Piet's Africa Top Five

Trip Start Dec 02, 2007
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Trip End Sep 01, 2008


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Flag of South Africa  , Western Cape,
Friday, August 29, 2008

Our Africa experience was slightly different to the rest of the trip - after seven months of independent travel, we were suddenly thrown into a tour group, being told where to go and what to do, with 20+ strangers. After overcoming our initial trepidation, we had a great time, and made some good friends.

Here's my top five for Africa, excluding time with family as usual:

1. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia - This was our first taste of a safari in Africa, something I had been looking forward to for ages. South Luangwa didn't disappoint - stunning scenery and an amazing variety of animals. Getting so close to lions and their cubs was the icing on the cake.

2. Swakopmund, Namibia - For a large part of our journey, Swampyland was seen as something of a Holy Grail - sleeping in a bed for three nights in a row, showers and a town to go out in. Added to that the adrenaline sports - sand boarding (great fun but painful when you wipeout!) and quad biking (fantastic) and you get a great few days.

3. Okavango Delta, Botswana - We had a brilliant couple of days in the world's biggest inland delta. Travelling by makuro was supremely relaxing, lying back while the reeds swish past the boat. We also learnt a lot about living in such an area, and took part in a couple of interesting bush walks, including one of the absolute highlights - a herd of zebra stampeding past us in a perfect arc.

4. Livingstone and Victoria Falls, Zambia - I have been to Victoria Falls before, but they are still an awesome sight. We enjoyed a walk along the Falls, and a great view from a helicoptor flight. We also undertook white water rafting on the Zambezi, and despite a bit of a scare on the first rapid, had a great time.

5. The dunes, Namibia - This was one of the things I was most looking forward to at the start of our trip, and it certainly wasn't a let down. Nothing can quite prepare you for the vastness of the Namibian desert, and the contrasts between the red dunes and the blue sky - pretty much the only colours you can see. We got some great photos, particularly from the climb of Dune 45. It was just a shame we didn't have more time there.
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