Africa here we come! There are sailors who have a wife in every port, we have a car on every continent. We bought a 4WD and it's waiting for us in South Africa to start touring the Black Continent.
Johannesburg
October 4, 2023
Africa here we come! First stop – Johannesburg. Johannesburg is considered a very violent city, with 30% unemployment, and an acute drunkenness problem, no wonder some people turn to illegal professions that do not advance the world. Indeed, a large part of the neighborhoods look neglected with many squatters and dime peddlers that are not pleasant to walk around. But… there are neighborhoods here the size of a small city (surrounded by a wall like in the Middle Ages) that you walk around and can’t believe it’s the same city, with wide and clean streets, bustling pedestrian streets with sculptures and colorful lighting, luxury shops and galleries, restaurants and cafes, and a sense of full security. Both (the neglected and the well-kept) live a minute’s drive from each other.
SA, Pilanesberg National Park
October 6, 2023
Australia has kangaroos. Everyone knows that, and anyway it took us three weeks to see the first kangaroo, then the second and the 200th, and at some point we stopped getting excited, taking pictures and even pointing at kangaroos. There are bears in Alaska, everyone knows that and anyway it took us a month to see the first one then the second and the 20th and at some point we stopped… there are elephants in Africa. Everyone knows that. And it only took us one day to find the first, the second and the 50th and already that day we stopped getting excited. What strange creatures humans are. As a result, we decided that from now on we only take pictures of cows 😉.
Facing Africa – take II
February 4, 2024
Amichai told me that we should stop buying cars, every time we buy one something happens in the world, the last time we bought a 4WD in Romania the COVID broke out and the car had to wait for us for almost a year before we could continue the trip. This time when we bought a 4WD in South Africa the war broke out and the car had to wait four months for us. But we think that the problem is not with the cars but with planning. Every time we have a carefully planned trip, someone above decides otherwise. Last time we planned Siberia and all the Stans (we had a year-long itinerary detailing the countries and places we would visit) and this time we planned Africa (we had a year-long itinerary detailing the countries and places we would visit). In both cases nothing happened as planned.
Therefore, to be safe, we will stop buying cars and planning. So this week we are flying to South Africa for an exciting reunion with our 4WD, and since we don’t like South Africa at the moment, we will move to Botswana and from there wherever God permits. Good luck to us!
Africa – just starting
February 10, 2024
We have been in Africa for two whole days. One night in South Africa and one night in Botswana (this is where the journey starts). There is something common to both countries so far… electricity is a rare commodity. On the first night, the electricity worked between 19:00 and 23:00 and then shut off (we are on level 6, the locals informed us as if it was obvious – level 6 means only 8 hours of electricity a day). And on the second night, the electricity went out at 11:00 PM and has not yet been restored (it’s now almost 9:00 AM the next morning). Who needs electricity at night you ask. Well the water pump (no water in the faucets), the air conditioner (hot here), no WiFi and what about charging all our devices!
Botswana
Just got here...
Ultimately, what makes the experience are people. 3 days 3 stories.
1. We walked in the mall with two heavy packages of water. The plastic was torn and one bottle fell. The guard ran to us, raised the package and escorted us to the car for quite a distance.
2. I forgot the lights on in the car. A person who saw and understood that they would not go out on their own looked for me in the area (remembered the color of my shirt) to inform me about it. I think he searched for at least fifteen minutes.
3. We were sitting in a restaurant and a salad arrived (a bit tasteless). We asked for olive oil. After fifteen minutes the waiter returns, he went to the supermarket but there is no oil there and he really apologizes.
Finally the girl at the passport control was so excited that our passports were upside down that after having a good laugh she went around among everyone to show them the wonder.
We hope it will stay like this.
Botswana, Palapye – Francistown - Nata - Kasane
February 16,2024
We’re driving north facing the sun all the way… then we remembered, we’re on the opposite side of the earth! Why is it important? Because the temperatures here hover around 38 degrees and there is no relief on the horizon… well, not really complaining, meanwhile the air conditioner in the car is holding up.
We have been in Botswana for about a week now. Some first impressions:
People look very gentle and calm, smile a lot and speak slowly and very quietly. Everyone speaks English and all the markings and signs are only in English, although there is a local language that is the mother tongue of all the locals, English is the official language of communication.
The people here are beautiful, with gentle and pleasant features. Most women are plenteous (very), so some of us feel inferior 
.
There is quite a lot of police presence on the roads, so if there is a 60 or 80 sign you’d better drive according to the law, and it should be noted that everyone here drives calmly, gives the right of way, is considerate, does not honk. The speed limit on most main roads is 120 km/h – and that’s on a narrow, two-way road with lots of unexpected potholes 
.
In general, the country looks more developed than we thought.
We saw but few animals – mainly wildebeest, some zebras, elephants and birds. But this is just the beginning
Botswana, Kasane, Chobe river
February 18, 2024
If two people tell you that you are drunk, go to sleep. But even if ten people tell you that you must take this river cruise… DON’T. We are veterans and know from the dozens of times we’ve been tempted that nothing good comes out of a river cruise, ATV tour, or horseback riding into the sunset. But when we met Rupert (a British) who lived on the river and said it was a must do, we gave in and saw the elephants from the side of the river… and a sunset like only Africa can offer… but the photos as always, a real something.
Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls
February 22, 2024
Victoria Falls … go there? not go there? The falls are in Zambia but you can see them from Zimbabwe and we are actually in Botswana 
. We plan to be in Zimbabwe as well but who knows when… and if we are just an hour’s drive from there, then won’t we come?
So we went, despite the anxiety of some of us that the place would be packed with tourists. The truth is, it was very impressive. Even for those who have visited Iguassu, Niagara and endless number of waterfalls in Iceland. Still impressive. From the enormous force of the falling water, a rain cloud rises that falls on you and wets everything, although in a 35 degree heat it is quite pleasant.
Then the surprise, the combination of the splashing drops and the blazing sun created a lot of beautiful rainbows 
, and we immediately became the rainbows hunters 
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Botswana, Moremi Game Reserve
February 26, 2024
There is a reason people don’t go to Africa in the summer. It’s hot here! The morning starts pleasantly, cool breeze and blue sky. Then at noon the world melts and calms still, everyone gathers in the shade and does not move (men and animals). Only the degrees on the thermometer climb and rise effortlessly.
The animals look for a shady corner and stay there without moving – we saw 3 lions right on the side of the road in the bush, looking indifferently at every vehicle that stopped a meter away from them and photographed them obsessively.
Only the elephants look like there is nothing wrong… apparently elephant skin is also against the heat (not only against insults )
It’s so hot here that you have to chill the red wine in the fridge before you can drink it!
It’s so hot here that Yoav’s phone announces every so often that he is hot and needs to be cooled before it can tell us where we should go 
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Botswana, summary
February 29, 2024
Botswana (north of South Africa) is a huge country that occupies an area that is 250 times larger than our tiny country (Israel) and with less than a quarter of the inhabitants (for those whose math is not a strong point, 2.4 million inhabitants). It means everything is far away. Luckily the roads are not bad, although a hole the size of a medium car in the middle of the road is not a rare sight, and the driving is disciplined and according to the law.
There are elephants and giraffes, lions and zebras here in large numbers and since they are not closed up in a park or a fence you can find them anywhere. After 100 elephants we stopped counting, taking pictures or even pointing. In any case, 130 thousand elephants is something (which is an elephant for every 20 people).
But there are also elephants on safari in Ramat Gan. What for us was special about Botswana were the people. Everyone laughs all the time, speaks quietly and calmly, and everyone, each one, speaks really good to very good English. During all the time we had we did not encounter any show of violence or cheating (by violence I include honking on the road). Everyone you meet is willing to talk to you, and since everyone has time (‘pola pola’, or slowly), our anthropological curiosity has been working overtime.
An interesting phenomenon, you enter a gas station and the attendant runs towards you, happy to see you and with smiles and dances will direct you to the pump. Then all the while refueling he will calmly talk about anything at all, even though the refueling has already ended long ago. This happens at all gas stations throughout the country. Really strange people . And indeed we have discovered that they are the happiest people in Africa (according to a UN survey).
We loved it!!! We are on our way to Namibia and already have seen women in traditional Namibian clothing.
Namibia, Kamanjab, Palmwag, Uis (c40, c39, c35)
March 8, 2024
The western side of Namibia (inland), which is the tourist side, is not paved at all. The wide roads are sometimes maintained and sometimes not. If we focus on the roads that are not maintained (which is about 50 percent of the roads), take a small but cruel bumper and put another one right next to it and another one like that for 50 km. Now if you drive at a speed of 10 km the car jumps but it’s not bad except that it doesn’t make sense to drive at that speed, so… every road has a harmonic speed that the car just floats from bump to bump, usually around 80 km/h, the road is tolerable and the drive is at a reasonable speed. But then the road changes and with it the required speed and the car jumps so often that it’s surprising that parts of it don’t fly in the air, until you find the harmonic speed one more time. Since Namibia is huge, traveling 200 km a day on such a road is not uncommon. I told all this because suddenly on the way from nowhere to nowhere, in a beautiful lunar landscape, there is a paved road (with black on top). It starts in the middle, without any warning and without an intersection or a point that can be marked, the paved road simply begins. Out of enthusiasm we knocked on the road, and you pray that it will last a little longer… but no, after 20 km we returned to one of the cruelest shaking roads.
Namibia – Cape Cross, Swakopmund
March 14, 2024
We arrived at the cutest town so far in Namibia. Ocean on one side and the dunes of Namibia on the other. The temperature here is cool all year round. And we found the best guest house we’ve been to so far in Namibia, with a view of the ocean and dunes. Then, at perfect timing, our car broke down. Nothing dramatic but the part has to come from South Africa and we are stuck for a week (for now). If there is a place in the world to get stuck, this is the place. So no complaints.
Namibia - Flamingos of the Walvis bay
March 19, 2024
Namibia – Swakopmund, Moon Landscape, Walvis bay, (almost) Sandwich bay
March 21, 2024
We came to Swakopmund for two days and stayed ten. Indeed a nice and fun city around which there is various things to see – a moon landscape, orange dunes and Walvis Bay with pink water in salt pools and lots and lots of flamingos.
Then we decided to go to Sandwich Bay which promises more dunes and more seals and more… and more… The way there is on the sand along the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. 50 meters from the entrance to the sandy road our beloved car sank and refused to continue. We tried to convince her in all kinds of ways but she insisted that she is not continuing from here. We were forced to use moderate physical force by means of another car (luckily it was there) .
We then continued for a few more kilometers but in the end we decided that we had exhausted our luck for the day and returned. As a compensation we took infinite number of pictures of flamingos 
Namibia – Mariental to Hammerstein via Zaris pass (c19)
March 24, 2024
The English talk about the weather, the Americans about baseball, the French about a baguette and the Namibians about tire pressure. ‘The road is not good, put 1.8 and it will be fine’. And it’s actually very justified, quite a few of the roads here are unpaved and the air pressure in the tires will determine if you get to the end of the road with the car in one piece. So we, like the locals, tell you ‘on the seashore you put 1.2 and it will be a piece of cake’.
Namibia – Sesriem, Maltahohe to Aus and Luderitz (c14, c13)
March 25, 2024
Today we drove on one of the most beautiful and interesting roads we have seen so far in Namibia – the road from Maltahohe to Aus and then to Luderitz. Amazing landscapes with special colors that change all the time. The fact that these (unpaved) roads were really good also contributed to the good experience. When you see such beautiful landscapes and take pictures endlessly, you think that the real picture is dozens of times more beautiful and there is no way to convey this beauty through the eyepiece of the camera.
And here is a reverse example. Yesterday we were in the Tsauchab River Canyon in Sesriem Park. We drove a few hundred kilometers there… what can we tell you, all Utah parks graduates will raise an eyebrow and smile slightly at the sight of nature there… nothing special really, but (!) the photos turned out amazing! And of course there are also red dunes there, which are always nice to photograph .
By the way, another 90 km away there are more beautiful dunes but Yoav refused to go there…
Namibia – Windhoek
March 26, 2024
A rumor has been circulating that Namibian Independence Day is coming 💥. We packed up and went to the capital (Windhoek). To our surprise we were not greeted by waving flags, or stages and dancing. No air shows and no fireworks. In fact nothing greeted us, not even barbecues and picnics on traffic islands. This is quite surprising for such a young country (34 years old). In Namibia in general you will hardly find any flags waving, especially comparing to Turkey for example where every few meters there is a bright red flag waving in the wind, some of them of impressive size and all preserved and shiny. Perhaps there is a connection between a sense of national ease and signs of independence and independence day celebrations. Just saying 😏
Namibia – Naute Kristall Cellar and Distillery, Canyon Farm Yard, Canyon Road House, Fish River Canyon, White House Guest Farm
March 29, 2024
Yesterday we went to see a canyon (Fish River Canyon). It is about 150 km each way on dirt roads (most of them reasonable). On the way there are farms (three). The first one has a distillery for brandy and gin (Naute Kristall Cellar and Distillery). But it’s morning and we, as you know, don’t drink in the morning, so we bought gin for after and sat in the pastoral garden to have breakfast.
The second farm (Canyon Farm Yard) specializes in apple pie, a must stop. The owners are a retired couple who decided to retire here (there is not a living soul within a 50 km radius), they built everything from scratch and make a living selling apple pie and providing camping services. We met there a nice couple from South Africa who like us travel most of the year and we exchanged experiences.
After we rested and filled our bellies we moved to the next farm (Canyon Road House). They specialize in antique cars, there are endless antiques, some refurbished and some not. And it was already noon so we drank mojitos and milkshakes (guess who ordered what) and continued to the canyon, cute (makes good photos) but it is good that there are farms on the way there .
Then we arrived at an amazing guesthouse (White House Guest Farm), in the middle of nowhere (5 km from the road that leads from nowhere to nowhere), in an over 100 years old house and since we were tired from the hard day, we stayed here another day to rest :). Life is hard .
Botswana, Namibia – Summary
April 1, 2024
After about two months in Botswana and Namibia it is a time for summaries. Both countries are huge with few inhabitants so it is necessary to travel hundreds of kilometers from place to place. In Botswana there are a lot of animals on the roads (lots of elephants, giraffes, zebras, etc.) regardless of one nature reserve or another. In Namibia, on the other hand, the landscapes are amazing – just on the road colors and landscapes change all the time. And by the way, there are roads here that are tens of kilometers long without a single turn (I guess it is easy to make it completely straight in the desert 
).
Mostly we are interested in people though. In general, we can say that the people are very quiet, speak calmly and in a whisper. Everyone speaks good English and is happy to talk and share. We didn’t see a single person smoking, nor did we once see violence of any kind (including car sirens).
Yet there is a big difference between the countries (at least from what we have noticed) – in Botswana there is a small percentage of whites (2%), maybe that is why all the businesses are owned by natives and there is no talk of whites and blacks at all. On the other hand, there are more whites in Namibia (7%), and this may be the reason why most of the businesses we met are owned by white people (hotels, restaurants, garages). In addition there are places where you will meet mostly whites (locals) and even whole cities that look like a German town frozen in time somewhere in the 70s (which we especially liked). Even though the sentence always starts with ‘I’m not racist’, the speech afterwards will be very much about “us and them”.
There are two jobs worth mentioning:
– 1) The parking car guards – wherever you park your car, even on the very remote streets, a person will immediately show up and promise to guard your car. When you are done and are back to your car, you are guaranteed that he will appear next to you before you get into the car and direct you to the exit.
– 2) A gas station attendant – they see you from afar (even before you enter the station) and wave at you to come to their station, always laughing and cheerful and they have all the time in the world to talk about anything, clean a windshield, inflate a tire, and check what engine you have (and we’re not sure if they even expect a tip).
We drive around with a car with a huge tent on it, and we are proud to say that we have not opened it even once (except for the time we checked how to open it). Most of the guesthouses are of a good standard and some are even really, really good. We are off season so everything is relatively cheap and in many cases we are the only guests. In the heart of Namibia there were several places without a hotel or guesthouse and we had to rent a tent, but don’t be mistaken, the tent has everything from a bed to an air conditioner, so it’s hard to say we suffered.
The next route in Europe (we have the Olympics to attend) is around June, followed by Africa, in the October area, towards the north – Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, etc. – all of course if Nasrallah allows us 
.
Back to South Africa
April 12, 2024
South Africa is a big country with not so many roads, most of the roads are in reasonable condition, some are good and a minority are really bad. But I didn’t come to talk about roads. Although the maintenance of the roads is not perfect, but the grass on the side of the road is trimmed religiously. To that end, every few tens of kilometers you come across a group working on weeding, five or six workers who work with manual trimmers and pickaxes. But I did not come to talk about that either. Before and after each such group stands a person (usually a solid female) with a red flag waving rigorously to signal you to slow down, with such enthusiasm as if she just started the shift and will be replaced in another five minutes, but I didn’t come to talk about the waving. If you wave in greeting to her, she will always smile and enthusiastically wave back as if you were her lost brother. We are talking about dozens of such groups all over the country, and as soon as we saw the response we waved to everyone and without exception we received a happy and enthusiastic response. This is education!
HE 
1 thought on “Africa”
I just wanted to drop by and say how much I appreciate your blog. Your writing style is both engaging and informative, making it a pleasure to read. Looking forward to your future posts!