Time spent in Cape Town on a visit from London before planning and heading off on a Cape Town to Nairobi Overland adventure.
Cape Town to Nairobi trip
Newlands pool swims
Showing posts with label South Africa 2001. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Africa 2001. Show all posts
14 September 2001
13 September 2001
An overland trip from Cape Town to Nairobi
Countries and places visited
A summary of our trip
- 4 week overland trip from Cape Town to Nairobi through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya with “Which Way Adventures” in a large truck with 13 fellow passengers and two crew
- Pre-briefing to meet fellow travellers and the crew. They are delighted to have a fellow SAFA on board
- Leave from Business School at Waterfront. First view of our yellow truck
- First camp, briefing from Martin, learn how to pitch tents
- Memorable fellow travellers: Carl, my tent mate, an American law student and intrepid photographer; Chris the hilariously funny group clown; Rory, the firy and booze loving Irishman; “Mama”, very large, loud, fun American who got on Martin’s nerves; Anna the wingy Australian; Terra the young student from “down South” with the long drawl; Menno, the older, zany Dutch lorry driver
- Views of Fish river canyon – and river walk at camp site
- Hear about 9 / 11 just outside Swakopmund ( Namibia) - shocking but surreal
- Cycling into town with Anna from the camp site
- Sand buggying in dunes of Swakopmund
- Nice camp site in Namib with canyon walk. Get sozzled on punch and get to know each other
- Climbing a large dune in the Namib and viewing an ancient petrified forest in the middle of the desert (where they filmed “The Cell” starring Jenniefer Lopez)
- Driving through Namib coastal park and seeing large seal colony (very smelly!)
- Seeing lions at the “night hole” at Etosha Pan and a leopard on a game drive
- Long game drive to hilly part of Etosha
- Lazing in the pool at Etosha camp
- Walk into a barbed wire fence and cut my stomach (faint scar to this day)
- Fly into Okovango Swamp from Maun in tiny plane ( Botswana)
- Moses, the fun local guide. “Welcome to Afrika” in his deep voice
- Makuro (dug out boats) through the swamp – overnighting on an island with roars of lions and hyena skulking close by
- Game walk on island in Okovango
- Watching birds and hippos from the look-out at Okovango camp – and trying to find our wooden huts in the dark
- Stay in Baobab camp on way to Chobe – and I prove my worth my climbing the pole in the bar to write my name on the roof
- Sun set river trip at Chobe, watching elephants on the bank
- Holding breath under the water competitions in pool at Chobe – I manage close to 3 minutes but Carl just pips me
- Martin meets a soul mate, a South African tourist who joins us for the next 5 days – he’s in love for the rest of the trip
- Victoria Falls – white river rafting grade 5 rapids along Zambezi River (feeling rather ill due to dehydration)
- Pissing it up in the local bar (after a meal at the Spur) – Chris gets a body shot from Mama!
- Touts desperately selling foreign currency
- Overnight in cool camp on Zambian side of Zambezi
- Sun set and all you can drink cruise along the Zambezi River – and pushing Carl into the pool with his passport, then getting pushed in myself
- Ben takes out his glass eye
- Slow progress over pot holed, narrow roads in Zambia – slow progress in the big truck
Southern - South Luanga National park – day and night drive. See leopard cubs, Scops Owl
Great fun by pool at South Luanga and elephants coming through the camp, playing darts - Into Malawi, the land of happy, colourful people
- 4 amazing days at camp on Lake Malawi – snorkeling, windsurfing, fishing, water skiing. Fun with the camp’s tame squirrel monkey who loved playing with the dogs. Watch England narrowly claw back a draw against Greece in the Euro qualifier. Apocolypse Now – Terra’s favourite movie. “Truth or dare”
- Locking Chris into his tent
- Weird swimming out in what look like the ocean but not needing to worry about sharks
- Apple pie at the famous local tea house.
- Two nights at another camp along the lake – beer race against another truck, great waterfall walk, swimming in some quite big waves
- Reading “Down Under” by Bill Bryson
- Into Tanzania – the girls have trouble peeing in private because curious local keep appearing from nowhere
- Dar Es Salaam camp site – get to swim in the ocean. Prostitutes in the camp cause some merriment. Sexual confessions – innocent Terra does some shocking
- Zanzibar ferry to Spice Town. Italian ice cream, night fish markets
- Drive a jeep with Terra and Mamma, while others go motor biking. Red Colobus Monkey. Great forest walks. Up north to a gorgeous coastal camp. Swimming, beach walks, turtle aquarium, smoking grass, Lounge music, lying till very late by the fire
- Serengetti base camp – love birds, great bar, Panic Mechanic
- Drive to camp on outskirts – see Coucal
- Serrengetti – see the big 5 within an hour, leopard hanging over tree, cheetah too. Giant Eagle Owl. Sit on roof of the cruisers, sharing sightings on walkie talkie.
- Ngoro Gora Crater, amazing views down, fever trees, flamingos on the pan, lion. Wild pigs at camp on top of crater
- Back to Serengetti Base camp for a big piss up
- Kenya lake – Malachite Kingfisher, watch TV, feel a little blue, Born Free house where Hamiltons lived
- To Nairobi. Visit museum with Terra
- Fly out back to London - what an awesome trip
New birds seen
Etosha (Namibia)
- Doublebanded Sandgrouse
- Sociable weaver
- Kori Bustard
Okavango
- Lesser honeyguide
Ngora Crater
- Lesser Flamingo
Serengeti
- Whitebrowed Coucal
- Southern Crowned Crane
- Giant Eagle Owl
- Yellowthroated Sandgrouse
- African Scops Owl
