Adventure Travel Specialists (South America)

Safari Salama (Africa, especially West Africa)

Rasta Hammocks

We’ve always been two strong, determined women. But, we have also learnt along the way about travel. We have taken group tours, organised parts of our journey from Australia, and we have muddled along on our own.

We held the mythical “backpacker” as our ideal for several trips. You know – the person that always takes the bus, stays in the cheapest place possible (with rats and roaches) and cooks for themselves or eats in local dives where they re-use plates without even washing them.  They are the little bit eccentric individuals with the smallest, most faded backpacks, who have been everywhere, done the most adventurous things – and lived to tell the tale. But as alluring as the smell of an unwashed shirt (they would never pay anyone to do their laundry!), and as fascinating as they might be, we realised of late that the “mythical backpacker” doesn’t exist!

So we travel in a way appropriate for a 60-year-old woman who has aches and pains at night and for her nearly 30 year old daughter who has never been one for “roughing it."

• 90% of the time we’ll take the bus or train – but its nice to fly (even though it feels like cheating!)

• Occasionally we take the air-con bus, at times the direct bus, and sometimes the cheapest bus.

• We stay in budget rooms – usually with bathroom – but draw the line at creepy crawlies and filth.

• We’ll economize on meals and don’t spend more than our room at night on beer!

Copyright Ariana Svenson, 2005

Comments and enquiries, please email scarie1975@hotmail.com