The tale of Christmas in Africa... and some other stuff...

so it has been a while since we had Internet so i have a bit to catch you all up on ill start with where i think i left off...

on the 17th December we left the luxury of our hotel in Swakopmund and returned to our trusty green roll mats and our lovely canvas tent we spent a large portion of the day driving in the baking heat to Spitzkoppe a campground seemingly in the middle of nowhere the landscape was desert with the campsite nestled in the shadows of this huge rocky outcrop we arrived late afternoon and me and LP headed off to climb to a wee gappy bitty thing at the top (not the top top but the top of the bit we climbed) it didn't take to long to scramble up to within 5m of the top where things got a little tricky it seems the top is a popular place for the klipspringer and it seems they like to stand at the top and poop meaning the last wee bit was slick like a slide we did however manage to make it up (not slip on a poop slide to our deaths...) the view at the top was lovely so we took some pics and sat in the shade before starting the walk down stupidly we didn't go down the way we came and got stuck in several places had to backtrack a bit here and there and lastly squeeze through a little cave we arrived at the bottom just in time to climb another (much less high non-challenging) outcrop where we sat and watched the sunset...

18th December- we set off earlyish for Twfelfontein (doubtful spring) where we spent just one night again we drove most of the day and arrived late afternoon just in time to visit some bushman (san) rock carvings despite being early evening the sun was still bearing down in full heat without any shade so the visit was quick the etchings are so impressive and we also saw 2 Agama lizards and 2 dassie rats which are cute as pie!

19th December - at 8am we were back on the road heading for Etosha Namibia's premiere national park we were set to arrive about 5pm but actually got there about 2.30pm so after a dip in the pool to cool off we jumped on the truck and headed off for an evening game drive the wildlife in the park was huge in abundance an we saw our first WILD LION stalking some antelope in the distance defiantly a highlight of the day! we also saw 2 slender mongoose the first of that kind. that evening after some dinner we sat in silence at the watering hole waiting for something to appear we were well rewarded with a sighting of a black rhino a huge bull who came right up to the wall seemingly staring right into my eyes which was quite nerve racking (I'm not sure a piddly electric fence and a stone drywall would stop a charging rhino!) another great sighting was a cape fox also drinking at the watering hole GREAT day for animals!

20th December- today we drove across the national park it contains three campsites so we drove from one (i have temporarily misplaces the spelling and I'm not going to attempt it) to Halali in the middle where at 11am we stopped to wait out the hot part of the day eating lunch and lounging by the pool before continuing on to Namatoni where we camped for two nights we had a huge bout of excitement when we saw a chameleon being chased by a boomslang (snake) we stopped to watch and the went under the truck the boomslang then decided the trucks chassy would be a good place to rest so it slithered up oh dear....there was nothing we could really do except drive on...a wee while later it did drop out as we drove and unfortunately got itself a little bit run over which was sad we got out (breaking national park rules) and watched as it slowly died...not cool... we did see more lions all chilling out under trees....later that evening we went on another game drive and ticked spotted hyenas off our checklist our first wild dog type thing Etosha proved to be amazing for wildlife!...

21st December-up for an early morning game drive we saw alot of antelope giraffe zebra etc but nothing new we did a long drive looking for leopard and cheetah but found none back at camp we had a huge brekkie and chilled out for the day disappointed the pool was filthy so we did laundry to cool off! that evening we headed on anther drive and saw heaps of stuff including mountain zebra we also say wildebeest going crazy chasing each other around and playing (i think the prospect of rain was making them frisky!) we also drove around a corner there was giraffe all over the road which scattered in every direction they are quite funny when they run...and when they drink....and when the eat....and when they just stand still....

22nd December- we drove ALL day ending up at a campsite call Nyepi on the river (we heard hippos snuffling around all night) the campsite had some weird funny toilets like the 'view with a loo' out in the open overlooking some reeds 'the toilet of Eden' surrounded by huge tropical plants a block with boys on one door girls on the other but both doors lead to two dunnies side by side one pink one with the lid padlocked up! signs in the showers read 'warning these showers contain H2O' all very funny!....

23 December-today we had a late start not leaving till 11am at about 4pm we crossed the border from Namibia into Zambia at which point we decided to continue all the way to Vic falls and have an extra night there so we didn't arrive till about 8.30pm we just had dinner and chilled

24th December-CHRISTMAS EVE we went to watch a briefing of the activities on offer at Vic falls then picked....we decided on a tour of the falls, a sunset dinner cruise,and white water rafting after the activities brief we headed into the town of Livingstone for final Xmas things when we got back we covered the truck in tinsel to make things christmassy that arvo we headed to the falls where we walked around took some amazing photos and got drenched it is very strange that you can see Zimbabwe across the bridge! the falls are stunning there is just so much water and they make so much noise so not alot of surprise that their traditional name translates as "the smoke that thunders" when we got back to camp we hit the bar we were so lucky that we were lent a laptop and skype so we could phone home briefly and speak to family on their mas morning after that it got a bit messy (not me i just get to laugh at everyone else!)...

25th December-MERRY CHRISTMAS!! we slept in and then contained to doze till late (mostly for the sake of LP the first time he woke up he was still drunk!) when finally i got up i put on my pretty new xmas dress...thanks Mr price...at around 10.30am we exchanged small gifts with friends then headed to the bar for a few drinks before lunch (are you pickin up on the drunken theme?) just before we ate we did a secret Santa we all got to sit on 'Santa's' knee we had a big xmas lunch then waddled down the road to a 4 star hotel to watch an African choir unfortunately we arrived just as the finished we did sit in their lobby for a while in the cool (lowering the tone of the establishment!)...im just upset i didn't pee in a posh loo!...the rest of the afternoon we spent in the pool playing with LPs secret Santa prezzie a padda tennis set and a game we invented with balloons full of water....loving the hot Christmas!

26th December BOXING DAY i can sum this up quickly we got up and ate a big cooked brekkie then we sat sat some more did a bit more sitting had lunch followed by sitting then for a change we sat in a different place then sat the sat then sat then sat and now I'm doing this sitting....

A few more adventures including MY BIRTHDAY!

So let me begin where i last left off way back on the 9th December We packed a back pack of all the stuff we needed for one night bush camping on an island in the middle of the Okavango Delta (its not much at all in fact we only took one bag between us and all that came out of it were our jandals and our doxy...) so off we trotted to the river bank where we jumped onto a speed boat and speeded down river to a point where we could transfer into Makoras (traditional dug out canoes) i sat right up front (almost losing my hat in the extreme wind...) and took in the view as it blurred past we arrived at the canoes where we met our polers (that's right we ride in style whilst someone else does all the grunt work...) our original guy was called Jack and he had a fairly new fibre glass jiggery whatsit i was like "so this ain't really traditional...but its sound,watertight and has nice high sides and comfy seats..."but then my contentment was dashed as we were asked to change Makoras (a weight thing) so we met our new poler Gladys i have to admit when she introduced herself i thought we wouldn't make it to the delta till night fall but she proved me wrong and showed what a tough old biddy she was we kept steady pace relatively close to the front the whole journey plus she pointed out heaps of neat stuff and caught a frog for us! we shared our snacks with her and became fast friends! her Makora was however more of a tradition style...basically a carved out tree trunk floating along the Delta i was concerned that if a hippo should cross our path we would be wasted!..(fortunately it doesn't really matter if you are floating on a dingy or a speed boat if a hippo don't like you he don't like you an you are toast...) the ride took about 2.5hours that's 2.5 hours of blissful sun filled snack filled floating along through the reeds (no hippos) when we arrived on the island (cant remember the spelling of its African name and i wont attempt to guess but it translated to 'Kudu horns') we had some lunch the lounged around for a few hours (the day was a sizzling hot fry an egg on your head 40 something degrees) the idea was that after 4pm the day would be cooler and we would go in search of some game only it hadn't cooled off at all...none the less we trooped off (in boots and long pants due to holes and long grass) we didn't see any animals just loads of spoor but we did have a walk filled with snacks first up we had some wild onions which tasted of...onions! then we had some small sour plums the skin was really bitter and jank but the flesh was like eating a squidgy sour lollie (sweet/candy bit of translating here) we walked for about 2.5 hours taking in the lovely scenery of the island before heading back to camp for tea and to my extreme delight we had baked beans and jacket spuds heck yes!

Friday 10th woke up at 5am (the first Early of many in a row!) for another game walk and it was worth it within minutes we spotted a massive bull elephant just going about his business enjoying life we also saw hippo,zebra,impala,warthogs,red lechwe,black backed jackel,wildebeest and a heap of birds including fish eagles,bateleur eagles an African barn owl and several hammerkops. we didnt walk too long just a few hours before the intense heat got us down so we headed back to camp and hung out till it was time to float our way back to the mainland the float took the same amount of time but we did see a crock which was EXCITING we were hands reach away from him just basking in the sun ignoring us completely!

Saturday 11th not alot to report from today we were on the road from 6am (yes driving from 6am till 7.30pm! we crossed the border into Namibia which was uneventful... (apart from the random girl doing drugs in the toilet whilst i almost peed my pants waiting)

Sunday 12th another long day on the road leaving at 7am and driving till about 3.30pm when we arrived at camp we didn't do alot set up tents and cooled off in the pool then that evening we drove to a big canyon which we climbed down...(being slightly retarded and not finding the stairs) we walked through the canyon and baboons threw rocks at us whilst i smiled and waved we clamoured here and there before heading back to the car park and having sun downers by the truck (and posing for some cheese factor photos on top of the truck...and almost falling whilst standing on one leg...) after sunset we went back to camp and crashed....

Monday 13th i feel like today was special...oh right it was MY BIRTHDAY! we woke up at 4am and drove 45km into the desert to climb a dune (named dune 45) and watch the sunrise! who else can say they watched the sunrise in Namibia on their 23rd birthday? we were told it only took 5-6 mins or 10 if you are slow so we set off at speed running up and almost dying in the process it actually took closer to a half hour to reach the highest ridge but heck it was worth it! we stayed up there quite a while taking in the spectacular view (and catching our breath) then we ran down the dune...LP is in his element here in Namibia he has both swimming pools to float like a dead person in (dont ask) and dunes to roll down (easily explained he likes to roll down stuff..) so he set off at extreme speed lost control and ate sand as he rolled to a stop at the bottom (and then staggered like a drunk person) we got back to the truck for birthday brekkie BAKED BEANS! then we drove further into the desert to explore we found a sand whippit snakes a bunch of lizards and a ton of beetles we also say gemsbok and sprinbok the landscape is truly outstanding and the sun played ball and didnt get to hot till we left yay! the rest of the day was spent chillaxing and eating lody a truly most perfect birthday!

Tuesday 14th another day on the road starting at a reasonable hour of 9am after a brekkie of eggy bread we drove and drove but it was through amazing landscapes of desert and gorges and canyons and big huge rock shapy thingys it was so lovely to look at we arrived into Swakapmund in time for a late lunch and a chilled afternoon and the loveliness of 3 nights in a hotel!

Wednesday 15th got up and had a huge cooked brekkie then got picked up and drived into the desert for a morning of sand boarding action! surprisingly LP didnt roll down a single dune instead saving his energy for the walk up between each run he maxed out at a speed of 71km/hour on the fast slope whilst i did a steady 67 then 68 the 69km/hour try as i might i couldn't brake the 70 barrier but heck yes it was fun! we spent all morning boarding then walking up and doing it again exhausting but brilliant at middayish we stopped for lunch then came back into town where we de-sanded not easy....then headed out shopping for my bday dress! (and my xmas dress) at about 7pm we headed out for dinner we had a beautiful gemsbok steak best game/antelope so far melt in your mouth perfection! then headed out for a night on the town (which was mostly playing pool and being checked out by a man in a white shirt....no Sam that's a women!)

next national park in a few days is Etosha (which my new e-mail friend Leonardix (the bank security guard)says is amazment yay)

I friggin LOVE Africa!

First of all i have to give myself a HUGE slap on the wrist! I'm not sure how i managed it but i forgot to blog about one of my FAVOURITE places in all of Africa! this was the Great Zimbabwe ruins in Zimbabwe (if you couldn't guess) it was the first place we visited when we got to Zim we stayed in the campsite inside the gates of the ruins but as we arrived late in the afternoon we didn't go to the ruins until the next day....we only spent just over 2 hours there but ideally i would have loved to stay all day we had a great guide (Phillip who asked me to be his second wife ...he offered LP 20 cattle...and a cellphone for me!) the time just flew by as he told us all the history and we walked around taking in the stunning views from the hilltop enclosure and marvelling at the 5m thick walls in the great enclosure 5m thick and way way high all built without the use of any mortar!....and then we went to Antelope park

well let me catch you up what we have been doing since...on Sunday 5th December we left Antelope park we were going to have a city stop off in Bulawayo to get to the post office,Internet etc but as it was Sunday the place was shut down just loads of peeps in their church clothes so we continued on our journey to Motobos national park we only spent one day there i wish we could have spent more as its way up there on the list of favourite places we arrived in the afternoon and went on a bush walk with the campsites main man Brown he showed us heaps of bushman paintings dating back 1000 years and pointed out all the spoor (poo and footprints) of various animals we saw a bunch of klipspringer bound across the road and then headed back to camp just as the skies let rip and the rain pissed down on us that night was so dark as the campsite was on day 7 of a power cut there wasn't even a moon or stars in the sky annoyingly this was also the night my torch ran out of battery's whoops!....

on the Monday we headed off with 2 local guides in 4x4s they were experts in the area and the park we spent the morning travelling to different caves filled with bushman (san) paintings and heard loads of information and tales about this absolutly incredible race. next stop was a local village where we met the chief poundo (named for the pound coin) an 80 year old guy with such spirit! he was dancing all over the show and even thought he didn't speak a word of English he told us all about himself and his family and asked after all of us (through our guide as translater) then his kids and grand kids did some traditional dancing for us and sung us songs Zimbabwe defiantly hasn't the warmest most welcoming people we have met so far! in the afternoon we tracked Rhino in the national park we saw one bull on his own with a horn over 75cm long! we got up ridiculously close to him and sat in the grass and watched while he went about life...in the park we also saw klipspringer,giraffes,steenbok and a ton of birds including black eagles snake eagles and a giant eagle owl...we then tracked some more rhino finding 4 in a clearing again we walked up close and were within metres luckily one of the guys looked behind us just in time to see a massive bull rhino strolling towards us no sooner had we moved when he charged towards the others running right across where we had been sitting!....

Tuesday we said a sad goodbye to Zim as we crossed the border into Botswana where apart from finding a post office Internet (and Nandos haha) we haven't yet done anything tomorrow we head into the Okavango Delta in canoes....

(sorry in advance for spelling/grammer mistakes!)

So i have soooo much to tell you and im sorry if i miss things out but i have left my journal somewhere so am doing this if the top of my head and due to lack of internet i have an extreme amount of days to catch you all up on!....well here goes....so we spent 7 nights in Mozmbique one in Maputo the capital city where the most exciting thing to happen was a friggin awesome lody (ice-cream)... we spent an afternoon lunching and interneting then went out for a meal altogether where i hiccuped whilst taking my doxy causing it to explode in my throat which lead to several days of a burnt throat and a foul taste in my mouth...

next morning we took a walk down to the market and marvelled at all the piles of fruit,veg,seafood and randomly budgies....that afternoon we drove to Tofo where we spent three lovely days sunning ourselves on a beautiful soft sandy beach every morning we were up by about 6am as the sun is instantly hot as soon as it rises and failure to get out of tents leads to slow cooked peeps haha!... the first day we headed out to sea on a small rigg and went snorkling with whale sharks i saw two and was within arms reach of a huge 5metre beauty! i did however get quite seasick so the whale sharks got my brekkie along with their usual plankton!...

the next day we chilled all day either on the beach or in the pool returning to the water everytime we came close to being dry the heat was so intense!...i lied it was 3 nights there not days so the third morning we were on the road again heading up the coast to Vilancouls (hope thats spelt right) where we spent 2 more nights as soon as we arrived hot and sticky from the road we jumped into the pool which overlooks the most goregous sea!...

the next day we hoped into a local boat (no seasickness this time) and headed across to one of the islands we used the moter going there and the sails comming back the trip each way took about an hour and a half once on the island we set off on a walk which we thought would take 30 mins only we misheard and it actually took and 1.5 hours it was a cool walk though we saw heaps of crabs and a whole flock of flamingos which were white until they lifted thier wings, underneath was brigh bright pink! when we got back to the boat a lovely lunch awaited of chargrilled red snapper rice colslaw crab and fresh fruits just what we needed! after lunch we snorkelled the reef for a few hours and saw so many amazing fish and corals then it was back to the mainland as the weather was changing and raining was comming close....that night we had an array of seafood (which LP actually tried...didnt like but tried) we have now had oysters,mussels,clams,crab,prawns and of course fish!...

next day we got up and drove all day and camped in a place we named bug city due to the intense volume of bugs amongst which were blister beatles and we are now travelling with 3 guys with blistered butts from sitting on them! that was also where we spent our 5 year anniversary so there wasnt much celebrating mostly hiding from bugs!...

next day we drove the 50 remaining miles to the Zimbabwe border where we crossed slowly but surely into our 4th country! we are now at Antelope park which specilises in rehiblitating lions although they also have other animals elephants antelopes (funnily enough) and other game zebra and giraffes.

yesterday the skies let rip so half a day we sheltered in the resturant making use of the free tea then when it cleared in the afternoon we set off to do 'elephant training' where we got to feed the elephants get on their backs watch them play football etc then we hoped on for a 60min safari atop Africas huge beast! we saw zebra and a tortoise and thats all the rains chase all the animals (giraffe included i really wanted to see one!) to the other side of the park for shelter but the ride was amazing they are such gentle intelligent beings!

then this morning we awoke at 5.30am to head out walking with the lions we went out with 3 juviniles one male two females the male is a bit of a loner so headed off on his own but the females were lovely rubbing up against us and letting us pat and cuddle them they are so lovely! when we left the male was stll awol and was later found by the river eating fish! tomorrow we leave Antelope park for another game reserve where we will hopefully see black rhino!......