Homeward bound (SA at least)

On the road at 8:15 after a good night of cow bells keeping the local disco going, along with the shunting of trains etc etc.

Fresh and warm in the early morning as we pressed on for the border. Around noon we had crossed the border and found Lephalale, now we know! We split up from the rest of our intrepid travellers and had decided to push on home to get to the other side of Johannesburg by evening.

Being in Africa for 6 weeks we had missed the hype of the Soccer World Cup and were now in the city that was in a few hours to be hosting the final. Traffic was busy and heavy, but not as bad as it could have been. We pressed through and made it fairly easily. Quite festive on the roads and we put up our window flags again and joined in, dusty Busy Baby and all.

Ended up at Fortuna Resort between Heidelberg and Balfour. A heavy day of traffic so we are turning in before the final kicks off. Let us know who wins.....

Dead pan

We were heading for Nata at the edge of the Mgadikgadi pans and hoped to take a drive on them, however was not to be. A huge party had booked out the pans and you can't go in your vehicle so we had to put that dream aside as was not worth the wait for another day.

As we arrived early Rex decided to push on to Pretoria. John Durrant headed off to see the Baines Baobabs. Still hot and sunny and early in the day so we had to work out some distances to decide what we were to do.

ended up in Palpapye, quite close to the border and we will go through tomorrow morning early. Found quite a comfortable camp which we got from the book once again. Seems to be getting cooler now.

Chobe and sunset cruise

Today everyone elected to do "their own thing". Ian and Gwen set off at about 10H30 for the village where we stocked up on bread and milk (Spar same as in SA) - the diesel had not arrived as yet.

We drove off to Chobe Safari Lodge and booked for a sunset cruise which included the park levy. We then drove towards Katimo Mulilo and went into Chobe National Park where we saw plenty of elephants, hippo, Giraffe, Baboons and a wide variety of birds. We enjoyed a picnic at one of the pans with hippo and numerous waterfowl below.

We returned to Chobe Safari Lodge for our sundowner cruise (P160 pp = R200approx). We saw a host of animals including Puku and birds including the majestic fish eagle, pied Kingfishers. We also witnessed five young elephant bulls crossing from the Chobe National Park to an island in the river which is also owned by Botswana (and proudly flies it national flag). The sunset was spectacular and it was a wonderful experience.

We enjoyed a very expensive G & T on the deck at the Safari Lodge (R100) but watching the sunset give way to night was well worth it.

We returned to the campsite at about 7.30pm and whipped up a quick supper and then assembled round the campfire to exchange our activities for the day.

It was quite chilly in the evening.




Distance travelled 103km

Zambia to Botswana - 5 down, 1 to go

We rose early to witness the sunrise over the Zambezi - a tranquil scene.

We left the Waterfront at about 09H15 and although we only had a short distance to travel we had a border crossing so Rex had put aside the whole day for the crossing to allow for the worst case scenario.

Just outside Livingstone we were stopped and required to pay a $6 district tax.

We soon arrived at Kazangulu and the formalities were quickly sorted out and we joined the queue to board the ferry. There are three ferries but only one was operating. Rex was the first to go across. Although the time to cross was fairly short the ferry could take three vehicles and one articulated truck at a time. We had a three and a half hour wait to cross but this paled into insignificance compared to the time the trucks had to wait. It has bee known for there to be a 14km queue of trucks at the border. It was only about 3kms when we crossed. There was very little red tape on the Botswana side and once off the ferry we were quickly on our way.




We first went to Kubu Lodge a short distance from the border but it was fully booked. We then went onto Toro Safari Lodge which is also on the banks of the Chobe River. Each site had its own ablution block with handbasin, 2 showers and a toilet and own geyser (the geysers seemed to be a problem as the power tripped out in the early evening and did not come back on again); and a washing up area too. The camp was quite full so John and the Bosch family shared one site and then the Melcks and Watsons shared the next door one.

There appeared to be a shortage of diesel so Ian went with John into town to fill up the jerry cans as we had already put up our tent.

We went down to the Lodge for sundowners and although the setting was stunning there was not much atmosphere and we returned to the campsite to make supper. It was somewhat cooler tonight. Hippos could be heard grunting quite close by during the night.

Charges - Ferry fee $20 Road permit R160 and district tax $6

Victoria Falls - a truly magnificent sight

After indulging in a cooked breakfast we set off for what for some of us was the first sight of the mighty Victoria falls - and we were not disappointed! The Zambezi was very full following recent heavy rains so we all became rather drenched and raingear was definitely a must. There was a wonderful walk down to the boiling pot - a 625m descent (AND ascent)- a very worthwhile walk. We also took a photographic walk which offered many different angles to the falls and led to the Zambezi bridge where, at the halfway point, we crossed into Zimbabwe. There are a number of activities from the bridge - bunji jumping, "foofy slide".

In the late afternoon (4pm) we had a wonderful sunset cruise from the lodge (US 45 pp including drinks and snacks on board). Our party had the exclusive use of the m.v. Makumbi. It was magnificent and we saw Giant Kingfishers, hippo, leguan, crocodile, Fish Eagles, Pied Kingfishers and a herd of elephant came down to the water's edge to drink from the Zimbabwean side.

Today was a really special day and we returned to camp in the evening for our last night in Zambia. We cooked up any remaining meat as uncooked meat is not allowed into Botswana owing to foot and mouth precautions.

Lusaka to Livingstone

If it won't go inside it will have to go on top!

Today took us from Lusaka to Livingstone - a journey of 475 kms. We arrived at the Waterfront Lodge (this is not any waterfront but fronting onto the great Zambezi). It is very well appointed offering a variety of accommodation from thatched chalets of various sizes to campsing. The sites were well equipped offering plenty of shade, a braai area, tap and washing up area. The ablution facilities were quite upmarket. There are numerous excursions on offer and these are easily organised from the lodge - white water rafting, helicopter flips over the Victoria falls and river cruises. We celebrated Pam's birthday on the deck of the restaurant and bar overlooking the Zambezi with the "smoke that thunders" visible about four kilometres downstream and to the east. Included on the menu was Zambezi Fresh water Bream which was superb.

Celebrating Pam's birthday at Waterfront lodge - Zambezi fresh water bream - yummy

EUREKA - Overlanders' stop-over

Had a later start today as there was a heavy dew on the tents. Overcast but warm. Stopped in Lusaka at the mall to get provisions - could have been at a mall in South Africa. Shoprite (Checkers) same layout as in SA and provisions pretty much all from South Africa. From there it was a short 18km hop to Eureka camp where we stay for the night.

Eureka is a favourite stop-over for Overlanders especially overseas students who fly into Lusaka and then "start" from the Eureka camp. On arrival there were no "Overlanders" and we thought we were in for a quiet evening but soon two trucks disgorged their youngsters - the one group was Australian and the other group was from Kings College London who were to be doing a work experience at some rural schools in the area.

288 kms today