Culture – Page 21 – Don't Stop Living

Backpacking in Namibia: Up Close and Personal to Cheetahs at Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm

Posted on March 3, 2020March 7, 2023 by Jonny Blair

“Slow cheetah come before my forest – looks like it’s on today.

Slow cheetah come, it’s so euphoric no matter what they say” – Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Backpacking in Namibia: Up Close and Personal to Cheetahs at Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm

Years and years ago I read about cheetah watching in Namibia. It was a long term dream to see the world’s fastest mammal live and up close. Because they are so fast, they are hard to track and see. I have been on countless safaris down the years including a hat-trick in Tanzania alone. Yet in all that game drive time, I only ever saw ONE cheetah, and they were hiding in long grass in The Serengeti. Two minutes later that cheetah had gone so I haven’t really seen a cheetah at work.

Even the photo I have is called “find the cheetah!”

This time in Namibia, I didn’t want to waste time or money hunting down cheetahs and rhinos of hoping for a 2 second shot with no photo proof. I wanted a quick fire guarantee of seeing both of them. Namibia’s rhino tours to Etosha National Park were a joke of a price for not even a guarantee of seeing them. $600 and up in overrated, expensive, self loving Namibia. No thanks. Plan B required.

Finally seeing a cheetah up close and personal

My friend Russell came up with a better option and a cheetah guarantee. Namibia has a few conservation farms that help maintain cheetahs specifically. They look after cheetahs, help them live longer and reproduce in a natural environment. We contacted Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm and booked a day trip from Windhoek (Namibia’s less inspiring capital city). From my hostel, Chameleon Backpackers Hostel in Windhoek I organised a driver to take me there and back. Thanks for the hostel for helping organise this, no thanks to Namibia for its extortionate prices. My driver was Fernando.

Getting to Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm

In the end, Malina and Russell pulled out but I was not missing out on my long time dream. Sadly, nobody else from the backpackers hostel was doing the trip, and there are no public buses or trains to anywhere near Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm. In hindsight, I should have hired a car and driven there myself. But I thought of that option too late. This meant I had to bite the bullet and pay well over the odds. I am almost shocked to admit that my driver firstly wanted $160 US Dollars for the trip! Yes he did – this is rip off Namibia – a country I sure as hell won’t be back to. I managed to bargain him down to the still rip off price of $120 US Dollars. It was ridiculous and I also paid $20 US minimum for taxis in Namibia (with one exception a 10 minute ride in Windhoek).

I would need to pay to get there and back and pay alone for a one person cheetah game drive. Wallet loaded with far too many US Dollars, I headed north to Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm.

The first part of the road was a good surface, then we veered off and found the first sign for Duesternbrook, this was a little bit “off the wheaten craic”, not near any town or village. We had to open a few gates on route, the first of which told us we were 8 kilometres from the entrance to Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm.

Sleeping at Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm

Yes, you can sleep overnight here. Perhaps on a different time of my life, I would have chosen that option. The rooms have a varied range from budget to luxury. You can find more on the website.

The Museum at Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm

As a bonus, there is a really great mini museum here. After checking in, taking my medication (anti-malaria tablets) and paying for the tour, I headed to check out the museum, lots of great information here on cheetahs, leopards and other animals. I was to learn from Christian, my driver and cheetah expert, many more facts about cheetahs.

Cheetah Feeding at Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm

The highlight arrives. I hop into the safari jeep and am heading on the cheetah game drive with Christian my driver and guide. It’s just me and Christian.

What was interesting is that there were no other animals on route to the cheetahs. No zebras, giraffes etc. The kind I had become accustomed to on all my Africa trips previously. I was also given the option for a higher cost to do a leopard tour as well. I turned it down as I have seen leopards in 3 or 4 different national parks before and I was here to focus on cheetahs. After a while we turn up the lane where two male cheetahs are maintained inside a large fenced off area. Although the cheetahs are somewhere within this perimeter, they don’t immediately notice us or come. Christian has to signal, and of course the cheetahs want food.

Within minutes two cheetahs come over and are ready for the food. I am told these two cheetahs are male, are brothers and named Punchy and Jack. Jack is the lazy one – Punchy seems more lively.

I sit on the edge of the truck right next to the two cheetahs, totally beautiful creatures. I admire, make videos, take photos and of course brought my Travelling Northern Ireland flag for the experience. For now, the photos do justice to this epic trip. It had been expensive and took me years. But finally, this was totally worth it!

The below photo is probably my favourite, the cheetahs right next to us, happy and smiling. Later they also hugged and kissed each other.

After feeding Punchy and Jack we drive past the next area which houses Shasha, the female cheetah. Although we don’t feed Shasha or drive into her lair, we do see her run and she is fast, keeping up with the car and looking at Christian as if to say “where is my food”? Christian explains that they feed the males once a day and the female once a day but at different times. Christian also tells me that a cheetah in the wild will live for 9 years roughly only. Yet by conserving them here at the farm, they can live for up to 20 years, thus places like this double the lifespan of this creature. Probably the tiredness of running and the fact that cheetahs themselves can be victims to lions or leopards can shorten their lifespan. Cheetahs love live recently dead food. They are predators and not scavengers. Once you’re a gazelle or zebra that sees a cheetah coming for you – you are gone…

Backpacking in Namibia: Up Close and Personal to Cheetahs at Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm – Shasha the female cheetah

On the rip at Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm

I had come all the way here and was paying my driver way more than expected so there was no way I was letting him waste my time or force me to leave this place straight after the cheetah feeding. I had to milk his extortionate fee, so after the game drive I decided to chill out and have an ice cold beer here admiring the scenery. I also checked out the bar, pool and views.

Although I loved the cheetah farm and a lot of the cool things I did in Namibia, the country is outrageously over-priced and lacking in understanding of tourist or customer knowledge. As a final insult, my $120 US Dollar driver – I asked him to take a photo of me, even telling him his finger was blocking the screen and this was the photo – hence why I stuck to selfies on this trip. Not a country I will miss or ever want to go back to…

Great photo of me taken by Fernando my driver

Here are the details for booking a tour and a room at Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm in Namibia:

Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm
P.O. Box 870 – Windhoek – Namibia
Tel: +264 61 232 572
Mob: +264 81 864 3000
Fax: +264 61 257 112
[email protected]
Facebook Page

Here are some videos from my time at Duesternbrook Cheetah Farm in Namibia:

Countries Whose Footballers Have Won the European Cup / Champions League

Posted on February 29, 2020August 3, 2024 by Jonny Blair

This conversation came up in November 2019 in Prague, Czechia with some Northern Ireland football fans over which countries have had a player who won the European Cup or Champions League. I did a bit of research into it and I don’t know if this is 100% correct, but here is a try. I extended it beyond Europe and into North America, South America, Africa, Asia and (where appropriate) Oceania. I have also added in a few other facts at the bottom of the post. Please comment or message me to correct any mistakes.

I believe this is correct as of May 2021 but I have probably missed a few. Also – please note it doesn’t count Vienna Cup, Europa League, UEFA Cup, Super Cup, Intertoto Cup, Anglo Italian Cup, Setanta Cup or European Cup Winners Cup.

George Best playing for Northern Ireland in the 1960s.

Country – Player – Club

Andorra
Albania
Argentina – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Armenia
Australia – Harry Kewell (Liverpool)
Austria – Franz Hassil (Feyenoord)
Azerbaijan
Belarus – Alexander Hleb (Barcelona)
Belgium – Eric Gerets (PSV Eindhoven)
Bosnia- Herzegovina – Hasan Salihamidžić (Red Star Belgrade)
Brazil – Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Bułgaria – Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United)
Cameroon – Samuel Eto o (Barcelona)
Canada – Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)
Catalonia – Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
Cheatzerland – Shaqiri (Liverpool)
Chile – Claudio Bravo (Barcelona)
China – Dong Fangzhou (Manchester United)
Colombia – Iván Córdoba (Inter Milan)
Costa Rica – Keylor Navas (Real Madrid)
Croatia – Luka Modric (Real Madryt)
Cyprus
Czechia – Milan Baros (Liverpool)
Denmark – Peter Schmeichel (Manchester United)
Egypt – Mohammed Salah (Liverpool)
England – Bobby Charlton (Manchester United)
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland – Sami Hyppia (Liverpool)
France – Jean Pierre Papin (AC Milan)
Georgia – Kakha Kaladze (AC Milan)
Germany – Toni Kroos (Real Madryt)
Ghana – Abedi Pele (Marseille)
Gibraltar
Greece
Guinea – Naby Keita (Liverpool)
Hungary – Ferenc Puskas (Real Madryt)
Iceland – Eidur Gudjohnsen (Barcelona)
Israel – Avi Cohen (Liverpool)
Italy – Paolo Maldini (AC Milan)
Ivory Coast – Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Kazakhstan
Kenya – McDonald Mariga Wanyama (Internazionale)
Kosovo – Stevan Stojanović (Red Star Belgrade 1999)
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania – Edgaras Jankauskas (FC Porto 2004)
Luxembourg
Malta
Mali – Djimi Traoré (Liverpool 2005)
Mexico – Rafael Márquez (Barcelona 2011)
Monaco
Montenegro – Dejan Savicevic (Red Star Belgrade 1991)
Morocco – Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid 2018)
Netherlands – Ruud Gullit (AC Milan 1990)
Nigeria – Nwanko Kanu (Ajax 1995)
Northern Ireland – George Best (Manchester United 1967)
Northern Macedonia – Goran Pandev (Inter Milan )
Norway – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Manchester United)
Paraguay – Roque Santa Cruz (Bayern 2001)
Peru – Victor Benitez (AC Milan 1962)
Poland – Jerzy Dudek (Liverpool 2005)
Portugal – Luis Figo (Real Madryt)
Republic of Ireland – Roy Keane (Manchester United 1999)
Romania – Gheorge Hagi (Steaua Bucharest 1986)
Russia – Dmitri Alenichev (FC Porto)
San Marino – Massimo Bonini (Juventus 1985)
Scotland – Denis Law (Manchester United 1968)
Senegal – Sadio Mane (Liverpool 2019)
Serbia – Velibor Vasović (Ajax 1971)
Serbia and Montenegro – Perica Ognjenovic (Real Madrid 2000)
Slovakia
Slovenia – Krhin (Internazionale 2010)
South Africa – Benni McCarthy (FC Porto 2004)
South Korea – Park Ji-Sung (Manchester United 2008)
Spain – Hector Rial (Real Madrid 1956)
Sweden – Kurt Hamrin (AC Milan 1969)
Switzerland – Manuel Akanji (2023)
The Vatican City
Trinidad and Tobago – Dwight Yorke (Manchester United 1999)
Turkey – Arda Güler (Real Madrid 2024)
Ukraine – Andrei Shevchenko (AC Milan)
Uruguay – Luis Suarez (Barcelona 2015)
USA – Zak Whitbread (Liverpool 2005)
Venezuela – Jeffren (Barcaelona 2011)
Wales – Gareth Bale (Real Madryt 2016)
Zimbabwe – Bruce Grobelaar (Liverpool 1984)

Jamaica –
Libya –
Singapore
Suriname –

Northern Irish players in European Cup / Champions League Finals

George Best (1968 – Manchester United)
Martin O’Neill (1979 – Nottingham Forest)
Martin O’Neill (1980 – Nottingham Forest)
Jonny Evans (2009 – Manchester United)

Non FIFA / Extinct – Olympic countries with winners or runners up

Basque Country –
Catalonia – Andres Iniesta – Barcelona
CIS (Commonwealth Independent State) –
Czechoslovakia –
East Germany – Norbert Nachtweih – Bayern Munich
Great Britain – Ryan Giggs – Manchester United
Ireland – George Best – Manchester United
Monaco –
Saarland –
USSR –
West Germany – Andreas Brehme – Bayern Munich
Yugoslavia – Robert Prosinečki – Red Star Belgrade

Countries Who Have Had Players Lose in Final but Never Win It

Algeria – Rabah Madjer (FC Porto)
Angola – Vata (Benfica)
Belarus – Alexander Hleb (Arsenal)
Chile – Mark Gonzalez (Liverpool)
Democratic Republic of Congo – Shabani Nonda (Monaco)
Estonia – Ragnar Klavan (Liverpool)
Ecuador – Antonio Valencia (Manchester United)
Gabon – Mario René Junior Lemina (Juventus)
Greece – Akis Zikos (Monaco)
Japan – Takashi Usami (Bayern Munich)
Morocco – Medhi Benatia (Juventus)
Slovenia – Zahovic – (Inter Milan)
South Korea – Park Ji Sung (Manchester United)
Togo – Emannuel Adebayor (Monaco)

Managers (extra)

Israel – Avram Grant (Chelsea)

Surprising Non-Winners

Gianluigi Buffon
Diego Maradona
Alan Shearer
George Weah

Sleeping in a Crocodile🐊Farm!! Our Jaw Inspiring Stay at Chobe Crocodile Cottage in Botswana🇧🇼

Posted on February 29, 2020September 3, 2024 by Jonny Blair

On my second trip to Botswana, in 2020 I visited the north of the country. We crossed in from Zimbabwe at Kazungula and decided to stay overnight in a crocodile farm. This was certainly another crazy adventure and another interesting sleeping location to add to our repertoire.

I had read about this Crocodile Farm in Kazungula/Kasane area online before our trip. However it wasn’t until the night before that we booked it. We were sitting by the pool at the Shoestrings Backpackers Hostel in Victoria Falls City in Zimbabwe and Russell came up with the idea to stay there.

This was an inspired choice and reminded me of my tour in The Gambia at Kachikally Crocodile Pool. Here are some cool things about staying here.

1.You are sleeping in a Crocodile Farm!

This alone should be reason enough to book it, right? You will be sleeping within metres of crocodiles (albeit separated by walls and enclosures!). How can you turn down the chance to stay at least once in your life inside an actual crocodile farm where over 1000 of the beasts roam! By staying here, you also get discount on the excellent crocodile farm tour by Sue the owner and manager of the farm.

Backpacking in Botswana: Touring Chobe Crocodile Farm Near Kasane

Sue and I at Chobe Crocodile Farm in Botswana

2.Countryside Charm

Aside from being a cool crocodile farm, this is also rural Botswana to a tee! You are not living the high city life in Gaborone or Kasane or Francistown. Here, you are by the Chobe river somewhere near the border to Namibia and only a 10 minute drive from the quadruple border from Botswana to Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe at Kazungula.

Countryside Charm at Chobe Crocodile Cottage, Botswana

3.Self Catering

If you like to cook and prepare your own food, and be self sufficient then this place is perfect. The pink and blue cottage is equipped with a cooker, kettle, fridge, toaster and all necessary utensils. However, both nights we stayed here I ate out so I am an oxymoron for this but it would be good for those who like to self cater.

Self Catering kitchen at Chobe Crocodile Cottage in Botswana

For the record I ate out at Hunters Pub and Grill for dinner and lunch and on the last night, I ate out at Thebe Bar.

My “local” is Kasane for two days – Hunters Pub and Grill

Pizza at Thebe Bar with local lady Bonang

4.No Wi-Fi

Normally no WiFi is something to hate but in this example, it gave us a chance of a bit of bonding. Considering the poor quality networks and WiFi in Africa on my trips, it was better to not get infuriated with “grey screen loyal”, “wheelspin”, “refresh on repeat” and “page not found”. We had chats and even truth or dare games – Malina, Russell and I. It was great to not have the below issues anymore…

Grey Screen loyal and computer problems solved – NO Wi-Fi!

5.Comfortable cottage

Finally, get cosy here! Our cottage (the ONLY cottage here as of February 2020) was comfortable and a good base for two nights.

Here are the details for booking a room at Chobe Crocodile Farm in Kazungula:

Chobe Crocodile Farm on Facebook

Chobe Crocodile Farm official website

Next to Kubu Lodge, Kasane, Chobe National Park 20100, Botswana

6250430

Here are some videos from my stay at Chobe Crocodile Farm:

Backpacking in Angola🇦🇴: Visiting the Crazy Shipwreck Graveyard in Panguila

Posted on February 27, 2020August 7, 2023 by Jonny Blair

“Loose lips, sunk ships, I’m getting to grips with what you said” – Robbie Williams.

A Shipwreck Graveyard by the Atlantic Ocean in Angola?🇦🇴 Are you serious?

This place was a surprise to me. I didn’t expect to find it fascinating, interesting or in any way spectacular. I certainly didn’t expect to write a blog post about it or take over 100 photos and over 5 videos. It just seemed like a curious and peculiar place to go.

But this place was so crazy, more zany than I could believe, so I had to write about it. In fact, this is the sort of wacaday travel adventure that I typically built this blog upon in days of yore. Off the wall stuff, off the wheaten craic madness, being the only tourist for miles and minutes. Joyous in the glory of rusty metal on a beach that only Alvaro (my driver) and I were walking on.

So I heard that there is a shipwreck beach in Angola. I have seen shipwrecks and ruins aplenty before and this place was a bit of a trek, hard to get to so at the start I wasn’t totally sure to even add it to my list of must-dos in Angola. I was based in the capital city, Luanda for a few days and needed to work out how to get there – easily, cheaply and safely. It turns out, this place is definitely off the wheaten craic as I was the only tourist there and there is certainly no bus route here!! There are certainly no signs and it is definitely not advertised by anyone. It is pretty difficult to get to!

The Shipwreck Graveyard is barely even on the map or in any tourist brochure, mind you Angola is still not a popular tourist destination compared to neighbouring Botswana or Namibia. The beach is hard to find and even hard to explain to others – it is often known by locals as Praia da Santiago, Panguila or Praia do Sarico. Some locals have never even heard of it, as I discovered.

To many others, the 2.5km stretch of beach is often known as Shipwreck Beach, Shipwreck Graveyard, Luanda Shipwreck (confusing as it is NOT in Luandu) or Karl Marx Beach, named after the biggest shipwreck on the beach. For the basis of this article, I am calling it Panguila, as this is the name my driver Alvaro referred to it as.

How to get to the Shipwreck Graveyard in Panguila, Angola

By aeroplane? No. By ship?? Hahaha well in theory yes. But actually no. By train or bus? No. None of those options will work.

The Shipwreck Graveyard in Pangella /Pangello/ Panguila (I didn’t even know how to spell it!) is not even near any town, village or settlement. So public transport is simply not an option. And guess what? Car or taxi is also not even an option!! You couldn’t jump in a taxi and ask a driver to take you here, even if you speak fluent Portuguese. Nobody really even knows about it, nevermind knowing the location and how to get there.

There must be a way to backpack this place!

Car and taxi are not options because of the bumpy terrain you need to drive through in order to get to the Shipwreck Graveyard in Panguila. They cannot handle it, so you need a 4×4 jeep. If you are a tourist, don’t be hiring one yourself and driving here – you might not find it. So after some research, I found out through fellow blogger and traveller Ric Gazarian (Global Gaz) that there are a few tour companies aware of the Shipwreck Graveyard in Panguila, and as such you can book a tour here.

On route to Panguila Shipwreck Beach in Angola

I emailed two of them. Neither of them replied. No surprises really. One of them was offering the tour for about 300 US Dollars anyway, so well out of my budget and a ridiculous price. One of these tours was organised by a hotel and art venue down by Luanda harbour and beach – Thomson Art House.

Thomson Art House, where I booked the Panguila Tour from

I had previously emailed that hotel about staying there and hadn’t heard back. So on my first afternoon in Angola, I headed to the Thomson Art House in person to see if the tour could be sorted face to face instead. Thomson Art House in itself is well worth a look for its rooftop bar and views and its colourful art. Not to mention to use their WiFi (the only decent WiFi I had in Angola, outside the international airport) and enjoy the beach promenade. It’s pricey to stay in for what you get, but makes for a good bar and Wi-Fi spot.

In the Thomson Art Hotel, I met Andre the manager to discuss doing a tour to the Shipwreck Graveyard in Panguila. I was there in February 2020 which is off season, and there would be no mission of finding other tourists to also backpack the Shipwreck Graveyard with me. Therefore, I could do the tour but I would be alone and it would cost $100 US Dollars for the trip there and back. If I had another person to share it would have cost a mere $50 US, three to share $33 US and 4 of us bargainic on $25 US each. So $100 US it was for a sight which costs ZERO Kwanza to get into! Ouch!

View from Thomson Art House, where I booked the Panguila Tour from

On my journeys like this, I rarely return to the same city so I thought I have to book it and see it, even if it might not be that interesting. So I booked the trip through Thomson Art Hotel and I recommend you do the same.

My driver, Alvaro collected me at 8 am the following morning from my hotel Afilux Residencial on Rua L in Palanca. We headed straight north out of the chaos of Luanda and into the province of Bengo.

The drive to the Shipwreck Graveyard in Panguila

The drive is scenic and full of photo opportunities. Not just in Luanda itself but along the coast and the few villages we pass through. It takes about an hour and a half to get from my hotel to Panguila beach. Traffic in the capital is notably chaotic so it’s basically 30 minutes to get through that, then a 30 minute drive on decent roads, then a 30 minute meander through the rocky sandy beach “road” down to Panguila.

The final thirty minutes of the trip here perhaps justifies why you need a 4×4 jeep to get here. The road is bumpy and rocky and could not be done in a “normal” car. (I hate the word normal as everything is normal, but I mean the more common road cars).

This final stretch has arduous parts and you could get stuck in the sand or mud if you are not in a 4×4 jeep.

On arrival at Panguila beach, you will see the shipwrecks ahead of you, sandy beaches beneath and sandy, grassy cliffs overlooking the bay. If you can ignore the litter, the place looks beautiful. There is a lot of plastic and glass waste here sadly, so not one for the green guys, earth savers to admire on the way in.

Touring the Shipwrecks of Panguila

You tour the shipwrecks on your own. There will be nobody else here. No locals, no villages, no other tourists – nothing. Yes this is off the wheaten craic. There is no entrance gate, no guidebook, no entrance free, no souvenir shop, no toilet, no fridge magnets, no Wi-Fi and no postcards! There will probably be nobody else here! The place was deserted!

There are simply loads of shipwrecks here!! I was shocked. Before my trip, I thought it was one shipwreck. On arrival, I thought it was about 10. While touring the beach, I soon realised there are over 50 shipwrecks here, many of them are huge. Over the years, since the 1960s, this seems to be “the place” to dump your abandoned ship! The largest shipwreck is the Karl Marx. Many others have broken into pieces down the years.

So head here, admire at your leisure, get snap happy then get on your way again. That’s all there is to it, though it doesn’t make it any less inspiring!

View of the Beaches and Cliff Sides

As well as the shipwrecks, the views of the beaches and cliffs are also worth savouring. That alone, would also make this a worthwile trip. It’s really obscure, obscure and wacaday!

Details of Thomson Art House for organising the tour

AVENIDA MURTALA MOHAMED NO 260, ILHA DO CABO LUANDA, ANGOLA

T: +244 918 001 001 / 933 694 600

[email protected]
http://thomsonarthouse.com/contact/

Here are some videos from my trip to the crazy Shipwreck Graveyard in Panguila:

Backpacking in Botswana🇧🇼: Touring Chobe Crocodile🐊Farm Near Kasane

Posted on February 26, 2020September 3, 2024 by Jonny Blair

African experiences generally throw in animal surprises when you least expect it. My second visit to Botswana was no exception.

In May 2016, whilst I was on a lost luggage challenge with Money Supermarket I ended up in Senegal and The Gambia. The Gambia trip gave me the chance to get up close and personal to crocodiles at the excellent Kachikally crocodile farm.

Stroking Crocodiles at Kachikally Pool, Bakau, The Gambia

I really enjoyed that toured and love the idea of adding more and more wacaday animal adventures to my travel repertoire, these spring to mind, many of these still unwritten and joining a list of 2,000 unwritten blog posts.

Admiring penguins in Antarctica
Whale watching in Mirissa, Sri Lanka
Watching flamingoes in the deserts of Bolivia
Feeding hyenas in Harar, Ethiopia
Watching lions at Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania
Watching wildebeests in the Serengeti, Tanzania
Searching in vain for the elusive rhino at Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Feeding giraffes in Nairobi, Kenya
Safari in the Maasai Mara, Kenya
Feeding kangaroos in Tasmania, Australia
Holding a koala in Brisbane, Australia
Watching Tasmanian Devils in Australia
Watching wild duck billed platypus in Latrobe, Australia
Walking next to wild rhinos in Mosi Oa Tunya Game Park in Zambia

This time, we had crossed into Botswana by land at the Kazungula border from Zimbabwe. We chose to sleep here at the Chobe Crocodile Cottage within the Crocodile Farm! Yes, we spent two nights in the little blue and pink cottage here, run by a very experienced animal expert, Sue. The cottage was a great place for a couple of nights, and I will review it separately. But first – I was off on the crocodile farm tour!

Touring Chobe Crocodile Farm near Kasane, Botswana

The tour costs 50 Pula, which is less than $5 US Dollars, so a bargain and well worth the money. The tour is conducted by crocodile expert Sue herself. Sue commences the tour in a room housing three circular concrete compounds for adult crocodiles.

It is in here that she explains the difference between crocodiles and aligators. There is information about this on the walls, as well as a jaw bone from each of a dead crocodile and a dead alligator.

Even today, I find the difference hard to understand. It is partly about the jaw and teeth but also the country. Alligators tend to be in North America. Crocodiles have more of their teeth outside their mouths. This room we are in has three basins of crocodiles. For the record, there are NO alligators here in Botswana.

The tour continues into another building which houses younger crocodiles. There are hundreds of them in a small enclosure at the back!

The third building houses baby crocodiles and we mean the newly hatched eggs! Here I can hold a one month old crocodile. Sue lifts them up without hesitation, her babies. Their teeth are too young to bite and they feel so different to the adult ones. I remembered back to stroking the adult crocodile in The Gambia and how it felt hard and dry. These babies are soft and not dry, a little slippy.

There are over 1000 crocodiles here including the baby ones. I usually am not fond of crocodiles, but I find the baby ones quite cute, although their eyes do look a tad scary to me!

There are two more parts to the tour. One is peering over a wall to view the biggest crocodile they have. Sue tells me that only the bigger ones are given names. These large crocodiles roam in a larger area with water pools naurally developed from the Chobe River. Some of them are relaxing with their mouths opening.

All throughout the tour I learn interesting facts. Crocodiles can live up to 100 years and can survive weeks without food. They also fight each other a lot and some of these crocodiles have scars on their skin, even missing parts on their tails. Also penises are not visible so it can be hard to tell a male from a female. The willy is tucked up inside the body. The final part of the tour, we go inside the enclosure and are pretty close to the crocodiles. This was more like my crocodile farm tour in Kachikally, The Gambia now. Again, these were the bigger crocodiles all housed in an enclosure down by the Chobe river, virtually their natural habitat.

I leanr from Sue that crocodiles are very clever, fully aware animals. When a human comes close to them, they can tell your age, your weight, if you are pregnant, and if you are sick.

More information about Chobe Crocodile Farm

At Crocodile Farm, they raise Nile Crocodiles, and offer educational and entertainment tours. The farm was started in the early eighties by Sue’s father who passed away in 2000 so Sue has taken up the reigns of running the farm. The farm also is an educational farm so a lot of schools within Botswana do visit as well as international tourists and groups. The tour is ideal as an inexpensive activity fro backpackers, families, school groups or anyone interesting in learning about crocodiles, fees are less for groups and students. I recommend it. Thanks to Sue for showing me around her lair.

Here are the details for booking a tour of Chobe Crocodile Farm in Kazungula, near Kasane, Botswana :

Chobe Crocodile Farm on Facebook

Chobe Crocodile Farm official website

Next to Kubu Lodge, Kasane, Chobe National Park 20100, Botswana

6250430

Opening Hours (subject to change):

Mon:	8:00 am – 12:00 pm, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Tue:	8:00 am – 12:00 pm, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Wed:	8:00 am – 12:00 pm, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Thu:	8:00 am – 12:00 pm, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Fri:	8:00 am – 12:00 pm, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Sat:	8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Sun:	Closed

Here are some videos from my time touring Chobe Crocodile Farm in Kazungula, near Kasane, Botswana:

Backpacking in Zambia: Manuel Loyal – Sleeping at Fawlty Towers in Livingstone

Posted on February 25, 2020September 19, 2023 by Jonny Blair

“There is too much butter on those trays” – Basil Fawlty (John Cleese).

“No, Mr. Fawlty it’s uno dos tres!” – Manuel (Andrew Sachs).

#Manuelloyal

My recent Africa trip threw up a load of quirky new and exciting dwelling places for the nights. As well as sleeping in a local estate in Luanda, Angola, a crocodile farm in Botswana, a countryside guest house in Namibia, and numerous textbook backpacker hostels, we had the pleasure of staying two nights in the worst ever hotel in Torquay, on England’s south coast!! The only thing is… this Fawlty Towers is actually a decent place to stay!! And it is in Zambia!!

Forget rude war gestures, rats in your food, broken radios, hotel inspectors and useless Spanish waiters, this is a quirky place and THE place to stay when you visit Livingstone in Victoria Falls region of Zambia. Welcome to Fawlty Towers in the year 2020!!

The manager, Mike even drops by for a chat so I get to meet the 2020 Zambian equivalent of “Basil Fawlty”. Mike is a larger than life welcoming host, a far cry from the lavish rudeness of John Cleese’s dream, General Manager Basil Fawlty. He is a nice bloke, welcomes me with a smile and treats his staff and customers well!!

Mike “Basil Fawlty” – the Manager – a top man and good boss.

I attempt to draw parallels with the TV show I so loved as a child, but I cannot. This place has more nooks, crannies, twists, turns, shocks than I imagined.

What do you expect out of a Zambian hostel dorm room window?

jonny blair backpacking in sydney — Sydney Opera House perhaps?

Sydney Opera House perhaps?

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon?

Herds of wildebeests galloping majestically?

Torquay sea front? No… This was my bedroom view from our 8 bed dorm in Fawlty Towers Backpackers Hostel in Livingstone, Zambia…

My room with a view (window above my head)

So, if you didn’t already know, Fawlty Towers was a highly popular and hilarious BBC Television Situation Comedy in the 1970s. The show was the brainchild of John Cleese, who played the role of Basil Fawlty, the WORST hotel manager of all time.

This quirky accommodation option in Livingstone, Zambia is modelled on that exact theme. When I heard this place existed, I had to book it. Why you need to stay here…

1.Friendly Staff!!

Fawlty Towers in shock horror!! The staff here are friendly! From a smooth check in, to Gladys the enthusiastic chef to the welcoming security staff to the travel agent staff to the boss himself…

Friendly staff at Fawlty Towers Backpackers Hostel in Livingstone, Zambia

This is a far cry from the worst hotel in Torquay!!

2.Free Pancakes Daily

Don’t miss the 3 pm Daily Special – fresh pancakes!! I only stayed here at Fawlty Towers for two days but both days I devoured the 3 pm pancake and coffee freebie.

Through all the hostels I have slept in(hundreds), this was the first time I experienced a free afternoon pancake session. I love hostels with a bit of variety and Fawlty Towers has it. Perhaps Basil, Polly and Manuel were on the rip the night before with Major and couldn’t get up to cook breakfast?! ? Even if true, it fits fine with me.

3.A Clean Swimming Pool

Barely even a dirty fly, no floaters, just a clean outdoor pool to swim in.

4.Value Dorms

$12 didn’t break your backpacking budget. We were in an 8 bed upstairs dorm room. I stayed two nights. For those on a higher budget, there are private rooms and suites available but I stuck to backpacking loyal to maintain my niche here. I was in Amanza room.

My value dorm room at Fawlty Towers, Livingstone, Zambia

5.Spacious Rooms and Gardens

Forget the dingy wet gardens of Torquay and the infamous Gleneagles Hotel. Welcome to greenery and spaciousness.

6.Tour Booking Office

We booked the excellent Rhino walking safari here at Fawlty Towers very own tourist centre. You can book safaris, hikes and all kinds of touristic things here. Simple to organise.

On the rhino walking safari at Mosi Oa Tunya Game Park nearby

As well as all of this, there are two bars (one called Basil’s Cafe) , a pool table, photos of Basil Fawlty on the walls, it is well located on the main street in Livingstone. I simply loved it!

Mosi in the main bar – my first ever Zambian beer!

There also is a free daily shuttle bus to Victoria Falls.

However in true Basil Fawlty Towers style, there is an electricity down time of four hours daily and the WiFi is excruciatingly slow!! There just had to be some negatives in any real life depiction of Fawlty Towers! I actually wish they didn’t have Wifi at all. It would totally fit with the ethos of the classic BBC Television Situation Comedy. Yet, each time I had a shower, there was hot water!! There are some amusing signs around too…

I liked the idea of no topless bathing but I could go bottomless!

Stay here, even just to say you have stayed here! Here are some more photos from this crazy adventure…

Here are the details for booking a room at Fawlty Towers hostel in Livingstone, Zambia:

Fawlty Towers Website
Fawlty Towers Facebook Page
Fawlty Towers Twitter Feed

216 Mosi O Tunya Road, PO Box 61170 (7,817.77 km)
Livingstone, Zambia

+260 213 323 432

Here are some videos from my stay at Fawlty Towers hostel in Livingstone, Zambia:

Here are some classic Fawlty Towers BBC TV show moments:

The Holy Grail Of Football⚽Stadiums🏟️: Taking A Guided Tour of The Oval, Glentoran Football Club🐓🟢🔴⚫, East Belfast, Northern Ireland🟥🤚☘️

Posted on January 7, 2020August 26, 2024 by Jonny Blair

“Le Jeu Avant Tout” – Glentoran FC Motto (“Football comes first before everything else / the game above all”).

The Holy Grail Of Football Stadiums: Taking A Guided Tour of Glentoran Football Club, East Belfast, Northern Ireland

Firstly, I am a Glentoran FC supporter and have been to this stadium well over one hundred times in my life. I am a football groundhopping veteran now with around 700 matches and 200 stadiums under my belt. Down the years, I have witnessed many goals, wins, draws, defeats, penalty shoots outs, red cards, unusual events, floodlight failures, cup finals, riots and famous matches. Particularly European matches. Glentoran FC is a Northern Irish football club based in East Belfast. We play in green, red and black with a hint of white / a white away kit.

The Oval grounds - Glentoran FC's famous stadium in Belfast city, Northern Ireland — The Oval grounds – Glentoran FC’s famous stadium in Belfast city, Northern Ireland

We play at a stadium called The Oval Grounds which is a historic and famous venue in the football world. Our club nickname is the Glens or the Cock ‘n’ Hens. Our stadium sits proudly in Sydenham, East Belfast. We have the Sydenham End (behind the nets) to the east which has the George Best Belfast City airport behind it as well as Sydenham train station and two other local teams – Dundela FC and Harland and Wolf Welders. To the north we have an enclosed seated stand in front of the main Bangor to Belfast road, the famous Belfast harbour where the Titanic was built. To the west is the city end, for away fans and offers a decent view to Belfast city’s skyline where the yellow and grey City Hospital often pierces the sky in front of the gaping hills. The entrance to the Oval is from Mersey Street side, via Parkgate Drive, though a former fanzine was entitled “Nightmare on Dee Street”, a homage to the nearby Dee Street often a fans walk to the stadium.

How to get to Glentoran stadium — Location of The Oval grounds – Glentoran FC’s famous stadium in Belfast city, Northern Ireland

Location of The Oval grounds - Glentoran FC's famous stadium in Belfast city, Northern Ireland — Location of The Oval grounds – Glentoran FC’s famous stadium in Belfast city, Northern Ireland

Despite having visited the stadium and been inside the changing rooms and trophy cabinet as a child, my return in December 2019 meant something new for me. I was embarking on the Glentoran FC Groundhopping Tour. This was a first for me, and two of my Polish friends Rafał and Kamil joined me on the tour.

This unique tour comes highly recommended not just by myself and all at Glentoran Football Club, but by lunatic groundhoppers and football geeks the world over. The fact remains that due to health and safety, public funding and the need to redevelop – The Oval as it stands today (in 2020) may not last much longer in its current form. You should aim to do the stadium tour now while you can. With no lifts and no clear emergency exit, the main stand at The Oval is comprised of an odd 1950s concoction of brick, wood, metal and plastic in no clear order. There are more twists, turns and nooks and crannies than The Crystal Maze, a Poirot thriller and the Monaco Grand Prix all put together. This is a pure cracker of a stand historically and it needs to be seen. You know the drill – get your flight into Belfast City’s George Best Airport booked. While you are in Belfast, you can also…

Visit the home of the penalty kick (Milford, County Armagh)
Sleep overnight in George Best’s childhood home (Burren Way, East Belfast)
Tour Belfast Shipyard and Docks where the Titanic was built
Marvel at the wall murals on both sides of the political divide
Go on the rip in a city that loves to go on the rip (Crown Bar, Belfast)

Titanic Quarter train station in Belfast

Enough of that promotion of Belfast as a world-beater, onto the tour of Glentoran Football Club’s “The Oval Grounds”.

About Glentoran Football Club

“Winning at Glentoran is not expectation, it’s demand” – Roy Coyle.

Glentoran Football Club were formed in 1882 in East Belfast in an area where there was a shipyard (Harland and Wolf), a cigarette factory (Gallaghers) and a whiskey distillery. In 2032 we will celebrate 150 years as a football club. The club even survived World War II when we almost folded and again in the last decade, we fought to stay alive in the wake of financial problems. The club remains to this day, sitting here in January 2020 fourth in the Northern Irish top division (three points off the top) and into the last 16 of the Irish Cup.

We have been winning trophies for more than a century, with the Vienna Cup in 1914 being the first ever European trophy up to the more recent Irish Cup triumph in 2015. In that time we have developed a rivalry with fellow Belfast sides Linfield and Crusaders, with teams like Cliftonville and Portadown also providing rivalry down the years. On one occasion we won 6 trophies in a season and on another occasion we beat Linfield 7 times in a season! Often known as the 7 up. In European competition, as you will read, we have excelled. Reaching the quarter finals of the European Cup Winners Cup in the 1970s, losing to a Borussia Moenchengladbach side which contained FIVE World Cup winners. No mean feat for a wee club from the East…

Some of Glentoran’s Honours. We ran out of room and money…

My links to Glentoran Football Club

This is simple. My Dad was born on Glentoran Street. Not in a hospital but in a terraced house off the Ravenhill Road on Glentoran Street itself. The street has since been bulldozed and now exists as Shamrock Place. But we are a Glentoran family through and through. My Dad had been to hundreds of Glentoran matches and even played at the Oval in a George Wilson Cup Final long before I was even born.

On my trips back to Northern Ireland my Dad takes great pride in going back to the Oval with me for a match – we also do some away matches, most recently to Warrenpoint Town, Dungannon Swifts and Coleraine.

My first Glentoran match was in 1990, a 2-0 home win v. Crusaders. My first Glentoran away match was also in 1990, a 2-1 defeat to Bangor. Ever since I have been a Glentoran fan and have attended over 120 home matches and over 50 away matches (I included semis and finals in that). As a child, I read the book “The Story of Glentoran”, a present from my late Great Grandfather John Mawhinney. My family mostly hailed from East Belfast and were Glentoran supporters. In those days we didn’t take many photos, but I have a few childhood Glentoran memories…

At Windsor Park for the 2000 Cup Final v. Portadown

At the Oval, home of my team Glentoran FC, mid 1990s

Glentoran’s proud European record

“Out comes the goalkeeper [Rinat Dasaev]. Not too sure this time. And it’s a goal! Terry Moore taking the credit for that!” – NI commentator, 1988.

As a kid, I often felt very proud that so many foreign teams could come to the Oval and fail to get a win. We are talking about European teams with legendary status. Glentoran have a proud and fruitful European home record. We have hosted 7 European Cup winners at the Oval (Marseille, Benfica, Steaua Bucharest, Ajax, Juventus, Manchester United – twice, Liverpool). 5 of those teams we played in a competitive match and we drew 1-1 with Benfica, Steaua Bucharest and Liverpool. We only lost 1-0 to Juventus with Warren Feeney missing a late penalty. I might repeat some of this stuff later on…

During the stadium tour, this proud European record is reinforced into our minds through anecdotes, props and the famous Glentoran wooden board featuring all the teams we have played in Europe. Down the years I have been to around 10 European matches at the Oval, yet oddly NONE of the away matches. I will put that right next time we make it into Europe. When we enter the away team dressing room, replica shirts or player’s shirts from those glory European nights are hanging up as a surreal reminder of the greats who have stepped foot in this very dressing room. Spine shivered, I grabbed some photos.

“Even Standard Liege and Spartak Moscow came in the 1980s. But they couldn’t beat Glentoran in their Belfast home” – Stephen Le Fevre.

Well they couldn’t beat Glentoran in their Belfast home…

All of these teams have come to the Oval for a match and failed to win:

Panathinaikos (Greece) 2-2
Royal Antwerp (Belgium) 3-3
Rangers (Scotland) 1-1
Steaua Bucharest (Romania) 1-1 – with Hagi
FK Renova (Northern Macedonia) 2-1 (also won on pelanties)
Benfica (Portugal) 1-1 – with Eusebio

Benfica shirt from the 60s during the tour

Anderlecht (Belgium) 2-2
Arsenal (England) 1-0
Brann Bergen (Norway) 3-1
Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea (Romania) 2-0
FC Basel (Cheatzerland) 3-2
FC Valur (Iceland) 2-0
CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria) 2-0 – after extra time was 2-1 and we went out
CSKA Moscow (Soviet Union) 1-1

Attending the 2002 home defeat to Wisła Kraków in the UEFA Cup — Attending the 2002 home defeat to Polish team Wisła Kraków in the UEFA Cup

Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja (Iceland)
Tottenham Hostpur (England) 3-3 – 100 year centenary friendly
Liverpool (England) 1-1 – 100 year centenary friendly
St. Johnstone (Scotland) 1-1 – friendly
Progres Niedercorn (Luxembourg) 4-0
Standard Liege (Belgium) 1-1
Fram (Iceland)
Lokomotive Liepzig (East Germany) 1-1
Steaua Bucharest (Romania) 1-1
Rovaniemen Palloseura (Finland) 1-1
HJK Helsinki (Finland) 0-0
Alianssi (Finland) 2-2
Liepājas Metalurgs (Latvia) 1-1
KR Reykjavík (Iceland) 2-2

We have an equally good record against teams from the Republic of Ireland at home in both friendlies and competitive matches. We finished runner up in the Setanta Cup in 2008 (losing 2-1 to Cork City away) and won the All Ireland predeccesors in 1944 (beating Belfast Celtic 5-4 agg.) and in 1974 (beating Cork Hibernians 6-2 agg.). These are some of the Republic of Ireland teams failed to win at the Oval.

Longford Town 2-1
St. Patrick’s Athletic 1-0 (twice)
Bray Wanderers 3-0
Shamrock Rovers 0-0
Derry City FC (Northern Irish team who play in the Republic of Ireland) – numerous wins and draws.

On my travels, I often wear my Glentoran shirt to games and stadiums I visit, including presenting one to former Afghanistan under 19 international Mohammed Reza when I visited the country in 2016.

The day my mate Mohammed Reza signed for Glentoran FC

Random Glentoran European facts

(European Cup/Champions League) We drew 1-1 on aggregate with Benfica in 1967, same year (and just after) they took Manchester United to extra time in the final.
(UEFA Cup) We beat Arsenal 1-0 at home in 1970. They went on to win the trophy.
(UEFA Cup) We lost 1-0 at home to Juventus in 1977, same year as they won the trophy.
(European Cup/Champions League) We lost 5-0 at home to Marseille in 1992. They went on to win the trophy.
(European Cup/Champions League) Team physio Bobby McGregor died on the pitch in Sofia in 1981. We drew the match 2-2 on aggregate over 180 minutes before conceding an extra time goal at the Oval and bowing out.
(European Cup Winners Cup) We reached the quarter finals in 1974, one of only two occasions when an Irish League club has reached the final 8 teams in Europe – Linfield was the other in the 1967 European Cup/Champions League.

Glentoran v. Wisła Kraków away ticket in 2002

Despite a fantastic home record in Europe, Glentoran have won only ONE European away match. This was a 2-1 win in Alianssi in 2004.
Glentoran have managed a draw at these European clubs in away matches – Benfica (0-0), Midtjylland (1-1), KR Reykjavik (0-0), Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea (2-2), Brann (1-1), Progres Niedercorn (1-1), Rovaniemen Palloseura (0-0), Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja (0-0).
Glentoran have played Polish opposition only once, and I was at the home match that day – a 2-0 defeat to Wisła Kraków.

Drinking with ex Glentoran player Robbie Craig (RIP) in the Belfast Basement, Penrith, Australia

Glentoran firsts and lasts

This blog post could be long and it’s not a book so I don’t have time or energy, but here are some interesting firsts and lasts about Glentoran. Let’s get statistical here:

Glentoran won the first ever multi-country European trophy – The Vienna Cup in 1914.
Glentoran were the first team to be eliminated from Europe on the away goals rule – 1967.
Brian Russell of Glentoran scored the last ever competitive goal of the last millennium – v. Linfield on 31.12.1999.
Glentoran has been recognised as the team where the first EVER football match video was made – a match at the Oval against Cliftonville.
Glentoran were the first team ever to stop Benfica scoring in Europe at their stadium – a 0-0 draw in Portugal in 1967.

Watching Glentoran FC with Michael Whitford in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Why book the legendary Oval Grounds Stadium tour?

Because this is the Holy Grail of world football stadiums! The Oval is a pure fire classic stadium. The main stand has hardly changed since it was built in the 1950s! Groundhoppers around the world love it and even the BBC have cited it as the second best stadium in the world to tour, after La Bombonera, home of Boca Juniors. I visited La Bombonera in Buenos Aires in 2010.

Doing the Maradona in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Where to sleep when doing the Glentoran FC The Oval tour

If you are staying in Belfast as a tourist, I recommend these three places depending on your personal preferences. You can either dorm share for cheap at a hostel, sleep in the childhood home of George Best (!) or go luxury at the favourite Park Avenue Hotel.

1.YHA Hostel, Sandy Row, downtown Belfast (budget and central)

2.George Best’s Childhood Home, The Cregagh estate, East Belfast (nearby and mid range)

3. The best hotel in the area however is The Park Avenue Hotel. (very nearby – walkable and dear)

George Best’s childhood bedroom, Burren Way, Cregagh Estate, East Belfast, Northern Ireland

Where to drink when visiting Glentoran FC

Belfast is a drinker’s city – the Northern Irish like a good beer or whiskey. My tip for best bars to have a beer in while visiting Glentoran FC are:

1.Glentoran FC Stadium Bar – up the stairs to the left in the main stand.

2.The Westbourne Glentoran Supporters Club Bar – walkable off the Newtownards Road

3.The Park Avenue – the bar inside the hotel – also walkable

4.The Great Eastern – bar on the Newtownards Road

5.The Cock n Hen – another Glentoran bar off the Albertbridge Road

Further away The Stokers Halt at Ballyhackamore, The Crown Bar, The Dirty Onion, The Duke of York and Robinson’s are my other recommendations. I love a good night on the rip in Belfast City!

Overview of the tour of the Oval Grounds, Glentoran FC

The tour starts sharply at 12 noon on a matchday, when the kick off time is usually 15.00 / 3 p.m. You meet at the gates to the stadium and meet the guide and pay for the tour. The payment of £25 (in crisp Northern Irish cash – no card payments) includes a pin badge, a beer in the stadium, a guided tour, entrance to the match and you are likely to be able to meet some of the players, boardroom staff and training staff.

Once you have paid, our guide Sam Robinson takes us back out of the stadium to explain the significance of the area itself. The East Belfast heartland is a special place. Sam grew up just a few doors down. He’s an Ovalite. He’s a Glentoran nut. He has green, red and black blood. And like myself, he hates the Bloos / Blues (Linfield FC).

We head back in and an introduction to the ground and history ensues before we duck down and into the splendour that is not the away team changing room. Fitting 20 sweaty lads into this tiny room? You must be joking. But this is football at its greatest, at its most beautiful. At its most harsh. At its most pure. The away team dressing room would humble Champions League winners and World Cup semi finalists…

“Eusebio’s quaking in his boots, boys!!!” – Glentoran player manager John Colrain.

The stories begin in earnest now with a step down memory lane. We are stood in a room which has been visited by 10% of the total number of players who have WON the World Cup. And countless beaten finalists, and semi finalists. And countless Northern Ireland internationals, and even ex Glentoran players, or European Cup winners. Remember – Glens have played 7 Champions League winners. There have only been 22 winners of that tournament. In the 1960s, Arsenal were beaten 1-0 here before going on to win the UEFA Cup. We also humbled the mighty Eusebio and Benfica in 1967. Those results are legendary. Even the mighty Juventus in 1977 scraped the 1-0 win, with a late Glentoran penalty miss costing us a draw with the Italians. More recently, in the 1990s Steaua Bucharest scraped a 1-1 draw and Sparta Prague snatched a 2-1 win. Two screamers in the 2010s saw us knock out FK Renova from Northern Macedonia in another entralling night down the Oval.

The changing room is basic. It’s worse than a BB changing room. I love it. Imagine the shock of an away team coming in here. Turn the heating off lads, 4 at a time into the showers…but it is what’s hanging up in this tiny room that impresses the most – shirts of the teams that have played here – some match worn, others replicas. A story from Ajax Amsterdam arrives via Sam and it was one I didn’t know about…

After that it’s the physio room and the Glentoran home changing room – much better than the away one. Sadly the physio room is also a memorial room to Physio Bobby McGregor who died on the pitch in Sofia in the 1980s.

Memorial room to Physio Bobby McGregor who died on the pitch in Sofia in the 1980s.

Home team changing room at The Oval, Glentoran FC, Belfast

Next a surprise for my two Polish friends Kamil and Rafał – one of four Polish references on this tour in fact! We bump into Glentoran goalkeeper Marijan Antolović!! As Legia Warszawa fans, both my friends saw Marijan play for Legia years ago!! The Croatian former youth international drops by for a chat.

My two Polish friends Kamil and Rafał meet Glentoran goalkeeper Marijan Antolović!!

Then we are out on the pitch checking out the famous turf. We get a chat to both the kit man and the groundsman for a further insight into matchday. Star midfielder Hrvoje Plum drops by for a chat too, though I forgot to get a photo with either him or Antolovic!

We then hear about the famous 1960s tour of the USA when Glentoran after a long season represented Belfast under the name Detroit Cougars! A 50 year anniversary match was arranged in Detroit in 2017 to commemorate that event.

Today Glentoran will be…The Detroit Cougars!

Next we are up in the bar and trophy cabinet, perhaps the most insightful part of the tour. There are many trophies here including the famous Vienna Cup and even a keepsake from Kraków – a framed picture of St. Mary’s Church which I recognised immediately from my backpacking days. I was also in the trophy room in the 1990s but it is so great to be back here.

A present from Kraków in the Glentoran trophy room

The tour continues with more anecdotes and stories from Sam on the history of the main stand before we veer round to the away section past the smell of wafting Glenburgers. The away turnstiles are not always used and today’s match is a non-ticket affair – pay at the gate.

The Holy Grail of football stadiums – Glentoran FC’s The Oval, Belfast

There is a buzz around the Oval today though – just two days earlier we humbled arch rivals Linfield 3-0 in the famous Boxing Day derby. Today it’s the turn of Ballymena United, who will eventually lose 2-0 despite very dodgy and biased refereeing.

Back to the tour though and we head back onto the pitch and I hit a mock air pelanty at the Sydenham End against Rafal…

Scoring at the Sydenham ala Barney Bowers or Matty Burrows.

Up on the hill where good views and extreme history relating to the war give us further insight into just how important and historic The Oval really is. There’s the famous bunker which has war history and extravagant views over Belfast city skyline.

The view from history hill, The Oval, Glentoran FC

The tour isn’t finished yet! We pop into the 1922 room where one of the oldest football supporters clubs in the world still operates. The Glentoran 1922 Supporters Club. Here there are match programmes from down the years, framed pictures and shirts from down the years. This includes a picture of George Best who was rejected by the Glens as a teenager but played one game for his childhood team in 1982 in the Centenary match v. Manchester United. Then, it’s time for the bar for a pint and get ready for the big match!!

Glentoran 2-0 Ballymena United (29.12.2019)

World Cup winners to have played at the Oval Grounds, Glentoran FC

Our tour guide knows his stuff and is a Glentoran Geek. He knows more about Glentoran than Glentoran. While we are stood in the away team dressing room, Sam Robinson mentions that he counted 15-16 World Cup winners who have changed here or played the Oval. While this might be difficult to check, I came up with a list of players who might have played in those European games and friendlies down the years. Please feel free to message me or comment below to correct this list. We now believe around 30 World Cup winners have been to the Oval, if not played here, making up around 10% of the entire World Cup winners since 1930. All the facts on this post may not be 100% accurate, will update and alter as I find out more.

1930 – Uruguay
1934 – Italy
1938 – Italy
1942 – Germany / Sweden / (no official World Cup)
1946 – Argentina / Brazil (No official World Cup)
1950 – Uruguay
1954 – West Germany
1958 – Brazil
1962 – Brazil
1966 – England
George Eastham for Ards

1970 – Brazil
(still checking)

1974 – West Germany
Berti Vogts for Borussia Moenchengladbach
Herbert Wimmer for Borussia Moenchengladbach
Jupp Heynckes for Borussia Moenchengladbach
Rainer Bonhof for Borussia Moenchengladbach
Wolfgang Kleff for Borussia Moenchengladbach

1978 – Argentina
Ricardo Villa for Tottenham Hotspur
Osvaldo Ardiles for Tottenham Hotspur

1982 – Italy
Dino Zoff for Juventus
Claudio Gentille for Juventus
Gaetano Scirea for Juventus
Antonio Cabrini for Juventus
Franco Causio for Juventus
Marco Tardelli for Juventus – scored in World Cup final
Paolo Rossi for Juventus – scored in World Cup final

1986 – Argentina
(still checking)

1990 – West Germany
Rudi Voller for Marseille
* Lothar Matthaus, Karl Heinz Riedle, Thomas Hassler all trained at the Oval (possibly more)

1994 – Brazil
(still checking)

1998 – France
Fabian Barthez for Marseille
Basile Boli for Marseille
Didier Deschamps for Marseille – has won the World Cup as player and manager
Marcel Desailly for Marseille

2002 – Brazil
(still checking)
2006 – Italy
(still checking)
2010 – Spain
(still checking)
2014 – Germany
Thomas M,u,e,l,l,e,r for Germany under 21s
Mats Hummels for Germany under 21s
Toni Kroos for Germany under 21s
André Schürrle for Germany under 21s
2018 – France

Other notable players to have played at the Oval Grounds, Glentoran FC

Not just my heroes in Green, Red and Black like Billy Caskey, Ron Manley, Alan Paterson, Gary McCartney, Elliott Morris, Barney Bowers, Glen Little, Raymond Morrison, J,o,h,n,n,y Jameson etc. Lots of players down the years have graced the pitch, the bench, the changing rooms and even used the stadium for merely training. While West Germans Lothar Matthaus, Jurgen Klinsmann and Andreas Brehme never played here, they trained here once. These players played on the hallowed turf at the Oval.

The day I met Ron Manley and J,o,h,hny Jameson

Childhood hero Johnny Jameson of Glentoran FC and Northern Ireland — Childhood hero J,o,h,nny Jameson of Glentoran FC and Northern Ireland

George Best for Glentoran (Northern Ireland)
Glenn Little for Glentoran (England)
J,o,h,n,ny Jameson for Glentoran (Northern Ireland)
Fred Roberts for Glentoran (Northern Ireland)
Gerry Armstrong for Bangor (Northern Ireland)
David Healy for Northern Ireland under 21s (Northern Ireland)
Eusebio for Benfica (Portugal)
Luiz Fernandez for Paris St. Germain (France)
Dominique Rocheteau for Paris St. Germain (France)
Norman Whiteside for Manchester United (Northern Ireland)

George Best playing for Glentoran v Manchester United at the Oval in 1982

Peter Beardsley for Everton (England)
Gheorghe Hagi for Steaua Bucharest (Romania)
Mariusz Lacatus for Steaua Bucharest (Romania)
Abedi Pele for Marseille (Ghana)
Dragan Stojkovic for Marseille (Serbia / Yugoslavia)
Joe Blair for Crusaders Reserves (Northern Ireland) (yes, my Dad!)

My Dad, Joe Blair played at the Oval Grounds, Belfast back in the 1960s

Allen Boksic for Marseille (Croatia / Yugoslavia)
David Trezeguet for France under 21s (France)
William Gallas for France under 21s (France)
Frederic Kanoute for France under 21s (France / Mali)
Rio Ferdinand for Manchester United (England)
Pavel Nedved for Sparta Prague (Czechia)

That list is just a few names – many other superstars of world football have played at the Oval.

Secrets of the tour of the Oval Grounds, Glentoran FC

I really don’t want to give away too many secrets about this tour as I want everyone to do the tour for themselves!!! Plus, £25 goes to my club Glentoran FC and this includes entry to the match that day which I consider a bargain and a great way to spend your Saturday.

“My baby’s got a secret” – Madonna Ciccone.

Why the spelling error? Secrets of the Glentoran FC Oval stadium tour

What happens in this room? Secrets of the Glentoran FC Oval stadium tour

However, here are some hints about the secrets we were told on the tour – bear in mind each tour can also be spontaneous and will not be identical so you may learn things I didn’t learn and bump into players I didn’t meet.

Learn about the German Blitz on Belfast and how the Oval was bombed by Nazis
Find out the story about why the away team dressing room is so legendary
Why have Glentoran not updated their European records notice board since 2003?
Why is the VIP and Director’s box part of the stand at the end and not in the middle?

What’s the craic on the hill?
How did “The Troubles” play its part in Glentoran FC’s history?
Find out why myself and everyone at Glentoran FC love Glen Little – a true hero
What is the Vienna Cup?
Why do we play in green, red and black?
Why the cockerel on the club crest?
What does Glentoran actually mean in Irish Gaelic?

Here are the details of booking a tour of The Oval Grounds, Glentoran Football Club:

https://www.glentoran.com/ground-hopper-tour-package

With Glentoran FC welcoming visitors from many different countries the club has launched a revised ground hopper package for the 2019-20 season to cater for all match day visitors. Locals and tourists/foreigners alike join this tour.

The package includes:
– Admission to the Grandstand for the match.
– Access all areas matchday tour with Glentoran historians.
– One complimentary pint of lager or stout in the Glentoran Premium Lounge.
– One souvenir collectable Glentoran pin badge.
– Photo of the group posted on glentoran.com

Price £25 per person.

New midweek tours are also available, on request.
To book email [email protected]

My thanks to Sam Robinson and all at Glentoran Football Club for the tour and matchday hospitality, which is second to none.

This blog post at almost 5000 words is lengthier than I envisaged and one of my longest blog posts in years. Alas, it merited it. I loved the tour, I love the Glens and I recommend it for all football fans visiting Belfast city, Northern Ireland’s above-weight puncher. Here are some other useful links related to Glentoran Football Club:

Glentoran FC official website
Glentoran FC Facebook page
Glentoran FC Twitter feed
Glentoran FC on Wikipedia
Glentoran FC on Flickr
Glentoran FC YouTube channel
Vienna Cup on Wikipedia
Vienna Cup feature

The Holy Grail of football – Oval Stadium Tour, Belfast City, Northern Ireland

Here are some excellent blogs and videos on groundhoppers visits to The Oval Grounds, Glentoran Football Club, East Belfast, Northern Ireland:

The Groundhopper – Best Stadium in UK – The Oval

BBC Story on Glentoran’s Holy Grail – The Oval
The Accidental Groundhopper at The Oval

The Oval on Pitch’d TV Belgian blog

Glentoran wins best ground in 2018 on The Onion Bag

Wouter Scholemma’s book The Way The Ball Rolls featured The Oval in the front

“Come on Ye Glens!” – Glentoran FC supporters.

Here are some videos from my groundhopping tour of Glentoran Football Club:

Here are some other videos on the Oval: and Glentoran FC

Backpacking in Northern Ireland: Guided Tour of George Best’s Childhood Home in Burren Way, The Cregagh, Belfast

Posted on January 5, 2020May 25, 2022 by Jonny Blair

“Maradona good. Pele better. George Best” – A Northern Ireland flag’s message at George Best’s funeral.

Backpacking in Northern Ireland: Guided Tour of George Best's House in Burren Way, The Cregagh — Backpacking in Northern Ireland: Guided Tour of George Best’s House in Burren Way, The Cregagh

Local heroes are real. George Best is a superhero to me. To many of my friends. To many Northern Irish people. To many AFC Bournemouth fans. Even Manchester United fans like him. Hold on – even Leeds United fans like him. Even non-football fans like him. Growing up in Northern Ireland, everyone knew all about the talent of George Best. Northern Ireland’s first European Cup (Champions League) winner, our first ever Balon D’Or winner (currently only ever). The guy was a local hero despite his troubled times where he fell into alcoholism and ultimately ended his career too early. But forget all that and concentrate on this boy who “at times in our wee country brought unity”.

“Just a proud and quiet Belfast boy, he came from the Cregagh” – Scott Gordon.

The fact is that despite George Best having a fantastic career and playing for clubs on five continents, he never once played in the World Cup or European Championships and only scored 9 goals for Northern Ireland. Some fans blame George for this, citing that in the 1966 World Cup, we would have qualified had we not drawn 1-1 away to Albania in a match George Best. Similarly George Best was still only 36 in the 1982 World Cup when Northern Ireland qualified but deemed not fit enough by manager Billy Bingham. I still personally believe George Best should have been in that squad – he certainly was a better player than most of the players in there. To have the luxury of bringing George Best on when we were virtually out, losing 4-1 to France to entertain the world for one last time would have been amazing. Alas, it didn’t happen…

Indeed for the 1986 World Cup, George Best would have been only 40, in a squad where we also had 40 year old Pat Jennings, albeit a goalkeeper. George played for three of the teams I support – Glentoran (1 match only), Bournemouth (4 matches only) and of course the Northern Ireland national team.

“I spent my money on girls, drink and fast cars. The rest of it, I wasted” – George Best.

My red AFC Bournemouth tribute for George Best’s funeral in 2005

At the George Best shrine in 2005 at Belfast City Hall, Northern Ireland

Attending George Best’s funeral in Belfast in 2005

I attended George Best’s funeral in Belfast, Northern Ireland in December 2005 with my Dad, brothers and mate Jody who was visiting Northern Ireland at the time.

George Best played for clubs in five continents, something many will never replicate:

Europe – AFC Bournemouth, Glentoran, Bangor, Hibernian, Fulham, Cork Celtic, Manchester United, Dunstable Town, Swansea City, Tobermore United, Stockport County, Nuneaton Borough.
America – Los Angeles Aztecs, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, San Jose Earthquake.
Africa – Jewish Guild.
Asia – Hong Kong Rangers, Sea Bee.
Oceania – Brisbane Lions.

With my Dad in 2005 at the George Best shrine at Stormont, Belfast

The George Best shrine at Stormont, Belfast

I could easily write a blog article about top George Best sights on my travels around the world. Maybe I will write about them all in one. For example:

I watched matches at AFC Bournemouth’s Dean Court where we have George Best’s picture on the outdoor brick wall of fame, ENGLAND.
I went to the George Best statue which sits outside Old Trafford in Manchester, ENGLAND.
I visited Hermosa beach and the Underground Bar in Los Angeles, USA where George Best once owned a bar called Bestie’s.
I slept in the George Best backpackers in Bled, SLOVENIA.
I have an official George Best £5 banknote, issued in Belfast, NORTHERN IRELAND in 2005.
I have flown into the George Best Belfast City airport in NORTHERN IRELAND numerous times.
I drank a few times in The Pickled Liver Bar in Bangkok, THAILAND which featured George Best on their logo and theme.
I drank in the Belfast Bar in Penrith, AUSTRALIA which has a photo for the ladies – one of George Best in the nude showering after a match.
I saw George Best’s last ever car in the museum in Manchester, ENGLAND.
I was interviewed on Ulster Television ahead of the 10 year memory of George Best’s death in 2015, NORTHERN IRELAND.
George Best was featured in a match programme and magazine on my travels in HUNGARY, POLAND and TURKEY.
While celebrating my 100th country in Sousse, TUNISIA, the bar had a George Best picture on the wall.
Many other bars on my travels had a George Best photo up on the wall.
There is a George Best statue in Belfast, NORTHERN IRELAND now which looks like Donald Trump on heroin (my quote in the Irish News!)!

Some photos from my George Best related travels around the world

By the George Best and Colin Clarke photos on the Wall of Fame at AFC Bournemouth, England

Visiting the George Best statue at Old Trafford, Manchester

Touring the Football Museum in Manchester – George Best’s last ever car

The George Best £5 issued in Northern Ireland in 2005

George Best Belfast City Airport, Northern Ireland

I was interviewed on Ulster Television on the 10 year memory of George Best’s death

By the George Best Shrine in the Underground Bar and Grill

At the George Best Shrine in the Underground Bar, Los Angeles

George Best mention in the match programme in Turkey

george best bar bled slovenia — Fun times at the George Best Bar in Bled, Slovenia in 2008.

bbc crew in slovenia — A crazy night in the George Best Bar in Bled with the BBC filming crew in 2008!

Staying at the George Best Bar in Bled, Slovenia

George Best at The Pickled Liver Pub, Bangkok, Thailand

George Best poster in Legends Bar in Sousse, Tunisia

George Best in a magazine in Debrecen, Hungary

How to book at tour of George Best’s childhood home

It’s pretty easy to book a tour of George Best’s childhood home. You can head to this page – George Best tour. That is the official page of the George Best house. The address is common public knowledge – 16 Burren Way in the Cregagh in East Belfast.

1.You can phone this number: EastSide Partnership 028 9045 1900 during normal working hours (or leave a voicemail outside these times).
2.Send a message via this contact form – George Best house tour.

How to stay overnight in George Best’s childhood home

You can also stay a night in George Best’s childhood home!! Yes you can sleep here, you can book it now on Air B and B!! We just did the tour but a night overnight here would be something special!

Backpacking in Northern Ireland: Guided Tour of George Best’s Childhood Home in Burren Way, The Cregagh, Belfast

As a kid, I spent manys a day on the Cregagh estate in East Belfast as my Granny, Granda, Great Granny and Great Granda all lived two streets away on Drumragh End. I even played on the Cregagh pitches with my cousin many times. There used to be a mural on the walls there of George. I think it’s gone now.

In front of the old George Best mural in the Cregagh estate

With Granny at her flat in the Cregagh estate

Overview of the tour of George Best’s Childhood Home

Through my contact Chris Armstrong, he arranged for the tour guide Peter Wood to meet us at George Best’s house at 6 pm one evening in November 2017. I was back touring Northern Ireland with my Polish friends Julia and Rafał. Rafał is a big football fan and we did some of the Kazimierz Deyna sightseeing together in Poland so now it was time to check out the George Best family home.

I don’t want to spoil the tour and post all my photos here, but basically you knock the door. You are welcomed in by the guide who has some gimmicks and props there to show you including a Wolverhampton Wanderers 1960s jersey. Wolves was the team George Best supported as a boy – he loved the gold kit. Weirdly he never played for them.

We go through the hall into the front lounge, which has a dining room in behind. This is a very typical East Belfast council estate terraced house – built post World War II. George Best grew up here. His mother was a hockey player and he lived here with his brother and sisters before moving to Manchester.

Originally George Best had a trial with local club Gelntoran FC – the team I support in Northern Ireland. But they rejected him saying he was too skinny and slim to make it. Manchester United took the risk and the rest is history…a legend began.

Peter our guide tells us some stories in the lounge before looking briefly into the kitchen and back yard. There was also a small laundry room. The house was EXACTLY the same style as my Granny Blairs house. Which felt odd for me as back in 1999 when my parents were moving house, I spent a few weeks living with Granny just a few streets away as I worked in Tesco in Connswater and Knocknagoney at the time.

There are a lot of family photos adorning the walls and Peter tells us a bit more about the family as we continue the tour.

Next we head up the stairs and the highlight here is the realisation that we are in the bedroom where George Best first woke up, first slept, first dreamt of being a footballer, read his first football books. We stop for photos in each and every room. The bedroom has a Wolves shirt sitting on a chair and is a small room with information about George on a board.

The house is small and so the tour takes around one hour and that’s all you need really. We sign the guest book – Rafał and Julia are the first Polish visitors here to sign it.

The tour has no official price but staying overnight does – the price changes depending on season and how many people in your group. You are recommended to pay the guide £50 for the tour and as a George Best fan this is totally worth it. It is a piece of history and it deserves to be preserved.

We close the door and leave and I feel happy that I have now been inside the house where George Best grew up. It is a super tour – please book it or stay the night and also – George Best despite being rejected was a Glentoran FC fan too. So you can also make a visit to the Glentoran FC stadium The Oval which is nearby. I recommend doing a stadium tour there too and watching a match.

The nearest pitch to George Best’s childhood home in the Cregagh

Glentoran FC – George Best’s local team as a boy. He played for the Glens once, in 1982

George Best’s playing record (may not be 100% accurate)

These include ALL appearances including charity matches, friendlies and especially testimonials – George LOVED to play in random testimonials. Is there a player in history who wore the shirt of more clubs than George?

1963–1974 Manchester United 361 (137)
1971 – Rangers/Celtic Charity Select 1 (1)
1972 – World XI 1 (1)
1974 Jewish Guild 5 (1)
1974 → Dunstable Town (loan) 1 (0)
1974 West Brom 1 (unknown)
1975 Stockport County 3 (2)
1975–1976 Cork Celtic 3 (0)
1975 Chelsea 1 (unknown)
1976 Los Angeles Aztecs 23 (15)
1976–1977 Fulham 42 (8)
1977–1978 Los Angeles Aztecs 32 (12)
1978–1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 28 (6)
1978 Bolton Wanderers 1 (unknown)
1979 Ipswich Town 1 (unknown)
1979 Wrexham 1 (unknown)
1979–1980 Hibernian 17 (3)
1980–1981 San Jose Earthquakes 56 (21)
1981 Middlesbrough 1 (unknown)
1981 Portadown 1 (unknown)
1982 Sea Bee 2 (0)
1982 Hong Kong Rangers 1 (0)
1982 Glentoran 1 (0)

1982 Annagh United 1 (unknown)
1982 FC Valur 1 (0)
1982 KA Akereyri 1 (0)
1982 Dundee 1 (unknown)
1982 Arbroath Vics 1 (2)
1982 Bangor FC 1 (unknown)
1982 George Best All Stars XI v Barnstaple 1 (unknown)
1983 Scone Thistle 1 (1)
1983 Bournemouth 6 (0)

George Best playing for AFC Bournemouth in 1983

1983 Brisbane Lions 4 (0)
1983 Osborne Park Galeb 1 (1)
1983 Nuneaton Borough 3 (1)
1983 Ballyclare Comrades 1 (0)
1983 Osborn Park Galeb 1 (1)

George Best playing for Bangor FC in 1982

1983 Newry Town 1 (unknown)
1984 Ballymoney United 1 (2)
1984 Tobermore United 1 (0)
1984 Dee Why 1 (1)
1984 Reading 1 (unknown)
1985 Aston Villa 1 (0)
1986 Workington 1 (0)
1986 Sheffield United 1 (unknown)
1986 LBC Wembley Market 1 (unknown)
1986 Pat Jennings Select 1 (unknown)
1987 Welling United 1 (unknown)
1987 Epsom and Ewell 1 (unknown)
1987 Glasgow Celtic 1 (unknown)
1987 Newhaven 1 (unknown)
1988 George Best Testimonial 1 (2)
1989 Devonport 1 (unknown)
1989 Panini Select XI 1 (unknown)
1989 and 1995 Crewe United 2 (unknown)
1990 Martin O’Neill XI 1 (2)
1991 Manchester United 1 (0)
1992 Queen’s Park Rangers 1 (unknown)

National team
1964–1977 Northern Ireland 37 (9)

Total appearances (probably not 100% accurate) 666
Total goals (also probably not 100% accurate) 230

Here are the details for booking a tour or even staying overnight at George Best’s house in the Cregagh Estate, Belfast, Northern Ireland:

Chris Armstrong
Tourism Development Manager
T: 02890463820 M: 07864251127
E: [email protected]
Official George Best House Website – https://www.georgebesthouse.com/house-information.
Book a night at George Best’s childhood home – https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/3699345

Here are some videos of our tour of the George Best house in the Cregagh Estate, Belfast, Northern Ireland:

Here are some of my other George Best related videos from my travels:

Here are some excellent videos to show how good George Best really was: