Blogs from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Africa - page 2

Tuesday (2/8/10) We enjoyed the luxury of a nine o'clock start and after a hearty breaky of scrambled eggs and baked beans we set off on our Rhino safari with our extremely enthusiastic guide Andy. After a chilly 45minute trip to the reserve we dismounted our jeep as Andy started tracking some rhino prints with rifle resting on his right shoulder. Through the rugged bush, Andy pointed out various prints, poo and plants and how to decipher their sex, age and direction. We ran out of tracks so returned to the vechicle until we came across some more and it wasn’t long until we we trecking through the bush again in single file behind Andy and his gun. Not far from the road two young male rhino’s we tucking into some lunch behind a few bushes. ... read more

We have just returned from frigid Manitoba, having spent Christmas at West Hawk Lake-BRRRR. We are now into full packing/planning mode for our trip to Africa-we will leave on the 15th and expect to visit South Africa, Namibia.Zimbabwe,Zambia and Swaziland. We may also be able to visit Botswana. We have 2 organized tours with one being a 4 day canoe trip on the Zambezi and the other a 4 day hike on the Garden Route along the coast. We have lots to do before the 15th............ Countdown continues-It is now the 9th of January and we are slowly getting ready.As usual we have multi-activity considerations but are still trying to last for a month with one checked bag (MEC backpack/suitcase) and a small carry on backpack. To lower the profile I am leaving my old backpack ... read more

I sometimes feel like we are moving to another planet, not to Australia. With Australia on the other side of the world, it won't be easy visiting friends and family in Europe and Africa. It was with that in mind that we planned an extra month in Southern Africa to spend time with old friends and family. Hiring a car in the Cape we started the 5 day trip along the southern coast of Africa. Driving along the Garden Route, which started at Oudtshoorn with its 400 Ostrich farm, we continued through to George then Widerness, an area renowned for its natural beauty. The following day we travelled throught the luxurious holiday towns of Knysna and Plettenberg Bay before continuing on to Tsitsikamma National Park and Storms River, the self appointed adventure capital of South Africa. ... read more

But first a re-cap A while back, just after New Year we crossed to the Zimbabwe side of the Victoria Falls. The falls themselves were just as great from this side as the other, but the spray was stronger so the view wasn't as clear. The town of Victoria Falls was a sad sight really. We had prepared ourselves for the situation in Zim and expected to see empty shelves in shops, but what we weren't ready for was the way the whole town was falling apart. While we were there we saw a helicopter doing tours over the falls make an emergency landing with smoke pouring out of the tail, a car break down on the way to a sunset cruise (and by the way it rained constantly for 3 days) and the winch ... read more

Trying to add more photos. Here we go ... read more