Cape Town to Nairobi

Summary of my overland trip from Cape Town to Nairobi

• 4 week overland trip from Cape Town to Nairobi through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya with “Which Way Adventures” in a large truck with 13 fellow passengers and two crew
• Pre-briefing to meet fellow travellers and the crew. They are delighted to have a fellow SAFA on board
• Leave from Business School at Waterfront. First view of our yellow truck
• First camp, briefing from Martin, learn how to pitch tents
• Memorable fellow travellors: Carl, my tent mate, an American law student and intrepid photographer; Chris the hilariously funny group clown; Rory, the firy and booze loving Irishman; “Mama”, very large, loud, fun American who got on Martin’s nerves; Anna the wingy Australian; Terra the young student from “down South” with the long drawl; Menno, the older, zany Dutch lorry driver
• Views of Fish river canyon – and river walk at camp site
• Hear about 9 / 11 just outside Swakopmund ( Namibia) - shocking but surreal
• Cycling into town with Anna from the camp site
• Sand buggying in dunes of Swakopmund
• Nice camp site in Namib with canyon walk. Get sozzled on punch and get to know each other
• Climbing a large dune in the Namib and viewing an ancient petrified forest in the middle of the desert (where they filmed “The Cell” starring Jenniefer Lopez)
• Driving through Namib coastal park and seeing large seal colony (very smelly!)
• Seeing lions at the “night hole” at Etosha Pan and a leopard on a game drive
• Long game drive to hilly part of Etosha
• Lazing in the pool at Etosha camp
• Walk into a barbed wire fence and cut my stomach (faint scar to this day)
• Fly into Okovango Swamp from Maun in tiny plane ( Botswana)
• Moses, the fun local guide. “Welcome to Afrika” in his deep voice
• Makuro (dug out boats) through the swamp – overnighting on an island with roars of lions and hyena skulking close by
• Game walk on island in Okovango
• Watching birds and hippos from the look-out at Okovango camp – and trying to find our wooden huts in the dark
• Stay in Baobab camp on way to Chobe – and I prove my worth my climbing the pole in the bar to write my name on the roof
• Sun set river trip at Chobe, watching elephants on the bank
• Holding breath under the water competitions in pool at Chobe – I manage close to 3 minutes but Carl just pips me
• Martin meets a soul mate, a South African tourist who joins us for the next 5 days – he’s in love for the rest of the trip
• Victoria Falls – white river rafting grade 5 rapids along Zambezi River (feeling rather ill due to dehydration)
• Pissing it up in the local bar (after a meal at the Spur) – Chris gets a body shot from Mama!
• Touts desperately selling foreign currency
• Overnight in cool camp on Zambian side of Zambezi
• Sun set and all you can drink cruise along the Zambezi River – and pushing Carl into the pool with his passport, then getting pushed in myself
• Ben takes out his glass eye
• Slow progress over pot holed, narrow roads in Zambia – slow progress in the big truck
  Southern
• South Luanga National park – day and night drive. See leopard cubs, Scops Owl
  Great fun by pool at South Luanga and elephants coming through the camp, playing darts
• Into Malawi, the land of happy, colourful people
• 4 amazing days at camp on Lake Malawi– snorkeling, windsurfing, fishing, water skiing. Fun with the camp’s tame squirrel monkey who loved playing with the dogs. Watch England narrowly claw back a draw against Greece in the Euro qualifier. Apocolypse Now – Terra’s favourite movie. “Truth or dare”
• Locking Chris into his tent
• Weird swimming out in what look like the ocean but not needing to worry about sharks
  Apple pie at the famous local tea house
• Two nights at another camp along the lake – beer race against another truck, great waterfall walk, swimming in some quite big waves
• Reading “Down Under” by Bill Bryson
• Into Tanzania – the girls have trouble peeing in private because curious local keep appearing from nowhere
• Dar Es Salaam camp site – get to swim in the ocean. Prostitutes in the camp cause some merriment. Sexual confessions – innocent Terra does some shocking
• Zanzibar ferry to Spice Town. Italian ice cream, night fish markets
• Drive a jeep with Terra and Mamma, while others go motor biking. Red Colobus Monkey. Great forest walks. Up north to a gorgeous coastal camp. Swimming, beach walks, turtle aquarium, smoking grass, Lounge music, lying till very late by the fire
• Serengetti base camp – love birds, great bar, Panic Mechanic
• Drive to camp on outskirts – see Coucal
• Serrengetti – see the big 5 within an hour, leopard hanging over tree, cheetah too. Giant Eagle Owl. Sit on roof of the cruisers, sharing sightings on walkie talkie.
• Ngoro Gora Crater, amazing views down, fever trees, flamingos on the pan, lion.  Wild pigs at camp on top of crater
• Back to Serengetti Base camp for a big piss up
• Kenya lake – Malachite Kingfisher, watch TV, feel a little blue, Cry Freedom house where Hamiltons lived
• To Nairobi. Visit museum with Terra
• Fly out back to London - what an awesome trip

New birds Seen

Etosha (Namibia)

• Doublebanded Sandgrouse
• Sociable weaver
• Kori Bustard

Okavango

• Lesser honeyguide

Ngora Crater

• Lesser Flamingo

Serengeti

• Whitebrowed Coucal
• Southern Crowned Crane
• Giant Eagle Owl
• Yellowthroated Sandgrouse

South Luanga

• African Scops Owl