is Big Daddy at 300m

4. The closest dune to the road is Dune 45, which is what makes it the most popular one

5. The most amazing way to witness this phenomenal place – is from the heights of a hot air balloon

 

I thought I would compile a list of all UK airlines that operate within the UK, most operate over seas but not all.

Air southwest
http://www.airsouthwest.com/

Aircraft Charter Passenger and Cargo
http://www.aviation-consultants.com/

Astraeus
http://www.flystar.com/

Aurigny Air Services
http://www.aurigny.com/

Avianca
http://www.avianca.com/

Blue Islands
http://www.blueislands.com/

BMI British Midland
http://www.flybmi.com/

BMI Baby
http://www.bmibaby.com/

British Airways
http://www.britishairways.com/

Eastern Airways
http://www.easternairways.com/

Easyjet
http://www.easyjet.com/

Fly BE
http://www.flybe.com/

Fly Globe Span
http://www.flyglobespan.com/

HD Air
http://www.hdair.com/

Logan Air
http://www.loganair.co.uk/

Lydd Air
http://www.lyddair.com/

Monarch
http://flights.monarch.co.uk/

Scot Airways
http://www.scotairways.co.uk/

Thomson Fly
http://flights.thomson.co.uk/

Titan Airways
http://www.titan-airways.com/

Virgin Atlantic
http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/

RyanAir at times get bad press and in turn have a bad reputation. Unfortunately for them, its blatantly obvious to see why;

An Irish blogger pointed out a small and minor bug with their session handling (a fancy way to ensure your booking process goes smoothly) at their main website. The Irish blogger (Jason Roe) was then abused several times by Ryan Air staff calling him petty name and calling him liar. Also noted, this is terrible command of the written English language!

Full blog post;

http://www.jason-roe.com/blog/free-ryanair-free-flight-bug/

Secondly RyanAir plan to charge all people who fly with them 1GBP to use their toilets!

More news on this from The Times;

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/news/article5814577.ece

This company has no concept of customer service!