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Northwards To Maun And The Okavango Delta
Francistown, whilst there’s nothing exactly wrong with it, isn’t the world’s most exciting place and we’ve been kicking our heels a bit, spending three and a half days in a town where you can probably see everything worth seeing between breakfast and lunchtime. Maybe though, our three days have seemed lengthened by anticipation, for when we leave here we will be heading for somewhere which was always planned to be one of the highlights of the whole trip. To herald our last night in Francistown, the very first invasive mosquito of the entire trip makes an appearance and clearly wants to be tonight’s star, whining its way past our ears…
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We’re Heading Home Early Because…
We know exactly why we’ve had a change of heart but it’s not so easy to put into just a few words, especially when the journey has given us so many highs. So instead of trying to do that now when we’ve had time to consider our decision, the following is what I jotted down immediately after we booked the flights home…. The unthinkable has happened. We have lost enthusiasm for this Africa trip. Stuck in a hotel we nicknamed “Beyond Fawlty Towers”, more of that later, we were poring over our maps and information regarding Namibia, drawing up an itinerary, when a feeling of groundhog day descended. It felt…
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Westward To Botswana: Dirty Shoes And Itchy Feet
Before we start this next post, a shock update. A first for us, we’ve decided we’re not going to complete this trip and we’re going to head home early. There’s a variety of reasons, maybe we’ll detail them when we do a “trip conclusion” post later. We’re cutting the adventure short, which means not doing Namibia, nor, regrettably, Cape Town – but those places remain very much on the wish list. So we’ll be heading home to England in early October rather than mid November which was the original plan. Well maybe that way we’ll have time for another trip before Christmas…. Ever since we began travelling together with a…
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Don’t Look Back In Nyanga
A couple of weeks back when we were first experiencing Zimbabwe in the town of Victoria Falls, I made the comment that the cash crisis was driving the country towards a cashless society and that Visa is accepted everywhere. I so regret saying that now – it turns out to be a completely misguided statement based on a tourist driven micro economy in one single town, and not in the slightest bit true of Zimbabwe as a whole. In fact it’s probably the biggest load of bo***cks I’ve ever written. We’re finding this out the hard way. The near six hour drive from Great Zimbabwe to Nyanga first takes in…
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The Lost City Of Great Zimbabwe
We make our way along the dusty path from the sparsely populated car park having read something of the history and importance of the place we are approaching, but with little idea of just how engaging Great Zimbabwe is going to be. Listed by The Guardian newspaper as one of the world’s great lost cities and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986, this is a place of mystical charm and fantastic workmanship from centuries back. Such is the importance of this site that is from here that the newly independent Zimbabwe took its name (Zimbabwe = houses of stone). It’s not uncommon when entering a lost city to let…
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Bulawayo #2: The Blue Whale And Three White Rhinos
In attempting to describe Bulawayo, or even the part of Zimbabwe we have seen so far, it’s difficult to know where to start. Away from the hectic centre, the long roads out of the city are bordered by a suburbia filled with those who are clearly doing okay, big houses in large plots surrounded by security fences and filled with decorative plants. Yet the roads themselves are pitted, potholed nightmares evidencing lack of both maintenance and investment, many of the vehicles on them equally badly cared for. The neighbourhood where we visit Dave who provides Michaela’s much needed haircut (Michaela: one of my best travel haircuts EVER, if not THE…
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Travelling Back In Time In A City Called Slaughter
You know how sometimes a place name captures your imagination and sounds and feels exotic? For some reason Bulawayo hits those notes for me, though with no real reason – we don’t know much about it and it doesn’t exactly have the ring of a Kathmandu, a Timbuktu or even a Casablanca, yet somehow it’s been calling. Which is how we come to be being driven by the ever reliable Kenny to Victoria Falls airport to board a small but smart Air Zimbabwe plane to the country’s second city. One thing we have learnt about it is how to say it, and it’s definitely not the “Buller-way-oh” pronunciation that the…
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Across The Border: From Zambia To Zimbabwe
All we ask Caroline at the lodge for is a taxi to the border. What we get is a driver named Steven who does that bit, but also chaperones us through the slightly confusing Zambian exit system and then drives us over the Victoria Falls Bridge as far as Zimbabwe immigration where he points out a smiling guy in a blue T-shirt. The smiling guy is Kenny, and before we know it we’ve skipped the line, got the obligatory stamps in our passports and been driven to the very door of our next stay. Expert courier service for the price of a taxi. It’s how it is here: service repeatedly…
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Livingstone: Thrills And Adrenaline At The Victoria Falls
We arrive in the town of Livingstone with high expectations and an even higher level of excitement, yet as we are welcomed into our digs by the ultra friendly staff we have no indication of just how many thrills the next few days will bring. Once in a lifetime experiences are, unbeknown to us, lurking in the trees. Our first glimpse of the waters of the Zambezi is as the mighty river swings around to come alongside the road, its calm waters feeding lush greenery on either side in total contrast to the surrounding tinder plains. The surface looks solid, glasslike, mirroring the cloudless sky, serene enough to kid the…
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Getting To Know Zambia: Learning In Lusaka
Eleven hours on a bus gives you, amongst other things, plenty of time to think and, in the case of our monster trek to Lusaka, the chance to reflect on our three weeks in Malawi. Did we enjoy it? There were many elements which we absolutely loved, but we’re not certain that “enjoy” is an appropriate word, simply because life is so different, and because so many things are decidedly difficult, that travelling the country requires constant effort. Let’s start with the good. Wonderful scenery, amazing locations, and a population which effortlessly earns its reputation as the “warm heart of Africa”. Friendly, helpful people everywhere. However, Malawi is a very…
