It was hot and humid as we stepped off the bus in Victoria Falls, but that didn’t stop the hawkers from approaching us. Waving thousands, millions, billions and trillions of dollars in our faces, these guys would stop at nothing to make us rich. Finally we relented and for 4 USD we became trillionaires…in a currency that isn’t legal anymore.
While the effects of hyper inflation will be felt in Zimbabwe for years to come, entrepreneurs around the country are cashing in on their worthless paper currency. Printed by the reserve bank in denominations up to 100 trillion Zimbabwe dollars, we as well as many other tourists, were happy to snap up a few bills as souvenirsBecoming a trillionaire was easier …

All I knew about Zimbabwe before we arrived in Africa was that it was the country of the evil Mugabe. Shortly after starting the trip we met two travelers who had actually been there who told us when they left the government was unveiling the $750,000 note. We’d eventually heard the country had dollarized and was “more or less” safe but that still didn’t stop the majority of people from asking “why would you go there, you’ll be killed for your shirt!”
The concept of hyperinflation is interesting enough. When our friends traveled through, it was phase one of the hyper-inflated currency…a few months later the government knocked 12 zeros off the money and then started all over again before topping …

A long time ago when we first heard about traveling in Zimbabwe we heard of travelers bringing staples like sugar and rice into the country with them, to be used for barter. With the country going through hyperinflation, unable to trade for much in the way of anything, this was more valuable at the time than money. Before going to Zimbabwe we asked around a bit and were assured that markets were generally stocked and that things had stabilized but that didn’t mean that the barter economy hasn’t evaporated entirely either.
Zimbabwe is now the third country we’ve visited using the US Dollar rather than its own currency. Unlike the other two, Panama and Ecuador, Zimbabwe is far …

Maybe it seems we’ve lingered here too long, but we didn’t seem to mind. In the two months we spent in South Africa before heading north for Zimbabwe we visited 5 countries: SA, Mozambique, Namibia Swaziland and Lesotho. We drove 12,000 kilometers, ensured our annual park pass paid for itself twice over, and saw all of the big 5 and then some. We entered a swim race, saw our first rugby match, celebrated a birthday and the new year, and even managed to make new, life-long friendships. In short, we got to know this place pretty darn well.

South Africa really is an interesting country but it is a country which defies easy classification. Many people back home think of South …

We have hardly any space for souvenirs, so our purchases tend to be small and insignificant. I buy myself earrings in every country- usually aiming for something “crafty” made from local materials at an insignificant price ($4 or less!): coconut, coins, shells and sacred stones. It didn’t take a long time for me to start making jokes about purchasing earrings made from South Africa’s famous stone, the diamond. Although Danny continues to point out that he already bought me one of those, I heard a rumor that diamonds are found on the coastline of Namibia pretty regularly. As the first line of the guidebook states: “The shifting sands of the Namib Desert conceal the world’s largest stash of gemstone diamonds.” …

Exiting Etosha we drove quickly through Namibia’s capital Windhoek before crossing the border directly into the Kahalari Desert, and the trans-frontier park shared by both South Africa and Botswana. This park is known for two things: being in the middle of nowhere and being home to a lot of cats. We knew we’d see lions, (the ONLY animal other than wildebeest we’ve seen in every park) but we were looking for cheetah.
We quickly made camp and went out for a drive and found a dead lion. Eventually the animal moved so in fact, it was not dead, just nearly dead. It was skinny and alone. Other visitors told us that earlier it opened its mouth revealing an abscess, probably earned …

Throughout South Africa we’ve been hearing about Cape Malay food, but never really understood what it was.  We knew where the cape is, but what is or where is Malay?  What is this cuisine you speak of?
We went to the Capetown waterfront and asked the security guard the best place for Cape Malay food.  Pointing us in the right direction, we headed off to taste things which we couldn’t pronounce but wanted to try.  So I ordered a chicken curry rootie, unsure what rootie was, but figuring that anything with chicken was safe.  Danny opted for the babottie, a surprise for sure.  What came was delicious, and licking my plate clean so to speak, I was hungry for some more.
A …

My boss used to say, it was real and it was good but it wasn’t real good.  That was Namibia. Namibia is a beautiful country, but it was difficult. Unable to get money out of several ATM’s, we had visions of wandering through the desert without cash or petrol.   Not exactly a “real good” start.
Namibia is a incredibly striking country, from the arid desert of the south to the lush forests in the north.  We only had a short amount of time in Namibia so we skipped things like sand boarding, which we had done in Peru and Nicaragua and instead spent our time, soaking in natural hot springs in the desert, climbing 100m high red sand dunes for sunrise, …

Through Central and South America my question to every hospedaje, hostel and hotel receptionist was “Tiene agua caliente?” (Do you have hot water?). More often than not the answer was “yes, but…” and I would find myself faced with the dreaded electric shower head. While I have heard that some find the electric shock of the electric shower to be a nice wake up in the morning, I hated it and complained loudly the first dozen times it happened. Well, perhaps more than just the first dozen. Traveling provides many new experiences, but perhaps more important than the electric shower-head, is the new perspective those experiences can bring. Things don’t seem so bad once you have something worse to compare …

I don’t know if its called the San Francisco of the Southern Hemisphere, but if it isn’t and the name catches on, well you heard it here first. The winelands are close by. There is a famous prison in the bay. The vibe is cosmopolitan. The coast is wonderful but without a wetsuit you might find yourself a bit cold. Cape Town has the world’s largest population of Great White Sharks, followed by the waters off shore of San Fran. I suppose the biggest difference, on the surface anyway, is that San Francisco is dotted by huge hills whereas Cape Town is divided by a huge mountain. But, that’s just the surface I’m …