Nommieworld: 2013

15 September 2013

Dreams I've achieved so far in life

A change from photography, here's a random Sunday morning braindump list of things I've done so far in life.

Watery pleasures:

· Snorkelled with wild Whale Sharks in Djibouti
· Swum with Orcas / Killer whales in arctic waters of Northern Norway
· Swam with stingrays and sharks and many other underwater creatures
· Scratched a manatee's nose with an oar in the mangroves of Belize
· Swum with wild dolphins in Ireland (fun with an umbrella), Anwick (where I ticked it's underarms with my thumb), Florida (wild dolphins in the clear blue waters) and New Zealand Bay of Plenty (a pod of 50 common dolphins with babies) and Kaikoura (a pod of over 200 playful dusky dolphins).
· Lots of snorkeling in the wild north bit of the Great Barrier Reef
· Gently stroked the back of a wild sea turtle
· Played underwater games with sea lions

Views:

· Flown around and over Mount Everest
· Flown over the Great Barrier Reef
· Saw the Northern Lights twice, once from a skidoo at minus 25 degrees in the middle of a frozen lake in Sweden and once in Norway
· Walked through Thermic Wonderland scenery – acid lakes and bubbling mud in New Zealand
· Slept under the southern hemisphere's million shooting stars on a beach in the Cook Islands
· Saw the sunrise from the top of Mount Bromo in Java
· Flown over the Grand Canyon
· Flown over Manhattan
· Flown over the Great Barrier Reef
· Looked down into an active, steaming volcano in Indonesia
· Wandered around Borobodour – the world’s largest temple
· Walked over the Red Dunes of Namibia
· Climbed up inside the Statue of Liberty’s torch

Wildlife things:

· Caressed a snow leopards tail
· Held boa constrictors round my neck
· Met a wild tarantula
· Kissed an ostrich
· Whale watched in Hermanus
· Learnt how to shear a sheep
· Learnt how to milk cows and help deliver calves
· Scratched a cheetah under it's chin
· Felt the bottom of an elephant's feet and tickled it's tongue
· Milked a Masaai cow
· Seen rare White Rhino in the wild

Other things:

· Night-walked in the Tropical Rainforest
· Swum in rainforest lakes and under waterfalls
· Wandered round Kathmandu temples
· Stayed in a straw hut in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean on an island
· Bombed round Aitutaki island on a motorbike
· Stayed a night in the Ice Hotel
· Husky sledding
· Trekked down into the Grand Canyon
· Been black water rafting and caving in New Zealand’s underground lakes and rivers
· Sat in the cockpit on the flight to Guernsey and took control of the plane for a few minutes
· Seen the Ramayana Ballet in Yogyacarta, Java
· Climbed Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park
· Cycled to Scotland from Mill Hill without a map
· Hiked over Striding Edge in the Lake District
· Been on the rides which drop you off the tallest tower in Las Vegas at 30 miles per hour in a downward direction and spin you round
· Stood at the top of Table Mountain, Capetown
· Sailed to Canada on a boat
· Traveled across Canada on a train
· Sailed around the Galapagos Islands
· Wandered through Bryce National Park on a sunny morning after a heavy snowstorm
· Walked through Antelope Canyon
· Driven around Monument Valley
· Sat on an ice age tree in Namibia
· Seen cave men rock paintings close up
· Camped in Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya
· Slept on the deck of an old sail boat at the south bit of the red sea
· Backpacked around the Himalayas - Sikkim and Nepal
· Raced alpacas
· Sunset walk with elephants in South Africa
· Visited Nelson Mandela's cell in Robben Island
· Been to school in London, Belfast and Vancouver

Countries visited: