Oasis Overland

I don’t even know where to begin to describe the trip so far… It is really an incredible group to be a part of and overlanding through Africa is unlike anything I’ve ever done before =) My experience so far is very different from being in South America and the first two weeks traveling solo in Southern Africa: With the group, everything is taken care of and you don’t have to do much thinking or planning. You get there when you get there… you eat when cook group sets up food… It’s interesting to not be in charge of really anything or have little to no idea what will happen the next day.

I’m also unexpectedly experiencing a bit of cultural immersion because except for two Americans and two Europeans, everyone is pretty much a Brit or an Aussie. I’m starting to like beans on toast and I’ve already caught myself being “keen” to do things and saying words like “reckon.”

A “Typical” Day: I haven’t been doing this long enough to be able to accurately detail what is typical but this has been the trend so far: Early wake up for breakfast (breads, jams, tea, coffee, and sometimes DIY eggs) which is for a half hour an hour before the truck is set to depart (usually 7:30am or 8am). We drive until someone rings for a pee stop or we happen to be stopping for fuel. [A pee stop is basically when the truck pulls off to the side of the road… Men have it easy and pee wherever they like; women go off in search of a bush, preferably one with no snakes nearby.] More driving until lunch somewhere – sometimes by the side of the road and sometimes overlooking some really incredible landscapes. Lunch usually consists of bread, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion, and either cheese or canned tuna/corned beef hash. If it’s a drive day, we drive until we make camp. On other days there are stops to see the sights.

At the end of the driving day, we pitch our tents and cook group for the day starts on dinner. Dinner can be anything from oryx steaks with potato salad to bangers-and-mash. (We are divided into groups of three for cook group and when it’s your turn, you are responsible for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.) Sometimes we stay the night at campsites with moderate to great facilities. Other times, we bush camp (pitch our tents at a randomly designated spot by the side of the road) with no toilets or showers. When bush camping, it is sometimes necessary to take a machete to level out the ground. Night activities include me trying to gather the will to exercise with occasional success, sitting by the fire and maybe having a drink, and trying not to scream at the creepy crawlies. (If you want a shudder, Google “camel spider” and see what it can do to you!)

So far:
Snake Sightings: 2
Scorpion Sightings: 2
Bugs In My Tent (that made me scream): 1
Using a shovel…: 0

Anyway, dear loyal reader, if you should ever want a postcard, please reply to this blog with your address and country of choosing. I will try to oblige :) (You only get a postcard though if I get an update on what's going on with you!)