|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Braai |
Weather |
Livingstone, Zambia
Witt & Jen |
03 August, 2004 |
Fawlty Towers |
Not Recorded |
Odometer: 28860km |
Sunny, 94(F)
degrees |
|
We have decided to travel with Jeff and Jean
for a few days, heading to Sesheke and then to Ngonye falls. We made a
plan to meet at Zig Zag tomorrow morning. We all left camp at about 11am.
We went to Fawlty Towers and spent the afternoon lounging on the couch
watching the world adventure racing championship series on satellite TV
and writing web updates. I ran into Pete (from the kayaking debacle) and
downloaded some of the photographs he took onto our computer. We went to
the braai in the evening and had a good time eating, drinking, and
talking. |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
639km |
Meals
Chicken at nandos |
Weather |
East London, South Africa
Graham & Connie |
03 August, 2004 |
East London
Backpackers |
33°01.233’S
27°55.052’E |
Odometer: 40926km |
Warn, Sunny, 70(F)
degrees |
|
Continuing our trip through the Garden Route,
we made good distance. We stopped briefly at Big Tree, which is an 800
year old gum tree – a very big tree. The scenery is spectacular especially
that this time of year when everything is green and the runoff to the sea
makes waterfalls along the escarpment. By evening we had left the Garden
Route and we continued on late until we made East London. Finding a place
to stay was a bit of a mission. Nowhere would allow us to camp, and only
East London Backpackers had secure parking for the truck. We had dinner at
Nandos and then turned in. |
|
|
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
205km |
Meals
Chicken, sausage and pasta |
Weather |
Sesheke, Zambia
Witt & Jen |
04 August, 2004 |
Brenda's Best Baobab Camping |
17°28.956’S x 24°17.560’E |
Odometer: 30065km |
Sunny, 93(F) Degrees |
|
We met Jeff and Jane at Zig Zag coffee house
this morning at 9am. After stopping for fuel and to send web updates, we
were on the road to Sesheke at 1015. We stopped for lunch at Mwandi, a
small village on the river where Fiona (Nick’s girlfriend) lives and
works. Justin, a 25 year old guy from North Carolina who works there as a
missionary showed us around the place. Fiona has a lovely house on the
river with an enormous verandah out back. The scene is idyllic with big
shade trees and a well tended garden. My image of the suffering missionary
living in horrid conditions to bring the faith to the underprivileged was
shattered. Shortly after setting off again we noticed diesel leaking from
the back of the car. It was coming from the fuel sedimenter which one of
Nick’s guys had removed and cleaned. We called Nick on the satellite phone
and he suggested we remove it and check that the seals were in place
properly. I took it off, reseated the seals, and put it back together.
This seemed to solve the problem and we set off again. We decided to camp
in Sesheke as it was getting late. Brenda’s is a very nice spot on the
river. We made dinner and spent the evening swapping travel stories. |
|
A tiny frog
we found jumping around in the grass |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
588km |
Meals
Steak on the braai |
Weather |
Pennington, South Africa
Graham & Connie |
04 August, 2004 |
Venter Household |
30°22.907’S
30°41.345’E |
Odometer: 41514km |
Warn, Sunny, 70(F)
degrees |
|
Had a long drive through the Transkei. The
country is very hilly and underdeveloped. Some of the towns reminded us of
West Africa with their masses of people and markets. At one point we
passed a semi truck on fire on the side of the road. There were crowds of
people making off with the goods off the truck. It was a long day of
driving but by evening we had made it to Pennington to the house where our
friends Krissy and Slade were staying. Slade braaid steaks for us while we
caught up on news. |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
128km |
Meals
Braai'd chicken |
Weather |
|
Sesheke, Zambia
Witt & Jen |
05 August, 2004 |
Thebe River Camp |
16°40.391’S
x 23°39.170’E |
Odometer: 30193km |
Sunny, 94(F)
degrees |
|
We left camp this morning at about 930 on our
way to Ngonye Falls. The tarmac ended as we left Sesheke and soon the road
became rutted and slow. We stopped at a gate leading into a new district
and were told that we would have to pay 65,000 kwacha (about 12 dollars)
for each car to pass through. We protested to no avail and eventually paid
the money. At about 130 we stopped at an educational camp run by an
American couple who live in Switzerland. The camp is on 130 acres of land
given to the man’s son by the president of Zambia. The son, a doctor, had
performed an operation on the president’s brother and the land was given
as a gift of thanks. The camp is located on a beautiful spot on the
Zambezi and is home to groups of 8-10 high school aged kids for 10 days at
a time. We had lunch in their riverfront dining room and talked for an
hour or so. They recommended the Thebe safari lodge, an unfinished fishing
camp, as a place to stay. We found the lodge after 20 minutes on the road.
It’s located on a beautiful peninsula overlooking the river. We made
drinks and enjoyed sundowners at the unfinished bar overlooking the river.
The bar is made of the beautiful teak wood that grows in a nearby forest.
We grilled some chicken and sat around the fire talking for the rest of
the evening. |
|
|
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
40km |
Meals
|
Weather |
Pennington, South Africa
Graham & Connie |
05 August, 2004 |
Venter Household |
30°22.907’S 30°41.345’E |
Odometer: 41554km |
Warn, Sunny, 70(F)
degrees |
|
Krissy and Slade invited us to join them at
Sodwana Bay for the long weekend, so we spent the day preparing to head
North. Graham changed the oil in the Landy and unloaded all of the wine
from the back. |
|
Getting ready for another
expedition! |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
35km |
Meals
Chile and Rice |
Weather |
Sesheke, Zambia
Witt & Jen |
06 August, 2004 |
Thebe Safari Lodge |
17°15.220’S x 25°50.665’E |
Odometer: 30228km |
Sunny, 95(F) Degrees |
|
After a lazy morning we went with Martin who
is employed building the camp to see Ngonye falls. We drove about 20
minutes, then took a mkoro across the river. A 30 minute walk and a 50m
wade across a small section of the river brought us to the falls. They
drop only 4-5m, but we were able to get very close. The beauty of the
place is enhanced by the fact that the area is untouched and seldom
visited. After returning to our cars, Martin took us to a local school
where we discussed politics, history, and current events with the deputy
headmaster of the school. Next we stopped at the Sioma health clinic run
by Sister Marianne. She is an amazing woman responsible for the day-to-day
operation of the clinic as well as a dozen other tasks. She showed us
around the clinic, showing off their new operating theater which is still
in need of some equipment and a doctor to perform operations. We gave her
some of our surplus medical supplies. On the way back to camp we stopped
in a village for beers. I managed to lock the keys in the car, but was
able to retrieve them by removing a door. Hooray, Landrover! When we
returned to camp Jean made chili which we shared with Martin and Noel.
Noel is a white south African who is managing the construction of the
camp. We sat around the fire chatting for a couple of hours before
bed. |
Some local kids playing near the river crossing
|
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
430km |
Meals
Borewors and chops on the braai |
Weather |
Sodwana Bay, South Africa
Graham & Connie |
06 August, 2004 |
Camp site at Sodwana Bay |
27°32.885’S
32°40.012’E |
Odometer: 41984km |
Warn, Sunny, 75(F)
degrees |
|
Got up at 3:30am to start the drive up to
Sodwana Bay, one of South Africa’s, indeed the world’s, premier dive
locations. We departed Pennington at about 4 and headed up through Durban
and then further North along the coast. We made it to Sodwana at about
10am and met the rest of the crew. Krissy and Slade had organized the
weekend, and Slade’s uncle Henry and cousin Anita were there along with
their families. We spent a couple of hours setting up camp and then went
down to the beach to see the sea. The rest of the day was spent relaxing
in the sun and having a braai back at the campsite. |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
214km |
Meals
Chicken Tikka Masala |
Weather |
|
Mongu,
Zambia
Witt & Jen |
07 August, 2004 |
Catholic Mission |
Not Recorded |
Odometer: 30442km |
Sunny, 92(F)
degrees |
|
Having heard horror stories about the state of
the road between here and Mongu, we set off fairly early. It took us three
hours to cover the 80km to the ferry across the Zambezi. The ferry cost
$20 per vehicle for foreign registered cars. We stopped for lunch shortly
after the crossing. The road on the East side of the river was worse than
on the West side. The road passes through a low-lying marshy plain and was
built up during the colonial era, and seemingly hasn’t been maintained
since. We arrived in Sanangu at about 3pm and hit tarmac there. Tired from
a long day on bad roads, we were happy about having a good, fast road to
Mongu. Our hopes were quickly dashed as the road deteriorated into
potholed tarmac. We arrived in Mongu at about four pm and spent an hour
driving around town searching for a place to stay. We eventually
encountered an American missionary who showed us to the Catholic mission.
The sisters were kind enough to take us in and gave us the use of their
guest house. |
|
What's For Pudding? |
The ferry across the Zambezi |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Chicken potjie, raw fish |
Weather |
Sodwana Bay, South Africa
Graham & Connie |
07 August, 2004 |
Camp site at Sodwana Bay |
27°32.885’S 32°40.012’E |
Odometer: 41984km |
Warn, Sunny, 75(F)
degrees |
|
Henry and Slade got up early and went spear
fishing along with Graham (not Jackson) and a friend of his. The rest of
us relaxed on the beach. Being a long weekend there were quite a few
people around. Slade and the divers had the intent of catching fish for
dinner, so we were waiting for that. It used to be that Sodwana bay was
quite hard to get to, and few people visited it. Now paved roads lead all
the way to the campsites, and people flock there. Dive boats leave from
the beach constantly and deep sea fishing outfits ply the waters behind
the reefs. There are several reefs in the bay, from 2 mile out to 9 mile.
Graham (Jackson this time) borrowed fins and a mask from Krissy and Slade
and did some snorkeling in the shallows. Evening found us back in the
campsite. Graham (not Jackson) had the only fishing success, but it was a
small fish he got, and we had it as a sashimi appetizer. That was closely
followed by Slade’s hand grenade chicken. |
|
On the beach |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
50km |
Meals
Beef stir fry |
Weather |
|
Mongu,
Zambia
Witt & Jen |
08 August, 2004 |
Catholic Mission |
15°17.356’S x 23°09.190’E |
Odometer: 30492km |
Sunny, 96(F)
degrees |
|
Sisters Christine and Ann at the mission
offered us tea this morning and we sat talking until almost noon. We
decided to stay here another night and go to visit the museum at Limalunga.
The museum collection is dedicated to the annual migration of the Lozi
king from his lowland dry season palace to his high ground wet season
palace. Unfortunately the museum is closed and we weren’t able to get in.
We did some grocery shopping back in Mongu and took a look at Jeff’s
suspension noises, which we were at least able to identify. It was good to
crawl around under a Toyota for a change! We spent a lazy afternoon
reading, updating web sites and relaxing on the verandah of the mission
guest house. |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Venison hotpot with impala in the potjie |
Weather |
Sodwana Bay, South Africa
Graham & Connie |
08 August, 2004 |
Camp site at Sodwana Bay |
27°32.885’S 32°40.012’E |
Odometer: 41984km |
Warn, Sunny, 75(F)
degrees |
|
Another day of relaxing and diving. Graham
went snorkeling again with Krissy, while Slade, Henry and Graham were off
hunting fish. Again there was no luck with the fish, and Graham and Connie
cooked a potjie with some of the impala that Slade shot. |
|
Slade emerging from an
unsuccessful hunting trip |
|
August 9... |
