Namibia

Namibia is a unique country. It consist of almost entirely of desert and extremely long stretches of straight lonely roads. In a country 4 times the size of Great Britain, only 2 million people live there. There are more black people in East London then in the entire country of Namibia.
Unlucky for us, we arrived into Namibia at the peak tourist time and therefore had to battle for hotel rooms and campsites with thousands of Italians and Germans. Lets just say that the continental European is not known for their patience and understanding demenour.
There are 2 main places to visit in Namibia. The towering red dunes of Sossusvlei located in the heart of the Namib desert and Etosha National Park.
Sossusvlei is stunning. In everything we read it is ranked right at the top of must see sights. Even getting up a the crack of dawn in the freezing cold is worth every minute. As the sun clears the distant mountains the dunes glow an unbelievable fiery red. The whole landscape goes from pitch black to brilliant colours in a matter of seconds. Sossusvlei is actually a name of one of the largest dunes and is closely bordered by Deadvlei. In between many of the dunes is a pan, basically the remnants of a now dry lake where everything has died a hot death. We spent the morning hiking in the dunes and feeling as though we had reached another world.
The highlight of any trip to Namibia is a visit to Etosha National Park. After much discussion we decided to visit the park for some wildlife viewing even though we had seemingly experienced it all in the Serengeti. Etosha is totally unique, it has the ability to bring the animals to you. In the dry season the landscape turns into a barren dry plain sparsely punctuated by receding waterholes. You simple drive up to the waterholes and watch the parade of animals come along for a drink in the midday heat. The park has 3 campsites which all have floodlit waterholes where you can sit long into the night and get a voyeurs view of the shy and nocturnal animals that are usually hidden from view. One of the most amazing sites we had in all our time was getting to see 3 black rhino drinking from the waterhole at night. The black rhino is still under direct treat from poachers because its horns are in great demand in the far east. It is a privilege to be able to see them from a distance, let alone up close and personal.
Overall Namibia was good, once we got past the hassle of peak tourist season. Visiting in the low season would be much better as all the open space would be just for you.

Cape Town

Undoutably one of the worlds premier cities. Cape Town is the prize of South Africa. It truly is a beautiful place and one of the few places in South Africa where you feel safe enough to walk around. The backdrop of Table Mountain has to be seen to be believed. The explorers and early settlers who made the long arduous journey south from Europe must of felt euphoria on finally glimpsing the unmistakable flat top of the mountain. It looms large above everything.
We spent 4 days in Cape Town and enjoyed every minute, even though the weather was decidely English. We first visited Robben Island, which was made famous as the political prison used to detain many of the famous civil rights activist of the fight against apartheid including Nelson Mandela. The tour of the prison is made more emotion in that it is given by former prisoners themselves who lend personal experiences from their time behind bars.
Cape Town is a mix of San Francisco and New Orleans. The centre is full of bars and restuarants that cater to every culinary desire. We stayed on Long Street the obvious center of activity and enjoyed sampling all the treats along the length of the street.
The prime tourist attraction of Cape Town is the newly developed Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. We're not sure who exactly Alfred is, as usually it's Victoria and Albert, maybe the South Africans lost something in translation. The V&A surrounds the harbour and working dry docks, which makes it an unusual place to walk around. There are a multitude of restuarants and shops all vying their trade at extremely inflated prices.
We also visited the small but moving Distict Six Musuem in the centre of Cape Town. District Six was a mixed race suburb full of rabbit warren streets and crowded markets. Probably not unlike Harlem was in the 60's. During the 70's the apartheid era government systematically removed all the inhabitants from the suburb out into the surrounding townships on the Cape Flats. All the streets were renamed and straightened in an attempt to revitalise the city centre. The musuem tells the stories of many of the former residents of District Six.
After our time in Cape Town it was time to head north into the deserts of the Namib and our last stop on the African continent.

Cape of Good Hope

After making our way through the stunning Garden Route we made it to the jewel of South Africa, the Cape of Good Hope. After 2 weeks of amazing scenery we didn't think it could get much better, but Cape Town and the surrounding countryside is everything you would expect of the meeting of two great oceans.
We first started in the Winelands for a bit of tourist decadence. The towns of Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Franshoek make up the golden triangle of the South African wine region. The three towns are set amongst towering mountains only a short drive from the ocean. Due to my coughing affliction and dose of medicine I volunteered for designated driver duties for the vineyard tours. We started at Fairview Vineyard, a very large farm famous for its cheeses. Leighanne sampled the whites, reds, and dessert wines with aficionado ease and then topped it off with sampling of the award winning cheeses. The local grand prize winning cheese tasted like cardboard so we instead purchased some black pepper coated creme cheese. Next stop was lunch and a bit of a splurge at La Petit Ferme for a lovely lunch with views of the vineyards and surrounding mountains. Probably the best vineyard of the day came next at the Rickety Bridge Vineyard where we gained great knowledge as well as good conversation from the wine tasting lady. The Rickety Bridge is owned by a well-to-do Englishman who decided owning a vineyard would be a good hobby. Last but not least as daylight was subsiding was a stop at the 'sparkling wine' makers for a taste of the bubbly.
After leaving the winelands we made the drive down to Cape Point to visit the emotional bottom of Africa. If not geographical correct, Cape Point south of Cape Town is where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet in great fury. The warm currents of the Indian Ocean collide with the frigid waters of the Atlantic to create a unique atmosphere. Lots of famous names have rounded the point on there way to India, Australia and the Far East. The view from the bottom of Africa is worth the trip no matter how you get there.

Oceans of Mercy

After 4 months of new faces it was great to finally get to Port Elizabeth and see Ronnie and Sybil Colin again. Ronnie and Sybil are family friends from Kansas City, where Ronnie used to run the local coffee shop setup by his son Shaun. Times have slightly changed and Ronnie and Sybil are now in charge of Oceans of Mercy, an orphanage set up to help young children orphaned by the horrors of AIDS. Oceans of Mercy is a property outside Port Elizabeth where children with horrific backgrounds come to get support, schooling and most important a bit of self confidence back. The children there are incredible and really show the resilience of the human spirit. Leighanne and I only visited for 2 days, but were really taken by the children there, and still talk about Apple, the most adorable little boy you've ever seen. The work Ronnie and Sybil along with Mother and Sister do there is fantastic and definitely changes the childrens lives for the better.
The first day we visited was special as the oldest boy of 18 was having a birthday. It involved a full bbq (braai) and cake fully laden with candles. Unfortunately for the kids, but to much humour for the westerners the candles where the 'cannot be blown out variety'. The children had never heard of candles like these, let alone seen them, and this caused much hilarity when they attempted to blow them out.
It was wonderful talking with Ronnie and Sybil, relating our travels so far and hearing all the great times they have had traveling the globe in years passed. We thoroughly enjoyed their company and wish them all the best at the orphanage.

The Wild Coast

South Africa is a stunning country. The landscape is spectacular and changing from region to region. Its a mix of the plains and mountains of America with the coastline of Australia. We arrived in Johannesburg and made a speedy exit in our rented Toyota Tazz (more later) down the motorway towards Durban. After stopping few a couple days in the Drakensberg Mountains we arrived in Durban. Durban is South Africas 2nd largest city and has a really nice feel. The suburbs of Durban are very similar to the suburbs of Sydney, lots of hills and leafy streets. Durban also has potentially the best snack delicacy anywhere in the world. Anyone who visits in inclined to try a 'bunny chow', which is either a 1/4 or 1/2 loaf of bread hollowed out and filled with wonderful spicy vegetable curry. It's fantastic and all for about $1.50.
The coastline south of Durban is called the Wild Coast. It consists of steep hills falling onto wide white beaches that are constantly pounded by big surf. There is no coast road so the beach communities that dot the coastline have a secluded feel. After leaving Durban we drove to Cintsa for a few days of fun in the sun. Leighanne fulfilled her dream of horseriding on the beach and continued sampling the inexpensive South African wine. We have determined that South Africa must be the only country on earth where wine is cheaper then beer. The hostel in Cintsa is South Africas best. A fantastic view of the beach below, plus loads of free activities and great rooms. We were even able to cook ourselves bangers and mash using some authentic kudu sausages (boerwors) recommend by the friendly Afrikans man at the beach shop. After our exploits at kayaking in Malawi, we tried our hand a canoeing up the river from the lagoon. We faired relatively well, apart from a few running aground moments.
After Cintsa, we left the coastline and headed back into the mountains to the small hamlet of Hogsback, which legends has it inspired Tolkein to write Lord of the Rings. In Hogsback we stayed at the hostel with the best name, Away With The Fairies. It has a beautiful garden with monkeys and birds filling the trees.
Our next stop was Port Elizabeth to visit Ronnie and Sybil at the orphanage Oceans of Mercy.

Warm Heart of Africa

'Who is Malawi, Where is Malawi, What is Malawi' as quoted by friendly local barmen Alex. Malawi is an obscure place tucked in the middle of southern Africa. I knew nothing about it and only learned about the country from Matt Springate. The country is only 150 km wide at its widest point and 20% is covered by water. Lake Malawi dominates most of the country, stretching from the very north almost to the southern borders. The only thing that overshadows the lake is the people. The Malawians are great, so friendly and always up for a laugh. You never have to worry about company in Malawi, the country has major over-crowding issues, so people are everywhere. We entered Malawi from Tanzania after a hectic border crossing and headed straight for the beach at Chitimba. The campsite is run by a South Africa who has been in Malawi for 6 years and seemingly is trying to hang onto his youth. Chitimba was our first exposure to Malawi and it was very warm. We had a 1km walk from the main road down to the campsite and where followed the entire way by giggling children. As we stepped out of the mini-bus the call went out 'Mzungu is here' and a deluge of kids came barreling out of their huts. After Chitimba we moved south to Nhkata Bay, the setting off point for the Ilala ferry that shuttles Malawians to the various island that dot the lake. Nhkata Bay is a beautiful place, and has nothing of the seedy port fell. The coastline here is full of secluded rocky coves. We did a sea-kayaking trip one day down the coast to a beach for a BBQ and snorkeling. Setting off in the morning was interesting as the waves were slightly larger then required. Leighanne suffered slightly, but nobody capsized which is always good. Once back on land we played football with the local kids, who were very good, or I was really bad. They play with a ball made of wrapped up shopping bags tied up with string.
The next week was a gradual move south always hugging the lake shore. We met some amazing people along the way, which I'll write about in future postings.
On reaching Blantyre we splurged on a flight into South Africa, getting ready for some creature comforts.

African Bus Travel

Firstly, many apologies for my mid-season blog posting slump. In my defense, internet in Africa ranges from non-existent to hair-pulling slow. So instead of aging myself in internet cafes we have been out exploring.
As anyone who has traveled on the African continent bus travel and more specifically mini-bus travel is a life altering experience. Our initiation into the ways and means of getting from A to B has been interesting to say the least. The first thing you notice is that the idea of personal space has never entered the mind of any African. If there is space, however miniscual, someone or something can fit in there. Our highest people count reached 26 in a standard mini-bus, which is only supposed to hold 14 people and thats at a push. The picture above gives a fairly accurate view you get from the back seat, which is generally where Leighanne and I end up.
The next glaring difference in public transport is that it does not only apply to the public. Farm animals, food products, mattresses, baskets, etc... are stuffed in. Probably to most unusual thing we saw was on a journey to Cape Maclear in Malawi. We decided to be organised and catch a 'real' bus instead of the painful mini-bus. I had a little old lady, who was the African equivalent of my nana, sitting beside me. For the entire 8 hour duration of the trip she happily knitted a lime green cardigan. She had her handbag perched on her lap and periodically would undo the clasp and open it up, just to give the chicken sitting inside some much needed air. After the chicken had gotten a full good lung fulls, it was shoved back into the bad and the clasp done up again. This sequence continued every 10-15 minutes until we arrived at our destination.
The best part of bus travel in Africa is the food stops. As soon as the bus stops, regardless of where, swarms of food sellers flood towards the bus. You can get anything from pan roasted peanuts, roasted maize, full pineapples, meat kebabs, grilled mouse kebabs, soda, biscuits, etc... Leighanne is a firm supporter of roasted maize and I'm sure we will be adding it to any BBQ we have in Australia.
As the vast majority of people living in Africa have no personal form of transport, buses and mini-buses act as people and produce carriers. You see some really strange things that are totally alien to Western ideas. Travel can be very painful for tall people, but the suffering is over-shadowed by the experience.