I’ve been traveling with Intrepid Travel on an overland trip that will take me through Southern Africa!

Daily life

• Overland trip = traveling by land (in our case by bus/truck - see below!)

• We have a truck that fits 22 passengers, but luckily there are only 9 of us, which means that we have a spacious vehicle as we make our way throughout Southern Africa

• The truck includes lockers for our bags, two tables (playing cards, journaling), filtered water (important to stay hydrated!) and storage compartments at the bottom of the truck that stores our tents, cooking equipment, groceries, chairs, and much more

• We have a trip leader/tour guide (Victor), a truck driver (Ben), and a cook (Nicko)! Our three guides are from Kenya and have been working with Intrepid for quite a number of years. In fact, Nicko was the cook for a trip that another fellow passenger took with Intrepid in Eastern Africa back in 2019!

• Each night we camp in local camping facilities and Nicko whips up our meals. It’s quite incredible what he feeds us - he has a whole set up of setting up the stove (with his own gas) and table for chopping vegetables. After every meal we wash the dishes and “flap” to dry the dishes (this consists of holding a dish in each hand and flapping like a bird to dry them off)

Wine Tasting in the Western Cape

• This was our first stop on the tour - nothing better than wine and a good view (photos and descriptions below!).

• Because we were still in South Africa, we still experienced load shedding (see my Cape Town post for more info) so dinner was cooked by Nicko and eaten in the dark with our headlamps.

Drive from the Western Cape, crossing the Namibian border, and into Fish River Canyon

• When stopping by a gas station, I saw that the map of Namibia shows a restricted area where there is no entry which seemed odd. It turns out this area is where all the mining happens (diamonds, uranium, and more, aka $$$), so the government doesn’t want anyone to enter this area. Mining is the #1 industry in Namibia, with construction at #2 and tourism as #3.

• After crossing into Namibia, we had our first game sighting! We saw mountain zebras and a lone giraffe while driving. It’s incredible to think that these type of animals are just normal occurrences.

• Did you know…a group of zebras is called a dazzle of zebras! I was dazzled by the dazzle of zebras, which included a baby zebra galloping alongside its parents.

Sunset at Fish River Canyon (Namibia)

• We had an afternoon walk along the Fish River Canyon. It gets so hot at the bottom of the canyon that there is no hiking allowed except in wintertime (beginning in May). The river was dried up when I went, but there were still some puddles you could see.

• We watched the sunset at had a “sundown” aka drinks and snacks (local BYOB version of happy hour!).

• The next morning I went for a run and departed the campsite. There was only one road, so I just ran straight until the truck and rest of the passengers caught up with me! It was quite a fun experience to run alone on the deserted highway (dirt/gravel path, not a busy highway like in the US - don’t worry Mom & Dad!) and watch the sunrise. The few 4x4s and trucks that drove by gave me a friendly wave and shout.