Sandy in Africa

July I flew to Kenya for a safari with Mark Victor Hansen and Bob Allen's Inner Circle, then we travelled to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. This adventure was extra special to me because I decided at the last minute to take my children, Danielle and Dane with me. I'm so glad I did - even though the trip was very challenging at times, we all had a blast.


Here I am with Danielle and Dane in Nairobi - the night before we begin our trip - and very excited - can you tell?

First day we visited ABC - Abandoned Children's Centre. It was quite heartbreaking to see children that no-body wanted. It's wonderful to see Feed the Children looking after them and we felt like Father Christmas with presents galore. Here's some of the children with their new shoes.

The safari begins! The landscape in Shaba Reserve in Kenya is superb - and the first time I saw a giraffe running in the wild with Shaba Mountain in the background was breathtaking.

There's something about Zebra\'s I just love. Here they are getting cosy.

We're as close as you can get to this elephant. That's me and Mark Victor Hansen in the van.


The Masaii tribes live in poverty, dirt and cow dung (yes, the entire floor of their compound is nothing but fresh clow dung) But they always look so beautiful in their brightly coloured clothes.

We were lucky enough to be in the Serengeti Plains during the migration of the wildebeest. At times we were literally surrounded by animals. Wildebeest running and snorting on one side, a lioness eating one that wasn't quite fast enough, and then trying to drag the dead beast back to its lion cubs. It was truly magnificent - I am so glad my children were there to share it with me.

We had such an adventure - this is one of the little planes that took us to our safari lodges. We even had to buzz the airstrip to scare off the baboons so we could land.

Here's Mark VH with my kids. It was great having Mark there - it was SO COOL to be having the most amazing african adventure AND be networking and brainstorming on how to create even more success in our businesses and lives.

One of our beautiful lodges - this is Finch Hattons (he was immortalised by Karen Blixon in Out of Africa). It was a superb tented safari lodge perched on the edge of a hippo pond. We had to have guards walk us back to our tents at night in case we were attacked by wild animals.

Once again, ignorance is bliss. Here is me, my beautiful kids, Danielle and Dane, Mark Victor Hanson and our safari guide Christopher at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro - ready to conquer the world.

Sunset on Mt. Kilimanjaro - yes, we were above the clouds. It was simply beautiful, and SO cold!

A happy family snap as we get closer to the summit. I have to fess up - I was overcome with altitude sickness from day one. It was hard (6-9 hours climbing a day) I was freezing cold, I constantly felt like throwing up, and I kept getting dizzy. But I knew if I stopped, my children would too and they would miss out on a great experience. So I kept going - and it was worth it - I've now got another great tale to tell about the time I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with my brave children!

I'm a beach baby and my body is built for the tropics - here I am trying to keep warm. At night I would wear 2 lots of thermal long johns, my thick tracksuit pants, my corduroy jeans, special thermal socks (with heating pads inside) with 2 more pairs of socks. Then I'd put a long sleeved thermal vest, a polo neck jumper, a thermal fleecy jacket, a padded snow vest, a feather down jacket, a scarf, a balaclava, a wollen beanie, gloves, hand warmers and padded gloves. Then I'd climb into my down sleeping bag for a blissful nights sleep. Sounds cosy doesn't it? I guess it would be if I was in a airconditioned chalet with a roaring fire :-) At least that's what I was visualising laying there in my thin nylon tent on the stone cold rock floor at 20 degrees below. The thing I totally love about roughing it is, my appreciation for the little luxuries I sometimes take for granted at home multiplies beyond belief!

Here I am with Danielle and Dane - with the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background.