Day 12: 16/4/2011 - Okavango Panhandle

We are ahead of schedule (having missed out on a big section of our planned trip - no problem - we have loved Namibia and will be back), so we have decided to spend another 2 nights at Nunda. However, we had to change camp sites; our new site 5 was much bigger than site 1 and within 15 minutes we had relocated. It’s scary to think that we have packed up a 2 storey, 4 bedroom house into a 4x4 and trailer; which enables us move our beds, food, clothing and entertainment in a ¼ of an hour.

After relocation and a shower I walked the 50m to the ablution area to do the dishes (we have the luxury of having a few basins to do the washing up here). At first I was a little irritated, my slops were now full of mud and I had a dish washer at home to do the job. However, I soon realised that I was enjoying standing in the middle of the African bush with birds chirping around me, doing something ‘useful’ at my own pace. With no plans for the day, it was unbelievably relaxing to do something with no concerns about being late for a meeting or a lift – I have crossed over – from Johannesburg pace of life to Africa time. Not sure I feel so happy about the pile of clothes washing that now has to be done.

It’s raining again – luckily, Nunda has a stunning open plan bar/lounge/dining area. We spent the morning playing games, reading, catching up on admin and socialising with the other guests. I will have to put the washing on hold for another day (yippee).

Although we are travelling minus dishwasher and washing machines, we are not without e-luxuries (for the dinosaurs, like Gray this means electronic equipment). The Discovery has a tri-battery system so our fridge, phones, i-pods (Gray has music for 26 full days – some of it is not worth listening to, Robs & I, have discovered), lap top, Kindle, portable  DVD player, inverter and camera are always fully charged.

The rain stopped and after sitting on the deck reading and watching the river flow by, guilt got the better of me. I did the washing!! I have learnt 3 things: a) I love my washing machine and tumble dryer (& Lettie), b) don’t leave a week’s washing in the hope of finding a place where it can be done for you (for a small fee) and c) don’t wear white in the bush. My hands were made for throwing balls and working on the computer-‘doll my hands and nails’ after using ‘Mama’s Best Wash’ from the general dealer up the road (the Omo is missing in action in the trailer somewhere).

I’m not barefoot, I’m not in the kitchen and I am definitely not pregnant but I might as well be. Now they want hamburgers for dinner. I made homemade patties (from scratch) on garlic toast (from fresh bread bought at the same place as ‘Mama’s’ washing powder), all cooked over an open fire, plus all the trimmings. We are still eating pretty well on the meat bought at a stunning butchery in Swakopmund.

While eating our hamburgers, the hippos were wallowing in the river in front of us (camp 5 is even  closer to the water than camp 1) but with all the washing hanging up around Robs’ tent I’m sure she will be safe, no hippo would make it through the obstacle course of braai, camping chairs, table, food boxes and washing.

Day 11: 25/4/2011 - Okavango Panhandle

Happy 52^nd Wedding Anniversary to Gus & Jill (my in-laws) – Well Done!!!

The Easter bunny came this morning; we woke to a beautiful day in a beautiful garden – perfect for an egg hunt, much to Robyn’s delight (do kids ever grow up???). The other kids phoned yesterday to wish us a Happy Easter; Kirst asked if she could go and buy herself some eggs and a burger and Gareth asked if he could buy a case of beer and hide it around his digs for himself and his mates to find (you are your father’s child).

We had an easy hour’s drive along the Kavango River – not bothering to book ahead as we knew there were lots of camp sites along the River. What we hadn’t bargained on was that more than half of them are now in the river. We were lucky, too eventually; find a stunning camp site at Nunda.

Nunda is also a lodge (no luck on booking in Al, Gray is in full camp mode) but the campers can use the facilities. In the sweltering heat, a swim in their pool was very welcome.

The highlight for today was a sunset cruise on a small barge type craft up to Popa Falls. These are the highest falls in the Caprivi area of the Kavanga River. Although they cover the width of the river they are in effect rapids, which most of our friends who paddle would negotiate with relative ease (Tony you would love paddling down this river). We saw crocs, a monitor lizard, huge pods of hippo and many birds. The sunset was stunning and I really punished my new camera for the 90 minutes we were on the water.

I woke in the middle of the night to the sounds of the hippos, it was so much better than the noise of sirens from William Nicol. Then I remembered that we were nice and cosy in our rooftop (me with my double mattress) but Robs was in a tent, 10m from the river edge, not only with hippos around but also “Beware of Crocs” signs. I rolled over and went back to sleep – this is the African bush.

Day 10: 24/4/2011 - Etosha to Rundu

Easter Sunday: a day I traditionally have to get up early and hide Easter eggs, I would have thought that teenage kids would have dismissed the tradition as childish but it was only last year the Gareth decided to sleep in and have his eggs ‘hidden’ on his bed side table. Robs has been hinting for months about how she hopes to go Easter egg hunting in the bush. I have carted these damn eggs all the way from home and can’t wait to get rid of them to make space in the food boxes. As luck would have it, Gray has the choc box packed at the bottom of the trailer and was not keen to do a trailer repack. Fortunately we woke up to drizzle so we are having an IOU on the egg hunt.

The road from Etosha to Rundu is 660km and on the map is a dead straight line. We pass through Otjiwarongo, Otavi and Grootfontein on our way up. The map did not lie, it’s like they have taken a long black mat and rolled it over a green carpet.

As we near Rundu, it is with a slight feeling of trepidation that we see civilization ebbing away. Every 10km there are rural villages, with huts made of mud and reeds and herds of cattle, goats and sheep being herded young boys. What has impressed me in Namibia is the number of schools; even in the rural areas we encounter numerous schools, all neat and tidy in permanently built classrooms.

We stopped at the garage shop at Rundu to buy ice, heaven forbid ‘we’ have warm beers. It was like a month end shop at Pick’n Pay – people were walking the isles with trolleys and the queue took forever.

Beers on ice, we headed to Shakara camp, about 100km out of Rundu. Shakara is a farm run by an Afrikaans couple with a few bungalows and camp sites. The honeymoon is over, Gray is now in camping mode. The camp sites are in a stunning garden with the most amazing trees. Unfortunately the campsites on the river are, guess what, under water, so in place of the looking over the kavanga River, we are looking at mielie fields.

We set up camp and Robs went swimming (no surprise there). I went for a short walk, then the winds blew in from over the river and the heavens opened. We tried sitting under the tent overhang but eventually the 3 of us retreated to the rooftop tent. During a break in the rain we managed a very wet braai and hit the sack with it raining again. One good thing – our tent has proved to be waterproof.

Day 9: 23/4/2011 - Etosha

After breakfast we headed into Etosha Park. I expected it to be like a bigger version of the pans in the Central Kalahari but due to the thick vegetation it looked more like the Kruger in the middle of summer. Gray has travelled through this area many times, in his army days and on holiday and he has never seen it so green and luscious. We nearly missed a lion lying in the long grass about 1m from the road (fortunately a parks board vehicle had stopped in front of us).

The plains were teaming with springbok and ostriches; we saw some general game and a monitor lizard. The roads, in places, were full of major puddles (making our Limpopo River crossings look like child’s play) and our Disco is now clay colour and the wheels caked in mud.

A great drive and all in all Plan B has worked out pretty well.

We returned to the lodge, thankful for the pool after a long drive. We are having such fun playing all the ‘old games’ – piggy in the middle and pool polo. In the evenings Robs and I play board games – we have become addicted to Trimonoes (3 sided dominoes) – not one of us has mentioned or missed TV once.

Kirsty is home for the Easter weekend, clearly having lots of fun at the St Stithians rugby Festival and sleeping in my marshmallow bed. Poor Gareth is on duty, working hard at La Colombe.

Day 8: 22/4/2011 - Swakopmund to Etosha

My cousin Stacey is getting married today, we are thinking of you and hope you guys have an awesome day.

Swakopmund is Namibia’s ‘Cape Town’ and with the start of the Easter weekend, the whole of Namibia is descending on this coastal town. All roads leading into the town are packed, so much as we enjoyed our stay, we are relieved not to be part of the Easter crush.

Our plans of travelling up the North West Skeleton Coast region have been thwarted by floods. Despite being advised not to attempt the route Robs and I (the eternal optimists) thought we should give it a try. Sanity prevails – Graeme, driver and chief tour operator has vetoed us. Having done the trip before, even if we were able to get across low lying bridges (which we have been told we won’t be able to do), Gray says the best part is travelling up the river beds, which are now flowing rivers. In addition most of the camp sites have been washed away. 

Plan B:

We are heading up the main road to Etosha, about a 6 hour drive with very pleasant scenery, interspersed with little towns, with names like Arandis, Usakos, Karibib, Omaruru and Outjo.

My job, on our trip (not that I applied for it), is to find accommodation for our next stop and book it. I found a great place called Toshari (25 km from the pan). Unfortunately, they could only give us one nights camping, however, they had a special on their lodge accommodation for the Easter Weekend. With accommodation and meals it would be cheaper (well the same price as) staying in Parks board accommodation.  Al, I hope you proud of me – this brings back good memories of our Mozambique trip.

Toshari is a very comfortable lodge but not over the top. We spent the afternoon chilling at the pool, surrounded by African bush. During dinner a staff choir serenaded us with local Damara songs. Robs made friends with the staff and sang a Zulu song to them, it turns out that Zulu and Damara have the same clicks but the language is otherwise very different.

On the way back to our room, Gray decide to take us on a short cut, we missed the path and he landed up tripping over rocks in the dark and falling into a hole. Robs and I giggled for ages, wanting to know if he ‘enjoyed his trip’ – less G & T’s tomorrow Panda.

Day 7: 21/4/2011 - Swakopmund & Walvis

The early morning clouds burned off to make way for a perfect, sunny day.

We went on a catamaran trip around Walvis Bay, the highlight of our trip so far. I adore the bush but the sea restores my soul and 3 hours on the water was heaven. The 100 square km harbour abounds with sea, bird and even wildlife. The seals and seal colonies are abundant; some of them even came aboard as did pelicans and seagulls. We visited the oyster colonies, a thriving industry in Namibia. We were fortunate to see a humpbacked whale, the nearest and clearest sighting I have had. On the other 2 occasions of being fortunate to view this giant of the sea (in Sodwana and the Seychelles) they were much further away. For the first time, we saw heavibacked dolphins, different in colour and smaller than their bottlenose cousins we are used to in Natal. There were awesome red coloured jellyfish and the list of sea life goes on. On land we saw jackal and a brown hyena.

All of the above was viewed on a very comfortable craft, the ’Libertina’, while sipping sherry, at the start of the trip and ending it with champagne, oysters and snacks.

A tip for fellow travellers to Namibia, they often give South Africans a discounted rate on the tourist type activities, for example the trip cost us half of what we were quoted because we were from S.A.

On return to Swakopmund, we went shopping to stock up for the next weeks camping.

In the late afternoon, we went for a stroll along the beach and Robs went swimming. ‘No brain, no pain’ – the water was around 12 deg and Gray and I were cold sitting on the windy beach watching her. Where there is water, Robs will swim.

We finished off a wonderful day at the Jetty Restaurant – negotiating the 200m long jetty, with swirling sea, spray and an icy wind - but the Thai food at the other end was well worth it. I thought I was coming to Africa to lose weight!!!

Day 6 continued

Day 6 continued: We never did make it to Sandwich Harbour, only the Morrisons can get flooded out in the desert. The heavens opened and Swakopmund flooded, we headed into Walvis and it too was flooded. The roads, houses and sewerage systems are clearly not designed for heavy rains or any rain. The Swakopmund River has broken through to the sea for the first time in 40 years, causing great excitement amongst the locals.

We had drinks in a very wet harbour pub in Walvis, the tropical decor being distinctly out of place today. The drive back was in howling winds, with the sand whipping off the top of the dunes and across the road.

For Graeme’s birthday dinner we went to the Brauhaus, it reminded me of a small version of the Hopfbrauhaus in Munich. Luckily we had booked, as when we arrived there were reserved signs on every table and they must have turned away at least 50 people during the course of the evening.

The whole restaurant was serviced by 2 waitresses, 2 barmen and 2 chefs (all very German and uber efficient).  At the helm was Helga, who wore a T-shirt saying “...I vil say zis only wance..”,  we did not dispute this at all. Best you know what you want to order before she takes it, it arrives within 5 minutes and as your last mouthful has been swallowed your plate is whipped away. Graeme had one of his favourite meals, eisbein and weis beer, but his entertainment for the evening was watching Helga operate. We took a bet to see if one of us could make her to smile but even Panda, turning on his charm, never managed it.

Day 1: Home to Upington

WE HAVE LIFT OFF !!!!!

4 days and 4 hours behind schedule, but as my good friend, Al, said “when you are away for 5 months, what’s 4.25 days”. We left home our home in Hurlingham at 10:00, our destination for today is Upington, according to Doris (our trusty G.P.S.), we should arrive at around 7:00. However, we are being slowed by numerous road work zones – those that only allow one lane of traffic at a time, with a sign informing motorists to “Please be patient, average 20 minute wait”. I am sitting at the 10^th one today and tired of being patient.

Graeme’s original plan to leave on Monday was always a touch optimistic, as I only finished school last Friday. We have both been pulled in opposite directions all week, sorting out final preparations for the trip – visas, police clearances for the vehicle, final touches to the car and trailer, shopping for those at home (Lettie and the animals), sorting out the kids in Cape Town, having jabs for all kinds of deadly diseases (it’s a wonder anybody in Africa is still alive). Not only did Dr Verster (Travel Clinic at Sandton Clinic) facilitate our jabs but he also gave us useful advice on what we might encounter and what to take, hence I have a medical kit that would stock one of the small hospitals, that hopefully we won’t have to encounter.

For the past week I have been waking up with a feeling fluctuating between wild excitement and mild panic. My “To Do” list had reached 5 pages. I sympathise with Henry Morton Stanley (I am reading his book, “How I found Livingstone”), who embarked on a trip into the same areas that we are going into a 140 years ago. He devoted an entire chapter on “How to prepare for an expedition into Central Africa”.  As he tossed in his bed at night he asked the following questions: How much money is required? How many carriers? How many soldiers? How much cloth? How many beads? How much wire? What kinds of cloth are required for different tribes? And so on. He made pages of notes, calculations and estimates of keeping 100 men for 1 year. These issues were of more concern to him than the geographical, ethnological and other information pertaining to the study of Central Africa as, even in 1871; this information was readily available to him from traders. Likewise, our route maps (thanks to Doris) are of less concern than the admin and what to take. In saying this, Graeme has studied books, magazines, web sites and every 4x4 site imaginable to plot our route. Our previous trips into Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and around South Africa were a breeze compared to the preparations needed for this trip.

Preparations completed, we left in our Discovery with a roof rack and trailer, all fully laden – we look like a taxi heading up to Zimbabwe.

The last two weeks have not all been about work, we have done lots of socialising, with numerous “last suppers” as they have fondly become known amongst family and friends. At one of our “last suppers” we were given a Survival pack, with instructions by our friends, Gayl, Ian, Jo, Jeff and Sally – it included:

·         Duo Pack - Baked beans, toilet paper and body mist spray.

·         Panda’s in Africa Survivor pack: Sta soft – “for use when the kids are there, they think you have only had sex 3 times” and Starch - “use frequently, efficient for 4 hours”.

·         Doggy snax – a snack pack

·         Life Buoy Soap (original smelly type) – Putsy fly repellent, so it won’t lay it’s eggs in you, cause boils that when scratched will cause worms to work their way out of the wound (do I still want to go?).

·         Animal Calls CD – in case we didn’t leave (this week it was a close call).

·         Durex – Uses: place over head while sleeping to prevent insects from laying their eggs in mouth, nose and ears; to prevent any more Morrison toddlers being let loose in darkest Africa; place over shoes to prevent them from getting dirty when taking a bush poop (bos kak); write HELP on the outside, inflate with helium gas (from where???) and let loose as an SOS.

·         Squares of newspaper on a big paper clip – Loo paper to use sparingly.

·         Candle – You will need this.

·         Small rope (with noose) – Uses: tow rope (for vehicle & humans); to commit murder; to commit suicide; to keep contact with each other when taking a dump; for any other reason. Warning: keep out of reach of anyone who has nervous or irrational tendencies.

·         Magnifying glass – Uses: to look for lice, putsy fly, scabies and invaders of the scalp and skin; hold still over dry grass in order to make a fire for cooking.

·         Inflatable Puncture Repair Kit (way past it’s sell by date and half full) –“Africa no fix it, non puncture repair kit”. Instructions: on getting a puncture (you bloody fool), place the flexible tube over your tyre valve and push the top plunger; guaranteed not to fix your puncture but will give you something to do while your wife holds up the car and your daughter changes the spare wheel; ensure you have a cold beer at hand while you watch them work. Warrantee: zip haha.

·         Bottle of Amarula – something useful at last, we will think of you guys as we have a sunset drink at a waterhole one evening.

·         Box of games – to replace Grays Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and Top Gear.

·         Scrap book equipment for Robs – she had already made some stunning pages.

Thanks my friends – I think!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 6: Swakopmund

Day 6: Swakopmond

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PANDA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With all the preparations for the trip and no clues from the Birthday boy, buying him a present was bottom of the ‘to do list’. We are giving him an IOU for something he likes along the way. He did get a book – ‘Dark continent My Black Arse’ by Sihle Khumalo and a wooden puzzle of Africa to open this morning.

We are now having breakfast in a German Bakery (with internet access) and plan to go Sandwich Harbour later.  It is overcast, humid and rainy – glad we are not camping at the moment. Will keep you posted.

Day 5: Sesriem to Swakopmund

I had a much better night’s sleep, I took one of the spare mattresses that we had packed in for Ga & Kirst, so I had some extra padding for the night (one will have to sleep on floor when they join us). We woke early, had breakfast, packed and were ready to leave by 8:00. We are getting into a routine of what goes where and by the end of the trip we should be pretty good campers.

The journey to Swakopmund was a drive of major contrasts. We left behind the red dunes and travelled through the Gaub Pass and Kuisib Canyon, this was a beautiful area of flowing rivers and grassy hillocks. The terrain into Walvis Bay was a return to the white desolate sands of the coastal regions. The long sand and stone road returned to tar and the Atlantic Ocean was in front of us.

The 40km trip from Walvis to Swakopmund was something of an enigma for me, desert on the right and sea on the left. I am so used to the tropical vegetation of Natal and don’t associate desert and sea side by side.

Robs was very excited about visiting Swakopmund, as she had visited the area two months previously on a Round Square Conference and had fallen in love with the town. We checked into the Sea Horse Holiday flats, our home for the next 3 nights, then went exploring around the city centre. Swakopmund is a neat town, with no litter and like the rest of Namibia, has a distinctly German influence.

We had dinner at ‘The Wreck’, a restaurant shaped like the front end of the Titanic. Another stunning meal of oysters & prawns, white wine and the great company of my husband and daughter.

Day 4: Aus to sesriem & Sossusvlei

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD & AUNTY DOT – Hope your 82^nd  birthdays are awesome, sorry we are not in Durban to celebrate with you but we are thinking of you.

We left Aus at 8:00 (still trying to get used to the hour time difference, we arel an hour ahead of ourselves, hence the early start) and took an easy 360km drive, along back roads, to Sesriem. On today’s drive we encountered very different vegetation; wheat coloured grass, trees and mountain passes, it was very picturesque.

It is hard to believe planet earth has an overpopulation problem.  In 5 hours we encountered a City  Golf, a broken down truck and a herdsman with 2 cows. On similar trips, in Botswana, we have driven for 2 days at a time without encountering another human being.

We arrived at Sesriem around 2:00 and booked into the Sossus Oasis Camp site – this is luxury; we have our own ‘bathroom’ and electricity. In addition there is a swimming pool, Robs and I headed for our first swim in the desert.  In 35deg weather, this is a real treat.

Our afternoon drive took us into Sossusvlei  Park, this park boasts the highest dunes in the world. The white desert sands of Luderitz are in sharp contrast to the orange sands of this desert area. We travelled for 60km amongst the mountainous dunes. We then hiked up into the dunes and took loads of pictures. Graeme and I eventually sat in the shade of a dune and watched Robs hike up and roll down one of the highest dunes.

Robs is loving this holiday: she is always busy; exploring, soaking up knowledge about  the areas we visit  and in the evening she scrapbooks and writes a journal about the days happenings. I really miss Ga and Kirst, can’t wait for them to join us!!!!!!!!!!

Day 3: Luderitz

We decided after 2 long days on the road to spend a second night at Klein Aus.

We took a trip into Luderitz, 125km away, it was a stark but beautiful drive. The first part of the journey reminded me a bit of the Richtersveld; desert mountains and vast plains, before we encountered our first area of “real” desert”.  We drove along the southern section of the Namib Naukluft Park, it’s amazing that anything can survive in this area but we saw Garub wild horses, springbok and ostriches.

10 km from Luderitz we visited Kolmanskop. This old ghost mining town was absolutely fascinating. Miners deserted the town and the sand from the desert has reclaimed the old houses and shops. After exploring the buildings for about 2 hours we headed into Luderitz.

This misty, grey harbour town clearly relies on mining and fishing. Fun to visit but we decided not to buy property here any time soon. Being Sunday, everything was closed, not even the churches seemed to be open. We were starving and after checking out the town from one end to the other, we found the Luderitz hotel open for lunch. OMG, the oysters were to die for and the calamari wasn’t bad either. After a great lunch and good wine we headed back to our camp site at Aus.

Robs and I hiked into the mountains to watch the sunset and had the added bonus of watching a full moon rise. Stunning!!

My one “major” complaint – I can’t believe I have swopped my ‘feels like you are sleeping on marshmallows’ king size mattress for this ‘hard as nails’ roof top plank and inch of ‘hard as nails’ foam. (Roof top manufactures, you have a great concept, please find a comfortable mattress).  I eventually gave up at 5 am and slept on the camping chairs.

Day 2: Upington to Klein Aus

We arrived at Upington, dog tired; at 7:45 (clearly Doris doesn’t factor in road works and rain). Along the way I googled a few B & B’s and we struck it lucky with Three Gables, highly recommended. After a quick unpack we headed off for dinner at Le Must, a real must for anybody dining in Upington. It is South African cuisine with really friendly staff and a relaxed atmosphere (I should become a food critic). It is voted as the no.1 restaurant in Upington, with the Spur as no.2, clearly a no brainer as to where to eat.

Our last meal in S.A. was breakfast at Three Gables: fruit, cereal, yoghurt etc, followed by mince, poached eggs, bacon, mushrooms and fried banana. I have a feeling I might be dreaming about this meal in the months to come.

The road from Upington to the border at Nakob was long and straight with stunning buffalo weaver nests on the telephone poles. We passed through the border at Nakob (S.A. side) and travelled 16km to Ariamsvlei (Namibian side). Officially, we left S.A. at 11:00; I hope all our border crossings are this painless.

We headed into Karasberg, where not much has changed from the first time we went through the town 10 years ago. Robs was 4 and taught herself to read in the back of the Discovery; Gareth, at 10, could change tires in his sleep due to all punctures we had; and Kirst, well the princess read all the fashion magazines she could find.

 We stopped off at the Spar to buy meat – on previous trips into Namibia, we had the kids sitting on frozen meat, as due to foot and mouth, we were banned from taking meat in. This time, we decided not to abide by the law and for the first time we were not searched. How I wished we had bought some of Manny, the butchers, steaks, chops, ribs and pregos. We left the Spar with 3 T-bones (these turned out to be tougher than old boots and inedible). Payment by credit card was another experience, it took a while, during this time the teller used her bic pen as an ear bud – the same pen was then given to me to sign with. I am so going to miss Woolies!!!!

We encountered more road works, due to flooding, in the area but they had built side roads for traffic and it was a pleasant drive. There were thousands of tok tokkie type beetles crossing the road. We had no way to avoid squashing them; this upset my bunny hugging daughter terribly.

We went through Keetmanshoop and arrived at Klein Aus around 4:00, then set up camp in a pleasant camp site for the night. Along the way Robs joked about seeing one of my pupils, teaching sport, I teach many children and wherever we go I have a “Hello Mrs Morrison”. I told her that I thought in the middle of Africa, we might be ok. As things turned out the tables turned – in the camp site next to ours were two of her teachers from Girls College (what are the chances?). Tracey Harvey and Ginny Ross were touring Namibia with family and friends. It was great to catch up with colleagues away from work. Graeme and Dougal Ross, are friends from way back and they had a good chat too.

Our first night in our roof top tent was warm but the serious winds kept most of the camp site awake.

Our proposed route

Our route map looks a bit like a child drawing squiggles on Africa and on our return the route may have changed significantly. From a planning aspect, we have to  take some major detours to find airports to accommodate the comings and goings of the kids. There will be unforeseen detours: floods, bad roads, wars, places to find supplies and fuel - this is Africa.

Graeme has spent months of investigation and the art work above is full credit to him.

So the plan is:

Namibia

Zambia

Malawi

Tanzania

Burundi

Rwanda

Uganda

Kenya

 (back through Tanzania)

Mozambique

Zimbabwe

Botswana

South Africa

Why Pandas in Africa?

When we first "blogged" on Graeme came up with " Morrie's Travels", this was quickly vetoed by the kids as being 'so lame'. The various titles of "Into Africa", "Out of Africa" and "African Odyssey" were discarded as so last year. Robyn liked "Sandton to Serengeti", Kirsty thought this was pretentious (rich coming from the princess) and Graeme thought it was too long. We at last agreed on "Pandas in Africa" - Graeme's nick name. Cuddling up to her dad, when Kirsty was younger, she remarked that he was just like a panda bear and the name has stuck. He is a touch on the cuddly side, size wise.

All being well, we will be departing in the next week. Robs and I break up for our Easter school holidays on Friday, if it was up to her we would be heading for Namibia an hour later. I have much to do and want to be a touch better prepared than I am at the moment. I will need a good few days to shop and pack and I am still very busy at school putting things in place for my term away.