Nusa Lembongan. Indonesia

 https://www.lonelyplanet.com/indonesia/bali/nusa-lembongan

We spent 1 week on Nusa Lembongan. The fast boat to Nusa Lembongan is interesting. We had a driver pick us up at the airport and we had just enough time to make it to the boats that leave daily for the island. When we arrived at the boat area, there was a little  confusion as to where our boat was parked. The tide happened to be very low at the time and os the boats all moved to a different area along the beach. After our amazing driver ran up and down the beach asking about the boat, we finally got to the correct area. Had we not had a driver that worked so hard to get us there on time, we would have not made the boat and would have had to find an alternate place to stay that night. all our bags were loaded onto the boat by the boat company. We were asked to put all our footwear into the green basket and wade through the water to hop onto the boat.  

When we arrived on the island, the basket of flip flops was dumped onto the sand and it was a free for all to find our shoes.

We took an amazing snorkel trip to snorkel with the mantas and then the next day we couldn't resist going back to dive with the manta!! The trip to the location was an experience in itself. The scenery was spectacular!!

The morning we went on the dive, we left fairly early so we could get to the dive site before all the other boats arrived and we'd have the mantas all to ourselves. The plan worked perfectly and we  were able to dive with 12 mantas for 55 minutes before anyone else showed up. It was one of the most serene dives. Sitting at the bottom of the ocean watching as all around us these huge majestic creatures swooped and slide by us. Not seeming to mind one bit that we joined their breakfast swim. 

This is not our video, but it was close to what we saw while snorkelling the first time and then we were at the bottom scuba diving the second time. 

 

We decided to go for a day of touring the island. Scooter rentals are the most common and really the only way to go exploring. It 

Some of the streets were a little scary to maneuver  around. 

 Drying seaweed along the road. Maybe this is seaweed that we eat in our sushi??

We would occasionally hike over to the hotel down the road. They had an amazing infinity pool that they let the public use after 6pm if you ordered a drink. 

Our hotel view from our room front door.

We ate well every day.

We had a room for 3. Miranda got the mattress on the floor

The view from along the road when we went on our scooter trip. This is looking back over to the island after we crossed the little yellow bridge.

We found another infinity pool

One of the pools at our hotel. They were;t fancy, but they were all very refreshing.

More food. Mmm 

The room at Tanis Villas. Our home for the week we spent on Nusa Lembongan.

http://www.tanisvilla.com

 All in all Nusa Lembongan is a place we really enjoyed and a place I would recommend going to for 5-7 days 

Our New Zealand second home

We met so many amazing people on this trip. We have been blessed beyond what words can even describe by the people in all the countries we visited. Grant and Glenda will be friends forever. We met them on our last visit to NZ. They heard about us from the YWAM base that we were staying at. They asked us over for tea (dinner) and our friendship started. Grant is an avid hunter. Of course that was a huge connection for Dean and Colton. Grant took them possum hunting on our first visit and our guys fell in love. Glenda is my NZ best friend. She is the most amazingly giving, selfless person I have ever met. I'm sure there has never been a negative word spoken about her. Ok, she will hate that I just wrote that. But to bad, she is just so terrific.

 When we told them that we were returning to NZ, they immediately invited us to come visit and offered not only that we could use their home as a home base, but that Colton could stay on after we left and live with them as he explored the area. They treated him like he was one of their own and Glenda was nice enough to send me little mom updates!! Not once did I worry about Colton. How could I when he was in such an amazing place. Colton and Grant spent lots of time on the farm. Colton learning all about sheep farming. He misses them and his time there and will often say "I miss Grant and Glenda. We all do. 

Glenda and I got to spend some time together. We drove up to see her grandson Jamie for the day. 

Grant and Glenda

 Feeding the pigeons in the park.

Miranda and I went for a few hikes in Grants sheep paddock. Up and down the hills. watching the sheep grazing in the distance.

Grant offered to give us a sheep shearing demo!!

                                                              our NZ home base

We had lots of fun learning all sorts of different recipes from Glenda

We all just took over the kitchen and cooked together sometimes

We also taught them about some of our favourite foods. Like watermelon and Rollkuchen

 After we left for Asia, Colton stayed with Grand and Glenda for a few more months. He and Jamie got to spend some time together. Colton is terrific with kids and I think Jamie missed him when he left.

                                             Colton's pet bird. Till the dogs saw it ; /

                                                                   Hanging out

                                                   Colton helping out with dinner

                                      I learnt how to make a very satisfying cuppa coffee.
                                     There is nothing better than a freshly brewed latte!!

Colton found a friend from the YWAM base. Jesse and Colton spent time camping in the car on the beach and lots of time surfing in the cold NZ waters

More Jamie and Colton time :)

colton learning to be a better surfer. Lots of falling down. Lots of water in the face. But eventually, he did get much better.

Safari in Tanzania

There are about 600 safari companies in Arusha, Tanzania. Some of those companies have 400 land cruisers. That's a lot of companies to choose from and a lot of tourists going out every year. We had a hard time choosing which company to pick. We knew it would have to be a budget trip because there is no way we could fit anything but budget into our life. Thankfully we met a family from Altona that just went last summer and they shared the company they used and since they travel in a similar way that we do (cheaply), we thought we'd give this company a try. We had a great experience also. The trip was a budget camping safari. Which means that they take you out into the national parks with a guide and a cook, tents and supplies. You basically do the same tour and go to the same places that the fancy shmancy tour companies offer, but instead of staying in lodges or hard walled tents, you sleep in tents and have sleeping bags and sometimes cold showers and eat with plastic cups and plates instead of wine glasses and China. No problem for us, we are pros at budgeted really, it was fine. It was more than fine, it was great. Many of the people paying 4x more than us, ate at the same picnic areas that we did. I did glacé at their bottle of white wine on the last night with longing for a second, but I got over it and drank my warm water and laughed together with Dean, Colton and Miranda about the rain that we had the night before that drowned out the sounds of the hyenas in the campground. 

It is absolutely worth it. It was really a dream come true to go out to see African wildlife. I loved every moment! Here are some of the pictures of our last 3 days.

Our cook Yusa somehow made these remarkable meals for us every day. This campground was rustic. It had running water (not drinking water though) and no electricity. But he poked up a storm and even made a homemade birthday cake for me on my birthday! 

Shish k bobs one night

Happy birthday to me! 

Spaghetti and meat sauce, salad, fresh fruit and birthday cake! Yum! 

Shish k bobs, potatoes, quiche, avacado and cucumber salad

Most mornings we were awake at 5:30 and either at breakfast by 6 or on the road at 6. Sometimes when we got the chance to have a little nap in between, we took it! 

But most of the time we were looking out the window ready to spot a new type of animal

Miranda is keeping a journal of all the things we are seeing

We are having so much fun

Packing up the landrover to go to the next campsite 

This is the rustic campsite we stayed at 2 nights. It rained both nights.

Just the seringetti and a tent