Bay Area readers have traveled near and far this last year and experienced all sorts of adventures. They’ve hiked England’s Lake District, participated in a kava ceremony in Fiji, gone scuba diving in the Philippines and so much more. And after they came home? They shared their adventures with all of us — and imparted some helpful travel tips too.
Read on for readers’ adventures in Queensland and in Zimbabwe, then find more reader travel inspiration at www.mercurynews.com/tag/wish-you-were-here/.
Wish You Were Here
AUSTRALIA: Santa Cruz resident Bruce Labadie is just back from visiting his son and his family — from left, Fox, Brian, Rae, Anika and Bruce himself — on a trip that included a ride aboard the Ginger Train at the Ginger Factory in Yandina, Queensland. “We traveled the length of the East coast of Australia in an RV, stopping at waterfalls, creeks and ocean beaches,” Bruce says. “One of the best memories was the downtown Brisbane river walk with restaurants and two free outdoor pools.
“Crocodiles grow large here, and we stopped to watch some lying in wait at a few of the large rivers, always at a good safe distance. They are much larger than alligators, growing to up to 20 feet.”
TRAVEL TIPS: “The Ginger Factory was a good adventure (with) rides for younger fans and some beautiful gardens,” Bruce says. The family “ventured around a factory where they produce dried ginger as well as gingerbread man cookies and ginger drinks.”
ZIMBABWE: An African safari through Overseas Adventure Travel brought a group of Mountain View friends — Marleen Sloper, Reese Fassett (of Florida), Nanci Scharfen and Kirk Lok — to the Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve in Zimbabwe last fall. “This private reserve helps to care for, rehabilitate and release elephants back into the wild,” Nanci says. “They are orphans that would have died without the aid of this organization, who raise the elephants, providing care for them as they grow up.”
TRAVEL TIPS: “We highly recommend seeing this reserve. This reserve has three rows of fencing, so the animals are free to leave and return anytime to the national park, although most stay or return after a brief trial among the wild elephant herds. We observed some of the wild elephants coming into the watering hole while we were there.”
Join the fun! Send a photo of yourself on your latest adventures — local, domestic or international — to jburrell@bayareanewsgroup.com. Tell us where you are, who everyone is and where they’re from, and share a travel tip or two to help fellow readers go there, too.