Into Africa - Page Two
November 2: At a mission in the middle of the jungle,
we meet a German medical doctor. He seems confused and asks us how we
got here and what do we want to do here. His last visitor was three
years ago. The situation reminds me of a passage out of Karen Blixen's
book, "Out of Africa."
November 3: The wet, black soil of the jungle is as
slippery as soap. The vehicle works its way through washed-out stone
and root patches. Whenever there's a possibility of the car tipping
over sideways, we 'hang' 4 or 5 Africans onto pre-fixed hooks on the
body of the car to act as a counter-weight. The system works well and
we call it 'going into the trapeze'. It never fails to surprise me that
even on the remotest track we only have to stop for five minutes before
we are surrounded by Africans, who seem to appear out of nowhere.
November 4: The maze of washed-out channels in the
road caused by heavy rains is often difficult to manage. The van seems
to twist itself to such an extent that the aluminium cladding tears and
some of the pop rivets shoot out.
We eventually get to a new variation in the track. Mudholes. Even two
days after the rains, there is water everywhere. The jungle is like a
sponge. It absorbs the water and retains it. The car gets stuck. Anyone
who has never had to jack up a car in a mudhole, hasn't learnt the full
appreciation of lying on Camps Bay beach!.
The idea is to saw off tree stumps and place the logs under each wheel.
No sooner have you lifted the last wheel onto the logs, when the first
wheel has disappeared into the mud again. It takes up to 2 hours to get
the wheels onto a solid base. A further 3 km down the road we hit yet
another 'brown porridge' hole and this time it is only the beginning of
a gigantic mud hole ahead. I don't like giving in, but this time I am
ready to throw in the towel. The jungle is the winner. We have to back
track 500 km to Kalemi.
November 17: To load a car by crane on board a ship is
always a bit nerve racking. 20 Africans standing around and 10
discussing how the car should be brought on board. At last the car is
on board, but my wooden box on the roof of the car gets smashed.
November 25: Kampala, Uganda. A new government is in
power and the old leader, Obote, fled to Kenya but on his way out of
the country, he called by the Uganda Reserve Bank and helped himself
with a few lorry loads of loot. They say he is no better than the
former leader, Idi Amin. Big pyramids made of skulls are neatly piled
up and displayed alongside the road on crudely made tressle tables. We
come across these shocking monuments every few kilometres. These skulls
were dug out of mass graves and displayed to show what the previous
ruler of Uganda did to his own people.
The people of Uganda are very friendly and one can sense that they have
had enough of all the killing. Many children between the ages of 10 and
12 years wear uniforms and are armed with automatic rifles slung over
their shoulders. Their fathers were killed in the revolution and the
new government is taking care of these children.
 I
have to buy 2 new tyres. Due to inflation, the price is 2,6 million
shillings. If one were to stack the paper money, it would reach a
height of over half a meter. The petrol is cheap at 12 cents a litre.
December 5: At the foot of Kilomanjaro, Tanzania. We
will try to make it to the top of Africa's highest mountain. I have
tried it twice before and both times had to turn back before reaching
the summit. My two daughters, Natascha (14) and Tanja (13) have flown
in from Cape Town to join me on my 6 week return journey. Natascha has
a knee injury and has to stay in the base camp.
December 8: At 1am we roll out of our sleeping bags.
It is very cold at 5000m. By the light of the paraffin lamp we slowly
work our way up the old volcano cone, slipping backwards on the loose
stones. The air is thin and breathing is difficult.
At 10am we reach Uhuru Point, 5895m. We made it! What a fantastic
feeling, after my fist two attempts and failures.After 4 days we reach
Uhuru Peak. Tanja is the youngest person to climb Kilomanjaro on
available records.
December 17: Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Last year we
were shipwrecked 60 km south of Dar es Salaam on an isolated palm
fringed beach, which has a coral reef in the shallow waters. It was so
fantastic there, that we decide to return to the same spot and spend a
week diving and spearfishing in the clear equatorial waters.
December 24: A small palm tree is our Christmas tree and we decorate it.
December 30: Nkata Bay, Malawi. In returning to this
beautiful spot, we have completed a big circle of 18 000 km in Central
Africa. We spend a week here.
January 9: Zimbabwe Ruins. An amazing place.
January 11: Chobe Game Park, Botswana. The roads are
very sandy and we are constantly in 4 wheel drive. We camp on the Chobe
River and watch 300 elephants against a red sunset sky. I love Africa!
January 13: Savuti Game Park is lion country. Botswana
is special for me. The vastness, the space, the game. It is beautiful
... and wild ... It is real Africa.
January 18: Okavango Delta. We spend four days in the canoes, exploring the lillied water ways and islands. It is magnificent.
January 20: Matjiesfontein. Breakfast in a place we always like to return to. A few hours later ... Table Mountain ... home.
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