Thursday 5th May.
Victoria falls national park.
We slept in until 9am this morning, feeling fragile and tired but not as bad as I had expected. In the mid morning we caught a taxi with Benne, James and Mark to the Victoria Falls National Park and walked around for a few hours. We got so saturated that the raincoats were just a novelty after a few moments. It was incredible to stand that close to the falls. The power of them is really not something I can put into words. At times it was like someone was aiming a hose at your face but it was just the spray of the splash back from the falls. One bit of the park involved us walking over a tiny bridge over the canyon, and at this particular place the splashback was so strong it almost pushed me over, and the little foot bridge itself was like a waterfall. On the upper side of the falls there was a place you could touch the water, meters from where it dropped over the void, and we sat there a while with our feet in the water.
Back outside the gates to the park we had a wander through the market stalls, with guys yelling "looking is free", and "miss, I like your hair tie, we can trade". Again, there were baboons everywhere, just walking right next to you minding thier own business. We got a taxi back to Grubbies and grabbed our laptop and walked down the street to the bakery we had seen that advertised free wifi. But thier wifi wasn't working. So we caught a taxi to the other end of town, about 3 mnutes drive, to a cafe we had noticed the day before that also advertised free wifi. Thier wifi was working, kind of. After an hour, the facebook homepage had almost loaded. It was so slow that I was getting frustrated, so after a few hours and not managing to do anything other than post a new status update on facebook we gave up and went back to Grubbies.
The plan for the night was to go back to the pub and grill to have dinner and see the live music they had on. But still feeling fragile from the booze cruise, I really didnt feel like going to a pub, so Alex and I went to a seafood restaurant with Marcus and Fiona instead. It was a nice chill night with good food and company, exactly what the doctor ordered. Back at Grubbies as about 10pm, I made a quick and quiet exit and went straight to bed.
Victoria falls national park.
We slept in until 9am this morning, feeling fragile and tired but not as bad as I had expected. In the mid morning we caught a taxi with Benne, James and Mark to the Victoria Falls National Park and walked around for a few hours. We got so saturated that the raincoats were just a novelty after a few moments. It was incredible to stand that close to the falls. The power of them is really not something I can put into words. At times it was like someone was aiming a hose at your face but it was just the spray of the splash back from the falls. One bit of the park involved us walking over a tiny bridge over the canyon, and at this particular place the splashback was so strong it almost pushed me over, and the little foot bridge itself was like a waterfall. On the upper side of the falls there was a place you could touch the water, meters from where it dropped over the void, and we sat there a while with our feet in the water.
Back outside the gates to the park we had a wander through the market stalls, with guys yelling "looking is free", and "miss, I like your hair tie, we can trade". Again, there were baboons everywhere, just walking right next to you minding thier own business. We got a taxi back to Grubbies and grabbed our laptop and walked down the street to the bakery we had seen that advertised free wifi. But thier wifi wasn't working. So we caught a taxi to the other end of town, about 3 mnutes drive, to a cafe we had noticed the day before that also advertised free wifi. Thier wifi was working, kind of. After an hour, the facebook homepage had almost loaded. It was so slow that I was getting frustrated, so after a few hours and not managing to do anything other than post a new status update on facebook we gave up and went back to Grubbies.
The plan for the night was to go back to the pub and grill to have dinner and see the live music they had on. But still feeling fragile from the booze cruise, I really didnt feel like going to a pub, so Alex and I went to a seafood restaurant with Marcus and Fiona instead. It was a nice chill night with good food and company, exactly what the doctor ordered. Back at Grubbies as about 10pm, I made a quick and quiet exit and went straight to bed.
Friday 6th May.
T.I.A.
We left Grubbies at 9.30am. When we woke up for brekky the t-shirts we had ordered the day before had arrived. They are a bit dodgy, but it just makes them quirky and interesting. We each got a t-shirt with our overland routes printed on a map of Africa on the back, Africa 2011 on the front, and the flags of each country we visit on the sleeves. For instance, Alex and I got 'Cape Town-Cairo', others got 'Cape Town-Isanbul'(spelt Istambul- one of the little quirks I was talking about), others got 'Marrakesh-Nairobi', and the real nutters got 'Marrakesh-Istambul'. Another little quirk is the flags on the sleeves. They are hand painted on some dodgy computer program, smudged, innacurate and half are just blank squares of colour. TIA (This Is Africa) as they say.
There was also the oppertunity to swap cook groups in the morning. I didn't really mind staying with Wil and Lars, but thought it a good oppertunity to get to know other people better so I wrote my name on the piece of paper under a different day which was blank. I figured I'd see who ended up in my group rather than choose one. In the end Felix and Marcus ended up in my group. The new A Team! I now cook on Saturday night, clean up after Alex (typical), Aileen and Andrea, but cant remeber what day we are security. I think it was a good thing to change it up a bit and have the oppertunity to work with and get to know others on the trip.
We drove 470kms all day, stopping for bush pee breaks every few hours, lunch, and firewood collection. We arrived at Eureka Camp just before Zambia's capitol, Lusaka at 5.30pm. Cook group made sauerkraut with a curried potato and sausage thing.
We left Grubbies at 9.30am. When we woke up for brekky the t-shirts we had ordered the day before had arrived. They are a bit dodgy, but it just makes them quirky and interesting. We each got a t-shirt with our overland routes printed on a map of Africa on the back, Africa 2011 on the front, and the flags of each country we visit on the sleeves. For instance, Alex and I got 'Cape Town-Cairo', others got 'Cape Town-Isanbul'(spelt Istambul- one of the little quirks I was talking about), others got 'Marrakesh-Nairobi', and the real nutters got 'Marrakesh-Istambul'. Another little quirk is the flags on the sleeves. They are hand painted on some dodgy computer program, smudged, innacurate and half are just blank squares of colour. TIA (This Is Africa) as they say.
There was also the oppertunity to swap cook groups in the morning. I didn't really mind staying with Wil and Lars, but thought it a good oppertunity to get to know other people better so I wrote my name on the piece of paper under a different day which was blank. I figured I'd see who ended up in my group rather than choose one. In the end Felix and Marcus ended up in my group. The new A Team! I now cook on Saturday night, clean up after Alex (typical), Aileen and Andrea, but cant remeber what day we are security. I think it was a good thing to change it up a bit and have the oppertunity to work with and get to know others on the trip.
We drove 470kms all day, stopping for bush pee breaks every few hours, lunch, and firewood collection. We arrived at Eureka Camp just before Zambia's capitol, Lusaka at 5.30pm. Cook group made sauerkraut with a curried potato and sausage thing.
Saturday 7th May.
Drive day.
We left at 7.30am this morning because we had 560kms to drive. We stopped on the side of the road for lunch, stopped for cook group shopping, and stopped for a few pee breaks, and made it to Muma Rula's Campsite, Chipata, Zambia. Just out the front of the camp grounds there were zebras munching on grass.
It was my cook group night and we made a chow mein type dish which was another big hit. There was no internet at Muma Rula's but there was a bar. And in that bar was a small television. We were like moths to a flame and sat there most of the night watching Japanese game shows and then movies.
We left at 7.30am this morning because we had 560kms to drive. We stopped on the side of the road for lunch, stopped for cook group shopping, and stopped for a few pee breaks, and made it to Muma Rula's Campsite, Chipata, Zambia. Just out the front of the camp grounds there were zebras munching on grass.
It was my cook group night and we made a chow mein type dish which was another big hit. There was no internet at Muma Rula's but there was a bar. And in that bar was a small television. We were like moths to a flame and sat there most of the night watching Japanese game shows and then movies.
Sunday 8th May.
Hungry hungry hippo.
I was up early with Felix and Marcus to get breakfast prepared. We had a heap of fried potatos that werent used for dinner the previous night, so we added scrambled eggs and onion and made a bubble'n'squeek. We also mashed up a heap of avocados for guacamole toast. Yum!
We stopped at the shops in town to do cook group shopping and get lunch. I wasn't feeling to good for the second day in a row, having bad stomach cramps every time I ate or drank anything, so I stayed in the truck and slept. We arrived at Croc Valley Camp at 4.30pm, haven driven only 140kms. Bad roads can make short drive days into long ones.
Croc Valley is on the Luangwa River and on the opposite shore to the Luangwa national park. In the middle of the river there is a large sandbank with hippos and crocodiles sunbaking on it. Mere meters away from us on the shore! There were also vervet monkeys and baboons walking around camp and so we had to make sure that we left nothing lying around and the truck sides had to be done up tight. We were warned that hippos regularly came up on our side of the river to graze on the grass at night, in addition to any other animals that may wander across from the national park. We were told to be aware of this if we got up to go to the toilet and to look around and make sure it was safe to leave the tent. It was also pointed out that the swimming pool had slopped sides so that the hippos could get out again should they decide to go for a swim, because they are so aggressive they would not be able to be saved but instead would have to be put down if they got stuck. I was really hoping to see a hippo in the pool, or at least hear them grazing over night but knew my chances were slim as both Alex and I sleep through almost anything.
We set up tent and then grabbed a drink and sat watching the hippos sunning themselves for a while. I still wasn't feeling great so had an afternoon nap from 6-8.30pm, waking just in time to have a shower and grab some goat curry curtosy of Tony and his cook group. It was deeeeelicious. Not long after dinner we went to bed and curled up to watch an Indiana Jones movie on the laptop, of which I saw about 10 minutes of before I fell asleep.
I was up early with Felix and Marcus to get breakfast prepared. We had a heap of fried potatos that werent used for dinner the previous night, so we added scrambled eggs and onion and made a bubble'n'squeek. We also mashed up a heap of avocados for guacamole toast. Yum!
We stopped at the shops in town to do cook group shopping and get lunch. I wasn't feeling to good for the second day in a row, having bad stomach cramps every time I ate or drank anything, so I stayed in the truck and slept. We arrived at Croc Valley Camp at 4.30pm, haven driven only 140kms. Bad roads can make short drive days into long ones.
Croc Valley is on the Luangwa River and on the opposite shore to the Luangwa national park. In the middle of the river there is a large sandbank with hippos and crocodiles sunbaking on it. Mere meters away from us on the shore! There were also vervet monkeys and baboons walking around camp and so we had to make sure that we left nothing lying around and the truck sides had to be done up tight. We were warned that hippos regularly came up on our side of the river to graze on the grass at night, in addition to any other animals that may wander across from the national park. We were told to be aware of this if we got up to go to the toilet and to look around and make sure it was safe to leave the tent. It was also pointed out that the swimming pool had slopped sides so that the hippos could get out again should they decide to go for a swim, because they are so aggressive they would not be able to be saved but instead would have to be put down if they got stuck. I was really hoping to see a hippo in the pool, or at least hear them grazing over night but knew my chances were slim as both Alex and I sleep through almost anything.
We set up tent and then grabbed a drink and sat watching the hippos sunning themselves for a while. I still wasn't feeling great so had an afternoon nap from 6-8.30pm, waking just in time to have a shower and grab some goat curry curtosy of Tony and his cook group. It was deeeeelicious. Not long after dinner we went to bed and curled up to watch an Indiana Jones movie on the laptop, of which I saw about 10 minutes of before I fell asleep.
Monday 9th May.
R.I.P. Kindle.
No exciting hippo action to report. Leigh heard them grazing near thier tent at some point overnight but we of course slept right through it. Some of the crew were doing a morning game drive through the national park but we decided to save some money and have a sleep in instead. We got up at about 8.30am (thats right, I now consider that a sleep in!) and went to the bar for a cooked breakfast and then spent the remainder of the morning watching the hippos and crocs, lying in hammocks and reading, and I went for a swim in the hippo friendly pool.
I finally managed to get on the internet as well. There was no wifi but there was a computer in the study of the owners house that you could use. Mum and dad were on facebook and I had a good chat with them. Hopefully we will find good internet in Malawi so we can organise a skype date. So, all in all, a fabulous day.
Then disater struck.
While I was having a quick swim in the hippo enabled pool I left my kindle e-book in its case, under a towel and some clothes and it died. Devestated. It seems that it got too hot, even though it wasn't in direct sunlight and it was only sitting there for a short while. I now have 87 books that I was really excited about reading sitting on my amazon account and no kindle to read them with. Worst. Thing. Ever.
Most of us were doing the night game drive and were picked up at 4.30pm. At least it got my mind off the loss of my kindle.
The game drive was brilliant. This is apparently the only national park that has night drives so its a pretty cool oppertunity. Before the sun set we saw two female lions sleeping right next to the track, one of them appeared to be pregnant too. We also saw more hippo, impala, cudu (yummy yummy), other types of antelope, and zebra. We stopped along the river to watch the sunset and have a snack of popcorn, peanuts and cordial. After sunset we took off again, this time on the hunt for leaopard. We were not dissapointed. We saw a leopard right alongside the 4wd, it is such a beautiful, graceful animal. We also saw lots more impala, too many hippo to count, a hyena, an elephant shrew (one of the small 5), a type of mongoose, and a hare. It was a really good night, and really cheap, only costing us US$40 each for the drive and $25 for park entry. Worth every cent and much more. When we got back to camp we ate a late dinner of sandwhiches and salad prepared earlier by the cook group, had a few drinks and went to bed hoping for some hippo action.
No exciting hippo action to report. Leigh heard them grazing near thier tent at some point overnight but we of course slept right through it. Some of the crew were doing a morning game drive through the national park but we decided to save some money and have a sleep in instead. We got up at about 8.30am (thats right, I now consider that a sleep in!) and went to the bar for a cooked breakfast and then spent the remainder of the morning watching the hippos and crocs, lying in hammocks and reading, and I went for a swim in the hippo friendly pool.
I finally managed to get on the internet as well. There was no wifi but there was a computer in the study of the owners house that you could use. Mum and dad were on facebook and I had a good chat with them. Hopefully we will find good internet in Malawi so we can organise a skype date. So, all in all, a fabulous day.
Then disater struck.
While I was having a quick swim in the hippo enabled pool I left my kindle e-book in its case, under a towel and some clothes and it died. Devestated. It seems that it got too hot, even though it wasn't in direct sunlight and it was only sitting there for a short while. I now have 87 books that I was really excited about reading sitting on my amazon account and no kindle to read them with. Worst. Thing. Ever.
Most of us were doing the night game drive and were picked up at 4.30pm. At least it got my mind off the loss of my kindle.
The game drive was brilliant. This is apparently the only national park that has night drives so its a pretty cool oppertunity. Before the sun set we saw two female lions sleeping right next to the track, one of them appeared to be pregnant too. We also saw more hippo, impala, cudu (yummy yummy), other types of antelope, and zebra. We stopped along the river to watch the sunset and have a snack of popcorn, peanuts and cordial. After sunset we took off again, this time on the hunt for leaopard. We were not dissapointed. We saw a leopard right alongside the 4wd, it is such a beautiful, graceful animal. We also saw lots more impala, too many hippo to count, a hyena, an elephant shrew (one of the small 5), a type of mongoose, and a hare. It was a really good night, and really cheap, only costing us US$40 each for the drive and $25 for park entry. Worth every cent and much more. When we got back to camp we ate a late dinner of sandwhiches and salad prepared earlier by the cook group, had a few drinks and went to bed hoping for some hippo action.
Tuesday 10th May.
G'day Malawi.
We decided yesterday arfternoon to upgrade to what was described as a dorm room. Dorm room- doesn't sound too interesting does it... this dorm room however was like a private little tree house with an outdoor open bush bathroom. It was really nice. We also got a bit of a sleep in because we didn't have to pack up our tent, having taken care of that yesterday. We are in for another relativley big day because we have to go back down the same bad road to Chipata to make our way to the Malawi border, 250kms from Croc Valley.
We stopped in town just down the road from Croc Valley for a tour of a textile factory that Farron had organised for us. It was far more interesting than I had expected it to be. It was a small factory, with wooden benches in rows under a tin roof building with no walls. The process of printing material was broken down into stages, everything is done by hand and everyone is a master of thier trade. Interesting to see how things were done pre-industrialisation, pre-conveyor belt era. The material started at the preperation bench, then went to the starch bench where the patterns were painted on, then to the painter, who got the paint colours mixed by the paint mixers, then to the cooker, then to the washers, then to the scrapers who scraped off the remaining starch and so on. They had a shop there selling some of thier merchandise and it was really beautiful stuff, but also very very expensive with tshirts costing US$35 and bags were $50, so we didnt buy anything. I did get a cute mobile for my nephews/neices currently cooking in my sisters belly from one of the local market stores out the front of the factory.
Farron had been talking to some locals while we were shopping and they told him about another road that will get us where we were going and may be a bit better in quality. He decided to go for it, it could shave off some of the travel time- or could backfire. We thought the plan had backfired judging by the quality of the road at the start, but it quickly improved. It still wasnt great, but it was slightly better.
It was a smooth border crossing for most of us. Actually for everyone except for Marcus. The poor fella has had a rough time with entry visas because he is swiss. Go figure. He had to leave the truck in Ghana and fly straight to Cape Town and wait for the truck to catch up with him months later due to not being able to get visas. Again at Malawi he had problems getting the visa issued and he has to report to the immigration office first thing in the morning. If all goes well he will get a visa. If all goes wrong he may have to fly back to Harare, Zimbabwe to get a visa or fly over Malawi and meet us in the next country.
We got to Mabuya Camp in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe. We had just set up our tent when we found out we could get a room for under US$12, so naturally the tent went down again and we got a room. There was meant to be wifi but it wasn't working. Cook group made spag bol and we went to bed pretty early.
We decided yesterday arfternoon to upgrade to what was described as a dorm room. Dorm room- doesn't sound too interesting does it... this dorm room however was like a private little tree house with an outdoor open bush bathroom. It was really nice. We also got a bit of a sleep in because we didn't have to pack up our tent, having taken care of that yesterday. We are in for another relativley big day because we have to go back down the same bad road to Chipata to make our way to the Malawi border, 250kms from Croc Valley.
We stopped in town just down the road from Croc Valley for a tour of a textile factory that Farron had organised for us. It was far more interesting than I had expected it to be. It was a small factory, with wooden benches in rows under a tin roof building with no walls. The process of printing material was broken down into stages, everything is done by hand and everyone is a master of thier trade. Interesting to see how things were done pre-industrialisation, pre-conveyor belt era. The material started at the preperation bench, then went to the starch bench where the patterns were painted on, then to the painter, who got the paint colours mixed by the paint mixers, then to the cooker, then to the washers, then to the scrapers who scraped off the remaining starch and so on. They had a shop there selling some of thier merchandise and it was really beautiful stuff, but also very very expensive with tshirts costing US$35 and bags were $50, so we didnt buy anything. I did get a cute mobile for my nephews/neices currently cooking in my sisters belly from one of the local market stores out the front of the factory.
Farron had been talking to some locals while we were shopping and they told him about another road that will get us where we were going and may be a bit better in quality. He decided to go for it, it could shave off some of the travel time- or could backfire. We thought the plan had backfired judging by the quality of the road at the start, but it quickly improved. It still wasnt great, but it was slightly better.
It was a smooth border crossing for most of us. Actually for everyone except for Marcus. The poor fella has had a rough time with entry visas because he is swiss. Go figure. He had to leave the truck in Ghana and fly straight to Cape Town and wait for the truck to catch up with him months later due to not being able to get visas. Again at Malawi he had problems getting the visa issued and he has to report to the immigration office first thing in the morning. If all goes well he will get a visa. If all goes wrong he may have to fly back to Harare, Zimbabwe to get a visa or fly over Malawi and meet us in the next country.
We got to Mabuya Camp in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe. We had just set up our tent when we found out we could get a room for under US$12, so naturally the tent went down again and we got a room. There was meant to be wifi but it wasn't working. Cook group made spag bol and we went to bed pretty early.
Wednesday 11th May.
Malawi Bao.
We met Marcus and Fiona at the immigration office in the morning. All had gone well, he was in the country and had a visa. We were on the road by 10am headed for lake Malawi. We stopped in a small town that had food stalls along the roadside for lunch and got goat and potato chips fried in animal fat and sprinkled with a bit of salt. Yuuuuuum! And it cost only 70 Malawi Kwacha which is lunch for under a dollar (150 kwacha = US$1).
We got to Kande Beach in the afternoon and a bunch of us all raced to reception to see about upgrades. May as well while we can. We ended up getting a bungalow right on the sand for US$40 for both nights, $10 each a night... not bad I say!
Lake Malaw is so beautiful. The water goes beyond the horizon and it is a beautiful blue colour. Right our from our beach about 800 meters there is a little island as well. The lake is also so big that it has currents, a small tide, and pretty big waves. I had to continually remind myself that it is actually a fresh water lake and not the beach. The only thing that it was missing was the salty beach smell. Apart from that you couldn't tell the difference.
With our room sorted, the only thing left to do was grab a beer and sit and admire the view and listen to the waves lap the shore. Another horrible day in the office.
Farron and Leigh made a nice vegitable curry for dinner and we met some locals on the beach that invited us to a bonfire they were having just on the next beach along. After dinner we made our way there with Benne, Jimmy, Jerome, Aileen, Felix, Emma, and Lars and BJ turned up later. We spent the night drinking and dancing to the music they were singing. We also learnt how to play the Malawi Bao Game, a game kind of like backgammon palyed with rocks found on the beach. The young guy who was teaching me how to play said that he makes Bao game boards out of wood so they can be folded over and latched shut. Perfect for travelling. I tild him that if he beat me at the game I would buy one off him. I would have bought one anyway but it was fun chalenging him. He was a really nice 17 year old kid who was trying to finish highschool so that he could go to university and become a teacher. In the village he was from there were 1,500 students to only 10 teachers, so his aim was to work there one day. After kicking my arse he asked me what I wanted carved on the outside of the game and said that he would make it in the morning and bring it for me at 2pm the next day.
We met Marcus and Fiona at the immigration office in the morning. All had gone well, he was in the country and had a visa. We were on the road by 10am headed for lake Malawi. We stopped in a small town that had food stalls along the roadside for lunch and got goat and potato chips fried in animal fat and sprinkled with a bit of salt. Yuuuuuum! And it cost only 70 Malawi Kwacha which is lunch for under a dollar (150 kwacha = US$1).
We got to Kande Beach in the afternoon and a bunch of us all raced to reception to see about upgrades. May as well while we can. We ended up getting a bungalow right on the sand for US$40 for both nights, $10 each a night... not bad I say!
Lake Malaw is so beautiful. The water goes beyond the horizon and it is a beautiful blue colour. Right our from our beach about 800 meters there is a little island as well. The lake is also so big that it has currents, a small tide, and pretty big waves. I had to continually remind myself that it is actually a fresh water lake and not the beach. The only thing that it was missing was the salty beach smell. Apart from that you couldn't tell the difference.
With our room sorted, the only thing left to do was grab a beer and sit and admire the view and listen to the waves lap the shore. Another horrible day in the office.
Farron and Leigh made a nice vegitable curry for dinner and we met some locals on the beach that invited us to a bonfire they were having just on the next beach along. After dinner we made our way there with Benne, Jimmy, Jerome, Aileen, Felix, Emma, and Lars and BJ turned up later. We spent the night drinking and dancing to the music they were singing. We also learnt how to play the Malawi Bao Game, a game kind of like backgammon palyed with rocks found on the beach. The young guy who was teaching me how to play said that he makes Bao game boards out of wood so they can be folded over and latched shut. Perfect for travelling. I tild him that if he beat me at the game I would buy one off him. I would have bought one anyway but it was fun chalenging him. He was a really nice 17 year old kid who was trying to finish highschool so that he could go to university and become a teacher. In the village he was from there were 1,500 students to only 10 teachers, so his aim was to work there one day. After kicking my arse he asked me what I wanted carved on the outside of the game and said that he would make it in the morning and bring it for me at 2pm the next day.
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