Our Cape To Cairo itinerary begins with your arrival in Cape Town, South Africa where you board at Cape Cadogan: a luxury Victorian farmhouse declared a national monument in 1984. Patterned in soft creams and whites, the fashionable hotel is just a short distance away from Kloof Street, the Times Square of Cape Town. If the luxury hotel life isn't appealing to you, Cape Cadogan offers 4 luxury apartments, each situated within walking distance of the hotel.
So you're finally making the road trip (or the flight) to Los Angeles, California to visit the city the entire world has heard of. Here's a short list of some of the big stops you almost have to hit...
During our stay we saw all but one of the big five and had the most jaw dropping encounters with lions. (It was scary, but then you can't come back from Africa without at least one near death experience story!) Our guide reliably informed us he had never seen anything like it before. Madikwe is less busy than Kruger, and the different lodges all work together and share information about sightings, increasing your likelihood of seeing what you've come to see.
Hostel in Barcelona's old town. In the heart of the Gothic quarter. Cheap accommodation and great atmosphere in the most backpacker oriented of our hostels
Check-out the insane video footage of kayaker Tyler Bradt paddling over the 186-foot Palouse Falls in Washington State. The April 21st run over Palouse Falls smashes the previous world record of 127 feet.
Here's something to consider for all you outdoor enthusiasts who use GPS to find your way through the wilderness: the network of satellites that your Garmin or Bushnell uses to pinpoint your exact location could begin to fail as early as next year!
If you haven't noticed, the number of bear warnings and campsite closings in the Smoky Mountains continues to increase. Since early spring, a new warning or closing has popped-up almost every week. In fact, two new warnings have been added just this week. Expect to see more bears this year according to bear expert.
As we approach the late spring season, I just wanted to remind hikers not to pass up the excellent opportunity to see the incredible displays of mountain laurel at Spence Field, located on the Appalachian Trail near Thunderhead Mountain.
If you're anywhere near the Great Smoky Mountains in the next three weeks or so, whatever you do, don't miss the flame azaleas at the summit of Gregory Bald. Azalea lovers from all over the world come here to visit perhaps the finest display of flame azaleas anywhere on the planet.
After a long day on the trail, some/lots/most/all hikers like to kick back with a nice cold beer, preferably a craft or microbrew. The good people over at Blue Ridge Outdoors recently developed the Southern Appalachian Beer Guide to point us in the right direction after we step off the trail.
Grandfather Mountain, near Linville, NC, officially became North Carolina's newest state park yesterday. The park is best known for its mile-high swinging bridge, the highest in America, built in 1952 by Hugh Morton.
The number of closings and warnings posted at campsites, shelters and trails in the Smokies has increased to 16. A research ecologist from the University of Tennessee has stated that visitors should expect to see more bears this year. To emphasize this point, a bear broke into a house this week - in Knoxville!
Frank van Manen, a U.S. Geological Survey research ecologist and president of the International Association for Bear Research and Management, said it's not that the bears are becoming more aggressive. Instead, he said, bear populations are skyrocketing under state bans or limits on bear hunting.