A few people have e-mailed to ask what type of journey I am on...I wrote this little blurb to tell you all what an average day as an overland traveller on this trip has been like. Overland travel is just like the name says, you travel between places 'over the land', no planes. Our truck, not a bus, serves not only as our transport, but as portable storage for our personal belongings, food, camping equipment and water.Our day typically starts very early in the morning. Breakfast is usually around 0630 but we must be entirely packed up and tent dismantled prior to eating. Activities for the day vary greatly depending on our location, sometimes we start or end with a game drive. Other times we walk through a local village or partake on a trek to locate primates. So far, no two days have been the same.
Other days are just travel days. On these days our time in the truck varies between 4 - 10 hours. This time is generally spent chatting, reading, napping or just sitting and watching the Africa slip by. The countryside is exactly what you would expect...mud huts nestled
in fields of coffee or bananas with the occasional zebra or baboon, and shabbily dressed little kids frantically waving.
in fields of coffee or bananas with the occasional zebra or baboon, and shabbily dressed little kids frantically waving. We wave a lot. That is the biggest understatement I have ever typed. Travel like this involves waving. Lots and lots and lots of waving. Little kids get stupidly excited at the site of our giant truck and white people, they jump up and down waving so hard it looks like their poor arms may fall off. They often yell "muzunga" at us
, not in an insulting fashion but more as an identifier (similar to the gringo calls that you get in Central America). Muzunga means 'rich white person' in Swahili. We asked what the word for poor white person is...there is none, to them we are all rich.
, not in an insulting fashion but more as an identifier (similar to the gringo calls that you get in Central America). Muzunga means 'rich white person' in Swahili. We asked what the word for poor white person is...there is none, to them we are all rich. Lunch is an interesting affair to watch for outsiders. Our big truck rolls up into a clearing and then, like a well oiled machine we spring into action. Chairs materialize and hungry campers set about the business of chopping vegetables for our sandwiches and salad while locals stand by and stare. (Everyday lunch is the same thing; sandwiches on bread that falls apart in your hands and salad compromised of the previous nights leftovers.) Sometimes livestock wanders through our lunch site. In less than 45 min, dishes are washed a
nd we are back on the road...it was like we were never there. Despite the repetitive nature of lunch, Bryson our chef keeps us well feed. Hearty breakfasts and delicious dinners bookend our days. Worried about us on long drives, he will have Charles pull over and get us fresh fruit from local vendors as snacks. It is amazing what he does cooking with minimal amounts of equipment and a VERY limited budget - I think he would win Top Chef given the chance.
Charles our driver has so far managed to keep us alive despite needing to switch between left and right handed drive, depending on the country and navigating mountain hugging roads. I cannot imagine driving an overland truck to be an easy thing especially since some of the roads we navigate are typically home to just livestock. So I give him kudos, despite my bruised behind.
The day typically ends w
ith a game drive or walk before we set up our tents for the night. I mentioned in an earlier posting about some of the animal life that typically invades our campsite...to date we have had baboons, zebras, pigs, giant cockroaches, monkeys, goats, cats, buffalo, cows, hippos and as I am writing this a warthog is making a snuffing noise outside my tent. Avoiding middle of the night wash
room runs has caused me to severely limit all fluid intake to the point where I may need dialysis when I get home.
ith a game drive or walk before we set up our tents for the night. I mentioned in an earlier posting about some of the animal life that typically invades our campsite...to date we have had baboons, zebras, pigs, giant cockroaches, monkeys, goats, cats, buffalo, cows, hippos and as I am writing this a warthog is making a snuffing noise outside my tent. Avoiding middle of the night wash
room runs has caused me to severely limit all fluid intake to the point where I may need dialysis when I get home. There are occasions where we remain in the same spot for 2 - 3 nights, these are always my favourite. It is nice not to have to pack your bed everyday AND there is a chance to do laundry, clean clothes are such a luxury.
Its an interesting but exhausting journey. Long days, early mornings but it has given me a chance to see a part of Africa that there is simply no other way to see.
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