Brief recap - African safari

Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 23:37:28 +1000 (EST)
From: Arlyn Santos arlyn_2222@yahoo.com.au
Subject: African safari

Hello all,

Hope everyone is well.
Just arrived from Africa this morning, am quite bleary eyed and my room resembles a holocaust aftermath.

Africa... well - where do I start. The two weekcamping trip was an amazing experience. Have visitedamazing places, met interesting people on the tour,and have taken advantage of the crazy adventureactivities africa had to offer.

My mate Jamie and I flew into Walvis Bay in Namibiaand transfered to Swakamund. There we went quadbikingon the sand dunes. Wow!! This place definitely gaveme a new appreciation for sand. The dunes are sobeautiful. Driving up and around the sand was cool,although frequently getting the bike stuck halfway upthe dunes was more a mechanical/vehicle problem ratherthan driver error (this is the story I am sticking to).
We visited the Himba tribe village, a group of peoplestill living traditionally, renowned for their hairand covering themselves with ocre.

Next was Etosha NP. It's here that I see my firstgiraffe, zebra, springbok, impala, ostrich, rhino, redlichwe and elephants in the wild - incredible!!! Wealso saw a lion in the process of hunting down azebra, and also defending it's kill.We visited a local school in a town and the church andvillage/family life.

One night was a cruise down the Kavango river atRundu, which forms part of the border between Namibiaand Angola. Was privy to seeing locals bathe in theriver and spotting crocodiles in the water. Had aquick stop on the other side of the shore so our groupcan definitely claim that we were "illegally" in Angola.

Through to Botswana where we had two nights bushcamping "in" the Okavango Delta. The only way to getaround was on the Mokoros - traditional boats used inthe Delta. Absolutely stunning place. Our Mokoro polerguided us and the group around the islands, took us togreat swimming areas and gave us a general overview ofthe animals and vegetation. An absolutely amazing andtranquil place. We heard hippos just outside ourcampsite at night - about 10m away! Exciting stuff.One night was spent around the campfire with theMokoro polers who sang some traditional songs.
After OD it was back to base camp where there weretoilets and showers (have never been so grateful tilnow to have a shower)and a bar (an essential afterusing pit toilets for two days knowing your arse couldget bitten off by a predator at any time).

Back to Namibia to Caprivi.

Then back to Botswana to Chobe NP. My ultimateplace...elephants galore!!! I was in heaven! Bigelephants, small elephants, skinny, young, old,wrinkly, shy, mischeivous elephants. Bulls,matriachs...hilarious seeing the baby elephants 1-2says old trying to figure out what to do with theirtrunks! Loved it!
It was here that we saw buffalos, hippos again,variety of birds, honeyeaters, eagles, and hyenas.

Onto Zimbabwe - Victoria Falls. There were alot of border crossings to Zambia as alot of the activities were operated from the Zambian side such as thebooze-cruise, whitewater rafting on the Zambezi river(bloody brilliant!! I now have a VERY sore and bruisedbody but - it was worth it.) and the Microlight flight(scary but brilliant). Quickly noticed that the localpeople are very persistent, and I couldn't walk 2meters without getting harrassed to buy local merchandise.
Dinner with the group at the Boma, and final dinner atVictoria Falls Hotel - stunning.

All the border crossings between the four countriesonly meant more stamps in my passport :)Speaking of which, I was the only one with an Australian passort. Most of the group were young Belgiums (who loved any excuse to sing), Germans, acouple of poms, couple of Dutch and a yank.

Overall, a surreal couple of weeks which I willtreasure forever. Camping - african animals -drinking, great combination!Now back to reality and to develop the 12 rolls offilm used over the holidays.

Well, thats all for now.
Hope to hear news from youall soon.

A xx