Map? What Map?

And…

2010-09-23T07:19:00.000+08:00

They both lived happily ever after.

The End

The Things We’ve Learned

2010-09-23T07:18:00.000+08:00

In no particular order:

- Don’t sit under coconut trees when it’s windy

- Never take malaria pills on an empty stomach

- No matter where you are, random children yelling “hello” will always make you smile

- Watch out for the bones

- Bring your own toilet paper

- The Guinness is better in Ireland

- Plan ahead, but don’t plan ahead

- Eventually you get used to the ants

- Crossing time zones is different than travelling through time

- You don’t need a mobile phone

- Always have snacks in case of monkey attacks

- No matter what happens, talking to your family will make it better

- Look out for missing sewer grates

- A lot of places smell like pee

- “Putra Jaya” is different than “Puduraja”

- No one’s going to fix that skipping CD

- Off the beaten track isn’t always worth visiting

- Smiling makes things better

- It’s impossible to find a good cheeseburger in Southeast Asia

- There’s always room for one more

- It may not be perfect, but Canada is a good place to call home

Our Top 21 Memorable Experiences

2010-09-23T07:01:00.012+08:00

In no particular order:

1. Gunung Bromo (Java, Indonesia)

2. Abu Simbel (Egypt)

3. Climbing in Hat Ton Sai (Thailand)

4. Mokoro safari in the Okavango Delta (Botswana)

5. Petra (Jordan)

6. the Gibbon Experience (Laos)

7. Watching “a kill” on our Serengeti safari (Tanzania)

8. Snorkelling in Nha Trang (Vietnam)

9. Seeing family & friends around the world

10. Observing wild orangutans (Sumatra, Indonesia & Sabah, Borneo-Malaysia)

11. Standing in nothing (Namibia)

12. Eating our way around the world

13. Pyramids of Giza (Egypt)

14. “Ghetto Camping” throughout Africa

15. Visiting Borobodur (Java, Indonesia)

16. Seeing the Plain of Jars (Laos)

17. Flying over the Okavango Delta (Botswana)

18. Hiking through Wadi Rum (Jordan)

19. Biking through the Angkor Temples (Cambodia)

20. Watching elephants from our tent (Zambia)

21. Celebrating Christmas in Bali (Bali, Indonesia)

The Skip-Bo World Tour-Nament of Champions – Update #4

2010-09-23T06:59:00.004+08:00

Well Skip-Bo fans… we’ve had an amazing fourth and final quarter in the Skip-Bo World Tour-Nament of Champions!!!

The competition was fierce and fiery to the very end, with leads being shrunk, tables being turned and surprises all over the place.

To start, the victory purse was sweetened through a generous donation courtesy of Robyn’s Mom, Joan – she volunteered to bake the winner a cake.

Or at least, she sort of volunteered…

“Joan – can you bake the winner a cake?”

The inclusion of a delicious treat into the mix caused both the competitors to spring into action, making for one of the most dramatic show-downs in the history of Skip-Bo play.

At the end of the tournament’s third quarter, Robyn was leading by 3 games. And over the next 6 weeks, she not only doubled, but QUINTUPLED this lead to 15 games, making a victory for Eric seem next to impossible.

But Eric still had fight left in him and slowly shrunk down the overwhelming gap. And not only did he turn the tides, but for a short time he actually regained the lead by 3 games.

But in the end, Eric was no match for Robyn’s sweet-tooth…

With the series tied at 190 wins a piece and with time ticking down as they waited in Heathrow Airport for their flight home, Robyn defeated Eric in a nail-biter game to claim her victory…

And eventually, her dessert.

Therefore, the final standing is as follows:

Robyn – 191 games
Eric – 190 games

Congratulations Robyn – you earned this victory!

Um, can I have a slice?

the Final Numbers

2010-09-23T06:56:00.002+08:00

18 – # of countries we visited

338 – # of nights we were away

20 – # of flights we took

2 – # of pairs of Robyn’s underwear “lost” using laundry services

96 – # of inter-city buses we rode

6 – # of people we saw riding one motor-scooter

342 – # of malaria pills we each took

2 - # of “shin fillets” taken out of Robyn’s leg

381 – # of games played in the Skip-Bo World Tour-Nament of Champions

7 – # of shots of Lao-Lao (Laos “whiskey”) consumed in one sitting

1 – # of cases of serious food-poisoning Eric had

29 – # of books we read

11 – # of different currencies we used

7 – # of ways we learned to say “thank-you”

3 – # of times we willingly ate snails

2 – # of malaria tests we took

7 - # of pieces of fried bread Eric ate at one sitting

1 – # of monkey attacks

$17.97 – amount of CAD$ we spent on public toilets

2 – # of rhinos we saw in the wild

1,123,581,321 – # of memories we had

Oops!!!

2010-09-21T06:56:00.004+08:00

Did we say “our flight to Paris”?

We meant to say “our flight to Toronto”…

SURPRISE!!!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Surprise Mom / Anne!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Surprise Linda / Linda!

Surprise Dad / John!

Surprise Sara!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Surprise Suzanne!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Surprise Mom / Joan!

Surprise Dad / David!

We’re baaaaaaaaaaaaaack...

Day 338 – England to France

2010-09-16T02:00:00.000+08:00

September 8, 2010 – Milton Keynes, England to Paris, France

Eric and I need to get to Heathrow to catch our flight to Paris so before Mary goes to work, she drops us off at the bus station where we grab a ride to the airport.

We say our “thank yous” and “see ya laters” and then we each head off in our respective directions.

The bus shows up relatively on time and although we hit some traffic, it’s nothing like what’s happening in China, so we can’t complain. We spend the rest of our time wandering around the duty-free stores and playing Skip-Bo.

Eventually the loudspeakers “play our song” and we board our flight.

Day 337 – England

2010-09-16T01:59:00.002+08:00

September 7, 2010 – Milton Keynes, England

Mary has today off, which is convenient because so do Eric and I, the three of us spend the day doing a whole lot of nothing.

Well, technically we don’t do “nothing” – Eric and I repack for the next leg of our trip and Mary catches up on some reading, but you get the idea…

Eventually we figure it would be a good idea to enjoy the sunshine, considering we had been rained out in Northern Ireland, so we go for a wander around the lakes of Milton Keynes and get some fresh air.

For dinner we enjoy a nice English meal – chicken pie, courtesy of Marks & Spencer, as well as peas and potatoes – and then we wrap up the evening watching the movie “Doubt”.

It’s an early night for all of us because Mary has to work the next day and we need to catch a plane… our journey continues, yet again.

Day 336 – Northern Ireland to England

2010-09-13T22:54:00.003+08:00

September 6, 2010 – Cross Keys, Northern Ireland to Milton Keynes, England

Our final day in Northern Ireland is fantastic. We wake-up early to ensure we can take full advantage of our time here because we fly back to Milton Keynes tonight.

First on the agenda is another fry-up. This time Ellen claims it’s a “light fry-up” and we have a good laugh because it seems her idea of a light fry-up is everything we had the other day, minus the sausage. Well fed, Mary, Ellen, Katherine, Eric and I jump in the car and head off to visit “the Giant’s Causeway”.

Eric is getting in touch with his inner-Leprechaun.

The weather today is typical Irish weather – windy, rainy and foggy – but we make the best of it and enjoy a lovely morning exploring the Causeway.

This is not an exaggeration… I’m hangin’ on for dear life.

We also learn about Finn McCool, the Irish giant associated with making the causeway.

As the story goes, Finn built the causeway so he could get to Scotland because he had a rivalry with Benandonner, a Scottish giant. But prior to reaching Scotland, Finn fell asleep and Benandonner walked over to Ireland to confront him. When Benandonner asked for Finn, Finn’s wife, who had covered Finn with a blanket while he slept, told him that Finn wasn’t there. Benandonner asked who was under the blanket and Finn’s wife told him it was she and Finn’s son. Benandonner was thrown by the size of the “son” – if his son was that large, imagine how big the father would be – so he ran all the way back to Scotland. And as he ran home, he broke up the causeway along the way so Finn couldn’t follow him.

And for the record, this story is completely true – I confirmed it on the Internet.

The rain and wind picks-up as we’re touring the Causeway so Mary, Ellen and Katherine leave us to wander, while they retreat to a tea room. Eric and I continue to brave the weather and take in more of the coast line.

After some serious souvenir shopping by all of us – Katherine the “local” ends up buying the most – we get back in the car and attempt another drive along the coast. The luck of the Irish is with us this time and we’re able to actually tell the difference between the ocean and road signs.

Eventually our stomachs finish digesting breakfast and at around 3:30pm we stop at a hotel pub for dinner, before returning home to say our good-byes and set off for the airport.

Eric and I have had a great time in Northern Ireland. Thank you Ellen, James Henry and Mary for inviting us into your home and showing us the famous Irish hospitality – whiskey and fry-ups will never be the same!

Days 334 & 335 – England to Northern Ireland

2010-09-13T10:53:00.007+08:00

September 4 & 5, 2010 – Milton Keynes, England to Cross Keys, Northern Ireland

Milton Keynes is not a place one typically visits in England, but my good friend Mary lives here and we’re crashing at her place. Tomorrow morning she’s taking us to her childhood home in Northern Ireland, so after a nice dinner and some catching up, we head to bed.

Much to everyone’s chagrin, we have to wake up at 4:00am – affectionately referred to as “STOOPID o’clock” by Mary – to catch our 7:00am flight to Belfast. Last night’s dinner also included a couple bottles of wine so we’re a bit slow and we just barely make the shuttle-bus to catch our plane.

It’s a quick flight and after we disembark, we pick-up our hired car and head out to Mary’s hometown of Cross Keys where Ellen – Mary’s Mom – is eagerly awaiting our arrival.

The three of us are barely in the door and Ellen is already serving us up a traditional Irish fry-up, which includes eggs, bacon, sausage and 4 types of fried bread – potato, pancake, soda and multigrain.

Apparently the Irish like their fried bread.

Much to my disappointment, I spend our first afternoon in Northern Ireland in bed – I’m fighting off a bit of a cold. So while I’m resting, Eric and Mary visit Bushmills Distillery, the oldest whiskey distillery in Ireland. Based on their abundance of energy – and Eric’s numerous purchases – it seems they had a fabulous time learning about the whiskey-making process… and more importantly the whiskey-tasting process.

A visit to the town of Cross Keys wouldn’t be complete without a pint of Guinness at the local pub, which is appropriately named the Cross Keys Inn.

Mary’s thrilled because she also gets to catch up with the local gossip.

When we eventually go to bed, Eric and I enjoy the silence so much, we both sleep in – I finally get up at 10:00am and Eric is out for the count until noon. He wakes up just in time for the 1:00pm roast dinner Ellen has prepared in our honour.

Almost all of the family has shown up, including Mary’s sister Katherine, her husband and their two sons. The roast dinner is one of the main reasons we’ve come to Northern Ireland and it meets all our expectations and more.

We spend the remainder of the day touring around the countryside and driving along the coast. Unfortunately our luck runs out and we’re greeted with heavy rain and fog, so the sightseeing really consists of hedges and quick glimpses of what might be either the ocean or road signs... we're not sure.

We do manage to get in a quick hike at a local waterfall before the rain really starts though.

In the evening Eric and James Henry – Mary’s Dad – settle in to watch some hurling over hot totties. “Hurling” is an awesome / insane Irish sport and Eric takes advantage of James’ knowledge to learn more about the game.

Meanwhile Mary, Ellen and I multi-task – we both watch the hurling and knit pom-poms… don’t ask. It’s for charity and Mary has conned Ellen and I in to helping.

Standing Up For Sitting Down

2010-09-13T08:46:00.003+08:00

In the past 11 months I’ve had to use squat toilets on numerous occasions.

I’ve used fancy stainless steel ones situated in spacious, beautifully-tiled rooms with excellent plumbing.

I’ve used basic holes in the ground that have two bricks to stand on and a bucket of water to “flush” with.

I’ve even used ones in rooms that were so “open concept” I was able to make eye contact with my neighbours, albeit awkwardly.

And in this time, I’ve become quite skilled in the “art of the squat”. Therefore I can say with absolute certainty that Western toilets are way better.

That’s right. You read correctly.

WESTERN TOILETS ARE WAY BETTER!!!

Yes, I know I’m supposed to travel the world to get a greater appreciation of other countries and cultures and I know I shouldn’t judge. But when it comes to me and my “happy time”, I stand by my statement one hundred percent.

For starters, a squat toilet takes time to master.

Not only do you need to find a comfortable position but you also need to learn how to aim. Let’s face it, gravity will do most of the work, put you’ve still got to point it in the right direction... ie. not on your shoes.

And since most people are only on vacation for a week or two, it’s a lot of pressure to become capable in such a short period. When time is of the essence, do you really want to be debating between resting on the balls of your feet or the flats of your feet?

But with a Western toilet all you need to do is sit down, which is something everyone knows how to do. In fact it’s something we do every day – at home, during meals, on the bus, etc. The only difference being on a toilet you have to sit with your pants around your ankles.

But the biggest reason why Western toilets are better than squats can be summed up in one word…

Balance.

When I’m half-asleep at 3 o’clock in the morning or perhaps after having had a little too much to drink, the last thing I need to worry about is falling over when I’m “doing my business”.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s forwards, backwards or to the side, should this happen, no good can come out of it.

But with a western toilet, I can sit down, take a load off and focus on more important things…

Like dropping a load off.

I rest my case.

Days 330-333 – England

2010-09-07T22:12:00.008+08:00

August 31 – September 3, 2010 – London to Twyford to Milton Keynes, England

This afternoon Eric and I are heading to the town of Twyford to visit my cousin Maggie and her family.

Or at least I think she’s my cousin… maybe she’s my second cousin? Or is it my first cousin, once removed? I’m not sure – her mom and my mom are cousins, so we’re related somehow and that’s good enough for me.

I haven’t seen Maggie, her husband Tom and their two daughters Libby and Josie in about four years and am really looking forward to catching up.

But first, Eric wants oysters.

So before we leave London we’re having lunch at one of our favourite places – the Wright Brothers Oyster & Porter House in the Borough Market. We take a nice leisurely walk to get there because the weather this morning is beautiful – it’s hot & sunny – which is very un-London-like.

Our meal start offs with a glass of pinot grigio and a selection of rocks, aka. “oysters” – Maldons, Wild Colchesters & Speciale de Claires. Then we move on to some delicious mains. I have sardines on toast with shallots & capers and Eric has razor clams with chorizo & broad beans in a fish broth… or “deliciousness” as Eric refers to it.

We work off our lunch by taking the long way “home” where we do some last-minute prepping before beginning our next journey. It’s a super-easy one which is good – we just have a simple tube ride to Paddington station and from there a train bound for Twyford.

The hardest part is being sure we head to the correct Twyford… apparently there’s eight of them in England.

We arrive in the correct Twyford glitch-free and are greeted at the train station by Maggie, Josie and Libby. Five minutes later, we walk into their home where Maggie’s husband Tom, as well as her parents Ann & Tony, welcome us with open arms and a glass of “fizzy orange”. Tom has cooked up a feast and it would be rude of us to keep everyone waiting, so we sit down to a nice extended-family dinner.

For the next two days we are entertained by and enjoy the company of the “Twyford Gang”…

On Wednesday we take the girls to 4 different playgrounds over the course of the day, which is fun but exhausting – Libby & Josie seem to have unlimited energy, which makes Eric & I feel old and lazy. ;)

By the way, that's not a bald spot on the back of Eric's head - it's just the way the light's hitting his hair.

Thursday is the girl’s first day of school. In fact, it’s Josie’s first day of school EVER, so it’s a big day around the house. Maggie drops them off without any problems – we’ve had a sleep-in, so we miss out on the festivities – and then she takes us over to Ann & Tony’s caravan in the nearby town of Henley. We enjoy a fantastic picnic lunch and after Maggie heads back home to pick the girls up from school, the four of us visit Cliveden House, which is a massive estate on the Thames River.

Since the girls are now experts at going to school, the next morning I join them which is a lot of fun – oh the memories. We wrap up our visit with Maggie by going out for lunch at her favourite pub, before catching a train from Twyford to Milton Keynes.

Our time in Twyford is fantastic. It’s great to be able to catch up with family, eat amazing meals – including wines and cheeses from France – and lead a life resembling a bit of normalcy. Thank you “Twyford Gang” – Maggie, Tom, Libby, Josie, Ann & Tony – for your wonderful hospitality. We look forward to you visiting us in Canada sometime!!

The train rides from Twyford to Milton Keynes are generally uneventful, though we do run into a bit of confusion trying to catch the Tube from Paddington to Euston Underground… nothing worth really writing about though.

My friend Mary picks us up from Milton Keynes Central right on time and we head to her house for a light dinner, where we also help her clean out her wine cabinet. This seems like a good idea at the time, but at 11:45pm we suddenly remember we have to wake-up at 4:00am to catch the red-eye to Belfast.

Red-eye indeed, hmmmmm…

Days 325-329 – England

2010-09-03T19:10:00.001+08:00

August 26-30, 2010 – London, England

After a deep and refreshing sleep, Eric and I wake-up ready to take on the day. Unfortunately it’s raining outside, but there’s no way it’s going to stop us – we have things to do!

Our first task is of the domestic variety – we need to pick-up ingredients for tonight’s dinner. We’re cooking for Erin and her boyfriend, to both thank her for letting us stay at her place and so we can finally meet Dean, who we’ve heard so much about. It’s also a great excuse for us to visit the Borough Market, one of our favourite places in London. We discovered it when we were here at Easter and it’s conveniently located only 20 minutes from Erin’s place.

Once this is accomplished, we go for a long walk to Covent Gardens, so I can book a hair appointment for Friday. I haven’t had my hair cut since the “Vietnam incident” and am looking forward to a little primping and pampering. We also swing by a couple of comic book shops so Eric can get his Batman fix – he’s been such a good boy on this trip, he deserves a treat.

We eventually head back to Erin’s and start preparing our feast. On the menu tonight we have chicken stuffed with bacon, old cheddar & chutney, roasted potatoes with leeks & tomatoes, a garden salad and a selection of treats from the market for dessert… or “pudding” as they say around here.

Dinner goes swimmingly well and we finish off the evening swapping stories, emptying bottles of wine and laughing our heads off… but not in this particular order.

Friday is the start of a long weekend in England, so Erin and Dean take off to Norwich, and leave us the run of her place.

We originally planned to go to Paris for the weekend, but it seems we’ve both picked up a cold so we decide to take it easy for a bit – Erin’s place is very comfortable and we make ourselves at home by catching up on movies and cooking for ourselves. Oh the luxuries!

On Monday we venture out of London to visit Cambridge.

It’s a lot busier than we expect, but the weather is lovely – no rain in sight – and the city is beautiful, so it’s a great way to spend the day. Plus, Cambridge is home to Fitzbillie’s bakery which is famous for its Chelsea buns and being the Chelsea bun connoisseurs that we are, we have to sample them – it only seems right.

The buns are good, but we both agree that the ones from the bakery in Gravenhurst are still better… we biked over 25kms to get them last summer.

After lunch in a local pub, we return to London and check out Oxford Circus.

It too is busy with all the people getting ready for the upcoming school term… suckers. Neither of us is actually interested in shopping, so we walk “home” via Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Tate Modern where we spend the evening vegging out in front of the TV, calling Eric’s parents and packing up our bags...

Tomorrow we’re off to the town of Twyford to visit my relatives.

Day 324 – Tanzania to England

2010-08-31T18:02:00.004+08:00

August 25, 2010 – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to London, England

Our day begins with us waking up at 2:15am.

Our first flight of the day – Dar es Salaam to Cairo – is scheduled to leave at 6:15am, which means we have to be at the airport by 4:00am in order to check-in by 4:15am. And since you always have to factor in “Africa time”, we’ve given ourselves some cushioning in case of any unforeseeable delays, ie. our 3:00am pick-up turns into a 3:30am pick-up, our taxi driver doesn’t show up at all, etc. Luckily none of these things happen and we arrive at the airport with tons of time to check-in. So after going through the standard airport procedures, we have a snack and wait for our flight to start boarding.

Actually, the theme for today turns out to be “Waiting”…

After boarding the plane we wait for it to arrive in Cairo at 10:45am. We then have to wait for our next flight – Cairo to London – which doesn’t leave until 4:20pm. We board this flight and have to wait for it to land in London at 8:45pm. This process is followed by us waiting for our baggage to be unloaded, waiting for the Tube to take us into the city and finally waiting for our adrenaline to subside so we can go to sleep.

By the time all the waiting is over Eric and I have been up for about 24 hours.

But we are overjoyed to be in a familiar place – our home in London – my friend Erin’s condo. And like always, she shows us nothing but wonderful hospitality from the instant we arrive on her doorstep.

Day 323 – Tanzania

2010-08-31T18:02:00.001+08:00

August 24, 2010 – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

It’s our last day in Dar es Salaam, out last day in Tanzania and for that matter, our last day in Africa and it feels strange.

Eric and I have grown to love Africa’s raw beauty. It’s often described as a place that’s indescribable until you visit and after spending four months here, we’d have to agree – we’ve become very comfortable here, but we still don’t really get it. All we can think of to do on our final day is wander the streets, enjoy the sunshine and take it all in. We know this won’t be our last time in Africa but I’m already missing it.

So we spend the day reflecting, walking around familiar areas and exploring new ones - we aren’t going to be dormant today. We visit a few of our favourite haunts for food & shopping and explore Dar’s “waterfront” before heading home to bed.

Our flight leaves at 6:15am tomorrow morning, and given our recent history of “time failures”, I check it almost hourly throughout the day to ensure we have the correct departure time. After one final check, we line up a taxi driver for 3:00am Wednesday morning and call it a night.

Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.

Doppelgangers

2010-08-28T04:59:00.001+08:00

Dop•pel•gäng•er

Noun – a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person.

Doppelgangers we’ve encountered on our trip:

Dave Jackson – Eric’s cousin Allison * – Willie Lypko * – Rob Pue – Eileen from TCA * – Ryan Maglunob * – Eric’s brother, Chris – Michael from E.R.A. – the president of our condo board – Carly Price * – Eric’s cousin Mike – Jake from TCA * – Stephanie * – Eric’s Nana – Tammy from Luciani’s – Mark Bellamy – Hugh from TCA – Eric’s Uncle Paul – Robb Walker – Tom Young – Sandra Meret – Hunter Collins – Robyn’s Mom, Joan – Eric’s cousin Charlotte – Patrick Haye – Geoff Hendry * – Geoff George – Lisa Lupia* – Linda * – Eric’s grandfather, Garry – one of the custodians at CanWest – Scott Chappel – Eric’s Mom, Anne – Jeff Schouella – Frank from TCA – Ryan Painter * – Janet Harrison – Kramer (aka. Michael Richards) – David Suddaby – Carl Kam – Darren Frost – Nick Beaton – Jan Kabenak – Clint from TCA – Eric’s Grandpa Tony * – Jamilah Ross – Jason Blanchard – Shannon Litzenberger * – Sam Yamada * – Jeff Osborn – Chris Rock – Joey Giaimo

* indicates the doppelganger was of a different race than “the original”.

Day 322 – Tanzania

2010-08-28T04:57:00.002+08:00

August 23, 2010 – Stone Town, Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

This morning we wake, have breakfast, unsuccessfully try to avoid the touts at the ferry terminal, buy our ferry tickets and then catch the 11:30am ferry to Dar es Salaam.

The ferry ride is a bit rough and we find ourselves relieved to be on shore. We walk to the Econolodge and check-in for the third & final time because tomorrow our African adventure ends.

Hopefully.

The way things work in Africa, Eric & I have decided not to say our “adventure” is over until we have landed at Heathrow, gone through British customs and are on the Tube, heading into the city.

We head up to our room and the process of sorting, downsizing and repacking begins. We spend the remainder of the day figuring out whose carrying what, what we will leave behind and trying to figure out how heavy are bags are. We’re doing this now because we want our last day in Tanzania to be “logistics-free”.

And of course, our last trip to Dar wouldn’t be complete without a final visit to Mamboz, the awesome BBQ place on the corner.

Days 320 & 321 – Tanzania

2010-08-27T00:36:00.003+08:00

August 21 & 22, 2010 – Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

After thoroughly enjoying Zenji Hotel’s breakfast of Spanish omelettes, homemade breads & jams, fresh fruit, juice, coffee, tea and some “chocolate loaf” – aka. cake – Eric and I go off in search of a new place to stay. We were hoping someone might make a last-minute cancellation but alas, no such luck for us.

We have no problem finding alternative accommodation and we check-in to the Karibu Inn, which is conveniently located right in the heart of Stone Town and next to the Radha Food House. It’s no Zenji Hotel but it’s clean & quiet and right now, that’s really what matters to us.

After visiting with Zanzibar’s infamous Mr. Mitu, we book ourselves in on one of his spice tours for the following day. He’s the owner of one of the original spice tour companies on the island and is very no-nonsense, which we appreciate in a tour company.

Afterwards, Eric and I decide to do some more sightseeing and walk over to one of the largest buildings in Stone Town, the House of Wonders. It was once the ceremonial palace for Sultan Bargash, but is now the Zanzibar National Museum of History and Culture. In the main hall there’s a life size mtepe, a traditional Swahili sailing vessel made without nails, and in a backroom there’s an exhibition describing the significance of the kanga, a Swahili fabric very similar to a chintaji. The exhibits are simple, yet interesting but I have to say the museum is worth a visit just for the views from the third floor balcony – you’re able to take in a 360 degree view of the city and the ocean.

Following the museum, we continue walking around the city and the waterfront and we wrap up our evening with some chicken & chips at Malindi’s.

The next morning we go on Mr. Mitu’s Spice Tour, which is a lot of fun.

Our tour guide walks us through the farm and points out all of the different spices, fruits and vegetables, while letting us smell and taste almost everything. We see nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, curry, vanilla, pepper, cocoa, oranges, pineapples, coconuts, soursop, jackfruit, tangerines, cassava, annatto, lemongrass and coffee.

We learn that besides producing nutmeg, the nutmeg fruit also supplies mace… the kind you eat, not the kind you spray in someone’s eyes.

We have the joy of smelling fresh vanilla. Vanilla is a very expensive product in Zanzibar because it’s very delicate and must be harvested completely by hand.

Being the chocolate lover that I am, I’m very excited to see how it’s grown…

…and Eric takes it upon himself to sample the fresh oranges.

After the tour of the farm, we stop in a nearby village for some lunch and then we’re taken to a secret beach just north of Stone Town for a quick swim.

Following the theme of the day, we go for dinner at a nearby restaurant specializing in fine Swahili cuisine. They have a great menu filled with interesting spice and fruit combinations. I enjoy king fish in a coconut milk & cardamom sauce, while Eric has a Swahili chicken curry. Both of our dishes come with a selection of sides including lentil daal, roasted vegetables, pumpkin in a chili-mango sauce, sautéed spinach and chapatti, and then Eric has spiced rice, while I have sweet potatoes. It’s delicious and a great way to finish off our time in Zanzibar.

Day 319 – Tanzania

2010-08-27T00:33:00.002+08:00

August 20, 2010 – Pongwe to Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

As most of you know Eric and I aren’t good at being idle for too long, so after two days of doing nothing, we’re done.

After breakfast we check-out of our tropical paradise and take a taxi back to Stone Town.

We were so enamored with the Zenji Hotel – home of the BEST BROWNIES EVER – that we book ourselves a room. However, since they’re a very popular place, they only have room for us for one night. So we take full advantage of this night and use the free WiFi, enjoy a freshwater shower and greet the brownies when they come out of the oven.

Eventually we wander back through the alleys of Stone Town to make a return visit to Radha Food House for a late lunch / early dinner.

Days 317 & 318 – Tanzania

2010-08-27T00:31:00.002+08:00

August 18 & 19, 2010 – Pongwe, Zanzibar, Tanzania

For the next two days we…

Eat.

Read.

Swim.

Sleep.

Repeat.

Day 316 – Tanzania

2010-08-27T00:29:00.001+08:00

August 17, 2010 – Stone Town to Pongwe, Zanzibar, Tanzania

After breakfast our taxi arrives and whisks us off to Pongwe, which is a very small town on the east coast of Zanzibar. It’s known for its idyllic tropical beaches and its tranquility, which just so happens to be why we’re going.

We arrive an hour after leaving Stone Town and are greeted by white sand, aquamarine water, thatched beach huts and silence.

We take off our shoes, go for a walk along the beach and discover there isn’t much to do around here but relax…

This will do just fine.

Oh, the Things I’ve Eaten

2010-08-27T00:27:00.001+08:00

Yummy yummy, in my tummy…

Banh Beo – Banh Khoai – Banh Nam – Bee Boon – Beef Lok Lak – Bobotie – Bo Ne – Bun Bo – Buah Keluak – Bunh Song – Burger King – Cao Lau – Chakalaka – Cha Ca That Lat Kho To – Char Kway Teow – Collon – Com Ga – Falafel – Fatir – Fuul – Gado Gado – Gallayah – Geng-Garee-Guy – Hamam Mahshi – Hokkein Char – Hokkein Mee – Hu Tieu – Kofta – Kushari – Kuen Tew Lakna – Laksa Asam – Lentil Daal – Mahshi Kurumb – Masak Lemak Nenas – Mealie Pap – Muttabel – My Quang – Naan – Nasi Campur – Nasi Goreng – Nem Mia Lui – Nem Neung – Nuss Farooj – Nshima – Pad Thai – Pakoras – Pat Pet Moo – Pong The – Popiah – Potjiekos – Pizza Hut – Rambutans – Rojak – Roti Canai – Samosas – Soto Ayam – Shish Tawouq – Ta’amiyya – Tamarinds – Ugali – Yam Woon Sen – Xima Phu – Tom Yam Soup – Leek Soup – Mushroom Soup – Sour Fish Soup – Fish Amok – Fish in Banana Leaf – Fish & Chips – Hake & Chips – Chambo & Chips – Calamari & Chips – Squid Salad – Glass Noodle Salad – Papaya Salad – Banana Sprout Salad – Bangers & Mash – Claypot Pearl Noodles – Scissor-Cut Curry Rice – Coconut Sticky Rice – Mango w/ Sticky Rice – Sticky Rice Bread – Sticky Noodle Soup – Sticky Toffee Pudding – Malva Pudding – Sweet Corn Ice Cream – Fruit & Coconut Milk Jelly – Coconut Pancakes – Banana Pancakes – Curry Pancakes – Green Curry – Chiang Mai Curry – Penang Curry – Curried Tuna & Jackfruit – Roasted Pumpkin – Laos Pumpkin Soup – Laos Khamu Breakfast – Laos Deer Salad – Australian Bush Damper– Malaysian Murtabek – Indonesian Murtabak – Hainanese Chicken Rice – Balinese Smoked Duck – Smoked Oysters – Smoked Mussels – Smoked Roan Antelope – Oryx Fillet – Ostrich Fillet – Crocodile Fillet – Kudu Fillet – Kudu Biltong – Oryx Biltong – Springbok Biltong – Impala Stew – Zebra Steak – Goat Satay – Garlic-Butter Crab – Chili Crab – Chili Garam Ayam – Fried Chili Fish – Fried Red Snapper – Fried Minced Pork & Jicima – Stir-Fried Pork w/ Basil – Stir-Fried Pork with Kampot Pepper – Stir-Fried Frog – Spicy Pork Stir-Fry – Pork Lotcha – Pork Dumplings – Pork Knuckle – Minced Pork w/ Grilled Eggplant – Fried Yellow Noodles w/ Pork – Pork & Stilton Pie – Steak & Kidney Pie – Venison & Red Pepper Pie – Cottage Pie – Banoffee Pie – “the Donutello Donut” – “the Tom & Cherry Donut” – “the Jon Lemon Donut” – “the Yammy Yamato Donut” – a Chicken-Floss Donut – Peanut Chicken Satay – Sweet & Sour Chicken – Chicken Shwarma – Tandoori Chicken – Pepto-Bismol – Immodium – Ibuprofen – Ciprofloxacin – Novafloxacin – Doxycycline – Dirt – Dust – Sand – Grit – Grilled Clams – Grilled Scallops – Grilled Lobster – Grilled Mussels – Grilled Octopus – Grilled Squid – Grilled Frogs – Grilled Snails – Grilled Prawns – Steamed Prawns – King Prawns – Long Beans with Prawns – BBQ Prawns – BBQ Stingray – BBQ Braaiwors – Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce – Wild Colchester Oysters – Isle of Islay Oysters – Wild South African Coastal Oysters – Carlingford Lough Oysters – Farmed Knysna Oysters – Oyster Omelette – at least 3 mosquitoes and a whole lot of Coca-Cola to wash it all down…

Day 315 – Tanzania

2010-08-27T00:26:00.000+08:00

August 16, 2010 – Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

We’re woken up to the sound of the prayer call. This wouldn’t normally be a problem except it’s about 4:00am and we were hoping to sleep in.

We eventually manage to get back to sleep, only to be woken up again at 7:15am, except this time it’s by an air-raid siren.

It looks like we’re not sleeping in today…

We later learn the air-raid siren goes off twice a day to remind the population of Zanzibar of when they gained their independence from the Sultan.

Why can’t they just send out a text message saying “don’t 4get – we’re free from the Sultan :-) LOL”?

After a great breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel, we head back out into the city and wander around. We enjoy the ocean breeze, do a bit of souvenir shopping, scope out some places to eat and check out the former slave market.

In the 1870s, the first Anglican cathedral in East Africa was built on the old slave market site and today the only remnants are the holding cells in the basement of St. Monica’s Hostel, located beside the church. We take a quick tour of the site, which includes a brief history of the slaves’ living conditions, the founder of the church and how the cathedral was constructed.

There’s also a “trick question” at the end of the tour, which I get right.

During the cathedral’s construction, the Bishop used it as an opportunity to train many of the former slaves in various trades and unfortunately, a significant construction error occurred. The question was to look around the cathedral and see if you could spot “the error”. I noticed that the 12 columns in the interior were installed upside down, which is correct.

It’s good to know I’ve still got it…

We also discovered the BEST BROWNIES EVER. They’re from the Zenji Hotel & Cafe and they become an addiction… we have one almost every day we’re in Stone Town.

For dinner, we find a wonderful restaurant called “Malindi’s Takeaways”. They serve roast chicken and chips.

That’s it.

We had seen it from the outside earlier in the day and decided to check it out. When we walked in and asked for a menu, the guy just said “no menu – chicken and chips”.

At this point, we knew we were home…

Day 314 – Tanzania

2010-08-27T00:23:00.002+08:00

August 15, 2010 – Dar es Salaam to Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

With our packs on our backs we make tracks to the ferry terminal to catch the 10:30am boat to Zanzibar.

And as you can probably imagine, our journey is not without its share of offers for taxi rides. One driver is even so generous as to offer us a ride across the street… literally. We’re directly across the road from the terminal and yet he’s insistent on giving us “a good price”.

We decline his offer and walk the 30 feet.

Safe and sound in the waiting area, Eric and I watch the world go by…

We watch Zanzibari beds go by, chickens in boxes go by and brightly dressed families go by. Eventually it’s our turn to go “bye”, so we grab our bags and board the boat.

We spend the next 2 hours watching National Geographic safari programs, in between glimpses out the window to see if we’re there yet. It’s amazing how your appreciation of these movies changes once you’ve seen the animals in the wild.

About 2 hours later, we see the coastline of Stone Town and it’s a very welcoming sight. The architecture is quite different to what we’re used to and a certain energy seems to emanate from the city. We eagerly await the chance to explore the city.

It doesn’t take us long to disembark and after a confusing experience at customs, we set off for our hotel. Zanzibar is part of Tanzania but it seems to be treated as a separate country, so you have to go through the whole arrival process again… filling in forms, medical checks, stamps, etc. At least we don’t have to pay for another visa.

As we leave the terminal, we’re greeted by some “friends” – touts and hustlers offering tour guide services and hotel recommendations. And even though we politely inform them we already have a place and can find our way on our own, they still insist on escorting us.

Our hotel of choice, the Warere Town House Hotel, is tucked away down a little side street so it takes us a few tries to get there, but we manage and soon find ourselves being given the royal tour by Jimmie the manager. Once we’re settled in, Eric and I set off to explore the town and search out some food.

Stone Town is a very popular tourist spot and this is currently its high season, but we’re having a helluva time finding a restaurant open for lunch. There are people walking all around and yet almost all of the restaurants are closed – what gives?

Well we get our answer when we find a small café with a sign in its window explaining that since it’s Ramadan, it won’t open until sunset.

Aha – now it makes sense!

Ramadan is an Islamic holiday where people fast between sunrise and sunset, and Zanzibar is a predominately Muslim community.

Thankfully some restaurants do take pity on those who don’t celebrate Ramadan – ie. us tourists – and are open for lunch. We come across a small Indian restaurant – the Radha Food House – and we’re welcomed in. Not only is the food good but the guy working it is really cool and friendly, so it quickly becomes our “local joint”.

After a satisfying meal, we continue exploring the streets, the alleys, the waterfront and the market. Stone Town is a great place to wander around – it has lots of nooks & crannies to check out and you can really feel the history in the air…

I think we’re going to like it here.

Days 311-313 – Tanzania

2010-08-26T18:59:00.002+08:00

August 12-14, 2010 – Arusha to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

The day after our safari, we just hang out in Arusha doing the usual “hang-out day” kind of stuff – checking the Internet, watching a few movies, wandering around the city, etc.

We catch a bus back to Dar es Salaam the next morning and for some reason, we’re not dreading the 10-hour ride this time. Maybe it’s because it’s our last bus ride in Africa… hopefully.

I actually both start and finish a book on the ride – the same one that Eric started and finished on the same bus getting here. The book is “Like Water For Chocolate” and it’s a perfect read for such occasions as long bus rides.

Once in Dar we check in to the Econolodge, where we stayed previously, and then immediately head out to a BBQ place on the corner for dinner. We’re starving and BBQ is a great way to end a day.

We decide to spend one more day in Dar es Salaam before sailing to Zanzibar – our final African destination – so we can mail a few postcards, complete some souvenir shopping and make a return visit to our friendly, neighbourhood BBQ joint…

Mmmmmm!

Day 310 – Tanzania

2010-08-26T18:45:00.004+08:00

August 11, 2010 – Ngorongoro Crater National Park to Arusha, Tanzania

Tour Day 5 – Ngorongoro Crater National Park

After breakfast, descend into the Ngorongoro Crater for game drive. Picnic lunch at the hippo pool, afternoon ascend to the crater rim and drive to Arusha.

I’m starting to feel a little repetitive with all the safari entries, so this time I’m going to let the photos do most of the “talking”…

It’s cold, it’s foggy and it’s early, but I’m still revved up & ready to go.

We descend into the crater just after the fog has risen up from the floor, so this is our first glimpse of this unique ecosystem.

What makes the Ngorongoro Crater one-of-a-kind is that it’s developed its own balanced ecosystem which provides the animals in it with everything they need, from food to water to shelter. And since it has such steep sides, once most animals arrive, they don’t leave. As a result the herd sizes can get quite large…

Thankfully, there’s a good selection of predators on site to keep the herds in check.

Between here and the Serengeti, Eric and I have now seen the entire lion family – lions, lionesses & cubs.

Andrew takes us up to a look-out point on a hill which is believed to be the peak of the mountain prior to it collapsing in and creating the crater… wild!

We continue to cruise around, though Eric and I aren’t really on the look-out for animals. It’s just so cool here that we’re really enjoying the landscape on its own… there’s everything from savannah to marsh to forests.

For lunch we stop at a hippo pool and although we can see them off in the distance, we’re more concerned with the flock of small birds our sandwiches have attracted.

I feel like they’re trying to figure out the best way to attack us and steal our lunch.

Eventually our food is eaten – by us – and the birds leave, so we continue cruising around.

This is the last safari for our trip and as we ride around, we both try and take as much of it in as we can.

Eventually Andrew lets us know it’s time to go …

… so with one final glimpse of the crater, we make our way back up to the camp to pick-up David, pack-up our site and head back to Arusha.

But not without snapping a “family photo”, of course.

Just me and the boys.

We arrive back in Arusha late afternoon and after saying our good-byes, Eric & I rush up to our room to have a long-awaited shower.

Recapping our safari, we both agree this is definitely one of the highlights of our whole trip.

Thank you Andrew, David & Masha from Sunny Safaris – you made our Serengeti experience amazing!

Other Uses for Your Travel Guidebook

2010-08-26T18:43:00.001+08:00

In some circumstances, travel guidebooks can be reliable sources of information. But most of the time they’re just extra weight in your bag. So to help you feel you’re getting your money’s worth after buying one, here’s a list of other uses for your guidebook:

- as Toilet Paper and / or Tissues

- as a Fire-Starter

- as a Bug-Killer

- as a Booster-Seat

- as a Card Table

- as a Fan

- as a Tire-Wedge

- for Origami

- as Wrapping Paper for Presents and / or Fish

- as a Stepping Stool

- as a Weapon for Self-Defense

- as a Meat Tenderizer

- as a Boat Anchor

- as a Nut-Cracker

- as a Cutting Board

- as a Dumbbell

- as a Doorstop

- as a Paper-Weight

- as a Club for Protection from Baby Seals

- as a Hat and / or Helmet

PLEASE NOTE: Feel free to try this with any travel guidebook, including “the Lonely Planet”, “Rough Guides”, “Let’s Go”, etc.

Day 309 – Tanzania

2010-08-26T18:36:00.004+08:00

August 10, 2010 – Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro Crater National Park, Tanzania

Tour Day 4 – Serengeti National Park & Ngorongoro Crater National Park

Morning game drive, brunch at Seronera Campsite. Game drive as you leave Serengeti and proceed to Ngorongoro National Park. Dinner and overnight at Simba Campsite.

We wake up in the dark – again – which reminds us of winters in Canada, minus the cold.

It’s not really our choice to be up at this ungodly hour, but Andrew has suggested a sunrise drive. A trip to the Serengeti probably isn’t complete without one, so we happily oblige him… he is the expert, after all. The sun rises at 6:30am so we need to be on the road by 6:00am in order to make sure we’re in a prime location for this “once-in-a-daytime event” as Eric calls it… he’s not a morning person.

We stumble on over to the toilets only to find ourselves face-to-face with a spotted hyena.

Hm.

Not only are we closer to it than yesterday, but it’s also dark out. I don’t like the dark at the best of times, let alone when there’s a set of shining eyes belonging to a predator who’s jaws could crush our skulls like a corn chip staring back at me.

So we carefully make our way back to our campsite, where Andrew assures us there have been no known human attacks from hyenas in the Serengeti and we’re perfectly safe. We trust him – and I really have to pee – so we cautiously walk back to the toilets – Eric in front, of course – and the hyena is gone, which makes the experience a whole lot less stressful.

We have a quick bite of tea & toast – David has promised us a full breakfast when we return – and drive out to a nice quiet spot where we wait for the sun.

It arrives in full force, making the early wake-up totally worth it.

From here we head out onto what becomes a very, very, very successful cat-viewing morning.

It starts with us witnessing a full-grown, male lion – black mane and all – make a kill.

Yes – you read correctly… Eric and I actually see the “circle of life” LIVE IN THE SERENGETI!!!

The lion started off running briskly across the plains and all of sudden it has a burst of speed and snags a young Grant’s gazelle. Seeing this happen is extremely rare, so we both feel pretty lucky.

A mere few minutes later, we almost witness another kill as we watch a cheetah stalk a different herd of gazelle.

It doesn’t actually catch anything, but it’s still pretty awesome watching the attempt.

As we cruise around, we’re fortunate enough to see a lot more lions.

Similar to yesterday, we spot a mass of 4x4s off in the distance and we head on over to find out what’s going on.

We arrive to find 6 lions – 2 males and 4 females – in an intense stand-off. According to Andrew it looks like a “foreign” lioness has wandered into another pride’s territory and they’re not impressed… meaning if she now tries to leave they’ll kill her. She already looks as if she’s seen some action – she has patches of blood on her and isn’t moving around too much. While we watch, things take a turn for the better – maybe? – as one of the male lions appears to change his mind. It looks like he has decided to take her as a mate and possibly start his own pride. He lies down beside her and the others seem to back off.

Eventually the two groups – the original pride and the newly-formed one – split up and go their separate ways, so there’s no further bloodshed today, which makes it a happy ending, I guess.

Just to wrap up our morning of cats, we spot a serval hanging out in a yellow-bark acacia.

The three of us cruise around for a bit longer before returning to camp for brunch. David has made a feast for us – Spanish omelettes, crepes, sausage, chips, mixed vegetables, toast and fruit salad. We are spoiled!!!!

This is what we usually look like when we’re out on safari.

After breakfast, we pack-up the camp and then hit the road. Our next destination? The Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

We’re both very reflective on our way out of “the Geti”. This has truly been a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we’re both sad to say good-bye to this little piece of paradise.

Four hours later, we arrive on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater to find a very different climate outside. It’s foggy, windy and chilly – ‘tis a bit of a change from the hot, dry and dusty climate of the Serengeti. Thank goodness I have all my vintaji – they should help keep us warm.

There is only one public camp ground in the conservation area – Simba Camp – so it’s pretty full, which is another change from our campsite in the Serengeti.

I imagine this is what the base camp at Mt. Kilimanjaro must look like.

After we set up our camp, we spend the remainder of our day relaxing, eating dinner – mushroom soup, beef curry, rice & vegetables – and trying to stay warm.

In case you don’t recognize him, this is Eric, aka. “my Sherpa”. Because of my back problems, he’s been doing double-duty with my bag for the last few weeks. Thankfully, I am now able to carry my own pack once again, so he’s off-duty.

Day 308 – Tanzania

2010-08-26T18:27:00.004+08:00

August 9, 2010 – Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Tour Day 3 – Serengeti National Park

Full-day game drive in Serengeti National Park, overnight Seronera Campsite.

A whole day for exploring the Serengeti is almost a little too much – one can only spend so much time driving around looking for animals before needing a break.

Thankfully Andrew understands this and he adjusts the schedule by breaking up the day into two parts – an early morning drive and a late afternoon drive. This way we get to see the animals when they’re most active, and when the sun is its strongest and the animals are resting, we get to have a rest too. And better yet, we get a hot lunch… I can’t wait to see what David comes up with.

Eric and I had set our alarms the night before so we would be up and ready on time. But as it so happened we didn’t really need them – our tent was attacked by a Cape buffalo at about 5:00am, which tends to make one wake up pretty fast.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t so much a “buffalo attack” as it was a “buffalo tripping over one of our tent’s guide-wires while grazing”, but either way it gave the two of us quite a start and it provided good entertainment for our neighbours who watched it all go down from their “bug-screen TV”.

Our morning drive starts off with as much excitement as our wake-up. We spot a lioness having breakfast and at one point she gets up and “expels” some of it into the tall grass. We can’t believe the smell – we’re probably 10 metres away, but it smells like we’re right beside her! It’s equally disgusting and fascinating, though Eric thinks it’s significantly more disgusting than fascinating…

It’s early and there’s a lot more to see in the park, so we continue on.

Just around the bend from the pooping lion is a herd of Cape buffalo grazing among the trees… I wonder if the one who woke us up is in there?

This line of buffalo is massive and goes on forever, though according to Andrew, it’s just a small herd compared to what you get during the annual migration in the Serengeti.

Why can’t we all just get along?

We haven’t driven far when we come across a grouping of other safari goers... sometimes you don’t see the animals so much as you see the cluster of 4x4’s looking at the animals. We pull up beside the other vehicles notice everyone looking towards a rather large tree in the distance. What could it be?

It’s a leopard!

Yes, it’s hard to see but the tail hanging down from the top right branch is what gives it away. This is the first time we’ve seen a leopard in a tree since starting our safaris in Africa and even though it’s far away, it’s still pretty cool.

The morning drive continues to be exciting as we see giraffes, elephants, gazelles, topis, red hartebeests and much, much more. Our “taking care of business” break takes place at a hippo pool, much to Eric’s joy since hippos are one of his favourites. We spend time trying to count all of them while taking in the sounds of them laughing and farting…

On our way back to camp we come upon a large herd of elephants crossing the road. We give them an extra-wide berth as two of the males seem to be jostling for position....

Seriously, why can’t we all just get along?

When we arrive back at camp once again we are exhausted but ecstatic.

From 12:30-4:00pm we enjoy a hot meal – David has made tilapia, vegetables & chips – and have a small siesta. We even manage to get in an early shower so as to avoid the evening rush. There are only two showers and toilets for a campsite that sleeps at least 60 people, so I’m sure you can imagine the logistics of this.

Our evening drive is every bit as successful as our morning drive, if not more.

We see a spotted hyena beginning its evening of scouting.

We’ve seen hyenas before, but just not so close and for so long – they’re usually running away from us.

We also pass a pair of secretary birds on our way to see our very first, not yet seen on safari, we can’t believe our luck, CHEETAH!!!

Both Eric and I are unbelievably excited. We had pretty much given up on seeing a cheetah because they’re very elusive and the Serengeti is so big. But not this time…

Our drive wraps up with us watching a band of bandit banded mongoose scurrying to their nightly meeting… try saying this three times fast.

While David provides his best meal yet – pumpkin soup, beef stew, vegetables and the Tanzanian staple of ugali…

… Eric provides the entertainment.

Right now Eric’s being just like his father – all I want is a nice photo and this is what I get...

Day 307 – Tanzania

2010-08-16T20:41:00.005+08:00

August 8, 2010 – Mto Wa Mbu to Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Tour Day 2 – Serengeti National Park

After breakfast, depart for Serengeti via Olduvai Gorge. Afternoon game drive in Serengeti National Park, overnight Seronera Campsite.

Breakfast is great with a good variety of treats – eggs, pancakes, sausage, fruit, toast, coffee, tea… need I go on? Happily filled to the brim, Eric and I help Andrew and David pack up the camp, though I’m not too sure how they feel about the help. They’re very professional and are used to doing everything on their own. But too bad for them – we’re not used to being pampered and we’re not good at sitting still!

We settle into our cruising machine – a customized Toyota Land Cruiser – and set off towards the Serengeti. Eric and I are so excited we can hardly sit still, so Andrew distracts us with some great views of Lake Manyara.

In order to get to the Serengeti you first have to drive through the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. The road essentially takes you along the rim of the crater, but unfortunately it’s covered in a heavy fog this morning – looks like there’ll be no sneak peeks for us today!

Well except for this one, that is.

As we descend down the outside of the crater, the fog begins to dissipate and we’re assaulted with amazing views of the terrain.

The Maasai people have inhabited this area for hundreds of years prior to it becoming a national park and they’ve since been allowed to remain in designated portions of it. Throughout our drive we see their villages and their livestock grazing, which is fascinating.

Andrew makes frequent stops throughout our journey… sometimes they’re for us to answer the call of nature and sometimes they’re for us to learn about nature.

At one point he pulls over to teach us about one of the eight types of acacia trees of Africa, the “Whistling Acacia”. It’s named as such because when it’s windy, the wind whistles through it.

But the really cool thing about it is it has a very unique symbiotic relationship with a type of biting ant. The ants live in the pods that grow on its branches and when they sense a threat to the plant, hundreds of them will emerge out of their hiding places and swarm the attacker. Pretty cool, eh?

Lunch is a picnic at the side of Olduvai Gorge, which is famous for being the place where Mary Leakey found footprints of our earliest known ancestors, the hominids.

45 minutes after setting off from lunch we reach the unofficial gate of the Serengeti. It’s “unofficial” because it signifies the boundaries of responsibility between the two parks – the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater – but you don’t actually pay your money here.

Instead you have another hour of driving to reach the “official” park gate. When we finally arrive, Andrew takes care of business – checking us in and paying the fees – and Eric and I walk up to a look-out point where we really begin to grasp the enormity of this park. “Serengeti” is a Maasai word meaning “endless plains” and from up here it make perfect sense – it does seem to go on forever.

After the administrative requirements are taken care of, the four us pile back into our truck and begin our game drive to the camp. It doesn’t take us too long to spot three lionesses enjoying some shade from a tree near the road.

We’re also introduced to two types of gazelles, the Thompson and the Grant’s.

This is a Grant’s Gazelle on the lookout for danger.

Another new antelope we encounter is the Topi, which is related to the Red Hartebeest but has different markings on its body.

The big surprise of the day is that our camp isn’t fenced in. Throughout most of Africa, campsites in national parks are very secure in order to keep the wildlife out. But not here – we’re truly in a position to interact with nature… though we both hope it’s just with herbivores.

Our evening ends with an impromptu sunset drive to the camp store. We say the “camp store” because it’s supposed to be for the campers, but we have a suspicion the guides don’t tell any of the campers about it and just use it as their escape from the tourists. Andrew has probably broken a few unwritten rules bringing us here, but since drinks are on us, he doesn’t seem to care.

And for the record, he was the consummate professional and only had a coke… Eric and I had the beers.

When we get back to camp, David is busy cooking up another feast for us.

To our absolute pleasure tonight’s meal is spaghetti bolognaise. We haven’t had spaghetti for over 6 months – not since we were at Lynda & Ian’s in Indonesia – and we are stoked.

I know it looks like I’m missing a tooth in this picture, but it’s just a shadow.

Day 306 – Tanzania

2010-08-16T20:30:00.004+08:00

August 7, 2010 – Arusha to Mto Wa Mbu, Tanzania

Tour Day 1 – Lake Manyara National Park

Pick-up from Backpackers and depart to Lake Manyara. Arrive lunch time, game drive in Lake Manyara National Park, overnight Twiga Campsite.

Our first day on safari begins with a bit of a glitch. There’s no problems with the tour company – our guide Andrew shows up right on time and ready to begin.

The delay is us… we have to wait for the results of Eric’s malaria test.

HE’S FINE – DON’T WORRY!!!

He passed the test – or failed it, depending on how you look at it… he doesn’t have malaria!

Eric’s been feeling a little off since we arrived in Arusha, We’re both on anti-malaria medication, but unfortunately this doesn’t mean we can’t catch it… go figure. Instead it means if we do catch it, the symptoms can be mistaken for less serious ailments, like a cold or food poisoning.

And since the most common form of malaria in Tanzania is also the most serious form and we’re heading out into the unknown for 5 days, we don’t want to take any chances. So after breakfast, we walk over to a nearby clinic and Eric gets a blood test and a diagnostics check from the doctor.

In the end it turns out it is just a bit of food poisoning and the doctor recommends he take a dose of the antibiotics we brought with us. As far as we’re concerned, the false alarm was worth the 1-hour delay to our departure… we try to think of it as us going by “African time”.

Andrew makes a great first impression! As we drive to Lake Manyara he fills our heads with information about the area and the people, as well as finding out our expectations for the trip. Lucky for him, we understand that animals aren’t predictable, don’t follow any schedules and it’s the luck of the draw with what you see. So as far as we’re concerned, we’re just happy to be out on safari, enjoying the amazing scenery!

After a short stop at a local craft market – a mandatory stop for all safari trucks – we arrive at Twiga Campground just before lunchtime.

We meet our cook David and while he prepares lunch, Eric and I have time to go for a walk through the town of Mto Wa Mbu, which apparently means “mosquito river”… a very comforting name after having had a malaria scare as recent as this morning.

Upon our return to the campsite, Andrew escorts us to our lunch spot – a nicely laid out table with tablecloth on the lawn of the camp. We can tell from our meal that David takes pride in his work…oh this is going to be good!!!

After a very satisfying lunch, Andrew, Eric and I pile into the truck and drive to Lake Manyara National Park where we spend the remainder of the day cruising around, checking out the landscape and looking for wildlife.

Our first spot of the day is courtesy of Eric – it’s a “Blue Monkey”, which is a new type of monkey for us!

During our walk through town, Eric and I kept noticing lots of large birds in the air above us. Andrew lets us know these are “White Storks” and Lake Manyara is a migrating destination for them. They come from Europe each year to breed and take over the park. Another new sight for us…

Lake Manyara National Park is quite beautiful with baobab trees smattered throughout the various terrains of forest, plains and lakefront.

The lake itself is teeming with wildlife…

Yes, those are hippos amongst the storks.

… and on the nearby plains, we spot my favourite, giraffes.

This particular breed is the Masai Giraffe.

Our afternoon drive is so jam-packed with sights and information when it’s over, we’re exhausted... though we still have enough energy left for dinner.

When we arrive back at camp we find David has prepared afternoon tea, complete with fresh-popped popcorn, to tide us over until our dinner under the stars.

Dinner is delicious – leek soup, beef stew, vegetables, rice & beans and fruit. Afterwards we crawl into our tent satisfied, “good-tired” and excited for tomorrow… we’re driving to the Serengeti!

Travel Tip # 15:

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Don’t Have Food Allergies.

But if this isn’t possible at least take appropriate precautions.

In North America great care and attention is put into ensuring there is no cross-contamination of food stuffs... separate chopping boards are used for meats, fish, vegetables, peanuts, etc., MSG is rarely used and plastic gloves are worn more frequently then latex. Hell – there’s “peanut warnings” on packages of peanuts.

But in lots of other countries throughout the world, um, well, not so much…

The same knife that diced your mushrooms will also be used to dice meat, shellfish, citrus fruits, peanuts and to open up that crate of MSG which was just delivered.

Separate cutting boards? Not likely.

And as for food warnings, chances are the closest thing you’ll get to a warning is “be careful – very hot”.

So, if you have food allergies take extra care…

Learn how to say “allergy”, “sickness” or “death” in whatever language you can.

Stock up on anti-histamines and EpiPens.

I’m not trying to scare you away from seeing the world. But the safety bubble we live in back home doesn’t apply for a lot of other places, so be prepared.

You don’t want to go on a trip and then die, do you?

Because this can seriously ruin your vacation.

Day 305 – Tanzania

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August 6, 2010 – Arusha, Tanzania

Eric and I wake up to a damp and cloudy morning. Because of where Arusha is situated among the mountains, with Mt Meru on the horizon and Mt Kilimanjaro not far off, the days tend to start cloudy but it all burns off by the afternoon.

So even though it’s grey outside, we don’t let it dampen our spirits and after a cup of tea and some breakfast, we head off to finalize our safari… it’s scheduled to start tomorrow, so we want to get the final details – ie. payment – taken care of early.

At Sunny Safaris we meet with our coordinator Masha and he goes through the itinerary, answers our questions and of course, processes our payment. He’s very helpful, so it doesn’t take long and we leave very excited for our 9am pick-up the next morning.

Both of us can hardly wait… we are about to experience a private safari in the Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater – pure luxury with our own guide/driver and cook!!!

We spend the rest of the day wandering around Arusha, checking our emails and fending off numerous safari offers.

Day 304 – Tanzania

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August 5, 2010 – Dar es Salaam to Arusha, Tanzania

Once again we’re up before the roosters and we’re up before the mosques. However, we’re not up before the taxi drivers – they’re waiting for us as we step outside the hotel on our way to the bus office. It’s located literally 2 minutes away, so we pass on their offers and enjoy a quick stroll.

Today’s ride to Arusha, the safari capital of Tanzania, is supposed to be 11-12 hours long. It’s going to be long, but apparently this bus company has a reputation for being on time… we’ll see about that.

With snacks in hand, books on the ready and music tuned up, we jump on the bus and settle in. As far as long bus rides go this one turns out to be pretty okay. Once again we’re provided with snacks and the entertainment is played at a reasonable volume level. I’m able to take a good nap and get a large portion of my book read, while Eric actually manages to both start and finish his book.

Around 5:30pm we pull into Arusha and are greeted by touts wanting to sell us safaris. Arusha is conveniently located near both the most popular national parks – Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti – as well Mt. Kilimanjaro, so it’s where most people coordinate and start their safaris.

However, since we’ve already booked our safari back in Dar, we disappoint almost all of the “salesmen”. I say “almost all” because one guy persists in following us as we walk to our hostel – he thinks he’ll get a commission if he shows up with us. Eric and I are very polite with our constant “no thank you’s” but he’s not taking the hint. I finally ask him how long he plans to follow us and then I explain how we’ve pre-booked our accommodation, so there’ll be no commission for him. Surprisingly this seems to work – he’s gone in a flash. Even though he was annoying, I figure there’s no point in wasting his time.

We check-in to our place, throw our stuff into our room and head immediately over to an Indian restaurant across the street… we are starving!!! It’s a good way to end our travel day – Indian food has become our comfort food.

Days 302 & 303 – Tanzania

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August 3 & 4, 2010 – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

We spend the next few days both wandering and enjoying the opportunity to wander – neither one of us is really enamored with Dar as a city, but we do feel comfortable walking around, which is nice.

Our first day is another “logistics day” – we line up our Serengeti safari, buy some supplies and catch up on our communication, ie. emailing and posting postcards. It takes almost all day which amazes me, but I guess when you don’t know the lay of the land, the time it takes to do simple tasks quickly adds up.

The next morning we wake up and enjoy a “play day”. We start by visiting a local craft market to scope things out for when we pass through at the end of our trip. We then head to the fish market, which we get to by walking along the harbour. It’s a functioning harbour so it isn’t overly scenic, but it is nice to be next to the water. After the fish market we meander through the different neighbourhoods – Dar es Salaam has a nice mix of races and cultures – and make our way to a local tea room we stumbled upon yesterday and grab a take-away lunch of some deep-fried goodness… samosas, pakoras and Scotch eggs.

Our afternoon is spent reading – I’ve started my new book and it’s gooooood – as well as grabbing some snacks for tomorrow’s bus ride and repacking our bags… again. I tell you, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve repacked my bag, I could afford to keep travelling for another 6 months… if only I could stop buying “vintaji”, the plural of “chintaji”.

Day 301 – Tanzania

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August 2, 2010 – Iringa to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Neither one of us is looking forward to our bus ride today.

It’s an 8-hour slog from Iringa to Dar es Salaam, but since it’s 8 hours “African time”, who knows how long it’ll really be. So just in case it turns into a 10 or 12 hour-ride, we’ve packed lots of snacks to help us through the journey… water, cashews, bananas, carrots and ginger snaps.

The ride does have a nice bright spot to it as we get an impromptu safari when we drive through Tanzania’s third largest national park, Mikumi. We see zebra, antelopes, giraffes, Cape buffalo, baboons and at least one elephant… not a bad haul for just driving through!

Eventually we arrive in Dar es Salaam – 9 hours later – and are greeted by what appears to be every taxi driver in the city… we haven’t had to deal with this in a long time. Some of the drivers are actually pointing at us and trying to “stake claim” before we’re even out of the bus.

Thanks to our helpful “seat neighbours” we learn that our bus actually goes right into the city centre, so instead of hopping off we just wait and catch a free ride downtown. They also let us know that a taxi ride from the stop in the city centre to our hotel should only cost around 3,000 Tanzanian shillings (TZS), which is very good to know.

As we’re driving to the city centre we actually go past our hotel and it happens to be located very close to where we end up getting dropped off. So you can only imagine my surprise when I’m greeted by a taxi driver telling me it will cost 10,000 TZS for a ride to the hotel. I look at him, point in the direction of our hotel and say “but it’s just over there!” He responds by telling me that because I am a foreigner, I must pay the foreigner price. Eric and I look at him and laugh and then tell him 3,000 TZS or we walk. We go back and forth for a bit – neither of us really feels like walking with all our stuff – and eventually we agree on 4,000 TZS. Eric and I both feel this is a pretty good bargain as we never expect to get the local price… it’s amazing how a little information can help a lot.

The driver takes us the 2 minutes to our hotel and we check-in hassle free. What a welcome to Dar es Salaam – I hope this isn’t a reflection of the entire city.

Another Question…

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When it comes to changing money on the black market, if it’s recommended by bank employees, border guards and even police officers, is it really the black market?

Think about it.

Day 300 – Tanzania

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August 1, 2010 – Iringa, Tanzania

Our full day in Iringa is very chill. We sleep in, we have a nice breakfast and then we go out and explore the Sunday markets as well as a few of the town’s other sites.

We also visit every chitenji store possible. A “chitenji” - or “kanga” in Swahili – is a large piece of colourful, printed fabric that women wear as skirts, head-wraps, shawls or to carry their babies. We’ve seen them throughout Africa and I’m fascinated by their vibrant colours and patterns to the point of addiction – it’s not long before I have an armful of fabric and no idea how I’ll get it all home.

The other big find of the day is at Neema Café, where Eric finds the final novel of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy, “the Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest”. I’ve been searching for this book for the last 4 months, so you can imagine how excited I am!!!

We wrap up the evening with a delicious dinner of Indian food and then pack our bags for tomorrow’s bus ride to Dar es Salaam.

Day 299 – Tanzania

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July 31, 2010 – Mbeya to Iringa, Tanzania

We wake up before the roosters, we wake up before the mosques and we wake up before the bus station… it’s an early morning.

Having pre-arranged a 5:00am pick-up time with a taxi driver last night, we walk outside at 5:00am and to our surprise we find him actually waiting for us… what the hell? When we scheduled the time, we choose 5:00am because we figured he’d be late and wouldn’t show up until around 5:15am-5:20am, which would still get us to the bus station for our check-in at 5:30am… so much for factoring in “Africa time”. The bus station is less than 5 minutes from our guest house, so we end up arriving at 5:05am, which confuses the bus company – I guess they’re not used to people being early. Oh well - now we have plenty of time to wait around…

To both our surprise and our pleasure the bus leaves exactly on time, which is a first for us – no waiting for one more – and we get snacks too! So although the bus ride is long, it’s pleasant… or at least as pleasant as long bus rides can be.

Its still morning when we arrive in Iringa, so after we find a place to stay, we still have plenty of time to grab a bite to eat, explore the town and just enjoy the sun-shiny day.

We check into the “Dr. AJ Nsekela Executive Lodge” which appears to be a former university building. It’s very institutional feeling from the outside, but our room inside feels more like our actual “home” than any other place we’ve stayed at on this trip so far. It’s a suite, so we have our own living room, our own bathroom AND our own bedroom. In fact, it’s almost the size of our place back in Canada, which is actually kind of comforting...

We each have a quick shower to wash away the feeling of “the road” and then we go out in search of food and Internet. We find a nice restaurant for lunch, where we enjoy some of the local fare and then we find an Internet café that gives back to the community. It’s part of a store called “Neema Crafts & Cafe”, which is a non-profit business that gives employment and skills training to disabled people in Iringa. It’s a nice place and we’re more than happy to give our support.

In fact, we like Iringa so much we decide to stay another day - we’ve been traveling for three-in-a-row already, so a break is welcome.

Day 298 – Malawi to Tanzania

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July 30, 2010 – Karonga, Malawi to Mbeya, Tanzania

Today we plan to enter Tanzania but in order to do so, we need breakfast.

We head over to our favourite restaurant in Karonga to check out our options and we’re told they consist of eggs, tea and chips in any combination we want. We opt for the egg, tea and chips combo which is greasy… perfect for a long day of travel.

After we check out of our hotel, we grab a “shared taxi” to the border and then walk across the bridge into Tanzania. From there we walk 1km to the bus station, where we then catch a mini-bus to the town of Mbeya. Mbeya is about a 4-hour drive to the border, once you factor in construction, people pick-ups and police checkpoints.

Our journey goes without a hitch thanks to a helpful Tanzanian border officer who not only provides us with an explanation about our visas, but also lets us know the “real” price for the bus to Mbeya and not the “mzungu price”. “Mzungu” is the Swahili word for “white person” or “foreigner”, which you will inevitably get used to being called by almost every taxi driver, bus driver, random child or any other person trying to make a buck off of you.

Our bus ride starts off rough with us having to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the aisles with 10 other people, but eventually the crowd thins out and Eric and I manage to score the best seats – single windows all to ourselves.

The hardest thing of the day is finding a place to stay, but even then we only have to go to three different places before we find a small guesthouse.

After finding a bite to eat and strolling around the town for a bit, we call it an early night – tomorrow we’re heading to Iringa and we have to catch our bus at 5:30am, which means we have to be up around 4:30am… not looking forward to it!

Day 297 – Malawi

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July 29, 2010 – Nkhata Bay to Mzuzu to Karonga, Malawi

After 4 peaceful days on Lake Lake, Eric and I are well-rested and ready to begin our 2-day journey to Tanzania.

It starts off with us having to walk along Nkhata Bay’s main drag to catch a mini-bus to take us back to Mzuzu. We easily find one, but we have to wait for it to fill up before we can take off. And once we do, we still make multiple stops along the way to pick-up more people. Just when I think we’re full, we stop again – in Africa, there’s ALWAYS room for one more.

We arrive in Mzuzu mid-morning and before Eric and I even have time to breathe, we’re whisked off by another mini-bus operator heading to Karonga – Karonga is the town on Malawi’s side of the Tanzanian border and our goal destination for today.

And of course, the whole mini-bus “pick-up routine” begins again.

Eventually we’re packed to the point of bursting and wouldn’t you know it, our mini-bus breaks down. Thankfully it’s nothing too serious – apparently all we need is gas. And since we’re only about 20 minutes outside of Karonga, one of the operators catches a ride into town, while we wait by the side of the road. Ironically enough, we seem to be one of the few people who aren’t in a hurry, so while nearly all the other passengers perform a mass exodus and hitch rides for the last leg of the trip, Eric, I and three other men wait it out. I mean really, what else do we have to do?

So we wait…

And we wait…

And we wait.

To pass the time I make friends with a fellow passenger, the village children staring at us from the side of the road and some mosquitoes.

Eventually our guy returns with gas and we’re back on the road. We now have tonnes of room in the mini-bus and we don’t pick anyone else up, so it’s a comfortable way to end the ride.

When we arrive in Karonga, we set off to find a place to stay but the options are pretty slim pickings. We settle for a hotel right at the main intersection in town, which we later learn is a popular truck stop. It’s nothing spectacular, but it serves its purpose. Besides, there’s a good restaurant across the street, so we have a clean bed and good food – what more do we need?

Did You Know?

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Did you know stepping in antelope poop feels just like stepping on “Junior Mints”?

Days 293-296 – Malawi

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July 25-28, 2010 – Nkhata Bay, Malawi

Eric and I wake up to sunshine and the sound of waves rustling up the shore…

Life is good.

After breakfast, we start thinking about what we want to do and where we want to go.

Do we stay here in Nkhata Bay and enjoy being stationary for a bit? Do we hop on the overnight ferry and head to one of the islands in the middle of the lake? Or do we head further down the coast and explore some of the other coastal towns?

Each of these options is great, but we’re having trouble deciding…

If we want to go to the islands, we have to take an overnight ferry to get there. And since we’ve done both the extra-long and the overnight bus rides, we’re not anticipating a similar ferry ride being that much different – having cockroaches as seatmates and being completely knackered the next day has lost the charm. Plus the passenger ferries only go to the islands once a week, so once you’re there, you’re stuck there… unless of course you want to negotiate your way off with a cargo ship or a fishing boat.

And if we decide to head further south, we lose at least half a day due to travel. Minibuses going south aren’t as frequent and only leave when they’re full, which basically means time spent waiting for a ride on a crammed minibus is time not spent relaxing. So you have to ask yourself, is it really worth the upheaval?

Nhkata Bay on the other hand, seems to be one of those places which has a nice balance of having lots of things to do and having not much to do. There are bays we can walk to, a town we can walk through, people we can talk to and most importantly a lake right outside our door.

Besides, after 10 months of being “on the road” we’re starting to feel tired. And since we still have 2 months left, we want to make sure we’re rested enough to enjoy it. So although we don’t want to get lazy and miss out on some great opportunities, we also don’t want to just see something for the sake of seeing something.

Finally, of all the countries we’ve been to in Africa, Malawi seems to be the most chill. In fact, that’s why most people come here… to relax. Yes, there are lots of things to do here, but not to the same extent as in other places we’ve been – the sights really consist of Lake Malawi and a few national parks.

So after a long discussion, Eric and I decide to just stay put for the next few days.

And our decision is confirmed for us when we try to take money out of the ATM machine and it doesn’t work – we have enough cash to enjoy a few days here, so we extend our reservation at Big Blue Star and settle ourselves in…

We read. We play cards. We go for long walks on the beach.

We be.

Day 292 – Malawi

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July 24, 2010 – Mzuzu to Nkhata Bay, Malawi

Now we’re not sure if this is true or not, but apparently when David Livingstone first came upon Lake Malawi, he asked the locals what it was called and they told him it was Nyasa – “Nyasa” being the Chewa people’s word for “lake”. Not completely comprehending their literal interpretation, he named it “Lake Nyasa”… or “Lake Lake”. And even though its name was officially changed to Lake Malawi in the 1960’s, Eric and I still prefer to call it Lake Lake.

So after settling our bill at Pine Tree Lodge, we catch a ride to Mzuzu’s bus station and soon find ourselves squished into a minibus heading for Nkhata Bay…

OFF TO LAKE LAKE WE GO!!!

Nkhata Bay is only about 50kms from Mzuzu, but it takes us about an hour and half to get there. It’s a small little town, but it’s a good starting off point for exploring Lake Malawi. Eric and I don’t really have an idea about what we’re going to do when we arrive, but we figure a night or two in Nkhata Bay will be a way to figure it out.

As soon as we get off the bus it doesn’t take long for us to pick up a few “strays” – guys offering to show us to our accommodation, even though we know where we’re going. It’s been a while since we’ve really had to deal with hassling and I think we’re out of practice – despite a change of plans, a few sudden stops, a couple polite good-byes as well as a couple not-so polite good-byes, they follow us all the way to the hostel in hopes of receiving a “commission”.

We check into Big Blue Star Backpackers and once again, we’re given one of the best rooms in the place – a reed hut sitting over the edge of the lake with a balcony facing out across the water. It’s exactly what we want!

So after settling in, we wander into town to check things out. The main strip of Nkhata Bay is lined with women selling dried fish, men selling fresh fish, minibuses waiting for passengers and people enjoying the day. We stroll around, grab a drink and enjoy the sunshine.

Unfortunately my night has a slight hiccup when I find myself not feeling 100% - a little too much sun, I think – so I end up retiring early. But Eric has a great night by winning Big Blue Star’s Trivia Contest and getting a free round of drinks out of it.

Day 291 – Malawi

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July 23, 2010 – Nyika National Park to Mzuzu, Malawi

After having had the pleasure of sleeping in for the last few days, this morning we’re up at the ungodly hour of 6:00am. Andrew’s crews are switching over and since most of them are returning home for their 15-day break – 30 days on, 15 days off – and supplies are needed for the camp, he has to make a quick run into Mzuzu.

This means we get a free ride back to Mzuzu!

So at 6:45am, 16 of us pile into his pick-up truck and we take off.

And no, 16 is not a typo – Eric & I in the cab with Lemat the driver and 13 people in the back, along with all the luggage, 2 empty diesel drums, 6 wooden doors and if I’m not mistaken, at least 1 chicken.

Thankfully it’s uneventful and we arrive in town around midday.

Instead of continuing onward to Nkhata Bay, we opt to spend another night at Pine Tree Lodge. This gives us a break from being crammed into vehicles, a chance to check our emails and most importantly, the opportunity to have another of Paul and Charity’s amazing meals. Tonight it’s “chambo & chips – chambo is a local fish from Lake Malawi – and banoffee pudding – which is not local per se, but equally delicious.

Days 288-290 – Malawi

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July 20-22, 2010 – Nyika National Park, Malawi

The next few days feel like we’re at a cottage – we relax by the fire, play cards, read and go for walks around the area.

Andrew even lets us take turns driving around the park, which is a lot of fun considering he has a proper 4x4 for us to use.

And thanks to Nellie, we enjoy some fantastic baked goods – she makes us bread, cornbread and cake, all from scratch.

While Nellie is spoiling us with her treats, Andrew is spoiling us with his hospitality – he makes us some fantastic meals, teaches us a lot about the nature in the park and he shows Eric how to kill & clean a chicken.

In fact, this is a very educational trip for Eric because we also teach him how to play cribbage, much to my pleasure.

During our walks and drives we see lots of wildlife – zebra, bustards, warthogs and numerous antelope, including the roan. The roan is a new type of antelope for us – it’s the second largest antelope in the world, next to the eland and they have their largest concentration within Nyika National Park.

Nyika is often compared to the highlands of Scotland because of its rolling hills, greenery and flowers, but we’re here during the dry season, so it’s not that green. In fact, in some places it’s black because of the control burns taking place – burning needs to be done as a precautionary measure to prevent areas of importance, such as the rain and juniper forests, from catching fire due to lightning-strikes and poachers.

But despite the harshness of the land you’ll find close-up at this time of year, the vistas are still stunning.

So You Want to Be a Ghetto Camper

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So you want to be a ghetto camper, do you? Well now you can! Just follow these 3 simple steps and you too can slum it out in some of the most beautiful national parks in the world.

Step 1: Buy a Tent

But don’t go to a store that specializes in outdoor equipment and where the employees are knowledgeable and willing to help.

Go to a store where the employees don’t give a rat’s ass about you and the only nice thing they can say about your prospective tent is “this is the cheapest one we’ve got”.

Step 2: Make Do With What You Have

Buying more camping equipment, only means there’s now more stuff for you to lug around. And who wants to do that?

Instead, just use whatever you’ve already got on you.

Need a sleeping pad?

Don’t bother – use your towel, the floor-mats from your rental car or the beautiful hand-woven carpet you picked up in Jordan.

Need a chair?

Forget about it – sit on a plastic bag.

Need an extra blanket?

Screw that monkey – wear every piece of clothing you have and then wrap yourself up with your mosquito net and the rain-cover for your backpack.

Step 3: Cooking is for Suckas

When some people go camping, they insist on bringing fancy-shmancy cooking equipment, like pots or a stove.

Well, I say those people are suckas – don’t let “the man” tell you how to cook your meal.

In fact, who says you have to actually cook your meal?

Just eat the leftovers from last night’s meal COLD.

“Oh – but I reeeeaaally want a hot meal.”

Well then just stick the can of beans in the fire – when the beans bubble over into the coals, they’re done.

“What if we’re fortunate enough to have a grill to cook meat on? Should we bring BBQ utensils?”

HELL NO!!!

Just use a set of pliers and a pair of chopsticks… easy-peazy.

Well, there you have it - 3 simple ways to be a ghetto camper.

It’s the only way to travel Africa…

… unless of course you want to do your research ahead of time and come prepared.

Day 287 – Malawi

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July 19, 2010 – Mzuzu to Nyika National Park, Malawi

Well, as luck would have it, Andrew is still around – the power was out in Mzuzu all day, so he couldn’t get to the bank for work, so he stayed one more night. And since my back is up for the drive, it’s off to Nyika we go!

Between the rough roads and multiple stops, it takes us most of the day to get ourselves up to the park, but boy, is the long drive ever worth it – Nyika is stunning and Andrew’s place is awesome!!!

He lives in a log cabin in the middle of a pine tree plantation and combined with the cooler temperatures – it’s 2300 m. above sea level – it feels more like being in northern Ontario than southern Africa.

Thanks to Andrew’s housekeeper Nellie, who’s been expecting us and has built a roaring fire in the living room, it doesn’t take the three of us long to settle in with a drink from his well-stocked bar.

Days 285 & 286 – Malawi

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July 17 & 18, 2010 – Mzuzu, Malawi

Eric and I wake up excited for our trip to Nyika National Park, but unfortunately we have a problem… my back is still acting up and Andrew has opted to stay in town for another day. So we settle back into Pine Tree and go for a wander into town.

Upon our return, Eric is delighted to find that the housekeeper has changed our sheets. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but once you see the sheets she put on the bed, you’ll understand why…

I seriously thought Eric was going to have a heart-attack from the excitement.

The next morning we wake up to a torrential rainfall. Plus, my back has not improved enough to handle a 4+ hour ride on bumpy roads. So it looks like there will be no trip to Nyika for us today, which is very disappointing.

So Eric and I spend the rest of the day putting together a 1000-piece puzzle of “36 Places in Africa to See Before You Die”. When the puzzle is finished, we’re excited to find out we’ve been to 12 of them on this trip already.

Day 284 – Malawi

2010-07-24T15:07:00.001+08:00

July 16, 2010 – Lilongwe to Mzuzu, Malawi

Since being in Africa, the few experiences we’ve had using the public bus system has taught Eric and I one thing – pre-planning is a waste of time and energy. Instead, showing up at the station early is the most effective way to get to our next destination.

With that said, we show up at the Lilongwe bus station at about 7:30am in search of a bus to take us to the town of Mzuzu. The staff at the hotel recommended two bus companies – AXA or National – so we make those our first stops before choosing the National bus to Mzuzu via Mzimba. This little detour means the trip may take an extra 45 minutes – ish – but it’s still the best option out of the other options available to us.

We load our bags onto the bus, settle into our seats and wait. We wait for the passengers to stop flowing in, the sellers to stop selling, the preacher to stop preaching and the bus engine to stop idling. And 45 minutes after the scheduled departure time, the bus takes off. By African standards, this isn’t a long wait.

After a seven-hour-ride – only an hour longer than scheduled – we arrive in Mzuzu. We peel ourselves out of the bus and go search out a place to stay, which proves to be more difficult than finding a bus.

Our first stop is at church-run rest house. It’s clean and affordable, but way too institutional for us. It’s right by the bus station and if we were staying for only one night it would be okay. But since we’re hoping to stay two nights, we decide to move on.

Our second stop is horrible. In fact, we immediately turn around the second we walk through the gate.

Stop number three is much more promising. It’s a bit of a drive out of town but it’s been recommended to us and it looks fun. Unfortunately, lots of other people feel the same way and it’s fully-booked. But the management makes a recommendation for our fourth stop and one of their guests – Andrew from the UK – offers us a ride, which we graciously accept.

As we’re driving to Pine Tree Lodge – the fourth and hopefully, final stop – we learn that Andrew is currently working up at Nyika National Park. He’s heading back up to the park tomorrow and offers us both a lift and a place to crash. We were planning on visiting Nyika eventually, but hadn’t been able to figure out how to get there and since in Africa “transport is king”, we jump at the opportunity.

We arrive at Pine Tree Lodge and they have room.

And better yet, they have chocolate cake on the menu!!!

Relieved, we settle into the comfortable surroundings and order up a home-cooked meal – I have cottage pie – aka. shepherd’s pie – and Eric has steak & kidney pie.

And of course, I have a piece of the chocolate cake… life is good.

Day 283 – Zambia to Malawi

2010-07-24T15:04:00.001+08:00

July 15, 2010 – Chipata, Zambia to Lilongwe, Malawi

Today we cross into Malawi with little ado.

We leave Dean’s at 9:30am and arrive in Lilongwe, Malawi at 1:00pm by taking a private taxi to the Zambian side of the border, walking across the border, taking a shared taxi 12kms to the town of Mchinji where we then catch a mini-bus to Lilongwe.

We spend our afternoon finding a place to stay, some food to eat and just wandering around for the sake of wandering around.

In the evening, we play Skip-Bo, read and enjoy a nice cold shower in the dark – there’s a black-out on our side of town. And of course, from our room we can look across the river and see lights on the other side… I guess some times the grass IS greener.

Day 282 – Zambia

2010-07-24T14:58:00.002+08:00

July 14, 2010 – Mfuwe to Chipata, Zambia

Today we have the true “African Experience”.

It begins with a little surprise first thing in the morning…

Yes – this would be a frog hiding in Eric’s toiletry bag.

Then we have an unexpected visitor during breakfast…

For a few seconds it looks like this guy might actually join us… the elephants around here have been known to walk right into Flatdogs’ restaurant. This isn’t so bad, but they always forget to make a reservation, which is ironic really.

And finally, we experience “African Time” firsthand…

“African Time” basically refers to the laid-back approach to schedules around here. For instance, a bus scheduled to leave at 8:00am, probably won’t leave until 8:45am so there’s no point in getting upset. Therefore, when someone tells us a time, we always add “ish” to it and we’re never disappointed – 8:00am becomes 8:00am-ish, 1 hour becomes 1 hour-ish, etc.

Our taxi driver, who’s supposed to pick us up at 12:00pm calls us at 11:55am to say he’s running late and won’t be able to get us until 2:00pm.

Ah, African Time… no big deal – we’ll just enjoy nice, lazy afternoon here.

Now we never actually expected the driver to show up at 2:00pm sharp – we figured on a 30-minute cushion. But at 3:00pm, with no taxi in sight, the hotel staff track him down and find out he’ll be by to get us within the next half hour.

At 3:30pm, he finally shows up.

And Eric and I are not impressed.

Three-and-a-half hours late goes way beyond “African Time” and the hotel staff agree with us. They also provide us with some additional information about our driver – we won’t bore you with all the details – so Eric and he do some financial re-negotiations and we’re able to come to a suitable compromise to get us back to Chipata.

Of course, in some ways he has the last laugh…

What should have been a 2 ½ - 3 hour drive turns into a 4 ½ drive as the driver takes us on a spiteful scenic route – we take the long way back to Chipata and make numerous stops along the way to buy a new spare tire, top up the gas tank, visit a few business associates, etc.

Eventually we arrive back at Dean’s Hill View Lodge, where Dean’s staff has a room and dinner waiting for us – Flatdogs called ahead for us and let them know what was going on.

And of course, our taxi driver does offer to drive us to the Malawi border “for a good price”.

Yeah… we’ll see about that.

New from Panasonic

2010-07-18T00:41:00.003+08:00

A light-weight…

Energy-efficient…

40” inch…

Bug-Screen Television.

This is high-definition TV like you’ve never seen it before.

Days 280 & 281 – Zambia

2010-07-18T00:31:00.006+08:00

July 12 & 13, 2010 – Chipata to Mfuwe, Zambia

And we’re off – it’s 6:00am and we’re braving the ugly roads on the way to Mfuwe, the closest town to South Luangwa National Park!!!

One of the good things about starting so early is that we arrive at Flatdogs Camp at 9:00am, so we have the rest of the day to enjoy our latest temporary home. It’s located on the southern side of the Luangwa River, which is one of the borders of South Luangwa National Park. Unlike other places we’ve been, there are no fences around Flatdogs, which means many of the animals go through the camp to get in and out of the park.

And because it happens to be pretty quiet when we arrive, we’re given the best safari tent on site, where we quickly make ourselves comfortable…

The reason it’s deemed the BEST tent is because it’s situated on our own private “lagoon”, where we have no neighbours, except for a family of elephants…

A bushbuck…

A stork…

A puku and a party of baboons.

Seriously. Within our first hour at Flatdogs we see hippos, baboons, vervet monkeys, elephants, crocodiles, a monitor lizard and lots of birds.

This is definitely a special place.

We sign up for the night safari drive as we have yet to go on a safari at night… makes sense, don’t it?

Eric and I spend the day in anticipation for the drive and when the time comes, we luck out for two reasons:

The first is that before our drive, they serve us tea and snacks and today’s snack is brownies.

Secondly, we are the only ones in our group, which means we are alone with our guide, our spotter and one of the managers of the camp, who also happens to be a guide. It doesn’t take them long to start filling our heads with great information about sausage trees, elephants and the unique type of giraffe found only in South Luangwa Park.

These giraffes are smaller and marked differently than the typical giraffes we have previously seen.

On our way to the sundowner spot – “sundowners” is a fancy way of saying “drinks at sunset” – we find ourselves staring down a few African buffalos…

… and just when we think it’s cocktail time, Yotem and Timoth – our guide and our spotter – follow the signs of the wild and find us a leopard.

This particular leopard is well-known to the guides, is remarkably mild-tempered and fondly referred to as “Alice”. At one point she walks so close to our truck Eric could reach out and touch her.

About a kilometer past Alice, we stop for sundowners, where we’re allowed to get out of the truck – which explains why we drove about a kilometer past Alice.

As far as Eric and I are concerned, after seeing a leopard any other wildlife we see is just icing on the cake… or brownie, if you will.

With that said, we have a very successful second half - we see civets, elephant shrews, genets, bushbabies, scrub hares, zebras, waterbucks, a pride of lionesses and hippos out of the water.

And as luck would have it, about 5 minutes before we leave the park, our spotter spots a spotted hyena bolting across the road.

As you can see, this guy was moving fast so we’re lucky to catch him.

Eric and I are flying high when we return to camp. After a nice meal we retire to our tent only to find a hippo in our lagoon. So we fall asleep to the sound of him gulping down whatever it is he was gulping down.

The next day is a day of rest.

We had left our schedule open for the possibility of taking another game drive, but after last night’s success we’re satisfied filling our day lounging around the area.

Day 279 – Zambia

2010-07-18T00:31:00.001+08:00

July 11, 2010 – Chipata, Zambia

Today we just hang out – we walk around Chipata and pick up some groceries, we chat with some of the interesting people staying at Dean’s and we twiddle our thumbs about whether to go up to South Luangwa National Park tomorrow or the following day.

Oh and of course, we play Skip-Bo – the tourney is really heating up!

Part of our hesitation about whether to head directly up to South Luangwa or to wait a bit is because it’s not the easiest place to get to. It’s about a 3-hour drive from Chipata along a very decrepit road. There are mini-buses that go, but they only leave when they’re full-to-the-brim and with my back being the way it is, I’m not too keen on being crammed in a wee vehicle. This means our other option is to hire a taxi, but it’s quite pricey. So right now we’re trying to figure out which is the lesser of two evils.

Well as luck would have it, towards the end of the day another couple arrives at Dean’s and they’re hoping to take a taxi up to the park first thing tomorrow morning. It looks like our decision has been made – how great is it to have things just fall into place so nicely. Lucky us!

We wrap up the evening watching the finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup with the other guests… Spain wins, the Netherlands lose, it’s a boring game and we go to bed.

Day 278 – Zambia

2010-07-18T00:30:00.000+08:00

July 10, 2010 – Lusaka to Chipata, Zambia

Well, winging the bus thing both works and doesn’t work for us.

It works in the sense that we get ourselves on a bus relatively hassle-free and as part of the ride they serve a snack.

And it doesn’t work for us because we spend an hour and a half waiting for the bus to leave and over the course of our 8 hour ride, the bus doesn’t really stop, which is hard on my back and needless to say, our bladders.

But overall, the ride is fine and we do make it to Chipata, so really there isn’t a reason to complain.

We grab a taxi and make our way over to “Dean’s Hill View Lodge”, which turns out to be a welcome haven of tranquility. Dean and his crew prepare us a nice dinner and we spend the evening relaxing and chatting.

Road Blocks

2010-07-18T00:24:00.005+08:00

In Canada, road hazards are pretty straight forward – construction, snowstorms, broken-down streetcars, parades and the occasional moose or deer.

However, throughout Asia and Africa we’ve discovered new levels of road obstacles. These include such items as:

Scooters…

Sandstorms…

Ostriches…

Zebras…

Orange Trees…

And of course, randomly parked cars.

Day 277 – Zambia

2010-07-18T00:24:00.001+08:00

July 9, 2010 – Lusaka, Zambia

What can you say about Lusaka, the capital of Zambia?

Well, it’s a city.

And there you have it.

If my back wasn’t in the state it is, we both would have been pretty content to leave today, but unfortunately we don’t.

After a night where my sleep was constantly interrupted by the symphony of snoring men in our room, Throughout Africa we’ve been pretty lucky when it comes to sleeping in dorm rooms – we’ve met some great people and half the time we end up having them to ourselves any way. Unfortunately, last night wasn’t one of those times, so first thing in the morning Eric and I move to our own private room.

After breakfast, we wander around the downtown area for a bit in order to take care of some “housekeeping” – mailing postcards, going to an ATM, etc.

We also want to look into buses to get us the hell out of Lusaka and onwards to the town of Chipata. And as expected, this turns out to be a lot more laborious than necessary. After 9 months of traveling by public transit, we’re getting used to going to bus terminals and having to deal with sales touts, hawkers and not getting straight answers to straight questions. So now we’re pretty comfortable with having them around us and for the most part, ignoring them. However today we had a first-time experience for both of us…

As we’re standing around discussing our options – whilst being surrounded by 6 or 7 “salesmen” of course – we’re approached by an official with the bus station. He’s in uniform and has an ID badge and asks us if we need a hand. We tell him we’re okay and that we’re just figuring out what to do and then Eric cracks a joke about how if he’s able to get rid of the guys annoying us, that would be alright.

However instead of helping us, he tries to pull a little scam of his own and informs us that we should use the help of our “entourage” or otherwise he’s going to charge us with loitering. The guys hassling us all wait to see how we’ll react – they think we’ll cave and they’ll make a sale – and the “official” waits for us to crumble under the awesome power of his authority and ideally, give him a bribe. However, Eric and I look at each other, look at him and then break out into laughter. It’s not the reaction they’re expecting and none of them know quite what to do. This confusion gives us enough time to walk away, leaving the little weasel behind, sulking.

We head back to the hostel and eventually we’re able to piece together a plan using the scattered bits of information we get from the knuckleheads at the bus station and the knuckleheads at our hostel, and we decide to head to Chipata bright and early – instead of booking in advance, we’re just going to wing it.

Day 276 – Zambia

2010-07-18T00:23:00.001+08:00

July 8, 2010 – Livingstone to Lusaka, Zambia

It’s time to move on – my back is improving slowly but surely – so we wake up nice & early in anticipation of our 6 hour drive to Lusaka.

We’re not sure what to expect considering the varied bus experiences we’ve had in the past, but to our pleasant surprise this trip is great. Boarding is hassle-free, the bus has big, comfy seats with lots of leg room, it leaves and arrives on time and the gospel music playing on the stereo is kept at a reasonable level. Okay, the movie isn’t one of our preferred picks – one of Kirk Cameron’s born-again religious numbers – but if this is the only thing we can complain about, well then it’s all good.

Of course, any feeling of calm & contentedness we have evaporates the minute we get off the bus. We are bombarded by taxi drivers, mini-bus drivers, touts & hawkers and people who we don’t even know what they want with us. We grab our bags – Eric is now playing Sherpa and carrying both of our big bags, while I carry the two smaller daypacks – and manage to get away from the chaos to discuss our next steps.

Seeing as there aren’t too many “backpacker” options in Lusaka, we decide to try out Ku-Ombuko Backpackers. Fortunately, there’s room at the inn – as the kids say – so we settle into a dorm room for the night.

Days 272-275 – Zambia

2010-07-08T00:46:00.000+08:00

July 4-7, 2010 – Livingstone, Zambia

Sadly, the next few days are very uneventful.

My back has decided to go into spasm since the day we left the tour, so Eric and I have been holed up in the backpackers waiting for me to be in a condition to start travelling again.

I spend my time reading, catching up on writing the blog, practicing my Sudoku speed, annoying Eric and watching TED talks.

Eric spends his time reading, walking around the town, catching up on writing the blog, listening to podcasts and getting to know the pharmacist across the street – his name is Efram and apparently he’s a very nice guy.

Towards the end of our stay in Livingstone my back loosens up to the point where I can join Eric on his walks and he shows me around town. During one of our strolls we discover a decent pizza place located just a couple doors down from where we’re staying…. things seem to be looking up!

Day 271 – Zambia

2010-07-08T00:45:00.000+08:00

July 3, 2010 – Livingstone, Zambia

Tour Day 10 – Depart Livingstone

Depart Livingstone at any time.

Eric and I visit Livingstone town in the morning with our guides Charlene and Riaan. Charlene takes me to her regular fabric shop and Riaan wants to check out the tourist market, so we tag along for one last ride in the overland truck. We have a fun time shopping – Charlene’s taste in textiles is awesome – and they also offer us some excellent travel advice for our continuing adventures.

When we arrive back at the camp, we sit around the site for a little while and enjoy everyone’s company. As much as we’re looking forward to getting off the tour and back onto our own schedule, these past few days have been a lot of fun and we’ve met some pretty great people. In fact, we’re already planning a trip to Wisconsin to visit Tiffany and Lyn – Eric has promised them maple syrup and ice wine in exchange for a “Packers cheese-hat”.

Eventually the time comes for us to say our good-byes, after which we grab a taxi into town and check-in to a backpacker’s hostel – real beds here we come!!! Our plan is to stay in Livingstone for another day or so before continuing on with the next leg of our trip.

The Skip-Bo World Tour-Nament of Champions – Update #3

2010-07-08T00:44:00.002+08:00

Well Skip-Bo fans… the third quarter of the Skip-Bo World Tour-Nament of Champions has been full of surprises.

To start, Egypt was the host country for the first ever “Intergenerational Exhibition Tournament”.

Four skilled contestants battled through 16 days of intense Skip-Bo competition for the chance to win two grand prizes of an “Australian Beer Cozy”, graciously donated by Jodie & Gus from Australia.

In the end, the standings were as follows:

Robyn – 7 games
Eric – 6 games
Joan – 2 games
David – 2 games

When the “I.E.T.” ended, the “S.B.W.T.o.C.” resumed and for the past 2 ½ months, Robyn has maintained her lead through a deadly combination of brains, skill and good luck. But despite this deadly tri-fecta, Eric has been able to shrink her lead bit-by-bit.

Therefore, as of July 1, 2010, the score is now:

Robyn – 122 games
Eric – 119 games

From now on, the competition is only going to get even more intense. With only 3 months left in the tournament, who knows what will happen?

Will Robyn maintain her dominance?

Or will Eric continue the fight and come through in the clutch?

Both competitors are skilled!

Both competitors are fierce!!

Both competitors are determined!!!

The deciding factor now is WHO WANTS IT MORE!!!

Stay tuned!

Days 269 & 270 – Botswana to Zambia

2010-07-08T00:40:00.002+08:00

July 1 & 2, 2010 – Kasane, Botswana to Livingstone, Zambia

Tour Days 8 & 9 – Livingstone

Cross the Zambezi River by ferry to enter into Zambia and continue to Livingstone. We will spend the last two days of our tour here, a great base to see both natural wonders and take part in some exciting activities. Get up close (and wet from the spray) while awing at the immense Victoria Falls, raft the whitewater of the mighty Zambezi, and for the more adventurous, bungee jump with the Victoria Falls in view.

Hooray - today is a sleep-in day!!! Eric and I have opted out of the optional morning game drive in Chobe NP… we don’t want to run the risk of getting game-drived-out because we still have a few more parks to see during our African adventures.

Unfortunately our sleep-in lasts until 7:00am – bummer – but it’s still a lazy morning, complete with a good ol’ fashion breakfast fry-up when the game drivers return – hooray!!!

The border crossing into Zambia is pretty uneventful, especially since we manage to skip the ferry queue… our driver Riaan pays the toll operator an “administration fee” and suddenly we’re at the front of the line! Charlene then takes care of obtaining all of our visas for us, so we’re through customs in record time!

Eric and I are really looking forward to seeing Victoria Falls and our excitement builds when we enter Livingstone – we can see the spray from the falls off in the horizon. Apparently they’re roaring with water right now because of the large amount of rainfall this year.

For the next couple of days we are on our own. There’s lots of adrenaline, cuddly-animal and feel-good activities to participate in, but Eric and I are just happy to be in one place for a while.

We spend the rest of the arrival day playing Skip-Bo, going for a walk, making dinner – it’s no longer included in the tour – and hanging out with the Wisconsin Sisters.

Our first full free day, Eric and I are joined by Connie from Jersey Island – south of England – for a morning of exploring Victoria Falls.

It is breath-taking.

The three of us time our viewing very well and manage to keep ourselves relatively dry from the spray.

The morning starts off a bit cloudy, but by the time we’re wrapping up our visit, the blue sky is popping out from behind the clouds.

Niagara Falls back home is amazing too, but it’s lovely to see a waterfall of this magnitude in a relatively natural setting… there isn’t a neon sign for miles.

There are however souvenir salesmen in abundance and the three of us have some fun bargaining for deals in the market.

Tonight also happens to be the last night of the tour, so we all meet up for one more group dinner and finish off the evening reliving the day’s events.

Day 268 – Botswana

2010-07-08T00:34:00.003+08:00

June 30, 2010 – Gweta to Kasane, Botswana

Tour Day 7 – Chobe River

Today we journey to the area of Chobe National Park, home to the largest elephant population in Southern Africa. The best way to appreciate one of Botswana's national parks and its thousands of resident elephants, crocodiles, and hippos, is on an optional sunset boat cruise on the Chobe River. You may also choose to embark on a game drive in search of lions, antelope, and of course elephants.

We arrive in Kasane around noon where we have time for a bit of shopping before heading to our camp for the night. We lounge around the site for a couple hours – reading, chatting, etc. – before we board a pontoon boat which takes us on a sunset cruise of Chobe National Park.

By this point in our trip we’re getting pretty familiar with “going on safari”, so it’s a fresh change to be experiencing game viewing from the river. From our boat, we’re able to get our “hippo fill”…

Our “elephant fill”…

Our “crocodile fill”…

And our African buffalo fill.

Oh and of course, our sunset fill.

It’s all very satisfying.

The other highlight for Eric is that he’s taught how to make Australian damper by Jean, the lone Australian in our group. “Damper” is bread traditionally made by the Aborigines of Australia. It’s very biscuit-like and is baked on the open coals of the campfire. Unfortunately he has to contend with 20 backseat-bakers as we all sit around the fire watching Eric cook the bread on the way-too-hot coals, but in the end it turns out pretty-good for a first time effort!

Eric’s already trying to figure out how to make damper on the BBQ back home.

Day 267 – Botswana

2010-07-08T00:28:00.003+08:00

June 29, 2010 – Maun to Gweta, Botswana

Tour Day 6 – Gweta

Enjoy one last sunrise in the delta before travelling back Maun in first a mokoro, then by vehicle. Pick up your luggage, and proceed on to Gweta to our unique experience camping under ancient Baobab trees.

In the morning we have a very peaceful ride back to the village…

… that is until we surprise a hippo!

But this is a story for another day…

Thanks Best!

After saying our good-byes to our polers, we all jump in the motorboats and make our way to the campsite for lunch, and more importantly, hot showers.

After lunch, we load ourselves back onto the truck and head off to “Planet Baobab” in Gweta. We arrive at the campground early afternoon and after we set up our tent, we’re able to enjoy some downtime before dinner – I wander off to sketch the beautiful baobab trees and Eric does whatever he does… I’m not sure what it is.

It’s Charlene’s night off from cooking, so dinner is provided by the camp and as luck would have it, it’s one of Eric’s favourites… cheeseburgers!!!! He goes to bed a happy camper.

Can I Get a Second Opinion, Please?

2010-07-08T00:27:00.003+08:00

I don’t know if this is officially the world’s smallest frog or not, but it’s definitely got to be one of the finalists.

Days 265 & 266 – Botswana

2010-07-08T00:10:00.006+08:00

June 27 & 28, 2010 – Okavango Delta, Botswana

Tour Days 4 & 5 – Okavango Delta

After leaving some of our luggage in Maun, we begin our exciting 3 day/2 nights excursion into the delta as we drive about 1-2 hours (depending on which dock we go to) to the "dock" where we hop into a mokoro, a traditional dug-out canoe, that'll take us deep into the delta. After a couple hours in mokoro, we arrive to our basic “bush camp”. Please note that there will be no shower for those two days but you will be compensated by the incredible landscape. For 2 full days, enjoy game walks, mokoros (occasionally unavailable due to seasonality), birdlife and game viewing in the pristine wilderness area of the Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta. Don't forget to bring a book with you as there is plenty of time in between the early morning and afternoon game drive where you relax at your camp, read a book or have a nap. In the evenings count the shooting stars, sing with the locals or just unwind and enjoy your sundowner and sit around the campfire.

Once again, it’s another ridiculous wake-up and we are packed & ready to begin our trip into the Delta by 7:00am.

We start off with a motorboat ride to the village where our mokoro polers live.

Since it’s so early, it’s a cold start to the day.

“Mokoros” are African canoes. Whereas traditionally, they were made from hollowed out tree trunks, ours are made of fiberglass because it prevents ancient trees from being cut down every few years for the sake of tourism. And instead of being controlled by paddles, they’re operated by a person standing at the stern and pushing with a pole, hence the term “poler”… think canoeing with a gondolier.

The motorboat ride is about 50 minutes down river. At this point we are on the “people side” of the buffalo fence, so other than a crocodile there’s not much to see in terms of animals, unless you count donkeys and cows.

All of us are skeptical about whether the croc is real or rubber. It didn’t move at all for the 10 minutes we spent looking at it.

Once we get to the village, the chaos begins.

It’s a bit of a free-for-all to try and get a poler, but Eric and I luck out. We hook up with a guy named Best and he turns out to be the BEST… he’s the head guide of the group and is quite skilled with the mokoro.

It doesn’t take long for Eric to get comfortable…

… and it doesn’t take long for Best to take the lead.

Of course, being in the lead means we’re also the first to get swarmed by flies, the first to get covered in spider-webs and the first to get whipped in the face by reeds.

At one point I can’t actually see my skin because I’m covered in bugs.

About 2 hours later we arrive at our campsite, which is covered in large elephant footprints and other “presents”… apparently where we’re sleeping is normally an elephant waterhole. I’m not sure how I feel about this, but I’m assured by Best that our group is loud enough to scare away all the wildlife.

Late in the afternoon, we head back out for a sunset game walk. We don’t see any animals this time, but Eric and I don’t really care – we’re just happy to be able to walk around in the bush.

I’m starting to fancy myself as an amateur tracker – just ask Eric about my regular comments on the freshness of a poo trail or a set of animal prints… I have no clue what it all means, but it’s fun!

Our hike back to the mokoros is lovely as we watch the sun set behind a beautiful baobab tree.

As many of you know, when you go camping you tend to rise and set with the sun. So why should it be any different in Botswana? In fact it only seems fitting that if we have a game walk during sunset, we should also have one during sunrise.

So bright and early the next morning, our group piles into our mokoros and away we go…

This time the game walk is more successful…

… and we’re all on the lookout for animals.

We’re even lucky enough to spot elephants!!!

Our afternoon schedule calls for relaxing at the campsite, but as most of you know Eric and I aren’t good at sitting around, particularly when we’re in the great outdoors. So it’s not long before we’re learning how to pole a mokoro …

… and then swimming around in the Delta.

Eric is more concerned with the cold water, than the potential croc attacks.

Our last activity of the day is probably the highlight of the trip, Best and his crew take all of us out for a mokoro ride to view hippos…

Watch the sunset…

And raise a toast to beautiful Botswana.

The evening wraps up with the poling crew singing and dancing around the campfire for us.

Day 264 – Botswana

2010-07-07T18:47:00.002+08:00

June 26, 2010 – Ghanzi to Maun, Botswana

Tour Day 3 – Maun

As you travel from the Kalahari towards Maun, you will notice the landscape change slightly, as you approach more fertile lands. After arrival, you can pick up any supplies and prepare for your 2 night/3 day excursion into the Okavango Delta. We recommend you buy a 5 litre bottle of water to take with you into the Delta, this should be sufficient to use as drinking water but also for cleaning purposes.

It’s another early rise, of course… you know, I’m beginning to think it’s mandatory for tours to have ridiculously early morning starts.

Actually, we have a long drive today and we’re trying to get it finished early so there’s more time for activities. And considering one of these activities is a plane-ride over the Okavango Delta, Eric and I are okay with the early morning wake-up.

We arrive in Maun just in time to catch the flight and boy, is the sleep deprivation worth it – what an experience!!!

The flight is 45 minutes of amazing Delta scenery and animal viewing. It provides a great opportunity to really understand the enormity and complexity of the Okavango Delta network, which is the largest in-land delta in the world.

It’s also a wonderful prelude to our upcoming mokoro trip.

I’m just fake puking in this picture, but by the end of the flight I’m actually not feeling too well… small plane + strong winds = queasy tummy.

Day 263 – Namibia to Botswana

2010-07-07T18:42:00.003+08:00

June 25, 2010 – Windhoek, Namibia to Ghanzi, Botswana

Tour Day 2 – Kalahari Desert

Today we continue through the eastern part of Namibia, and cross into Botswana and travel into the heart of the Kalahari. Get a glimpse of how the San adapted to the Kalahari Desert. Learn fascinating wilderness survival skills by local Bushmen on an optional Bushman walk.

And so it begins…

Eric and I are fascinated with our truck… sooooo many compartments.

Our real first day of the tour starts with an early rise, a ready & waiting breakfast and us having to navigate the politics of seating on the overland truck. Being the new kids on the block, we’re relegated to the back seats, but it’s not so bad because we’re now right beside the snack box!!

We also have the pleasure of meeting Tiffany & Lyn, whom we affectionately refer to as “the Wisconsin Sisters” because they’re from Wisconsin. They’re also new to the group, and like us, have been sent to the back seats. They’re both giddy for the adventure and over the next few days, we have a lot of fun with them.

It’s a long day of driving but it all seems to melt away when we discover that our guide Charlene is making potjiekos for dinner. Potjiekos is basically a South African stew made in a three-legged, cast-iron pot cooked over the coals of a fire. It’s a dish Eric and I have been eager to try since arriving in Africa and we’re very excited for dinner.

Day 262 – Namibia

2010-07-07T18:41:00.000+08:00

June 24, 2010 – Windhoek, Namibia

Once again, I’m going to cut & paste our tour itinerary into the blog… work smart, not hard.

Delta & Falls Experience 2010 – Tour Day 1 – Arrive Windhoek

Arrive in Windhoek and make your way to the hotel. Attend a pre-departure group meeting with your tour leader scheduled for the evening.

For the first time in quite a while we have our own room and private bathroom, so our last full day in Windhoek is spent doing a lot of nothing in front of our own private TV… there’ll be no World Cup soccer playing tonight, let me tell you.

Oh yes – we also meet the rest of our group at the pre-departure meeting. As I mentioned earlier, Joe’s Beer House is popular with locals and tourists and they’re all heading there for dinner. But seeing as we’ve been there two times in the last week, we opt out of going – our bodies can only take so much meat!

Travel Tip # 58:

2010-07-07T18:40:00.000+08:00

Making Change

It seems no one likes giant, multi-national corporations these days, what with their exploitation of employees, their tendency to use bullying tactics to put local, independent businesses out of work and their corrupt influence on developing countries through the use of sweatshops and unsafe labour practices.

But people seem to forget that they’re a really great place to make change.

Here’s the thing… around the world, most small, independent businesses can’t carry a big cash float – money is very hand to mouth – so breaking a large bill can be next to impossible.

And ATMs seem to only give out big bills… for instance, in Thailand most of the ATMs only give out $1000 THB bills.

Now considering a good dinner for two in Bangkok will only cost around a $100 THB, the size of the money you have to carry around is way out of proportion to what you can actually use.

But big corporations always have change.

And even better, their employees don’t give a sh*t about dishing it out.

We’ve done it many times… we’ve walked into a 7-11, bought a pack of gum, given the cashier a $1000 bill and received $998 in change with a smile on.

After all, it ain’t their money.

It belongs to some faceless big-wig at head office who doesn’t care if his dividend cheques are paid in 10’s or 1000’s… as long as it’s all there and it keeps his mistress quiet and his solid-gold bidet filled with champagne.

We then take our smaller bills to the little “mom & pop shop” next door and finish our shopping.

But if you try and pull this same trick at a small store, you’ll get dirty looks, a long wait as the employee runs around to other businesses trying to break your bill for you and in some cases, part of your change will inevitably be paid out in merchandise like little candies and small bags of chips. Seriously.

So next time you need to break a bill, might I suggest McDonalds, 7-11, KFC, Burger King, Wal-Mart, etc?

The smiles are free and the convenience is priceless.

Days 257-261 – Namibia

2010-07-07T15:12:00.002+08:00

June 19-23, 2010 – Windhoek, Namibia

Eric and I spend the next few days trying to sort out how to get from Windhoek in Namibia to Livingstone in Zambia via the Okavango Delta in Botswana.

Sadly, it’s looking like it’s not going to be easy – it would seem that getting into Namibia is a piece of cake, but getting out of Namibia is not.

For starters, we’ve been told by more than one person that there are no official buses through to Maun, Botswana – Maun is considered “the gateway to the Okavango Delta”.

When we ask about other means of travel, no one is able to give us a straight answer – not the Namibia Tourist Information Office, not our hostel employees, not the various travel agents in town. In fact, all of the responses seem to begin with “I think there might be…”, “it might be possible to…” or “I guess, you could probably…”.

As you can imagine, this isn’t very helpful.

Eventually, we track down a company that does private transport to Botswana, but of course they can’t give us an actual price – just a vague range of between $700-$1200 NAD per person, plus other expenses which might come up but no examples can be given as to what these “other expenses” could be.

I see.

And sadly, the flights from Windhoek to Maun aren’t that much better – the tickets are expensive on their own, but when you add the costs of taking a taxi to the airport which is located almost 50kms outside of town, it’s even more money.

Plus, when we arrive in Botswana we still have to figure out where to stay, how to get into the Delta and Chobe National Park and then how to get across Botswana and over to Zambia.

Ug… sometimes “doing-it-yourself travelling” sucks.

In the end, Eric manages to find a great deal on a 10-day organized tour that will cover everything we want to do, plus a bit more.

Now, neither of us are “tour people”. We prefer travelling at our own pace and enjoying the freedom to stop and smell the roses along the way. And unfortunately with a tour you’re following a pre-set schedule and have to share some close quarters with people you don’t know for an extended period of time.

But seeing as we’ve been pretty much “doing-it-on-our-own” for the past 8 months and we’re a little wiped out from the past 2 weeks of driving, we decide to do it anyway. Our rationale is that this leg of the trip looks like it’s going to be frustrating whether we do it on our own or with a tour, so we might as well be frustrated knowing we have a bed to sleep in at night.

Besides it’ll be nice to meet some new people and to not have to think about logistics for a little bit… what to do, where to sleep, what to eat, etc.

The tour is scheduled to begin on Thursday, so until then all we have to do is enjoy some much needed “down time” at the hostel… reading, watching movies and just staying still.

On Tuesday, Eric and I join our roommates – Barbara from Austria and Sarah from Canada – on a visit to the township of Katutura. The two of them are volunteering at “the Home for Good Hope”, which is sort of a soup kitchen / nursery school for the local children.

Many of the children who visit the centre are too young for school, while others are from families who can’t afford to send them to school, so it’s a place where they get a nutritious meal and some basic schooling and developmental lessons. But more importantly, it’s a place where they get some much-needed love and attention.

We arrive and are immediately thrown into the thick of it… getting 50+ kids to sit still is no easy task. The day starts off with everyone singing songs and clapping hands, after which we serve out lunch, do the dishes and then break into smaller groups to practice drawing and writing.

It’s a beautiful, heart-wrenching, eye-opening and fun experience. Monica, the matriarch of the project, is a wonderful woman who is trying to make a difference in her community and it was a special pleasure to be able to meet her and the children of Katutura.

At one point all the kids sing “Happy Birthday” to me – a little bird named Barbara mentioned it to Monica – and it takes every part of me not to get teary-eyed… if you’ve never had 50 smiling children belt out “Happy Birthday” to you, well then you’re missing out.

Unfortunately, we’re only able to help out the one day. We get confirmation that our tour is “a go” on Tuesday night and Eric and I have to take care of a few last minute errands on Wednesday.

Wednesday also happens to be my birthday, so although we spend the day taking care of business, Eric buys me a cake and we enjoy our final night in the hostel relaxing with some new friends.

Day 256 – Namibia

2010-07-07T15:05:00.001+08:00

June 18, 2010 – Outjo to Windhoek, Namibia

We have had a very successful sight-seeing trip in Namibia and now we’re exhausted – driving over 4300kms in 14 days will do that to you. So although we technically have one more day left with Vinnie, we decide to return to Windhoek early.

And yes, on our way out of Outjo we stop at the bakery one last time.

We pull into Chameleon Backpackers in Windhoek around noon and check into an actual room – camping in the great outdoors is fun, but so is sleeping on a mattress indoors.

And instead of cooking our own dinner, we pay a visit to “Joe’s Beer House”, which is a Namibian institution. It specializes in game meat and it’s loved by both tourists and locals alike. We finish off our night enjoying a great dinner with a cold Tafel Lager on a cold patio… it’s winter here, you know. Eric has the oryx / gemsbok fillet, I have the zebra steak and we both chase our meals with a “witblit”, which is an Afrikaans-Namibian schnapps.

www.joesbeerhouse.com

Days 254 & 255 – Namibia

2010-06-23T17:37:00.005+08:00

June 16 & 17, 2010 – Etosha National Park to Tsumeb to Etosha National Park to Outjo, Namibia

Since Eric and I had a successful yesterday at Etosha, we decide to have a day off from game viewing and instead drive to Tsumeb, which is on the east side of Etosha, in preparation for our tomorrow.

But before we hit the road we have a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs with Adri and Hanel.

After breakfast, I say good-bye to their pet kudu “Liza”…

Actually, they just call her “Kudu” – I’m the one who named her “Liza”.

… and Eric says good-bye to the biltong.

Biltong is like a South African jerky and Adri’s is amazing.

Since we have to pass through Outjo, we make a quick stop at the Outjo Bakeri – it just wouldn’t be right for us to not say “hello”.

We arrive in Tsumeb mid-afternoon and Eric and I are ready to go for a nice walk around town, as well as have some quality “Skip-Bo Time”. Unfortunately, this isn’t in the cards for us… no pun intended. The search for a place to stay doesn’t turn out to be as easy as usual – every place we look at is either under construction, over-priced or it doesn’t have a kitchen. So, not finding anything that suits us, we drive towards Etosha’s Namutoni Gate with hopes of finding a campground.

As luck would have it, we’re passed on the highway by a truck with South African plates, towing a camping trailer. So we follow them to a campground located about 15kms from the gate.

Our second day in Etosha turns out to be just as successful as the first. We start the day watching a giraffe drinking from a watering hole.

We have a couple of first-time sightings, including a red hartebeest…

…and a secretary bird.

Just after lunch, Eric and I drive out into the Etosha pan, which is unbelieveable.

We catch a glimpse of a yellow mongoose darting across the road.

And the highlight of the day is watching a lion and a lioness prowling near a herd of springbok.

We can’t believe our luck seeing lions both days in Etosha, but today is the piece de la resistance because this time the lion is actually moving.

At the end of the day we find ourselves back at the Andersson Gate, so decide to return to Outjo and stay at Kai-Oms… only this time we’re going to sleep inside – have I mentioned it’s winter here?

Day 253 – Namibia

2010-06-23T17:33:00.003+08:00

June 15, 2010 – Outjo to Etosha National Park, Namibia

Before leaving for Etosha, Deon, one of the owners of Kai-Oms, provides us with some tips and pointers for exploring the park. And let me tell you, his pointers really help out – Eric and I have another very successful day of animal-viewing.

We’re both left speechless by the quantity and variety of animals sharing the waterholes…

We’re even fortunate enough to see one of Eric’s favourites up close and personal.

While Eric drives, I’m on the hunt for game.

Of course, I have to remind myself to put the camera down and look with my eyes or I’ll miss the little creatures, like these ground squirrels…

Check out the size of his, er, nuts.

The termite mounds in Namibia are fascinating!

I tell you, termites are nature’s architects.

A lot of South Africans are fleeing their country because of the World Cup and as a result, Etosha’s campgrounds are packed and we’re unable to get in. Luckily Jeanny, the other owner of Kai-Oms, recommends a campground just south of Etosha’s Andersson Gate, so we head there at the end of our safari.

Eldorado Restcamp turns out to be just what we need. The owners, Hanel and Adri, are lovely – they set us up with blankets, a camp-light, a couple of beers and they even start our fire for us. Eric and I are warm and happy when we go to bed and we fall asleep with visions of bacon dancing in our heads… they’re cooking us a farm-style breakfast in the morning.

Day 252 – Namibia

2010-06-23T17:32:00.001+08:00

June 14, 2010 – Opuwo to Outjo, Namibia

Eric and I set off with hopes of driving up into the northern part of Namibia and across the top of Etosha National Park.

However, being that this is Africa, the road we intend to take no longer exists. So, after 20 minutes of driving in search of another suitable road and 15 minutes of reasoning & contemplation, we decide to turn around and head southeast to Outjo. The town of Outjo is located just south of the Andersson Gate at Etosha National Park, which puts us in a prime position to enter Etosha nice and early tomorrow.

We find a great backpackers to stay at - Kai-Oms Backpackers Accommodation and Lodge – and set up our tent… we’ve opted to camp another night because we don’t feel like sharing a dorm room with a family of four.

Much to our delight in Outjo we discover one of the best, if not THE BEST, bakery in all of our travels – it looks like it’s going to be chocolate cake and cheeseburger meat pie for lunch today… though not necessarily in that order.

Eric and I are super content – clearly, it doesn’t take much!

These are the Creatures in Our Neighbourhood

2010-06-23T17:23:00.004+08:00

Oh, these are the creatures in our neighbourhood, in our neighbourhood, in our neigh-bour-hood…

Chloe the Chicken…

Danny the Donkey…

Dog the Dog…

Larry the Gecko…

Bessie the Cow…

Carl the Camel…

Hazel the Pig…

Cat the Cat (or in this case “Turnip” because she was special)…

Lionel the Lizard…

Liza the Kudu…

Randy the Rooster…

… and Mildred the Goat.

They’re the creatures that we meet when we’re walking down the street, they’re the creatures that we meet EACH DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

Day 251 – Namibia

2010-06-23T17:20:00.003+08:00

June 13, 2010 – Kamanjab to Opuwo, Namibia

Today is a driving day.

We’re heading to Opuwo, a village known for its diverse population of Himba and Herero people. It’s an interesting place because of the diversity of buildings… it’s the administrative capital of the region – meaning it’s a government town – so there are numerous institution-like buildings, but it’s also in a very remote part of Namibia so they’re all located on a dusty road, surrounded by a collection of small commercial buildings and traditional African rondavels.

It’s a good place to spend a lazy afternoon and our braaing experiences continue, complete with the necessary tools of chopsticks and pliers!

Day 250 – Namibia

2010-06-23T17:16:00.002+08:00

June 12, 2010 – Khoraxis to Kamanjab, Namibia

Once again it’s an early rise – today we’re checking out the UNESCO site of Twyfelfontein Rock Paintings.

As it was at the White Lady site, a local guide takes us around the area and shows us about 20 painting sites. Of course the difference here is that these aren’t actually rock paintings, but rock carvings, which is a form of rock art that’s new to both of us.

The carvings alone are pretty cool…

… but combined with the scenery, it makes for a pretty awesome site.

Along the way, we meet a rock rat.

It ran off before we could catch its name.

We continue cruising along gravel roads and wide open spaces and finally decide to stop at a campground in Kamanjab.

The owners are lovely and offer to supply us with blankets to ward off the cold… have I mentioned it’s winter here? Being the big fan of blankets that I am, I graciously accept the offer. They also have free firewood, so it looks like braaing is an option tonight. Eric and I drive into town to look for some meat for dinner but to our dismay, all the stores are closed – apparently in Africa everything shuts down at 2pm on Saturdays. Looks like its beans and bread for dinner tonight… another lesson learned.

We return to camp, set up our tent and then take a wander through the property. This campground also happens to be a game park, so we head up to the lookout where we find ourselves face-to-face with 6 giraffes. And don’t worry – this park only contains the kind of game that won’t eat us.

It’s pretty surreal to be exchanging glances with a giraffe… Eric and I still can’t believe we’re in Africa!

Day 249 – Namibia

2010-06-23T17:11:00.001+08:00

June 11, 2010 – Omaruru to Khoraxis, Namibia

Much to our dismay, our morning habits are drastically changing as we travel. No matter how hard we try, Eric and I can no longer sleep-in. We’re awake at the crack of dawn and are packed up and ready to drive by 8:00am. I wish I could say it’s from the excitement of our adventure, but it’s not – it’s because of the sun.

Today’s journey will take us to the town of Khoraxis. Unfortunately, there’s nothing great about Khoraxis but it’s proximity to the UNESCO site of the Twyfelfontein Rock Paintings is perfect.

But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Before arriving in Khoraxis, or K-Town as Eric and I call it because we can’t seem to pronounce “Khoraxis”, we make a stop in the Brandberg mountain range to see the famous “White Lady of the Brandberg” rock painting. As the name suggests, it’s a rock painting of a “white lady”. What’s interesting about it is that the painting dates back to a time before white people were known to be in the area and the “white lady” is actually a “white man”, or Shaman to be exact.

It is a 45-minute hike to the location of the painting, which we hike with a local guide.

The area in and around the mountains has approximately 45,000 paintings scattered throughout and it’s pretty amazing to think it’s been inhabited for thousands of years.

Of course these little guys would have been around throughout it all.

We cruise into K-Town midday, set up our tent and grab a few groceries. Throughout the afternoon we enjoy some R&R and in the evening we have a nice “braai”… or as we Canadians like to call it, a barbeque.

Our nice evening takes an even nicer turn when Eric and I overhear a group of children singing in the distance. Being the curious types that we are, we follow the sound until we find its source… a local primary school. They’re about to perform for a tour group staying at the lodge we’re camping at because they’re trying to raise money for a school trip to Etosha National Park. We meet one of their teachers in the parking lot and promise to come by and support the cause, so we finish off our evening watching them perform and having a great time.

Day 248 – Namibia

2010-06-23T17:07:00.002+08:00

June 10, 2010 – Swakopmund to Omaruru, Namibia

Today our final destination is Omaruru. But first, there is much for us to do before we settle in for some more ghetto camping.

We start off by checking out Spitzkoppe, one of Namibia’s most recognizable landmarks. It’s a 1728m high mountain and its shape has earned it the nickname “the Matterhorn of Africa”. Eric and I think this is a bit of a stretch and we’re pretty sure Switzerland would agree with us.

Although the roads continue to annoy us, the road signs continue to amuse us. I mean, how often do you see a warthog crossing sign?

Well here in Africa, quite often.

Or for that matter, how often do you see an elephant crossing sign?

Actually, they have them in Thailand and they’re probably in India as well, so perhaps this is a bad example.

Just outside of Omaruru is Namibia’s only winery – Kristall Kellerei – so of course we feel it would be rude of us not to pay a visit. I’ve got to admit, we weren’t expecting much but to our surprise the wine is pretty good and we end up purchasing a bottle of Columbard. We also have the opportunity to try “Nappa”, which is a Namibian version of grappa. And it’s only fitting… Canada has its Ice Wine, so why shouldn’t Namibia have its Nappa?

Feeling adventuresome, we head out into the countryside in search of dinosaur footprints. In the area around Omaruru dinosaur tracks have been found in the Etjo sandstone and one very well preserved set is in a farmer’s field outside the town of Kalkfeld.

The tracks are said to be over 200 million years old, but Eric and I are a little skeptical about these “tracks”. Then again, who are we to argue with the experts?

After the dinosaur tracks we return to Omaruru Rest Camp for a game of Skip-Bo and a snack of “Simba’s Ms. Ball’s Chutney flavour” – our new favourite – and a glass of red wine, of course.

Can You Spot the Differences?

2010-06-22T04:02:00.001+08:00

This is a road in Namibia under construction.

And this is a road in Namibia that’s not under construction.

Can you spot the differences?

Days 245-247 – Namibia

2010-06-22T03:57:00.002+08:00

June 7-9, 2010 –Sesriem to Swakopmund, Namibia

We have an amazing, albeit chilly sleep – it’s winter here – and we wake up just in time to catch the end of the sunrise over the dunes. Today we’re heading to the coastal town of Swakopmund, but seeing as it wouldn’t be right not to have one last look at Sossusvleu, we drive deep into the park and enjoy a nice breakfast of PB&J’s in the nothingness.

We make another stop in Solitaire to fill Vinnie up with gas and ourselves with baked goods and then begin the long journey northwest...

Eric’s more than ready!

And once again, the scenery is unbelievable!

So many photo ops!

The drive takes us alongside dunes, through canyons and even across the Tropic of Capricorn…

This is my first time crossing “the Trop-Corn”.

…and eventually through northern part of Namib-Naukluft National Park, where it gets even more barren.

After a long day which ends with us having to drive through a minor sandstorm, we pull into Swakopmund looking forward to a warm meal, a glass of wine and a comfy bed – there’ll be no “ghetto-camping” for us tonight!!!

Although Swakopmund is considered the adrenaline capital of Namibia, we spend our time just chilling out… we’ve had enough adrenaline-inducing moments driving on some of the roads.

We check out a nearby shipwreck and understand how the Skeleton Coast got its name…

We visit a bunch of smelly seals at the Cape Cross Seal Reserve…

We enjoy a nice lunch of roast chicken, cheese buns and cherry tomatoes on the ocean’s edge…

… and we try our best to find a pink flamingo amongst all the white ones in Walvis Bay.

Eric’s Retort

2010-06-22T03:56:00.000+08:00

Regarding the comment about me “playing on the computer” in “Days 243 & 244 – Namibia”…

I was updating the blog.

And you’re welcome, by the way.

Days 243 & 244 – Namibia

2010-06-22T03:49:00.005+08:00

June 5 & 6, 2010 – Windhoek to Spreetshoogte Pass to Sesriem, Namibia

We don’t pick up our car until noon, so Eric spends the morning catching up on housekeeping (ie. playing on the computer) and I, taking my responsibility as navigator seriously, study the road atlas.

I’m trying to sort out the best route to get to our first destination – Sossusvlei in Namib-Naukluft National Park – but I’m completely stumped. Not knowing the roads firsthand and only hearing how bad they can be to windshields and tires, I can’t seem to figure out the best route to go. Fortunately, the owner of the hostel we’re staying at gives me a few helpful pointers, so we now have a general game-plan in place before picking up our car.

Speaking of which, it doesn’t take long for Eric to name our new ride.... everyone, meet “Vinnie”!

After going through the whole “sign your life away” process with the rental company and making a quick stop at a grocery store to pick up some supplies – water, bananas & cookies – we head off into the great unknown. And when I say “the great unknown”, I truly mean the GREAT UNKNOWN… neither one of us knows what to expect.

Because of the late start to our trip – it’s about 1:30pm by the time we’re actually out of Windhoek – we know we won’t make it all the way to the national park today, so we stop off at Namibgrens Rest Camp for the night. It turns out to be some pretty posh camping for us – a definite step up from our previous experiences of “ghetto camping”.

It even has a trampoline.

As you can see, it doesn’t take Eric long to break out his Spiderman impersonation.

The sun wakes us up early, so by 7:30am we’re on our way.

The scenery is amazing – it’s like nothing either of us has ever experienced before! Some areas are completely barren and everything is dry… it’s hauntingly beautiful.

We make a pit-stop along the way in the “town” of Solitaire. And by town, I mean a population of 20. It’s marked by an automobile graveyard which is pretty neat, so we take some time to look around and snap a few pics for Eric’s Dad, as we fill Vinnie up with gas – petrol stations can be few and far between ‘round here.

Because of our early start this morning, we arrive at Sesriem Camp Site, which is the closest campsite to Sossusvlei, in time to get the best spot around.

We quickly set up our stuff and head out into the park because as far as we’re concerned, if our campsite is this good, we can only imagine what the rest of the park will be like.

Boy, are we right…

Words just can’t describe Sossusvlei.

And of course, the trip wouldn’t be complete without a scramble up a dune.

This one is known as “Dune 45” because it’s located 45km from the entry gate.

Day 242 – Namibia

2010-06-22T03:49:00.001+08:00

June 4, 2010 – Windhoek, Namibia

As seems to be the case with traveling in Africa, our first day in a new country is a logistics day. Windhoek seems nice and quiet, but it’s really nothing special. Anyone we’ve ever met who’s been to Namibia says it’s a beautiful country, so we’re eager to start seeing it for ourselves.

We spend the day pricing out car rentals, bus schedules and information about Namibia’s National Parks. It’s a lot of work – this is Africa after all – but by the end of the day we have a car booked and a vague idea of where we’re going.

Let “Road Trip #3” begin!

Days 240 & 241 – South Africa to Namibia

2010-06-22T03:46:00.001+08:00

June 2 & 3, 2010 – Cape Town, South Africa to Windhoek, Namibia

“Football Fever” is taking over Cape Town and this means it’s time for us to get the heck (aka. hell) out of here. And since we’re still not interested in doing long bus rides, we buy a plane ticket to fly us to Namibia and then finish off our last full day in South Africa by doing some more sightseeing.

We start off with a hike / scramble up Lion’s Head, which is considered one of the best hikes in the city.

The hike circles the entire mountain and provides panoramic views of the city, the Atlantic Ocean and Table Mountain, all at once.

Eric and I have become almost obsessive hikers since beginning our travels. For example, today not only do we hike the hike, but we also hike to and from the hike… know what I’m saying?

And since we’ve worked up a big appetite, it only makes sense for us to make a repeat visit to the Royale Eatery, which is probably one of the best burger joints we’ve experienced EVER!!!

I enjoy the “Hawaiian Piggy” – a hamburger topped with a bacon rasher and pineapple – and Eric savours the “Big Bird” – an ostrich-burger topped with beetroot relish. After spending the last 8 months failing to find a decent burger anywhere, these burgers are a blessing. Though they’re going to be a tough act to follow, they have inspired us for when we get home to Canada.

And of course, a trip to Cape Town isn’t complete without a visit to the waterfront. So once again we don our walking shoes and head off. The waterfront is pretty and all – it’s filled with restaurants and shops and live music galore – but what’s far more interesting is the World Cup preparations. Roads are being repaved, pedestrian bridges are being built and gardens are being landscaped, but seeing as the World Cup is only a week away and a lot of the projects are just starting, it doesn’t look like it will all be completed in time. Good luck with this, SA!

We arrive back at our hostel pleasantly-tired and finish off the evening chatting with our “housemates” and preparing for our flight tomorrow.

The next morning arrives with a bang – a torrential rainfall wakes us up in the early hours… heavy rain + tin roofs = loud noise. Luckily it finishes by the time Eric and I are ready to go outside. We have one more sightseeing stop to make – a visit to the Slave Lodge.

The Slave Lodge is one of the oldest buildings in South Africa, dating back to the year 1660. It was used as a “home” for up to 1000 slaves until 1811. The museum now tells the history of slavery in Africa and as a bonus, it also hosts an excellent exhibition honouring the life of Nelson Mandela.

At 1:00pm we get a drive to Cape Town’s airport and from there everything goes off without a hitch. Two hours later we’ve landed in Windhoek, Namibia. Getting through customs is a breeze, our ride is eagerly waiting for us and the 45km drive into the city is beautiful… a desert sunset is a great way to be welcomed to a new country.

We are now in Namibia!

Bobotie

2010-06-03T18:23:00.001+08:00

aka. South African Meatloaf

A traditional Cape-Malay favourite – cook it and enjoy…

INGREDIANTS:

2 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
2 Onions, Peeled & Sliced
2 1/4 Lbs. Lean Ground Beef
1 Thick Slice of White Bread
1 Cup Milk
1 Tbsp. Curry Powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. Sugar
2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Fresh-Ground Pepper
3/4 Tsp. Turmeric
1 1/2 Tbsp. Malt Vinegar
1/2 Cup Raisins
2 Tbsp. Chutney
2 Bay Leaves
2 Eggs

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat oil in a medium sauté pan. Stir in onions. Cook over medium heat until transparent. Add ground beef.

Cook until lightly browned and crumbly.

Soak bread in half the milk, squeeze out excess milk and mash bread with a fork. DON'T TOSS SQUEEZED-OUT MILK – pour it straight back into remaining milk. Set milk aside and add bread to the meat mixture.

Add curry, sugar, salt, pepper, turmeric, vinegar, raisins and chutney to the beef mixture. Spoon the mixture into a greased baking dish, and place bay leaves on top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes in oven.

Beat egg with remaining milk and pour over mixture approximately 25-30 minutes before end of baking time.

Serve with steamed rice (traditionally yellow!) and extra chutney.

This is pure South African comfort food! It’s especially nice in the winter but is great served cold with a salad in summer.

Serves: 6

www.inmamaskitchen.com

Days 234-239 – South Africa

2010-06-03T15:24:00.008+08:00

May 27 – June 1, 2010 – Cape Town to Betty’s Bay to Stellenbosch to Cape Town, South Africa

Eric and I don’t really have a plan for the next couple of days – we’re just going to see where Merlin takes us. “Merlin” is our new rental car… Eric has developed the habit of naming our rental cars – it must be some sort of guy thing, which I don’t want to understand.

The first stop on our coastal tour is the most southern tip of the African continent, Cape L’Agulhus. This is where the Indian and Atlantic oceans collide.

Eric demonstrates his impression of the oceans colliding…

…while I almost take a surprise swim in the Indian Ocean. Or is it the Atlantic Ocean?

And of course, we stop and indulge in some of the local fare – hake (fish), calamari and chips. It would have been rude of us not to, being so close to the ocean as we are.

To our delight Merlin stops us in Betty’s Bay where we spend the next day exploring the coastline, which includes walking on the deserted beach of Pringle’s Bay…

…playing lots of Scrabble and visiting the local colony of jackass penguins.

And just for the record, I have nothing against penguins. In fact, I adore them – they make me laugh. These little guys are called “Jackass Penguins” because of the braying noise they make.

The backpacker’s hostel in Betty’s Bay – Bayside Beachhouse – turns out to be one of our favourites of the trip. And how could it not with a view like this?

Our coastal exploration continues as we take the R43 from Betty’s Bay to the winelands of Stellenbosch. Along the way, we even manage to catch a glimpse of some whales. I can’t say I’ve ever seen whales from shore before – pretty cool.

Early in the afternoon we roll into Stellenbosch just in time to catch the big Super 14 rugby finals between the Bulls (from Pretoria) and the Stormers (from Cape Town) at a local pub. Historically it’s a huge game as it’s the first time both teams in the finals are from South Africa – Super 14 rugby has teams from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. It’s actually pretty interesting to watch considering I know almost nothing about rugby.

We spend Sunday as any Sunday should be spent – Merlin, Eric and I cruise around the country-side sampling the local wines and food delights. Well, Eric and I sample the wines… Merlin samples some Unleaded 95 Ultra.

Hats off to South Africa – they have some fantastic wines… especially the reds. Graham Becks’ 2009 Pinotage and Sylvanvale’s 2004 Family Reserve are ones to look out for!

We have only been to one vineyard so far. This dance is out of pure happiness and not due to any other reason, so don’t start spreading rumours.

And just in case you are getting the impression that we are alcoholics, I want to make it known we also take the time to check out some more cultural events…

We go see “Iron Man 2”, which is awesome.

Eric declares he wants it for Christmas and I say let’s get through my Birthday first… it’s on June 23rd, by the way – just a friendly reminder ;)

Our road trip has been another success and we make our way back to Cape Town with a couple bottles of great wine and about 10000 pictures of penguins… I couldn’t help myself!

Days 232 & 233 – South Africa

2010-06-03T03:13:00.002+08:00

May 25 & 26, 2010 – Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town has an amazing location within the country. It’s located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and is nestled in between Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and Signal Hill, which make up Table Mountain National Park.

Our first day in Cape Town we wander around our new neighbourhood, do a little bit of shopping and learn about the local history by visiting the District Six Museum, although I do use the term “museum” loosely…

Trying to explain what “District 6” is on paper is tough and unfortunately doesn’t give it the respect it deserves. During Apartheid it was an area of Cape Town who’s residents were typically poor people of various races and religions. The local government decided it was a place better suited for “whites” and went about moving everyone out of the area. Of course, this didn’t happen all at once, nor were the new locations a suitable or acceptable alternative, so the community was torn apart. Add into it the newly-instated “pass laws” which restricted where certain people – aka. non-whites – could work and travel, as well as crime and racial discrimination and you have an area in a constant state of struggle.

This museum was initially created as a way for former residents to find their old friends and neighbours, and reestablish their lost community. It’s now filled with photos, art and memorabilia from the area as it existed as “District 6” prior to Apartheid. It was definitely a worthwhile experience and a good way for us to understand part of what makes South Africa tick.

In the evening, we head to a local bar for a comedy open mic. For the last 8 months Eric has been without live comedy and although he isn’t able to get on stage, he is able to get his fix, albeit a small one. Coincidentally enough, this is another good way for us to understand the social and political situations in South Africa.

The following day, after enjoying a good – no, make that a GREAT burger from the Royale Eatery on Long Street, Eric and I take on the challenge of hiking up Table Mountain.

The sky is crystal clear, which makes it a perfect day for the experience.

We make it to the top in a very respectable time and then decide to take on the challenge of walking back down the mountain. For the record, this decision isn’t made because we want a physical challenge, so much as it is because I don’t like cable cars.

Table Mountain leaves us sore and tired, but happy, so we book a car and prepare to head out on another road trip, this time along the coast and through wine country.

What The?

2010-06-03T02:18:00.001+08:00

No offense to the city of Winnipeg, but how the hell did they manage to make it on Knysna’s “Distances Sign”?

Days 226-231 – South Africa

2010-06-03T02:13:00.002+08:00

May 19-24, 2010 – Port Elizabeth to Knysna to Swellendam to Cape Town, South Africa

Since we no longer have our car “Skippy”, we’re going to make our way to Cape Town via public bus. Of course, it’s a 12 hour ride if you want to do it all at once – which we don’t – so we’re going to break it up with a few stops along the way.

Our first stop? The community of Knysna.

Knysna is located on the southern coast of Africa and it’s very close to some excellent national parks and hiking trails, but the reason Eric and I are stopping here is very simple…

OYSTERS!!!

Knysna is based around an ocean-fed lagoon which is home to a number of oyster farms and we’re looking forward to indulging in this local fare.

Of course we do want to work up an appetite beforehand, so we spend the day walking up to “the Heads”, which are large rock faces protecting the lagoon. From the top we can gaze down into the lagoon or out across the ocean, where we’re lucky enough to see some dolphins playing in the waves.

After our walk we settle ourselves in at an awesome oyster-shack called “Oystercatcher” and try a sampling of both the locally farmed-oysters and wild Pacific oysters harvested in the area. And of course, we also enjoy some of the regional beer and wine. Yummy!

Feeling fully satisfied with our time in Knysna, we decide our next destination should be Swellendam. We’ve heard it’s a quiet, little town, full of great hikes so we jump on a bus and make our way there.

Swellendam turns out to be exactly what we needed.

Swellendam Backpackers, our home for the next few days, is nestled beside the Langeberg mountains and the owner, Stephanie, serves us a delicious homemade soup and bread as part of the room price. She also makes us homemade Bobotie (aka. South African meatloaf) for dinner one night.

Really how can you go wrong with a place like this?

We spend the next couple of days hiking the Plaat Trail in Marloth Nature Reserve and strolling through the town. After so many days sitting on our butts in a car, the scramble up the mountains gives our hearts a much-needed workout!

Of course, we also visit a local berry farm for a liqueur tasting – got to have balance in life.

After a couple days, we say our good-byes to Stephanie and make our way to Cape Town.

Days 224 & 225 – South Africa

2010-06-03T00:06:00.002+08:00

May 17 & 18, 2010 – Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Port Elizabeth turns out to be a good place for us to chill out before continuing on our journey through South Africa.

Eric and I spend our time catching up with our laundry – boy does Eric ever need clean socks – walking the city from end to end and playing Skip-Bo.

Days 222 & 223 – South Africa

2010-06-02T23:46:00.007+08:00

May 15 & 16, 2010 – East London to Addo Elephant National Park to Port Elizabeth, South Africa

So it turns out East London is not our cup of tea. This means it’s an early rise to get ourselves out of here and on to Addo Elephant National Park.

And along the way I make friends with the local wildlife.

We arrive at Addo just before noon and after checking in, we begin our drive up to the campground.

Once again we are lucky with our game viewing. Not only do we see tons of elephants, but we also see Kudus for the first time.

Although seeing a warthog isn’t new for us – being the seasoned safari-goers that we are – we still get a kick out of them… they seem to be everywhere and friends with all the other wildlife.

Because of the large population of elephants in Addo Elephant National Park – obviously – there is also a large population of flightless dung beetles. These beetles live off the dung of the elephant, so there are warnings throughout the park not to drive over the dung.

Of course, this isn’t as easy as it sounds since (sh)it is everywhere!

Tonight we get a great sunset…

…but the next morning is so cold Eric and I are forced to break out our toques. Who would have thought in Africa, of all places?

We pack up our site and head off into the park, where we have another good day of game viewing. We see jackals…

Ostriches…

And of course, more elephants.

Much to Eric’s dismay / horror, I also take some time to practice driving a manual car.

At the end of the day we arrive in Port Elizabeth and say good-bye to “Skippy”.