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Published: July 12th 2007
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Plan.. what plan..? that got thrown out the window along with my brown (no it was never red) hair color.
So after my last blog the journey to Victoria Falls lasted a whole of about quarter of an hour. And instead of visiting the world famous, most incredible display of nature, not to missed etc etc Vic Falls... Heather and I found ourselves in the messed up, panic station, politically and economically unstable Zimbabwe. Ooopsie
Here’s how the journey changed route.
Carrying our 30kg rucksacks stampering km's down the main arterial out of Lusaka with one hand flicking the road for a ride and the other shooing away people trying to sell crap Heather and I managed to conquer the art of hitch hiking. Just when we were re thinking our strategy, and considering to bail and pay the 20 bucks or so for a bus.. are night in shining armor appeared and we gleefully jumped into the vehicle of a South African boxers buckie, heading south.
Momentarily all was going to plan untill it was discovered that he was going no where near Vic Falls.. so with a little bit of twisting our arms and
sweet talking Heather and I decided to stay with this free ride on his journey to Johannesburg (South Africa). Being an escort for a large trucking company we spent the next week hanging out at trucker stops, drinking beer, playing pool, frustratingly waiting for visas to be processed, eating bull spam mixed with sardines and spaghettio's and basically having a blast.
We traveled through Zambia to the Zambezi River which borders Zimbabwe. There we resided for several frustrating days waiting for the papers of the truck to be confirmed which surprisingly happened a lot more efficiently when a few notes were sliped into the hand shack. On the bank of the river you could hear the burping sounds of the hippos and sometimes see their lazy fat bodies surface.
Once into Zimbabwe i must admit it wasn’t as problematic as some may immediately presume. I was kinda stoked to convert about $20 Aussie dollars and become an instant Zimbabwe millionaire. The inflation is ridiculous and honestly the money is more effectively used for other purposes (if you get me). A hard boiled egg set me back 40, 000Zim dollars where a bottle of water was 55,000. Fortunately we
had a private filling station for diesel and at night had to strategically park our vehicles to keep guard so that it wasn't siefered. Two days spent in Zimbabwe was enough for me and we crossed over the Limpopo into South Africa with a sigh of relief and a welcoming steak.
From the moment you cross the border we were welcomed by western amenities... after almost four months without it was weird to have it laid before you again. Once again we had to wait for visas to be processed so spent 2 days in the border town Messina and within that time visited the steak house 4 times. It took me a good afternoon to start blinking again after being bright eyed with all that surrounded me. The thing that got me the most was not the supermarkets, nor the free clean flushing toilets, it wasn’t the alcohol lined shelves of the bottleo or even the calamari and cappuccino’s.. it was this trivial little brass statue of a woman on the door to the ladies bathroom that brought a tear to my eye. It was then i realized that i was now officially out of Malawi. And i
didn’t realise how attached i had become to living the simple life and wasn’t quite ready for the unnecessary aesthetics that surrounded me.
Needless to say a month later, a visit to the hairdresser and multiple shopping mall browsers i have become more than adjusted back to western life. Heather and i jumped on an overnight train from Messina to J'burg and the freezing cold night air made for a uncomfortable journey.. yet somehow we were able to giggle the night away. Sipping on a Hot chocolate at the station we got chatting to another lad and with no real plan of action we signed ourselves up for another overnight train ride to the sea side town of Durban.
Durban reminded me of the Gold Coast back home with sky scrapers and kms of beautiful coastline. It’s only when you leave the safety of the esplanade that you realise that your still in South Africa. The streets are lined with beggars (even when you leave a club at 3am you cant make it 5metres with a child begging for money), crime, slums, dilapidated buildings etc etc. But nonetheless we grew attached to this seaside town (a surfing competition
may have helped) and stayed for three weeks. Assembling a grand team of friends at the backpackers we spend the three weeks hanging out with our new found friends, and even spend a day at the biggest horse racing event on the South African Calendar, The July.
Sadly all good things must come to an end, but not just yet for this Aussie traveler. Heather and I poached two more team members and hired a car and have been exploring the wild coast for the past fortnight. We've passed through some incredible scenery and met some crazy fun people along the way. A week later than expected we rocked up smelly clothes and all to Jeffries Bay Yesterday, which is playing host to the WCT surfing competition.. woot woot!
So its been a completely new chapter in my adventure of Africa... and the end is literally one more tale away. From J'Bay i'm heading to Cape Town for one last mosey around then pushing myself back on a plane to the cold, predictable Melbourne life.
But don’t get me wrong... cant wait to be home!!!
See you all in early August.. i'm counting down the days.
Actually no I’m not cos my flight isn’t confirmed.. but you could imagine
xoxo
Cheers for backing my travels.. hope you've enjoyed it!!
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Bec viney
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Melski!
So awesome to read another blog fixer. I have to say i am in love with "Mr Bin" That guy is a real go getter. I never knew you were such a great writer until you went overseas and started putting your talent into something beautiful. Sure beats writing your name on the door at the O.C. Keep up the good work champ. Lots of people are missing you! We have to live it up when you get back. I leave for the States on the 23rd of August so hopefully we can fit a few party nights in Melbourne before I leave. Xx