Two Month Self-Drive Photo Safari to Southern Africa

[Nature Traveler]

Hi all! I think this trip report may be useful to some. This was a two-month self drive expedition we did a few years back to southern Africa. Amazing wildlife spotted and photographed! One of our better trips for sure. Take a peek and let us know what you think.

 

cheers,

 

Coke

www.cokesmithphototravel.com

 

 

http://www.cokesmithphototravel.com/Expedition_to_Southern_Africa_2009.html

[Sangeeta]

A very warm welcome to ST, Coke. I have read a couple of your TRs on F before this, but looking forward very much to reading the comprehensive anthology here Many questions for you already about this southern Africa trip, but the first is this: how do you manage these 50-day trips on such a regular basis?

[Nature Traveler]

Thanks for looking Sangeeta! I wish I could say that we are simply independently wealthy and don't work at all....loads of money and time....BUT this would not be true. ;-) Basically we get the time because we are both teachers and have liberal vacations throughout the year - 2+ months in the summer, 3 weeks in the winter and three or so 9-day breaks at other times.... And we live abroad, dumped the mortgage lifestyle back in the USA (you know...the American dream/nightmare...). So we basically spend our non-saved cash on travel! So we do one mega trip and one normal (24 day) trip and three minor (9-day) trips a year...Wish we could do more...

[bushbaby]

phenomenal is an understatement - that camper vehicle in the Khwai at okavango has such a serene feel to it that one just wish to go there immediately !..and i also like you definition of normal trip (24 days !!)

[ZaminOz]

Nature Traveler

Thanks for sharing! Some great memories for you and your family

[penolva]

I loved reading your whole trip and my heart stopped when you described that Hyena and your boy. But he is a very lucky lad, you have given him such a gift. On the practical side, did you leave the ground tent up to stop others pinching your pitch? how did you carry enough wood for Moremi? Pen

[Nature Traveler]

Hi Pen, Yes we lie awake at night sometimes with the hyena episode....At least all ended well! But what an adventure for sure!. Yes often we did leave the ground tent up to claim our spots and we never had any issues. Sometimes in the official campsites all we left was a stove or a cooler and no one bothered our spot... Since we camped in Khwai Camp, just outside the Moremi reserve, we actually were allowed to collect wood - the local tribal representative we hooked up with to help locate our site informed us where they wanted us to get the wood...so we did not need to carry any. But we usually did pick up wood along the trip in areas where it was available and simply carried it on top of the tent..

[Sangeeta]

Coke, this was an eye opening TR - especially the SA parts of your expedition. Every time I plan a trip, SA usually gets short shrift because of this perception I have that it is not 'wild' enough. But you've got me rethinking...which is always a good thing in a traveller, and perhaps the highest compliment I can pay to the author.

 

Hear you on the mortgage beating lifestyle too...perhaps we should start a thread on alternative lifestyles too. I think there are many of us out there who would like to shift focus but are unable to take the plunge. But more on this later. Now I am off to read your TR on Ethiopia