Our AFRICAN ADVENTURE: In A Nut Shell!

Africa was INTERESTING to say the least but very difficult to travel, I think we need a vacation from our vacation! After 45 days of sleeping in a tent with cold showers, having to cook our meals over a campsite fire, bathrooms 5 min walk away iwth jackals, scorpions & pythons lurking in desert (where we camped, and YES we save these creatures on a regular basis!) We'll be ready for the CRUISE! These definitely are memories of a lifetime....It's a country of many UPS & DOWNS; Some days were unbelievable HIGHS (A male lion was 1 foot from us & our safari cruiser, it can't get any better than that!) AND others proved to be the most CHALLENGING & FRUSTRATING days of travel! Our schedule was rigorous, & very trying as MOST LOCALS have ULTERIOR MOTIVES, no matter how friendly they appear...you absolutely have to WATCH YOU BACK!
From sleeping in caves (where we slept face to face with one of the most DEADLY scorpions on earth, little pinchers BIG tail) to diving with GREAT WHITES (only place in the world sharks breech the water) to SPRINTING up the highest sand dune in the world in the nick of time to watch the sunrise over the dunes to getting up everyday at 4AM to continue our journey (we NEVER missed a sunrise nor did we ever get sick of it's beauty no matter how EXHAUSTED we were) to literally getting BLOWN AWAY in the middle of the Namibian desert by a DANGEROUS sandstorm that only comes through 4 days in the year (we camped out in the middle of nowhere, our food, every inch of our body, our entire tent....was COVERED in sand not to mention the pelets of sand that hit your body going 80km/hr, you couldn't see the person sitting next to you!) to experiencing the first celebratory day of Rahmahdan (where we were told if they SEE the moon, the ferry will leave at 10am, if they DON'T SEE the moon the ferry leaves at 7am...I didn't see the moon that night, but apparently they did...which meant A SLEEP IN) to camping on mountain tops where the ONLY light visible was the endless bright stars & moonlight guiding us (where no facilities were available for miles, the constellations are different in the S Hemisphere & the moon is "U" shaped when a crescent) only a leopard that was spotten in the distance (which meant NO getting out to go pee that night!) to trading SHAMPOO, HAIR ELASTICS, BROKEN SHOES, USED UNDERWEAR, A SHAVER that has replaceable blades (this was SO interesting to the locals!) etc...with the locals in exchange for their carvings (they requested to trade the strangest things!..I guess what we call essentials) to falling asleep to the ROARING of lions & squeels from animals that were being hunted to camping out on the beaches of LAKE MALAWI, listening to the powerful waves all night long to visiting an orphanage & realizing that black people CAN DANCE! (we had a DANCE OFF with 3-5 yr olds that out danced us!) They definitely showed us how to PROPERLY MOVE & weren't afrain to LAUGH at our attempts to visitig a ZAMBIAN VILLAGE (on Lake Gafur) & learning how to make MACE fro corn plants (talk about gruling input for such little output) to attempting to "POLE" around the OKAVANGA DELTA in Hippo Pools (means steering a canoe standing up with poles) to almost dunking myself into a swamp as a reaction to spotting a 10ft PYTHON inches away from me! to having the priveledge of encountering the BUSHMEN tribe (they are on the verge of becoming extinct) who taught us how to use different plants & roots to heal the body (I think it must be working as the average Bushmen lives up to 100 yrs old without Western medicie)...if only I could bring back these natural ingredients! to staying up ALL NIGHT in asolute silence as we STARRED anxiously at the WATERING HOLE in ETOSHA spying on the animals coing to drink and watching in AMAZEMENT how they interacted with eachother (after 45 min of TRYING the POOR giraffes walked away thirsty, too many predators were nearby & giraffes are most VULNERABLE when drinking b/c their neck is accessible to all carnivores) to driving through KRUGER just in time to spot VULTURES flying around, we followed their movements that lead us to a dead buffalo carcas where elephants were lining up tapping it's body to pay respects to HAULING around all of our POSSESSIONS on a BEACH in ZANZIBAR after finding out the entire hotel management was in on the 'break in' the night before (they cut through the roof to get into the room & stole everything our neighbors owned! to entering a bushcap WITHOUT provided mosquito nets in one of the most AT-RISK places in the world for MALARIA, in addition no electricity, running, running water or food within 20 miles existed (with no competition $50/accomodation, $20/meal in one of the POOREST countries in Africa, PEMBA, MOZAMBIQUE) to thinking I was literally going to DIE before attempting the HIGHEST BUNGEE in the world(they untied the release before attaching the safety cord, shouldn't it e the OTHER WAY AROUND) to White Water Rafting the ZAMBEZI river LASTING right through the middle of a CLASS 5 current (what was our guide THINKING!) everyone in the raft fell over including the guide, the strong current took us in all directions as our paddles floated further & further away from us by the second (KAYAKS were sent to rescue us as the current kept trying to pull us underwater) to being DRENCHED by the spectacular VICTORIA FALLS (& encountering 2 rainbown passing through the falls) to SPOTTING a sand beetle's home under the surface of the desert dunes (we poured sand into his home, the beetle came to the surface & CLOSED the door, CRAZY!) to cruising up to an ELEPHANT on a catamaran walk across the CHOBE river....and the list goes on!

60 Days & 60 NIghts...1440 hours of ADVENTURE!

The Ferry - Crossing the River in Tanzania getting closer to Zanzibar!

Our HOME SWEET HOME for 30 days, ACACIA TRUCK you treated us well!
The only personal space we had was 1 2ftx1ftx3ft locker that we were supposed to fit our entire life into! Our secret second locker was undisclosed to the group! Although it was supposed to be shared 3 ways, Jason WHO DOES NOT TRAVEL LIGHT took up most of the room!

"Setting up camp, ONCE AGAIN!" Every night for 30 nights we had to set up this tent which we nick named "27 HEAVEN" This routine got tiring very quickly!

Luxury in the wilderness!

Victoria Falls - Zambia Side

The BUSHMEN TRIBE

Brian's on cleaning duty! Scrub those pots....HARDER!

After 'setting up camp' amongst the boulders, we went on an adventure hike, keep in mind that Brian was in sandals! We forgot to take into account that climbing UP is ALOT EASIER than down & at one point had to cliff jump off the boulders....this is the day Brian went sliding & chewed up his heel. Smart move Spiderman!

Baobaba Tree - Enter through the door into a typical Mozambique home!

Natural Reserve for Seals
CAPE CROSS - Biggest seal colony in the world! South Africa.

Lake Malawi - 4:00am

Zambian Village along the Kafue River.

















This is what happens if you leave your vehicle on the side of the road in AFRICA.....go figure!

Wasting no time: FIXED A POPPED TIRE IN 5 MINUTES FLAT! On our way to Kruger National Park, a million miles away from civilization, not an ideal situation to be in when in S Africa!

The tides coming in, BETTER WATCH OUT!

I think fishing is the only activity available out here...

I would hesitate to call this a beautiful beach. I guess next time we shouldn't soley bank of word of mouth!

BIG NOSE!

The REMOTE beach of PEMBA, MOZAMBIQUE. When they told us this area was 'secluded' they really meant it. Watch out what you wish for, there wasn't a sole in sight!

















These trees called BAOBABA TREE, is 30M wide and is called the "TREE OF LIFE" for good reason! It provides shelter (the middle is hollow forming a cave-like shape), food (fruit off the trees with lots of VITAMINS) & water (retains more water than any other tree in the world!)

FASTING is over, the TANZANIA MILITARY kicks of the CELEBRATION. RAMADAN is finished. We woke up to a PARADE as the military marches with pride!

The MAASSAI WARRIORS(TANZANIA) - Sustain their Tradition by taking on the role of their elders. They are famous for their FEARSOME reputation, traveling nomads that heard cattle & wear RED to SCARE OFF LION as their role includes INVADING endangered habitats of lions!

View from our accomodation in Zanzibar. "Just steps from the ocean" is their selling point. What they avoiding telling you, is the inside scoop on the break-ins that happen frequently on the island. Our neighbors went our for dinner, they were SUPRIZED to come back to a hole in their ceiling & missing bags! As a result we carried our backpacks EVERYWHERE, not an ideal situation in a beach environment. BOOOOO!

ZANZIBAR MARKET - 'Special Zanzibar Pizza' complete with a fried egg! Add a Chocolate Banana Pizza & Sugar Cane Juice....the PERFECT MEAL.

Elections are coming up...

Visiting an Orphane in MALAWI, these kids can get dance!

Waking up to the sound of waves on LAKE MALAWI. Sleeping on the beach, watching the SUNRISE & SUNSET.

The breaks in this bus stopped working, the driver crunched the bus in front of him with 100 passengers in the car. At this moment the driver was stuck in his cab, with the weight from the truck on his legs. We pulled up just in time to help with first aid & pulled rope (the experience mimicked a game of tug-a-war) & EVENTUALLY we snapped off the metal sides & were able to carry the driver out.










Curiosity was getting the best of these giraffes...how often can you say a GIFFAFE is wondering around the camp site?

Brian, playing 'hacky sack' with the kids. Remember COACH Brian, practice makes perfect!

The Village People. This is THE AVERAGE SIZE of a FAMILY!!

Setting sail down the KAFUE RIVER, we set up camp in an uninhabited stretch of land that offered the bear-minimum. Here, we were welcomed with traditional food, religious rituals & cultural dancing by the surrounding communities.

White Water Rafting the ZAMEZI RIVER. We faced the CLASS 5 rapid head on....the RAPID WON! Rapid=1, Us=0

Canoeing, or should I say "POLLING" across the river to live on an island in the OKAVANGA DELTA for 3 days.

Our accomodation for the night. It was a tight squeeze to fit in the THREE AMIGOS!





The BUSHMEN TRIBE are on the verge of extinction. Most live past 100 years old without Western medicine. The lady to the right is 90yrs old!