Day 139 to 140: Safety first: Syria later

A news report on our final evening of our Egypt and Jordan tour brought a sudden change to our plans. The situation in Syria had become more violent after weeks of little change and we decided it would be prudent to give up our plans of overlanding through Syria and Lebanon on this trip. Although we'd probably be safe in Syria as tourists, the risk that we'd get stuck there wasn't a risk we wanted to gamble with.

So, after a delicious final dinner and farewells to our tour members, we headed to an internet cafe and found a flight to Istanbul for the following morning. As a nice silver lining, our new flight let us join Tom and Caitlin, who were already booked for Istanbul, and we were even seated together.

Most of the next day was spent travelling and waiting for ages in very slow queues at Istanbul airport. Riding the tram to central Istanbul, temperatures were noticeably chilly and the city streets felt more East than West. After months of unfamiliar surroundings, Istanbul was a little taste of everyday life, and with it the reminder that our trip was soon coming to an end.

Arriving at the tourist district of Sultanahmet, Tom and Caitlin's hostel had no double rooms available, so we went walking and found a hotel just down the hill from them. They had a massive pile of washing they'd been trying to get washed for a while, so we left them to it and had a fun evening wandering around Taksim Square and the lively Istiklal Caddesi, which was packed with locals. We dined at a bustling street lined with bars and eateries and enjoyed being in the thick of things.

Day 138 to 139: Stuffed lamb and half-built houses

We followed the King's Way from Petra to Madaba, stopping in at a Crusader castle and the Dead Sea along the way. We enjoyed feeling weightless as the Dead Sea water forced us to relentlessly float. Being able to stand up in the water when we were out of our depth felt bizarre.

In Amman, the capital of Jordan, we climbed a steep Roman ampitheatre for slightly dizzying views and explored the hilltop Citadel. In the Citadel Museum I found it interesting to see statues from Ammonite times, as it really brought the history of this people to life. From the Citadel we heard the city's mosques calling people to Friday prayers: an eerie sound that echoed around us. Once prayer had finished we saw protestors gathering to follow their usual Friday protest route. Ibrahim told us that most of the protests in Jordan are peaceful, with police handing out water to the protestors. The protests in Jordan are mainly against the government rather than the royal family - it seems that pretty much everyone is very fond of the King and likes to put his photo up in their establishment.

From Amman we drove to Jerash, the stunning ruins of a Roman town. Gates, facades, and pillars had been wonderfully preserved through being buried in sand for hundreds of years. We wandered pillared streets, checkout out underground shops and had Turkish coffee in the Temple of Diana. This was no tacky tourist coffee shop - rather a lone tea and coffee vendor with a couple of steel thermoses and his cat Artemis.

While in Jordan we've enjoyed trying delicious lamb specialities, like stuffed lamb and mansaf: a dish with hot yoghurt sauce and very tender lamb on rice. Prices in Jordan are a lot higher than in Egypt, so our 15p falafel sandwiches have been sorely missed.

Landscapes we've seen in Jordan are mostly stony desert and we've visited various supposed Biblical sites along the way. Some seem more probable than others - the pillar of salt that is said to be Lot's wife looking back means she'd have to be an enormous woman! We've seen a lot of flat-roofed houses with an unfinished floor on top, as we saw in Egypt. Jordanian parents often build pillars on the roof of their house so that their son can build his own house above theirs when he has the money.

Shopping and getting about in Jordan has been more peaceful than in Egypt, where we were continually hounded by anyone who could possibly sell us a service. We learnt to banter along and have fun with everyone, rather than trying to hide away, but even so it's good to no longer be such a target. Michael still gets told "You're a lucky man" at least once a day, which is rather nice for both of us!

Our next planned destination is Syria, so we've been keeping an eye on news reports and Foreign and Commonwealth travel warnings. A warning against 'all but essential travel' to a country means our travel insurance wouldn't cover us if we chose to head there. For the past few weeks, travel warnings for Syria have only applied to a coastal area and one border crossing with Jordan, both of which we can easily avoid. We plan to take a service taxi from Amman to Damascus, crossing the safe border. We can still follow our planned route in Syria, heading into Lebanon and up through Syria into Turkey. We only have three weeks left to visit these countries, so we're thinking of extending our trip by a few weeks so we can spend a good amount of time in each place, rather than rushing. We're looking forward to our time in Syria, as we've heard the people are extremely friendly and welcoming.

Day 135 to 137: Petra's rocky heights

Cleaner streets and more modern buildings gave Jordan a more Western feel than Egypt. Strolling along the Aqaba waterfront on a crisp spring morning, the water on Jordan's only beach was amazingly clear. As island-dwellers, we found it a novelty to see Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt from Jordanian sand.

Our Jordanian tour leader Ibrahim seemed nice, but less personable than our Egyptian leader Michael, so I think we all had a few days of missing Michael as we got to know Ibrahim. We spent an afternoon in Wadi Rum, a desert valley with rock pinnacles and mountains, where we drove around the desert on the back of pickup trucks and saw a fiery orange-red sunset. Goathair tents in a Bedouin camp were our rooms for the evening. The peace of the starry desert night was spoiled a little by the campowners insisting on playing music for us at an ear-piercing volume - that and the massive group of loud Dutch tourists who were also staying in the camp. Not quite the desert experience I'd envisaged!

Petra was a highlight of our time in Jordan. A narrow passage through towering rock led to the Treasury, just one of the stunning buildings carved into the cliffsides. We made the steep climb to a clifftop monastery, dodging tourist-carrying donkeys along the way. As we came back down, I twisted my ankle and was helped by a nearby stallholder who led me to a seat and kindly made me a cup of tea. We purchased some postcards from her daughter as a way of thanking her and I continued down the path a little slower than before, resting up while Michael, Tom and Caitlyn climbed fallen pillars in the beautiful Roman ruins.

Day 134 : "We seem to be experiencing technical difficulties "

Our laptop relaxed a little too much at the Red Sea and for unknown reasons the screen no longer functions. It's under warranty but the nearest Acer service centre is in Istanbul, our final destination. So for the last few weeks of our trip we'll just rely on web cafes and free WiFi on Michael's phone when available. This means our blog will be updated less often and we'll put up more photos once we're back in London. A bit of a pain, but our trip has largely been problem-free, so this isn't too much of a setback.

Day 131 to 134: Desert splendour and Red Sea relaxatıon

The comfortable nıght traın brought us back to Caıro for one more bıg cıty day. Our tour was scheduled to vısıt the Cıtadel and the bazaar, but as Mıchael and I had already been to the Cıtadel we headed straıght for the Khan al Khaleelı bazaar, arrıvıng ın tıme to see the bazaar wakıng for the day. Shopkeepers breakfasted on quıet streets as garage doors opened on stalls. We checked out tents and marquees on Tentmakers Street and sıpped delıcıous Turkısh coffees and sahlab (a tasty Egyptıan drınk made from lotus stem wıth nuts and sultanas) at a local coffeehouse. We rejoıned our group to learn about the archıtecture of the bazaar and clımbed an old mınaret for great vıews. Lunch was one of our usual Egyptıan favourıtes: shwarma (hot sandwıches wıth meat, tomatoes and onıons) and 15p falafel sandwıches.

We left Caıro at sıx the next mornıng, passıng through Tahrır Square where large peaceful protests agaınst the Muslım Brotherhood were planned for the day. We saw a handful of people already ın the square and orange juıce and tea sellers preparıng to serve the protestors. More omınously, we passed an entıre busload of polıce unloadıng near the square, but we later learned that the protests had been fıne. We drove through dramatıc desert landscapes to St Katherıne`s, near the supposed Mount Sınaı. Everyone headed off to clımb or camel rıde up the mountaın, but I decıded to gıve the 3750 steps a mıss and ınstead enjoyed relaxıng besıde the pool wıth surrounds of stunnıng mountaıns.

Our fınal days ın Egypt were spent ın Nuweiba chıllıng out on the beach and snorkellıng ın the Red Sea. Farwellıng Egypt and our fantastıc Egyptıan tour guıde Mıchael, we boarded a ferry to take us across to Jordan. Only the slow ferry was runnıng that day, so the trıp took about seven and a half hours. Most of that tıme was spent waıtıng for the boat to fıll so we could depart and crawlıng at a snaıl's pace once we got underway. However we dıd enjoy travelıng ın style - once we'd passed through onboard ımmıgratıon we blagged our way ınto fırst class. Our tıckets had been taken from us when we boarded and we dıdn't know whıch class we were booked ın - so we decıded to head ınto the fırst class restaurant untıl someone told us to leave. After a tasty lunch and several comfortable hours we were ınvıted to the empty fırst class lounge. We weren't sure ıf thıs was because we had been too noısy ın the restaurant or whether they thought we dıdn't know where the lounge was - but ıt was very pleasant ın any case! The rest of the boat was crowded wıth people sleepıng ın staırwells, but fırst class was a world apart that we were happy to enjoy for a tıme.

Day 126 to 130: Where is my Mummy?

Four days were spent exploring Upper Egypt's stunning sandstone temples and richly decorated tombs. Hot sun and refreshing Nile-side greenery welcomed us to Aswan, where a short boat ride brought us to the picturesque island temple of Philae. After enjoying wandering around the temple we spent time browsing Aswan's lively souk. At 4:30am the next morning we joined the convoy of other tourist vehicles to journey to the tombs of Abu Simbel. Scheduled convoys with police escorts used to be the norm for visiting other parts of Egypt, but now Abu Simbel is the last route requiring convoys and our Egyptian guide Michael thought the last convoy should soon disappear. We were impressed by the massive statues, pillars and detailed carvings in the tombs.

From Aswan we boarded a felucca (traditional sailing boat) for a day and night on the Nile. The trip was relaxing and a good time for getting to know other group members better. The drop in tourist numbers meant we only saw one other felucca sailing along. This made our journey very peaceful but it was sad to see how much the lack of tourists was hurting local people and businesses.

After leaving the Aswan area we drove to Luxor, visiting Edfu Temple and the massive Karnak Temple complex. That evening at dinner Michael (our tour guide) asked us if we'd noticed that all the local women had been covered up. He went on to say that this wasn't normal for Luxor, but the Muslim Brotherhood had threatened to hurt any Egyptian women who weren't fully covered that day. Hearing this definitely made things feel edgy, although we had felt very safe until that point. As far as we know nobody was hurt, but many Christians decided not to send their girls to school for the rest of the week.

On our final morning in Luxor we decided to treat ourselves to a sunrise hot air balloon flight over the Valley of the Kings. Tom and Caitlyn (the Australian couple in our group) joined us and we had a spectacular flight with beautiful weather. Ballooning was followed by a random donkey ride to nowhere in particular. They were funny little animals to ride and surprisingly difficult to stay on if your donkey decided to stop and munch some sugarcane along the way! As I rode along I thought of Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem: definitely not the normal choice of animal for a king!

In the Valley of the Kings we descended deep into the earth to explore the tombs of Ramses VI, VII and VIIII, as well as Merneptah who is presumed to be the reigning Pharoah at the time of Moses. The tombs ranged in size and the carvings and the vibrant paintings retained their colours. We really enjoyed seeing the paintwork in a similar state to what it once was, as the temples we'd recently visited had changed to mostly sand-coloured over the years.

Day 119 to 125: Those revolting Egyptians

Our first few days in Egypt were spent relaxing in Alexandria. The coastal setting and coffeehouse culture makes Alex a great place to unwind and catch up on washing, blogs and Skype with our families. After the recent upheaval in Egypt, life seemed to be continuing as normal on the streets of Alex. We saw a few army tanks along the seafront "Corniche" road, but they appeared to be protective rather than a threatening force. In Alex we visited some interesting sights, including ruins of a Roman ampitheatre and subterranean Egyptian burial chambers, which were discovered in 1900 when a donkey fell in.

From Alex we took a train to Cairo and checked into our hotel right on Tahrir Square, where the protests had taken place. I was surprised to find that Tahrir Square was mostly busy roads with pedestrian areas around the edges. On TV the massive crowds made the square appear completely pedestrianised. People we spoke with in Cairo seemed pleased that Mubarak had finally been overthrown. We saw lots of cars with "January 25" stickers on rear windows, marking the day the protests began. On a street behind Tahrir Square we came across barbed wire remnants of a road block, but otherwise Cairo was business as usual as in Alex, but with virtually no tourists.

We found Cairo more pleasant and much cleaner than we expected. Everyone we knew who'd visited the city had mentioned how dirty Cairo was, but to us it seemed fine - not as clean as Europe, but nothing that made us cringe. Perhaps our month in India has desensitised us to dirt! We had some time to ourselves before beginning our tour from Cairo, so we went to the sound and light show at the pyramids and explored Coptic Cairo and the old citadel. Wandering in downtown Cairo near Tahrir Square was lively and interesting. We chilled out with turkish coffee at a street cafe where locals smoked sheesha and sipped tea and enjoyed cheap and tasty Middle Eastern takeaways from the popular Felfela eatery.

The next day we began our final group tour of this trip. Low tourist numbers mean there are only 8 people in our group where normally it would be about 15. Fellow group members are an easy-going mix of Aussies, Canadians and one American. We spent the morning in the Egyptian Museum where the scarcity of other tourists made for a very pleasant experience. The amount of Egyptian artefacts was stunning and made the British Museum's collection seem tiny in comparison. The treasure from King Tutankhamen's tomb and incredibly well-preserved mummies were our highlights. We took a daytime visit to the pyramids and climbed the Grand Pyramid - more for the experience of climbing the ramps inside a pyramid than the dark little roo we arrived in after the energetic climb! That evening we boarded the overnight train to Aswan. With comfortable two berth cabins and airplane style meals, it was an agreeable way to travel south to see the treasures of Upper Egypt.

Day 117 to 119: End of the road in Nairobi

Finishing 41 days overlanding in Africa felt strange. When we began the trip in Cape Town it seemed such a massive journey and now we were almost in Nairobi. Our last African border crossing, our last bumpy day on the truck...though as we rose before 5am and packed up our tent in the dark we knew we wouldn't miss camping anytime soon!

Once in Nairobi we started farewelling friends from the tour. A small group of us went out to dinner with Emma at Carnivore, an atmospheric meat-feast, rated one of the best restaurants in the world. All four tour members who began the trip in Cape Town were present, so it was a fun way to wrap up the trip before people flew out or moved on. The next morning we headed to the giraffe sanctuary with Bree and Anna-Lisa, where Michael and I let the giraffe lick our faces and take a pellet from between our lips. By evening all our fellow overlanders had left and Michael and I spent our remaining time in Nairobi chilling out with free wifi and good coffee at Nairobi Java House and visiting baby elephants at the elephant orphanage.

Some of our favourite memories of our time overlanding in Africa:

- Fantastic animal encounters in the wild

- Stunning scenery in Namibia and green grass in the desert

- Receiving a warm welcome from locals and being befriended by great kids

- Sampling delicious game meats

- Enjoying the beauty of Zanzibar

Now that tensions have calmed in Egypt, we are pleased to be able to head to Cairo to begin the next stage of our adventure.

Day 111 to 116: The wild locals of the Serengeti

As we drove towards Arusha, gateway to the Serengeti, we were treated to rare clear views of Mt Kilimanjaro. Our visit to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater was a highlight of our time in Africa. We spent three days game driving and camping in open campsites where zebra filed past in the background and an elephant and buffalo came to visit. We were fortunate enough to see the Big Five - lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo.

In the Serengeti we came across a leopard and her cub at a little distance. As we watched, the mother dragged their kill to a tree directly in front of our jeep. We watched her lug the kill up the tree and stop in surprise as the main body of the kill snapped off and dropped to the ground. "Take two" of bringing the kill up the tree was successful and we watched mother and cub eat and relax. Normally leopards are nocturnal and aren't often seen in pairs, so we were lucky.

The Serengeti rains were later than usual, so most of the herds who would normally be on the plains were still in the woods waiting to migrate. We came across a massive herd of a few thousand zebra and enjoyed watching some of them repeatedly taunting a crocodile by drinking water as close to the croc as possible. We also saw a honeymooning lion couple up close and a large pride with cubs slinking through the grasses.

From the Serengeti we drove to the Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest unbroken volcanic crater. Our game drive was picturesque, with cheetahs running along the crater wall in the morning light, scores of wildebeest slowly trekking along, and lions tearing into their kill while jackals and hyena edged in to snatch their share.

A much needed toilet break proved more eventful than we'd anticipated. As we headed to the toilet block, Michael started walking around a parked jeep towards the Gents. "Don't go there, there's a couple of lions" warned an American couple in the jeep. They sounded so cheerful we thought they were joking, but they assured us they were serious. So we all piled into the Ladies. Emma tried to have our guide come pick us up from the toilet block entrance, but I don't think he registered what she was saying as he just smiled and waved. Feeling rather nervous now, we "confidently" walked from the toilets to our vehicle. Once safe we turned to see a large male and female lion happily entrenched beside the Gents. Luckily for us they weren't in the mood for moving!

After all the excitement we relaxed at our campground near Arusha, learning about Masai culture from the Masai museum, visiting a local Masai village and shopping at the craft markets. To celebrate/commemorate our last evening camping we had delicious smoked lamb and dessert.

Day 105 to 110: Beaches to die for

Two long driving days brought us across the Tanzanian border to Dar es Salaam, the departure point for Zanzibar. Nightly rain was replaced with constant stifling heat, which didn't mix well with the choking stench of rotting fish wafting from Dar's fishmarkets.

We caught the ferry for a relaxing trip to Stone Town, Zanzibar's main town, where we were led on an amusing spice garden walk by "Ali T in da bush", a man who spoke like Ali G as he described the spices. We visited the old slave markets, now a church, and saw the awful cells slaves used to be crammed into before they were purchased.

From Stone Town we headed to Nungwi, where we spent two very chilled days on one of the most beautiful beaches we've ever seen. White sand led to vividly blue water where boats bobbed peacefully. However, the next morning the seas were rough and the boats were thrashing around. Our tour group had planned to go snorkeling, but none of the operators were foolish enough to set sail in such stormy conditions, except for one...By lunchtime we'd been approached by a company who was willing to take us out in a speed boat rather than a wooden boat and so off we headed on the roughest boat trip we've experienced. We did see lots of pretty fish and an intensely turquoise coloured sea like we'd never seen before, but as we began the trip back to shore I think we were all relieved to be approaching land. Conditions had become rougher while we were snorkeling and several times our small boat was nearly overcome by waves. After the engine flooded and plenty of water was bailed out, my trust in the boat owners judgment was quickly disappearing and I decided it was a good time to put on one of the life jackets lying around the boat floor. We made it safely to shore, but the waves were so strong that we had to anchor a little offshore. As the waves washed over the brow of the little boat, we jumped into the water and spluttered to shore. Our trainee, Arnold, hadn't grown up swimming and was very nervous of snorkeling in deep water, so nobody let him know quite how dangerous the trip had been until we were firmly back on land. Aside from that adrenaline-charged adventure, the rest of our time on Zanzibar was spent peacefully enjoying the beach, very affordable cocktails and good food.

Day 101 to 104: Lakeside life in Malawi

Lake Malawi takes up 20% of the country and is so large it resembles the sea. Camping alongside the lake was a relaxing way to chill and see village life unfolding. We enjoyed:

Dinner at Mr Smooth's house: Emma organised a local meal for us one evening. Mr Smooth's Grandma cooked a range of tasty veg dishes, spicy eggs, rice and pap/ugali - a thick glutinous maize meal porridge. We dined on a mat outside with a candle and a torch lantern for light, surrounded by plenty of onlookers in the shadows. After dinner we enjoyed watching local children dance with vigour. The medium-sized group of kids quickly picked up more and more children who wanted to join the performance, with us being pulled up to shake our stuff at the end.

Visiting a local daycare centre: Unfortunately our visit fell on a public holiday, so the kids weren't around, but we still enjoyed learning about the Australian lady who had been given land by the local chief to start the centre. Nutrition was an essential part of the centre's goals, so children who might not otherwise eat received a bowl of porridge each day. Emma said she'd once visited when the kids were having a treat - plain boiled potatoes. A long way from what we'd consider a treat.

Succulent spit-roast goat: Our group purchased a goat from a local named Kelvin. We were ready at 7am to see the goat being slaughtered, but Kevin was running on African time. He eventually showed up a few hours later while we were out and killed the goat without an audience. The cooked result was delicious eating, with Emma and Arnold cooking up a range of mouth-watering accompaniments and dessert. At the start of the tour Emma said it was her goal to make us gain 10 kilos through the food and we are becoming a little more "African pretty" than we'd like to be!

Day 98 to 100: The currency of clothing

Rainy season has made its presence felt, with storms and showers following our path north-east. Some cooler overcast days made a break from blue skies and searing heat. Fortunately most rain happens towards evening and we've only once had to put down our tent in the rain.

In Kafue, Zambia, we took a boat cruise to a remote riverside camping spot run by a nearby village. The boat owners cooked us a delicious dinner and we relaxed with terrible wine (purchased in hope from the onboard bar) and a game of Hearts, followed by marshmallow toasting round the campfire to the music of village drummers. Just as Michael and Satoshi tried their hand at drumming, a nearby thunderstorm suddenly moved in, forcing an early retreat to the tents.

A morning boatride and a walk in the bush brought us to the local village, where we were shown around by a man who had 10 children. The village had no electricity, but we found it amusing to see he had his priorities in order - his mud house had solar panels for satellite TV so he could watch the English football! I found it interesting to learn how World Vision was helping the village and surrounding area. While I was at Uni I'd sponsored a child through World Vision and it was great to see how sponsorship benefits communities.

From Kafue we drove to Lusaka, Zambia's capital, where we arrived in time for the Sunday markets. Armed with some socks Michael no longer needed, I had great fun haggling with local sellers. My negotiations secured a copper bracelet for two pairs of socks and roughly 70p, while the same amount and three pairs of socks purchased a pretty cloth shoulder bag.

The following day we crossed the border to Malawi. Another country, another currency. However, getting cash proved to be a "This is Africa" experience in Llongwe, Malawi's capital. There were no shortage of banks, but after to-ing and fro-ing and waiting for over an hour in long ATM queues, our debit request had been rejected by the only banks that accepted Visa. Fortunately we'd been given cash for lunch and in a last attempt before we left, the cash machines finally made contact with our UK bank and gave us cash to spend once more.

The Africa of our imaginations

As we drove through Zambia and Malawi, the picture of Africa we held in our heads came to life across the countryside. Small thatched mud or brick houses replaced the simple Western styled houses of Namibia and Botswana. Basic old fashioned looking towns became dirt streeted villages with a few shops and even capital cities felt like large towns with no high rises in view.

Adverts often lack the hype we've grown used to in the West. An internet provider promoted itself as "probably, the fastest internet connection in Africa" while Jaba Tea simply claimed "It's good, it's strong."

The comparative underdevelopment as we head east tends to stem from corruption and poverty. In Malawi many people live on $1 a day, which in local prices barely buys the plain necessities of life. Contrary to what we might expect, most people seem happy here. I haven't felt bad for being a rich tourist, rather I've been pleased to be able to give my business to locals. The handfuls of people who normally wave at our truck as we travel have become scores of smiling faces and children running to welcome us, which makes traveling in these areas very pleasant.

Day 94 to 97: Being refined in Livingstone - golf and high tea with "locals"

Our first four days in Zambia were spent enjoying creature comforts. Michael and I ditched our tents for a waterfront room on the Zambesi and a group of us headed out to the Livingstone Golf Club for the morning. We teamed up with Cho and Moon, who proved to be excellent first-time golfers. As a treat we hired caddies for a very reasonable price and enjoyed their expert advice and bag carrying service. After seven holes it was getting very hot and cold drinks at the clubhouse was becoming rather enticing, so we called it a day.

Comforts continued with a small group of us taking high tea at the Royal Livingstone, a very posh colonial-style hotel. Decadent amounts of delicious food were polished off, with a refreshing swim in the pristine pool and cocktails on the riverfront deck to conclude. Cheeky monkeys swooped onto our table to steal snacks and wrestle with Tanith for her cocktail. Tanith having successfully saved her cocktail, we farewelled the high life and were pleasantly surprised to encounter giraffe and zebra crossing the hotel driveway as we left.

While in Livingstone we of course visited Victoria Falls, Livingstone's star attraction. We were blown away by the power and immensity of the falls. Lax health and safety regulations let us get as close as we liked to the waters edge at the top of the falls and we watched one crazy adventurer paddle his body board scarily near the lip of the falls. The ways you could die by going over the falls were varied and gruesome, so none of us were tempted to take a dip for ourselves. The spray from the falls was pretty much torrential rain, so we emerged saturated from the viewing walk, with the exception of Cho and Moon who had their own incredibly waterproof ponchos (you could hire ponchos or wear a jacket, but the water still poured in any gap).

The adventure seekers in our group chose to bungy jump from a bridge over the Zambesi river near the falls. We enjoyed spurring them on, but I thought the jumps looked so terrifying I decided I'd be quite content to never bungy jump!

Livingstone was the departure point for most of our group, so we celebrated Bree and Cho's birthdays at a local Indian restaurant and enjoyed a laid back pizza night before saying our goodbyes. Four group members were leaving to continue their own travels, eight were joining another group heading to Johannesburg, leaving Michael, Bree, Satoshi and I continuing up to Nairobi. We had expected at least a few people, if not lots, to join the tour at Livingstone, but the only addition was a trainee called Arnold, giving us nearly as many crew as tour members. As we pulled out of Livingstone to start a new leg of the tour, the truck felt empty and a little lonely with so few of us on board. Still, we figured the next 21 days would give us time to adjust and come to appreciate the benefits of being a smaller group.

Day 92 to 93: Hungry hungry hippos

After a much anticipated punch night, featuring the cooler bin filled with a potent "fruit" punch (mostly alcohol) and punch-fuelled crazy antics, a 6am departure saw our truck populated with many subdued sleeping forms. Botswana's flat landscape was expected to be great for sleeping through, though several interruptions to see giraffes and elephants walking and drinking along the roadside were accepted.

Our destination was Chobe National Park, where the elephant population of 64,000 gave very good odds for seeing at least an elephant or two. An early morning game drive was an awesome experience. We saw hippos lumbering along the road, as well as lazing in the water. It was fascinating to see such a huge creature trot along at some speed.

A rare treat was seeing two prides of lions with cubs at very close range. The cubs were very cute and we enjoyed seeing their rough and tumble play. One pride had killed a kudu (a type of antelope) and we watched as herons edged closer and closer to the kill, until the lion leapt up and chased them off.

The park was rich in other wildlife, with impala, monkeys, elephants and warthogs crossing our path. We revisited the animals on a sunset cruise where we saw baby elephants swimming and chasing monkeys and male elephants locking horns in a fight.