Our Bags Aren't Packed and We're Not Ready to Go...

Thanks to Aeroplan tickets, Max and I leave Nanaimo for...Vancouver (!) on November 2nd.  On November 4th we fly to Frankfurt (10 hours!!  Gott in Himmel!), then Johannesburg, landing in Windhoek, Namibia on November 5th.  We rent a Toyota 4X4 truck complete with camping gear and pop-up tent and proceed to criss cross Namibia and Botswana.

Namibia is about the size of BC with only 1.8 million inhabitants.  Think Northern BC paved highways as well as graded, gravel roads.  Namibia was a German colony, so infrastructure is well-organized and safe.

Sights to see:  giant sand dunes cascading into the Atlantic, shipwrecks on the coast, Kalahari desert, a canyon which bears resemblance to the Grand Canyon, quaint European towns with German Lutheran Churches which look as if they were cut out of a postcard from Germany, Etosha National Park (a premiere game park with elephants, cheetahs, lions...), mountains, ancient rock art, waterfalls, and in the north the Himba people who run around topless with loin clothes next to another tribe whose women wear hats with cow horns. (I considered bringing my Viking helmet with me to fit in, but then realized that I already have too much luggage.)

Botswana boasts the world's largest inland delta.  Hopefully we can fly in for a 3 night stay and travels in a dugout canoe.  Chobe Park is another famous game park.  Long distances to drive.  I broke down and finally bought Max an iPod Touch to help him pass the time when driving and to keep up with email.

We return the truck to Windhoek on December 14th and then take the bus to Victoria Falls staying a few days with a family whom we have met thro an organization promoting world peace called "Servas".

The next 2 and a half weeks of the trip are a bit hazy, but I'm hoping we can spend them at a Backpackers Beach Resort on beautiful Lake Malawi (think tropical fish that you see in the aquarium at the dentist's office), before flying to Entebbe, Uganda.

We will be staying in a town called "Jinja" east of Kampala, renting a house there for 5 weeks.  We will be volunteering at a school run by an organization called "Hope for Youth".  My GP in Nanaimo, Dr. Kirsty McIlwaine and her family (including 2 kids Max's age) spent a month there 2 years ago and had an amazing time.  We will probably take weekend trips to game parks, a gorilla reserve and to visit at least one other school in south western Uganda which is being sponsored by acquaintances in Parksville.

We depart Entebbe on Feb. 14th and spend 6 days in Paris, France with a family we know.  I thought this would be good for Max so that he can get back into the French language and perhaps make a French friend his age.  And of course I want to take him to the art galleries.  There is, of course, no personal gain for me in this Paris stopover!  ...except maybe for the occasional cafe latte and croissant.

We arrive in Nanaimo on February 22nd, tired and undoubtably different people from when we left.

I have decided NOT to take a laptop because of my fears of it being stolen.  Also, it would seem that the iPod can do pretty well everything we need.  I hope to purchase a Kobo Vox Reader on October 28th when they come out.  This is an eReader with some iPad capabilities.  It will allow me to take a bunch of reading material for Max and myself without carrying the books.  I already have too many guide books, safari books, African animal books, and a couple of other books about Africa.

Max and I invite you to join us on our trip by following our blog!