Africa	Cape Town Jan 17 - Jan 21 Garden Route Jan 22 - Jan 27 Overland Tour Jan 29 - Feb 19 Soweto Tour Feb 24 Kruger Park Feb 25 - Feb 27

South Africa, Jan 27 - Jan 29

Finally! We were really looking forward to our Wildlife Adventures International Overland tour. This tour takes 21 days and goes through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. We really expected this trip to be similar to our Australian outback trip ...but we were pleasantly surprised to find out it was going to be much more luxurious (there would be real toilets and showers)! Our friend, Sonya (whom we met in Cape Town), used to be a guide for this company - so she gave us a good recommendation on Wildlife. What really sold us on the trip was the emphasis on good food ...and luck was on our side again when we got Andre as our guide. He really appreciates good food, and the man can COOK!

A Wildlife tour can accomodate up to 20 people in the truck, but we ended up with just 6! We were very lucky to have such a small group ...and that we all got along! We traveled with Sharon and Paul (from England), Emma (also from England), Marie-Louise (from Holland), and Andre - our guide (from South Africa).

Our first day on the road, we spent the night in Clanwilliam (South Africa). We had the lake to ourselves. Everyone was still a bit shy and just getting to know eachother. Paul and Sharon had a Yoga book with them, so we decided to try and do yoga every evening before dinner. Andre cooked a great lamb stew that night! I knew we were in for good food the rest of the tour. Andre wasn't kidding when he said we would all gain weight on this trip!

The next stop was Gariep (Orange River). We stayed on the South Africa side ...you could see Namibia just across the river. We enjoyed doing yoga as the sunset ...then it was wine time. By day, this place looked like a paradise ...green grass, beautiful thatched roofs, and charming showers and toilets. However, by night, it was transformed into an insect freak-show! I had the first run-in with a bug (or rather, he ran into me) ...a BIG bug! During dinner, we discovered several other creepy crawlies ...they just started coming out from everywhere. That was our first encounter with a red roman spider ... GOD oh mighty!!! What a large and horrible looking spider!!! Just when we thought we couldn't get freaked out anymore, we saw the scorpions! Not even the insects of south east Asia could prepare us for this.

In the morning, we all rented boats and went for a lazy ride down the Orange River. There's a lot of fine particles in the river, so it looks dirty, but it's actually very clean. It felt so good swimming in the river!!

Namibia, Feb 1 - Feb 10

As we made our way into Namibia, the land became more barren and desert-like ...it also became very, very hot (it was pushing 40 C during the day - and no air-conditioning)! Our next stop was the Fish River Canyon. This canyon was enormous! We hiked over to a view point for a sunset toast ...what a view (cute toilets too)!!

On the road again, we headed to Soussusvlei (with a few stops along the way). We stayed in a very nice campsite near the dunes of Soussusvlei ...a great bar, nice pool, more yoga, terrific ambiance. We got up very early the next morning and slogged all the way up a dune so that we could catch the sunrise - and it was worth every step! I've never seen such gorgeous colors and landscape! It's easy to see why so many travelers rave about Namibia ... even the toilets were photo-worthy. I have to confess, I had never even heard of Namibia until other travelers told us about it. It's really a wonder that we don't hear more about this beautiful country?!?

After a quick breakfast, we headed to the Dead Vlei ... where they filmed part of the movie "The Cell". The dunes were really impressive ...they were a deep-red color (especially in the early morning light). We spent a few hours walking around, enjoying the sights, and taking tons of photos. It was very HOT(it is a desert afterall) ...and we discovered that sand sticks to sunscreen and sweat really easy! As our tour of the Deadvlei was winding up, Andre explained the finer points of how to run down a dune ...then he demonstrated. Some of us were crazy enough to follow him. Amazingly, none of us got hurt ...just very sandy!

We spent the next two days in the town of Swakopmund. We had a break from camping and stayed in a nice backpackers/hotel. There were great restaurants and cute cafes. We REALLY enjoyed our time here ...all of us did various activities - paragliding, sandboarding, and quadbiking. The two days just flew by! I think we all would have loved one more day here (maybe another trip??).

We left Swakopmund and made our way towards Twyfelfontein. Along the way, we stopped at the Cape Cross Seal Colony (to quote Paul: "Bloody hell! Look at all these seals!") and along the notorious Skeleton Coast. We arrived at our campsite (which was really charming) and Andre made us another great dinner! The next morning, we took a tour of the largest collection of Bushman rock art in Africa. We also checked out the petrified forest. On the way to Etosha Park we stopped for coffee and met some Himba women.

The Etosha Game Park is beautiful! We decided to share some chalets which were right in front of the water hole. The park is set up so that you can sit on benches and watch the animals as they come to drink at the water hole. Flood lights illuminate the water hole all night long ...so you can come out and look at the animals whenever you feel like it. It was a perfect spot to watch the animals and enjoy the sunset. We were very lucky during our time in Etosha Park. Our first night we saw 2 lions, a rhino, and elephants at the water hole! We also did a few game drives in the evening and early morning ...we saw so many animals!!! It was really neat to see the animals in their natural environment. The highlight was a male lion with it's kill.

It was hard to leave Etosha, but we had to move on. Our next stop was at Waterberg Plateau National Park. They had a beautiful campground and the nicest pool. It was so nice, Emma decided to skip our hike up the plateau and stay by the pool. It was a very hot hike up the hill, but the views were really pretty (See what you missed, Emma?) .

Our last stop in Namibia was the Gobabis private game farm. There were peacocks and kudus roaming around the area. One particular kudu was sniffing around for handouts.

Botswana, Feb 11 - Feb 17

We crossed the border into Botswana (ducking our heads for those low flying dung beetles!) and set up camp in Maun. We took makoro boats into the Okavango Delta. The makoro boats are traditional boats carved out from sausage trees. At first glance (and second too), they don't look like they're going to float ...they have leaks everywhere (our poler had to bail out the water every 10 minutes). Despite all the leaks, this was the most enjoyable ride ...you just lay back, let the poler do all the work, and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. I loved all the water lillies!! The water in the Delta is so clean, you can drink it (and some of us did ...so far, so good). It was a 2 hour boat ride to our camping site in the middle of the Delta ...we stopped for a quick swim in a safe area (hippo free, at least).

We set our tents up just before the rain came. We had to wait the rain out in our tents, so we made the best of it by grabbing a bottle of wine and playing games. The rain eventually did stop, and we were able to go for an evening game walk. We didn't see very many animals on our walk, but we did see a lot of animal poop! We got pretty good at identifying elephant poop, zebra poop, etc.. We also learned a little bit about the native plants. The unique part about the delta is that you're sleeping right in the heart of the wilderness ...we heard all kinds of animals at night ...baboons, lions, birds, and other unidentifiable creatures. Since we were in the wild, we didn't have the comforts of a toilet and shower (and the mosquitos were pretty bad). We all agreed that one night in the delta was sufficient.

The next day, we loaded up the makoro boats and headed back to Maun. We washed our clothes and scrubbed the "delta" off our bodies. That evening, we took a flight over the delta. This was a fantastic way to really appreciate the size of the delta and see all the animals that had eluded us on foot. We saw hippos, giraffes, elephants, rhino, etc.. It was a great way to finish our time at the delta.

As we were driving to our next stop, Chobe National Park, we came across a large bull elephant on the side of the road. We were always spotting baboons, springbok, and other wildlife during our long drives. It's scenes like these that remind you that you're in Africa. The kamakazi dung beetles, scorpions, and mosquitos were another reminder.

We arrived in Chobe National Park and did a river cruise with game viewing. I think it's safe to say that this was the highlight of our time in Botswana. We saw a lot of elephants, hippos, crocodiles, eagles, and water buffalo. There were so many animals, you didn't know where to look first. We got so close to the animals! In fact, we got a little too close ...we ended up getting charged by a hippo!! Luckily, the boat driver was quick and he was able to get us away just in time. Paul got the whole thing on video ...the only thing you can hear is the boat motor and my screams.

It was a fantastic river cruise!! What a great way to view animals! It was another beautiful sunset and we were all happy with our adventures for the day ...and to have made it back in one piece!

Zimbabwe, Feb 18 - Feb 19

It was a short drive over the border into Zimbabwe. We could feel the spray from the falls as we drove into Victoria Falls ...one of the seven wonders of the world. We finished our overland tour with a "booze-cruise" in Zambia (I'd never heard of this country until now). I didn't bother taking my camera for the cruise ...I was afraid it might end up in the river, like Andre.

The next day, our group toured the Victoria Falls on foot. What nobody tells you is how incredibly WET you get walking around the falls! The views really were fantastic! After we dried off, Sharon and Paul left for Harare (to visit relatives). Andre also left, so it was just Emma, Marie-Louise, Lon, and myself. We dressed up in our "backpacker best" and had high tea at the Victoria Falls Hotel.

The next day, Lon did an ultralight flight over Vic Falls ...and I did the same flight, but in a helicopter. It was stunning! Flying over the falls is definitely the best way to see it!

This was an awesome overland trip!!! Looking back on all the things we did, I am so glad that we came to Africa!!

Lon and I had planned to spend a week touring around Zimbabwe, but we decided to leave early. I found it difficult to deal with the blackmarket (mostly because we were short of U.S. dollars on hand) and we were getting a bit worried with the volatile political situation. The official currency rate is 55 Zimbabwe dollars to 1 U. S. dollar. However, this is a very artificial rate. The blackmarket trades at 280 Zim dollars to 1U.S. dollar. That's a huge difference! If you go to an ATM, you will be charged at the official rate. If you use your credit card (and the transaction goes through a Zimbabwe bank), then you'll be charged at the official rate. You can see the problems this could create. For example, if a flight costs $50,000 Zim dollars, you could end up paying $909.00 U.S. dollars with the official rate ...or, $178.00 U.S. dollars with the blackmarket rate. So, you really need to go into Zimbabwe with plenty of U.S. dollars in your hands!

As for the political situation, we knew things were bad, but we realized just how bad when we ordered orange juice at a cafe. Turns out, we couldn't have orange juice because the farm where they get their supply had been seized by the government ...and they weren't producing enough. Zimbabwe used to have a surplus of food ...they were called the "breadbasket" of Africa. Now, with all the land seizures (taking away land from the whites), there is a famine. Food aid is being delivered from other countries.

There is a lot more going on than we know, but here's the little bits that we've picked up: The presidential elections will be held March 9th and 10th. Robert Mugabe has been Zimbabwe's president for the past 23 years. He has kicked out all the independent and foreign press, so no one can monitor the elections. He has also stated that he will not accept the outcome if the opposition wins. The army has stated that it will back him up. He is pushing a very controversial land reform whereby farms are being seized from their white land owners. Unfortunately, it looks like Zimbabwe is headed for a civil war.

region	lodging	$US / night	rating	notes
Africa	Wildlife Adventures	$700.0*		A great way to see the vast expanse of southern Africa
Victoria Falls	Shoestring Backpackers	$20.0		Good location, safe, friendly

* all inclusive - all meals were provided. This was often the case because there was nowhere else to go.