20 years in a flash

As 2019 draws to a close, January 2020 marks 20 years since I started working in London.  Here's my little look back over the past 20 years of my career, and a little bit of news for what's next..spoiler alert..Goodbye London...

This is going to be a long blog, so if you don't want to read all the pre-amble and waffle, just jump straight here for more on the big news...

The first (almost) 6 years of my working life (Summer '94 through to end of '99) was for a company called Bytron, based out near Humberside Airport, they specialised in developing software for Air Traffic Control and Flight Data Management systems.  I owe so much of my career to my time at Bytron, I was taken on straight out of college as a trainee programmer.  I learnt so much, both professionally and personally and I have so much to thank the MD at the time, Stephen Bailey, for.  As we approached the turn of the century, I started to feel I had got as far as I could and I needed a change.  Grimsby isn't exactly a tech hub and I knew I needed to move away, but I was torn - I was very much a homeboy and didn't want to leave Grimsby - My home, my family, my partner, Richard.

Imagine my delight when I found what sounded like the perfect job, working for a company called Sphinx CST who had offices based in Matlock, I was employed as a Technical Consultant.  The great part about this job meant I could stay in Grimsby as I would be provided with a car and a laptop and the role consisted of travelling all over the country to our customers, so home was my base.

I started my role on January 3rd, 2000 - The world hadn't imploded from the turn of the Millenium and we were safe and I was venturing on a new challenge.  I spent a week in Matlock before being given my first customer assignment...in London! Most assignments were for 2-3 days, this one however was for 3 months.  So here I was, looking for a job that kept me in Grimsby, but was being sent on a long term placement in London...D'oh!

A week later and there I was - a young, naive 23 yr old taking his first commute across London into the city to Moorgate and a company called SAMS (Strategic Asset Management Solutions).  To say I was petrified was an understatement!  The sights, the sounds, the hustle and bustle and most of all working in the capital, something that to be honest I didn't really want to do.  If someone had said to me on that first day, that this would be the first day of two decades of living and working in London, I would have laughed and brushed it off with a "Not a chance"...How soon things change...

Those 3 months became 6, then 9, then 12.  The assignments at SAMS came to an end.  During those first 3 months my relationship with Richard also came to an end.  Things were beginning to change and I was strapped in and ready for the journey.  I had fallen in love with London and decided I didn't want to leave.  3 months later, March 2001 and I moved into my own place in Greenford and left Sphinx CST and started my first job employed by a London company, a company called MarchFirst.  That was a strange move and one that only lasted around 4 months - a month into the role and it came to light that the company was in trouble and was starting the process of shutting down.  My then boss couldn't have been more apologetic, stating had he known this was on the cards he wouldn't have employed anyone, that said he was very accommodating and gave me lots of support and assistance in finding a new role so I could move on before being made redundant.

August 2001 and I started at Warner Bros.  Such a huge company to work for and having my name on a business card with the famous WB logo was such a proud feeling.  Had I finally made London work for me?  Working at WB taught me a lot, and gave me amazing opportunities to travel to Tokyo and Hong Kong to name a few.  Great friendships were formed, and despite not looking to change jobs, 5 years later I spotted a job opportunity that I just had to apply for...at the BBC!

Nov 2006 and our family was rocked when Dad passed away.  Not the best time to be changing jobs, but it felt like everything was happening for a reason (My career that is!) and so I carried on with the interviews and got the job, so Dec 2006 I started my role working for BBC News and Sport Online, sitting on the 7th floor of Television Centre looking out on the famous building that I had seen all through my childhood on TV, and here I was - working IN IT!

My time at the BBC was the best, I made so many new friends and had some incredible experiences, I progressed in the role and became a Team Leader, I got to be Best Man for my best friend and BBC colleague, Tom, as he married Jo in their home in Australia.  I worked through the night on elections, I saw the rise of the likes of iPlayer and I passed Bruce Forsyth in the corridors of TVC and said "Good Morning" without a second thought.

At the start of 2008 I felt I wanted to do something a little different, so I decided to quite randomly sign up to do a Massage Therapy course, and in Sept 2008 I qualified as a Massage Therapist.  A little side job that I thrived in, to the point that I also taught for a while and studied more techniques over in Thailand, where I fell in love with Asia.  All the time, still working at the BBC.  I liked to keep myself busy!

The next big step for me happened in 2010 when I managed to get on the property ladder and finally buy my own place in South Ealing, over in West London.

Things started to change in 2012, the pressures at work handling the Olympics and various management changes started to make it a less than enjoyable role, and I felt it was time again for me to move on, I didn't move far though, just across the road to a company called Net-A-Porter - many will know them as an online luxury fashion store.

This role saw me take a drop in title (No longer a Team Leader) but my salary stayed the same.  An easier life for a little while, giving me more space to carry on with my Massage Therapy outside of work and at weekends.

As part of my role at NAP I needed to find some software to improve some of our databases, and I started working with some software called Tungsten, by a company called Continuent.  This company intrigued me.  The tech guy that assisted me with the deployment worked from home, and all of the team seemed scattered around the world.

I jokingly said to the tech guy "Are you recruiting by any chance?" - The response - "Actually, yes we are". Three Skype interviews later (Whilst I was in South Africa) and a job offer came through to be a Technical Pre Sales Engineer.  The job offer was simply incredible and I could not turn it down - with almost a 40% pay rise and working from home 24/7/365, it almost seemed too good to be true!

So May 2015 I left NAP and started my new role. Continuent at the time were part of VMWare - a massive multi billion dollar US company. This wasn't a relationship that seemed to go well, and in 2016 Continuent and VMWare parted ways. All of the team were given a choice - stay with VMWare and take a new role somewhere within the company or, follow Continuent and be a part of the new company - I was one in a team of what was endearingly named "The Magnificent Seven" that decided to follow our CEO, Eero, and in October 2016 the split was official, my new role was "Director of Professional Services, EMEA & APAC"

Sitting here now writing this, I'm still thinking back to that first commute, 20 years ago, how nervous I was - This young boy from Grimsby, with no University education, thrust into the frenetic fast paced lifestyle of London, if only I knew then what the next 20 years was going to offer...

20 YEARS!!!! WHERE HAS THAT GONE!!?!?!

I'm still in my job at Continuent and have no plans to go anywhere anytime soon.  This job has opened opportunities I never thought possible.  Working from home really changes the way you work - it has to - you have to have routine and discipline - Working from the sofa in your pants whilst watching daytime TV is NOT a look that I can sustain for 5+ years!

I have travelled a lot - twice a year the company all get together for face to face meetings - I think of it as a chance to remind myself what my colleagues look like, and with no offices, we always stay in nice hotels, eat at some amazing restaurants, and we collectively get to choose new destinations each time.  From Boston, Cape Cod, Burlington, Budapest, Madrid, Amsterdam and in March 2020, New Orleans.  I can't complain! The freedom to work where I want is great - as long as I have internet connectivity and can be reached by mobile, I can live/work wherever I want, summer 2018 for example I went on a 4 week road trip driving around Europe, working from the road.  Jan 2019 I spent 4 weeks in South Africa.

So, here we are, if you skipped straight to the end, this is where you rejoin.  20 years on from that first commute to Moorgate and the time has come for a new change, a new challenge, a new adventure.  I'm about to make a giant leap into the somewhat unknown..why you ask? Why not? I respond.

It's very easy in our lives to be consumed by work and the rat race, especially in London.  I love London, such a multi cultural city with SO much to offer, it has given me opportunities that I will be eternally grateful for, and I have made so many friends that I will always remember with great fondness (mostly!).

Love has come and gone, friends have come and gone, jobs have come and gone.  London will always be there - ever louder, ever bigger, ever busier and even more expensive year on year.  A fantastic city. but a city that can also be a very lonely place.  So, it's time for me to bid farewell and leave London, and I want to leave it with memories of the good times and experiences I've had.

For those that followed this blog will know that in 2014 I ventured to South Africa for the first time to volunteer at a place called Cheetah Experience - a place that was to feel like a second home and over the last 6 years I have visited them many times.  If you know me and follow me on Facebook, you will know how much love I have for CE and everyone there - both Human and Feline alike.

During my visit back in January 2019 and again in November 2019, I spent a lot of time talking with Riana, the founder, and whilst my Mum was with me in November we had some serious conversations, and a decision was made that set all of this in motion

Phase 1 of the big change is in progress right now.  Selling my flat...It's been on the market since November, with a little bit of interest but nothing firm yet.  Until the flat is sold life will just carry on as normal.  Where will I go you ask? Well, I'm moving back home to Grimsby. I never thought I'd be saying that if I'm honest, but I need a base for Phase 2.  With property prices in Grimsby being what they are, and with the increase of the value of my place in London, I can buy and own outright in Grimsby.  A home with no mortgage - this is key, and I can only do that in Grimsby.  Plus all my family are there, and lets face it, none of us are getting any younger.

Once settled in Grimsby, Phase 2 can begin.  I will start the process of applying for my Visa for...South Africa.  Yes, I'm going to move to CE.  Visa restrictions mean I can only be there for 3 years - well, technically I could re-apply but 3 years as a starting point is a good marker.  The Visa will allow for multiple entry/exits and I will continue my job with Continuent (Yes, this job is so good, the CEO has given this move his blessing).  So to keep things easy and to take into account the face-to-face meetings I have with work etc, I will be spending 9 months of the year in SA and 3 months of the year in the UK.

I can't wait to be out there with Riana and the team and being a part of an amazing project caring for and raising Cheetahs.  I don't know when Phase 2 will happen - I'd love to be booking my flight and going tomorrow but there's a lot to do and at any stage in the process things can go wrong.  In my mind, I would like to be out there by the summer, but lets see what happens!

I could be making a huge mistake, it could end in disaster, my job could go sideways (hence being mortgage free is one safeguard I need) but I have to try.  I don't want to be sat here in 5, 10 or even 20 years time and not be able to write a blog filled with equally amazing achievements as those I have been incredibly lucky to have had over the past 20.

I wasn't going to make this public until my home had sold, but I thought sod it, 20 years is a big milestone and in some way putting this down on print makes it feel more real!

So, here we go...Wish me luck!

Watch this space (or Facebook) for updates and more importantly for details of my leaving party in London!

Chris

Wait...what..it's been 6 years?

OK so where have the last 6 years gone?

Back home in Grimsby for Christmas and whilst feasting on far too much food and drink I got thinking about my travels, and it dawned on me that I had this blog.  Now I think it's fair to say I have travelled a bit in the last 6 years and I'm a little frustrated with myself for not keeping this blog updated.

Oh well, 2020 is just around the corner so lets see if I can keep this going a little more from now on!

The final purr

Apologies for the silence over the last few days,  as we settled into our chores and daily routines there wasn't a lot of new stuff to tell you so I held back for fear of boring you all.

So the last update from me was last Tuesday,  almost a week ago and i cant actually believe how quick the time has gone since then! Each day on the farm has generally consisted of the same daily chores from feeding and cleaning,  to playing and walking the cats.  Its been a lot of fun with lots of laughter,  also incredibly hot and humid during the day.

You may recall that in my last blog i spoke about sleeping out under the stars that night with Faith and Eden.  Of all the things i experienced over the past two weeks,  that has to have been the most special moment ever.   I arrived at the camp and greeted by Rene who lives in the house on the farm.  I didn't have a torch so she kindly walked me to the enclosure however the moon was so bright and the sky so clear we didn't need a torch.   I got out the bedding they leave you and picked my spot on the ground,  Eleanor also kindly leant me her sleeping bag as the last few nights have been really cold. Covered in bug spray,  i found the girls and gave them a little hug and sat with them a bit and then went and got into my 'bed'.   Eden instantly came over and snuggled down by my side purring lime  traction engine.   Faith then wobbled over and collapsed across my legs.   I laid there for a while with my arm around Eden just staring up at the sky,  it was beautiful. I drifted off without any problem but did wake a few times, normally as Eden or faith moved.   Faith eventually went to the far side of the enclosure but Eden never left my side all night.  As the sun started rising around 4.30, the lions started roaring and the birds started singing, and eden started licking my face and head... What a way to wake up,  Faith then stumbled over and laid by me again.   I stayed there for Bout another half hour with Eden nuzzling my neck and purring,  she looked quite put out when i got up and left to go back to the house to shower and have breakfast! There are no words or pictures that could ever explain how amazing it felt to spend the night with two cheetahs.

What began as an incredible morning turned to sadness as i received a message from Mum that Nana had sadly passed away that morning.  I mentioned in my last post that she had been very ill,  in a way it was a blessing as she is no longer in pain,  it was hard though being away from the family as i know Mum was deeply upset.  I had arranged to have the day off anyway on Wednesday but still went to the camp and just kept myself occupied and spent some more time lying in the enclosures with Eden.   After lunch i took myself over to the Emoya estate and visited the spa for a massage.   It really helped me to relax and was a nice welcome break.

That evening i built a fire in the braai (bbq)  and got some marshmallows and bread dough, we all sat outside toasting them over the fire and having some beers,  a really relaxed evening and an early night.

Thursday was a quiet day in that we had very few visitors which meant everyone got the chores done really quick,  we then had a fair amount of free time to relax,  a good thing too as in the afternoon,  unexpectedly, a coach load of 42 Libyans arrived for a tour.   Normally large groups prebook so that we can prepare but this took us by surprise.   We split the group up and ran 3 tours at once,  but what a nightmare.   They were so rude and arrogant and didn't listen to any of our instructions,  kept wandering off and kept wanting to stroke the lions,  wish they had and they might have learnt their lesson after loosing a few fingers.  Needless to say we were all pretty relieved once they left.   On the flip side though,  it was a much needed financial boost for the project! Friday and

Saturday were also relatively quiet so i managed to spend a lot of time sorting out the computers on the farm,  it was good to put my IT skills to use but was quite warm work sitting inside on what were the hottest days!

Friday saw Aussie Chris (my roommate)  and I take our first tour on our own.   We only had two older ladies with us which was nice,  they were also really funny and kept hitting on Chris which provided much amusement.   We took them cheetah side and as the group was only two we were able to leave Faith,  Eden and Dew also out in the yard (they can sometimes be a bit put out with large groups)   I took them over and we spoke about them, also Fiela and Bibi were nearby,  chris went off to find Gabriel.  At which point Dew decided to get up and walk towards us.   I told the ladies not to make sudden movements and just let her pass,  which she did,  but then in a sudden movement did a U turn,  raised up and pretty much gave the shorter of the two ladies a hug.  It looked sweet but was far from it,  her claws were out and she was wanting to play.  I quickly got her down but was really worried she had hurt her, thankfully the lady in question loved it and despite admitting she did dig her claws in thought it was a great experience and one she couldn't wait to tell everyone...however,  Dew now gets put into her enclosure in the future!

On Saturday afternoon we received notification of another big coach load coming through,  this time we were prepared... Or so we though.  About 5 minutes before we expected them two guys came down and said they were with the big group but just wanted to check parking as they were coming with 6 vehicles... Of police escorts... The group where VIPs...

Sure enough all these police appeared and a coach load of people.   We still don't know exactly who they were but they were something to do with the African Nations football tournament currently on over here.   They weren't players but we assumed they were various officials and volunteers. It turned out to be a group of 60 in the end but were an absolute joy in comparison to the Libyans!

Saturday's social saw all the volunteers head over to the shabeen... A bar over on the Emoya estate.   We had a great night of pool and darts and laughter along with very cheap beer.   We took two trucks over to get us all there and because the farm is on the same land we drove across the game reserve... Was a lot of fun although i did learn one thing on the way back.... If you cant see whats in front... Duck... I didn't and got slapped across the face by a tree... Great! I was actually really lucky,  if id had my eye open or if the branch was bigger i would be in a mess,  as it stands I've got a little black eye and a few scratches... I joked i would tell everyone i had a fight with one of the cats,  its mad to think that two weeks of playing with big dangerous cats and the worst injuries I've sustained have been scratches from trees and fences!

So my two weeks have come to and end and this morning was the last time for me to say goodbye to the cats and other volunteers.  Aussie Chris and Eleanor were on the same flight as me back to Johannesburg which was nice.   We went round to see all the cats one last time and gave them all hugs and kisses before our official goodbye from the farm.   We were all presented with a certificate and a little speech from the founder, Riana.

It really has been an incredible two weeks with so many once in a lifetime opportunities that i never in a million years would have dreamt of.   I've met some great people and had lots of laughs.  Asked who was my favourite cat,  i just cant decide,  i loved them all,  but i think Eden stole my heart when i woke with her nuzzling my neck and grooming me, that's just something i will never forget.  Would i do it again? Absolutely should you do it? Absolutely

Although i booked through i-to-i, in hindsight i wish i hadn't ,  that was the only major negative to the trip, i wont go into the reasons here but feel free to ask me directly if you want to know.   So if anyone is thinking of going,  book it direct with the project and you'll save yourself a fortune www.cheetahexperience.com

I posted so many pictures on Facebook from my mobile,  but i also took almost 1000 on my camera,  i cant wait to get home and sort through them and pick out the best, so keep and eye out for when i post the link!

Where next i bear you asking... I'm not sure yet,  first i have two new feline friends coming to live with me,  sadly not of the Caracal,  Serval,  Leopard or Cheetah variety though! I guess watch this space!

Until then,  stay happy
Chris x

More walkies!

Well today was another day of fun and time with the cats!

Today we had to just feed the 3 younger cats in the main camp,  dew,  eden and faith.  They didn't seem that keen on eating this morning so anything they leave they finish off in the evening.  We then took them for a walk.  My first time walking the cheetahs and boy what a laugh.  I opted to walk faith. She wasn't that interested in going anywhere until we got her out the camp but then you couldn't stop her.   Bearing in mind the speed these cats,  fully grown,  can run and the acceleration equivalent to a Lamborghini,  you can visualise that it was more the cats taking us for a walk.  Faith is so funny when she runs,  but she actually runs better than she walks,  she just goes from a to b via c,  d and e and then can stop so just collapses on the flor,  all the while purring!

Last week everyone was paired up and given an animal to research enrichment ideas for.   Today was the turn of the other Chris and Keal  to enrich the leopards.   A very simple idea of cardboard boxes with leaves and twigs.   We put them in their enclosure and release them.  They went crazy! Just like a house cat,  leopards love boxes! They were ripped to shreds in seconds! Tomorrow i will hopefully get the chance to put my enrichment plans for the servals and caracals in place... More about then when it happens.

We had 4 new arrivals today too so we did the introductions and they were placed in their teams.

This afternoon i moved from cats to computers and gave Rene a hand sorting out a laptop and her phone,  this may be a few days work and some of the volunteers joked that you should never let on any skill you have... All in jest of course but i don't mind! I'm also putting together a programme to help them store, and generate reports from,  the data collected during the hourly observations.

We had another fun trip to the supermarket today to stock up on beer and snacks! It seems we're all going crazy for chocolate at the moment!

You may recall the other night i slept with gabriel,  tonight it gets even more exciting.  Armed with a pillow,  sleeping bag and warm clothes,  tonight I'm sleeping out under stars with eden and faith.   Apparently  eden likes to steal the pillow and faith has a tendency to fall on you and then fall a sleep.  I'm very excited.  These girls are almost a year old so much bigger than gabriel but nowhere near as mischievous.   Eden however is the loudest purrer (is that even a word?)  check tomorrow for the update.

I'll leave you now as its time to eat.  I hope everyone is well, I also just want to send out my love to the family tonight as i had an update from Mum earlier that my nana is really ill... She's been suffering for a long time now with bad chest infections,  urine infections and on top of that,  92 years old and suffering dimentia.

Good night everyone
Chris x

Who needs water anyway...

Hey everyone,

Well it's been a busy day today and yet another scorcher under the South African sun!

As you know from last nights blog,  i spent the night with Gabriel,  the 4 month old cheetah cub.  What an experience! He's such an adorable little guy,  albeit very mischievous... I wasn't sure whether I'd get much sleep but surprisingly i did! It took me a while to coax him in,  but as soon as he came in he collapsed on my covers with a look that said 'can we play?' we did for a bit and then he laid down alongside my makeshift bed,  i laid down with him and we both fell asleep.. Him staring at me until he couldn't keep his eyes open.   I woke a few times in the night and he'd rolled around a bit but all night he was by my side and slept solidly from 9pm to 5am.  When my alarm went i woke up and he was lying there looking at me,  made a little whimper as i ruffled him and then followed me out.  So sweet,  and such a privilege.

As today is a new week,  we've now moved teams and were now on the cheetah side.  My first task was observations which basically involved walking around every enclosure and checking on where the cats are and what they're doing.  We do this every hour at 8, 9 and 10 and then again at 3, 4 and 5. Just after finishing,  we got a call from a dairy farm saying they had a dead cow and did we want it.

I went with keal to collect it... The dairy farm was about 30km out of town,  it was nice to go on a little outing.   We arrived and sure enough,  there was this massive dead cow, the workers lifted it up with a digger and just dropped it in the back of our truck... It must have weighed around 800kg, it was insane.  We drove it back and the workers at the farm took it away to chop up! Its now in the freezer waiting for big feed!

Once again,  Gabriel decided to climb a tree! Such a scamp! I helped get him down and in return i now have my first cheetah scratch!

Just after lunch today,  the water stopped... The typical response being welcome to South Africa! Apparently last time this happened it was of for 4 days so we started making plans on what to do.  Fortunately we have our own borehole on the farm so we knew we'd have water for the animals,  but we have a house of 13 so it  could be a problem.   We decided to get lots of water bottles and filled from the bore,  so we have plenty to boil for drinks,  food and basic washing. As soon as we got home though we all just jumped into the swimming pool.  It was so refreshing! Just as I've been writing this though the water has just come back... Phew!

The feed for the cheetahs is a little more involved.  They still get chicken but whereas leopards etc just get 1 or 2, for the cheetahs it all needs to be weighed to specific amounts for each cheetah.   Some of the cats aren't tame so we have to take care,  they hiss a lot but we still managed to get the food to them.   These are the ones that form the main breeding programme on the farm.   The tame cheetahs,  dew,  Eden,  faith and gabriel are much easier.   I chose to feed faith,  bless her she's so funny.   I cant remember if i posted this but she had meningitis when she was 1 month old that has left her a little wobbly on her legs,  with crossed eyes,  and a tail like a pretzel.   It's unsure if she has brain damage but she is the happiest of cats and so loving.   She takes ages to eat though and each time she took a bit of chicken,  she moved away with it to eat but then sat there looking at me and I'd have to take another bit to her.  45 minutes later we managed to get through  it all!

All in all an entertaining but very tiring day,  tomorrow is shopping day again which always gets everyone excited!

Good night world!

DRIVE! The Rhino's charging...

Hello!

Sorry for not blogging yesterday, it was a relatively quiet day so i thought i would wait and give you two days in one...

Yesterday was a stinking hot day,  the temperature is rising day by day and you can really see the effect it is having on the cats,  they hide and sleep a lot of the day,  fortunately yesterday was also a quiet day for tours!

We got through our usual morning chores of poop scooping and cleaning fairly quick,  but due to the red meat feed the night before there were a lot more bones to pick up,  amazing to see how the cats had got every last morsel of meat off them!

Just after lunch (thankfully) the weekly chicken delivery arrived. We get bags and bags of chickens donated every week from a local battery farm.   They're all ones that died naturally (if naturally is appropriate for a battery farm) we had to empty every bag and sort them all,  we only kept the large meaty ones,  our cats are fussy and wont eat the small birds! Also,  a few of them were 'ugly'  which translates to rotten and/or maggot infested, they stank... I've never smelt anything quite like it in my life.

We were also lucky enough to see the new arrivals at camp.. Albeit via cctv... The whole aim of the farm is to breed the cheetahs and hopefully be able to release them into a controlled park and to try and save them from extinction.   Despite being very fast powerful runners they're actually quite low down the chain in surviving! Anyway,  Jesse successfully mated with a cheetah called Ashika, and produced two lovely little babies... Hope and Horizon.  They were born 3 weeks ago and are doing really well.   No one can go in with them but we can see them via the cameras,  even that was pretty cool.

The evening was spent relaxing and laughing,  some of the volunteers that have been here for a while went out to meet and old friend,  the few left behind just sat chatting and drinking and trying to play a game called Innuendo which we failed at miserably due to laughing so much it hurt.

Today turned out to be an even hotter day,  hitting 34c. Again,  morning tasks complete and then most of us just hid in the shade at any opportunity,  i went round with my camera to get a few shots but the cats where hiding.  I went to visit buttercup, the pygmy goat,  she is so adorable and funny.   I lied down and she instantly climbed on me but kept falling off,  you could see she was getting really frustrated,  she gave up and then just kept headbutting my shoes.

Every day at lunch we come back to the house where Cecillia, who does all our cooking and laundry,  makes a massive feast.  Sunday is her day off so we stayed at the farm and one of the guys,  Keal,  made Potjie (pronounced pikey)  which is basically a South African pasta bake made with heaps of biltong... It was amazing!

At 4, we were all treated to a game drive! The farm we're on is part of the Emoya estate,  we rent the land from them,  in turn any of their guests get free entry to the farm,  and volunteers on the farm can go on a game drive. It was incredible,  seeing all manner of Antelope and springboks, ostrich, warthog, wildebeest, zebra,  giraffe and 2 huge rhinos! These beasts where massive,  weighing a scary 2 ton each and able to run 40km/h! We got within about 7 or 8 metres and then one of them charged,  the vehicle we were in would only just be able to out run them,  luckily the rhino gave up pretty quick!

We're back at the house now chilling for a few hours but tonight,  I'm so excited,  I'm heading back to the farm and I'm sleeping in the baby room with Gabriel! Yes,  tonight I'm sharing a bed with a 4 month old VERY playful cheetah cub... I'm not sure I can quite top being able to say I did that! I'll update you all in the morning... Although I might be sleepy... Every night a volunteer can sleep with him,  also you can sleep out under the stars with Eden and Faith (who are about 14months old)  or we can sleep in the lion house... A wooden shed in the goat enclosure which looks out over the lions so we can get to experience the sounds of the lions roaring and the wolves howling at sunrise! I'm doing that next week at full moon!

So,  time to go see Gabriel! Night night!

There's a cheetah in the tree...

Well,  another incredible day is at an end.

A lot of our daily tasks are repeating for me now so I'm not going to continually bore you with all that but instead just give you some highlights!

Waking up today and looking out the window to a cloudless blue skies,  i knew we were in for a scorcher,  annoyingly I've burnt my scalp and neck :( but being outside from 7am to 5.30pm, its inevitable.  The cap was back on!

Our group event today had to be the worst... Weeding! In the field we use to walk the cats,  there are two big mounds that they love to run up,  but they're covered in weeds that have lots of nasty thorns on them.   An hour later and you wouldn't believe a group of 12 that constantly pick up cats that could kill and eat us, could swear so much and get pricked and scratched so much from weeds! We've not enjoyed cold drinks and ice cream as much as we did today!

Today was shopping day! So at lunch we all went to the supermarket to stock up on treats and food for dinners to last until the next trip on Tuesday.  It was like Christmas all over again! I volunteered to cook dinner tonight for everyone too,  Thai chicken curry (me predictable?) everyone seemed super excited,  I was just bricking it... Cooking for one or two is fine but for 16 ravenous youngsters...?

Anyway,  shopping done and back to the farm,  the heat really was starting to get to everyone today,  even the animals were lethargic. You'd look around and see cats just hiding in the shade, and in some enclosures you'd see some of the group napping beside the cats.  I still cant quite get my head around how tame the cats are and no matter how I try, I struggle to put it into words.

I went cheetah side where there are 3 cats roaming freely around,  Fiela, Bibi and the cub,  Gabriel.  I could see Chris (my roommate )  and Eleanor stood looking up into a tree,  as I approached i realised what was happening.. Gabriel had climbed high into the tree and got stuck. We tried to coax him down with his toys,  but he was really stuck and you could see he was starting to get stressed.   We called some of the permanent volunteer over,  being the tallest i managed to lift his main handler on my shoulders and up into the tree,  eventually he came to her but he was crying and shaking and struggling so much,  I then managed to reach up and we got him down... He was looking very sorry for himself,  he's turning into a real mischievous young boy.   Earlier i was playing with him and he was chasing me around and pouncing on his toys which he then proceeded to hump.  I couldn't believe what i was seeing so asked the lise-marie if it was normal,  she laughed and said "for Gabriel yes,  for a cheetah of 4 months,  no"

As the day cooled and closed in, it was feeding time.  Today was big feed which also meant food for the lions and leopards! One of the big feeds each week involves red meat to the cats.  What that is varies as all the meat is donated from farmers.  We go over to get the meat and all i can hear is buzzing... May-Louise removed the tarpaulin to reveal massive great but if cow... Legs and all, absolutely swarming with flies.  It was gross! We had to load the meat into the truck... Only way was by hand,  handling it wasn't so bad but the flies... Oh man the flies ... And the smell...

We take the big legs to the lions and get them into their feeding area,  one of the tasks during this feed is that whilst the lions are busy eating,  we can go into the main enclosure to poop scoop.  Not the most glamorous of jobs but not something I imagined ever having to do... Oh and lion poo stinks too... And its white..

We then handed massive cuts of meat to the leopard and wolves,  just watching the power in the jaws of these animals was a thing of beauty,  once again, no words can describe how it felt just to be there feeding and watching these beautiful animals.  How anyone could hunt and put these cats in danger of extinction is beyond me.

The day was complete, all that was left was for me to cook... What a success! It was perfect and everyone loved it,  it was a lovely cool evening too so we all sat out around the pool chatting and laughing.  Alarm is set for 5.45 for another magical day with the cats,  i just can't wait to get back on the farm!

Face licking, crotch sniffing, chicken guts of fun

Once again,  today has just been full if incredible experiences..

Tasks for me today were to shadow a tour,  play with the caracals, refill the foot baths, prepare the chicken,  and clean the meat room! Ok so the first few were fun,  the later, a little more gruesome!

The first tour was a photography tour.  Visitors pay a little more for this but they get extra time with the cats.  There was only one guy on the tour at 8, and he was the father of one of the volunteers so he got even more... They really do like to look after family!

We started on the lion side,  the first cats we see are the servals.  Two of which we cant interact with.  Bennie and Kitana; they are a breeding pair,  bennie is too wild though and doesn't like humans,  kitana only has 3 legs.

The 3 they can see are Allegra,  Angie and Mikey. They all posed well for the camera although Allegra kept wondering off and poking through the grass,  i went to check and found a pike of fly ridden chicken guts leftover from last nights feed.   I didn't have a scoop but we needed to remove it.  Only one thing for it... Hands in and pick it up,  it was gross.  Guts and goo everywhere!

Next we visited the leopards,  wolves and lions,  followed by goat and peanut.  Finally we went in to see the caracals. Jack,  Amy and Max.  Amy has a thing for pouncing on anything dangly so i had to go put her away first.  Max and Jack weren't up for posing,  the heat was really rising and all the cats were becoming very lethargic,  also for the past two night Jack hasn't been eating. We think he's constipated, so we've been trying to get fluid into him.

After that we went through to the cheetahs.  First stop Dew,  Eden and Faith,  all under a year old these three are adorable and love interaction.  Eden purrs so loudly! Sadly Faith isn't too good,  she suffered meningitis when she was a few months old and its left her in a bad way.  Her eyes are crossed,  her tail has curled and she is really unsteady, walking almost crab like ,  but she is the most loving of cats you'll ever meet. Gabriel,  the 4 month cheetah cub was out today and very playful too.

Finally we stopped by the meerkats for a play,  i just love these little creatures,  but by god they smell!

After the tour i got in with my two morning tasks - checking and refilling the foot baths we have to walk through before entering enclosures,  and playing with the caracals,  which involved taking some toys in and getting them running about and jumping.

I was done for the day then so spent more time cuddling zoro, and more time with the wolves,  finally on the 4th visit i was fully accepted,  this is signalled by Shakira licking your face. I as so pleased,  she's such a beautiful animal.

Final task of the day before the feed,  was to prepare the food.  Today was a small feed so only the servals and caracals.  The prep isn't hard,  just messy.  We get a bucket of chickens and we have to slit open the breast and put a spoon of vitamin mixture in,  then separate out ready for feeding,  finished by cleaning the meat room.  I think I have to accept now that i am going to smell of raw chicken for weeks after.

Finally at feeding today we were all relieved as Jack finally ate :-)

We're all exhausted and back at the house now watching The Lion King!

Who's that?

Hey everyone,

Well its been a busy 24 hours since i arrived in Bloemfontein. I was met from the bus by May,  one of the permanent volunteers at  the farm and bought back to the volunteers house.  A beautiful big house with a pool and huge living area and kitchen.   I'm sharing a room with another Chris,  from Australia who was already at the farm.  I dropped my bags and was given a very quick tour of where things were.  Basically the kitchen is fully stocked with stuff for breakfast that we help ourselves to,  lunch is always prepared and cooked for us and for dinner we fend for ourselves,  we have 2 shopping trips a week to get whatever we want.   Food is pretty cheap,  so I'm kind of spoilt for choice!

Next I was taken to the farm and introduced to the other volunteers.   There's 4 of us that all arrived on Monday and 4 or 5 more along with the team of permanent volunteers and staff.  In total it's a team of around 15 and everyone is really friendly and gets on well.  A mixed group from UK, Australia, USA,  Norway and Denmark,  the full time staff are local South Africans, of which Rene is the founder of the farm.  Her enthusiasm and energy is incredible and her love for the animals is so clear.  She started with two cheetahs,  Fiela and Bibi that she hand raised from cubs.  They have full run of her home which is in the middle of the camp.  They can open doors themselves and even share the bed with Rene on occasion.

We then met 'Poofy' (real name claire) and given our induction. Covering the background to the farm,  how it began and what they do here,  explaining the breeding programme and the eventual hope that they can begin controlled reintroduction into protected, but wild environments, on top of that, all the rules of how to (or not)  interact with the animals.  There's so much to learn and remember and on top of that learning the cats names and how to tell them apart,  means my most used phrase so far is 'who's that?'

It was getting late in the day so we had a quick tour around one of the camps,  home to the leopards,  lions,  caracal, serval, goat and wolf! Some of the cats will only accept the volunteers that have been here for months/years so some we cannot interact with,  others we're actively encouraged to spend time with whenever we have a free half hour,  just go into the enclosures,  talk to them,  play with them and stroke them.  So far my favourite has been the caracals and Zoro the leopard.  Such beautifully tame creatures,  although we do have to learn the signs and behaviour and know when we have out stayed our welcome.   The two wolves are stunning however they have been raised by females and are not quite sure about men,  I'm going to persevere and try and be accepted by Shakira,  the alpha.  Once she has accepted me then Nikita will also come to me.

They have 5 male lions (Jubutus and Achilles) , 2 are mistaken for females as they don't have the typical mane, this is due to them being castrated at a young age so never developed,  however they are massive,  certainly don't want to be mixing with them! The other 3 (Acinonyx, Neptune and Napolean) , 2 of which are white,  just have such a presence about them,  you can really see why they are the kings!

Each week, the volunteers get split into two teams,  lion team which looks after everything except the cheetahs and meerkats,  then the cheetah team that do those.  Each volunteer rotates so that you get the chance to try everything.   Each team then has many different daily tasks ,  from simple things such as checking the voltages of the electric fences to the more challenging preparation of chicken for feeding.   Each task is assigned each morning.

We then headed back to the house to relax, a few of us sat up and watched a film but by 9.30 I could barely keep my eyes open so went to bed.  I had a great nights sleep and woke bright and early at 5.45 ready to start the day (7am start every day)

Our first task this morning was to walk the leopards... Only two of them... Zoro and Pardus.  Only the experienced volunteers could take Pardus as she is so strong and unpredictable,  where as zoro is just a big baby, although in another few months time he'll just be too big and strong to walk.   Whilst walking them,  in the distance we spotted giraffe,  zebra and rhino! A game drive is being arranged for sunday so we can go see them!

I was assigned fences and lapa today.  Fences involved walking around checking the voltages,  and then cleaning the lapa -  this is an afrikaans word,  not sure of the direct translation but its kind of like the patio/bar area that visitors hang around in before they go on tours.  Some daily tasks have to be repeated a few times,  like the fences get checked first and last thing.  Some tasks don't need doing until the afternoon like preparing the food.   We are also put onto rotas to babysit the baby kittens or antelopes,  or to shadow the tours. Once your task is done you are free to do what you want... Sit with the animals or help others with their tasks.  I spent time with the caracals and the servals today then went and sat with zoro.  Such a beautiful cat, you can literally do anything to him and he just doesn't care. 

I went into see the wolves again too,  yesterday they weren't interested even though I went in with May who hand reared them... The best way to be accepted is to go in with someone else who has a strong bond.   Today I went back in with Perry and within a few minutes was accepted... OMG I cant explain how stunning these two wolves are.   If you stop stroking them, they lift their paw and tap you for more.  If you give nikita more attention then shakira,  then nikita gets beaten up by shakira as she is the alpha,  so if you go in alone you always have to give more attention to her.

I also went in with the meerkats... They are adorable and just like to climb all over you. Mario seemed obsessed with sniffing my crotch.

The youngest cheetah in camp at the moment is gabriel,  he's only 4 months,  and becoming more and more mischievous by the day.

At the end of the day was big feed.   Not every animal gets fed every day, nor the same amount,  it all depends on a number of factors such as their breed,  their age, whether they are on heat,  to name a few.  Big feed was feeding them all including the lions.   The servals,  caracals and wolves have one chicken each,  the leopards between 2 and 3 each,  and the lions,  4 each.   Firstly,  raw chicken stinks,  secondly the flies are doing my head in,  however,  staring a white lion (neptune) in the face whilst holding 4 chickens and throwing him 1 at a time is one of the most incredible experiences I've had.

I'm sure so much more has happened today but it was all so overwhelming, I cant wait to see what tomorrow brings and to spend more time with the cats.  I'm shadowing a private tour of photographers at 8am!

We're back at the house now and tonight is movie night.  We're not sure what we're going to see but the local cinema has an offer for 50 rand for a burger and a movie (about £3)

Until tomorrow
Meow

Drip drip drip

Hello readers!

After a lengthy uneventful journey, I have finally arrived in South Africa! Hurrah!

I arrived super early so whilst waiting for the i-to-i guy to collect me I managed to get a coffee and a sim card for my phone so I can bombard you all with plenty of posts!

Mike was my contact and I found him along with a few other volunteers. 6 of us in total, all packed into the car and on our way to our first nights stop in Pretoria.

The other volunteers are all going of on a different project but we are all to spend the first night as a group for our orientation and briefing.

A few of us took a walk to the Union Building, at which point I provided the girls with much laughter by not ducking down enough when walking under a sign post.  The crack of my head against metal was pretty loud... Ouch!

The buildings were stunning, in beautiful gardens, and towering above them looking down over Pretoria is a new statue of the late Nelson Mandela.

A quick stop at woolworths for supplies and we headed back to the hostel.  3 more were added to the group, we're now 9 made up of 3 Aussies , 1 Italian and the rest English. We all immediately bonded over several beers. Lots of laughter and stories bring told. 7 of the group are heading to the lion cub project, specifically working just with lions, another is heading to work with the primates, and I'm heading to my project which primarily involves working with cheetah cubs but also leopards and lions.
Dinner was a basic but delicious BBQ chicken and various sides, enough to feed a small village, apparently I won't be going hungry whilst I'm here!

The place we're staying is a Backpackers hostel, basic but clean and very friendly. 5 of us were put into the cottage, the 3 girls sleeping upstairs and myself and Hayden were downstairs.  I'm not sure what happened with check in but the manager at first thought I was travelling with my girlfriend... Then he realised the person he had me listed with was a guy, so then decided he must be my boyfriend. 
Hayden was first introduced to me as "meet Chris,  he's your boyfriend" poor lad looked petrified!

Anyway, after dinner we all retired to the cottage and enjoyed a few more beers before deciding to call it a night.  I had an early start, 6.15 pickup.

I didn't get much sleep due to a very annoying and constant drip drip drip from a random shower head in the kitchen...I know, why would you even have a shower there in the first place! That and the buzz of mosquitos flying at me and other random creaks in the cottage made for a sleepless night.

Now I'm on the coach, a long 6.5 hour journey south west to the city of Bloemfontein where I will be collected and taken to the project, this is where the fun begins...

And now for something a little different...

Hello!

So here we are again, the start of another blog which can only mean one thing...I'm off on my travels once more...(Cue all the comments of "God you're always away" and "Are you ever in the country for more than 5 minutes" etc etc - Believe me I've heard them all)

I think  most of you will already know by now where I'm going and what I'm doing, but for those that don't, here's a quick over view...

Back in 2005 some may recall I spent two weeks in Sri Lanka volunteering my time helping out in the village of Kalutara following the devastating Tsunami.  This whole trip was arranged through a company called i-to-i.  Last year, at work, I was pondering my next trip and whilst looking through some photos was reminded about the Sri Lanka trip and how rewarding it was, and all the awesome new friends I made as a result, so I decided that maybe I should go and work on another of their projects, skip forward several months and here I am ready to embark on another i-to-i project titled "Help raise endangered big cats in South Africa"

Yup - I'm off to play with cats...big ones at that - Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs and more!  The next two weeks will see me based on a reserve in Bloemfontein in South Africa, approx 6-8 hour drive South West of Johannesburg looking after, caring for, playing with both adult and baby cats, and hopefully getting out on a few game drives too!

I won't bore you with all the details of the trip but if you are keen to know more, here is the link to the project: http://www.i-to-i.com/volunteer-projects/help-raise-endangered-big-cats-in-south-africa

I'm pretty certain I will have internet connectivity in the guest house, so I will try and keep you updated as much as I can whilst I am there.  Dilbert is with me too so expect a few candid shots of him - hopefully he won't be eaten by the cubs...come to think of it, I hope I won't be either! A few war wounds would make for good pub conversation though "Hey Chris, why are you missing a finger" "Oh well, it was eaten by a Lion"

Anyway, on that note, I have a few last minute things to pack in my bag and it's off to the airport I go.  I chose a cheaper option to get there and instead of flying direct, I'm flying via Frankfurt, so I have the joy of 16 hours travel ahead of me...wish me luck!!!

Whilst waiting for my next update, enjoy this little appropriately themed musical interlude...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6vLAa-kylM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywjX6AF6oVc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cD9cBEaNBc

Chris

Niagara

Friday 6th September

So to wrap up my trip,  today was a trip to Niagara. I booked on the later tour as this meant we saw the falls both during the day and after sunset.  I'm glad I did as the falls lit up at night are far more interesting..

I was collected at midday,  and it turned out we only had 8 on the trip,  which was great! Our tour guide was great,  if not a little too enthusiastic,  but nonetheless we got great commentary all the way there as we went on the 90 minute drive.

On the way we stopped at a small vineyard to sample some local wines.  Not bad really but the jewel in the crown,  as it were,  is the Canadian ice wine. Incredibly sweet and delicious.  The grapes are only harvested after 3 consecutive nights at sub zero temperatures and they're crushed straight away to extract the sugars that make the wine so sweet... I obviously bought a bottle!

We arrived at Niagara and the first thing to hit you is the commercialisation... I expected it,  but not as bad as it was.  It literally is like Blackpool meets Vegas.  Tacky beyond belief, a real shame as the falls are beautiful but ruined by the high rise hotels and casinos.

We started the trip with the ride on the maid of the mist. Armed with our plastic ponchos we are ushered onto the boat,  not before, of course, being forced to stand in front of a green screen for the obligatory photo which they then try and flog you for $30

The boat ride was crazy,  it takes you close to the American falls.. Almost like a teaser before taking you close to horseshoe falls which are on the Canadian side.  The mist is intense,  I was drenched! I'm just pleased it was a nice day and I dried off quickly.

We had a few hours to kill then with the option of the helicopter ride for those interested.  I opted to hang around on the viewing areas as it wasn't as busy as I expected,  so set up my tripod and took a load of pictures for some more time lapse stuff.

Dinner was pretty good,  high up in one of the hotels it was an all you can eat buffet,  and I ate all I could!

As the sun set and it began to get dark,  the search lights came on.  15 in total and date from the second world war.  Each light is angled at either the American or the Canadian falls and is manually operated to cycle through different types colours, giving the falls a much different look.  My favourite was red as on my pictures it just looks like hot lava spewing over the edge.  Bang on 10pm, we were then treated to a quite spectacular firework display! A pretty good way all in all to enjoy the falls.

In summary,  yes they're cool to see but the OTT commercialisation really spoils the majesty of it all.  The falls in Brazil/Argentina at Iguassu are by far much more spectacular and less in your face with the tat! Glad I've seen them,  but won't be rushing back.

So,  there we go,  my trip is at and end and tomorrow afternoon I'll be making my way to the airport to come home :-(

It's been a great 2 weeks and flown by incredibly quick.  I hope you enjoyed my waffling and apologies for bad grammar and typos.  Typing all this on my tablet is much harder than I thought,  and grammar never was my strong point!

Signing off now,  but the next adventure is planned... Come back in January 2014 as I'm heading to South Africa to spend 2 weeks on a reserve helping to raise and care for lion cubs and other "cats"... I can't wait!

Adios!

Art!

Thursday 5th September

Well my last full day of exploring Toronto is drawing to an end!

I had a slower start to the day today to plan what I would do.   The sun was shining and it looked beautiful outside but was actually quite cool so I decided it would be a good day to visit the AGO (Art Gallery of Toronto)

It reminded me a lot of London Tate Modern from the contemporary aspect.  The museum is deceptively large,  although 2 floors were closed as they were preparing for a new exhibition,  I still felt like I was in a labyrinth.  The main exhibit that everyone is flocking to see at the moment is the Ai Wei Wei one.   A Chinese artist who was behind the design for the birds nest stadium at the 2008 Beijing Olympics,  but is also very outspoken against the Chinese government to the extent to that he is now under house arrest and has had his passport revoked.

It was quite moving to see the video introducing him and his background and the small introduction as to his beliefs.  It also went into detail about how he came to be in the position  he is now after setting up a citizens investigation into the true number of casualties following the 2008 earthquake in the Schezuan province.

I was feeling pretty walked out after the last 12 days of Vancouver and Toronto so decided to head back to the place I'm staying and put my feet up for a few hours before going out for dinner, as I set off though,  I got a text from Patrick,  my host,  inviting me out for dinner and drinks with some of his friends.   I underestimated how far I had walked and realised the feet up option was out the window if I were to get to the bar on time!

I found the bar and settled down with some more great Canadian beer and meet Patricks friends,  one of which had just returned from Scotland, performing in his own show at the Edinburgh festival.   It was a fun evening but Canadians don't really drink like the British.... I know some may be thinking how come after all I've posted on Facebook and Instagram have been photos of beer and Breweries but they don't! You can only buy alcohol from bottle shops,  they close early and are incredibly expensive!

Am back now, an early night for a change and having that chance now to put my feet up.   Tomorrow will be my last full day in Canada and to finish the trip I am going on a day trip to Niagara falls.   Really excited to see them... I know it will be commercialised tourist hell but after seeing iguassu last year,  I'm looking good forward to seeing how these compare.  The trip is also an evening trip so I get to see the falls light up after dark!

Then on Saturday... boo hoo... It's time to come home :-(

Discovering Toronto

Wednesday 4th September

Woke this morning to lovely clear blue skies and decided straight away that I would make the most of a clear day to go to the CN tower,  just in case it didn't last!

After breakfast, armed with my map and camera,  I set off.  I took a slightly detoured route passing through the University of Toronto.. The campus is massive and a real mix of old and new buildings.  What I forgot was this week is the start of term and today seemed to be the day when all the freshers were being 'recruited' into all the social clubs.. The grounds were packed with stalls from all the different societies getting sign ups.

I managed to work my way through them and headed for coffee.  Whilst Starbucks dominates,  there is one place which is a Canadian favourite,  Tim Hortons. Not only do locals love the coffee but they are also known for their donuts. I've got into the Canadian way and start my morning with a large double double. Basically filter coffee with double cream and double sugar.  Yup,  it's sweet but it's so good and really sets you up!

I walked for what felt like forever and eventually reached the CN Tower. It dominates the Toronto skyline and is the tallest free standing structure,  the 5th tallest building and also has the highest observatory. There are two levels.  The first is the main lookout that has a restaurant and all the usual stuff,  including a glass floor. Then even higher they have the sky pod. This is the highest observatory I mentioned and is some 446metres up.

They charge $32 to go up plus $12to go high up to the sky pod,  however,  if you have a reservation in the revolving restaurant, you don't have to pay the $32 and you jump all the queues. The restaurant had a 3 course pre fix menu for $55so I thought sod it and booked myself as table!

It was great,  food was good and as it was revolving you got the full 360view of Toronto! After eating a d looking about some more I headed down to the public ferries for a trip over to the Toronto Islands and the beaches. I docked at centre island and walked round to hanlan point... A good 4km walk.  I just made the last ferry back otherwise I would have had to walk the full 4km back to central island again!

Overall a long tiring day of walking.  Downtown Toronto is larger than Vancouver,  and has a very different feel to it.  It's much more a city here and fast paced. Whilst it's good,  I think I much preferred the more laid back Vancouver!

Air Canada

Tuesday 3rd September

Today was spent mostly travelling,  but if there is one thing to take from it,  avoid Air Canada unless you really have no choice..

OK ok... Maybe I'm being a little over dramatic...

I arrived at the airport for my 8am flight to Toronto. The Air Canada check in area seemed a bit chaotic. Firstly when you checked yourself in,  as well as a boarding pass,  you also got your luggage labels which has you had to attach yourself.  Cue lots of passengers without a clue.

I didn't print mine as I had an electronic boarding pass so skipped that and went straight to bag drop. Bag drop is really just a desk with,  in my case, a member of staff with no personality. My boarding pass wouldn't scan so she had to take my phone to someone else else. She returns with a boarding pass and luggage label, conversation goes like this.

Ac: Here's your boarding pass sir,  you've been moved onto a different flight as we've downgraded the aircraft and can't fit you on anymore...
Me: Excuse me what?
Ac: repeats herself,  followed by: thank you.... *shouts* next in line please
Me: stood staring with look of shock
Ac: oh,  are you not happy sir?
Me: would you be?
Ac: you need to go speak to that Asian lady over there if you want to complain.. *shouts again* next in line please

So yeah, it turns out that due to mechanical problems,  our aircraft has been used as a replacement and they've given our route two small aircraft.  One going at the original time with half the passengers,  the rest bumped off onto the other going an hour later.  No apologies, no compensation... Nothing.

I know 1 hour is nothing and I still get to Toronto but the customer service was appalling. I went through security and went to find the gate.  The new flight wasn't on any screen so I went to the airport info desk.  The guy couldn't find the flight and when I explained what happened he rolled his eyes and said 'They do this all the time... I don't think I need to say anymore' he pointed me towards the Air Canada desk for help...

What a joke... So I get on the plane,  and that's about the only nice thing,  it's clean and modern and decent leg room.  Inflight service was complimentary soft drinks but you had to pay for everything else and they only accepted credit card,  the stewards response being 'they don't trust us with cash'

Anyway, I made it and went out for a huge meal when I was settled as I was starving! Now looking forward to exploring this city!

Driving a tank

Monday 2nd September

My last full day in Vancouver... Time really is flying now and I don't want to leave...

Still,  all good things come to an end right? Today was no exception to 'good things'

One trip that I was determined to do was to visit Whistler.   It's about 90km north of Vancouver in the mountains and in the Winter is one of the most popular ski resorts in Canada. In the summer though,  it's just as busy with tourists visiting the mountains and also crazy people who zip down, what would be ski runs in the winter, on mountain bikes.

Organised trips are pricey and I felt like you never really got time to explore.   I mentioned this at the beginning of the week to Barry.  He also wanted to go,  so we decided to hire a car and drive there as a DIY trip.

I prebooked a car in the intermediate category - something like a Ford focus. When  I booked though,  I was teased with the option to upgrade to the next class for only $7.... Ooops... Yes I clicked it.  What we ended up with I can only describe as a tank.  A huge chrysler  300... It was amazing and sooooo nice to drive.  The road rules here though are odd. Firstly they are very strict on speeding. 80km/h just seemed so slow! Also,  at junctions you can still turn right through a red light if it's clear.

Two others joined us for the day,  Gerry,  Barrys housemate also from Ireland, and Kayleigh,  a friend of Gerrys from Liverpool. We had a great day with lots of laughs between us. Most of the jokes wouldn't make sense unless you were there though so trust me when I say we laughed... A lot!

The journey there took about 4 hours,  not because we got lost,  but we decided to stop at every 'point of interest' that we encountered, some of which were just lookout points giving breathtaking views as we drove along the 'sea to sky' highway.

We found Whistler bungee too and convinced Barry to do it.  Unfortunately for us, and quite possibly to Barrys relief, there was no one around despite all the signs saying it was open everyday of the year! The jump was off a bridge down into the canyon... Just walking across the bridge turned our stomachs!

We made it to Whistler Village and had some food before deciding what to do next. We chose to tackle the mountain! There was one very long cable car ride up Whistler mountain.  This was great, and quite tame.  All of us enclosed in a pod. The next bit took us to the 'top of the world' and right to the peak.  This was in a skilift! Feet hanging down,  open to the elements. By far the scariest ride of them all, even more so when it stopped and started swinging around.  The whole of this ride was over jagged rock and glaciers but WOW the view from the top was incredible. I'm not sure how high we were at this point but I could have just stayed there for hours taking in the view.

We then had to come back down the same skilift *gulp*  and then instead of taking the cable car down Whistler mountain, we crossed to Boscombe mountain.... Via the peak to peak cable car.  Yes... A cable car that spans across a ravine and is the world's longest free span between ropeway towers,  the distance being 3.03km (1.88 miles) and is also the highest point above ground for a gondola at 436 metres (1430 ft)

It looked terrifying, but was actually really good... As long as you didn't look down! Once across we then made our way down Boscombe mountain via two skilifts... Legs hanging out etc... in theory this should also have been white knuckle inducing but after the lift to the main peak,  this was quite enjoyable. We became more engrossed trying to spot bears in the woods... We didn't see any though :-(

Exhausted, we made our way back to Vancouver to drop of the car,  we said our goodbyes and it was time for me to pack my bags... Tomorrow I fly to Toronto!

The Bear and the Old Guy

Sunday 1st September

After quite a few hectic days,  today was going to be a little more relaxed...of sorts.  Dan came to pick me up and the plan for the day was to head out of downtown and go east,  out towards where he lived in a place called Coquitlam.

On the way out,  Dan drove me around some of the more unfavourable areas of downtown,  it was quite staggering to see the change within just a few blocks.  One minute it's nice clean and modern,  next it's run down and the streets are swarmed with down and outs,  crack heads and prostitutes. Quite sad really...

Our first stop was Buntzen Lake. It's 4.8 km in length and is fed from Coquitlam Lake which is higher up in the mountains. The area is beautiful, settled in the rainforests. Dan had bought his dog with him so we took him for a walk around the lake,  roughly an 8km walk... So much for taking it easy ;-)

It turned out to be a really nice hike,  a bit hilly at times but enjoyable none the less.  Dans dog,  Cooper, is a 2 year old springer, with bounds of energy and adorably cute! I think he wanted to go round twice but Dan and I were exhausted so we went to his house where I got to meet his wife Ebony,  and their 3 month old daughter,  Evie.  They kindly treated me to Dim sum at a local restaurant ... It was delicious and the first time I have seen them bring the food out on trollies outside of Hong Kong! (and yes, we ate more squid)

After lunch we dropped Ebony and Evie off and took 15 minutes to chill out before Dan and I headed out again with Dudley. An older springer that belongs to friends of Dans that they are dog sitting for.   Dudley has recently had a broken leg so he's not yet up for long walks so we took him out for a shorter walk at a different lake and just let him have a bit of a run about.

As we headed back Dan drove me around his neighbourhood and was pointing out some of the nice mansions.  There are some seriously nice houses in Coquitlam! As we passed one,  Dan suddenly stopped the car saying "Oh my god,  I've just seen a bear!"

It's not uncommon for bears to drift into residential areas, but for this one to come out this way it had drifted quite far and would have had to come across some pretty major roads.  Signs all over Canada say not to approach bears and to always keep at least 100ft away.  Dan drove the car close to the drive he'd seen it go down, and parked up...Just as the bear stuck his head out from behind a tree.  Dan managed to get a quick picture, but I was too late.  We were now on bear watch,  camera at the ready.  Neighbours started to come out and show an interest,  with a few asking who had a shotgun! Next thing we know this old Italian (or, as Dan thought, Russian) guy with a walking stick appears, saying he was off to find it.  He goes marching down the driveway,  shouting and banging his walking stick on anything that would make a noise.  He jumped back as he saw the bear move,  but then went in shouting louder.  Looking back it was hysterical but if the bear had attacked he wouldn't have stood a chance.

After a few minutes of this we were set to give up, when all of a sudden the old guy rushes past us shouting "There he is,  there he is" we look round to see the old guy waving his stick around,  running after this bear which suddenly darted up the nearest tree and cowered in the branches! Mental! We didn't hang around after that so we never did get to find out what happened but I did manage to get some photos!

Back to Dans and we rounded of the day with a sushi feast before Dan drove me back.  Such a great day out and it was also really good getting to catch up with Dan.  He's been here 3 years now and he sounds very settled and loves it.... I can see why, it really does feel like an easy place to live...(if you forget about bears!)

Mountains and suspension bridges

Saturday 31st August

I can't believe how quick the time is going,  but here we are,  one week into my trip and almost at the end of the Vancouver leg.

Today I was on an organised trip across to North Vancouver to see the Capilano suspension bridge and Grouse mountain.

I was picked up at a nearby hotel and it appeared that I was by far the youngest on the bus... Only a small group,  but made up of pensioners that had just docked in Vancouver from their Alaskan cruise! Still,  the tour guide was a younger guy and not too bad on the eye either...

Our first stop was the salmon hatchery,  here they rescue salmon as they're swimming back upstream to lay their eggs.  Many years ago,  changes to the river that included a new dam,  threatened the breeding run of the salmon so the hatchery was set up (and is run by volunteers) to ensure the survival of the fish.  As a result,  they're actually having a better survival rate of the new fish as many normally don't survive. August/September is the peak season for the salmon run upstream,  we were hoping to catch sight of them jumping up the river,  but alas it was a very quiet day.

Our next stop was the suspension bridge that spans the valley above the Capilano river. The original bridge was said to have been made from hemp and was built to allow the native people to cross over the valley to hunt.   Today the bridge is a little more secure and strong and reportedly could take the weight of quite a few elephants. Well I don't know how true that is but my god was it scary walking across. The bridge was very busy and the whole thing was just saying and buckling around... I held on tight the whole way across... Looking down was quite terrifying.

The area of rainforest around here is stunning and it took us maybe only 40 minutes to get there.  It's incredible that in such a short time you can leave the hustle and bustle of downtown and be in rainforests.  Vancouver has it all.. Downtown metropolis for shopping and eating,  the harbour,  beaches and a stones throw from rainforests and some of the best winter ski resorts.

After the bridge,  we went to our final stop,  Grouse mountain.  We took a gondola ride up the mountain... The views were fantastic, looking good right down onto downtown Vancouver in one direction and way north towards whistler in the other. At the top I took in the lumberjack show which was quite entertaining (and visual pleasing), and I also went up higher on a ski lift to the peak of the mountain for even more breathtaking views. I've never been skiing before so the whole process of using a ski lift was new and fun.  Just stand and wait for it to scoop you up and you're off,  up higher and higher with nothing but a flimsy metal pole to hold onto!

Our journey back should have been fairly quick but we had a slight brake malfunction on the coach. Fortunately we weren't going fast or down a mountain but our driver pulled over to check out the burning smell and called through for another coach to pick us up! As a result we got an extra bonus of being able to walk around a lake at Cleveland Dam and soak up a bit more sun.

That evening I decided to treat myself to a nice meal so I took myself off to the Gotham Steakhouse for some meat.  It was delicious, by far the best I've had outside of Argentina. Lovely wine complimented the meal and I waddled back to the apartment a very stuffed but content person.  Bed was calling and boy was I tired....

Sex and squid...

Friday 30th August

Friday was my last day of adventuring around downtown as I had plans for the last few days before heading to Toronto.  I was hoping to do the Stanley Park cycle but tagging it was a wet overcast day,  so after a lazy start I headed out towards the east end of downtown towards BC palace and Science World.

I spent a few hours walking around science world,  although it is very much geared up as an educational thing for kids,  I still found it interesting.  The sex exhibit was a little strange... Well... No... Not strange,  it was actually incredibly informative but it was pretty detailed... Covering everything from how a baby is made to puberty,  masturbation, sexuality and pretty much everything else you can imagine.  Even to the point of having two life sized,  naked mannequins with sensors covering the body,  your task was to touch the areas you thought were most sensual... Hmmm... However.,  lots of parents were taking their kids around and it was really interesting to witness them learning about it at a relatively young age. Embracing the subject rather than treating it as some kind of taboo thing.

The evening really brightened up and Dan came to pick me up and we went for a drive. I know Dan from my BBC days,  he's now been living here for almost 3 years,  is married and has a 3 month old daughter. He drove me around the coast to some of the other beaches... Kitsalano, jerhico, and wreck beach.  The later being the nudist beach.  We sat there chatting and catching up on the last 3 years whilst watching the sun set. It really was a stunning view, all we needed were some cold beers and it would have been perfect.

Our next stop was to Richmond and the night markets. Throughout summer the night markets are a big draw for the locals and Richmond has a high population of Asians, so the night markets are pretty much of that nature,  Predominantly serving food. We started with some delicious bbq squid and some bubble tea... Working our way round we tried quite a few different dishes,  we should have stopped after the Malaysian curry and roti,  but no, we decided we needed more squid.... To say it was a large portion was an understatement... We both just looked at it and thought 'what have we done?'

On the drive back we made plans for Sunday. Dan is planning to take me out of downtown towards where he lives, maybe take his dog out around the lakes and also to meet his family.

Crossing the border

Wednesday and Thursday  28th / 29th August

I decided for Wednesday and Thursday, I would cross the border and head down into the US and visit Seattle.  It's a cheap coach journey and takes about 4hours.

It was an early start with my bus leaving at 6.30 but a very smooth run,  arriving in Seattle ahead of schedule.

In hindsight I should have been a little more prepared. The bus dropped us off and I had no idea where I was or where I was going to go.  Luckily there was a coffee shop with free WiFi so I jumped online quickly to get my bearings.  That was kind of ok but I still didn't really know what I was going to do.

I headed first to Pike Place Market,  hoping I may find a tourist information centre and get some ideas.  The market is crazy.  Again,  just lots of produce being sold but the market itself is huge and multi levelled but is like a maze and really quite run down,  still bustling with atmosphere though.  I spent a good couple of hours here and found the gum wall... Some back alley by the market has walls literally coated in chewing gum.  The full reason for this I'm unsure but over the years it has become an attraction with more people constant adding to it... On one hand you walk down thinking 'oh it smells kind of minty fresh'  but then on the other you realise it's actually quite disgusting!

Pike Place is also where the very first Starbucks appeared (it dawned on me then why their filtered coffee is called Pike Place) I didn’t bother going in but took a photo anyway.  The queues of idiots... Sorry I mean tourists... Waiting I  line just to buy some coffee was ridiculous!

I walked some more and eventually found a tourist office and a map,  from there I walked more,  visited the space needle and found yet another craft brewery where I sampled more beer!

It was a short stay and there where things I didn't get to do that I wish I had,  but it was interesting to see somewhere different. Seattle is strange and I don't know quite how to describe it,  nor whether it was what I was expecting.  It seems like it's trying to be something but not quite getting there.  It has quite a history with the gold rush and there are some interesting underground tours which I guess would have helped me understand,  I just ran out of time.

I stayed overnight with a couch surfer,  and the headed home on the 10am coach.   This was supposed to have got me back to Vancouver at 2...wishful thinking.  An accident on the freeway set us back almost an hour and then customs took forever... Not helped by two people on our coach... One didn't have all his paperwork in order so had to redo it all,  and the other,  a young lad of maybe 18 or so, that was sat next to me got pulled aside and questioned.  Next thing we know they put him in cuffs and cart him away.  Our driver reckoned he had drugs on him. All I know is that he had spent a lot of the journey to that point talking to his mum on the phone and arrange going dinner reservations... Ooops!

Exhausted, I arrived back 2.5 hours later than planned.  I did very little that night!