Wicked Campers Africa Blog

Let the holidays begin

simon_belinda — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:55:30 +0000

So excited … will be there in 4 days

Hey everyone, Been on the

simon_belinda — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:14:41 +0000

Hey everyone,
Been on the road for 5 days now, left Johannesburg, headed straight for Kruger National Park, saw Monkeys, Elephants, Zebras, Lions, Giraffes, Hyenas, Hippo’s, Rhino’s, and several Cheetahs, plus many more. From there travelled through the Blyde River Canyon, absolutely breathtaking scenery, not to be missed. Now we have crossed our first border into Swaziland, surrounded by rolling hills, and friendly faces. We feel very safe in the van, everybody is very friendly and driving on the roads, it just like driving at home.
We’ll keep you posted.
with love,
Belinda and Simon

Hit the coast

simon_belinda — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:22:15 +0000

Hello everyone,

We cruised through picturesque Swaziland and onto the coast of Africa at Sodwana Bay. Its a beautiful bay and beach with hundreds of camp sites with monkeys running all around. The water was surprisingly warm and I attempted to go scuba diving but things just did not seem to go right that day. Oh well. On to the next seaside town of St Lucia where we did a great sunset cruise in the wetlands , the lakes are filled with thousands of crocodiles , 900 hippos and lots of birdlife. Incredible how close we got to big pods of hippos !

Loving cruising Africa.

Simon & Belinda

Ocean, Mountains, and Driving

simon_belinda — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:26:54 +0000

Hello again,

Since our last update, Simon has been doing some amazing diving on the coast, this time with success. He saw Dolphins, Hump back whales, Ragged Tooth Sharks, plus many more. He was wrapped. I enjoyed watching the fisherman down at the most gorgeous beach. Their beaches here as so beautiful, and unlike home, they have waves!! Onto to a 2 nights stay in the Drakenberg Ranges, drmatics mountains, and cliffs, with a day trip into Lesotho, (an independent country), it was an incredible 8 hours 4×4 journey up to 3400metres, to visit the traditional life of the Lesotho people, and the most rugged country and landscape you can imagine. (Think Mongolia, and you are somewhat close). OUr second morning there, it was so cold, everything was iced over and we thought we were going to die, but staying in a gorgeous log cabin made it worthwhile. We have spent all day on the road and have now arrived at Addo Elephant Park where we hope to see loads of elephants, plus more tomorrow morning.

take care,

belinda and simon

Addo,& The Garden Route

simon_belinda — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:28:14 +0000

Back again for I am sure is an eagerly awaited update. Well … Addo was a stunningly beautiful park as far as the scenery went, then throw in the animals ( must have been several hundred warthogs , a number of jackals , Elephants, antelope and birdlife) and we came away very happy we had decided to go. After that we hit the coast again and stopped at Jeffreys Bay (a famous surfing beach). The town was a lot larger than we had imagined but the view of the beach and dunes was beautiful; We had a front row campsite directly on the beach and went to sleep with the sounds of the surf. We got distracted by the discount shopping before we left and ended up with a new wardrobe before escaping.

I was just prompted to mention our stop off at a small game park on the way where we got a little to close to some lions who decided to try and scratch the van, some very paniced moments before we managed to get the van to safety. They basically run a breeding program for lions which they sell to all the other reserves and this gavce us an opportunity to pat somelion cubs. Belinda had planned doing this sincebefore we left , we thought they would be small cute and fluffy but in fact they were 6 months old and a fair size. Our visit was just before afternoon feeding so they were in quite a playful mood trying to playfully bite and grab you (just like max). The whole park was a big adrenaline buzz.

Last night we stayed at Tsitsikamma nationalpark , a stunningly rugged coastal forest area. We camped once again metres away from the ocean pounding on the rocky shoreline sending splash up to 10 metres in the air…. this place is impossible to describe and do justice to. We did an amazing walk along the shoreline and up to a lookout which has left us rather sore today.

Today was a drive along the Garden Route (which you hear so much about) , a awesome drive with moutains and forest one side and beatuiful beaches and holiday towns on the other. There is certainlysome money down in this area of SA !

Got to go, will write again soon

Love
Simon & Belinda

Simon & Belinda – Photos

simon_belinda — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:31:18 +0000

Start – Gaborone Botswana 24 March 09

Simon_Nat — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:05:39 +0000

Start – Cape Town 19 February 2009

Jeroen_Alette — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:08:22 +0000

Start – Johannesburg 02 February 2009

Tein_Cielle — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:09:56 +0000

Our own wicked safari

Tein_Cielle — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:13:15 +0000

What we really wanted to see, was wild animals. Not by an organized tour, but by ourselves. What we really didn’t want anymore, was travelling by bus. Freedom, go where ever we liked, staying between lions, rhino’s, cheetah’s, giraffes in the Krügerpark as long as we wanted, travelling all the way up to the whale sharks in Mozambique and sleeping in our ‘own’ car, that’s what we were looking for! And- in a cheap way.. Well, we have found this all by renting a wicked campervan! This -totally relaxed- company has made our trip in Africa unforgettable. The campervan is very practical, so sleeping, sitting and cooking in it are, in a compact way, comfortable. Besides, we had funny conversations with the locals because of the paintings on it. We have organized our own wicked safaris this way and we have decided we will come back to do more! With a wicked campervan of course!