So…Those of your interested in what I’ll be up to for the next two months (technically 56 days in all), here is my promised preview of now through November 11. I’ll be honest, I clearly had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed on for this trip a few weeks ago. Case in point – I found out a week ago that I would be tracking mountain gorillas in Rwanda (something for which people wait years to get permits and the opportunity to do). So, without further adieu – the official preview of my next two months in Africa…
For those of you who checked out my pre-preview link for my trip, some of this might be old hat, so I’ll keep it pretty brief. I’m essentially taking a truck from Nairobi, Kenya to Cape Town, South Africa (please note that this is a big-ass Mercedes truck that holds 30 people on its back along with fuel, water, food, gear, and many other goodies. I have come to realize it can do so, because it saves space by getting rid of such useless things like shocks, struts, air conditioners, sound insulation, proper seat padding).
The outfitter that I am going through is called Africa Travel Company, and I guess they’ve been doing this for a while and are pretty good at it. The trip itself is 56 days, and takes me through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa – in that order I believe. The trip bills itself as an opportunity to do some “game spotting, meeting local tribes, relaxing on beaches, and adrenaline sports.” I’ve already had an opportunity to spend time with the Masai in Kenya, spot 3 (elephants, lions, and buffalo) of the “big 5” (still missing rhinos and leopards, but I did see a couple of cheetahs) in the Masai Mara National Park, and finally track gorillas through the volcanic mountains and rain forests of Rwanda – and that’s just in the first week)…
Some highlights for the rest of the trip include – white water rafting on the Nile and the Zambezi, service projects, chilling out and snorkeling/SCUBA diving on the beaches of Zanzibar, game spotting in the Serengeti, Bungee jumping, a helicopter flight over Victoria Falls, horse riding in around Lake Malawi, walking with lions, sandboarding and skydiving over the dunes of Namibia, and cage diving with sharks in Cape Town. These are some of the activities that are lined up – there are many, many more.
The folks on the trip are a mix of Americans (5 of us), Aussies (about 5 as well), Kiwis (2 or 3), Brits (7ish), and a mix of other Europeans. All are about my age, though the extremes include a 19 year old and a 62 year old. Most of the people on this leg of the trip are here to see the gorillas, which is, again, a very big deal.
Like the company says, in between all the different adventure opportunities are the chances to see the people of these communities at work and at play. The countless villages, towns, and capital cities through which you drive and stop to resupply, visit, or just take a moment to relax give amazing insight and opportunity into life here. In addition to this, the sheer fact that you are driving from East Africa to the continent’s southernmost tip allows an unequaled chance to truly see Africa.
The truck’s lack of the most sophisticated suspension system combined with the extremely poor conditions of roads at least in East Africa make for a very bumpy ride at times. I’ve had to stand for significant portions of some of our drives because it hurts to sit any longer. Some days we’re on the road for 12 hours, while others we only drive for a couple of hours or none at all. I typically spend the long driving days listening to music, reading, sleeping, or writing. Obviously, what I do is contingent upon how bad the roads are, so sometimes I spend my time just trying not to lose my lunch – though this is rare…
If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to check out the full itinerary at http://www.overlandingafrica.com/tour-details.php?tid=94 .
Internet access is sporadic at times, and high-speed access almost impossible to find, so I will continue to do my best to update as early and often as I can. The harder thing will be to upload photos in a timely fashion, so you may have to put up with massive dumping of photos to my Flickr site and to Facebook (for those of you using Facebook to keep up with my travels).
I’ve started to get a lot of emails and messages from people who have randomly come across either my website, my blog, or my Facebook site, which I think is pretty cool. Please feel free to share any of these with friends or whomever if you think they’d be interested. It was precisely sites like mine (reading about other peoples’ travels) that got me started on my way to planning my own trip.
Anyhow, until next time…
So I see you made to my favorite part of the world. Hey AJ, it seems you are having the time of your life. Good to know about Africa Travel . . . I plan on using them one day.
Have you had maatoke and ground nut sause yet? What about githai(sp?) and ugali in Kenya?
Well continue on . . . if you are in Tokyo between Japan and May, be sure to visit Aris and me. We will be attending the Temple Law Program in Japan.
take care . . . see you around world some where,
april
Posted by: april | October 23, 2007 at 10:02 PM