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Published: July 16th 2006
Hi all! Thanks so much for the messages - it's good to know all's well back in the UK (and that you haven't forgotten about me yet!).
Phew - what can I say. I'm having a fantastic time! This is the first chance I've had to use the internet for a few weeks so apologies that this is a bit of a summary update. I will get some pics up as soon as I can but I haven't found anywhere that can load them up quickly so far. Hopefully there will be somewhere when I get to Cape Town.
I'm now in Namibia, having travelled through Malawi, Zambia and Botswana. We've pretty much been camping all the way which has been tough at times when we've had early starts (earliest 4.30!) and late arrivals, but I am now an expert in pitching and dismantling a tent! It's been very hot in the day but freezing at night and wearing several layers of clothing to go to sleep takes a bit of getting used to.
There are 23 of us plus 2 crew and it's been really good fun. We've camped on the shore of Lake Malawi, which was beautiful, and the bank of the Zambezi river. We've travelled right into the bush in Botswana to camp. We went by mocorro (small boats) - two of us to a boat, being punted by a bush guide, which was really relaxing. We then spent the night in the bush with no facilities at all - toilets were holes dug into the ground! Our guides took us in small groups on 2 bush walks which was really good (and a bit scary) - as we got to see the animals close up.
Yesterday, we went to a Cheetah camp which has been set up by a South African guy. He has an agreement with the Africans that rather than kill the Cheetahs who attack their livestock - they capture them and he takes them to the camp where they are kept wild. He has about 25 wild cats plus 3 tame cats which he's reared from cubs. We got to stroke them which was a bit scary because they purr really loudly when you stroke them and it sounds like they're growling and about to bite!
A group of us are going sky diving over the Namibian desert this afternoon. I'm really scared of heights so have no idea what it's going to be like - but everyone else is quite scared so we'll all be encouraging each other hopefully! I'll let you know how it goes!
Tomorrow we're off horse riding in the morning and quad biking over the dunes in the afternoon which should be fun.
More to follow.........
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Efe Abebe
non-member comment
I'm so jealous!
It all sounds so amazing Julie, I wish I could pack my things and go! What a fantastic journey and what great tales you have to tell. The stuff about living in the Bush does sound a bit scary though... but I guess if it doesn’t kill you it can only make you stronger! All's well here and the weather is finally picking up, so we can't complain too much. Work is good, and we still miss you in our meetings! Hope you are keeping a log of all your diary entries as I look forward to seeing your tales on the shelf of WH Smiths soon! Have fun and keep the blogs coming! Love, Jealous Efe