I'm off again...this time to the Dark Continent - a 4 month overland trip down East Africa from Uganda to South Africa
You know it's funny, the first thing people say when I'm off travelling again is "How long can you keep doing this?" The answer is...until I drop or until I reach a zero bank balance - which ever comes sooner!
Anyway first stop Uganda - flying into Entebbe and then heading off to a Lake Victoria Island for some Kindle time. Then it's off to Western Uganda to hug a gorilla or two...
After that it's a route thru the National Parks looping back to Kampala - I'm not even going to mention to anyone that the last King of Scotland was Idi Amin - although even Idi might have had a bit of bother with Nicola Sturgeon!
After that it's back to the border area passing into Rwanda - heading into the Volcans National Park - famous for it's volcanoes of course and more gorillas - not planning to visit them there - you've seen one you've seen them all..:-) Plus the $750 fee means it's a one time only experience for most people!
From there I'll be heading down the Congo Nile Trail towards Kigali the capital and scene of the worst of the 1994 genocide which unbelievably claimed nearly a million people. It's then off to the border with Tanzania
There's just the small matter of getting from the Rwandan border to the Serengeti - 500 km of dusty, bumpy, pot holed roads - not really looking forward to that one but the reward at the end should be worth it...The legendary Serengeti National Park - if the timing is right I might even catch a bit of the famous wildebeest migration.
From there I head to the hectic capital of Tanzania - Dar es Salaam - and then onto exotic Zanzibar to put my feet up again. I'll need the rest as the next part of the journey will be challenging - crossing 800 km across the country (albeit there will be a pit stop at the wonderful Ruaha National Park aka Elephant City) before arriving at the Malawi border
Malawi is all about the Lake...and of course the connections with the famous Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone. I'll be doing a little exploring but not much missionary work! The lake dominates the country and there are several great islands and beach towns to hang my hat. My trip will take me south to the city of Blantyre - named after David Livingstone's birthplace in Scotland - population 17,000 - the Malawi Blantyre is home to over a million! Further south there is some impressive hiking on the Mulanje Massif before heading to the Mozambique border.
Then it's into Mozambique - I'm sure it will not be long before I encounter Mozambique's finest...their police force is reckoned to be one of the most corrupt in the world although I have read that a can of Fanta goes a long way with them..we'll see! Hopefully by that time I will have morphed my rudimentary Spanish into some workable Portuguese - the language of this former colony. Mozambique is going to be all about the coast...all 2400 km of it!! I head straight there from the border - the diving is meant to be amazing with the opportunity to see Humpbacks and Whale Sharks at close range. The pure white beaches ain't gonna hurt either...Having topped up my tan and drained my bank balance I'll head over the border to South Africa
It's back to SA - I visited the Garden Route and Capetown in 2009 but Kwazulu-Natal is a different kettle of fish. I fly home from the capital of the region Durban but before that there are fantastic wetlands to explore and also the Boer War battlefields. My flight heads out of Durban on May 14th - by the time I get home the British Winter should be over...;-)
I hope you will enjoy reading the blogs - as well as all the lazing around I hope to make some veterinary contacts and see if I can lend a hand to our African furry friends - look out for updates on my Vet Blog www.wandervetwork.blogspot.com
Jambo Jambo! (Swahili Greeting)
WanderVet
You know it's funny, the first thing people say when I'm off travelling again is "How long can you keep doing this?" The answer is...until I drop or until I reach a zero bank balance - which ever comes sooner!
Anyway first stop Uganda - flying into Entebbe and then heading off to a Lake Victoria Island for some Kindle time. Then it's off to Western Uganda to hug a gorilla or two...
After that it's a route thru the National Parks looping back to Kampala - I'm not even going to mention to anyone that the last King of Scotland was Idi Amin - although even Idi might have had a bit of bother with Nicola Sturgeon!
After that it's back to the border area passing into Rwanda - heading into the Volcans National Park - famous for it's volcanoes of course and more gorillas - not planning to visit them there - you've seen one you've seen them all..:-) Plus the $750 fee means it's a one time only experience for most people!
From there I'll be heading down the Congo Nile Trail towards Kigali the capital and scene of the worst of the 1994 genocide which unbelievably claimed nearly a million people. It's then off to the border with Tanzania
From there I head to the hectic capital of Tanzania - Dar es Salaam - and then onto exotic Zanzibar to put my feet up again. I'll need the rest as the next part of the journey will be challenging - crossing 800 km across the country (albeit there will be a pit stop at the wonderful Ruaha National Park aka Elephant City) before arriving at the Malawi border
Jambo Jambo! (Swahili Greeting)
WanderVet
