AND SO THE RAIN CAME!!!

Having had a fabulous last night in Namibia at Joe’s Beer House chowing down on the famous game dishes we headed forth to Botswana. Having crossed the boarder we spent our first night in Ghanzi staying on old Bushmen land at Trail Blazers Camp where the guys got involved in the bushmen walk. For me, this is one of the best value for money activities you can do on tour, everyone ALWAYS comes out raving about it, not only do you get an awesome insight on how the bushmen live but you get to hear that san language (you know, the clicky one) trickle through your ears.
From Ghanzi we headed to the place of reeds i.e Maun where we spend stay before and after the Delta. This is when it happened…….the rain….the warm downpour. So I always tell people that they must be a little greatful for the rain at this time of year otherwise you battle hard with the humidity. However, I must admit the storm that hit the Delta is one of the biggest I’ve experienced….the thunder felt like it was lifting me off the ground and the lightening was blinding, but everyone kept smiles on their faces and put it all down to the adventure which was great!
From Maun we headed to Kasane, the Chobe region which was a touch dryer….the 620 km drive was eased somewhat but the enormous amount of elephants we saw on the drive, beasts that didn’t make an appearance in Etosha so everyone was chuffed to bits. The Chobe game drive was an absolute success with the peeps not only loving the wildlife but the beauty of the park made a huge impact on everyone which is so wonderful to hear.
And now I am writing to you from Livingstone. We have said good bye to a few and hello to some more and from here we will start our East African leg of tour. Soon we will be soaking up the views from Lake Malawi

IS THAT A TIGER??

Having left Swakopmund we headed straight to Spitzkoppe where we visited the bushmen paintings and arrived at camp in time for lunch. We decided (as it seemed we were the only ones camping here) to mix things up a bit and try a different camping spot (crazy i know!!). Our camp was nestled inbetween two tall rocky outcros which priveded the perdect climbing to pass the afternoon.
So i guess you're wondering about the title huh?!? Tigers in Africa??? Well not quite (fact of the day: there's no tigers here as it's beleived they couldn't cross the Sahara Desert?) However, one of my pax Dave decided to bring along a tiger suit!! Having set up the prank with myself and TJ he kept dropping commentns to the others like "hey guy's, you recon we're going to see a tiger?" to which everyone replied no way! Spitzkoppe provided the perfect setting and oppourtunity and whilst everyone was other wise distracted Dave slipped into the bush and slipped on his disguise.
It went something like this:
TJ: Hey Loz, you see that bush moving?
Me: What the hell? (trying so hard not to laugh as Dave pops his tiger donned head above the bush)
(pax now beginning to show some interest)
(Dave begins rustling bush)
Pax: Oh my god,,,is that a cat??
Pax: Holy shi* is it a leopard???
Pax: What the hell, it has stripes!!!
Pax: What??
(Dave continues bush rustling)
Pax: (now getting a little nervous) oh my God!!
(Me and TJ are trying so hard not to laugh)
Pax: What the (Dave no exposes his tiger suited bu,) HELL!!!
Everyone: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

So after Spitzkoppe we headed North to Etosha where we stay for 2 nights ...It's always amazing to visit here in January, not necessarliy for the game viewing (which to be perfectly honest wasn't huge with only 1 of the big 5 being spotted as the recent rain meant that the animals are now free to roam instead of being tied to the man made watering holes), but insuch a short amount of time the park has been transformed from dry dusty and arid to lush and fragrant with this seasons rain fall!

Now we're on our merry way to the countries capital Windhoek where we will spend our afternoon mooching around the city and tonight (our last night in Namibia) will be celebrated at Joe's Beer House!!

Until next time...

P.S When my internet connection is better i PROMISE phot'os of the only tiger in Africa :)

FEELING HOT HOT HOT

Well I must start by saying I can’t believe we’re already 1 week into the tour, it has gone so quick, but I guess time does fly when you’re having fun! J

So lets go back to the beginning. Saturday morning saw our fresh faced pax head off on their town ship tour and to have lunch at popular mizoli’s.having been returned to us we began the first journey of the tour to Highlanders campsite where everyone broke the ice with Sparky’s famous wine tasting…..without giving too much away (what happens on tour stays on tour) everyone was well bonded by the end of the evening (and a little soggy from the pool!). Up next was our trip to the Orange River where temperatures reached roughly 45 degrees, thankfully the river is totally fine to swim in and easily accessible from our camp Umkulu so needless to say the afternoon was spent frolicking in the watery no mans land between South Africa and Namibia.

The following day saw us crossing the boarder into Namibia and saying goodbye to the tar roads for a while. After a bumpy journey we arrived at our camp in time for lunch and a quick swim before setting out for Fish River Canyon. Beers were sipped and snacks were nibbled as everyone took in the burning sunset over the desolate canyon! That night tested everyone’s ‘bug’ limit as we were visited by first a red roman (sun spider) and secondly a thick tailed scorpion! Next up we were desert bound. More bumpy roads delivered us to the heart of the Namib where we hiked up dunes and walked deep into the arid landscape to discover more about this incredible land and the little (and many) creatures it homes.

For the last 2 days we have been spoiled yet again at Amanpuri Lodge (Swakopmund) to some creature comforts. Last night we nipped to Napolitnas for dinner then danced the night away at the local bar/club grunez. Today regardless of some delicate heads lanes have been jumped out of and dunes have been boarded however I think tonight will most definitely be an early one.

Tomorrow will see us once again heading back into the wilderness to beautiful Spitzkoppe for one night of hopefully incredible star gazing and then off to Etosha for 2 days for some (again, hopefully) awesome game drives, and the of course Windhoek where our last night in Namibia will be spent at Joe’s Beer House. . . Will keep you posted!

LETS GO ROUND AGAIN

Well folks, it's that time again where we find ourselves back in the office and workshop preparing for another tour. Having had 2 weeks off to refresh (although it was over Christmas and New Years) we find ourselves chomping at the the bit to get back on the road again.

Tomorrow is our pre departure meeting where we will meet our new bunch of 'pax' who hopefully are all geared up for a trip of a life time. Some may only be doing an 11 day tour with us, some 19 days and maybe a few wild enough to do 41 days all the way to Nairobi, which ever decision has been made i can guarantee some amazing adventures are waiting to be had and even better memories are waiting to be made as we travel through this incredible continent!

But, in the mean time its's another few days in sunny Cape Town helping the workshop prepare our truck (MARA is back!!) and helping the office to finalise our paperwork and some of our bookings and let us not forget the enormous bulk buy that I am gearing up for today to make sure we're all well prepared for the tour. What a great way to celebrate the New Year!!

BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN…..

We left Swakopmund behind and headed into the heart of the Namib Desert,,,,which surprisingly was really quite cold!!! We arrived in the Namib Naukluft national park and were in bed super early as the next day saw us start the truck at 4.14am so we could reach dune 45 in time for the peeps to negotiate their way to the top for sunrise. I know I’ve probably said this a million times but these dunes NEVER fail to take my breath away. The drive from the main gate to dune 45 coincidently is exactly 45 km’s and with the sun just beginning to peep the dunes are stunning eerie black silhouettes! It was an uncomfortable 7 degrees at that time n the morning so breakfast at the bottom of the dune was an eclectic mix of socks and flip flops and pj bottoms tucked into socks!!

Leaving the sand dunes behind we started our 2 day drive to Fish River Canyon where we stayed at a new camp called Canyon Road House……so ive mentioned this place as it would be a shame for the showers o go un-noticed……my word they’re amazing. We walked along the bleak edge of the second largest canyon in the world with the river bed at the bottom waiting patiently thirsty for the torrent that should arrive in a few months after what promises to be a rainy season to rival that of last year (where half of Namibia washed away……seriously!) The weather was incredible and we had a full shot of the pink sunset over the canyon without 1 single cloud in the sky!

Next day we were South Africa bound and once the boarder was crossed we inched our way on the bumpy mountain pass to our camp on the Orange River for what was the hottest day on tour with our geeky temperature telling apparatus showing temperatures of 52 degC!!!!!

The atmosphere was still pumped as though it was the first day of tour when we arrived at our last camp Highlanders and it was heightened even more by Spark’ys legendary wine tasting. And then…..it was time……..for CAPE TOWN. It was a standard early morning and the peeps coupled by hangovers made their final journey in our beasty truck to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We stop at Blouberg Strand, which offers amazing views of the city perched precariously below Table Mountain, and the weather was divine! We’d had reports that the Cape had been particularly miserable but as we made our descent to sea level and caught our first glimpse of the mountain we saw that the sun would be shining all day. The guys hopped out of the truck and into a mini bus for their township tour then were returned to us for the last time at Green Point.

Goodbyes were said and promises to keep in touch were made. As I write from our hostel, the truck stands empty and clean (as clean as you’ll ever get an overland truck lol) outside waiting to get to the office and workshop tomorrow for some well-deserved rest. All paperwork is finished and finalised and bags are packed. In 18 days time we will be starting all over again, darting around the continent and taking new adventures. Until then though hope you all have a Merry Christmas and fantastic New Years!!!!

YES IT RAINS IN THE DESERT,,,

I must start with saying that yes it is a very common misconception that the desert sees no rain at all….while I must say that for most of the year this is very true and the Namib is no different, for many months it is exactly what you would think it to be,,,dry arid and dusty (I’ve not put hot on here as in winter it’s ice cold, but that’s a different blog post entirely). However, for a few months every year the clouds role in and the pressure builds and then it comes,,,,,,the rain and believe it or not it’s a welcome relief from the harassing heat that comes a couple of months before the rain arrives.

As we arrived in Etosha National park the sky was black and the anticipation of deafening thunder and blinding lightening was tangible. We drove the 18km’s from the main gate to our camp site hoping to beat the downpour and racing the clouds we just manage it. Having set up camp we headed out for a short afternoon game drive where we spotted elephants, Zebra, Giraffe and Brown Hyena….my first!! The rain eventually came and hammered down but thankfully had decided to vanish as quickly as it came so when we arrived back at camp, although everything was a tad soggy we were able to chill out outside next to the fire without the threat of getting soaked ourselves. The next morning was early and promised sunshine as we headed out for a day of game driving. We were lucky enough to spot 2 white rhino’s giraffes, zebra, blue cranes (another first for me) and heaps of different gazelle. As the sun burned high and hot the animals disappeared deeper into the shade of the bush we headed back to camp to spend the late afternoon chilling out by the swimming pool.

From Etosha we headed deeper into Namibia and spent the night at Spitzkoppe where the pointy heads were climbed and for sunset and slept on under the full moon. Then it was time to hit Swakopmund for 2 whole nights in complete comfort. While some people opted for hurling out of planes (parachute attached ;) ) while others decided to speed down the sand dunes reaching up to 75km’s an hour, whatever the activities it’s safe to say everyone has come away with a huge adrenaline filled smile.

I can’t believe it’s only 6 days until we get to Cape Town and 3 ½ months is nearly up but before we get there we’re headed deeper into this amazing country and tomorrow we’re hitting the Namib Desert where the people will be getting involved in a Namib Desert walk and climbing the most photographed dune sand dune in the world Dune 45.

Until nest time folks J

CROSS DRESSING AT KANDE

From Chitimba we headed to Kande Beach but not without stopping in the town of Mzuzu first. Mzuzu is the fancy dress capital of Malawi. The night before, we each picked names out of a hat to chose our ‘victims’ and the next day with MK500 to spend on an outfit we were let loose in the market. Now as soon as you pull up to this market the guys there know exactly what you’ve come for and come running over with bags full of sequins, leopard print and “onesies”. That night we exchanged outfits and partied the night away…TJ looked particularly fetching in a neon pink dress.

One more night was spent at Kande relaxing and chilling out by the lake before heading to our final stop in Malawi: Senga Bay.

The next day we crossed into Zambia via a stop in Malawi’s capital Lillongwe and started our 2 day drive to Livingstone where I find my self writing from now. We have been here for 3 days in which time everyone (some under a little duress) has gone rafting, gone flying in helicopters, ridden elephants and walked along side Lions.

We have said goodbye to some passengers and said hello to some new ones and tomorrow having had 4days to recharge here in Livingstone we’re back on the road and headed to Botswana to check out the wildlife Chobe National Park.