Three years ago when I was injured I was overlanding with Acacia Africa. Overlanding is a type of travel where the travelers camp in tents and participate in helping out. One day you’re helping cook for the group the next you’re washing up for the group etc. Every person jumps in and helps the group as a whole. We are provided with a self sufficient truck, driver, and guide to transport us over great African distances. I’ve blogged about Acaica in the past and if you’re into camping, I can’t recommend them enough as a way to see the remote areas of Africa.
In 2009 I was on a 58 day tour with Acacia through, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia. Day 52 I rolled a quad bike which altered my life. At the time we were only 6 days from ending the trip. I’ve booked a trip in reverse order with them and am only doing the first 11 days of the tour to finish what I started so long ago, revisit the accident scene, and mount a quad bike once again.
I’m now on tour with 18 fellow travelers. Duncan, a Kiwi, is our guide and Pellile, a Zimbabwian is our driver. Part of traveling like this is the camaraderie and social interaction which develops through roughing it with my fellow truck mates. Who my travel buddies will be is the one unknown when picking a tour company, but this being my second time I think those who choose to travel like this have a similar outlook on life. Only one day in and I can already tell the next 11 days is going to be a hoot. Everyone is great and I know I’ll have a new set of friends from around the world when I’m done. Scotland, Switzerland, UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Korea, America, and Holland are represented
We spent our first day learning each others names and the formalities of where we’re from etc. Our first night we are camping at Highlands Winery, a small boutique winery in the Northern Cape of South Africa. Fun was had by all as we started the evening tasting the local creation of this fine place which quickly turned into a group drinking challenge of flip the cup. Hence to say by the end of the night everyone ended up drunk in the pool.
I’m now at Orange River, the longest river in Africa. It separates the border of Namibia and South Africa. It’s fitting, I left Namibia in a wheelchair and last night I swam across the river to make my return on foot. While my hip problems continue to nag and frustrate me, I feel blessed I’m able to walk at all.
We’re only a couple hundred miles north of Cape Town and the climate has already begun to change. I can tell the desert is only a short distance away. It’s blistering hot during the day, arid, and the air is extremely dry. Last night when the sun went down there was an easy 30 degree temperature drop. I’m sure this disparity will only grow as we get into the great Namib Desert.
This is Africa and one never knows what unusual or bizarre thing will happen. This morning 4 of my fellow truck mates returned from canoeing the Orange river with the most out-there experience to date. They found a dead body bloated and floating down stream. They all seemed pretty startled and grossed out. The cops were called and then we were on our way with one more bizarre African story.
