itravel with Hamish Naicker

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itravel with Hamish Naicker

Let me take the hassle out of booking your adventure. I'm your personal travel advisor here to help with any aspect of your holiday whenever you need me :)

I'm Hamish and I am your personal travel advisor! I have the unique pleasure of being able to create boutique and tailor-made experiences for my clients every single day and it’s a genuine reward to see how happy you are every single time. With access to award winning technology, amazing products at my finger tips and contacts and support throughout my industry, I can provide you with the best tra

vel itineraries, experiences and ideas from all over the world. With over ten years’ experience in the industry, I know that your journey starts well before you've taken off and whether it's a short getaway or an adventure of a lifetime, I'm here to ensure your experience is as stress free and seamless as possible and I have the flexibility of working from anywhere and at any time, so you know you’re getting that personal touch. I've been fortunate enough to travel all around the world and this coupled with a strong passion for travel means that I treat every adventure as if it's my own and rest assured, with TravelManagers your travel is 100% financially protected as well. I do what’s right for you. So, let's get you on your way, contact me with as much information as you can about your next adventure, and I'll take it from there; I'm only an email or phone call away :)

13/05/2024

AND THE WINNER IS....

Ms N. Brennan 🥳🥳🥳

A massive congratulations for coming closest with your guess of 53,560AUD in the 'Guess My Honeymoon" Promo!!

Thank you to everyone for supporting me and my business so far this year!!

I hope you all enjoyed following Dharmini and I on our Honeymoon!

Now that I'm back for good I'm ready to take on even more so if you, your friends and family or anyone you know wants to head away on their own adventure, please get in touch 😊

Yours in travel,
Hamish

[email protected]

24/04/2024

I can't believe we are finally at the end of our honeymoon but finishing in style in Singapore!! 😁

Staying at the beautiful Parkroyal Collection Pickering as our base, we spent our 4 days eating and shopping our way through this fantastic city!

The weather was a bit all over the place which limited the amount of sightseeing we wanted to do but we fit in a drenched experience at Universal Studios which was more fun than it sounds lol

Highlights include all the amazing hawker food we tried, Singapore Sling at Raffles Long Bar, Fish Head Curry, Singapore Chilli Crab and Pepper Crab and lots and lots of dumplings!

In retrospect this was a very foodcentric end to what has been an unbelievable honeymoon! 😊

Back to reality...

18/04/2024

From the highlands of Nuwara Eliya and Ella we finally leave the beautifully cool climate to return to the overbearing humidity and heat as we head to Yala National Park! 🐘 🐆 🦚

One of several amazing national parks throughout Sri Lanka its drawcard is the amazing range of both flora and fauna within! Having done so many safaris in Africa it was nice to relive those experiences albeit in a totally different environment!

I don't think I've ever seen so many peacocks in my life, along with all the spotted dear, wild boars, buffalo's and monkeys and so many different bird species! Well worth the early morning start!

From Yala we made some quick stops at a buffalo curd making demonstration to learn how this delicious treat is made, especially when lathered with lots of treacle 😋

Another quick stop at coconut tree hill in Mirissa for that insta shot! Unfortunately packed with so many tourists these days compared to when I first came and this place was empty, oh well 🤷🏽‍♂️

We then stopped at Galle with its heritage listed fort full of amazing Portugese and Dutch architecture after which we enjoyed possibly my best meal of Chilli Crab along the beachside! 😋 🦀

This was followed by a really fun river safari after which we switched off and enjoyed a few nice long days of doing nothing on the pristine beaches of Beruwala!

We were coincidently here during Sri Lankan New Years so the resort was holding some fun activities which we certainly took part in along with witnessing some of the local traditional dances and foods!

A side trip to a Turtle Conversation Park was also super interesting learning about the hands on process to protect and release the hundreds and thousands of eggs laid along these western beaches!

Our final stop is Colombo which we spent mostly eating and shopping with a final dinner at the one and only Ministry of Crab!! 🦀 😁

13/04/2024

With Nuwara Eliya as our base we explore Dumro Tea Plantation one of thousands that cover this highland area! 🍵

At its peak they'll process 6000kg of leaves a day which, after all it's processing complete, amounts to approx 1200kg of dried product! The finer the powder the stronger the tea and this is how it's graded and separated! 💪🏽

From here its then sent to the tea auctions in Colombo where the larger tea houses purchase the leaves to make into their own proprietary blends! Think Lipton and Dilmah!

Another early morning start has us heading to Horton Plains! A massive national park at an elevation of approx 2200m the short hike brings us to Mini Worlds End and Worlds End; two amazing look out points across the valley below!

It's time then to catch the train to Ella!! One of my most memorable experiences from last time, I had to do it again, this time with a very excited Dharmini in tow! 😁

We then arrive in Ella where we visited Nine Arch Bridge as well as thankfully our last hike of the trip up to Mini Adams Peak! 😮‍💨

10/04/2024

We now head south towards Kandy with a stop at Dambulla Caves!

Dambulla is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160m over the surrounding plains!

Five separate caves contain about 150 absolutely stunning Buddha statues and paintings, some of Sri Lanka's most important and evocative religious art!

From here we continue onwards as the landscape changes from expansive lakes and rainforest to thick coconut groves and spice gardens. The temperature cools and we enter Matale a region famous for it's spices! 🌶

We had an in-depth walk through one of the local gardens followed by an immersive cooking class learning how to make traditional Sri Lankan prawn curry 😋

On arrival into Kandy we visited the Temple of the Tooth Relic where Buddha's Tooth is interred. Beautiful grounds and amazing relics and art showing Buddhisms introduction to Sri Lanka and its relevance today!

The following day we visited a Gem factory learning all about how the precious stones are mined and then polished! Sri Lanka being famous for its Blue Sapphires along with so many other gemstones, I left with a significantly lighter wallet! 💎 💎 💎

We then explored the town wandering its many streets full of stalls of fresh fruit and vegetables, spices, fish and knick knacks as we see all the locals scrambling to prepare for the upcoming Sri Lankan New Years in a few days! 🎆

We finished our time in Kandy wondering through the expansive and world renowned Botanical Gardens! 🌼

07/04/2024

As we travel back in time we head to Polonnaruwa, the second ancient capital of Sri Lanka! 🇱🇰

Built by Parakramabahu I the city is filled with temples, Buddhist statues and stupas, monastic schools, dorms and remnants of the Royal Palace and Gardens!

It was the royal capital for both the Singalese and Chola Empires and this can be seen in both the Hindu and Buddhist influence throughout the complex!

We followed this by travelling even further back to the first ancient capital Anuradhapura!

A political and religious capital that flourished for 1,300 year that was abandoned after an invasion in 993. Hidden away in dense jungle for many years, the enormous site, with its palaces, monasteries and monuments, is now accessible once again!

Considering excavation really only started in the 1990s and only 30% has been uncovered, it blows the mind how huge this place was!

Amazing insight into the technology at the time includes a city wide irrigation system, proper toilets, terracotta water pipes, granite filters and the geometrical and cosmological influences in the buildings themselves! 🤓

Then we accidently found our way into another Ayurvedic massage session 😁

05/04/2024

Ayubowan and Vanakkam! 🇱🇰

We are finally in Sri Lanka yaaay! 🥳🥳🥳

In 2019 I came here for the first time and this country stole my heart so I promised I would be back, this time bringing along a very enthusiastic and excited Dharmini! 😁

After all the go go go of our previous destinations we stopped for some rest and relaxation in Negombo! 🌞

Famous for its sandy beaches and centuries old fishing industry, I of course had to drag Dharmini out of bed at 4.30am so we could go to the fish market lol

It's the go to place if you want the cheapest and freshest produce and the market was abuzz with activity! Most likely full of restaurants and hotels sourcing their produce with frantic bidding going on around the massive stockpiles of tuna that had come in that morning! 🐟🐟🐟

The rest of our time here was spent catching up on sleep, lazing by the pool, taking in some of the local sights including a unique lagoon boat ride and most importantly trying all the amazing food!! 😋

We then moved onto Habarana which is our base for the next 3 days. Dubbed the cultural triangle it's the centre of some of Sri Lanka's most famous UNESCO heritage sites!

After an enormous lunch (highly recommend the food, do not recommend it before a massive hike) it's time to tackle Sigiriya!

Sigiriya (Lion Rock) is famous for it's palace ruins on top of a massive 350 metre high rock surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs and other structures!

Built by the fifth-century king Kashyapa I, who ruled the native Sinhalese dynasty, the Moriya, the imposing fortress was the capital of the Sinhalese kingdom until Kashyapa was defeated!

While the climb itself isn't imposing, doing it in 36 degree heat at 100% humidity is what gets you! All worth it in the end with amazing 360 views over the lush forests, wide lakes and imposing mountains in the background! 😮‍💨

After the intense climb we booked ourselves into another of the areas major attractions; Ayuvedic massage!

Suffice it to say we slept very well that night! 😴

03/04/2024

The Ngorongoro crater, also known as 'Africa's Garden of Eden’, is made of a vast caldera, formed when a volcano the size of Mount Kilimanjaro erupted and then collapsed on itself over 2.5 million years ago!

The coolest thing about it now is the huge amount of animal and bird life condensed into a 20sqkm area making it great for up close and personal encounters, especially with the flamingos of which there were thousands!! 🦩🦩🦩

From here its onwards to our final stop back in Kenya in Amboseli National Park for our last game drive watched over by the towering Mt Kilimanjaro ⛰️

02/04/2024

An early morning wake up has us driving across the border to Tanzania!!

We almost didn't make it with one of the rivers we needed to cross, overflowing with water from last night's rain! Certainly an experience!

Once in Tanzania we head to the Serengeti for the next part of our adventure! 🐒🦁🦓🐃🐗🦒🐘

Highlights were seeing the migration of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebras, getting up close and personal with a voyple of black vervet monkeys and my personal favourite CHEETAHS!!! 🐆

31/03/2024

The Masai Mara is one of the most famed reserves in Kenya if not Africa as a whole!

It's namesake comes from the ancestral Maasai Tribes who described the area as Mara or wide spotted areas of trees!

Such an enormous space we found ourselves driving for long periods to get from one side to another but the place was full of amazing wildlife and landscapes!

Highlights are definitely meeting the local Masai villagers and also the Hot Air Balloon oh and finding this pride with all these cute cubs!! 🦁🦁🦁

30/03/2024

Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru lies on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland, and teeming with amazing wildlife! 🐦🦒 🦁🦓

On the way we stopped right on the equator to witness the Coriolis effect!! Water goes anticlockwise or clockwise depending on which side you stand 😲

Getting up close and personal with impala, giraffes and zebras during a nature walk was so cool as well and the following day we joined a pride of lions for breakfast as they tucked into a fresh kill of buffalo!!! 😋

The Lake is also home to a sea of flamingos and pelicans which bring with it a sea of... smells 😐

Lake Nakuru Lodge also provided an amazing backdrop for this stop before we head down to the Masai Mara!

29/03/2024

We continue onwards to Ol Pejeta Conservancy! 🇰🇪

Resting at the foot of Mount Kenya, Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a beautiful destination for nature enthusiasts!

The Conservancy is renowned for protecting various species, including the world's last 2 northern white rhinos!

The last male died 2yrs ago so conservation efforts have ramped up and i wish them only the best!

There was a wide variety of wildlife, from lions to giraffe and elephants, hyenas, buffalo, impala, rhinos as well as chimpanzees! 🐒🦁🦬🦏

The Serena Sweetwater Camp was one of my favourites on this trip and the night game drive was a totally different experience seeing some of the predators and animals out and about!

My favourite part was having a watering hole right outside our tent so we consistently saw animals come and go! 😁

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