Thanks to everyone who helped make our year in Africa the best it could ever be!

/Samuel, Sirpa, Elsa and Isaac

Email: samuel (at) samuelwest.se

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Just for fun here is the first post to the blog – one year ago:

Leaving tomorrow!

This is our last night in South Africa, we are leaving tomorrow to spend 4 nights in Dubai and one more night in London before returning home.

We got to Pretoria yesterday evening and got caught in the traffic jam of the people heading to Johannesburg (40km from here) to see the World Cup final. South Africa has acually done a good job of hosting the World Cup, and the sense of pride and the enthusiasm is noticeable everywhere.

Being back in SA – our old numbers work again: Call my phone since Sirpa’s battery is still a problem: +27795453092

Vi körde 500 km på denna grusväg från Nampula, Mozambique till Malawi.

Barn överallt….här har vi en hel grupp efter oss i Malawi. De var fascinerade av kameran.

Isaac på cykeltaxi.

Barn som leker vid Malawisjön.

En kvinna som diskar i bakgrunden.

I Chimoio, Mozambique bodde vi i denna husvagn. Hög mysfaktor!

Hästsafari söder om Mutare i Zimbabwe. Vi hade hela parken för oss själva!

Vi såg bland annat ett giraffpar på vår hästsafari.

Fler djur…

Vid Great Zimbabwe Ruins med en Sydafrikansk familj som vi lärde känna.

VICTORIA FALLS!

Elsa och Isaac vid Victoria Falls. Isaac firar sin åtta års dag!

Victoria Falls Bridge från 1905. Vi gick över bron och tog en fika i Zambia.

Warthogs in front of hotel

High Tea - colonial style

We made it to Victoria Falls! And due to the fact that hotel prices in this country are all surreal and not based on reality we decided to head straight to the finest and fanciest hotel. The Grand Victoria Falls Hotel; an iconic 1909 colonial hotel that is as famous as the falls themselves. The hotel.com price was $USD 600 a night per room (times two for us with two kids).  I told the reception to take a good look at my tired old Audi outside and that I have had enough of the ridiculous Zimbabwean prices. I really want to stay but I need a fair price. After a little discussion they offered me a $800 discount. Good deal! Anyway – the place is awesome, the veranda looks out over the falls and everything, the whole atmosphere is from a bygone era – of the British Colonial bigshots living the good life in the middle of Africa.

Today we saw a dead hippo floating downstream, they often venture too close to the edge of the falls and fall off. Tomorrow we visit the falls on Isaac’s 8th birthday.

I love this hotel – we have Internet!!!!!!!

Made it down to Chimoio which is close to Mutare in Zimbabwe; and checked into the backpackers with the great name of The Pink Papaya. Only planning to spend one night we have now been here 4 nights, mostly due to the fun people we have met here; everyone get along o well that the whole lot of us (guests) keep postponing our departure.

Tomorrow we leave for Zimbabwe, or Zim as it is referred to.  Zim is very infrequetly visited by tourists, and thu is both problematic and exciting to travel in.  Very exciting! Mot people drive around Zimbabwe on tours thru Southern Africa, but according to reliable and current reports we should be fine and most importantly we will have the country to ourselves due to the lack of visitors. We have stocked up on cocacola, bras, panties and lipstick since these are usefull as bribes at the unofficial roadblocks set up by the military.  I can’t wait to bribe my way thru a roadblock with a bra!

Elsa doing Yoga on the shore of lake Malawi

Elsa kayaking on Lake Malawi

Fishing boats and 'single log canoes' on the lake shore

Isaac mending the nets

Walking in the bush - en route to Hippo Village

About an hour into the jungle... still en route to the hippos

Isaac get carried over the leech infested swamp

Fire wood transport - here the women do all the work the men drink Carlsberg beer

Finally we found a nice and cheap place to stay here in Malawi – and we could start exploring the area. The highlight and most exciting excursion was when we went to see the hippos at Hippo Village.  In the fishing village we met three boys that would take us on the short walk to see the hippos.  Short was only 3 hours thru bush, swamps, and reeds. The worst was the leech infested swamp that we had to wade thru, the kids got carried but Sirpa and I had to take off our sandals and wade thru the murky muddy water.. exciting! We thought the walk was going to be about 20 min so we had no water or anything with us and as the walk got longer and longer and ventured further into the jungle/swamp we were really looking forward to getting to our destination “Hippo Village”. There we expected to find a build up area with a patio from which to iew the hippos as well as a snack shop with cold CocaColas.  Nope. Hippo Village was a small bridge over a small muddy pond. No shop, no drinks and no hippos… Anyway we refused to walk back thru the swamp and thus had to take a detour around the swamp on our way back. This was an experience none of us will ever forget.

Malawi is a beautiful country, at least around the lake itself. The people deserve their reputation for being the friendliest in Africa.  We will stay one more day here by the lake in  Senga Bay before heading to the commercial capital Blantyre. We want a little city time after 8 weeks of rural traveling… and are lured to the city by an ad from Cine City Cinema that promises in large print: NOT AFFECTED BY POWER CUTS.

Kids are still happy travelers – they appreciate the fancy lodges with swimming pools and kayaks on the beach of the clean clear lake Malawi. Getting bit by a spider is no longer anything to complain about, and seeing monkeys in the trees is an everyday sight.