Devi Garh is nestled in the Aravali Hills in the State of Rajasthan, India. The 18th century palace is located in the village of Delwara and forms one of the three main passes into the valley of Udaipur. Devi Garh, has undergone extensive restoration and rebuilding in preparation for its guests since it was purchased back in 1987 when it had been left empty for more than 20 years. The fort palace was built as a place where the past meets the future.
The grounds have been immaculately landscaped and offer fabulous views over the surrounding hills and a lovely pool to relax by. It really is a splendid travel destination in the Rahasthan landscape in which to base yourself to explore the region which has so much to offer.
Eyjafjallajokull Volcano, Iceland’s sleeping volcano, burst into life for the first time in 190 years on the 20 March and again, on the 14 April. This post is not about Eyjafjallajokull Volcano being a dream, travel destination but more about how it has affected all of Europe and those with travel plans.
The huge ash plumes being generated from this natural occurrence have air travel to and from Europe on hold, and no end is in sight! This is resulting in travel chaos for both air travellers having to resort to land travel and competing with the already busy land services of rail, bus and ferry. It has been reported that many are even resorting to extensive trips via taxi’s just to reach their desired destination. The financial implication to the grounded air services will not be know for some time but of course, it will filter down the system and many other businesses will also be greatly affected.
There is now speculation from scientists, saying history has shown when Eyjafjallajokull erupts, the much bigger, nearby Katla volcano often follows within days or months. More can be READ HERE
Flights – 24,000 cancelled Cost – $1 billion plus Major airports closed – 40 Travellers affected – 5 million Extent of ash plume – 5,000 km Height of plume – 7 km History – The volcano last erupted from Dec 1821 to Jan 1823.
Travel Photo of the Week: Buffalo at Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Park
This shot was taken in a game park at Hluhluwe-Umfolozi which is in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The Hluhluwe-Umfolozi game park (prounced something like: ‘shla-shloo-wee oom-fa-low-zee’) is much smaller than say the Kruger (being about a twentieth of the size) but it is teeming with game and is a very beautiful park with huge landscape areas with a wild feel to them. We took several pictures of a group of male buffalos, enjoying the mud wallow in the warm sunshine. Male Buffalo can be dangerous creatures, but these were quite happy for us to photograph them at leisure, it was as if they were all out on a ‘jolly’!
Ras Mohammed National Park is located on the most southerly tip of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. It’s an extremely remote travel destination on the shores of the Red Sea. Access is generally either by vehicle or boat from Sharm el Sheikh.
I was fortunate to meet a German/Egyptian family who were holidaying for the diving in and around Sharm el Sheikh and they offered to take me to this remote destination in their vehicle. Access was probably even more difficult back in the 1980s as the towns on the Red Sea were yet to be discovered and developed into the tourist destinations we know today. The only access to Ras Mohammed was with someone who had a vehicle.
The small 4WD drive was loaded up with 6 passengers, scuba diving and snorkeling gear, and south we headed.
Diary extract – 18 July, 1988
Reef Fish on Local Postcard
“…We were stopped at a number of military checkpoints where Passports were required. Unfortunately, my passport was left as a security deposit with the Aqua Marine where the snorkelling gear was hired. Our host, who was of Egyptian origin, managed to confuse them at each checkpoint and we were not asked to show them. Whilst it was a mere 15km drive, it took an hour to get there! The last 5km was very much cross country and a 4WD was a necessity.
Desert Camels
We headed straight for the reef with our gear and I’ve never seen such an incredible number of fish of all colours and sizes. It can best be compared with swimming in a large, tropical fish tank found in your neighbourhood pet shop. We made it to the edge of the reef and the colours were simply breathtaking, as it plunged away beneath us. There were clams to be seen on the reef cliff and coral in many colours, shape and form. I’d not been out there for any length of time, when the others surfaced to say they saw a Hammerhead shark – I decided not to hang around and headed back to the safety of the reef…”
One great reason to visit this remote travel destination is to experience the diving and/or snorkelling over the reef, through an abundance of fish, to the spectacular reef edge.
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