Blogs from Zambia, Africa

Next it’s off to South Luangwa National Park by way of a long travel day – long in time more than distance. The state of the roads, the countless haulage trucks to overtake, some speed limited at 80 on a 120 road, the military/police checkpoints at nearly every ‘council’ area, some of whom try to extract a cold drink to speed things along as well as ‘elevate themselves’ quipped Eva & the millions of speed bumps – many in rows of 3 to slow traffic coming into town, all add to extend travel time. (Ed note: Need a sports bra when travelling here.) We passed thru the Zambian capital Lukasa where we stopped at a local shopping centre to pick up food supplies as well as a camera battery charger for me. In Jo’burg, I thought ... read more

Upon arrival in South Africa, I was greeted with a stunning red sunset & a cracking lightning storm. Apparently, Johannesburg has a very high occurrence of lightning due to the gold in the ground. The discovery of gold is what created Jo’burg & evidence of this mining is still visible around the city with mining rigs & remanent sand hills. With no river, mountains nor ocean to contain it, Jo’burg is a sprawling city. Despite being the largest city & having the major international airport, surprisingly it’s not the capital – nor the legislative which is Cape Town, nor the administrative which is Pretoria, nor the judicial which is Bloemfontein. It does have the highest court though. To get to the Airbnb flatlet, we passed thru 2 boom gates with armed guards. The neighbourhood is double ... read more

AFRICA JULY 13 – AUGUST 8, 2022 This trip was very different from others I have taken. I usually just decide on a country, buy the tickets and go. I have traveled to Indonesia, Europe, and Central and South America. But for Africa, I was a little nervous. Africa is a continent. It is huge. And everything would be new. I thought a tour might be better this time. I chose one offered by Rosy’s Responsible Travel. These tours include sightseeing, tourist activities, and opportunities to learn about the country's culture and cities being visited. The tour, led by Sunway Safaris was a 15-day interactive camping trip in Africa at a really reasonable price. I love to backpack, and I like hands-on experiences. I did not want a tour where you get off a big, crowded ... read more

After getting a good response from my emails about lakes and mountains, I thought I would try rivers next. So, after the mighty Mississippi, and the amazing Amazon, what might be some of the others. I have yet to see the Nile, the longest in the world, though it is looking less likely as the years go by. Here you go: Mississippi River I went on a sunset dinner cruise with a company I worked for back in the 80s. Actually better than I thought it would be. But the water is muddy! Amazon River One of the most amazing trips of my life. I would go again. Biodiversity, mosquitoes, but very interesting. (Photo above) Columbia River Uneventful. Danube River Beautiful, made me think of the song, Blue Danube. But also in Vienna, and ... read more

We had a leisurely morning and enjoyed the Zambesi resorts pool and generally stunning views. Toby got to wish Mel a happy 40th on the phone and then we headed in the direction of Livingstone. The driving was easy and we were carefully to watch our speed to avoid another ticket. We pulled up for lunch at a café on the edge of a farm, it would be fair to say it was the hangout for the local white farmers and the food was amazing. We headed on stopping along the way for provisions for the next phase and it has to be said you can reasonably get anything you want in Zambia. They have it sorted and things are cheap too to boot. We made our way to a campsite called the Moorings which was ... read more