Visiting the Neighbours

 16 November 2018

Prior to our helicopter flight today we took a drive around the neighbourhood to see what the local were doing.

Off we go

We travelled in style

Sanctuary Chief's Camp

A highlight of our stay at Sanctuary Chief's Camp in Botswana was a helicopter sightseeing trip over the Okanvango Delta. As this was only the second time I had been on a helicopter I was doubly excited. Our guide was a young Irishman who had spent a considerable piloting helicopters in Australia.

The vistas were exceptional and the flight exhilarating. Our flight was during the dry season, I hope that one day we can return and repeat the experience in the wet season. 

I was in  the co-pilot's seat

Our Guide waited patiently to return us to our camp

Two adventurers safely back on Terra Firma

Street Art in Jo'berg

 14 November 2018

Our first full day in Africa started with a private tour of Johannesburg. As we travelled around to several sites we noticed many instances of street art. 

Border news

Latest surprise in our garden. Pretty purple border.

Facelift at Carey Bay

 It's a good day for tiling. The upstairs deck is getting a Travertine facelift.

On the job

Moody Bay

Tools of Trade

Sandy Stockton

One of our dear friends sailed into Newcastle, our regional city, yesterday on a mega cruise ship. We took the opportunity to pick him up from the ship and show him some of the local sights. As he had visited Newcastle and the Hunter Valley several times we had to think of some new places to visit.

The megaship which dominated the Harbour photographed from Stockton

As our visitor and I had never been to Stockton which is on the north side of Newcastle Harbour we started our explorations there. This suburb, which has water on three sides, is so close to Newcastle via a short ferry hop across the Harbour but is a 20km drive by road. 

The beach and sand dunes stretch for several miles north

A cargo ship entering th Harbour

The locals care for their environment

The local historical society is active

Stockton has a sheltered beach suitable for families

I was impressed by the natural beauty of the Stockton area and will put it on the itinerary for future visitors to our area. If the weather is kind we will take the ferry.

Mapping our way

Mr GeniAus and I love to travel.

For some time now I have recorded the places we have visited on TripAdvisor's Travel Map. Recently a number of fellow mappers have commented on the stability of this Tripadvisor feature. Not wanting to lose the list of places I'd been I investigated how to download my map data. I found the information on how to do this here: https://download-your-travelmap.christianhaller.com/

I was able to download the map in two formats, a .csv file (I knew what that was and how to open that) and a .kml file that I knew nothing about. After downloading the two files I spent some time learning about .kml files and how to open them. I was able to import the .kml file into Google Earth and display it there.

As I'm more familiar with Google Maps and My Maps I investigated how to view the data on that site. All I had to do was create a new My Map and import my .kml data. That was easy. Once I made the map public I was able to select Embed on my site from the Share options for my map.

I created a new static page for my blog and then I pasted the few lines of code into my page using the .html input option and the map appeared.

As I feel that Google Maps will be more reliable than the Travel Map feature on Tripadvisor I will now update my list of places visited on my new Google GeniAus Travel map.

You can view my map here on my new page.