Explore The World

I travelled for 10 months through Africa – starting in Kenya and finishing in South Africa. We visited Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zaire, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. We travelled in trains, local buses, hitch hiked, had a landrover for 6 weeks and hired a car in South Africa for a month.

Map of key areas we visited

It was an epic 10 months. I travelled for the first 6 months with a very good friend (Buck – who still remains a great mate) and then the last 4 months with my girlfriend Helle( now my wife of over 30 years!) Like most travellers you meet others along the way who join the journey. There were only a few intrepid travellers backpacking Africa at that time so we had some great times together. The game parks were all mind blowing. From the Masai Mara in Kenya, Ngorogoro Crater in Tanzania , Virungi National Park in Zaire, Hwange in Zimbabwe to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. The mountains of Mt Kenya, Kilimanjaro and Rwenzori were all fantastic. Rwenzori in Zaire was absolutely spectacular whilst Kilimanjaro was a test of surviving the altitude.

The most enduring memories, apart from all the magnificent natural landscapes and gameparks where the people – mainly the children. They had little but were warm, curious and friendly.

Brotherly Love

Elephant about to charge

There were many beautiful natural landscapes( eg Victoria Falls, beaches, Drakensberg ranges( East Kenya, Zanzibar and South Africa) and lakes( Lake Malawi in particular ) that were wonderful.

Beautiful Lake Malawi in the fading light

The people in the villages we passed were all welcoming and the friendliest country was Malawi.

Linda as a bus conductor on the beach of Lake Malawi

Travelling through Africa in the 80s was not for the faint hearted. Local transport was rough and unreliable. Lodging and food was basic. However the memories( after 30 years) are still very strong.

The people we were most weary of were Africans in a uniform – the police, army and immigration officers. We had some scary moments with all three. Bribing Immigration officials at borders to being searched by the army banishing very large guns in Zaire. We witnessed police raiding an illegal liquor outlet in South Africa and dragging the poor old African man into the police van.

Everytime we came close to a border crossing our heart rate would increase. We had to bribe immigration officers three times- twice leaving Kenya on two different borders into Tanzania and once into Malawi from Tanzania.

Life in rural Africa

Kenya

We started our journey in Kenya. Landing in Nairobi from London is a real shock. The contrast is huge but after 6 weeks travelling through Kenya, Rwanda and Zaire and then going back to Nairobi, Nairobi felt like a very modern metropolis!

We had a wonderful safari in Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater.

Camping in Masai Mara

We then hiked up Mt Kilimanjaro. We did it in 2 days, starting at about (3724 m) which is the height of the highest mountain in NZ – Mt Cook! With little or no acclimitization I struggled getting to the summit (5895m). However we all made it and then literally ran down as we got more oxygen into our lungs. Well worth the pain!

Conquering Mt Kilimanjaro – Craig and our porters

I have finally made it to the top!

5895m high!

A visit to Lake Nakuru and Mt Kenya is a must.

Mt Kenya

Pink Flamingos at Lake Nakura

We took a train from Nairobi to the East coast – It started by going through the Nairobi National Park as the sun sets. Absolutely stunning.

Local Fisherman on the Coast

A bit of fun sailing in Mombasi on the Kenyan coast

Zaire( now the Congo)

Zaire was probably the toughest of all countries to travel through. Roads were very poor, travel was slow ,communication was difficult ( unless you spoke French) and we had to be far more diligent and careful. We were held up by the army once and when in a small village at night accosted by a gang of machete wielding youths. Fortunately Ray (who we met on the trip from The Netherlands) had a good command of the French language so was able to negotiate his way out of trouble with a relatively small bribe.

But it was worth it to see the “real” Africa.

Our landrover – Buck inside, Lisa and Chris

On the Equator – Lisa, Buck, Chris and Ray

Lake Victoria

Grabbing some pineapples from the local market

Highlights were the gorillas in Virungi National Park and hiking up Rwenzori – which translates into the “Mountains of the Moon”

We got up very close to our cousins

Hippos in Virungi – keeping our distance!

Other highlights were visiting a Pygmy village, the big smiles of all the kids and just seeing how the Africans lived was truly humbling.

Pygmy village life in Zaire

The main road was a dirt road . We passed very few other vehicles and everywhere we went we received a great welcome. Perhaps it was rare to see a landrover with white travellers in 1987.

Camping set up in Zaire

Along with the Gorillas the other wonderful highlight of Zaire was walking up Mt Rwenzori. Absolutely stunning fauna on the way up and great view of the summit.

Zanzibar

Moving on from Kenya and Zaire we travelled to Tanzania. We hooked up with a few other Kiwis we knew from London and had a ball.

If you ever get to Africa make sure to check out Zanzibar. We took a Felucca from Dar es Salaam fully loaded and off we sailed – no safety briefing, seats or life jackets back then!

Breakdown heading across the Island

Worth the effort – Linda with a monster crayfish for US$1

Beach on Zanzibar

The crew chilling on the back of the boat from Zanzibar

Malawi

Malawi was one of our favourite places in Africa. The people were friendly, the lake was lovely, Mt Mulange was a very pleasant escape from the heat. It was the most relaxing part of the trip where we could chill by the lake.

Our arrival from Tanzania into Malawi was interesting. We had walked a number of kilometres from the Tanzanian border control to the Malawi border – in “no mans ” land. The President of Malawi at that time was President Banda. He had banned Lonely Planet “Africa on a shoestring” because it had a paragraph criticizing his regime. So when we arrived at the border the immigration officer took great delight in finding all our Lonely Planet books( which wasn’t hard as we had all rolled them up at the bottom of our sleeping bags in our packs) We weren’t that clever as when he found one he found the lot! He then proceeded to barter with us for cash to give them back. It was a lucrative payday for him but we got our precious books back.

Worth a visit in Malawi is Lilongwe, Lake Malawi and Mt Mulange. We spent a good 6 weeks in Malawi on two different occasions. It was a fantastic country.

Taxi ride to Lake Maclear

Lake Malawi was paradise. It was so laid back. We stayed in basic accommodation but right on the beach. We had a chap called Hospital looking after our needs – which were few. Everyday he would ask in the morning what we wanted for dinner – Catfish or Chicken. The menu never changed.

You didn’t go to Africa for culinary delights.The food was simple but normally edible – just! Chicken was the staple meat. It wasn’t your plump juicy chicken from home.

Lake Malawi – Cape Maclear digs

Mt Mulange was cool – we camped up the top and there was a hotel nearby where I asked for some newspaper to start a fire. The man at reception then proceeded to go through the old paper and took out a couple of pages. On quizzing him why he had taken out a couple of pages it was because President Banda’s photo was on that page. You cannot burnt a photo of the President!

Markets were always full of pots

and tobacco

Waiting for a bus to arrive – timetables were very flexible

World famous Heart Hotel

We ordered chicken for dinner – it was fresh!

The beautiful smiling kids on the shores of Lake Malawi

Zimbabwe

When we visited Zimbabwe it was considered the ” fruit bowl of Africa” . We travelled to the eastern border with Mozambique, enjoyed the relative luxury of Harare and Bulawayo, hitch hiked to Kariba Dam, visited the wonderful Victoria Falls and Hwange national Park.

We camped in many places – we were often the only travellers. It is a vast country of contrasts. In many places the roads are as far as the eye can see. Cars were few and far between and often our intention was to hitch hike but after waiting sometimes on the side of the road to be picked up for hours we would wave down the local bus that came rattling past.

Spectacular Victoria Falls

Vic Falls in the wet season

We visited Vic Falls again in the dry season

The staple diet for the locals – mielie meal( maize meal)

Botswana

Buck and I hitch hiked from Gabarone to Maun – the gateway to the magnificent Okavango Swamps. This was one of the many highlights of our trip in Africa.The distance was about 850 kms – it took us two days and we spent the night under a truck on the side of the road. When we got to Maun we then took a landrover deep into the swamps and spent a number of days in a makora( dug out canoe).

The Okavango Swamps was just out of this world.

Our makora and poler in the Okavango

Camping under the stars in the Okavango

We meandered through the swamps spotting bird life, crocodiles, game and nature for 3 days and it was an awesome experience. We camped at night and did some walks to spot game . Fish Eagles swooping down to catch fish was a great sight as was crocodiles dashing across the front of the Makora.

Okavango Swamp was a once in a life time experience. Back in 1987 there were few visitors and camps – I presume it is very different today. I cannot remember meeting any others on the swamp. It was just so incredibly peaceful surrounding by nature in their own habitat untouched by humans.

South Africa

South Africa was still under apartheid rule in 1987and witnessing the way whites treated blacks was appalling. Blacks were still not allowed in the white camp grounds and were banished at night to sleep outside the camp ground. There were still many signs with ” Blanc only ” Africaans for “Whites only” on beaches, toilet blocks and train carriages. We witnessed and heard floggings and verbal abuse just because you were black. It was very ugly. It made you realise how abhorent the South African regime was.

However it was relatively safe to travel through South Africa. Helle and I hitchhiked from Johannesburg to Cape Town. It took 2 days with a stop in Kimberley. We then hired a car with Buck and Janine from Cape Town to the Transkei and then up through the Drakensberg ranges back to Johannesburg.

It is stunning country. Few cities could boast a mountain like Table Mountain in Cape Town.

View from Table Mountain across Cape Town

We hired a car for a month and travelled from Cape Town to the Transkei and then up through South Africa finishing in Johannesburg.

On the road – The Amphitheatre in the Drakensberg ranges

Our time in Africa was fantastic. The memories, the game parks, the scenic beauty, the people and the experiences and comaraderie I had with firstly my great mate Buck and then Helle – my then girlfriend and now wife.

I think travelling through a continent like Africa gives you another perspective on life. In many parts of Africa survival, kinship and family are so important. We can all learn a lot from each other.