Natasha Abood
Have taken a hiatus from the serious (many would say boring) world of banking to tackle Africa for 7 weeks. Wish me luck.Tash01
Travel Blog Posts
July 18th 2008
I decided to get to the Intercape Mainliner to Mozambique. It's about an 8hr bus ride depending on how long the border crossing takes. I was at Park Station, the main bus station in Joburg very early in the morning and I will just say it's perhaps not the friendliest place in the world. I met some Spanish and Portugese people who were also waiting for the bus, they could speak English but not that well. For the first time it occurred to me Mozambique was going to present different challenges to the rest of my travels. It was the first country I was going to visit where English was not one of the official languages. I cannot speak a word of Portugese! The border crossing was chaos, very busy, no directions, the whole time I ... read more
July 16th 2008
Back at Base Camp I had the longest shower of my life. By the end I was still not clean! Hit Maun for some lunch and then the airstrip for a flight over the Delta. We were advised it's a good idea to take the flight to get a different perspective. It was such a nice view and you actually see a lot of game because the plane actually flies very low. We saw giraffes, elephants, zebra, "the map of africa" (a lake), the mokoro station and the island we had stayed on from the plane. Karen wasn't feeling so well so the pilot took us easy on us but you can ask them to flip the plane and stuff (maybe next time). Back at the campsite for the night the girls decided to have a ... read more
July 13th 2008
I joined another group on the morning that we left Livingstone as I had chosen to go to the Okavango Delta and unfortunately the girls had not. The group I was to join was a smaller vehicle but ironically a larger group. They are a mix of Irish and Aussies and a lovely German lady. Our guide was Wessel from Blomfontein. We crossed the border into Botswana over the river. I have to say the landscape in Botswana is a little uninspiring. It's flat and dry different again to what I have seen so far. The first night we stayed in Kisane which is also where Juliana and Riaan were staying so at least I could delay my goodbyes! We did a game drive in the Chobe NP and got very very close to some Elephants. ... read more
July 9th 2008
White Water Rafting The season is currently in high water so we were going to take only Rapids 10 to 25. The Zambezi river is a Grade 5 River (the highest you can get). In hindsight perhaps I didn't think through thoroughly about what I had signed up for. I knew an Australian girl had died on the river last year however having all the knowledge I have from having drinks with the guides/safety kayakers I may not have done it! To get to the boat you have to scale down the gorge which in itself is a feat. We got separated so Rach and I went in one boat and Lindsay and Ellen in another. The gorge is beautiful and I only wish I had a camera to take photos! It is an amazing feeling ... read more
July 6th 2008
We crossed the border into Zambia with much difficulty. Now that I am actually out of Zambia I can say that the Zambian border is particularly notorious for being corrupt. I paid $50USD Rach paid $150 USD (naturally all poms should have to pay extra). Took an eternity and after they finally took our money they wouldn't open the gate. We spent the next couple of nights getting to Livingstone, one night in Chipata and one in Lusaka (highlight Lemon Meringue pie on the fire). I noticed an almost immediate change crossing into Zambia. Zambia is a lot more modern than what we have seen so far. A large number of obviously new shopping centres, the homes were more modern and it feels a lot more densely populated. Near the campsite in Chipata there was a ... read more
July 3rd 2008
Still moving South we passed a latex plantation on the way which was very cool. We also went to a craft market which had really nice stuff. Their is a lot of woodwork, it's hard for me to buy though because I am always unsure about what I will be able to get back into Australia. Also negotiating a price is difficult because I'm not willing to part with my socks! They'll take everything and anything! Rather than money they prefer goods ie your clothes, shoes. It's quite weird when you say how much is this?, the seller replies "I need a pair of shorts, do you have shorts?" The sellers were very aggressive but as Riaan said they are just on the cusp of high season and some of them might have only made a ... read more
June 30th 2008
Another day on the road to cross the border into Malawi. We stopped in town to spend our last Tanzanian Shillings. I went into the local produce market with Juliana which was so amazing! Animals hanging upside down with the blood still dripping, small fruit sellers, second hand clothes oil, baskets of grain, it was so manic and colourful and dirty but so cool. While Juliana was weaving her way in and out bargaining their socks off I was standing their like a stunned mullet. I spent the rest of my money in a little supermarket...I felt like I bought one of everything and I still had money left (Tanzania is very cheap) I left my change on the counter for an African boy with down syndrome. He couldn't stop thanking me, he was bowing up ... read more
June 27th 2008
I was so excited about Zanzibar a) to have a bit of a break from sitting on the truck and b) to get a bit of beach action! To get to Zanzibar off mainland Tanzania we had to get a ferry. Prior to getting on the ferry though we got herded on to a barge which you stand on. It was a funny experience standing in between the cars (which are also being transported on this thing) and alongside women that have kilos of stuff (for lack of a better word - could be in a bucket, basket or boot) on their heads. After getting on the ferry I was advised to go straight to sleep because it's a super bumpy ride but fortunately I got to watch a little of "The Ghost Ship" (film ... read more
June 23rd 2008
Back at Snake Park we wanted to visit the clinic and the village. Ended up riding a camel to the village (I can't explain - no they are not native to these parts...) The village kids were so cute and they love having their photo taken! Then they crash tackle you until you let them see it! This village was quite different to the Masai village we visited in Kenya. It was a little bit more advanced. We visited an 80yr old mans house. He had 8 wives and 50 children! We left Arusha passing the point that is halfway between Capetown and Cairo as well as the "International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda." We traveled to Dar es Salaam with a one night stopover. What do I say about Dar? It's hot and manic. We noticed ... read more
June 21st 2008
We had an early game drive and watched the sun come up over the Serengeti. Magic! It’s so exciting to accidentally find a pride of lions or a hippo walking across the road. Then we hit the road back to Arusha. Days on the road are actually harder than you would think. The roads are ridiculously bumpy, the drivers concentrate constantly on avoiding potholes, they are always looking for other peoples brake marks and the locals drive like maniacs. Heaps of people said to me before I left that the biggest risk about coming to Africa is being in a car accident. They weren’t wrong. We see at least one over-turned semi-trailer or 4x4 a day more often than not still on fire with people still lying in them. It’s heart breaking to say unfortunately the ... read more
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