Our new gadget - Blackberry to Smartphone!

We have been 'technologized' and its absolutely wonderful! Off to the Caribbean with easy communication back home and to our cyber travellers.  My only worry was communication and thanks to some very special people, it is no longer a worry.

Here are our contact details, no matter where you are in the world, we are connected :-)

Facebook: EcoBlu Edutainment
Skype: EcoBluEd
Email:  ecoblu@hotmail.co.za
Email:  bazandblu@gmail.com
Blog: Backpacks and Adventures

We have only 6 days left in South Africa.  Our backpacks are packed and ready.  We are growing more eager by the day, to get this adventure started.

The last few things on our 'to do' list:
- learn how to use our new gadget
- collect outstanding money
- write a letter to Crocs

We will be at the airport pretty early on Sunday to meet with some friends for coffee and farewells.  We also get to spend some time with Kaelah which will be awesome!

Its early to bed tonight.  The Yellow Fever jabs have knocked us for a six!  The side effects are horrible to say the least but for the best.  Only rest will sort us out.

From the 3 June we will be blogging daily so keep an eye on us and join us on this cyber journey to the Caribbean.

Please share, like and comment, you are also welcome to donate 100 bucks in your currency to our travels which will be used to 'buy us another day in the Caribbean'.

Our time in the Jacaranda City

We departed Howick on Tuesday morning, 21 May, on the Greyhound bus. We traveled from 09h45 to 18h00, 8 hours later we arrived in Pretoria. It really is so good to see our family. Warren, Gail, Aila and Faith! After a delicious cup of tea, a hearty meal and some good conversation, we settled in and slept like the dead... Lol! 

If you haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting Pretoria, here is some history and a couple of photos to wet your appetite.

Pretoria itself was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius. The elder Pretorius had become a national hero of the Voortrekkers after his victory over the Zulus in the Battle of Blood River. Andries Pretorius also negotiated the Sand River Convention (1852), in which Britain acknowledged the independence of the Transvaal. It became the capital of the South African Republic (ZAR) on 1 May 1860. The founding of Pretoria as the capital of the South African Republic can be seen as marking the end of the Boers' settlement movements of the Great Trek.

Pretoria is best known as The Jacaranda City, due to the enormous number of Jacaranda trees planted as street trees and in parks and gardens. In flowering time the city appears blue/purple in colour when seen from the nearby hills because of all the Jacaranda trees. The time of year the Jacarandas bloom in Pretoria coincides with the year-end exams at the University of Pretoria and legend has it that if a flower from the Jacaranda tree drops on your head, you will pass all your exams.

Next stop, Meyerton on Sunday, 26 May. There we will spend time with our good friend Jason. It will be good to spend time in the bush :-)

11 more sleeps till we fly....

Is it possible?

One of my hero's, other than my 4 year old son, is an adventurer by the name of Mike Horn.  Once part of the Sector No Limits team.  He has circumnavigated the earth on latitude zero using no mechanical transport only the wind and his own steam.  Mike Horn was one of the first to travel from the source of the mouth of the Amazon river using again his own steam and a hydro speed, taking just 5 months.

I see on our television channels that there is a guy taking over a year to walk the same journey.  Each having their own merits and hardships.  I guess.  Mike Horn is a remarkable man and has a list of journeys and adventures longer than my own person.

Mike Horn was a soldier in the South African armed forces before starting and adventure company in Switzerland and is very much at peace within himself as most of his adventures were solo.  For a time I followed him closely and tried my own way to solo travel through Southern Africa and Mauritius.  One of his quotes, which has been one of the mantra's through the later part of my life is "impossibilities exist because we make them impossible."

So the answer to the question.. is it possible?  SURE! all things are possible if you wish them to be possible.

For the last 3 years, Toni and myself have been working for ourselves in an industry focused on children.  What we have found first-hand is, what you put in you will get out.  If you wake in the morning feeling demotivated  and lazy then the day ahead would be demotivating and nothing would happen.  If you wake in the morning motivated and excited it is amazing how much you can generate.  Invoices go out, money comes in and work 'appears' out of nowhere.

What we also found, especially since planning the adventure, nothing is as it seems!  Patience, perseverance and a bit of detective instinct allows you to plan the road less travelled. 

So again... Is it possible?

We have just 2 weeks left, tickets booked, papers received and now we wait for the next leg.

So far it has been possible.  Our decision to start this process happened in the middle of March 2013 and here we are 2 months later waiting for 'd-day'.

In honesty though, the process started in 2010.  We already uprooted our lives when we invested in a lodge in the KwaZulu Natal Drakensberg.  When we realised our plan was an epic fail we started from scratch and thanks to family and friends we were able to start again.  This time we had the opportunity to change how we lived and our priorities.  This enabled us to in essence, pack up and leave at the drop of a hat. 

For the unbeliever, our lifestyle, our goals and who we are has allowed us to take this voyage.

Time... the only thing in life you can't rewind, you can't get back and eventually you run out of.  Something I've always known and again one of my mantra's, "time waits for no man".  A famous quote we all know, "Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today."  We intend to instill this in our son, Joshua.  The world is your oyster, you just got to go out and do it!

Looking at our parent's generation, life was pretty much laid out for them, finish school, study or go to the army, get married, buy a car and a house, have children, work in the same job for 20 years and then retire.  In our world, time has changed, there is no guarantee, your retirement has no value, working for 20 years for a boss has no guarantee and for as hard as you work to create a life beyond, for you and for your children, you sacrifice more than you benefit.  Your job becomes your life, you spend less time with your children, your spouse and yourself.  Your goals change and you end up chasing money to maintain your life.  You live to work instead of working to live!

Do we really benefit from the time we put into chasing money for the sacrifice of time spent with those that fulfil us?
Nature in its infinite wisdom is simple and all things are equal.  Nature works in equilibrium, the yin and yang of life.  What you put in you get out. 
Unfortunately in our society it is not so.  We sell our souls to the corporate idea of what is 'acceptable'.  The greatest con of all time!
It doesn't allow for the adventure of life, it doesn't allow for the uncertainty.

Our lives are driven by the unknown, the uncertainty and by our own determination and drive to be the makers of our own destiny, to break the confines and bonds of corporate life.

Stand up and be counted, the time is now... no hesitation!

Eyes up!

Baz

Mike Horn - Adventurer and our hero

In just 19 days time...

In just 19 days time, Barry, Joshua and myself will be joining Steve and Renata on this beautiful yacht called the 'Dixi Rollar'.

Dixi Rollar is a 36ft yacht and was built in steel by Steve. The main mast is a pine tree chopped down at Rhodes Memorial, from a stand specially grown for ship masts.

This is the opportunity of our life time and words can not describe how I am feeling, with just a few days to go until we leave South Africa.  Coming from Rhodesia to South Africa came with its own life changing experiences.  Now I leave South Africa, the country I grew up in, to embark on an adventure that I have only ever dreamed about as a young girl.  This is proof that dreams do become a reality, the only conditions are, that you have to make them a reality, you have to take that giant leap of faith and you have to make sacrifices...sometimes the biggest sacrifices imagineable.  If you are willing to do that then you can make any dream come true.

 

My personal sacrifices? leaving my two girls behind, there is no greater sacrifice in this world for me.  Giving up my home and earthly belongings was easy, because those things are NOT what makes you the person that you are. 

 

What do I take along with me... my girls, whom I carry with me in my heart and soul every moment of every day, the fondest memories, close and dear friendships, a blackberry and my backpack :-).  That's all I need for this adventure. 

 

And what an adventure this is going to be...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mother's Day, Howick and your contribution to our journey

A very HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to every Mom across the world!  May your day be filled to the brim with love and happiness.  Know that each of you do an amazing job of raising and loving your children, every minute of every day!  Hold them in your heart and never let them go because you never know when you may be separated from them for any particular reason. 

It's been a chilly weekend in Howick, we took a drive along the Midlands Meander yesterday, it was raining and misty, the low heavy clouds covered the mountain tops.  The farm lands and country side is green and wet!  Everyone stayed indoors...except us of course, that's the best time to take a drive..when the locals are hiding out at home.

Nottingham Road was dead quiet, we stopped off at Maggies to grab a cup of hot coffee and then continued our drive.  What a beautiful place.  If you have never spent time in the Midlands then you really should make a plan to get here.  It will take your breath away!

Our plans are coming along nicely.  We have only 20 days left in South Africa and then we are leaving on a jet plane :-)  this is a very exciting time for me personally, simply because I have never flown overseas before.  I can't wait to get this journey started!  New languages, lifestyle, people, children, food, stars in the night sky, time zone... the list is endless and it is going to be awesome!

Our total budget for this time away in the Caribbean is only a mere R65 000.  Which is not very much, considering our return flights to Venezuela cost R39 450.  We still have to get from Venezuela to Grenada which will cost us another R5 500 and then we need to pay for our space on the yacht for the next 10 months.  hmmmm... need I say more!  lol!

We have a Travel Fund and are working hard to raise additional funds to 'buy' us more time in the Caribbean.  If you would like to make a small contribution to our journey, it will be greatly appreciated.  Below are our banking details, including the swift number for international deposits.

Bank:                   Capitec
Account Holder:  BG Sanders
Account Number: 1324414020
Branch Code:        470010
Swift Code:          NEDSZAJJ

R100 or 10 US Dollars will buy us one more day in the Caribbean!  Remember to use your name as a reference so that we can thank you personally ;-)

Have a wonderful day, wherever you are in this crazy world. 

Toni, Barry and Joshua

Our flights are booked! 23 days left in South Africa

Wooohhoooooo!  The first part of our journey to the Caribbean is booked.  We depart Howick on the Greyhound on the evening bus, 1 June, arriving in Jozi (Park Station) and then onto the Gautrain to OR Tambo International where we fly out at 17h55.  We fly to Sao Paulo where we connect and fly to Caracas. 

We are now planning our route from Caracas which will most likely be a ferry to Trinidad and if no ferry from Trinidad then we will fly to Grenada.  There are flights from Caracas to Grenada and the total cost will be R5500 for a one way flight, that's pretty pricey and definitely not in our budget so we will take the road less travelled and enjoy it every step of the way.

Back to this magical little town called Howick.  We left home on foot at 09h00 and made our way back to the Umgeni River.  Six hours later and we have had yet another wonderful day.  It's all so green, the river is flowing and bird life is just something out of this world.  Fork Tailed Drongo's, Egyptian Geese, a Fish Eagle and plenty of Hadidas.  Down we travelled through the muddy swamp and into an area which looked enchanted, moss on the rocks, ferns, flowing water, cool and refreshing.  This is where the faeries live...yes they do.  Moving along we met up with 3 young locals who were busy playing under pecan trees, keeping themselves well entertained.  Just past the next tree and there we were, along side Mills Falls.  Locals believe that this is where the river monster lived until it moved to the Howick Falls.  Words can not describe the beauty of nature that we experienced today.  It takes my breath away.

The chilly weather is moving in, there may be snow in the Berg this weekend.  The fire place is ready, Dad is cooking dinner, Mum will be home shortly ...  and it's time to settle in for the night.

This beautiful place called Howick

The last 4 days since we arrived in Howick, have been pretty hot!  This morning we wake up to the most beautiful misty morning, slight drizzle and the skies are white.  The expected high is 17 degrees but right now its 14 degrees.  Barry reckons the snow is on it's way..I hope so, nothing more beautiful than the snow capped mountains of the Berg.

It's now time to start our training, walking, walking and more walking twice a day.  Three days without our backpacks and then from the 4th day (Tuesday) we train with our backpacks on.  By the time we depart SA we will be ready to travel on foot.

Our time this morning, 6km's in 1h20!  Down hill to the Umgeni river, right up along the Umgeni river to the scout hall, up to Howick High School and then back up Andrew Rd.  Notice all the 'up's' ... lol!  Walking around Howick with Barry is a real treat! He has so many memories and lots of information to share. 

What a breath-taking walk, the birds are out and about, we saw bushbuck droppings so we know they are in the area, as well as a long crested eagle.  It's still so green and beautiful.  The homes are all well taken care of, the streets are neat and litter free!  That makes a wonderful change from the dirty city of Jozi.  This is the best place to cleanse your body, mind and soul before starting a long journey.  If you haven't yet spent time in the Midlands, then it's a great idea to plan a trip here.  You won't want to leave!

Joshua is out to town with Granny, he is just loving all of this attention.  Running errands, shopping and a date for an ice cream cone at the Wimpy.  It's rugby day, so the telly is on, braai for lunch and then out on our afternoon walk.

We hope to have our flights booked by Tuesday!  My nerves are a little shot simply because flight prices have increased by a whole couple of hundred dollars since we last enquired.  If you would like to contribute to our travel fund please contact us for details.  Every dollar/rand will go towards another day in the Caribbean.

Wherever you are in this world, we wish you a magical day, filled to the brim with love and laughter.

Toni, Barry and Joshua
Email:  ecoblu@hotmail.co.za
Skype:  EcoBluEd
Blog:    Backpacks and Adventures

A little rest and relaxation

The first leg of our 'backpacks and adventures' kicked off on the 30 April with a bus ride from Park Station in Jozi to Howick.  The bus arrived to collect passengers an hour late so we spent in total 3 hours at the bus station.  Never the less, we were soon on our way and 7 hours later we arrived in this awesome little town called Howick.  Immediately we felt more relaxed, it's amazing how the stresses of 'big city life' leave you as you leave the city. 

Joshua is loving it over here with Granny and Grandpa.  He has run the a huge garden and a safe complex to explore and enjoy and that is exactly what he is doing.  The resident monkey's were spotted this morning, we spent the morning at the country market and then did absolutely nothing...for the first time in a very long time.

We are off to town tomorrow to get started on flights.  So far, the cheapest is R46 300, for the 3 of us, return.  We are on the hunt for cheaper flights, so if we have to catch a ferry, a donkey cart and a 4 seater plane to cut costs, then we will most definitely do it.  At this stage, it looks like the route to take is JHB to Caracas, Caracas to Grenada. 

Otherwise all is good, it's a wonderful feeling not having a flat full of earthly goods, the sense of freedom comes when you get rid of all the 'stuff' that you carry along with you in life.  It's all gone and it's freaking awesome!

Anyhow, it's time for dinner and bed.  We have a full day on foot planned for tomorrow, so it's time to relax some more.

Peace, love and happiness xx