The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Friday, June 21, 2013

It's not every day that you get a phone call from Africa!

So we're puttering around yesterday morning, getting ready for work. When I get an email from a girl in Namibia, Africa, asking for our phone number.

So I give it to her, and she calls.

Can you guess what happens next...?

Yep, you're right. She tells us that we've won a trip to Namibia!

http://stories.namibiatourism.com.na/blog/bid/299887/Who-s-won-a-Landscape-Escape-to-Namibia

We had to do some emailing and faxing back and forth of the official paperwork in order to make it, well, "official". And then we had to wait for them to announce that we're the winners.

Of course huge thanks go out to our facebook fans. This was a facebook contest, and only facebook fans could vote for us. And hundreds of you apparently did exactly that.

And then, our entry in their "Drab Landscape" contest had to be chosen as the best among four other entries in the top five.


Thanks to Saskatchewan for providing us with a "Drab landscape" of which to photograph! Of course not all of Saskatchewan is that drab...we were pretty selective in trying to find some really boring scenery around here.

And so the planning begins! We are so totally excited!!

We know that we're headed to Ottawa, and then Nova Scotia towards the end of September or early October. Then, we'll fly from Halifax to New York City. We haven't been in "The Big Apple" together since 2000, so we'll take a couple of days there to see the city before we have the long (25 or more hours, depending on connections) trip to the city of Windhoek, Namibia!

Our prize includes accommodations for 7 nights, but we've already confirmed with the organizers that we can stay longer if we wish. We were thinking a month, but are already tossing around the idea of staying longer than that!

Somehow, we have to make our way from there back to Mexico, where Sherman the motorhome is waiting for our return. And, if we stay in Africa even longer, perhaps visiting other countries on that continent it will take some planning. These will be the two items that require the most thought over the next couple of months.

If you have any input, we'd love to hear it!

Thanks again everybody! We literally couldn't have done it without you and we can't wait to tell you all about this fascinating country!

We're going to Namibia!


65 comments:

  1. Congratulations, exciting news, can hardly wait to travel along with you on the Blog.

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  2. congrats!!!!!!! Very exciting

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    1. Elaine, thank you so much for voting and sharing our link on your facebook page with your friends. We can't thank you enough for your help and support.

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  3. Outstanding! What a great way to decompress from your campground managing days! :c)

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    1. Not too sure that we will have lots of time to relax. We will want to see so much while we are there.

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  4. Congratulations. I am very much looking forward to reading and seeing your experiences there. Certainly side trips to South Africa and perhaps Botswana could be in order too.

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    1. Thanks Mike, we are really looking forward to showing and telling everyone about those adventures.

      We will have to see about South Africa and Botswana. We would rather explore one area well than just hit all the "tourist spots" plus we are hoping that we might fit in our hike up Kilimanjaro.

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  5. Wow, how exciting! You might check with Geogypsy (Gaelyn) for some Africa ideas. She was there earlier this year.

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    1. Thank you Lynne for the suggestion, we will have a look at her blog for ideas.

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  6. Holy Cr*p on a cracker! That's awesome.
    So apparently there's some pretty convincing "drab landscape" to choose from ! Who'd a thunk?
    Congratulations!

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    1. Thanks Bob! We will have to take a picture of that same scene when the sun is out, it really isn't so drab looking now that the wheat is up and growing.

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  7. So thrilled for you guys!!! I can't wait to see Africa through your eyes, you'll be great hosts! Congrats!

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  8. Congratulations on the win. If you decide to stay longer and explore other countries, I encourage you to include Botswana ... we spent two weeks there on a photo safari and loved every second. Namibia came very close to being a milestone birthday destination, but lost out to Peru, so I am looking forward to seeing it through your eyes as it will be a couple more years before a trip to Africa pops up on our horizon again.

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    1. Thank you Erin. We will look at the possiblity of Botswana, the trouble is that there is going to be so much to see as it is and we don't want to just rush through these countries, we really want to explore them and learn more about the culture, the people and the land. We are also tossing around the idea of doing the hike up Kilimanjaro which has been on our bucket list for a long time too.

      We will do our best to show you what Namibia has to offer and entice you to make the trip there in the near future.

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  9. It is one of the only countries that has uranium mines. Could be a fun tour.

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  10. HAHAHA...love the header photo.

    Congratulations. Can't wait to go to Africa with you two.

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  11. my input...HAVE FUB...which I know you will. normally time flies by, but have a feeling it wont this time.

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    1. I think time will go by pretty fast, we are going to be so busy at the campground these next two months! Then in September we will be getting the campground ready for closing and in October visiting with family and then it's November. See how fast it went by! :)

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  12. i meant FUN (gotta cuts these nails :-) )

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  13. Congratulations!!! If you want to stay longer in Africa, visit also Botswana, Victoria Falls, Ocavango Delta, Roaring down the Sambesi River. That's just a few highlights I can think of. I booked my Africa adventure tours with "Drifters Camping Safari". We stayed in tents in the wilderness and close to game. Elephants, rhinos, lions, rhinoceros etc. It was a great trip! I have not visited Namibia, so I am very much looking forward to follow your trip.

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    1. Thank you very much Renate for your suggestions. You are the third person to mention Botswana, so maybe we will just have to look into it. We will also keep in mind the adventure tour company you used, it sounds interesting. We are looking so forward to this trip.

      Hope you are doing well, send us an email sometime to let us know what you have been up to.

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  14. Hey guys - That is such great news!!! Congratulations!!

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  15. Congratulations! I'm so glad you won after losing out on the Australia trip. Were you able to sleep last night?

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    1. We were happy to have won too! We didn't think we were ever going to do one of those voting contests again but Kevin felt we should try one more time on this one. Yes, we were abe to sleep, the hard part was knowing that we had won on Tuesday morning but not being able to tell anyone until we had signed the legal papers and then waiting for them to make the anouncement.

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  16. So happy for you! The cost of air tickets to Africa is frightening so you are absolutely right on trying to see as much of the continent as you can.

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    1. Yep, that is the way we were thinking too. Also we don't know if we will ever have a chance to get back to Africa so the more we think about the more we think we need to stay even longer.

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  17. sweeeet, the power of the internet...

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  18. Wow, congratulations! I'm sure there will be interesting photos and travel details to follow! :-)

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  19. Oh, I am absolutely thrilled to hear this! Congratulations! I can't wait to see Africa through your eyes!

    Grace (in Tucson)

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    1. Thanks for voting for us Grace and for the support, we won't let you down. There will be lots to explore and talk about and tons of pictures.

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    1. Thanks Chris, for the voting and sharing the link on your facebook page and also on your blog. Please thank all your friends that voted for us too. You will never know how much we appreciated it.

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  21. Congrats. Sounds like a fun trip!

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  22. SUPER EXCITING ! Cant wait to read about your trip. Your Blog is the next best thing to being there.
    Barry and Jeannie ... Huntsville, Ontario

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    1. Thank you so much for those kind words. We won't let you down, we promise you that!

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  23. Congratulations! So happy for you two. We have friends in Kenya if you are going to tour the continent.

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    1. Thanks Nan, but I'm thinking that we aren't going to have enough time to make it to Kenya but you never know. Should we decide to we will contact you and maybe go see them.

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  24. That is awesome news - congrats - proud of you!!!
    B & C in DE

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  25. Oh Kevin and Ruth - I'm so happy for you. What a great adventure to look forward to. Sherman will be happy to wait a little longer as you'll have so many stories to tell. I don't have any idea of how many 'stars' it took to win; but I can guarantee you I did my share!!!! seriously, the winners couldn't be more deserving folks. Congratulations and you can bet your readership with skyrocket with all your virtual partners! Hugs to you both. mp

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    1. Thank you so very much Mary-Pat for doing your part. It took lots of stars but we did it and each and everybody that voted helped us to win. We are going to do our best and bring Namibia through our eye to everyone who reads our blog.

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  26. Forgot to mention - keep your fingers crossed for me - I'm looking at a new(er) RV tomorrow morning.

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    1. Good luck Mary-Pat. Don't jump into it too quickly, make sure it is exactly right for you.

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  27. I'd strongly recommend you stay as long as you can whilst you are in Southern Africa, we did 9 months there and it wasn't long enough. The wildlife in that area is amazing. If you could line up a motorhome exchange it would make it really easy and cheap, if not backpacking using public transport and Couchsurfing would be a good option. Go for it whilst you are young and healthy enough to do so. Will the competition company fly you back from Namibia to New York after the trip?

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    1. Yep, we are going to stay as long as we possibly can and Kevin has already been looking at motorhomes and vans as a possiblity otherwise it will be backpacking and public transport. Yep, already been checking out the couchsurfing too, remember Glen we have learnt from the best! :)

      They will fly us back but Kevin wants to see if we could possibly get flown into Miami or somewhere a bit closer to Mexico as we will need to get back to Sherman.

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  28. How exciting for you both! You deserve it! Enjoy following your nomadic existence.

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  29. This is GREAT!! So glad you didn't give up after that last fiasco. Bet you are too. So exciting. I know you'll work it all out. Happy dreaming and planning.

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  30. WOW miss a day reading your blog only to find out the great news a day late that you won!!
    I was so OCD about voting... I made all my friends on FB vote too! I'm so glad you guys won. Can't wait to read about your travels, there.
    I'm sure you will figure something out on coming back, if anyone can swing it, you guys can!!!
    So glad our input helped you win!
    Bet you are walking on air!!!!

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    1. Thank you very much for helping us win by voting and getting your friends to vote for us. It really means a lot to us. Yep, we are pretty happy right now, don't think anyone could wipe the smiles from our faces at the moment.

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  31. Thank you so much each and everyone of you for all the support you gave us, the voting, sharing our link on your facebook pages, and blogs. We are truly honoured to have such a loyal group of readers. We won't let you down, we are going to show you such an amazing trip and some incredible sights that you will feel like you are right there with us. Thank you once again from the bottom of our hearts because we could not have done this without you.

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  32. How wonderful!!!! I'm glad I was able to contribute to this contest :) can't wait to see the amazing photos!
    Here's to a great adventure and a reunion with Sherman!

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    1. Thank you Que Vida for your votes, we truly are thankful!

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  33. Congratulations! You are going to love Namibia.

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  34. That is GREAT News!!!! So Glad you WON!! Enjoy!!

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