Livingstone Update
Off to Botswana
So tomorrow we are off into another new country! We will have a timetrial out of Livingstone and off to the Botswana border. Hopefully we will get a TV and cricket coverage ... and hopefully the Proteas will not wilt one more time ... :-(
We then have several long days on very flat, very straight (up to 140km without a bend!!) roads between lots of elephants and other wildlife ... this is what I've waited for ... for a long time now!
Well, cheers to all ... and a special Hi to all those people I hear are regularly checking this blog ... Linda, Leon, Janeen, the Thomas family, Phil and Tara, Trina, Joke, John, J. Zuma and D. Tutu, Nix and everyone else ... I know there are many more, but these few stick out somehow from comments and messages via my fossils and brother ...
cheers for now
Hi there all ... from the Smoke that Thunders
It has been an interesting, exciting and restful last few days!!
We left Lusaka a few days ago ... straight into the same tedious, monotonous rolling hills and tall grass along the same tar roads heading for Livingstone. At some stage between causing shit with Phil and racing up some little hill I realised I was a little bored. Phil felt much the same ... and we plotted our plan to head of for Livingstone a little earlier.
Basically we felt we were a little bored of the same faces, same people, same routine, same roads and wanted to go and chill a few days. The second day out of Lusaka George (who felt the same), Phil and myself headed off for Livingstone ... two days before everyone else. It was a real good idea .. as we have had a real good break from the people and off the bike ... including the two planned rest days in Livingstone.
The day turned a little stressful yesterday ... firstly I played probably my worst round of golf ever (luckily Phil and Andy Paton were not much better) ... then Nurse Elaine got mugged/robbed (she is perfectly fine and uninjured, but has to trek off back to Lusaka to get a new passport ... aagghh) and in the evening poor George took a nasty tumble down a three meter deep well and injured his back a little - well not so little ... vasbyt ouman ... wishing you all the best and a quick recovery onto your bike again.
Livingstone
The falls are brilliant ... unbelievable water ... unfortunately too much for rafting, and one gets TOTALLY soaked when going down to the falls!! The Zambezi Sun (where my folks are currently staying) is a real great hotel, good food and right next to the falls. I'm staying at a small lodge - the Bushfront - also very decent, extremely friendly and nice. I missed the booze cruise last night - for Marc's 50th and for general unwinding - as I was helping Elaine at the cop-shop ... an experience on its own - very friendly, but slow, tedious and tough with different languages and cultural experiences. ;-)
We've done a lot of relaxing, some drinking and just general chilling. This Internet availability story though gets no better ... actually a slight pain in the arse if I may say so. It is so tough to get a good connection anywhere!
So tomorrow we are off into another new country! We will have a timetrial out of Livingstone and off to the Botswana border. Hopefully we will get a TV and cricket coverage ... and hopefully the Proteas will not wilt one more time ... :-(
We then have several long days on very flat, very straight (up to 140km without a bend!!) roads between lots of elephants and other wildlife ... this is what I've waited for ... for a long time now!
Well, cheers to all ... and a special Hi to all those people I hear are regularly checking this blog ... Linda, Leon, Janeen, the Thomas family, Phil and Tara, Trina, Joke, John, J. Zuma and D. Tutu, Nix and everyone else ... I know there are many more, but these few stick out somehow from comments and messages via my fossils and brother ...
cheers for now
Hi there all ... from the Smoke that Thunders
It has been an interesting, exciting and restful last few days!!
We left Lusaka a few days ago ... straight into the same tedious, monotonous rolling hills and tall grass along the same tar roads heading for Livingstone. At some stage between causing shit with Phil and racing up some little hill I realised I was a little bored. Phil felt much the same ... and we plotted our plan to head of for Livingstone a little earlier.
Basically we felt we were a little bored of the same faces, same people, same routine, same roads and wanted to go and chill a few days. The second day out of Lusaka George (who felt the same), Phil and myself headed off for Livingstone ... two days before everyone else. It was a real good idea .. as we have had a real good break from the people and off the bike ... including the two planned rest days in Livingstone.
The day turned a little stressful yesterday ... firstly I played probably my worst round of golf ever (luckily Phil and Andy Paton were not much better) ... then Nurse Elaine got mugged/robbed (she is perfectly fine and uninjured, but has to trek off back to Lusaka to get a new passport ... aagghh) and in the evening poor George took a nasty tumble down a three meter deep well and injured his back a little - well not so little ... vasbyt ouman ... wishing you all the best and a quick recovery onto your bike again.
Livingstone
The falls are brilliant ... unbelievable water ... unfortunately too much for rafting, and one gets TOTALLY soaked when going down to the falls!! The Zambezi Sun (where my folks are currently staying) is a real great hotel, good food and right next to the falls. I'm staying at a small lodge - the Bushfront - also very decent, extremely friendly and nice. I missed the booze cruise last night - for Marc's 50th and for general unwinding - as I was helping Elaine at the cop-shop ... an experience on its own - very friendly, but slow, tedious and tough with different languages and cultural experiences. ;-)
We've done a lot of relaxing, some drinking and just general chilling. This Internet availability story though gets no better ... actually a slight pain in the arse if I may say so. It is so tough to get a good connection anywhere!
I missed the canoeing this morning ... after looking after George a little and heading back to where I was staying it was 01h00 ... and I was not keen to get up at 07h00 ... at least not on a rest day! So I enjoyed an awesome breakfast with my folks.
Cheers Howard
Well, we lost another person from the trip ... cheers Howard, it was good to meet you and I wish you all the best for the rest of your trip. I believe you will not mind too much - and actually agree - if I do point out that this trip was not the best thing for you ... you want your space and freedom thru Africa and I really hope you find that thru the last part of your trip ;-)
Cheers to the last member of the Grumpy Old Men ;-)
Dear Leigh-Anne
As most of you know, Leigh-Anne left us a while ago. I must say upfront that I have decided not to gossip thru my blog, or point fingers and critisize people on the tour ... but herewith I do wish to point out one or two things that you have indicated on your blog.
You seem to indicate that the Tour organisors/staff were not helpful, supportive and that they "neglected" you when you came down with Malaria. You seem to lay a fair amount of blame on the nurse not doing what you felt was her responsibility, and your expectations for certain care or attention which you believe you were supposed to get.
Leigh-Anne ... please remember that you had left the tour a week earlier - but this never excluded that the Tour was still accomodating to you and your needs. You approached the nurse very shortly before our departure, wanting her to go North up the country to fetch a friend (slightly impossible I'd say), then to maybe find your friends number ... which you didn't even have or make easily available. You were obviously not well and the Tour did offer to take you to the hospital and eventually they were the ones that informed and spoke to the camp's owners to help and organise your travel and appropriate care at a clinic or hospital,
Please don't get me wrong Leigh-Anne ... I'm not unsupportive of your dreams and ways of travelling thru Africa. I'm glad to have met you and wish you all the best for the future ... but I do believe you have given a very false perception and review of the Tour organisors, their conduct and help they offered to you in this case.
My new motto in life ...
I wish a long life to my ENEMIES
So they may see all my SUCCESS
(poster in a shop somewhere in Zambia)
Cheers Howard
Well, we lost another person from the trip ... cheers Howard, it was good to meet you and I wish you all the best for the rest of your trip. I believe you will not mind too much - and actually agree - if I do point out that this trip was not the best thing for you ... you want your space and freedom thru Africa and I really hope you find that thru the last part of your trip ;-)
Cheers to the last member of the Grumpy Old Men ;-)
Dear Leigh-Anne
As most of you know, Leigh-Anne left us a while ago. I must say upfront that I have decided not to gossip thru my blog, or point fingers and critisize people on the tour ... but herewith I do wish to point out one or two things that you have indicated on your blog.
You seem to indicate that the Tour organisors/staff were not helpful, supportive and that they "neglected" you when you came down with Malaria. You seem to lay a fair amount of blame on the nurse not doing what you felt was her responsibility, and your expectations for certain care or attention which you believe you were supposed to get.
Leigh-Anne ... please remember that you had left the tour a week earlier - but this never excluded that the Tour was still accomodating to you and your needs. You approached the nurse very shortly before our departure, wanting her to go North up the country to fetch a friend (slightly impossible I'd say), then to maybe find your friends number ... which you didn't even have or make easily available. You were obviously not well and the Tour did offer to take you to the hospital and eventually they were the ones that informed and spoke to the camp's owners to help and organise your travel and appropriate care at a clinic or hospital,
Please don't get me wrong Leigh-Anne ... I'm not unsupportive of your dreams and ways of travelling thru Africa. I'm glad to have met you and wish you all the best for the future ... but I do believe you have given a very false perception and review of the Tour organisors, their conduct and help they offered to you in this case.
My new motto in life ...
I wish a long life to my ENEMIES
So they may see all my SUCCESS
(poster in a shop somewhere in Zambia)
