On the Road

After a wonderful final few days in South Africa enjoying the Drakensberg Mountains and venturing into Lesotho for a day, my next destination was Livingstone, Zambia. Here I had a few days to enjoy Victoria Falls and the surrounding area before joining the group I’d be travelling with for the next three weeks up to Nairobi by overland truck.

Top of one of the chain-ladders in the Amphitheatre area of the Drakensberg

At the top of Tugela falls in the Drakensberg Mountains, the world's second highest waterfall , though you wouldn't know it by the quite small amount of water spilling over the edge (being at the top of waterfalls becomes a bit of a theme...)

Two days were filled up by a great trip over the border into Botswana to visit Chobe National Park, which included camping out in the bush, seeing some enormous herds of elephants, lots of baby impala, gorgeous lion cubs and a fleeting glimpse of a leopard. 

One reason to keep shoes on while camping in the bush

The tiniest baby elephant, only a few weeks old!

 Then it was back to Livingstone to explore the falls. Victoria Falls is an adrenaline junkie’s dream, and while bungee jumping definitely wasn’t on my to do-list, I did make a trip across the top of the falls to Livingstone Island and the Devil’s Pool, a small plunge pool precariously situated at the top of the falls from which the Zambezi waters plunge 110 metres down into the gorge. The walk across the top of the falls was scarily close to the edge, and can only be done in the dry season when there isn't so much water thundering over. Jumping in to the pool and then leaning over the edge looking down the waterfalls (I will add here that this was while someone was holding on to my feet quite tightly) was unforgettable. As was a rather more sedate trip to the Royal Livingstone Hotel to have a lunchtime cocktail sitting on the banks of the Zambezi watching the hippos in the water - one of those moments when I felt extremely fortunate to not be in the office!

After meeting up with my overland group in Livingstone, and being introduced to the truck we’d be spending a large part of the next three weeks in, we set off on the first leg of the journey to Malawi, via Lusaka, Zambia’s Capital, and Chipata, a town near the Zambia-Malawi border.

Into Malawi and we had a few days to enjoy the lake, staying at two different campsites along the lake shore, and experience a bit of village life too. Lake Malawi has the greatest number of fish species of any lake in the world and it was amazing to be able to go snorkelling one day to see this for myself – none of the spectacular corals or marine life of the ocean, but a very unique experience seeing such a variety of colourful tropical fish in fresh water, which was also beautifully calm and warm to swim in (though I still have my fingers crossed that I don’t arrive home with bilharzia…). Our second campsite was also by the beach, though swimming wasn’t quite so relaxing when we found out about a recent crocodile sighting.

learning how to make wood carvings

Shores of Lake Malawi

After four nights in Malawi we had two very long days of driving into Tanzania, including a frustrating wait at the border crossing and a search for a new spare tire for the truck. Although the trip entails many hours on the road, the travelling is enjoyable despite being on the move all the time. There is so much to see and it’s interesting to observe the changes in life and landscape as we drive along. The truck is also much higher up than a car so we get a good view of the surroundings, including giraffes and elephants when our route took us through a national park.

Now we’re enjoying a few days break from driving and soaking up the island life on Zanzibar. Yesterday  we went snorkelling and were lucky enough just before we got back on the boat to be joined by a pod of dolphins that swam around us for about 15 minutes – a beautiful sight and an unexpected bonus to top off the trip. Today we’re back in Stone Town enjoying getting completely lost in the small alleyways through the town, bargaining hard in the markets and getting a good fill of curry and Zanzibar pizzas (not much like a regular pizza but very tasty!). Tomorrow we head back to Dar Es Salaam and begin our journey to the Serengeti  and Ngorongoro crater where we have a couple of days of game drives to look forward to. It’s hard to believe I only have a week left before reacquainting myself with British weather again!

Sunset boat trip from Nungwi

One Day in Lesotho (in pictures)

Looking at ancient cave paintings

Sampling some local maize home-brew

The different colours are so that the houses reflect more heat during the day and retain more heat when it's colder, according to the position of the sun

The traditional healer of the village

Only available in Lesotho!

South Africa

Clutching a park permit and driving down a dirt track, we’re not really sure what to expect, either of what we might see, or of our accommodation. Helen is concentrating on dodging the pot-holes in the road, I’m staring intently out of the window looking for wildlife. To our delight we’re taken by surprise as to our right a giraffe has appeared, then two more, and we watch in awe for a few minutes before slowly proceeding. Elated at our first wildlife sighting, we continue along the track wondering what else is in store for our three days here. We find out sooner than expected, turning a corner and coming to an abrupt halt as a large grey mass looms just metres ahead – a white rhino is in the track. We’re stunned, thrilled, then scared; our rental car is small and we feel quite exposed. We hover nervously watching this beautiful beast, not knowing quite what to do aside from keeping a respectful distance. Seconds later he retreats into the scrub. We’re still and quiet for a while, then a rush of excitement mixed with relief hits and we’re ecstatic – our bags are not even unpacked and we’re already onto the big 5. And I have a medley of songs from the Lion King going round my head, which continues for three days.

So this was our introduction to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, a 960 square Km game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, and the oldest national park in the whole of Africa. It is now home to a huge variety of wildlife and a real conservation success story in the re-establishment of the while rhino population – our initial encounter was happily one of many to be had over the following few days. This did include again getting a bit too close for comfort but without the shell of a car for protection -we took a guided walk through the bush, following various animal trails (mostly rhino) and found ourselves getting close enough for our guide to gesticulate wildly and make a hasty retreat in the other direction - we only came so close as there was very little wind, normally the rhino would have sensed us coming but we managed to catch her having a snooze, until we moved to a safer distance upwind of her, and on getting a whiff of human she trampled off into the bush.

Hyena spotted on a night drive

But this is only the last few days; my South Africa escapades began two and half weeks ago in Cape Town. Here I spent a week, the first few days staying with Hannah, a good friend from university days now living in Sea Point. Then my friend Helen flew out to join me for the rest of my time in South Africa. I loved Cape Town, mainly for what it’s possible to do in a day from the city – highlights were exploring the cape peninsula which included visiting the Boulder’s Beach penguin colony on the way to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, climbing Table Mountain on a route beginning and ending in the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and of course visiting the winelands for some wine tasting.

From Cape Town we headed east into the Karoo via Route 62, an inland alternative to the Garden Route. The drive was stunning – incredible landscapes, dramatic mountain passes, and the occasional ostrich. We stayed at a friendly little farm in Montagu and enjoyed a beautiful but hot day of hiking in the mountains followed by a relaxing visit to some hot springs to recover from the day’s exertion. 

Spotted on our walk from Montagu

Onwards from Montagu, past lots of fruit farms, we re-joined the Garden Route and the next stop was Sedgefield where we stayed in a lovely hostel right by the golden sand of Myoli Beach. It would have been easy to spend a few days there, but time was pressing and it was then on to Storms River for 2 nights. Storms River is an outdoor lover’s/adrenaline junkie’s dream, with loads of activities on offer and beautiful surroundings to enjoy while you bungee/zipline/mountain bike/kayak or whatever takes your fancy. We opted for a 26km bike ride from Storms River Village where we were staying, to the cliffs overlooking Storms River and the adjacent coastline. I’m sure Helen’s patience was tested as I shuddered slowly down the rocky tracks (I will blame my overly cautious approach on extremely dodgy bike breaks) then huffed and puffed up the slopes, but it was great to be out in the fresh air, and even better to get back and treat myself to a large piece of cake. We had a more sedate afternoon exploring Storms River mouth, strolling across the impressive suspension bridge and sitting in the sun with an ice cream. Did you know there is such a thing as a biscotti Magnum? It’s good.

Myoli Beach, Sedgefield

Storms River

Our next couple of nights after leaving Storms River were planned around breaking up the journey to Imfolozi, stopping in Grahamstown and Port St Johns. Although driving for hours, the changes in landscape and settlements have been interesting, along with a steady deterioration in road quality and steady increase in number of animals wondering onto the highway. One more stop and a quick swim in the sea, at Warner Beach just south of Durban, and it was the final few hours on the road to get to the park.

Now we’ve left the rhinos, lions, elephants and buffalo behind and we’re in Durban where we’re leaving the car, having a curry (or a bunny chow), and catching the bus up to the Drakensburg for a few days in the mountains, which will be our last few days in South Africa. 3 wonderful weeks have gone so quickly and there is still so much more to do and see here - another country I definitely hope to return to one day!

Boulders Beach, Western Cape