All our camping supplies were stored in lockers along the underside of the truck. Every night when we arrived at a new destination, we set up our tents and cooking supplies.
	View from inside the truck.

We met up with our Overland Tour group for our first night of camping in a camp ground in Victoria Falls. For the next three weeks we would call a 12 ton modified truck the "Mother Ship". The truck was quite a feat of engineering with panels cut out of the sides over which clear vinyl segments zipper down to form large windows. The truck had no markings but was painted entirely royal blue. A special padlocked hold compartment the size of a large closet held our packs and valuables while we beamed down to strange and exotic excursions. Cooking stoves and kitchen supplies were stored under the trucks belly and it carried a large water tank for drinking and cooking.

The crew consists of our helmsmen/driver, Dave, a 24 year old professional driver who previously worked for the UN driving aid into Angola from South Africa. Dave, originally from Angola, calls Johannesburg his home now and he has the gunshot wound scars to prove it. Our Captian/guide, Anton, a 37 year old ex carpenter South African native whose passion is constantly being on the move in Southern Africa and meeting happy people. Anton served in the South African armed services for a number of years and has evolved into a peace loving "hippy" guide who loves people and everything that is positive. His infectious laugh kept us sane through some of our more challenging days. We would learn to appreciate the value of native guides as we encountered other tour groups led by Aussies and other nationalities who had little knowledge of what was going on "behind the scenes" in Southern Africa. Anton didn't pretend to know much about the animals, plants and geology of the areas through which we passed but he knew where the ATM's were located along our route, how to avoid getting ripped off at rest-stops and petrol stations, and most important of all, he had an incredible insight into the evolution of the politics in the last 30 years of each area through which we passed.

The backpackers, or "packs" as we were called, consisted of two Americans (that's us), two kiwis (New Zealand), four Brits and four Aussies. The Aussies had been on their 6th week of overland travel from Uganda when we joined. The Kiwi couple and a Brit couple had joined the group in Nairobi two weeks later. Another English couple joined the group in Victoria Falls along with us after two weeks of overland touring in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. So we were the new kids on the block and unbeknownst to us, alliances had been built and cliques formed and this would turn out to be the most consequential force of the entire trip. Our own personal "Survivor" season was about to begin and the tribal council had already snuffed out the torches of several "packs" prior to our joining the game. The ages of the group ranged from 22 to 35 (yes, Chris was the oldest).

As the turbo diesel engine roared to life and the truck lurched forward we took the first step forward on a journey of several thousand miles. Africa: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the overland truck Kumuka. It's three week mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out old life and old civilizations. To boldly go where few tourists have gone before. On half impulse power we set course for the Botswana border, stopping occassionally to yield to a herd of elephant crossing the highway. Shields up, of course.... just in case.

Trip Overview

Week One Nov 24 - 30
Nov 24 S - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Nov 25 M - Drive to Chobe River, Botswana
Nov 26 T - Camp at Chobe River
Nov 27 W - Drive to Maun, Botswana
Nov 28 Th - Camping in Delta
Nov 29 F - Camping in Delta
Nov 30 S - Camping in Maun, Botswana
Read about our experiences in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Week Two Dec 1 - 7
Dec 1 S - Camp in Gobabis, Namibia
Dec 2 M - Hostel in Windhoek
Dec 3 T - Etosha, Northern Namibia
Dec 4 W - Etosha, Northern Namibia - Solar eclipse
Dec 5 Th - Etosha
Dec 6 F - Cheetah Park, Namibia
Dec 7 S - Swakopmund
Read about our Sand Boarding and Quad Biking adventures and our travels in Namibia.

Week Three Dec 8 - 14
Dec 8 M - Sossusvlei, Namibia
Dec 9 T - Camping Fish River Canyon, Namibia
Dec 10 W - Camping Orange River, Namibia
Dec 11 Th - Camping Orange River, Namibia
Dec 12 F - Camping Hot Springs, South Africa
Dec 13 S - Hostel in Stellenboch - Wine tasting
Dec 14 S - Cape Town

Read about our Sossusvlei sand dune adventure.