Vic Falls

So after yesterdays little adventure we broke down camp and set off to Zambia (again!)

managed to blag our way out of Botswana without anyone questioning our status,  jumped the queue at the ferry, still only 1 working, and headed  to the Zambian border post…   got all our paperwork done and got through,   then quick dash to livingstone and setup camp   at the waterfront site.. my otionals were

 

30 minute helecopter flight over the falls, gorger and surroundings

excellent

elephant safari

not so good, more of an Elephant ride

Missing the ferry and being an illegal immigrant

What didn’t gowrong today?….  a very hectic day, up before dawn and had breakfast watching the sun come up over the Pan,  then off we set, only to find that the trucks gearbox was kaput…  we made it to the  next town where we were offloaded to one of the local lodges cue, sitting by the pool, watching the cricket, and watching the local (feathered) birdlife for four hours  whilst we wait for a replacement to  be sent out,    now we’re on the back foot, the last ferry crosses into Zambia a six and we’ve got a long way to go…    the resulting drive was a flat out non stop dash,  only to stopping to put the side covers down as we went through a thunderstorm, then to Kasangale and the Zambian border,  getting our passports stamped as leaving Botswana,  headed down the the ferry to find that only 1 of the four ferries were working and it had shut down for the day,time was 5:30…   Andy was seriously pissed off but kept his cool…  we were supposed to be going on optionals in livingstone the next morning! but no chance now as were still in botswana.  headed back to the botswana border post with our tails between our legs,   but we didn’t have to re apply for botswana entry…   we headed off to Kasane whilst Andy re-arranged

1. our optionals in livingstone
2. our campsite
3. our dinner

He came up trumps with all and did a great job with the meal…  an all you can eat buffet in the Chobe Safari Lodge  in Kasane!

the Makgadikgadi

seems that top gear crossed this in the dry season,  the wet season, which is just finishing turns the pan into the consistency  of a sandy beach at low tide!,  try driving in that!,  saw a fantastic thunderstorm and even got some photos of the lightning….  up at 5:30 to head to Zambia and Victoria falls

All mod cons, even a toilet!

All mod cons, even a toilet!, a photo by Keith Pattenden on Flickr.

All the kit needed for bush camping

The Okavango

this was quite an amazing and very peaceful experience.  being poled around in the Mekoro’s was so tranquil,   well maybe not for the polers!, looked bloody hard work to me.   Highlights included fighting hippos,  swimming in the river,  and several game walks,  spotting zebras, wildebeest,  giraffe’s and warthogs and being chased by Hippos.  Then returned to Maun for an overnight stop.

All Jabbed up, almost packed and ready to go!

had my last jab and bought my Malaria tablets…    slight hiccup with the holiday cash but I’ll sort that out tomorrow.  For more info on the trip click here.  oh, and paid for my trip to Spitzbergen too, ouch!.  Going out to the Nelson tomorrow,  then outta here!,  after the last few weeks at work I NEED this one!.

Off to Botswana….

 

Off to Botswana for the next couple of weeks..  Highlights of the trip are Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park, the Okavango Delta and the Makgadigadi Salt Pans….   viewers of Top Gear should remember those….  Hopefully I’ll be able to post using SMS,  as I doubt there will be much free wifi around..

Here’s a map of the rough area I’ll be visiting…

OK WordPress rules

After playing with both wordpress and blogger. WotdPress gets it. By a short neck and a very long body! A good iPhone app and SMS posting clinched it. Should get some blogs in whilst I’m in Africa.

plus integration with Windows Live 2011 wrter on my netbook…

First Post

running this in parallel with http://keithsmadmusings.blogspot.com/   one day I’ll get round to working out which ones best, and switch off the other….

if any of you have comments on this (haha people read this?) then post comments,  I’d like to hear your opinion….

Keith