Homeward bound...

6 months and 20 days later, we are heading home - to family, friends and the Rugby World Cup! We'll be catching up on all our missed posts over the next few weeks - little or no internet access in Africa made it impossible to show you any pictures and keep up with posts unfortunately!

We've had an incredible trip and most recently enjoyed 4 days in Perth, catching up with good friends.

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Lake Egirdir (Turkey)

After a quick stop in Olympos (a small town with ancient ruins beside the beach) we headed north to Egirdir, a small town situated on the shores of Lake Egirdir, Turkey's 4th largest lake. In Lycian times Egirdir was an important town because it was situated along the "royal road" which connected Babylon and Ephesus. We spent a couple of nights here staying in a cute hostel which overlooked the lake.

While here we walked up nearby Mt Sivri for awesome views out over the lake - it took a couple of hours to get to the small village of Akpinar at the top where we drank tea and admired the view. We also spent some time exploring Yesilada, a small island which is connected to the mainland via a man-made causeway. Here we enjoyed a delicious fresh fish dinner (from the lake) on the shores of the lake.

Olympos: (ruins + beach)

Lake Egirdir:

Fresh fish for dinner:

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Paragliding at Oludeniz (Turkey)

Oludeniz is one of the best spots in the world to paraglide, so we couldn't resist the opportunity to give it a go while passing through here. The flight down from the top of the mountain took about 45mins and gave us amazing views. It was definitely worth the splurge!


The photos below are a small indication of how stunning the views were from up above...

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Fethiye - Kale Blue Cruise (Turkey)

From Fethiye we took a 4 day/3 night cruise along the Mediterranean coast to Kale. The cruise was on a traditional wooden yacht (called a gulet) which we shared with 14 others.

This was a very relaxing 4 days where we lazed on the boat, ate good food, and jumped overboard to swim in the amazingly clear water. Each day we stopped off to briefly visit a little town or attraction along the way and each evening we docked at a quiet bay where we had dinner on the boat and spent the night.

Bliss!

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Kabak (Turkey)

After Bodrum we headed further along the coast to stunning Kabak. This remote beach community is truely a slice of paradise! The small beach, which is reached by a steep and winding dirt road cut into the side of a mountain, has crystal clear water and is surrounded by forest-covered mountains.

We stayed in basic wooden huts at a place called Olive Garden, situated high up on the hill with spectacular views over the Mediterranean. We spent our days lounging by the pool, admiring the view, hiking down to swim at the beach below, and dining on delicious home-cooked meals (Fatih, who runs the place, is an ex-chef).

With nothing to do, it was impossible not to relax here! We loved it.

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The Dolmus

In Turkey the main (and often only) form of public transport within a city or between nearby towns is the dolmus. Usually a minibus or combi van, the dolmus runs a set route and seems to pick up and drop off passengers anywhere along the way. At times they can get hilariously crowded as the driver continues to pick up new passengers to maximize his earnings from the trip. In some places the dolmus' are painted different colours to indicate which route they serve. 

We thought they looked pretty cool...

 

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Bodrum (Turkey)

Bodrum is a picturesque Mediterranean town full of little white houses on hills overlooking the water and great beaches. It's a very popular holiday destination in summer but we visited just before the high season began so it wasn't too crowded, the temperature was perfect, and it was still possible to nab a beach chair right by the water at midday. We stayed in a little seaside village a couple of kms out of the main town and enjoyed 2 days by the beach - a welcome rest for our travel-weary bodies!

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