Back on the Zambian side, we had a free day to do some activities before we joined our new group. We braved the crocodile-infested Zambezi in a white water raft armed with a helmet, life jacket and paddle. James was out of the boat before we hit the first rapid. As it was high water season, the rapids were not as big as they would be when the water is low and churning against all the rocks. However it was running very fast and when we capsized it was a struggle...

Our 43 day tour is made up of two 21 day tours (Nairobi-->Vic Falls & Vic Falls-->Cape Town). So when we reached Livingstone it was essentially the end of the first half of the tour. We had 4 free days away from the truck while they cleaned, reorganized and our new crew arrived. Zambia is more expensive than other countries along our route and our campsite was a $10 taxi ride into Livingstone so we decided to not stick around. It was only $30 to cross...

So far Malawi is the poorest country we have come across. Their local currency, Malawi Kwacha, is dying a slow death & there is a black market for $USD. People ask to swap your shoes or your shirt for a wood carving, instead of asking for cash. We spent four nights camping beside Lake Malawi at a place called Kande Beach. The lake covers 1/5 of the country and is so big it has it's own 'pseudo' tides. Every afternoon we got some exercise by swimming and kay...

Early morning in Dar es Salaam, we threw a few days worth of clothes and passports in a smaller bag and boarded the ferry to Zanzibar. Two hours later we were in Stone town. The spice island is nothing like Eastern Africa. Its complicated history with the Portuguese, Omani Arabs, Persians and its location as a massive trading hub for India and Asia meant it has a bit of influence from everywhere. For all intents and purposes it is a part of Tanzania, but still ...

The first night in Tanzania we stayed in a reasonably sized town called Arusha. The campsite also serves as a sanctuary for reptiles, aptly named 'Snake Park'. Our tents were set up between the cooking area and the crocodile cage and James shared a shower with a stray tortoise. We left our truck behind at Arusha & jumped in open-top safari jeeps for a few days in Serengeti National Park. On our game drives we saw the usual, plus we added the following onto ...