I prefer to travel as light as possible and keep the kitchen equipment/ utensils to the minimum.  Fancy cooking is something that I will attempt when I am at home with all the crockery and cutlery at hand.  After all, this is why we come to the bush – to get back to basics again and appreciate nature.  I can proudly say that I have had a braai in countries like Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast and Zambia!

When camping there are basically two ways to cook – either with a gas cooker or over the open fire.  We make a fire every night when camping so that is the obvious choice for us when we travel in Africa.  You will find wood or charcoal almost everywhere in Africa as it is an integral part of rural living on the continent.

There are various ways and methods to braai as this is second nature for us South African.  Read more on this topic in my post a  “Braai – a way of life”.

When we come to potjiekos which is made in a cast iron pot (three-legged or flat bottomed) over flames and not coals like when you are braaiing.  I prefer the flat-bottomed pot as my dish normally burns in the three-legged one.  I do not know what I am doing wrong!

When making potjie your choices of meat are endless – venison, beef, lamb, chicken, etcetera.  I even make a kick-ass lasagne potjie.  The best thing about a potjie is that you can add what you can find on the local markets.  In our case this mainly determines what type of potjie we are having that night.  (I will post on how to buy food on the local markets in a separate post).  However, I prefer to make a potjie when we are making camp for more than two days at a place, especially if you arrive late, there is not always enough time to make the potjie as it requires simmering over the fire.

A potjie is a good alternative to a braai as quality meat can at times be hard to find in Africa.  I am pretty sure that we had donkey tails once (sold as ox tail) in Choma, Zambia, but we survived that too!  When you are hungry and there are not a lot of options available, you just give it and go ….

My flat bottomed potjie also serves as an oven in which I bake bread.

Buy food that will last in the African heat.  Refrigerator space is always limited.  Butternuts (hard to find in Africa), gems and potatoes, onions and cabbage can take you a long way and sometimes it is the only vegetables that you will source for a couple of days.  So you need to be innovative with your recipes.  Aluminum foil comes in handy when doing vegetables over the fire.

I also take some dry rations such as pasta and couscous for emergencies – you never know what can happen in the African bush.  Rusks and coffee is also a quick breakfast fix when you have limited options in the bush.  Eggs are always problematic to pack and keep them whole, so I only buy it when I am pretty sure that it will be used the same day – boiled for lunch later or scrambled for breakfast.

Share your cooking experience in the commentary section of the post.  It may be useful to some newbie camper that is unfamiliar with local customs and conditions.

–oOo–

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If you like your own company and have some travel savvy then going solo is for you.  Going solo gives you freedom of choice and total independence to change your travel plans on the spur of the moment if something interests you on the wayside.

Things that you need to consider when planning your next solo African trip are the following.

You will need the ability to navigate.  There are not many countries left on mother earth that is unexplored, thus you will need a basic ability to navigate as there can be hundreds of tracks and footpaths not necessarily indicated on maps.  You must be able to understand and read maps whether it is a paper issue or a digital issue.  Sometimes you need to trust your instinct and basic sense of direction to find your way.

So you own a GPS, but do you know all the functions of your GPS, such as marking waypoints that you can return to later?  This can be of great value when bush camping as you need to mark a nice camping spot early in the afternoon but need to return to it later in the evening after dark when things have quietened down.

A reliable vehicle is not even questionable and some bush mechanics can take you a long, long way as everything is not always available in remote areas.  Even if you can phone somebody on your satellite phone it may take days or weeks for a specific part to arrive.

You will need a willingness to interact with the local people to ask directions or permission to camp or even buy some firewood.  If there is a village around do the decent thing and ask permission from the headman to camp there for the night.  They may even provide some security to you as a sign of respect.

Can you adapt and react to changing situations such as hazardous roads,  political climate, etc or are you set in your ways and love your comfort zone?  If you love your comfort zone you need to reconsider the urge of going solo.

The bottom line, and I think the most important aspect, that you must ask yourself is if you are prepared to rough it at times and skip a shower (or maybe two) to experience the joy that wild camping can offer?

Wanderlust: === the desire and irresistible urge to travel

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• If your vehicle is still under a finance agreement, you will need to acquire a letter of permission from the applicable financial institution. Each institution has its own requirements and procedures to follow as to how to obtain it.  Allow enough time to obtain the required paperwork.  If you are planning to take a trailer or caravan remember to do the same, if financed.
• Make sure your ID number matches that used on your vehicle documents. If your registration papers show your RSA ID number, then take it with you.  Rather take too much proof than be in a predicament.
• Take a colour copy of your vehicle’s registration papers. This is very handy. It is a popular document and it is frequently asked to produce at roadblocks and/or border posts.  Important:  hold on to the original document and never let it leave your sight.  I always make some extra copies to hand out if required.
• Apart from the document itself I also write down the VIN number, etc in my diary and keep it apart from the official documents. You never know what can happen …
• If you’re covered by your SA insurance, then get a letter to prove it. Not all insurance policies provide cover when traveling in neighbouring countries.  If this is not the case you will have to buy insurance at the border post.
• When planning a Northern African trip and entering/exiting several countries consider buying a Carnet de passage en Douane. This allows you to import/export your vehicle without incurring extra fees.  Of course, a Carnet de passage en Douane attracts its own specific costs depending on which countries you plan to visit, but the cost and paper trouble is worth it in the end.
• Note that a carnet can only be obtained in your country of origin.   For example, if your vehicle carries a South African registration plate, you need to buy it in South Africa, etcetera.
• You will need to display a ZA sticker (or your country of origin) at the back of your vehicle. If you plan to visit Mozambique they have additional requirements regarding trailers.  You get different types of ZA stickers – magnetic and a sticker type.  We first tried the magnetic ones, but kept on losing and replacing them until we draw the inference that the African dust gets underneath and it does not want to stick anymore.  The traditional sticker ones still works the best for us.
• 
• Red and white reflective tape are required especially in Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Remember you can be fined in each country for not having the right stickers.  So this can become a costly exercise if you do not do your homework in advance.
• Also check the Zambia regulations as at some stage they required that you carry metal red triangles and not the standard plastic ones.
• Keep a fire extinguisher in your vehicle where you can quickly access it in case of an emergency. You do not want to loose your vehicle and spoil your whole holiday!
• A reflective jacket provides more visibility when changing a flat wheel after dark at the roadside.  This precaution saved hubby a couple of times in deepest darkest Africa.
• A handy site where you can check the specific requirements for each country is the Automobile Association’s web page at:  https://www.aa.co.za/services/travel-services/into-africa/cross-border-information.html

***Need some assistance in planning a route?  Feel free to contact me.***

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Most border trouble comes down to inexperience or impatience – not only in Africa, but throughout the world.  The key is to prepare well beforehand and remember, every successful border crossing pans out differently in each country. Regulations change all the time and is rapidly outdated.  There are general tips that you can follow to ease your encounter at the border post, so consider some of the following tips:

SO, THIS SAID, WHERE DO I START? 

Right at the beginning.   Planning, planning, planning and some more planning!  Start doing your homework well in advance, because it might take some time to get your ducks in a row and quacking.

The number one place to start will be at your documents.  Without a passport, the trip is not going to happen …..

• A valid passport with at least two unused pages for all the stamps and does not expire within the next six months.

• As a South African citizen, you do not need a visa for the following neighbouring countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland.  If you are in doubt check with your capable local travel agent, as regulations do change.
• If you travel with children under the age of 18 years you will also need their birth certificates and the non-traveling parent’s consent, if this might be the case.
• Your South African driver’s license should suffice in the neighbouring countries, but when you travel further afield it is a good idea to obtain an international driver’s license. They are obtainable from the Automobile Association.

• Make a list of all the serial numbers of your electronics before leaving home. If possible, make a copy of the documentation.  It makes declaring it at the border post a lot easier.  A scanned version I keep as my backup should any item or copy go missing.

• Arrange with your bank beforehand that you will be traveling outside South Africa otherwise the bank might block your card, presuming that fraudulent transaction are done. I normally submit to the bank the dates within which we are going to travel as well as the different countries to avoid frustration and embarrassment when paying.
• Cards work mostly in the bigger cities only. If you venture to the rural areas make sure you have enough cash on you.  We once arrived at Rakops (Botswana) en route to Central Kalahari Reserve, where we had to refuel, and the garage did not have a card machine. The only ATM was without money for the past two weeks!  Nice, nice, nice ….
• The South African Rand is accepted widely for instance in Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho, but do not always bargain on it.

• Yellow fever is a typical must-have inoculation, which normally has to be administered by a travel doctor a few weeks before your departure. It is valid for 10 years. If you visit countries in Northern Africa this is compulsory.  There are also various other shots such as cholera and typhoid, although we never deemed it necessary.   With common savvy, you can avoid a lot of these diseases.  In our 20 odd years’ of traveling the African continent we have never ever contracted any of these threatening diseases.

Remember to always carry your Yellow fever certificate with you.

• Check with your medical aid whether they will cover the costs if you need to be repatriated after a serious accident. This is not automatically covered in all medical schemes.
• Remember malaria is rife in Africa. Speak to your doctor about prophylaxes and precautions.
• Note:  We found that lots of garlic as well as gin and tonic keep them mostly at bay.

—–OOO—–

A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb

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Let’s start off with some interesting and lesser known facts about the trunk of an elephant:

Feeling the vibe:  Aside from smell, the trunk is sensitive to vibrations; from the ground it can sense the rumble of faraway herds and even far-off thunder.

Mighty muscles:  An elephant’s trunk has eight major muscles on either side and 150,000 muscle bundles in all. It is so strong that it can easily push down trees or roll over a vehicle.

Move it:  Like the human tongue, the trunk is a muscular hydrostat – a boneless muscular structure that allows for its excellent maneuverability.

Phenomenal sense of smell:  So sensitive is an elephant’s trunk that it is more capable than a bloodhound’s nose and is said to be able to smell water, citrus and apples  from several miles away.

How to approach an elephant

• • Slow down as soon as you see and/or approach the elephants.

• • Assess the area for possible escape routes if necessary.

• • Make sure you do not have any citrus with you as they will trample a vehicle to get to it.

• • Take extra care if there are juveniles in the elephant group – keep your distance as the mothers can be extremely unpredictable with small ones around.

• • If you are in an open safari vehicle, do not stand up or make sudden movements on the vehicle or speak loudly.  Although their eyesight is not good an elephant might feel threatened and can cause an aggressive response.

• If an elephant shows threatening behaviour, slowly retreat and give it space.

Some of the most obvious threatening behavior displayed by elephants are

Spreading the ears:  The elephant faces an opponent head-on with ears fully spread (at 90 degrees from the body). They also spread their ears when they are excited, surprised or alarmed.

Mock charging:  The elephant rushes toward you while spreading its ears and just stops short of its target while kicking up dust.   This will also be accompanied with trumpeting.

Bundu bashing:  The elephant causes a commotion to demonstrate strength, tossing its head and tusks back and forth through bushes or other vegetation while making a noise.

Charging:  The elephant rushes toward you with its ears spread and its head raised or lowered while it has the apparent intention of following through. Its trunk may be tightly curved under so that the tusks can make contact first. A real charge is usually silent and extremely dangerous. I think it is time to get away as soon as possible!

—oOo—

Did you know?  That an elephant’s skeleton makes up 16.5% of its total weight in order to support its heavy mass?

—oOo—

Hope you enjoyed these facts.   Also read about the bee and elephant project in Kenya. You can follow them on Facebook @ Elephants and Bees Project.

Be responsible and travel safely in the wild!

Love will draw an elephant through a key-hole —– Samuel Richardson

The post ELEPHANT 101 appeared first on TRAVELBUCKET.

Arriving rather late in the afternoon and after randomly meeting a fellow South African who runs a business in Livingstone we discovered a gem of a shop called Stop Shop (open until late)  in the main street where we could buy everything from beer to fresh bread before heading to Maramba to make camp for the night.  The next morning, after stocking up at the Shoprite in Livingstone, we were heading to Kabula Tiger Lodge in Western Zambia.  Doing shopping at the Shoprite it felt like I was back home.  Everything was familiar, organized and easy to find – you will  even find good old Mrs Balls!

Our aim was to do some tiger fishing and birding at Kabula Lodge (S17º02.404 E24º00.892).  On arrival we were greeted by an enthusiastic Kennestar, the camp boss, who showed us around.  We were booked for three days of fishing and birding on the Zambezi  but did not expect to have the whole camp to ourselves.  Only on the last night of our stay another South African couple heading home after a three month journey through Africa joined us for a chat and  a night of camping.

Kennedy, who lives on the other side of the river and have to cross the Zambezi twice a day for his job, was our river guide allocated to us.  Every morning he arrived on time wearing his purple sunglasses and a warm friendly smile to earn his living on the Zambezi.  Although the tiger fishing was not great this year it was nice to be out on the water with Kennedy, knowing the river like the palm of his hand, avoiding sandbanks and hippopotamuses as he took us 33 kilometres upstream to the rapids and the favoured tiger fishing spots.

Every afternoon after a hard day’s fishing and as the sun was setting, with G&T in hand,  we headed for the deck overlooking the river to watch the local fishermen returning home after another day in Africa.

Please take care with small children on the deck as it is high and quite open towards the river which houses crocodiles and hippos.

And of course to end off a day in the African bush we make the customary fire for a braai to feast on some excellent Zambia beef and a Mosi or two.

What a tough life we have in Africa …!

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow” (Anita Desai)

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