admin | Steef and Jasper through Africa

Now that we were back in Europe and had about six weeks to spend before we could move back into our house at the 1st of August, we could take things -very- easy. And so we did 😀

Greece

After a smooth flight via Istanbul on June 12th we arrived back in Europe. First we fetched the car from Lavrio port and then drove to nearby Athens, where we strolled through the city for a few days.

Amphitheatre next to the Acropolis in Athens.

View on the Acropolis from the temple of Zeus.

Guards in front of the presidential palace in Athens.

From Athens we went west towards Greece’s main peninsula, the Peloponnese. Next to some relaxing snorkeling along the beautiful beaches we visited the sanctuary of Asclepius in Epidaurus. This ancient Greece site was a healing site and contains one of the largest preserved amphitheaters.

Largest remaining amphitheater in Epidaurus.

Next up was Mycenae, a site that far predates and had enormous influence on the classical Greek culture. Its walled city (citadel) is beautifully situated on a hill (acropolis) overlooking the Peloponnese all the way until the sea.

Moving north to the mainland we crossed the Gulf of Corinth via one of the world’s largest suspension bridges.

The Rio-Antirrio suspension bridge from Peloponnese to mainland Greece near Patras.

And later that day we visited the famous sanctuary in dedication of Apollo in Delphi.

View over Delphi from the top of the amphitheater.

After a brief visit to the east coast at the foot of mount Olympus we went to the Adriatic coast in the west which we mainly followed all the way north to Italy.

20160619_Greece_Pargas_streetView — Houses along the coast in Parga, Greece.

Albania

The south coast of Albania, between Sarande and Vlorë, proved to be as beautiful and impressive as we’d heard. With magic blue water and wild cliffs scattered with small beaches.

Kamping Pa Emer in Karpen (Golem, Albania) seen from the Adriatic sea.

Macedonia

From Albania we took a brief deviation inland towards Ohrid in Macedonia. The stunning deep lake on the border of Albania and Macedonia with crystal clear water is one of the oldest lakes in Europe and contains some unique endemic species.

View over lake Ohrid from Samuel’s fortress.

Montenegro

Further north our coast trip brought us through Montenegro, that in 2001 cleverly convinced the German national bank to temporarily adopt the Euro, but to date still has not let go of it.

Bay of Kotor in Macedonia around sunset. — Bay of Kotor in Montenegro around sunset.

Croatia

The old city of Dubrovnik. — The old city of Dubrovnik, walled all around.

Main market street in the old city of Dubrovnik.

Back in the EU Croatia proved to have even more beautiful nature to offer. Especially walking in the Plitvice lakes National Park proved a wonderful experience with fairy tale-like images.

Tree in the crystal clear water of one of the many Plitvice lakes.

Water is everywhere in the Plitvice lakes National Park.

The water beautifully reflects the trees and sky, while at the same to providing a look at the bottom of the lakes.

The great waterfall in Plitvice lakes NP.

‘Fishes in the clouds’ in Plitvice lakes NP.

On December 17th first Inge (African: In-dje)and Tijn (African: Tee-Jin) arrived in Jozi. With them we did a cycling tour through Soweto, mainly around the monuments on the Soweto uprising of 1976. After refueling with pizza and good wine we awaited the arrival of Jan (African: Jan Japan or ManPower) and Joost (African: Juiced).

That turned out to be a long wait: someone mistakenly took Joost’s bag from the airport. Luckily they got hold of the culprit and were able to exchange the bag the next morning. Then we were all set to go to Botswana!

Botswana: Chobe, Savuti and Moremi

Just before we entered Botswana, they warned us for the heat: it is so warm there, it will kill you!

After an overnight right after the border, we went to Kasane. This place close to the Chobe river was an ideal location to go to the Vic falls and do a tour on the Chobe.

Devil’s cataract and start of the main falls

The Vic falls in panorama (after the rain season the Zambezi river stretches over 2 km wide forming the legendary Victoria Falls)

There are many elephants along the Chobe river.

Enjoying the sunset (with or without camera 😉

Linyanti

From Kasane, we drove along the Chobe river towards Linyanti. Underway we saw -literally- hundreds of elephants bading, drinking and playing along the river.

Hundreds of elephants assembled along the river: breathtaking!

At Linyanti we had our first camping experience between hippos and elephants without fence. They warned us not to go to the toilet at night and make a fire, which we did. At night Steef saw the hippos come out of the water to eat and stroll over the campsite.

20151223_Chobe_Linyanti_sundownView — Sundown at Linyanti

Savuti and Moremi

The next day we left early to increase the chance on animal activity on our way. And we did indeed see a troop of African wild dogs, that went to hide in the bush when we approached. On our way through Savuti and Moremi we drove on the most sandy roads ever!

T, I, J & J fighting against a sandy slope in their Bushlore HiLux.

We spent the night at Third Bridge camp, right next to the Okavanga Delta. Another night in paradise without fences. After dinner we saw the reflection of a pair of eyes staring at us. It could be anything from kudus to hyenas to … Uuh a bit scary!!!

Dried plains with dead trees make for a macabre sight

Annual rains leave flood plains, of which some become permanent lakes

Maun

The next stop to spent Christmas was Maun, also next to the Okavango Delta. We did about 500km of sandy roads in 3 days, it was good to see a tarred road again :). In Maun we also went ‘in’ the Delta, with a mokoro (traditional wooden canoe).