All posts by Katie Barber

Relaxing at Likoma Island’s Mango Drift (Or, Another African Power Outtage)

August 1, 2014 Katie Barber 1 Comment

Fact: Ferries are my least favorite method of transportation. In my experience, they are usually crowded, rarely comfortable, and have a tendency to make me seasick.

Alas, the only way to reach Likoma Island from Nkhata Bay is by ferry.¹ We had heard taking the ferry, named the Ilala, was supposed to be a quintessential Malawian experience in and of itself, and so we planned to take it from Nkhata Bay to Likoma Island.

The ferry only runs between Nkhata Bay and Likoma Island on Tuesdays and Fridays (see infra for additional practical information), and we boarded the Ilala early on a Friday morning for a 6:00 a.m. departure.

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Malawi

I Left My Heart on Lake Malawi

July 29, 2014 Katie Barber Leave a comment

Lake Malawi was everything that we imagined and more: a serene expanse of clear blue water, so large that it was difficult to see the other side. Although many places along the lake sounded nice, but, in the interest of taking a break from travel, we chose only two: (i) Nkhata Bay, one of the main ports located about halfway up the lake; and (ii) Likoma Island, an island about 70 kilometers from Nkhata Bay and surrounded by Mozambican waters.¹ Both places were magical.

But before I commence full-on gushing about Lake Malawi, allow me to share one more travel anecdote: Continue reading I Left My Heart on Lake Malawi →

Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe

You are Zambia-Malawi Bus Documentary! (Or, That Time We Bussed Across Three African Capitals in Three Days)

July 28, 2014 Katie Barber 5 Comments

After Bulawayo and Masvingo, we were pretty discouraged. Great Zimbabwe had been a nice respite, but it wasn’t enough to completely reenergize us. We set our sights on Lake Malawi and proceeded to bus ourselves across three African capitals in three days.

I’m sure that each of the three capitals (Harare, Lusaka, and Lilongwe) has its own unique character and gems that we didn’t discover during our abbreviated visits; alas, our spirits were so trampled from the rugged travel and the cold that we used the cities as merely convenient stopping points along our route to Lake Malawi. Our journey toward the lake was long and frequently frustrating, but, as a wise man told us at the start of our African adventure, you just have to see the humor in such things – and then laugh out loud at them.

first-class-bus — We only travel First Class.

Continue reading You are Zambia-Malawi Bus Documentary! (Or, That Time We Bussed Across Three African Capitals in Three Days) →

Zimbabwe

In Which Great Zimbabwe Lives Up to Its Name

July 24, 2014 Katie Barber 3 Comments

I have always been captivated by the remnants of ancient civilizations (hey, my BA is in Classical Civilizations), and the sole reason I had endured our trek from Bulawayo to Masvingo was the prospect of seeing Great Zimbabwe. The ruined city, constructed between the 1100 and 1450 AD, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and the namesake of the modern nation of Zimbabwe.

Alas, although Masvingo is the closest town to Great Zimbabwe, the ruins were still almost thirty kilometers away … which, after our previous day of travel, a distance which did not seem very inviting. Continue reading In Which Great Zimbabwe Lives Up to Its Name →

Zimbabwe

Masvingo: Minibus Shenanigans & the Worst Hotel Ever

July 21, 2014 Katie Barber 5 Comments

Bulawayo nearly broke me. I very much wanted to make a beeline for the rumored warm tranquility of Lake Malawi, but we couldn’t leave Zimbabwe without first seeing ruins at Great Zimbabwe. Alas, when we began looking at traveling to Masvingo (the closest town to Great Zimbabwe), we realized that things were going to get worse before they got better…

The minibus to Masvingo that we boarded in Bulawayo was crowded and blasting exceptionally loud music, but not unreasonably uncomfortable, and so we began the journey feeling cautiously optimistic.

Untitled — Less crowded than our actual minibus. | image credit: cfelb

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Zambia, Zimbabwe

A Tale of Two Cities: Livingstone, Zambia and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

July 11, 2014 Katie Barber 5 Comments

Victoria Falls, one of the world’s largest sheets of continuously falling water, is one of Africa’s most well known attractions. The Zambezi River plummets over the falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe to the tune of 500 million liters of water per minute during the wet season.¹ The great debate is whether the falls are best viewed from Zambia or Zimbabwe – we visited both sides for maximum consideration.

Victoria Falls, Livingstone, Zambia — Sunset at Victoria Falls.

Continue reading A Tale of Two Cities: Livingstone, Zambia and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe →

Botswana

Do You Want Them to Get Killed by the Elephant?: An Abundance of Animals in Chobe National Park

July 8, 2014 Katie Barber Leave a comment

After leaving the Caprivi Strip, we headed for one of the highlights of our camping safari: Botswana’s Chobe National Park, a park that boasts one of the largest concentrations of game in Africa and more than fifty thousand elephants.

Elephants, Chobe National Park, Botswana — Some of the 50,000 elephants at Chobe National Park.

Continue reading Do You Want Them to Get Killed by the Elephant?: An Abundance of Animals in Chobe National Park →

Namibia

Camping at Own Risk: Transiting Through the Caprivi Strip

July 7, 2014 Katie Barber Leave a comment

After leaving the Okavango Delta, we drove back into Namibia. On paper, the route sounds confusing: Namibia to Botswana, then back to Namibia before driving into Botswana again? Rest assured that we weren’t actually backtracking; instead, we were transiting through and spending the night in the Caprivi Strip – Namibia’s 450km-long panhandle, which juts out over Botswana and underneath Angola and Zambia.¹

The border post where we exited Botswana deposited us directly into Namibia’s Bwabwata National Park, where we were treated to an informal game drive as we drove north towards the Caprivi Strip’s main east/west highway. Although we didn’t seek out watering holes or anywhere that animals might congregate, we still had incredible luck with our sightings. We saw everything from the more common animals (impala, kudu, warthogs) to some of the iconic African animals (elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, hippos, wildebeests) to varieties of antelope we hadn’t yet spotted (roan antelopes and red lechwes). One of the more memorable sightings was an enormous troop of baboons with many small baboons romping around.

Continue reading Camping at Own Risk: Transiting Through the Caprivi Strip →

Namibia

Seals, Skeletons, & Swakopmund

July 1, 2014 Katie Barber 1 Comment

After we decamped from the Worst Campsite in the World, we set off for the Skeleton Coast, a famously treacherous portion of Namibia’s Atlantic coastline. The area is so named for the ships and their crew that met their fates there. The drive to the coast from Damaraland was impressive, as we passed near the largest mountains in Namibia before transiting through a parched, barren stretch of the Namib Desert. As we drove towards the coast, we watched for an hour as a bank of coastal fog grew from a faint, distant line across the horizon to a sea of gray which eventually enveloped our vehicle.

northern-namibia-pano — Panorama of the drive.

Continue reading Seals, Skeletons, & Swakopmund →

Namibia

Twyfelfontein Rock Engravings, Burnt Mountain, & the Organ Pipes

June 30, 2014 Katie Barber Leave a comment

The scenery on our drive through Damaraland and over Grootberg Pass from Hoada Campsite to our next campsite was stunning, and we stopped several times along the way to marvel at it (and, once, at a scorpion that was crossing the road).

namibia-rock — Red rocks along the Grootberg Pass drive.

Continue reading Twyfelfontein Rock Engravings, Burnt Mountain, & the Organ Pipes →