Reflection of 2025

Firstly and foremost John and I wish you happy festivities wherever you are in the world .

2025 started slowly for us. John had two eye operations which slowed our travelling down. We also had a February deadline for another of our books – “50 Gems of Bedfordshire” it will be published February 2026 by Amberley Books. …I think this will be about Johns 30th book with Amberley Publishers…and my 2nd!

In April we headed to Norfolk with my Dad. We hired a lovely bungalow near Sheringham for a week. What a lovely week it was, meandering around our beautiful countryside.

May saw John and I heading to Portugal and Southern Spain….we fell in love with Praia de Luz ….wonderful apartment for a week, super beach, restaurants and “Jackson Mystery Tours” around the countryside….(that’s Johns name for exploring and getting lost).

A wonderfully relaxing and “chill out” time.

We travelled up to Spain and spent time in an intriguing village called El Rocio….a real throw back place on the edge of a national park which is home to the highest number of Iberian Lynx in Spain…needless to say we didn’t see one…but we did very much enjoy our time there.

We travelled on up to Seville for a week…hiring a strange apartment in a residential block. We enjoyed the Cathedral, horses and carriage sight seeing, a river cruise and a flamenco show.

Driving back into Portugal we stayed a week in a holiday complex apartment near Albuferia….ummm not one of our best accommodation choices…. But we made the most of it with beach days and exploring the area.

Back in the UK we had a variety of days out with Dad, such as a coffee on a longboat on the Grand Union Canal

The end of July we headed for Devon. A fantastic occasion which saw my sister as a truly radiant bride as she married Mark….a day which was such a happy occasion.

September came and yippee! we were off to South Africa…..

Much joy as we met up with good friend Gill and our dearest Cora

Then off to Kruger for 3 weeks of heaven…..this year we started at the most southern point and went right up to the northern tip……Mother Nature blessed us and we saw some truly magnificent sights…

Our cameras didn’t stop clicking…but we did take a few shots of people..

And of course there were some fantastic sunsets…

Back to the UK we went with Dad to the New Forest in mid November…although it was cold it was still fabulous to see the ponies and we sat watching them on several occasions from what was my mums favourite spot….a joyful occasion we repeat every year…

As we reach the end of 2025 there is nothing left to say except to wish all our followers a Very Happy 2026…we hope your year is filled with adventures, laughter and love.

Jenny & John

Travels in 2025 are just commencing

We have had a shaky start to the year with many trips being postponed, cancelled or just not booked….Why?? John has had to have 2 eye operations which had to be spaced a month apart and then another month awaiting his all clear and new glasses…… But Thank goodness we are about to hit the road again.

So whats booked ???…….

PORTUGAL – We are off to Portugal and Spain in May. We have only booked a skeleton trip, because we want the versatility and flexibility to do what we want when we want…. SO… we have booked flights with EasyJet from Luton to Faro – £398.22 for us both with hold luggage and seats. In Faro we pick up a Ford Kuga from Avis booked through Holiday Autos for 18 days £680.47 including Premium Cover. We drive to Baia Da Luz Resort where we have rented a one bedroom apartment for a week for £642…… after that who knows?…… We may extend for a week or we may go straight along to Donana National Park in Spain…this park is home to the Iberian Linx. We are, however, not delusional, as we are aware that a sighting of this critically endangered species is about as rare as seeing a tiger in India or a Pangolin in Africa….. But we can live in hope and the park is also well known for its storks and flamingo.. Near the park is a quirky town which looks like something out of the wild west…but more about this if and when we get there. Moving on from here we could spend a few days exploring Seville and Cordoba…..but we will see… if you’re interested follow our blog starting mid May.

SOUTH AFRICA – We are off to South Africa mid September for a month. As usual I have started this planning by booking our time in Kruger National Park. I book directly with the Park at http://www.sanparks.org … its very easy to navigate and you can put the accommodation in your basket and work your days around what is available. There is no point booking your flights first, because if you can’t get the accommodation there’s very little alternative. I’ve booked ensuite Chalets/rondavels for 21 nights at a cost of £1649.08. We are, as usual, starting at Malalane Gate in Berg-en-Dal rest camp, then Lower Sabie, Satara, Letaba, Shingwedzi, Olifants, Satara, Pretoriuskop and finally Berg-en-Dal. I have not paid the conservation Fees because if you’re in the Park longer that 10 days its much cheaper to buy a Wild Card, which gives you a years free access to all National Parks in SA. Having secured our accommodation I then booked the flights. As usual I got quotes from 4 different companies….. and again as usual DialAFlight gave me by far the best deal…. a big shout out to Rosie Price and her team (tel. no. +44 1618418179), in particular to Maisie Morton…what a girl…gave me the sort of price which keeps me going back…lots of our family and friends as well as our Blog followers have booked with them and everyone has been given an excellent price. We have booked direct flights from London Heathrow to Johannesburg for a total of £1375 that’s £685 per person including hold baggage……wow… The trick to getting deals like this with Rosie’s team is to give them some flexibility with flight dates so they can select the cheapest days for you to fly…..We are once again truly grateful for the service they give us. I also know that the dozens of our readers who did a Sri Lankan trip similar to ours with them were all delighted. Well!! that’s as far as I’ve got with the booking. I haven’t booked a car in RSA yet because I want to see how Holiday Autos works out for us in Portugal, they are offering a great deal in RSA…

I will post both these two trips individually as blogs and with planning sheets when I have done a bit more planing… For now its cheerio and thanks for continuing to follow us. Your support is very appreciated.

About 2 J’s World of Adventure Blog

John and Jenny are just two normal people (72 and 64 years old). They share a passion for travel and wildlife. Most travel blogs give numerous ’tips’ as to how to achieve adventure by the cheapest possible means or how to travel in luxury. Our blog does neither of these. It just allows you to experience our travel and wildlife whilst giving you some ‘pointers’ for ‘best value’.
We are not of an age to want to backpack, youth hostel, canoe, zip- wire etc etc….we did all that in our youth. We enjoy learning about different cultures and seeing fantastic sights …..we don’t want to try living in the different cultures, only gaining an understanding of them, neither do we want to conquered Everest or raft the rapids at Victoria falls only delight in seeing them.
Most of our travelling involves using a variety of transport……Jenny’s passion is viewing wildlife a passion which John shares along with his main hobby which is transport and in particular trains – https://www.flickr.com/people/johnfrombedford/ He has over, the past few years  published, through Amberley publishers, 20+ books on Trains by John Jackson available at http://www.amazon.co.uk  Jenny and John jointly wrote a book on ‘Bedfordshire Churches’  which Amberley are publishing in July 2024. Their next joint venture is a book on ’50 Gems of Bedfordshire’ which is due to the publishers in 2025.
So much of 2J’s travels involves adventures on trains and viewing wildlife plus lots of other rather off the beaten track adventures…..all done in what Jenny would like to call ‘normal sophisticated style on an everyday budget’ !!!!