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Published: August 22nd 2006
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Cape of Good Hope
Right down there (ish) Well. It’s all finally over. Well actually it was over about two weeks ago but we just haven’t got around to updating the site until now. We have had an absolutely fab time travelling around Southern Africa. We flew from Perth to Johannesburg and from there on to Cape Town the next day. After spending a few days in Stellenbosch with some friends we headed back in to Cape Town itself. It is a beautiful city with lots going on. We took a trip down to Cape point, (which is NOT the most southernly point of Africa, but the most south-westerly) stopping off to see some penguins on the way. The next day it was up Table Mountain for some fantastic views of the city.
On 1st July we met up with our group to head north for a little tour. 25 days from Cape Town back to Johannesburg via Namibia, Botswana and Zambia.
Namibia
Namibia is the size of South Africa with a population of only 2 million. It’s a country full of huge contrasts. It contains both the Namib and Kalahari Desert which run into the sea forming the Skeleton Coast, called so because of the many
Cape Town fromTable Mountain
Cable car is a wee bit scary though! shipwrecks along it and the fact that even if you do make it to land, you’ll probably wish you were still in the sea… It also has Fish River Canyon which is the second biggest canyon in the world BY VOLUME. (see previous blog). It also has huge, endless, massive amounts of absolutely nothing!!! I’m going to have to keep this pretty short cause if I started trying to explain all that we did… We visited Swakopmund and the capital, Windhoek as well as Etosha National Park where we seen tonnes of animals. Also stopped off at a Cheetah farm to pet some Cheetahs…
Botswana
In absolute contrast to Namibia the first place we got to in Botswana was the Okovango Delta - the only inland Delta in the world. The Kavango river is known as the river with no end. It flows into this delta and then the majority of it just sort of disappears in to the Kalahari desert !! We were poled in dugout canoes to an island in the delta and camped (oh yeah by the way we are camping on this trip) in the absolute middle of nowhere. And went for a game
Cooking Sheep Heads
This was taken at a township near Cape Town. They are called "smilies" cause as the heads cook the skin tightens and they look as if they are smiling ! walk!!! It was an amazing night with the hippos only a couple of hundred metres away and nothing between us and the wild!! Then it was on to Chobe National Park for another Game drive and cruise on the Chobe River.
Zambia
We only went as far as Livingstone in Zambia which is just over the border and very close to the Victoria Falls. The Falls are absolutely amazing and are huge. We got absolutely soaked from the spray. No wonder they were originally called “The smoke that Thunders”. Well worth a visit but I can’t say I was that keen on the Hippo that was wandering through the campsite at night…
South Africa
Then it was back through Botswana again to South Africa where we got to see Blyd River Canyon - The largest Green Canyon in the World (Who Knows??) and a few other really special spots. The we spent a couple of days in the Huge Kruger National Park before getting dropped of in Nelspruit in South Eastern South Africa (If you know what I mean)
Mozambique
We only had a weekend to spend in Mozambique and we wish we could
Namib Desert
In the 50 miles from here to the sea this is all you're gonna get have been there so much longer. We stayed with a friend in Maputo (Thanks Melvin) and he brought us up the coast to stay with another couple for two nights. We had a fantastic time. Their house was right by a beautiful beach and we could sit on their front porch and watch the whales jumping in the water. (Thanks so much, Jason and Rachel) We had a top time meeting all the locals and seeing the various projects happening there. We are still trying to think of an excuse to go straight back!!
A nearly 15 hour bus journey (our bus broke down at the border) brought us back to Pretoria, capital of SA and we had just enough time to get in a little bit of shopping before jumping on a plane home.
Hopefully the photos do Africa more justice than my explanations…
The whole trip has been amazing. Thank you so much to all the people we stayed with, met, travelled with, and everyone else who has helped or supported us in any way.
Next? We are looking for jobs in England or Scotland at the moment (Johnny, I owe you a Tenner),
Barbara stroking a Cheetah
For those of you who didn't get that - BARBARA STROKING A CHEETAH !!! but that could well change.
We would love to hear from you.
Nano Nano
Sam and Babs
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