Walking Isle of Wight. We stayed in Ventnor but were pretty much walking along the coast both days so most pics are not from Ventnor. Ventnor is a very hilly side of Isle of Wight which made walking on that side of the Island tiring but it is pretty cool cos most houses have a sea view because of the slope.
I must say Ventnor makes for a beautiful little town so I included a pic of the coast line and a little garden area on the coast.
My first official sight seeing was St Catherines oratory - basically the first ever medieval space rocket. ;) No, seriously it may look like a space rocket but it was actually supposed to be a light house. Unfortunately it did not do the job too well cos it was too
foggy up in the area and hence it was never seen - not good for a lighthouse. Interestingly they began to build another lighthouse about 100 meters away many years later but abandoned it half way when they realised that there was too much fog.
Getting to see the oratory was lots of fun cos we went through a field of cows - they are really cute animals and not all that bothered either.
We continued our walk and got to the top of the cliffs along the coast - the grass was real soft so I had to lye down on it. Good opportunity for a pose.
After walking along the cliffs we made our way down to the beach - I would like to point out that Alan put my life in danger here by leading me along a path that has actually been closed off. It was a little bit of an obstacle but I am still alive to tell the tale.
The coolest thing about the beaches is that the "sand" is orange. I put sand in inverted commas cos it is really quite pebbly.
In the cliff face along the beach I saw a very little cave that is also very orange - there must be alot of iron iron the area.
There was a LONG walk along the beach and we passed some guys putting up tents, it was already kinda cool and the sun had not even disappeared yet so I am glad that wasn't planning to camp out that night. At the end of the beach walk we had another crazy climb - there is even a rope to help pull yourself
up with.
We made it to the top and headed for a rest stop (ie. headed for a pub). Outside the pub there was a
nice view of St Catherines lighthouse, I took a pic before and after our rest. As you can see the sun was setting. One of the things that I am still getting used to is the way it seems that it takes forever for the sun to set here in England - I am probably just crazy.
The Buddle Inn in Niton was where we took our break and it was our rest stop the next day aswell. Very old little pub with a beautiful area outside. It is just a little too cold to enjoy the scenery so first choice is indoors to warm up.
The second day we made our way towards Niton again and on the way we headed down St Catherine's Schute to see St Catherine's very little church. At this stage you might be thinking that I am calling everything St
Catherine's cos I don't know the names but that is not the case. The church is very quaint but if you look in the window you kinda feel like a giant peering in.
We then made our way under an overhang in the cliff side for a chocolate break - gotta get the energy from somewhere.
It was great seeing another side of Isle of Wight even though the weather on the second day was on the verge of a tornado. There were times I thought I was gonna fly away. Despite this horrible weather we still passed many other walkers. Must be an English thing and maybe I am whinging too much.
Spur people with a taste for life. Went to the O2 for the first time today. Met up with Thalia, Donna and Hadine and we had a late lunch at Spur.
Spur was good - I had some ribs ... YUM YUM YUM. It was a good dinner, long time since I had good ribs.
It is 28 days and 21 hours until I get on my plane to go back home - time has just gone so quickly. My farewells have started and I went to visit Vicki for the last time before I go back home.
The Red Lion for dinner and a pint ... or two. ;) The photos are all 
just random pics of Vicki, Brian (BOD), Lou, James, Alan and myself.
evening but somehow it still didn't feel like farewells. I think it will only hit me when I am at the airport 
or maybe on the plane.
Woo Hoo!! In London going to see a South African band. In some ways that is kinda sad but I prefer to see it is a great way to feel proudly South African. Go Just Jinger!
I bought their CD at the end of the show though so I have now added Just Jinger to the collection.
Walking Isle of Wight. We stayed in Ventnor but were pretty much walking along the coast both days so most pics are not from Ventnor. Ventnor is a very hilly side of Isle of Wight which made walking on that side of the Island tiring but it is pretty cool cos most houses have a sea view because of the slope.
foggy up in the area and hence it was never seen - not good for a lighthouse. Interestingly they began to build another lighthouse about 100 meters away many years later but abandoned it half way when they realised that there was too much fog.
up with.
nice view of St Catherines lighthouse, I took a pic before and after our rest. As you can see the sun was setting. One of the things that I am still getting used to is the way it seems that it takes forever for the sun to set here in England - I am probably just crazy.
Catherine's cos I don't know the names but that is not the case. The church is very quaint but if you look in the window you kinda feel like a giant peering in.
Clink prison in London - kinda scary to see what life was like back then. Once again I read all about woman were the lesser beings, and once again I was reminded how there was no such thing as a fair trial.
Alan and I decided to play the innocent victims and take pics for the archives.
think I could make a good queen. In one of the towers they had a scene set out as if we had gone back in time and they had actors who greeted us. The one guy asked if I had traveled that way to confess my sins. I was kinda taken by suprise so I said I didn't have any sins. He then asked if I had just 
been on a pilgrimage so I started getting into this role play and said I had gone to St Andrews Cathedral. He then thought that I was a Scottish rebel ... just can't win.
the girls home country. We went to look at the Crown jewels and I got all excited about the Cullinan diamond, I am so proud to be South African.
In the white tower - one of the 20 towers in Tower of London we got to explore the weaponry, I even got to do some archery in which the machine said I am a natural. We were introduced to Gin and Beer (two scary looking wood carved figures) and we saw one of the toilets, it literally heads out to a hole in the wall of the building. Not a good place to be walking around outside. It was a long day but was good fun.
