15th - Arriving at the Okavango Delta

Getting up early we left the camp at 0600. That was the plan, at least. We were getting increasingly worried that our driver was not able to start the bus due to the cold temperatures during the night. Luckily after the n’th attempt the truck came to life and we were off, only half an hour late.

We followed in the footsteps of the day before and started out with a 6 hour drive. We finally reached Maun where we had time for shopping (if needed), bathroom break (oh God that was needed!) and lunch.

We were then split into groups and those who wanted went on an hour’s flight over the Delta. My group ended up in a small 5-passenger plane so there was no room for the 50-500mm lens. But as we were flying as low as 100-130m the long zoom wasn’t really missed at any time. We ended up seeing quite a few elephants, buffalos and antelopes, and also a few hippos and giraffes.

Arriving back at the airport we waited for the rest to return after which we drove to our new campsite, only 10-ish minutes from the airport.

Tomorrow we will pack for a daytrip into the Delta where we will stay the night without contact with the outside world. It will be great; I just need to figure out how to transport boots/sleeping bag the easiest way considering there is no room in my camera bag for it. My transport bag for my back pack will probably have to do.

The inside of the truck.

The Delta from above.

Yup - small plane.

Elephants!

And the pilot liked flying low...

More elephants!

14th - Departure

We left the lodge early in the morning – 0700 – to start the longest drive of the trip.

Not much happened on the drive, we had a pit stop where we could buy supplies (snacks) but nothing else before reaching the border out of South Africa at 1300-ish. After maybe half an hour we had all had our passports stamped and a few minutes’ drive later we arrived to the Botswana border. Here the process was identical, with the only difference that the stamp proved that we were allowed into the country.

After a quick pack lunch we continued on and at around 1630 we arrived at Khama Rhino Sanctuary and our campsite. Camp was set, food was made, fire was made and at around 2000 people were surprised it wasn’t later than it was as we began feeling ready going to sleep.

My tent mate is another Dane in the group, Tobias, from Århus.

Tomorrow we will be departing at app. 0530-0600-ish to make it to Maun not too late with a 6 hour drive. Here we will be able to get a flight over the Okavango Delta before entering it by canoe the following day, and otherwise just relax and set camp when we all are gathered again.

The truck. Jaco is seen bent over getting ready for cooking dinner.

The camp site.

13th - Arriving in South Africa

After a long but eventless flight to Johannesburg via Frankfurt (A380 from Frankfurt!) I was picked up as agreed and taken to the first night's lodge. We didn't take the direct route, though, as the driver hadn't gone to that specific place before. But after som driving around we finally made it.

I arrived at around 1030, so there wasn't a room ready for me yet. I should have then have gone out and been cultural,  but due to almost no sleep on the plane I ended up hanging around, talking with people returning from their trip, trying to find someone who was in the same group as me, and generally as little as possible.

Tomorrow there will be breakfast at 0630 after which we will leave, go north and get to Khama Rhino Sanctuary before we stop for the day. This will result in probably the longest drive on the trip.

I must admit that the conditions here surprised me a little when arriving. When arriving in Tanzania there were almost only badly paved roads and very dusty ones, and people drove like crazy. Here the conditions are very good with nicely paved broad roads and people are generally much nicer behind the wheel. A pleasant surprise, but I'm sure that will change when we put some distance between us and the big cities.

This year’s fifth trip

To my big surprise I manage to push in another trip this year. Apparently it’s true what I say; there is always time for another trip!

A couple with whom I did the EC trek with sent out a message saying that they were going on a trek in September, asking if anyone wanted to join. After a bit of thinking and coordinating with work – while a fourth member of the EBC trek also signed up – I ended up buying this year’s fifth vacation. Oh dear.

7^th of September

Coming home from Turkey Wednesday the 4^th I will be leaving again the 7^th in the early morning flying to Romania. After taking a couple of trains I will end up at my goal, Brasov, north of the capital, near the centre of the country.

8^th of September

We will spend the first day trekking the Piatra Craiului Mountain which has some of the country’s richest pastoral areas. The walk will bring us to Seven Stairs Canyon and in the end ascending us almost 1000m. Returning to Brasov at the end of the day.

9^th of September

After moving to Bran we will trek the Bucegi Mountains which are considered a spiritual place. The area has quite a few rock formations which we will be able to see from the higher elevations we will reach after a difficult climb. Return to Bran in the evening.

10^th of September

The day will be spend trekking some of the most beautiful mountains in the country, the Piatra Craiului (The King’s Rock) National Park. It seems to be a quite interesting area with wildlife; despite the mountainous area only covering 1,5% of the European surface west of Russia, it has almost a third of Europe’s large carnivores. Estimated there are app. 6000 bears, 3000 wolves and 2000 lynx. Interesting!

11^th of September

We will be leaving Bran this morning for the last time to visit Bran Castle, also known as Dracula’s Castle. This will be followed by a transfer to first Sambetei Monastery, and from there we will walk into the Fagaras Mountains to the Valea Sambetei chalet where we will spend the night.

12^th of September

Today we will trek to the summit of the tallest mountain in Romania, Moldoveanu Peak (2544m). The climb to this point will take up most of the day, so I am expecting it to be a challenge compared to the previous days. Having returned home from Turkey and climbing Mt. Ararat (5165m) I suspect I might have an advantage in being acclimatized.

13^th of September

From the chalet we will spend a couple of hours descending to Sambata Monastery and from there transfer to Viscri village where we will spend the night.

14^th of September

A small tour around the village is followed by a drive back to brasov, ending the trip. We will continue with train to Bucharest where will we like will go our separate ways. I will be finding a hotel, hopefully close to the centre of the city so I can have a little sightseeing in the morning before leaving.

15^th of September

Return to Copenhagen in the afternoon.

Small correction to the trip to Turkey

Due to a lack of people signing up for the departure the 4th of September they had to cancel it. Instead, I was moved to the departure the 28th of August instead, coming back the 4th of September. The only difference is that I will be departing in the morning instead of the night which means that we will have half a day in Instanbul before continuing on to Van.

31st - Iceland, final thoughts

It was nice to be able to travel away like this if just for a few days. What one needs to prepare for, though, is that you end up having to drive a lot. There is plenty to see but it’s all spread out. And I think I wasn’t quite mentally prepared to be sitting in a car more than half the time we were on tours but there you go. And without the long drives I wouldn’t have seen what I did, so I guess it’s fine. Just keep it in mind if you choose to go to Iceland yourself. And gave plenty of time for the occasional nap, needed after only 6-hour sleeps for several nights in a row. :)

Also, the weather wasn’t really impressive when I was there. A cloud coverage of 60-85% with high winds. Only a slight drizzle now and then, so we stayed dry. But I would have preferred that there had been less clouds, even if the temps of 5-8 degrees meant it was warmer than at home.

Anyway; a quick thanks to my guides on the tours – Simmi, Björg and Mike. Cool guys, you were a big part of making the trip memorable!

Anyways, enough of this. Better start mentally preparing for the next trip. 3,5 months, sigh.

31st - Geothermals and cold

Last day in Iceland I took a trip by The Blue Lagoon on the way to the airport. The geothermal spa offers the same options as a normal spa, the main difference is the large pool which is heated by geothermal heat which has been through the geothermal power plant next door. The water is on average 37-40 degrees, pleasantly warm. It was very windy on the day so while the head was above water, slightly cold, the rest of the body was heated by the waters. Only problem was the gusts of cold winds now and then that managed cool down the upper 5-10 cm of water, suddenly sending a chill through your shoulders.

Talking about getting a chill – walking from the building to the water was something I didn’t think of first, but going through the door to the outside it was something I was reminded of very fast. If you thought it was cold when arriving, think about how it feels when only wearing swimming pants.

After this it was a short drive back to the airport and a pleasant flight home to Copenhagen. Got better by the fact that the airline handed out free chocolate eggs due to Easter.