Africa Winter 2012

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FYI- I've heard that the captions I carefully spend time on for the pictures loaded onto the blog, then become all jumbled up when everything is actually posted. Sorry about that! No idea why. But rest assured, the water taxi from Botswana to Zambia was not an ultralight!!!!!



As for our next adventure- check out the pics of our new home! It's amazing and we love it. We have 30 days to drive in this caravan from Johannesburg to Capetown, a trip of approximately 3000 km. Altho the bed is a bit small, we have to play the 1-2-3 roll over game. We can leave the bed made up permanently, and still have a small dining table for two. The drivers captain chair swivels around so that both of us can sit having dinner quite comfortably- or for computer time!

Altho most people spend their time outside, we have been arriving late to most campsites, and leaving very early- so we can't be bothered to take everything outside. There is also the heat issue- I admit- this bus has air conditioning- and we have been using it like mad! I'd rather eat in the cool of the inside- then the roasting outside! And an air conditioned sleep makes for a happier me!

The campsites have been “5 star”. They all have electric hook-ups- fully equipped “ablution” blocks as they call the bathrooms here. Hot showers- flush toilets- Most of the campgrounds have communal kitchens – with sinks, sometimes stove top burners, and kettles. Not quite as sophisticated as the ones in Australia, but very close! And certainly much better than North America- as kitchen facilities don't usually exist at all!

Having our own home on wheels is wonderful- we've picnic”ed” in awesome places!



After picking up the camper at the Johannesburg airport, we drove from there to a place called Hartbeespoort Dam.

Last summer, we met a couple who live here and subsequently invited us to visit their home. We spent a lovely evening with them- they have a beautiful home here. See the pics!



From there, we drove northeast, through the Panorama Route, which takes you thru the Drakensburg Mountains and the Blyde River Canyon. The canyon is supposedly the third largest canyon in the world- check the pics for some amazing scenery!



I'll say no more- just let you enjoy the pics!

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Photos

Looking down the length of the van
Taken from the navigation cab.

Local tourist market
They call this a Braai.
It's a Bar-b-q to us!

Comments

[Tom and Pauline]

Captioning is no problem; they come thru clearly/unjumbled. They're so helpful (captions). What wild, magnificent landscapes. Having traveled a bit around our N. America, I can think of no parallels. Love the "camper."

[Leslie and Peter]

Fabrics
That pic of the crafts, was that fabric that had been painted....the bowls looked cool too. Sure enjoy the Blog, even with goofy captions...tee hee! The weirdness of cyberspace.

[Jeanne & Dave]

Hey guys ... looks like fun although the bed would be more then we could handle. The scenery is fabulous ... so glad you are doing this trip before us ... David is feeling much more comfortable with his "safety and security" concerns. The weather is warming up here so the golfing happens earlier in the morning now. Spent the weekend in San Diego with Amy and Bill and our newest granddaughter, Ella. I'll post some pics on Facebook soon. Really enjoying the blog ... will have to set up something similar for next year ... easier to send pics I think. My brother and his wife are arriving tonight ... and we are already through 6 weeks of our winter ... the half way point ... it has gone really fast. I expect the last half will go equally fast ... a trip to Sacramento to see the other grandkids and then it will be getting time to think about getting home (mid- April) to do the taxes. Looking forward to seeing you soon. Jeanne and Dave

[olga]

I have been following all your blogs. This is a wonderful trip....so what part of the world do you still need to explore? Will we ever see you again???