So, after 3 days of lazing in the river, drinking beer & snoozing in the hammock under the trees, I was primed, psyched & ready to go.
The English couple, Jackie & Vince, were on their way into SA after driving most of the way from Europe. The trip had taken them 8 months so far…
It was dejavu, but in reverse.
I remembered the family we met in Madagascar…
They had sailed from Durban a week or so earlier.
It was their maiden voyage.
This was the first time they'd dropped anchor, anywhere, it was all new to them, & it showed.
They were full of self doubts…
Still dropping things overboard, banging heads on bulkheads, stubbing toes on deck cleats… Stuff like that.
Anxious…Asking themselves… Why, why, why ?
We were on the last leg of our voyage, & were reasonablely comfortable by then.
I remember reassuring them, especially the father.
That responsibility, skippering a yacht at sea, with your family on board, weighs very heavily.
Now here I am, not quite as "green" as those guys in Madagascar, but meeting experienced overlanders, face to face at last.
It's great.
We were able to exchange hard, real time information on our respective routes ahead…
So reassuring.
Then, there's another mad Aussie basterd, Nigle, who's BICYCLED, solo, down from Egypt…
Egypt THIS time.
Too many stories to tell…
I couldn't keep up…
"Oh yeah, ah Jesus, mate, I been dooin this fer 4, nah, neely 5 bloody years mate".
They've one experience in common.
Mechanical hitches, but no problems with the people… Good to hear.
The group of "river trailers" arrived late, the sun's last rays were glinting off my bare butt as they gathered along the river bank to get their first sight of the mighty Orange & caught me sneaking back to my towel.
A lively, mixed bunch of Girls, fresh out from Germany, their biggest fear was that they were going to spend this first night sleeping in the open.
They thought they saw scorpions, centipedes & adders everywhere.
"Yup, but they only sting if you stand or roll on one"…
Said in my best Crocodile Dundee voice.
Nigle could do it better of course, but he also slept out there.
"Thank God, for Nyati… It's like sleeping in a motel"…
Hee Hee. "Should I add, Berlin motel "? "Nope, that'll do it".
Like a shiny spoon cast into a school of hungry shad… Two of them went for it.
I discounted the young skinny one.
She'd been walking in only up to her ankles… Skittish… Menstrual.
The bigger, older one, had been happily cavorting in the shallows like a voluptuous, naked, milk bottle, not a care in the world… All teeth & tits… Perfect.
"Somethings going to BITE that one.
If it's not me tonight, it'll be the sun tomorrow".
It didn't sound as if they'd been together long enough to synchronise.
"We don't need any, nasty little surprises", I thought.
They were all so excited about the 4 day
canoe trip they were embarking on, I didn't have the heart to tell them of our Zambezi river trip.
Of Georgina & I being charged, & chased right out of the water, into Zambia, by an enraged hippo.
Of the hippos jumping off the river bank directly above us, landing not more than 3 meters away.
Of arriving at the island/sandbank we wanted to camp on, only to find a herd of elephant had beaten us to it.
Of the 3 to 4 meter crocs sliding into the water ahead of our canoes.
Or of the lions roaring at night… So damn close.
Not to mention the elephant dung getting into the tent ! !
Oh Man, what a wonderful holiday, all arranged in such detail by the late Jill Howe.
I imagine her looking down now, & smiling that knowing smile of hers.
Straight out from Europe, this Orange river trail will be a GREAT & memorable adventure for this, Generation X , group…
Some of them even got to see inside Nyati.
