Kirsty & Deon's Adventures

Highlights

2009-07-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

33 days on the road, 10,000km on the clock, 27 nights in the roof top tent, hundreds of puddles and potholes, beautiful sunsets, lots of great braais and unbelievable up close and personal animal encounters along the way!

Best Nights at Camp

NAM - Lions roaring at Etosha
BOT – Elephants walking through camp at Savute
SA – Sleeping in the hide with the hippos outside at Kruger

Best Animal Encounters

NAM – Black rhinos fighting at Etosha
BOT – Wild dogs hunting at Savute and lion hunting at Ihaha
SA – Hyenas snoozing at Kruger

Best Activities

NAM – Hiking at Soussvlei and desert tour in Swakopmund
BOT – Flight over the Okavango Delta
ZIM – Thinking we were drenched at Vic Falls
ZAM – Realizing what drenched is at Vic Falls
SA – Crossing the Limpopo River and camping in the hide at Kruger

Animal Sightings

Springbok, oryx, wild horses, ostrich, bat eared fox, baboon, dassie, black backed jackal, chameleon, gecko, side winding snake, lizard, cheetah, seal, giraffe, steenbok, elephant, wildebeest, zebra, black rhino, white rhino, red hartebeest, hyena, springhare, honey badger, wild dog, buffalo, crocodile, water monitor, sitatunga, leopard, lion, waterbuck, warthog, lechwe, kudu, impala, hippo, meercat, wildcat, dwarf mongoose, cane rat…and of course lots of donkeys, cows and goats that almost became road kill!

And Now

Just enjoying our last evening in Weenen sat around the fire as winter nights here are cold. We’ve had the camping stove in the living room making pancakes around the fire so still enjoying our camping experiences till the last minute. We return our Landrover tomorrow and start the trek back to Bermuda and the countdown to when we can plan another amazing experience in the wilds of the African bush as we are now converted to the Land Rover 4x4 roof top tent camping world.

BOT to SA - Where's the Bridge?

2009-07-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

We woke to a very cool morning overlooking the Limpopo River and decided to rethink our plans now in search of a little warmth. We discovered access to the game viewing roads at Tuli Game Reserve was only via staying at a private camp and doing their organized game drives so we abandoned that plan and decided to head back to South Africa and take a slow cruise back to Weenen.

Crossing the Botswana – South Africa border was an adventure as in between the two countries is the Limpopo River and no bridge. From the Botswana side, you could see the road into the river and the road out with the section in between covered by water – depth unknown. We parked at the river edge and couldn’t actually believe that was the road ahead. We chatted to some other travelers who had just crossed the river from the SA border who told us about their trailer that had floated across!! What a daunting experience driving into a river….but what a highlight as we emerged with only a damp floor mat.

We decided a great place for an overnight would be camping at Tshipise where there are hot spring pools….and arrived to a sea of caravans in the campsite who hadn’t left a blade of grass to spare for our Landy amongst the 370 camping spots! They were filled with caravans equipped to be homes away from home including just about any gadget that opens and closes including satellite dishes. Some even had privacy screening to enclose their area, which were filled with kids, parents and grandparents. Tshipise offered everything from relaxing in the warm baths to horse riding, game drives, touch rugby, action cricket, mini golf, trampolining and jukskei. There was a real sense of family everywhere you looked.

We saw hundreds of stunning old baobab trees in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

After Etosha, Moremi and Chobe, we seemed to be suffering from game viewing withdrawl symptoms so decided to head to Kruger for our last couple of days and hope there was space for us amongst all the SA kiddies on school holidays. No space at any of the campsites and fortunately there was a cancellation at the Shipandani Hide so we booked it for our first night as probably not quite so popular in winter for the non-campers. For the non SAers, a hide is a wooden structure overlooking a waterhole where you can sit “hidden” and watch the animals drinking. This one is open to the public by day and takes those wanting to be just that little bit closer to the elements by night. They give you a mattress, linen, and crockery. There are pull down bed frames and the rest is just turning the hide and braai areas into your home for the night!

We arrived at the hide with three ellies and lots of hippo to greet us. Any noises we made seemed to set the hippos off on a “barking” frenzy and they always sounded like they were on the other side of the fence to us. Check out time was 6.30am so we were up just as the hippos were returning to the waterhole for the day. Luckily our paths didn’t cross!

We continued to head South through Kruger getting us closer to Weenen. We luckily got a camping spot at Letaba so enjoyed the day exploring the back roads and saw lots of ellies, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, hippos and the highlight of the day was 3 hyenas snoozing by the side of the bridge and a leopard leaping across a pool of water.

Kruger offers lots of other activities for the safari enthusiast…bush walks, morning/ afternoon/ sunset/ night drives, evening nature movies…so a great place to learn about the animals and the bush...unlike Botswana where living in the wilds of the bush gives you that first hand learning experience.

Back to Botswana

2009-06-30T12:29:00.001-07:00

From Zambia we headed back to Botswana via the river crossing on the ferry at Kazungula. What absolute chaos that border post is. There are cars, trucks and people everywhere and as soon as we arrived we had guys running up to us to help us “through the system”. We were unofficially adopted by one who knew better than we that we would never figure it out. We had to sign out our passport details in a ledger. I was using my Bermuda Passport as I had thought it may have been easier for Zim and Zam but the British Passport written at the top sets the tone for any encounter with a Government official. We were at the Customs desk dealing with exporting the vehicle when the Immigration Officer came marching over and rather aggressively told us that we had only entered the South African passport details and not the British passport details. Once I showed him it was a Bermuda passport, which had been recorded, his tone completely switched and he was making jokes with us and couldn’t understand why Bermuda hadn’t got ride of the British emblem and ties. Despite long lines of hundreds of trucks at the ferry ramp (aka river bank), we drove straight to the front of the “queue” and were baffled, as we were the only vehicle onboard along with passengers laden with cabbages and firewood for the 5 minute crossing.

We enjoyed another magnificent sunset and night of camping on the Chobe River and braai’d our remaining meat as we were heading South the next day. Meat cannot be transported from North to South or from West to East in Botswana. However if you hide some in the very bottom of the fridge and act dumb it gets snuck through :)

The road from Kasane to Nata must be one of the WORST road conditions in the world – especially on what would seem a major route from SA to Northern Botswana and onto Zim or Zam. The potholes are so large, so frequent and so many that you can’t avoid them. Gravel lanes had been created in some areas but even they were full of holes. We even parked the car inside a massive pothole for a Kodak moment.

We saw vultures flying above and they were just snacking on a dead elephant that must have been the victim of a hit and complete vehicle destruction. A little ways further on we saw another though all that was left of him was a skull and ribcage. No leftovers with scavengers around!

We made our way from the Northern most corner in Kasane to the most Eastern corner in the Tuli Block to the Limpopo River Lodge in the Tuli Block…forgetting that it borders with South Africa so the winter temperatures have returned. I slept with thermals, fleece, flannel pants, two pairs of socks and two artic sleeping bags and if I could have coordinated a flannel blanket in the night that would have also made it onto keeping me warm..brr!! Reception was closed so they hid a key under a rock for us as we had warned them we’d be arriving late and part of the welcoming committee was an elephant at our campsite.

Vic Falls, Zambia – The Senses of the Falls

2009-06-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

I got it all wrong when I said that it felt like someone had thrown a bucket of water on us as we walked around the Zimbabwe side of Vic Falls…it was only a watering can with a little sprinkle of water on us compared to the absolute drenching we experienced on the Zambia side and it wasn’t even raining! The best $2 we ever spent was on renting double-layered ponchos before we crossed the bridge through the spray of the Falls.

The Zim side gives you perspective on the size of the Falls and the Zam side the feeling of them..and should be seen in that order. You really need to feel that spray on your face and hear that thunderous noise of the water falling to fully understand the magnificence of the Falls. Photos just don’t capture the impression they make on you.

Imagine the noise of any waterfall you’ve been to and magnify that by 100. Next remember any rain you’ve been caught in and imagine being drenched to the bone. And finally envision the most spectacular sight of water falling 93 metres that sprays hundreds of metres into the air with the crisp colours of the rainbows shining through. That’s what your senses indulge in as you cross the bridge! It was like being hit by a wall of water. Anything not covered by the poncho needs wringing out after!

Vic Falls, Zimbabwe - Trillionaires

2009-06-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

What an experience crossing the Zimbabwe border. We had to pay R200 for Carbon tax, US55 for a visa for me, US40 for Third Party Insurance and another US40 for Commerical Vehicle Insurance. You are not sure who you can really trust as it all seems very suspect who is pocketing the cash but you can't do a thing about it if you want to come in so just have to fork over the cash! We have 100 trillion and a few hundred billion useless Zim dollars so they are desperate for US cash!!

Our first stop was lunch at the old colonial Victoria Falls Hotel which is like a living museum with thousands of framed memorabilia everywhere depicting the old colonial times and prized horns proudly on display from hunting trips. You can envision what it must have been like in these colonial times - ladies with sun shades walking through the gardens or taking the steam train to the falls. The hotel overlooks the stunning gorges of the falls. You hear the rumbling of the falls and see the spray hundreds of metres in the air and are lured along the 1km walk to the falls.

What a breathtaking place - the grandeur, the magnitude, the thunderous noise, the stunning rainbows, the volume of water, its speed, the spray from the falls soaring hundreds of metres in the air and unbelievably its ability to completely drench you...as if someone has just thrown a bucket of water on you and you have no idea where it was thrown from other than the dry area you just walked through now had you soaked. We found a path down 73 steps into the start of the falls and got even more drenched but what a feeling to feel like you are almost inside the falls!

We ditched the tent for the night and decided to enjoy the tranquility of Victoria Falls Hotel which was like a step back in history. We only realized today that it gave us a false illusion of what Zimbabwe is really like as we were completely protected from the mass of beggars and constant harrasment. The staff were so gentle and friendly and just cannot do enough. We were so loving our Zim experience that we wanted to rethink our plans to drive back to SA via Zim..until we asked a local who just had such sadness in his eyes as he told you how run down everything was now and just not worth going to. He just kept pondering what life once was to what it was now and that as long as there was a dictator in charge things were not going to be any different in his lifetime.

On our walk out of the falls we were approached by a guy called Gift who tried to sell us souvenirs. He had them lined in a row in the path so as soon as you approached his negogiations began of trying to sell us the the 3 items and the Zim $ he had. We were willing to buy 1 of the 3 but he just kept pushing and pushing. He then started asking for money for food and if we had any spare clothes and shoes. It is so tough to experience the human suffering that the people in Zimbabwe are facing. You realize how how fortunate we are, how much we have and how little we need and then how little they have and how little they are wanting. You just don't know what the right thing to do is as you can't buy from them all. There are a few tourists in Vic Falls on the Zim side so we are the locals only possible source of income so they are so desperate to make some type of exchange with you and they just don't give up until you are driving away.

Once we left the safety of the hotel today, we were harrassed everywhere we went. They stare at you through closed car windows and you cannot escape them unless you are in a moving vehicle. You don't want to be rude but you feel so overwhelmed and frustrated by the constant harassment. As a result we crossed the border today into Zambia to escape. We were harrased even leaving the country by an official who demanded papers from the police to allow us to take the vehicle from Zim. We had no idea what he was referring to and for a moment at the border I had a thought that we were not going to be able to escape!! Luckily the border exit opened and we were able to escape sadly saying to ourselves we will never return! What a contrast to the amazing experience we had at Vic Falls and its beautiful hotel and the friendliest staff ever! We had to pay to Zambia another US35 for Carbon Tax and US50 for a visa for me for along with a glare from the Immigration officials. Anyone associated with the UK over here isn't too popular with officials it seems!

We watched the Springbok win against the Lions so have a very happy Bokke fan! We are at a campsite on the Zambezi River and feel in a place of peace and tranquility again!

We are heading to see the Zambia side of Vic Falls in the morning and then crossing back to Botswana. We may go to Eastern Botswana to the Tuli Game Reserve to relax for a few days before heading back to Weenen on Saturday.

Ihaha Day 3 – As Hungry as a Vulture?

2009-06-25T04:33:00.000-07:00

It’s like we are at a different Chobe today with not an elephant to be spotted! There was a strong wind this morning so I’ve concluded that has impacted the migratory patterns of the day. There has been the random buffalo, warthog and of course the good ol’ faithful impala that don’t count when you’re safari snobs like us :)

We spotted hundreds of vultures circling in the sky. Where there are vultures circling, there is something waiting to be nibbled at. As the expert trackers we have become (LOL!), we headed towards the vultures and spotted another hundred plus sitting by the river. There to the left in the bush was a fresh buffalo carcass and the vultures seem to have arrived on the scene before any other scavenger. It would seem he too died of natural causes, as he was too “intact” when we arrived in order to have been the victim of a lion kill.

At any one time, there are at least 20 vultures attacking the carcass, ripping bits and pieces out and putting their head under the skin and aggressively digging for something tastier. You can see where the references to vultures, food and huger comes from when you witness their eating manners and habits. There is constant squawking as they are feeding and fighting for their spot. On the sidelines in the tree above, there are about 10 vultures waiting their turn. After such a messy feast, they head to the river, rinse off and then spread their wings to dry! What a sight! During all this we have just had a hippo walk out of the river and into the bush. Inside the car it’s 34 degrees and there’s a cool breeze so I imagine we’ll be seeing him again soon as it’s hot out there and hippos are as sensitive to the sun as me! We’ve been hanging around hoping that it would be lion bait but no luck so far.

Not sure what’s with the buffalos dying of natural causes in Chobe? A park official (aka buffalo coroner) came by and determined that he died of natural causes and scared away the vultures remaining at the “all you can eat buffet”!

We have gone in search of swimming ellies and instead found a lioness under a tree and a herd of impala at the river. Ringside seats round #2!! The impala crossed into her path but warthogs came closer and she got so close to warthog for lunch but he did a quick right and she took a wide left and he escaped!! She then went for an afternoon siesta and we watched her again hunt for lechwe. She camaflouged herself in the long grass and was amazingly so close to the lechwe that she should have been able to put her paw out and stomp on him but again he got away!! Amazing that in one visit we witnessed four lion hunts!!

We arrived back in camp to herds of buffalo grazing and another spectacular sunset. The buffalos were around our campsite all night and this morning we had lions roaring at camp! Think they'd just had a great buffalo feast as all that remained of the buffalo carcass this morning was a rib cage and a leg down the road!!

We are in Kasane now, heading on a river sunset cruise along the Chobe River this afternoon. Spotted the red land rover and our Aussie friends driving by so hope to catch up with them later.

We are going to Vic Falls on the Zim side tomorrow and may venture onto the Zambian side the next day. The rest of the trip still to be determined. This is high speed internet so I hope to be back again before we head to Zim or after to upload some of our amazing photos to complete the stories.

Ihaha Day 2 – Buffalo & Elephants Galore

2009-06-25T04:32:00.000-07:00

We were on the road by 6.45am and headed to see the state of the buffalo carcass (which they say died of natural causes) at the Old Serondela Campsite now referred to by us as the Serondela Zoo!! We got first sighting on three lion cubs out to play and then the gawkers arrived one by one so we moved on.

We have driven about 20km alongside the edge of the Chobe River and had an absolutely amazing drive. It’s the only water source in the dry season so everything must come there to drink. Everywhere you look there is activity of birds or animals. Buffalo by the hundreds - for once something outnumbers the impala!

Our morning highlight is that we had private roadside seats at a lioness relaxing under a tree and then tracked her for about 20 minutes as she hunted a herd of impala. We eventually lost sight of the impala but imagining she treated herself to a tasty lunch. Amidst all that a herd of ellies came charging out of the bush to the river. Thousands of birds were sitting by the river and as soon as they we drove by, it was like a game of bird dominoes, hundreds by hundreds they took to flight and created mayhem in the sky.

NEWS FLASH…we have just been chased by an angry bull elephant. The elephant was drinking at the river and then came to scratch himself on a fallen tree in front of us. We videoed for a bit and then decided to hit the road. He did a 180 and came chasing us. Each time we speeded up so did he!!! Deon then decided to slow down and let him catch up again and so the game continued for about 2 minutes and then we left him in the dust..phew!. A little adrenalin rush for the morning!

And just around the corner, we are now watching a lioness hiding in the grass, watching every move of 4 warthog and a lechwe in front of her and another 4 warthog to her side. None of which have a clue she’s just up ahead. She has just crawled closer to the lechwe. A kill may be imminent. They still haven’t spotted her!!....Update….we watched her for over an hour and amazingly she kept crawling closer and closer to the lechwe and he never spotted her. His what seemed fatal mistakes were lying down for a bit, a good ol scratching session and then turning his back on her. She went in for the kill but the lechwe outran her. She didn’t give us the chase and tried again. It was like a stand off lechwe versus lioness with impala hissing on the sideline. What an amazing experience to witness.

We decided to treat ourselves to lunch in Kasane at Old House Restaurant that comes highly recommended by Lonely Planet, a friend in Bermuda who lived in Botswana for 10 years and it was on the GPS under “Food”. The place is nowhere to be found and we even went to the Botswana Tourism Office and they have never heard of it. Not even like it just closed down..but never heard of it’s existence ever. She points us to Kasane’s most upmarket restaurant, which is a version of KFC and with only one choice we had to try it. Just like KFC, better left a memory!

We are parked in the shade on the side of the Chobe waiting for a massive herd of hundreds of buffalo to cross the river and head back into the bush for the night. They look like they are in a huge traffic jam waiting for the leader to say go and start the walk home. We can see at least a hundred elephants starting their slow journey home – walking in family groups of about 20 and it seems a pattern of a mother followed by two calves in a long line.

On the way back into Chobe earlier, we saw ellies swimming across the river and drove through hundreds of elephants that had already crossed the river and were just coming out of the bush everywhere we looked – makes for some very cautious driving tactics as you don’t want to come between mother and baby. We saw little calves collapsed in the sand - must be tough to keep up with the big ones on this daily trek. Buffalos surrounded the entire campsite when we got to our place under the tree we call “home”. They grazed in front of us all evening and were there when we got up today.

Savute to Ihaha – The Place Where African Sunsets Became Famous

2009-06-25T04:29:00.000-07:00

Less than 5 minutes in the Landy en route to Ihaha we had a steenbok fly across the road in front of us in hot pursuit by three hungry wild dogs! One second later on the roads and you realize you miss such chance encounters. I had my first off road driving experience in the thick sand roads – requiring deep concentration to keep the wheels in the tracks no matter how much the thick sand tried to redirect you otherwise. After 2 hours on the road, we passed our first vehicle!

Our camping spot at Ihaha is just a stones throw from the Chobe River. Such a beautiful tranquil spot to relax for the afternoon. The only noise you can hear is the bee-eater birds killing wasps against the trees. We have three warthog visitors grazing around us, two fisherman in a mokoro paddled by and lots of birds. The campsite rules are very simple…”You MUST sleep in a closed tent or vehicle, or lions or hyenas may eat you!” … Enjoy your stay in our park!!” Big gulp as you read that!!

I’m on the blog and Deon’s making dinner so we can go out for a late afternoon drive and be back by sunset. We got the heads up that there was a pride of lions eating a buffalo carcass so we headed there for a first lion encounter…along with far too many other safari vehicles loaded with tourists. We realize how spoilt we were having Savute almost to ourselves on our drives.

The female lion and her three cubs were tearing the flesh off the decaying and not too pleasant smelling carcass. Male lions were in the den in the bushes but they were camera shy however Deon pretended he saw them with half his body out the window and the zoom going wildly on the camera and all the heads on the safari vehicles turned our way to see what we were seeing. Vehicles even came our way to ask if we’d seen the male lion. I’m hiding inside the vehicle holding back the tears of laughter as Deon tells them he saw two males and they just ran off into the bush. His new tactic to decoy the tourists!

On escaping the masses, we came across hundreds of elephants drinking at the river…from the tiny winy to the massive and all the sizes in between. On the race back to camp before sunset we had stretches of road with masses of buffalo and elephant on either side as they migrated from the river back into the bush before nightfall. Sunset over the Chobe is so spectacular…every shade of pink, orange and red reflecting off the river. When they talk of African sunsets, this must be the place that was created.

We are sharing our campsite with a family of baboons. They were all waiting for us when we got back hoping for a random door left open to ransack our food box. We outsmarted them on this round. They retreated to bed in the tree above us and were up at 6 with us this morning jumping through the trees.

Savute – The Paparazzi and Wild Dogs

2009-06-25T04:28:00.000-07:00

We were up early for a game drive and it’s been a quiet morning…one giraffe, one elephant, one wildebeest, a herd of buffalo with lots of little ones and of course a ton of impala. We are sitting at Marbou Pan….meant to be a good spot to watch animals drinking but none to be found, as there is a lot of water in other parts of the park..so a perfect spot for breakfast and catching up on the blog.

We took the “safari circuit” drive and saw more ellies, giraffe and wildebeest through changing scenery of open veld and more dense forest type areas so made our hunt for lion a little challenging. We had a much easier ellie sightings at a water pan when 4 bull ellies came by for a drink and siesta, constantly flapping their ears to cool themselves as by now it’s 30+ degrees. We were out from about 6 hours and only saw 3 vehicles so felt like we were the only ones at Savute!

Gates to the camp “close” at sunset so a late afternoon drive is a great time to catch the predators on the hunt. We had an unbelievable encounter with wild dogs on the hunt as three walked out of the bush and stopped in front of us sniffing and scouting the area and then the hunt began and they were off. Wild dogs hunt in packs and part of their strategy is that they encircle the prey from all directions. We were like the paparazzi with 4 other vehicles following the hunt and following them through the roads alongside the bush. Sunset arrived before the kill occurred so we don’t know what happened next but the excitement of the chase made for our highlight of the day.

We were huddled around the campfire in the darkness braaing chicken and chatting with Jaco, an SA guide we’d met earlier when I suddenly looked up and saw this absolutely massive bull elephant pass by us less than 8 metres away. We felt dwarfed in his presence and Jaco calmly suggested we stand near the Landy. The ellie didn’t seem fazed by us…Deon protected the chicken just in case. He headed to a nearby camping spot and you could see with the activity of the lights there they hadn’t spotted him yet. Jaco gave them a heads up whistle and gently shouted “elephant” and then you saw the mass scatter action of torches as they ran to safety. We heard from them this morning that they were just about to sit down for dinner when they heard Jaco call so there was a moment of chaos as they scrambled for last minute cover as they thought he was coming between them and their tent! Not sure if it was the same one that walked through the campsite when we were braaing our lunch?

The books warn you to leave nothing out over night and to pack everything away as hyenas will take it away – braai grids and all. Our roof top tent ladder is wedged on top of two rolled sand ladders. Deon sprayed them last night with Baygon hoping to deter the hyenas. We woke this morning to find one missing sand ladder…which was fortunately not stolen…just been dragged to the other side of our campsite. Deon left some chicken bones so perhaps the hyena opted for those over a tasty sand ladder!!

Moremi to Savute Campsite – Through Mini Ponds

2009-06-25T04:25:00.000-07:00

We left bright and early from camp, glared at our rowdy neighbours on our drive out and within 15 minutes had seen giraffe, elephant, wildebeest, zebra and impala. Wow! After crossing another two more wooden bridges, we saw a herd of waterbuck snorting at a leopard as he crossed their domain with his tail curled up. He retreated with dignity as they had safety in numbers. We have amazing video footage of a hippo rise out of the water and yawn reminding us who has the biggest teeth. By now we had maybe been in the car an hour!! Sure made up for last night already!!!

The three days of rain earlier in June has caused driving mayhem in the national parks. I just found out on June 8 - 10 they had 250mm of rain..the most in living memory!! We've heard stories of vehicles ruined, being stuck in 60cm puddles and rescue not arriving for 48 hours!!

We have driven through hundreds of massive deep puddles…really mini ponds in some cases. Our once white landy is now covered in a thick layer of brown mud that is baked on!! There was one section where we had to cross a marsh area that was flooded…as we started to go in we could tell the water was too deep. We retreated to assess a plan B and found another less flooded option however as we approached that realized it too had deep patches. Lucky with Deon (aka Indiana Jones) at the helm we found a slightly shallower path and stayed afloat and enjoyed the rest of the 4x4 driving challenges that Moremi faced us with.

GPS is our friend again and safely showed us the way out of Moremi. We have a great map that has lots of reference points with GPS coordinates so we just made our way from point to point. There are very few signs to show you the way in the park and there always seems an option to go left, right or straight that’s not on the map so not sure how you’d ever find your way out without GPS.

Once we left North Gate at Moremi, we were at an area called Kwai, which is renowned for great viewing. The lady at the gate said there was only one road to Savute and many people had gone that way today so just follow the road. Within minutes, there was a left or a right? Luckily a safari vehicle overtook us and we followed them out of Kwai. He knew all the mini ponds to avoid thankfully! We had an amazing game drive along the way seeing hippo, elephant (wading through the river and on land), wildebeest, kudu, crocodile, buffalo, and a water monitor eating a big fish.

We got to our campsite at Savute late afternoon and saw massive ellie footprints under the tree that marked our spot. Savute is well known for big lion and elephant populations. There was a huge bull elephant in one of the campsites and its resident hiding behind his landrover!! Lion still remains only heard and not yet seen but we are still on the hunt. There is meant to be wild dog in the area so will add those to our tracking list.

The noises of the night at camp had us constantly scanning the area for eyes. Not really sure what I’d have done if I saw any!

Getting a reservation at campsites in Botswana in the busy season is almost impossible as they say they are all “fully booked”. We fortunately got 1 night at each of Third Bridge Campsite, Savute Campsite, then had a “homeless” night followed by 3 nights at Ihaha Campsite. We found out by a guard at an entrance gate that we could use our payment for one of our Ihaha nights and apply it to our homeless night and stay in the “Reserve Area” at Savute for an extra night and then pay the extra fees on the way out.

Each day we are baffled by all the empty camping spots at the “fully booked” campsites and can’t understand why they haven’t come up with a better system. The other mind blowing thing is the scrutiny with which the Park Officers review your paperwork as you go through the various gates and discuss it amongst each other and then eventually let us through. We can’t figure out why my Booking Confirmation doesn’t look like everyone else’s as they are all issued through their Dept of Wildlife. But we do know we got so lucky with 6 nights in the parks of camping!

Moremi – Third Bridge Campsite – We’ve Been Robbed…by a Baboon!

2009-06-25T04:23:00.000-07:00

The road to the gates of Moremi was a rough experience. Botswana is meant to be one of the wealthiest African countries and definitely they are saving their Pula instead of spending it on fixing the potholes, deep sand and corrugations on the roads.

There are apparently 120,000 elephants in Botswana…of which 3 are grazing 200 metres away from our campsite at Third Bridge. I have an awesome view from the roof top tent. Moremi is camping in the wild, as there are no fences between them and us. We have our machete, catapult (“cattie”) and Baygon as our three defense weapons for the evening. Deon is collecting stones and practicing with the cattie now. Pretty good shot he has!!

I can now say we’ve seen a herd of giraffe. In Etosha, we saw 6 and thought that was amazing. This morning, before we’d even crossed the gates into Moremi, we saw at least 25 giraffes of all sizes that crossed in front of the Landy. It was like the catwalk, each would cross in front of us, pause and look our way and then saunter across the rest of the road. Magnificent sight. At one point there were five babies all in the road staring at us.

NEWS FLASH….we have been robbed!!!...by a very opportunistic baboon. Deon spotted him in the tree and I thought how cute and took a picture. Deon went to inform our camp neighbours that trouble was rounding the corner and I figured I’d nip over and say hi too. As soon as I was away from the Landy, he leapt out of the tree and jumped in the back. We actually have a 4th weapon; my screaming that had him running with our grapefruit!! The fruit and veggie bag was torn apart and contents scattered all over the floor. Deon attempted to give him a good hiding with the cattie but as soon as he saw it get ready to fire he made his escape. Only to have 4 more friends appear!! We have learned a good lesson that vehicle doors must remain shut!!! Bit of excitement already and it’s not even dark!!

We can hear the elephants pushing trees over. On the drive here, we passed at least 6 huge trees blocking the road that elephants had pushed over so they had created detours for us to drive around and hundreds more in the sides of the road. Amazing how destructive they are!! The three in our backyard have started making deep growling noises but have since moved on and we can hear the hippos grunting too.

What should have been a magical evening listening to the night sounds of Moremi turned a little disastrous as we had a group of 8 Indians camping next to us in a pre-set up campsite equipped with staff….and it would seem they do not know how to do anything but shout to each other all evening. We thought the hippo was going to charge their camp and sort them out but even he seemed afraid by the racket and turned back into the river. Anyway completely clueless that there was anyone else to consider at camp!

Maun - Spot the Ellie

2009-06-18T05:08:00.000-07:00

We are staying on the river at a great backpackers in Maun…in our roof top tent….just stocking up on mosquito repellent and supplies for our upcoming 6 days camping in Moremi and Chobe. We took a scenic flight over the Okavango Delta this morning and saw the vastness of the Delta and its stunning aerial views. We spotted ellies, hippos, giraffe, and buffalo. It is the “dry season” however they have had 3 days of rainfall measuring 250mm which is the highest rainfall in living memory so the water levels are much higher than usual.

We should be in Kasane on June 25 so will be in touch again then. Uploading photos on dial up is challenging...the internet keeps crashing when I try to upload them for the blogs below. I will keep trying again later!

From Namibia to Botswana with 5 Minutes to Spare

2009-06-18T04:37:00.000-07:00

We finally figured out how to pack up the tent without the need to reroll 4 sleeping bags so made a quick getaway and were on the lion hunt by 7.15am. We made detours via all the waterholes en route to Von Lindequist Gate and saw herds of wildebeest, zebra, springbok and not sure if 6 giraffe count as a herd but that’s the most we had seen together. The Etosha pans were full of water so looked as if we were on an island with blue water as far as the eye could see…no need for the animals to go via the waterholes for a drink, as there was water everywhere. According to the guard on duty, I am the only Bermudian to have ever gone to Etosha…doubtful but we’ll take it for our story!

We decided to do a big day of driving and head to Botswana and then have two nights at Shakawe Fishing Lodge to recharge the batteries. The main road to Rundu looks as if it had been drawn with a ruler on the map. Despite being without a single bend, it was an incredible drive with the Owambo Region on the left and Kavango Region on the right. The village houses in these regions are all made of sticks with thatch roofs and clusters of them enclosed in a stick-fenced area. We passed lots of women en route to waterholes laden with buckets on their heads or strapped to backs of bikes. We saw the traditional oxen with sleds, kids herding cattle, riding donkeys and playing with a frame of a bicycle or a bicycle wheel. Just such a simple existence from the outside but the sense of community everywhere you looked. Groups of people were always found in the shade under the trees together– ladies braiding hair and men chatting.

We had our first “vet crossing fence” experience, as meat cannot be taken from North to South in Botswana. Strangely now that I think of it we crossed this fence in Namibia and weren’t traveling from North to South at the time…who knows…anyway despite the signs of no meat or plant products to cross the fence we were summoned through with a fridge of wors, chops and veggies.

The last 20km to the Botswana border takes you through the Mahango Game Reserve. Within minutes, we saw zebra, impala, kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope and 6 elephants. We arrive with an hour and 5 minutes to spare at the Border before closing to find out there is an hour time difference so make it in the nick of time and manage to sneak in the wors, which was relocated to under my seat! A South African cannot chance good wors going to waste!

We arrived in darkness at Shakawe Fishing Lodge to the noise of hippos grunting and only in the morning were able to see that hippos have been in the area…maybe not last night but an intimidating sight and sound to see only darkness and hear them so close by. We awakened to stunning views of the Okavango River and enjoyed a morning boat trip to see the baking crocodiles waiting to warm up, river monitors, the rare sighting of a setonga and unbelievable variety of birdlife. What an absolutely blissful place for our day of rest.

We are now in darkness at camp and can hear the hippos grunting and blowing in the water. A startling noise that reminds you this is the wild of Africa. In between the hippo grunts we have the reminder of Bermuda with the night sounds of the frogs and crickets. The potjie is on the fire so the makings for a great night at camp. We were awoken a few times in the nights by what sounded like hippo grunts right outside of the tent. We felt protected on the roof in our tent!

Etosha National Park

2009-06-18T04:33:00.000-07:00

On of Deon’s trip highlights was an 80km stretch of road en route to Etosha National Park where we counted 56 lilac breasted rollers on the telephone wires. The most photographed bird in Africa!!

One of the magical experiences of camping in Etosha is that the campsites have an on site waterhole that gets floodlit at night. On arrival at both Okaukeujo and Halali Campsites, we had an elephant quenching his thirst by the gallon at the waterhole and spraying water all over him. Every now and then their trunks would slowly scan the air as they took in the smells of the onlookers. Nights at the waterhole are like being at a theatre. You have front row seating to one of the greatest shows. We watched a bull elephant peacefully drinking to be charged away by two other bull elephants that couldn’t share the waterhole with him. We could hear the noise of loud crunching against the rocks on the path as 7 more elephants arrived…an outing for the nursery of two mothers and 5 little ones ranging in sizes. An unbelievable sight was the brazenness of the little ones marching up to the two bulls to go to drink. Elephants drinking sound like the noise of a boat engine being started out of the water. Our second night we were entertained at the waterhole by 6 black rhino that were so mischievous and aggressively locking horns with one another, charging and chasing each other through the bush. After all the excitement, they’d come back for a drink. A hyena kept trying to come for a drink and as soon as a rhino spotted him he was charged away too. Glad we didn’t see black rhino on the horse safari!

At Etosha you can do the self-drive safari and navigate your way around via the waterholes in search for that elusive lion. Tracker Kirsty spotted the rare sight of what appeared to be a mating ritual of the black rhino. They actually were not mating however he climbed onto her back and appeared to go to sleep until after about 30 minutes she started to grunt and eventually dislodged him off of her. She then spun around and growled at him and then carried on grazing. Amazing encounter. I finally got my giraffe drinking photos as we saw 4 giraffe bend down to drink. We also saw zebra, elephant, springbok, oryx, impala, guinea fowl, warthog, kudu, red hartebeest and wildebeest. We never got the visual of the lion but heard his thunderous roar in the night that bolts you out of bed. The campsite is fenced in so we were protected but what an incredible and powerful sound he makes.

Feeding the Cheetahs

2009-06-18T04:29:00.000-07:00

After 7 hours on the road the day before, we decided to reassess our plans and avoid 2 long days of driving and instead head to Otjitotongwe Lodge near Kamanjab which had a cheetah farm. The farm is set up for the protection and conservancy of cheetahs, which are an endangered species with only 2,500 remaining in Namibia. En route there, we spot the red landy parked on the side of the road and our Aussie friends are headed there too so we had a fun day sharing the campsite and chicken potjie with our buddies.

Next to the campsite is a fenced area with a mother and 3 very playful cubs that provided us with endless entertainment. Walking to the loo at night was eerie as you could see the 4 pairs of eyes in your headlamp. We were woken in the morning by them playing. The mother was always keeping a watchful eye and communicating various noises to them. They seemed most happy biting her head or tumbling around with each other.

The owners have 2 tame cheetahs at the house that we were able to pet. They both made a beeline for Deon and started licking his legs profusely with their raspy sandpaper like tongues. Think he’s minus a few hairs! Their fur is very course…not at all what I’d expect, as it looks so sleek and silky in the photos. On the way out, we observed the cheetah being shooed out of the house! Not too many have a cheetah for a household pet!

We all piled into the back of the bakkie with a bucket load of fresh donkey meat to feed the 14 wild ones. As we drove through the gates, one by one they appeared out of the bush and stealthily prowled their way behind us as we headed towards the feeding area. The farm worker had a huge stick for protection…think I’d have wanted a little more than that! He’d chuck a big slab of donkey carcass in the air and the cheetahs would catch it and then either run off to the bush to eat or fight with another to claim the meat. An amazing encounter to be in their territory at feeding time.

Brandberg Wes - No Roads Near Starting Point Says the GPS

2009-06-18T04:28:00.000-07:00

We set off on a 75km 4x4 trail at 9.30am and arrived into camp at 4.30pm!! 7 hours at speeds of anywhere from 5 – 40 km/ hr…plus an interpretation from a broken sign that had been jigsaw puzzled back together so we tried to imagine the direction of the arrow and add a bit of “Bushland Newspaper” (i.e. tracks in the sand) navigating and end up taking a 2 hour detour around the contrasting black and red colours of the Brandberg mountain corners and in and out of river beds. We encountered 30+ ostriches racing across the veld and just couldn’t keep up to them.

I felt a bit like Meryl Streep being driven by Robert Redford in the scenery of Out of Africa however snapped back to reality world when the GPS gave the reading “Route calculation error. No roads near starting point”. We used the GPS for distance from our destination since it couldn’t plot our route. It had our spirits soaring and sinking in minutes as it would show us getting close to the campsite and as we’d round a corner and the road would change direction, it would have the campsite getting further and further away. We eventually drove through the Ugab River dry riverbed and arrived at a settlement and got directions from an elder to put us back on track. The children must be used to the sight of lost 4x4 travelers as they asked in Afrikaans for cookies and chips!

In 7 hours we saw 3 vehicles!!..a busy day on the Namibian roads!! Roads...can you really call it that? Today’s roads were a 4x4er’s dream! Navigating over all sorts of bumps, rocks, sharp stones, deep sand, missing sections of road, and in and out of dry riverbeds. What an adventure passing oryx, springbok and ostrich along the way.

The night before at Aba Huab Campsite, 5 elephants walked through camp. The bull elephant popped by the bar, blew water all over the place then proceeded to walk through where we set up camp. Fortunately no repeat performances.

Swakopmund to Brandberg Wes - The Road to the Middle of Nowhere

2009-06-18T04:23:00.001-07:00

So I mentioned in my last update we were going to Brandberg Wes. I should clarify it’s not a town, not even a place just a campsite with 3 huts for staff and the most stunning location for the Save the Rhino Trust Ugab River Campsite at the end of an endless 4x4 road meandering round the base of rock mountains to what appeared to be nowhere. Deon had stayed at the campsite once before but as he is the funny one decided to pull my leg that around each corner it didn’t look like the place he had been before. The roads are so bad because of the flooding so there are sections that look impassable. As we arrived at camp, a lady walked to the piece of rope that was the gate to let us in and then came down to heat our water barrel for our “under the stars” shower. And who could possibly have imagined that as we drove in to the definition of the middle of nowhere we met up with our Aussie friends, Phil and Kristy, who we had met hiking at Soussvlei as they had parked their red landy next to ours at the dunes so instantly we were friends!

En route to Brandberg Wes, we drove along the stormy coastline of the Skeleton Coast on a typical foggy Swakop day and saw the eerie sight of a shipwreck (aka the skeletons) just off the beach and tons of fishermen out to catch the big one. We made a detour to visit the seals at Cape Cross and were amazed by the volume of the constant bleating that thousands of seals can make – looking for their pups or mums or fighting to protect their stone they are lying on. Lonely Planet warns you of their smell…books just can’t prepare you for that! Jackal paw prints were everywhere and they weren’t shy to roam looking for their next seal pup target. 25% of pups die at the mercy of the evil jackal! We saw lots of the welwitchia plants en route that are estimated to be 2,000+ years. A little bit of everything on the way to the infamous Brandberg Wes.

Swakopmund - "Let's Find Something More Interesting"

2009-06-09T11:12:00.001-07:00

"Let's Find Something More Interesting"...the words of Tommy our Living Desert tour guide in Swakopmund, after each time he spotted something amazing in the dunes that looked to us like sand. We'd be driving along in Tommy's special landrover when suddenly he'd leap out the car and run bare foot up the dune, dig frantically in the sand and would appear with a lizard. After sharing its habits and survival adaptions in the desert, he would let it go and then say "let's go find something more interesting". Around another corner, the same procedure was repeated and a different creature would appear. We saw beetles, spiders, geckos, lizards, chameleons and the highlight was a side winder snake. Tommy fed the chameleons some worms so you can see some awesome pictures below of the tongue of the chameleon reaching out for breakfast.

Tommy must have a part time gig as a weather man as he had to call in with the high for the day which was 56 degrees celsius on the dune...compared to 26 degrees under the surface. As a result of the heat, creepy crawlies get their water from the moisture in the air from the fog or from desert plants that contain water. A desert beetle collects moisture on its back and then it drips down its back to its mouth to drink. 40% of its body mass is water so when a chameleon eats a beetle it gets a good drink too. Amazing! Another amazing tale is the war between the wasp and spider. If the wasp wins, it stings the spider and lays an egg in the spider and the baby wasp will hatch from the spider! The gecko in the photo below can survive 20 minutes in the sun before dying. We watched in awe as it used its four feet as shovels to create a hole and bury its self back to coolness.

The word Namib perfectly translates to "vast open space"...this captures the essence of what we have seen so far in Namibia. You cannnot capture on camera the vastness of the open spaces! Someone described it to me as the opposite to claustrophia!

We have a new appreciation for the delicate life that lives in the desert and the destruction caused by ignorance of quadbikers who churn up the sand in the name of fun. Tommy drives on the same tracks each day so not damaging the area. Ever heard a dune roar? Imagine driving down the steepest incline you can envision over fresh sand that has not yet compacted and the noise of the air particles makes this unbelievable roaring sound! A ride at Disneyworld doesn't even come close to that exhilaration!

We are off to Brandberg Wes today back into the roof top tent and the wilds of Namibia! We will write again as soon as civilization permits and we find internet!!

Namibia

2009-06-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

Back to civilization for a couple days in Swakopmund, which is such a contrast to the quiet silences of the Namibian desert that we have traveled through. We have seen more springbok than people on our travels through Namibia so far - a country 2/3’s the size of South Africa with only 2 million people. The definition of remote is a Namibian town…town is a slight exaggeration…more a place to refuel and get firewood with no neighbours around for a hundred k’s or so. “So by so” (the Namibian expression for therefore) we haven’t stumbled across any internet cafes and the blog has remained untouched!

Highlights
- Crossing the Namibian border at sunset
- Spotting animals and birds as we drive
- Silence of the desert
- Off the already beaten track 4x4 drive through the dry river bed of the Fish River Canyon
- Awakened in the roof top tent by the howling jackals
- The magnificence of the dunes in the Namib desert and placing the first footstep of the day on them
- Better not forget the Blue Bulls Super 14 win over the Chiefs!!

Lows
- The orange juice froze in the fridge

Orania, South Africa
Our first night of our adventure was spent on a slight detour through Orania in South Africa and fortunately in a B&B as temperatures were very chilly even inside. For the non South African readers, this was a derelict town purchased by an Afrikaaner community that they restored with the intention to protect their language and culture. There are 700 people living there now and they believe they are not against anything and that their community represents what they are for. The people are encouraged to produce 50% of their food. Their flag has a little boy rolling up his sleeves which represents that they do everything themselves as opposed to having labour assist them. An interesting approach to life!?

Fish River Canyon
Our first roof top camping experience was in Fish River Canyon, second only to the Grand Canyon. We arrived at Ai-Ais Campsite and found it under construction. However no problem…the hot spring water was diverted to two portable swimming pools so after a hike through the canyon we were still able to enjoy the 100+ degree water. Setting up camp was a new experience!! Deon cooked a delish roast chicken, gem squash and potatoes in the potjie that just added to the perfect spot. En route to Aus, we went via a 4x4 route off the already beaten track through a dry riverbed of a magnificent meandering canyon. Just us!

A Day in the Life of a Landrover Roof Top Tent Camper
Requirement – must enjoy waking the birds and collapsing into bed from exhaustion by 8pm!! Two signed up for the adventure!

The inside of the Landrover is your home that is organized into 4 boxes – cutlery & crockery, pots & pans, food and tools. There is also a fridge for the meat, butter, beer and water. We had veggies but they suffered from freezer burn! What turns your home into organized chaos is all the other stuff that you think you need for the journey and finding a place for it to survive the ruthlessness of the Namibian gravel roads!

Our routine, on arrival at camp so far has been…
- Deon’s duties – opening the roof top tent, making the fire and preparing the potjie or braai for dinner
- Kirsty’s duties - setting up the tent for the night with the 3 sleeping bags and extra blanket, organzing all the thermals and hats out to prepare for the bite of the coolness of the night of the Namib desert and dishes
- Then packing everything away back into its place before bed

Our routine, before leaving camp so far has been…
- Deon’s duties – making the fire for coffee and breakfast, roll up the sleeping bags into bags made for a much tinier sleeping bag
- Kirsty’s duties – brush my teeth according to the funny one & dishes
- Then finding a place for everything

Driving in Namibia
Driving in Namibia is a fantastic driving experience – hundreds and hundreds of kilometres of gravel roads to ourselves as they are generally deserted apart from the odd vehicle that passes by. What makes it a great drive is that its hundreds of kilometres of challenging gravel roads – with a pothole here or a sandbank there or a rock patch to navigate and dips to be cautious of. They had abnormal had 173mm of rain in February so there are sections of road that have been washed away. Some of the gravel roads allow you to meander peacefully and take in the beauty of the dryness of the Namib desert, others however require a more cautious approach.

We have had the pleasure of roadside viewings of springbok, ostrich, wild horses, jackal, oryx, bat eared foxes and steenbok so far. More to come we expect!

Any fellow Landrovers wave as they drive by so we are in and must look the part!

Aus
We made a lunch stop in Aus in order to see the wild horses. Deon spotted 4 just off the road. I didn’t want to admit how disappointing it was to see 4 wild horses grazing freely in the distance. I expected something so much more magical however there are only 180 of them that graze over 40,000 hectares so maybe we got lucky. We headed to their main watering hole and saw a mother and foal…and then the magic moment, over 100 of them in a valley before us. Despite the harshness of the desert, they appeared in pristine condition apart from the odd one that wasn’t going to survive the next winter. It was a scorching hot day and some looked so comatosed you may mistaken them for dead apart from the flickering tail swatting flies. The rest took their turn in their hierarchy to drink.

A Little Place Called Magic
Each day on this trip is a new adventure, a path less traveled that we take and an amazing surprise at the end awaits us. One of our best surprises was what awaited us at Ranch Koimasis. It was 5pm so we decided to turn of off the gravel road at a marker that said Camping 20km. There were 5 gates to open along the path and after each gate there still appeared to be just the wide expanses of nothingness with mountains in the far distance. After a brief confirmation with a motorcyclist with a gun strapped to his back en route, we were assured we were heading to a campsite. So now the sun is setting, we’ve just seen a guy with a gun and there is nothing ahead…should we turn around?...no we decided this trip was about paths less traveled. What awaited us was the most stunning campsite set at the foot of burnt orange coloured mountain that had the sun setting on one side and the moon rising on the other. There were wildhorses at camp and a private area for us to sit by the fire and braai. Wow a little place called magic I seem to have said so many times on this trip!

Sesriem
There is big debate in the “camping world” (as we are officially now campers J) of whether its worth paying N$600 for a campsite at Sesriem so you can get into the park an hour earlier at 5.30am to head the 64km drive to the magnificent dunes at Soussvlei before sunrise. It was like a scene from Amazing Race, all the 4x4s and overland buses in line waiting to get in and once the gates opened the race began under the full moon to get there. Our footprints were first on the dunes that morning as we hiked an hour to the crest as the sun rose and warmed the icy sand. Even the Namib beetle still slept! The colours of the dunes were transformed from taupe to every spectrum of brown, red and orange as daylight broke. You can’t fully appreciate the magnitude and colours and shadows of the dunes until you have climbed…it reminded us of our trip to the Grand Canyon…there are those who have peered over the edge and can say they’ve been…we have hiked the dunes and still finding sand in socks and shoes to prove it!! PS...it’s worth every penny to see the dunes transform from darkness to sunrise!

Scary Moment
The owner of the Live Desert Snake Park is assisting the snake to remove its shedding skin, when it suddenly leaps out the cage at him (we are not sure if snakes really do leap but this one did)!! I too lept…to escape the snake on the loose! He is so blasé and says “he doesn’t mind if it bites as nothing serious will happen”…but the sign says it is mildly venomous!!

The Days Ahead
We have another day in Swakopmund and then heading North away from civilization. We anticipate our next internet access may only be about June 17 when we should be in Maun, Botswana. Look forward to sharing our adventures with you then!

Remoteness in Namibia is Taken Literally!

2009-06-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

Hello
We are finally back in civilization after 7 days!! There are no "towns"..just places to buy fuel... so therefore no internet access and no cell phone access. Remoteness in Namibia is taken very literally. I hope to update the blog tomorrow!!

K & D

May 2009 - Namibia & Botswana - The Planning

2009-05-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

What started as the doom and gloom of being made redundant has turned into the opportunity for the experience of a lifetime. We are taking 6 weeks to travel in a 4x4 Landrover with roof top tent through Namibia, Botswana and Vic Falls. Our adventure begins as follows:

May 26 - Last day at work
May 27 - Off to NYC to shop for thermals for winter in Africa...in a tent!!
May 28 - En route to Joburg...2nd time this year..lucky us!
May 29 - Pick up our Landrover Puma - home for the next 6 weeks & head to Weenen for a weekend with Deon's family
June 1 - The adventure begins...from Weenen to Namibia to Botswana and back. Our proposed itinerary is on the right.
July 11 - Back to Bermuda

During our planning, we found this inspiring quote..

Namibia is not so much a place as a feeling.
It enters through the skin,

taking its time to unfold in your bloodstream.
And when its time to leave,

you realize Namibia has taken hold of your soul.
Zulu

We can't wait to feel the effects of Namibia and Botswana on us!! Stay tuned! We hope to take you on our travels via our blog.

March 2009 - "If You Fall Off, Run and Climb a Tree"

2009-05-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

...the words of our guide on the horse safari as we plotted our path past 3 rhinos. They kept taking long breaks from eating and watching our every move, looking ready to charge us with one wrong step of the horses but fortunately let us go by unharmed! My heart raising moment!

14 hours in the saddle riding through 625,000 hectares of park and 2 nights camping in the bush made for one of my top 3 life experiences. Galloping alongside the water buck and warthog through endless stretches towards herds of buffalo, wildebeest, zebra or rhino made us feel a unique part of the animals' environment and very vulnerable to them. At night in the tent, we could hear the hippos grunting close by. Africa in the wild

One of the top highlights was our first ride to a hippo pool. 9 pairs of hippo eyes glared at us cautiously watching our every move. As we rounded each side of the pool, all 18 eyes continously changed their position in the pool. The horses were reluctant to cross through some water at the edge of the pool and the hippos rose out of the water slightly just to remind us they could charge at a moments notice. Deon's heart raising moment!

We had 3 leopard sightings - one on horseback which we were alerted to by the baboons barking wildly. We watched him marking his scent on the paths. And what seemed a once in a lifetime sighting, a leopard walked in front of the car on our way out of St. Lucia game park and another on our way into Hluhluwe game park. I have some amazing video footage of him prowling through the bushes.

Hilltop Camp at Hluhluwe was our home for a couple nights nestled in the lucious green hills that could make for the back drop of The Sound of Music and what I'd never expect an African game park setting to look like. The bush is very thick so animal sightings come with some challenges unless you were as lucky (or unlucky) as us to be in the car between a moving herd of elephants. We had stopped to watch a mother and a nursing baby ahead and then saw rustling of the trees to the left and right of us. They came marching out of the bush into our path and tried to give us an intimidating head shake to back us away. Through the rear view mirror we realized reversing was not an option as a huge mother elephant was approaching. Thankfully a lucious tree branch caught her attention and she veered away. We watched nervously for about 30 minutes till all 30 elephants moved on. We could hear the intimidating trumpeting sounds of what seemed an unhappy elephant in the bush and had a good giggle and big sigh of relief when we drove by to see it was only a baby showing his place in the herd. Heart raising moment for both of us!

We had many peaceful animal encounters too however the heart raising ones make for a good email. The photos and video will be awesome to see!

We've been busy so my usual emails are a little late in coming. We are in Weenen now relaxing today! Yesterday we did a beautiful 5 hour hike in the Drakensberg and a couple days before that we joined Deon's brother and sister in a 25km mountain bike race through the farmland around the dam. Very exhilarating!

Some of our favourite animal encounters captured below...

Sept 2007 - Weenen, Zingela, Sani Pass & Drakensburg

2009-05-17T15:18:00.000-07:00

Howzit!

Despite being in what I'd describe as the middle of nowhere, there hasn't been a spare 5 mins to fill you in on the latest adventures...so we've extended our trip and will be back in Bda on Sunday.

It's tough to chose the highlight so far but top honours goes to a morning at the Weenen Game Reserve. We'd been driving around the game reserve, saw the same giraffe twice and a rhino that even the best zoom lens couldn't focus on. Just as I was thinking seeing the giraffe a third time was maybe as good as it was going to get we stumbled on a mother and baby white rhino and a herd of zebra. We parked the car and run for cover into a wooden hide at a waterhole. It's a wooden structure next to the waterhole where the animals can't see you apparently but great vista for seeing them. A magical spot. It was as if a game warden had the animals lined up in their groups and one by one he sent the group down to the watehole to drink right before our eyes. It was silent and they were all so cautious approaching. Often the babies were the brave ones and the adults would then follow. The zebra captured our attention first frolicking around at the water until Deon sneezed and sent them galloping. The baby rhino enticed his mom to the waterhole but surprisingly he was too timid to drink whilst she just sucked up gallons of water. Kudu cows, kudu bulls, eland all popped by for a drink. A warthog just cruised by. As a joke I said to Deon go find me a giraffe. He'd popped his head out the hide and who should be gnawing on the trees outside but a mummy and baby giraffe. My dream was to see and capture on photo the sight of a giraffe drinking. They spread their front legs wide open into an upside down V in order to bend down to drink. She saunters towards the water so gracefully directly in front of me. The moment had arrived however my battery light on the camera was flashing. Just as she gets into position and I take the shot the battery dies and the spares are in the car! Ugh!!! Deon tried to get back to the car to get the spares unnoticed but we forgot about the vantage point of a giraffe and the baby wasn't taking a chance and she glided off with the mom on her heels.

Taking 2nd place was a day and night at Zingela Bush/ River Camp. What an adventure just getting there through Zulu Villages and then onto a 35km path you'd never even describe as a road - like a Disney roller coaster ride in slow motion - up, down, side to side constantly. Makes Costa Ricas pot holes just seem like a tiny hole in the road. Only a bucky (small truck) can get you there! We arrived to find 44 - 14 year old boys on an adventure camp so we joined in their activities and did a 30m abseil. The kids were sent out in the bush to camp for the night so we had sundowners by the fire and a great party with lots of bad singing with the teachers - where's Boeboe and his guitar when you need him. It was a full moon and such an amazing place to watch it rise over the mountains and reflect off the river! We stayed in a hut with a curtain for a door, open spaces for windows and a massive 6 ft aloe plant that the hut had been built around. I woke a few times in the night expecting to see an animal staring at me. They heat a tank of water with logs and fire in the morning and about 30 mins later enjoying a hot shower for all the animals to see.

Just when all our insides had repositioned themselves after the trip to Zingela we took a tour up Sani Pass to Lesotho (a country inside South Africa). Another 4x4 adventure only - through some hair pin turns entitled Prayer Corner as you say a prayer in hopes of making it safely to the bottom, Grace of God corner as it's by the grace of God you make it round that bend, Reverse Corner where you can't make it round in on go (and sadly we saw the truck remains of someone who wasn't so lucky!) and then Amen Corner as you say Amen you've made it! A drive into the clouds with no barriers on the roadside as you wind your way up and down the pass. Amen is right!

After going through Lestho Immigration and Customs where we weren't even required to get of the truck we went to visit a local lady in her hut. They live in such isolated and barren conditions and must cope with bitter harsh winters. Most of the men are dressed in blankets as a coat to battle the harsh weather conditions. The lady prepared bread which she cooked in a cast iron pot with cow dung as the fire. Surprisingly very tasty - would have been divine with a little butter. She had a pole outside her home with a small white sack attached which meant bread and beer were for sale. A red flag has meat for sale, green is vegetables and yellow is wine! An amazing system. She had a huge pile of cow dung outside which she either collects or the shepherds bring in exchange for bread or beer. Being a stop on this tour is the only livlihood for this lady. She sells brooms and hats so we bought a broom b/c not sure what I'd do with a hat!

As we left we saw this man riding a horse and I asked the driver if we could stop and take a photo. What an incredible series - the first photo he doesn't realise we are taking his picture, the 2nd photo he calls out to the driver to ask us to pay so for 2 rand (30 cents) of course we'll pay, the 3rd he is riding towards us with a big whip in the air, the 4th he dismounts, the 5th he bows in thanks and the 6th we get the view of a pair of eyes only as he was completely covered by his blanket. Very intimdating and at one point I wasn't sure what could be under that cover and how badly that all could turn out. Fortunately he happily remounted and headed to buy his cigarette!

We've also been for a walk in the bush and bumped into the tracker on the way in who asked Deon if he had his rifle which he didn't and so just said well watch out for the leopard. I asked what was the plan if we saw leopard? Just run I was reassured. Fortunately the animals we saw were too frightened by us so hopefully we were either unnoticed or not part of the leopards diet!

We did a 5 1/2 hour hike in the Drakensburg Mtns today. Not for those afraid of heights - Deon's sister turned back after the first hour. We hiked up narrow windy trails with huge drops hundreds of feet down on the side of the path - like Sani Pass no guard rails and like Zingela you wouldn't even call some parts a trail as in a few places there were no paths and you had to climb across the rock. Scarier than skydiving was the climb up the two chain ladders up 150 metres to the summit with no harness just clinging to the handles and taking one step at a time! Deon nurtured me along encouraging my every step. I just never looked down! You'll have to see the photos to believe this. We then hiked to Tugela falls - the 2nd largest waterfall in the world however it's dry as there has been no rain. By the way the spider is nowhere to be found. The hike down the ladder was a little scary too but by this point the only choice is down!

We were up at 4.30am this morning to leave for the hike so I'm ready to catch up on sleep. Spring is in the air here - the temperatures warmed up, the trees are turning green and every bird in Weenan seems outside my window in the morning.

We're starting off the day at the hide at the waterhole in search of the missed giraffe photo .
Totsiens!

Aug 2007 - Welcome to Weenen

2009-05-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Weenan - population 100 people - plus me and a big spider in my room. Apparently it's a rain spider and they are desperate for rain so it being indoors is a good sign but it being high on the walls is not. If it starts to climb down rain is coming! And I'm a running :)

Imagine being in an IMAX theatre and the volume is on high thundering across the room. That's the sound of an angry crocodile that gets tapped on the head with a stick. Who even knew they roared? They also have a very intimidating vibrating throat to match. Very happy to be on the outside of that enclosure! We went to a Zulu Village experience with a bonus reptile farm. Be relieved to know that our most dangerous creature in Bda is the flying cockaroach as opposed to all the snakes we got to see fortunately behind a glass wall. Deon and his uncle went looking for pythons the other day and all seemed very disappointed to return with no sightings. Shame they say here when things don't quite go your way!

We also took in another form of culture at the "fish market" with goats heads (still covered in fur and eyeballs in place), pigs feet, some unidentified stomachs hanging there for sale. I can't imagine what delicacy they get whipped up in. The smell was so overpowering of I don't know what. I couldn't escape fast enough.

We have driven up to Weenen today so plan to spend the next week here. Had a brief sightseeing drive around tonight which has left me relatively speechless and may take me a day or so to process the remoteness and cultural disparaties of life in a rural community. It is going to be an eye opening adventure of life in South Africa - something I never experienced on my trip with Chrissy as a tourist staying in "on the beaten track" places - an exciting adventure to come.

We are planning some hikes in the game reserve and Drakensburg Mtns, a trip through Sani Pass on the way to Lesotho, a game drive and zip cording through the bush. We've already seen giraffe, ostrich and a massive rhino and baby on the drive up today.

The dogs are going bollistic outside. The house is all gated in. Feels safe to be inside of the night-time of rural South Africa. Phew they've stopped now. Deon's parents dog is reknowned in the community as the dog's dad killed an intruder in his owners home so I believe I am in safe hands with him on guard.

Looking forward to tomorrow's adventure of experiencing rural and off the beaten track South Africa!