So this is it: my last travel blog! Nearly six months later and here I am, sitting at my parents' house in Winnipeg, with nothing more than a few souvenirs, a LOT of photos, and fantastic memories. It's a bit hard to reconcile starting "real life" again after such a phenomenal experience, but I suppose in time I'll be readjusted. Our flight back was fine, although we were stuck at the very back of the plane because I think we were likely the last people to check in (by a considerable margin, too!) The plane also held the world's loudest baby, and I'm not even exaggerating when I say that: I've never heard a kid scream like that before in my life. We got through customs without a problem, and no one even asked to look ... read more

We're in Arusha at the moment, just hanging around the town, waiting to cross the border into Kenya. The past week has absolutely flown by, and I think we're all a bit shellshocked that today is our last official today together. That said, every one of us is going to the Masai Mara on Sunday for three days, so although we won't be with our crew, we'll still be together for a couple of days. It's sad to think that we'll be going our separate ways after spending so much time together, but it's so easy to keep in touch and I'm sure many of us will meet up again along the way. I guess the last time I wrote was when we were in Zanzibar. We took the ferry back to Dar Es Salaam, and ... read more

Just a quick note to say that we’re now on Zanzibar, after spending the last week and a half travelling through Zambia and Malawi. I’ll do a full update hopefully tomorrow sometime, as we’re currently in Stone Town on the island, but head up north to the beaches later this afternoon for some lazing around. Malawi was awesome - absolutely gorgeous scenery, lovely people, and we’re the proud owners of some very nice wooden bowls, carvings, etc. Internet access has been thin on the ground, and I think it will continue to be so until we get to Nairobi, so if I can’t update tomorrow, I’ll be around to detail our adventures as soon as I can. ... read more

We arrived in Botswana on Saturday afternoon. The border crossing was considerably faster and less annoying than into Namibia, where the customs officers acted as though we were inconveniencing them, plus most of them fled on their lunch breaks as soon as we arrived. Botswana is an interesting place, with one of the most stable, legitimate goverments, and strongest economies in Africa. We're currently in Maun, one of the main entry points to the Okavango Delta, and it's a nice little place. We left Swakopmund last Monday morning, after we heard all the tales of the skydiving and other adventure sports. I went on a township tour with a few people on Sunday afternoon, and it was really interesting. It's quite a hard life for a lot of the people, but our guides were saying that ... read more

Yesterday morning I woke up, wide awake, at 3am. This is normal for me at the moment, still going through the final paces of jet lag, but this time it was different. I felt like I had razor blades in my throat, and within an hour or two, had developed serious, shivering chills and cold sweats. A flu!! Excellent timing, two days before our overland trip. I spent the morning in bed, and managed to drag myself out at noon as we'd pre-booked tickets to Robben Island and they were non-refundable. I felt a bit better once I had a little food and walked around, but I've still got a very sore throat - although the fever has gone, and I managed to get a fairly good sleep last night. I should be better tomorrow when ... read more