Title – End of the Road
Date – August 1996
Location - Augrabis Falls National Park - South Africa
Roads differ in standard all over the world, in some places where you least expect it perfect roads appear, in some places the dirt tracks are quite reasonable and others are simply not worth driving on. Here in Africa, a common sight is for the road to end and a river to appear; this scene is duplicated throughout the world.
Driving in these conditions can be very exciting, certainly different if you are coming from the UK where these river fords are very uncommon. But learning how to drive on dirt roads, snow and ice, beaches, cross country or across rivers fords is not something they teach you when you get your drivers license. So how do you drive in these conditions?
The simple solution is for you not to drive. Take a guide or get a local driver.
Beyond The Blue is not a driving school, we don’t cover aspects of driving conditions on our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop, but we do discuss dynamic risk assessments and how to reduce risks. So when you are faced with difficult driving conditions check with locals on how to manage the conditions and then drive more cautiously then they advise. Before crossing a river ford remember to stop and check the river’s depth and flow speed, if you are in any doubt of the safety of crossing then don’t and wait for a local to turn up and advise you further or turn around and seek advice from the nearest habitation. If neither of these is an option as you are in a remote location, then there is even more reason not to cross, as help may not follow for a long time if you get it wrong.
Please visit our website at http://www.safegapyear.com/
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Leopard Cub
Date – August 1996
Location - Kruger National Park – South Africa
Spotting this leopard cub and its brother was a real treat. The mother was nowhere to been seen, but the cubs stayed with us for over half an hour, playing just the other side of the bushes by the side of the road.
Once you see the leopard you realise how effective their camouflage is, blending perfectly into their background. Then you realise how much more of a privilege it is, to actually have seen them.
Using all the senses available to you gives you an advantage and allows you to protect yourself better from all the dangers around you. Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop at Beyond The Blue helps you to understand the signs around you and the effectiveness of your own senses in being safe throughout your planned trip.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Jackass Penguin
Date – August 1996
Location - Boulder Beach - South Africa
The Jackass Penguin of Boulder Beach is perfectly suited to its name. Watching them play on the beach and in the surf is a great way to spend an afternoon on a long trip along South Africa’s south coast.
Beyond The Blue knows the value of time and how to ensure that individuals plan breaks into their itinerary. Through our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop we help individuals to plan their trips and we encourage people to remember that as much as it is worth trying to see as much as you can when you are in a new country, it is just as important to remember, you are on a holiday and that including time to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures is important.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Stumble Inn
Date – August 1996
Location - Stellenbosh - South Africa
Hostels are a great way to keep the cost of you trip down when travelling the world. Countries like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have great networks of hostels and they can be found in most towns. Not only are they cost effective, they are great places to meet other travellers and they welcome people of all ages and all nationalities. The best information you’ll get is from people who have been there before; with many travellers going to similar destinations hostels provide you with a fountain of information about the good the bad and the latest news.
Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop is the first step that will get you to your destination country and we will give you a head start when you get there. We provide up to date Destination Advice, but local information can change on a day to day basis, so we will also tell you how to make the most of the other information sources available to you.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Cape Point
Date – August 1996
Location - Cape Point – South Africa
How many people have seen this identical picture taken with their family members or friends in my place?
Cape Point is the most southerly location in Africa and a Mecca for tourists. No visit to South Africa is complete without walking to the point and looking towards Antarctica the next landmass on the horizon. The area itself is a National Park and the fauna and flora is as remarkable, as the point is rugged.
Going where other people have been before is not a bad thing, some people feel they always have to go one better then the last person. Travelling is not a competition it’s a very personal experience and this experience can be as good when visiting Las Vegas or Kazakhstan. Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop help candidates wherever they choose to go in the world
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Kylie
Date – August 1996
Location - Oudtshoorn – South Africa
Take advice but don’t copy others. Cheetahs are dangerous animals and normally if you get this close you are in all sorts of trouble. This big cat was part of rehabilitation centre in South Africa and as part of the breeding programme since a cub she is well used to interacting with people. That itself doesn’t make stroking them safe, but the risks are reduced by the handlers being there, just out of camera shot.
This sounds like common sense advice, but just a few weeks before we arrived in South Africa three tourists were killed when they got out of their car in Kruger National Park, so they could have their picture taken in front of a pride of lions that were lying in the shade of a tree near the road…
Beyond The Blue run Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop to help individuals travel the world safely and avoid some of the obvious and not so obvious dangers.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Title – Croc.
Date – August 1996
Location – South Africa
Throughout Africa and Oceania these living dinosaurs still rule the rives, lakes and estuaries. Traditionally confused with floating logs, crocodiles are still responsible for deaths every year.
But to do them justice we need to put the figures into perspective; it is believed that 100’s of people die from crocodile attacks world wide each year with the majority being in impoverished areas and areas of political unrest. In Australia for example the average deaths recorded each year is less then one person.
The number of road death in the world vary depending on which statistics you believe, but the experts put the figure between 600,000 and 1,100,000 with over 10 million other people injured. Each year 1600 people die on Australia’s roads alone
The conclusion; In Australia you are one thousand six hindered times more likely to die on the road then by a crocodile.
Our advice; Drive safely and when you see a Croc….
Don’t get this close!
Beyond The Blue runs honest courses that try and get those attending our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop to see past the sensationalist headlines and the myths about the dangers that are out there and focus on the ones that we are involved in every day, but seem to manage to ignore until they affect us personally. How many people put off trips to Australia because of spiders, snakes and crocs? How many decide to leave the UK because over 3000 people die in road traffic accidents every year?
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
