I have been writing this blog now for 16 years - I started it for Mum and she'd proudly take her iPad to show her friends what we were up to in Tanzania - but now I think it's time to bring it to an official close! Just one last post about our trip to Africa in April and May this year.
Our first trip to Africa was in 2006 when my sister Lyn was living in Pretoria working for Ford. We spent time in Gauteng Province; and Toby and I travelled up through Botswana to Zambia to see Victoria Falls. The thrill of white water rafting on the Zambezi River below the falls will never get old!
Anyway, I have always wanted to return to Botswana and this year we did.
With friends Rob and Lou we travelled to Namibia and spent a month visiting birding hotspots and scenic delights. Rob and Lou were returning to Namibia, last visited when they were AusVols in Zimbabwe in the 1990s, so it was interesting to hear how much had changed and how much was still the same.
Steve and I had a month in Namibia in 2015 and again in 2021. We love it there. It is so easy to travel. The national parks are excellent and the geology is stunning.
Then we travelled to Botswana for a week around the Okavango Delta - somewhere we've always wanted to go.
From southern Africa we travelled north for 3 weeks in Tanzania, via Rwanda, then home, via Kenya and South Africa . Most of you will have heard the aeroplane saga already from my Facebook page so I won't re-prosecute that!
Here are some annotated pictures. (A work in progress but I will post to before I lose it)
We stayed at Arebbusch Lodge in Windhoek while we sorted cash, a hire car and snacks for the 4 week road trip - Rob and Lou had stayed there in 1996!
At White Lady Lodge, Brandberg Mountain. A lovely lodge.
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| This old bloke was resting after a hard night in the Dolomite region of Etosha NP. |
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| Swakopmund - a very German part of Namibia. |
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| You can't go to Walvis Bay without visiting the salt works. |
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| I love the rocky outcrops in Namibia. We had never seen the country so green. There had been heaps of rain in January and February. |
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| Spitzkoppe is a remarkable geological formation. |
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| The walk up to the White Lady rock art. |
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| The White Lady rock art at Brandberg Mountain. |
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| Waterburg NP. No maintenance in at least 4 years - a real shame! This was the only place that disappointed us. |
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| Plenty of zebras in Etosha NP |
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| Also plenty of elephants |
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| And giraffes |
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| The thorn trees are brutal |
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| Water lilies in the Okavango delta |
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| Sunrise, Okavango |
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| Tarangire NP Tanzania |
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| Love these birds |
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| Who doesn't love a Leopard Tortoise! We didn't make it to the Sakina Compound to check up on T1 and T2 but have heard they are doing well. |
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| We stayed at the Amani Research Institute which is almost derelict. The forest was wonderful, the building maintenance was not! |
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| Such a shame to see a once proud institution in such a state. This institute has done significant work on tropical medicine over past decades. |
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| We stayed on the Indian Ocean coast near Tanga, north east Tanzania. The tidal difference was huge. This is the breakfast spot - sometimes there is water, sometimes there is not. We went out to sea looking for terns - I was sea sick for the first time ever. |
It was great to be back at Olkokola Catholic Mission. Much was the same but there was a new group of trainees to get to know and there are always improvements happening.
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| Thank you to my family for funding some much needed equipment for the physical therapy room including an examination bed, a TENS machine and a massage gun. Plus some extra books for the library. |
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The physical therapy room, funded by an AVI grant in 2022, is in frequent use.
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| Mt Kilimanjaro was visible from the airport hotel, with just a little snow on top. |
That's it for this blog! Thank you all for following along, love from Jenny.
ps. We are currently living in Lae, Papua New Guinea. We are with the Australian Volunteers program again, this time both working at the Papua New Guinea National Agricultural Research Institute. If you are interested in have a new blog at https://clarksinlae.blogspot.com/. JC
