Damara Living... Twyfelfontein

Leaving the beautiful Etosha Park behind, we ventured onto our next destination Twyfelfontein. Twyfelfontein is a semi desert, savanna, shrubland and the home to the Damara tribe. We stopped at a Damara Living Museum which enabled us to gain an insight into their way of life. The boys were encouraged to try and make fire (allowing them the pick of the women) while the women were taught how to cater for the men including the traditional medcines that are used.

Twyfelfontein is also home to two other sites we visited, the ancient bushman rock carvings and the petrified rock forest. The petrified rock forest was our lunch stop where we were amazed to see how wood had formed into stone and rock. Visiting the ancient carvings took us further into the desert. The bushman predominantly carved pictures of animals and their track; the most carved animal was the antelope. The ancient site also boasted a natural water spring which allowed us to cool down in the blistering Namibian heat.

Our campsite for the night was next to a beautiful dried out river bed. A group of locals came and greeted us with singing and dancing and of course we were all encouraged to join in. One of their songs was an ode to the popular South African drink of Amarula. Coincidently that evening our group had invested in a bottle of Amarula to celebrate the arrival in Twyfelfontein. Click on the link to hear the song and listen to local women talking in Oshiwambo with lots of clicks and pops  http://youtu.be/CkA-vEMB6nQ

After our beautiful sing along we grabbed our Amaraula and blankets and headed to the river bed... (not to mention our torches to watch out for the scorpions). We sat there for a couple of hours under a blanket of stars. This was truely an amazing experience! The sky was full of stars, the milkyway was so clear and the nearest light pollution was miles away. The amount of shooting stars we saw that night was phenominal.

Windhoek and Etosha National Park... Namibia

Another boarder crossing and another country we were visiting in the beautiful continent of Africa... Namibia.

Our first stop on the journey around Namibia was the capital city of Windhoek. We were all in high spirits when we pulled up outside a rather nice looking hotel. A little bit of luxury considering we had been camping for roughly 3 weeks solidly (since Zanzibar). I'm not too sure the hotel staff were of the same opinion as we bombarded the foyer with our massive backpacks and unwashed bodies. It was in Windhoek at Joe's beerhouse where we all experienced our first taste of game meat... Zebra, Ostrich and Kudu, washed down with the House Wine... Jagermeister!

After tasting the game meat it was time to go and observe the animals in their natural habitat at Etosha National Park. On our game drive through the park towards our campsite the number of Giraffe and Antelope throwing themselves in front of the road was incredible.. everywhere you looked you could see the huge neck of a Giraffe poking out. It appeared that the Lions in Etosha also preferred to sleep in the middle of the road rather than under the shade of a tree. I guess when you are the King of the Jungle you can pretty much do as you please.

Etosha National Park is also well known for the Salt Pans that spread to the north of the park. We were warned when we were travelling down through Africa that Namibia had experienced significant amounts of rainfall this year.. affecting all the roads. However, apparently it also affected the Salt Pans! We arrived expecting hard salty ground.. perfect for taking beautiful and artistic infinity photos. Instead we were greeted with soggy, soft, deep muddy ground. The mud rose up around our calves which made it impossible to escape clean... especially as our tour guide decided to reap havoc and start a mud fight.

Each campsite we stayed at had a waterhole where you could sit and watch the sunset whilst watching the wildlife gathering to gaze and drink. One night in particular we witnessed herds of Zebra and Wildebeast come and go, whilst a number of hyennas disguised themselves waiting for an easy kill. The sunsets were truely unbelievable and were always accompanied by the presence of silent lightening.

Whilst travelling through Africa we have learnt to open our ears at night particularly when camping in a National Park and Etosha was no different. From the safety of our tents we could hear the incredible roar of Lions roughly 3km away and the cheeky laughs of Hyennas. A little closer to home we could hear the screams of rabied Jackals as they rushed around our tents... scavaging for food (or in this case stealing Hannah's flip flop from outside her tent and moving it 8 metres away towards the kitchen, covering them in slober).

Beautiful Delta... Botswana

After our eventful start in Botswana we were all looking forward to our stay in the Okovanga Delta. We were taken to the Makoro station to meet our hosts and guides (known locally as Polars), who were going to look after us in the Delta. Our transportation into the Delta were Makoro's, thin, long canoes made from the wood of local trees. The Polar stands at the back using a long wooden pole to push the canoe through the water. As well as steering, the Polars balance the Makoro's which is particularly nerve racking when you feel as though you are going to capsize.

The journey to our designated campsite took us through narrow passages passing tall reeds. The journey was extremely relaxing although some of the Makoro's had a tendancy to leak. This resulted in Hannah having to abandon her Makoro. She travelled in style ontop of a table precariously placed aboard the Makoro carrying the kitchen supplies.

Hannah travelling first class on the kitchen table aboard a Makoro

We arrived at an opening covered by trees on the river bank of the Delta and quickly came to realise that this would be home for the next two days. The campsite was basic with no showers and definitely no running water and electricity. The toilets were non existant and had to be dug on our arrival.

After we had settled into to our new home, the Polars took us to a clearing in the Delta where we could spend the afternoon swimming and playing ball safe from the Hippos and the Crocs. As the evening was drawing closer, the Polas took us for a sunset walk around the open fields of the Delta. We were given a speech on how to handle potentially dangerous encounters with wildlife for example if you are faced with a Lion you should stop still and make yourself look as big as possible. You should under no circumstances turn and run. This was particularly encouraging bearing in mind we had nothing in the way of protection.

After a brief encounter with different species of Antelope and Zebra, we came across the Hippo pool. Needless to say the Hippos weren't best pleased to see us.

The following morning after a nerve racking night wondering which animals may enter our camp, we arose early for our game walk around the Delta. On foot we came across a herd of Elephants, Wildebeast, Zebras, Antelope and various species of birds (including the African Fish Eagle). This was a particuarly exciting experience to encounter such magnificant animals on foot. 

A sample of the wildlife in the Delta!

Much to our delight our tour guide baked a birthday cake for our American friend Lauren on the campfire and we passed the afternoon playing party games with the Polars; swapping traditional games that are played in all of our countries. The Polars also taught us how to drive their Makoro's. This was no mean feat, the strength and agility that is needed to drive to Makoro's is incredible.

As the evening drew to a close, the Polars treated us to singing and dancing around the campfire. A song that we all enjoyed and will remember was "Beautiful Delta". An appreciation song to the beautiful Okovanga Delta, the wildlife, Africa as a whole and the arrival of tourists. As a gesture of thanks we attempted to sing to them but as per usual they put us to shame!

The time came to say goodbye to the Polars, the Okovanga Delta and Botswana but not before they kindly showed us around their village.

A house lived in by the Polars. They use empty beer cans to support the house.

Eventful Botswana

The river crossing into Botswana was the most impressive border crossing due to the fact that we could see 5 countries. Angola, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
We stopped and camped just off the famous Chobe River in a little place called Kasane. During the course of the night we could hear Hyenas in the distance from the safety of our tents. We took the Elephant Sands highway which is known infamously for the most elephants crossing in one stretch of road. Unfortunately for us the truck this was the exact location where the truck decided to break down. After many hours of deliberation we decided that it was the clutch and in fact we were not going anywhere anytime soon. In total we were stranded by the side of the road for 7 hours! To fill the time we sunbathed, drank copious amounts of tea, did cheerleading and gymnastics and managed to rope the whole group into a group pyramid photo.

7 hours later................we were rescued by some friendly locals who took us in true African style, to an unplanned campsite for the night.

T.I.A. This is Africa!

Unfortunately the truck had to be taken away to be fixed leaving us with a new driver and truck.

Our new driver was called Doc and his truck was significantly more spacious than the previous.

Next stop the Okovanga Delta



Our AMAZING pig roast which took all day to cook, Kande Beach, Malawi

A little boy on our village tour in Kande, Malawi

Dress up night at Kande Beach in Malawi

N'gorogoro Crater - Elephants drinking the water from the tank in the campsite

Elephants in the Serengeti passing by the truck

The Malawian kids we played football with when the truck broke down the first time

The view from the restaurant in our hotel in ZANZIBAR!!!

The remains of our fruit tasting session at the end of the Spice Farm Tour in Zanzibar... Yum!

A picture of us on our Safari truck waiting to enter the Serengeti National Park.

ZAMBIA... Livingstone!

Bungee Day!!! Yay we survived...

The day started with a monsterous hangover for the majority of the group... Who could think of a better way to start the day than throwing ourselves 111m off a bridge overlooking the beautiful Victoria Falls?

We arrived at the Victoria Bridge leaving Zambia and crossing over into Zimbabwe feeling apprehensive but excited. The Bungee combo enabled us to Zipwire across the river, gorge swing and bungee. The Zipwire was the placid introduction to the day, which proved to the scenic option. The bungee was amazing yet terrifying, throwing yourself 111m head first off a bridge seems so unnatural. We experienced roughly 4 seconds of free fall until the bungee rope throws you back up into the air. It's at that point that you realise you are still alive. the majority of our group and our tour leaders bungeed which gave us the courage to see it through. Some were braver than others choosing waist harenesses instead of the conventional foot ties... leaving themselves free to throw themselves off the bridge in any shape or form.

Our crazy South African tour guide Vernon

Although we were able to swing in tandem the gorge swing was equally as terrifying. Unlike the bungee we had to step off the platform feet first overlooking the ground below. This literally felt like we were plummeting to our deaths. After the free fall we swung back and forth surrounded by the most beautiful complete rainbow beneath us.. this was truely amazing!

After the excitement of the bungee it was time to soak up the beautiful views of the falls. We were advised to wear Ponchos due to the spray off the falls but seeing as it was a particularly hot and sunny day we thought we would chance it. Needless to say as we walked around the falls we all got drenched. In particular we walked across a bridge overlooking the falls themselves and if we had brought our shampoos and shower gels we could have had the most perfect scenic showers.

This is a very clear photo of the falls

The following day we hoped for a slightly more relaxing day. However, we woke up to our tents being surrounded by huge puddles of water. The rainfall over night caused us all to rise early and remove our tents from the lakes surrounding them and seek higher ground. After we had dried off we took a walk around Livingstone itself stopping at the curios markets, playing the local Baobab game and talking to the locals. This was a particularly enjoyable day as we saw a different side to Livingstone.. away from the tourist resorts and our tour guides.

After Livingstone it was time to move on to our next country... Botswana!!!!!

More posts to follow....

xxx

Malawi to Zambia

We said our goodbyes to Tanzania and off we headed to the warm heart of Africa, Malawi.. although we were greeted by the rain. On our first day our truck broke down, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We were greeted by local children, who all wanted to play football and swing off our arms. It was lovely to play with the children but sad to leave them as our truck was mended and we were on our way again.

Our campsite Kande Beach was situated on Lake Malawi, the rain was still present but it didn't dampen our spirits.  The roads were ridiculously muddy which caused the truck to get stuck in the mud. We all had to get out and help the locals push the truck out. On arrival at the beach campsite, the tour guides threw us a party; providing us with punch aptly called Malawian Gold. We dressed each other in bizarre clothing that we had bought at a local market early... Needless to say it was a good night had by all, resulting in dancing on the bar at the campsite.

The next day we went on a village walk organised by one of the locals. We were shown local houses, the water pump, the school and the local clinic - where there were two 3 day old new born babies. We were shocked to be informed that the clinic was manned by two full time members of staff who worked 24 hours a day.  The school was pretty basic, a far cry from the classrooms back home. The school had 7 teachers and roughly 150 children per class. All the way along the walk we were escorted by young children who again wanted to hold and swing of our arms. On the back to the campsite we were taught how to play the local game of Bao and the bongos. We were also treated to a local lunch, which was delicious.

Once back to the campsite we headed to the beach and dipped our toes into the Lake. We all were apprehensive about Lake Malawi as we had been informed that there were snakes, hippos, crocodiles, Blasria and Typhoid all living in the water. In the middle of the Lake there was an island with Mel and Rhiannon swam to with a couple of the other guys from the tour. It was a grueling swim which ended with a heart pumping jump off a 8 metres rock into the lake.

Once back on dry land, we were treated to a pig roasted.  The pig was killed freshly in the morning and had been roasting on a spit all day. After the grueling swim, the crackling pig was extremely tasty.

After the beach we headed to Malawi's capital, Lilongwe. We saw such sights as a Nandos and a 7 Eleven. The rain seemed to be following us as we experienced further down pour that evening.

We thought we had already arrived at the Zambezi river when we arrived at the Zambia boarder and had to navigate our way through torrential rain. You could instantly notice the difference in wealth. In Lusaka we witnessed young fashionable girls all supporting high heels and all talking on their mobile phones and tapping into their music devices. We were treated to an American evening where we cooked burgers, hotdogs, chips, Marshmellow and then Chocolate Birthday cake, to celebrate a memeber of the groups Birthday- It was simply divine.

Currently we are sitting poolside in the sun by the Zambezi river... hopefully enhancing our tans. Hannah has just returned from an early Lion Walk, where she was able to stroke and play with some 17 month old lions, lucky she survived to tell us all her tale.

Tomorrow is the probably the biggest day of our lives to date... a potential life or death situation... the dreaded BUNGEE JUMP off Victoria Falls Bridge. We will be throwing ourselves 111meters off the Bridge in three different ways, Bungee, Gorge Swing and Slide!!!! If we survive we will update you about our relaxing walk around the falls.

Hugs and Kisses

Rhiannon, Hannah, Kate, Lizzie and Mel.

Zanzibar

So, we ditched the tents and headed over to Zanzibar for some nice relaxing time on the beach in the sun. We have spent the last 3 nights on the island in proper beds and our last night tonight and then it is back to camping for at least 15 days.
We visited a spice plantation, where we learnt about all the native fruits and spices grown in Zanzibar. At the end of the tour we had a tasting session and tried fruits including custard apple and jack fruit. We then saw a man free climb a coconut tree to the top which was at least 30 metres!!! Afterwards he fleshed out the coconuts and we were then able to taste the coconut milk and fruit. It was all very refreshing in the heat. The locals then weaved hats, bags and necklaces using palm leaves as a present for when we left. It was a great experience and we all learnt a lot.
When we weren't soaking up the local culture we managed to drag ourselves down to the beach for a well deserved rest. Crystal clear waters, white sandy beaches. Heaven.
Off to Malawi in a couple of days and there is talks of adopting a child just like Madonna did.

Bye for now.............

Love from all xxxx

Tanzania

We've just returned to Arusha from a two night camping trip in Serengeti National Park - it was amazing!

We slept in the Serengeti - no railings, no fences, no protecting... just us and the lions, elephants, hynenas etc... in those two days we saw some of the most unbelievable sights.

A group of hyenas were provoking a few lions who had just returned from a kill and trying to steal their food which resulted in a big stand off between them and the hyenas being chased away - very entertaining and we were right in front of the action.

A family of elephants walked right past our truck almost so close we could touch them... mother, father, and 3 babies including a new born that hadn't even developed tusks yet.

We went to a Masai village and explored their way of life. They allowed us into their huts and told us about their traditions.. apparently one of the other local Masai villages' chief has more than 20 wives and more than 100 children - impressive!!

There's so much more to say but not enough time. We've got a 14 hour drive to Dar Es Salam tomorrow before heading off to Zanzibar for a couple of days in a lodge with warm water for showers... hurrah!!

Speak soon, Lizzie, Rhiannon, Mel, Kate and Hannah xx

We made it!!!

Hi everyone...

We made it here safe and sound. We are currently in Tanzania on the way to the Serengeti. The roads are extremely bumpy and bladders are weak... the standard toilet is in the bush.... as far away from the truck as possible.

Must dash... next update soon..

Love from all.

xxx