Category: Captain(s) Log

The Captain(s) log was always intended as a capture of some of the random thoughts, frustrations and experiences we go through as we travel along but lately it seemed to evolve more into a replica of the travel diary, this month we have tried to get it back on track.  Hopefully, in a succinct form, it helps to show the good, bad and sometimes ugly side of full-time travel. 

2 January

Slightly frustrating CITY day. To fill gas bottles required 24 hours and we endured the Kampala traffic as we criss-crossed it trying to shop & find a place to stay.  Mr Jones did however get his sparkle on @ Buddy’s car wash! 

4 January

Feeling like second class citizens, camped at a lovely lodge on shores of Lake Victoria but the campsite is a 10 minute walk down the hill next to staff quarters, it feels like the campers must be hidden away.

9 January

A campsite of SA standards, Kluges Farm, means a planned stop of 2 days become 5.  Got admin done, relaxed by pool each afternoon and did a short forest walk. 

10 January

Crater lakes scenery was pretty awesome but only enough to hold us for a couple of hours, one crater is another crater. Disappointing accommodation options after driving further south. 

11 January

Heart attack material woken by gunshots and a trumpeting elephant at 2am!   Definitively makes for a different travel diary entry. 

14 January

Mapping software glitches aaaargh!  We have struggled so much with routing in East Africa, if its not maps.metrying to send us down footpaths, then its google choosing tiny little back roads in towns and today Tracks4Africa taking us on a narrow dirt road with big drop offs when there was a perfectly good tar road we could have stayed on! 

15 January

Bucket list item ticked, mountain gorillas!  A great experience but at the same time rather saddened by human nature and the “dog eat dog” mentality of humans to get a picture of said gorillas. While there were only 8 of us in the group some were almost stepping on each other to get a pic or hogging the best spot, guess they never heard of Ubuntu!!!

16 January

First impressions of Rwanda – WOW. A lovely and simple border (Cyanika) crossing and then just amazed by the energy of the people, scenery and cleanliness as we drove towards Kigali. And Kigali: modern, clean, organised and trendy.

22 January

What an interesting few days we have had. Firstly a wonderful weekend in Kigali with Dion, then Mr Jones “appearing” in a music video shoot and now finally on Lake Kivu.  So nice to be next to the water again.

23 January

Sitting on the shores of Lake Kivu, camped on a hotels terrace just above the water watching the twinkling lights (including functional street lights) across the bay.  Once again Rwanda WOW

24 January

Grumpy after a long day as we have discovered issues with Mr J: looks like we may have a F@&@ universal joint on the rear prop shaft and a bearing issue at the water pump or the water pump is packing up.  Also the one boot on the steering drop arm is perishing. Guess we won’t be crossing the border tomorrow….

25 January

Thank goodness for Dion Thompson, after a failed attempt to fix the prop ourselves, “we called a friend” and headed back to Kigali and a proper mechanic for the prop shaft. Stuart applied a bush mechanic fix to the perishing boot, lots of new grease and duct tape to hold it in.  Water pump bearing noise we will monitor.

26 January

Broken at the end of a hard and eventful day:  a double transaction on credit card; being declared “illegal entrants” upon trying to leave Rwanda; horrific Tanzanian roads; finally ending the day at a dodge motel/bar in a tiny cross roads village.  

27 January

Another hard day of terrible roads (8 hours for 330km).  The stark contrast to Rwanda in both infrastructure and the nature of people could not be more evident.

28 January

Rest day on Lake Tanganika and it is raining, grrrr!  Was hoping for some sunshine so we would swim and perhaps even use the SUP.

31 January

Shattered, been another hectic few days:  the “road” from Kigoma down south was more camel trophy stuff than either of us needed; followed by another ugly hotel parking lot camping experience and then a nasty border crossing into Zambia. 

In contrast to the  travel diary our Captains log is a capture of some of the random thoughts, emotions frustrations and experiences we go through as we travel along. Hopefully it helps to show the good, bad and sometimes ugly side of full-time travel. This captains log covers December 2019 while we were firstly in Kenya and then our first days in Uganda

1 December

Border crossing day so the usual higher stressful levels associated with that combined with exhaustion at the end of the day.  Small melt down in the team as we tried to find a dry spot to park at Jungle Junction, most of the campsite is a swamp currently due to the unseasonably heavy rains.  The rains have so far resulted in over a hundred deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands.

2 December

Managed to get Mr J serviced this afternoon at the Jungle Junction campsite.  Overall all good and no issues.

3 December

Ventured out to the nearest mall and to some shopping done and was so nice to sit down for a simple lunch in a modern restaurant.  On our way out spotted an insurance broker so stopped to find out if our COMESA insurance bought when entering Tanzania a month ago in fact was valid as we have lingering concerns for a while, turns out it was not so we got ripped off back then of USD90!

5 December

Even though we are having loads of rain, Mr Jones setup has been great and we stay mostly dry so long as we wear gumboots.   Been great to enjoy the lounge at Jungle Junction, with fireplace, and catchup on various tasks.  Free fast WiFi is the BEST!

7 December

Our first night out of Mr Jones in approx 2 months and only the second in 4 months.  Aaah the conveniences of an on-suite bathroom.  Fast WiFi and the free use of washing machine allowed us to get all chores done too.

10 December

Packing up in Naivasha after a couple of cold & rainy days, with a nearly flat fridge battery, made for a grumpy Stuart.

12 December

Dreaming of being involved in a go-kart race only to wake to the sound of lawnmowers, why does the campsite need to mow the lawn from 10pm to 3am??.  Somehow still slept reasonably well.

14 December

Took our Bilharzia tablets last night and feeling quite “out of sorts” today.  We had been warned that this could happen, guess it’s better than getting bilharzia.

15 December

A day of contrasting emotions! The drive was spectacular crossing two mountain ranges (2000m and 2700m respectively) and through valley floors. A bit of stress as one river was in flood but thankfully some locals could show us a way around and then the higher pass had many mudslides but there was always a way through. Just as we joined the tar a taxi rolled coming towards us, thankfully no major injuries but so sad to see how many smart SUV’s just drove past while we attempted to administer some basic first aid. We are both a tad shattered this evening.

16 December

Plans are meant to be changed, our intention was to cross into Uganda today but while doing some grocery shopping in Eldoret where approached by a lady asking if we belonged to the Landy outside.  Turns out she lives on a farm 20km outside town and invited us around for the night.   The Krugers are 4th generation South African/Kenyan farmers.

18 December

It was hard to tear ourselves away from the Krugers hospitality but as we have started to pose some deadlines on ourselves it was time to move.  Excluding border crossing time, the drive to Jinja in Uganda was meant to be 3,5hours per the GPS, so maybe 5,5hours with a border crossing.  It turned out to be closer to 7,5hours! Thankfully the Haven campsite has a stunning veranda overlooking some Nile rapids and we enjoyed a couple of beers with fellow travellers before working about opening Mr Jones.   Stuart also had his first run-in with Ugandan cops today, looks like we will have to super vigilant as in Tanzania, they were clearly up to no good and after some time he walked away without paying anything.

20 December

The last couple of days we have had a lovely family camped next to us, Paul, Anna and there two children. It made us realize that the one thing we have been missing throughout the trip but couldn’t quite put our finger on was interaction with like minded and educated local citizens of the countries we have passed through.  Up until now almost all our interactions have either been with fellow travellers (limited due the relatively few on the road) or jaded expats running lodges.

23 December

Up at dawn to “commute” into Kampala on a mission to get Gorilla permits, the 2,5 hour drive in was not too bad.  Due to system issues and volume of people it took 3 hours to get the permits but the staff were so friendly and we even got surprise cake and a cooldrink when the Executive Director and his entourage popped into the office to wish staff and guests Merry Christmas. Traffic leaving Kampala was crazy!

25 December

A super relaxed but very nice Christmas Day.  Woken up by horrific thunderstorm with super close lighting strikes (later found out it took out the lodge solar system) and sleeping high in Mr Jones with his roof sticking into the sky does not make one feel secure.  Spent the morning on video calls chatting to family scattered around the world and the afternoon relaxing. A nice buffet dinner and some live music rounded off the day perfectly.

26 December

Woke up to rain again and packed up wet again, headed out back in the Kenya tborder direction. Drove into Sipi Falls area and immediately you realize that you are in a tourist spot with guides offering their services to walk you to the waterfall for $15, eish that is an expensive walk. Having come from a super camping spot the VERY basic facilities are a hard reality.

27 December

Drove into the mountains in the hope of going for a bit of a birdwatching walk but sadly they are more geared to do multi day hikes and we don’t have the gear and Tania doesn’t have the stamina for it. Yet another storm yet another wet day, it is the end of December in Africa and I have worn my down jacket more often then I have in winter.

28 December

After a horrendous drive out of the now very wet and slippery road we headed down the mountain in search of a new campsite below the Sisiya falls. Stunning visual of the falls but ablutions still not cool, day 3 of wet wipe showers.

29 December 

Headed back to Jinja and a HOT shower. Camped at a new overland spot very pretty with all the Overlanding requirements of a huge banda, own kitchen area, nice restaurant and stunning ablutions which means tomorrow is spa day for Mr Jones and ourselves. Sadly not much of a view to the falls on the Nile river which are just below the restaurant.

31 December

Both super grumpy this afternoon/evening as we for the first time in ages we have tried to plan out the next 2 weeks, for some reason it just irritated us.  BUT then enjoyed a wonderful pork roast which we had brought from SA for Xmas and not used, afterwards went down to the bar and joined an eclectic bunch of Australian, Italians, Kenyans Russian, Ugandan, Zambian.  Both tourists and the tour operators/drivers for some of the large overland trucks.  Turned into a wonderful New Years Eve.

Our Captains log is a capture of some of the random thoughts, frustrations and experiences we go through as we travel along. Hopefully it helps to show the good, bad and sometimes ugly side of full-time travel. These log entries cover the first month we spent in Tanzania. Apart from the log we also put together a travel diary together with pictures, the one for Tanzania will follow shortly.

30 October 

Today we found a small piece of paradise after a hot sweaty day yesterday, not all days are fab travelling but yesterday ranked up there as one of the worst for me.  It wasn’t a long day or involve a border crossing it was just hot and we lost out on a great overnight stay because l thought that another place would be better.  It was a bad gamble I took, what can I say win some loose some but ultimately try to learn from it.

2 November

Great day, got to watch the Rugby World Cup final in the a far from typical location (a schoolroom in the grounds of the campsite we staying at, FloJa Foundation), picture projected onto a white cloth screen.  Andreas the owner, went out of his way to ensure he had the right DStv channel for us and so with some friendly banter between 3 rugby fans (Stuart, 1 Aussie & 1 Pommie) together with the Dutch owner and Tania we got to cheer the Springboks on to a great win.  A quick dip in the lake at halftime was the perfect way to cool off.

3 November

Border day with the usual frustrations in sourcing local currency (the border ATM’s never work) and purchasing insurance, etc.  The long climb/drive from the border to Mbeya was very pretty and spectacular.

5 November

After a rest day, its time to start moving towards Dar es Salaam.  Once again a spectacular drive, at one point cresting at 2300m.  Had a bit of “sport” with local cops at one point, they zapped us speeding up out of a 50km/h zone roughly 100m before the sign but only stopped us 5km later and presented us with a picture on a cellphone, which started a long discussion and refusal to pay until Stuart saw the actual radar gun.  It took nearly 30min for that to arrive as the operator had to get a left on a motorbike taxi, which gave us plenty of time to observe the scam in progress.  Basically the locals when pulled over were doing some “cool drink money” payments, and after quietly filming this it gave Stuart the opportunity to negotiate hard. A further 30 minutes later we were back on the road with no fine paid and having seriously disrupted there sideline business for the last hour.

7 November

Another day of hectic Tanzania roads/drivers, a GPS planned 3 – 4 hours seems to always mean closer to an intense 6 hours o concentration.  Today we had 2 fuel tankers careering past us on a steep downhill pass through blind bends (VIDEO), thank goodness no one was coming up the pass at that point.

10 November

Yesterday we arrived at Firefly (Bagamoyo) and our first impressions were “we can stay here a while” due to it’s shabby chic and chilled vibe. The local mosque however chanted all night and we woke to rain and flies (due to local fish market), perhaps we won’t stay that long after all.

12 November

Turns out the all night chanting was for the prophets birthday and a one night thing only so we slept better the next few nights apart from waking early for the veryearly morning call for prayer.  A 3 hour round trip into the outskirts of Dar es Salaam for shopping means we are now well stock again and plan to move up the coast to Barrys Beach lodge which promises white sands and hopefully a long stop next to the ocean.

14 November

Yesterday was a day of frustration & disappointment!  Firstly got stopped again for speeding despite being supremely careful about the 50 zones but think I now know how they trick you into thinking the 50 zone no longer exists. Anyway after the receipt machine wouldn’t work and after turning down the offer of “them helping me out” I was let off with a warning (2 – 0 in the Stuart versus Tanzanian cops match so far). Secondly what we thought was going to be tar all the way ended with 90km of rough and slow dirt and so adding 2 hours to our journey time.  Thirdly when we arrived at the lodge, the sought after white sands were no longer as the big storms of a few days ago have washed in heaps of dead seaweed plus it was stinking hot with humidity off the charts.  On the plus side there is a swimming pool and the staff are super helpful.

15th November

It took a day to chill out from the drive and the heat. Lying on the lounges with the breeze of the ocean did help the situation that is until I walked into a palm tree exiting the campsite and landed on my ass, yay another bruise, scrapped knee and sore nose but the day had been good enough for it not to put a damper on us.

16 November

As the crow flies we only moved about 50km but it took about 2,5 hours due to the road conditions, a ferry crossing and then having to pull a broken down Land Cruiser off the ferry.  We should have moved to this new spot (Peponi) a day earlier, it looks and feels great.

20 November

Peponi has been just what the doctor ordered, it’s been easy to while away 5 days camped a few metres above the high tide mark under big trees and with a lovely pool and chill area to relax in.  If there were just waves to surf it would be perfect.

21 November

Grrr, a hard day driving in mud including rescuing a truck from the mud and then finding out the fees to traverse through Amani nature reserve are USD65 and not USD30. Tanzanian park fees are ridiculously expensive!!

23 November

After 24 hours of hard rain, I wasn’t looking forward to the descent from Amani but it turned out okay.  The drive up into the Usambari West mountains was spectacular and thankfully tar most of the way and now we are camped in a hotel parking lot but only 2 metres from our backdoor is the cliff and spectacular views to the Maasai plains when the clouds clear.

25 November

Did a great little walk yesterday with a local guide and then on our own today around Irente and though the local villages and farming areas.  Was very impressed with how well looked after the land is and little plantations.  Then swapped our parking lot site for the Irente farm camping spot which is nice and peaceful in the forest, just no view.

26 November 

Not a good day, we moved to Moshi just below Mount Kilimanjaro.  The campsite we stopped at had good reviews on iOverlander and when we got there we were greeted at the gate by a young man who took us around the property, showed us the ablutions, arranged for the vehicle gate to be opened so we could setup, etc.  At no time did we have any reason to believe he did not belong especially as he chatted freely with others on the property.    iOverlander reviews indicated the price to be USD10pppn and after having setup the young man arrived and told us the price was now USD15pppn, Stuart argued a bit with him about this but in the end as we were tired and setup we paid. Only 10minutes later did the older caretaker arrive with a book to register in and a receipt for USD10pppn, naturally a big argument then ensued with Stuart demanding the overpaid amount back and in which the manager/owner claimed they did not know who the youngster was.  Eventually we got the official rate refunded and left to camp in the back of a hotel parking lot. Grrrrr!

28 November

Having debated if it was worth heading further west before going up to Kenya, very glad we did head west as we have ended up in a superb campsite, possibly the best one since leaving SA (Migombani).  It has lovely lawns, modern ablutions and a pool overlooking Lake Manyara.  We are really close to Ngorongoro Reserve but sadly won’t be going there due to the exorbitant fees (USD280 per night for 2 persons camping in you own vehicle plus an additional USD300 if you want to drive down into the crater)

30 November

Migombani camp has been great, a variety of overlanders (British, Canadian, Dutch, Danish & German) plus superb facilities.  Had loads of rain today but dried out this afternoon and it is now time to move on.  Tomorrow hopefully we will be in 

Our Captains log is a capture of some of the random thoughts, frustrations and experiences we go through as we travel along. Hopefully it helps to show the good, bad and sometimes ugly side of full-time travel. These log entries cover our almost 2 months in Malawi, we have 1 week left before we enter Tanzania. Apart from the log we also put together a travel diary together with pictures, the one for Malawi will follow shortly.

9 September

Today we can start to relax and enjoy the lake, last two days have been spent cleaning out the internals of Mr Jones after all the dust of north western Mozambique

10 September

Great sunset cruise on lake with fish eagles swooping in for fish from the boat.  Nice social evening with two retiree couples who are the first other travellers (barring one motorbike) we have met since leaving SA

11 September

Amazing how one party can spoil an idyllic location for so many.  An arrogant Dutch couple arrived, practically demanded that vehicles are moved so they can camp near lake and then proceeded to bury their car in the sand down to the chassis creating dust for all.  To top it off they blamed everyone else for not wanting to move. Unnecessary tension in camp for next few days.

13 September

Great day out on the SUP, paddled about 9km so fairly tired at end but scenery was amazing both above and below water.  Water is so clear, with loads of fish and underwater boulder formations to observe.

16 September

Peace and quite in the campsite this morning, for the first time in 9 days we have it to ourselves and selfishly it feels quite nice even though the couples that have been here have all been great and good company.  And lets not forget the 3 days of forty 13 year old kids camped around us followed by 3 days of church service just over the wall in the village.

18 September

It’s 11 days since we arrived at Cape Maclear and we are ready to leave BUT we learnt there are protests planned in all major cities over the elections.  This scuppered our plans to go to Lilongwe and stock up plus extend our visa.   We will sit tight for at least the 3 days of protests and then it’s the weekend so guess we are here for another 5 days.

19 September

Familiarity breeds contempt!  One of the camp attendants has been really helpful during our time here sorting out the welding repairs on the back step, organising some sewing repairs and making market runs for us but lately we have noticed him taking advantage of certain things. It is such a pity as were going to give him a really nice tip, now we are left wondering and probably will only leave an average tip.

20 September

Great day as we extended our visas at Monkey Bay (took all of 5 minutes) giving us 60 days in Malawi and were pleasantly surprised by Lilongwe where we got all our shopping done except we didn’t come right in finding a replacement inverter.   

24 September

After a few relaxing days in the mountains at Nchisi Forest lodge we headed back to the lake. After enjoying a simple lunch and beer (after the waiter managed to spill half of one beer all over Stuart) at Ngotagotha Pottery Lodge, tensions rose when trying to setup camp – it was busy (ish) so felt like we were parking on top of people, hot and humid with wind, a little sandy (which were hoping to avoid) and after parking and setting up we got swarmed by ants.   Later while attempting to fix the inverter, Stuart cut his forehead open.  Some days things just don’t go your way!!

25 September

Another day of the small things getting to us, the wind blew all day and night picking up dust from the beach and coating the insides of Mr J and us while we slept.

26 September

Stuarts birthday and having spent another night of being rocked and rolled by the wind, with dust thrown in for good measure we decided to move and try find somewhere else where perhaps we could enjoy the day.  Ended up at a beautiful spot called Ngala beach, lots of green grass and big trees. It just has such a nicer “energy” than the last couple of days.  A very nice surprise was a birthday card and beer from two travellers (Leanne & Win) we had met a few days before.

29 September 

First sick day of the trip.  Stuart woke to serious upset stomach, but once there was nothing left in the stomach we decided to still move a couple 100km down the lake.  He was a very broken man by lunch but an ice cold coke, plate of hot chips and a good afternoon nap went a long way to making him feel better.

30 September

Woke up feeling like normal again, thank goodness it was literally only a 12hour bug, whatever caused it.  Had a chilled day around camp.

1 October

Camping in a picnic site on top of Zomba plateau, so peaceful as we are the only ones here and when the mist arrived it was quite every.  Basic facilities but its so nice we will stay an extra day.

3 October

When overlanding a campsite should offer 3 simple things, hot water for showers and enough pressure to rinse soap off, grassy sites so can keep feet clean and ideally a clean dishwashing area with basins not super low.  Malawi campsites are relatively expensive at USD20 per night and often don’t tick any of the boxes.  Tonight’s is a prime example, sandy/muddy parking area and showers which were just warm but an almost non-existent water flow!  We haven’t check the basins yet.

5 October

After being bombarded by “guides” when we tried to camp at the Mulanje mountain campsite we have moved to Africa Wild truck campsite, its so nice and peaceful. Think we will do a tea plantation walk tomorrow.

8 October

Made a 4,5 hour detour today in order to purchase wine and groceries, Blantyre didn’t have much decent stock so we trekked off to Lilongwe.  Annoyingly picked up a speeding fine on the way – the road signage is often very unclear in the little villages and Stuart got caught out twice, the first one he argued his way out of but no chance on the 2nd one!

10 October

Had a great evening last night, joined Steve & Leanne for a curry and then went to the campsite bar which had a few expats at it.  Good conversation and many laughs resulted in us only getting to bed @ 1:30 and felt a tad fragile this morning.

12 October

2 months on the road and we have showers with decent water pressure and hot water (not that we need it as it is so warm already).  What a difference the little things can make!  Fat Monkeys, you were great 9 years ago and once again tonight.

13 October

We got a room and it was hot! To celebrate Steve’s 60th birthday we joined them at Thumbi Island view lodge. We had a great afternoon and evening however we definitely sleep better in Mr Jones when it is this warm.

17 October

Time flies by when you are in a beautiful spot, we made a big hop up the lake hoping to stay somewhere long and use the SUP for a few days.  The wind has conspired against us but that hasn’t stopped us chilling and “losing” a few days.

18 October

Did a big paddle on the SUP today, roughly 4km into a headwind and swell, the island we were targeting seemed to take forever to get too.  The homeward trip was however a wonderful downward paddle.

20 October

DSTV seeking mission to watch the Springboks take on Japan.  First walked 1,5km along lakeshore to a neighbouring lodge with no luck so once back at Mr Jones took the SUP in opposite direction, spotted a roof with satellite dish and after a small dumping coming into shore we had success and the bokke had success too 🙂

22 October

Yesterday drove a fantastic narrow dirt road with great views over the mountains to an isolated lodge.  The road reminded us a lot of both the Valley of a Thousand hills and wandering along the wild coast.  We eventually dropped 900m over the last 8km into the bay in which the lodge is located, when the road ran out the local villagers were only too happy to show us the tracks to Usisya lodge.

24 October

We knew Mr Jones would have to work hard leaving Usisya and very soon we were in low range due to the steep inclines.  About halfway up, even in low range we lost power and then the engine cut out on a rather steep section.  Far from ideal.  Even though we had a 1/4 tank in the main tank Stuart figured it was most likely a fuel starvation issue so we started to pump fuel from our 3rd tank and prime the fuel system with the handpump.  Fortunately this worked and 20min later we were moving upwards again.

26 October 

The last 2 days have been spent doing all the boring stuff of travelling in theory, but the difference is when you are on the road you seem to always find the gems in humans. Maybe its just that we have the time these days or that we are willing to engage and don’t have the do not disturb sign on.  From the random aid worker who admires Mr Jones to the guys at the car wash that tell you about being deported from RSA or to the guys in the market that help you through the maze to find the ever elusive paraffin that we have been hunting down for the last 2 months.

Quick daily thoughts on our 23 days in Mozambique

15 August

Crossed into Mozambique @ Giriyondo and finished at Sunset Beach.  Lessons learnt for the day: Research thoroughly if transiting through a National Park, paying R550 to transit across 70km of corrugated road with zero to look at other than Mopani forest is a waste.  That excludes the potential wear and tear on Mr Jones as we rattled him to pieces, stopping to pick up pieces of gear that have fallen off is not fun!!

16 August

Good to be back in Tofo, enjoyed a nice plate of chips and beer for lunch. Had a great surf session late afternoon.  Life is good!

19 August

Rude start to the day with a bee sting which is a first for me (Tania)  but not as horrific/rude as it was for the poor bee. Was very windy on the beach but watching whales breach made it overall an awesome day

20 August

Overcast when got up, went for a surf and was the only one out for about 45min then joined by one other. Quite nice waves.  Cold walk back to camp in the rain, fortunately madala had the donkey going so could grab a hot shower.  Now we are enjoying our 1sqm living space (Tania on floor and Stuart sitting on fridge) enjoying coffee.  Later moved upstairs to our “pyjama” lounge.

21 August

Windy together with off and on sun is making for an uncomfortable morning as can’t find a happy temp while sitting around for breakfast plus the wind keeps blowing stuff into the sand.  Add in the fact that both of us are a bit sore and stiff and you have two grumpy campers today.

From grumpy in the morning to a great afternoon on the beach.  Nice sun and temp combined with good surf.

22 August

Another great and full day.  It is not obvious until you doing it but this lifestyle does consume time as we do everything manually, from washing dishes to walking into the market to buy food, etc.  Of course we did also spend about 4 hours on the beach.

27 August

So long Tofo it’s been good to know you.  Once again had a great time here, Stuart got some quality surfing time but both of us are ready to move on.

28 August

“No sand we feel so clean”.  Camped on beachfront at Inhassoro but in a grassy campsite, what a wonderful feeling to have a shower and walk back to Mr J without getting feet full of beach sand.  

29 August

Wind is pumping and its cold, how is it possible that we have have a King size duvet cover, a queen size duvet inner and only a 3/4 size bed and I (Stuart) still have only a little bit of sheet to cover me at night ?

30 August

Feeling rather depressed, it’s been 12 years since we last come up to the Gorongosa area and there has been practically no development outside of a few petrol stations and a Chinese built interchange outside Beira.  The general population is living exactly as they did then, perhaps all that’s changed for them is that the young teenagers we saw 12 years ago are now parents. It seems like a rinse and repeat cycle.

31 August

A hard day of really krap roads (7 hours for 300km) ends on the lawns of CUA CUA lodge on the banks of the Zambezi.  A few beers later and a wash in the pool and we feel better until the sun sets and the mozzies come out in force.  We cover ourselves in Deet and worry about Malaria while preparing supper.

2 September

Long day of driving, good roads.  Ended at scenic spot outside Nampula BUT it is the bratpack from Nampula party/picnic spot.  The last revellers left around nine.  Tania woke around 4 hearing somebody by the car, then the lights went off so we sat nervously peering out, luckily nothing come of it.

5 September

Never judge a book by its cover!  We arrived at the only campsite around Ilha De Mozambicue and first impressions were we can only stay one night.  The hosts were so friendly and even though facilities very basic it was spotless and rather peaceful so we ended up staying 3 nights.  Il

6 September

Crows are worse than Hadi DA’s!!

7 September

SHATTERED! Yesterday was exhausting, Yesterday was ugly, Yesterday Africa did its best to chew us up and spit us out.  12 Hours on the road (including a border crossing) of which at least 10 were not stop driving and 5 of those on rough ugly foot deep powder dirt which left us and Mr Jones caked in dust.  I think all 3 of us will be coughing out dirt for weeks to come.  Supper was fit for a king, a beer and shared packet of Simba chips as we couldn’t be bothered to do anything else and they were the only things clean.  To make matters worse our overnight stop was grimy, so we didn’t even get a shower.

Some of our our random thoughts and feelings in the weeks leading up to departure.

30 May:

Excited at starting new chapter, felt good to spend time saying cheers to everyone at work. Weirdly almost emotionless and surreal

1 June

Last farewell with friends and family at home. A final bash before we start packing up the house. Great to entertain in our lovely home once again

3 June

After a day of buying items for Mr. Jones and trying to get last minute jobs done, slept terribly as the reality of never collecting another pay check dawns on me. In the past I could just swipe the credit card and there was a pay check coming, this won’t be the case anymore

4 June

No, we can’t not need all of this!!! How can we have so much stuff to give away, won’t we need some of it when we settle back down? BUT let’s get rid of it now. All seems a bit crazy, how many sets of towels, sheets, blah blah do we think we really need

7 June

STRESSED and tired, not sleeping and feeling overwhelmed.

10 June

Irritability running High in the house today. The chaos and stress of trying to pack up even though we still have some uncertainty of the house sale and transfer are beginning to show, both of us needed little timeouts today.

17 June

3 days after having brought the cats down to Natal to stay with Tania sister, they are struggling to settle. Thomas in particular seems very depressed and sits staring outside for hours on end or just doesn’t interact with us which compared to his old self shows he is very pissed off or depressed. Leaving them here makes sense but it is heartbreaking 

18 June

After all these years spent employed in this company I walked away with the reality that nothing you did or didn’t do makes a difference in the grand scheme of life.

Life goes on and you are just a vague memory of employee number 2904.

All the nights of not sleeping and worrying about deadlines/ budgets/ difficult clients or situations that you knew you would have to handle come morning are just meaningless. 

I know that I look at this from the front seat sitting in my current position but if only I could have realized it then and truly internalized what a small impact I was making.

Why was I getting myself so wound up and sending my stress levels in to stratosphere over situations that would ultimately play out as they where meant to with or without my contribution.

Did it ever truly matter are there not bigger problems in the world to worry about or do we become so inward focused that we cannot see the trees for the woods? 

22 June

The cats seem to be settling which great news and one less thing to worry about.

26 June

4am: How ironic that I sleep less now than when I was working and often very stressed out, back then my skin would flare up whenever stressed and I would feel wound up. Now my skin is great but without fail I have woken up almost every morning around midnight and struggle to go back to sleep, a very busy mind! Hopefully it will improve once we have completed the move out the house. The movers come today for our boxes and the couple of items of furniture we keeping.

28June

Emotionally and physically exhausted. Took our last things from home today. Even though we have given away more than we kept we still seem to have too much stored in Sam’s garage (perhaps we will slim down even more next week). We are officially homeless as of today!

1 July

Finally had a couple of goodnights rest and starting to relax. Cool to go shop mid -morning on a Monday, everything is so quiet and Woolies has loads of free samples out to taste. We enjoyed croissants with ham and cheese followed by yummy strawberries 🙂

5 July

A few days later and not sleeping properly again, grrr! Been a week of admin and trying to get all the little things sorted

9 July

Have come out to Pilanesberg for a few days holiday while we wait for admin processes to play out.  Had a lovely day in the reserve, spent a good few hours sitting at a picnic site in the furthest corner of the reserve reading and listening to the bush. Being mid-week we had it all to ourselves for practically the entire time we were there.

10 July

Stuck in No Man’s Land. Both of us have been feeling “out of sorts” lately. Is it because we are just waiting and can’t really say we are travelling/ travelers, definitely can’t say we have jobs or a career and we also no longer have a house. So, while we idle we feel out of sorts.

10 July evening

Our first petty theft!! So annoying, realized tonight that the small wire brush and gloves I use for the mini Weber have gone walk about.  Not cool Pilanesberg 

16 July

Been at Bela- Bela hot springs the last 5 days just soaking up the sun and hot water (surrounded by Silverbacks) which has been absolutely great. Both feeling really relaxed now. Even played like teenagers today on the super tubes and tube rides 

22 July

Found the Weber brush in my tool draws (apologies Pilansberg).  I have been in and out of that draw a few times since thinking it was stolen, may have even moved the brush and yet I didn’t spot it.  Looks like we may be losing our minds already.

24 July

Received the wonderful news that the house transfer is registered, which gives us a few weeks to close accounts and claim deposits back related to it.

31 July

While having lunch we were talking about how after 1,5 & 2 months respectively from finishing work it feels so long ago and strange to even think how much time was spent at work, how it dominates life and how it now feels so immaterial, etc. also how we don’t even miss the house or all our material items from it, we have just moved on.  It’s a great feeling of freedom.

3 August

Spent ¾ of the day with Mr. Jones mechanic getting to know Mr. J and conducting a final service before we depart.  Up to my elbows in oil.

7 August

Completing lots of last minute, purchases of spares, tools and other essentials. It is time to get on the road so that we can stop all this spending

8 Aug

4 days to departure and the to do list still seems so long. In the past whenever we have left for 4 weeks of holiday there is always so much to wrap up in the last days and mostly you get it all done but if something gets missed you know you will be back in a few weeks.  Not this time!

12 Aug

Finally, on the road, left behind a few oily spots on Sam’s driveway so that Mr. Jones can find his way back to Joburg one day. It is a good feeling to be moving forward.