From Malawi we spent a couple of days in the truck going through Mozambique, bush camping on the way before we got to Zimbabwe. We spent two weeks here, hiking and exploring various villages and finding out about the country's history. The people in Zimbabwe all dislike Robert Mugabe who has been president for over 20 years and is very controlling. All shops and businesses have to have a picture of him up. Despite various attempts to remove him from power he is still clinging on, and everyone is waiting for him to die so they can move on as a country. The economy has suffered massively from the violence and racism he has incited, especially the farming and tourism industries. Despite that the country and people are amazing. There was so much wildlife that we regularly saw big game in or by the road.
We stopped off at a lion rehabilitation centre and had the chance to take lion cubs for a walk and feed them as part of their training for going into the wild.
Later on we had a chance to ride and feed elephants which were very tame and friendly. We also went on a horseback safari. As we were not in a vehicle we were able to get up really close to the animals, and a herd of zebra even started following us!
From there we went to the town of Victoria Falls to see the waterfall and sail down the Zambezi river. The waterfall was massive and could be heard for miles around. When we walked near it we got absolutely soaked and as it is the border with Zambia we all had our passports with us which alo got wet through.
From Zimbabwe we crossed the border to Botswana (all these border crossings and visas are costing a fortune!). Botswana is one of the least populated countries in Afria with only 2 million people but is twice the size of the UK. As a result we drove for days without seeing people or villages. In Botswana we spent a few days in the Okavango Delta. This is a huge river system that takes up a massive area of the country and is a wetlands of reeds and islands separated by narrow channels. We were taken by local guides in wooden dug-out canoes to an island where we spent time learning how to punt the canoes, looking for wildlife such as zebra and gazelle and swimming in the channels. We cooked on open fires and relaxed with our books, and as a result were sad to leave.
From there we stayed at a campsite called Elephant Sands which was situated around a water hole. In the evening we watched elephants bathing and drinking. Unfortunately they stayed hanging around the camp and settled next to our tents so we couldn't get near them and had to wait until they decided to leave so we could go to bed.
After Botswana we headed into Namibia which was completely different to the rest of Africa that we had seen. As it was the rainy season the landscape we have been travelling through has been green and lush, but here it changed to desert and sand dunes. The roads are little more than areas of the sand where the larger stones have been cleared and we went days without seeing other people or cars.
This area is known as the Skeleton Coast because any sailors that were shipwrecked here stood no chance of surviving. We found an oil rig in the middle of the desert and stopped for a play then finally reached the west coast, meaning that we had travelled from one side of Africa to the other.
We spent a few days in the desert going sand boarding and skydiving from a height of 2 miles and falling at 150 mph before pulling the parachute cord. It was the best experience ever and I can't wait to try it again!
The next day was my 29th birthday and we had a cake and drinks, however the desert lacked much in the way of nightlife!
The next day we visited Deadvlei - a dried up oasis in the middle of the desert where all of the trees had died. It took a long time to walk over the sand dunes to get there but it was definately worth it - we also climbed up the famous Dune 44, one of the biggest in the world, which was worth it just for the run down!
After crossing the border into South Africa we spent a few days of luxury in Capetown where we had our first hot shower for ages and our first beds for over a month! The tent was great but its nice to wake up without an aching back! In Capetown we visited Robben Island and the prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and some of the European-style parks. For my morning run I went up Table Mountain and struggled to see much through the clouds!
Having a week to spare before my flight to South America some friends and I have rented a car and have been travelling along the South African coast and the wine growing regions making the use of the time by sampling local beverages and enjoying the views.
We also visited the Cape of Good Hope and Point Algunhas which is the point where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet and the most southern point in Africa.
South Africa is so rich compared to the rest of the continent that we have seen that it's just like being at home with all the luxuries so its like a holiday within a holiday.
Im leaving here to go to Ecuador on the 5th April and am going to work of a farm in the Cloud Mountains for six weeks in order to improve my Spanish. After that I have another two and a half months of travelling around South America before heading home to enjoy the summer holidays!
