Had packed lunch at top of crator. Couldn't see in but had to protect our food from the maribou stork and was an ele arriving when we left.
Saw cheatar on way to camp also toupe, Thompsons and Grant's gizelles, ellie, buffalo and hyena. Got to camp quite late. 2 loos and 1 cold shower functional. Scarey for the prices! Got in quickly before other campers arrived. Had a scrumptious meal starting with popcorn. Never seen Erin so delighted. Mdlomu was as delighted with Erin's response!
Sun 18th
Wike at 6 and had coffee, spanish omlettes and french toast before setting off for Serengeti game viewing. Was a good day. Saw lots including cheetah and lion but no heards. Back for cooked lunch then headed for Ngorogoro. Was freezing there and even colder showers! Had an elephant in camp and some really stupid foreigners who were lucky not to be trampled. After a great supper around a very welcome fire keeping the hyena at bay, we hit the sack with loads of clothes on and wrapped in every available blanket. Was a very cold night with wind and rain.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
10 June
This is the second time this is being typed!!!!!!!!!!@#@#
From Kalambo Falls Headed fro the southern end of Lake Tanganyika near Mpulunga. Rocky but very nice after the last few days. Caught up with washing. Had a divine sunset over the lake then inundated with lake flies as soon as it was dark. But otherthan that it was great!
Sun 11th
Reluctantlly packed up. Could easily have sayed another day but had the infamous rd to Tanduma and the border post which took Mark 24 hrs last time! Headed out. Actually the rd wasn't bad but probably only because it was relative to what we have done! Anything would be a breeze now! Had to pay the $50pp visa for Tanzania and $25 rd tax on top of the R6000+ we paid in Carne and Comsa! Border only took us 2 hrs . Was chaos but good by Tanduma standards! Stayed at the reasonable but very basic ICC community lodge near Mbeya. Internet access was excrutiatingly slow and only allowed access to Groupwise . No blog / facebook. Timed out before it loaded. My story of Africa!
Mon 12th
Headed for Ruaha Game reserve- recommende din 1 of my questionnaires. Decided I know why Africa is where it is - kids go to school and all have uniforms but are in the play ground any time of the day you drive past. Coincidence maybe???/
Stayed at Tungamalenga Lodge near Ruaha.
Tues 13th
Got up early to go into Ruaha. Saw big heard of of baffulo and 10 lion and then loads of ellies, hippo etc. Rd to reserve shocking but not too bad inside.. Rooster for supper again. Don't think I'll be having chicken and chips again after this trip!!!
Wed 14th
Headed towards Arusha. Udzungwa and Rubeho Mountains are beatiful. came through an awesome pass along Great Ruaha River. Were lucky with roadworks. seemed to always catch them at the right time. Could have waited hours. Stayed at Baobab camp. Really nice. Run down as usual but lovely site. I have never seen so many baobabs. They stretch right up the mountains and are thick along the river. Margs and Keith lodged. We actually got to have an afternoon sleep. what a treat!
Thurs 15th
Drove through the rest of the pass. Really awesome. Strange to see baobabs one minute and then mopane forest. Went through the
kumi Reserve - the Tanzan highway passses straight through. Wouldn't expect to see much game but actually saw quite a lot - probably due to the rd humps. If Africa used the tar they use in humps, to tar rds, there would be loads more tar rds! Then headed to Morogoro and the Ulunguru mountains. 2600m with luxurient indigenous forests 100km North to South and 20km E-W. As usual, tops were in cloud! Do look amazing though. Lots of Sisal planted around here.
Headed for Lushoto up in the mountains. More incredible mountains cultivated right up really steep slopes with every kind of crop you can imagine. Markets have all kinds of fruits and veggies. Stayed at Lawn's Hotel - another run down German hotel. used to be the favoured summer retreat for the Germans when they occupied the area.
Fri 16th
Collected Sharon and Sarah from hotel in Arusha. Looked like luxury (free Internet) compared to our standard accommodation. Headed for the highly recommended Snake Park. What a let down. There were 5 overlanded trucks to 2 showers and 3 ladies loos. No power except at bar and no internet. This camp was supposed to be have everything! Got sorted for our safari to Serengeti.
Sat 17th
Got picked up by Victor and Mdlomu at around 8 (african time) Had a tough time fitting (squezzing into every available space - under seats, on guides lap...) all our stuff. Eventually got on our way. Discovered to our horror we had about a 5 hr trip to the reserve. Stopped for photos of L Manyara and got accosted by the necklace sellers ( mr cheap and co.) Went through a series of gates each requiring payment (fortunately part of our already paid $430 pp). Climbed up Ngorogoro crator in mist. very narro in parts could see down both sides - about 20 m wide. Rd really shot. Glad we were not in our car.
Saw Masai villages and all the garb. Victor says they still drinnk blood and don't eat game -they are their friends. Women wera very ornate silver. Make huge holes in their ears.
From Kalambo Falls Headed fro the southern end of Lake Tanganyika near Mpulunga. Rocky but very nice after the last few days. Caught up with washing. Had a divine sunset over the lake then inundated with lake flies as soon as it was dark. But otherthan that it was great!
Sun 11th
Reluctantlly packed up. Could easily have sayed another day but had the infamous rd to Tanduma and the border post which took Mark 24 hrs last time! Headed out. Actually the rd wasn't bad but probably only because it was relative to what we have done! Anything would be a breeze now! Had to pay the $50pp visa for Tanzania and $25 rd tax on top of the R6000+ we paid in Carne and Comsa! Border only took us 2 hrs . Was chaos but good by Tanduma standards! Stayed at the reasonable but very basic ICC community lodge near Mbeya. Internet access was excrutiatingly slow and only allowed access to Groupwise . No blog / facebook. Timed out before it loaded. My story of Africa!
Mon 12th
Headed for Ruaha Game reserve- recommende din 1 of my questionnaires. Decided I know why Africa is where it is - kids go to school and all have uniforms but are in the play ground any time of the day you drive past. Coincidence maybe???/
Stayed at Tungamalenga Lodge near Ruaha.
Tues 13th
Got up early to go into Ruaha. Saw big heard of of baffulo and 10 lion and then loads of ellies, hippo etc. Rd to reserve shocking but not too bad inside.. Rooster for supper again. Don't think I'll be having chicken and chips again after this trip!!!
Wed 14th
Headed towards Arusha. Udzungwa and Rubeho Mountains are beatiful. came through an awesome pass along Great Ruaha River. Were lucky with roadworks. seemed to always catch them at the right time. Could have waited hours. Stayed at Baobab camp. Really nice. Run down as usual but lovely site. I have never seen so many baobabs. They stretch right up the mountains and are thick along the river. Margs and Keith lodged. We actually got to have an afternoon sleep. what a treat!
Thurs 15th
Drove through the rest of the pass. Really awesome. Strange to see baobabs one minute and then mopane forest. Went through the
kumi Reserve - the Tanzan highway passses straight through. Wouldn't expect to see much game but actually saw quite a lot - probably due to the rd humps. If Africa used the tar they use in humps, to tar rds, there would be loads more tar rds! Then headed to Morogoro and the Ulunguru mountains. 2600m with luxurient indigenous forests 100km North to South and 20km E-W. As usual, tops were in cloud! Do look amazing though. Lots of Sisal planted around here.
Headed for Lushoto up in the mountains. More incredible mountains cultivated right up really steep slopes with every kind of crop you can imagine. Markets have all kinds of fruits and veggies. Stayed at Lawn's Hotel - another run down German hotel. used to be the favoured summer retreat for the Germans when they occupied the area.
Fri 16th
Collected Sharon and Sarah from hotel in Arusha. Looked like luxury (free Internet) compared to our standard accommodation. Headed for the highly recommended Snake Park. What a let down. There were 5 overlanded trucks to 2 showers and 3 ladies loos. No power except at bar and no internet. This camp was supposed to be have everything! Got sorted for our safari to Serengeti.
Sat 17th
Got picked up by Victor and Mdlomu at around 8 (african time) Had a tough time fitting (squezzing into every available space - under seats, on guides lap...) all our stuff. Eventually got on our way. Discovered to our horror we had about a 5 hr trip to the reserve. Stopped for photos of L Manyara and got accosted by the necklace sellers ( mr cheap and co.) Went through a series of gates each requiring payment (fortunately part of our already paid $430 pp). Climbed up Ngorogoro crator in mist. very narro in parts could see down both sides - about 20 m wide. Rd really shot. Glad we were not in our car.
Saw Masai villages and all the garb. Victor says they still drinnk blood and don't eat game -they are their friends. Women wera very ornate silver. Make huge holes in their ears.
28 July Update
Africa is no fun if you want to stay connected! Internet here is a joke!
A quick update since the beginning of the month.
Amongst lots of chirps and "helpful" hints from those who don't do anything to do with the blog!
6 July
Up at 4h30 to get packed and kids to Lusaka Airport on time. Of course it was earlier than needed! Got to airport at 6h45 but kids could only go through at 7h30! Saw them off then headed north. Very sad moment. Had to visit pharmacy cause have changed our minds about prophalactics. If people who live in Zim and Zambia recommend it then I guess we should!
Drew 1.5 million Zambian Kwatcha today! Better enjoy being a millionnaire. Not going to happen again. Stayed at Forest Inn near Mkushi.
7 July
Headed for Kapisha Hot springs. Cold 7 C to start. what happened to warm weather and no rain on this trip!
Ab's braces removed today. Hope all went well. Dying to see.
Shiwa Ngandu house apparnetly built in 1914. Weren't sure why anyone would want to live there in the middleof nowhere. Wanted $20 per person to see house so gave that a miss. All buildings seem to be built the same so got the picture - wooden shingle rooves and same style - even for the pig stye.
Got to hot springs camp on the river which is really lovely. Hot springs are clean and don't smell of sulphur. What a treat. Margs and Keith stayed in lodge before we arrived. looked lovely.
Thurs 8th
Woke to sun but really cold AGAIN.. Time for landrover clean and repack and reorganise. Afternoon went on raft trip which was supposed to be a simple saunter down the river. left about 3 after rafts arrived. Afrikaans family who'd never rafted decided to follow us. Turned out to be quite an epic. Very cold and some fairly hairy rapids especially with a 5 year old. The others fell out a few times and ended up going down a pretty serious rapid which spooked them totally and their kids didn't want to continue. we got to end just before dark and were organising the search party when fortunately they arrived. Pick up was just before water fall so could have been nasty. anyway all well. Were glad to get into hot spring to warm up!
Fri 9th
Packed up and went to see the falls we were glad not to go over! Headed West on good dirt rd. After shop at Shoprite we headed for L Tanganyika. Took Keith's route! Started off on what looked like a donkey track but guys were sure the rd to Isanga bay (on Tracks 4 Africa) would improve. Needles to say it didn't. It actually turned into a pedestrian single track but we continued...... The 20 km rd took 6 hrs and 1.4km away from destination and at 19h00 we got to a village and a washed away bridge! with about 1000 kids with their faces pressed up to all windows trying to see Erin and numerous drunk duds I managed to persuade the guys that it wasn't a good idea for us to camp in the school grounds nor in the class rooms as the 2-toothed headmaster kept suggesting. We headed back up the so-called rd! At about 21h30 we bush camped. With Erin asleep in the tent and us finally seated with a stiff drink we saw car lights! What other idiots could there be in the same place at the same time! 2 young guys from SA had followed our fresh tracks and assumed the rds must be passable! Anyway we survived - dirty but cars (and people)miraculously intact.
Sat 10th
Finished the "un-rd" and pulled the "Isanga Bay lodge" sign off it's post.... still have it in the landrover for the pub. Went toKalambo Falls. Beautifull.
A quick update since the beginning of the month.
Amongst lots of chirps and "helpful" hints from those who don't do anything to do with the blog!
6 July
Up at 4h30 to get packed and kids to Lusaka Airport on time. Of course it was earlier than needed! Got to airport at 6h45 but kids could only go through at 7h30! Saw them off then headed north. Very sad moment. Had to visit pharmacy cause have changed our minds about prophalactics. If people who live in Zim and Zambia recommend it then I guess we should!
Drew 1.5 million Zambian Kwatcha today! Better enjoy being a millionnaire. Not going to happen again. Stayed at Forest Inn near Mkushi.
7 July
Headed for Kapisha Hot springs. Cold 7 C to start. what happened to warm weather and no rain on this trip!
Ab's braces removed today. Hope all went well. Dying to see.
Shiwa Ngandu house apparnetly built in 1914. Weren't sure why anyone would want to live there in the middleof nowhere. Wanted $20 per person to see house so gave that a miss. All buildings seem to be built the same so got the picture - wooden shingle rooves and same style - even for the pig stye.
Got to hot springs camp on the river which is really lovely. Hot springs are clean and don't smell of sulphur. What a treat. Margs and Keith stayed in lodge before we arrived. looked lovely.
Thurs 8th
Woke to sun but really cold AGAIN.. Time for landrover clean and repack and reorganise. Afternoon went on raft trip which was supposed to be a simple saunter down the river. left about 3 after rafts arrived. Afrikaans family who'd never rafted decided to follow us. Turned out to be quite an epic. Very cold and some fairly hairy rapids especially with a 5 year old. The others fell out a few times and ended up going down a pretty serious rapid which spooked them totally and their kids didn't want to continue. we got to end just before dark and were organising the search party when fortunately they arrived. Pick up was just before water fall so could have been nasty. anyway all well. Were glad to get into hot spring to warm up!
Fri 9th
Packed up and went to see the falls we were glad not to go over! Headed West on good dirt rd. After shop at Shoprite we headed for L Tanganyika. Took Keith's route! Started off on what looked like a donkey track but guys were sure the rd to Isanga bay (on Tracks 4 Africa) would improve. Needles to say it didn't. It actually turned into a pedestrian single track but we continued...... The 20 km rd took 6 hrs and 1.4km away from destination and at 19h00 we got to a village and a washed away bridge! with about 1000 kids with their faces pressed up to all windows trying to see Erin and numerous drunk duds I managed to persuade the guys that it wasn't a good idea for us to camp in the school grounds nor in the class rooms as the 2-toothed headmaster kept suggesting. We headed back up the so-called rd! At about 21h30 we bush camped. With Erin asleep in the tent and us finally seated with a stiff drink we saw car lights! What other idiots could there be in the same place at the same time! 2 young guys from SA had followed our fresh tracks and assumed the rds must be passable! Anyway we survived - dirty but cars (and people)miraculously intact.
Sat 10th
Finished the "un-rd" and pulled the "Isanga Bay lodge" sign off it's post.... still have it in the landrover for the pub. Went toKalambo Falls. Beautifull.
Monday, July 5, 2010
5 June update
It has been a while!
Managed to access internet in Lilongwe, Malawi, but couldn't access the blog, so this goes back a while.
22 June
Drove to Senga Bay on Lake Malawi. Got to watch soccer and saw SA beat France but pity it wasn't enough. Weather still pretty cold and windy. Nice camp other than the raiding monkies and baboons.
23 June
Took a drive round the bay to the Wheelhouse camp site which was obviously nice in its day. Had lunch at Horizon Hotel. was Ok.
24th June
Headed further up the lake to Makwazi camp just north of Kande Beach. Most expensive of our camps but almost had the bay to ourselves. Was a stunning beach and the moon rising over the lake was a definite highlight. Got to do some sun tanning and book reading. What a treat!
Sun 27th
Took a drive up to Nkwazi Bay and Kande Bay just to have a look. Glad we had camped where we did. Lots of Vaalies at Kande - all camped on top of the loos! Dad and Keith ordered their hand painted T-shirts from Cheese on Toast and Sugar & Spice! They did actually get delivered that evening. Had a great evening.
Mon 28th
Headed up the lake to Nkhata Bay before going inland though the rubber plantations. Tense moment in Mzuza when we didn't get to do the big shop we'd anticipated. Doris (the GPS) said there was a shopping mall that most definitely was not! Ended up on very slushy road to Luwana Forest Lodge. Had a freezing night camping but the sauna was good.
Tues 29th
Headed for Lilongwe. Found a pricey but divine lodge (Sanctuary Lodge) with dinner , bed and brekkie - 100 times better and cheaper than the ripoff lodge in Blantyre! Was really good to have some luxury. Had Erin's birthday dinner that night as folks wouldn't be with us on the night of Erin's birthday. Erin got spoilt again. Lovely dinner.
Wed 30th
After a lovely breakfast but frustrating attempt to do Internet banking and update the blog, we left with intrepidation for the the South Luangwa dreaded road. had heard it took 8- 12 hrs from S Luangwa to Lake Malawi. We could cut off about 2 hrs being in Lilongwe, but was still going to be long. It started with rd works off and on being as bad as each other, then corrigations from hell, then rocky road and dust like you can't believe. It definitely lived up to its reputation. were especially worried about James' windscreen rattling out but with tape and propping it was actually ok. Passed lots of SA cars leaving which was encouraging. We'd heard half of SA was there. Eventually got to Croc Valley Lodge and campsite and a site right on the Luangwa river. Plenty of crocs, hippos and storks to look at. It really was beautiful. You can see why everyone braves the rd. Heard lion and hippos in the night and were warned to leave all fruit and veggies behind the bar, not in the cars or tents as there were marauding elephants! Had an uneventful night! Thank goodness.
Thurs 1st July
I woke up feeling rotten. Still not sure why but we had a moring in camp (and out of the car) while Mom, Dad, and James, and also Margs and Keith went into the park and had a good day. We did a night drive with a guide and saw leopard and lion which was a highlight.
Friday 2nd
All went into the park early and spent the day there. saw lots of ellies and hippo and added buffelo to our list. Ellies are much smaller than ours and the giraffe were too. The zebra had amazing markings. Ab did some driving - she did very well.
Others did the evening drive that night. We would all have loved to spend another night but were nervous of the road and the long trip ahead. Had to drag Ab away from chatting all night! That was 12h30. At about 3 we heard a huge camotion. The elephants were at our bin! There was a mum , 2 teens and a baby. It was very scarey wondering how they would react to hearing or smelling us, and seeing what she did to the bin. After throwing it on the floor with her trunk and stomping on it with her foot, she eventually got it open and emptied everything out. Mum, Dad and James had seen an elephant with a T-shirt the day before and it seemed very angry and had stomped all over it, so we were very nervous. Everything they could reach they checked. Emptied Mom's tea basket, knocked everything off the tables they could reach. It only lasted about half an hour but seemed like a life time! Poor James heard and felt a trunk sniffing along the side of his tent right by his head. Fortunately they didn't seem to interested in us and possibly saw the tents as bigger forms than themselves. After tea to calm the nerves, we went back to bed and half an hour later we had a big male hippo munching grass just ouside the tent. After the ellies though, he wasn't even a worry and we went back to sleep! Nic and Erin slept through everything! Probably fortunately.
Sat 3rd
Had to get a shock fixed on the landrover before we left so we only got away about 11h00. Margs and Keith stayed on and will meet us later. Seemed silly for them to come down to Lusaka if they didn't need to. Headed for Lusaka and BridgeCamp en route. Only got there after dark so missed what loooked like it would have been a beautifal pass back down towards the Luangwa River at Bridge Camp. Bridge Camp was rather a rip off at $27 pr person for the shacks (with mozzie netting but no windows). Folks stayed in there and we camped in a very crowded and dusty camp. Was very cold.
Sun 4th
Moved on to Sue and Chris on their farm near to Lusaka. Had a divine home cooked dinner with them. erin loved having Lyle to play with.
Mon 5th Erin's birthday!
Got more presents. after a fantastic breakfast we said goodbye to Mum, Dad and James. They head for James' friend Mark just south of Lusaka. Hope the rest of their trip home is good. we're staying another night with Sue and Chris before taking Ab and Nic to the airport tomorrow morning. Going to be very sad. Not looking forward to it.
Lots of love until next time
Managed to access internet in Lilongwe, Malawi, but couldn't access the blog, so this goes back a while.
22 June
Drove to Senga Bay on Lake Malawi. Got to watch soccer and saw SA beat France but pity it wasn't enough. Weather still pretty cold and windy. Nice camp other than the raiding monkies and baboons.
23 June
Took a drive round the bay to the Wheelhouse camp site which was obviously nice in its day. Had lunch at Horizon Hotel. was Ok.
24th June
Headed further up the lake to Makwazi camp just north of Kande Beach. Most expensive of our camps but almost had the bay to ourselves. Was a stunning beach and the moon rising over the lake was a definite highlight. Got to do some sun tanning and book reading. What a treat!
Sun 27th
Took a drive up to Nkwazi Bay and Kande Bay just to have a look. Glad we had camped where we did. Lots of Vaalies at Kande - all camped on top of the loos! Dad and Keith ordered their hand painted T-shirts from Cheese on Toast and Sugar & Spice! They did actually get delivered that evening. Had a great evening.
Mon 28th
Headed up the lake to Nkhata Bay before going inland though the rubber plantations. Tense moment in Mzuza when we didn't get to do the big shop we'd anticipated. Doris (the GPS) said there was a shopping mall that most definitely was not! Ended up on very slushy road to Luwana Forest Lodge. Had a freezing night camping but the sauna was good.
Tues 29th
Headed for Lilongwe. Found a pricey but divine lodge (Sanctuary Lodge) with dinner , bed and brekkie - 100 times better and cheaper than the ripoff lodge in Blantyre! Was really good to have some luxury. Had Erin's birthday dinner that night as folks wouldn't be with us on the night of Erin's birthday. Erin got spoilt again. Lovely dinner.
Wed 30th
After a lovely breakfast but frustrating attempt to do Internet banking and update the blog, we left with intrepidation for the the South Luangwa dreaded road. had heard it took 8- 12 hrs from S Luangwa to Lake Malawi. We could cut off about 2 hrs being in Lilongwe, but was still going to be long. It started with rd works off and on being as bad as each other, then corrigations from hell, then rocky road and dust like you can't believe. It definitely lived up to its reputation. were especially worried about James' windscreen rattling out but with tape and propping it was actually ok. Passed lots of SA cars leaving which was encouraging. We'd heard half of SA was there. Eventually got to Croc Valley Lodge and campsite and a site right on the Luangwa river. Plenty of crocs, hippos and storks to look at. It really was beautiful. You can see why everyone braves the rd. Heard lion and hippos in the night and were warned to leave all fruit and veggies behind the bar, not in the cars or tents as there were marauding elephants! Had an uneventful night! Thank goodness.
Thurs 1st July
I woke up feeling rotten. Still not sure why but we had a moring in camp (and out of the car) while Mom, Dad, and James, and also Margs and Keith went into the park and had a good day. We did a night drive with a guide and saw leopard and lion which was a highlight.
Friday 2nd
All went into the park early and spent the day there. saw lots of ellies and hippo and added buffelo to our list. Ellies are much smaller than ours and the giraffe were too. The zebra had amazing markings. Ab did some driving - she did very well.
Others did the evening drive that night. We would all have loved to spend another night but were nervous of the road and the long trip ahead. Had to drag Ab away from chatting all night! That was 12h30. At about 3 we heard a huge camotion. The elephants were at our bin! There was a mum , 2 teens and a baby. It was very scarey wondering how they would react to hearing or smelling us, and seeing what she did to the bin. After throwing it on the floor with her trunk and stomping on it with her foot, she eventually got it open and emptied everything out. Mum, Dad and James had seen an elephant with a T-shirt the day before and it seemed very angry and had stomped all over it, so we were very nervous. Everything they could reach they checked. Emptied Mom's tea basket, knocked everything off the tables they could reach. It only lasted about half an hour but seemed like a life time! Poor James heard and felt a trunk sniffing along the side of his tent right by his head. Fortunately they didn't seem to interested in us and possibly saw the tents as bigger forms than themselves. After tea to calm the nerves, we went back to bed and half an hour later we had a big male hippo munching grass just ouside the tent. After the ellies though, he wasn't even a worry and we went back to sleep! Nic and Erin slept through everything! Probably fortunately.
Sat 3rd
Had to get a shock fixed on the landrover before we left so we only got away about 11h00. Margs and Keith stayed on and will meet us later. Seemed silly for them to come down to Lusaka if they didn't need to. Headed for Lusaka and BridgeCamp en route. Only got there after dark so missed what loooked like it would have been a beautifal pass back down towards the Luangwa River at Bridge Camp. Bridge Camp was rather a rip off at $27 pr person for the shacks (with mozzie netting but no windows). Folks stayed in there and we camped in a very crowded and dusty camp. Was very cold.
Sun 4th
Moved on to Sue and Chris on their farm near to Lusaka. Had a divine home cooked dinner with them. erin loved having Lyle to play with.
Mon 5th Erin's birthday!
Got more presents. after a fantastic breakfast we said goodbye to Mum, Dad and James. They head for James' friend Mark just south of Lusaka. Hope the rest of their trip home is good. we're staying another night with Sue and Chris before taking Ab and Nic to the airport tomorrow morning. Going to be very sad. Not looking forward to it.
Lots of love until next time
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