We've made it to Arusha, Tanzania.

So, here we are at Rivertrees, Arusha. Our final port of call so aside from a trip to the National Park to view Kilimanjaro we are almost done.

Our arrival in Tanzania was quite spectacular. The area was very lush and green with almost tropical vegetation. Quite a contrast to Malawi, and the road from the border ran along a high ridge with deep valleys dropping to both sides with distant mountain views on each side. Our first impression was that Tanzania seemed more developed than Zambia and Malawi but not as overcrowded.

We made a couple of stops at camp sites to break the long journey from the border to the Ruaha National Park, our first real destination. The second of these camp sites was a bit of a gem catering for the overlander market and run by a formidable Ex-pat English woman called Nicola. It was spotlessly clean and very efficient, quite a change really. There we met two Dutch overlanders with whom we shared a fireside chat and cuppa. They told us of the bandit dressed in army uniform who had stopped tourists on the road into Ruaha  and that a shot had been fired. Nicola told us that it was becoming a problem and had happened twice in three weeks. So it was with some trepidation we set of along the rough and lonely road to Ruaha the following morning. Sue held binoculars so we could check out any likely looking types standing by the road. As it happened the worst thing about the journey was the heavily corrugated road that shook us to pieces. As one guy said, its like a reverse assembly line, your vehicle ends up in pieces.

Ruaha wasn't the most wildlife intensive park but interesting nonetheless and we did find a pride of lions on our way to the camp. In fact they were just 200 meters from the lodge along the river bank so no surprise when we heard them roaring in the night. The park did have a lot of giraffes which were nice to see again as they are not present in Malawi at all.

This guy knows how to pose for a photo.

We left Ruaha on the same route with a similar degree of caution and made it to Iringa where we camped for the night. Then followed 2 days of long driving, over 200 miles a day with a stop in Dodoma, the capital, on the way. The second day was really interesting as we were in the Masai Steppe and from here there have been Maasai in their colourful clothing herding their stock all along the route. The road from Dodoma was a real treat, no attempt to improve it so it was very rough but through countless villages with glimpses of everyday life and wonderful mountain views.

Maasai cattle herder.

Then we reached Tarangire which is rich in wildlife and the animals are easier to spot as the landscape is more open savannah. We had been booked into a special campsite for 2 nights there which basically means that you spend the night in an open space with no facilities miles from anyone apart from the animals. Once it is dark (at 7pm) you sit by the fire for about an hour and then go into the tent, not daring to leave until daylight due to the number of predators. I did sleep but lightly and intermittently mainly fearing a herd of elephants foraging around us although to be fair they had seemed calmer here than in previous countries. I also remembered those wildlife programmes where lions jump on the car bonnet. Luckily it was only jackals and general scuffling from some nocturnal beasts that we heard, well apart from some load roaring in the middle distance. Being on Frazer Island in Australia with the dingoes was a piece of cake compared to this. I was not too sorry when it started to rain the following afternoon and as it was our last night of camping and we didn't want to pack a wet tent etc. we booked into a lodge, getting a great last minute rate.

Our wilderness camp site inside Tarangire 

A reminder we did not have the place to ourselves.

Then onto to Ngorongoro crater which is absolutely brilliant. An enchanting place and again the wildlife is brilliant and so easy to spot, not only due to the openness of the landscape but the animals are so unafraid of cars they act as though you are not there. Very few people drive independently into the crater so when you do it is a curiosity to the other tourists as well as the game vehicle driver/guide. When a woman drives the curiosity increases and with some malevolence from some of the driver/guides too.

The hotel we stayed in there was a time capsule. Built in 1969 the interior design was all perfect 1960's harmony and it had at the time been built with no expense spared. It is a gem and every bedroom overlooks the crater. We couldn't understand how it wasn't full as opposed to nearly empty as it not only has the best views of any hotel being the first to be built on the rim of the crater, it is also the cheapest.

Arrival at Ngorongoro Crater

Ready for the descent road into the crater,

We felt sad to be leaving the crater as we both loved it and it felt like the end of our trip. We journeyed to Arusha where we have spent today in their national park enjoying the flamingoes and seeing different monkeys, the blue and the colobus. Unfortunately Kilimanjaro was invisible due to the low clouds as the rainy season is now under way. Overlanders or self-drivers seem to be a bit of a novelty here so we have been upgraded at our final lodge to a fabulous suite of rooms that Prince Charles used when he visited Arusha. 

We have been very lucky with the weather overall though and with everything really, the only problems we have had apart from angry elephants have been minor ones with the car. Well I say minor ones, it did break down in the crater again as the relay is all but shot. Fortunately Colin could repair it enough for the long ascent and the next part of the journey. 

One of the things I will really miss about Africa, and there are several, are the vast array of colourful birds but the car journeys covered in dust I won't miss. Overall though it has been a brilliant trip, thoroughly enjoyed by both of us and we feel very lucky to have had such a great experience.

Farewell to Malawi

We spent part of the last day in Tongole watching elephants coming to the river in front of our chalet, bathing and drinking. The young ones were very cute swimming in the river with only their trunks above water like periscopes. They were a good distance away for me to watch and enjoy. We also had a canoe down the crocodile river at sunset which was excellent.

 Not all roughing it, a bit of luxury


. The only guests were us and a couple from Argentina so largely had the place to ourselves. Poaching still continues in Malawi and one morning we heard shots close to the lodge and it took the rangers an hour to respond as they insisted on finishing their breakfast first. In collusion or afraid - anybody's guess.

From the wilderness area we headed to Makuzi beach for 2 nights.

It is a beautiful location in a bay with wooded hills around and little thatched umbrellas but we are really not beach people so decided, despite the 38 heat, to have a walk to some missionary graves. Many missionaries died of malaria mostly in their twenties, until the mission moved to Livingstonia. Swimming was a little tempting but belhazia is not so we avoided that too. We had a long chat to the manager, he had suffered malaria eight times in the four years he has been there, glad we have the pills.

We then headed north again and climbed to over 7000 feet and the Nyika plateau. The journey up to it was stunning but unfortunately for us the Land Rover was in 'limp home mode', which meant it had about 25% power at best, so it took ages, uphills were first gear in low box most of the time. It was a relay problem and Colin sorted it whilst there, well we thought he had.

The Nyika plateau is stunning, resembling the North Yorkshire moors around Bowes Moor on the A66 to the Lakes with the fells in the background but with pockets of thick woodland and boggy areas. It has the animals of Africa, zebra, warthog, serval, leopard, civit, eland, reedbuck, bushbuck and roan antelope but looking very incongruous in a European scenery. Apart from the animals there are over 400 bird species and 200 orchids (12 endemic to this region) which are just starting to bloom. It is superb.

We also had our own cook and chalet attendant so were completely looked after, a lovely log fire to come back to after the game drives and a 3 course dinner served to us. For some reason they thought it was my birthday and made a delicious chocolate cake.

Had a practise at fly fishing in one of the small dams and really enjoyed it. The only other visitor there was a young Norwegian who had been studying in Malawi and decided as he hadn't a car to explore the area he would walk across the hills to Livingstonia, a journey of 2 night canping on the way. He had expected only an armed guard as in Malawi you cannot walk in the wilderness without one. On the morning of his departure there were 6 people accompnying him, the armed guard with a fully automatic rifle M16 and the others acting as porters for the tents, the sleeping bags, the food, the water, the metal folding chairs and the shower !! It resembled Livingstone going off on one of his expeditions and if we hadn't been travelling 237 miles that day to the Tanzanian border we would have stayed to take photos.


The journey down from the plateau was fantastic, the scenery was breath-taking We descended almost 7000 feet and gained stunning views across Lake Malawi. The last two thousand feet is dealt with in little over two miles of hairpin bends, some strewn with broken down lorries that had failed to make the climb.


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Malawi, the warm heart of Africa

Leaving Zambia behind we headed over the border and into Malawi. We immediately noticed the number of people everywhere, all along the roadside there are children walking to and from school, women carrying babies on the back and water on their head, men on cycles loaded with charcoal or rushes, even children as young as 3 are walking beside the road, roadside sellers of fruits and lots of small markets selling vegetables, clothes and spare cycle tyres.  Zambia  was busy with people but Malawi seems to exceed it by far and everyone seems to be by the roadside.

 Typical busy market.

We travelled to the south of the country, through the old capital of Zomba and onto a tea plantation. Spent a couple of nights in the former colonial home of the tea owner which is now a hotel. It was lovely to be able to walk freely as there are no wild animals and to play croquet on the lawn and visit the factory for tea-tasting. Quite an experience.

 Tea pickers at Satwema

From there we moved to the south of lake Malawi and caught a boat to the small Mumbo Island, We thought we would be bored to death there for 2 days but it was surprisingly relaxing kayaking and snorkling in the sunshine.The lake was a little rough for the return trip but the manager assured us the skippers are very experienced and so we set off and within 5 minutes the skipper was sitting on the floor of the boat looking decidedly sea sick and our waiter was at the wheel! It didn't inspire confidence as the boat pitched around but we landed OK with the skipper taking over the helm to bring us ashore.

Our Island hiseaway.

Heading north again, around 160 miles we stayed at a pottery by the lake where every piece was chipped and the lake by this time bore all the resemblance to the grey seas of home, even with the white crested waves. Then came the first rains in a very heavy downpour and the street was suddenly full of soaking schoolchildren having been sent home as most of their lessons are on benches under trees. It seems the rainy season is almost upon us so travel plans may have to be a bit flexible if we are to avoid a Camel Trophy experience.

We are now in another wildlife wilderness and in a very luxurious lodge again but it is a comparatively new national park with only one road in and many trees so the animals are well concealed. Having seen so many animals during this trip and not wishing to see another elephant anyway that's fine with us.

Malawi has offered us the most diversity of  interest since Namibia, with its incredible lake; forest scenery; and mountains too.

Wild Dogs hunting buffalo

Just a quick addition to the last blog, two photos taken during the journey from our wild camp to Chipata through the National Park. This herd stretched for over a mile.

Zambia

Exploring Zambia.

Before leaving Livingstone and the wonderful Waterberry Lodge we visited the railway museum which was brilliant with some ancient British built steam engines on display and went on an early morning walking safari to see the white rhinos.

There are only 8 in Zambia now and 6 are in the Mosi o Tunya park area. They were very heavily guarded by armed patrol but good to stand close to.

Then to two lodges for two nights each in the Kafue national park which is the size of Belgium. At the first lodge we were the only two staying and it was a little run down but lovely to have two cheetahs patrolling the perimeter. On the evening game drive there we sat and drank our sundowner gin and tonic next to a pack of around eight wild dogs and we left them as they got up to hunt, quite an experience. On the way to the other lodge we had another elephant incident, we stopped to let the ellie cross the track as it was intending to do and it started turning in circles before bending to charge us - did we drive through quickly!. The only downside with Kafue is that there are tetse flies and they happen to find me (Sue) very tasty, I picked up around 50 bites but reassuringly it is only in Uganda they still apparently carry sleeping sickness.!!

Down to the lower Zambezi along a road," Leopard's Hill", that even here is described as not recommended, it was interesting at the top over the escarpment but some of the hairpin bends on the way down tested vehicle and driver to the limits. Thankfully we came through OK but did have to do a bit of road repairs to get through some gulleys and in the temperatures here of 38 to 40.. At the Lower Zambezi we stayed at a lovely campsite by the river with hippos, crocs and a multitude of lovely birds and unfortunately one elephant that decided it didn't want us there and semi charged us. We have gone off elephants big time, they are the only animal here to have been aggressive to us and they are too big to mess with. To make the return journey more manageable we cut the camping there by a day and decided to head off to Lake Kariba where we stayed at a lovely site at Siavonga beside the lake and ate in the restaurant, it was like being on holiday in the Caribbean.

A long drive from there through Lusarka to South Luangwa staying one night at a camp site enroute just to beak the journey, around 500 miles in total. The people in Zambia are, as expected, quite poor and probably often hungry. Their diet is maize and apart from the capitol they live in villages, round huts with thatched roofs, the women normally have a baby on their back and a plastic container on their head either full of water just drawn from the well or a bag of maize or a bowl with washing. Their older children, probably from the age of 5 are often carrying water on their head too. Their clothing is a top and a long colouful skirt but shoes are rare. Education is trying to make an impact here and the children are always seen walking to and from school in their uniforms but they cannot all afford to buy the uniform so there are many poor little ones in rags who have no education. Interestingly they are actually more pleasant when you pass with waves and smiles.

The lodge where we stayed in South Luangwa for 2 night is one of the luxury safari lodges in Zambia. It was superb and on our game drives we saw leopard with 2 young cubs and one older cub and a pride of 22 lions, many of them cubs who were calm and full having recently killed a young hippo.

From there we headed north in the park under our own steam again, seeing 200 grey crowned cranes, a pride of 6 lions lying next to a recent buffalo kill and 12 wild dogs, not to mention zebra, puko, impala and kudu on our own game drive to our next resting place. This was a bush camp for the 2 of us away from everyone. I have to admit I was a little concerned, actually the word terrified comes to mind, not least because it gets dark here at 6pm and although there is a big fire you are in your tent by 7pm and cannot get out then until dawn at 5am..We have bush camped before in Namibia but that has less animals, and far less predators. It wasn't too bad as the noises in the night were quite light and, huge relief, we were not visited by elephants. But decided again to reduce the daily mileage by splitting the journey into two so we would cut our 2 nights to 1 and drove back through the national park to the border with Malawi. The drive was amazing, we again saw the huge flock of Cranes but then got really lucky, spotting a vast heard of buffaloes moving through the park, this is only a guess but the must have been several thousand animals in the herd, the dust they raised could be seen for miles. At the back of the herd we spotted a pack of wild dogs hunting, looking for any opportunity to make a kill. In all the confusion they appeared to take a small animal, probably a Warthog then fought over it right in front of us.

We knew we were watching something special as the BBC was parked next to us filming the scene.The programme is meant to be screened in 2 weeks and if it is seen by anybody before our return we would be grateful to anyone who could record it for us.  We find it incredible locals cycle through this park to bring supplies to their villages.

We are now at the border town of Chapata planning to cross into Malawi tomorrow morning.

Then off to the Makgadikgadi pans and a tented camp set on a cliff overlooking a river where we watched the zebra and elephants coming to drink.At times herds of up to 200 zebra gathered at the riverbank waiting their turn to get to the water, there seems to be a strict pecking order with a continual switch over of animals taking a much needed drink. Their excitement was evident as they galloped to the water at their turn.

The next day we visited the national park and apart from the usual game there were a number of lions. It was explained to us that we could get close to them as they only saw the vehicle and neither saw nor smelt people inside. Also in our 2 nights here we had a sunset river cruise with a couple of g and t's which is becoming habitual, here they call it a sun-downer.

From there we headed north to the Zambian border. We spent our last night in Botswana near Nata at a place called elephant sands and was it aptly named. A very sandy area where elephants in the vicinity came to drink the brackish water from a reduced waterhole.We felt sorry for them as there were always 20 to 30 around trying to glean some water.They were naturally upset and fractious. As the camp site was next to the water and full of elephants we thought we would book into one of the lodges. Not too salubrious and then in the night we heard the elephant against the lodge breaking the water pipe to get a drink. Poor things,

Crossed into Zambia the next day at a chaotic crossing. A main crossing with lots of cars and lorries with only a pontoon taking one car and one lorry at a time. The lodge we are staying in for 3 nights here though is wonderful. There are 4 managers and 42 staff for 7 double occupancy cabins of which only 3 are full. Hence the service and standards are exceptional. The continuation of the sunset river launches but on the Zambezi. Crocodiles and hippos in the river but it is only the latter the guides are very wary of and give a wide berth to.
Have also had the land rover serviced mid trip so all seems good to go on from here.

As we are near to Livingstone we went to the Victoria falls which were fairly empty of water on the Zambian side as it is the last month of the dry season here. So decided we would cross the border into Zimbabwe as the falls are always more dramatic there. They certainly were and it is the only time we have crossed a border and been in no man's land on foot. As we were in Zim decided to visit the old colonial Victoria Falls hotel for afternoon tea. The tea was fine but the cocktail was better.

As you can see I did not take this picture so take no responsibility for it being so bad..

Today explored Livingstone and its excellent railway museum. Loads of old steam engines made in the UK for Rhodesian Railways, some absolutely huge to cope with the distances here. Finished the day with another sundowner on the Zambezi as our last R and R day before hitting the road north.

Here are a few pics that should have come with the blog but it is now 6 in the morning and I seem to have the local internet to myself so may be luckier in sending them.

A perfect campsite with views to the horizon.

Not the best Leopard photo but our first find..

Sue has retreated to the car prior to her hasty escape to the elephant proof ablution block. He looks smaller here than he was, believe me.

An over view of the Okavango delta showing why driving here is such a challenge. The wet bits are very wet and the rest is deep sand.

Finally back in the world of internet connectivity, albeit rather slow so this will be a bit picture lite which is a shame as we have seen so much in the last few days.

From Shakawe we headed north into the Caprvi Strip, which is back into Namibia but it feels different to the rest of the country. It's roads are dotted with small villages formed of traditional mud huts and the vegetation is much more lush due to its proximity to the Zambezi and Okavango  rivers.

We spent two nights at a very remote community run camp site on the banks of the Kwando river, 17km from the nearest road through deep sand and forest trails. We were lulled to sleep each evening by the sound of Hippos snuffling around our vehicle. Despite their immense size their noise is very relaxing and we both got used to it very quickly. Luckily for a Dutch couple also trying to reach the camp we happened upon them stuck fast in deep sand with their Toyota. We towed then the remaining 8km toi the site where they extended their stay to two nights so they could convoy out with us to the main road.

From Nabwa we crossed the border back into Botswana to visit and camp in Chobe National park. Botswana safety standards are so different from Namibia. We stayed in an unfenced camp site with game wandering through at will, but it was a great experience. We took a long drive along the Chobe river bank to the small town of Kasane to top up on fuel and supplies, we returned by the same route seeing so many animals; a vast herd of buffalo, all sorts of antelope and even a leopard.This has to be the best trip to the shops ever. Sue also had her first experience of very deep sand driving with the added feature of crocodiles to the right and buffaloes to the left, digging out would have been out of the question but she was a star.

From Chobe we set off on what must be one of the toughest legs of the journey south to Linyanti and on eventually to the Okavango delta. These 6 days of camping were totally self sufficient as there is no infrastructure which means we had to take all our food and fuel for the time we were in the Chobe and Moremi. Most people who come here fly into the lodges, very few drive the harsh sand roads between, basically a few south Africans and fewer Europeans which means we basically had vast areas to ourselves. It is harsh driving and on 3 days we travelled almost a 100 miles on sand ridges, The camp sites are basic with about 10 sites each with their own fire pit and braii, one shower and loo for the women and the same for the men. In heat of almost 40 a cool shower in the afternoon is quite refreshing.
The elephants rule here and whilst driving it is too dangerous to divide a herd, They wander through the camps and in Savuti camp a lone bull elephant was around when we made a veg curry. As soon as this was served the elephant crashed into our site. I was already eating so hurried to finish the meal in the car. Colin had already lost his to the elephant so hurried for the video. As the elephant proceeded to knock over the table and made for the pans we decided I had better take my meal to the ablutions to finish as elephants have been known to turn over a vehicle in search of food (particularly apples and oranges) and curry has a strong smell. I have never walked so quickly whilst trying not to run, finished the meal and washed the plate and fork thoroughly to avoid enticing it again. Colin had meanwhile made a hasty retreat as the elephant proceeded to turn to him. Quite a terrifying experience really as they are just so huge and powerful. The other animals to be wary of mainly hunt at night so once in the roof tent it is inadvisable to leave until first light.

Our final destination on the delta was Moremi, a tough drive by any standards, but well worth it. This is the unspoilt, untouched Africa of dreams. Virtually unvisited by road with only one small campsite in the whole region it is uninhabited except by a fantastic array of wildlife and birds. The delta delivers a vast flood to what would otherwise be desert and the fertility of the region makes for exceptional wildlife viewing. We took a boat trip through the delta and shared the narrow channels with elephants wading chest deep to feast on Papyrus and saw antelopes who are adapted to live in this swampy environment.

Arriving in the town of Maun, albeit quite small came as quite a culture shook after being so remote but we found solace in a small aircraft flight to get an overview of the delta and glimpse a last view of the rich wildlife from the air.

A couple more days at Etendeka, mountain hikes in the mornings and game drives in the afternoon. We saw another larger pride of lions and the rare black rhino, albeit at quite a distance.
On from there we headed north east to Etosha. On the first evening in the lodge it was surprisingly cold, it has been the only time our fellow diners were in ski wear, including the ear warmers, they were obviously better prepared then us.  They all must have researched Namibia better, we just thought Africa it will be quite warm. Nice to be in the quieter, restricted western part of Etosha first, spent the second night in the middle closer to the pan. Saw masses of wild life, many elephants, the black rhino at the floodlit waterhole.  At one water hole literally hundreds, probably a thousand, zebra, although the big cats eluded us. It was warming up again too.

Leaving Etosha we headed east again towards the Botswanan border, a distance of 297 miles on roads that could be described as interesting. The border is close to the Kalahari and is the area the indigenous Bush people have been allowed to settle and live their lives in the traditional manner if they wish.. There has been some intermarriage but lovely to see the golden faces with high cheekbones, almost reminiscent of the Mongolians. We stayed on their land that evening in the shadow of an enormous Boab tree, no facilities but charming although pleased we didn't hear the hyena in the night when we were shown their tracks the following morning.

A short journey to the border, which was just a couple of huts, and then into Botswana, another long drive, 230 miles, where the already interesting gravel road became more of a cart track, it really feels as though we have got away from the tourist routes and the adventure steps up a notch.. Drove to the lodge by the Okavango river and this morning have been on a boat ride wonderful birds, bee eaters, kingfishers and fish eagles to mention only a few. And of course enormous crocodiles who all took to the water towards us as we passed.

 It is so different from Namibia, green and with water which means bugs too so the malarial tablets have to be started. Its also getting a lot hotter, a more humid heat than even the hot days in the desert.

Further north and inland we go through Damaraland. Very arid semi desert with enormous rock formations turning to blood red in the sunset. These formations also had  the early Bushman,s paintings and engravings. They date from 6000 to 2000 years old and are all most fascinating.

 Its also getting very hot now, well into the 30's and we camped for 4 nights through this area, the first site only had a toilet but in the next 3 we had our own basin, toilet and shower, the hot water  morning and evening being provided by a donkey boiler. All individual sites too, luxury camping!

Now in northern Damaraland and staying in an elegant tented lodge, all meals and drinks provided. The drive into the mountain camp itself took an hour but it was superb. Not only were we rewarded with immediate sightings of giraffe, mountain zebra,oryx, springbok and kudu but the 17 km track was a fantastic off-road route through fabulous scenery and at times quite challenging, off-roading doesn't get better than crawling down a rocky route into a drying river bed to discover a herd of zebra grazing at the bottom.

They are lucky here that they have some springs in the area so it attracts the wild animals and they remain. A game drive in the evening resulted in us seeing lots of the animals already mentioned plus 3 rare desert elephants (one being a young one), a pride of lions and 3 cheetahs, It was amazing.

This morning a dozen or more kudu clattered next to the tent and we heard lions during the night, it has become a real safari. We also took a long walk through the local mountains, seeing fascinating rock formations and mineral deposits everywhere.

Just like London buses, a long wait then two at once. This is the first decent wifi we have had so far so a bit more catching up.

From Fish River canyon we headed up to Aus. A one horse, one shop town but with a decent camp site where we stayed in a hobbit hut built into the rock face. The usual warnings about snakes and mice entering the hut but thankfully neither did, well not that we saw. We were woken in the night by something jumping on the roof and running across, don't know what but it was big and agile.

Aus was the base for the 60m trip in Luderitz. A quaint colonial town with German style houses painted in bright colours but the highlight was visiting Kolmanskoop, a deserted diamond mining town that is being buried beneath the encroaching sands. It was quite an experience to walk inside the houses, some still with coloured wall paper and seeing them half filled with sand and the signs of desert creatures.

From here we moved up to Namtib, a former farmstead now purporting to be a bioshpere reserve. Well we saw little wildlife here except some baboons but it was a splendid isolated desert camping experience. It is amazing how quickly one adapts to an environment, we both were surprised that we took a three hour walk in the desert and through a valley far from any other humans, and still felt totally safe.

From Namtib we again headed North and closer to the coast, staying just inside the gates of the National Park. This gave us the chance to be on the road at 06.20 to race to the dunes of  Sossusvlei to watch the sunrise change the dunes into a host of colours. Well that is what the guide books said, it was pretty cool but a tad short of the hype. We did, however, get to share this magical place with just one other couple and four ostriches.

We next headed further north to the coastal towns of Walvis Bay and Swakoptmund. On the way recrossing the Tropic of Capricorn,

The journey was long and not helped by the badly corrugated roads for most of the route. We did travel through some pretty impressive scenery on the way and on arrival were rewarded by a wildlife wonder. Walvis bay lagoon is home to hundreds of flamingoes and they strut their stuff just feet from the promenade.

Today, being Sue's birthday she opted for a boat trip to see pelicans, seals and dolphins. Two out of three isn't bad, no dolphins but unexpectedly to all two humpbacked whales pitched up and put on a show by the boat. A perfect birthday present for any girl.

Tomorrow we are heading up towards Damaraland, a more remote rugged part of the country so we expect to be far from wifi and mobile signals for a few days but we will be in touch when we can.

upon leaving Bagatelle game lodge we decided to take an alternate scenic route via Olliphant river (well beside a dry river bed and a lot of the time in the dried up river bed!). a good route and mid afternoon arrived at Mata Mata, a Transfrontier game reserve in South Africa. We were camping and I have never been so cold, it is dry here and the taste of dust is in your throat but the weather has mainly been the bright cold reminiscent of ski ing. Saw a lot of game, herds of springbok and wilder-beast, ostrich, jackals, kudo and oryx but unfortunately the black maned Kalahari lion escaped us.

PHOTO Kalahari bushmen taking us to their village.

Moved back to Namibia and camped overnight not as cold in a superb bush camp with only one loo and a shower activated by lighting a fire behind it but the scenery was stunning, quiver trees amid dolomire rocks resembling a lost city. Only one other couple in the camp.
The next day, the opposite accommodation, a luxury chalet room as part of a lodge overlooking the fish river canyon. Superb views and at dark (which is 6pm here) the stars can be seen from the room. A mixture of nationalities but the majority of the 6 couples here are South African. Had a walk along the ridge for a way and the following day took a Jeep into the canyon right down to the small water pools remaining with their cat fish. it hasn't rained here this year so everything very dry.

that is up to date as on the 3rd September and hoping for internet access soon.

We travelled south from Windhoek, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn and are now on the very edge of the Kalahari desert. Last evening was spent on a game drive that brought us good sightings of springbok, oryx, wildebeest and a family of giraffe. This morning walked to a San Bushman village in the company of four bushmen, were shown the way they hunted and use local plants as medicine. A bit of a show for the tourists but interesting nonetheless. This afternoon chilling by the lodge with expansive views of the red dune sands overlooking a water hole with frequent game sightings.

Almost ready

After months of preparation and planning, (with a great deal of help from Ollie at Safari Drive) we are almost ready to set off on our big African adventure. This will be our home and transport for the next three months and eight thousand miles as we explore five countries; Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania.

We intend to post to this blog as we travel but that will depend on how often we find an internet connection as we are planning to get well off the beaten track for at least some of the trip.