Timgray

“To travel and wander is to discover”.Anon…..running out of travel quotations.So it was with a touch of wanderlust and the addiction of the African bush that we delivered ourselves on the morning of 1st August to one of Africa’s best game reserves…..Moremi.This is about as wild as it gets and our first two nights were spent at South Gate camp site.No fences here so you are living with whatever is out there.For good measure,as we set about deciding where to locate things in yet another camp site routine,we heard the snapping and cracking of breaking trees close by and there they were…..a herd of elephant quietly going about their business of seeking the juicy bits of Mopani trees.Interesting tree this as Moremi is broadly described as a Mopani wooded region which fringes on the southern most ... read more

“The journey not the arrival matters” T.S.Eliot(seems he might have been bitten by the travel as well as writing bug?).Now there is always something exhilarating about setting off on a new leg of a journey.There is the element of the unknown,new countryside to cast an eye over and who knows what awaits at the destination.But before getting anywhere in this World there is the little challenge of negotiating border posts.At the Mahembo border post we were effectively leaving Namibia behind and entering Botswana.This is probably the least busy border post anywhere on the planet and probably explains the friendly reception and hassle free stamping of passports and processing of bits of paper we experienced.An observation….the Botswana border posts are an absolute delight.They are clean,efficient and manned by friendly people who are genuinely excited to see people ... read more

“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey”.Fitzburgh Mullon.Well…..we haven’t exactly concerned ourselves about the state of roads for the past two weeks as vehicles have largely been stationery.There has,however,been a tinge of concern and sadness at the fact that our time at Island View Lodge is slowly drawing to an end.The last few evenings reminiscing around the camp fire have touched on the fact that we now only have a few more sleeps and,of course,that big tiger is still out there somewhere.On the subject of fishing,there has been much debate about where these damn tiger have gone temporarily….no answers as yet but to console ourselves we have established that “the best month” to catch the really big buggers is August(funny,never the month that one goes fishing!).So,no surprises here…the trip already in ... read more

“Let your memories be your travel bag.”Alexander Solzenhitsyn(he was the Russian writer sent to the Gulag by none other than Stalin….not sure about the treasures in his travel bag?). There are many great rivers on this planet and Africa has it’s fair share of these…think no further than the mighty Nile.But,right here on our doorstep is the Zambezi River,which must get at least a top ten ranking.Having done a bit of research here are some key statistics….it is the 4th largest river on the African continent.It’s source is in Zambia and it then flows westward slicing through a corner of Angola before turning east.It then plays out a very important geographical role as it creates borders for Namibia,Zambia,Zimbabwe and Mozambique where it’s force is finally spent as it disgorges into the Indian Ocean.Now the Brits,being the ... read more

Setting up a new travelblog is always a good sign......a flash of some journey and adventure about to commence.This one is not quite as extensive or "exotic" as the big one to Australia in 2009 but, nevertheless,a trip into the Caprivi(Namibia)and then the western reserves of Botswana,somehow gets the pulse racing!The journey effectively starts on Saturday 10th July when the trusty Toyota Fortuner crosses into Botswana at Martin's Drift.No sleeping quarters indoors as was the case with "Washongi" in Australia but hey...this is Africa and the idea is to sleep as close to that carpet of stars as possible.So we have a "Howling Moon" roof top tent straddling the Fortuner roof and providing protection to Susan who has never quite developed much love for some of the creatures of the African bush.....in particular elephants.No shortage of ... read more