An African Odyssey

At last we reached the jewel of Africa - Mosi Oa Tunya - The Smoke that Thunders. We arrived a day earlier than planned as we were supposed to take the overnight train there, however due to a fatal head-on collision on the tracks only two days previously, the trains were not running. The road wasn’t entirely safe either as our trainee driver Jesse was behind the wheel for first full drive day on his own and along the way scraped past a bridge which completely shredded a tyre – right under where I was sitting and have to admit had Serengeti flashbacks for a moment!! Only held us up for half an hour or so and arrived in Vic Falls late afternoon and had a few drinks to calm nerves in anticipation of all the adrenalin fueled activities ahead.

Had booked in to do a 'flight of the angels' in a microlight the first day. This involved heading across the border into Zambia as the town of Vic Falls pretty much straddles the border with the actual bridge over the Zambezi being no-mans land in between the two countries. Even though it was in a motorized kite on a windy day, the microlight trip was less scary than I had expected and an amazing experience (sorry can't think of any good superlatives to properly describe it!). Take off and landing where a bit hairy and my fear factor buttons on high as we dipped and dived in the wind but the feeling of being in the open air 500 metres above the falls was incredible. Saw large herd of elephants swimming in the river below spraying water with their trunks and hippos, crocodiles and impala.

After a bit of a rush trip back a few of us headed out to do some interactive drumming in the middle of a national park. Formed a large circle and beat the drums, sang songs and tried to be musical magicians. Thankfully the guys leading us were - we just painfully attempted to follow their lead!! They fed us a traditional meal ugali and stew which was really tasty (with a caterpillar for dessert!) and must say that drumming certainly helps in working up an appetite.

Next day, went down to the 5 star hotel where Lauren had decided to upgrade for the night and had the most amazing buffet breakfast where I scoffed a good 5 platesful of food!! Suitably stuffed, retired beside the pool and lounged about for the day in the sun, lapping up the 5 star luxury for free!! Only mar on the day was that Lauren’s credit card was declined so there were a few frantic phone calls so that she could get her bill paid!!

In the afternoon, had booked to do a wine drift on the Zambezi (as opposed to most of the others who had bravely opted for white water rafting again!) and gently floated down the river in a canoe sipping gin and tonic. Was very pleasant in the late afternoon sun and while we had a close call with a hippo, was far safer than the grade 5 stuff! Ended up another big night, drinking in bar called Shoestrings across the road and then into a funny (dodgy!) local bar Croc Rock.

Nursed a rather large hangover the next day and was really disappointed as the jetboating that I had booked in to do was cancelled due to lack of numbers. Not too many tourists or overland trucks go into Zimbabwe anymore due to the economic problems and general safety concerns, so was a bit like a ghost town considering it is high season. In fact saw as many warthogs wandering around the place as I did tourists!! So instead went to watch a few of the braver in our group do their bungy jumps - I was scared for them just watching!! That night went out for dinner as quite a few our of our group were leaving us, Jeff and Jo, Steve and Jackie and Tom.. also we were losing our mohawked, elf-like, bow-and-arrow toting tour guide Sam... so now we have big daddy driver Jason as our tour 'leader' with Nancy from the other truck filling in the gaps where necessary!

Visited the falls on the final day - even at only 40% volume they are truly spectacular with rainbows catching in the mist. Can't imagine what it would be like with even more water as at times the spray was phenomenal and got thoroughly soaked - to the point where was glad I was not wearing white t-shirt!! My microlight pilot said that you can feel the spray 500m up in the air during the wet season. Even at this time of year you can sometimes feel mist on your face in town and always can hear that distant roar of the water... really the smoke that thunders.

Next day we were off again, heading for Antelope Park. Wow, what a great place with excellent facilities (i.e. hot, clean showers!), restaurant and real washing machines. Antelope Park is a place where you can do lion walks and all sorts of other safari type activities, so after watching a short video, we all signed up for a package deal before sitting as close as humanly possible to the fire to warm up!! The weather was windy and bitterly cold when we arrived and froze the first night, wearing as many clothes as we could (think Michellin man!)... thankfully weather was balmy during the following days though the nights were cold.

Our first adventure started off with a horse back safari which came along with a package deal.. while I’m not hugely keen on horse riding, my horse Mvuu (meaning hippo in the local lingo) was very well behaved and certainly gave a different perspective on seeing game. You can get quite close to the animals on horseback, as you they don’t register that there is a human along with the horse! Saw the usual suspects of giraffe, zebra, impala, waterbuck and wildebeest and actually really enjoyed the few hours. Had a yummy buffet lunch then a group of 7 of us went on a carriage ride in the afternoon. That was so bizarre, to be on a mule-drawn carriage trundling through a national park – the incongruity of it all was fantastic and we had a great time bouncing across the roads (except when we just about bounced right on out!) and spotting game amongst the trees. We literally fell off the wagon and stopped at the lion breeding programme, taking millions of photos of the older lions. Back on the track we trundled along, stopping along the way to climb a tree house high up in a fig tree, all 8 of us squashed in the small space enjoying our afternoon tea and cheap Zimbabwe wine.

Next day the group went for our first lion walk at 6.30am… Our group went for a walk with three ‘cubs’, Phire, Praise and Paka aged 13 months old and weighing around 90kgs each - really not much cub-like about them except for the fact that they were quite playful! You could touch them, scratch them under the chin and even hold their tails as you wandered along. They entertained us climbing up the trees and scratching their claws down the bark and running around the place. Praise (the only male lion) gave me a 'naughty' look and of course I promptly forgot about the instruction to point my stick and say NO! in a commanding manner. Instead I simply stayed leaning against a tree watching him with my stick in between us and once past me he turned around and nipped me on the butt – thankfully only getting material and no flesh!!! One of the volunteers rescued me from being eaten by doing what I had forgotten to do!!

After that awe-inspiring experience went for a cub view and these ones at only 3 months old so really did look like cubs even though they were the size of small dogs! They were so cute and playful, lucky as they usually spend a good amount of their day sleeping. Got great photos. Was a very busy morning with the cub viewing then straight onto the back of an elephant – quite different from Thailand as actually get to sit on their backs behind the guide. Didn’t see any game but enjoyed lumbering through the park and camp site chatting to the guide.

In the late afternoon we had our second lion walk, this time with the older lions, nearly 2 years old – they were huge and a scary experience watching three lions approach you then rub against your legs!! The lions named Kwali, Kwezi and Kenge spotted some impala nearby and set off on a stalking mission which was unsuccessful – apparently they make a lot of hunting blunders until they are a bit older. The lions came back with us for a bit but were being pretty lazy and lolled about a good portion of the time which was great for photos! Toward the end of our few hours we managed to lose one (common apparently) which was quite unnerving and stayed close to the group while the volunteers ran around trying to get them back. The only good thing was that we got to spend a bit more time with two remaining lions! These lions will eventually be released into national parks in a few years time, though in parks where there are no other lions. Hard to believe but lions in Africa are diminishing at a really high rate and though not on the endangered list they are definitely heading in that direction.

We headed away from Antelope park towards Bulawayo to a place called Burke’s Paradise, a private residence turned backpackers/campsite. It was really nice and for only US$1 upgraded to a dorm room with a bed (yeah!!) and enjoyed having cold beers from the fridge and watching old scratchy videos. Had to do cook group shopping which was hard since not a lot available and no bread (flour shortage)… then back to Burke’s where we joined most of our group helping to fight a bushfire that was closing in on the house. It was bucket and jerry can effort but eventually got it under control and the owners rewarded the mostly bikini-clad fire fighting volunteers with free beer which was well appreciated.

Spent a few days in Blantyre (Malawi) which was basically another dusty African city - missed being by the lake after only a few minutes! The highlights of being in a city here are things like nice cafes, real coffee and doing internet (actually that is more of a frustration since it so ponderously, patience-testing slow!!). Also treated myself to another pedicure as Africa has not been kind to my feet at all. Other than cook group shopping and cooking that was about the sum total of our city experience in Malawi!

Next day we headed over the border into Mozambique and really enjoyed the countryside, think it would a very interesting place to go back and explore. We were literally just passing through on our way to Zimbabwe and bush camping so really didn’t see much other than the passing scenery. Got a pretty visa in our passports though!

Before we crossed the border into Zimbabwe we hid all our valuables and extra money so that any official that searched the truck wouldn’t take anything for a bribe or make us change all our money into Zim dollars which are completely worthless outside Zimbabwe. The other interesting thing that happened was the currency changed two days before we arrived so all the notes are new and now you spend only thousands of dollars instead of bags full of millions... even though no-one has the correct change and prices are still inflated for certain things. For the money situation there is a very strong black market here which is more than twice that of the official bank rate, of course you just have to be very careful where and how you change it as it is illegal and you need to have a small amount of official money so that you can show receipt at government sites… it really is a completely crazy system. No wonder people are leaving this country in droves - nearly all people that have talked to are planning to leave if they can ever afford it.

We finally made our way to Harare staying at a great campsite called the Rocks, aptly named for the large rocks that look precariously balanced atop one another.. again we partook in city things of coffee, internet and movies… though this time the coffee was disappointing and the movie called Freedomland was absolutely atrocious – even though it only cost us less that 50 cents it was so bad that would still have liked a refund!!! Harare looked like an interesting place actually and would have been good to explore some more.

We said a sad farewell to Maria and Rafa and had a very big party at the camp which was well timed as also same day that we welcomed our two newbies Patrick and Caroline. It was a great night that included lots of dancing (including on the bar!!), singing, drinking and general hilarity. It is really sad to have members of our group leave us when we have been living in each others pockets for over 7 weeks.

From Harare we went to the Great Zimbabwe Ruins which are the oldest remaining stone structure after the pyramids. We had a tour around the ruins and through the museum though must say my enjoyment was dampened by a splinter in my foot which refused to come out, however stoically limped my way around but was glad to sit down afterward. Said splinter did not come out for 3 days but eventually got it. The other thing that you have to be weary of here is the many acacia thorns which are so long that they go right through your shoes! That night was Phillipa’s birthday so we had a few drinks for that and a funny brownie mixture in place of a cake – basically there was nothing available at the shops due to the flour shortage here (along with petrol and many other useful items).

Had another night in Dar before heading across Tanzania on several long drive days to get to Malawi. Malawi is like the warm heart of Africa, really friendly people and the scenery really varied – kind of like a combination of everything to date. It is a lot poorer but ironically the roads are some of the best so far.

Our first stop was at Chitimba beach and it really was a beach with sand (pitched our tents on the sand!) and right on the lakefront. The lake is so enormous that you can’t see the other side and really it looks just like the sea with gentle waves lapping at the shore. The water was cool and refreshing and definitely worth the risk of bilharzias!! Relaxed the next day on the beach and went for a walk and shopped at the markets outside the main gate. Some of the more keen in the group walked up the hill – only a mere 25km jaunt to see the Livingstonia mission. Was glad I stayed behind!! Speaking of walking, I also got my Nordic walking poles returned for the second time in Chitimba – they had been off having their own adventure again for about 10 days when Arti (from Kenya) had borrowed them to climb Mt Kilimanjaro.. they only made it to a bus and got nowhere near the mountain but were recovered by another of the overland trucks!!

Malawi is really well known for its wood carvings and so much to choose from and so many amazing intricate carvings made from either ebony or teak. Cracks me right up that they use Kiwi Black shoe polish to polish up the ebony wood!! Must admit I caved in and bought quite a few giraffes, including one that it is dubious as to whether it will fit into my pack… the shopping frenzy was to compensate for the fact that I only succumbed to buying giraffe earrings in Tanzania.

Second beach we went to was Kande Beach (prounounced Candy) and it was even better than the first with really clear turquoise waters. We had a bit of a dress up party on the first night there as an early celebration for Phil’s birthday. The dress up part of it meant a stop at the Mzuzu markets along the way which sell the most amazing array of clothing. Sooo funny, you could buy the most outrageous outfits alongside the more sensible items. We had picked names out of a hat and had to shop for them which had some interesting results. I got to shop for two people while Suzanne went off to get a malaria test - and yep, bad news she has malaria – everyone is now paranoid about putting on insect spray! Anyway, the dress up party was hysterical and we looked awful – awfully funny that is. My dress was relatively tame except it was rather.. erm…lowcut! Rafa and Maria (from Spain) had made their killer sangria again and we were all very nicely by about 6.30pm and had a great night. Again the other Oasis truck looked on disapprovingly and had vetoed to do a dress up… their loss!!

Next day spent the day on the beach chilling out and the only adventure I had was when I took in my washing and got dragged off by three guys named Julius Ceaser, Black William and Brown Sugar to see their shops, get a t-shirt painted, buy a Bao board game, look at the Malawi chairs and be convinced to have my hair dredded… all from going to do my washing. Nothing is simple in Africa!! Anyway, so now I am the queen of Africa with manky looking dreds but they assure me that they will come out easily enough in a few weeks time!! Actually quite like it except for the amount of sand that is still in my hair, so may come out early.

Went diving in the lake, which counts as an altitude dive at 474m above sea level and the viz wasn’t great but still really interesting diving in fresh water around Kande Island and going through the rocks, looking at the moonscape holes left by fish and going past the wreck – a jeep that is sunk out there. Not very many big fish about so it was more like swimming in a giant aquarium. Also went out sailing on a catamaran with Nerine who thankfully knew more about sailing than me, so we whizzed along the lakefront in style. The rest of the time we swam, lazed and drank. Tried some of Malawi’s “special” cake which made for a very funny evening for those of us that partook – the naughty school kid crowd of us that skipped dinner and the village walk. Ended up on the beach, with my tentmate playing the bongo drums on the beach with the locals!!

After all our adventures, everyone was really hanging out to get to the beach and give our internal organs time to rearrange themselves in the proper order and just relax.. had a few drive days to get to Dar es Saleem and was great to be by the sea and swim. The place we stayed at called Mikadi Beach was great and everyone had a great night fuelled by the infamous vodka slushies. When the tide went out discovered these little glow-in-the-dark plankton that lit up when you stood on them – was really amazing so we sloshed and stomped or way out for several hundred metres making them all glow. Somehow by the end of the night most people ended up in a reasonably drunken state and being thrown in the pool – typically was wearing my only clean, dry clothing. There is another Oasis truck heading down to Cape Town that has been pretty much shadowing us from Nairobi and despite a much younger age group on board they seem to be very quiet in comparison and were horrified that we were all in the pool fully clothed!!

Next day we headed over to Zanzibar on the ferry which took several hours and disturbingly several coffins were loaded on board first. Then another few hours to our beach stop at Nungwi, one of the northern beaches. At first impression our accommodation H&H Bungalows was seriously uninspiring but it had beds (first in 4 weeks – yeah!!!) and a bathroom so was positive luxury. The beach was amazing with the turquoise waters of the Indian ocean, the dhows anchored in the harbour and restaurants and bars right on the beach front. Basically ate loads of yummy seafood, had real coffee, real chocolate cake, lazed on the beach, had a fabulous massage right on the beachfront… bliss. The next day a group of us went out diving, the rest snorkeling at Mnemba Island a few hour boat ride away. Hadn’t dived for awhile so a few of us did a quick refresher, then explored the reef with all the amazing fish (think Finding Nemo) and on the second dive even saw a turtle!! Was really great diving and great day out, followed by more chocolate cake and coffee… didn’t ever want to leave. The only dampner on the whole experience was the damp washing episode – while it had been fine all day out at the island, it had rained all day at the beach so all our washing was wet, not hugely clean and worse we had to go and track it all down so several people lost stuff in the melee.

Next day took the early taxi back to Stone Town to go on a spice tour at a local spice plantation. Was really interesting seeing how everything grows (and in the most haphazard manner), most of the plants I wouldn’t have recognized even by smell as many are quite different fresh. Saw, tasted and smelt a big range of spices – nutmeg, citronella, cardamon, cinnamon, ginger, tumeric, pepper and also tasted a mangosteen fruit (yum) which is a delicacy here and super expensive. The guides had woven cocunut palm leaf necklaces, handbags and rings for the girls, and hats, glasses and neckties for the guys so we looked very stylish on our return to town. Had a quick tour around the market, the church and the old slave market, then the fortress, though have to say it was really hot and switched off listening to much of the information as brain was in meltdown stage.

Phil arrived on the late taxi and woke me up from a sound sleep on the nicest bed (four poster each!!) in the Safari Lodge hotel. We delighted in the novelty of having a TV and lazed about for a few hours watching it as had already slept through the sunset, so missed out on the traditional sundowners!! Ended up venturing out in search of food, past the seafood markets which looked really tempting but had been warned that was not the safest around so resisted. Glad we did as found a really nice Italian place by the water and had the most delicious meal, including my first ever taste of tiramisu. What was also nice was that it was just Phil and I rather than a big group of us - probably a good thing as made embarrassing noises of enjoyment over such gastric-orgasmic food. Also it was appropriate as it worked out to be a celebration - one month to the day that we had been tent buddies.