Travel Stories by Sharon https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel en-us 2023-02-01 04:15:50 UTC 2023-02-01 10:09:52 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f3de.png sharonmad2 https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464066334 The guide's oar dipped quietly in and out of the river water. We were sitting low on the water's surface, paddling through a section of quieter water, no rapids here, and I could trail my hand through the water if I wished to. But I didn't! These waters held many dangers and I took the warnings seriously - less than a second before the steel jaws of a hippo or crocodile could haul me into the water and I'd be on the Zambezi Daily Specials Menu. No thank you. 

The Zambezi River, forming the beautiful yet perilous border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, teems with wildlife before it falls dramatically over the wide, sheer cliff faces as the Victoria Falls. Giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, buck, all come to drink, wash, swim, eat, cool down or kill and I had wanted to witness a snapshot of life on the river above the falls and so signed up for a quiet, guided canoe trip on its waters, avoiding the noisy, drunken booze cruises that chase animals away. 

We'd been paddling on the water for about fifteen minutes, when the guide whispered: "Be very quiet. Look over there on the left. Can you see the eyes?" There, peeping out just above the surface, were the hippo's eyes, watching us, monitoring our every move. The guide steered the canoe away from her to shallower waters near the bank. 

Branches skimmed the surface of the water and there was much more vegetation here. And there, nestled on the warm bark of a branch, a baby crocodile was sunning itself! I couldn't believe my luck. It looked so sweet and innocent.






]]> 2023-02-01 05:16:03 UTC https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464066334 Trip to Thailand https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464218243 A few years ago, I traveled through Thailand by bycycle.

We were a group of eleven people. We arrived at the airport of Phuket, got all our baggage and the mountain bikes, which we had taken with us by plane. In front of the airport, the guide was waiting for us. We had to change our clothes and put on biking clothes.
It was over 30 degrees, we all were tired after the long flight, and now we had to ride the bikes. We had just to cycle to our hotel a few kilometres away, but there was a small pass, we had to cross. We all, unused to this temperature, were sweating. When we were in the ascent to this pass, suddenly the chain of my bike broke. Fortunately we had a car witch accompanied us. They had some tools and we could fix the problem. So I could continue my first trip and finally we arrived at the hotel, happy, that we could get cold drinks now. 
]]> 2023-02-01 08:17:55 UTC https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464218243 Plane Trip https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464233084 Two weeks ago I went on a plane trip from Frankfurt to Cape Town.
It had been a very relaxing flight because I was enjoying some drinks from the bar. The flight was 12h long so I used some time trying to sleep. I had already been napping for 4h when the breakfast arrived which is actually very impressive when you think about the uncomfortable seats in an airplane. From the window I was able to see the sheer cliffs from Table Mountain and the grassy meadows from Signal Hill.

 

]]> 2023-02-01 08:32:27 UTC https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464233084 About twenty years ago I went to China for the first time. I had to teach economics to first year economics students in Chongqing. I had been planning this journey for months. I had learnt a few basic sentences to 'communicate' with people and be polite but it turned out to be completely useless. No sooner had I arrived than I felt totally illiterate. Nobody understood my poor English and barely no one spoke English at that time in China. What struck me the most was that all information panels were written with ideograms. I was completely lost. I felt like a two-year old baby who needed an helpful hand. Going to the restaurant was a nightmare. I could not order any dish as I was not able to read the menu. What I did was stare at pictures of dishes and highlight them to get some food, eventually. https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464239644 Taking the bus was another adventure. Almost everyone was staring at me when I tried to get on the bus and I could not manage to get off the bus where I had planned to.]]> 2023-02-01 08:38:42 UTC https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464239644 My adventure at the Okavango-Delta https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464240814 We drove together with local guides in a ‘mokoro’ into the Delta. It was very shaky on the small boat that resembles a canoe. There were only three people in one mokoro and our stuff we needed in the Delta. When we were in the middle of a river, we clearly heard some hippos grunt. I was so scared of it. It sounds like they were standing right next to me. We were just about to reach the shore of our camp when we heard the hippos again. I’m sure I’ve never been so nervous.
I was sitting in a camp while our guides prepared lunch. It was quiet around our camp site. But then we heard a noise that none of us had heard before. It was a hyena. At that moment, I thought I might be awake all night.
After our lunch, we went on a walking tour of the delta with the guides. We had to be very quiet so as not to scare the animals. First of all, I was afraid but thought the guides had been going on this tour 4 times a week, they probably knew their way around well.


]]> 2023-02-01 08:39:51 UTC https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464240814 https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464241582 I travelled to Thailand a few years ago with my family. We wanted to witness some wildlife, far from the city sounds. 
We visited famous places in the south of Thailand : we strolled on the pristine beaches, kayaked on the turquoise water. We even saw the James Bond's island. 
But we wished to discover Thailand's wildernesses. 

We hired a guide and went for a three-day walk. The forest teemed with life. There was bambo all around us and we could hear the birds chirping. Sometimes we could see a flash of a monkey's tale.
At night we slept in little villages. The weather was cold and so was the shower's water!

On the last day, the guide found a scorpion and offered us to touch it. I couldn't, it was frightening. But my father and my brother did while I was closing my eyes. No sooner did they stop touching it than I was relieved. 

We also saw an elephant! It was impressive to see it living without caring about our presence. We couldnt get too close, it would be too dangerous. 

This walk in the forest was worth it : we witnessed so much wild life in this one-off environment. And last but not least : the food was delicious.]]> 2023-02-01 08:40:32 UTC https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464241582 Sanbona Safari https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464241901 We are looking back to the beginning of november 2022. I will never forget this time because I had my first safari in my life on one of my favourite continents in the world: Africa!

On the 5. november my parents and me got collected in front from our appartment with a SUV. It has taken us 4 hours of driving through the north-east of Africa. It was already insane to see all the mountains which remembered me of switzerland!

After we have stopped in front of the entrance to the big area we thought that we have been at our residence soon, but we had to drive again for one hour over sticks and seeds to get there! But this time with the entertainment to see animals we haven‘t seen before. It had been not more than ten minutes and we saw antilops and our first baboons.

As soon as we had arrived, they welcome us and we had to move to our two residences. It was a mix between a tent and a little house made of stone and wood.
I have got my own pool and a kingsized bed. The residences where surrounded by a big cliff and an electricity fence to protect us from unwanted guests. We already saw frogs, rabbits, cliffspringers and baboons in the residence and the safaris always where in the early mornings or late afternoons, when the sun was not cooking everybody! We got introduced by our lovely guide and the first safari started already at the first evening.

We‘ve stayed there for three nights and had done 6 safaris in total. We have seen 4 animals out of the big five, because the lions where hiding from us in the mountains all the time. Thats has been the only sad experience in that weekend. I will never forget the tears in the eyes from my mother when she saw the elephants waddle arround in real life.

My highlight was the aperitif with two black rhinos lasering us with their eyes in a distance of 80 meters. Thats was adrenaline pure!

We were so sad to leave the place at our final day but on the trip home we saw a snake and a tortoise out of our SUV saying goodbye to us!

I can only recommend the Sanbona Safari for speechless adventures!

]]> 2023-02-01 08:40:50 UTC https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464241901 Shark Diving https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464243013 10 years ago, my friends and I did the Garden Route in South Africa. We were all looking forward to the trip from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.  We had been driving for more than 4 hours along the beautiful coastline when we finally arrived. Our final destination for the day  was Hermanus. We stayed in a lovely B&B.
Everyone had slept well despite the unfamiliar time we stood up for our shark diving adventure.

After the safety instructions from our guide we drove into the open sea. At that time I already felt very seasick. It was a horrible feeling to be on this shaking boat. 
Finally we reached our shark spot. The guides put the cage down. By the time the adrenaline rushed through my body and we were surrounded by 25 white sharks. 

When I climbed into the cage, my heart pounded harder and harder. Nobody had warned me of the adrenaline rush I was now facing. It was so confusing that I forgot to breath above the water. I swallowed so much water, but it was still an  amazing experience. Of course I would try it again! :)

]]> 2023-02-01 08:41:36 UTC https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464243013 A long day on a ridge https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464257133 Last summer I made a trip in the Swiss Alps with two friends. The idea was to follow a mountain chain in the region we live. In total 13 summits, 35km and over 3300 meter difference in altitude we had to pass. The day started sunny and warm but after the third peak clouds came over us. So the rest of the way we had to walk in the fog. The temperature fell and the rocks got/became slippery.

After a short break for lunch we had to pass over nine abseil points. At this moment I was already exhausted. Unfortunately we didnt have other options than to keep going on till the end or to return and walk a long way back. The ridge we were on, didn’t offer an escape. 

I was lucky to have these two friends and experienced alpinists on my side. I had met these guys years before in school and I knew I could entirely count on them. So while I was suffering from muscle fatigue, they prepared always the descent points for me and carried the rope. 

After over ten hours we finally reached the last summit. Only a long way down in the valley and back to our car was in the offering. Two hours later we arrived completely destroyed but safe and sound. While we were looking at the further mountains, some new ideas came in our minds…



]]> 2023-02-01 08:55:39 UTC https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464257133 Cerro Tres Kandu https://padlet.com/sharonmad2/travel/wish/2464260965 In 2016 I hiked up and down the biggest mountain range in Paraguay, the "Cerro Tres Kandu". Dispate 900 metre's height the path I hiked was 3 kilometres.
It was one of the craziest adventures in my life because I hadn't enough physical preparation. 
I came into a moment in which my sight became dark because of the struggle I was doing. 
In some times I was about to give up, however my friends were giving me so much courage that I coudn't do It. So I went on and on, and step by step with as much halts as I needed I was able to complete my journey.
The view from the top of the mountain range was really amazing, It made me think: "Worth it!"
But the whole storie would not finish until I noticed that I needed to hike the way down. I got lost once, and Half of the way down was in the darkness, my cell phone was the only one with battery. Then with my shy light we did our way back, I stumbled I lot of times because my legs were so weak that I coudn't move it properly, It happened also because we were in a queue. The first one in the queue used my cell phone's lantern to enlight the path, he warned us about the presence of big stones and roots, but for me it wouldn't make any difference since I was the last one in the queue and I was not able to see nothing at all, it was like I was blind.
Was remarkable!

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