Franschhoek

Franschhoek is a town in South Africa’s Western Cape with centuries-old vineyards and Cape Dutch architecture. Trails wind through flowers and wildlife at Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve to views over Franschhoek Valley. The Huguenot Memorial Museum and neighboring monument honor the area’s French settlers, who arrived in the 17th and 18th centuries. Franschhoek Motor Museum displays vintage cars amid mountain farmland.

 

CAPE TOWN CITY

Cape Town is a port city on South Africa’s southwest coast, on a peninsula beneath the imposing Table Mountain. Slowly rotating cable cars climb to the mountain’s flat top, from which there are sweeping views of the city, the busy harbor and boats heading for Robben Island, the notorious prison that once held Nelson Mandela, which is now a living museum.

Hikers’ paths crisscross the slopes and also climb the mountain, via forests and manicured lawns at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, the lush wine-producing suburb of Constantia, and steep Platteklip Gorge. In town, the V&A Waterfront is a chic shopping and entertainment district that includes the Two Oceans Aquarium. Historic sites include the Dutch-built, 17th century Castle of Good Hope. City beaches range from ritzy Clifton to Boulders, where there’s a penguin colony. Popular out-of-town trips take in Chapman’s Peak Drive, with impressive coastal views, and the Cape of Good Hope, where craggy cliffs meet the ocean.

 

Table Mountain, Cape Town

South Africa’s most famous landmark, Table Mountain, is more than just a pile of rock in the bay. A protected national park, it has some remarkable features that make it a great destination for nature-lovers, deserving of more than just a quick cable car ride to see the view from the top.

The mountain forms part of Table Mountain National Park, which is globally recognised for its biodiversity, and contains truly unique fauna and flora. The park encompasses the Table Mountain chain stretching from Signal Hill in the north to Cape Point in the south and the seas and coastline of the peninsula.

It is primarily an open-access park with only a few points where conservation fees are payable including Cape Point, Boulders (where you’ll see penguins), the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and Silvermine.

The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway was the solution to the arduous walk and climb to the top. Since its opening in 1929, more than 22 million people have taken the trip to the top of Table Mountain. The new cableway was upgraded and officially reopened on 4 October 1997.

At the upper cable station you will find a restaurant and a curio shop as well as a network of footpaths to explore the table top.

There are plenty of hiking trails from the Camps Bay side of the mountain, as well as from the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, and even from the city centre itself.

You can walk or climb the mountain, or even abseil down it, depending on your expertise and fitness levels, but be warned. Although the mountain may look tame on any given day, each year it claims lives as people set off under-prepared for a sudden change in weather. Always hike in a group and carry water and warm clothing with you. Better still, hire a guide or ask an experienced hiker to take you along.

 

Wallis Bay,Namibia

Walvis Bay (Walvisbaai) lies some 30 kilometres south of Swakopmund, accessed (if you happen to approach from the north) on a stunning ocean road seamed by mighty dunes. The town is situated at a wide lagoon with innumerable sea birds, pelicans and flamingos. On a clear day one can see the black-and-white lighthouse at the tip of the premontary at the northwest of the lagoon.

Walvis Bay had already been discovered by Diaz as early as 1487, but was founded only in 1793 by the Cape Dutch and two years later annexed by the British. In 1910, Walvis Bay became – like the entire Cape Colony – part of the South African Union. After Namibia’s independence, the only deep sea port on the Namibian coast remained under South African rule and only in 1994, the former South African president F.W. de Klerk gave it back to Namibia.

Today, Walvis Bay has about 50,000 residents and is a busy harbour town. Most people are employed at the modern harbour terminal and in the booming fish industry. Another production branch is the processing of sea salt. The salt fields of Walvis Bay cover an area of 3500 hectares and annually produce 400,000 tons of high quality salt.
sandwich harbour

The lagoon is the scenic feature of Walvis Bay. It is one of the most important wetlands of southern Africa and is the hibernation area for thousands of migratory birds. Worth a visit in Walvis Bay is the local museum in the Civic Centre, the Birdlife Information Centre and the wooden Rhenish Mission Church from the year 1880. “Dune 7” near town is the highest sand dune of the area. Who climbs it, can enjoy a wonderful view.

A unique experience is the adventurous 48 km drive to Sandwich Harbour, a freshwater lagoon surrounded by dunes, and a favourite amongst anglers and ornithologists. A four-wheel drive is a necessity. The track is not in all parts easy to recognise. Some stretches go through soft sand, and the last bit one has to walk. You have to inquire about the tides. At high tide there is no way as the dunes just slope down steeply into the water.

 

Monaco.Departure for new expedition Pole to Pole 360

Apres quelques jours a Monaco ou j’ai eu le plaisir de decouvrir sont port ainsi que sa magnifique veille ville et son incroyable circuit de formule 1.

La grande aventure commence pour les deux poles de Monaco comme les expeditions precedentes de Mike Horn avec le bateau Pangaea. Nous sommes heureux de prendre le depart en ce 8 Mai 2016 pour rejoindre la Namibia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving Sete to Monaco for a new expedition Pole to Pole 360

Un grand merci a tous les amis et les autres personnes qui ont ete avec nous pendant cette longue escale a Sete. Se fut des moments magnifiques.

 

Cala Salada

This beach is made up of a bigger cover and another one smaller named Cala Saladeta, separated by rocky cliffs where a group of old dry-dock stalls blend into them, used by fishermen of the area to shelter their traditional boats, known as men of the area to shelter their traditional boats, known as ‘llaüts’. Quiet and friendly, surrounded by a luxuriant Mediterranean wood, it is full corners where one can relax admiring the landscape or bathe in its transparent waters.

  
    
    
    
    
    
   

 

VISIT BEAUGENCY (LOIRE VALLEY, FRANCE)

Beaugency is a quiet town located in the ‘Valley of the Kings’, on the Loire River between Blois and Orleans in the Loiret department. It has a good number of interesting sights and is a very pleasant town to explore.

The most important event in the turbulent history of the town was the Battle of Beaugency, a series of battles led by Joan of Arc in 1429 in which the region was recaptured from the English. The tower in the town – Tour Cesar – dates from the 11th century and played an important role in the battle. This was an important victory because at that time Beaugency controlled the only river crossing in the region.   
    
  EXPLORING BEAUGENCY

The colourful history of Beaugency means there are several interesting historical monuments to be seen and various other places of interest

Beaugency town centre

Start your visit with a stroll along the river front near the long bridge (it has 26 stone arches) to the east of the town centre. Although it is in the same position as the original 14th century bridge, it has been rebuilt and modified several times over the course of the centuries. Originally the wealth of Beaugency developed around the bridge, because the town charged a toll to those who crossed the river here, overseen by the Caesar Tower.

From here you can see and easily reach the ancient centre of Beaugency. The tower and the Place Saint-Firmin represents the historic centre of Beaugency, and includes other monuments built on the site of the medieval castle.

The Caesar Tower is a large square tower dating from the 11th century and is interesting because it is one of the oldest examples of roman style military defences in existence. It became part of a castle built in the 16th century, but the rest of the castle was destroyed at the time of the Wars of Religion. Near the castle tower you will also see a statue of Joan of Arc, commemorating the role she played in the historical battles.

On the site of the medieval castle you can now see the Dunois Castle, a grand townhouse subsequently converted to the renaissance style. Another impressive renaissance building in Beaugency is the the 16th century town hall, with its ornately decorated facade. Inside the town hall there is an impressive collection of eight wall hangings.

Other early medieval houses in Beaugency include the Maison des Templiers, a very ancient house dating from the 12th century and also with an unusual facade incorporating several blind arches and a 15th century half-timbered house.  
    
   

 

Formentera,Ibiza,Cala Bassa

 Cala Bassa Beach

One of the most beautiful coves on the west coast with the famous Cala Bassa Beach Club, easily accessible by ferry from San Antonio.  
    
  

A popular beach near San Antonio which draws tourists daily and locals on weekends, Cala Bassa Beach truly offers something for everyone. It is reachable by car, boat and bus, with a range of useful facilities and wooden walkways providing access for the disabled and prams, making it easily accessible to all ages.

Cala Bassa Beach is surrounded by a wooded area of ancient, gnarled Sabina trees, and boasts clear, turquoise waters and soft, pale golden sand. It’s a safe bathing spot for kids, but not exactly a ‘sleepy’ beach, as there is a range of watersports on offer for the adrenalin junkies – including jetskis.  
    
  The island of Formentera, fourth largest of the Balearics, hangs off the southern edge of Ibiza like an unevenly formed dog bone dangling on a string. When I lived in Ibiza, I could never quite see the point of Formentera. Although it was right next door, it seemed a long way away. I used to send house guests there for the weekend, and they would come back wild-haired and unkempt, with aching muscles and sand in their shoes. When you asked what they’d seen and done, they shrugged. They had cycled about, lazed on the beautiful beaches… Clearly there wasn’t a whole lot to do there. Perhaps that was the point: it was a less-is-more island whose very lack of action was part of the attraction.

Often called Ibiza’s ‘sister island’, Formentera is more like its impoverished and painfully shy country cousin. For centuries it was adrift from the rest of the world, unknown and unvisited, a desert island made almost uninhabitable by pirate raids from the coast of Africa. Ever since Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan pitched up here in the 1970s, Formentera has been a last-resort island, somewhere you fled to when Ibiza, the international hippy trail, or the world in general, simply got too much. When Jules Verne was looking for an end-of-the-world destination for his wandering hero Hector Servadac, he chose the lighthouse at the far end of La Mola, where the cliffs stare out into an expanse of glittering sea.  
    
    
    
    
    
    
 

 

Grotte de Clamouse

A not-to-be-missed tourist site in the south of the France, in the heart of the Hérault Gorges, Clamouse is one of the most visited caves in France and gives an exceptional opportunity to discover and understand the underground environment. The site is in the process of being classed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Clamouse offers guided tours covering almost 1 km to help you discover the science of the underground world including: galleries and huge caverns hollowed out over time by the underground river, exceptional formations, a son et lumière show called “Cathedral of Time” by C. Guyard