Day 33 - 37: Bostwana (what a washout!)

Please note there are no piccies for this yet as we had our camera stolen in Namibia (hopefully we will get some pictures from other people on the trek soon).

Botswana was a bit of a let down for us - we had so been looking forward to getting there but as soon as we crossed the boarder from Zim it started to rain! We did not do a few of the game drives while in Etosha Nat Park as we wanted to save some English pounds and it was a good job as people did not see much more that we had seen earlier on the trip.

Our drive from Etosha was very bizarre - just one long road for about 9 hours driving. We then got to a nice campsite just outside the Okavango Delta (in the grounds of a hotel so there was a pool etc). It would have been relaxing but when getting into her tent Maria (a lovely Ozzie girl on the trip) found a massive tarantula in amongst her stuff!!!! I have never seen anything so huge and hairy! We all had to go and investigative and then we decided it was a baboon spider (very poisonous)!!!!! Needless to say every tent was well checked and all the zips well and truly zipped up tight that night!

Our trip to the Delta (the next day was quite strange) - we drove to where the delta started and then loaded all our stuff into very small Mokoro canoes (made of real wood) - we also had to take all our food and cooking gear as we were cooking for ourselves while in the Delta. Anyway, the journey through the delta on the boats is amazing. You just lie back (2 people to a boat) and your guide punts you though the reeds and water (takes about an hour) - very relaxing. However, on arrival at our bush camp (i.e. we were camping in the middle of the Delta with no facilities (apart from a large hole)) we quickly realised there was not much there. I had a swim but then quickly got out when I realised that there could be crocs in the water! I also tried to punt on one of the boats until I realised I was rubbish at it. After a boring day we then went on a game walk and saw no animals - the only thing we did see was about 4 thunderstorms closing in on us. We did not get back to camp on time and got totally caught in them, I have never been so wet. I had to strip off before getting into the tent as to not get the inside of the tent wet. The rain continued all night long so we just stayed in the tent and went to sleep (thank god i had brought some spare (and dry) clothes).

The next morning Stu went on another game walk but I stayed in the tent, feeling very miserable as we had had a couple of puddles in the tent overnight (and I had managed to get 63 mozzie bites). Soon after breakfast we then left the Delta - we had paid extra to do this trip so we were very disappointed when it was not so good but hey ho!

That afternoon we dried all our stuff in the sunshine (luckily it cam out for a bit) but we had left our shoes outside the tent and Stu’s shoes managed to walk off on their own accord!! On the plus side, that evening we had a fab buffet at the hotel (so no-one had to cook) and some African dancers came to dance for us.

Another long drive followed the Delta and the rain continued. We were planning on seeing some bush paintings in the Botswanan hills (just near the Namibian boarder), but as we got closer to camp the roads were so bad. We decided to skip the bush paintings and try and get onto better roads again (or we may have been stuck for days had it continued to rain) and try and get to Namibia that night. When we eventually got to the boarder though it was closed and then we spent about 2 hours driving around trying to look for somewhere to camp. Luckily we were able to camp in a guest house grounds and had a very later dinner (in the rain). Roll on Namibia!!

Day 29 - 32: Zimbabwe (Vic Falls)

We arrived at Vic Falls after a long and hot drive from Bulawayo. The camp site was a bit of a dive but we managed to camp as far away from the bar as possible.

Vic Falls was so lovely - the town itself was a bit dead but it was great to have a few free days to have a wander around a place. We walked around the falls (Zim side only) and got absolutely soaked - there was a lot of water there at that time of year (some parts you could not see for the amount of water). That was also why we could not do the white water rafting there (so we will do this in NZ when we get there). We also had a snoop around the Vic Falls Hotel, so swanky that we did not stop for a coffee! We also managed to have a few lovely meals out and ate a lot of meat and game (crocodile, ostrich, warthog, impala and plain old beef).

One day we bit the bullet and decided on a day of adrenaline! Stu decided to throw himself off aperfectly good bridge and went with a load of others from our trip and bungee jumped from the bridge that links Zambia and Zimbabwe, over the Zambezi river. We all went down to give some moral support but it looked so cool and Stu said it was the best (I may be tempeted to do one in NZ now).

3…2…1…

That afternoon a few of us went on the adrelain afternoon. We did a ‘flying fox’, zip line and gorge swing (x2) over a 100 metre gorge. It was amazing and I loved it - apart from my 1st gorge swing (with 80m free fall) when the man just pushes you off!!!! Eck!

Flying Fox:

 

Gorge Swing:

 

A perfectly good bridge:

The rest of the Falls we just chilled out and ate more game. We managed to get our hands on a Zim local paper and the propaganda in there was just hilarious (but not in a good way).

We absolutely loved Zim and hopefully we will be able to go back soon as it was such a great place. It was sad though that everyone was so pleased we were there but everything so quiet due to the lack of tourists. We also noted that there was hardly any food in the supermarkets and when we tried to buy some food for a picnic to have at the Falls we ended up with a sausage roll and some overpriced crisps (as they literally had nothing else to buy). Getting money was also weird as we had to get it through the black market as the banks gave such ridiculous rates. All fun and games.

Day 24 - 28: Zimbabwe (Antelope Park and Matopos)

After 3 nights on the houseboat we came back to Kariba town and drove, half walked, to the Dam. It was so hot but the dam very impressive. When seeing it Stu started to have misgivings about the bungee he had said he was going to do in Vic Falls.

Next on the trip was Antelope Park - it was such a lovely place on the river (with free tea and coffee). I was also very excited that I could get my washing done in washing machines (by this point it was a bit desperate)! We spent 3 nights (2 days) there and I managed to walk with (and pet) lion cubs (very cool if not a bit scary). \

we have loooooads more of these lion photos on our flickr page. There was even a friendly Impala in the campsite:

(Edit\stu: for the record, we did not always stay at campsites as nice as this - it is just that we didn’t really feel inclined to take photos of the grottier ones that we stayed at; we don’t want people thinking we were accommodated in luxury all the time )

Me and Stu also went on an early morning bush walk to see animals on foot and went on a horseback safari (my horse seemed like it was about the keel over at any given moment though). We did not see that much that we had already seen but it was good to see animals when you are not in a car/truck as you can get a lot closer to them - apparently they only recognise human threat as being standing upright.

Our next stop was Bulawayo. We did not get to see much of the town (apart from driving through) and we got there quite late we decided to upgrade to a room for a few nights - luxury! The next day I think we had one of the best days on the trip. We were picked up in 2 trucks and taken to Matopos National Park. Our guide (Andy or Mr Peanut) was the most knowledgeable guide we had (he was also a professional hunter). He has us eating all the fruits from the bush (that you could without dying). I loved chewing on the sugar cane! We then went tracking rhino on foot with him. He knew exactly how to track them (and other animals) he even could tell how old dung was (and had a love of getting it in his hands and smelling it)! We saw a huge rhino up so close I was a tad scared of getting trampled. We also got to see a 2 week old baby and it’s mother. It was particularly good to be able to do a safari on foot. With such a knowledgeable guide, we learnt so much more about the animals’ behaviour, rather than just pointing at them from the car.

Later that day we visited a village that the other guide (on the other truck) had been brought up with - as a kid he used to go walkabout and go and stay with the tribe. Chief Pondo was hilarious apart from the fact he was old but still had top look after his grandchildren as most of his kids had died of Aids! We also saw the bushman paintings (in Nswatugi) and when the guide was talking about how the bushmen had been driven out (he was so passionate about it) I was nearly crying.

After such a cool day we got back to camp and found a treat - lots of pizza to eat (worth 4 billion Zim dollars)!

Day 18 - 23 : Zambia - Zimbabwe (Kariba Houseboats)

The Zambian boarder was a barrel of laughs! After waiting ages on the hot bus to see what documents they wanted we were then told that us (the British citizens) would be having to pay $150 US to get into the country!!!! This was $10 more than expected - I am not sure what the British had done to upset the Zambian people but $150 is quite a steep fee for 2 days and especially when the Kiwis and Auzzies only had to pay $50! Never mind. Getting over the border was hilarious we were in and out of the truck with yellow fever docs and god knows what else. Poor Becs then had to do lots of paperwork for us so by the time we left the boarder it was pitch black. Another night putting up our tents in the dark!

The next day we traveled to Lusaka in Zambia and had a mad rush at the supermarket to get all the supplies for our 12 days in Zimbabwe (as we knew we could not rely on the supermarkets there having anything on their shelves). The town was very western and there were loads of shops etc but we were so grubby and scruffy looking we stuck out and looked out of place!

We then drove to the Zim border (via a place by the road that sold huge giraffes) - I think we may have bought one if we had been able to get it home. We passed though the Zim border with no problems and avoided the baboons who live at the boarder steeling our lunch! After a beautiful drive we arrived in Kariba town. However, the drive to the campsite was so steep that Ronnie (our driver) made us get off and walk - in case the truck fell off the cliff! I noticed some rather large bugs at this campsite - and the fact that no-one else was there! Shame.

I was so excited to get on the houseboats on Lake Kariba - it took a while to load all our stuff (and food onto the boat but by lunch we were off)!!!! The boat was like a small battleship (made of grey metal) and our rooms were below deck and squished (4 to a room) but they did have a bonus of a toilet that you sit on and look out onto the lake! They were so cool though. We were fed, watered and looked after so well. I was just pleased that I was feeling better and could eat again (and boy did I make up for it)! There was lots of sitting in the sun, playing cards, some of the boys went out fishing, swimming in the cage (but we did not do this as I was too wary of crocs and hippos) and getting up for sunrises. Our 1st night on the boat we had the bad taste party - it was hilarious ans a lot of fun (especially with the lovely punch) but I must say I was one of the quieter people there - shock horror!

The day after the party we went on a game cruise on one of the little boats with Colin- it was really cool to see elephants from the water and we even saw a croc. We got a little too close to the hippo’s for my liking but the guides seemed to think it was all good!

We loved the housboats - spent the evenings listening to hippos calling from frightengly close by, staring at the vast milky way (which is so much clearer than anywhere else we have ever been) and drinking beer!

Day 13 - 17: Dar E Salam to Malawi

We left the Dar campsite at 6am (yes that’s right you read correctly). In fact, I think the best lie in I have had on this trek has been 7:30am with my earliest get up time being 4:30am - if you are making breakfast you need to be up early to put down your tent before starting! Anyway, a long drive later we got to a really nice campsite in the Tanzanian hills (Chitimba). We had a traditional meal cooked for us and sat in huts to eat it but I was ill and had to go to bed (I had been feeling ill for a couple of days and had not been eating (Edit\stu: traditional african meals aren’t all that good unless you like maize meal. In Malawi thy called it Hugali and it is a heavy dollop of very bland starch, usually served with some meat stew)). The next day (another early start and a long drive) and we went through a largish town (something I had not seen for a while) - as there were a few ill people we went to the doctors and got some drugs for the illness - they were like horse tablets!

We then crossed into Malawi and got to our campsite in the darkness. The next day we visited a clothes market in Malawi to get bad taste clothing for when get to Zimbabwe. The only thing was that we were buying for other people so that made it very funny indeed. I think Stu was dreading the event though but it was fun to get stuff at the market. I did note here that there was a lot more poverty in Malawi than Tanzania and as soon as the truck pulls up somewhere there are always about 10 locals trying to sell you something.

We then stopped at a really nice carving market and bought some souvenirs to send home (apparently we could do this in Malawi later on). Anyway, we got a lovely hippo, some masks and some paintings but we have realised that I am rubbish at bartering and I over pay as I feel sorry for the people we are buying from! Whilst on the truck we also had been saving all of our water bottles (apparently they are very useful in the poor villages for storing stuff). At the market we got the bag of them out to give to the children and you have never seen such a scramble for the bottles. It was as if they were made of gold! They were so happy to have them it brought a tear to my eye and made me realise how lucky we are!

When we got to the next campsite I have never been so pleased to get somewhere (we were staying there for a few days and I had been so ill it was good to get somewhere to have a rest)!

We stayed at Kande beach in Malawi which was so nice and relaxing. We got up very early every morning as it was so hot. One day we sat on the beach at 8am and we had to find shade as it was too hot! Crazy!

On the 2nd day at Kande Beach we went horse riding through the villages around the area and then came back to the beach and went swimming while still on the horses. It was an amazing experience and the horses loved it - they make a humming sound when in the water.

After 3 nights at Kande we left there and made our way to Zambia - not before stopping at Lilongwe to post our Hippo etc. Although, it did take about 3 hours to do this as everyone had something to post - lets hope it arrives and in one piece!

The thing I noticed more about Malawi was the locals (especially the little kids) love to wave at the truck as it drives past all the little villages.

Day 5 - 13: Arusha to Zanzibar (Tanzania)

After the delights of the Serengeti we then made our way back to Arusha to meet the truck and the other people on it. It was all a bit overwhelming to be the ‘new’ people but everyone was very friendly and some had even erected our tent for us (Thanks Simon and Anneke)! There is a lot of Kiwis and Aussies on the truck and also a lot of couples which is not what I expected. The truck is huge and there were 28 people on it including us. Our first night of camping was eventful with the ground shaking due to Arushas hottest nightspot being the campsite!!!!

After having a few long drives through Tanzania (and a couple of stop-offs in nice campsites in the hills) we arrived at Dar E Salam - it was so hot and humid and on arrival at the campsite I was in the sea for a dip - unfortunately the sea temp was like a warm bath - not very cooling! Dar was not a nice city really and we had a couple of hours to have a wander and get some food for lunches and change up some money (I also had to get some vest tops as for some reason I had not packed any in my bag). The only thing I was impressed with was the 10p ice lollies! Anyway the camspite in Dar was nice but awfully hot (it was 29 degrees at night).

We then had our journey to Zanzibar which I was very excited about. 2 eventful ferry journeys’ and we arrived into Stone Town (Zanzibar’s Capital). There was no hanging about and we were crammed into a little mini bus (quite litterally) and taken on a tour of a spice farm. This was so interesting and it was good to see how things are grown (unfortunately we could not buy any spices as we are not home for a bit or we would have bought so much). We then drank out of coconuts and had ties (for the men) and handbags (for the ladies) made for us out of coconut tree leaves. After a driveby to where Freddie Mercury was born we then visisted the place where the slave markets used to be and we sat where they used to be kept for days without water etc. It was interesting but very sad indeed.

Those pods running along the floor are cardamon

the green pods infront of his face are vanilla

Stone Town was really interesting and we would have loved a couple of days to have a good wander round (we especially liked the seafood market where we went for dinner - what a choice of things to eat and what a sense busting experience - me and Stu also caused a fight between the locals by buying food from 2 different stalls)!!!!

Anyway, it was time for getting to Kendawa Beach at the top of the island…..

We drove through lots of palm trees in the blazing heat. We got to our beach resort and were so happy with our room. I was expecting a hut on the beach but we got a nice room with aircon - very nice and a lovely change to our 2 man tent! The beach was so white and the sea so turquoise I was loving it. We did not do much at the beach (I managed to muster up the energy to get a massage and write some postcards)….. We then made the terrible mistake (stu\edit: It wasn’t a mistake for me!) of signing up for the snorkeling. The boat that took us to the snorkelling site was an old sailing boat and the sea very rough (due to a cyclone hitting Madagascar at this time). Anyway, to cut a long story short the snorkeling was fantastic and we saw so many beautiful fish but the ride (which was about 2 hours) was no fun at all! I thought I was going to die!
3 days in Zanzibar and then we had to get back to Dar - very hot and sticky again……

Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater

Warning: some photos may not be suitable for the squeamish (a buffalo being eaten!)

Surviving the night on the Crater rim with the not-so-friendly buffalo, day three of our Serengeti excursion started early again (6am) and straight after breakfast we descended through the mist into the crater itself, a massive caldera. David Attenborough could possibly tell you why but there is but there is an unbelievably amount of animals in the one location. Unlike the plains of the Serengeti, these animals do not migrate so there is always alot to see. The first thing we say as soon as we reached the bottom was this massive bull elephant:

Beerman, our driver got a bit cheeky and started driving a bit close to him and the elephant started flapping his ears at us! Beerman then thought it would be a good idea to try and overtake him…

After this start, we new we were going to see loads of animals today.

We had a distant view of a black Rhine, saw some Zebra giving themselves a sandbath and then spotted the aftermath of a lion kill. The Hyena were fighting over the carcass.

The Jackal gets the last bit - Cheeky bugger was lucky not to get his head bitten off.

The rest of the day we saw a lioness try (and fail) to kill a wildebeest, a pair of lions mating (every 15 mins for 2 weeks!!!), some more hippo and lots of strange birds.

I really like the crater and we saw loads of animals without having to try but for me, it did not have the same feel as the Serengeti. There was so much and so many other trucks in a relatively small area that it had the quality of a theme park - none of the animals seemed too bothered by our presence. Whereas, in the Serengeti plains, you had the feeling that you were alone in the wilderness (and often you were), so it felt that little bit more wild. Either way, it was all amazing!!!

And when we got back to the campsite in Arusha we met up with the truck and all the other passengers…