Coastal France - Day 4 : St Emilion (Bordeaux)

Introduction

After two days on the beach in Les Sables D'Olonne we drove down through France touching the town of Bordeaux further south before our assault on Spain. The target was the town of St.Emilion in the Bordeaux region. 

The town is a mecca for wine lovers, while we did not know much about wine but we knew its a very picturesque town to visit. We had not pre booked any wine tasting appointments either.

Our approach was rather random in keeping with the entire trip, so we were emailing chateaux's on our way to Bordeaux. In the end we stopped on the way into St Emilion at various chateaux. We eventually got onto a tasting at a small chateaux called Dourthe. 

Before the tasting we had time to walk around the top part of St.Emilion. We parked around the main square as you enter St.Emilion and the walked around the area and the top part of the town. We were passing through the town so we didnt spend hours there but its a very picturesque place and somewhere worth spending a whole day. For the wine aficionado you're likely to want to move to this town.

Here's a few pictures from our visit to St.Emilion

We got information about St.Emilion from the tourist office, while there was a queue there was plenty of good information at the tourist office where they catered for all sorts of visitors those there for the day or those there for longer periods. We selected a driving map of the region with specific view points across the vineyards and drove around until it was time for our tasting. The beauty of the place is such that its easy to pass the time.

The town is filled with wine shops so my guess is that if you want to buy fine wine in quantity this is the place to come. 

Here are some picture from our drive around the village;

The route

I've summarise our route for the day below, its was quite a substantial drive from Les Sable to the south west of France near Bayonne.

Obviously the drive was a lot longer than shown above we reach our campsite late into the evening. The tent was set up and the cooking stove started and in the south of France we had a cracking meal. If you're looking to recreate our dinner.

A classic meal thoroughly recommended while camping.

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Coastal France - Day 2 : Pen Hir Point and Les Sable de Olonne

Introduction

The second day we planned to hit the westerly coast closest to us and then drive down to Les Sable del Olone. We had picked Le Sable because we had been there on previous holidays to France when our children were much younger. But with years added to their lives I wanted them to sample the fun of the large waves hitting that part of France. You will see on the following blog post that the the waves hitting further south are even more impressive

The route is shown below it was obviously a long drive especially as we stopped off along the way

Pen Hir Point

Pen Hir point is a phenomenal place with lovely sea cliffs and views west across the Atlantic. Its also the place for old World War II forts and defence against attacks.

The area has a lot of amazing sea views as you can see above additionally there are beautiful carpet of heather that layer the landscape. You can walk around the encampment and then drive a little further up to Pen Hir Point and admire the sea views.

The area seems to have a lot of walking trails along the coast although we did not have the time to attempt any of them but they are likely to reward those who do with uplifting views of the Atlantic.

Les Sable d'Ollone  

We had first driven to Les Sable D'Olonne in 2005 when our kids were in under five years old. At that time it was largely me who experienced the fun of body boarding for what seemed like days on end, this time I wanted my now 17/14 year olds to do the same.

The water at Les Sable is warm (once you get used to it) and the waves just keep coming in. The beach is golden sand and has a gentle slope so its easy and the waves that hit the shore are fantastic with water at waist height.

The beach is a fantastically flat and the seafront is pedestrianised in the evening with band and lots going on. There is also a interesting market one end of the beach selling tinkets and the usual artisan things you would find.

Dont let the quiet water of the bay shown above fool you during certain points during the day the waves keep piping onto the beach. We spent two days in Les Sable simply to enjoy the beach and body boarding. Be warned that the weather does work its magic in Les Sable its often foggy/misty/miserable in the morning but the sky and beach come to life after mid day due primarily to the change in tides. So ask at your hotel for the local knowledge

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Coastal France - Day 1 : Calais, Bayeux and Lanevoc

Introduction

Our summer vacation plans in 2017 were routed in uncertainty but our of uncertainty can arise some of the most interesting avenues of exploration. Often its great to embrace the chaos and let it play out and in these situations most time we find that these situation play out favorably.

So after endless discussions of where to go on holiday we had the discussions the day before we departed. We were fortunate that no flights were needed as we were going to do a camping holiday of some format. This is something we had all done individually but not as a family

While we had a been preparing for this for the previous few weeks, the open question was the destination. We decided the destination 12 hours before departing. Reluctantly agreeing on driving through France with no itinerary. Give we live in the UK last minute ferry ticket, car insurance and breakdown cover were booked. Packing done and with a few hours of sleep we were on our way.

Our route through France   

We took a long route across France as we wanted to stop off to see the Bayeux Tapestry. As a kid growing up in the UK I always remember the history of the Battle of Hastings. The tapestry that represents this battle and tells the story is housed in a museum in the town of Bayeux.

While photos inside the museum are not allowed for some unknown reason, you can get a sense of what you would expect to see on google.  The town is easily accessible and there is parking just outside the main museum.

The rest of the town is picturesque too with cobbled streets and walking areas. 

After Bayeux we continued our drive west towards Lanevov where we were going to camp for he night. We camped on a quite pebbled Atlantic bay.

The bay was not suitable for swimming but there were a lot of morning fisherman eagerly casting their lines. Above all what a wonderfully quiet part of the world in the morning.

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Mikindani Safari from Dar-es-Salaam day trip

Introduction

Having completed a long drive from the south of Tanzania (Lindi) the previous day we set off to Mikumi National Park the following day. Mikumi is a national park easily reached from Tanzania's capital Dar-es-Salaam. Tours do run from Dar-es-Salaam to Mikumi and if you've not been able to make the big game park its worth trying your luck. 

We went during the wet season which means that the grass is lush green and long making it difficult to see Lions especially but great from gazing animals.

The journey to Mikumi

The journey from Dar to Mikumi is a long one. Its a 4-6 hour drive through central tanzania on a road that cuts through the country. You will no doubt have to start early to reach Mikumi at a reasonable time. The midpoint of the journey is around Morogoro. From there you have another couple of hours. When you site animal around the road you know you're around Mikumi. The road from Morogoro continues southwest to Iringa and the park is either side of the road.

Pictures from Mikumi

Here are my pictures from Mikumi

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Tanzania : Lindi and Mikindani, Daddy's land

Introduction

For every kind growing up we hear stories of where our parents grow up and what they did during their growing up years. For most part they come in and out of our imagination. To re-live these days we too our father back to where he was born and grew up a place he left during his teenage years and never returned.

While the journey reignited his memories its primarily written here are a chronicle of our journey and as information for those wishing to visit this part of the work which is a little undiscovered

Dar Es Salaam to Lindi

The main town where my father grew up is called Lindi and its in Southern Tanzania. Access to Lindi is primarily via a long flight flowed by a, a journey likely to have been 4 hours in total. We opted to drive from Dar Es Salaam to Lindi, a drive mooted at about 6-8 hours. We went during the rainy season in East Africa and it took best part of 9 hours primarily because we stopped at various different places.

The drive to Lindi is a long drive with good roads and access, the halfway point is the Rufigi river. A massive river especially in the rainy season with an even wider flood plain.

The river was probably around half a mile wide during flood and the flood plain around the river was probably another half a mile either side. From the last picture you can see that a number of village building were flooded or at the point of being washed away. A lot of villages in the region are still wooden/mud huts.

What was endearing to see on the road was village life with kids walking many miles to and from school.

Lindi

Lindi is a small town you can drive across it in about 10 mins and walk across it about 30-40 mins. The town is centred on Lindi back a curving coast line with shallow calm waters.

The centre of town is a classic old style colonial town still bearing the hall marks of western civilisations. Its strange how these old building have stood the test of time through out the ages.

The coastline is undoubtedly the centre piece of the town, its postcard perfect with little or no crowds during the day. The coast has not been developed and this added to the attraction of Lindi. Its largely a local beach for the local residents. The beach come alive in the evening with kids playing football, people walking, socialising and inevitably swimming the the sea.

The natural beauty of the area is still present to this day, during the day you have a phenomenal natural bay and in the evening the sky is usually lit up as the sun sets.

Mikindani

Mikindani is two hours further south of Lindi and is the place of my father's birth. Our only clue was that he was born around the "Old Boma". Lindi is also a natural bay and harbour. The bay is not as welcoming as Lindi beach but is a quaint small town with oodles of character and history.

Mikindani is primarily a port where African slaves were taken to the middle east and is the port where David Livingston started his last expedition into Africa before his death. His house we just near the Old Boma. The Old Boma is large building that's now been converted into a hotel. It provides a fantastic stopping point in South Tanzania.

Our trip to Lindi and Mikindani was a short trip of two nights with a day either side for travelling. Other interesting parts of the trip with a traditional breakfast

Composed of Matoke (raw banana), normal banana and bread. All pretty flavourless to someone used to spice.

Its also worth stopping off on the way and trying traditional foods such as "ugali" and "mandazi". We're always asked about safety and we felt generally safe through out our journey. With that said there were numerous traffic stops on the way with attention to the drive and the car looking for any signs of violation. The violation usually meant paying a "fine" of some sort to hosts.

The highlight of the trip was definitely Lindi Bay it would be great to make it accessible to the work but equally sad too!

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