New Zealand to Czechia

Our 4x4 on safari in the Dubai desert

Flying from New Zealand to Czechia meant we had a few days stopover in Dubai. So we’d booked ourselves on a Dubai desert safari. 

But getting there had been a mission as Leigh caught a really bad cold before leaving Wellington. 

We really thought she wouldn’t be able to fly.

To get from Wellington to Auckland to fly out, we were relocating a Thrifty Rental 12 seater minibus. But half way there, we stopped at friend Diana’s in Tūrangi so Leigh could recover.

A few days later, after another visit to the doctor, she got the all-clear to fly, and we drove straight to the Auckland airport. After a short flight to Melbourne then a long one to Dubai, we finally arrived.

Us atop Champagne the camel in Dubai desert

So eventually, we were on our desert safari where the highlight was a camel ride with both of us on ‘Champagne’ the camel. 

It was probably the most uncomfortable ride ever, but great fun, even though we both had a couple of bruises to show later! 

Camels are the most awkward things when it comes to kneeling and Leigh almost fell off as Champagne kneeled to let us dismount.

It was hilariously funny and we were both laughing madly!

The 4x4 ride over the sand dunes was great fun too. While the whole experience was very commercial, we really enjoyed it and had such a great time. 

Tanoura whirling dancer, Dubai

Our desert experience ended with an evening meal followed by entertainment.  The entertainment was a belly dancer and a Tanoura whirling dance who was amazing. 

The meal was a traditional kabsa consisting of rice, chicken, vegetables and spices. 

The next day, we visited some soukes and spent some time on the Dubai River. Then, deciding not to overdo it in the extreme heat, we headed back to our hotel. We’d done quite a bit of sightseeing in Dubai last year, so were quite happy with a few days this time around. 

Very soon, we were on our way to Prague, the capital of Czechia (Czech Republic), where we had one-night at a Prague Airport Hotel. 

Vanni

We needed to get to České Budějovice to pick up our motorhome, Vanni where she had been wintered by our Czech friend Klara and her family.

So, the next morning, we caught a bus to a local Prague metro. After getting our heavy cases down the long metro steps, we caught a train to the Prague main bus station, then we caught the Student Agency bus to České Budějovice.

It sounds complicated but we are now ‘old hands’ at this route and found it so much easier this time.

In České Budějovice, it was lovely to catch up with Klara and her sons Adam and Dominic, who we hadn't seen since October. Then we prepared Vanni for the road, and said our goodbyes as we would be travelling for 6 months.

Leigh at the Arch of the Charles Bridge, Prague, Czechia

Leaving České Budějovice in Vanni, we drove back up to Prague. We decided that it would be nice to spend some time exploring that gorgeous city again - normally we go to and from the Prague airport and miss the city sights. 

We'd gone back to the camping ground that we'd used on a previous visit. So we caught a tram from there, right into the old city.

Prague sits on both sides of the Vltava River and we had an enjoyable time wandering around both sides, seeing some sights we hadn't seen on previous trips.

We found a restaurant serving traditional Czech food and Leigh had goulash with dumplings and Marg had beef with dumplings, plus a beer each. We waddled around a bit after that, so full of food!

Marg in Prague old town

Prague is known for its beautiful historic quarter that has a range of colourful Baroque buildings, medieval Gothic churches, and large town square. It's a sightseer's dream.

However, this is our third time in Prague so a couple of days later, we moved on. 

We were now headed toward the border to cross into Germany. 

Travelling west, we drove around Czech towns we had visited in previous years. Then four hours and a short stop at a supermarket later, we had crossed into Germany and were at our campsite in Nuremburg.

We visited Nuremburg last year but it was only briefly so this year, we will start here to continue our tour of Germany.

This blog describes part of our 6-month motorhome trip around northern and eastern Europe, which began in Prague.