Intro
While in Johannesburg, Val organised for us to take an organised, guided tour around Botswana and Namibia, though this was thrown into some doubt when it transpired that no other travellers had booked to go on it. The end result, however, was about as good as it could have been, in that we had the tour (including driver and cook) entirely to ourselves.
The commentary which accompanies the following photos is an unedited view of the diary I wrote at the time… so apologies for handwriting, mis-spellings, an unwarranted focus on food and my own comfort…
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
And then, having said goodbye to our guides and companions for the past two weeks, and a swift foray to DCS to collect our full luggage, we were off on our trtavels again, this time on “the most luxurious train in the world” (I haven’t been on them all, but I will certainly take their word for it), the fabulous Rovos Rail trip from Pretoria to Victoria Falls…
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17
Coming home
The train deposited us at Victoria Falls, where we spent a day or two taking in the spectacle. We found it slightly underwhelming – too many touts, offering carvings, helicopter flights…. And the Falls themselves, though with obvious grandeur, just meant we got very wet indeed.
We flew on to Nairobi, Kenya, partly to break the journey, and to ensure our final flight home was for a manageable time, and arriving at a civilised hour, and partly to take the opportunity, while in the area, to visit another African country. Again, we had two full days, one devoted to visiting the UN’s African headquarters, and one to see Alan Donovan’s amazing African heritage House, on the outskirts of the city: a wonderful building, chock-full of magnificent African art from all over the continent. Alan provided, via a tape-recorded commentary, a guide to the whole place, and we also enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Quite an extraordinary place.
