End of trip message from the Trans-Africa Diary - 8th July 2003
As we (Spriti, Timmy and Mr Jock) make our way back up to Harare with the truck and crew, we go through the memories of the last few weeks... So here they are:
Leaving Botswana, we headed for the border of Namibia back into the vast expanse of semi-desert. After a very cold night camping (where a one season sleeping bag would only have kept us warm if it was set on fire!) we all fought for a space round the campfire at breakfast before heading to the capital, Windhoek.
Remembering that we were on the 29th week of the trip, we all jumped off the truck and headed out to see the beautiful sights of the city. Walking quickly past the curio market, the central park, the art gallery and the old museum, I was extremely impressed with the first supermarket - very westernized. The sight of a second supermarket selling chocolate almost brought tears to my eyes. Walking out of the third supermarket, I saw the boys running to a beautiful tourist location - King Pie: Two pies for the price of one. It was a real welcome back to the western world.
After this brief flirtation with western living, it was back to overlanding as we bush camped our way north to Etosha National Park. This was where the real tweeters (bird-watchers) on the truck came to life. Who would have believed that Damo and Luis were part-time enthusiasts. At Etosha we spent three fantastic days trucking round the park spotting wild animals, while Pineapple spent three days game-spotting in the restaurant!
The camp areas were superb. Each camp had a water hole which was floodlit at night, where an array of animals was seen, including a leopard, a family of rhinos, a large group of elephants and a rare African wild cat. Meanwhile, some of us were more concerned with the wildlife around the tents as the jackals and the honey badgers forced Hastie to sleep on the roof once again.
As we left Etosha (stocking up on game meat - kudu a truck favourite) the wildlife continued as our next stop was Otjytotongwe Cheetah Park where the Nel family introduced us to their sanctuary for wild cheetahs (www.cheetahpark.com). Mario introduced us to some of his orphaned cheetahs and most of the truck were brave enough to play with the cheetahs in the garden. Feeding time was interesting as we watched from the open top truck we saw the cheetahs racing for their donkey meat, getting up to speeds of 110km per hour.
Heading towards the Skeleton Coast we stopped at Twyfelfontein to view the 2000 year old rock carvings and paintings. The barren, inhospitable Skeleton Coast was the next point of call for Gunga, whilst the Fanny took the cultural route to Branburg Mountain to view the White Lady Rock Painting. Both trucks met up at Cape Cross Seal Colony: If you check out the photos you can see the smell was too much for some people (Isn't that right, Flopsy?!)
Next stop was Swakopmund: Four days of fun-filled adrenalin sports including skydiving (nice pink suit, Timmy!), sand boarding (where Dizzy the fastest dune took out John), quad biking (which left Kirsty with fantastically bruised legs), fishing (where H hooked a big one!), aerobatic flying (which left Karen and Colin grabbing for the sick bags), horse riding, and a quick stop at the laundromat. Travelling south, we watched the sunrise from the top of Dune 45, before heading in to the sand dunes of Sossusvlei.
Leaving the beautiful dunes we travelled towards Fish River Canyon, the biggest canyon in the southern hemisphere where we watched the sunset. While Gunga made her way towards Orange River, the Fanny stopped off at the Ai-Ais Hot Springs for a bit of rest and relaxation.
Now, as we entered the last country of the Trans, signs for Cape Town appeared and the realization that this adventure was almost over spread through the truck. The stop-off at Stellenbosch couldn't have come at a better time, with the wine tour creating a merry atmosphere for the next couple of days.
Day 223: After packing our Stellenbosch goodies (champagne and bucket-loads of wine) onto the trucks we headed in convoy towards our ultimate destination and final celebratory meal.
Journey Facts: 34,000km travelled through 23 countries in 223 days; 48 people started, 42 people finished.
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