"We have travelled so far"...that's the title of one of our favorite songs by Mary Chapin Carpenter.
This time we have traveled 2640 k's through the land of the happy smiles: Botswana !
And what follows are some moments from that incredible, adventurous, exciting, happy, fearful and heart-rending journey.

It all started happily enough with our arrival in Jo'burg at Bushlore, the company from which we rented our 4x4 safari vehicle. It soon turned into mild shock when we had to sign the paperwork. When it came to the payment I saw a funny looking numer on the receipt. It was definitely not the same number that we had been so happy about. After carefully pointing out that there is a mistake in the amount the lady shattered our sweet dream reality by kindly pointing out that that is just the subtotal of page one...."Please proceed to page two and three". Holy Guacamole ...our so super affordable holiday turned out to be a once in a life time honeymoon package.

Still a bit under shock we got our introduction to our 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser which would become our home for the next month. Prepared with a GPS and a Satelite Phone for emergencies we started our safari the next day.

Packed with food, fuel, water, maps and pioneering spirit we left South Africa behind and entered Botswana which is reputed to be one of the best countries on the planet to experience the real life adventure of the animal world. Unfenced National Parks and reserves are promising some impressive animal encounters. We are very excited even though we are travelling durung the rainy season where it usually get's a lot more difficult to spot the game. We worried more about the accessibility of our destinations cause several travel books told us horror stories about roads becoming unpassable due to high water and deep mud wholes. Although this didn't sound so great our sense of adventure was unhampered by the warnings.... we thought a bit of rain...how bad could it get ?

We should soon find out....

Our first stop was in a place called Khama Rhino Sanctuary a couple hundred k' s after the border crossing. The sun was setting quickly so we had to hurry up with setting up the tent and our camp.There is something very special about being literally alone on a campsite, having a fire going, and knowing that all those wild and dangerous animals might be right behind the next tree.
The first night was more or less sleepless as we where not used to all the jungle sounds, including the deep throaty rumble which later became our nightly serenade....

As the sun rose we stretched and rubbed away the aches and pains indust by our first night on top of the car on the thin tent matres.First game drive..HERE WE GO ! As it was Ahmed's first safari I got to experience everything anew seeing things through his awe struck eyes. Seeing the wild animals in nature for the first time is something very magical to experience.

Within the next weeks we had the most incredible animal encounters and more than once they showed us who's the boss out here. An important lesson we kept learning was that elephants ALWAYS have the right of way. We tested this rule a few times as they sometimes blocked our way for seemingly forever...our closer approached resulted in loud trumpets, raised trunk and disapproving ear-shakes.

One of the precious gifts of traveling through Botswana in the wet season is that it's also the birthing season. It was truly a blessing to witness all the cute tiny little ones, zebra's, elephant's, girafes, kudu's, impala's, buffalo's baby-lions....and all the others ! Unfreaking believable, so damn cute !!
One of the most memorable baby-encounters was a very little baby elephant who was about a month or so. He was so curios and had build up no fear build in his young life so he came right to our car and checked it out with his tiny little trunk. But it was so tiny that it hardly reached the bottom of the window. So instead he gave us a show and bathed in the sand as if there would be no tomorrow. All under the watchful eyes of big Mama of course. So so sweet....

I love elephants...they are my favorite land mammals and nearly as important as the whales to me. Botswana is known to have the highest elephant population in Africa and so we where lucky enough to experience several memorable elephant interactions. To observe them while they are enjoying a cooling bath is definitely a highlight but watching them playing around in the water like little children is an unforgettable experience.

Although the elephants seem so docile you always have to bear in mind that they are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. Usually the are peaceful creatures and don't mind you but sometimes, especially when they are on musth ("Brunst" for my german friends), they can become very agressive. I once had an encounter with a male elephant on musth three years ago, the memorie of which still shakes me to the core. I thought my hour had come and it's over. Since then I have truly a huge amount of respect of elephants and I rather play it safe than sorry. Not too close is my device. But sometimes they choose to come close...I mean uncomfortably close.

And the story goes like this: we came back to our campsite in the early afternoon cause we got really crazy about our africa backgammon tournament. We set up the table, had a nice glass of chilled white and played a round when we saw a huge elephant in the distance. Thanks God he was on the other side of the river so we focused on our game again (now you think how disinterested we are...but I tell you, you get used to the elephants in Botswana after a while).The next thing I know the sound of something big wandering through the water. The elephant had choosen to check out our campsite.

He at first was not to close to us, so we decided not to move and sat still at our table. But then he started to approach closer and closer and we cautiously creeped into the safety of our car ...which was a wise decision cause this big guy was seriously curious about our table. We had no time to close our trunk where our kitchen including all the yummy food is located in our car. And we remembered a guy telling us that we especially have to take care that we don't leave fruit outside. Especially elephants can get very forceful if they smell fruit and they would do everything to get it. They are especially in love with Mangos. So now it's your turn to guess what kind of fruit we had stored on top of our cooling box: two overripe, very intensive smelling mangos. I mean...who would think that an elephant chooses to make his way exactly through our campsite ??? So you maybe can imagine that we felt quite uncomfortable sitting there trapped in our car, the elephant coming closer and closer to us. It was just a matter of time till he would smell the delicacies resting in our wide open trunk.

When he was right next to us, I mean RIGHT next to us where we could just see his huge tummy moving by our window making it's way to our trunk we decided quickly to turn on the engine. We used his moment of surprise and slowly drove off. I don't know if the stinky smell of the fuel interfered the with the sweet one of the mangos or if he just decided not to intervent a rebellion ... but he turned around and kept munching the tree leaves and slowly disappeared out of our campground. Puhhh.... we where lucky, once again !

In the middle of our trip we had planned a little time off from camping and cooking and driving. We where very happy when we reached Maun from where we took a flight into the famous Okavango Delta.
The Okavango Delta is a large inland delta. Each year approximately 11 cubic kilometers of water spreads over the 15.000 km2 area, which is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa.

This was a dream come true. In our tiny single propeller light-craft airplane we flew over the delta which itself is a once in a life-time experience. We landed on an airstrip which had just been cleared of a variety of wild life. The pilots radio-in and the guides on the ground shoo-away all the animals so the plane can land.. All the animals love the cleared flat dry runways.
We were then taken to our campsite which was a little different than the ones we had become used to in the last few weeks. A private guide, a real bed as big as our whole car, a luxury tent with a huge balcony from where you could spot the game with an ice cooled gin&tonic deliverd for sunset, 5 delicious meals a day, 3 guided game drives a day and pure nourishment for the next 4 days. Just have a look at the pictures and enjoy with us the luxury and beauty of this special place. It truly was an amazing and unforgettable place... why ? You will find out in my next entry :-)

Although it was great to experience the luxury of a place like that we both where happy to get behind the wheel again. We headed north to explore more of Moremi- and Chobe Nationalpark. There are so many more stories to tell you but I don't want to bore you with tales of hippos grassing outside our tent flaps, an elephant confrontation with lions, herds of hippos charging over one another into shallow pools as we surprised them ....let's just say we had the best time of our life's !
Africa is still the best place in the world for me....

We gave up our car in Kasane where we spend the day and crossed the border to Zimbabwe with a shuttle where we spend the last days of our african adventure next to the Victoria Falls.
The Vic Falls are a spectacular sight of awe-inspring beauty and grandeur on the Zambezi River. They where described by the Kholo Tribe living there back in the 1800's as "the Smoke that thunders". A grand finale for a grand trip !

Full of precious memories we flew back to Cape Town where we spent another two great weeks.
Each day of our African Adventure was precious and I am glad that Ahmed now understands my deep love for this beautiful continent.

So after our Shamanic sojourn in Pearly Beach we took our new found awareness on the road. Well actually we took it off-road.... We Rented a 4X4 Land cruiser with a tent on the roof and went on a Safari.. It was land sailing sometimes in thick deep sand and other times mud. Botswana . Wow! We had the time of our Lives. We spent about a month camping. The National Parks are amazing. The photos tell the story better than I ever could . So check them out.

Just wanted to let you know that our new video Called "The Crossing" is up on our utbe channel. Its all about our voyage from New Zealand to Tonga.
The Utube link will take you to it.

Peace.

Pearly Beach Pearly Beach.
We came to you so we could imbibe the brew.
That would teach us the secrets of me and you.
A Shamanic Retreat. With lots of Veggies to eat.
On a rugged moon-scape of a beach.
The tranquility was sublime. The surf pounded
and the wind blew.
Fabiangi expounded on much of what he knew.
Time stood still and flew.
Love grew.
Pearly Beach...... Thank You.

I recovered just in time to catch the next Breeze. A North wind ... It blew us South ... to South Africa. Cape Town.... Lena's favorite city....and now I know why. Its the light. Its stunning here. Crisp and clear... there is a glow hovering over the place. Framed by the sparkling Atlantic on one side and majestic and Table Mountain on the other the city vibrates on the slopes. I had no Idea.... We rented a Harley one day and cruised down to the Cape of Good Hope. Also known as the Cape of Storms. I think we were happy to be on a motorcycle and not in a boat. What a ride. The Indian Ocean on the left and the Atlantic on the right... Breath-taking vistas with every curve. The kind of views that pull at your heart and soul. Wow! Sweet ride. What a Place... the tip of Africa.
So after a week of exploring Cape Town we headed out to remote Pearly Beach . Where our Shamanic training workshop was awaiting us. Our intention was to follow up on what we had discovered in the Amazon at the Temple of The Way Of Light

But lets rewind a little.
After our harrowing crossing from Fiji to New Zealand we left OM where we began the season, on the hard, in Opua. There she is receiving some TLC and fresh varnish under the watchful eye of Bruce of Sea Power and a bunch of other wonderful talented people in the Marina Park. We have decided to take some time off the water and do some land-sailing. Om is in good hands... so lets see which way the winds will blow us till we get back to her.

The first puff of wind blew us back to Los Angeles.
Its always nice to come home and catch up with Tasha and Frankie and the family. This time was extra special as Lena and I have spent so little time in LA. Its hard to make a house a home if you don't live there for a while.... and I would love for Lena to be and feel at home here. Some things take a bit of time. I guess its the process thats the fun part. Anyway... Sabi, one of Lena's best friends was coming to visit from Hamburg, that inspired us to transform the guest room. We had a lot of fun shopping and choosing and arranging and doing. The space turned out well... Its a good thing... sometimes these things can become nightmares.... Whew! Sabi enjoyed her stay with us. The girls had some good bonding time (shopping) and I got to recover from the re-model...

The next puff of wind blew Lena back to her beloved Hamburg, family and friends. Till now I must admit, its been Lena who's done all the meeting and greeting and getting-to-know-you stuff with my family. Its never been my favorite, the "meeting the family" thing, but it was time to bite the bullet and face the music. The holidays were fast approaching and I figured a Hamburg Christmas would be just the ticket to balance the situation. Meet Lena's family and friends and get to know Tinkerbell's home town. So.. when the next puff arrived, it was a Christmas wind... Christmas eve wind to be exact. It blew me to Hamburg. It blew me from the airport to, under the christmas tree at, Nicole's (lena's sisters house)... Jet-lag and all. I don't know what I was worried about.... Sabine and Gerd (mom and dad) made me feel right at home. Being there with Lena and her family felt great. We had a warm fuzzy Xmas ... full of food and presents. The hand-made presents from Janna were a high-light... We spent some very pleasant times together and took in some of the sights. Hamburg is beautiful. Freezing cold but beautiful. It was very good meeting the folks. I cant wait to have them all come visit us in Los Angeles. Lena and I saw the New Year fire-works from a bar up on the 20th floor overlooking Hamburg. Then... I came down with a bad bug. Don't remember much of Hamburg after that. Just lots of TLC from Lena.