1 Mar 2020

African Roadtrip Rearview

by | posted in: Adventure, Africa, Overlanding, PJ, Travel | 0

Africa was definitely the most unique travel experience either of us has ever had. We bought a car! We got married! We had some dark moments where we seriously considered abandoning PJ and leaving the continent, but we’re incredibly happy we stuck with it. We camped out more than 80 nights in all sorts of landscapes and saw more wild animals than we ever dreamed possible. We made some great friends and met all sorts of amazing people. This was definitely the part of the trip that made the biggest impression on us. After six months, we were ready for a change, but we’ll absolutely be back in the future.

Hardest part of Africa:

B: Our engine trouble was a bit unique, so I decided to go with something that is unavoidable – border days. We visited 13 countries and brought a vehicle into 12 of them (we walked into the DRC). Some of these countries we visited multiple times due to the timing of the wedding and the route we took. Border day was by far our least favorite day. Every border had a different process. Every country had a different set of rules and wanted different things, especially to let PJ in. We had food confiscated, got a flat tire, got pickpocketed, got scammed, bought bogus insurance, got ripped off in currency exchanges, and got asked for bribes left and right. Even leaving a country usually involved a few different steps. Each border took hours and zapped our energy as we fended off touts, tried to avoid scams, and walked all over confusing border compounds without signs, trying to make sure we paid all our fees and got all the right stamps. We were ecstatic to return to South Africa and breeze through our final border. While it was great to have our own wheels and not have to rely on public transportation, border days are MUCH easier as a simple backpacker.

K: The most emotionally exhausting part of Africa was all of the engine trouble with PJ. At one point, I can remember being at a mall for the umpteenth time at a Mexican restaurant (in hopes of building our spirits) and seriously discussing leaving Africa. We’d only arrived a month beforehand. We had just come from Winburg, South Africa where we spent our days watching two TV movie channels all day because this place was in the middle of nowhere. The place we stayed was overpriced and had no internet, heat, shower, or kitchen. The only mechanic there, Ian, did a shitty job fixing our car and his staff stole multiple things from our vehicle. We barely made it back to Joburg in one piece. Then we towed it to Freek who fixed it the riiiight way but still there was stuff missing from our vehicle (including my wedding bouquet–wth man!). It’s funny that white people were always the ones to ask “Have you been robbed yet?” like it is an eventuality, and we have had only white, male mechanics steal from us! We didn’t know enough about cars at the time and too many people tried to take advantage of us. Due to the protests downtown, we were confined to Kensington and Westmoreland Lodge while our car was in the shop where we binge-watched Netflix and took turns sighing heavily. It was a sad time. I am incredibly happy we stuck it out and stayed. It was a hard six months but quite possibly some of the most memorable times of this journey.

The start of one of the most hectic borders crossing from Botswana to Zambia.
Mechanics under the hood in the middle of nowhere… almost as common of a site as baboons by the side of the road.

Favorite country:

B: Namibia was the country that had it all. We started off with a stop at Fish River Canyon, which I had originally planned on us hiking through (thanks a lot, PJ). In hindsight, I’m not sure a 5 day hike through the desert would have been the best idea, but watching the sun rise from the top of the canyon was pretty awesome. Next was Sossusvlei which was hands down the best landscape we saw in Africa. The red sand dunes stretched as far as the eye could see and hiking up Big Daddy dune gave us a view over everything. Running down it and exploring Dedvlei made for a perfect day. At the coast, we deflated the tires and drove the beach outside of Walvis Bay to check out the seal colonies and flamingo flocks. We sandboarded and sledded down some dunes in Swakopmund. We spent two days in Etosha National Park, where the only water was at the small waterholes which meant all of the animals were there. Over two hundred animals, more than ten different types of animals, and lions to boot! All capped it off with a couple relaxing days camping by the river in the Caprivi Strip. We drove the full length of Namibia, although our shortened time table meant there was a lot we didn’t get to explore. As much as we don’t want to go back to countries when there are so many new ones on our list, Namibia is one I would go back to in a heartbeat.

K: It has to be Namibia. It was the most unique of all the countries we saw. The deep red sand dunes in Sossusvlei are unlike anything we’ve seen previously. I can still close my eyes and feel the cool sand between my toes. I love that tiny person in a big world feel and certainly felt so when we stared off into the vastness of the park while on top of the Big Daddy Dune. I love the curvature of the Momma dune, and the way the shape of the dunes are always changing–just awesome! Etosha was also a very unique park. The white, dust, desert conditions meant that the waterholes were king! On the western part of the park were three main waterholes and hundreds and hundreds of animals were there to relax during the scorching afternoons. We’ve never seen so many varieties of animals at one time in one spot. This was an exciting way to watch the behavior of the animals. Even the lions called a truce because it was so hot!

These red sand dunes were magical.
Everyone coexisting around the waterhole.

 

 

Favorite safari park:

B: Mana Pools National Park was one of the only parks that we were actually able to camp inside of (PJ’s engine trouble meant we missed a few bookings). We decided to roll the dice and show up without reservations and were lucky enough to get one of the four walk-in spots, and right on the river to boot! Of the parks we did camp inside of, this was the only unfenced campsite. This meant that at any given time any animal could wander through where we were sleeping. Besides the constant monkey & baboon companions, we were treated to numerous elephants and some buffalo, as well as some hyena visitors after dark. This was the true African camping experience we were looking for. On top of that, this was the only park in Africa with predators that let you walk around by yourself. When we asked about the permit, we quickly realized they didn’t care about anything except getting our money. There were no rules, no restrictions, and no signing back in to make sure you were still alive. We spent five hours walking around the park, spotting all sorts of animals and getting a bit too close to some hippos. Later in the day we found the lions… thankfully we were in our car then! This was our first park that was truly green and it provided a great contrast and environment for spotting animals. We didn’t see the most animals here, in quantity or diversity, but in terms of overall experience, Mana Pools was tops in my book.

K: After much debate, I think I am going to say Mana Pools in Zimbabwe. Kruger was excellent to see the Big 5 and the landscape was different each time we went. I don’t know if that park could ever disappoint. Kgalagadi was a friendly park where people were constantly alerting others of things they saw, and it was the first time we finally saw lions! But in Mana Pools, we stayed right on the river bank with PJ and heard quite possibly the loudest bunch of hippos! They were everywhere! We were able to get up close and personal with the angry, angry hippos. And I found the most adorable baby hippo out of the water while the mom watched from the lily-filled water! It was fun to constantly see wildlife stomping through our campsite and sometimes a bit alarming. We had some close encounters with some very curious elephants. Our neighbors from Germany were less fortunate with the baboons. Walking around unguided was also a huge thrill! I just couldn’t believe that we could do that no questions asked. Just sign a release form and pay. We had an awesome day walking around with all the animals watching out for them as they were watching out for us. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

After dry parks in the South of Africa, Mana Pools’ green surroundings were a welcomed change.
Kourtney’s spirit animal.

 

Most “Africa” moment:

B: Lots of moments to choose from here, but I think my volunteering experience takes the cake. We decided to go through Hopeland specifically because they had both a teaching and a microfinance program, which would give us each an experience tailored to our strengths that we could participate in. I had exchanged a few emails with their coordinator confirming that there was a microfinance program and was excited to start. Of course, when we showed up in Uganda the first thing the Executive Director, Valance, asked us was “so what do you want to do while you’re here?”. Uhh… the programs we signed up (and paid) for?! Turns out, they had a microfinance program about five years ago, but people didn’t repay their loans, so they shut it down. Would have been great to know that! Valence was clearly searching for things for me to do, and finally came up with an idea – meet with the teachers at the school about their personal finances and come up with a plan to start a group savings program. Ok, not what I was expecting, but that’s something I can get behind. Five interviews later, all five teachers were participating in some type of savings group, including one that was being run at the school by a bunch of teachers. *smacks forehead* I ended up finding ways to make myself useful and the teachers and local savings group were very grateful for my help. All you can do is shake your head and say TIA (This Is Africa). Happy to take your money, no advanced planning, and zero follow through. Thankfully we had been in Africa long enough that we knew we had to just roll with the punches and make the best of it.

K: There are so many to choose from! My most Africa moment was trying to leave the South Africa border into Namibia and getting rejected. Let me set the scene. In South Africa you receive a 90-day visa to visit the country which I had stamped in my Kourtney Lipka passport. I was quickly running out of pages so I applied for a new one and decided to change my name all at the same time. Efficient. While PJ was being fixed, we were renting little white Nissan Micras and making small trips. We went to Losotho to go skiing for a couple days and popped into Swaziland to walk with the rhinos. On the way back to South Africa, a very aggravated woman gave me a two week window in ZA with my new Kourtney Coons passport. So when we went to leave on another small trip to Namibia because PJ was still not ready, the woman at the counter said my visa for South Africa had expired and if I left I couldn’t come back for a year! I was beyond the two week window but not beyond the 90 days window, and we needed to return the rental car and eventually sell PJ and fly out of Johannesburg.

At the South Africa/ Namibia border the woman was fixated on the two week stamp and couldn’t believe I didn’t do this or that. Why didn’t you ask for more time? Why does your husband’s stamp have more time than yours? She couldn’t get past any of this and focus on solutions. Nothing I said could appease her. She gave me two options which weren’t options at all. Other attendants gathered around and asked questions but ultimately said they didn’t know how or couldn’t help. So we turned around and went back. I felt so defeated. I wrote out my appeal email to contest my ban from ZA. Once PJ was finally ready to move again, we went back to the same border. A lovely, smiley gentleman took both of my passports and scanned them once I explained the situation and said I was all set to leave and return once I was ready. Just like that. I guess it just depends on the person you interact with and what mood they’re in that day. There don’t seem to be rules or regulations. But if at first you don’t succeed, try again?

These ladies helped turn what could have been a bad time into an amazing experience for us.
We certainly made the most of a bad situation — Kgalagadi Park showed us our first lions and cheetahs in the wild after failing to enter Namibia.

Favorite piece of gear we bought for PJ:

B: Does a new engine count? No? Ok, fine. Pretty much everything we bought was very essential to our wellbeing and comfort out in the bush, but my MVP goes to a tiny little device we found by accident in a 4×4 store. We had gone up to Vic Falls and back to Cape Town just using my phone cranked up as loud as it went for music. Podcasts were too quiet, and the music level was not nearly loud enough for the roll-down-the-windows-belt-it-out experience that any good road trip needs. Radio stations were few and far between and our radio just had a tape deck (classic 1995). But at the checkout of a 4×4 store in Cape Town, we found a 12v bluetooth adapter that would broadcast to a radio station. Think what you used to dock your iPod in the car back in the 2000’s, but way better. We were back in business, listening to podcasts to kill the miles (shoutout Pardon My Take) and blasting tunes to the bemused looks of villagers everywhere.

K: I really just loved the compressor! We weren’t able to use it for some time due to all PJ’s ailments, so when we finally used it for the first time in Namibia I was so excited! Coons and I had to work together: he hooked it up and went around deflating or inflating all the tires and I was listening for his voice to shut it off and on. The long yellow cord stretched all the way out! So fun. It allowed us to go to places we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to go. We went through the deep red sand in Sossusvlei National Park, on the beach to look for cape fur seals in Walvis Bay in Namibia, and through the most remote parts of Chobe National Park in Botswana. PJ was able to conquer most things thrown his way, but the compressor provided us with an extra bit of relief and safety.

Good tunes and new friends — the only way to travel in Africa!
Reinflating the tires after checking out the seal colonies on the beach.

Least favorite police force:

B: This was a tough one, but my vote goes to the police force in Mozambique. They set the tone early on at the border by refusing to let us cross until we gave them something. We ended up giving them some spare change left over from Tanzania. The next couple of stops saw us unpack everything in our car for their inspection. I was behind the car unrolling our trash bags, explaining what each spice was, and opening up every bag and bin we had. This was also the first country where English wasn’t the common language, so almost all of our interactions were done in their native Portuguese and a mix of Spanish & Portuguese from me. We hadn’t been subjected to anywhere near this level of scrutiny anywhere else. Rare was the police stop where we weren’t asked for things, never a fun proposition when the police doing the asking is holding an RPG. The cherry on top was the B.S. speeding ticket we got on our last day in the country. The speed camera was so poor that there was no way you could see if it was actually your car and there was no speed limit sign anywhere to verify what the limit actually was. They were basically pulling over every white driver and giving out tickets. I tried arguing for a bit alongside a South African, but we got nowhere and ended up paying just so we could leave. I was very glad to leave them behind.

K: At first I want to say Tanzania because we were stopped the most frequently and we got the most tickets; they literally call themselves the revenue authority. Malawi wasn’t great either–absurd really with their antics–but in Uganda was the nastiest police officer we came across. He was curt and aggressive. He stopped us for a bullshit reason and clearly pocketed the money not feeling the need to hide it. He demanded an insane amount of money–far more than any other officer and wouldn’t budge. We had been caught off guard because we were all excited to get to our volunteer opportunity, but had we been ready, we would have fought with him more or offered to go to court just for the experience. We were stopped most days in Uganda as well, but it helped giving the principal of Kitoola school a ride to avoid most of the fines. The mzungu prices were in full effect here; locals just charge white people more money for everything (food, haircuts, bribes, etc) because they assume we’re all rich. It makes me feel terrible, because comparatively we are, but it’s just not right. The bribes and the mzungu prices all came to a head in Uganda, and it was tiring to say the least to constantly bicker over pricing.

We didn’t want to further complicate our police interactions with photography, so we’ll just leave this nasty looking roadblock here.

Favorite wild camping site:

B: While the wild camping spot on the way to our wedding was pretty awesome, I think my favorite has to go to another spot in Botswana. We spent three nights at a wild camping spot just outside Moremi Game Reserve. The nice thing about this reserve is there are no fences, and the animals certainly didn’t respect the line on Google Maps showing the end of the park. The first night there, we were cooking dinner when an elephant decided to come see what we were up to. This elephant was very shy and possessed zero size awareness. He decided to pick the smallest tree to hide behind and watch Kourtney cook dinner. The second night, after an amazing day in the Reserve, we were up in our tent when I heard munching close by. We peeked outside the rooftop tent with the spotlight, and lo and behold there was a giraffe snacking on the tree right next to us! We also heard plenty of hyenas (by far the most distinctive sound) and saw some other nocturnal animals with spotlight sweeps. We would return a few days later and spend a great night outside by the fire with Marcos, Natch, Mike, Allison, and Tony.

K: I really have three, but I’ll chose one. It is the secluded waterhole near Nata, Botswana. We were heading to our surprise wedding, and we had just finished the fiasco of purchasing PJ. On the way there we passed a waterhole where hundreds of elephants were bathing. I was so overjoyed that tears were streaming down my face. Elephants, giraffes, warthogs, etc. kept our speed in check as we were constantly stopping so they could cross the road. We were so fresh and full of excitement. Coons was off-roading in the sand on the outskirts of some national park, and then through the trees we just opened up to this field with a large waterhole. We were the only ones there, and we pulled out everything to make one of our first dinners on the road. We had all the best stuff from Food Lovers which was our favorite grocery store–hands down: biltong, cheese, crackers, wine, meat, veggies, sauce, and spices. It doesn’t get much better than that, right?!  That is unless multiple families of elephants show up to watch you eat dinner while you watch them play in the water at dusk. They were the cutest, most curious dinner guests. After we washed up, we went right up into the tent and opened all of the vents and watched them until it was pitch black out. Then we could hear and faintly see a zebra and a giraffe show up for a sip. It was our first introduction to wild camping–no fence, no problem!

This is the African experience we came for.
Look who decided to join us for dinner!

Africa by the numbers:

13 – Countries Visited

197 – Days spent traveling

18,600 – Miles Driven

9 – Trips to the Mechanic

77 – Nights in the Rooftop Tent

34 – Nights at Westmoreland Lodge

28 – Days Spent Volunteering

10 – Safari Parks Visited

1 – Ski Slopes Shredded

42 – Total books read

1 – Magical Wedding

$197 – Average cost/day (including net cost of PJ)

16 Jan 2020

Lucky Number 13

by | posted in: Adventure, Africa, Overlanding, PJ, Travel | 0

Our Last Tough Border Crossing

From Tanzania, there are two options to cross into Northern Mozambique, which was our thirteenth and final country in Africa. There is a ferry that wasn’t running for the next five days due to low tides, and then there is the Unity bridge connecting Tanzania and Moçambique (as the locals write it). The obvious choice was the bridge since we were in a bit of a hurry to get back to ZA, sell the car, and explore a new continent. It is a very nice structure with enormous granite elephant tusks on either end. The border was easy as we were the first ones there (even before some of the employees). However, the journey was slow going because the roads after the bridge put Tanzania’s to shame.

We had read about the Mozambique police being some of the worst in Africa. Marcos and Natch were ahead of us, warning us that they’ll frequently stop you and want to search the car. He suggested that we buy waters to hand out along with some change as it makes the process move much smoother. However, we aren’t as sweet as them, so we refused to buy them something plastic that they would just throw on the ground. Being prepared certainly helped us keep our cool with them as they made us pull everything out of the car, and we almost made it out of Mozambique without a ticket, but then would it even be Africa if we had?

Five hours after we left the border, we arrived at Mueda, a little outpost in Northern Mozambique and the closest civilization to the border. We went straight to Ntima guesthouse, the only place mentioned in Lonely Planet as an option to spend the night. The good — it was the coolest place we had been in a while and we were able to finally get a good night’s sleep without waking up covered in sweat. The bad — there was no running water so we had to use the bucket of water in the bathroom to flush the toilet, a cup if we wanted a shower, and the same bucket of water from the bathroom to wash our dishes. Africa!

This was a new low for us.

Ilha de Moçambique 

Our first major excursion was to visit Mozambique Island; it is connected to the mainland by a one-lane bridge, and the tide was so low in the morning that we could’ve walked across most of the way! The island is rich in culture and architecture as it was once the capital; conquered by the Portuguese in the early 16th century, it is adorned with colorful but run-down buildings, massive forts near the water’s edge, and plenty of places to worship.

This was some of the best architecture we saw in Africa.

We went to the museum where we removed our shoes and walked through the governor’s old stomping grounds. Our guide spoke little English, so Coons was crucial in translating our guide’s Portuguese with what similarities he could pick up from Spanish. The mansion had lots of Chinese and Indian influence as well — what a lavish lifestyle that man lived! What was most interesting was seeing old items we still use to this day like tea kettles. Rumor has it that you can dive near the island and find remnants of china from sunken ships!

The entry to the Portuguese governor’s mansion.

We had read that the best local spot was this place called Sara’s, but it was closed due to the power outage on the island. We decided on Rickshaw’s Cafe, a beautiful spot with ocean views and a nice breeze. Little children in their underwear (sometimes birthday suits) were jumping off a nearby pier to keep cool during the scorching afternoon heat. We had fish tacos for lunch which really hit the spot after the fourth consecutive day of peanut butter and bread.

Every now and then it’s worth it to spring for a good meal.

Nampula

After lunch we continued on, slowly making our way into southern Mozambique where it is considered safer, for there is a lot of political and cultural unrest in the North. Coons drove through his last city, Nampula, with the exception of Joburg (which he was now a pro) and we stayed in another stuffy, overpriced hostel. The kitchen had Coons dreaming of Westmoreland. We slept at a campsite, promising great views of the Zambezi River (lies) and a hot shower (there was no running water). Our supplies had to last one more day; we planned to meet Marcos and Natch at a campsite just short of Tofo with promises of running water, a shower, and friendship.

These kitchens are too damn small!

Marcos & Natch

We met up with Marcos and Natch at Goody Villas campsite in Inhassoro which had a nice ocean breeze and plenty of shade. We spent hours catching up, and we all cooked dinner together and shared pot-luck-style. Marcos was able to snag some prawns from a local fisherman, and Coons marinated chicken thighs and grilled them up! It felt nice to have company and swap stories (largely about the pesky police) well into the night.

We made sure to meet up one last time to celebrate the completion of our overlanding journies.

The next morning we left for Tofo, but Marcos and Natch wanted to stay an extra day. To be fair, that campsite was awesome, but we had diving reservations and a timeline. We would meet up with them once at the backpacker hostel in Tofo, and then again at our second home in Johannesburg, Westmoreland Lodge, where we shared one final meal together to celebrate the end of our African safari adventure together. We were able to meet up with them five separate times in four different countries! It’s been real, you two, see you in Barcelona!

Tofo

Tofo has some of the best diving in Mozambique, so we were excited to get back under the sea. We booked two dives with Peri Peri and went out one day later than expected due to high swells — they weren’t kidding about the swells; both of us felt wicked sick after each dive, although only one of us threw up off the edge of the boat (it was Coons!) On the first dive, we could feel ourselves swaying back and forth with the surge. We saw an enormous turtle, some batfish, and eels. One the second dive, a drift dive, we barely had to use our flippers as we were floating with the current like astronauts in space! We saw the biggest lobster we’ve ever seen and a lot of different colored starfish. We were a little bummed we didn’t see any more whale sharks or manta rays (which frequent the area), but we just love diving!

Large school of batfish.

When we weren’t diving, we were eating delicious seafood and hanging out at our backpacker lodge. We were back in Savannah (cider beer) territory which tastes delicious on a white sand beach. We enjoyed playing in the waves and chatting with other travelers. We wished we could’ve stayed longer in southern Mozambique and we understand why this is a popular tourist destination for Africans and ex-pats. We can definitely see ourselves returning for a visit. But alas we had reservations for Kruger on the 16th so the birthday girl could look for her African animal friends one last time! We didn’t realize we would miss South Africa this much!

9 Jan 2020

Whale Shark Wonder

by | posted in: Adventure, Africa, Overlanding, PJ, Travel | 0

Border Bribes

We arrived at the border and pulled underneath a porte-cochère — except there was no valet to attend to PJ. Instead, a man greeted us and asked if Coons wanted to exchange money. He negotiated with one gentleman who scoffed at Coons’ exchange rate app saying that the internet was making his job much harder (read: he cannot rip people off as easily anymore).

The border was pretty standard as borders go. We signed in and paid for our visas, although, there is no fancy sticker for Tanzania. They just ask for $100 USD and give you a regular stamp and write in pen that you are allowed multiple entries for one year. Boring! If we’re paying that much, we at least want a sticker! We registered the car and needed to walk to the bank to deposit the funds. We tried one bank up the hill, but their servers were down. So we walked to the next bank past a police officer who greeted us in the oddest way as if we might be in trouble for not greeting him properly. After chatting for a bit with him, we went to the second bank where the attendant informed us that he dreams of going to Dallas because he knows a lot of Tanzanians that live there. This was a common theme throughout Africa. Each country, or region, has an area in the US that everyone goes to. Best we can tell, one person from the area goes somewhere in the US, then tells everyone it’s OK and more join them. From there, more and more come until it’s the only spot they would consider moving.

Once we were set we hopped in PJ and drove through the gate where we were immediately stopped and asked to pull over. An unofficial-looking man said there was a 10,000 Schilling (~$4.50) fee to pass through the gate. We said “no, thank you” and rolled up our window. He probably should have asked us before he let us through the gate! We had read on iOverlander that this man would be here collecting money illegally. Why the border patrol officers sitting around in the shade doing nothing don’t stop these men is beyond us, especially when they have signs with mission statements boasting about their commitment to safe, corruption-free crossings. All in all, this border was pretty painless though.

Crossing into Tanzania, we were rewarded with our first glimpse of vast greenness. It was breathtaking the number of palm trees for as far as the eye could see, and so so green. Of course, green means rain, but that was a problem for another day.

Book It

At this point, we had to be in Uganda to start volunteering, so we were trying to haul it through Tanzania as fast as we could. The roads were terrible! And by that, we mean that they were working on a road that pedestrians and cyclists used which was paved and smooth, and we were on bumpy, uneven, crimson mud off to the side. We wild camped both nights on the way to Uganda. The first was off a dirt road near a field where we saw some cows and a few people walking around, but no one bothered us. The second was a quarry that was being used for the road work. We tried to hide off to the side and distance ourselves from others, but as we were cooking our meal, a security officer approached speaking only Swahili. We managed to understand that we could camp here, but it’s dangerous because the locals aren’t happy with the construction, but he would protect us. He hung around to try and speak with us, and we decided we should feed him in exchange for his protection. He was very grateful for a full meal and some coffee (we were drinking wine but figured coffee would help him stay up). He even called his wife to tell her of his good fortune. After dinner, we went right up to the tent and passed an uneventful night.

The next morning we packed up in the pouring rain, again. The guard was nowhere to be found, so we left. Here you are still only allowed to drive 50 in towns and “not 50” outside of towns. However, there are towns EV-ER-Y-WHERE! The police are notorious in Tanzania for their speeding tickets, especially to overlanders. We got pulled over for the first time shortly before the border, but the officer told us he “felt the holy spirit of Jesus” and let us pass. Unfortunately, this would be the exception rather than the rule.

How fast can we go? Ah yes, “not 50.” Got it!

Hospital Detour

After leaving Rwanda, we were faced with another journey across Tanzania, this time West to East. We planned on a couple long driving days, but on November 26th, Coons started to feel really really sick to his stomach. Kourtney offered to take over, and surprisingly, he said yes immediately. Within a few minutes, Coons reported he might pass out, and as he was trying to roll down his window, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he went ghostly white. Kourtney pulled over and ran over to the passenger side of the vehicle. Not well versed in syncope, Kourtney checked for breathing and a heartbeat, yelling “HELP!” to anyone who might hear. Watching a body seize and convulse to provide oxygen back to the brain is fucking terrifying — there’s no other way to say it (he certainly doesn’t faint like a Disney princess). Find a nurse, doctor, EMT, or other medical professional and give them a crisp high-five for all they do! And what do you do when you’re in the middle of freakin’ nowhere speaking a foreign language?

Kourtney turned on Coons’ data to try and find a hospital as he regained consciousness. Providing a cool cloth for his head, she found a clinic, but a nice woman came forward from the crowd gathering to watch, pointing that there was a Mzungu hospital nearby and that she would take us there. Thank goodness ‘hospital’ is one of those universal words because this conversation was mostly gesturing. Our good samaritan and her friend crammed in the back and we went to the hospital. After one hour and $8 USD, we found out that Coons had a bacterial infection in his blood, and they sent us on our way with some antibiotics and pain killers. Kourtney’s first thought was today is the day we’re supposed to take our Bilharzia medication. Remember we mentioned that parasite living in the lake in Malawi? Well, you’re supposed to wait six weeks to take the medication and November 26 was precisely six weeks since we left Malawi. Leave it to Coons to be right on time!

So Kourtney continued to drive, watching Coons’ chest rise and fall beside her at he napped it off, but there was no way we were making it as far as we wanted. We stopped earlier than expected and stayed in a hotel. When we woke up to leave the next morning, the gatekeeper was washing our car, so we tipped him and were on way to an oasis on the hill.

Revenue Authority

After recovering in the hotel room, Coons was well enough to hit the road again. A couple of hours into the day, near Katesh, we were pulled over by an officer who had a WhatsApp picture of us driving 85 in a 50. We told him this was incorrect and that we’d read about police taking pictures of vehicles, changing the numbers, and then stopping them kilometers later. He showed us the time (30 minutes prior) and the date (today) and said this was legitimate. We told him this situation sounded sketchy, and he replied that they like to place the cameras where people cannot see, so they can see how fast people drive in towns when the police aren’t around. We told him we wanted to see the speed camera footage and we were happy to wait. He replied that his supervisor wanted to see us and he would need us to take him to the station 10 kilometers down the road. Thinking he might give up, we told him we had no room. So he pulled over another vehicle and was able to get a ride to the station with them, telling us to follow him.

The first thing the supervising officer said was that we had been arrested. This was either a great scare tactic or his English needed a bit of work. We explained our situation over and over to each man but they wouldn’t let up. They said it would take two more hours for the officer with the speed camera to arrive because he would have to take a bus. Not wanting to spend all day at the police station, we opted to pay the 30,000 Schillings ($13 USD). The officer then brought us to the bank and we deposited the money in the police account. He made a point to demonstrate that he wasn’t pocketing the money like we told him most police did. Then we walked back to the police station where we had to wait for a receipt. Another officer had to take a boda boda (motorbike) to deliver a new receipt machine because the one at the station wasn’t working. These men actually pay their own money for these rides back and forth! You have to admire their perseverance, I guess, although we would have been much happier with a warning.

The second time we were fined was leaving Arusha, a busy tourist town that could absolutely use police directing traffic to keep people safe and honest. We were super excited to finally be back in real grocery store territory — one-stop shopping is something we’ll never take for granted again. We had a delicious lunch of fish tacos, and we were heading toward Mt. Kilimanjaro. Instead, the Tanzania police have decided to single-handily keep the government afloat by fining (mostly, white) people. Outside of town, in the distance, was an officer in white in the middle of the road (in a not 50 mind you), standing with his hand straight up. He stopped us and called the man over with the speed gun. 57 in a 50 which is like 35 mph in a 31 mph. Are. You. Freaking. Kidding. Me?!

He told us to pay him 30,000 in cash and we said we wouldn’t pay him and would only pay a bank. And there was no way he was letting us go; we tried. Unfortunately, there was a bank right next to us, so he was all too happy to walk with Kourtney to deposit the money. He wasn’t even as cheeky as the other man, and she feels bad about it, but Kourtney lost her temper and bickered with the officer. We’re just trying to tour Tanzania and have a good time, and you know what, we are NOT feeling most welcome.

East Tanzania

Eager to put the police behind us, we headed to our next destination, Migombani Campsite. Marcos and Natch had raved to us about this place and after some pretty awful campsites in the West, we were very excited for a proper campsite again. We were only planning on staying one night, but after we pulled in, we knew we would be here at least two. Even though we were right outside the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater National Parks, we couldn’t pull the trigger on a visit. The national parks in Tanzania are incredibly expensive — to enter for the day with PJ would have set us back a couple hundred dollars. When we compared that to the parks in Southern Africa we were visiting for less than $50/day, we couldn’t justify it.

Doesn’t get much better than an infinity pool beneath a baobab tree.

After a couple of days resting at Migombani, we were eager to check out the next attraction — Mt. Kilimanjaro. We stayed at two separate campsites with views of this enormous beauty and caught the smallest glimpse of it at 6am the day of our departure. It was spectacular looking. There was even a rainbow peeking out in between the rain, sun, and clouds. To climb it takes seven days and around $2,500 per person. We cannot wait to return and conquer that beast!

One day we’ll be back for you!

Eventually, we would reach Dar Es Salaam, our gateway to Mafia Island. Dar, for short, is a busy city with a lot of construction currently going on. We like to play a game and guess in what year we should return to see the project finished; this one is at least a decade. We stayed in a nice hostel, and the women gave us a feast for breakfast. They win the award for best chapatis!

Mafia Island

We arrived at the local airport at 11am thinking we would buy flight tickets for the next day, but the travel agent said the pilot could take us at 4:30 that afternoon, so we said why not and booked it. We negotiated the price down quite a bit and then parked in the compound of the police department where they said we could leave our car for the three days. They even let us keep our keys after we protested!

This small charter plane was a better alternative to the ferry which left anywhere from 2am-5am depending on the tides and took about four hours. There is no safety equipment and no coast guard to speak of, so if it goes down, you’re gonna have a bad time. Thankfully, Mama Coons gave us some money so we used that to ride in style, Africa speaking. The plane ride was bumpy and seemed to be moving so slowly that we thought we might fall out of the sky, but we made it!

Arriving in style to Mafia Island.

We were there for one reason and one reason only — to swim with whale sharks. We had been chasing them around the globe at this point, missing them in Mexico in October and Honduras in November. We were out the next day on the first boat, and it seemed like they were just waiting for Coons. Afro Whale Shark Safaris doesn’t chum the water, so they get near the sharks, cut the engine, and then tell us when to jump out. Decked out in our fins and snorkel gear, we would duck underwater and try to swim with them as fast as we could. They were huuuuuggggeeee — the longest one around 36 feet in length. The water is murky because the plankton are plentiful, and they swam past with their mouths open; tiny yellow fish cruise in front of them just escaping a gulp. At their pectoral fins were small white fish dragging off them like an Olympian swimmer. It was just as awesome as we imagined, and after two hours, we were tired and happy.

You never knew when they would pass by, but each time was a thrill!

The nice thing about Mafia Island is that it isn’t as touristy as Zanzibar, so we weren’t being hassled, and we were paying local prices for fresh pineapple and mango. The local cuisine was pretty tasty and usually contained seafood to go alongside the normal rice and beans.

Eager to get back in the water, we decided to go snorkeling in the marina the morning before our flight back to Dar. We ended up snorkeling in the rain which was pretty cool and saw lionfish, starfish, eel, and the most elaborate coral. By the afternoon, the rain cleared to yield a bright sunny day — we had the sunburn to prove it!

We saw some of the most unique coral we’ve ever encountered off the coast of Mafia.

So we continued our journey, driving by day, and camping at some pretty cool places by night. Sometimes in the lush greenery, relaxing poolside in the heat; sometimes we were in the sand, relaxing in the hammock, or looking for crabs in the sand.

Crab people!

We’re not sure where it is best to view the African sunset, but it might be the beach! We will try and remember these accommodations and forget the ones in small towns with broken AC when it’s over 90 degrees out, no bug net when the place is infested with insects, and of course the blaring speakers at all hours of the night! The next day we would reach our final country in Africa, number 13, Mozambique!

Doesn’t matter if it’s day or night.
Tanzania’s beach does it right.
4 Jan 2020

PJ Part 6 – Goodbye Sweet Prince

by | posted in: Adventure, Africa, Overlanding, PJ, Travel | 1

Sadly, this will be our last installment of PJ in Africa as this chapter of our travels has come to an end. In case you want to catch up on this mini-series, you can find the other entries here (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5).

Uganda to South Africa

Living in Lugazi for a month meant much less time in PJ, although he was our mode of transportation to and from Hopeland School every day. Each morning we would navigate the dirt and mud, weaving around potholes and tractors to make it to school on time. In the afternoon, we’d drive back and hope that the traffic police wouldn’t stop us (they usually did). Since it was the rainy season, we usually returned with an incredibly dirty car, but thankfully the night watchman enjoyed washing cars at 3:00am so we got a carwash once a week.

Sometimes you gotta get a little mud on the tires.

Despite the limited use, PJ still found ways to act up. A week into our stay, we noticed the refrigerator had stopped working. We bought it six months ago! After some internet research, we discovered this was a common problem with Engel fridges and was typically solved by placing it upside down for a day, right-side-up for a day, and then plugging it back in. Whatever this did to the compressor, it started instantly after following those instructions. Crisis averted!

Near the end of our stay, PJ threw another wrench into our plans. The rear door wouldn’t unlock or open, no matter what we tried. This was the only way to get at the fridge and gear in the back, so there was no way we could continue without that functioning. Innocent took us to a local mechanic who disassembled the door, cleaned the locking mechanism, and put it all back together. We were back in business! Or course, this being Uganda and us being white, they gave us a price of $45 for 20 minutes of work. Thankfully Innocent was with us and negotiated it down to $20, which I’m sure is still five times more than a local would pay.

Five minutes later, the whole inside of the door was off.

After our volunteering stint in Uganda, we set out for Rwanda where we would leave PJ behind for our excursion into the DRC. After that, it was a drive across Tanzania and down the coast of Mozambique, finally ending back where it all started in Johannesburg. We encountered some rough roads and overzealous traffic police along the way and racked up $30 in speeding tickets (one for going 35 in a 31), but PJ didn’t give us any real issues (minus a blown fuse) as we made the long journey back.

On December 17, six months after we first took off in PJ for our wedding, we arrived back at our second home, Westmoreland Lodge in Johannesburg. Now, all we had to do was sell PJ, all our gear, and hop on a flight to Asia.

Anybody Need a Car?

Despite numerous posts and price reductions as we made our way back to South Africa, we weren’t getting much luck on a buyer for PJ fully loaded. We thought we had a couple from Israel who would put him to good use, but they decided that owning a car in Africa was more than they were ready for (which, to be fair, is probably true). Although we weren’t getting a lot of interest in the car with gear, we were getting a decent amount of interest in everything separately, so we made the decision to disassemble PJ to facilitate a sale and our quick exit.

Once we started posting items, we got plenty of responses, albeit at prices well below what we paid. Faced with the option of prolonging our stay in Johannesburg or a speedy sale so we could spend time in Malaysia, we opted to get out of there as quick as possible, booked a flight for December 24, and opened the floodgates to the sharks.

We posted everything on Gumtree (South African Craigslist) and a few Facebook groups – the South Africa Pajero owners group was by far our most successful post and was where we sold almost everything. Some of them even knew who we were from our earlier requests for assistance with the engine trouble – Oh, you’re the American couple with the engine problems — we were Pajero celebrities!

Friday, December 20 was the biggest day. After striking out on a couple of avenues for selling PJ, we finally had a buyer as well as a separate one for the rooftop tent, awning, and some cooking gear. Our first stop was in Pretoria where we met Jacques at his shop. He was thrilled to get our tent and awning for use on his family camper and even sent us some pictures later that week of his boys testing out the tent. We were super happy that our gear was going to a good home. Selling PJ himself was a bit sketchy and forced us to deal with a rather unsavory fellow, but he paid cash (without even test driving it himself) and we dropped it off at his house and quickly called an Uber. The reality hit on the way back – we were homeless again.

The end of an era.

With the big items gone and our flight deadline looming, we turned our efforts to selling off the rest of the gear in earnest. As each of our prospective buyers would come to our hostel, Coons would keep bringing extra gear out from our room to spread it on the porch like an overlanding flea market. One guy had to beg him to stop bringing items out because he couldn’t help himself, but Coons kept finding excuses to run back and grab a few more things. Everyone who came over was incredibly friendly and gave us some good tips about how we could sell the rest of the gear (or bought way more than they planned). We even have a few standing invitations to braai (BBQ) the next time we’re in South Africa!

Finally, we were down to some miscellaneous items that we loaded into a borrowed shopping cart (thanks Pick N’ Pay) and took to the local pawnshop to scrounge up some cash.

Totally normal thing to do.

We had a hell of a ride in Africa with PJ. We covered 30,000 kilometers (18,650 miles) over 10 countries. We visited 10 different safari parks, waded through rivers, drove through desert & beach sand, and climbed sections of roads that we honestly weren’t sure we could. It was such a great experience to be self-sufficient with a tent, fridge, and cooking equipment and be able to go anywhere we wanted on our own schedule. We met a lot of incredible people along the way – thankfully we kept the third seat as we used it quite a bit for other travelers – and saw a lot of things that wouldn’t be possible outside of Africa. PJ, you will be missed and we’ll never forget you (but next time, we’re shipping from the US!).