Hakuna matata

Africa is amazing. The last eight days have been crazy, we have done, seen and experienced so much I don't know how I could ever describe it. We have seen the most beautiful nature, the creepiest spiders, the fascinating culture, the interesting people, the most impressive wild animals and heard the amazing music which together makes Africa. We have mostly seen Botswana and Zambia, and in two days we get to experience Cape Town. For me to actually be able to sort all my thoughts and impressions out I think I need to take it day by day.

Day 1

We arrived in johannesburg (jo-burg as they call it here) at 6 am after no sleep at all on the 8 hour flight over. Had some breakfast and took a taxi to the hotel we were supposed to meet our groupleaders and the rest of the group (we travelled with g-adventures). We arrived at a Beautiful hotel in the wilderness almost, with gazelles hopping right by us and a Beautiful garden with african plants and trees. We could not check in until at least 12 but it was not the worst place to wait. They forgot to bring us our key so at 3 we finally layed in our beds and slept until 6 when the meeting started. We met Colleen and Francois who turned out to be the best "CEO"s ever and we immediatly met two other Norwegian girls who sat at our table. Colleen told us, as she would do for the next 7 days that we have to get up at 5 am the next day. So of we went and slept away our jetlag.

Day 2

We had an eight (or was it ten) hour drive ahead of us and so the majority of our day was about sleeping in our truck(which was kind of like a bus) , watching the african nature and starting to get to know the others. On the way we stopped to see some "pans" which are dried out lakes, so now they are just large sandfields. We arrived in the afternoon at the campsite, set up our tents, had dinner and off we went to go on a open vehicle safari in the dark. We spotted rhinos, gazelles, cute animals which I dont remember their name of, but they were something inbetween a rabbit and squirrel and some zebras. That night it was freezing cold and everybody had packed for a trip to Africa and not to the northpole so I think everybody was happy to see a bonfire when we got back. Still it was actually an awful night to be anywhere but fully clothed in your sleepingbag, so everybody went to bed early.

Day 3

Up at five for another long day driving. In the afternoon we arrived in Maun in Botswana, and some people went on an optional scenic flight over the okavango delta. The scandinavians on the trip decided saving money and chilling by the pool with some actual wifi would be nicer, and so we arrived at the campingsite nearby maun. On my way back to the tent from the poolarea I suddenly almost stumbled over a monkey who was curious about our tent. Very cool but they are wild animals and tend to steal stuff so I was also a bit happy when he went away so I could go grab my things. We were warned to not let our shoes stand outside of the tents because we would probably only find one or none the next day. On my way to the shower i realized that there were loads of monkeys everywhere and so I grabbed my camera and got some good photos. I also realized that we were in africa and that that meant not only monkeys are everywhere, but also other, creepy animals. We came over a female baboon spider. (Seriously, Google that and look at the pictures) and loads of other huge insects in the showers and toilets. Had some beers (okay just 1) before we went to bed at 9 pm.

Day 4

Up at 7 (everybody was so happy we could sleep in) to go to the delta. I had no idea what to expect I just knew it would be in the bushbush and an experience without toilets, showers or running water. So we left most of our stuff in the truck and went on a speedboat to a local village where the locals would transport us in mokoros to the deltaisland we would camp at. For those who do not know what to imagine when I say delta, I would describe it as a meadow with high grass and rivers running through them like pathways but you can't see them from a distance because the grass is there as well. Birgitte and me had a polar (mokoro-driver) whos name was Extra and really badly wanted to become facebookfriends. It was a beautiful relaxing boatride besides the occasional spider who would jump in the boat and on my leg. When we arrived at the Island we were shown our hole in the ground which was our toilet for the next two days, and warned that at night you should only go there for "serious business" and always take someone with you. If you heard something or saw eyes somewhere, do not leave your tent. Might be hippos or hyenas. That same day we went on a walk with Extra and Friday to see if we could spot some wild animals. And after about a 100 kilometres and two hours of walking we saw a whole pack of zebras! Fantastic to see them in their natural habitat and we could come quite close to them. Another group was lucky enough to spot an elephant (or its ass at least) but for us zebras x2 was all we saw. We had the most beatiful sunset on our way back which was truly amazing even for norwegians who have seen some beautiful sunsets. After eating a traditiniol botswanian dinner ( veggies and meat cooked for three hours) we got a performance of the polars who were with us showing traditional dancing and singing by the bonfire. Apparently that night there were some hyenas howling nearby, but everyone who knows me will know that of course I slept right through it.

Day 5

Up at 5 again, and a three hour ride to our next destination. Here we had a night off and we enjoyed the beautiful pool, bar and 3000 year old baobab trees (HUUUUGEEE) at this campsite. Not only were there huge trees, also huge spiders and huge webs. The webs were crazy strong and they were everywhere. The spiders were beautiful (Black and yellow) and their bodys alone about as big as a thumb (a little skinnier).

Day 6

Up at 5 (yes again) to drive to Chobe national park. We camped on banks of the Chobe River, near its mouth. This is where the Chobe and Zambezi rivers meet, creating a border area of four countries – Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. My phone company went crazy sending me text messages about the new prices of every country it thought I was in. On our way to the campsite we spotted elephants, wildebeast, impalas and giraffes on the sides of the road. Unfortunately it was illegal and also dangerous to stop the truck on that road. Luckily the opportunity to see these fantastic animals up close in the wild presented itself later in the day in the form of a sunset cruise. From the water we saw and got really really close to hippos, an elephant bathing, a family of elephants including a baby drinking, crocodiles, monkeys, hawks, impalas, wildebeast, beautiful birds and so much more. Amazing experience and well worth every penny.

Day 7

This would be our last whole day with the group, and we spent it at the Victoria falls. I had already seen iguazu falls and was excited to see if this was as beautiful as that. Unfortunately we were only able to see one side of the falls since the other side lays in Zimbabwe. So we only got to see aprox. One Third of the falls. It was still beautiful, but not as impressive as the iguazu. I rented a raincoat because we were warned that we would get wet, and they were not joking. It was just like taking a shower with good water pressure. It was actually one of the best showers I had had for a week. A few people wanted to bungeejump of one of the bridges at the falls (110 metres) so they went off and Risked their lives. I had a lot of fun at the marked just outside the falls where they sell amazing handcraft. The sellers were quite annoying and it was nearly impossible to get out of their shop in any other way than plain rudeness. They wanted to trade everything you had. Foreign coins ("collect them for ny mother") your socks, hair elastics etc. And then told you you would get such a discount on everything they sold because of it. (Bullshit, they throw it away when you are gone) I did buy some beautiful stuff though, and for a good price as well because I would walk out when they would not go down in price and then they panicked and I got it for what I wanted. That night was our last night together as a group and we had a lovely evening where I went to bed Crazy late (10.30 pm) after some beers and laughs.

Day 8

This day was officially the ending of the tour but everybody was still at the same place and hanging out with each other and had their activities planned for the day. We decided we wanted to go lion walking and elephantriding. Both were amazing, the animals are treated well and the lions are released back in the wild when they are 18 months. (they are actually wild all the time, but are taught to see the humans as a part of their pack) The experiences were amazing but I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Nighttime safari

In the mokoras

Pack of wild zebras

Walking in the delta at sunset

View from the mokoras

Crocodile!

Elephant bathing with a bird

Hippos

Elephant family

Lion walk

Emily, me, Birgitte, kirsten, chloe, callum and leandra

All the tourists sat on the knees of their elephants to take pictures, and this little guy ran over to his mommy to sit on her knee as well.

Bye SA, hello Africa

Left Rio yesterday knowing I will go back. I am not done with south america! But now it is africas turn. It is 5 am and we are ready to go on a safari so for the next 10 days you might not hear from me!

I will miss you, Rio!

Rio de Janeiro

After only three days in florianapolis (would have stayed there for weeks if we had the time!) We prepared for a twenty-hours busride by thinking we were really smart and took our sleepingbags and pillows with us on the bus. Of course the first thing we were given were pillows and blankets, so now we were stuck with a lot of stuff that took a lot of our space. Well, we had an okay comfortable ride, and between sao Paulo and rio we travelled over some mountains which had the most amazing nature and views. It is a shame we don't have the time to explore more of Brazil really. There was also a trailer which probably couldn't take the heat and exploded. Luckily for us on the other side of the road. I think the line of cars was about 20 km long. Still, pretty scary to see what was left (or wasn't) of the trailer...

In rio the hostels are expensive. We are always on a budget and didn't want to pay more then 30 reais per night per person. Which meant only the hostels in favelas (=slums) were affordable. We chose one with very good reviews, and it turned out to be a good choice. To get here you have to walk up 15-20 minutes on a steepsteep hill. Then alot of stairs as well. (yes we do get really fit)  And if you don't know where it is, or don't shout "PABLO" very loud, you will never find it. The favela is really a real slum, but people here are extremely nice and helpful. The hostel is quite new and paoblo with his little perunian helpers welcome you so well into their little "family". The first night they dragged us out to see the nightlife of rio in Lapa "by the stairs". (Cool story, Google it). The bars are on tables on the street and people are just dancing and socializing in the streets. Every street had its own "type". You have a hiphopstreet, a sambastreet, a rockstreet etc. Rio is known for not being really safe but we were being guarded by 6 people (from the hostel) at all times so we had no worries and enjoyed every bit of it!

The next day we went to meet Jony, and he showed us pedra bonita, knowing we wanted to paraglide and showing us an awesome view of rio. The wind was not good for paragliding so we went for the hike up pedra bonita. A hike through the jungle where we met an angry snake, and where we had the workout of a lifetime thanks to Jony who was running up the hill in his flipflops and had no time for breaks.

The day after we went paragliding!!!! Crazy. Was sure i was gonna die. Not while actually paragliding, but before you take of. You have to run over the edge of the mountain, which really goes against all instincts even though you know you are safe. Fantastic to have done it though, and such an amazing feeling!! We were supposed to watch a soccergame the same day, but didnt have the time or energy to actually do that. Instead we heard the how insane the people get when watching it on TV! People are actually hanging out of their windows and screaming their lungs out just so everybody can hear them. We could hear the entire city with every goal, and if we had not known that it was because of football I would have thought a war had started.

Since that day it has been raining non-stop. We went to see the supposedly amazing view of sugerloaf mountain. A waste of money. We got soaked and the only thing we saw was white and grey. Absolutely no view at all.

Today we visited the museum of modern art. Which was quite fun. An exhbition of Ron Mueck was very very special. Extremely lifelike statues.

We hope the weather gets better tomorrow because we live 10 minutes away from copacabana beach and it would be a shame if we could not enjoy it! Besides we want to visit the christstatue and be able to enjoy the view.

This is where you just...walk of

On top of pedra bonita

Rio nightlife

If the size would not have revealed they were not real people I would have thought they were.

Extremely detailed.

The amazing view from sugerloaf mountain

Backpackertime

We have been travelling for over a month now and I thought it might be fun to tell you a few things we have discovered when backpacking, which are very...backpackery.

-You get mentally attached to your backpack. It is the only thing that is constant in your life except for your travelcompanion but you get sick of the same face everyday eventually. Your backpack is your life and the memorycard of your camera is the most valuable thing you have.

-Never assume you can put toiletpaper in the toilet. We learned that the hard way in Cuba. (Sorry Raoul) you shouldn't even assume you can do everything you might need to do. Very tiny pipes.

-You will have no clue what time, date and day it is. The only thing you maybe know is that you need to check out tomorrow, but you can postpone that...

-Choices are way too difficult to make. Should you stay in your hammock and read your new book you traded with some other backpacker, or should you go horsebackriding/hiking/surfing/drinking/skydiving? Tough life.

-Airconditioning is holy.

-It is CRAZY EXCITING to meet someone from your own country (or countries in my case) you finally get the chance to bond about ostehøvler and kjøttkaker! (Not that you will actually do that)

-You don't have enough time, and everybody will feel the need to tell you that.

-We are "sooo young. Omg you have the rest of your life to travel. Gaaahd I wish I still had that much time left"            -Every backpacker over 25

-You fall in love with the places you never planned to visit and probably have never even heard of.  (Viñales, huacachina, puerto iguaçu, florianapolis. To mention some.)

-Privacy does not excist while living in dorms. Other people WILL see your dirty underwear, your charming and elegant way of climbing up a bunkbed without a ladder or see your sleepingface. (You will also see all of that from them)

-You wish you knew some Spanish so that maybe people would stop shouting in spanish at you, the same thing over and over again when you don't understand them.

-You forget how stupid rain is. (Thanks for reminding us Rio....)

-It gives a claustraphobic feeling to put on long pants again

Florionapolis

De siste dagene har vi vært i florionapolis, en øy ved kysten av Brasil. Vi har bodd på et hostel som heiter backpackers sharehouse og som vi liker veldig godt. Den ligger i en liten fiskerlandsby og har god utsikt over sjøen og stranda. Folkene her er hyggelige, stemninga er avslappa og med stranda bare 3 minutt unna har vi kosa oss masse. Vi har ikkje gjort så veldig mykje anna enn å tatt en tur med en båt rundt en del av øya med en gjeng fra hostellet. Dama som eigde båten var nederlandsk og eg hadde en utrolig koselig samtale med ho om Kordan ho havna her og kordan Brasil er for backpackere. Neste stopp er Rio men først betyr det en nesten 20timers tur med buss. Vi har bestilt seng-seter så vi håper på en litt meir komfortabel tur en den som tok oss hit vi er no, som var ikkje fullt så behagelig.

De laatste dagen hebben we doorgebracht in florionapolis, een eiland bij de kust van Brazilie. We slapen in een hostel dat backpackers sharehouse heet, en die we erg fijn vinden. We zijn in een klein vissersdorpje en hebben een mooi uitzicht over de zee en het strand. De mensen hier zijn aardig,  iedereen is relaxed en met het strand maar 3 minuten hier vandaan hebben we het niet verkeerd. We hebben hier niet zoveel gedaan behalve rond een deel van t eiland gevaren met een leuk bootje samen met wat anderen van t hostel. De eigenaresse van de boot was Nederlands en ik heb een erg interessant gesprek met haar gehad over hoe Zij hier beland was en hoe Brazilie voor backpackers is. Onze volgende stop is Rio, maar dat betekend eerst bijna 20 uur met de bus. We hebben bed-stoelen besteld dus we hopen dat deze reis comfortabeler wordt dan de reis naar hier was.

Iguazu falls

Yesterday we Said goodbye to Synne after spending two nights in buenos aires in the company of HUGE cockroaches. We went to fly to iguazu to see the falls. We are sleeping in the hostel inn on the argentinian side of the falls, which we like a lot. We sleep in bungalows and have a Nice pool to Relax by. The falls were amazing! We bought a tour called the great adventure which included a jeepride through the jungle with a guide and a boatride which comes really close to the falls en goes in to what they call " the devils throat". Which basically means you get to take a shower in the falls. The views were amazing and the pictures do the real thing no justice. We saw a lot of cool animals in the jungle including crocodiles, huge spiders and turtles. We spent about 7 hours there today and tomorrow we are going to the brazillian side of the falls. After that we are taking the nightbus to florionapolis in Brazil, stay there for a few nights and then travel on to paraty and the islands surrounding it. Then our last stop in brazil will be rio Where we will meet Jony, a guy we met in Peru Who lives in rio and will show us around. We are still Having a great time!!