Took off on the Baz Bus from Cape Town headed east down the Garden Route. Everyone had talked all about the coastal region so I had to see it for myself. Got into Jeffrey's Bay, one of South Africa's premeir surf destinations and checked into Island Vibe. Island Vibe is a party 24/7 with two groups of people, surfers who surf all day/party at night and others who party all day/sleep at night...interesting dynamic. Anyways, tried some of the surfing, but the waves were really never that good since it was pretty windy for the 3 days I was there. J-bay is home to factory shops to all the big surf names so I spent some time walking around the city and just enjoying the beautiful beach friendly weather in January. In J-bay hung out with some real cool local South Africans and an Italian who always seemed to be asking what time it was...ha!
After a few days there, I took off to Wilderness, another coastal city with a laid-back vibe. On the way, the bus made a stop at Storm's River for the bungee jump. I had been planning on doing it, but once I saw it...I couldn't stomach the idea. 210 meters is a long wayy down and just seeing the bridge and free fall...yeah, I got scared. The hostel, the Beachhouse was sick...the dorms had huge terrace overlooking the beach and at night you could just leave the doors open to hear the waves crashing. With some girls from the Netherlands we hired a canoe for a day and checked out some waterfalls in the area...thats where the new FB profile pic is from. Ate some springbok here which was much better than the ostrich I had in J-burg...only meat left is crocodile since you can't eat most of the big 5 :(
Leaving Wilderness I headed to Hermanus to meet up with Sahil and Mike for the great white cage dive. At the hostel in Hermanus met a group of guys who all met while backpacking in SE Asia and were doing a reunion over New Year's in South Africa...they gave me some good advice and a list of things to do when I get to Asia so it was really cool. Arrived at the shark dive place and we got on the boat....seas were rough and as we got out to sea and were getting briefed on the instructions a shark showed up and circled the boat. We tried to bait him, but he went away too fast...4 hours later and lots of bouncing around the company called off the shark dive. Pretty disappointed since nobody got in the cage, but at least I saw a shark from a few feet away. Got a voucher for a free future trip so thats a good reason to get back to South Africa...in the high shark viewing season this time though. Got a ride back to Cape Town with Sahil to hang out for a few days before heading off to Hong Kong.
Highlights: The Garden Route gave me a real appreciation for South Africa. By far one of the best countries I've ever visited and I will be getting back there in the future...any takers for the World Cup in 2010?!? Let me know.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Days 65-70 -- Cape Town
So I'm pretty far behind and headed to Thailand tomorrow and really want to get caught up...Here is a very abridged version of whats gone on in the last month.
The family I met on the night train in Egypt picked me up on the 26th, took me to their house for a brii (barbecue) and then dropped me off at the airport...really nice! J-burg was the first time I felt really lonely on the trip and missed being at home, but the feelings quickly passed once I got to the hostel in Cape Town. Met a handful of cool people that I would spend the next week with. The first few days in Cape Town...set up a shark dive...it got cancelled, tried to rent a car to do some sight seeing...no cars available, so I was forced to take taxis or walk everywhere. Did the tourist things, sunset at Table Mountain, wine tour in the Stellenbosch, Camps' Bay beaches (water was freezing!) and lots of long nights on Long Street. I put up a lot of pictures for you guys to enjoy! New Years' rolled around the American girls from Zambia got some free tix to a Fashion TV party which was a good time. People in Cape Town really can party...New Year's day checked out the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens and then had some dinner at Waterfront. Said goodbyes to all the new friends made in Cape Town since tomorrow I was headed down the Garden Route for a week.
Highlight of Cape Town had to be the weather. Shorts and t-shirts during my entire stay here...first time I've ever been able to do that at New Year's! Even went to the beach on New Year's too...didn't go on the beach...thats a story for another day.
The family I met on the night train in Egypt picked me up on the 26th, took me to their house for a brii (barbecue) and then dropped me off at the airport...really nice! J-burg was the first time I felt really lonely on the trip and missed being at home, but the feelings quickly passed once I got to the hostel in Cape Town. Met a handful of cool people that I would spend the next week with. The first few days in Cape Town...set up a shark dive...it got cancelled, tried to rent a car to do some sight seeing...no cars available, so I was forced to take taxis or walk everywhere. Did the tourist things, sunset at Table Mountain, wine tour in the Stellenbosch, Camps' Bay beaches (water was freezing!) and lots of long nights on Long Street. I put up a lot of pictures for you guys to enjoy! New Years' rolled around the American girls from Zambia got some free tix to a Fashion TV party which was a good time. People in Cape Town really can party...New Year's day checked out the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens and then had some dinner at Waterfront. Said goodbyes to all the new friends made in Cape Town since tomorrow I was headed down the Garden Route for a week.
Highlight of Cape Town had to be the weather. Shorts and t-shirts during my entire stay here...first time I've ever been able to do that at New Year's! Even went to the beach on New Year's too...didn't go on the beach...thats a story for another day.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Days 61-64 -- Christmas in Johannesburg
Got into Johannesburg on the night of the 23rd and the group was staying at the Backpacker's Ritz. Been warned all along the drive down Africa that Jburg is a real dangerous place and that walking around in the city or just at night is insane...not so sure how I feel about that. Anyways, first night at the Ritz was good, we stayed up late and had a big night drinking cheap South African wine saying our goodbyes. It was a good feeling to be finally off the truck but difficult parting ways with everyone at the same time...thats why you got Facebook though! On Christmas Eve, I moved to the Hyatt Regency since after sleeping in a tent for a month, I felt like I deserved a comfortable bed and clean shower. Hotel was empty, but I enjoyed the quiet time and got caught up on much needed sleep. Christmas eve dinner was an ostrich steak at the bar solo but still incredible. First time eating ostrich and I will have it again. Woke up Christmas day and with my friend Darren from the truck we went to Lion Park just outside the city. Here you can get up close and play with lion cubs and possibly even feed them. We missed feeding time and they were asleep when we got there, but did get really close. Going to a place like this with animals in captivity didn't feel right though since I have seen them out in their natural habitat. I'm thinking going to a zoo will never be the same either. They even had some small areas holding different prides of lions so we took a drive and got some really cool pictures. After Lion Park it was back to the Hyatt where we took advantage of the free happy hour and had another awesome dinner. Did get to speak to the family at home and its probably the first time I really miss being at home...even contemplated looking at ticket costs home for a few days but the business center was closed. Merry Christmas everyone...next stop Cape Town!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Days 54-60 -- Chobe and Kruger National Parks
Jumped onto a new truck leaving Livingstone towards Johannesburg. 9 people on this truck, 6 of which came from my last truck so we had the majority. A lot more space so we all had 2 lockers, 2 rows of seats and it just felt good to be able to spread out. I think 24 was too crowded, 9 is too small, so 15 is the perfect number. At the Zambia/Botswana Border Crossing, I met a guy Rocky trying to sell me necklaces who was wearing a Grant Thornton hat. It was even in the new logo...crazy! First stop was Chobe National Park where we had a sunset cruise on the river. Got pretty close to some hippos and alligators and tried to get them to ram the boat with no luck. Leaving Chobe we stopped at Elephant Sands and took a game drive and nature walk in the bush searching for elephants...spotted plenty of them along with giraffe and zebras. Crossed the border into South Africa and made camp right outside Kruger National park. Took a night drive on a private game reserve bordering Kruger and spotted 4 of the Big 5. The next day we had an all day Game Drive in Kruger and spotted all of the big 5!!! Perfect way to end the overland trip. Long drive to Johannesburg where the group said our goodbyes and I got ready for my solo Christmas in one of the most dangerous cities in the world.
Days 48-53 -- Livingstone and Victoria Falls
We left Malawi on route to Zambia, spending a night in Lusaka, the capital city. Since Zanzibar we've had a lot of ground to cover so we've spent 8-10 hours on the truck everyday...luckily for the Ipod dock and library on board or else I may have gone crazy. Anyways, we arrived to Livingstone, adventure capital for Africa. Spending 4 nights here so it was a good feeling to set up the tent and know it wasn't coming down in the morning. Here I found out that I would be the only one on my truck headed to the Okavanga Delta so they allowed me to switch to another truck going through Kruger ending in Jburg. Our campsite in Livingstone was right on the Zambezi and offerred all sorts of adventure activities...minutes away from the Falls. Our visit to the Falls was on a cloudy day, but the size of the curtain of falling water was crazy. Never been to Niagra so nothing to compare it to, but very impressive. The first day, a few of us did the Livingstone Island tour...took a boat over to Livingstone Island at the top of Victoria Falls. The Falls were spectacular and we had an opportunity to swim at the top, less than 20 meters from the where the water goes over the edge. After much pressure, we convinced the guides to take us to Devil's Pool right on the edge of the Falls. AMAZING!! You have to see the pictures...the pool is literally right on the edge of the falls and you can lean up against a rock wall to prevent you from being swept over. A quick Google of Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls will show you what I mean.
That night we did a booze cruise since a few others were leaving the group. After the cruise we spent the night in the dance hut... The next morning, eyes still half-shut, had to get up early for a full day of whitewater rafting. The Zambezi offers Grade 5 rapids and we were lucky to have our entire group of 8 share a boat with a good guide. We flipped a few times, I was thrown in a few more, instantly waking me up from the night before. These were some intense rapids and according to locals we rafted one of the top 5 sites in the world! The last day we had planned to do the bungee, but all these activities were taking a toll on the budget so I passed. The highest bungee in the world is just outside of Cape Town so I think I'll plan to save my money for that one.
That night we did a booze cruise since a few others were leaving the group. After the cruise we spent the night in the dance hut... The next morning, eyes still half-shut, had to get up early for a full day of whitewater rafting. The Zambezi offers Grade 5 rapids and we were lucky to have our entire group of 8 share a boat with a good guide. We flipped a few times, I was thrown in a few more, instantly waking me up from the night before. These were some intense rapids and according to locals we rafted one of the top 5 sites in the world! The last day we had planned to do the bungee, but all these activities were taking a toll on the budget so I passed. The highest bungee in the world is just outside of Cape Town so I think I'll plan to save my money for that one.
Days 42-47 -- Lake Malawi Beaches
So internet in Africa is real sketchy so I'm going to blast through the end of the overland trip to get caught up. South Africa looks like it has decent access so I hope to stay on top of it like I did when I started...
After Zanzibar, we spent another night in Dar es Salaam where we had to say goodbyes to a few people who left the truck. We added a few more so with 23 people, it was still crowded. Crossed the border into Malawi and drove Mikumi National park. Our first night was at a campsite right on Lake Malawi. The lake is so expansive, covering a fifth of the country, that you really feel like you are at an ocean. Set up camp right off the shore and enjoyed the sounds of small crashing waves as I slept. We then headed to Kande Beach to a popular campsite for overland trucks. About 4 other trucks when we got there so the campsite was buzzing with activity. It was Brooke's 30th birthday so the group had a big night with an amazing barbeque dinner and a big night at the campsite bar. The people of Malawi were very friendly and on the whole the country is really cheap. The weather was decent, but since it is the rainy season there were some big storms that passed so the extent of our activities was limited. I picked up a few hand-made Malawi chairs with some intricate designs...not sure how I'll get them home, but hopefully postage won't kill me.
After Zanzibar, we spent another night in Dar es Salaam where we had to say goodbyes to a few people who left the truck. We added a few more so with 23 people, it was still crowded. Crossed the border into Malawi and drove Mikumi National park. Our first night was at a campsite right on Lake Malawi. The lake is so expansive, covering a fifth of the country, that you really feel like you are at an ocean. Set up camp right off the shore and enjoyed the sounds of small crashing waves as I slept. We then headed to Kande Beach to a popular campsite for overland trucks. About 4 other trucks when we got there so the campsite was buzzing with activity. It was Brooke's 30th birthday so the group had a big night with an amazing barbeque dinner and a big night at the campsite bar. The people of Malawi were very friendly and on the whole the country is really cheap. The weather was decent, but since it is the rainy season there were some big storms that passed so the extent of our activities was limited. I picked up a few hand-made Malawi chairs with some intricate designs...not sure how I'll get them home, but hopefully postage won't kill me.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Days 37-41 -- Zanzibar
So most of the game drives are finished now until we get down to the Okavanga Delta towards the end of the trip. Looking back on it, I should have gone with the longer tour b/c the first 10 days have flown by...Most of the people on my truck are taking all the way down to Cape Town, but I get off at Livingstone/Victoria Falls and jump on another truck down to Jburg...will be interesting having to meet a new set of people. 24 poeple on the truck and its been an enjoyable experience. Every campsite has a campsite bar with $2 beers...so much better than the struggles in the Middle East. Everyone is really cool and I've settled into setting up and taking down a tent daily and long days on the truck...
Anyways, we made our way through some tough traffic down to Dar es Salaam, jump off point for Zanzibar...beautiful beaches with white sand. On our first day in Zanzibar we did a spice tour where we went to the fields to see how spices were grown...ranging from cinnamon to stuff i've never seen/heard about. Made a stop at the slave auction site which was crazy and toured the dungeon where slaves were held until the auction times...not sure how poeple were able to survive in those conditions. The next 2 days in Zanzibar were spent on North Beach and had free days to relax and enjoy the sun. Plenty of beach volleyball, a beach massage, a couple of sunsets and some big nights and our relaxation time was over...back to the regular routine of tents up and down everyday.
Anyways, we made our way through some tough traffic down to Dar es Salaam, jump off point for Zanzibar...beautiful beaches with white sand. On our first day in Zanzibar we did a spice tour where we went to the fields to see how spices were grown...ranging from cinnamon to stuff i've never seen/heard about. Made a stop at the slave auction site which was crazy and toured the dungeon where slaves were held until the auction times...not sure how poeple were able to survive in those conditions. The next 2 days in Zanzibar were spent on North Beach and had free days to relax and enjoy the sun. Plenty of beach volleyball, a beach massage, a couple of sunsets and some big nights and our relaxation time was over...back to the regular routine of tents up and down everyday.
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