This is our fifth time on this magnificent boat. We are thrilled to be going with co-owners Simon and Eira Day and some friends of theirs, Julian and Leah, making up a good British contingent. In fact we are lucky in that the majority of our fellow passengers are delightful and fun; we are specially thrilled to be with Janusz and Alicja Draminski, renowned underwater photographers, despite being in their 80s!
Down the 200 steps for the last time! We are reunited with Mr Gali, the driver, and set off with Gerry our guide for the next five days, for the four-hour drive to Beristagi. Initially we retrace our steps to Medan before turning off. We drive through miles and miles of palm oil with villages lining the road. It is Friday and there are men begging, using butterfly-style nets to catch the donations. People here are generous to the poor – these men are are unemployed, although with all these plantations around the rates ought to be low.
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After fond farewells with our Dewi Nusantara shipmates at Jakarta airport, we depart bang on time to Medan, an overnight stop in order to reach Bukit Lawang, where we will spend three nights in our search for the elusive orangutang. We have only seen them in rehab mode in Borneo, and it is about the only place to see them in the wild. The National Park has between 6-7000 apes, spread across about 8000 acres, so we are hopeful. However, incursions into it for expansion of oil palm continue despite legal battles.
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If it sounds like an indulgence – it is. Every year we de-camp to our apartment in Champery to take advantage of emptier pistes (more about that later).
Klimt’s Beethoven frieze at the Succession Museum
To complete my heritage journey, we hop on a train to Vienna, a mere 1.30 hrs away from Brno. As a small child, I spent a couple of summer holidays with my Czech grandmother, who rented a small flat somewhere. It was heaven: knedlíky dumplings for breakfast every day, crème fraiche with mandarin slices, visits to the eponymous hotel for Sacher torte with her various cousins, the Prater (the big wheel was a favourite) and to her old boyfriend, Alois Podhajsky, then director of the Spanish riding school! I’m afraid we did none of these things!
It’s 3 am on Easter morning and we are woken by gospel singing blasting out full volume. This continues until 5 am, when various competitors join in from the surrounding villages. We are near Bintung, a Christian stronghold in the majority-Muslim Indonesia and the singing marks the beginning of an Eater procession. We have come here to finish our holiday with some muck diving at Black Sand Dive Retreat. Ross has been here twice before, and I once – Manado is short hop (three hours) from Singapore and was on our long weekend itineraries. Continue reading
The first port of call on our thrice-postponed diving trip to Raja Ampat is Singapore. Since my broken and dislocated shoulder at the end of December I have been doing my physio religiously every day and having acupuncture, cranial osteopathy and massage. I’ve brought with me three different wet suit combos to see what I can actually fit my shoulders into so I am well prepared. Continue reading
Juliet with Patrick, the Farm Africa Project Manager, showing us a recently mulched field
After Zimbabwe, we travel to Kenya. Here I am to visit some Farm Africa projects and to host a donor cultivation event, whose purpose is to introduce private equity, corporate investors and potential new partners to our work in East Africa, but specifically in Kenya where we have regional headquarters. With a team of 200 staff operating across Eastern Africa, Farm Africa is a unique NGO with over 35 years of experience working with small scale farmers in agriculture, market engagement and natural resource management. We work collaboratively with communities and business to build resilient and sustainable livelihoods so that people and the planet can thrive together. I only recently joined the Board so am anxious to leverage my contacts and see the work that we do in person. Continue reading
The Dents glowing in the evening sunshine
Still exhausted from Covid and lying on the sofa watching Wimbledon, I haul myself off to meet Ross in Champery after his long walk. Heathrow is busy and security has long queues and we are late taking off as there not enough staff to load the plane. This is only the beginning of broken Britain – the worst is yet to come I fear. I go to Switzerland to try and forget about the state we are in….and to admire the Swiss attention to detail as below! Continue reading
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