 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| For 183 days, from 21 September 2003 to 21 March 2004, we travelled around Africa, on and off the well-used paths of South, East and North Africa. We hope you will continue enjoying this site, and find the information useful. You are welcome to contact us via email, even now that we are back home. Last site update: 18 January 2005
Thank you for following our progress through the up leg, the turning point in Wadi Halfa, and the return leg back home, for keeping the economy going, for emailing us, and for being interested in our travels. In the coming weeks and months, in between trying to earn a living, I will continue adding diary entries and other information to the web site as there is much information to share with everybody (and I enjoy doing so anyway). Developing the site proved to be quite difficult while on the road: just not enough time at night and not enough power in the Landy's batteries to keep the laptop running. While we were on the road, the grid below filled up with our Views of Africa, the views that became part of our journey and our memories - some common and some less so. Click on an image and see why we chose it. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Was it all worth it?" I hear you ask. You bet. Isla and I have done what most people would not dare and experienced what most people would not understand, and we have done it together. Yes we are home now, facing a huge pile of paperwork, issues to sort out, we have to look for jobs and clients, invite ourselves for many braais, etc. but we will try and not forget what a large and great continent Africa really is. Africa, where it is all good, and all bad, at the same time. Renzo and Isla, signing off from Views of Africa - Episode 1. |
 |
 |
| When: 21 March 2004 Where: At home, Midrand, South Africa Distance: 30850km |
|
The previous update found us in Dar es Salaam trying to decide which way to go home. Well, our mind was made up for us by the crazy rain patterns: early rains in southern Tanzania and late rains in northern Mozambique. Exactly the wrong way around to the way we wanted it! So the Selous, Rovuma ferry, Ilha de Mozambique, Pemba and the prawns of Mozambique will have to wait until another time. But even the "shortcut" route was a very long drive indeed. It took us a week of long driving days to reach South Africa. We had some rain just about every day, everywhere we overnighted the people complained about the rain, and all our paperwork was like a hound at our heels: we cleared Tanzania with a day to spare on our carnet, we cleared Zimbabwe with 2 days to spare on our insurance, and the medical insurance... well, we are not perfect. Next time we will do paperwork for 9 months, just in case 3 or 4 months stretch a little. It was oddly strange driving back parts of the same route we used on the way north, making it seem that we had left just a few days earlier. Fortunately in Dedza in southern Malawi we split the route and went to Tete in Mozambique, then to Manica and cut across Zimbabwe to reach South Africa at Beit Bridge. It was mildly exciting to be back on home soil, to hear the accents, to use rands, and of course to be able to buy anything and everything. We took a rest at Tshipise before arriving at the bright lights, shopping centre heists, and fuel increases despite a strong rand. It is good to see that nothing has changed. Back home where it all began, perhaps a little thinner but definitely wiser. |
 |