Oct. 30, 2007 Swakopmund, Namibia

Well, we are back into civilization that is a smallish seaside German town on the Atlantic coast of Namibia. It is misty and coolish here compared to extremely hot only l km. inland. We are enjoying a couple of good restaurants here. It is a nice touristy town.

We have had our ups and downs on this camping trip for the past 2 weeks. The game viewing in Etosha was amazing - like absolutely amazing. We saw lions on a rhino kill - as our guide says that has never been documented before on film. We saw rhinos at night at the waterhole -5 - and one breaking a tree up, we watched an elephant break a couple of trees from only a few feet away, we watched lions just outside the vehicle and we watched the story unfold of lions watching the waterhole and how the giraffe listens into the wind and is alerted, how the zebra move back and forth quickly in fear and the springbok that is very skittish - all trying to drink and becoming aware of the lions in the background. Another evening saw a lion scared off by a rhino and the giraffe watching carefully. So interesting to see the interaction between the species. We saw great wildlife in Kenya but not the concentration and interaction that we saw here. And of course birds, interesting landscape features and interesting plants.

Our guide has not done his job to our satisfaction. He is very moody and somedays he is silent and controlling- makes decisions and goes who knows where. He also has no idea how to cook or shop so we feel like we are on tour - the 4 of us - with a driver. So 2 days ago after discussing from the beginning our concerns and he just getting worse we called the office in Cape Town. He seems a lot better and he has been given some instructions re communication and cooking. So hopefully the attitude will be good all of the time not just on certain days - like the days of superb game viewing.

We are off quad biking for an hour now in the dunes and tomorrow it back on the road further south into the desert.

This has been some of the most spectacular stuff that we have ever seen, since leaving Zambia!

Oct. 16 Livingstone, Zambia

We are doing well. It is roasting here - just like every october in zambia. We had a great train journey, ok bus ride and spent today viewing the rock and gorge and saw a couple of kids kayaking. The flow is minimal at this time of year so instead of falls it is rock formations. Reminded us a little of Western australia.

Saw where we lived in kabwe, where jenny and andrew were born and where dad worked. Certainly a trip down memory lane. Kabwe and Zambia generally have progressed so much and things in Kabwe look great. Food is available, a new generation has emerged, the roads are great and everything looked freshly painted and pretty tidy. Dad was really touched by the train journey - and I really enjoyed it. Dad loved looking at the bridges and the length of the train as it went around corners. Today as we walked we felt the dry parched earth and the intense heat of the hot African sun. We saw an elephant beside the road as we were in a taxi away from the falls! Monkeys were a problem at lunch at the restaurant - had to close the windows to keep the monkeys at bay. We were the only ones having lunch at the hotel - it is pretty hot and pretty off-season right now.

The house in Kabwe - the yard was so big - I knew that it was large but it appeared gigantic now. The pool is derelict and the garden has vegetables and the back chickens. The hospital looked clean and lots of staff and not too many patients on the day that we visited. Dad's worksite has been sold off and now they produce cotton bales there. Dad thought that was a great way to use the large space. I guess that the distribution system was actually a result of the government taking a bigger hand in managing stuff and not allowing the Asians to do it all. The streets in Kabwe are so wide and so many large trees as you walk along. It felt great to revisit - just never imagined that it would be possible.

Oct. 11 2007 Zanzibar

We enjoyed the beaches and laid back atmosphere of the northern beaches of Zanzibar. However, the town that we started and ended in reminded us of the difficulties of our time in Morocco. The people can be great and I am sure if you were on a tour that you would have no idea of how persistent these people are to be of assistance to you. It makes it difficult to think and converse with each other as they keep nattering at you. However, we did get a ticket and the boat back to the mainland today! We had planned on coming tomorrow but it may be 'eid', the end of Ramadan for the Muslims and then the boats sail late or not at all. Information in the distant future like last week seems definite but then today noone knows if the boats will run tomorrow - and we need to catch our tain to Zambia. And the 'fast' boat of 100 minutes was 2.5 hours so it is a good thing that we caught it today. No squeezing things in, in the uncertainty here.

This is the third year that we have hit Ramadan! but on the beaches of Zanzibar we got great pizza in wood fire oven and lager beer called Kilimanjaro to washit down. In the evening our favorite was the Italian resort with top food (Italian and local) served to the discerning Italians by the Egyptian run hotel.

We snorkelled one day - pretty good - but just enjoyed the whole experience of a dhow - one of those canvas sails up on a wooden pole - great to see how they build and maintain these boats. - hand-drilled nail holes, hand-made nails, canvas sails and rope tying it together. Everything from boats to houses are made of wood, cement, thatch roofs and that's about it - some string and amazing ingenuity.

Enjoyed a little traditional music and dinner last night. Really enjoyed my black pepper tea. Choices included cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, masala in either teas or coffees. Lots of fresh fish as well.

So we are on time for our train tomorrow afternoon to go to Zambia.

Take care,

Oct. 17, 2007 Livingstone, Zambia

We enjoyed the beaches and laid back atmosphere of the northern beaches of Zanzibar. However, the town that we started and ended in reminded us of the difficulties of our time in Morocco. The people can be great and I am sure if you were on a tour that you would have no idea of how persistent these people are to be of assistance to you. It makes it difficult to think and converse with each other as they keep nattering at you. However, we did get a ticket and the boat back to the mainland today! We had planned on coming tomorrow but it may be 'eid', the end of Ramadan for the Muslims and then the boats sail late or not at all. Information in the distant future like last week seems definite but then today noone knows if the boats will run tomorrow - and we need to catch our tain to Zambia. And the 'fast' boat of 100 minutes was 2.5 hours so it is a good thing that we caught it today. No squeezing things in, in the uncertainty here.

This is the third year that we have hit Ramadan! but on the beaches of Zanzibar we got great pizza in wood fire oven and lager beer called Kilimanjaro to washit down. In the evening our favorite was the Italian resort with top food (Italian and local) served to the discerning Italians by the Egyptian run hotel.

We snorkelled one day - pretty good - but just enjoyed the whole experience of a dhow - one of those canvas sails up on a wooden pole - great to see how they build and maintain these boats. - hand-drilled nail holes, hand-made nails, canvas sails and rope tying it together. Everything from boats to houses are made of wood, cement, thatch roofs and that's about it - some string and amazing ingenuity.

Enjoyed a little traditional music and dinner last night. Really enjoyed my black pepper tea. Choices included cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, masala in either teas or coffees. Lots of fresh fish as well.

So we are on time for our train tomorrow afternoon to go to Zambia.

Take care,

Africa Oct. 5 2007

Hi all,

More exciting times as we just travelled through Kenya and Tanzania and got ourselves to the paradise of Zanzibar. We didn't manage to see much of Kilimanjero or Mt. Kenya on our way through as they were both mostly covered in cloud. I am sure that it clears up later in the day!

Zanzibar was a pleasant boat ride away from Dar es Salaam. India's touts didn't have a patch on these guys that greeted us at the pier. They are called papasi here and that means ticks. They were worse than we have ever seen. Guess that means that life is tough and employment difficult. So from the pedestrian tick, we switched to one in a taxi. We did find a hotel and are quite enjoying life here. After the first day or so - without suitcases and some recognition, life settles in and the people seem quite pleasant and friendly. Everyone pays everyone else in the tourist food chain - hope some of it gets down to the bottom. Even at the food stall the guy that ushers you in gets a tip from the propietor. The buses are cheap but of course, everything that you do or consume has a commission built in. So friends are definitely required to do business here - and the more the better.

Spent the morning trying to snorkel with the dolphins. It was a very interesting experience. they are totally wild and unhabituated. The little boat that we were in would spot them and we would try to get somewhere in front, jump out of the boat and try to swim with them. We got pretty close sometimes. I learned that they can swim quite quickly (it took most of my energy to keep up - considering the waves, etc.), they can change directions at any time, and they can swim quite deeply. We jumped in to chase them 5 times. At one point, I saw three playing in the water below me. I got pretty close a couple of times but not close enough to touch. It was exciting and I gained some appreciation for them. We followed them to the 'playground' where they apparently stay most of the day.

Tomorrow we are off to the north to do some snorkelling.

Stone Town here is an Arab town with all the tiny streets that form a maze. Great fun - though it needs a large dose of money and care to put the white coat on it and repair works.

Take care,

We'll continue to enjoy,