Topdeck Travel Blog

11. Lie under a palm tree on a white sand beach

Once in a while you need to slow things down, get away from it all. And when the time comes to unwind, is there any better place to do so than on a beautiful beach?!

Lying on the sand, listening to your beach playlist, reading a book and sipping an ice-cold drink, as the blue ocean caresses the shore and a gentle breeze sways green palm fronds above your head… bliss!

But where’s the best place to go? For the purposes of this blog, we decided to take a straw poll of the Topdeck office to see where our staff thought you could find the best beaches in the world.

We heard many impassioned speeches and sparked intense debates, but eventually the survey turned out 3 main contenders. To try and make an informed decision, we summarised their pros and cons:

Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa

Pros: White sand beaches, coconut palms, sapphire blue ocean, traditional fishing vessels, friendly locals, cheap cold drinks, great kitesurfing, proximity to some of the world’s best safari destinations, name that makes you think of a Persian restaurant.

Cons: errrrm…

Oahu, Hawaii, USA

Pros: White sand beaches, coconut palms, sapphire blue ocean, crazy waves, hot surfer dudes and chicks, location in the middle of the Pacific, lifeguards who (may) look like they’re in Baywatch, possible hula music in the background.

Cons: uhhhhh…

Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, Australia

Pros: White sand beaches, coconut palms, sapphire blue ocean, tropical rainforest, incredible flora and fauna, great sailing destination, chance to play beach cricket, strong likelihood of a BBQ occurring, certified free of Drop Bears by the Queensland Government.

Cons: ahhhhh…

As you can see, we didn’t do too well on the Con front. In fact, we didn’t do too well separating them at all. So we’re going to sit on the hammock on this one – choosing a favourite beach is entirely subjective. But one thing all of us agreed on – we’d all like to be on one right now!

As for a good beach playlist? Well there’s something we can help you with! Here’s our pick of beach tunes for 2013, (not) available in all good music outlets:

Topdeck Beach Playlist 2013

1. Psy – Sandnam Style

2. Kylie Minogue – Loco-ocean

3. Nelly – Tide Wit’ Me

4. The Beatles – Here Comes the Sun(burn)

5. Men at Rest – Sand Down Under

Topdeck Top Tip: What to say about a beach? If you turn up on one and everyone’s naked, it’s probably a nudist beach. There you go!

A gorgeous video of Zanzibar from a kitesurfering couple: http://vimeo.com/16653284

Photos of Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays: http://www.pleasetakemeto.com/australia/whitehaven-beach/photos

5. Trek to see wild mountain gorillas

Nowhere on Earth is the natural world more gloriously showcased than in Africa. But of all African wildlife encounters, coming face to face with endangered wild mountain gorillas is perhaps the most unforgettable.

Like gazing through a window to our distant past, observing mountain gorillas in their natural habitat is a humbling and resonant experience. Up close the complex family structures are revealed; powerful silver-backed males command authority, mothers tenderly care for their young and adolescents explore inquisitively.

It’s impossible not to feel a sense of privilege watching two gorillas grooming one another, or impossibly cute youngsters playing with carefree abandon.

For an audience with these gentle giants you must first purchase a permit, then trek with guides through jungle in the gorillas’ lowland mountain habitats in Uganda, Rwanda or DR Congo. It’s often a demanding trek, but with so few gorillas left, it is a necessity.

Sadly the mountain gorilla symbolises the dangerous impact humans can have on wildlife. Over the last century they have been driven to the brink of extinction due to poaching, loss of habitat, war and human diseases.

It is estimated that as few as 880 mountain gorillas remain in the wild and they are among the most critically endangered species on Earth.

However hope endures for our simian cousins (we share around 99% of DNA), as admirable conservation efforts are being made to ensure their survival. The permit system has actually contributed to growth in gorilla numbers in recent years.

The cost of each gorilla permit helps protect habitats, educate guides and train rangers. Visitor numbers and times are carefully regulated so as not to disturb the gorillas, making it a fine example of responsible ecotourism. For those who take the trek, amazing memories are complemented by the sense of contributing to a worthy cause.

A gorilla trek can be a life-changing experience, one that hopefully will be available to travellers long in to the future. It can affect you profoundly and generates feelings which are difficult to adequately put in to words.

When you see for yourself, you’ll know exactly what we mean.

Topdeck Top Tip: To spot the alpha male of the troop, look out for the distinctive white hair on their back, known as the ‘silverback’. Male gorillas develop this around age 13, when they reach adulthood. Troops can sometimes have more than one silverback – although there’s only ever one alpha male!

Tell us about your experience with these magnificent animals.

Sir David Attenborough explains how gorilla populations were brought back from the brink:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p014rmnc

Photos of mountain gorillas in Rwanda:
www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2096456,00.html

Lifelong traveller (and Topdeck’s head designer) Bec shares her experiences of her African journey with Topdeck.

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For me and many others on my trip, Africa is the last frontier in terms of travel.

My partner Brad and I have been through Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South and North America, so other than Antarctica we only had the wilds of Africa to cross-off.

We arrived on in Nairobi on Friday, but as the trip didn’t start until Sunday we had some time to kill.

With no plans and no idea what to do we contacted our Trip Leader Masivu for advice and he made some excellent suggestions.

Fancy a Giraffe Kiss? Photo/R.McCaig

First up we paid a visit to the Giraffe Centre followed by a trip to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. The giraffes at the centre are so beautiful and gentle. You get to feed them with these giant pellets. If you’re feeling keen, hold one between your teeth to receive your very own giraffe kiss!

The best way to get around is by taxi and we had a great driver for our time in the city. He was really fun and gave us heaps of facts and information about Nairobi.

After meeting our group and Trip Leader on Saturday evening we were up bright and early the next morning for our road trip to the Maasai Mara.

Our group of 15 was split into two mini vans for the 4-5 hour drive. Distance-wise the Mara isn’t too far away, but thanks to rough road conditions the drive is rather slow.

With the stunning scenery of the Great Rift Valley all around and new trip mates to meet we were kept busy.

THE ANIMALS

That afternoon we pulled up at our home for the next two nights, a permanent campsite just outside the Maasai Mara.

Lion in the Maasai Mara. Photo/R.McCaig

With no fences around the site it’s not uncommon for animals to wander around the tents at night.

The tents at this site were more like canvas houses – they even had their own indoor toilets!

After dinner around the campfire we went out for a night drive of the Mara.

Elephants, giraffe, impalas - I couldn’t keep track of all the animals we saw! The best thing we encountered was a leopard sleeping in a tree right by the road.

Sunset in the Mara was simply awe-inspiring. It was everything you ever imaged from the Lion King and more.

Leaving Kenya behind, we made our way to a brand new destination – Tanzania and Serengeti National Park.

The experience of waking up in the vast open landscape of the Serengeti with no fences, just beautiful scenery is amazing.

While eating dinner at our campsite one night an elephant wandered in for a quick drink from our water tank. We went up to say ‘hi’, but he was a little shy.

THE PEOPLE

A short drive from the Maasai Mara we visited a traditional Maasai village.

Ben & the Maasai Warriors. Photos/R.McCaig

We watched a performance of the traditional Adumu (jumping) dance and had a go ourselves.

The villagers showed us inside their homes and we were able to buy jewellery made by the Maasai women.

While the Maasai live in conditions far removed from us Westerners, they place a high value on education and as a result nearly all the people in the village speak English.

Being able to speak to the locals isn’t something you often get to do so it really gave us an important insight into how they live and their culture.

The Maasai were as interested in us as we were in them. The women I spoke to wanted to know how many children we all had and they were rather surprised to find out none of the girls in our group were mothers. They were also interested in the lives of western women and how we all worked.

THE BEACH

Leaving the vast savannah behind, we spent the last two nights of our trip in a resort on the palm-fringed beaches of Kendwa Beach, Zanzibar.

Beach-side Bliss in Zanzibar. Photo/R.McCaig

It was the perfect way to finish our trip. Relaxed and chilled out, we spent our time snorkelling, swimming and sipping drinks at the bar.

For our final night together we took a sunset cruise. After spending 13 days together our whole group were really close so saying goodbye was hard.

It’s difficult to sum up just how incredible my time on safari was. Would I go back? In a heartbeat – there is still so much of Africa to explore!

THINGS TO BRING

• A South African adaptor to charge your gadgets on the truck.
• Wet wipes – at times you’ll get rather grubby!
• Plastic poncho – for those unexpected downpours.
• Binoculars – so you don’t miss out on the best wildlife spotting.
• A good camera – for lasting memories (also great for bragging).

Bec travelled on Topdeck’s 13 Day Kenya & Tanzania Adventure. For more images and inspiration check out Bec’s photo blog.

Topdeck Travel’s Designer Bec goes wild in Africa on Topdeck’s 13 Day Kenya & Tanzania Adventure and decides to inspire us with her amazing photos!

1. Our first afternoon in Maasai Mara National Reserve and we spot a sleeping Leopard in a tree right beside the track. It was a good find because they say leopards are often the hardest animal to spot out of those in the Big Five!

2. Elephants everywhere! Not only in Maasai Mara but also in the Serengeti and the savannahs outside of the national parks.

3. Up close and personal: this cheetah strolled up to us and posed for our cameras for a little while. They are really beautiful animals.

4. The secret of getting a good giraffe photo is…stopping the vehicle for a while and waiting patiently! They are quite timid creatures but they would always be curious about us and for a while, they would come up close to check us out eventually.

5. King of the jungle: this young male lion was just gorgeous. We found him with about 7 others from his pride taking a break from the midday sun by some trees in the Maasai Mara.

6. Jumping with the warriors: we visited a local Maasai village where the people live in the traditional way, in mud huts and herding cows and goats. The men did a performance for us, singing us their traditional songs and invited the other guys from our group to jump with them.

7. Cultural curiosity goes both ways! The Maasai women were interested to know how many babies the women in our group had. They were quite surprised to learn that none of us had had any children yet. In Maasai culture most women will have had a few children before they turn 20.

8. Meet the truck! Our truck was called Shashe, named after the famous river in Botswana. Shashe became our home away from home, and even though some of the drives were long, it always went fast because we had heaps fun together. Our truck was really good; it had lockers at the back for our stuff, power points for charging our cameras and an on-board freezer and esky.

9. Our trip leader Masivu was awesome, he made the trip an amazing experience for us. As Masivu is from Kenya he helped us see East Africa from a local perspective. In this picture Masivu has a bunch of red bananas, a local specialty near Arusha in Tanzania.

10. When we were in Arusha in Tanzania we visited a local village. It was really interesting seeing the day to day life of the people who lived here. The children in particular loved our visit, they were so excited to meet us.

11. Sweets= popularity! The local children in the village really wanted us to pick them up and play with them. Also some of our group had brought sweets to give away...

12. Drive day lunch, yum: Masivu our trip leader, and Antony our driver would have something prepared for us and we would also help out. Usually we had sandwiches, with freshly baked bread, ham, cheese, fresh salad, and array of different sauces. They would always have fresh tropical fruit ready for us as well, which was delicious.

13. Hitting the Serengeti! When we visited Maasai Mara and Serengeti, we left Shashe behind and got around in smaller, off road, game-park-friendly vehicles, which got us closer to the action.

14. Camping out in the Serengeti was amazing, with no fences separating us from all the colourful wildlife. It was perfectly safe though, we were just told not to stray too far from our tents in the middle of the night, and to make sure we had no food around which might attract hungry hyenas. We spotted this Cape Buffalo just near our camp not long after sunrise.

15. How not to become a lion’s dinner…On our last afternoon in Serengeti our truck blew a tire. It wasn’t that unusual, we had already punctured a couple of others and our drivers had lots of spares on hand just in case. As our driver was changing the tire, one of the guys in our group noticed two heads in the savannah watching us – it was two lions, about 50 metres away. Our driver told us to stand on the other truck, while he finished, as lions see the truck was one big animal and won’t attack it. Phew…

16. Night camping on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. The crater was once a huge volcano millions of years ago, but collapsed after an eruption. What is left is the huge crater floor wilderness that is a popular home for local wildlife. Our campsite on the rim was pretty cool, and after dinner we had a shy elephant wander in to say hello!

17. Zebras crossing. In Ngorongoro Crater there were zebras everywhere, I couldn’t believe it. There were also hundreds upon hundreds of wildebeest, at this time of year they tend to congregate in the crater before their big migration later in the year.

18. Hippo-watch. We stopped by this beautiful lake for lunch in Ngorongoro Crater. There were a few hippos in the water enjoying themselves, but we were warned not to get to close to the water because hippos are actually the most dangerous animals in Africa. You don’t want to get stuck between a hippo and his water hole!

19. Next stop for us was the beautiful island of Zanzibar. We spent our first day in Stonetown, Zanzibar’s capital and spent the afternoon at a local spice plantation. This was really fascinating, we found out how nutmeg and cardamom grows and that cinnamon comes from the bark of a cinnamon tree.

After Stonetown, we ventured further north to west coast of the island to Kendwa beach. We took a snorkeling trip out too the Mnemba reef, which was beautiful. Not long after this picture was taken it bucketed down with rain – one of the downsides of traveling in rainy season. However the rainy season wasn’t all bad, usually it would only rain for an hour, before the sun was out again, and we would get to watch some spectacular storms in the distance over the ocean in the evenings.

I had a fabulous time on this safari, hope you will enjoy it too! Love, Rebecca.

Blessed with epic landscapes, famous wildlife, friendly people and diverse cultures, Africa truly has something for everyone.

Part of what makes Africa such a sought after destination is its raw and wild charm, but this does mean you need to take a few extra steps to stay happy and healthy on your trip.

Gail Graham from the 1st Contact Travel Clinic tells us how to keep fighting fit on safari in Africa!

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Heading to Africa? Want to stay healthy while abroad? There are many things you can do to keep yourself healthy while travelling around Africa.

Where ever you travel to in Africa the recommended vaccines are: Typhoid, Polio, Tetanus, Diphtheria and Hepatitis A.  Depending on where you are and your itinerary you may also need Meningitis ACWY, Rabies, Hepatitis B and Yellow Fever (Yellow Fever can be compulsory in some countries).

Majority of time most travellers have no problems while abroad but that does not mean you should become complacent in preventing any unwanted incidents.

Reduce your risk of consuming contaminated food and drink. It is the most common reason for travellers to become unwell. You can do this by:

• Always washing your hands before eating
• Only eat meat that is cooked all the way through
• Avoid salads and shellfish; you never know where they are from
• Only eat fruit that you can peel
• Avoid ice in your drinks

Some other basic tips for staying healthy abroad include:

• Cover up! This not only helps protect against sunburn, but helps against mosquito bites – those bugs can carry nasty diseases such as Malaria
• Don’t approach or pat any animals unless you guide says it’s okay, you don’t know if they carry rabies or not
• Take a sterile medical kit with you
• Use an adequate mosquito spray

It is recommended that most vaccinations are given 4-6 weeks or more prior to departure. Our nurses will be happy to advise you on appropriate vaccines and Malaria tablets for your journey.

1^st Contact Travel Clinic can provide expert advice on vaccinations, medical kits, anti-malarial medication and general safety tips.

If you are planning a Topdeck Africa trip and have any health related questions please feel free to call the 1^st Contact Travel Clinic on  0808 141 5506 (UK Free call) or +44 20 7759 7574 and book a free travel consultation.

Topdeck’s business development manager Kate shares some memorable animal encounters at Kruger National Park, South Africa

The first time you see a giraffe roaming the African plane is an unforgettable experience.  As you drive through the bush the challenge to spot wildlife before anyone else is exciting and tense.

Growing up in South Africa I have been lucky enough to visit the Kruger National Park many times, each being just as spectacular as the last.

The Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers 19,485 square kilometres (7,523 sq mi) and extends 360 kilometres (220 mi) from north to south and 65 kilometres (40 mi) from east to west. To put these numbers into perspective, it is a similar size to Wales or Israel.

The park is home to Africa’s ‘Big 5′ - elephant, rhinoceros, leopard, lion and buffalo. It also has over 500 species of birds, 150 species of mammals (including some 12,000 elephants), 100 reptiles, 23,000 plant species and a variety of amphibians.

In short, it’s a truly amazing place that has Africa stamped all over it!

Being in the Kruger isn’t like being in a zoo by any means. As you drive along the tracks each turn takes you to a different experience.  Binoculars are a MUST and will make anyone who has forgotten theirs green with envy.

Because the animals are wild and free every time you go out on a drive you will see something new and just as awesome.

Those lucky enough to see a kill (as heartless as it may sound) really do experience the true awe of nature as it is meant to be. These animals are free to roam; they find their own food and are wild things.

One of my favourite memories from the Park is seeing two lionesses cross the track ahead of us and then proceed to walk by either side of our vehicle. With your heart racing it’s hard to believe that you have just been within a few metres of one of the most amazing animals and in the wild!

Another was seeing a herd of elephants crossing the road between our vehicle and another right through the gap.

This herd was a whole range of ages including little calves.  Seeing them link tails with trunks and cross the path was incredible and brought a whole new meaning to zebra crossing!

Kruger Park is a year round destination with each season bringing its own highlights so whatever time you decide to safari in the Kruger National Park you will not be disappointed!

The Park has a hot, sub-tropical climate and for most of the year it is hot during the day (above 25°C).

Game viewing can be at its best during the dry winter months (June- September), however the wet summer season brings full waterholes, lush bushveld, many new born wildlife and the summer migrant birds arrive.

We went out for morning and evening drives as these are the best times to spot the animals. There is nothing quite like an evening drive and spending time at a water hole watching the sun set and the animals drink the water.

No matter when you go and what you see, the Kruger National Park will be one of the best travel experiences you will ever have.

Africa is truly a magical destination so what are you waiting for?

Top Tips:

• Take binoculars
• Invest in a decent camera
• Hats are essential for sun protection in those pop up safari vehicles
• Bring layers for the morning drives as it can be chilly
• Remember the animals are wild and you are in their environment

Visit Kruger National Park with Topdeck on one of these African Safaris: 31 Day South East Adventure, 25 Day Desert Tracker, 7 Day African Insight Northbound, 7 Day African Insight Southbound, 22 Day Zanzibar, Victoria Falls & Kruger, 25 Day South West Safari, 29 Day East African Explorer, and the 46 Day Ultimate African Adventure!

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Topdeck offer amazing travel experiences for 18 to 30 somethings, exploring Europe and Africa; camping, skiing, or taking the holiday of a lifetime on a safari or adventure trip.

And the even better news is that right now their good value trips are even cheaper with these hot holiday offers that will help save your pennies.

Early birds can save 10% on Europe 2009 trips, get one night free with the gap trip special or even travel free when you book with nine friends!

Most trips are 12-14 days and it’s only £60 to reserve your place when you book online.

So don’t miss out on getting away in 2009, grab these money saving offers while you can and enjoy an unforgettable experience!

We know that you need a lot of useful info before travelling. So, we have created this blog for you. If you are travelling in Europe, Egypt, Morocco or Africa you will find plenty of information and unbelievable offers here.