It was a nice drive through the desert and we stopped in a place called Hotazel, just because it was a great photo-op and a good place to have lunch.




As the sun reached the horizon we stopped again to have sundowners and watch what was the most beautiful sunset of the trip.We arrived at Kuruman and once again set up camp in the dark. It was nice to finally be able to sleep through the night without waking up in a fit of shivers. On the way out of the Kalahari we had realized that Rupert's head lights were not working so the next morning we had to try to find somewhere to get them fixed.


While we were waiting for the car to be repaired we took a short drive to the infamous eye of the Kuruman. Chris had been going on and on about it and we figured we should check it out.


Basically the eye of the Kuruman is supposed to be the worlds largest natural spring, just looked like a big pond to me. None of us were too impressed, but we had a good laugh. They managed to fixed the lights on Chris's car and as he was pulling out to leave he backed into a poll and shattered his rear window, and the wodden spoon award was born (an award that is given to the biggest toss of the day to wear around his or her neck for all to see). Chris then had to find a window repair shop to get his window fixed.


We eventually got everything sorted and headed out of town (after narrowly escaping being blocked in by a massive strike in the streets of Kuruman). We were planing on driving as far as we could and stopping somewhere in Johannesburg for the night and then picking up in the morning and finishing the drive to Mapungubwe. We stopped when we were nearly in Jo-berg and collectively decided to break the back of the trip and drive through the night to Mapungubwe. We went to the nearest BP (quick mart) and loaded up on chocolate and caffeine. This actually turned out to be one of my favorite drives of the trip. Jess and I were so loaded with caffeine and sugar, we danced and sang at the top of out lungs most of the way, with interludes of deep conversation. Jacobus attempted to sleep in the back seat, but I think he found it hard over the laughter of us girls and Usher blasting. We ended up driving about 1500 km in one day and arrived at our next destination at 3:00am. We were so exhausted after the drive we didn't bother to set up camp. Everyone just rolled out of the cars and fell asleep where ever they landed.

We left Augrabies falls in mid morning and began our drive to the Kalahari-gemsbok national park via Upington. The back door of the jeep was broken so we made a stop in Upington to see if we could get it checked out by the local car shop. We were a bit short on time and really had to get on the road in order to get to the Kalahari before the gate closed. There were four guys working feverishly on the car as we ate our lunch in the garage before we headed out. The other cars left before us hoping they would be able to get to the gate and convince someone to leave it open for when we arrived.


The drive to the reserve was intense, we were constantly calculating the speed we had to go in order to get to the gate before it closed at 6:00pm. We were flying through the desert with the music playing as we sang along at the top of our lungs. We passed moglie on the way and when we were almost to the park we finally caught up to rupert but moglie was now far behind. Then the road became dirt (which we did not take into consideration when calculating driving time). We let rupert go ahead as we could not possibly reach the gate before closing and rupert just might make it. We were flying down that dirt road as fast as that little jeep could take us.


The sunset was stunning through the dust and Jacobus and I were hanging out the windows trying to take pictures as Jess did her best to get us to the gate before closing. Rupert was far ahead of us but we were unsure if they could make it, we were considering our options and thinking we might have to set up camp outside the park. By the time we reached the gate it was about 6:40pm and rupert was sitting at the gate and Chris, Sarah, Charlie and Laura cheering us on. They had arrived to the gate after it had closed but convinced someone to open it and bribed them to hold it till we all arrived. They were all yelling and greeted us with hugs and high five's and moglie showed up soon after and we all welcomed them and exchanged stories of our hectic journey to the Kalahari.




After we all calmed down we looked for a site and set up camp in the dark (this is becoming a pattern). A fire was lit and we all sat around it and chatted about the days events. We had a wonderful dinner including braai pap prepared by Dave. After dinner we sat around and wailed to the tunes of the guitar...the impala club blues. That evening was freezing cold and we did everything we could to keep warm. Jess and I did jumping-jacks and laps around the camp site to try to heat up before jumping into bed.




The next morning we got up quite early for our first proper game drive, we saw copious amounts of gemsbok, impala, wildebeest, and zebra. We also saw a jackal hunting in the bush and several amazing birds. We stopped for lunch and enjoyed what seemed to be a never ending view of the desert. During the drive, when we were on the Botswana side of the park, moglie got a puncture so we had to stop while Julian and Craig repaired it. I jumped out and ran around looking at the dung beetles and we all enjoyed a nice stretch. That evening was another cold one and I just about crawled into the fire to get away from the biting cold. The next morning we drove around for some more game viewing before heading out. None of the big five had been spotted yet, but we had a lot of game viewing to do in the next several weeks so I wasn't too bleak.


As we drove back down that dusty road out of the Kalahari-gemsbok national park we stopped where there were five children standing on the side of the road in loin cloths screaming and dancing around. We stopped the car and gave them each an apple and a cookie and had a nice chat with their father, a bushman tracker. He told us how he came to be a tracker and he drew me a gorgeous picture. The children were adorable and enjoyed their treats and we soon headed on our way.

The next morning we were able to look around the park a bit. I walked around on my own and checked out the falls.


There were rock dassies all over the rocks and a troop of vervet monkeys as well. The first wildlife of the trip!
















We went for a drive in the park with the jeep and Rupert and nearly had a collision, but survived it. The landscape of the park was stunning and we were all so excited to finally be on road trip.

We had a wonderful first day on the road, and really got to know one another. I rode with Jess and Jacobus and we asked one another a million questions regarding every aspect of our lives. It is amazing what you can learn about a person when you spend 13 hours in a car with them.








Charlie, Sarah, Laura and Chris make up Team Rupert. Jess and I are scheming to get Charlie in our car. We will see how that goes.
 

The first image for our book 'Cartwheels Around the World'. Jess and I are going to be taking pictures of us doing cartwheels everywhere we go. It is will be a work of a lifetime (smile).
 

Have camera. Must Document.








On our way to Augrabies falls we drove through lots of desert, we made a few stops to stretch and watch the sunset. We had lunch on a mountain pass with a beautiful view and eventually made it to Aurabies but only after dark.




Setting up tent the first night was a bit of a mission, but we managed quite well. Chris's mom made mince for the first night so that was our first dinner together and it proved to be delicious after a long day of driving. We sat around the camp fire and the impala club was born. We sang songs about the happenings of the day while Jacobus played along on his guitar. It was a long day of driving and we all went to bed soon after dinner.

Before we get going on our adventure I would like to take a moment to introduce the members of team odyssey. You all should know well the silly American sitting on top of the Landy. To my right is Craig Macintosh in the black shirt. He is a student of business and an avid wildlife man. He is the very proud owner of one of the land rovers taken on the trip (moglie, not shown here). He is very experienced in the bush and a phenomenal game spotter. Standing in the back to his right in the white t-shirt is Charles Atkins, a student of actuarial science and one of UCT's first team rugby players. He is a co-chairmen for an organization called Ikamva that works with the youth in one of the townships and is very passionate about his work. I am not going to try to hide it, I have a bit of a crush on this fella. Yes, he is from South Africa and I realize that I have to leave eventually. But a girl can dream.

 To Charlie's right in the red shirt is Mike Titley a student of business. He has a devilish grin and is generally up to no good. He can rarely be found without a video camera in his hand and always manages to catch those moments you would much rather be left behind. In front in the white shirt is our Mauritian braii (BBQ) master Julian, a student of psychology. He is extremely chill and has an unending passion for wildlife. You are hard pressed to ever find him with his shoes on. Julian is always doing something to help the group and never says a word about it. To Julian's right is Dave Titley, Mikes brother. Dave is studying to become a chef and is in his element creating amazing dishes that we will take full advantage of. In the driver's seat (the car is called Rupert aka the green monkey) is Chris Trisos, a student of ecology and economics who you should know from previous entries. He loves game viewing and can be a bit neurotic which was probably why this trip got organized in the first place. To Chris's right is his girlfriend Laura. Laura is a practicing physio from London and has just moved to South Africa for a couple years. She has a great heart and is always doing something to help. To Laura's right is Sara Whitehead, a pre-med student. It is hard to get Sarah motivated to do much of anything to help out the group, but she adds a lot of humor. Standing in the back is who is to become my best friend and partner in crime in South Africa, Jess Schulschenk. She is a student of Environmental Science and Oceanography and has a deep passion for the ocean and diving. We have a ton of fun together and I am doing my best to get her to come out to California.


The man behind the camera is Jacobus, a student of PPE (people, politics and economics) at Stellenbosch. Jacobus has a knack with the guitar and will provide the music for our long nights by the campfire.


And finally, the faithful caravan for our trip. The Jeep (Jess's car), Rupert (Chris's Landy), and Moglie (Craig's Landy).

This is a group of people about to embark on an amazing journey.