Full Circle

Happy New Year everybody! Despite 36 hours of flights and an Etihad pilot called 'Captain Jihad' (I kid you not, this is how he introduced himself minutes before takeoff) we made it safely back to Sydney for the famous NYE fireworks last night, very impressive even though we watched them from a rooftop in Bondi Junction.

The past week has been a whirlwind of visiting and celebrating with rellies. Firstly a full house at Kenton-on-sea with Gran-gran, Auntie Sheila, Uncle Alex and cousins Gillian, Richard and Douglas. Then to Port Elizabeth for Christmas day with the McCoys. Our final few days were spent at Lisa and Martin's beaut holiday home at the beach in Betty's Bay (near Cape Town).

So, after 6 and a half months travelling through 18 countries we have made it back to where we started!

Here are some stats from our trip:

Work free days---210
Highest point reached---5895m AMSL
Lowest point reached (Badwater, USA)---86m BMSL
Hottest temp (Okavango Delta, Botswana)---48 degrees
Nights spent camping---84
Nights spent camping illegally---2
Peanut butter and jam sandwiches eaten---120ish
Flat tyre---1 (during night game drive in Zambia)
Robberies / thefts / muggings---0
Friendly locals---1,000s
Italian brothers gained---1
Ann-Marie's relatives visited---23(thanks y'all for putting up with us)
Alex's relatives visited---4
Fastest land speed---190km/hr (reached in the brothers BMW in Botswana)
Longest bus trip---25 hours (Windhoek to Cape Town, most comfortable trip as well)
Longest wait for a bus---5 hours (in Zambia)
Largest bank note---100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion)
Amount paid in US dollars for above note---US$2
Peanut butter and jam sandwiches eaten---120ish
Kilos gained by Ann-Marie in Africa...he he he..---6 (due to peanut butter and jam sammies eaten)
Kilos gained by Alex in Africa---2


Our top 17:

Alex's best hike: Onion Valley to Whitney Portal, California
Ann-Marie's best hike: The bloody hot Grand Canyon, Arizona
Favourite canyon: Subway, Zion National Park, USA
Favourite beer: Windhoek (pronounced Vindhook)
Best Catering: Dalio the Cook on Kili trip
Nicest beach: Nungwe beach, Zanzibar
Worst, smelliest, dirtiest room: Mzuzu, Malawi
Best safari lodge: Crocodile Valley, South Luangwa, Zambia
Cheapest safari lodge: Crocodile Valley, South Luangwa, Zambia
Most expensive, overpriced country: Botswana
Coolest people: Masai men in Kenya
Most regal people: The Himba women
Best hospitality (excluding the rellies!): Boet the Afrikaner, Free State, SA
Least friendly country: Tanzania
Most friendly country: Malawi
Best countries: Namibia, California, Switzerland, Zambia
Most blog comments: Swetty