Tag 88-94 (April 7 - April 14)

Hellooo unfortunately not all pictures are uploading because the Wi-Fi 💩 is shitty I'll try to upload the rest later 🥹

On Friday I tried to wake up a bit earlier to go for breakfast. There I had to say goodbye to everyone again😭 I'm really going to miss Cassidy, but hopefully I'll meet her again someday. After that, I had to pack the rest and I was on my way to the airport again. There I met with Daria, as we are doing the tour together🥳🥳 After we checked in our luggage, we went to a restaurant and had a delicious breakfast (not like on the farm...😵‍💫). Then we headed to South Africa. The flight to Johannesburg only took about 90 minutes, but we got delicious food. Daria had already booked a transfer to the hotel and luckily I could ride with her. After checking in at the hotel, we just relaxed for a bit. In the evening, we ordered dinner, which we were allowed to eat in the dark due to loadshedding. In South Africa, due to insufficient electricity in the individual areas, the power is turned off at different times. For us, it was between 6pm and 8pm. We had our not so tasty lasagna in a very romantic dinner with a flashlight😂😂Afterwards, we watched a movie, but I was really exhausted and went to bed early😴

On Saturday morning we went for breakfast and then we had to pack again, because it was the first day of the tour and we had to leave our single rooms. There was no program during the day, but you could book various excursions through the hotel. We actually wanted to visit the gold mine or the Maropeng & Sterkfontein caves. However, the caves were flooded due to the rainy season and the gold mine was closed for Easter. So we decided to do a tuktuk tour of the Soweto district. This is the district where the dark-skinned people were relocated during apartheid. We drove through different areas and also visited the house of Nelson Mandela. The tour was really interesting and we had a very nice driver who "rescued" us twice when we were approached by some guys. After that, we went to a mall, because it is not really safe to walk around the city. We strolled through the shops a bit and then had a really delicious meal. While we were there, the staff did a conga through the restaurant and sang songs😂 Back at the hotel, we had to move to a new room and I shared a room with a very nice German girl. I chatted with her for a bit, then did some laundry (which, by the way, wasn't dry until the next morning...) and then we got ready because we had a meeting with everyone at 6pm. At first glance, the group seems really nice, but everyone is older. There is a 19-year-old boy, but the rest are more in their mid-20s to late 30s. There are many Germans, but also some people from the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, America and England. There are also many couples or friends traveling together. Our guide, Previledge, talked to us for 90 minutes about the tour and the rules😴 and I was a bit bothered by the fact that he kept emphasizing that it won't be a vacation, but that you have to help with everything and get up early,... Of course, you have to help out when camping, which is no problem, but there's no need to start off by portraying it as being so bad. After the meeting, we all had dinner together and then went to bed early because we had a very early morning ahead of us (departure was at 5:30 am and before that, of course, we had to pack, load the bus and have breakfast😵‍💫)

On Sunday it was Easter and my family had given Johannes a gift. It had been in my backpack for 2 weeks without me being able to unpack it, which took a lot of willpower. Finally, the time had come and I could unpack it🥳🥳 After our early breakfast, we drove for about 11 hours today. Unfortunately, I couldn't really sleep on the bus and it felt like it took forever. We crossed the border into Botswana. However, the official at the South African exit had given me an entry stamp, so I had to go back with Previledge to get the correct stamp😥 To enter, we also had to disinfect our shoes and the tires because of some disease. We thought it would be really strict, but in the end, we just drove through a puddle of the liquid and had to walk over a very old and used sponge with our shoes😂 Once that was finally done, we headed to our destination for today, the Khama Rhino Sanctuary🦏 We were divided into individual groups and each group had their own task every day. The tasks included taking care of the cooler box and buying ice, cooking, washing dishes, and packing. I think it would have been better in theory if the tasks hadn't been assigned so strictly, but that everyone had helped together. When we arrived at the campsite, we had to set up our tent first and I shared mine with Daria. Since we were staying in the middle of a reserve, all kinds of animals could have come to our camp at any time. Unfortunately, the bathroom was quite far away and we were told that it would be best to just pee behind the tent at night😅 For dinner, we had spaghetti with Bolognese, which we ate in a circle around the campfire. Afterward, our guide told us about the history and politics of Botswana and Africa. "Unfortunately" he is really interested in it and as much as I want to know more about the country I'm traveling to, I'm not so interested that I have to have such a serious conversation all evening. We went to bed early again because we had to get up early again the next day (departure was at 4:45 am and before that, of course, we had to pack, load the bus, and have breakfast😵‍💫)

On Monday, luckily we didn't have to pack up our tent. Our guide and driver took care of that while our group went on a 2-hour game drive through the reserve. Unfortunately, we didn't see any rhinos, but we saw antelopes, wildebeests, warthogs, giraffes, and zebras. When we came back, we got in the bus and drove off. By the way, you're not allowed to call our vehicle, which is clearly a bus, a bus, but you have to say Lando. If you say it wrong, you have to put money in a piggy bank and the amount will be donated in the end. Since we had another relatively long drive, we had our lunch by the roadside. There were so many mosquitoes there, which wasn't very appetizing🤢 On the way, we saw many cows and zebras by the roadside. In Botswana, a lot of cows are kept and a lot of meat is produced. When we arrived at our destination, Maun, we went to the supermarket to stock up on essentials because we were leaving civilization the next day. After that, a few people from our group took a scenic flight over the Okavango Delta, which could be booked separately✈️ We also got two new group members there. Poor things had a total flight drama, so they missed the departure in Johannesburg and just joined now. The scenic flight was really beautiful. The nature looks so amazing and we flew at an altitude of only 150 meters, so we could see the animals relatively well. We saw a lot of elephants, antelopes, zebras, giraffes, and the highlight hippos😍 The flight lasted 45 minutes and then it was just pure stress: When we arrived at the campsite, we checked in, had to pre-order our dinner, then I realized that I got my period (which was just great timing when you go to the middle of nowhere the next day to camp without toilets and water), then quickly set up the tent, showered and got ready, and then there was dinner. While we, who took the flight, were so stressed, the others could relax by the pool😭 Dinner was okay and we could finally have some conversations. After that, we went to a local bar right next to the hotel. There was dancing, and also billiards. Most people didn't stay for long, because we had to repack our bags since we couldn't take all our luggage with us.

On Tuesday, after breakfast, we had to pack everything together. We were picked up by a special transfer because our Lando stayed at the campsite. That's why we had to load all the tents, mattresses, chairs, and everything into the other cars. Once that was finally done, we drove on a very bumpy road to the Okavango Delta. There, we were driven to an island with mokoros. The ride through this incredible nature was beautiful and really relaxing😍 Of course, we saw many hippos again🦛 We reached the island after about an hour and then unloaded everything and set up our camp. Actually, we even had a toilet🚽 it was a bit unusual, but we had one. As soon as we were done, two elephants were right on the other side of the bay🐘 After watching them for a while, we had hot dogs for lunch. Since we had a free afternoon, we went swimming in the Okavango Delta. For that, we didn't go far from our camp to a bay with shallower water. On the way there, we saw a hippo in the bay right in front of our camp, which means it wasn't far from us😱 The water was a really pleasant cooling, but there were leeches🤢 At 5 pm, we went on a bush walk. We got very close to giraffes, zebras, and antelopes. The sunset also happened during the walk, which created a beautiful light. When we came back, a traditional dinner had already been cooked for us. After that, the locals who had taken us to the island sang and danced by the fire. It was really beautiful and many people in the group said that they had goosebumps. While we sat together for a while, we heard many animal sounds, especially the humming of the hippos, but also a few elephants. After observing the stars for a while, we went to sleep✨

On Wednesday, we woke up early to see the sunrise over our bay and to go on a short bush walk before breakfast. We saw many animals again during the walk. Then it was quick to pack up the tents, quick breakfast, and pack everything into the mokoros. The trip back was also beautiful and when we gave our drivers the tip, one person from our group gave a very nice speech and another person changed one of the songs from the previous evening and sang it for her. It was really nice to see how happy the people were and apparently some of them even cried. On the way back with the transfer, we saw three elephants very close. They ran out of the bushes right behind a herd of cows, which was kind of a funny contrast🐘🐄 We watched them until they disappeared back into the bushes. On the way, we also helped people who got stuck in the sand with their car. When we wanted to continue, one of the men ran up to Daria's window and gave her his necklace as a thank you🥹 Back at the campsite, the others had already repacked everything because we were the last ones. That's why we could freshen up a bit and then I went to the pool to finally have some Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that I was in the cooking team today, so I actually had to go back right away to prepare lunch. We had delicious sandwich rolls and for dessert, a fruit salad with all kinds of exotic fruits🥭🍍🍌 Unfortunately, it was as stressful as always and I had to eat my meal quickly to finish on time (no time for chewing forever here Steffen😂) After lunch, we drove to our next campsite with many baobab trees. In theory, we could have just chilled at the pool all evening. But of course, we had to set up our tent first and since I was in the cooking team, I had exactly 30 minutes at the pool. For some reason, we had a real luxury dinner today, so we had to start cooking 2.5 hours before dinner. I have to be honest, on that day I was pretty annoyed and I was really annoyed that it's always so stressful and you hardly have any time for yourself. Well, the food was very delicious and I actually managed to quickly take a shower between preparing the food and eating it. After dinner, some of us went to a local bar again. It was really a very fun evening and pretty much the first time that we had fun as a group in the evening. That evening, Previledge also convinced me to kill a chicken because every child here learns how to do it. The action was planned for Saturday, so stay tuned for how that goes...

On Thursday, we were so incredibly tired with only 3 hours of sleep. I actually slept almost the entire way. However, we drove to an area with a lot of elephants, and Jenny (the German girl I shared the hotel room with) kept waking me up for the animals😂 When we arrived at our new campsite, it was once again super stressful. We had to book and pay for our extra activities for the next two days, then quickly set up our tent, then there was a guy who offered to print personalized tour shirts, then pre-order dinner, and have lunch in 10 minutes😵‍💫🤯 Then we went on a boat trip on the Chobe River. It was extremely hot and crowded on the boat, but it was still so cool. We saw so many animals. Including finally a crocodile🐊 and a water buffalo🐃 We also watched elephants playing in the water and I think that was really the highlight so far😍 After we saw a beautiful sunset, the boat trip ended and we went back to the campsite. I quickly took a shower and then we went to dinner, but I was so tired and exhausted that I felt completely confused. That's why I went to bed relatively early😴😴

On Friday, we were finally able to sleep in. But only because Daria and I decided against the extra activity in the morning. Almost everyone else went on a game drive and even saw lions. The four of us who didn't go took the opportunity to relax and take our time to pack up the tents, have breakfast, and then prepare pancakes for everyone. After brunch, we packed everything and then we were on our way to Zimbabwe. The border crossing was relatively unproblematic this time, but again it was clear that our guide had no idea and especially not for us who are going to Nairobi. This is also something that really bothered me: He emphasized several times that we are not on his tour just because we are doing a different tour after one week. But of course, he is still responsible for us this week and I think he should be able to answer our questions. Well, in general, I didn't get along with him so well, so it might be better to get new guides on Saturday. In the end, unnecessarily, we got visas for both Zimbabwe AND Zambia, which was more expensive, of course. We actually only needed the one for Zimbabwe. We arrived in Victoria Falls at noon. There we had a traditional lunch cooked by an organization for women. Among other things, there was a specialty from here: caterpillars🐛 I tried them too and Daria filmed me, but I think my face clearly shows what I think of it🤢😂 After lunch, we had to book our extra activities for the next two days and then we could drop off our laundry. We were stressed again and then went on another boat trip. We were told that we would do them all as a conclusion because it wouldn't be possible the next day due to a meeting with the new guides. However, most people (including the other three who are going to Nairobi with us) had chosen the next day, so it was really a shame. We went with two couples and a woman who are all flying home on Saturday and Previledge. On the way there, I was still so stressed that I told Daria that if anything else happened, I would start crying... Well, the boat trip was really amazing and relaxing. There were complimentary drinks and even snacks🍹🍽️ We also got quite close to playing hippos. During the trip, Previledge asked us for our opinion on the tour and I was honest and gave some feedback. But he didn't accept my opinion at all and contradicted everything, which annoyed me a bit😵‍💫

Since we didn't have time before the boat trip, we had to set up our tent back at the campsite and then we were a bit late for dinner. But the food was very delicious and after that, we went to a club to party🥳🥳 We have really had some interesting experiences here because the locals really talk to you nonstop. When Daria and I walked to an ATM, a man even followed us and offered us money to sleep with him🤢 Even in the club, people kept talking to us and especially in the last club, I would have preferred not to go in anymore. In the end, we were back at the camp around 4 am and when I had to get something from the bus, I almost stumbled upon our guide because instead of setting up his tent, he was sleeping in the bus😱😂

It was a really stressful week, but also a very beautiful one😵‍💫😍