You are taking your kids out of school for 3 months?
You will be living out of a caravan?
You are camping in unfenced game reserves with young children?
These were just some of the responses we got when we told people we leaving on a 3 month trip around Southern Africa, and spending majority of our time in our newly acquired 4 X 4 Bush Lapa caravan.
We spent almost a year planning our route and booking our accommodation. Time went by so quickly and the 24th June 2019 arrived before we knew it.
Emotions where high as we embarked on this adventure with a 5 & 6 year old.
Doubts crept in - Were we doing the right thing? Were we being responsible parents?
The moment we drove out of our driveway and on to our first destination, all doubt subsided and excitement had replaced those thoughts and feelings very quickly.
Mozambique:
We started our African adventure in Mozambique. A magical place with some pretty amazing campsites too. Beautiful sunny days which we spent building sand castles and swimming in the ocean. In Vilanculos and Inhassoro we took boats to the islands and experienced some of the most insane snorkeling. It makes you wonder why we travel half way around the world while there is so much beauty on our doorstep. Zimbabwe:
Crossing the border into Zimbabwe was a breeze (as were most of the border crossings)
W were prepared for and feared the absolute worst; long queues with 2 small children! However we had absoltuely no hassles and most of the borders were just as quick.
Once in Zimbabwe, we hired a house boat on Lake Kariba. What an incredible family holiday, and one we highly recommend. We saw spectacular game from our boat, especially when we docked. We took the tender boat every morning and evening for fishing and game viewing. On board we had a chef which definitely adds to a more relaxing holiday.
Zambia: Victoria falls was just for me. It had been a bucket list destination of mine for as long as I can remember... and it did not disappoint. We traded the caravan for hotel for this part of the trip. To sit on the Zambezi drinking a gin watching the mist was our regular afternoon activity.
To see the falls... Well, that was something special.
Botswana: It did not disappoint in terms of game viewing and campsites. Camping with the elephants walking past you while washing your dishes in Elephant Sands campsite, to sitting under a leopard in a tree (literally under the leopard) while we had our tea and rusks, to a boat cruise on the Chobe River watching the elephants swim... it was all absolutely wonderful.
We went on to spend 5 days in Khwai with no electricity in an unfenced reserve. We listened to hyenas under our caravan in the middle of the night. Absolutely spectacular!!!
Namibia:
Namibia had such diversity. From amazing game in Etosha and Erindi (we even got to see a Pangolin) and then on to the most beautiful deserts and dunes. In Swakopmund we did a living desert tour to learn about all the little creatures that live under the sand. We quad-biked and sand-boarded on the dunes. SO MUCH FUN!
We went south to Sesriem to see the Deadvlei to the dunes there. We actually went in the late afternoon as we stayed in the park and we were the only ones in the Vlei. It’s breath taking!!!
Returning "home", the trip was not yet over: Crossing back into South Africa brought with it with mixed emotions. W felt very excited to see our family and friends... but also sad that our trip was almost over.
We made the most of it though. We stayed on the Orange River, where we saw the Augrabies falls and did some canoeing. We saw the Kimberley Hole and then spent a week at Sun City. Sun City; what all children’s dreams are made of!
Our last stop was the Drakensberg for beautiful Mountain View’s and hikes. We then made our way back home to Ballito.
I must just say as we finished this trip, our kids endured 14 000kms in the car across 6 countries and we couldn’t be more proud of them.
So families; have faith in each other, you can do a trip like this, it will be the best thing you’ll ever do for each other! It’s family bonding on steroids; 3 months living in a confined space experiencing amazing things.
It truly was a trip of a life time with beautiful memories made that we will treasure forever, and children that have grown and found a love for nature and animals like their parents.
LEARNINGS:
Packing:
We learnt a lot on this trip. Firstly we packed WAY too many clothes. Well Joel and I did!!! The kids had a ziplock bag for Monday to Sunday and we rotated clothes for them like that which worked well... However I packed for 4 seasons in one day.
Washing: If you can wash every second day, don’t let it pile up. I learnt the hard way. You run out of space and a bag of washing in a small bucket takes the entire day. I did eventually give up and find ladies at each campsite to do our washing for a fee. (Make a list of what you give and check it ... Lily and I had all our underwear stolen???)
Food: ALWAYS have a small mini market of food in the car. Without fail, 5 mins into the drive the kids would be asking for snacks. I found if I fed them for the duration of the car journey they were quite happy.
Car entertainment: Colouring in / a movie to watch or a game to play made 9 hour traveling trips that much easier. I must say though, my children are well travelled and will happily have a 3 hour sleep on a trip if I tell them too!
Phone access: We had a satellite phone and we brought a SIM card for each country we visited.
Capturing moments: A good camera is recommended. We brought a Nikon P900 and the photos were insane.
Malaria:
We took Malaria for 56 days. Probably the most expensive thing I have ever brought at Dischem, but so worth it. We crushed the kids tablets every night into a teaspoon of Nutella and there were no problems or side effects.
Insect Repellents:
Doom and coils helped a lot. In some places the flies where out of this world! You’d step out into the sun and they would swarm you!! I think I packed 12 bottles and still had to buy more(!!) The kids have nick-named me the Doom Slayer.
THE TOP TIP: most important of all is to PLAN:
Plan your route, your accommodation, and have a back-up plan for everything: Extra Jerry cans for fuel, for example. Zimbabwe had no fuel!
Know what to do if you encounter animals in your camp.
Know how to change a tyre.
Know and research the roads you are traveling - the roads in Namibia are some of the worst I have been on in my life.
And in the end have patience, patience for your children as their little brains take in all these new and wonderful things they are experiencing. Patience for your partner as he or she adjusts to a new way of living, and patience for your surroundings and the new people you meet along the way.
If you would like to see all the places we visited the photos and videos we took, see our Instagram page @4_bergers_in_africa we’d love to share it with you ❤️
Follow the Berger Family travels HERE
Us MomSpo mamas are very jealous of this incredible trip and memories made... but we are more jealous of the fact that Candice can tell her kids to take a 3 hour nap in the car and they listen!! What an absolutely wonderful experience - Thank you, Candice for sharing it with us! Would you and your family do a trip like this? Tell us in the comments below
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