49. See the vicious Komodo Dragons

2nd May 2016

After the trip to Africa last year, i had minimal annual leave for an extended holiday. However i wanted to head off overseas to break up my work and tick off country number 50 and make it halfway to my goal of 100 and to tick off a Bucket List item.

Having watching a video of the ferocity and unusual combination of short squat bodies but surprising speed and power, Komodo Dragons had always intrigued me and were a must see in person. I therefore decided to use my limited annual leave to visit one of Australia's closest neighbours and tick off Indonesia from my country list and see these impressive creatures.

Having booked some super cheap flights from Melbourne to Bali ($300 return), i decided to book myself on a tour that incorporated a trip to Komodo and Rinca islands, home of the Komodo dragons, and Kelimutu, 3 multi coloured volcanic lakes on top of a Volcano that change colour throughout the year.

After arriving in Bali and a day to laze around near our hotel in Sanur we met up with our group and the next day we were whisked away to the island of Flores. Flores is a lot more rural than the commercialised island of Bali and after the flight we were driven to our beach side secluded hotel.

 The next day we awoke at 5 am to catch our boat out to the islands of Komodo, then Rinca to see the Komodo Dragons. I was a bit worried having forgot and been unable to buy travel sickness tablets but needn't have worried as the boat barely got above a leisurely pace and the boat moved so little i spent most of the journey asleep on the deck in the sun (most unfortunate as i managed to pick up a decent amount of sunburn).


After about 3 hours on the boat we docked at the otherwise empty Pier and we led onto the island and to our tour guide. Before our tour began we were greeted at the visitor centre by 2 Komodo dragons , a fully grown adult and a Juvenile, with the adult closer and just longing in the sun and the Juvenile in the distance moving further into the undergrowth.

Whilst the fearsome claws let you know this was a fearsome killer, the lack of movement as we stood within 2 metres showed a lazy lizard who spends most of his day baking under shade on the edge of the forest. However we were warned to get no closer to this 3m, 100kg lizard which can reach 20km/hr over short distances.

After the initial encounter we moved along to a watering hole which had a lack of wildlife of any type and walked through the trail loop through the forest and to a viewing point overlooking the bay of the island.

We saw a Komodo dragon lazing near the beach near the end of our tour and we were able to take pictures with the Dragon.

We also saw one last one next to the visitor centre lazing under a Pagoda trying to stay out of the sun.

After a small stop at the stalls selling souvenirs, we got back on the boat and travelled to the second island that the Komodo Dragons call home, Rinca Island.

After a short walk through from the jetty to the visitor centre, we soon came across about 10 lounging near the houses, including some who decided a group hug would be appropriate.

We went on a slightly longer trek around the island and saw a juvenile protecting itself from being eaten by an adult by resting up a tree.

We also saw their nest although no activity at this time of the year and we completed our trek by returning to the visitor centre and being greeted by a full sized adult on the move looking for water and food. Walking in a swaying motion with opposite front and back legs moving at the same time, it headed right for us forcing us to move back and giving us a stare to show who was boss before settling in a for drink in the small pool of water.

We got an added treat as we headed back to the boat with a juvenile dragon looking for a meal by picking off a monkey who had drifted away from the group although the monkey easily moved away from the Komodo dragon.

An amazing experience with loads of Komodo Dragons of various different ages to be seen and mostly the park to ourselves as most people have not decided to venture to Flores to see this memorising and fascinating if fairly ugly creatures. Well worth the trip and highlight of the tour.

18. Attempt 5 Food Challenges - Part 4. Shawcross Pizza Challenge

24th January 2016

Having taken a break from the Food challenges with the last challenge in January 2014, i saw a challenge that took my fancy and was excited for a Pizza challenge. Growing up Pizza was my favourite food and I once managed to polish off 22 slices of pizza and 5 bowls of dessert at Pizza Hut (before they closed their restaurants - maybe because of people like me).

So I felt the 22" Shawcross Pizza challenge was a challenge built for me. However it was the size of 4 large pizzas or 2kg of Pizza with the reward of a completion T Shirt and if you have the fastest time of the month you also win a slab of beer. With the fastest time for this month being 29:50, i figured that was beyond my capabilities and would just try to finish the pizza. and not worry about time.

After arriving and chatting with Em for a while, we were given a menu and told that to do the challenge at least half the pizza had to come from the meat category. I therefore decided on half USA Today (pepperoni, mozzarella and oregano) and half Notorious PIG (Pork Sausage, Bacon, Jalapenos, mozzarella, bbq sauce and onion).

Matt and Em settled on a regular large pizza between them pictured above next to my pizza for scale.

After starting off at a good pace, i settled into a rhythm of small bites and minimal chewing and decided to leave the crusts until the end. I finished the first two slices and was still on track to finish close to the quickest time with about half the pizza to go. However after about half the pizza, i hit a wall and slowed down considerable and with 2 pieces to go i had slowed to glacial place. After an hour i was still going but incredible slowly and was starting to feel queasy. With only 1 slice and 3 crusts to go i had to call it quits and i couldn't keep going.

Unfortunately the 1 slice and crusts was the equivalent of half a large pizza and beyond me at this. So close but so far. Now i have one last food challenge to attempt before ticking another item off my Life list.

77. Post an original Photo everyday for a year

12th November 2015

In an effort to spend more time out of the house and doing exciting activities during the week and in between holidays and take more photos to commemorate my exploits i have decided to take and post an original photo of my activities every day for a year.

I decided to start in November with some events already in place and Christmas and summer coming up should make some of the days easier and save the tougher darker days of Winter for the end of the year when i should be more experienced and it should be easier.

I will post a few of the highlights on this blog but for a full daily update see my Instagram feed - https://www.instagram.com/sixjokerscards/

I started on the 12th November 2015 with a work event at Taste of Melbourne and a picture of the de-constructed Wagon Wheel i had for dessert.

Unfortunately after getting to 100 days and making it through to February the enthusiasm and time available to go and see and do new things decreased and therefore decided to halt the item. I will pick up the Bucket list item soon.

75. Visit 100 different countries

With my love of travel i thought i would incorporate a goal to visit as much of this amazing planet we call Earth. I started very early with my travel with my first overseas adventure staring at the age of 2.

The first country off my list was my place of birth and therefore the easiest to complete - England. 

The next and a frequent destination was France with trips to Paris, Bayeux (the amazing bayeux tapestry) and St. Mont Michel whilst living in England and a return visit to Paris and a road trip through the south of France from Perpignon to Nice in 2008 with my brother.

The next overseas holiday was to the US when i was 7 and 9 with a trip to Orlando to visit Disneyland and Busch Gardens. I also returned to the US in 2002 to work at a Ski resort in California and had a month of travel around the West Coast. My brother and I also went to both coasts on our world trip in 2007/8 with stops in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon, New York, Washington DC, Boston, Niagara Falls and Miami.

In 1997 we moved across to Australia stopping in Malaysia for 3 days on the way and added another 2 countries to the list. We also headed back to visit England twice more over the next few years and made stopover on the way back to Singapore and Thailand.

The next place to add to the list was possibly our least favourite family holiday with a trip to Fiji.

Before meeting my brother in Los Angeles for our trip around the world, i spent six weeks on my own in November 2007 in Canada visiting Polar bears and Toronto, before heading for warmer climates of Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Mexico.

After 6 weeks in the US, my brother and I flew to Dublin, Ireland for a stopover before heading to England to visit relatives and planning the rest of our tour around Europe. The tour of Europe ticked off 23 countries off the list - Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, Wales and Vatican City.

My two month overland trip through Africa starting in the South West of Africa in Cape Town and finishing in East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya ticked off a further 10 countries - South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

I reached country number 50 with a short 9 day trip in April/May 2016 to Indonesia including Bali, and a trip to Flores to see the fearsome Komodo dragons and beautiful volcanic lakes of Kelimutu and explore the rural countryside, villages and rice fields of Flores

Final List of Countries

1. England

2. France

3. USA

4. Malaysia

5. Australia

6. Singapore

7. Thailand

8. Fiji

9. Canada

10. Jamaica

11. Cayman Islands

12. Mexico

13. Ireland

14. Wales

15. Andorra 

16. Spain

17.Luxembourg

18. Belgium

19. Netherlands

20. Germany 

21. Denmark

22. Sweden

23. Norway

24. Finland

25. Estonia

26. Russia

27. Monaco

28. Switzerland

29. Austria

30. Czech Republic

31. Slovakia

32. Hungary

33. Poland

34. Italy

35. Vatican City

36. China

37. Hong Kong

38. Egypt

39. United Arab Emirates

40. South Africa

41. Namibia

42. Botswana

43. Zambia

44. Zimbabwe

45. Malawi

46. Tanzania

47. Kenya

48. Uganda

49. Rwanda

50. Indonesia

45. Stare down Mountain Gorillas

10th September 2015

The last of my items to tick off in Africa and probably my favourite activity of my whole holiday. After a warm up with a trek into the forest to see Chimpanzees the previous day and then a night spent on the beautiful banks of Lake Bunyonyi, we got up early to trek into the forest to see the mountain gorillas.

After getting dressed in our extremely fetching trekking gear (mine may have been too sexy), we left extremely early to drive for an hour over bumpy roads and with a short stop for sunrise and photos over the valley and of the mountains we would be climbing.

After a briefing about safety and tracking and we were told the trekking takes between 2 o 6 hours, our G Adventures tour group was split into 2 as a maximum of 8 are allowed to view each gorilla group. There were 10 different gorilla groups that had been acclimatised to humans with numbers of each family having about 10 - 20 members. Our group had 11 members with 2 silver backs, 1 baby, 1 juvenile, a few black back males and a couple of females.

After a small car ride to our starting point we were introduced to our trackers and guides who would help us cut a path through the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to the gorillas and communicate with the other guides who had already left to find the gorillas.

After about 90 minutes of trekking through dense forest, over and under branches and over a stream with a few stumbles and slips on the slippery undergrowth, dirt and holding unstable branches, we arrived to our other trackers. We then proceeded quietly for another 2 minutes through thick branches that had to be cut away with the guides machetes and saw our first mountain gorillas, a black back chewing on some of the branches.

Seemingly unaware and uncaring of our presence it continue to eat and scratch as we watched and snapped away on our cameras. After about 10 minutes we moved away from this gorilla and went in search of the other members of the family. However after going around the black back, he decided he wanted to join us and began walking across our path which caused us to stop and wait.

We also got to see the baby who was approximately 8 weeks old, climbing over and around his mother and father, a medium sized silver back gorilla. We also saw the big silverback gorillas in the distance but he moved away and we didn't see him again.

We also saw a couple of other black gorillas moving through the forest eating and crashing around including one who decided to move from some side of our group causing one of the girls trying to have a photo with him in the background to move very quickly to get out of his way and avoid the gorilla known to kick tourists who get in his way.

After a full hour with the gorillas our trackers and guides informed us we would have to leave and head back much to our disappointment and it required a big effort for us to tear ourselves away from these magnificent animals.

It was a privilege to see our closest animal relatives so close (less than 2m away at some points) in their natural habitat. It was an awe inspiring experience and well worth the sometimes tricky trek and early morning to see this gentle yet powerful animals. Worth every penny of the trip and my favourite experience of the whole tour.

38. Fly in a Hot Air Balloon over the Serengeti

1st September 2015

After an evening game drive and a night camping in the serengeti, 6 of us woke up super early in the dark to take a hot air balloon to view the landscape and animals of the serengeti from a different view. However i had no problem waking up as if the excitement going on a hot air balloon over the serengeti was not enough to wake me up, i was greeted on my trip to the bathroom by a rustle in the bush 1m away from the door and a surprise early morning encounter with a Zebra.

The six of us were taken by jeep to the hot air balloon launch site past a river full of hippos and hippo babies. When we arrived at the launch site, the hot air balloon was partially deflated and the basket on it side.

We got to watch how they inflate the hot air balloon and the sunrise over the serengeti before we had to climb into the sideways basket. As the balloon became fully inflated the basket tipped upright with a jolt and we were ready to fly.

A full view of the sun rising over the Serengeti just after we took off and floated above the serengeti. With blasts of hot air from the burners we changed heights from a maximum of 100 ft to hovering a few feet above the plains.

We saw a full range of animals as we sailed over the plains including a large number of Hippos both in and out of the water, Lions, Gazelles, Zebras, Warthogs and Hyenas.

We also saw the wonderful views and landscapes the serengeti had to offer.

After about an hour, our pilot called in our landing spot and we landed and slid for about 10 m before the balloon basket tipped on its side and we came to a halt. Once we landed we were treated to the traditional Hot air balloon finale of Champagne (although in this case only South African sparkling wine).

After the champagne we got back in the 4x4 to transfer to our champagne breakfast. On the way to the breakfast point we came across a Leopard wandering through the bush and across the road within 1m of our 4x4.

After the leopard had crossed our path and disappeared into the wild, we proceeded on to breakfast. A delicious full english breakfast, juice and more champagne followed and was superb with full service. We also received a certificate to commemorate the experience.

As an added bonus to our trip, on the way back to the rest of our group we also came across a mother Thompson Gazelle with her just born baby who spent the next 15 minutes while we watched trying unsuccessfully to take its first steps. It was awesome to see and sweet until the father came over and try to kick the mother into moving on.

A wonderful and tranquil experience to see the beautiful scenery and animals of the serengeti and well worth the high cost of the experience. The extravagant breakfast and animal sightings before and after the balloon ride was a cherry on the top of an amazing experience.

59. Ride in Helicopter

15 August 2015

Whilst at Victoria Falls and having already seen how beautiful it was from the ground i though i would tick off another item off the list and also get a broader and more complete view of the falls from inside of a Helicopter.

Frankie, Yen and I all booked in an afternoon helicopter flight over the falls. We were joined by 2 other randoms and the pilot  The flight would take approximately 20 minutes and do 2 laps of the falls for either side of the plane. After a initial jolting start that had me facing the ground and caused me to panic slightly, we took off and were cruising over the terrain with various wild animals below. Within 2 minutes we were at the falls.

The helicopter provided excellent views of the river and the full 1.7km of the falls and you could see the torrent of water and spray from hitting the bottom with excellent detail. The pilot tilted to copter to provide a better view of the falls so we were looking directly down on the falls.

The helicopter ride itself, whilst short, was an amazing experience and worth the cost and the added bonus of taking the flight over Victoria Falls and seeing a different view of this awesome display of nature made it even better.