The Start of a New Year - South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland

17th Dec – 24th Feb 2008

Unbelievable! It’s been over a year since we first left the UK on our dream Trans-Africa trip. January 15th 2007 we set sail from Portsmouth and here we are now, 24th Feb 2008, in Mlilawane Nature Reserve, Swaziland – boy what a trip with a life time of experiences and memories…. Will it ever end? Well, as the saying goes unfortunately all good things have to end eventually and we are now in countdown mode for the return to ‘reality’! Our flights are booked for March 12th , so only a matter of weeks to go but hopefully it’s warmed up a bit back home and the shock wont be too great.

However, enough of the future (too scary), what’s been happening since we last updated the blog pre-xmas. Well, Clare returned to the UK and spent a great 6 weeks catching up with the family and friends, while I had an equally fun time with the Spark Family in Durban, though we did spend a wet 5 days over Xmas in Lusaka & Livingstone with the Leed clan (+ Giles) – very boozy and loads of fun, despite mum trying to impress us all with her skating skills & almost breaking her wrist!! We also took the opportunity to get Bula ‘tidied up’ and thanks to Jon (replacement parts) and Leon (Mechanic) she is now as good as new.

Having spent almost a month enjoying the comforts of home living it was time to get back on the road and with the arrival of Jacko on the 13th of January what better reason. We headed north up the coast and spent time visiting Kwazulu Natals excellent game parks, in particular Hluhluwe, Umfolozi and St Lucia, where we not only saw most of the usual game (including the Big Five) but were also fortunate enough to witness a female logger head turtle laying her eggs along with another batch hatching and making there charge for the open sea – fantastic! Jacko proved himself as an expert angler (beginner’s luck I say) by catching 3 Tiger Fish on his first outing and we also managed a good few days off roading along the coastal sand tracks (without getting stuck!). Following a visit to the Tembe Elephant park we ventured across the border into Mozambique where we spent 3 days on the beach with the major highlight of snorkeling with a 7 meter whale shark! Unfortunately, Jacko’s 2 weeks were over in a flash and he was back to the Jungle of the City and the World of Finance (plus much more!). I then had a week to kill before Clare returned so decided to dordle around the Nelspruit area (south of Kruger NP) and was lucky to meet up with Peter and Sabine (Austrian overlanders we met in Uganda – small world) which meant a good catch up over a few beers! I also took the opportunity to try my hand at Crocayaking (one man inflatable canoes) down the rapids of the Mac Mac River – great fun.

Then on 2nd Feb Clare finally arrived back in S Africa and we spent two days ‘re-acquainting’ ourselves in the beautiful and tranquil Forest Creek Lodge. Then it was back into Bula and the tent & a resumption of our road trip. On route to the Kruger we took in the sights of the Blyde River Canyon and spent an afternoon at the Moholoholo Rehab Centre (where I took my Rangers course 3 years ago) before spending 4 fabulous days in the Kruger NP. From the Kruger we took a remote border crossing into Mozambique and then spent 10 days exploring the coast, traveling as far north as Vilanculos. The beaches were nice, the sea warm and sea food tasty plus there was some excellent snorkeling and another superb Whale Shark encounter, though Clare might say differently as she only saw the bottom of the boat due to the 10 ft swell and I don’t think we will be rushing back for a repeat performance!

We are now in Swaziland with only 10 days or so to go before we are due back in Durban. We tried our hand at quad biking and have ventured out on a few game walks, so still trying to pack in as much as possible before calling it a day.

So, think that brings proceedings up to date with only one more short update to come. We are certainly looking forward to seeing everyone, and catching up on all the gossip – not long now! What will 2008 have in store for us I wonder??

Champagne , family & home - South Africa

5th – 11th December 2007

Even though we had reached both Cape Point & Cape Agulhas (Africa’s most southern point), as reported in the last blog update, we still had a further 1,700 kms to complete before reaching our ultimate destination – Durban . This we successfully achieved arriving at 5, Highgate Road at 16.35 on Tuesday 11th December 2007…… so we can now finally say ‘we did it’ – 11 months, 20 countries & 27,300 miles, thru Europe & Africa, crossing the Tropics of Cancer & Capricorn & of course the Equator – London, England to Durban, South Africa by road….hats off to Bula, what a machine!!

We were met by the very welcoming ‘new’ Mr. & Mrs. Spark (my bro & Vronsie)!! Lots of Champagne & wine & even more chatting confirmed we really were ‘home’ & we have been enjoying the luxuries of home life since! It really was fantastic to be met by family after so long on the road & this was made even better with the arrival on Friday of my folks from Portugal, so now we have the full Spark clan under one roof, a pretty rare event & one that demanded extensive celebrating…..which seems to be continuing!!! It has been a bit of a whirlwind & culture shock catching up with all the family & friends plus acclimatizing back into ‘normal’ everyday life (excluding work of course, one step at a time!) but truly fantastic to see everyone & totally relax!

Since we last left you on 4th December having completely over indulged in the ‘fruits’ of the Cape, we worked our way up the southern coast first visiting the De Hoop Nature Reserve for one last dose of ‘wilderness’ & animals (Cape Mountain Zebra & Southern Right Whales) before traveling along the world renowned Garden Route stopping of at Barrydale to stay with Andre & Anelda (met in Uganda back in August), who were setting up their new farm; we spent 2 fabulous days with A & A & were once again treated to some superb Afrikaans hospitality! From here we continued to George, where (pure coincidence of course!) the International Rugby 7’s Tour happened to be taking place, so after finding a suitable camp site we spent the next 2 days enjoying the worlds finest display their talents whilst we consumed 1 or 2 ales! As per usual we met & made some great new friends, this time a bunch of South African Toy boys & girls, yep they were all in the toy industry, what a small world, & we successfully abused their hospitality for an evening….thanks Clinton, Rodney, Gary & wives, much appreciated!!
From George we decided to crack on thru the Transkie as quickly as possible as we did not have the time to do it full justice & were now eager to see the family; therefore we spent the last 2 nights camping on the Wild Coast before finally reaching Durban as detailed above!

The trip truly reached its conclusion this Monday when Clare left the ‘party’ & flew back to the UK to spend Xmas & New Year with her family, which I am sure will be an equally joyous & boozy affair, leaving Bula & myself to fend for ourselves! We will now be apart for the next 6 weeks before Clare returns to South Africa to re-join Bula & I on our next expedition to Mozambique ……so not coming home just yet….plenty of time to become responsible & grow up in the future, for now there is still too much fun to have!!

So with the trip finally over I could start to eulogize about the lessons we have learnt, the experiences we have shared, knowledge we have gained & how we have become stronger, better people blah blah blah but think I will spare you that one for now, maybe another time or over a few beers when we get together. However, I will just say it has been a truly remarkable & unique experience which has certainly brought Clare & I closer together than ever (well, it was a make or break trip & after 184 nights in a rooftop tent who wouldn’t love me!!) & we will always treasure the year 2007!! If anyone is thinking of doing it, don’t hesitate, get out there now & do it!

No idea what 2008 has in-store but we will worry about that when the time comes; for now the dream lives on! We hope everyone has enjoyed following our trip & reading the blog, we have certainly enjoyed hearing from you along the way & appreciate all the support you have given us.

MERRY XMAS TO EVERYONE & ALL THE BEST FOR 2008

Rain, wind, wine & friends – South Africa! (Namibia - South Africa)

11th November – 4th December

20th November 2007 (my mum’s birthday & we remembered)
It’s a clear sunny day & we are cruising south down the N7. The road is smooth, its tarmac & not a pot hole in sight; nobody is driving down the wrong side & we are being overtaken by Audi’s & BMW’S, there is hardly a 4 x 4 or Matartu (African taxi – of sorts) in sight!! We stop at a set of traffic lights, not only are they working but everyone is obeying them……then we see a BP garage with a Wild Bean Café……I knew it, it has all been a dream & we are really on our way to the office! Then we spot a few ‘differences’ - the sun is shining, the fields are full of vines, the majority of pedestrians are black or colored (though this could still be High Wycombe) & then suddenly rising up in front of us is Table Mountain…..it is not a dream after all & we have finally made it - Cape town, South Africa!! Windsor to Cape (via Cairo & a few other places) – 26,100 miles, 20 countries & 305 days on the road – a lifetimes ambition completed! Emotions mixed – euphoria, relief, excitement, satisfaction, sadness & many more – it was certainly a memorable & emotional moment! We stop at Bloubergstrand & sit on the pristine white sandy beach to savior the moment & take in the incredible view of Table Mountain & Cape Town …..What a fantastic trip!

But it was not over yet & we had a rendezvous with Sally & Susan who were flying in from the UK to be with us for the ‘final leg’ to Cape Point; particularly apt as they were 2 of the last people to wave us off from Gloucester Place, Windsor, England (Susan’s house)on that chilly January 14th morning. They duly arrived the following morning with a ‘little’surprise of there own….. Juliet had also turned up! Wow, what an amazing surprise and for once both Clare and I were absolutely speechless, this really was an unbelievable and fantastic bonus! I now had 4 of my favorite girls (poor show from the lads, where were you??) to help Bula and me down the final stretch. Unfortunately the Cape weather was living up to its reputation and it was peeing with rain and blowing a gale but that did not stop us celebrating over lunch in Camps Bay.
As usual I’ve started with the end (or somewhere in the middle) so back for a quick update on the last few weeks since we last left you in Luderitz. After an impromptu night out at Luderitzs’ ‘top’ (only) bar - Barrels - we decided to stay an extra day (hang over from hell!). We did eventually leave on the Monday and managed to see Kelmanshoop, a diamond ghost town, and the famous desert wild horses. Unfortunately, the day ended in a garage in the small mining town of Rosh Pinar when Bula’s rear half shaft hub decided to sheer but luckily we had a spare and were only a few miles from a garage so were soon back on the road.

From Rosh Pinar we had our final off road section – a fabulous 160 km route through the mountainous & rocky terrain of the Ais-Ais Reserve, following the famous Orange River. We found ourselves a great camp site right on the river bank and then managed to get ourselves booked onto a 4 day / 3 night canoe safari along the Orange River! Our party consisted of the guide, 4 young SA lads from Pretoria and a young couple from Cape Town and we spent a very tranquil (if hot - over 40 degrees) time drifting and paddling down river in our Canadian style two man canoes; however, we did encounter the odd class 2 rapid, one of which was particularly tricky and decided to unceremoniously dump us into the river resulting in a few bruises and a very wet tent! Once safely back on dry land and reunited with ‘comfy’ Bula (roof tents are certainly more comfortable than sleeping on the ground) we quickly headed into South Africa legally - we had ‘illegally’ crossed into SA several days earlier during the canoe trip, as we camped each night on the SA side of the Orange River - and our rendezvous with the girls.

So, back to our week with the ‘gang’ and despite a poor start on the weather front we still managed to cram in a whole bunch of activities which included Cape Towns ‘Big Six’ – Table Mountain, Cape Point and the Penguins, the V & A Waterfront (way too much shopping!), Robben Island, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and of course a few Wineries! Add in a few great restaurants (plus more shopping), hooking up with Degs & pals, I think we truly ‘did’ Cape Town! It really was fabulous to have the girls with us and ensured it was a top week to celebrate the culmination of our trip! Big thanks to you all for making such an effort at such a busy time of year & also for your incredible generosity.

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, and on Tuesday we waved the girls off, so once again it was just Clare, Bula and I. In order to cheer ourselves up we quickly headed to Franschhoek and the Wine lands, which we fully explored over the next 3 days incorporating a number of excellent drinking establishments, including Boschendal, Fairview, Graham Beck and Rickety Bridge to name just a few! The settings were fantastic, the tours interesting and the wines superb and the only thing that prevented us going on longer was the collapse of our livers……after so long on ‘meager’ rations in the African bush this fine living was now taking its toll!!! However, there was to be no reprieve as we then spent the weekend back in Cape Town with Bob, Jill, Scott and Kate who don’t know the meaning of No - fantastic hospitality and overly generous, thanks. We finally made our escape on Sunday (2nd December) and sought sanctuary in the sleepy retirement town of Stanford a few hours along the East Coast. From Stanford we drove the last 100 miles south to L’Agulhas which is the ‘true’ most southerly point of Africa and the meeting place of the mighty Atlantic and Indian Oceans (Cape Point is generally easier for tourists and sounds better!). We celebrated this momentous moment with take away fish and chips…….our livers couldn’t face the bubbly!. From here we then spent 2 ‘alcohol free’ days in the remote De Hoop Nature Reserve, Whale watching and Hiking – much needed after the excesses of Cape Town and good preparation for what lies ahead in Durban!!
So that pretty much brings us up to date and from here we head along the Southern Coast (Garden Route) for the long anticipated Rendezvous with the Spark Clan (mum & dad arrive on 14th Dec) – that won’t involve much drinking will it!! And if the reunion wasn’t enough my Big Brother, aged 47, finally did the decent thing and married Veronica – what a result! Congratulations Mike and Vronsie, fantastic news & about bloody time!!

Probably only one more Blog update from Durban & then you can all breathe a sigh of relief – no more bloody African stories from Sparky and Clare! Unless of course you are stupid enough to invite us over for dinner……until Durban!

P.S. Sorry Lord still no blood, guts, gore or hardship unless you can count the sewage drains getting blocked at the house in Camps Bay that the girls rented…..not a pleasant experience or smell!!

Tigers, Skeletons & Deserts! (Botswana & Namibia)

9th October – 10th November

Okay, what’s happened to the last month? It has certainly shot by and yet we seem to have packed in a years worth of activities! That’s southern Africa for you and I can certainly say we are still having a ball, with the trip delivering everything it promised! Some of the ‘adventure’ and ‘ruggedness’ of the north and east may have gone, but southern Africa can certainly deliver on excitement, scenery and facilities.

We last left you in Maun, Botswana recovering from our various ‘animal encounters’ in the Chobe and Okavango. All started well with England’s epic victory over France in the semis and boy did we enjoy that one (unfortunately no French in the bar but found a few Aussies!). Then is was off into the Central Kalahari Desert for 4 nights of desert camping which was absolutely fantastic – we saw half a dozen cars the whole time and spent 4 wonderful hours totally alone with a male Cheetah – awesome! Dragging ourselves away from the Kalahari we headed back through Maun and up the western side of the Okavanga Delta, where we found a great fishing camp called Drotskys Cabins. Camped right on the edge of the Delta we got our first taste of Tiger Fish fishing (yep, they do have Tigers in Africa after all! To cut a long story short, thanks to some new friends (who we met at the camp), I not only caught my first but an additional 2 Tiger Fish along with 3 cat fish all over 4kgs – Collo you would have been proud! We had a fabulous 4 days at Drotskys which culminated with an evening watching the final………. well at least we made a game of it and our new S African pals certainly enjoyed it – roll on 2009 and the lions!

From Drotskys we finally left Botswana and entered Namibia via the Caprivi Strip with our first night at a place called Popa Falls. Unfortunately Bula decided the roads were getting too easy and decided to throw a wobbly, literally, and it took us 5 hours to cover 50 miles! It turned out to be a stabilizer rod which fortunately the garage in Rundu was able to replace so we were not delayed too long. From here we entered the Etosha National Park for our last major ‘game foray’ and we were not to be disappointed! As we were right at the end of the dry season and it being one of the hottest months (so called suicide month), all the animals were congregating around the water holes which made for some amazing sights and gave us hours of fantastic viewing. During our three days and night in the park we were fortunate to see, along with all the general plains game (zebra, springbok etc), black rhinos, lions, leopards and elephants – also the roads were fantastic so Serengeti up yours!

Whilst in Etosha we met a nice Dutch couple, on a self drive holiday and spent the next week traveling together as we headed south. First stop was at a cheetah farm where we were introduced to 3 ‘tame’ cheetahs, quite bizarre but fun! We then headed west towards the Atlantic Ocean and traveled through the area known as the Kaokoveld or Sothern Damara Land which is one of Southern Africa’s last wildernesses and Namibia’s least inhabited area. The landscape was certainly wild and rugged with no people (a welcome change from the rest of Africa) though we did manage to find the amazing desert adapted elephants, in fact one found us and decided to join us in camp for dinner (see photo)!! We soon hit the Skeleton Coast or Coast of Skulls and it was easy to see how it earned its name; a narrow strip of land between icy, pounding ocean and the stark desert interior, with a relentless wind (and before anyone says anything not caused by me!), it certainly made for a spectacular drive! It was to defeat us when it came to camping but with a name like Mile 108 Camp you might hopefully have some sympathy!! Thankfully we had Clare’s birthday as an excuse so booked into the one and only lodge at Cape Cross where we had 2 fabulous nights celebrating in style! Sights along the coast included the Cape Fur Seals, Black back Jackals (we unfortunately did not spot the elusive brown Hyena) and ship wrecks, though the latter were not as spectacular as expected due to erosion.

We finally reached Swakopmond, a quaint old German town and a pleasant oasis in which to spend the next 3 days. Swakopmond and Walvis Bay are Namibia’s equivalent of Livingstone in Zambia ie. plenty of activities and action for the adventurous. However, we decided to go for the more ‘tranquil’ options which included a booze cruise to see the Seals and Dolphins (unfortunately no Whales) and a spot of exhilarating Dune driving (not in Bula) and an amazing Kayak trip! The more adventurous options included sky diving, quad biking and kite surfing – maybe next time. From Swakopmond we headed back inland (away from the wind) and into the oldest desert on earth – the Namib - for a spot of wild desert camping before reaching the picture postcard area of Sossusvlei and its enormous red dunes. Up at 4 a.m., an hours drive and a mad scramble up the dune almost resulting in a heart attack (sitting in a Landrover for 10 months has not helped on the fitness stakes!), we did manage to catch the sunrise and boy was it spectacular!

From Sossusvlei we continued south through the Namib – Naukluft Desert encountering some of the most spectacular scenery we have ever seen – rocky mountains and red dunes split by huge white valley floors - Namibia is certainly an impressive country. To make things even better the gravel roads are fantastic, the best by far in Africa, so along with the great camping facilities (toilets, hot water, braai and shops) traveling has become somewhat easier and it almost feels like a holiday.

Today (10th November) we are in the old German diamond mining town of Luderitz, another desolate wind swept coastal town, preparing ourselves for the final ‘off road’ section of the trip before crossing into ‘civilised’ South Africa – a 300km route along the Orange River to Fish River Canyon – and from there an easy 2 -3 day drive (on tarmac) to Cape Town and our rendezvous with Sally and Susan.

It is hard to believe that we are now so near to the end - 25,000 + miles, 10 months and plenty of adventure in between – what a trip! However, I think we are all beginning to feel a bit battered and worn; Bula certainly is, so Durban in a month’s time will surely be a welcome sight.

The weather continues to get hotter as we go into summer and with no rain now since mid October we are certainly not missing the UK winter! With probably only 1 more blog update to go (thank goodness I hear you all say) it will soon be back to reality and earning an honest wage (anyone got any jobs??) but let’s not go there just yet.

Other highlights of the last month include Penny (Clare’s older sister) giving birth to baby number 2 – Louie at 7lb 8oz, Collo P becoming a granddad and we are also heard that a third small Ratcliff was delivered in October – quite a month for new arrivals but I suppose all good news for the toy boys! So until Durban take it easy and keep smiling!

Lots of love
C & G

A Welsh Man in Africa

12th September to 8th October- Zambia & Botswana

Would this be a ‘Bridge’ too far for our intrepid little Welshman from the valleys of Pontypryd? Not only was this Roddy's first foray into Africa but also his first holiday alone – how would he cope?

Our last update was posted from the shores of Lake Malawi where we spent just one night before heading west and into Zambia (our 19th country) via the remote border crossing at Lundazi. Clare and I then spent the next 3 days and nights traveling through some wonderfully remote countryside, although thankfully the roads were pretty good, making our way south for our rendezvous with Roddy. Two nights were spent camped at a top spot on the banks of the Luangwa River in the remote Luambe National Park, where we had the place to ourselves, well, apart from the Hippos, Elephants, Leopard, Baboons and Monkeys that is! On the morning of the 15th September we drove the final 4 hours to the Wild Life Camp at South Luangwa National Park and were met by Dr Roddy Bridges himself which was to be the start of an amazing and memorable 2 weeks!

For those of you who know Roddy I am sure he will account his ‘adventures’ with far more excitement and passion than I ever can but a second version might help maintain a bit of balance! The first 4 days were spent at the Wild Life Camp where we each had a ‘luxurious’ tent including ensuite bathroom (albeit open to the elements). We spent our time going on game drives (morning and night) relaxing by the pool and eating and drinking. However, we did manage to break this routine to partake in a walking safari which included a night in a remote bush camp, a definite highlight for us all; particularly the close encounters with Elephant and Hippo!! We soon learnt that Roddy has quite a turn of speed, as he ignored the guide’s strict instructions never to run from wild animals, almost knocking me over in his haste to climb the nearest bank. The cause? Again probably two versions and Rod will tell you that the Hippo charged, though the other four witnesses saw it more as a stretch and yawn….. you decide! South Luangwa’s reputation for Leopards and Lions was to prove spot on as we had good sightings of both which in the case of the Leopard has been a long time coming for Clare and I.

Having seen all the key animals (including the extremely rare and elusive Aardvark) it was time to move on and liven things up a bit (there’s not much totty in the bush!). Clare took the easy option and flew to Lusaka whilst Roddy joined Bula and me for a bit of true African bundu bashing! We took the little used and very remote off road route to Lusaka and successfully had a few ‘adventures’ en route, which in summary included a blocked road (fallen tree), bush fires, tsetse flies, a puncture and some very tough 4x4 driving, which Bula hadn’t seen since northern Kenya. After a long 8 hours and in total darkness we were mightily relieved to finally find a camp site. The next day we joined Clare in Lusaka where we spent a wonderful weekend staying with Paddy, Louise, Victoria and Alexandra, who looked after us magnificently, thanks guys. We certainly made the most of regular home comforts i.e. bed, TV (got to watch our first world cup game), laundry, restaurants etc along with way to many beers, particularly when we were joined by the rest of the Leed clan, Willie, Nick and Bob!

Dragging ourselves away from the luxury of Lusaka the 4 musketeers drove the 500 kms south west to Livingstone, the adventure capital of Zambia! We were not to be disappointed. Based at the Maramba Lodge we succeeded in overdosing on adrenalin over the course of the next 4 days.

Day 1; a walk along the top (and edge) of the Victoria Falls themselves.

Day 2; white water rafting the mighty Zambezi River (Clare says never again).

Day 3, Golf at the royal Livingstone Golf Club, followed by a fabulous micro light flight over the falls.

Day 4, a 110 meter bungee jump into the Batoka Gorge. This last hair brain activity was only undertaken by Roddy in order to celebrate his 49th birthday – total madness and will he ever grow up?

All of the above activities were fantastic, scary, amazing and have a full story attached to each (plus DVD footage and photos) so we will just have to show and talk you through it on our return – bet you can’t wait!

Sadly, all too soon we were waving goodbye to our new welsh mascot and it was back to just Clare, Bula and myself. We thoroughly enjoyed having Rod with us and certainly had a lot of laughs along the way; hope he enjoyed it as much. As a quick aside for those who might be wondering, Africa’s population has not increased as a result of Roddys visit, in fact there was not one single attempt to even chat to a female…… must be some sort of record!

Clare and I then crossed over into Botswana and are got on with the real business of ‘traveling’ and reducing our expenditure. Therefore, we quickly retreated into the bush from which we have just emerged after a fantastic week, though was also the start of a serious of ‘close encounters’ with nature!

We first traveled through Chobe National Park and then into the Moremi National Park on the edge of the Okavanga Delta. The game viewing was fantastic, particularly along the Chobe river front where we were to witness our first lion kill – absolutely fantastic! More lion were to be seen en route and Botswana is certainly not short of elephants, we must have seen over 500 in the past week alone. In fact elephants featured regularly in the ‘close encounters’ series and on two particular occasions we had to beat a hasty retreat, once in Bula and another on foot, both pretty scary! We have also had a few ‘intimate’ moments with both hyenas and baboons that seem to like to make themselves at home in and around our camp sites, quite nerve racking I can assure you. Thinking we had had our fair share of scary moments, nature decided to throw one more challenge at us in the form of a huge electrical storm, which some may say is beautiful to watch but from the inside of a roof top tent in the middle of the African bush I can safely say we probably did not fully appreciate its beauty!

So all in all a fabulous week in the bush and we are now re-stocking in preperation for a 4 day trek into the centre of the Kalahari Desert…… will let you know how we get on.

And to cap a great week we returned today to hear the fabulous rugby results from the weekend (thanks Barry), boy, must have made compulsive viewing and has certainly sent those cocky antipodeans packing! Only worry now is we are deep in South African territory and they are not the most gracious race when it comes to winning rugby!

Hope everyone is in fine fettle and winter is holding off (35 degrees centigrade here today) until next time take care.

Lake to Lake

18th August – 11th September (Rwanda, Tanzania and Malawi)

Another 3 weeks have shot by as have another 3 countries! Boy, where is the year going? I think we last left you on the tranquil shores of Lake Bunyoni in South Uganda and we are once again sat by another lake this time Lake Malawi. In between these two lakes, beaches and water have been a bit of a central theme as we have camped on the shores of Lake Victoria and then spent another week on the golden beaches of the Indian Ocean, so we have had plenty of sun, sand and……. surf over the past few weeks!

So apart from lazing around lakes and oceans what else have we been up to these last 3 weeks? Well, from lake Bunyoni we crossed into Rwanda where we spent a fascinating 2 days in the capital city Kigali, so recently scene of a horrendous genocide (over 1 million people massacred in a 100 days of madness in 1994). It was incredible to see how the country, or at least Kigali and the bits we saw, have recovered and the people returned to a ‘normal’ life. The roads were excellent, country side spectacular and the people fantastically friendly (we also had a bloody good curry!!); in fact Kigali ranks as one of our favorite African cities – clean, safe and hassle free.While in Kigali we visited the Memorial Centre which does an excellent job in documenting not only the Rwandan genocide but also many of the previous genocides which have taken place around the world (what a horrible species we can be) – a truly shocking and fascinating history lesson as well as being a scary one. Unfortunately our time in Rwanda was limited as we had to push on so we crossed into Tanzania through the fairly remote border crossing in the west at Rusumu Falls. From here we headed east across the southern tip of Lake Victoria and on into the world famous Serengeti National Park. However, from here the tale goes a little sour as we experienced our biggest disappointment of the trip so far. Full of great expectations, we were instead hit with huge costs (park fees and camping), one of the worst roads we have encountered to date, not much game and a ‘don’t give a **** attitude’ from the Tanzanians, so sadly we left with rather a negative view which did not improve as we crossed over the famous Ngorogoro Crater. However I won’t get on my soap box now but will write a ‘fuller’ version of our experience separately and post it at a later date in case anyone might be interested. Note, this is obviously only our view based on our experience (and expectations) as we are sure many people will have had a truly amazing time in this part of the world.

Thankfully Tanzania improved as we continued east and after spending 1 night on the foot hills of Mount Kilimanjaro we arrived back at the Indian Ocean (just 80 miles south of Tiwi Beach where we spent a week in early July so 2 months and 3,000 miles might seem a rather excessive detour!). We spent the next 10 days camped on the beach, swimming, relaxing, eating and generally doing very little; we even decided to forgoe the trip across to Zanzibar as this involved packing up Bula, leaving her unattended and catching a ferry or dhow….. far to much hassle and anyway we have to leave something to do for when we come back!

From the beach we headed inland to a fascinating conservation project called Kisampa on the edge of the Saadani National Park, which has been set up and run by friends of the family (well, I last met Rob 38 years ago so that surely counts!) Rob, Jackie, Jeanann and Richard looked after us fantastically (thanks again) and we successfully abused there hospitality for 3 days before moving on. For more details on Kisampa go to http://www.sanctuary-tz.com/.

As a result of our laziness on the beach we were now in a bit of a rush as had a date with the Mr. Roddy Bridges and we all know Roddy and his dates!! So from Kisampa we headed west again back across Tanzania before turning south into Malawi, covering almost 1000 miles in 3 days – some going for Bula! As time was short in Malawi we immediately headed to the Nyika Plateau, a wonderful spot set at an altitude of 2500 metres with some spectacular scenery. We camped at a perfect spot (which we had to ourselves) and took the opportunity of game viewing on horse back!! Yep, we got Clare on a horse for the first time in her life and went for a 3 hour ride amongst herds of Roan Antelope, Eland and Bushbuck – fantastic. However, we both suffered the next day on the backside front! From the Nyika Plateau we continued south to Nkata Bay on the shores of Lake Malawi where we are now, sat with a cold beer. Tomorrow we head to Zambia for our rendezvous with Dr Roddy Bridges (I presume).

Unfortunately, no real gore or disaster to report as has been a relatively smooth 3 weeks, though as per usual Bula has undergone a few running repairs, including me spending 45 minutes underneath replacing the rubber bushes on a rear shock absorber while parked at Hippo Pools (with over 50+ hippos in situ – Clare kept guard) in the Serengeti (thanks to their wonderful roads!). We also had to finally replace her front shocks, while a spot of welding & lock fixing completed the repairs for this leg. Clare managed to get herself sun stroke while out snorkeling from a Dhow & then suffered for a week with cold sores (think after 8 months in the bush she should know better!) but thankfully has now fully recovered. Also, whilst staying at Kisampa we thought the trip might come to a premature end as a result of a bush fire which approached & surrounded the camp for 1 night but thankfully burnt itself out before causing any damage to buildings etc, though it was a bit scary for a while!! Apart from that all fairly uneventful & as we are in the Southern hemisphere everything is much easier so we are eating & drinking exceptionally well so should manage to re-gain those lost pounds!!!!

Our next update should come from Botswana & will include our ‘adventures’ with Roddy…..so until then take care & enjoy the World Cup (not seen a single game yet!). Hope all the Toy Boys & Girls are coping with the re-calls, bad press etc., it all sounds very exciting!!!