After a positively unbelievable 2 months in Southern Africa that included scenic coastal road trips, over-indulgence in wine country, a few sweaty hikes with beautiful views, history lessons, safaris through some truly incredible national parks and private reserves, a bit of paddling, a lot of walk[...]
Although Botswana may not be at the top of your bucket list (and admittedly wasn't at the top of mine until 6 months ago, either), you'll wonder why not as soon as you lay eyes on this incredible country and its curious mix of desert and wetlands, its warm and hospitable people, its density of exot[...]
After a rather long day at our camp yesterday on the Namibian side of the Orange River, we load up the truck and set off this morning at 530am for a big day of driving. As much as I'd like to just go immediately to sleep in my seat, there's little point— ten minutes later, we have to go through t[...]
The Orange River, or Fish River depending on who you talk to, is one of the longest rivers on the entire African continent, meandering its way through a number of countries and marking the border between Namibia and South Africa. Aside from providing a vital water source to the region, it is also a[...]
Southern Namibia's awe-inspiring Fish River Canyon, despite being the second largest canyon in the world, flies just about as far under the radar as the rest of this alarmingly underrated country. At 160km long, 28km wide, and just 550m deep, it is still a far cry from Arizona's Grand Canyon in ter[...]
Crossing well and truly into the Namib Desert yesterday (although we've been in and out of the desert for the last few days and it's basically been desert weather for the entire trip), we now have just a couple hours of driving this morning to reach Namib-Naukluft National Park and two of Namibia's[...]
As we journey farther south through Namibia, we cross The Tropic of Capricorn, a latitude about 23 degrees south of and parallel to the equator, at which point the sun sits directly overhead at midday. Little more than an imaginary line signifying the boundary of the tropics, it's not the line itse[...]
For all of Swakopmund's charming German architecture and persistent European undertones, it couldn't be farther from its colonial past just a few blocks off the main street. Standing in a sea of golden sand and catching glimpses of the sparkling Atlantic over the dunes as camels wander past, this t[...]
Surrounded by waves— the pumping Atlantic Ocean to the west and the golden dunes of the Namib Desert to the east— Swakopmund is far more than just the country's definitive adventure capital or a jumping off point to travels through the entire region, it's a stunning destination in its own right[...]
Driving south from Etosha National park on a long (and incredibly remote) road, the horizon is dominated by a stunning formation of jagged granite mountains. Towering 800m over an otherwise flat desert landscape in central Namibia, Spitzkoppe and its many peaks are like something from another plane[...]
Etosha National Park, whose name literally means "Great White Place" in reference to the enormous and blindingly white salt pan in the centre of the park, is one of Namibia's (many) treasures. Hundreds of animal species roam around the 20,000 square kilometre conservancy and visit the watering hole[...]
Namibia's capital city, though barely larger than a small town by other standards (and Wollongong is pretty low standards at just 300,000 people), is a bustling and rapidly developing city full of African charm. Still dotted with German relics from its colonial past, it is an interesting blend of o[...]
For nearly 50,000 years, the San people, also known as Bushmen, have inhabited parts of southwestern Africa and lived off the land. Today, numbers are dwindling as their way of life is increasingly threatened by a modern world (and even more so by government reappropriation of their lands), but a s[...]
Encompassing well over a million hectares of seasonally-flooded marshland, the Okavango Delta in Botswana's north has been named one of Africa's Seven Natural Wonders as well as a World Heritage Site for the remarkable landscape and diverse ecosystem sustained by its life-giving waters. With more t[...]
By our second full day on the road, we are starting to get the hang of things, waking up around 530am, packing up our tent, digging into a big egg and bacon brekky, and helping to wash up all the dishes before setting off on a 5 hour drive towards our camp. We've heard plenty of talk that Eleph[...]
Botswana's first and most diverse national park, as well as one of the largest conservation areas in a country dominated by nature reserves, Chobe National Park is a standout among all of southern Africa's safari destinations. Botswana is actually home to the largest population of elephants in the[...]
Victoria Falls, the world’s largest waterfall that straddles the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, is inarguably a bucket-list natural wonder that everyone should lay eyes on in their lifetime. Arriving in Livingstone, Zambia or Vic Falls, Zimbabwe, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the seeming[...]
Whether from Zambia, Zimbabwe, above, below, or right on the edge of the Falls themselves, it's impossible to take a bad photo of Victoria Falls— everywhere you look, there are double rainbows and droplets of water so sparkly that you'd swear they are falling diamonds. Here are just a few photos[...]
Roaring through Zambia's breathtaking Batoka Gorge not far from Victoria Falls and the Zimbabwean border, the Zambezi River is a true force of nature. During the low water season, rapids escalate all the way to a frenzied Class VI (which, if you haven't been rafting before, is some pretty hectic wh[...]
In discovering Victoria Falls for the first time, David Livingstone famously said that it must have been gazed upon by angels, and you’d be hard-pressed to disagree whether you do your gazing from Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park on the Zambian side of the falls or from Victoria Falls National Park in[...]