Thursday 31^st July, 2014………Real  misty/foggy morning this morning and strange to be caught in the morning traffic of Swakopnund…..we had new buildings pointed out to us, all German architecture as Germany is still putting money into Namibia….lots of solar power here too and Germany is also funding that….no shacks as we left town, in fact we really haven’t seen the local settlements like we did in SA……..yesterday at Walvis Bay there were a lot of the government built houses for the native people….in Namibia they have to show their income (husband and wife combined) is no more than 6,000 Rand a month (US$600) and they qualify for one of the free matchbox style concrete government houses…..something that was really good in Swakopnund was the bike trails running parallel to the footpaths….they really cater for the cyclist but again a very European thing…..we left Swakopund on what they call the salt road……as far as the eye could see it was sand and salt…….then we passed a big desalination plant…we’re not surprised….water is gold here but so much is wasted…..everywhere we’ve been in Africa there is seldom a plug and you run the water for ages to get the hot water….on the salt road,  and all the roads today there are signs saying no off road driving……..and then we stopped to see all the lichen and succulent plants that grow in the sand, stabilising the sand….we were allowed to walk in the area but you could see there was very little lichen where everyone walked, thus keeping the vehicles out is very important……then we stopped again to view a shipwreck….the Zeila….she hit a reef in the Atlantic about 4 years ago and now she lies there a rusting hulk which tourists go to view and of course the hawkers are there to try and sell you something….then it was sand hills as far as the eye could see ……then we passed through Henties Bay which had some very nice homes but on the outskirts we witnessed some local settlements which was surprising but we were following the ocean so I guess they go fishing to make a living but you see all these lovely homes and it is just sand, sand and more sand…we can’t imagine living in these places…..then we stopped again to actually view a salt evaporation pond……we’re told that Namibia supplies the world with salt…..and then along came a German cyclist….we gave him some of our oranges and bananas….crazy to be biking in this part of the world and he admitted that it was a bit hard…….then we drove to Cape Cross Seal Colony in Dorob National Park….oh the noise, oh the smell, and we’ve never seen so many seals……..then we drove on and stopped under a shady tree for our truck picnic lunch….then coming into Uis the shacks again but built of rusty corrugated iron…..very sad how these people are living in this harsh environment…..on the road again and we made another roadside stop where the Himba women were selling their wares…..their goods are really rubbish but they are fascinating with their bodies and hair covered in ocra and butter fat…..we didn’t buy anything but we gave them lots of oranges and bananas…they seemed  to have so many little ones there and the kids loved sucking on the oranges……then we drove on where the road had become a sandy track and oh the corrugation….talk about being back on the African massage roads….and so to the Brandberg Mountains car park area where a guide met us and took us walking on  a 5 km round trip to see the rock art by early Africans…the famous one is the White Lady (which actually is a man) and the paintings are estimated to be 2,000 to 5,000 years old……the Brandberg Mountains are the highest in Namibia at 2,753 meters and very different from the Drakenburg Mountains….the Brandberg Mountains have the most beautiful rocks…..granite, quartz, marble, it’s all here …we walked through boulders and gravel and sand sometimes 1 to 2 inches thick and in the heat and flies, but it was a nice break from the truck…..and so to our accommodation in the Brandberg Mountains at about 6 pm, another long day……and what a road if you could call it that to get here…nothing more than a sandy track….we have seen only about 20 cars in our all travels today….Namibia is so remote and has so much of no one being there….it really is incredible, all the desert but so picturesque apart from when you get into the flat plains of nothing….we haven’t even seen oryx or springbok animals today as we have seen on other days in the desert……also today there were so many dips in the road where the water obviously flows through when it rains but there was no concreting of the base in these dips like we have experienced so far and oh boy the corrugation at the bottom of these dips, it really has been a slow ride……wine time and we are still buying good Pinotage at US$6 a bottle,  and now dinner time……M & F

Friday, 1^st August, 2014………..The guides cooked lamb roast last night and it was better than any of the game meat we have eaten but we still don’t know where the lamb originated from……Up 4.30 am this morning for 5 am on the road with no breki and so we left Brandberg White Lady Lodge in the dark having arrived in the dark last night….we didn’t really see the place other than knowing we were again in the wilderness….all solar power at the lodge so no outside lighting thus dinner was outside with a light erected on the truck with the stars and a new moon….this is safari life in Namibia…….we drove until 8 am  and then stopped to see the Organ Pipes…..the usual desert road to get here with the mountains of rock boulders, the grassy/scrubby mountains and just more of the Namibian desert….a few cows, goats, donkeys and even a family of giraffes and the usual springboks….the odd local  native house, not in groups here, they stand alone and miles from anywhere, we really don’t know how these people survive……

The Organ Pipes are estimated to be 130 million years old and were all part of the breakup of Gondwanaland….a rock formation and they look  just like organ pipes….quite incredible….then we had a picnic truck breki on the spot before driving on to Burnt Mountain which is estimated to be 120 million years old and still all part of the breakup of Gondwanaland…….then we drove on to Twyfelfontein Park which has ancient African rock drawings……these mountains are sandstone rocks that were lying under the glaciers millions of years ago but now being exposed to the atmosphere are hard rocks……the first thing we viewed was the remains of an  abandoned farm house where a German/Jew came to live with his family in 1946 as he found a spring of water and thought  that would remain for their water supply….in 1964 all  the land was given back to the native people and white man moved away and also the spring dried up and thus the German/Jew family moved away in 1965……Namibia became independent in 1990….the Damara people are the local tribe in this area and our guide in there today was Damara and he spoke with the click in his speech….this tribe is known for their ‘click language’….but he spoke perfect English and he told us that all their subjects at school are taught in English and English is the first language here with their native language being their second language…..we commented about how were they preserving the rock drawings on these sand stone rocks and he said it’s not a problem as they have had no rain in the last 3 years!!!! They normally get 60 to 120 mils per year……the rock drawings were discovered in 1921 and they are approximately 6,000 years old…..all the park is now government controlled and the local people work as guides….it was quite challenging trekking through the boulders to see all the drawings and it was hot but worth it…..Michael didn’t do any of the walks today as he had a bit of a fall last night (and he hadn’t had a drop of wine) so he has been hobbling a bit today but nothing serious…….then it was on to the Petrified Forest ……..incredible petrified trees which again were washed down during the Gondwanaland period and this is where they came to rest buried and now exposed…..(Gondwanaland, the breaking up of the super continent)….but the Petrified Forest  estimated to be 260 to 280 million years old……so confusing all the history and dates of the Namib Desert….. ..…also a rare plant we viewed here too….the Welwitschia Mirabilis plant…the one we photographed is estimated to be 200 years old and was a male plant …..a bit further down the track we stopped for a picnic truck lunch at a roadside picnic area ……….not to mention the flies, it was worse than Australia……..and oh the road today…….you can’t really appreciate the noise in the truck on these corrugated roads….you can’t hold a conversation and so often you feel you are riding a bucking bronco not to mention how the truck sways!!!!  However a bit further down the track today at Khorixas and yeh, it was a sealed road all the way to Etosha National Park……..the 4,730 km Etosha Pan was originally a lake that dried up millions of years ago…..the park stretches more than 350 kms from west to east and covers an area of 22,270 sq kms with a rain fall of 300 to 500 mils per year and Etosha is home to 114 mammal species…..we did a short game drive when we got there and encountered an enormous herd of elephants but apart from that just the usual kudu, springboks etc…..we stopped at the reception and shop area and they had a tower there you could climb for a view point over the park and of course yours truly had to climb the tower…..what a view but what a barren dry landscape……an so we reached our accommodation tonight at 6 pm, so it was 13 hours on the road today….and probably we’ve only seen about 20 cars again today………M & F

Saturday 2^nd August, 2014………The guides cooked springbok game meat last night but it was chewy and mild, not the game flavour of other game meats….they stewed it and we think it should have been casseroled……dinner wasn’t until 8 pm and after a long day I think we were over eating dinner!!  We are staying at Mondjila Lodge which is a permanent tented lodge but they were one tent short so Michael and I are in the managers room, nothing more than 4 walls and a bathroom however when we went to dinner we left the outside light on which also turned on the inside light (unbeknown to us) and when we got back, oh boy the bugs…..we had clothes to wash and we got sick of fishing the bugs out of the basin so we showered, washed hair and clothes with bugs, bugs and more bugs and then there was a big spider on the tin ceiling…..Michael sprayed the whole area and then the noise of all these bugs gasping their last breath and still they kept coming…probably for me the worst night I’ve had as you don’t know how dangerous these things are and we certainly don’t want to invite infection!!   And so this morning it was 5 am up and 6 am on the road….a 30 minute drive to the main gates of Etosha National Park which open at 6.30 am and then the usual game drive……today we got a closer encounter with a male lion but he was only about 4 years old….not a close up of the big daddy we had hoped for but good never the less…..lots of elephants, a few giraffes, springboks everywhere, zebra and wilderbeest  and that was about it……..Etosha NP is very well done though and I was reading in their info centre that Namibia has the biggest growth in tourism in Africa…….in 2006 it was 16% of their GDP and by 2016 they believe it will be 22.9% of their GDP……..there are lots of manmade water holes in Etosha where they have created ponds with the help of solar power but it is so dry….the plants are engulfed in dust and you have to wonder how they survive……very few acacia trees in this park as we have seen in all the other parks…..and the roads in Etosha very corrugated which made for lots of dust and a rough ride…..we had the air con on in the truck to keep the windows closed and it was incredible the dust still penetrating our vehicle…..we’ve given up, you just have to stay dirty, you just can’t get away from the dust in this part of the world……then we stopped in the Halali Camp in Etosha NP and walked to a water hole where the elephants were bathing and drinking…quite a sight with the big old elephants and the babies…… the Halali Camp is a great area with so many facilities….we had a great picnic area for our lunch, a good restaurant there, a lovely swimming pool, in all a big oasis in Etosha NP……we started game driving again at 2 pm and it was so hot….all the animals were resting where they could get shade so not much excitement for us……eventually we got back to the reception area where there is the Okaukuejo Camp where we stopped yesterday and I climbed the tower again, (the one I climbed yesterday)  to get a last look at the vastness of Etosha NP……Okaukuejo Camp also has a good restaurant, shop, lovely swimming pool and again, a lovely oasis in this desert ………and so back to our accommodation just on 6 pm with another beautiful sunset after a lovely sunrise this morning……..M & F

Sunday 3^rd August, 2014……The guides cooked eland game meat steaks for dinner last night….I didn’t have any but Michael said it was the best of all the game meat we’ve had…..and another night with bugs, even though we left the lights off,  and our resident spider again but he had moved to the bathroom wall!!!! Up 5 am and 6 am on the road with another beautiful sunrise……all sealed roads today so a little more comfort…….after an hour we reached the town of Outjo, lots of tourist accommodation, probably because of its closeness to Etosha NP…then a bit further on we came to Otjiwarongo which is the hub of Namibian Railway….this town built around railway especially to transport goods to and from Namibia and SA……..from here we followed the main road (B1)to Windhoek but we stopped at Okahandja for a coffee and to stretch our legs…..a tourist coffee destination but across the road all the local handcraft markets…..they all sell the same thing and we don’t know how they survive, particularly in winter with not many tourists passing through…..today we only encountered about 20 cars before reaching our destination at Windhoek at 11.30 am……on the subject of tourists, we are surprised the number of SA’s and Namibian’s that travel in their own country….we got talking to a couple who farm about 200 kms out of Cape Town and they said every year they holiday in places like Etosha NP or Kruger NP etc….they would love to come to NZ and Australia but because their currency is so weak we presume that’s why so many of them holiday on their own continent but it is a big one with lots of variety…..Windhoek is the capital of Namibia and the largest city, with Swakopmund being the 2^nd city and the railway town of Otjiwarongo we came through today being the 3^rd…….all through Namibia it is so clean, no graffiti and very few local settlements…..a small one today on the outskirts of Windhoek and we also had pointed out to us the wire fences here that used to keep the blacks and whites separate before independence……it must have been dreadful…..the guides did super market shopping on the way in, our supplies for the next few days as tomorrow we cross into Botswana then it was on to our accommodation and picnic lunch…..then a free afternoon….Michael and I opted to go walking to get a bit of a look at Windhoek but being Sunday everything closed however we did go and see a beautiful church, German architecture, built in 1910….coming into town we stopped off at the railway station building which is a picture of German architecture…….on our walk we viewed a couple of statues, one of the first president and founding father of the Namibian Nation, Dr Sam Nujoma (as the sign says) and then another statue of a man and woman with the caption….”Their Blood Waters Our Freedom”……it was very hot and so we wandered back to our accommodation……sadly, Windhoek is the least clean city of everywhere we’ve been  as we have so often commented how tidy and clean Namibia is and little poverty……..beggars outside the supermarket today though….walking back to our accommodation we came across an interesting sign that read, ( Another Mandela quote) “A Good Head and a Good Heart Are Always a Formidable Combination”…..and then a sign about using empty spaces to help feed the hungry and there on the corner was a garden plot with herbs, lettuces etc and it looked to be doing well…..we’ve hardly seen any razor wire on the fences in Namibia but there is a lot here in Windhoek……the landscape today was more of the same desert……scrubby trees and grass with rolling hills and mountains on the horizon….the odd farm house and the odd private game farm…….The most notable fact in Namibia is all the German street names and things in general in German with no English translation……..M & F 

Monday 4^th August, 2014………We went out for dinner last night at Jo’s Restaurant and what a great place….the restaurant seats 500 people in different areas around big fires and so much memorabilia….great atmosphere even though the place was packed……in the menu they had written the history about how they acquired a lot of the stuff and it really was very interesting….and we had to celebrate as 3/8/1993 was a big day for me being the day of my mastectomy….21 years ago so we had to have a wine and make a wish for another good 21 years!!!!! Up 6.30 am for a 7.30 am departure……it’s lighter in the morning as we head north and getting warmer and the flies are becoming a nuisance……Windhoek is at 1,650 metres above sea level but it was still very warm…….we still feel the 2^nd city, Swakopund is nicer than Windhoek, probably because it is on the Atlantic Ocean but Swakopund was cleaner and had a more European flavour….nice homes in Windhoek but much more razor wire on their boundary fences than we’ve seen anywhere else in Namibia….and so again today the landscape was trees, scrubby bush and grass with mountains on the horizon and then the landscape got flatter and we were into the Kalahari Desert area, still the same landscape but with no mountains on the horizon….baboons on the road side and the odd windmill dotting the landscape, for drawing water……they say this is a big beef area supplying much meat to the USA but we really didn’t see any animals…… even though it was a sealed road it was still pretty lumpy and the speed limit was 120 km per hour….the odd local settlement but very tidy and the match box houses all have land around them, not jammed side by side like we experienced in SA…….today a new experience though in that all these tents on the roadside with camp fires and we learned they are for those people working on the roads…everything here is a work in progress!!!!! However it goes to show how you are miles from anywhere in that you don’t even see a local  settlement for hundreds of kms so the workers come and camp in the area…heaven only knows how they get on for water and how much food they have to bring in…..eventually we made a stop at Gobabis for our last Namibian shopping and then by 12 noon we were at the border….Namibia out at Buitepos,  Mamuno into Botswana…..the first thing we see was a big sign “Welcome to Botswana” that was in pieces on the ground!!!! Then it was on to find a shady tree to have our truck picnic lunch…..the landscape more of the same…….for hundreds of kms there has been a mowed grass strip (a road width) each side of the road, we’re told so you have clear visibility with all the animals crossing, not many in Namibia but now in Botswana Kalahari Desert area there are more animals crossing the road…….eventually to our accommodation at 5 pm after driving approximately 580 kms so another long day…..our accommodation is at the Dqae Qare Farm supporting the D’kar community……Bushmen territory…this was originally a farm owned by an Africaan whose son fell in love with a native girl and married her and in 1994 the Netherlands Government bought this farm for the Bushmen people……we were met by a youth (23 years old) and he was dressed in nothing more than an oryx skin and carrying his weapons in a wild cat skin hand bag….he took us into the bush pointing out various foot prints and showed us how they trap birds etc…..a bit of an educational walk telling us about their life but it was interesting and he was a really quietly spoken young guy with not too bad English, nothing like a warrior…..but what a life….the accommodation was pretty good, at least clean and we had our own bath room and considering we were in the middle of the Kahalari Desert it was comfortable….power by generator so just candles after 10 pm…..they had a nice community area to eat in but we took the tables out around the camp fire and sat under the wonderful night sky, so clear out here….just driving in Botswana this afternoon we have felt the poverty of SA, life is certainly different here than Namibia……a few facts about Botswana….Botswana became independent in 1966……it is roughly the size of France with a land area of 581,730 sq kms….it is entirely landlocked bordered by its neighbours SA, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe……Botswana is 84% covered by the Kalahari Desert and has a population a bit over 2 million…..About 33% of the population is younger than 15 years old….Garorone is the capital city….the official language is English and the currency is Pula (8.6 Pula to US$1)…….lots of trucks on the road today, we presume carrying goods to the capital, Windhoek but it was interesting in that there is so little traffic and today we encountered many trucks……and we put our clocks forward 1 hour coming into Botswana……M & F

Tuesday 5^th August, 2014………Up 5.30 am for a 6.30 am departure….we had to go back on the sand track road that we came into our accommodation last night….only about 7 kms but what a track,  one vehicle got bogged but we managed to skirt around them…….then we hit the sealed road and turned north and what a sunrise…..we had to stop and take yet another sunrise pic……again more of the same landscape but this is the Kalahari Desert and more tent camps on the road side…….. women and men with picks digging out bushes/trees on the road side as all the hundreds of kms of mowed grass had come to an end…..once again, miles from anywhere so they camp near their work and are paid by the local government to do the job but there seemed to be no one in charge so you wonder, but again it is to clear the road side verges for visibility and today we had hundreds of cows crossing the road, also goats and they are so darn stupid and donkeys that stand in the middle of the road and just don’t move….also guinea fowls, they are two a penny and they are really stupid!!!! The sealed road got rougher and no white lines at all, just a sealed track, shades of SA here…..also the Kalahari Desert became more sandy and the vegetation changed to short grass after all the longer grass we’ve seen previously……..near Sehithwa we came to a bridge and we got off the truck and walked across the bridge to view the water from the Okavango Delta literally rushing to Lake Ngami….there were guys fishing on the bridge, trout fishing style, with no bait, just a hook and something flashy on the hook which hardly hit the water and they would have another fish….fascinating……. they were certainly getting a good haul…..and then on to Maun where we changed money and got some Pula currency and bought water etc for our 2 days staying in the Okavango Delta…….we are only allowed to take our day packs, minimal clothing and we will be sleeping in tents with bucket showers and bush toilet……we’re taking plenty of wine as we think we might need it to get through the next couple days but tonight in lovely accommodation, Crocodile Camp Park, north of Maun and tomorrow morning we are being picked up by a 4 wheel drive vehicle for our venture into the Delta……in this accommodation we all have separate bungalows with bathrooms so now it’s time to go and do a wash up to get through the next 2 days….dinner tonight is in the park overlooking a lagoon but we bet it is mosquito territory….it has that look about it….we have to pay for dinner tonight, 170 Pula each so it will be interesting to eat Botswana style…..so far we have noticed that water and wine is more expensive here than in SA and Namibia……some facts about the Okavango Delta…..it serves as the drainage site for the summer rains falling in the Angolan Highlands to the North, forming a   150,000 sq km wetland oasis….the region was recognised as one of the 7 Natural wonders of the world in 2011……during each annual flood an average of 11,000, trillion litres of water flow into the Delta via the Okavango River and over the months perculate throughout the Delta’s many rivers and lagoons….the Delta has no outflow such as the sea or other major rivers causing significant salt accumulation and concentration throughout the region.  However, plant life has adapted to these high salt concentrations which allow the Delta to remain an oasis in the very arid conditions of Northern Botswana……Dinner tonight was very poor….the fish was cremated, it was Bream, the same fish they were catching off the bridge today, the chicken you couldn’t get your knife into it and the steak I didn’t even go there but Michael said it was tough……our guides are very good cooks thus we have been spoiled with their good meals not to mention their bread making skills……M & F

Wednesday 6^th August, 2014……Up 6.30 am and packing for our camping trip to the Okavango Delta….tents, chairs, sleeping bags, mattreses, food, table, you name it….eventually we were away by 8.30 am in our 4 X 4 vehicle and what an exercise to get into that….no doors, you have to climb up over the sides to get in….we  towed a trailer behind with all our camping stuff whilst we nursed our day packs with our personal bits…..what a sandy track, about an hour drive to get to where we joined our mekoro boats for our trip out to an island in the Delta and so to our camping spot…..oh the bridges we crossed in the 4 X 4 vehicle …….the bridges were no more than logs strapped together and talk about creek and groan as we drove over them….en route lovely trees growing in what was really just sand…mopane trees which are evergreen so it was lovely to see some green……lots of dead looking trees too but this being their winter they would just be deciduous trees……a few local villages, nomad farmers…tents and few constructed shacks….the farmers move on according to the feed for their animals…..veges being grown under shade cloth…the winter sun here is too much for them…….incredible, oh to have these winter temperatures at home…..after about an hour’s drive in the 4 X 4 we reached the village where the locals really live off tourism……what chaos when we got to the water’s edge….gear everywhere and all the guides trying to negotiate for their mekoro boats to take their passengers out to the various islands…..after about 1 and ½ hours we had our boats loaded and polers nominated(one person poles each mokoro…same movement as the Venetians use to pole their boats……..we were on our way to our camping island….2 people in each boat….nothing more than a dug out canoe and so hard on ones back…… talk about “African Queen” ……the mekoro boats are made of wood and fibre glass…..the fibre glass ones cost $6,000 Pula whilst the wood ones cost $2,000 but the latter rot after about 3 years….we had a fibreglass one which was a bit more flexible than the wooden ones and no so heavy and they also had more free board……you go through lots of reed type plants with flower/seed heads and because you are sitting so low in the water they all brush on your face, not to mention the bugs…….we had about 8 mekoro boats and 4 local guys and 4 local females from here on in as our cooks, guides, polers, you name it….on arrival they pitched our tents for us and cooked brunch……..then siesta time…..incredible place to be in on an island surrounded by water and other islands and believe it or not oh so many people….there were people camping everywhere but so many islands and so many tour operators……Michael and I wandered a bit even though we were not supposed to venture more than 100 metres from the camp because of the wild animals…..we stretched it to about 250 meters ….it was so hot in the tent it was impossible to rest……at 5 pm we were back in the boats and our polers took us to another island for an environmental/nature walk…….no animals!!!! And so it was more of studying the faeces of the zebras, elephants etc that had been there earlier…..interesting though to go to another island and walk around stretching ones legs……and a beautiful sunset……back to our camp and dinner and a big camp fire…..they lit a fire when we got here as everything is done with an open fire in this part of world……the local guides built our bush toilet and gave us instructions how to use same and built us a bush shower…..and so to bed and oh the frog chorus not to mention the noise of the other animals…..M & F

Thursday 7^th August, 2014…….Oh what a night…wanted to go to the toilet but it sounded like a hyena was walking through our camp and the hippos sounded very close…..at 4 am we gave in and went to the toilet both of us in hysterics of laughter as we stumbled our way along the path looking for any eyes that might be looking at us…..Up 6.30 am and back into our mokoro to go to another island for a 3 hour walk…….this time we went to a different and bigger island but oh so many tourists there with their guides and we all had to walk in single file…it looked so funny to see all these groups of people in single file weaving their way in and out of the foliage…..really no animals as we were upwind and they could smell us so everything on 4 or 2 legs took off and I reiterate so many people……termite mounds dotted the landscape and they are a grey/white colour here, nothing like the orange coloured ones in Australia….lots of holes that the Aardvark animals have dug so one had to be careful not to fall down the holes….and another species we had not seen before…..Red Lechwe, of the antelope family… I reiterate,  so many animals in this world!!......there are tiny frogs here that sit on the grass stalks, one jumped into our boat so we got a good look at him and he was no bigger than our thumb nail, beautiful little species…….back to camp at about 11 am and our guides had cooked brunch and then it was siesta time again, but again too hot to be in the tent so we wandered and then we decided to give the bush shower a whirl and we have to say it was very refreshing, the sun had certainly warmed the water…..come 5 pm and we were back in the mokoro,  again so uncomfortable on ones back so Michael and I decided to sit back to back in our dug out canoe which helped a little…….our poler weaved his way through the plants in the water, and again we got sprayed with pollen/seed heads and 10 million bugs and so to the hippo pool….the hippos we were in the water so one only saw a head come up now and again……then we went to another island and got out of the mokoro to view the sunset which was magic as usual……I think Michael could have a book printed of sunrise and sunset photos!! And so back to camp for dinner and again the guides had cooked us a great feast and then our local guides sang and danced for us around the camp fire……on the other island the tourists were being entertained by their guides so here we were in this wilderness and all this singing and dancing……..wonderful sounds wafting through the night air whilst the frogs had started up their chorus to add to the music, quite a magical place really, even though one was looking forward to a real bed and a real shower….. the local village people get a living off all these tourists and hopefully it will never be commercialised…….sadly though the villagers are not into saving the environment from what we witnessed when exploring their village whilst waiting for our mokoro on the day we arrived……they dig a big hole to put their rubbish in, great big plastic bottles and all and then just cover it over which of course will never break down……they build their houses/huts with beer cans and Fanta cans and believe me there were plenty of those which sadly indicates how their diet has changed……they build their house walls cementing the cans into the walls with the termite dust/sand which sets like concrete when mixed with water…….M & F

Friday 8^th August, 2014……Up 5.15 am to pack for our trip to the mainland…camping is one thing but packing up in the dark is another however we managed to have everything back in the boats and ready to leave by 7.15 am……about a 1 hour boat trip back to the mainland and a little more comfortable as we had our bed mattress to rest our back on…….back at the mainland village utter chaos again as all the new tourists arriving to go out to the Delta were negotiating for their mekoro and our 4 X 4 vehicle had not arrived for us so it was more messing around…..we were instructed to give our polers 100 Pula each but they had certainly earned it……our poler, Alaska went and got his wife and baby and brought them down for us to meet so Michael and I gave him another 100 Pula…..he really did a great job looking after the both of us……we had a group photo with our locals and all the thanks etc and eventually all the tents and kitchen sink had been loaded  back into the 4 X 4, we made our way back to our truck which we had left at the Crocodile Camp…..truck picnic lunch in the camp grounds and by 11 am we were on the road again……and so back to Maun and then more of the Kalahari Desert and more cows and goats…….interesting today in that we passed through a foot and mouth quarantine check……. we all had to get off the truck and walk over a wet towel, pretty useless really, and the truck had to be driven through a concrete bath……by 3 pm we had reached Nata and our accommodation, permanent tents with a great outside shower and did we give that some use and washed all our clothes….it was still very warm so we hung everything out and at 1630 we were off in the truck again to view the Makgadikgadi Pans…….really a bit like the Okavango Delta but with lakes, flat as and big grassland areas……the road was sand and salt…..,De Beers we’re told mine the salt ash but they have to pay the Botswana government 50% of the revenue so it still must be a worthwhile exercise for them……very few animals, the odd wilderbeest, wild dogs and a few birds but again we had a magnificient sunset out there….the Makgadikgadi is 37,000 sq kms in area and is part of the Kalahari Desert and one of the largest salt pans in the world….research indicates that is was once a giant prehistoric lake……back to our accommodation and dinner….full day again…just no down time on these safaris….M&F

Saturday 9^th August, 2014…..Up 6 am and on the road at 7 am…..still more of the Kalahari Desert……not far down the road this morning though an interesting site, all these grass bundles the locals were selling at 10 Pula a bundle….they go and cut the grass, not easy work and dangerous because of the snakes and they sell the bundles to the hotels for rethatching the roofs of the hotels and to any local who has a thatched roof house…..so much of that through the whole of Africa….from Nata we took the A33 to Kasane and more of the Kalahari Desert but within this area they have created some forest reserve areas, in particular the Sibuyu Forest Reserve which is mainly teak trees originally planted by the British but the forest certainly made for a greener part of the desert……elephants and giraffes crossing the road today, this area being known for the elephants to roam freely and oh boy don’t they destroy the trees….then we came across a farming area, 40,000 hectares of sunflower  and maize plants, a government operation and then further down the road the big silos where the maize is stored, the sunflower oil being the main cooking oil used here……interesting here too that we were witnessing big areas of burned land again which was so prevalent in SA….we made a stop at Pandamatenga to stretch our legs and get diesel and oh boy we were in the middle of a dust storm and so to Kasane and then to our accommodation in the Chobe National Park at Thebe River Safaris……  Chobe NP established in 1868 and the park covers 11,700 sq kms encompassing plains, swamps and woodlands…….and it is where 4 countries boundaries meet, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe….picnic truck lunch in their grounds and then we were off for our boat cruise on the Chobe River……this was a game drive on water and absolutely fantastic….crocodiles, cape buffalo, hippos, giraffes but the best bit was the elephants swimming…we were so lucky to witness this as even our boatman had not seen it too often……the first family of elephants took to the water and swam to an island…all you could see was what looked like these periscopes in the water and even the little baby elephants made it across….then another family decided to swim across and then another family, it really was something we won’t forget……but again oh the tourists….so many boats….at one point the elephants wanted to cross but there were too many boats but eventually the idiots realised they were in the way and moved….there is absolutely no policing of things here…….we’re told Botswana has 120,000 elephants with 80,000 of them being in Chobe NP……the birds were wonderful too as they have been all through Africa, the small ones so colourful and the range of big birds, some just about as big as flamingos have been incredible…we’ve given up trying to remember the names of all the birds…… everyone takes their beer and wine out to drink on the boats whilst cruising….we opted just to take water and so glad we did as the platform we had to step onto to get on to the boat  was on a 45 degree angle, not to mention the board walk at about a 3 metre height we all walked to reach the platform and there were so many people on it, and boards missing,  Osh would have a field day here!!!! And again a magnificient sunset……on the boat we noticed all the really upmarket lodges but so many tourists here and they really cater for all budgets……back to the hotel and it was so busy we got smart and checked the menu out earlier and preordered which was much better than last night as waited for 2 hours to get 1 main each…..service is something they don’t know a lot about in this part of the world!!!

Sunday 10^th August, 2014……Up 5 am for a game drive in Chobe NP at 5.30 am……we went in an open vehicle and oh so cold first thing in the morning and then a magic sunrise……not a lot of animals this morning but being our last game drive it was still very good as we were high above the Chobe River and it gave us a totally different perspective of the area being so high and looking down on the river and all the animal mud holes and islands…..however we saw more elephants and had a very close encounter again, impalas (our guide said a snack for the lions) cape buffalos, lots of big and small birds, giraffes……back to camp at 9.30 and then breki and then on the road to the Zimbabwe border….(Botswana out at Kasungula and oh the trucks lined up to take the ferry to Zambia and into Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls border)……..Botswana border we were in and out the door but on the Zimbabwe side the queue was out the door……we had to fill in a form and hand over US$30 each and with our passport leave it with them……the guy at the desk though was the first border control guy in the whole of Africa to have fun with us as we handed over the Australian and NZ Passports…….it is incredible when you say NZ, they reply All Blacks….we never realised how much the AB’s have marketed NZ…….the whole of Africa knows the AB’s!!!!! And so we waited but in about 1 and ½ hours we had our passports back and we were on our way and so into Zimbabwe and the big sign so new and shiny “Welcome to Zimbabwe, drive carefully”….nothing like the Botswana sign…….I was apprehensive about coming here but in no time we were in the small township of Victoria Falls….most things closed being Sunday but all the tour operators open of course…..we went to one who showed us a video of all that was on offer, bungey jumping etc……but our time here so brief we just wanted to take time to enjoy the place as we were really impressed…..we were walking in the street, waiting for the others and a security guard befriended us and had a long chat and he insisted this country is safe and they are all free and it is not true what your read about Zimbabwe….we do feel V/Falls is a bit of a show case as so many tourists here but we would have loved another day here to explore the countryside as we have been impressed with what we have seen….the people are more friendly and more helpful….through the whole of Africa they couldn’t care if they serve you or not and every border they are so glum but here we have been amazed at the attitude of people, so much more friendly…….and seeing what we have seen in Africa we would have thought that if you had a job you were lucky and would want to keep it and thus would show some enthusiasm in your work but not so……. training, customer relations probably doesn’t exist here!!! And so to our hotel, Rainbow Hotel, 3 star but a great place, again we are surprised to experience  very friendly, helpful staff……and so to our walk in the Victoria Falls Park…….Victoria Falls, discovered by David Livingstone in 1855, magnificient but we felt it didn’t quite match Iguazu in South America……and a great view of the Victoria Falls Bridge, opened in 1905, where they do the bungey jumping from……and being Sunday oh so many tourists and Africans in general……..we all got a bit wet with the spray but in the heat you soon dry out…..our accommodation here in V/Falls is near the falls and the roar of the water sounds like the ocean at Whanga……lovely to be reminded of the sounds of home….and so out to dinner in a Zimbabwe  restaurant……food OK, as I said our guides have spoiled us with their good cooking……..but good atmosphere and  great music……..Zimbabwe about the same size as Namibia but with approximately 13 million people, 80% unemployment (this statistic includes the hawkers as being unemployed)…they have to pay for education and health facilities …thus as said, we don’t think we got the true picture of life here…..M&F

Monday 11^th August, 2014……..NO 5 am alarms….marvellous……a leisurely breki sitting under a tree at Rainbow Hotel and a beautiful hot morning which we’ve grown used to….we just love this winter temperature of 28 to 30 degrees each day…..sorting out our bags that have been in storage, washing etc and then at 12 noon we went to the markets……so much stuff and such a hard sell for these people……I took a look into where the women are selling their work and I stepped into this shed which would have had around 80 to 100 women sitting in there, some with their children……I just walked through the middle and couldn’t really believe what I was witnessing…..so sad these women sit in there all day to sell just how much, who know, and so much is wood work……we just say NZ now and that we can’t take wood into NZ and they leave us alone but the interesting thing today is they wanted to buy the shoes on our feet etc or kept asking what clothes or shoes did we have that we could trade so one wonders about the shortage of some things here…..we wandered the markets and then went and checked out the Victoria Falls Hotel which they rank like Raffles in Singapore being of Colonial architecture…….a bit different to the latter but still a beautiful building and what a view of the bridge and the spray from the falls….we had a beer on the deck and soaked up the atmosphere……we wandered across a park to Victoria Falls Hotel dodging the wart hogs and big baboons……..back to the hotel and more packing……then the phone went……Michael gave his name and room # to a guy we met at the market when Michael was trying to buy a lion statue made of malachite….sure enough the guy was back to do business so Michael had to meet him outside the hotel gates and they bartered and thus Michael now has his lion…..there is the constant hum of aircraft here as the helicopter flights seem to go over the falls non stop….dinner tonight at another Zimbabwe restaurant and again pretty average….2 hours to get one main meal ………..we had crocodile steaks…very like chicken but a bit chewy……however again the atmosphere was good and we had the local natives dancing and playing music which we really enjoyed……they really come across as happy people here but I reiterate, we thing V/Falls is a showcase town with so many tourists here….security guards patrol the hotel complex but everyone seems very friendly and hospitable except for the service side of things….. we fly out of Africa tomorrow……what a journey, nearly 3 months, we’ve seen some remote corners of this continent but it has been a very memorable experience…….and we have driven 6,000 kms on our journey from Cape Town in SA to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe….M & F

Tuesday 12^th August, 2014……..A leisurely breki again before driving to the Victoria Falls Airport…..about a 30 minute drive with the Victoria Falls National Park on each side of the road……the airport very clean, tidy and good shops and being extended as tourism is a growth industry here……and so we flew from Victoria Falls to Jo/berg and then had a 4 hour lay over until our flight from Jo/berg to Dubai……M & F

Wednesday 13^th August, 2014……Arrived Dubai 5.15 am to 33 degrees……M & F

Cell phone tower disguised as a palm tree....much easier on the eye!!!!

Salt evaporation pond....

The German cyclist we fed with our fruit.....

Cape Cross Seal Colony.....

As above......

Himba women selling their craft....roadside.... 

As above......

As above.....

Brandberg Mountains...got a bit muddled here and mentioned them in the previous blog......

As above......

As above.....

Viewing "White Lady" African rock carving.......

Damaraland area....en route to "Organ Pipes"

Organ Pipe Rock formations.......

Roadside breki.......Damaraland......

Welwitschia Mirabilis plant...approx 200 years old.....

Elephant watering hole....Etosha National Park....

The Tower in Etosha NP and what a view from the top.....

Finally, Michael's male lion but this one is only a young boy!!!!

Etosha NP..........makes you dizzy to look at this pic.....

Etosha NP elephant water hole....and play time.....

Railway Station...Windhoek......capital of Namibia.....

Church in Windhoek.....

Our Bushmen's accommodation in the Kalahari Desert.......

Our 23 year old bushman guide.....

As above.......don't you love his hand bag!!!!

Dinner under the night sky....Kalahari Desert....

Sunrise as we left the Bushmen's accommodation...Kahalari Desert.....

Locals fishing for bream in the Okavango River....

We loved this sign at one of the wine shops......

Crocodile Camp accommodation the night before we left for the Okavango Delta.......

Crocodile Camp Bar......

Packing everything, including the kitchen sink, onto our 4 X 4 to drive us to the Delta......

The bridges en route to the Delta...this was the smallest one...so hard to get a photo as we bounced along in the 4 X 4..... 

Arriving at the Delta and negotiating for our mekoro boats to take us and gear out to our island camp.....

Some of the locals.......

African termite mound......

Home sweet home, built with fanta and beer cans and termite sand/dust.......

A local village woman rushing down to ferry tourists in her mokoro......

And there she is one her way.......

Waiting to load our  gear into the boats.....

About to leave for our island camp......

Poling through the Okavango Delta......

Setting up our camp.....

Mekoro boats...our water taxis.....

Two of the local women that poled us out and now became our cooks, washer ups etc.....

Meat for dinner hung out on a tree to dethaw......

Poling through the Delta to another island......

Camp fire dinner on our island in the Delta.....

As above.....

Camp fire dinner being prepared......

Our guide making bread for dinner and what good bread it was!!!!

Poling out to another island in the Delta and for a sunset cruise....

Camp fire dinner on our island in the Delta......

Our polers and cooks singing and dancing for us......

Relaxed...arriving back in the village to load all back into the 4 X 4 for the trip back to our truck....

Sorting up and loading into the 4 X 4 vehicle......

Alaska, our poler, with his family......

The 4 X 4 vehicle that took us out to the Delta......

The road, or should we say sand track, to get  to the Delta.....thus the 4 X 4 vehicle to transport us....

Sunset on Makgadikgadi Pans....... 

Grass cut and bundled to be sold for roof thatching......for 10 Pula a bundle......

The Kalahari Desert, very different from the Namib Desert......

Elephants swimming across Chobe River to a central island in the Chobe National Park....

As above...note the periscopes!!!!

As above......

And emerging on the other side.....

Sunset......Chobe River, Chobe NP......

Big bird, typical of the big birds, Chobe NP.......

Sunrise, Chobe NP......

The truck for our early morning game drive, Chobe NP......

Our last outdoor breki in Africa......

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe......

Victoria Falls and just about finished our 7th safari......

Victoria Falls.....

As per sign below.....

As per sign.....

The Victoria Falls Hotel...Zimbabwe......

As above....looking out to the bridge......

The bridge from the hotel.....

The real Africa...more Himba children sucking on the oranges we gave them......

Mother and child.....

And more Himba children enjoying the oranges.....

And again Himba mother and child......