The story so far.......

When we started telling people about our planned trip we were overwhelmed by how much interest there was in our plans and our travels. Of course, not all the input we received was positive. In many cases, people were only too eager to tell us horror stories about what had happened to people they knew who had ventured into darkest Africa. We decided that keeping in contact with our friends and keeping everyone updated on our travels was the easiest way to dispel the myth that Africa was inhospitable and should not be visited!

Before we left Cape Town we acquired a lap top which we use in conjunction with our cell phone in order to send e-mail. We had thought we would get a satellite phone but the cost of satellite technology is absolutely punitive. The cell phone option is slightly cheaper although we are at the mercy of local cell phone coverage.

After we had set off we kept in contact with everyone via e-mail and the "Bosman's Bush Telegraph" was created. The telegraph is a general mail to all our friends, colleagues and acquaintances letting them know what we have been up to and where we have been. The response to the telegraph has been absolutely amazing and the distribution list has grown substantially since our departure. We have put copies of the Bush Telegraph onto the site in date order and will hopefully continue to send information as and when it is possible, depending on our access to cell phone networks and the Internet.

15 February 2000	This was the first of our e-mails to friends setting out our route and planned date of departure as well as our arrangements in relation to mundane things like the storage of our furniture, the resignation from our jobs and the lease on our Cape Town flat.
7 March 2000	We left our flat at 9 Firmount Rd on 6 March 2000 but only left Cape Town the next day after spending a night in the Ambassador Hotel in Bantry Bay (a mere 5 km's from our flat). An auspicious start!
16 March 2000	From Cape Town we travelled to Cape Agulhas to ensure that we started our trip from the southern most tip of Africa. From there we headed north overnighting at Beaverlac in the Cederberg before pushing on to the Richtersveld National Park where we spent 5 days.
26 March 2000	From the Richtersveld we travelled into Namibia visiting the Fish River Canyon, Luderitz, Sossusvlei and Swakopmund. Our fourth e-mail to friends outlines our travels up until Swakopmund as well as our deep sea fishing trip off the Namibian coast.
5 April 2000	From Swakopmund we travelled to the Etosha National Park in Namibia where we spent six nights. Although the game viewing was disappointing we did see gorgeous birds and indulged in some superb relaxation..
12 April 2000	After completing our stint in Namibia we crossed the border into Bostwana and headed for Maun via Gantsi. From Maun we flew to the village of Seronga in the northern Okovango Delta where we spent three days on a mokoro safari.
17 April 2000	After having fought off every bug and insect imaginable during our three days on the mokoro we headed north to Chobe where we spent three days - two at the Ihaha camp on the Chobe river and one at Savuti. To say that our trip to Chobe was challenging would be an understatement - it was absolute hell!
21 April 2000	From Chobe and after having spent a couple of days at the Chobe River Lodge having some much needed R&R we headed into Zimbabwe and to Vic Falls where we spent a week visiting the falls, canoeing down the Zambezi, bungi jumping and enjoying tea at the very civilised Victoria Falls Hotel.
1 June 2000	After our stint in Pretoria at the end of our trial run we headed down to Zinkwazi Beach in Natal where we spent two weeks with our friends Zoe and Nic Ellender before the four of us (and their dog Peppe) headed up to Mozambique.
7 June 2000	We spent four super days in Ponta D'Ouro with Zoe and Nic scuba diving and relaxing on the beach before they headed back to Zinkwazi and we headed north to Maputo.
15 June 2000	As we were unable to obtain reliable information about the condition of the roads north of Maputo we decided to head north to find out for ourselves what was happening. Our adventure took us over some non-existent roads and through river beds to Xai Xai from where we headed to Inhambane and Vilankulos finally ending up in Beira.
27 June 2000	From Beira we headed for Malawi via the Tete corridor. Just after we had entered Malawi we had our first major car trouble and had to do some on the spot repair work before limping into Blantyre. With the Land Rover having been repaired we pushed on to Mulanje where we embarked on a three day trek in preparation for our Kilimanjaro climb.
13 July 2000	After an exhausting couple of days tramping around the Mulanje Massif we headed north along Lake Malawi and managed to wile away three weeks relaxing on its beautiful shores. Our last stop in Malawi before heading for Tanzania was at Livingstonia where we had a full scale adventure having lost our fishing rod holder on the journey up the hill (over some shocking roads!!) On entering Tanzania we realised that it was going to be a lot more expensive than we had thought!
26 July 2000	After the initial shock of parting with hard earned dollars had passed, we headed for Dar es Salaam and then up to Arusha via the Usumbara Mountains and Leshoto. We spent some time in Moshi and Marangu village organising our Kili climb before setting off on our mission to reach the highest point in Africa.
3 August 2000	We did it! Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro was not the easiest or most enjoyable thing we have ever done but we persevered and reached Uhuru Peak after a marathon summit night.. Feeling exhausted but rather chuffed with ourselves we headed for Arusha and the Ngorongoro Crater.
21 August 2000	After the whole Kili debacle we retreated to the legendary spice island to lick our wounds. We were met by my Dad and sister and spent a fantastic week exploring Stonetown, lounging on the beach, scuba diving and enjoying the fabulous Zanzibari cuisine. It was a great holiday away from our holiday. Next stop Kenya.
6 September 2000	No Bush Telegraph this time - just a newsletter from Nairobi about our adventures in Tiwi Beach, Malindi and Amboselli National Park.
15 September 2000	From Nairobi we headed to the Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha and Kisumu before heading west to friendly Uganda. En route to Kampala we checked out the awesome Bujagali Falls.
10 October 2000	Our Ugandan stint complete we hit the road north to Ethiopia via Marsabit and Moyale - reputedly the worst road on the continent! Things went pretty well except for a bit of car trouble which left us stranded in the metropolis of Dilla for 5 days.
13 October 2000	The car sorted, we headed for Addis Ababa - one of the nicest African cities! Our stay was taken up by getting work done on the car, getting Sudanese visas and gorging ourselves on delicious Italian food and Ethiopian coffee.
26 October 2000 Part1	Nightmare roads - part 2! The road from Gondar to Gedaref is definitely much worse than its Marsabit /Moyale counterpart. Luckily we made it to Khartoum, Sudan, in one piece despite the fact that a journey that was supposed to take five hours ended up taking almost five days!
26 October 2000 Part2	A retrospective bush telegraph this time looking back at our journey around the Ethiopian historical circuit. We checked out the ancient rock hewn churches at Lalibela and the castles and palaces of Gonder.
2 November 2000	More visas to be got in Khartoum, this time visas for Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan. All the paperwork having been done we headed north to the ancient pyramids of the Meroe Royal City (5C BC) - next stop Saudi Arabia.
14 November 2000	From Khartoum we headed north to Port Sudan where we caught the Al Judi car ferry to Jedda, Saudi Arabia. After being treated to some Saudi hospitality (and culture shocks) we headed to Jordan where we took in the breathtaking ruins at Petra, spent a night in the desert at Wadi Rum, swam in the Dead Sea and visited Jerash.
20 November 2000	Our (mis)adventures continued in Syria with a rough night in Damascus, a tour around the Crak de Chevaliers and the ancient city of Palmyra and a run in with amoebic dysentery which is apparently very common!
30 November 2000	From Syria we headed through Turkey in our race to reach London before 5 December 2000. Our journey was almost derailed by the Italian consulate who refused us a Schengen visa. Luckily the Greeks came to our rescue although nothing could save us from the inevitable Turkish carpet salesman! It was then on to Greece where we boarded the Minoan lines ferry from Igomenitzia to Venice and spent a couple of gorgeous days strolling along the canals in one of the most romantic cities.
5 December 2000	The final edition of the telegraph! The last whirlwind part of our trip through France stopping for a baguette and a trip up the Eiffel tower in Paris before heading for Calais and Dover. From Dover we had the most difficult time of our trip trying to negotiate the M25 in rush hour!
29 January 2001	A last post script......Our triumphal return to South Africa and our observations about being back! Our struggle to get visas for the UK and the preparation for getting back to the grindstone in one of the commercial powerhouses of the world! Watch this space for the Bosman's London letter.....
25 March 2001	The first London Letter
28 May 2001	Another London Letter

Penny trying out our new lap top (our main communication tool) prior to our departure!

Last updated on 7 July 2002