We are sitting here, waiting to leave. There is a thunderstorm, and it is raining. It was sunny all day – but now we have thunder and lightening. We got stopped by the Police at the airport, allegedly I didn’t stop at the stop sign. He was going to give me a ticket, but then started asking how much I wanted to pay. I said “if you are going to give me a ticket do it, but I won’t pay you any money”. Obviously it was too much writing, and he was just out to make a few hundred rand from a tourist, as he didn’t give me a ticket.
So we are sitting in the café, drinking latte and watching the planes manoeuvre, there are Qantas, Delta and South African within our view. All large planes going to Europe, Asia or America.
We are watching them tow our plane in the gate, now. At least we will be able to check if our luggage goes on. The number is G-CIVZ
It is about 11 hours flying time back to England.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Back in South Africa
Yesterday - was a disaster. BA cancelled their flight from Livingstone as thye only had a few passengers, and we were all transferred to Nationwide. The new flight left three hours later, which nobody told us till we got to the airport. So we had 5 hours at Livingstone airport – which is about as big as Southend!
We finally got to Johannesburg and have rented a car for a couple of days. We are staying at the Protea Wanderers Hotel, and they ran out of standard rooms, so upgraded us to a deluxe. The Hotel overlooks the cricket ground, however, there is no cricket at the moment. South Africa’s last game was in Cape Town, when they beat India, to win the series 2-1. (We saw this victory live on TV as well- the first time we have watched TV in our room for a couple of months).
Linda is now persona non grata at the Victoria Falls Curio Market, they hide when she comes towards them. Normally, they invite you into their stalls, but not Linda, they tell her they are shut. On Monday morning she went down with a rucksack full of items to trade – jeans, slippers, flip flops, t-shirts, books, candles, swimming costumes and toiletries. In fact we are now 13k lighter than we arrived at Livingstone – and I only have the clothes I am wearing left!
However, we do have some nice wooden animals – which will make excellent presents for Christmas, birthdays right into 2008! As some of you are going to find out. So no requests for presents please – Linda has already got you something.
Johannesburg is quite busy traffic wise, although not as bad as London. Linda is getting quite good as getting me lost, even though I have given her a map to use. We needed to get on the north M1 today, but she couldn’t work a way out – so she said go South, and then turn around at an exit later on – so we have seen quite a bit of Jo’burg – including some parts we didn’t need to!
Its quite dangerous to go out at night, so we are eating at the hotel. Last night Kudu was on the menu – and I had a nice big helping of it. It was excellent – rather like steak. Linda has taken to testing the cheesecake – which she tells me is very nice.
So our safari (Swahili for journey – in case you didn’t know) is nearly over, neither of us want to come home – we love Africa. However, we do need to earn some money – for the next trip and rescue Chelsea from the kennels!
Linda’s finally photo tally is 1408 – so be careful when you ask to see the photo’s you may be there for a very long time.
We finally got to Johannesburg and have rented a car for a couple of days. We are staying at the Protea Wanderers Hotel, and they ran out of standard rooms, so upgraded us to a deluxe. The Hotel overlooks the cricket ground, however, there is no cricket at the moment. South Africa’s last game was in Cape Town, when they beat India, to win the series 2-1. (We saw this victory live on TV as well- the first time we have watched TV in our room for a couple of months).
Linda is now persona non grata at the Victoria Falls Curio Market, they hide when she comes towards them. Normally, they invite you into their stalls, but not Linda, they tell her they are shut. On Monday morning she went down with a rucksack full of items to trade – jeans, slippers, flip flops, t-shirts, books, candles, swimming costumes and toiletries. In fact we are now 13k lighter than we arrived at Livingstone – and I only have the clothes I am wearing left!
However, we do have some nice wooden animals – which will make excellent presents for Christmas, birthdays right into 2008! As some of you are going to find out. So no requests for presents please – Linda has already got you something.
Johannesburg is quite busy traffic wise, although not as bad as London. Linda is getting quite good as getting me lost, even though I have given her a map to use. We needed to get on the north M1 today, but she couldn’t work a way out – so she said go South, and then turn around at an exit later on – so we have seen quite a bit of Jo’burg – including some parts we didn’t need to!
Its quite dangerous to go out at night, so we are eating at the hotel. Last night Kudu was on the menu – and I had a nice big helping of it. It was excellent – rather like steak. Linda has taken to testing the cheesecake – which she tells me is very nice.
So our safari (Swahili for journey – in case you didn’t know) is nearly over, neither of us want to come home – we love Africa. However, we do need to earn some money – for the next trip and rescue Chelsea from the kennels!
Linda’s finally photo tally is 1408 – so be careful when you ask to see the photo’s you may be there for a very long time.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Last Sunset in Zambia - 7th Jan 07
Our last night in Zambia. We’re going back to Johannesburg tomorrow, and then home on Wednesday (unfortunately). We had moved to another hotel, but it was so bad we only stayed there one night. They had luxury ensuite tents, which we wanted to stay in and had booked, but when we arrived, they were not available. It was a bit like Faulty Towers, “can I use the internet” – “ No sir, that’s broken”, “What about sending a fax” – “No sir, fax doesn’t work”, “and I can pay in Euro’s as per email” - “No Sir, we don’t take Euros”. They gave us a chalet, which wasn’t worth the money, and so we left early the next morning. So we are back at the Zambezi Sun in the same room as before.
We went to the Untied Church of Zambia this morning. The English Service was at 8.30am, but we didn’t get there till10.30 so missed that. However, someone translated the service for us, and most of it was in English anyway. We had to stand up and be welcomed – so everyone could see who we were – not that we stood out, being the only white people there! It was a woman, who preached, and she was ok, but some doctrinal issues I didn’t agree with. At the end we had to follow her out, and shake everyone’s hand as they left.
It’s still nice and warm, and Linda has been swimming in the pool. I have been watching the football on the TV and reading. Linda has been swimming in the pool in the dark, and then comes out and drinks tea, before going back in. The crocodiles must be very slow if they can’t catch her!
We went to the Untied Church of Zambia this morning. The English Service was at 8.30am, but we didn’t get there till10.30 so missed that. However, someone translated the service for us, and most of it was in English anyway. We had to stand up and be welcomed – so everyone could see who we were – not that we stood out, being the only white people there! It was a woman, who preached, and she was ok, but some doctrinal issues I didn’t agree with. At the end we had to follow her out, and shake everyone’s hand as they left.
It’s still nice and warm, and Linda has been swimming in the pool. I have been watching the football on the TV and reading. Linda has been swimming in the pool in the dark, and then comes out and drinks tea, before going back in. The crocodiles must be very slow if they can’t catch her!
Friday, January 05, 2007
Friday 5th January 2007
Today we visited our sixth African Country – Zimbabwe. It did pose an ethical dilemma as to whether we should visit in view of the current regime, however we decided to go. First, we had to go into town to get a multi entry visa to Zambia, other wise it was $65 to get back in. We had a driver, Shadrach, and he took us into to town to the Immigration Department. It cost $3 for the extra piece of paper.
Then we went across the bridge into Zimbabwe. It was $55 for a visa, and another page of my passport gone, I am now down to about 3 pages left. We went to the Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side, and they were more awesome then those on the Zambian side. They are longer, and we got some more photo’s – Linda has now taken nearly 1400 photo’s now. We stayed there for a hour, and read about Livingstone, who was a missionary from Scotland.
We then went into the town of Victoria Falls, had a drive round, and it is very small, although more organised then the Zambian side. We stopped at the Victoria Falls Hotel, a large impressive Colonial building, and had coffee on the veranda. The view was good, as we could see the bridge, and then over into Zambia.
We then drove back to the Border, and this time walked across the bridge, back into Zambia. We are changing hotels today, so we will be leaving the lovely Zambezi Sun behind.
Then we went across the bridge into Zimbabwe. It was $55 for a visa, and another page of my passport gone, I am now down to about 3 pages left. We went to the Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side, and they were more awesome then those on the Zambian side. They are longer, and we got some more photo’s – Linda has now taken nearly 1400 photo’s now. We stayed there for a hour, and read about Livingstone, who was a missionary from Scotland.
We then went into the town of Victoria Falls, had a drive round, and it is very small, although more organised then the Zambian side. We stopped at the Victoria Falls Hotel, a large impressive Colonial building, and had coffee on the veranda. The view was good, as we could see the bridge, and then over into Zambia.
We then drove back to the Border, and this time walked across the bridge, back into Zambia. We are changing hotels today, so we will be leaving the lovely Zambezi Sun behind.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Happy New Year Readers
I have decided that camping and me do not go together, especially in the rain. The trip from Johannesburg to Livingstone was very disappointing. We were travelling with Acacia African Adventures tours, and it was six days participation camping. What they didn’t tell you beforehand it was six days of getting up at 4am, and most days spending 12 hours in a coach and only stopping at petrol stations.
We initially went to the Kruger, and stayed at the Bushmans site. Fortunately, we were able to upgrade here to a chalet, although that leaked when it rained. It was very hot and humid during the day. We had a game drive through the Kruger, and this meant getting up at 4am to leave at 6am, after breakfast. We spent 10 hours in the Kruger – and didn’t really see a lot, the animals were probably hiding as it was too hot to be out. The group consists of 9 people plus us, 5 Australians, 3 Americans and 1 Finish. Some are going all the way to Nairobi and others back round to Cape Town.
The people who owned the site were very nice, and we would chat until the early hours. We then had to go to bed, but be careful of the hyena and other wild animals that would wander through the site.
They did some good food, we had warthog in our sarnies, and then kudu one night. The next night it was giraffe on the spit and impala. The Giraffe was a bit fatty and chewy, but impala was nice. I liked the warthog best. The two veggies had their own dish of chicken stew.
On the Saturday we left to drive to Botswana, and it was a long drive. We stopped at a Shopping centre for an hour – fortunately they did good coffee – so I was able to be refreshed. We crossed the Botswana border- and then to the camp site – if you could call it that. A piece of mud that you put your leaky tent on is more adapt. It was next to the Railway Station, with goods trains coming through during the night. We helped with cooking the dinner, and then chatted in the evening, although most people went to bed early, I never went to bed before midnight and was always the first up at 4am. In fact we were always up, showered and had our tent packed away before anyone else stirred. We would then start to prepare breakfast. At this campsite there was no water in the morning – which was not good.
We then travelled through Botswana to the Chobe River area. The highlights on route was a stop at another petrol station, and lunch by a rubbish dump on the main road. The Camp was ok, apart from it rained all the time – and we had a river surrounding our Buma. This was where we were going to celebrate New Years Eve. There was bar there with some punch and a TV but no music. The football was on the TV so that was ok. One of the guides produced a mp3 player – so there was some music. He only had a few songs on there, so they kept repeating them. The Americans gave up at 9.30 and went to bed, two Australians following at 11– no stamina. We all stayed up till Midnight – and then woke them all up to wish them a Happy New Year. We were the oldest, but still had the stamina to stay up long hours. We had a treat when we went to our tent – it leaked, and there was a river down the middle – a great start to the new year.
So we had to dry it out and then try and get some sleep, the pots and pans holding the tent up- and collecting water.
In the afternoon, of New Years Day, we went for a trip on the River Chobe – and saw some animals, hippos, crocodiles, fish eagles, monkeys and Kudu. It was a beautiful trip, and no rain at all – but when we got to the camp site – it started to rain, and rain, and never stopped all night. It finally stopped at 4am – and we had just got our tent down when it started again.
We then went to the border, and across on the pontoon into Zambia. We were tired, but when to see the Victoria Falls – ‘the smoke that thunders’. It was as the Americans say ‘awesome’ – we were staying at the Zambezi Sun hotel – which is one of the top hotels in the area. The others are camping!! – And were rather jealous! We have a room with two double beds, a bath and a shower, air conditioning and satellite tv (I could watch the cricket – but the less said about our performance the better although it was a lovely ball by Warnie that got Freddie stumped today).
We were filthy and had to use an old toothbrush to scrub ourselves clean – and our clothes are filthy and muddy – so needed to get them washed. We both fell asleep – and slept the 16 hours – virtually solid. I did wake up at 4am – wondered where I was – did I need to take the tent down and then realised where I was!
We had breakfast – a full English and fruit, a nice change from plain bread. Linda did some swimming in the pool, and I did some reading and updating emails. We went into Livingstone (named after David Livingstone – who found the Falls initially) and they had a nice coffee shop there, but not much else. In the afternoon we went back to the Falls – as our hotel is nearby, we get free access (didn’t know the other day) – and so we saw it in the sun and with the rainbow present. There are plenty of curio shops there, and we had some clothes and towels we didn’t want to bring home – so we traded them there, Its amazing what you can get for a jumper and a few smelly towels. I won’t tell you what we got in case Linda gives them to some of you as presents!!!!
In the evening we went to see the others at the Waterfront and had dinner together, a few goodbyes and then we came back to our hotel. They are all off on their travels again – good luck to them – hope it doesn’t rain.
We are planning to go to Zimbabwe tomorrow, to visit the local town and see their side of the falls. Another visa we have to buy!
We initially went to the Kruger, and stayed at the Bushmans site. Fortunately, we were able to upgrade here to a chalet, although that leaked when it rained. It was very hot and humid during the day. We had a game drive through the Kruger, and this meant getting up at 4am to leave at 6am, after breakfast. We spent 10 hours in the Kruger – and didn’t really see a lot, the animals were probably hiding as it was too hot to be out. The group consists of 9 people plus us, 5 Australians, 3 Americans and 1 Finish. Some are going all the way to Nairobi and others back round to Cape Town.
The people who owned the site were very nice, and we would chat until the early hours. We then had to go to bed, but be careful of the hyena and other wild animals that would wander through the site.
They did some good food, we had warthog in our sarnies, and then kudu one night. The next night it was giraffe on the spit and impala. The Giraffe was a bit fatty and chewy, but impala was nice. I liked the warthog best. The two veggies had their own dish of chicken stew.
On the Saturday we left to drive to Botswana, and it was a long drive. We stopped at a Shopping centre for an hour – fortunately they did good coffee – so I was able to be refreshed. We crossed the Botswana border- and then to the camp site – if you could call it that. A piece of mud that you put your leaky tent on is more adapt. It was next to the Railway Station, with goods trains coming through during the night. We helped with cooking the dinner, and then chatted in the evening, although most people went to bed early, I never went to bed before midnight and was always the first up at 4am. In fact we were always up, showered and had our tent packed away before anyone else stirred. We would then start to prepare breakfast. At this campsite there was no water in the morning – which was not good.
We then travelled through Botswana to the Chobe River area. The highlights on route was a stop at another petrol station, and lunch by a rubbish dump on the main road. The Camp was ok, apart from it rained all the time – and we had a river surrounding our Buma. This was where we were going to celebrate New Years Eve. There was bar there with some punch and a TV but no music. The football was on the TV so that was ok. One of the guides produced a mp3 player – so there was some music. He only had a few songs on there, so they kept repeating them. The Americans gave up at 9.30 and went to bed, two Australians following at 11– no stamina. We all stayed up till Midnight – and then woke them all up to wish them a Happy New Year. We were the oldest, but still had the stamina to stay up long hours. We had a treat when we went to our tent – it leaked, and there was a river down the middle – a great start to the new year.
So we had to dry it out and then try and get some sleep, the pots and pans holding the tent up- and collecting water.
In the afternoon, of New Years Day, we went for a trip on the River Chobe – and saw some animals, hippos, crocodiles, fish eagles, monkeys and Kudu. It was a beautiful trip, and no rain at all – but when we got to the camp site – it started to rain, and rain, and never stopped all night. It finally stopped at 4am – and we had just got our tent down when it started again.
We then went to the border, and across on the pontoon into Zambia. We were tired, but when to see the Victoria Falls – ‘the smoke that thunders’. It was as the Americans say ‘awesome’ – we were staying at the Zambezi Sun hotel – which is one of the top hotels in the area. The others are camping!! – And were rather jealous! We have a room with two double beds, a bath and a shower, air conditioning and satellite tv (I could watch the cricket – but the less said about our performance the better although it was a lovely ball by Warnie that got Freddie stumped today).
We were filthy and had to use an old toothbrush to scrub ourselves clean – and our clothes are filthy and muddy – so needed to get them washed. We both fell asleep – and slept the 16 hours – virtually solid. I did wake up at 4am – wondered where I was – did I need to take the tent down and then realised where I was!
We had breakfast – a full English and fruit, a nice change from plain bread. Linda did some swimming in the pool, and I did some reading and updating emails. We went into Livingstone (named after David Livingstone – who found the Falls initially) and they had a nice coffee shop there, but not much else. In the afternoon we went back to the Falls – as our hotel is nearby, we get free access (didn’t know the other day) – and so we saw it in the sun and with the rainbow present. There are plenty of curio shops there, and we had some clothes and towels we didn’t want to bring home – so we traded them there, Its amazing what you can get for a jumper and a few smelly towels. I won’t tell you what we got in case Linda gives them to some of you as presents!!!!
In the evening we went to see the others at the Waterfront and had dinner together, a few goodbyes and then we came back to our hotel. They are all off on their travels again – good luck to them – hope it doesn’t rain.
We are planning to go to Zimbabwe tomorrow, to visit the local town and see their side of the falls. Another visa we have to buy!
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