Cape Town Aquarium

Tiger Shark at the Cape Town Aquarium

Surfers Corner Muizenberg

Beautiful Muizenberg beach (surfers corner) in Cape Town South Africa

Rugby fanatics guide to the six nations 2012

If you are a true rugby fan, you’ll need to start your planning and preparations for rugby travel now. Where to start? Well, the full list of fixtures for 2012 is as follows:

- February 4: France v Italy, 2.30pm
- February 4: Scotland v England, 5pm
- February 5: Ireland v Wales, 3pm
- February 11: Italy v England, 4pm
- February 11: France v Ireland, 8pm
- February 12: Wales v Scotland, 3pm
- February 25: Ireland v Italy, 1.30pm
- February 25: England v Wales, 4pm
- February 26: Scotland v France, 3pm
- March 10: Wales v Italy, 2.30pm
- March 10: Ireland v Scotland, 5pm
- March 11: France v England, 3pm
- March 17: Italy v Scotland 12.30pm
- March 17: Wales v France, 2.45pm
- March 17: England v Ireland, 5pm

With the right amount of planning, you can get to the most games with the least spend. Decision number 1 – fly or Ferry to France for the opening game or head to Scotland, and watch the French match? Depends on your budget!
Feb 11, find a pub, and settle in for a day of quality rugby, with pints a plenty, with Wales V Scotland as hair of the dog the following day. You should be sober for Valentines!

Now, Feb 25th Ireland V Italy, there’s a game you shouldn’t miss. Hop on a ferry and head Holyhead to Dublin for a weekend to remember. The Irish fans really know how to have a good time, and the Holyhead to Dublin ferry will be packed with fans, beer, song and cheer. You can snap up a decent Holyhead to Dublin rate online, and once you’re in Dublin, the stadium is only about 30 minutes to the port. Watch the Scotland V France game in a Dublin pub on the Sunday before hitting the ferry back!

In March you’ve got to ask – drive to Wales or Ferry to Dublin? Given how much fun the Holyhead to Dublin ferry is and also its a cheap ferry to Ireland, I’d go the latter. That is, if you haven’t done anything to get yourself barred! Take in the France V England match in Wales or Dublin – but the ferry back won’t mean you have to stay sober, so again, Dublin seems like the smart solution.

17th of March is the final date, and if you’ve saved your pennies you could head off to bella Italia, but we all know that last England V Ireland game will be a doozie. As will Wales V France. In fact, for that date, it doesn’t matter where on earth you are, it’s going to be great!

Irish fans will be happy to know that the ticket prices have come down from last year according to the IRFU, and family tickets starting at €45 have also been announced. Commenting on the prices, Pat Fitzgerald, IRFU Commercial and Marketing Committee Chairman, said: “We are pleased to be able to offer great value tickets for the RBS 6 Nations in 2012″

Muizenberg Fire

Amazing images of a big mountain fire in Muizenberg (above surfers corner) which is in the southern suburbs of Cape Town.

More images here; http://www.surfers-corner.co.za/2011/12/18/muizenberg-mountain-fire-december-2011/

Blue Skies – Muizenberg

One of those days in Muizenberg!

One of those days in Cape Town.

Visiting Paradores in Andalusia

Visiting Paradores in Andalusia

We recently returned from a week-long visit to Paradores in Andalusia – a circuit that is easy-to-drive over six or seven days – and gives one a real insight into Andalusian culture, towns and countryside. Our circuit started at the Parador Malaga Gibralfaro, a short drive from the Malaga airport and high on the hill overlooking the port. From there it was less than an hour’s drive to the spacious Parador of Nerja – in a contemporary building, right on the beach yet relaxing and quiet.

The world-heritage site of the Alhambra Place at Granada was our next stop (where we wished we had many more days to spend at the Parador). We then drove to Jaen Parador with its spectacular views, then delightful Carmona for a night followed by a drive with gorgeous scenery to the iconic town of Ronda. Our last night was at the relaxing Malaga Golf Parador next to the sea with a spectacular golf course – a great place to stay even if you don’t play golf. We could have added Cordoba and Antequera given a few more days.

While some of these paradores offer comfortable rather than luxurious accommodation, staying at any of them is an experience that you won’t forget. While each is unique and different, it is nice to know that whatever Parador you visit there are impressively high standards in terms of well-equipped bathrooms, spotlessly-clean rooms, good food and helpful staff. The Paradores are certainly great value for money and they have excellent promotions throughout the year as long as you reserve in advance. The Parador organization has been working on upgrading many of their properties in the recent past, and the difference is noticeable. We think that many of them are easily at a five-star hotel standard. Those that haven’t yet had major work completed still have charm and character and while the décor in the rooms may sometimes look a little dated (or perhaps original is a better description) they are usually in exceptional buildings and offer good facilities, restaurants and a friendly welcome. All of the Paradores visited offered free Wi-Fi and had minibars and bathrobes (not that we sat in our bathrobes, drinking the contents of the minibar and working at the computer).

The jewel in the crown was definitely the Parador of Granada that is in the heart of the Alhambra. As we were driving we were very grateful (and certainly felt privileged) at being able to park in the Parador’s secure parking space. This is a Parador that is full almost year-round, but if you plan well in advance you can probably get a room. It is the most expensive Parador in the group, but to experience one night there will be with you forever. Wandering around this historic site at dusk once all the visitors have gone has to be one of the most romantic experiences ever. The Parador has undergone extensive renovations in the last little while and the rooms are gorgeous, especially those with views over the Generalife Gardens. Whoever designed the rooms did a masterful job of blending the interiors with the exquisite exteriors: the bathrooms echo the arches and lattice found throughout the gardens. There is a delightful patio – with a spectacular wisteria blooming while we were there – where you can enjoy a pre-dinner drink with views of the cleverly-lit Alhambra and gardens. The building was once an Arab palace and was rebuilt in the fourteenth century. When the Catholic Monarchs took over Granada, a Franciscan order transformed it into a convent and there are artifacts throughout the property as a reminder of its previous inhabitants.

We took a SATNAV/GPS with us on this trip and it proved to be a lifesaver in the towns. It simplified life considerably as we arrived at Malaga airport and picked up our rental car at 1 a.m. It got us to the not-easy-to-find Parador Malaga Gibralfaro in record time and continued to be very reliable throughout the trip with a couple of exceptions. It is essential to take an up-to-date map with you too. One can get lulled into a false sense of security when your clever little machine gets you easily to everywhere you need to go until it doesn’t quite have the brain to send you via the best route instead of through the middle of a busy town or a constantly-traffic-clogged highway. If you plan to go to the Parador at Jaen, follow a map instead of listening to the directions that your GPS insistently gives you. Don’t even think of going through the town with its very crowded narrow roads despite what Tom-Tom or Garmin says. There is a ring road that will get you there in minutes instead of hours once you are at the entrance to the town. The only other Parador that was difficult to find was Malaga-Golf – and this is because they don’t have an address that you can put into your GPS. It is a km. number on a highway. We discovered (after much grief) that by putting in a list of golf locations we were able to find it. It is very close to the airport and a shopping centre called Plaza Mayor. Use a map for this one too. It is a piece of cake finding the airport once you leave the Parador as they will give you a simple map zipping over the trouble-spots and getting you there in five or six minutes.

The circuit of Paradores from Malaga airport was Malaga-Gibralfaro/Nerja/Granada/Jaen/Carmona/Ronda/Malaga Golf
The total mileage is perfect for a week-long trip without too much driving each day. If you have a few more days, add Cordoba and Antequera which are both exceptional towns and well worth a visit. All the Paradores we visited were delightful and offered something different. In Carmona, for example, they were celebrating a Saint’s Day in the old town complete with processions with pasos and music. It is a pedestrian-friendly place so you can easily walk from the Parador to the main square. In fact, most of the Paradores on the list are centrally located in the old part of town (Malaga-Gibralfaro, Nerja, Carmona and Ronda) so once you check-in and park your car at the Parador; you can walk around and enjoy the local culture – the best way to see anywhere. The Parador at Jaen is about five miles from the town on the top of Santa Catalina hill, but it is so peaceful there that you won’t want to leave. Malaga Golf was completely different to the other properties: the suites on the golf course are very special and this property had an outdoor swimming pool that was open in April (very rare for Paradores!). It seems that golfers and families with children love this Parador: the golfing is exceptional and the acres of lawn around the pool make it perfect for relaxing. It is also a perfect arrival or departure hotel for a first or last night in Malaga.

If you want to visit Andalusia for a week, stay in interesting places (and the Paradores fit this bill perfectly) and don’t want to break the bank – this is the way to do it.

Qantas Resumes Flights

The Australian international airline company Qantas has resumed its flights after grounding its fleet on Saturday, but only after an independent tribunal ordered a permanent end to the industrial dispute with its union members.

The unions and Qantas have been in tough talks since August this year after the airline said they were planning a restructure of its business and had plans to outsource certain operations which would have resulted in 1,000 job cuts.

On Saturday Qantas took the brave move to ground all flights which impacted over 70,000 travellers!

Qantas Airlines

The ruling requires the unions to return to the negotiating table and come to an agreement within 21 days or face binding arbitration.