A last minute change in our daughter’s plans left us free for the weekend. Greg arrived home on Friday, just after 4 and said let’s hit the road tonight, we can leave after dinner and head somewhere about an hours drive. I was still working from home until 5 so he did the planning. We would book into Kaipatiki CSC parking area, Parakai on the Auckland Regional website, then for the Saturday night at Atui Regional Park further north around the Kaipara Harbour and wing Sunday night. More planning than we normally do.

Booking made, then the confirmation email said the main gate closes at 7pm. Rapid maths – hours drive, never been before so don’t know the layout and a comment on the NZMCA app said ‘don’t try to get it from the main road, the park access is off Springs Rd’. I haven’t even thought about what to take, let alone done the appropriate food shop. Van not stocked. Okay, we need to leave by 5.45 to give us some breathing room to find where to go.

Panic stations – 5pm. Camper fridge on, grab clothes, the extra toiletries, electronic cables etc, throw some food and plenty of drinks in (We’ll shop on the road tomorrow) in the van. Dinner in a couple of containers straight out of the oven and wrapped in a towel to keep warm and we’re on the road in time.

6.45 and we arrive at the gate I’ve found using Google maps. It’s shut but we have a code that the email said was for an internal gate so we try it. Nothing. Maybe there is another gate. Drive up and down the road. Nothing. Back to the first gate. Try the number again but add a # at the end. Success. Why wasn’t that in the email! We drive slowly in and find the CSC parking area. 6 painted parking bays. 3 caravans with cars parked beside them but thankfully one bay we could squeeze into.

Move the bikes – back story here. We’ve been looking for years in a way to carry our e-bikes on our van. Because we have barn doors and the weight of e-bikes, most bike racks wouldn’t work. Our solution, which we had used last year was removing the click off front wheels and putting the bikes across the bench seats just inside the back door. A couple of loop brackets and the kayak cables secure them safety. We can still sit at the table during the day. Then at night, re relocate them to across the front seats. Bit of work but the bikes are safe inside the van at all times and no expensive chassis mounted bike rack needed.

Anyway, move the bikes, dinner on the table and a lovely bottle of red wine open. Relax!

Slept okay and in the morning light, we can finally see where we are. Must say for $22.00, there isn’t much. Toilets with bright lights 24/7 locked up permanently. Power poles beside each bay but not live. There is recycling bins which is great but we don’t need them on our first night. Looks like a great kids playground and you can walk through to the hot pools (entry not included). Arrh, the clothes I grabbed don’t really match, should have grabbed my track shoes but whatever.

Relaxed start to the day, breakfasted, bed cleared, bikes moved and we drove into Helensville to the Woolworths supermarket to stock up with food for 2 dinners and 1 lunch. We thought we’d get something for today at a local bakery. But first, coffee. Google recommended The Real Bread-shop. Maybe 2 birds with 1 stone but no, great coffee and a yummy pan de raisin but no suitable lunch options to take with us so after drinking our coffee in the warming sun, watching the locals to-ing and fro-ing, we headed to a bakery. Nothing without meat. Bugger. Back to Woolworths to buy plain croissants and some fillings.

Greg had noted on previous drives up SH16 a sign saying Waterfalls so he wanted to head there next. Omeru Reserve was gifted to Auckland City by Sir Basil Orr in 1971. A map says 5 minutes to 1 waterfall and 10 minutes to another. We started off on the 10 minute track. It became a boardwalk curving between Kauri trees, really beautiful. A small side path leads down to what turned out to be the 5 minute walk waterfall from the opposite bank. It’s a 2 step drop with a few more cascades beyond. Very pretty. After time for photos we carry on. The next waterfall is the largest in the reserve. The track finishes at the base. Looks like a great summer swimming hole. Definitely not today. It’s sunny, mostly but not very warm. After more photos we head back and down the other track to the 5 minute waterfall. The first waterfall we’d seen is on our left but on our right is another stream with several more waterfalls. We keep exploring every pathway/ dirt track. We have spent well over an hour here and it was fantastic.

We moved on the another spot seen on Google maps, Tauhoa Landing Reserve. Not much there, a sluggish curve in a brown stream, muddy grass and some overhanging trees. We made coffee and had filled croissants for lunch. Suitably refreshed we carried on to Atiu Creek Regional Park.

Atiu Creek was gifted to the Auckland regional council in 2006 by the family who had originally purchased the land in 1951. It was officially opened in 2008 and is still a working farm. There is a tent camp ground close to the coast and a CSC parking area on the upper part with amazing views. There are a few overnight horse paddocks as well as bike and walking tracks. Many ways to enjoy this area.

We were the only camper and there was only one tent in the lower area. It was the last weekend of the season that it was open which could be a reason for the seemingly underutilisation of this amazing place. Anyhow we arrived and parked. Unloaded the bikes and decided to do one of the circuits with a side track to Kauri Point as an afternoon cycle. However, we would have been better to lock up our bikes and walk the Kauri point loop. It was longish grass, lots of sheep poop and not ideal for cycling. By the way e-bikes are very heavy to push up steep tracks, especially if they are wet grass! Needless to say, by the time we got back to the van, drinks and snacks were well earned. Luckily, on the way back up the gravel part of our planned circuit, I spotted a horse washing area with a hose and brushes, we hit the brakes and cleaned our bikes. Sheep poop is surprising sticky.

After dinner, I noted it was a clear night so we went outside and looked up at the brilliant Milky Way. A bright orange shooting star crossed over, probably some space debris burning up in earth’s stratosphere but it was awesome to see. Unfortunately the wind was howling so not suitable for Greg to get some astrophotography but it was amazing to stand there and look into infinity.

We slept with curtains open, a sickle moon behind our heads sinking to the west and the Milky way rolling towards our feet. Waking with orange light coming through the windscreen. Up before sunrise and outside, with camera. Which section of our horizon would the sun burst forth from? Turns out behind that long clump of trees before vanishing into to looming bank of cloud. Doesn’t matter, I’m happy.

Breakfast, clean up then a plan to cycle the other circuit . My suggestion to come back up the same path as last night, ie past the horse washing area.

Starts off a newly gravelled track. Maybe newly bouldered might be a better description but the bikes and riders handled it with ease, then it became a grassy route through paddocks, cows mostly this time. Did you know cow pats erupt when you crush them. And pine cones in long grass are quite a hazard. Greg managed to nut himself on his bike’s cross bar. His facial expressions definitely told the story. Pain and agony aside, the scenery was spectacular. The Kaipara is the largest harbour in the southern hemisphere and the arm we were looking at is only a small part but still pretty big. It’s wonderful that this is open to anyone to come and appreciate. We wind our way down to Solomon’s Bay, past Solomon’s pa to Oweka Tapu Pou on the foreshore, pausing to take in the atmosphere. Further on the track is occupied by a herd of heifers. I pause to look at them, pulling out my phone to photograph but Greg rides boldly in calling “Hey, move along girls!!” and herds them around the bend and up the hill before they detour onto the grass.

Back at the van, after another horse/bike wash stop we have coffee then watch a heavy shower rinse the bikes off. We timed our ride well. One shower before we left and another after we finished.

We then ready the van to depart and drive further out the peninsula. We pass through the little village (?) of Tapora, it’s a school and a hall, and take a circular road via the Okahukura Conservation Area, checking out the area for a return trip when the tides are right. There is an island you can walk to at low tide- sand dunes and bird life. Wild, remote with a touch of risk. The Kaipara is a shallow harbour so the tide comes in very fast.

We stopped for lunch at Birds Beach and go for a walk along the foreshore. The tide is coming in but we won’t be long. The track ends at a point, there is a man in a ute fishing. We watch him catch at pretty decent sized snapper. He wants to get another couple, comments he hopes not to be trapped by the incoming tide. However, by the time we have walked back to the boat ramp, the water is rushing towards us through the mangroves and the water is lapping at the ramp. He is still not in sight so we figure he’ll be staying there until the tide drops again. Plenty of time to catch more fish.

Our next destination we stumbled upon on a previous drive, the Minniesdale Chapel. The quaint little church was built in 1860’s by the Albertlanders, pioneers from the UK. Turning the 2 brass ring handles lift the metal bars up and you can enter this tranquil chapel. Being open to the public is a rare thing these days and I hope no one abuses the privilege. There are booklets for sale at the altar telling the story of this building. I bought one last time and remember that the building contract went to a local man. When he was struck down with illness or injury (can’t remember which) his wife took over, hauling the timber up from the coast to the site. Hardy people living in a very remote part of the world.

We then meandered back roads to Port Albert. You can freecamp here. It’s changed a bit since the last time we visited. A new gravel parking area, higher from the waterline, with dedicated camper signs. By the time night falls, it’s full. It’s a throw everything that’s left in the pan with a sauce meal and finish off the wine dinner. Curtains closed for the night with such close neighbours and bright lights beaming from the toilet block. No stars anyway as the weather is closing in. It rained overnight but there was a clear break in the morning so we get to wander around. Stand at the end of the historic wharf and watch wading birds dig for crabs in the exposed mud.

We pack up and head to Wellsford for coffee and utilise the dump station. We were thinking of exploring more but the showers are getting more regular and heavy so we just head home. A good run with all green lights and we’re there in about an hour. We are very lucky to have so much to see so close to home.

We had a house project to tick off over the Easter holidays – prep and stain the eaves. That completed, we escaped in the camper for a couple of days. I’ve been wanting to check out the Hamilton Gardens with their walled gardens for a while now so we decided to start there.

There is huge construction going on at the front of the walled garden area making a new entrance, visitors centre and other area. This meant we entered to one side and almost directly into the English flower garden. Even though it’s autumn now, there are plenty of flowers and they contrast nicely with the autumn leaves. We wander along, through doorways into different panoramas. We just keep going without referencing the map I printed at home. It’s quite surreal to step from a Chinese sanctuary into an Italian renaissance courtyard, then into a pre-European Māori landscape. The surrealist garden has oversized garden utensils and moving branches, then you’re meandering through herb gardens and kitchen gardens.

Some stand outs were the Egyptian & Mansfield gardens. We reached a courtyard with signs promising some new gardens to come and checked our map. We’d missed a couple of gardens so backtracked to check them off then with a rain shower threatening, we headed to the cafe for lunch overlooking Turtle Lake. After lunch and with the sky clear again, we walked around the lake then did a circuit along the riverside and back through Echo Bank bush and Bussaco woodlands.

Back at the van and we discussed where to go for the night. Decision made, we headed off to Lake Ngaroto. We’ve stayed here before and it’s an easy 15/20 minute drive. We park up with our back door to the lake and go for a hike around the 6km loop track. It is being restored back to a natural state with Raupo wetlands and regenerative bush to encourage the birds back. Takes us more than an hour though with photo taking stops. Back at the van for drinks and nibbles, then dinner. We discuss what to do tomorrow. I’ve got 3 places pinned on Google maps as places that could be interesting to check out. All within an hour or so of each other so a loose plan is formed.

Next morning Greg goes off to try and photograph some birds at dawn. I sort the camper and read my book. Relaxing. A 10 minute drive to Te Awamutu and we stop for coffee in an interesting looking cafe. We assume it used to be a bank. Now it’s decked out with car memorabilia, route 66 signs, old license plates and posters, magazine covers… The walls are covered.

Our first destination is St Paul’s church and the site of Rangiaowhia. I’d heard about this place watching a documentary about the NZ Wars. From a place of peace, this site had become a place of massacre. nothing but a plaque shows the location of the second church burned to the ground with many women and children sheltering inside. Once more it is peaceful green countryside. We pay our respects and move on.

Our next destination is Pukemako. A windy road with many switchbacks leads up to a hilltop site. Once again it is only signs and a few concrete remains that tell the story of a TB sanatorium that existed here. My great grandfather was shipped home from WW1 without an arm and with TB. He was in and out of various sanatorium’s for the couple of years he survived. I wonder if he spent time here. His death notice states his final resting place at a sanatorium in Putāruru, a little further south.

The third destination is Pukemokemoke Bush Reserve, a place I’d accidentally found when looking for Pukemako. Google map sets us on roads we didn’t even know existed. We had an impromptu stop at a reservoir and Te Miro Mountain Bike Park. Another hidden jewel.

Pukemokemoke Bush Reserve is a hillside of regenerative bush donated in 1993. There are various tracks and we plot out one via the log hauler site and up to the ridge, then along to the lookout. From there it was down 300 steps to a Kawakawa grove, then a Kauri grove and a pa site on our way back to the carpark.

Now, where to go tonight? I’m thinking of Orini Church Hall, an easy 8 minute drive since it’s now quarter to five. Greg’s like – boring. Let’s go to Ray’s Rest! Okay, google says 59 minutes. Hope it’s not full! More driving on roads we’ve never been on. Then suddenly we’re on SH27 and it’s pretty straightforward from there. The tide is in and the sun is dropping towards the Hunua ranges when we arrive. Plenty of space and we park up side on to the sea. Drinks and nibbles quickly to hand. It’s been an interesting day, not too full on but it feels like it’s not the same day as the Lake this morning. Post dinner wander along the sand. The tide is going out and the birds are coming in. Feasting on the mudflats.

Next morning and Greg’s up early again. Off with his camera. Funny how he is definitely not a morning person at home but every time in the camper, there is something to motivate him up and out. Once again I chill and read. Finish my book so I go for a walk and find him. Crouched in the sand, patiently waiting.

It’s a very relaxed morning and nearly lunchtime before we depart. We’re going to go home today as someone wants to look at a car we’ve got on trade me tomorrow. No need to hurry tho. Clevedon for a coffee and a wander then we cut through to Whitford. There is a wetlands area Greg heard about. So lunch at Whitford Beach, not really a beach, more of a muddy point then we find the wetlands and go for a walk.

Eventually we’re done and head home. Relaxed, recharged and rested. We pick up pizza to take home for dinner.

The Waikato has so much to offer for chilled exploring. We must take our bikes sometime and cycle some of the trails available too.

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a blog post. Greg has continued his photography since we got back to New Zealand but except of a couple of COVID lockdown posts, I have not. Recently Greg was contacted about his East Cape photos and the possibility of an article. This got me thinking about the fact I just stopped writing. I used to really enjoy the process. Greg would be framing up photos and I would be looking on thinking to myself how do I describe in words this time and place. The sight, the sound the smell and feeling. The emotion and ambience.

Traveling in Europe we kept saying to each other, we need to do this in New Zealand so when we arrived back in 2020, we promptly bought a camper. However, covid and then the arrival of grandkids, then a renovation house have delayed the life on the road plans, so for now we are doing extended weekends and the occasional week away. 

This has meant we have spent time exploring areas like the Waikato. Most Aucklanders have blinkers on and are lead footing down the motorway to get to their destination. But the Waikato is pretty special when we exit SH1. I may have to add some blogs on some of those travels.

New Years we had a week off and really wanted to go around the East Cape. We’d last been around there in the ‘80’s, traveling in a Mark 2 Ford Escort with a 2 man pup tent. A camper is definitely more luxurious, park up, open the doors and get a cold beer or wine out of the fridge. 

The East Cape was much as we remembered. A slower pace. Communities that know each other. We were both spectators and also welcome guests. There is a generosity of their homeland. You can stay on the edge of their beaches and feel blessed. Watch the sun rise out of the sea and touch this precious land. 

Our start around the cape heading south was under brooding dark clouds. It hid the mountain tops and sent tentacles winding down the valleys. The sea was grey, angry, breaking on the windswept beaches and clawing the pebbly sand. The wind whistled around derelict buildings, timbers creaking. Echoes of a past energy. 

New Year’s Day, we awoke to bright sunshine. A totally different place. Clear blue skies blending into a vibrant blue sea. Sunlight making diamond starbursts on top white wave crests. The mountains, green with native trees a backdrop to myriad bays and beaches. The landscape dotted with marae and fields of yellow swaying grasses. 

Long wharves reaching out to deeper waters and the remains of industrial buildings speak of a past prosperous time. But a prosperity that stripped the land of its growing giants, leaving a soil without roots to hold it together. Even the wharves themselves succumbing to the decaying of time.

It’s a time of year for whanau to go back home. Camp in tents around the marae and beaches. The elders sitting around reminiscing, the youngster having fun. No devices or souped up cars. Laughter and games.  They jump on horses to head down to the shops. And the evenings are spent around bonfires on the beach. Plenty of slash for fuel. 

When we reached Gisborne, we were almost tempted to turn around and go back  home the way we had come. However, we didn’t as SH2 promised an interesting drive. Also, we’d read about the Mōtū Falls. 

A couple of kms down the Motu road, we spotted a recycling depot. Great! We dropped off our recycling which was overflowing our cupboard and our compost too. A couple of local ladies were manning the site and keen for a good chat.

 The Motu Valley is an isolated pocket, remnants of past endeavours to connect to the wider world now marked with information boards fading in the sun. A swing bridge over and a bush scramble upstream brought us to a sunlit swimming spot. 

Back to the main road and a hurried drive to Ohope. A full carpark but we squeezed in, side door towards the sea. It was a different world to what we had just left. Lots of people and noise. Light pollution dimming the stars.

Our last night before heading home was Lake Rerewhakaaitu, a beautiful lake just south of Rotorua. Before we got there though, we visited Lake Aniwhenua. A weed choked lake but downstream a lovely river along side a man made canal feeding a hydro dam. Long, lazy trout in a canal, resisting the flicking lures of fly fishermen.

Friday morning, I looked in the cupboards and said to Greg, Supermarket or home? He was looking at the weather forecast, home. One day earlier than needed for work but it’s great having the freedom to decide on the day where to go. Going home is never a drag either. Our home feels like a holiday destination, especially when you’re looking at the view and not the reno projects.

A year ago today we were in Stuttgart and visited the Mercedes-Benz Museum. That was at the start of our adventures. It feels a lifetime ago now. We were still learning van and travel life. Everything was new and exciting, all senses heightened as we quickly learned things. After 9 months we were so much more relaxed.

I’ve printed off the list I’d created and added daily the location we ended up at for the night. I’d started it to monitor our days in the schengen visa area and continued it for reference. It’s 6 pages wow. This is how we’re travelling now – through memories.

We both want to and will do a similar Motorhome adventure throughout New Zealand but for now it’s a reality of work and routine. We will buy the motorhome though. Sooner rather than later. Then we can have weekend adventures to keep the restlessness at bay.

Thursday 19th December

Transit day.

Greg transfers the last of his photos to the laptop. He has quite a lot lol. I have a quick look through and pick a few for my blog. I was going to limit it to 6 but went well over. There are so many good photos. You’ll have to see them on his page when he gets them culled and posted.

We check out and go to the airport. Kasane international airport. It’s tiny and I think at the moment there is only one flight a day. Does have decent wifi so I manage to upload my blog post on Botswana. The plane is late but the turn around is quick and we take off early. The attendant comes around with lunch, choice of chick roll or beef wrap. I ask if she has a vegan one and she replies no but she does have one vegetarian one. Then as she’s picking it up she goes ‘oh are you Barbara? Yes and there is my special vegan meal. Greg takes the vegetarian one. We reach J’burg and do the transit thing. It’s tiring doing nothing. The Air Namibia plane is also late and people are getting grumpy. Apparently we’re waiting for the catering to arrive. A bit ironic as it turns out. We eventually get onboard and take off, 30 minutes late. The attendant comes through with the food. We were expecting dinner and are handed a tiny bag of Biltong. I call her back as ask for a vegan option. She says that is the only option but she will check if business class has anything. She comes back and says there is a vegetarian pasta that they will bring through shortly. Great but the business attendant comes through a bit later to tell me that someone in business class asked for it so naturally they got it. Our first attendant explains that it is the new ‘service’. I take it they have downgraded to a budget style airline. So by the time we reach Windhoek, we are tired and hungry. The bags are slow coming through and it’s well after 9pm before we exit and meet our driver/guide, Pagge. He will be with us for the whole time in Namibia. Feel quite posh lol. He is 27, and has two children and a girlfriend. He has a flash company SUV for our journey though it will be landcruisers when we are actually in the parks. Pagge stops at a service station on the way to our hotel so we can buy something to eat for dinner. Limited options so we end up eating vegetarian not vegan but needs must and I’m not being too hardline on it all at the moment.

Pagge asks if we want a 8am start tomorrow or 9am. We go for 9am, it’s been a long day.

20th December

We leave Windhoek and sealed roads behind us and head into the desert. We are staying at Elegant Desert Lodge for 2 nights. It is in the Namib desert.

Namibia is named for this desert. Before it was called South West Africa. It was colonised by Germany and there are still many German influences here. During WW1 it was occupied by South Africa and remained in South African hands afterwards. Apartheid was then rolled out with the tribes all being separated into different regions. It gained independence in 1990 and has only had 3 Presidents since then.

We’re driving through a fascinating landscape, totally different to New Zealand and also Botswana. The soil/dirt is so pale in colour it looks white. The ground is littered with rocks, jagged, uncomfortable. There are high mountain ranges, bare, some red tinged, some greenish. Some mountains have very defined layers creating horizontal stripes contrasting with the jagged tops. There are small scrappy bushes sparsely scattered. It’s a hard harsh land. Greg gets Page to stop often so he can take photos. Definitely advantageous to be the only ones.

We see Steenbok, I thought it was a hare bounding across the road. We then see Hartmann Mountain Zebra. They’re quite shy and move away quickly when we drive along.

When we get to the lodge we get a choice of an air conditioned room in the main complex by the pool and wifi or a fancy tent 10 minutes drive away. The tent looks pretty cool but it’s about 40 degrees so the pool and the air conditioning wins easily.

After lunch we go for a refreshing swim. It’s so magical. As we laze on a couple of loungers looking out at the desert, Greg asks me to marry him. Of course I say yes. He’s so romantic, just love it. And him.

We just get back to our room when an a Oryx walks up to the feeding trough just off our patio. Unbelievable! Greg sits in our room with his camera on the tripod taking photos.

We have drinks and dinner sitting at the front of the lodge in view of another Oryx feeding by a water trough. The setting sun is turning the hills amazing hues of red. Then the stars start appearing. The international space station passes overhead. This is totally a pinch me moment. We shine a torch at the water trough and there is kudu and oryx there. It’s hard to drag ourselves back to our room but we have a early wake up tomorrow to catch the sunrise over the Sossusvlei sand dunes. Never mind we still have tomorrow night here.

21st December

We leave the lodge fairly early, just after 6am to get to the park gate when it opens. We are car number 54 in and the sun is already up lol. The road in the park is sealed which makes it a smooth drive. We’re driving between massive sand dunes along the river valley. Although the last time water flowed here was in 1997. We park in front of Dune 45. Named by the Germans because it’s 45km from the gate. It’s 90 metres high and we climb it. It’s hard going to start, one because we’re not warmed up at all and two because you slip back with every second or third step. Shortly before the first peak the sand firms a bit and it’s easier going. It’s surprisingly steep sided. You look down to a flat grey coloured gravel bed. The dune itself is a deep orange colour. These dunes remain in position because the wind blows one way in summer then the direct opposite in winter. It’s not the highest peak we’ve climbed but we feel a good sense of achievement when we reach the top.

Once we get back down again and Greg’s taken plenty of photos, we drive on. The sealed road ends and we’re driving on sand. The texture is like velvet, or maybe corduroy, the tyre treads providing the grooves. We park and eat our packed breakfasts. Then walk over a few low rises to the Deadvlei. It’s surreal, otherworldly. The valley floor is clay, baked white in the sun. It’s texture is like mud pats. Rising out of the clay are dark fossils of camelthorn trees, parched in the sun. Their bark cracked and gnarled. All around are the steep sides of the dunes. The largest of all is the Big Daddy and it’s at the top of the valley. Tiny black dots are people on top of it. It’s 350 metres and is apparently the highest in the world.

There is an oryx grazing beside the track, quite unfazed by the people walking by. Greg gets some good photos. Oryx are pretty intelligent. They just eat small bits from every bush so the bushes don’t die.

It’s cloudy and even rains, fat drops that vanish into the parched, thirsty earth.

The last stop in the park is the Sesreim Canyon. It’s 30 metres deep and 3km long. We peer down before descending into it. It’s hot down there and the calls of the baboons echo along the canyon.

Then it’s back to the lodge for a late lunch. After such great vegan food in Botswana, I’d expected the same here in Namibia. More fool me. They don’t even seem to understand what I mean. Today I was offered lasagna, then a chicken wrap. In the end I just have a side salad, same as yesterday. It has a sprinkling of feta which gives it some protein but means it’s not vegan. I’m a little disappointed as everyone was certainly informed in advance by Sandi, our travel agent, but I guess if they don’t even know what vegan or vegetarian is then they’re not going to be able to cater for it. I don’t want to be difficult but I do want to eat and at the prices we’re paying, I kinda expected better.

After lunch we hit the pool again then relax until dinner. If the cloud clears we’re going to drive over the the tent complex and climb a hill to watch the sunset. Not got my hopes up though, the cloud doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere soon.

The cloud doesn’t lift at all and it actually rains just as we sat down with predinner drinks. We move inside for a bit. The staff are quickly bringing all the table settings and cushions in too. The rain does stop and we do go back outside for dinner but there is no sunset and no stars, also no animals at the water trough tonight.

22nd December

We check out and head north to Solitaire for coffee and a slice of their famous apple pie. The clouds have completely gone and it’s clear blue sky. North further to the Tropic of Capricorn. We see some oryx, springbok and zebra but it’s more about the landscape here. I do wonder how anything survives here. It’s an existence not a life.

Unworldly, hills orange, ground yellow and plants grey.

Wide, wide gravel road, where everyone has found their own route.

There is no water in Namibia, just rivers of sand and rock.

We pass through rifts where the land has ripped itself apart.

Constantly changing landscape but always arid, dry, harsh.

The vastness of the savanna. There are mountains but the flat land goes around them and beyond.

Kueb Pass. Huge mounds of slate and a empty riverbed. A pass going down and up not up and down. Hot as the sun bounces back of the dark rock. Nothing green to moisten the air.

When there are trees, Acacias, they are growing in a line. Their deep roots following an underground stream.

Corrugations so bad, the front shudders at a different beat to the back of the car. The panel above the headlight pops off. It’s called the African massage.

The horizon disappearing into a heat haze.

We stop to look at some very old plants. They’re called Welwitschia mirabillis. The first one we view is a male and between 1000 and 1500 years old. Nearby is one aged between 50 to 60 years, same age as us. We’ve a bit bigger though. It’s about 10cm in diameter. They only grow two leaves and they are tough, very tough. Almost like lead to touch.

Our next stop is an area known as the moonscape. Contorted rock as far as we can see. No animals can survive here. Only a few reptiles and even they struggle.

We come across a couple with a flat battery. We push start them. Not a good place to break down. They were lucky we came along.

After that we head for the coast and Walvis Bay to see the flamingos. They line the beach, both the greater flamingo which is grey coloured and the lesser flamingo which is the pink one. It’s cool to see them coming in to land, they lower their legs and run a few steps.

Then it’s back into the car and drive north along the coast, between the sea and the huge dunes to Swakopmund, which is where we’re staying tonight. It’s the Atlantic coast again, lol it’s windy of course. There are lots of ships offshore and oil platforms. It’s very hazy so everything is soft focused.

Our accommodation is called The Stiltz and is thatch roofed cottages on stilts situated on the mouth of a dry river. It’s all connected by high boardwalks. Looking out the windows, the sea is just there. There are flamingos to one side. It smells lovely thanks to the fresh thatch and we flop down on the couch and put our feet up. We’ve got an hour until we go off to watch the sunset and then to a waterfront restaurant for dinner.

Unfortunately the sun disappears into low cloud before it reaches the horizon so no sunset. It’s actually cold! Well, I guess just cool but both of us dig out jeans and jackets for the evening. The restaurant is called The Tug and has a tug boat inside. It is now the bar and we sit in there for a bit before our table is ready. Greg and Pagge have freshly caught fish and I have a spinach pie. We’re all very full when we leave. Luckily we have a sleep in tomorrow. 8am breakfast for a 9am departure.

23rd December

We leave Swakopmund and it’s straight back into a desert. We’re driving 80km up the coast. The road is straight, no bends or curves. The beach on our left, white capped waves crashing erratically on the shore. On our right it’s endless sand. We stop at a shipwreck. I’m figuring that the tidal current of the Atlantic coast means this is where ships and other things end up. It’s called Skeleton Coast because of the amount of skeletons washed up here, both sailors and ships.

We’re driving along a Chinese built road. The Chinese bring in all their own equipment but do employ locals. Apparently though, they cut the legs off the wheelbarrows so the workers can’t rest at all.

We turn inland and the temperature slowly picks up. Tonight’s destination will be in the early 40’s. Hot. Last night it was 16.

Again we’re driving wide gravel roads. The highest mountain in Namibia, Brandburg, is on our left and gradually grows as we get nearer. It looks impressive as it rises straight out of the desert.

We pass roadside stalls selling stones collected from the mountain. These are arranged by colour and arrayed in painted tyres propped on sticks. There are ‘people’ made from tree branches dressed in old clothes.

The landscape gets hilly, less sand, more rocks. More scrappy bushes. This is Damaraland. We stop at a Humba village. Page takes photos of us with the woman. There is a little girl, one year old, who was quite taken with my Pounamu necklace. She was very cute and tries to snuggle up to me.

We pass over another dry river bed but hang on, there is water! Brown fast running. Pagge pulls over and stops. This is rare. It must have rained upstream in Etosha.

Our accommodation tonight is a tented camp. We’re tent one and it, like the others are sheltered in against great rocks. There is an outside bathroom, shower, basin and toilet. At dusk they will bring around a battery to power the lights. Our tent is about 10 minutes walk to the bar, pool and restaurant. It’s remote and very very hot. We dump our bags and hit the pool. Pagge comes over a bit later and tells us it’s 41degrees. I suspect that here, nestled between these big rocks, it’s hotter. Certainly feels it and of course there is no air conditioning anywhere, no wifi either. Back at our tent there is a breeze but it’s not cold. Clouds have formed and we can hear thunder.

The site is by a waterhole used by desert elephants but it’s dry at the moment, has been for several months so the elephants aren’t visiting.

Despite our suffering, it is an amazing place, I sit on the front porch and look out at red dirt, sparse low trees and rock outcrops all the way to the horizon. Off to one side, partially hidden by a rocky outcrop is the roof of another tent. With luck this cloud will go away and we will have full on stars tonight. Or maybe tomorrow. We’re here for two nights.

Just before sunset we climb the rocky outcrop, the koppie as it is called here. Greg goes up a chimney and I chose to go around. He makes it to the very top, I don’t lol. It’s not an amazing sunset as there is still some cloud about unfortunately. Maybe tomorrow night.

Dinner is cooked on an open fire and was tasty. Then Pagge drives us back to our tent with the warning that sometimes they have leopards around here so not to go walking at night. Okay, no problem with that advice.

24th December

Today we drive a loop. First stop was the Petrified Forest. It’s not actually a forest but rather tree trunks that washed up here during ice ages when all land was still Gondwana. The organic material of the trunks was conserved. Due to enormous pressure and over a period of millions of years even the finest structures of the wood have been dissolved by silicic acid and replaced by quartz, which is silicic acid in crystalline state. The result is perfectly conserved and completely petrified trunks. They have been dated 280 million years and the trees were at least 150 years old before they died. The story is more impressive than the sight for plebs like us. As stone it is incredibly heavy, more so than normal stone. In a few places it is hollow and sounds different when you tap it.

The following stop is the Damara living museum. It is a group (family) of Damara people demonstrating the traditional way of life. They go through herbal medicines, games, jewellery making, tanning hides and making clothing. They finished with starting a fire and then singing and dancing.

Next stop was the burnt mountain and the organ pipes, both very old geological features.

Last stop was Twyfelfontein Rock Art. These are pictures of animals carved in the red sandstone boulders by the bushmen. They’ve been dated at between 3500 and 6000 years old. It strikes me this country ages very slowly. In any other place, the art would have been eroded by rain or covered by dirt or smothered in plants. Here they look like they were just done, the rocks haven’t even crumbled away.

After that we stop for lunch at Twyfelfontein lodge. There is free wifi so I sent a couple of merry Christmas messages to family. It’s weird to think tomorrow is Christmas Day.

Then it’s back to our place and straight into the pool. It rained this morning while we we’re driving but this afternoon it’s back to be hot, very hot. There are a lot more people here now, mostly South Africans.

We climb the koppie again for sunset and are joined by a young British couple who we then sit with for dinner and have a great chat.

25th December. Merry Christmas Everyone.

It doesn’t feel like Christmas at all. We were woken during the night by a rustling in my bag. Turned out to be two large mice. They had eaten through the bag Sense of Africa had given us and into the snack foods I’d stored in there. I use the torch to herd them back out the gaps in the door. Then made sure the zips on the bags are fully shut.

Breakfast, check out and we hit the road. We leave Damaraland and enter Heroland. Different tribe so different style of houses. It’s a lot greener here. It’s the Etosha Conservatory so hopefully wildlife too.

We see a few giraffe, first time since Botswana. We are staying just outside the park gate so can expect wildlife around our cottage. We get a whistle on our keys, not sure if it’s to scare animals away or call for help. We dump our bags and go for lunch then hit the pool to refresh. We’re going for an late afternoon game drive with Pagge.

We drive a few minutes and into the park. We stop at the first waterhole and there is only a couple of springboks so we carry on to the hotel to pay the park fees. There is a big waterhole there with seats around it so you can watch in safety without being in a vehicle. It’s just springboks again and some birds. So we then follow a safari car for a while. They have radio contact so generally know where to go. After viewing some zebra we ask a car coming the other way what they’ve seen and they tell us where a lion is so we head there. Can spot the location from far away, it’s where lots of cars are parked up. The lion is lying by a bush facing away from us and it’s not moving at all. We eventually move on. Then I spot a black rhino! I’m pretty chuffed with myself. It’s not being obligating for photos though. Keeps moving and turning this way and that. Greg keeps muttering – just look up please. It doesn’t lol.

We’re meant to be out of the park by 6pm or there are fines. Luckily African time applies and we’re fine being 10 minutes late.

As it’s Christmas Day the dinner buffet is extra special, this means lots and lots of meat lol. Kudu, impala and Elan plus lamb, pork on the meat table, whole chickens on the poultry table, heaps of seafood on the seafood table then a table with heated dishes like Baboote and lasagne plus hot veggies. Add a salad table and a cheese table and soup and bread table, a fruit table and a desert table and there is enough food to feed Africa lol. We’re offered a free glass of German wild berry schnapps or local liquor to start and Pagge puts a bottle of wine on the table. He doesn’t drink at all. The display of meat is actually off putting, it’s so much but there are whole carrots and whole potatoes so we eat well. Greg has some seafood – weak! Hahaha.

26th December

We have an early start and I accidentally set the alarm for pm not am so when I wake up it’s 30 minutes past our planned get up time. Quickest shower ever, luckily we sorted the packs last night. Quick breakfast and we board the open air safari vehicle. There is a Portuguese family of 4 and a couple of Turkish girls from Germany.

Our first stop is the waterhole just inside the gate. Score! There are 3 lions strolling along. They’re hungry and the springboks know it. They all take off. The two female lions angle apart, padding carefully after them, the male lion sauntering along behind, occasionally sitting down and waiting. Females do all the work but the males get first dips at the food. Charles, our driver thinks they are probably siblings.

We leave them as they disappear from sight. The intention is to head quickly to the East side of the park. Back on the main road and I spot a rhino (again). It’s easier to see and photograph than last nights one.

Further on and we stop for ostrich then zebra. Also jackal, wildebeest, giraffe, oryx, springbok. Then there is radio chatter and we take off, drag racing other vehicles. The African massage becomes a vibration.

There are hyena by the road. Because there are no hills or caves, they sleep in the culverts under the road. These two don’t want to enter with vehicles parked up above them. They circle around and try darting ahead. The second one has clearly had a good feed, the fur around it’s head and forelegs stained red.

More radio chatter and we’re off again. This time its cheetah having been spotted. We’re barreling along a track when a stopped vehicle whistles and flags us down. There are two lions walking towards us. They’re not hunting and they cross the road, female leading, male following. Charles explains pairs will leave the pride for a few days mating. They will mark an area to keep other lions out then do the deed very 30 minutes or so for about 6 days before rejoining the pride. A short distance away there are three lionesses dozing under a couple of low trees.

We carry on to where the cheetah had been seen and there they were, three of them, walking along. They’re absolutely beautiful. Greg complains to me that Charles is constantly moving the vehicle around and not giving enough time to take photos. The Portuguese father has a camera (short zoom lens) but everyone else is using phones.

From there we cruise around an area where leopard are known to habitat but no luck. We then head back to Okaukuejo for lunch. This afternoon we will go west to see the elephant.

On the way we stop at a couple of large groups of zebra. The first has makes fighting between themselves. Charles says there is no leader at the moment so they’re all fighting for supremacy.

A bit further on we’re some more lions, one with broken teeth. Then another group of zebra are grazing but one close to the road has some huge cuts on its flack and leg. Clearly a lion attack that it managed to survive. One wonders if the two are connected.

After lunch we all jump back in the vehicle and lol it won’t start. Charles opens the fuse box and starts fiddling around with a multi tool, still won’t start. Pops the bonnet and starts fiddling around in there, still won’t start. Slides under the vehicle, still won’t start. Back to the fuse box and this time it starts. Doesn’t inspire confidence.

We head off again. It’s hot, very hot. The animals are all sheltering in the shadows of whatever bush they can find. The only crazy species out in the midday heat are the humans. The African air conditioning is blowing wind in our hair and faces but the backs of my thighs are sticking to the seat.

We’re trying to find elephant but fail. We see territory markings for leopard so drive slowly scanning both sides without any success. We see territory markings for rhino but again don’t see the actual animal. The two German girls sleep in the back seat.

I think if anyone is doing a safari, avoid going out in the afternoon.

Some random facts;

The tops of termite mounds always face north east to monitor the sun.

Wildebeest like to follow zebra because zebra eat the tops of grasses and wildebeest like the base. They also compliment each other defensively. Zebra have good eyesight, wildebeest has a good sense of smell.

Impala have a M on their bums. They call them McDonalds – fast food for leopards.

A giraffe kick can kill a lion

Etosha was White mans pronunciation of Etotha, meaning they place where no plants grow’. It was the second ever wildlife reserve, designated by the Germans in 1907. At that time the hunters had eliminated all the lions, elephants and white rhino. There were a few black rhino left in some inaccessible places. The reintroduced them and now monitor and maintain numbers. The park is fully fenced so in times of severe drought they cull. I guess the fence stops them traveling to find water.

We stop at a toilet area and the vehicle won’t start. Multi tool in the fuse box and we get going again. Greg doesn’t thinks it’s been firing on all cylinders all day. It sounds a bit like a lawnmower and sometimes he revs the shit out of it, throwing it through gears to get forward momentum.

We head for the exit without stopping and make it safely back to our lodge. Life is one big adventure.

As I open our door to go for dinner, there are 3 kudu standing there, two female and one male. I quietly call Greg over and he grabs his camera. Then we I actually walk out the door there are another couple on the drive. Greg has to go back for his camera because there is also. Rainbow and a setting sun. By the time we get to the restaurant area there are about 7 kudu around one of the seating areas. Ironically Kudu is on the buffet table for dinner, freshly cooked in front of you. Surely that’s a little to much, who can sit there eating the fresh of the beautiful animals they are looking at.

27th December

We check out and head back into the park. We are crossing it to another gate and our accommodation for tonight at Onguma Private Reserve.

We see more Springboks springing and zebra zzzz-ing. Giraffe and wildebeest. Then as we’re crossing a salt pan we see a cheetah walking, pausing to look around. Eventually it heads back off the pan, shaking its paws and settles by a low bank. We also see Red Hartebeest and tree squirrel. We check out about 5 waterholes but no elephants anywhere.

Our accommodation is a tented camp. It’s very very flash. The tents are wrapped around a waterhole so hopefully we see some action tonight. Pity we’re only staying one night unfortunately. Tomorrow is a big (and nerve wracking) day transiting to Tanzania.

After lunch looking at the waterhole we repack our bags ready for tomorrow, Greg transfers photos to the laptop then we hit the pool. Luxury, swimming in an infinity pool beside impala drinking at the waterhole. The only other people around is a staff worker setting tables for dinner. 4 tables in total so I don’t think there is a lot of people here. The complex has 4 other areas each with their own facilities. It’s all part of a private reserve of 34,000 hectares with all the animal species of Etosha except for elephant. Etosha is just over the fence and apparently herbivores dig under the fence and carnivores uses the same holes.

We do a sundowner tour. Depart our lodge at 5pm and pick up a Dutch family from Belgium at the next area, The Fort. Then we head out. Within 20 minutes we are at a waterhole watching a mother cheetah and her two 2 year old young drinking. She cares for them until they’re about 2 years 5 months and they can kill for themselves then she leaves them. They will be fully grown at 2 & a half.

After that we drive around for another hour and a half and not see a lot. A couple of white backed vultures, a dikdik , the smallest antelope and the usual zebra, impala, kudu, springbok. How quickly we become blaze about some animals.

We then park up to watch the sunset. Unfortunately cloud means it’s not great but Victor, our driver pulls out a table and lays it with snacks and drinks so we enjoy ourselves anyway. Then it’s lights on and back to the lodge. We sit by a fire pit and have another drink watching zebra come to the waterhole. Then dinner. Seriously wish we were here for 2 nights, this place is amazing.

We’re escorted back to our tent and the mosquito net has been drawn and candles lit. Totally indulgent. Pinch me.

28th December

Transit day. Long transit day. Up at 5am. Seven hour drive back to Windhoek airport then three flights to Tanzania. All with short transits. We land at 10 minutes to midnight and still have to do our visas. Which apparently involves 3 queues.

I can’t believe we’re on our last day in Namibia. It’s gone so fast. It’s been an interesting visit. The country is quite varied. It has been a bit ‘drive here, look at that, drive there, look at this’ but I guess that is the nature of tourism.

The countryside we drive through is totally different again. It’s mountainous. There are mines in this area. The road is sealed which makes it smoother and faster. We go though a couple of police checks. Over here they don’t have warrant of fitnesses for vehicles but if it’s not all good at a police check you will get fined.

Pagge likes, and has played all week, sixties big band type music. On our drive today Greg introduces him to William Onyeabor then plays some kiwi tunes.

We leave the mountains behind and the land is flat as far as you can see. We arrive at the airport with 30 minutes to spare. Great enough time for some lunch as we know now that Air Namibia will just have biltong. We even get boarding passes for the next leg. I breathe a sign of relief as that’s a 40 minute transit. The following transit we have 45 minutes to get fresh boarding passes. Our bags are checked all the way through to Tanzania. We are prepared for mishaps and have a carryon with some clothes and shoes.

First transit was great. We were meet at the arrival gate, escorted to point out our bags and then taken through to our departure gate. He even went off and printed our next boarding passes. I saw our bags get loaded onto the plane yay. Hopefully the next transit is as good.

Bugger. Our plane sat on the runway at Nairobi for 20 minutes waiting for a gate. We run but by the time we got to the next gate the plane had gone. Go to the transfer desk and they tell us to call our travel agent!!!! Eventually they say they’ve got us on another flight. Tomorrow morning. Going to be tight for the safari now. Now sitting on the floor waiting for the new boarding passes then we have to do an arrival into Kenya and go to a hotel. No idea if this is going to cost us or not. We’ve been up for nearly 20 hours and not happy.

After 30 minutes they came over and tell us they can’t books us onto the next flight as our flight to Nairobi and the ongoing flight to Tanzania were separate tickets so it’s not their responsibility and we need to contact our travel agent. I had already emailed Sandi and thankfully she was on her computer, midday on a Sunday back home. More emails and she books us onto the flight.

So we go back to the desk to get the boarding passes etc. They can’t find it on there computer and tell us our agent has just made a booking and she needs to issue tickets. That turns out to be just them using Kenya air systems and the flight is Precision Air, which is a subsidiary airline. They phone someone who confirms our tickets and we finally get new boarding passes.

Then it’s our luggage, which is sitting somewhere in transit. They then get them transferred to our new flight.

Finally to us, no hotel because it’s not ‘ their fault’. We ask about the ‘Kenya Lounge’ advertised in a big poster behind them. They say no and anyway it closed at midnight. I’m beyond upset and am just so tired.

We find a row of plastic seats and settle down. It’s the kind of half sleep but we’re both wide awake at 2.15 freezing. They’re upped the air conditioning and I’m shivering. I haven’t got a jacket so put on my space tee over the first one and my linen shirt on top of that. We try to sleep again but it’s too cold so we walk around and find another space. I’m now on a tiled window ledge. Greg’s a little distance away on some seats. More half sleep but by 4.30 I give up and go to the bathroom. Wash my face, clean my teeth, try to feel human. Greg’s given up too so we find somewhere for coffee and something to eat.

We start the Tanzanian Safari this morning so no margin for error now.

I keep telling myself in a year, I will have forgotten the emotion and the sheer exhaustion and will just remember the good times. Travel is all about new experiences and overnighting in an African airport is definitely a new experience.

………

I’m being ruthless with my photo selection. Greg has taken so many great shot you will have to look at his page.

29th December

Finally 29 hours after we got out of bed, we land in Tanzania. Then 30 and a bit hours later we arrive at the hotel we should have slept in last night. We go to the room and sort our bags for safari and have a shower.

The drive from the airport shows Tanzania to be totally different to Namibia, and Botswana also. It’s green, lush. Every river we cross has water flowing. The cows are plump, lots are on long leads like dogs being directed where to eat. There are sunflowers, hops and maize growing on every scrap of land. It’s tropical feeling, bit like Fiji. There are small motorbikes everywhere and people. There are brightly painted buildings, brightly decorated vans, brightly dressed people adding a vibrancy to the the place. Dirt floored stalls selling suits, beds, food and many other things. A 100 pink chairs loaded on a tuk tuk. A woman in a long dress sweeping the dirt. A shopping street so rough our driver engages low ratio. A man pulling a wooden cart up a hill and in the tray is a goat.

I’m running on adrenaline, craning my head left and right to take it all in. I don’t want to stop until bedtime or I will crash. Greg sleeps.

1pm – we have our delayed safari briefing. We then find our ‘small guided tours up to 7 people’ this time has only 2. So just us and our driver/guide. Id been hoping to meet and mix with other people but I guess no one will complain if Greg takes too long with his photos.

After lunch we meet our guide, Hassan, and hit the road. It’s an 8 seater closed sided Land Cruiser. The roof lifts up for all around views when we’re in the parks.

The name Tanzania came from a merging in 1964 of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The population is 55 million! Wow. That explains all the people lol. And I guess is a direct reflection on the richness of the land to provide for the people, and the animals. There are 124 different tribes of varying sizes. One of the largest is the Maasai. Instantly recognisable by their blankets. We pass lots herding their cattle with a thin stick. Guiding them to fresh grass. The Maasai people migrated south and into Kenya and Tanzania in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. They forcibly displaced the people already here and then ironically were moved themselves from the Serengeti and most of Ngorongoro by the Germans and later the British. For the most part they have resisted attempts to modernise their way of living.

We’re staying the night at Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp. We’re in a fancy thatch roofed, netting sided cottage? Tent? Don’t know what to call it. Inside a huge four poster bed, sitting area, huge bathroom with corner bath and spa shower, two decks one overlooking a plain with antelope, wildebeest and zebra and a lake to one side. We go to the pool for a swim to refresh ourselves, wake up a bit and ease the puffy ankles lol. The pool is also elevated with views over the plains.

We’re planning on dinner as soon as it’s ready, then an early night. Catch up on sleep.

Early night didn’t happen. They have a large tv in the bar area playing the Liverpool game. The wifi is only there also. So we watch the game and upload some stuff. We are then escorted back to our cottage by security. I asked what he was guarding us from but he didn’t have enough English to understand the question. I’m assuming it’s wildlife but we have padlocks on every entrance so…….

30th December

A good nights sleep means we feel halfway human again. Plan is breakfast, check out and game drive.

I feel uncomfortable with people hovering the whole time. The second I finish the last mouthful of tea, someone is asking me if I want another. When I say no, they ask to clear it away. They dart forward to hold your chair when you go to get up. There are eyes on you constantly. Then we get asked to complete a survey. I get Greg to do it lol.

We then go into Manyara National Park in the Rift Valley. It’s a jungle. Thick trees, twisted vines, green scrub. We see lots of monkeys; the blue monkey and the black faced vervet monkey which rather interestingly has blue balls of a hue that doesn’t seem natural. There are also hundreds of baboons. While viewing one particular group, the driver of another car calls out something and our driver translates it as ‘ there is a baboon on the car’ I turn my head and realise it’s our car. If the baboon reached out its arm it could touch my elbow. We stare into each others eyes and it jumps off and disappears into the undergrowth.

There are areas of savannah and we see common zebra, black wildebeest and impala.

We exit the park and after eating our packed lunches, we enter the Ngorongoro Conservation area. We climb the road up to the crater rim and at the lookout get our first look at the caldera. My jaw drops, it’s massive! I can’t even comprehend how big the mountain was before it erupted. We will go down into it in a few days but for now we drive along the rim and down the far side. This area is a vast savannah; endless grass, the jungle left behind on the mountain. The thousands of wildebeest freely wander around. There are also a few zebra and Thomson gazelle. Further on we see giraffe and grand antelope. We then exit Ngorongoro straight into Serengeti. There is a fancy gate but no fence. It is high grass to the horizon. Occasional Koppies (rock outcrops) break up the landscape. There is a cheetah sitting on one. The predators like the koppies to spot prey.

The name “Serengeti” is an approximation of the word used by the Maasai to describe the area, siringet, which means “the place where the land runs on forever“. Seems very appropriate.

We see lots of safari cars parked by a tree and head over. It’s a lion, snoozing in a high branch. The ground is wet so a tree makes a good resting spot. Bonus of spotting prey as well.

In Tanzania, the rains have come early. Normally it’s starts in February. This is inconvenient for the farmers who haven’t yet prepared their fields for planting. For us it becomes challenging getting to our safari tent camp. Some of the access tracks are impassable. Apparently a few people didn’t made it and had to be towed out of the mud in the morning. Overnighting in a safari car might be a new experience but I’m not particularly keen. Hassan tells us to brace ourselves and hold on. It’s not much of a road, rather a series of deep mud pits. We slip and slide but get through.

Our campsite is set up as a mobile site so everything can be removed without any impact on the environment, if needed. It’s 7pm when we arrive and dinner is 7.30. We put on warmer clothes as it’s a lot colder than expected. Then we flash our torch and someone comes to guide us to the communal area. There is fresh buffalo dung on the path. Beetles and flies already enjoying the feast.

We have a lovely dinner. Hassan says he is also vegetarian so no meat at our table. After we’ve finished we’re escorted back to our tent. There is more buffalo dung on the path, have to be very careful where we step. In our tent and we can hear hyena close by and then elephants. Apparently the animals like to hang around the camp at night because the lights make them feel safer.

John, who is escorting us tells us of a very close call he had with a leopard while watching Liverpool play Barcelona. He popped out at halftime to charge his phone (the charging area is in the communal area). The leopard sighted on him so he flashed his torch in the leopards eyes then ducked down and headed for the other end of the tent. Definitely won’t be going outside at night. Especially as we’re the last tent in the row.

31st December

A disturbed night. It took a while to drop off because of what I thought was snoring from the next tent. Turned out to be a cape buffalo lying against their tent sleeping. There were also regular calls from hyena. Some very close and waking us up. At 1.30 there was a huge commotion with screaming. Turned out to be a group of elephants dealing to a young bull between tent one and two.

We have a camp bucket shower at the rear of our tent and the hot water arrives as requested at 6.30. Breakfast, then we head out for an all day drive on the Serengeti savannah.

We see, in no particular order;

Cheetah leaping over a river and then lying down in some tall grass. They were fat, likely just had a big feed.

Maasai giraffe, suddenly noticing the cheetah and running in a wide circle around them.

A tree that may, or may not have contained a leopard.

A cheetah sitting up on a low branch scanning the grassland before leaping down and heading off with intent.

Hippo snorting in brown water. Occasionally raring up to attack a neighbour.

Lions doing the deed, over quickly with his face showing achievement and her walking away.

Huge herd of Cape buffalo, thousands! Couldn’t get close because the road was flooded.

Lots of colourful birds. Hassan would tell us the names but I can’t remember them all.

Maasai giraffe, beautiful patterns, eating the thorny acacia trees.

Drama! A leopard and a cheetah! The leopard is stalking cheetah cubs. 5 safari cars head off over the grass chasing the leopard away.

A herd of Topi running from where the leopard ended up, sheltering 2 young ones.

The mother cheetah leading her 3 cubs away, pausing often to check behind her.

A huge herd of elephants, moving languidly across the plain. Mass migration.

Three Cape buffalo lazing in the grass in front of our camp. Guess there will be more snoring tonight.

Hassan is disappointed with the number of animals. He says there is normally lots more. Climate change is messing with the rains.

Happy New Year everyone. We have a very jovial dinner. Chat with a couple from Ireland, a German couple (Porsche workers and owners) and a couple from Guatemala. Later a French family with some living in Wales. There is champagne provided with singing and toasting. Our escort back to our tent is more than a little drunk lol. But we make it safely.

1st January 2020

It’s a very jovial group at breakfast this morning. And Greg made it even better.

Back story – when we arrived here Greg was wearing his Liverpool shirt. John, who is running the camp and did our greeting was super impressed. He started supporting Liverpool when he was about 9. He kept calling Greg Mr Liverpool and they talked football whenever they could.

This morning Greg said to him, happy new year and gave him his shirt. John was ecstatic and put it on straight away, showing off to all the other workers and guides. It got even funnier when the Guatemalan guy turns up in a Barcelona shirt. Lots of photos and good natured joking.

After breakfast we say goodbye and hit the trail. Unlike other places we’ve been, here the cats aren’t active in the early morning, apparently because of the dew. Since it’s not as hot here they can hunt comfortably later in the morning.

We do another circuit of the Serengeti but don’t see much so we head to the Naari gate and from there, there are lots of zebra and wildebeest, mass herds in migration. Wildebeest can smell the rain coming. They have their young while they are on the short grass so they can see predators, before they get into the area of the Serengeti with the long grass. We leave the Serengeti and enter Ngorongoro. Back up to the rim and down the other side to tonight’s accommodation.

We stop at the monument to Dr Mary & John Leakeys discovery of early human skulls. The area is dubbed the cradle of man. I plan on reading more about early man and the development of civilisation when I get home.

We exit the park and drive down the mountain to our accommodation it’s called the Ngorongoro Farm Valley House and although it is on a farm, the accommodation is very luxurious. The main house is thatch roofed and has a sweeping veranda with views over a manicured garden to the side of Ngorongoro. The accommodation is separate cottages either side of the manicured garden. Wifi only at the main house (of course) so after a refreshing swim in the pool out the front, we sit on the veranda like posh people in large wicker chairs and pull out our devices. Lol, not like posh people.

2nd January

We’re up early today as we are going down into the Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is the world’s largest intact caldera at 610 metres deep and 260 square kilometres, the difference between a crater and a caldera is a crater is an outward volcanic explosion, a caldera is an inward one. It erupted 2.45 to 2 million years ago. The one way road down is steep and rugged. The small dots below growing and growing to become recognisable as wildebeest and zebra. Huge numbers of them. We’re not long on the caldera floor and 3 lion walk through the herds. The animals move away but no big dramas. Clearly the lions aren’t giving off any ‘hunting’ signs. They are brothers and have a bit of a play together. Rolling around and climbing on each other. This is amazing to see as these aren’t young lions. They all have full dark manes. They cross the road, all the safari cars are lined up watching, and head off towards some trees. We carry on towards the central lake. This is alkaline and has hundreds of flamingos. We can’t get too close as there are no roads down there but from where we are it looks like lots of pink flowers on a pond.

We then enter the treed area and there are elephants. Smaller than the ones in Botswana but still impressive. We’re very close. So close that when one crossed behind our vehicle I could have just about touched it. It ate some leaves beside us before moving towards the front of our vehicle. Then it turned at looked at us. She shook her head, flapped out her ears and growled. Hassan told us to sit down, she was clearly agitated. We sat down and watched through the windows as she calmed down and walked away. She had no tusks so I wonder if she was more touchy because she had less defence.

We carry on and exit out of the trees back to the savannah and lots more wildebeest, zebra and gazelles. Hassan stops and pulls out his binoculars. We focus in the same direction and there are 4 black rhino. Unfortunately too far away to really photograph. Then Hassan starts the engine and speeds off. Looking ahead we can see a big lineup of safari cars with more incoming. There are 2 rhino really close. They cross the road between the cars.

This is the moment that Greg’s camera decides not to work. He is incredibly frustrated. It could be dust in the shutter, or maybe the rough roads have shaken something loose, or maybe with about 8000 photos being taken in the last 10 months something has worn out. We’re both thankful it’s happened on the 2nd to last day of wildlife viewing. It will be going into Fujifilm for repair as soon as we get home. Was going to anyway as some screws have come out and it would probably need a service.

We watch them for a while and then continue exploring the caldera. We see huge herds of buffalo and at the fresh water lake lots of hippo. This is where we have lunch. Kites swooping overhead and dive bombing people silly enough to eat in the sunshine.

We circle around and back towards the central lake and see another rhino. Lol. I think Greg is now saying to himself ‘please no more amazing animals’ instead of hoping to see them close or doing interesting things.

We eventually exit the caldera, climbing up the one way exit road. This one is sealed, well cobblestoned. It is really steep so I totally appreciate that if it wasn’t, in the wet you wouldn’t be able to get out.

Back to our accommodation and into the pool. Later in our room Greg starts to pack up his camera equipment. Then he decides to take a photo of the fault message so he can ask his Facebook group. Next thing it’s working again. It will still go into to Fujifilm when we get home but hopefully it will work tomorrow for our last park drives and accommodation overlooking a lake with regular four legged visitors.

Over dinner, and after another interesting conversation about fish actually being meat, Greg and I talk about going home in two days after so long away, actually get there in four days with travel time and datelines. I’m looking forward to cooking vegan meals that are balanced and having fresh herbs growing in my garden. Real coffee! Greg’s looking forward to oat milk. We’re both looking forward to knowing exactly where the bathroom is if we wake in the middle of the night lol. Greg’s concerned about starting the cars, both batteries will be flat. We’re both really looking forward to seeing our kids. And parents. Plus friends and other family. I think we will both have a better appreciation for New Zealand and all it has. Plus the welcoming and accepting nature of kiwis.

3rd January

We check out and drive to Tarangire National Park. Its tag line is ‘Paradise of Elephants’. For the first hour of driving around all we see is 1 buffalo, 2 warthogs and 2 herd of impala. We then see our first elephant just after we got stuck in a deep ditch. Hassan had to get out and dig us out. Thankfully the elephant wasn’t too interested in us. After that it was elephants, elephants, elephants. Large herds with bulls hanging around.

Our picnic spot had lots of vervet monkeys hanging around. Like seagulls, they’re looking for any opportunity to snatch food from the tourists. Hassan chats with other guides about where to go next to see other animals.

For the next two hours we drive around and only see 2 water buck. Then we head back to a lake we’d passed earlier. This time there are elephants having fun in the water. Those 3 get out and wander off but coming up behind us is the huge herd we saw earlier. Most continue to eat grass and pass us on our left but 4 younger ones get in the water. They completely submerge and push each other around. Trying to climb on each other backs and force them underwater. It is an amazing sight.

When they have had enough and get out, we head back to the park exit and drive to our accommodation. It is another tented lodge. A flash one with plumbing, lights and electricity. It has two small double beds, maybe king singles, I’m not sure. We will sleep together anyway. Most of the accommodation in Africa has been single beds pushed together with separate bed covers. Maybe that German colonial influence. The deck, bar and restaurant overlook a huge lake called Lake Burunge. After a quick swim in the pool we dress for dinner then hit the bar for a drink and wifi.

Hassan said ‘I’ll see you at dinner and tell you the plan for tomorrow’ so we go to sit at a table set for three. Are told – ‘no the guides sit over there’ and are seated at a table for two. It feels very elitist but when Hassan comes over later, he seems fine about it.

4th January

Today we just drive back to Arusha and the hotel we didn’t stay at at the start of our Tanzanian adventure. It is on sealed roads. Oddly Hassan drives slowly, 50 to 60 on the sealed roads and at about 80 on the gravel roads. This morning I noticed all the bruises on my legs and arms from the bumps lol. I’ve been wearing the seatbelt whenever sitting for the last few days to stop being bounced off the seat completely.

By lunchtime we are back in Arusha. We get to blob for a bit before our flight tomorrow night. So a chilled afternoon, swim, rest, wifi, rest, dinner, rest.

The swimming pool is the size of a tennis court – no exaggeration! It’s 3 metres deep and one end and nearly 1.5 at the other. Before dinner we get entertainment beside the pool, music, dancing, juggling, acrobatics, fire sticks. Lol, then they come around with a hat.

Our travels are nearly over. My impressions of Africa;

Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls. We were settling in, adjusting to the different culture and weather. Everyone was so friendly. Even the hawkers trying to sell us billion dollar bills. It was a happy place, very welcoming.

Botswana. Loved Botswana! Loved the way we traveled, the people we traveled with, what we saw and experienced. It was fantastic.

Namibia. Fascinating. This land is so raw, undeveloped. Even dirt is rare, as is water. I wasn’t impressed with the way the South Africans treated the Namibian people though. And there were plenty of them holidaying there.

Tanzania. I feel quite mixed about Tanzania. The National parks were amazing but outside of them it’s dirty with lots of rubbish. I felt like everyone wanted something from me, the people lining the roads with their hands out, the lodge staff hovering over the table as we ate. I also felt very white. The tourists don’t seem to venture outside the resorts and lodges. And those places fully cater, breakfast, packed lunches and dinner. So I felt insulated against the real country.

Thursday 12th December

We were slowly packing and sorting when there is a knock at the door. Our pick up time has changed from 11.30 to 10. So we pick up the pace and are still easily ready in time. We’re the only ones in the van and we head off towards Botswana. Our driver is an Arsenal fan so Greg and he get into a detailed conversation about different players. Then an elephant crosses the road. Wow. Reality check. Our driver is then aware we this is our first elephant so he slows for a bit and then stops when we spot several giraffe. They stop eating and stare at us as intently as we stare at them. We do drive on though, our driver laughing it is a mini safari not just a transfer. The roads are flat and straight and we eat up the 70km to the border in no time. There we get our passports stamped to exit Zimbabwe and carry our bags to another driver. He then drives us to immigration. There is a long queue and we join the end. Suddenly our driver appears and pulls us out of the line and around the other side of the building to what we presume is the emigration side. A girl checks our passport and stamps them. We’re all good to go. Another new and exciting country. Our new driver then delivers us to Kalihari tour offices which is where our safari group is meeting. We are 45 minutes early but if we’d stuck to the 11.30 pick up we would have been 45 minutes late. We sit under a tree in the cafe area and drink what will likely be our last barista made coffee for 7 days. Not sure Greg has realised this yet.

Shortly TH arrives to collect us and takes us a short distance to a supermarket to buy water, snacks and drinks. We meet the rest of our group. It’s the second time, they were in front of us at the border. There is an Aussie family, David, Jacinta, Nathan & Jarred. Then a British uni student, Harry and a British lady, Sharmi.

Once we’ve all stocked up we drive to the gate to Chobe National Park and have lunch. Then it’s into the park. It’s so green, shady trees, dense bushes, lush grass. Not what I was expecting at all. We’re told two weeks ago there was no green at all. This is the effect of the rains.

We start seeing the animals. Lots and lots of Impala. Lots of babies. The unconfirmed theory is Impala can delay birth for up to 30 days waiting for the rainy season. If the rains don’t come they will abort. We see Giraffe, Baboons, Elephant , Mongoose and lots of different birds.

We watch Dung Beetles rolling a huge ball along.

Huge birds of prey, Fish Eagles and Snake Eagles among others. Impressive wing spans when they take off.

Elephants languidly walking away from you towards some small bushes and seemingly vanishing before your eyes.

We go to our camp area and set up our tents and unload the trailer. Our truck has 9 seats in three rows of three. In the cab sits TH and Noga (in English it means snake). He’s our camp cook.

After that we unhook the trailer and go for an evening drive down to the river. More Elephants , Giraffes and Impala. Crocs on the river banks and Hippos in the water. We see some Hippos on land which isn’t common during the day as they get sunburnt very easily. We have to do a quick reverse when an Elephant takes exception to us looking at him. Just before we get back to camp, as the sun is disappearing, Greg spots a Lion sleeping in the grass just beside the track. He’s not bothered by us, opens an eye to look then closes it again. The only movement his tail flicking. We learn there is only one pride in the park.

Back to camp and dinner is waiting. Spaghetti Bolognaise with one pot of meat and one with lentils and veggies. Harry is vegan so we’re not the odd ones. It was Sharmi’s 50th birthday a few days ago and TH brings out a cake complete with candles.

13th December

Up at 5am to break camp and have breakfast. Noga baked camp oven bread last night and it’s been toasted this morning. Tastes divine. We’re on the road again before 7, carrying on through the park.

We get a couple of wow moments- Giraffe having a drink. Spreading it’s legs very wide and reaching down with its long neck.

Then at a water hole several elephants are having a good bath.

Zebra crossing the river, a mother shepherding her young foal. These are Plain Zebra, the national animal of Botswana. They have a shadow stripe. A light brown stripe between the black ones.

We see leopard footprints but no sign of the actual animal.

Then it’s out of the park, back onto sealed roads. The animals now are mostly cattle, scrawny looking beasts with their ribs showing. The land is so flat. Trees the only bumps on the horizon. The sealed road doesn’t last long and becomes a single width sand track. From that we turn onto a wider sand track. TH pauses to deflate the tyres. Then it’s a long straight bumpy drive, the only animals a couple of Giraffes. They stop and stare at us.

We then enter the Savute area of the Chobe Park. This is a dry area so there are less impala and the lions hunt in larger packs so they can take down larger prey like elephants. First thing we see are some Roan Antelope. Apparently they are not often seen so we’re lucky. They’ve quite large, about the size of a pony. They are nervous of us so put a safe distance between us before they stop and watch us.

We move on to a spot under a baobab tree for lunch. In Botswana they are called Mawana. Pasta salad, green salad and a plate of tuna along with more of Noga’s bread and leftovers from last nights dinner. We’re certainly eating well.

We head to our campsite, pausing on the way to fill the tanks with water. So we reach our site, set up and half of us have a bucket shower. It’s unbelievable how good it feels. The rest will have a shower after we’ve done our evening drive.

On our evening drive we add Jackal, Ostrich, Slender Mongoose and Kori Bustards to our seen list. The Kori Bustard is the national bird. Nathan describes it as an alpaca on stork legs. We saw a lioness, asleep. We called back on her three times in the next 3 hours but she’s still sleep. She was likely pregnant.

We have couple of magical moments, one when a huge bull elephant came to a pool by us and enjoyed a good mud bath. He used his tusk to break down a termite mound mixing it with water at his feet, then spraying it over his body. He then moved to another spot and stomped it around a bit before lying down and rolling around. He stood back up and shook his ears like a dog.

We then headed onto the plains for a spectacular sunset. Then back to camp for dinner.

Heading for bed and a large bug crosses my path, just in front of our tent. I shine my torch on it and realise it’s a scorpion. Noga looks at it and says it’s a dangerous one. We watch as it heads off to some grass. Going to insure the zipper is tightly closed tonight.

14th December

About 12.30 I woke cold so pulled the cover over me and as I’m dropping back there is loud bird calls and I can hear lions roaring. It’s getting louder as they get closer, then quieter as as they pass by us. It’s hard to go back to sleep now as I listen to all the noises.

4.30 in the morning and I can hear lions again. It’s a similar volume to when I first heard them last night. Noga says they’re about 2km away.

We break down camp and go for a drive before loading the trailer. There isn’t a lot of animals about but radio chatter tell us of a few lionesses so we speed off and find them. They’re just settling down in the shade. TH bends the rule about staying on the track and we park beside one lioness and watch her yawn and stretch. She is particularly beautiful.

Then back to camp, hook on the trailer, coffee time then hit the road.

We drive along the edge of the plains. Lots and lots of elephants. And they are large ones.

The plains are as we mentally picture Africa being. Vast expanses of grassland. A hazy line of trees in the distance indicating the river.

Noga sees a leopard sitting under a tree. It’s a bit far to see easily but the zoom lens picks it out fine.

We’re all getting on really well and at Harry’s initiation we listen to music. Jarred is in charge of the speaker and whenever animals are spotted he hits mute. We have funny conversations about different words for things in Aussie, Kiwi and Brit. Also pronunciation.

I learn something interesting, and have to look out some books. Apparently people of Africa (& some other areas) didn’t industrialise like Europe because they didn’t have animals that could be domesticated. It’s an interesting thought about circumstances being fundamental to progress, and progress is nearly always small improvements on the previous technology.

I learned a few weeks ago that the homo sapien’s ability to neutralise alcohol in fermenting fruits meant it didn’t have to compete with monkeys, with better climbing abilities, and so lead to its survival.

Human dominance on earth is simply chance.

We have lunch at the Mababe Gate. The Chobe National Park is huge and varied. The afternoon drive is scrubland. Occasionally giraffe and elephants cross our paths before disappearing back into the bush. Greg spots a kudu but no one else does.

We exit the park by another gate and later enter Moremi Game Reserve over a long log bridge. It’s then another couple of hours drive to our campsite. Don’t like the word Game in that title. It makes me think about what we are doing. When we are watching a lion, we are wishing it will get up and do something. To entertain us. Footnote: I later learn that this was the first Nature Reserve in Botswana. In fact it’s older than the country being transferred to a Widlife preservation group in 1962. Botswana gained independence in 1966.

It’s a game of dodge the puddles or drive slowly through when we can’t. I’m in a side seat today. Working on my Truckies tan.

We get to our site and set up camp. Greg and I help with the long drop. Have a few tweaks to the set up. It smells really nice and we find it’s a type of jasmine growing on the ground. Next we head off to a hippo pool. There is a dead hippo floating, crocs circling looking for an easy bite to start.

On our drive back, we come to a quick halt. TH has spotted something. It turns out to be an hyena. Even he is impressed. Thanks to The Lion King portraying hyenas in a bad light, their numbers have dropped significantly.

15th December

We change the routine this morning and straight out of bed at 5:15 we head back to the pool. Plan to catch the sunrise and maybe more animals still active. We can smell the hippo before we can even see the pool. Once in sight, we see there is now another dead hippo. TH said they were probably fighting and the the ‘winner’ has later succumbed to its injuries. The second one is on its back, four legs stuck straight up.

There is a lion lying on the track, an impala stands close by. It knows the lion isn’t interested but it is still wary. We now know the alarm call of the impala, a chuffing noise. Whenever we hear it, we try to spot the danger.

We leave it and carry on around the pool, closer to the second dead hippo. The crocs are enjoying a great feed. We then go further around the pond so the sunrise is over the water.

We go back to the lion. Still no movement. We drive past then wow! The lion gets up, of course we reverse back to watch. He moves into the long grass and starts eating grass. Not what you expect. Then he’s vomiting. Also not what you expect to see lions doing. But I guess domestic cats do it so shouldn’t really be surprised. He then moves deeper into the bush.

We head back to camp for breakfast and pack up. We have a long drive today. On the way out of the park we see Waddle Cranes, an endangered species. We also see more Kudu then Water Buck and Reed Buck.

Out of the park via the bridge we entered by. Coffee stop by a river. It’s another long straight sandy roads. Bumpy. Occasionally slowed by large puddles.

We stop for lunch and firewood a little further on than planned. The chosen spot being already occupied, by elephants.

We pass through a foot and mouth control gate. We all have to walk through a pan of disinfectant. The truck tyres are sprayed. Then we all climb on board again. Next stop a service station to reinflate the tyres and stock up on water.

We reach the town of Maun. Sealed roads. We’re passing fenced (using that term loosely) properties. Always a tree with plastic chairs underneath. Single room buildings made with concrete blocks. The outhouse identifiable by its clasic shape. The remains of a car under another tree.

In front on the roadside there are shade cloth strung between poles every 100 metres or so, signs advertising car wash or welding. Small corrugated iron sheds offering hair cuts. Tables under trees selling food. People walking with a easy gait. Lots of cars on the roads. Intersections with stop signs at all points. Shops with air conditioning. We restock on water and drinks.

We’re in a campground, fairly basic but luxury compared to the bush. There is a pool. As soon as camp is set up we’re all in there. Chat to some South Africans. There is also wifi by the bar so we can check up on home, clear emails and do a couple of posts for Ellerslie intermarque. First tine since reaching Africa – slack lol.

16th December

I wake suddenly at 3.30. Not sure why. Then I hear the rain start. Bugger, I sit up and can feel the rain coming in through the open windows. Throw on my dress and get out of the tent, roll down the door and both windows. Grab the towels off the line and throw them in the door. I can hear TH and Noga doing their tents. Look over. Noga is heading to Sharmi’s tent. Harry’s tent is next to ours. No sign of life so I run over and do his windows and door. Then check the families tents, they’re all done so back into our tent. Double bugger. The rain is running in through the seams. We contemplate dragging our tent under the roof by the kitchen when TH beats us to it with his tent. Noga helps us put a fly on our tent and we rearrange stuff so everything is in the middle. Eventually we’re back in bed and go back to sleep.

Luckily we are getting a sleep in. Wake up is a leisurely 5.45. We’re staying here again tonight so don’t have to breakdown camp.

We’re off to the Okavango Delta for rides in mokoros, traditional flat bottomed boats propelled by poles. The drive there goes through the Poler’s village, tents inside reed and stick walls. It’s temporary and moves as the water changes. Little kids wave as we pass. The delta is still low so we’re an hour further from Maun than the area the safari company normally goes. There is various negotiating going on and the selected Polers come over and introduce themselves. It’s two people in each moroko. Our Poler is called Craig. The mokoros are now made of fibreglass and cost 8000 pula or about 800US. Traditionally they were carved out of the Sausage Tree. Our one is white and not in good condition. There is a split between my legs that lets in water as I climb in. Doesn’t leak when we’re underway thankfully. We skirt around the edge of the big pool to avoid the hippos then through narrow canals, high reeds either side. There are smaller pools and water lilies. It’s very tranquil, dragonflies hover, butterflies skim the surface.

The three most important animals here are the hippos, elephants and the termites. The termites build mounds in the dry season which become islands in the wet and continue growing with plant seeds from birds droppings. The hippos create the canals and the elephants create the pools.

We pole up stream for an hour or so to a largish island and disembark for morning coffee. The polers get out a map and show us where we are and how the delta works. The map also shows everywhere we’re been so far in Botswana.

The ride back is faster with the current. Greg asks me to get out my umbrella for a photo. Even though I feel a bit stupid, it’s great shade so I continue to use it for the whole journey back. Both of us in our white linen shirts in a white boat with a brightly coloured umbrella, the others say we look like royalty lol.

We get back to camp mid afternoon and hit the pool again. Then the bar for wifi. We airdrop some phone photos and videos around. Noga has prepared another great meal over open fire. Seriously impressed with his cooking skills.

Early night for us all as tomorrow is a extra early start. Greg drops off to sleep quickly and as I’m just dropping off I hear thunder so jump up and grab the washing off the line. The windows were partway open so I fully closed them. A bit later I could hear the others doing the same. Last night I’d had a dress beside my bed so modesty was preserved when running around. Tonight it’s just a singlet so I’m not going far.

17th December

Extra early start this morning. 4.30am and full camp breakdown. Only coffee before we hit the road. We’re getting very efficient. Tonight we’re meant to be staying on the Salt Pans. Mightn’t happen because of the rain. TH will assess it when we arrive. The Salt Pans apparently get very wet quickly and very dry quickly. Also if you get stuck, it’s extremely hard to get unstuck, as in we couldn’t free the truck ourselves. The sides have been put on for this mornings drive and as it’s raining, no one’s complaining about the lack of view.

We go through another foot and mouth control gate. Jarred, who was asleep, only heard the end of the sentence and asks why is he having a dental check. The sides are rolled up before we continue. We can see again and there is a breeze. The rain has stopped and the day starts heating up.

Soon we reach the gate to Nxai pan and stop for breakfast. We leave the trailer there and go into the park. Zebra migrate here and we see plenty. We also see two lionesses sitting under a tree. We get right up beside them so it’s hushed voices and no sudden movements. They are panting in the heat. An area below the jaw moving rapidly. These lions are desert animals and can survive without water for long periods by drinking the blood of their kills.

In the near distance are Zebra fighting so we move closer. There is one by the track with a nasty looking wound between its back legs. TH explains that when the males fight for territory or the ladies, they will bite each other’s balls off. Closer inspection through the binoculars proves this one is now a gelding.

We see our first Springbok. They have white bums which they keep faced to the sun to reflect the heat of the day. They are desert animals and can survive just on the water they get from the grass they eat.

After lunch we head across some salt pans to see Baines Baobabs. Driving on the salt is interesting. If it looks wet, it definitely is and we go around but sometimes it looks dry but it is only the surface. The truck breaks through and the wheels spin. TH just has to keep us moving.

We reach the island with the massive baobabs. They are named after Thomas Baines, who ‘discovered’ and painted them in 1861. Comparing them to the painting now apparently only one branch has gone.

We pass elephants in a large waterhole. Two are touching foreheads, wrapping their trunks around each other’s tusks. It’s lovely to watch.

Then we head out of the park, collecting the trailer on the way.

As we drive along the highway, we can see a storm to our right. Then in front there is a wall of white. We’re all like, what the hell! And we enter it. It’s a dust storm. Once you’re in it, it’s not so white, just sort of hazy. The wind is impressive.

We’re still in it as we pull off the highway and onto a salt flat. We drive across that one, over a ridge onto the next one. It’s huge. We’re close to an edge on our right and can make out some trees far, far on the left but in front there is nothing. We swing out and pull up beside an island. Well, a raised sand bed with a few thorny twigs. Nothing green for miles. This is our site for the night. Putting up the tents in a howling wind is very challenging. We set our doorways away from the wind and by the time we’ve set everything up, the wind has swung around lol.

The storm that had been on our right is providing a spectacular lightning show but with the wind change, it’s not going to head our way thankfully.

I have a pinch me moment as I sit on the roof of the truck with the boys, g&t in hand, dinner cooking on an open fire below and a storm flashing on the horizon. The salt lake is like a moonscape. Greg is at the edge of camp, camera set up taking long exposures. He’s in his happy place too. The wind and dust storm have gone.

It’s our last night and a magical one at that. We won’t be sleeping outside under the stars but the storm has certainly made up for that. Our group has been like an extended family and it will be strange carrying on without them. We do some thank you speeches, Noga sings us a song then we toast marshmallows, do the dishes and go to bed.

18th December

Greg and I get up at 4.30, wake up is 5. It’s still dark and our tent is a bit away from the others so we go outside naked with a big bottle of water and have sponge baths, try to get all the salt and grit off us. Feel so much better for it.

We start packing up. Then the sunrise starts putting colours on the sky. I tell Greg to get his camera and go. It’s easy to take down a tent on your own. Harry then finds a scorpion under his tent. Two actually, a mother and a baby. Greg takes a photo and the TH scoops them onto the spade and takes them off the island. I’m then a lot more cautious as I take down TH’s tent.

Final breakfast and we load the trailer. We then drive onto the salt pan for a group photo. Greg is director. Then we set course for the Zimbabwe border. Everyone except us are going back to Victoria Falls.

It’s a fairly boring drive. Only spotted a few elephant and some warthogs. We drop the others off with plenty of hugs. When we get decent wifi we’ll start a Facebook group to share photos and videos. Greg’s called us the Commonwealth Cruisers.

30 minutes later and we’ve collected our big bags and are at our b&b. Final hugs with TH & Noga. This was their last Safari for the season. They restart in March. Although they have company training in January.

Our b&b is called the Old House. When Chobe National Park was formed the sawmill town of Serondella was gradually shifted here. The building was built with the bricks from all the mill houses. We send off some laundry and hit the pool. A pretty chilled afternoon and evening.

19th December

Our last day in Botswana. Or rather, half day. Airport transfer at 12 for a 2pm flight. Namibia, here we come.

………….

I am missing out animals and things we’ve seen, my writing time is quite delayed from actual events. And there is so much happening. I know we saw a monitor but can’t remember where or when that was. I’m going to try and jot images as I see them.

Clouds of butterflies, rising and swarming as we pass.

Crimson necked bee-eaters, swooping and banking around a termite mound.

An Eagle perched in a skeletal tree, both silhouetted against the blue sky

Giraffe elegantly moving their long limbs as they walk, but awkwardly as they bend down to drink.

The brown bow wave spreading outwards from the truck wheels as we negotiate the track puddles.

Roan Antelope stumbling as it tries to get off the road quickly.

Kites riding the thermals high high overhead.

The heat of the sun fills the air, so moving through it is a bit like resistance training.

The energy of young Jarred, throwing a nerf at every stop.

Impala tails bobbing up and down as they bound along.

A baboon presenting her engorged red behind to a large male. He gets up and turns around, sitting back down with is back to the female. Not his type? Or too hot? Or just not interested with an audience?

Animal prints in the sand, all different shapes and sizes. Crisscrossing tyre tracks.

The sheer pleasure of standing under a bucket shower at the end of a hot day.

Lilies reflected in still water, dragonflies daintily perched on a reed.

Thunder, loud, cracking above us and rumbling like a freight train as it recedes into the distance.

Dead elephants, looking like semi deflated balloons.

The vastness of the plain dotted with low termite mounds echoed by the small clouds in the vast sky.

The sheer joy of TH seeing for the first time, the rare and endangered Grey Crowned Crane.

Giraffe running with a graceful elegance.

Green rocks dotted on a grey white crust as far as the eye can see.

Trees floating above a hazy blue white horizon.

The incredible variation in male genitalia, which all species seem to enjoy showing off, hahaha.

8 & 9 December – Sunday night and Monday

Off to Africa. Our first flight is 10 hours and 40 minutes to Johannesburg. We board and the plane is half empty, never been on a plane before that wasn’t full. We sit in our allocated seats but clearly everyone else just spreads themselves around. Opposite us in the middle 4 seats is a lady, her husband is two rows in front of us. Once the lights go out she fully lies down over the four seats and gets a good sleep. Part way through the flight she swaps places with her husband and he then gets a good sleep. Our inexperience showing. Every row in the middle is a single person sleeping across the 4 seats. The plane is quite old and noisy and my seat doesn’t stay in position. This proves a bit challenging when I’m trying to sleep as whenever I move around the seat goes upright lol. Good vegan meals though.

We land in Johannesburg and get a stamp in our passports. Wasn’t expecting that as we’re only in transit. A couple of hours to spend and we use it to get some US dollars, have a disappointing coffee and walk around stretching our legs. Hospitals and airports are like ‘hurry up and wait’. End up feeling just a zombie. Just mindlessly following a track.

Next flight is to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. At the boarding gate we all get on a bus which takes us out to the plane sitting on the tarmac. It’s 8 degrees and raining! Seriously! This is summer here, it should be hot and sunny. Greg and I are still wearing our puffers.

We land in Victoria Falls and it’s warm and humid. It has been raining but it’s not now. We get our visa (US$30pp), collect our bags and exit to a gentleman holding a sign ‘LOKES x 2 for our transfer to the hotel. It’s wide straight roads with red earth and low trees either side. There are cattle with long horns grazing on the roadside in a couple of places. We pass a tribe of baboons walking down the road. Our driver tells us that because of the high unemployment, many people live simple lives in villages just off the road. We enter into the National Park. Brick structures either side of the road the only indication. The driver is making suggestions of things to do tomorrow, a free day for us. We decide we’ll just take it easy and not do a helicopter flight or zip wire ride. He tells us there are several good craft markets but warns us that wild animals often come into town after dark.

We get to the hotel and check in. It’s B and B, breakfast is buffet. If we want dinner it’s a set meal, tonight is pork chops. Guess we’ll be giving that a skip. Our room is thatched roofed opening onto the gardens and the pool. The air smells lovely.

We hook into the wifi and blob, doing research on what to do tomorrow and where to eat tonight. Is it our age or normal that we’ve both just lying on the bed with the door open on our first day in a new country, new continent? The sun has broken through and there is birdsong. It feels tropical, which I didn’t really expect Zimbabwe to be. Guess it is a hotel though. There is a huge mosquito net over the bed. The bathroom actually has a bath, a lovely curved claw foot bath. Very tempting.

We rouse ourselves, refresh with a shower and walk into town. Totally totally different to yesterday. Today is red dirt along side a sealed road low houses with high fences, sweet smelling, brightly coloured flowers on vibrant green trees. Lizards, birds, butterflies. We feel very foreign, very white. People, kids openly, adults discretely, keep staring at my hair. There is hardly anyone around until we reach the shopping area. There we are constantly being approached with men offering to sell 5 billion local currency for $10, $5, $1. Also wooden bowls and taxi trips. I remembered we’d forgotten to buy a power adapter at the airport so we wander in a few shops looking. A man tries to help us go to another couple of shops but we decide we’d be better doing it tomorrow and have a kiwi plug on us. Our hotel here has Euro, English and USB plugs so we’re fine for a few days. We’ve been carting an English adapter around for 9 months and this is the first time we’ve used it.

We look around a bit and as it’s now 5pm we go to a tapas bar for a drink. Have some potatas bravas. The hot sauce is really hot. The owners are apparently Spanish. The lady who serves us is really lovely. There are a group of men with a large lidded bucket, seemly doing some negotiating. After they’ve gone she brings over the jar they filled to show us. It’s wild honey. We’d been looking at the large brown lumps and gooey pale stuff, thinking it was some type of raw meat. She tells us all about the young boys playing some musical instruments. They are practicing. There is a group of 4 men who regularly play in this small plaza and they have been teaching the young boys how to play. It creates a wonderful ambience. They play ‘the lion sleeps tonight’ lol.

We then pay up and move off down the road a bit to The Three Monkeys bar and restaurant. It had great reviews online. We sit on a deck by the railway track watching locals with large packets on their heads walk up the line and across the road. We both keep saying ‘we’re in Africa’ with total wonder in our voices.

It’s an early dinner because we had an early breakfast on one plane and an early lunch on the other. And we’re tired. Airplane sleep doesn’t really fully charge the batteries.

We catch a taxi back to the hotel. We’ve now been told 4 times not to walk around after dark. Victoria Falls is in the National Park and they regularly get elephants and water buffalo in town. Their vision is much better than humans so a situation could get nasty very quickly. Taxis are cheap anyway US$5 anywhere in town, US$8 for out of town. Our taxi driver’s name has a ‘click’ in the middle of it. He says in English it is pronounced Honour. Wish I could remember how it said it in his own language. So very different to western cultures.

Everyone we’ve meet has been extra helpful and informative. Our waiter told us about the bugs fluttering around the lights, they’re baby termites. And of course they all speak English. Colonialism might have been such an arrogant thing to do but it does make tourism easier.

10th December

After a wonderful nights sleep we have breakfast then walk into town. I post the birthday present off to my nephew and we go back to try and my the power adapter. No luck, and if I thought more about it yesterday I would have realised I would have had problems. Yes they had adapters that fitted our NZ plugs but they use the English plugs here so those adapters were the same as the one I’ve already got. The adapters they had for the ‘D’ system that the rest of Africa uses converts from the UK ‘G’.

We then walked around a local market, hundreds of stone and wooden carved animals. We were the first visitors and so got LOTS of attention. I felt bad because we definitely not buying. In the last few days in Africa we may be tempted but we’re not carting stuff with us for the next 4 weeks. When you get down the back you’re getting stories that no one has come to their stand for 3 days, please buy something- good price etc etc. we chat to them about their work, how long it takes, how do they learn, where to they get the stone from. Traditionally they used to just go and dig up the stone but now they have to buy it off the government. I dislike the fact that they churn out the same designs over and over just for the tourist market. There are a few individual styles like an outline of Africa with the big five carved within it. But he then had lots the same. There is also a fixation with the ‘big five’. And yes, I do want to see them but I also want to see the herbivores, the zebra, the giraffe, the varieties of antelope etc.

We leave there, empty handed of course, and go to another market called Elephant walk. It’s more upmarket. There is a little cafe so we stop for coffee. The barista won the Zimbabwean Barista competition this year according to the waiter so as he said it’s the best coffee in Zimbabwe.

For lunch we want to try the local food, Sadza. It’s a polenta that you roll in a ball with your fingers and dip in the accompanying food. We went down a pathway and through a darkened bar, open to the breeze at both sides, out into a fenced yard. In a corner is a open sided kitchen with two women stirring big pots. The accompanying options are roadrunner, chicken, beef, worms or beans. We went for the beans but Greg did try a worm. He said it was like chewy beef. Our meals came with kale as well. Full sized dinner plates and cost US1 each. We eat at a picnic table under a tree with a local cider bought in the bar. We’re the only white people there so I feel confident we are eating authentic local cuisine.

Dark clouds are rolling in so we decide to walk back to the hotel for an afternoon swim. On the way we stop at a small craft shop to buy a lightweight scarf. Our literature recommended a scarf for the long dusty safari drives. The lady raves about my hair and said she noticed me yesterday and her and another woman had talked about it lol. I’ve been admiring their amazing plaits and cornrows. Absolutely no blending into the crowds here as we have been doing in Europe.

The rain starts just as we get back to the hotel, doesn’t last long though and by the time we’ve put on our togs it’s stopped. It does cool the air for a while. The pool is nice and refreshing and afterwards we sit at the edge with a cool drink from the bar. The wifi only just reaches the door of our room so we retrieve our devices and catch up on words and photos enjoying the peacefulness of the hotel. It’s a contrast, the lush green grass and tropical plants in here and outside the bare red dirt and scrappy trees and bushes. Baboons camouflaged in the shadows. That’s the only wildlife we’ve seen so far.

For dinner tonight we went to a place called The Dusty Road. It is in the township, as in where the ‘people’ live. We’d read about it and then had it recommended. It was started by a white lady, Sarah Litford. She’s a fifth generation Zimbabwean and she found a wonderful woman, Opah, selling ingredients in the local market. Together they have started this kitchen creating interesting dishes from traditional products and empowering local women and supporting young local children. We arrive and Opah introduces herself and shows us around. We are shown sacks of beans, berries, leaves and roots. She then explained what they are and what they are good for. For example Kudu berries which grow wild on the river banks and the Kudu like to eat them. Isindambe leaves and petals which are good for lowering blood pressure and sugar in the blood, which is used mostly for tea. Pumpkin leaves, cassava, various beans. The pods from the baobab tree, which the insides are ground to a powder and we ate it in a pudding. This is ancient knowledge reborn. We taste Zambese River clay which is high is iron so she gets pregnant women to eat it. Straight. It tastes gritty. Maize, used in so many different ways.

The space is amazing, it’s all outside under an overhanging roof. The tables are made from old doors, hinges still on them. Heavy wrought iron. Our wine glasses were old cider and beer bottles, the tops cut off and stuck (?) to the bottom as stems. The herbs and vegetables are growing around us.

We’re brought our first course and everything is explained. The crunchy toasted maize bread, the spreads – a wild bean hummus and a tomato, basil, peanut butter mix. Herbed and fried Sadza balls. Plus salted peanuts and some tiny fried fishes.

At that point Opah comes over and explains they are supporting 12 young boys, some are orphans to go to school and improve their lives. Some of those boys were going to come in and perform some traditional songs for us. They are so cute, particularly the youngest who is regularly out of step from the others. The leader is likely only 10 years old but already has a self confidence that will see him go far. The kitchen is buying them shoes, paying their school fees and giving them food. Opah says they have started with a group of boys but she hopes to educate girls as well. The staff are all young women so employment is empowering them.

In a short while a bell is rung, signaling the main course is ready. We go over to the outdoor kitchen and wash our hands, get a plate. There is only two other people here, a young English couple. The food is all explained as we help ourselves. I feel bad but I did try some kudu, soooo good, gamey and full of flavour and some crocodile, a cross between pork and chicken but a bit rubbery. The veggies were yummy, yummy, yummy. Both hot roasted veggies and a mix of cold salads.

Desert was also brought to the table and Opah explains what each dish is and what it’s made of. A nut tart, the pastry is cassava, the nuts were natives. The balls were dark chocolate and a berry mix rolled in a grain and the pudding made with baobab and a berry sauce on top.

After all that we were made teas. Greg chose one for blood pressure and I chose one for healthy bones. Both were very nice and we washed it down with a couple of maize and amaranth cookies.

We’re stuffed, both with food and information overload. Opah tells us they’re been open for four months. I hope they go far and, seriously, if anyone is thinking of coming for a visit here, you have to go to The Dusty Road for a meal.

And ironically, Greg didn’t take his camera so it’s only my iPhone pics to capture the evening.

The taxi that brought us here said to get them to phone him and he will take us back to the hotel. So we get them to call him and he turns up promptly. He’d told us not to pay when he dropped us off and gave us a very good price for the two trips.

11th December.

It’s an early morning today. We’re picked up at 8am in a big bus. Our guide then stops 70 metres down the road and picks up a young couple from Adelaide. Then he drives us to the Victoria Falls Park. He’s a man of few words. We stop in front of a board and he points out the 16 viewing spots we will see with a bit of other information tucked in. We then all walk along the pathway following each numbered view. We start by the Devils cauldron (first 5 viewing spots) then the main falls (next 5 viewing spots) These two falls have water flowing all year round. Before Livingston ‘discovered’ the falls and named them after his Queen, Victoria, they were called Mosi-oa-Tunya. That means ‘smoke that thunders’. The mist coming off the falls rises high in the air and looks like smoke. The river has two seasons, high and low. It takes about 4 to 6 months from the start of the rainy season for the river to reach high. At that point the water cascades over the full length of the rift except for two islands. The spray (smoke) then fulls the gorge completely and you can hardly see the actual falls. Right now, water is just starting to come over the ‘dry’ half of the rift. At one drop it looks like it’s not even reaching the bottom before being wafted upwards. The spray is like a cloud in that it will part, revealing the falls then closing in again. It’s impressive but doesn’t totally amaze us. We comment afterwards that it didn’t disappoint us but didn’t overwhelm us either.

We get dropped back in town instead of our hotel and head back to Deans cafe for another perfect coffee. Bugger, the power is off so no coffee. We find another place instead. Not as good though.

Then we head to the Wild Horizons office and catch a shuttle out to Look Out Cafe. This does totally wow us. It’s a covered deck cantilevered over the gorge, opposite a u bend in the river with the famous Victoria Bridge in the background. It’s a pinch me moment and our table is on the corner with spectacular views. Food was pretty good too. This cafe/restaurant burned down last year on the 24th December and was completely rebuilt, opening again two weeks ago. Yesterday’s lunch cost us US$8 today cost $40. Balanced? Dinner will be the opposite, yesterday was expensive, tonight will be cheap.

When we’ve finished we get the shuttle to drop us back to our hotel and jump in the pool again. So refreshing.

We’re being picked up for a sunset cruise at 3.45 and we’re both lazing when I glance at my watch…. shit! We’ve got 5 minutes to get ready and be at reception. Mad rush but we’re only 1 minute late. The shuttle then picks up two groups of four people from two other hotels and delivers us to the boat. It pours with rain after we’ve been collected but has passed over by the time we get to river.

We’re welcomed on board with an iced tea and ushered upstairs. The cruise comes with drinks and canapés. It’s an open bar and the waitress keeps gin and tonic for me and beer for Greg coming. Greg does better than me on the canapé front. Of the 10 on board, 5 are vegetarian but to offset the 3 dishes with meat we get a plate with melon fingers drizzled in honey. After a while I asked for her to leave the dishes on the bar instead of taking them back to the kitchen so we could get more than one dip at the platter.

The other two parties seemed to just sit and chat amongst themselves the whole time. Greg and I are rushing from side to side, front to back eyes peeled for wildlife. We see plenty of hippopotamus and birds, a couple of crocodile and a few white spotted bush bucks. The river itself is also worth watching. It’s easy to see how it’s width is increasing with the rains.

The captain takes us up to where he’d seen a few dozen elephants this afternoon but they’ve gone. He explains that with the rainy season they don’t need to seek out water so hard. He pointed out where they’d been having mud baths earlier. Never mind I’m sure we will see plenty in the days to come.

Tomorrow we go over the border to Botswana and join a 6 night/7 day tenting safari. Lots of opportunity to view African animals but with no internet (or even power) my blog will have to wait a while.

Overall impressions so far. I feel slightly ashamed to be a white person. White men came to this land and bought with them religion, consumerism and capitalism. Plus corruption. I don’t think anyone should assert their own values on other people. Difference is interesting and should be embraced. Impressions of the land is it is endless. Wild, untamed, beautiful. I’m so lucky to be here and I want so see so much more of it.