South Africa: Days 1-2

Wendy and I are on an overland trip/tour.  We started in Cape Town and are ending in Nairobi, over 42 days.  For the 1st leg of the trip there are 16 tourist  on our truck.  The group changes in Livingstone, at the halfway point, about 19 days.  There are a lot of overland companies that follow similar routes, we chose Acacia because of price and sites viewed; we're extremely glad we did, because the crew (well organized and friendly) and group have been great.  We all met in Cape Town at a hostel and got introduced the night before we left at an overview/predeparture  meeting.  The next morning we met our vessel, a ginormous overland/safari truck- NOT A BUS (if you call it a bus, you have to buy the crew a drink)- which seats 24 people in back and three in the front cabin, having lockers on the inside back for our bags, top shelf racks along the seat rows for miscellaneous bags, towels, "swimming costumes" and two tables for playing cards- though it is very windy.  The bottom of the truck has all our supplies on it.  No airconditioning, but the windows do fine and there is an ipod hook-up so we can listen to music on our drives.  Tents are stacked on one side, sleeping mats go above, and drinks go in the cooler. 

Our group has a great dynamic, getting to know one another very quickly.  We had,2 Irish (couple): Ros and Donagh (NOT pronounced: "Donna"); 2 Aussies (couple): Suzanne and Peter; 2 more aussies (couple): Joanne and Matt; 1 Hungarian/German: Suzanna (she spells it with a Z in front and some other letter but I'm not sure); 1 Swiss Master knitter: Patricia (who is coming the whole way with Wendy + I to Nairobi); 5 British: Lynzi, Helen, Paul, Phoebe, and Liz  ( all from different areas with very different british accents); 1 Canadian: Mei; and of course "Team America" (us).  Plus the excellent crew, Nel (den-mother/ guide/trainer/eagle-eye animal spotter): South African/Afrikaans; Dzingi (Driver)-Zimbabwe; and our trainee (intern) Piet: South African/Afrikaans.

Wendy has gotten everyone on the truck to knit wool squares (36x36) so we can make blankets for kids with AIDS. Surprisingly we had some pro-knitters, especially Patricia- she can knit like a machine!  I have tried to learn her technique, but in 20 days I have only completed 1 square, granted I just learned.  We've arranged with our guide (Nel) to have her take the blankets south on her way back.

Our first day we headed out on a township tour and then north to Citrusdal and the Cederberg Mountains (towards Namibia) on the Elephant River.  There are no elephants there, but it was very beautiful filled with gum trees and deep valleys. We spent our first afternoon getting to know one another while gently tubing down the river (more like a stream). This was our first camping experience at the Gekko Lodge (a man's house with a big lawn, a bar, and nice showers).  We learned the logistics about the tour, how to put up the big metal tents, what "teams" we're on for cooking and cleaning (it's kind of the work wheel system) although we all have been good with helping eachother out with everything. 

The next day we headed north to the Orange River, camping at Fiddler's Creek Campsite on the boundary river between the South African/Namibian boarder.  The Orange River (which is more brown than orange)'s current is very strong, some much that you can jump in one spot of the campsite and float to the other end.  We spent a night, then had a morning of canoeing (in raft boats for 2- wendy and I compared camp songs, and splashed the other boats, Wendy is a very good canoeer).  One of the boats kept getting all turned around (2 Brits), they were extremely amusing.

Side note about Doxyclycine (our malaria medication)- it makes you burn really easily, in places you never really burn, like your fingers, then the burn turns into rashes and blisters that are extremely sensitive to touch, so much that Wendy couldn't bare it anymore, and was forced to convert her free airline socks (which were lime green) into makeshift 80's style gloves, which she wore all day in the sun and Donagh (Irish- talks funny, and became the source for much amusement) kept referring to as "mittens."   Sadly, her trend did not catch on.

After canoeing, we had our first boarder crossing.  "When in doubt smile a lot,"  It went smoothly, but you have to give a lot of time to it, as it could take 5 minutes (mind you we have 19 people to cross and 19 passports to check) or it could to an hour.  For a shack in the middle or nowhere it was very efficient.  On the other side (Namibia) we got a great group picture in front of the Namibia sign.  We also learned it's much easier to take the picture with 1 camera and her that person email to everyone (pick the same person each time).  Clicking with 19 cameras takes awhile.