DAY 25 - Orpington, UK

Back home now for a few weeks. Just done 7 loads of washing. Ironing is going to be hell.

 

The scenic flight over the Okavango Delta was fantastic. Although the place looks like a grassy savanna, it's not - most of the grass is actually reed beds sat in a metre of water. Even from the air we couldn't see many large animals. It's not like they could be hiding anywhere - there aren't large swathes of forest and as far as i'm aware elephants can't stand on tip-toes, so they couldn't have been behind the individual trees that dotted the otherwise low-level landscape. The scenery was great though and there were herds of wildebeest and the like. Broke my rule about never getting on a plane with a propeller though...

 

That evening the tour leader, Manny, announced he had a twisted testicle (sic.) and would be leaving the tour for an emergency operation. Ouch.

 

After Maun and the Okvanga Delta we had a long drive through Botswana. We were heading to Johannesburg, but it was a hell of a long way. The Kalahari desert isn't the featureless sand dunes of the Sahara, it's semi-arid which means sand and spiky bushes. But this is just as uninteresting to look at when it goes on and on and on... We drove for a day and the scenery never changed.

 

The trip notes stated that we'd stop and camp in the desert, sitting around a warm fire toasting marshmallows, etc, etc. However, Mike (the remaining tour leader) didn't want to arrive the next day in Johannesburg after dark (something about murder, rape and pillage), so we kept going until dusk, reaching the border town of Lobatse.

 

Despite driving around for about an hour to find a mythical camp site, we couldn't find it so headed back to a motel we'd past earlier. Mike was a little embarrassed about the fact we were going to have to pay for our accommodation but he went off to ask the rates. The motel only had 5 rooms, as only 3 of those had hot water. It wasn't the nicest hotel and the owner seemed strangely reluctant to let us stay. Still it was warm and he let us in eventually. In the morning we clicked that the owner was clearly more used to renting out the rooms by the hour, which explained the other "guests"; some drunk, most unfriendly and disproportionately male. The pipes also kept banging all night.

 

Next day we headed for Johannesburg and stayed in a very nice hotel (the only night worker there was the security guard) for our final night. We walked to a local steak restaurant that evening and each ate half a cow (except the veggies who chewed on a couple of forlorn carrots). Dan had a huge kebab dangling on a skewer (see pic). The local houses in Johannesburg clearly took security very serious given the height of the fences and the very unsubtle implied threats of violence to anyone who dares so much as ring on the doorbell.

 

Got a few weeks off now before Moscow. I've uploaded some of the best pics  (http://picasaweb.google.com/richlwill0/20080728AfricaBest/photo#map or see website www.energiser.net).

Victoria falls. Plus, its cold in the back of this truck...

DAY 18 - Maun, Botswana

Monday was a drive day again when we crossed into Botswana. At least all the roads are sealed here and not full of potholes. The problem here is the foot and mouth checks. The country has an agreement with the EU to sell it beef, provided it remains disease free. That meant for us stopped every 10 to 15 miles to get off the bus, walk through some soda ash to disinfect our feet and have the truck sprayed. It also meant hiding the meat from the truck's cool boxes under the tents in the back, as you're not allowed to transport meat around the country. Apparently.

 

Maun is the gateway to the Okavanga Delta. The Okavanga river, which starts 1,500 km away, never reaches the sea it just gets shallower and wider once it hits Botswana and then either evaporates of sinks into the sand. We had a bush camp last night. We used small dug-out boats called Mokoros to get to a small island in the delta. The boats are propelled by a geezer on the back with a pole. They don't feel particularly stable, but everyone just lowered their centres of gravity and hoped for the best.

 

We had a couple of game walks and camped the night under the stars. Sounds rough, but we'd brought the cook with us, so we had it pretty easy. "Sailed" back today.

 

Anyway, this internet use is ridiculously expensive so i'm off. Going for a flight over the delta.

 

Rich.

DAY 15 - Livingstone, Zambia

Victoria Falls were fantastic. You can only see some of them from the Zambian side, but they were still very impressive. There's a long zig-zagging canyon where the falls have eroded and moved back over thousands of years. You can't really see it from the ground, but just got back from a microlight flight over the area. It's breathtaking. There's a pic on the blog below this entry (www.energiser.net). No idea why it's sideways. Try turning your monitor on it's side.

We walked down to the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and crossed over the border line mid way (so that's another country for the list, Sean) but didn't enter the country proper. Didn't want to give money to Mugabe and besides, you have to pay another £75 to get back into Zambia. Bit of a rip-off.

One of the group did the bungee jump. He wasn't so concerned with the jump as with the fact they wrote in very large characters on his arm his weight (105kg) where everyone could see. I've done one before in New Zealand. Once was enough.

Last night we had a booze cruise down the Zambezi to watch the sunset. Great fun but every time someone saw an elephant or hippo, everyone on board would run to the requisite side of the boat causing the whole thing to list. Still, no-one seemed too concerned and put the sliding bottles down to being drunk.

Rich.

DAY 14 - Livingstone, Zambia

The evening drive through the Luangwa Park was even better than the morning one. There were lions sat watching the sun set, leopards stalking their pray and hyenas... er... laughing. It didn't start off too promising. We didn't see much for the first hour and the guide resorted to saying "look! an elephant at night!", "look! a small unidentifiable black blob on the distant horizon... at night!".

Back in the camp, an elephant had wandered up towards the bar and restaurant (although it didn't order anything) and i tried to get my picture taken with it. I slowly backed towards it while facing the camera but when i got within 10 meters, it gave a very loud trumpet and i felt it best to scarper before being trampled to death.

Next day was a long drive to Lusaka where we stayed in the Eureka campsite for a night. In the morning we drove to Livingstone and the Victoria Falls. The road down here started off well enough, but you could tell where they ran out of money - about 60km from Livingstone. The road's condition seriously deteriorated with massive potholes liberally sprinkled over the tarmac, making the rest of the journey more like a bounceathon than a normal drive. Apparently, the money earmarked for finishing the roadworks had been siphoned off by corrupt officials. It wouldn't be so bad, but there are only three roads in Zambia that actually go anywhere.Hardly taxing to make sure they're kept in good condition. TIA.

Life on the truck on the long drives has settled down. Everybody changes seats each trip so everyone gets a go in the good, warm seats (the front) and the cold but good view seats (the back). We've stopped at several supermarkets on the way to stock up on biscuits, crisps and pop. This is not good. Some people are eating packet and packet of biscuits and we're not getting much exercise.

On the health front, Dan's got a really bad cold and is a bit miserable. Fortunately we brought some pills which are helping, but not much. I'm slowly getting over the runs after two weeks of it. Delightful.

Did i mention all the plugs we've seen so far on the trip have all be UK style? Very handy. Weather is definitely changing as we drive further south. The days are sunny and warm but the nights are getting colder. Last night was my first night in a tent for four nights and it was flipping chilly by morning.

Well, booked all the activities for the next two days we've got here this morning. Going to see the falls in an hour. Can't wait!!

Rich.

DAY 11 - South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

Hi all.

Having a great day today, but more on that later.

I've decided not to be cynic about the Malawi village. All the people were really nice and i can't blame them for trying it on. As one of them said "TIA" - this is Africa. I think he meant don't expect the same rules to apply here as they do at home.

Anyway, had a swim in Lake Malawi in the late afternoon two days ago. Was great fun, especially without the salt. Only when we came out did someone tell us about the little fish that inhabit the lake. Apparently they swim up men's privates and hook themselves in. Supposed to be very painful. No kidding! Did you know 95% of aquarium fish species originated in Lake Malawi. It's a fact, don't you know.

The guy who runs the trip has a "Did you know..." session every night and anyone who calls the truck a bus has to contribute. Apparently the vehicle is very sensitive to being called names. Yeeesss....

Yesterday was an all day drive. Eleven hours of fun. But to be honest, the time goes quite quickly as you stick your head out the window and watch the world go by. That's assuming the next container lorry doesn't decapitate you and you can stand the dust billowing up of course. We crossed into Zambia mid afternoon. One of the party had forgotten to bring his Yellow Fever certificate, so the tour leader had to bribe the immigration official. TIA. He'd quite clearly done a similar thing before as he managed to get the original demand down from $400 to $20. Bargain!

We arrived at South Luangwa NP after dark and the camp site is fantastic. No tents, but chalets with hot water (that's really hot water, not the tepid stuff we've had before) and electricity (well, after 1900 and before 0900). I was woken about three in the morning by a hippo going past the window! It was only 2 meters from us!! We got up early and found that the river is only about 100 meters away and all the wildlife wanders up to the campsite during the night to forage. Fantastic!

This morning we had a nature walk and safari drive through the park. Saw plenty of Zebra, Elephants, Hippos and Monkeys. No lions yet, but we're going on another drive tonight - two hours in the light, two hours in the dark.

Laters

Rich.

DAY 9 - Kandie Beach, Malawi

I thought i'd make the most of having the internet connection and tell you about what happened this morning.

We went for what was billed as a village tour. The second we set foot outside the camp site we were mobbed by locals. They were all very nice and wanted to be our friend. A kid called Caesar (apparently because his mother had a Cesarean section) latched himself onto me. The tour took us through the village showing us their well, the food they grow and even into someone's home. It was quite humbling how little they have.

Next stop was the local school. The kids were fantastic. They all wanted to have their picture taken and then to see it on the camera screen. We went into a class room and all the kids sang to us which was really touching. In the school's library the head teacher sat us down and asked us if we wanted to give a donation or sponsor a child. Most did.

Next we went to the hospital, Caesar was still in tow and so were all the cute little kids. We met the doctor and then made another donation.

Up to this point i was feeling really good about it all. We'd seen some pretty tough conditions but the people were all fantastic. However, as we approached the gate back to the camp site the sob stories started. Caesar had many problems i could help with, etc, etc. I'd been expecting that but when we got inside the camp one of the other members of the group told us that when she'd hung back to talk to some of the older kids at the school they'd all told her that the headmaster kept most of the money we'd donate for himself and his family, and any pictures we'd get through the post from sponsoring a child would be of his children. We don't know if it's true or not but it took the edge off it a bit.

It appears it's no coincidence that the only fat people we'd seen were the police and the headmaster himself.

Anyway, I thought i'd write something about the group we're travelling with. There are 16 of us in all and 3 staff (two Zimbabwean drivers and guides, Mani and Mike, and a Kenyan chef, Pete). Most of the other people are British or Irish and largely they're professional types. It's quite hard work living tooth and jowl with 16 strangers and sometimes it's great just to disappear for an evening and do my own thing. No major bust ups yet. I consider myself lucky i'm not on the other truck currently camped here. They're on a 90 day trip and were having a fancy dress party last night. They were all wearing bin liners. Tackarama. All that pressure to be jolly all the time would really get on my nerves.

Rich.

DAY 8 - Kande Beach, Malawi

Hi there.

 

Seems like ages since i've been on the 'net, but it was only last Tuesday. The connections are pretty temperamental. We stopped somewhere called Mzuzu for lunch and we found an internet cafe there, but no sooner had we sat down and the power to the town went out. The power here only came on at 17:00.

 

We left Zanzibar last Tuesday. The ferry crossing back was pretty rough and many people were ill on the way back. Mostly down their fronts (think of the film Kill Bill vol 1 and the Japanese room). Back in Dar es Salaam we were introduced to the truck we'll be on for the next three weeks. The sides are open to the elements and there are rolldown bits of plastic instead of windows. It's a bit of a Swiss army knife on one side where the stove pulls out and there's a water tank and everyone has a separate locker to put their stuff in. For the rest of the trip we're camping.

 

First night we camped on the beach just outside town, then drove for 11 hours into the interior. We passed through our first national park on the way (i saw my first wild elephants, giraffe and baboons! how exciting!). After camping the night (we discovered in the morning we'd camped on a very large spiders nest) we resumed the drive to a tea plantation and had a guided tour. See pic previously sent. Apparently they sell all the tea in this part of Tanzania as Fair Trade.

 

Friday night we camped in a religious school and had to endure an entire night without a bar. It's funny that most of these campsites can't provide hot water, decent loos or showers, but always seem to have a bar. The place was generally a bit austere in other regards too. The loos were of the hover variety, which isn't much good when half the truck's compliment are suffering the runs.

 

Saturday we crossed over into Malawi. Although it had been the case in Tanzania too, more so in Malawi we were struck by just how friendly the people are. All the kids would run out to the road waving with massive grins on their face, and they didn't even want to sell you anything. The adults were pretty chatty too. Turns out that the roads are very much the focus of the towns and villages. When you look at a map of this part of Africa and see only a few straggly lines, you probably don't realise you're looking at ALL the roads. There are quite a few dirt tracks, but they're not really laid out roads in a European sense.

 

Saturday afternoon and night was spent on the shore of Lake Malawi. It's a fantastic place and looks just like the coast by the sea, except of course the tide never goes out or comes in, and the water is salt-free. We were woken up at five in the morning by banging and shouting. Turns out the locals were sailing in for a morning's fishing so we hung around for the sunrise and had a chat with them. They like to practice their English, you know...

 

The plan for today was to drive in to the mountains and camp the night in the Luwawe forest, but the heavens opened and turned the road into a mud bath, so we diverted back to the lake and this place, Kande Beach. Oh dear. What a shame. Only sand, sun and the lake here. What will we do?

 

Rich.

DAY 6 - Mbeya, Tanzania

No internet for several more days yet im afraid. In the meantime heres a pic from the tea plantation we went to today. I drink enough of the stuff, so it was good to see where it comes from...

DAY 3 cont

Nungwi beach. And me.

DAY 3 - Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania

All

 

Up next was Nungwi (see map on www.energiser.net). It's what Malaga would be like if it was moved to Africa and you took away all the Northern Europeans and Hotels. White beaches, palm trees and hardly any people. The locals walk around going about their daily lives as if you weren't there. The sea is warm and calm and there are no kids running around the place screaming their heads off.

 

Can't last.

 

Still haven't worked out why the local ladies keep asking me if i want my hair braided though...

 

Will try and send a pic from the phone later, but that's likely to be even slower than this internet connection.

 

Rich.

DAY 2 - Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Hello all.

 

Just a quick one to start off. Got the flight over from Heathrow to Dar es Salaam. Got served last AGAIN on the flight. Had to have the veggie "option", some sort of pureed aubergine. (BA have got a great new video-on-demand in flight entertainment system though...)

 

Anyway, on arrival we met the rest of the group (mostly normal) and got a ferry to Zanzibar. We only just made it to the terminal in time and our seats had been given away (as appears to be the local custom) to the highest bidder. After a minor fuss with the attendant, we finally got some seats but they were right under the aircon (which is probably why they were still empty). Two and a half hours later we defrosted in the sun of Stone Town. We had to get our own luggage off the boat because the porters wouldn't do it unless you bribed them, despite it being their job. They looked a bit miffed though when we did it ourselves.

 

Went on a great spice tour yesterday. It basically consisted of showing us the plants / trees / pods that household spices come from. Apparently they don't grow in little pots with Schwartz on them...

 

Had a meal in a nice little beach-side restaurant last night, under the stars. Shame the service didn't match the setting. Took 2.5 hours for the food to arrive. Was too tired to care by then though.

 

For more entries, pictures and maps, see www.energiser.net.

 

Rich. 

DAY 0 - London

Here we go then...

Off to Heathrow in a couple of hours to get the first flight to Dar Es Salaam.

Been through usual pre-departure rubbish. Have I got the right clothes? How hot / cold / humid will it be? Do i have enough emergency biscuits??

Oh well. Too late now. I can feel the Larium kicking in...