It's the end, but it's not

"All God's children need travelling shoes" (Tanita Tikaram).  There is still sand in mine, but they have been banished to the back of the cupboard for the time being.  Reality is a bitch and she has her claws on me.

I decided to end Part One of my Baked Beans Jubilee adventure on a high note - Etosha Pan. Namibia.  The reality is I need to find a job to pay for the daily grind of living in Joburg (or anywhere for that matter).  So it was with some remorse that I let my sense of responsibility get the better of me and I decided to head back to Joburg - a 24 hour trip.  I left Etosha at sunrise and headed for the Trans-Kalahari Highway.  13 hours later I got into bed at the Kalahari Arms chalet in Ghanzi, Botswana.  (Judy Garmin took me on an interesting route north of the Waterberg Plateau, bypassing Windhoek and had a long unexpected gravel section - aaargh) The next morning I slept 'late' -- I left Ghanzi an hour after sunrise and 11 hours later I arrived back into peak hour traffic in Joburg asking myself (and Life and The Universe) WHY I need to be back here.

While I go about the awful process of finding another job, I will have the memories and pics of my awesome adventure to keep me sane. 

I met some awesome new people and reconnected with old ones.  My best camping experience was at Bum Hill waking to the sounds of swimming elephants.  My worst camping experience was at Bum Hill waking to toothache and having a snacking elephant keep me from my painkillers.  My most awesome sight, spectacular was Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side and the sunrise cruise on the Zambezi River, sublime.

My biggest thrill, the apparent barren, desolation, space and peace being the only person out on Etosha Pan. My funniest experience was shaving my legs in a fold-up camping basin.  I learnt to appreciate thick aqueous cream which my skin slurped up continuously in the dry air.  I took too many clothes. I didn't find as much solitude and or as many peaceful places as I expected - you just can't escape from people.  I saw many new birds (lifers) and once I've updated my Life List, I'm hoping to break 500 species.

Unfortunately I am not able to transfer my Garmin tracks to Google Maps - something to do with Mac and Google :-( 

I travelled through four Southern African countries, was away for 34 days, travelled almost 8,500 kms, used over 1,000 litres of fuel and listened to countless songs on my iPod.  I am extremely pleased I had an auxiliary fuel tank and a dual battery system fitted to my LSP.

I experienced various National Parks and am of the opinion Kruger National Park, South Africa is by far the best - South Africans be proud of our national treasure.

MTC Namibia has coverage almost everywhere and I could stay in touch and blog all the time.  Some places in northern Namibia only have ATM's that accept VISA - anything else doesn't help. (despite their adverts).  You can pay for fuel in many places in Namibia with your SA Petro Card.

I will not travel without:
(1) my polar fleece blanket,
(2) a fridge - I sent love to my friends Claire and Howard every time I opened my car door and heard the Engel purring in the back,
(3) painted toenails to avoid seeing how dirty my feet get in all the sand and dust everywhere, and
(4) the most important of all - the support of my fantastic family and friends.

Will I do it all again?  Yes, but I will take someone with - to share the driving so I don't have a one-sided suntanned driving arm. 

I haven't nearly finished exploring the Namibia I set my heart on seeing.  I am already planning how  Mr Jones and Me and my LSP are going to finish the BBJ adventure.

I have even more adventures lurking in my head - Central Kalahari, Zambia parks, . . .

I am really glad you came along so far, albeit virtual xxx

Till next time . . . . .

(You can see more pics of my adventure here)