therogueaussie

My top 5 list of must have travel items with a toddler or baby

1.A good stroller. Most airlines will allow passengers to check any stroller, however there are a few key points I look for in a travel stroller. My City Tour 2 travel stroller has been to several destinations now and until my daughter outgrows it, it will continue to come . A travel stroller is the convenience of a portable space…

Step aside Indiana Jones

Written for the PSC Corsair- 2014 by Vicki White

Indiana Jones may be the ideal when it comes to archeological adventure, but for his students, Pensacola State College’s own “Florida” Rucker brings the past to life. When Dr. Brian Rucker isn’t exploring the wilds of West Florida- collecting artifacts, giving tours or writing books- he can be found in the classroom bringing history to life.

Rucke…

How the other half live- Jumbiani, Tanzania

Hi everyone,

I’m sorry; I know it has been a while since I have updated my blog. Life in San Diego has been hectic and with a full time upper division course load as well as a 30-40 hour work week I haven’t been getting time for much else.

This week as I was struggling through my 40th hour at work I began thinking about an experience that Leelana and I had whilst we were in Tanzania earlier this…

   Today’s climb to Stella point and then uhuru peak has to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my life physically, emotionally and mentally. There were quite a few points when I didn’t think I would make it to the top of the mountain. Altitude affects everyone in different ways, some become weak, some can’t control their bowels and many get super weak and can’t continue. Well for me, the…

     Although today was another short day we dragged ourselves out of bed in time for an 830 launch. We have learned that on this side of the mountain rain around noon is inevitable. 

As we slowly climbed from Karanfa we were greeted by a steadily inclining trail and it seemed to go on forever. Good training for tomorow I guess as every small flat gave way to a steeper slope. After roughly 4…

        Sleep in day woo! Last night Saidi told us there would be no point in leaving early today as there is only one path up the Baranco wall and everyone has to use it. As this sometimes causes traffic jams it was more comfortable to stay in our sleeping bags. As the sun rose behind the mountain we could see a multicolored snake slithering over and up the wall, the many climbers that spent the…

   Today’s trek was the longest by far. It wasn’t technically difficult by any means, just a lot of rock scampering and falling. Our morning as usual started early with Husan waking us with tea and coffee. I’m beginning to hate being pulled from my sleeping bag in the cold. 

It was a slow start this morning as we literally climbed out of our camp and up a ridge. When we looked back we could see…

       Before we left Shira Camp this morning we finally got an opportunity to meet all of our porters and support staff. This may see strange that we haven’t up until this point but every time we see them they are practically sprinting past us to get the next camp set up. We went around and listened to everyone’s names, seeing as there are 15 it may take me a while to learn them all. They also…

   This morning started at 630 with Husan calling us to get ready and bringing hot water as well as tea and coffee to the entrance of our tent. It is our responsibility to pack our duffles, have everything we need in our day packs and be washed and ready when breakfast is being served. Breakfast today was a strange to me corn porridge which tasted like it had been seasoned with vinegar and nutmeg.…

   This morning started at 630 with Husan calling us to get ready and bringing hot water as well as tea and coffee to the entrance of our tent. It is our responsibility to pack our duffles, have everything we need in our day packs and be washed and ready when breakfast is being served. Breakfast today was a strange to me corn porridge which tasted like it had been seasoned with vinegar and nutmeg.…

   Today started early. We woke at 630 to pack our duffles and just generally get ourselves organized. We were told by the lodge staff to hurry hurry but nothing actually happened for hours. Just before 9 we finally got going and headed several hours east from Arusha to Moshi where we stopped to pick up our assistant guide, but bottled water and visit an ATM. 

The road between Moshi and…

Bazza’s on tour- 8 days on Mount Kilimanjaro! 

      Everyone has their own reason for climbing Kilimanjaro. For some it is to say they have, some climb to check off an item on their bucket list, some do it for charity and others like the Climb Kili staff are doing it for the pay. 

I wasn’t sure what my reason was until my first day on the climb. As we entered the rain Forrest I saw a lone orange orchid that was growing along side a giant…

Bazza’s on tour- 8 days on Mount Kilimanjaro! 

      Today we flew from Zanzibar, through Dar and onto Arusha. It was a long day of flights followed by a 2 hour drive from Kilimanjaro international airport to the lodge where we were staying. Our driver told us normally it takes half the time but the new Tanzanian president was visiting Arusha today and we had to pull over to let him pass. The airport also had a Tanzania jet set up like air…

Day 3 in Zanzibar Tanzania! 

                       This morning we woke early to walk down to the beach front and have Zanzibar crepes with banana for breakfast. Most of the desert type food here is heaven, everything is fresh and perfectly spiced paired well with masala chai tea or some other similarly delicious form of caffination. First thing on the agenda today was to ditch our tour guide…

Zanzibar adventure day 3 continued..

               Tonight we caught a taxi across the island to The rock restaurant, a famous icon in Zanzibar. The restaurant itself sits atop a rock which at high tide can only be accessed by boat but at low tide can be walked to. We experienced both. The crab spaghetti was fresh and the piña colada just what the doc called for after a 90 min drive across…