3.31.2011

On the Road Again

On the Road Again by Willie Nelson was played just about every morning as our overland truck started up and rumbled down the road. Some might think it would be annoying, but with the sun barely up and most of us barley awake it always brought smiles to all our faces. After leaving our campsite on the shores of Lake Malawi we headed southwest across the border into Zambia.

Smooth Road Ahead

We didn't do much sightseeing in Zambia, just traveled through arriving near the border to Zimbabwe and close to Victoria Falls. We set up camp for the night before crossing over and into the city of Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe was our stopping spot for 3 nights and 3 jam packed days. We started off with a trip to Victoria Falls, the waterfalls that is. Victoria Falls are considered the 'largest' falls in the world, they aren't the tallest or widest, but combined they form the largest sheet of falling water in the world and man does it fall. Walking around the falls is basically walking through a perpetual rain storm, making it a little tough to take pics due to the mist and the fear of soaking your camera. It was definitely an amazing sight. Maybe not as picturesque as Niagara Falls, but the sheer size of them is staggering.

Through to the Falls

The Falls

Along with the falls we got to view the Zambezi River, but from an interesting vantage point...plunging 60 m (197 ft) off a platform on a george swing. Due to a previously skipped bungee jump in NZ a few years ago Abby was excited to jump, but wanted to go tandem so there was no chance of chickening out and I was ready to go.

Suited Up

Adrenalin Ladies

The Gorge Swing

Gorge Swing I

Gorge Swing IV

Swinging II

Along with all the sightseeing and jumping off things we managed to fit in a run, which was one of the best of our trip. We headed out on a nice rolling road and ran across a family of warthogs as well as a lone bull elephant crossing the road, which stopped us in our tracks and we made sure we gave him plenty of room. We also spotted a chameleon crossing the road and similar to the koala it had an interested gait.



Victoria Falls was also the spot where we said goodbye to many of the people on our truck as only a few us were joining the new group headed to Johannesburg; the rest were going to Cape Town by way of Namibia. It was sad to see our truck break up, but we had a great time saying goodbye at a local bar and made plans to meet back up in Cape Town, South Africa.

two hundred

Today marks our 200th day on the road.  

We've been through Australia, Asia, Africa and are now finishing off in Europe visiting friends before heading back to the states.  The trip so far has been great and day #1 landing in Sydney, AU seems ages ago.  It almost feels like a different trip.  We'd just like to thank everyone who's been following, everyone we can't wait to see when we get back home and everyone we've met along the way.  We're having the time of our lives.

3.26.2011

Spices & Beaches

After our game drives in Tanzania, we headed south to spend some time on the island of Zanzibar, just off the coast of mainland Tanzania. We had a quick day in the capital and stayed in the historic center, Stone Town. We took a spice tour shortly after arriving on the island, Zanzibar is known as the 'Spice Island' for all of the spices they produce. We visited a local spice farm and got to try fresh cinnamon, nutmeg, lemongrass tea and tons of incredibly ripe tropical fruit, all which are readily grown on the island. Ross also got to try his hand at climbing a coconut tree at the farm using just a rope around his feet like the local guys do to retrieve the coconuts.



Rusty Leaves



Part of the tour also took us to the site off an old slave trading market. A church has since been erected in its place but the old slave quarters are still intact. It was very startling to see the slave quarters where the slaves where kept before being taken to the whipping post/market. The room was tiny and claustrophobic; it was quite eerie standing inside and thinking about what transpired there.

Maruhubi Palace

Anglican Cathedral



After our tour we spent our evening out at the local market eating our fill of fresh seafood.



The next morning we headed up to North Beach to spend a few days relaxing on the beautiful white sandy beaches.


The tide was super strong on the North Beach and the beach would change dramatically every day. With the full moon the water went way out and we got to walk around and see the shells and star fish we had been swimming in the day before. All the locals came out to collect squid and other seafood when the tide went way out. Zanzibar was a beautiful place and a really relaxing break from truck life, a.k.a sleeping in a tent.







After Zanzibar we headed to our next country, Malawi, a landlocked country with 20% of its total area made up of Lake Malawi. We had a great campsite right on the sands of the beach and got to see some amazing sunrises and sunsets while we were there.



From our campground in Chitimba we hiked up to the village of Livinstonia and got to take in the awesome views of the lake and surrounding hills. We were welcomed by all the kids in the village who were fascinated with our cameras and loved to walk with us holding hands and singing the alphabet. After playing with the kids we toured the small town of Livinstonia and hit up a nearby waterfall for a swim.
















3.20.2011

Into the Wild

Here's making up for the last month of no photos!

After joining our African overland group in Nairobi we drove across the border to Tanzania where we would spend the next few days searching for the "Big 5" (lion, leopard, black rhino, cape buffalo & African elephant). We joined a large group of over 20 people and quickly got acquainted with the group and our new home for the month, the overland truck. We spent our first night in a campsite outside of Arusha, Tanzania and early the next day we drove a few hours to a campsite not far from the gates of the Ngorongoro Crater, the area of our first game drive. We went to bed with a light drizzle and hoped it would clear in time for our drive. Unfortunately we woke to the same drab rain showers and heavy fog. Driving up to the top of the ring of the crater the fog was so thick that we couldn't see more than a few feet outside of the jeep, needless to say we were a little concerned it would ruin our animal sightings.

Ngorongoro Gates

Huddled

Thankfully as the sun continued to rise the fog cleared and we were left with a clear day. The Ngorongoro Crater is a large volcanic crater and filled with about 25,000 large animals. There was no shortage of grazing zebras and wildebeests, both seemingly enjoying each others company.

Moving Through

Morning Grazing

Monochrome

The hyena was quite a sight, with its ragged coat and sloping posture, it really is a scary looking animal.

Drink Up Dirty Hyena

We were even lucky enough to spot two black rhinos through the distant haze. The lions were always tough to see, they typically stayed away from road and were usually laying down below the grass but our safari guide, DC, always managed to eye them.

Rhinos in the Mist

Relaxing in the Grass

The sheer number and variety of animals was the most interesting part of the drive, from several types of antelopes to warthogs to jackals. Everywhere you turned there was something new to see.

Stripped

Lone Gazelle

Twins

Ngorongoro Safari

Family Trip

Lion and Lioness

Zebra Herd

I was also able to geek-out with all the massive pieces of glass (camera lenses) that would pop out of the safari jeeps. Animal photography can definitely be an expensive hobby and was the first time I really wished I had a faster and longer lens.

Glass

One of the highlights of the crater was watching a cheetah stalk its prey. The cheetah was a good distance away, but it was awesome watching it tracking for a kill. Regrettably it wasn't in the cards to see an actual chase, but it was still a great sight.

Ready

On the Move

After game driving until early afternoon we left the crater and headed toward the Serengeti. On the way into the park we paid a visit to a Masai village and were given a tour of their huts, their small school and little bit of their general way of life, including practicing our jumping skills.

Masai Jewlery

Treads

Marching Masai

Lack of Vertical

Vertical

Jumping Ladies

Playing

Land of the Masai

From there we entered the Serengeti and set up camp, spending the night surrounded by the sounds of the wildlife, there was even a rumor of a hyena spotting near the tents. We woke before sunrise again and headed out to see some more animals. Just after sunrise we watched a hippo streaking, very quickly considering their size, through the grass. It was quite a contrast to only seeing their eyes and ears in the water (where they spend most of their time during the heat of the day).

Streaking

Our next spotting was the prize of the safari. We spent a good part of the morning watching a female leopard and her two cubs. The cubs spent their time playing in the tall grass and climbing a tree all amongst a large group of elephants, always under the watchful eye of their mother. It was an amazing sight and even more exciting that we were so close.

Watching

9 Lives

Leopard with Cub

Big and Fierce

Ready to Leap

Continuing through the Serengeti we got up close to giraffe and elephants. For the most part the animals completely ignored the people and vehicles, but as some people in our group found out elephants will charge when you get too close. Luckily no one was hurt and it was just an exciting story to tell! Between our British mates and Aussie ladies we had a great safari group and had each other laughing the whole way, it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Elephants on the Move

Walking Through

Elephants on Parade

African Elephant

These two days on safari were amazing and we got very lucky with all of our sightings which included the "Big 5".

Ngorongoro Trees