So I guess most of my tavelling is over for 2007 so here are some of the highlights

Top 5 Adventure Experiences so far 

1) The roof of Africa - climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. a 6 day treck to summit the 5,900m mountain. Click here for lots more

2) Biggest Bungee Jump in the world - 216m off the world's 3rd highest bridge in Storms River in SA. Click here for lots more

3) Skydiving from 14,000ft above Byron Bay in Australia. Lots of fun - much more enjoyable than the Bungee !! 

4) White Water rafting at the source of the Nile in Uganda - 15Km stretch with 6 Grade 5's & lots of time overboard. Pics

5) Scuba Diving in Mozambique - learning to scuba when the water is 27C and there are Whale Sharks around - say no more. Pics

Top 5 Wildlife Experiences so Far :

1) King Kong - trecking a Volcano in Rwanda to see some of the remaining 600 Mountain Gorillas left alive Click here for lots more

2) Jaws - diving with Great White Sharks off the coast of South Africa Click here for pics

3) Seregeti & Ngorongoro Tanzania - safari across the great open plains - Big 5 and the Wildebeast Migration. (Click here for lots more)

4) Kruger National park -one of the greatest places on earth to see large animals-sorry Paul-I still have no interest in the birds:) Pics

5) Chimp santuary - no not Ballina! This is an island for orphaned Chimps on the Ugandan side of Lake Victoria. Click here for Pics

Top 5 Beaches :

1) Camps Bay in Capetown . Playground of the rich with Table Mountain in the background (only the Copacabana is better..)

2) Na Thrang in Vietnam - picture-perfect beaches. Camila and the Chilean Girls helped raise its stock substantially . Pics are here

3) Byron Bay in Australia. Not Australia's best beach but the girls and the town make up for it.....Youtube vids available (currently private)

4) Ko Phangan - the island off the coast of Thailand. It hosts the infamous Full Moon Party..... Do I need to go on ??

5) Enniscrone, Co.Sligo, Ireland - OK so I didn't have to go to the other side of the world for this but it still deserves its spot in the Top 5 (would be No.1 if it ever stopped raining).

Top 5 Scenic spots :

1) Tongaria Crossing in New Zealand.- a rugged mountain range with frozen lakes. The pics dont do it justice but click here anyways.

2) Ko Sok National Park in Thailand. Living on a raftboat on a lake surrounded by mountains, no other people for 50KM......Click for Pics

3) The South African Garden Route and Cape peninsula - some of the most breathtaking views in the world. Click here for Pics

4) Winelands tour in Capetown - not that I will ever be converted from my beloved Magners, I tried a little of the local produce. Pics

5) Latvia and Ukraine - scenery of a different variety - but no less impressive....God bless the ex Soviets. There are no published pics :)

Top 5 Cultural sights so far:

1) Great Wall of China - I would also include here the Forbidden city and Beijing's other amazing sights. Click here for Pics

2) Australia's Great Barrier Reef and Sydney's Opera house- OK so this really should be 2 seperate points but hey its my list !!!

3) Angkor Wat and Silver Pagoda in Cambodia - OK after a while all the temples start to look the same - these are the best though.

4) Apartheid Meuseum in Jo'burg - detailed history of the Apartheid era and its eventual demise. Click here for Pics

5) Teraccotta Warriors, Xian, China - The scale and detail are breathtaking- each warrior and animal has unique features.

 Top 5 City Experiences so far

1) On the beer in Capetown - what a city !! I was meant to say 4 days , ended up there 2 weeks. Click here for Pics

2) Partying in  Sydney - mainly I blame Burke's influence:) Click here for the videos (contains strong language & violence:)

3) Winning the Gaelic All-star competition in Dubai with M Ó'Muircheartaigh commentating -who was top scorer? Click here for lots more

4) Local Market in Kampala, Uganda - not exactly Covent Garden ! Click here for Photos and here for Videos

5) Arriving in Arusha with Adrian,Kate,Gary & Matt  just in time to find the one place in Tanzania showing the Irish hammer the brits !!!

War and Suffering -  not ranked for obvious reaons

- UN Rwandan Genocide Tribunal in Tanzania - the legal court set up to bring the overall instigators of the genocide to justice

- S21 and Killing Fields in Phenom Phen. Millions died of starvation and brutal muders during Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge's regime .

- Rwandan genocide Museum in Kigali - a horrific, moving account of what happened in 1994 - hard to comprehend !! Pics

- War Museum in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. The American aggessors instigated this war without any provacation and their use of Chemical and Biological weapons still leaves a horrible scar today. 

- Chairman Mao is still revered in China to this day yet he was responsible for over 30million deatsh during the cultural revolution.