Oct 2006

October 14th, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

As I write this now, my overland trip has come to an end. Today, I fly to Jo’burg for the next leg of my trip- South Africa.

Its been an action-packed last week- we left Harare for Gweru, which is a small outpost with nothing of interest except our campsite- but what a campsite! ‘Antelope Park’ is a totally natural breeding centre for lions, where tame elephants roam through your campsite and you can actually go for bushwalks with the lions, touch them, and feed them! The experience was surreal, but obviously fantastic fun!

In the three days we were there, we played with the lion cubs twice, went for a swim while sat on top of a fully grown elephant, and went on a bushwalk with three fully grown lions- exhilarating experiences right up there with the best on my whole trip!

Reluctantly we left for Bulawayo, where we spent two nights, and took in the local ruins which were actually a big disappointment. Then, it was onto my final destination, Vic Falls, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and known locally as “The smoke that thunders”.

Although I had seen the falls before, I was really keen to go white-water rafting which I missed out on last time. This was hard to put into words- challenging, frightening, adrenaline-fuelled, and exhilarating all fall short of the mark. The rapids are some of the fiercest in the world, and apparently this time of year is the ideal time to do it if being scared sh*tless is your cup of tea! Overall, the day was fantastic (despite a couple of near-death experiences!), and certainly worth every penny.

We followed this up with a meal at a local restaurant to celebrate my last night, with game meats and African dancing, and then hit the local backpackers for my farewell night. Plenty of drinks, laughs, and even a 2am swim made a really fun final night.

So now my time on the truck is at an end- wow seven weeks really has flown by! I’ve had an amazing time with some brilliant people, but Africa has really done itself proud. When I think of all the astonishing sights I’ve seen, I realise just how lucky I’ve been to be able to come to such an untouched corner of the globe.

It feels like time to move on, but I will hopefully never forget the one thing that has made this stand out from any other trip I’ve made- the local people. Welcoming without exception, so happy with life despite living with what we would call ‘nothing’, and generous beyond belief, it is the locals of Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa that have made us all enjoy the trip so much. It really has made me think how on earth money can equate to so-called happiness when you see these people with so little loving life so much.

So it’s over now, time to move on- but I hope the memories of this trip, and particularly of the people I’ve met, will stay with me till the day I die.

Octover 6th, Harare

The end of my African Overland is approaching too fast (as always), as I've only got one week left. After leaving Zanzibar (paradisical incase I forgot to mention last time!) we spent a quiet night back in Dar es Salaam before a couple of big drive days down to Malawi, home of the infamous 'Malawi Gold' and some of the friendliest people on earth.

Our first night was spent on the shores of Lake Malwai, the 7th biggest lake in the world, which takes up 1/2 of the entire country! Chitimba beach campsite was crazy, as there were a couple of other trucks in containing plenty of nutters. It goes without saying I woke up with a thumping headache, but it was softened substantially by the view of a bright red sunrise over from the comfort of my tent on the beach.

After Chitimba, we left for Kande beach where we spent 3 nights on a similarly white sandy beach where the sun was strong and the water warm, fresh, and clean. Nights were spent in the awesome bar (where else?), and then later on the beach, and every single one was raucous due to the four trucks on site.

We spent one day snorkelling around a small island, which was more like swimming in a tropical aquarium than a freshwater lake. All in all a fantastic place, full of welcoming people.

Yesterday, we crossed into Mozambique, which brought about a noticeable change. At the border, we were kept for 3 hours while the bureaucrats copied our details into 5 different books for no apparent reason- apparently they don't do photocopiers here!

Added to this was the 40 degree heat for most of the drive, and possible the worst night's sleep due to a rooster who must have popped too many viagra that night! All in all (although we've only driven through the interior and the coast is supposed to be much better) it would be an understatement to say I hate the place.

Today, we crossed into zimbabwe-the last country on my trip. The border was difficult, as expected, and Bob Mugabe added to his Swiss Bank Account by charging us massive Visas to get in. Nevertheless, for some reason, I like Zim. Its not as hard up as the BBC would have you believe, and the local whites still exist, just not on their farms. The currency is ruined, admittedly, and food is scarce, but everything runs on time and works, unlike some of the other countries.

Harare has also been suprising- the streets are safe and clean, and the people are friendly. The city centre is really developed- while some say it's due to Mugabe, and others say it was the whites who laid the infrastructure, the reality is its halfway between the two.

working suprisingly well