Through Botswana via Pilanesberg to Johannesburg
Since we left Zambia we went on driving southeast through Botswana stopping at Maun (Okavango delta) and at Serowe (Khama Rhino Sanctuary). I must say that tour organizer GAP did not get the full points from this leg because the activities that we thought were included actually were not. Only our own active participation got us on a non scheduled game drive at the Rhino Sanctuary which we paid for ourselves... But results were great - 15 Rhinos!
After Botswana we entered South Africa and made our way to Pilanesberg national park which can be classified as an upper class holiday resort with wild animals behind the fence. First game drive was disappointment but the second one was worth of coming to Pilanesberg: Rhinos, Giraffes, Antilopes and finally a Cheetah! Great ending for our safari drives.
Today we packed our wet tents and drove south to Johannesburg where we are staying near the airport at Airport Game Lodge.
So, almost 8000 km of African roads got us here and on monday it is time for me to take the flight towards Kuala Lumpur.
Now I'm changing the dusty safari&camping outfit to more relaxed watersport look since the following 4 weeks will be mainly about scuba diving and surfing with the exception of making a little loop at northern Laos first.
Top 3 recommendations in Africa: Serengeti, Victoria Falls, South Luangwa National park.
1 January 2010
From Malawi to Victoria Falls - way to begin a new year!!!
Here we are at Riverfront Zambezi after another week of Africa. First we left Kande right after christmas and headed for Lilongwe to camp out one night before entering Zambia. Stayed at South Luangwa national park for couple of nights with Elephants and Hippos wandering around the campsite as well as trouble making and shitting monkeys...
We made two fine game drives to see the animals and got attacked by an angry elephant, luckily our driver was on top of the situation and there was at least 3 m marginal to actual collision. Close anyway. We also got to see a bunch of lions sleeping on the road and blokking us - the closest I want to get with a lion.
From South Luangwa we went foir one wet night at Chipata before travelling Livingstone and Vic falls for new year.
I have had some health issues (flue, diarhea, neckpain) but now it seems that it is getting better.
This morning was something amazing! Me and Ken headed for Livingstone island tour bright and early today. This was the place where David Livingstone saw the falls for the first time. Most magnificent part of the tour was swimming in Devil's pool which is a natural stone pool right at the edge of the fall (1m of stone keeping you from falling 100m down). Getting to the pool was a hell of a lot more complicated than I had in mind because we actually had to swim little bit across the Zambesi through some currents to get to the stones where it was possible to jump into the pool. And to make sure that morning wasn't boring, we made our way to the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe where we did a slide over the Zambezi, a wire swing and a bungii jump - all of this 111 meters above Zambezi river. I have to say that when I went over the platform for the bungii, it was something remarkable. It is hard to describe the feeling going towards the water and your brains (and lungs) screaming that are you out of your mind...
Well, now we will kick back for today and prepare ourselves for meeting our new group members since some of our original group are ending their tour here.
24 December 2009
From Zanzibar to Malawi - Merry christmas to all!
Long time, no see... Yup, it has been a week without internet but Kande beach at Malawi offers me this chance of luxury.
Zanzibar turned out to be a minor disappointment (at least for me): services and activities were very expensive, so I decided to postpone the diving and do it in Indonesia. Beaches at the Nungwi area (most northern part of the island) were ok but quite small and had some seaweed & other misc matters that were not so enjoyable. Bungalows were (Amaan) allright.
But, as a conclusion, I would not recommend Zanzibar for backpackers because of the high prices (+ getting there by ferry 35USD each way). Stone town has clearly more characteristics than the beach area. If you are going, check out the Hotel Africa House for sunset dinner - amazing view!
From hot hot Zanzibar we headed back for a quick stop at hot hot Dar before making our way towards Baobab valley camp site (with two tyre changes). From there we continued to Old Farm House Campsite near Iringa and finally reached the Malawi border yesterday around noon. We spend the first night at the Chitimba beach campsite and now we are here at the Kande beach for christmas.
What else? Well, one thing - laundry has proven to be quite difficult to get clean when we are moving so fast from place to another.. And campsites don't really offer laundry services, so bring your own washing powder and hope for a good weather after your wash; that is what I'm doing right now.
Two weeks in Africa: amazing views, lots of dust, children by the roads greeting our truck, 4 broken tyres plus 1 broken water tank, minor problems with stomachs, bad roads, sizzling sun, various kind of toilets and so much more.
From here we make our way towards Zambia (visa is now 50USD and not 35 like I wrote before) for new year. There we also get some new members to our group as some people from our original UK,Australia,US,Finland lineup will be ending their journey to Livingstone.
17 December 2009
From Nairobi to Zanzibar
Ok - we are at Zanzibar now and the sun is giving the full treatment for us. It has been an amazing week with the safaridrives at the Serengeti and Ngorongoro - we got to see the big five: elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo as well as the unbelieveable circular migration of two million wilderbeests and also a whole lot of other authentic wildlife. Although some people say that Serengeti is not the best place for doing safari anymore, I can totally recommend it. I have some great pics to back it up.
What else? A week in Africa has offered nice campsites at Arusha (Snake Park - thanks to MA and BJ for creating an excellent atmosphere..), Serengeti, Ngorongoro crater rim and at the Mikadi beach at Dar Es Salaam. We have also had an opportunity to enjoy the worst roads in the world (Nairobi to Arusha), couple of incidents with tour truck and the first set of stomach problems.
Tomorrow we will be heading for the spice tour here at the Zanzibar and after that we'll take a couple of days at the beach before heading back to Dar and further to Malawi.
11 December 2009
Nairobi
Got to Nairobi this morning without any problems. Immigration office was surprisingly fast. Did a short walk at the Kibera area where two million people live in conditions that are far from the standards we are used to in Europe - very positive people considering the conditions at the area. Had a meeting with the group - it will be the maximum size of 22 people.
Tomorrow morning we start early to get to Arusha, Tanzania. From there we head to Serengeti and Ngorongoro conservation areas. After that to Dar Es Salaam and finally Zanzibar where there will be available internet connection next time.
10 December 2009
London calling...
Ok - Heathrow airport for the rest of the day; departure to Nairobi is at 2320 finnish time so there is definately some time killing to do. I had somewhat overweight handbaggage but the guy at the Virgin desk was very understanding as I promised to lose some weight before entering the plane (although I doubt it). For some reason did not get the best sleep last night so hopefully tonight - some extra excitement in the head I guess. Now there shouldn't be anything more to take care of so I'm almost able to start the enjoying part of the trip... Take care and enjoy the winter that seems to be arriving next week.
- 11.12.2009 Nairobi, Kenya
- 12.12.2009 Arusha, Tanzania
- 13.-14.12.2009 Serengeti National Park / Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
- 15.12.2009 Arusha, Tanzania
- 16.12.2009 Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
- 17.-20.12.2009 Zanzibar, Tanzania
- 21.12.2009 Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
- 22.12.2009 Iringa, Tanzania
- 23.-25.12.2009 Lake Malawi, Malawi
- 26.12.2009 Chipata, Zambia
- 27.-28.12.2009 South Luangwa NP, Zambia
- 29.12.2009 Chipata, Zambia
- 30.12.2009 Lusaka, Zambia
- 31.12.2009-1.1.2010 Livingstone, Zambia
- 2.1.2010 Katima Mulilo, Namibia
- 3.-4.1.2010 Bagani, Namibia
- 5.1.2010 Maun, Botswana
- 6.1.2010 Khama Rhino Sanctuary, Botswana
- 7.-8.1.2010 Pilanesberg Game Reserve, South Africa
- 9.-11.1.2010 Johannesburgh, South Africa
Travel Info:
- Currencies: Kenyan shilling, Tanzanian shilling, Kwacha (Malawi), Zambian kwacha, Namibian dollar, Rand (South Africa), ATM access varies, Visa card needed
- My vaccinations: Basic + Yellow fever (certificate needed) + Hepatitis A+B + Cholera + Malaria pills (Lariam)
- Visas: Malawi 1 mo, Namibia 3 mo, Botswana 1 mo, South Africa 3 mo, without visa for finnish citizens; visa needed for Kenya (transit/visa on arrival, 7/30 days, 25/50USD), Tanzania (visa on arrival, 3 mo, 50USD), Zambia (US$35 for 90 days, issued at point of entry)
- My airlines: SAS, Virgin Atlantic, Etihad Airways
Flights:
- HEL-LHR, 10.12.2009, 1205-1315: SK6587
- LHR-NBO, 10.12.2009, 2120-0905+1: VS0671 (UPDATE)
- JNB-AUH, 11.1.2010, 1355-0010+1: EY0601
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