unURBAN Adventures - Alaska to Argentina to AFRICA!

[unURBAN]

Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe

When you start travelling you make a plan for your trip and I do not know how many times the plan change along the way. Our original plan was to drive north from Cape Town then through Namibia, Botswana, and then spend about two weeks driving through Zimbabwe. Then we spent one week longer in South Africa than planned and another extra week in Namibia. Now, friends will fly inn to Johannesburg, rent a car and meet up with us in Central Kalahari, so then we have to be somewhere on a specific date. So the plan changed and we realized we had to skip Zimbabwe, but since we did not travel far enough East in USA to see the Niagara Falls and we did not go to Iguazu Falls in Argentina, we really wanted to see the Victoria Falls. Plan …G, H, I or is it J, is now to spend one night in Victoria Falls and Zimbabwe just to see the falls.

The border crossing from Botswana to Zimbabwe at Kazangula was really nice and easy, and from there it was just an 80 km drive to the falls. In Victoria Falls we found a nice backpacker place that let us camp in their garden. With the car nicely parked the town was easy to explore on foot. After walking around for a little while we remembered that we had some recommendations to sit on the terrace at the Victoria Falls Hotel and have a drink and enjoy the view.

It was a really nice stop and the drinks were good, and so was the brownie.

Next day we also left the car at the backpacker place and walked down to the falls. As we approached the entrance all the people with stalls there jumped on their feet as they saw us, and they all asked if we wanted to rent raincoats. It was a funny sight and we just laugh at them since we had Gore-Tex jackets and an umbrella in our backpack.

We paid the 30 USD per person entrance ticket to see the falls and started the walk on the trail along the waterfall.

There was a lot of water and a really impressive view of the falls. We started on the western side of the falls at the statue of Livingstone where a school class had their photos taken.

They all had raincoats on. Further east along the falls it just got more and more wet, like heavy rain from the spray from the falls.

A Gore-Tex jacket and umbrella was ok for our upper part, but our pants got soaking wet. So we should have rented one of the colorful raincoats... But it was a good excuse to sit in the sun for an hour till we were dry again.

Our 24 hour stay in Victoria Falls was really nice. I know that it is probably the most touristy place in Zimbabwe and that the rest of county would not be anything like this, but it is still sad to spend so short time here. But there is always next time….

Malin

 

[xCSx]

Curious question as you have been to a good amount of the world, for example when you are keeping your car at a backpackers house, how do you know this person is not going to kill you in the middle of the night, try to steal your vehicle, etc - how do you establish trust so quickly / how do you stay weary in these situations?

Thanks

 

[iRagedoYou]

E&M,

I absolutely love this trip report, your Patrol, all your pictures and your narrative. Keep on rocking!

Tony

 

[ADK_XJ]

Whew! What an adventure!

Well, I FINALLY caught up to y'all on your trip and great adventure over the last year and a half by reading here and there every night for almost 3 weeks. Feel like I've been on an intercontinental trip myself!

I've also spent a night "sleeping" in my car, although this was in the mountains of Shenandoah, Virginia after a large black bear knocked down our tent with myself and my girlfriend in it. That was nerve-wracking enough, I can't imagine if it had been a pack of lions we were looking to keep out. That begs a question though; what, if anything, have you had for protection from animals of the predatory nature this whole time? Spray, sirens, blunt objects, bare fists? I figure you've now gone through some of the most diverse fauna in the world and I'm surprised your run ins with mother nature have been so tame!

I was also sure you'd have to break out your winch when the 4WD went, but alas you bested the terrain! And, on that note, best of luck to both of you and please continue the excellent collection of photos!

 

[zeke2.0]

Well, I FINALLY caught up to y'all on your trip and great adventure over the last year and a half by reading here and there every night for almost 3 weeks. Feel like I've been on an intercontinental trip myself!

I've also spent a night "sleeping" in my car, although this was in the mountains of Shenandoah, Virginia after a large black bear knocked down our tent with myself and my girlfriend in it. That was nerve-wracking enough, I can't imagine if it had been a pack of lions we were looking to keep out. That begs a question though; what, if anything, have you had for protection from animals of the predatory nature this whole time? Spray, sirens, blunt objects, bare fists? I figure you've now gone through some of the most diverse fauna in the world and I'm surprised your run ins with mother nature have been so tame!

I was also sure you'd have to break out your winch when the 4WD went, but alas you bested the terrain! And, on that note, best of luck to both of you and please continue the excellent collection of photos!

Did you have any sort of food in your tent, even toothpaste?

 

[ADK_XJ]

Did you have any sort of food in your tent, even toothpaste?

No, never - I've wilderness camped too many times to ever put food in a tent. My guess would be that the unseasonable temps (30s in September) and potentially a late night cook-out by a nearby site drew the bear in. I don't think s/he meant to bust into the tent, because when we woke up it was to the sound of sniffing around the bottom of the tent. It knocked the tent in by accidentally pulling a guy-line with his searching around.

Fun night, took my girlfriend almost a year to agree to go camping again! Okay, sorry for the thread hijack to Espen & Malin!

 

[BobbySuburban]

Took a week but read through every single post. What an amazing adventure. Just bought a suburban and can't wait to get out and explore. You are an inspiration to us! If you are ever back in the Los Angeles area you guys have a place to stay.

 

[DiploStrat]

...That begs a question though; what, if anything, have you had for protection from animals of the predatory nature this whole time? Spray, sirens, blunt objects, bare fists?

I can't talk about bears; never been out in the bush in the Shenandoah, but I did live for years in Botswana. The rule was:

-- Elephant: Be very quiet and enjoy. They know you are there and you don't want to spook them. On the road, never get your truck between mother and young. (And remember where reverse gear is in the event that you do or that you provoke a mock charge. Take the hint!

-- Lion: Keep a pan and metal spoon in the tent and, should you have lion in the camp, make noise and lots of it. Camp fires tend to discourage critters.

-- Hyena: Make noise and don't corner them. For example, they love to visit the shower stalls of camp sites, looking for water. Most do not have doors, merely a labyrinth entrance. So you make noise before entry so that you give the critter time to hear you and bolt out.

On the other hand, if a lion is really hungry and really wants you, then she wins.

 

[xCSx]

Eagerly awaiting the next update, its been over 20 days, hope all is still well!

 

[unURBAN]

All is well! Thanks for asking. We are at the moment traveling with friends from back home who are visiting and have rented a 4x4 with a roof top tent. Have taken a few days "off" to play at the beach, and are therefore a bit behind on updates. Sorry for that. Anyway, there are a couple of posts ready to be uploaded now, so if Vodacom Mozambique will cooperate for another hour or so, there will be some new updates...

Espen

 

[unURBAN]

Jackpot at Chobe River Front!

In Maun we met Andrea and Georg from www.toyotours.com again after seven months. First time we met was on Baja California in November 2010 and we traveled together for a while, went different ways, and met up again several times on our trip through Central and South America. Last time we met we drank champagne in Ushuaia celebrating we both made it all the way to the southern tip of South America. From there we had different destinations, and they shipped their Toyota to South Africa a month before we shipped the Patrol. In Maun we were able to meet up again. We had more or less travelled the same route in Southern Africa with some variations. They had visited more national parks than us and they entered Botswana and Kasane from the Caprivi Strip in Namibia. While up in the north eastern corner of Botswana they had two days in the Chobe National Park at the river front, and they said it was the best place they had been so far for wildlife watching.

Taking Andrea and Georg’s advice we spent two days at the Chobe river front. Since it is part of the Botswana National Park system we paid the normal 290 pula entrance fee for the two of us and the car for one day. Since campsites in Chobe are quite expensive we chose to camp outside in Kasane and do day trips into the park. In the park there is one large transit road and many small roads to drive explore. You are able to see the whole river front in one day and drive back out on the transit road before the gate closes.

Recently they have changed the system in the park so the river front closest to the entrance gate until Serondela picnic site allows only tour operators from 06-09 and from 15.30-18.30. When you enter and pay your fees you do not get a map or any information sheets. At the entrance gate there was only a small handwritten map on the wall that showed where you could drive and not, and inside the gate at the different junctions there was no information at all. Our first day in the park we entered the river front were we should not have been by mistake. We did not know the park well enough to know the name of the different places mentioned, and the hand written map on the wall did not really take the scale of the park into account. While in this area we did not meet many tour operators and neither did they say anything to us, so later we entered this part on purpose. It does not feel right when we pay the same entrance free as the others that you as a private visitor are only allowed to parts of the park a few hours a day. But on the bright side, after two days in the park we had our best animal sightseeings in another part of the park. So even if they start enforcing their new regulation in the park you will still be able to see a lot of animals, you just have to drive a longer distance from town than the tour operators.

First morning after entering the park just a few kilometers down the road we saw a hyena walking along a side road. We followed it for a little while, and it took us to a group of other hyenas and a small cub. Very cute, but it was hard to get a good photo of them as they were hiding among the trees. Next stop was the river front where we watched hippos as we were eating breakfast inside the car. An amazing way to start a day. Quite unusual for us Norwegians to watch hippos floating by our “breakfast table”. It was an amazing day watching all the animals along the river front and we had to agree with Toyotours that this must be the best place for animal watching this time of year in this part of Africa. At lunch we had 94 elephants on a plain in front of us together with crocs, lizards, warthogs, antelopes, giraffes, and buffaloes. Later in the day as we stopped the car and watched buffaloes coming down to the water out from the bushes we suddenly found ourselves among a herd of maybe 300 buffaloes.

A perfect day in the park had a perfect ending at the river front. Probably where we should not have been at that time of day, but we stopped there because then it was just a short drive back to the gate after sunset. It was just incredible to watch the elephants walking along the river as the sun were setting.

Early next morning we were ready again. Just a couple of kilometers away from where we saw the hyena the previous day, we saw a group of four wild dogs eating on an antelope.

They had blood far down their necks after digging into their meal. We realized we had not just had a lucky day the day before as it was just lots and lots of animals along the river front on our second day too, and along the river there were no bushes so you always had a good view of the animals. At 12, and closing in on lunch time, we were again in the area where we had lunch the previous day when we suddenly had six lions in front of us eating on a young buffalo that they must have killed recently. You always hear that your best chances to spot lions is early in the morning or late afternoon, but here, six lions were eating in the middle of the day. Espen is going to use this as an excuse for not having to get up early early in the morning ever again. I cannot really find other words to describe the scene in front of us than, INCREDIBLE, and it was unbelievable to sit there and watch six lions eat. And we were the only ones there to watch it.

The lions were moving back and forth between eating, drinking and going up to the bushes and trees to lay down in the shade. After watching for a while we realized that it was seven lions, and then, when they moved around again, we saw that it was eight of them.

If you look really closely at this photo you will see that one lion is laying under a bush up in the right corner of the photo and behind it you will be able to distinguish two more.

While the lions were eating, the vultures where gathering around, but at a safe distance. Most of the buffalo had been eaten up and it was only one lion left, and when it turned its back to the carcass the vultures closed in. The lion turned around and chased the vultures away, but as the lion finally left it was their turn to eat.

This is all that was left of the buffalo 3-4 hours after it was killed.

After we had been watching the lions for over an hour one tour operator vehicle showed up and then it was three lions eating. That vehicle called up its friend on the radio and a few minutes later the second car showed up. Now it was only one lion eating. Like us they were all really fascinated to finally see a lion and were shooting loose with their cameras. What they did not know was that just behind their backs was another seven lions hiding in the bushes. Luckily for us all lions don’t seem interested in people and cars, not even the open ones where it is so easy for a lion to reach in and grab a person from the back, especially when all the people is distracted by the lion in front of them.

In Chobe we did not see any leopards, but we could see the evidence that there was some in the area.

We were going to meet up with our friends east of Central Kalahari in a few days time, and we were heading back to Maun to stock up on food. To get from Chobe river front to Maun we wanted to drive through the Savuti part of the Chobe National Park. Between these two parts of Chobe National Park is Chobe Forest Reserve and some villages, and we drove into this Reserve and bush camped there before entering Savuti the next day.

Driving through Savuti.

After the river front we were a little disappointed with Savuti, it was so dry and most water holes had no water in them. We saw a lot of animal poop, but we hardly saw any animals. I guess that if they were there they were hiding well in the bushes.

Malin

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Great update guys. I knew you were all out having fun...!

 

[bobDog]

Glad to hear from you. Absolutley amazing stuff!! Beautiful pictures. Must be hard moving on to the next place when each stop might have so much to offer.



Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2

 

[unURBAN]

Thanks for comments, Everybody!

That begs a question though; what, if anything, have you had for protection from animals of the predatory nature this whole time? Spray, sirens, blunt objects, bare fists? I figure you've now gone through some of the most diverse fauna in the world and I'm surprised your run ins with mother nature have been so tame!

I was also sure you'd have to break out your winch when the 4WD went, but alas you bested the terrain!

ADK XJ,
We definitely spent some time reading up on camping and overlanding in Africa and what we could expect from wild animals. When it comes to lions it seems they are quite uninterested in people (but car tires have been mentioned a few times..). When camping in unfenced camps in the bush we are more worried about elephants, but these creatures also have a tendency to stay away as long as you "where there first" (as in being parked and not driving towards them). We do have a big canister of bear spray (been with us from Canada) and a powerful torch (which doubles as a blunt object), but to be honest I think that if we ever have to use them it we be for two legged animals... Regarding mother nature we just try to be careful. No camping where there are too many elephant tracks, and we try to finish cooking and camp life before dark when we are bush camping. So far so good

37 inch tires makes it a little easier in deep sand, even in 2wd... But I admit I was a little worried when an elephant started chasing us in revers back the way we came from. Fortunately it gave up after about 100 meters and left the road so we could continue out to our campground.

E

 

[unURBAN]

Botswana to South Africa

New border crossing update. We crossed from Botswana to South Africa over Pont Drift, and if you're planning to tour Southern Africa anytime soon there is an important thing to remember about your visa!

http://www.unurban.no/infopage.html

E