|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
pasta w/boerewors |
Weather |
Livingstone, Zambia
Witt & Jen |
25 July, 2004 |
Zambezi waterfront |
17°15.220’S x 25°50.665’E |
Odometer: 28860km |
Sunny, 85(F)
degrees |
|
We spent the morning with Jen doing laundry
and Witt looking at various things on the car. All four wheels are a
little loose, including the one whose bearing I just replaced. Not knowing
exactly how tight to make the hub nuts, I decided to take it to Foley’s, a
Land Rover repair shop that used to be a branch of Foley’s specialist
vehicles in the UK, for a general servicing. I’m also hoping they can sort
out the leaks in the front differential and the oil pan. In the afternoon
we went to the riverfront patio for lunch. I worked on web updates on the
laptop while Jen read and began composing a reply to Nadine in French. We
decided to cook for ourselves to use up some leftovers before they go off. |
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
487km |
Meals
Curry (assorted) |
Weather |
Cape Town, South Africa
Graham & Connie |
25 July, 2004 |
Aardvark Backpackers Lodge |
33°54.811’S 18°23.562’E |
Odometer: 39124km |
Cold am, 75(F) mid day
degrees |
|
Leaving Karoo National Park, it was an easy
drive to Cape Town. We traveled through the wine country north of Cape
Town, and stopped in Paarl for a look at tourist information.
Unfortunately, being Sunday, the tourist office was closed. We had a brief
look around town and then moved on to Cape Town, moving through very large
fields of grapes. First stop in town was the Victoria Albert Waterfront
for a little shopping and internet. Then we made our way to the Aardvark
Backpackers Lodge for accommodation and had dinner at a nearby Indian
restaurant. |
|
The first vineyards on the way
into Paarl |
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Laughing Dragon Chinese restaurant |
Weather |
Livingstone, Zambia
Witt & Jen |
26 July, 2004 |
Zambezi waterfront |
17°15.220’S x 25°50.665’E |
Odometer: 28860km |
Sunny, 84(F) Degrees |
|
I went out for a run this morning, but was
stopped at the gate to the campground by a security person who advised
that it wasn’t safe to leave the compound on foot because of the risk of
mugging. “So it’s better if the tourists stay nice and safe in their
cage?” I asked. “Yes, that’s right,” was the reply. I went anyway and had
a nice twenty minute run through the countryside. When I returned we went
to the lodge restaurant for breakfast, then drove to Foley’s where we met
Nick, the owner, manager, and chief mechanic. He scheduled us in for
tomorrow, and we headed into town to use the internet, get some cash and
poke around a bit. We went back to the campground stopping on the way to
book a microlight (a powered hang glider) flight over the falls for
tomorrow afternoon. We booked a whitewater rafting trip for Wednesday the
“Zambesi Swing” for Thursday. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the
patio reading and relaxing. In the evening we took a cab to town and had a
decent Chinese meal. |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
32km |
Meals
Steak and kingklip and chips |
Weather |
Cape Town, South Africa
Graham & Connie |
26 July, 2004 |
Aardvark Backpackers Lodge |
33°54.811’S 18°23.562’E |
Odometer: 39144km |
Cold am, 73(F) mid day
degrees |
|
Spent the day wandering around Cape Town. We
went up to the Table Mountain cable car hoping for a ride to the top, only
to discover that as of this morning it had been closed for 2 weeks for
maintenance. We went back to the V&A Waterfront and had coffee, before
retiring back to the Aardvark for dinner and bed. |
|
Cape Town! |
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Zig Zag Coffee House, Hippo's |
Weather |
|
Livingstone, Zambia
Witt & Jen |
27 July, 2004 |
Zambezi waterfront |
17°15.220’S x 25°50.665’E |
Odometer: 28860km |
Sunny, 90(F)
degrees |
|
We arrived a Foley’s at about 8am and walked
to a nearby coffee house for breakfast while Nick put Rafiki on the lift
and had a look. He showed me several loose bolts in the suspension and
thought that the A-frame ball joint was probably bad as well. One of his
mechanics, Kelvin showed me the proper tension to put on the hub nuts,
which was a lot more than what I thought. That’s probably why the one I
installed a couple of days ago has already come loose. I spent the whole
day in the garage watching as they tightened things up, replaced the
A-frame ball joints and bushings, replaced the read brake pads, put a new
weld on the front diff, and tightened the coupling to the oil cooler,
which fortunately was probably causing what I thought was the oil pan
leak. They found that the right rear halfshaft has worn splines, which is
strange since they were new in England. Nick doesn’t have a spare, so I’ll
drive gently and look for a new one in Lusaka. The rear main engine seal
is leaking, which Graham pointed out awhile back. That one requires
removing either the engine or the transmission, so it will have to
continue leaking until I need a new clutch. Nick is a big friendly British
guy who came to Livingstone to work for the garage when it was still part
of Foley’s UK. He’s been here five years and seems to run a very
efficient, professional shop. We met lots of interesting people during the
day, including Joe who works transporting foreign kids in Zambia for
educational programs. He and Jen talked for awhile and he gave us good
contacts in Ngonye falls where we intend to go after Livingstone. We met a
couple of American missionaries living in the area and who come to Nick
for their automotive needs. Jen spent the balance of the day under a tree
reading and composing her letter to Nadine and David. At four Nick dropped
us at Batoka Sky, the microlighting outfit. We suited up and signed our
waivers. The flight gave us our first view of Victoria falls and was
spectacular. The water flows into a deep chasm over a mile long throwing
up spray that creates a perpetual rainbow. We made two passes over the
falls and saw an elephant on one of the islands. At peak water the flows
at 900 million liters per second or 32 million cfs (cubic feet per second)
Our pilot did a transafrica trip by motorbike in 1996-97 and we talked
about traveling over the headsets as he flew. Jen had the same pilot and
went up just after I landed. When she landed she had a huge grin on her
face. She enjoyed the openness and the feeling of freedom in the air
(which, by the way, is their motto) The feeling of being in the air with
no aircraft around you is amazing. You sit behind and above the pilot and
when you look to either side you can feel the wind tug at your helmet as
the scenery passes below you. After our flights Batoka Sky dropped us at
Foley’s. When we arrived Nick was nowhere to be found and his mechanics
said there had been an accident and Nick was at the hospital. Apparently
he had accidently backed our car into a cinderblock wall causing it to
collapse onto a couple of children playing on the other side of it. Nick
had driven the kids to the hospital. We waited for awhile and eventually
Nick called to tell his mechanics to close up the shop. The kids were
apparently okay, suffering a fracture in a leg and a couple of cuts and
bruises. We promised to return tomorrow after our rafting trip to pay the
bill. We had dinner at Hippo’s, the restaurant at Fawlty Towers
backpackers. The impala fillets were excellent. As we drove back to the
waterfront I noticed that many of the clunks and rattles that I had come
to view as normal from Rafiki were gone! We went to bed, looking forward
to our rafting trip tomorrow. |
Waiting at the repair shop Jen is back on earth, but her spirit is still soaring!
Waiting at the repair shop
|
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
59km |
Meals
Steak and asparagus pie |
Weather |
Stellenbosh, South Africa
Graham & Connie |
27 July, 2004 |
Mountain Breeze Caravan Park |
33°59.432’S 18°49.812’E |
Odometer: 39250km |
Cold am, 70(F) mid day
degrees |
|
We moved from Cape Town to Stellenbosh with
the intent of checking out what the local vineyards have to offer.
Stellenbosh is just a short drive from Cape Town, but we got way lain when
Connie saw a huge shopping mall on the side of the road. We went into the
Century City mall which Connie instantly decided was her favorite of all
time. You have to see the pictures to see why. After spending most of the
day at the mall we headed to Stellenbosh. Unfortunately it was rush hour,
and it took a good hour to make the trip. Once in Stellenbosh we tracked
down a caravan park and had dinner at the Cattle Baron, an American style
steak house with very good food. |
|
Connie's favorite mall |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Curry,
courtesy of Nick |
Weather |
Livingstone, Zambia
Witt & Jen |
28 July, 2004 |
Zambezi waterfront |
17°15.220’S x 25°50.665’E |
Odometer: 28860km |
Sunny, 87(F) Degrees |
|
We awoke early and dressed for the water. The
trip includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We were just starting our
breakfast when Joe and Kelvin (Nick’s mechanic) arrived at Zambezi
Waterfront. They said that the police needed to see our car and our
insurance. They offered to take the car and deal with it for us, but I
thought it would be better to be involved myself. We arranged to delay our
rafting trip and followed Joe to the police station. We learned that when
Nick arrived to file a statement the day shift at the police statement was
just about to go home. Not knowing what to do they chucked him into a cell
for the evening and figured they’d sort it out in the morning. Nick’s
girlfriend Fiona had managed to get him released, and when we arrived he
was okay if a bit disheveled. The two girls had been released from the
hospital and were also okay. The remainder of the morning was spent
getting our car inspected for safety and road-worthiness, a requirement
since it had been in an accident (technically). Nick was finally able to
talk to someone in charge and who could make decisions. It was decided
that he could pay a fine for a traffic offense and that he was free to go.
Nick paid all of the girls’ medical expenses at the private clinic he took
them to and will continue to look out for them. Jen spent most of the
morning with Emma, a friend of Nick’s who was at the police station and
runs Fawlty Towers. She was kind enough to treat us to lunch, and Nick
invited us to curry this evening. Nick went off to speak to his lawyer and
get a shower and some rest, and Emma went back to work. About that time
Helen and Tony arrived and we talked with them for an hour or so. Emma put
us in touch with Sven, who has a kayaking school here. He said that he
could set us up with a guide and gear so that we can run a class 3 section
of the Zambezi below the falls. I hadn’t expected to be able to do any
kayaking here and am really psyched. We spent the afternoon back at the
waterfront and enjoyed sundowners over the river. |
|
Sunset over the Zambezi |
|
Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
63km |
Meals
Spiced couscous and lamb chops |
Weather |
Stellenbosh, South Africa
Graham & Connie |
28 July, 2004 |
Mountain Breeze Caravan Park |
33°59.432’S 18°49.812’E |
Odometer: 39313km |
Cold am, 70(F) mid day
degrees |
|
Stellenbosh is very well renowned for its
vineyards, and looking at a map of the town shows the profusion of
vineyards in the area. With just a couple of days, we knew we could only
visit a few, so we started with the largest, the Distel Bergkelder, home
to names like KWV, Fleur Du Cap and Stellenrik. There were no tours going
on at the time, but the lady in charge showed us around. They have a short
movie about the wine growing process and the suitability of the Cape for
grape farming. They also have a museum with old glasses, bottles of wine
and corkscrews. The oldest bottle with wine still in was from 1890. After
looking around the museum, we went into the Bergkelder (mountain cellar)
itself. There is a large wooden door on the hillside, and inside a low lit
cave like cellar, are thousands of bottles of wine. Each area has a sign
giving info on the wine stored there. In the very center is a tasting
area, and at the back are the huge oak barrels each with an elaborate
carving on the face. On the way out of the Bergkelder we stopped at their
shop and bought some wine. For lunch we found the Hillcrest Berry Farm. It
is a farm in the hills above Stellenbosh that produces excellent jams and
preserves. We had a great lunch on their verandah overlooking the valley.
In the afternoon we looked around old town Stellenbosh before heading out
to another vinyard. Unfortunately they were setting up for an ‘event’, so
we were not able to look around. We went back to the caravan park and ran
into Serge and Caroline from Belgium. They also drove down from Europe,
but shipped from Ghana to Cape Town, avoiding the Congos
and Angola. |
|
The Bergkelder itself |
Wine anyone? |
|
July 29 ---> |
