Africa: Here We Come!!

For the last few years Matt and I have made several friends while living and working in the BVI. A lot of these friends hail from South Africa. And as a result, our curiosity about this country has piqued our interest enough to say, "why not?"

So our grand trip, the Grand Pu bah, if you will, is a 6 week trip to Africa. This is the LONGEST vacation I've ever taken, so it's quite a big adventure.

So, where are we going, you ask?

Well, I'm so glad you did!!

We are going to incorporate a little bit of everything Africa has to offer: wildlife viewings, white water rafting, winery tours, wildlife viewings, sand-boarding, hiking, wildlife viewings, Great White/cage diving encounters, rugby matches, wildlife viewings, mountain biking, braiis (that's a BBQ for you Americans), scenic landscapes, and of course, a wee bit of wildlife viewings here and there.  Our plan is to fly to Johannesburg after a week in London/Barcelona with our good friends Steph and Todd who have lived long enough in Zurich to be residents but in a Swiss's mind will never be, and lay low for a few days there to gear up for our next leg. We will then fly to Zambia to meet our friends Ron and Anya, who will be our tour guides for the next month. We will stay in Zambia for about 4 days, taking in the sights of the Victoria Falls and the surrounding area of Livingstone. From there, we will be living and sleeping in a truck that doubles as a tent for us at night as we drive through game camp after game camp after game camp, looking in every direction for those cherished lions, elephants and giraffes. Our route will take us through Botswana and Namibia.

Once in Namibia, we will be safari-geeked out peeps. Evidently, by the time we finish with Namibia and head back into civilization we will be so sick of animals and ready to be out of the dessert (I'll be sure to let you know if this will actually happen!) However, there will be some adventure-seeking thrills as well: skydiving, sand-boarding, quad-biking, etc.

Driving south toward South Africa, we will be stopping along the way to rest and do some hiking and taking in the sights. Once we arrive into South Africa, the plan is to stay mostly coastal: Saldanha Bay and Capetown, which are big coastal areas, and George, which is where Ron and Anya are from so we will have a little taste of home once there.

To give you an idea of where we are headed, I've posted a map of our proposed itinerary. Of course, this was laid out ahead of time, and knowing us as I do, we will most likely alter some areas as we drive endless miles each day. But for now this is the general direction of our travels.

As we travel I will be updating the blog to post some of the photos and experiences, but as we'll be in the desert I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post. Just know I will update as often as I can and if I'm absent for a while it does NOT mean a lion ate me!! :)

In the meantime, I will continue to pack and repack into my itty bitty duffel bag so I don't take too much. A girl, packing a carry-on duffel bag for a 6 week vacation. Can it be done??!!?? Hmmmm.....