My month long trip through Africa started in Windhoek, Namibia. My friend Markus and I went on an 8 day overland tour that would end in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. This meant that we would be joining a group of about 20 people and traveling with them on a bus, stopping at various places along the way, and camping each night until we got to Vic Falls.
Day One: Windhoek
First we had to get to Windhoek! To catch our flight, Markus and I had to leave our flats at 3:30am. I am definitely not a morning so I chose to just pull an all-nighter. Luckily our friend Johannes was kind enough to wake up in the middle of the night and take us to the airport (thanks Joe, you rock!). When we got to the airport, we saw that our flight had been delayed for three hours until 9:30am. Not only were Markus and I upset about having to wait in the airport from 4 to 9:30, but we also felt terrible for making Johannes wake up so early. The only good thing that came from this was that the airline gave us vouchers for free breakfast at one of the airport restaurants. We arrived in Namibia around noon and went to our hotel which we would stay at until our tour started the following morning. The rest of our day was spent watching movies, catching up on sleep, eating some yummy food (I think the most interesting part of the day was trying one of Markus’s snails) and preparing for the next month of traveling!
Day Two: Ghanzi
Today started early at 6, and by 8 we had met our tour guides (Calisto and Manzeli) and were just about ready to hit the road. There were 19 other people who would be traveling with us, and most of them had already been traveling together for 13 days (their tour started in Cape Town). It was a bit overwhelming at first, meeting so many people and trying to remember all of those names, but everyone was extremely friendly. Little did we know that over the next 8 days we would become great friends with all of these people and turn into one big Nomad family.
We drove through Namibia for about six hours before we got to the border. The country was visibly very different from South Africa (at least the parts I’ve seen), even though they are neighboring countries. It’s much drier, very yellow, and the mountains-if you can call them that- are small and rounded. We then crossed into Botswana, which was a bit greener than Namibia but still dry. The long car ride consisted of lots of chatting, sharing snacks and a bit of napping. We had to drive 530 kilometers during the day so we didn’t get to our camp site until after dark, but we did get to see a spectacular red sunset as we drove down the road. Markus and I had a bit of trouble setting our tent up in the dark (Thanks Ashley for helping us out!) but we were all set up in no time. After a delicious spaghetti dinner, we all went to watch traditional dances performed by the local San people. The San (or Bush) people live off the land and are hunter gatherers. Each dance they performed was for a different purpose: good health, food, entertainment. The way that they moved their feet was incredible! So fast and with such precision to the beat. It had been a very long day so after that, we called it a night.
Day Three: Northern Delta
We were up early again to go on a walk led by the Bushmen. This time we followed a family into the bush and listened as a translator told us about the different plants that they use and what their medicinal purposes are. The Bushmen had a great sense of humor and even pretended to be sick, like with an upset stomach- it was really entertaining. Then it was back on the road! We had another long day of driving ahead of us… 400 km this time. But by the evening we would reach the Okavango Delta and we were so excited! Driving through Botswana was more enjoyable today than it was yesterday, because the scenery was so much greener. So many of the trees had cool birds’ nests in them and termite mounds lined the streets. And if there’s anything that you should know about Botswana, it’s that there are donkeys and cows everywhere. Usually along the road but sometimes in the middle of it. The country itself has a people population of only 2 million, which considering its size, is not very many at all. There are more donkeys than people, as well as more cows than people inside the borders.
We arrived at our campsite before dusk this evening and got our tent set up no problem (I’m not going to lie though, Markus did the brunt of the setting up most nights). There was even time for us to take a couple night time photos before dinner. Sitting around the fire drinking hot chocolate was the most relaxing part of the day. We also went to the bar area to try some of the local brew and learn some games, but it didn’t last long because we were so exhausted.
Day Four: Okavango Delta Day 1
I don’t think I’ve ever woke up before the sun rises this many times. But on this morning it was totally worth it. Our camp was right on the water, and since we woke up early enough we got to watch the sun come up over the Delta. Man, was it pretty! And the icing on the cake was the hippo I heard out in the water. It was too dark to see it but it was there.
A couple hours later we were tossed onto speedboats and sent into the winding channels of the Delta. It was so incredibly beautiful. We saw a handful of crocs on our trip but no hippos. Once we arrived in Seronga, everyone hopped into cool 4×4 safari cars and drove off to camp. Many small grass hut villages lined the road, and as we drove by children would profusely wave at us. We experienced this several times during our trip, and each time was as heartwarming as the last. Later that afternoon we took a ride onto the Delta in mokoros. Mokoros are like small canoes that are moved through the water by a poler, someone who stands at the back and uses a really long pole to push it through the water. Riding in a mokoro, through channels made by hippos and elephants, is probably the most peaceful way to travel. You get a beautiful perspective of the Delta as you ride through beds of water lilies and other grasses while listening to the calming sounds of the water and nature around you. As we rode back to camp we witnessed the most magical sunset. By the end of our cruise we had seen cows, hippos, elephants, a green water snake, bats, a bird egg, and some type of antelope. The evening ended with us all sitting around the campfire, chatting and sharing stories.
A little extra info on the Okavango Delta: It’s very seasonal and you can find all different kinds of animals there throughout the year (antelope, buffalo, cheetahs, elephants, leopards, lions, hippos, zebras and giraffes). The water levels change depending on the season, and it can cover anywhere from 9000 to 16000 square kilometers (the water was pretty high when we were there).
Day Five: Okavango Delta Day 2
As you might guess, we were up early again and out on the mokoros to go to an island for a game walk. On the way we saw a whole pod of hippos- including a baby!- that weren’t but 30 meters away from us. It was the first time I’ve been able to see them so close and in the wild. The way that they would dive up and down in the water, making noises, was so cool. You have to be careful not to get too close to hippos though because they are the deadliest animal you can encounter in the wild, at least when it comes to human deaths. Once on the island we didn’t see too many animals but we were able to follow the tracks of a hyena family. I was so impressed with the knowledge of our guide. He was able to tell us so much from simple tracks on the ground: the type of animal, the direction it was headed, if it was alone or with others. Manzeli prepared a gourmet breakfast for us while we were gone and it was waiting for us when we got back to camp. It was so nice to have something other than toast and porridge for breakfast. After a relaxing afternoon, we headed back out into the mokoros for one last sunset cruise. We were able to bring cold drinks with us and found an island to hang out on for a bit. As we all sat around drinking, the guides shared things with us about their culture and we exchanged jokes, just grateful that we could all be in such a beautiful place together with new friends.
Interesting things to know about the tribes that lives around the Delta:
- Polygamy is still prevalent, as it is a sign of masculinity, but is decreasing
- There are three ethnic groups that live in the area, and about eight languages that are spoken by those people
- Soccer is huge
- Local alcohol is made from fruits (a lot of times from the marula tree) which are fermented
- Tourism has become a huge industry and many young kids are encouraged to get into it once they complete school
Day Six: Back to Namibia
Unfortunately we couldn’t stay at the Delta forever, although I would have loved to! We took the speedboat back to the outskirts of the Delta and loaded up Sonny (our truck) to get ready for the big day of driving ahead. We crossed back into Namibia and drove allll day before setting up our tent and crashing for the night. Not a very exciting day but the rest was nice after the busy past couple days we’d had the busy few ahead of us.
Day Seven: Chobe National Park
Two things went wrong this morning. One, Markus told me to set my alarm clock one hour back when I should have set it one hour ahead. The time changed when we went back into Namibia so we thought we were adjusting the alarm clocks correctly but instead of waking up on time, I was up two hours before everyone else. I sat in the tent getting my things together, wondering why no one else was moving and then it finally clicked. Two, Markus and I sent up the tent under a tree. While I was brushing my teeth in the morning, he came out and found that the tent was absolutely covered in spiders. I’m so glad I wasn’t there to see that! We left directly for camp the following night, which wasn’t too far away, but we had to cross back into Botswana before we got there. I was so excited for the day ahead of us because we would be spending it in Chobe National Park!! Chobe National Park has got animals galore and I still needed to see lions, giraffes, and rhinos in the wild. I excitedly hopped onto our safari truck that afternoon and we headed in! It didn’t seem like we went very far into the park, which is over 11000 square kilometers, but we saw so many animals! We chased a female lion down onto the beach (check off lion!) but didn’t see a male. Elephants were everywhere and we got so close that I probably could have reached out of the car and touched one if I wanted to. Then we went out on a cruise in the middle of the park and got to see one of the coolest things ever. The boat pulled up next to a ton of hippos eating, and then we pulled up to a bunch of elephants that were grazing in the water! The islands in the water flooded this year so the elephants were able to walk out and stand in the meter-high water, pulling grasses from on top and eating them. We had a great time on the boat with our family, having a few drinks, watching the animals, and talking about life. I wish we could have spent a few more days in Chobe but I know that one day I’ll be back… it’s just so beautiful. To top the day off, Manzeli made the most delicious dinner which consisted of braaied snoek, potato bake and salad. The end of our trip is nearing and I’m nowhere near ready for that!
Day Eight: Victoria Falls Day 1
Today we got up early to cross into Zimbabwe, the last border crossing of our tour. It didn’t take long to get there and by 11 o’clock we were in Victoria Falls! I was excited to see the monstrosity of them but I think Markus was the most excited out of the two of us. Unfortunately we couldn’t go to Devil’s pool because of the time of year, but we could still see the falls. Devil’s pool is an area on top of the falls, right at the edge, that you can sit in safely. The falls are absolutely amazing. They’re huge and rainbows created by the mist and sunshine can be found everywhere. The view at some spots along the falls was crappy just because of all the mist. The water levels are really high at this time of year so there was even one look out that we went to where we got completely drenched. It was so worth it though. For the first time in a week we weren’t camping! For the next two nights, until our camping trip back to Joburg, we were staying in a hotel room. Dinner was at Mama Africa, a local restaurant and our whole family had a great time chatting and eating yummy food (although Markus tricked me into trying chicken liver-gross). Everyone called it a night pretty early since most people were doing activities on the falls the following morning.
Day Nine: Victoria Falls Day 2
This morning we had to say goodbye to some of our friends, the four girls from Salt Lake City. It was a tough realization knowing that we would soon be saying goodbye to many other people as well. Our friend Carol (from Australia) later joined us at breakfast- her and I were going to have a girls day. Her husband was going white water rafting, and Markus was going on a helicopter tour of the falls with a lot of our other friends so the two of us were going into town to do some shopping. We ended up meeting up with everyone a few hours later and we went to the markets. The markets have tons of cool trinkets and gifts but let me just tell you, they can be extremely overwhelming. Especially when you walk into a warehouse of about 50 women, each trying to sell you essentially the same things. They are all kind, and just trying to make a living, but they can be a bit forceful and in your face. Zimbabwe’s currency is now the USD due to the awful state their economy fell into some years back, so things were a bit more expensive than we were used to. Afterwards we went out for lunch, where I tried some of Markus’s crocodile meat… and it was pretty tasty. We had another group dinner with those that were left from our group and called it a night, knowing that we would all have to say goodbye to each other in the morning.
Day Ten: Back to South Africa
Today was spent doing a lot of driving… we were headed back to Johannesburg. But the most substantial part of our day was saying goodbye to all of the friends we had made over the past eight days. Markus and I were hoping that we’d be traveling with cool people but we never thought that we would become such good friends with them in such a short amount of time. We got so lucky with our Nomad group… there were never any problems or disagreements. Although saying goodbye was sad, it’s awesome that we now have friends who live all over the world. Hopefully one day we’ll cross paths with them again.
Doing the kImpossible 