1: Travel Diary #0: An experiment against the flow
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We're off for several months of family travel. A trip that will take us to Africa, Asia and Oceania.
I wanted to find a way to share a few things about the trip, but in a more private way than publishing photos and videos for the whole world to see. That kind of content is reserved for family and friends. What better way to do this than with Bluwr! As co-founder I'm obviously biased, but I find Bluwr ideal for this exercise for several reasons:
1. I can share the experience with a large number of people without getting into what I consider too intimate or private.
2. I don't want to spend hours editing videos and creating photo albums, formatting text. I want to make the most of this trip, which is the project of a lifetime.
3. I find the idea of sharing this experience without images or video interesting in the age of instagram, youtube and smileys. Perhaps a little spirit of contrariness? My nearest and dearest have the answer to that question.
4. I'm far from a writer. My highschool grades on the literrary side were pretty disastrous, so I'm stepping out of my comfort zone. It doesn't hurt once in a while.
So I'm going to write an article for each part of our journey, to share the highlights and some of my feelings. If any of you are interested in details about accommodation, budget etc., feel free to write to me privately.
Let the challenge begin.
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Travel Diary #0: An experiment against the flow
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2: Travel diary #1: Tanzania
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To kick off our long family trip, we started with Tanzania. It's the first time we've set foot in sub-Saharan Africa. And what a wonderful introduction!
We began with a 7-day organized safari with an exceptional driver and guide. His knowledge of geology, biology, botanics and ethology was impressive. Not to mention his driving skills on the trails of the parks we visited: Taranguire, Manyara, Ngorongoro and Serengeti. The 6 to 10 hours of daily driving didn't seem so long, between discussions, breathtaking views and animal watching. Non-exhaustive list: zebras, giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, wildebeests, leopards, cheetahs, ostriches, bustards, baboons, vervet monkeys, egrets, yellow-headed king cranes, vultures, marabous, crocodiles, antelopes and gazelles of all kinds. I have to admit that we didn't manage to retain everything Mahmoud tried to teach us. A bit of Swahili, a bit of geology on the formation of the Rift Valley, a bit of history on the migration of the Maasais to the Serengeti Park and a bit of biology on recognizing the flora and fauna.
We then spent a week in Dar es Salaam to complete our visit and immerse ourselves in Tanzanian city life. Once again, a wonderful experience. We stayed in a modest but adequate airbnb. We discovered a new mode of transport, very fun and at a very affordable price: the bajaji (local tuk tuk). We visited the Kariakoo market (a flea market that stretches for miles), had a lazy day on Bongoyo Island, and the Village Museum (Swahili name) with a guide who told us about the customs and habitations of some of the more than 100 tribes present in Tanzania. It's an outdoor museum with houses illustrating the way of life of some of the tribes.
I'll always remember Tanzania as a country with very welcoming and relaxed people. Despite a few pushy people trying to sell us trinkets, act as guides or even bodyguards, we never felt in danger. This country, whose population is divided between different cultures and religions, where Muslims, Christians, Maasais and others live together, seems to me to be a good example of tolerance.
Next post in about a month about our next step: a road trip.
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Travel diary #1: Tanzania
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3: Travel Diary #2: Self drive road trip Namibie-Botswana
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The second leg of our journey is a self-drive road trip starting from Windhoek in Namibia and ending in Maun, Botswana. For budget reasons, it was impossible to hire the services of a driver-guide for a month. Moreover, we love the adventure and freedom that this type of travel brings. We rented a 4x4 with a rooftop tent and a trunk filled with all the camping essentials: sleeping bags, dishes, propane, and even a small fridge.
Upon our arrival in Windhoek, where we would only spend one night, it's striking how well-constructed and clean the city is. Paved sidewalks and no litter along the roads, unlike in Tanzania. However, there is much more begging. Here, it’s not about someone wanting to provide a service in exchange for some change, but rather an extremely insistent form of begging. The same was true in Swakopmund, on the western coast by the sea. In several towns with frequent tourist traffic, we encountered this dichotomy between cleanliness and begging.
We then left civilization, heading north along the coast. We crossed the Skeleton National Park. I didn’t think a desert landscape could be so varied. Sand dunes, arid areas with some bushes, red earth sometimes tinged with purple, and occasionally the bed of a dried river with a bit of greenery and some antelopes surviving while waiting the next rainy season. Another striking aspect of this desert is the transition to the Atlantic Ocean. The shift from desert to ocean happens very abruptly, with waves crashing directly in the desert or, further north, on the few pebbles that serve as a boundary between water and land. The northern tip of the park is called Terrace Bay. The campsite where we stop is actually a very popular spot for fishermen from neighboring countries. We chatted with one of them who had come all the way from Cape Town (South Africa), having traveled 2000 km to get here with his 4x4.
The next stop on our road trip is the famous Etosha National Park. It is very different from the parks we visited in Tanzania. The dirt roads are in better condition, and the park is more suited for a self-drive visit. The small waterholes (natural or artificial) attract many animals during the dry season and are well marked on the map. However, to see certain animals like cheetahs and lions resting in the shade of trees, it's best to signal other visitors to stop and exchange information. Even the guides, identifiable by their vehicles with pop-up roofs or completely open cars, are generous with advice. A simple wave will have them stop alongside you for a chat. The park is less varied in terms of landscapes compared to the Serengeti, for example, but the sight of the many species sharing the waterholes is magnificent.
Once we crossed Etosha from west to east, we arrived in Rundu in northern Namibia, the second largest city after Windhoek. The owner of the campsite where we stopped told us that there is very little work, and thus most people living on the outskirts survive on what they find and trade. We went with him to see some houses in the village. They are simply areas of land marked out with wooden sticks and a few shelters, either made of metal or a wood/clay mix.
For the end of the Namibian part of the road trip, we headed northeast along the Okavango River. We stopped at a fishing campsite. A little sunrise tour on the river allowed us to chat with the owner, who was very pleasant. He taught us a lot about poaching management and the damage it causes to the river's wildlife. There are almost no fish left. According to him, less than 10% of the aquatic wildlife in this river remains.
After a little rest in a room at Popa Falls, we headed to Botswana and the Okavango Delta for the last two weeks of this part of our journey. Notably, the Namibia/Botswana border at this point is at the end of a long dirt road that crosses Bwabwata National Park.
Before entering the Moremi Game Reserve on the east side of the delta, we spent a night at a campsite near Maun. This town is the equivalent of Arusha in Tanzania (see dedicated article). It’s the starting point for safaris. We stocked up on supplies: fuel, water, and food for the next five days. On the way to the southern entrance of the reserve, a few kilometers after leaving Maun, we realized that driving conditions would be a bit more challenging. The paved road ended, giving way to dirt and sand. We activated the 4x4 mode after just a few meters. Once in the park, conditions changed again. Unlike Etosha, there are no large, flat gravel roads. Thanks to the paper map and the maps.me app, we managed to explore the meanders at an average speed of 20 km/h for about five hours that day. This was followed by several similar days of intense driving that required sharp concentration and a keen sense of direction. The park is very wild, and the campsites are basic. We camped by the Khwai River in the north of the park. Arriving in the early afternoon for a slightly less intense driving day, we saw about twenty elephants drinking and crossing the river. We quickly lit a fire to signal our presence. What an experience! This road trip has been a crescendo of adventure.
Our tourist experience in Botswana is relatively good, but not on par with the previous two countries. The cleanliness and quality of services (campsites and guesthouses) are much lower than in Namibia and Tanzania, with significantly higher prices. I don't want to minimize the beauty of the Okavango Delta; we saw stunning landscapes and all kinds of animals: kudu, zebras, elephants, giraffes, baboons, etc. Moreover, far from complaining, I feel privileged to be able to experience this adventure with my family. However, the prices are far too high. If I could do it again, I would spend a bit more time in Namibia and Tanzania for the same budget.
A very beautiful leg of the journey comes to an end, but stay tuned for more adventures in a few weeks!
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Travel Diary #2: Self drive road trip Namibie-Botswana
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4: Travel Diary #3: Road trip in Madagascar
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For safety reasons and due to the roads/tracks conditions, we rented a 4x4 with a driver for our stay in Madagascar. What a great idea it was! You’ll understand why in a bit.
Let’s start at the beginning. We stayed for two nights in central Antananarivo to discover the city and also rest a little. The city is located at an altitude of about 1,200 meters, and the streets are far from flat. After several weeks of safaris by car, our bodies were in dire need of some excercise. We explored the city on foot.
And then, we hit the road. We met the rental agency manager on the morning of our departure, who informed us that the transmission in the car we were supposed to get was broken. So, we would have a car and a driver for the day, and our guide would meet us the following day. Off we went to Antsirabe. At lunchtime, to our surprise, we made a stop in a town known for... foie gras. Delicious!
The next day, we met our driver, Georges. My son was having some digestive issues, thankfully, the main ingredient in all three daily Malagasy meals is rice. Georges suggested we spend the night at his aunt’s house in Miandrivazo, where we had Malagasy chicken soup for dinner. This chicken was raised outdoors, freely roaming the village streets. It was cooked in a broth with some ginger and rice. The next day, my son was completely healed. We continued driving to Morondava, a coastal town to the west, at the end of RN35. It was just a stopover before heading the next day towards Bekopaka. Unfortunately, after about an hour of driving, the car started emitting white smoke. So, we stopped and waited for a new car and driver, while Georges handled the necessary repair. The car’s turbo had broken.
With our new driver, we headed towards the Kirindy Forest. Since we lost some time, it was impossible to reach Bekopaka before nightfall. That evening, we went on a guided tour of the forest to observe several species of nocturnal lemurs. The next morning, after a short tour to observe the diurnal lemurs with the same guide from the previous day, we headed to Bekopaka. The two river crossings were done by ferry. These ferries are essentially wooden motorized bridges that fit five vehicles side by side.
The next day, we visited the Tsingy de Bemaraha, a UNESCO World Heritage site. These are sharp black limestone formations (due to oxidation) rising up to 700 meters high. The hike lasted about 4 hours and included parts of a via ferrata. The views were absolutely breathtaking. We then returned to Morondava, completing the 10-hour drive in one day.
The following day, we reunited with Georges to continue our journey towards Belo sur Mer. We took the opportunity to go for a sailing pirogue ride. Two people navigate the pirogue: one manages the tension of the sail and paddles that serve as a rudder, while the other is at the front, handling the sail. The person at the front sits on a wooden plank connecting the pirogue to a counterweight about 10 cm wide. He seemed comfortably settled for the 3-hour journey to a small island in the turquoise waters where we had a picnic.
To travel further down the west coast of Madagascar, we took a small detour inland through the town of Manja. On the dirt road, a small river crossing in the 4x4 had surprised our driver with its depth. The next day, we realized there was water in the reservoir. As we turned back, the steering axis broke. We ended up at the small restaurant we had just passed earlier. The method for getting there without a steering axis was rather amusing. While the driver was at the wheel, I walked alongside the car, manually turning the wheels of the 4x4 to steer it in the right direction. Once at the restaurant we met a driver who took us directly to the town of Ifaty. We canceled the further coastal towns to the north that required a functional 4x4. The road was asphalted, but there was no bridge yet to cross the river. The local pirogue operators took the initiative to organize a crossing service. Six pirogues, joined together by planks of branches nailed together, welcomed one car at a time. The pirogue operators, standing in the river as water level is low during the dry season, pushed the boats to the other side.
A few days in Ifaty while waiting for a new car allowed us to rest a bit and go for a snorkeling trip. The corals and fish were beautiful. After this break, we got a new car and driver to take us to Isalo National Park. This park is made up of mountains in the middle of the desert, with a verdant canyon running between them. We did an 8-kilometer hike, in about 6 hours, allowing time for a swim in two waterfalls. We saw numerous species of insects and animals, including the famous ring-tailed lemurs. One particularly surprising insect we encountered was the stick insect, which is barely distinguishable from the branch of a bush. Without our guide, we would never have spotted it.
The next day was a long drive to reach Ranomafana National Park, another UNESCO World Heritage site. We did another 8-kilometer hike the following day, which took us about 3.5 hours through its tropical rainforest. We only hiked in the secondary forest, as the primary forest is only accessible to the most adventurous who venture deep into the park for several days. These 3.5 hours were filled with new encounters. We observed five different species of lemurs, including the golden bamboo lemur, first identified in 1986 by primatologist Patricia Wright. At the end of the hike, we happened to meet her, accompanied by one of her students—what a coincidence! We chatted for a few minutes, and she mentioned the screening of her new documentary in the town of Ranomafana that evening. Unfortunately, we couldn’t attend as we had to head to Ambositra, about 3 hours north.
After a night in Ambositra, we headed to Antsirabe. This time, we visited the surrounding area. We went to Lake Tritriva, a sacred lake for the Malagasy people. We could walk around the lake and swim in it. This lake is in the crater of a volcano and is about 140 meters deep. A legend says that Rabeniomby and Ravolahanta (the Malagasy Romeo and Juliet) committed suicide there.
The next day, we returned to Antananarivo. During the long hours of driving throughout this road trip, withou our drivers and other people, we had the chance to discuss many aspects of Malagasy life including some politics. We learned a lot about the culture and also about the political life, which is far less glamorous than what is often depicted in the media. Despite hard lives and corruption, the people we met always had smiles on their faces and were never discouraged. Beyond the diverse landscapes, unique wildlife, and breathtaking flora, we had a wonderful human adventure.
A long journey awaits us now for the next destination…
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Travel Diary #3: Road trip in Madagascar
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5: Travel Diary #4: Australian east coast in a minivan
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As I mentioned at the end of the previous article, the journey was long: about 35 hours, including two 5-hour layovers in Addis Ababa and Singapore before arriving in Melbourne.
We planned to stay in a hotel for 3 nights before renting a minivan for our road trip along the Australian East Coast. In addition to the change of scenery, arriving in a modern city, when we reached the hotel, a white parrot with a yellow crest perched on a lamppost reminded us that we were still far from home.
During our rest, we took the time to explore Melbourne and meet up with a colleague from nearly 10 years ago. We spent a wonderful day together visiting a museum, the library, enjoying drinks on a rooftop terrace, and, most importantly, chatting! There are some people you reconnect with after years, and it feels like you saw them yesterday...
The day of our road trip departure arrived, and we took the keys to our home and transportation for the upcoming month. It was a minivan with a small bunk area, which allowed my son to have a bed. It's more expensive than a tent but far less of a hassle to set up and pack away every day. Plus, given Australia's reputation as a rather hostile environment, we figured we'd be more comfortable in the van than on the ground. The beds turned out to be very comfortable.
We began by following the coast southwest of Melbourne, known as the Great Ocean Road. It truly lives up to its name. The coastline is hilly and offers stunning views of the bright blue ocean below. The next day, we got acquainted with the local wildlife during a hike at Kenneth River: koalas, wallabies, and kangaroos. Continuing along the Great Ocean Road, we visited the breathtaking cliffs of the Twelve Apostles.
Next, we headed east of Melbourne for two nights at Wilson Promontory. This is a mountain by the sea in a national park. A relatively challenging 1.5 hour hike with steep elevation gave us a panoramic view of the park. The coastline alternates between mountains and beaches, providing yet another breathtaking viewpoint. We were truly spoiled. But it wasn’t just one sense that was stimulated; since the start of our road trip, the scent of eucalyptus forests has been very pleasant.
After two nights in the park, we found a last-minute small bar/bistro that allowed campers to stay for free at the back of their property: the Bellbird. We had some great encounters there. The owner, Gary, and an elderly couple traveling in a caravan (the man was 78) joined us for a beer, and we struck up a friendship. On our way back to our camper to prepare dinner, they invited us to open a bottle of Shiraz 2022. It was delicious, complex, and not too tannic. We shared our travel plans with them, telling them we wanted to head toward Canberra for a wine tasting. They were at the end of their 3 months journey and were heading back to their home in the suburbs of Canberra in two days. They offered us to stay with them, and we accepted in exchange for me cooking them a meal. We had a wonderful evening together. It's a strange and pleasant feeling to be so comfortable with people you barely know.
The next day, we continued towards the coast. Upon reaching Sydney, on the advice of our new friends, we set up our base camp at a campsite just outside the city. There are efficient water taxis at an unbelievably low price compared to parking fees. We arrived by boat to the city center, right next to the famous Opera House. We explored the area to the west on our first day. The next day, we returned to the city center, but the weather was less favorable. It was raining. We took advantage of the weather to visit the Hyde Park Barracks Museum, which explains how the first convicts built this building and the city's first structures and roads. We wandered through a few shops and encountered lots of people; something we weren’t used to anymore. Checking our phones, we realized it was Black Friday!
After this crowd immersion, we returned to nature for a hike in the Blue Mountains northwest of Sydney. These mountains are actually more like cliffs overlooking a canyon. We enjoyed some beautiful viewpoints and watched parrots gliding through the air.
We then made our way back to the coast, north of Sydney, where we spent three days along the coast, walking, swimming, and camping by the sea. We finally arrived in Byron Bay. It’s a very touristy destination, but it lives up to its reputation. Despite the slightly commercialized town center, the beaches are magnificent, surrounded by rocks that form little coves, offering protection from the various sea dangers: sharks, jellyfish, rip currents, etc. We took the opportunity to go kayaking in the hopes of meeting dolphins. No luck with the dolphins, but we did manage to ride some waves with the kayaks, which was still an amazing experience.
Next, we headed to Brisbane, where we stayed for just half a day. We used the same method as in Sydney. Since a river runs through the city, a ferry service took us to the city's key attractions.
Our next stop was Noosa Heads beach for a 2 hour surfing lesson. The whole family gave it a go, and we had a blast trying to stand up on the boards. One of the best nights of sleep since the beginning of our travels followed.
We hadn’t planned to go much further north, but we decided to exceed our budget to visit the Great Barrier Reef. There’s a departure point in Bundaberg, which is a 3 hour drive away. From there, a small tourist plane flew us to an island called Lady Elliot. The island has just enough space for a dirt airstrip that cuts the island in half. On one side are a few bungalows and a small restaurant for those lucky enough to spend a few days there, and on the other side is a lagoon where we did some snorkeling. This is the very beginning of the Great Barrier Reef, and what a sight it was! Colorful corals and literally hundreds of sparkling fishes.
To wrap up our road trip, we had three days to return to Brisbane and drop off our camper. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't on our side. It rained a lot. Still, we managed to visit a few coastal towns and swim in the ocean a few times.
After all, we’ll have to get used to the humidity, it's rainy season at our next destination!
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Travel Diary #4: Australian east coast in a minivan
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6: Travel diary #5: Indonesia
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The flight from Brisbane to Denpasar, Indonesia, was a piece of cake compared to the previous leg of our journey. We did not complain. We spent just one night in the Kuta region on the island of Bali before taking a ferry to the small island of Nusa Penida, where we planned to stay for a week.
Our research didn’t mislead us, it is indeed a lovely little island, though slightly more expensive than Bali. While walking along a road, we passed a tiny shop advertising tourist activities like snorkelling, sightseeing tours, and scooter rentals. This led to a delightful encounter with a local entrepreneur offering his services. We booked a family scooter for the next day, a tour of the eastern part of the island, and a boat excursion with snorkelling. The latter turned out to be one of the most memorable moments of the trip: swimming in the ocean near a cliff, amidst meter-high swells, and, to top it all off, witnessing a dozen manta rays dancing before our eyes, a few meters under us.
As I mentioned in the previous post, it is the rainy season here. However, none of our activities were spoiled by the weather. It rained occasionally, sometimes light drizzles, other times heavy downpours, but we always found time to explore beaches, cliffs, or take scooter rides.
We visited Crystal Bay, which was supposedly one of the must see beaches. In my opinion, it wasn’t worth it. The beach was dirty, and the area behind it was crowded with shops and warungs (small, cheap restaurants/stores), ruining the scenery. If you only focus on the ocean and the rocks though, it’s undeniably beautiful. This wasn’t the only spot where enjoying the view required overlooking trash or tourist oriented constructions (swings, wooden nests, hearts, sculpted benches, etc.) meant for artificial and exaggerated social network photographs. It’s a pity.
Fortunately, not all places were affected. One morning, we discussed our plans with the receptionist, who suggested a slightly off-the-beaten-path destination worth a small detour: Tembeling Beach. We visited Broken Beach first, as planned. For the second stop, the final stretch of the journey turned into a dirt road with steep inclines: off-road scootering! We finished on foot, descending stairs for about 15 minutes. What a sight! A hidden beach nestled between cliffs, with rocks forming a freshwater pool at the end of a river. The pool was semi-natural, with visible pipes directing the river water into the pool and some rock reinforcements. This spot was stunning, and we encountered only a handful of other visitors.
Then came Christmas Eve, one of our last days on Nusa Penida. For the first time in a long while, we decided to do nothing at all. Every now and then, it feels good. We spent the day planning the next steps of our trip, playing games, watching a movie, swimming in the pool, and enjoying dinner at a cliffside restaurant with a fabulous sunset.
We had planned to visit Lombok next, but after talking with locals, always a great source of advice, we changed our plans. They told us that skipping Bali would mean missing out on a significant part of the culture. Lombok, they said, offered mostly the same activities as Nusa Penida (beaches, cliffs, hikes, and diving) just on a larger scale.
So, we took the same ferry back to Bali and booked a guesthouse for six days in Ubud. It was a beautiful homestay set back from the main road. The taxi couldn’t take us all the way, so we walked down an alley, along a small rice field on a paved path, until we reached a house composed of several buildings. The rooms were private, and the bathrooms were adorned with intricate moldings. The complimentary breakfasts were so substantial that we barely ate lunch throughout our stay.
One day was enough to explore the city’s main attractions on foot: temples, shops, markets, etc. On the following days, we rented scooters to visit the surrounding areas, including rice fields, the Sangeh Monkey Forest, waterfalls, and temples. In the days leading up to New Year’s, the city was bustling with tourists, but traffic eased up afterward, making scooter rides more enjoyable. Riding a family scooter remains one of my favorite activities, regardless of conditions (traffic or rain).
The next stop on our journey was another guesthouse, this time in Munduk, near Mount Batukaru. That’s precisely why we went there, we planned a day hike to and from the summit. There were several starting points, and online we found a trail of about 5.5 hours leading to the peak. It didn’t disappoint! It was one of the most challenging hikes of my life, just over 3 km one way with a 1,100 meter elevation gain. The rest of the family stopped a little over halfway, but my pride pushed me to the summit. I left the picnic and water behind, taking only my poncho in case of heavy rain. I eventually caught up with them just before they reached the starting point. The view from the top was quite beautiful but partially obscured. While the photos weren’t exceptional, that wasn’t the point of my climb. It had been a long time since I’d pushed myself to my physical limits, and it felt great!
We ended our trip with a few days in southern Tanah Lot. The temple is stunning, but like many tourist attractions, it’s marred by superficial tourist artifacts. We stayed in a hotel that was not more than ten-minute walk from the ocean, in the Canggu area. It was a stark change of scenery, full of gyms and trendy restaurants catering to a certain type of tourism that didn’t suit us.
I don’t want to end on a negative note, though. Our stay in Nusa Penida and Bali was an incredibly enriching experience. We met many wonderful locals and had engaging conversations. The landscapes were breathtaking, as long as we ventured beyond the trendy tourist spots and ignored some artifacts.
There won’t be another destination for a few months at least, as we are now back home. This marks the end of our family adventure but far from the end of our travels!
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Travel diary #5: Indonesia
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