Our Southern Circle adventure started on Nov 1 with a dinner where we met all the other travellers along with our guide for the next 3 weeks, Bianca. Along with ourselves we travelled with Anja, Nicole, Wolfgang, Oliver, Birgit, Jan & Carina, all from Germany and Juha & Crista from Finland. The next morning we packed up the truck which is our home for the next 3 weeks and headed north thru Botswana. After driving for about 12 hours we finally arrived at Elephant Sands camp where we pitched our tents for the first time. The next morning we drove to Chobe National Park where we did our first game drive along the banks of the Chobe river. We saw lots of elephants and hippos in the river, all trying to stay cool as it was very hot. There were also lots of baboons, warthogs and a few buffalo. Apparently the warthogs like to visit the town and wander around but do not bother anybody. We then crossed the border into Zimbabwe and headed for Victoria Falls where we spent 3 nights at the very nice Drifters Inn. The first day we visited the falls although the water was quite low and the falls were kind a small compared to rainy season, and then went for cold beers at the beautiful Victoria Falls hotel. The next day Marlyn, Anja, Jan & Carina and myself all went whitewater rafting on the Zambesi river. Even with low water levels the rapids were still class 3-5 and we went thru about 21 sets of rapids.
I got thrown from the raft twice and we also flipped the raft twice so it was quote an exhilarating day. The worst part was having to walk out of the river gorge at the end which is about 250-300m up, but that was where the cold beer was waiting. We did a group dinner at La Boma restaurant which serves lots of wild game ( warthog steaks are awesome, Mapaune worms are not ), puts on a drumming show and African face painting. It was a lot of fun.
We now head into Zambia and set up camp in Kafue on the Zambezi River. We spend part of the day relaxing by the pool and drinking a few beers as well as setting up the tents, that we are sure will be flattened by the hippos. Next morning we break camp and load up canoes for a two day trip down the river. We travel with the current so the paddling is not to hard and we view much wild life and one close encounter with a couple of hippos. This night we spend on an island in close proximity to a herd of buffalo...it was very beautiful and exciting with the animals outside your tent. Another day on the river and then camp with the wildlife once again. The next morning we break camp and are speed boated ( ran out of gas ) back to Kafue to spend our last night on the Zambezi River. Thank god there was a pool and an air conditioned bar because it was HOT.
Day nine takes us to the capital city of Lusaka and toward Luangwa National Park. Spend a night in a camp with chickens and children before heading out for the worst roads on earth. We had a small problem with the truck and Bianca, Don and Jan spent the evening under the truck while the rest of us cook dinner. Carina sat on a bench to read a magazine and within 2 minutes had 15 kids with her looking at all the pictures and asking millions of questions. It was quite hilarious.
South Luangwa Park is just a beautiful location right on the river bank with animals roaming freely. We had no problems but some previous groups have had some close encounters, mostly with elephants. We did a night and an early morning game drive and again saw quite a range of animals including lions feeding on dead hippos. We could park within 10ft of the lions and they just ignore us, but the smell was disgusting.
We now headed into Malawi, stopping in Lilongwe for some groceries, water and beer, and then onto Wheelhouse campground right on the shore of the lake. They are in 3 small coves so the beaches are quite private with no people wandering around. I did some snorkeling with Jan and Carina while Marlyn did some cultural village visits. It just happened to be my birthday then so Marlyn and Bianca decided we needed a party which started after dinner, moved into this cool little bar they have and it got pretty drunk out that night. Good thing the next day was not a travel day for most people, especially Oliver.
Heading south we drive down to Mulanje and camp at the local golf course which would have been great except they had no water and it is still HOT. Everybody keeps telling us it will rain but it never does. Mulanje has quite a large mountain ( for Africa anyway ) and the next day we hike partially up ( some young ones go all the way up ) and spent a few hours at the waterfall where there is an excellent swimming hole and the water is quite cold which feels great.
Back in the truck we have a long drive heading to Mozambique. We get as far as Chomoio and set up camp beside a hotel. You have never seen bugs so bad in your life, the bar was raining with them and the bathrooms were crawling. Good thing it was only for 1 night. Another day of driving and we make it to Vilanculos on the coast of Mozambique. Quite a small town but all of sudden you have a lot more white people than before as Mozambique is quite a popular tourist destination these days and there are a lot of hotels and camps being built. We only spend 1 night in Vilanculos and then drive down to Inhambane where we take a dow over to the peninsula where the beach camps are. We are staying in casitas at the Drifters Barra camp right on the beach and it is an idyllic location with miles and miles of beautiful beach, and virtually no people to speak of. The weather was hot but cloudy and windy so the snorkeling and whale watching did not pan out to good but a few people, Jan, Carina, Anja and Nicole got some good dives in. This was an awesome place to stay and probably one of the most memorable and is fast becoming a major tourist draw. Nice to see it before too much development. Marlyn and I went horseback riding with Juha and Christa, and Marlyn will never be in the rodeo but at least she did not fall off. After 3 nights here we loaded up again and drove down to Maputo, the capital city, for 1 night in a hotel with a fabulous seafood restaurant. Maputo is a big city with too many people but the economy is strong here at least.
We are now on our way back to South Africa and Kruger National Park. After some of the other countries it is like coming back to civilization again in South Africa it is so developed. Kruger is an awesome park with very developed infrastructures, camps, hotels, etc. We camped at a place called Berg en Dal for 2 nights and had 2 excellent game drives ( one @ 4:30 am ) and saw lots of animals especially rhinos which was very cool. The lions were lying on the road, a group of about 8 and we just sat in the truck about 10ft away watching and taking pictures. Very cool.
Our last night was spent at the Drifters Inn at Hazyveiw which was another very nice location right in the forest and beside a river. Bianca made the group one last dinner, traditional South African, which was excellent. The next morning most of us headed back to Jo'burg and on to the next leg of our trip. We were fortunate we travelled a easy going group of people and there were no major dis-agreements and Bianca was a fabulous guide.
Cape Town update coming soon.
