Oh my god !!! - Gorge Swinging

It must have been the beer! I'm still not sure what possessed me to both agree to & then part with cash for the scare of a lifetime. I'm going to blame it on a few beers as I can't think of another rational excuse as to why someone who hates heights decided to step off a 55m cliff & scream like a girl !!!!

The day started out with a leisurely zip line out across the gorge, most of us managed to hold onto our breakfast as we launched ourselves out over the edge but Laura managed to trump everyone & flew out (as pictured above!)

We then moved on to a 50m cliff & the Abseiling hut. Ems stormed down the cliff abseiling FORWARDS! whilst I struggled to manage little more than a smile going down in a more traditional fashion.

I was further put to shame when, tied to a fellow traveling friend Alison, I was more pulled over the cliff than jumped on the gorge swing. I stuck to the one jump & holding the contents of my stomach where they belonged while everyone else did both solo & tandem jumps

I'd like to say I enjoyed the experience but have to hold my vertigo afflicted hand up & admit to being too scared of heights to really enjoy them :)

Livingstone & the Victoria Falls

You can hear the thunder of the falls before you see the spray & you can see the spray as you drive down from Livingstone's high street, over 3 miles away. At 1.3kms long & 108 metres high - the Vic Falls are truly awe inspiring.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Falls

The truck checked us into the Waterfront camp site (aptly named by it's location), from where we've arranged a multitude of activities from gentle cruises to gorge swinging. I'd really wanted to white water raft the Zambezi but with the rainy season being in full effect elsewhere in Africa the water levels are too high to raft.

It felt so good to step out of the truck with the knowledge that the next 4 days will be spent chilling out with no driving. The past few days have taken their toll on most peoples sense of humour & it's a credit to everyones tolerance & good nature that there haven't been any arguments or fallings out.

To chill out, we headed up the Zambezi river on an evening dinner cruise. The sunset was simply stunning even if a we did have a couple of uninvited guests join us

The long long winding road to Lusaka, Zambia

The truck departed the shores of Lake Malawi 2 days ago & we having been heading west ever since. 1100kms of winding pot hole riddled roads & we've still got more to go. Our route west to Lusaka is set for Livingstone & the Victoria falls. We're skirting along the top of Mozambique & Zimbabwe for political & security reasons mainly but also the risk of fuel shortages is too high to make the short trip through these 2 countries.

I've broken the monotony of the journey up into hour long time slots, treating myself to an hour of music, an hour reading, an hour of........ I've had time to read an entire book (a big feat for me), rekindle my Spanish (by writing my diary in Espanol) & almost listened to my entire collection of i-pod albums.

The countryside skips past the truck window, small villages, towns & lush green countryside all mostly bounce by as we lurch from pot hole to speed bump & back again.

We set out early again tomorrow so we can hit the falls before lunchtime & spend a few days relaxing in in Livingstone.

The malawi - Zambian border - as you can see (a busy busy place - NOT !)

Hoping not to get food poisoning !!

Ems - I am here!!

well everyone, i've hopefully managed to attach some photos as well as hijack Chester's blog. Bless him! Fingers crossed it works?!

As you know we are on a truck with a various amount of other people - which has been a bonus in some ways - especially since I became a changed woman in regards to alcohol!! After a fabulous long and packed day, it allows me to still have my early to bed nights (10ish!! how old am I?!) and it allows Chester to have his early MORNING to bed routine!!

It has also provided different opportunities for us both, as the group is often split up for activities. So swapping tales is nice thing to do at the end of the day.

I won't repeat what Chester has already written about, needless to say we are travelling some miles and witnessing and experiencing amazing sights. Those of you who know me well know about my loo phobia, so bats up your nightdress in the dark while camping in an unfenced area in the Serengetti hasn't helped me overcome it!

The proximity of the animals we've encountered in the various parks has been impressive. As part of the Spice Tour we also had a trip to the slave chambers and former slave market in Zanzibar which was highly emotional.

We've just completed 2 LONG days on our bouncy truck, crossing the Malawi border where a comment from the customs officer, regarding me not hearing him the first time, was that I should not be too busy talking to my classmates but instead listen to him ( my occupation on my card clearly stating TEACHER!. This was slightly embarrassing but made in goodwill. At least I hope it was had he was armed.

Anyhow, we are now settled for the next 2 or 3 nights at Kande Beach, a site right on the edge of Lake Malawi where hopefully we will get to do some activities. Mind you a nice Springbok has been quenching my thirst in the afternoons. Canoeing is lined up for tomorrow as a fantastic electrical storm churned the lake's still water last night.

Well like I said, fingers crossed that I can add my photos!!

sunshine and freckles, Ems xx

A long long road to Malawi

Two & a half days long in fact. My sore, sore bum will be testimony to just how many speed bumps lie between Dar es Salaam & Lake Malawi. The road was slow at times, not least due to the pot holes, police checks & numerous other straying cattle, donkeys & children.

The scenery changed from coastal climes to more rugged mountainous terrain as we return inland. As we wound our way through the hills near the Tanzanian border the agriculture changed from subsistence dwellings to large tea plantations . Everywhere we go happy people wave at the truck & shout greets after us.
After a good 1100kms of twisting turns we arrived on the shores of lake Malawi. We're camping at Kandi beach, a large over land truck stop where we've met up with 2 other trucks & are staying for 3 nights to catch up on domestic chores & enjoy some excursions. There are hammocks to chill in, snorking sailing & windsurfing for the more active & a little cafe for those to gorge themselves on Banoffe pie.


As a joke the girls from my truck signed me up for horse riding rider. Not to back out of a challenge, I joined 5 of them & rose at 6am to horse ride! What I hadn't realised was they had entered me as an intermediate rider !!! Having not seen a horse since I was about 13 I could hardly put myself anywhere near that level of competence, but within 15 minutes riding & a trot + a canter later, my under carriage were suitably numb enough not to be worrying about riding classifications & my finger nails had an intricate knowledge of the saddle they dug into!

I started the ride looking like a specially gifted child (see picture) & ended feeling like a star cowboy at rodeo. To cool the horses off after a beautiful ride through the surrounding countryside & local villages, we rode horses bare back into the lake, an amazing feeling to ride a horse when it's swimming.

Dar es Salaam

A place to forget about if the truth be told.

Nothing much of interest there but a good camping location just south of the city, right on the coast provided a great spring board stop over for Zanzibar. We took a short 15 min flight rather than the alternative 2 hr (blisteringly hot) ferry ride, speaking to others that had endured the ferrry is was well avoided too. Instead we only had to endure a short 20 minute crossing from Dar's ferry terminal to the south coast beach camp site where we left the truck (our 20 minutes were more than just hot so I can't imagine what 2hrs felt like).

Zanibar & it's spices

It's so nice not to be on the road for a few days. The truck bounced all the way from Arusha to Dar es Salaam for 12 hours so it's been really good to kick back, relax & enjoy some warm water diving. The visability has been between 20 & 30 meteres with stacks of coral, sea life & things to ogle at.

here's Chris - my tent & rom mate for the trip. As an Ozzie we've been enjoying a few beers together & swapping mini Ashes victories over games of pool & darts in the evenings. As a big group we went out on a fasinating Spice tour that also included looking around slave chambers & sultans palace ruins too (as a general hisory lesson to the island's history). Our guide Ali G (Ali Guide!) as a crazy acented local who'd been watching far to much Ali G on the tele, as he sounded a like a biuzarre mixture of British-west-Staines & Jamaican all day.

The tour had use tasting ginger, vanilla & all sorts of flavoured teas. It's the rainy season here so it wasn't surprising when the hevens opened & down poured. We all sheltered from teh rain & drank teas until it passed.

On to the Serengeti & the Ngorogoro crater

Our Masai Mara Safari was followed by a 6 hour drive back to Nairobi & a further 6 hour haul down to Arusha in Tanzania. We crossed the border without hitch & stayed over night at Arusha's snake park, an unremarkable place other than the fact that there was just a 2.5' wall separating our camp site tents from 5 Nile crocodiles. Fortunatly for us they can't climb!!

Needless to say we survived the night & set out for the Serengeti early the next morning in a convoy of 4x4's. The journey was long & hot but oh, so worthwhile. En route to the Serengeti we drove next to migrating Wildebeest & Zebra who were starting their northward part in a 1000km round search for food & water. As we approached the herd, we disturbed a huge family of 20 hyenas in a close by watering hole

Our beds' were under the stars for 2 nights. We camped with the sound of unseen nocturnal animals spooking more than just a few of us. The sunsets were simply stunning both nights.

Day 2 of 3 in the wild was a return journey, back across the plains of the Serengeti to the Ngorogoro crater, an extinct volcanic crater. En route Cheetah, Lion & numerous other animals roamed completely at ease with our presence.

The Crater - early morning drive