Blogs from Africa - page 18

The sun rose over the pink cliffs surrounding Tafraoute, though the beautiful view was somewhat marred by the roofs of the town below and the rubbish lying in the streets. We set off in the car once more, for our longest driving day. The first 2 ½ hours took us to Tiznit, with the first 90 minutes spent ascending and descending the mountains on a hair raising road that was essentially single track, but with wide enough unmade verges to allow another vehicle to squeeze past on the mercifully few occasions that we encountered one. The land to either side looked as if it had been terraced, but with nothing being grown on it we wondered if it was, in fact, natural. Houssain told us that it was man made, but that the land has fallen ... read more

Today we drove from Ouarzazate to Taroudant, a 5 hour drive through the Anti Atlas. We thought this might become boring, but the scenery changed constantly. One minute we were driving through blackened outcrops of rock, eroded into layers and small boulders, next we were crossing semi arid plains with the occasional mesa rising above the level. It was dry, but there was scrubby vegetation in even the most desolate places. We passed ashepherd tending a small flock of sheep, and wondered where on earth he lived, given there was no sign of habitation for a good ten miles in either direction. We saw an old movie set of a gas station as seen in innumerable American films and TV series. On the other side of the road was a coal mine, who knew they mined ... read more

We breakfast on the roof terrace in Marrakesh, a typical Moroccan breakfast of coffee, yoghurt, orange juice, with Moroccan pancakes (disappointing as usual) and bread. As we are getting up to leave “You like omelette?” so we sat down again. We eventually set off with our driver and our guide Houssain, driving through the posh end of town and heading south east under a leaden sky across a fairly arid, flat landscape dotted with scrubby trees, the Atlas mountains rising up in the distance. There are numerous part-started developments for resorts and housing estates, all semi-abandoned. Everything is terracotta or ochre coloured, all building are square and angular. After an hour or so we start to climb and twist our way up the road. It starts to rain a little and the wind is really strong. ... read more

With an early morning departure, it’s off to Malawi. Being a Monday morning, we pass countless children in their clean pressed school uniform walking to school. It’s worth noting that in the villages, there are virtually no washing machines – that’s all handwashed. My clothes got the same treatment at South Luangwa – not by me obviously. Pretty impressive. At the town schools, it’s predominantly rectangle concrete buildings with clear dirt yards & lovely big trees providing shade. No fencing. I’ve also noticed locals wearing clothing with pictures of, what I assume are, politicians on them – is this a form of political advertising or do they revere their politicians? I forgot to ask the guides. There’s something about the place, driving through the country, seeing life everywhere. There’s lots of activity, people going about their ... read more

The next morning, it was all aboard the Red Elephant, our transport for the next 3 weeks. Accommodating a group maximum of 12 travellers, it’s smaller & faster than previous overland trucks I’ve travelled on. With floor to ceiling windows, it allows us to get a feel for the places as we passed through to our next destination which is Gwambi on the Kafue River - though it does become a hothouse on wheels when not on the move. Travelling from Livingstone to Chirundu on the main transport route between Zambia’s capital Lusaka & Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, we passed lots of B-doubles & longer struggling with the numerous hills. To add, the roads aren’t in great condition & all traffic uses all parts of the road finding the smoothest path. During a refuel stop, also a ... read more