Another nice lie in this morning and a relaxed start. We all feel sorry that we didn't make Lake Malawi but have so much enjoyed our time with TeamMaverick spending time in Chobe both on the roads and on the river. It is Sunday today so Kasane is not so busy, Botswana is very religious so we presume many are at church. 
We have been eating very heathy but today we succumb to junk food and fill up before heading into the unknown. We need to be in Maun on the 2nd so will look for something on the way there. The road passes through acacia savanna and we see quite a lot of game. Of particular interest to me is the abundance of game and the lack of people. There is so much untamed land here that the animals roam free on. We saw ele's, kudu, giraffe, impala and even ground hornbills just at the side of the road. These roads are very dangerous to drive at night as animals walk on the road and can be very hard to see.

The road from Kasane to Nata was excellent at first but we came across large sections of road works where the whole length of road is being worked on. They make a temporary road next to the main road to take both lanes of traffic, unfortunately the trucks drive as if it is a single lane and they do so at full speed nearly driving us off the road several times. This temporary road is still much better than the roads in Zambia however.

LuLu has picked up the bad habit of smoking, mostly during the middle of the day and early evening when she is hot/stressed. Chill thinks she has blown another o-ring in the rocker shaft. There isn't much we can do out here so we will just keep a close eye on the oil. She did the rally with this o-ring missing last year so it is no biggy.

Matt manages to get a booking at the Nata Lodge for us and their plan was to travel on but we arrive at the lodge and find them beside the pool enjoying cocktails. Team Maverick couldn't resist the luxury at affordable prices when they saw the chalets with private outdoor showers and deep freestanding baths. It was the equal of high quality lodge Accommodation and well worth the money. There is a lovely, well stocked bar and a nice restaurant, we take full advantage of both while Hayley and Amy take full advantage of the bath and outdoor showers.

It was one of those special evenings in an oasis of luxury found in the least likely place.

Woken by the Fish Eagles calling and the Hippo's grunting you know your in Africa. Waking in a tent on the banks of the Okovango river, it just doesn't get much better. This camp is absolutely stunning. There are tree houses over the water, campsites along the banks, a central bar and kitchen with decks over the river for dinning or just chilling.

Guy and Amy went out on the makoro this morning where you paddle yourself up the river, where they learnt from their guide that there are 650 species of birds in the area here. They are so colourful and the bird noises are amazing.

I took the opportunity to visit a local village with Jacki from the sargerofti crew, our guide came from this village so we were able to ask whatever we wanted. We were shown how they make the houses using termite mounds and wood cot from the local trees. This village makes its money from cutting reeds and wood and selling it to locals or through the camp. They get N$10 for a bundle of wood and the camp sells it for N$12.50. A Namibian dollar has the same value as a rand so this is about NZ$1.50

It costs N$100 per term to send a child to school so many of the children can't afford to go. In the village we gave away some of the "imake a difference" pens to the kids. I asked one little girls if she had a pen already and she didn't. Boniface, our guide, told us that if a child doesn't have a pen then they must wait for one of the other kids to finish so they can borrow theirs but they need to be quick before the notes are removed from the board before the next lesson. Bring pens and soccer balls to Africa if you want to do something constructive for the locals.

The structure of the village is that girls and boys stay within the family compound. Once they get to be more independent the young men build a hut outside the compound and the young lady has a hut within the compound so the parents can keep their eye on her. If they want to get together they either need to organise this through the girls family or sneak out at night. If they have an accident then he must either marry the girl or take the child. If he wants no part of either then this would be a big problem.

This camp also has free wifi which us being thrashed as crews try to get their blogs up. This is not an official checkpoint but at least half of the crews seem to be here. We are taking the time to spend two nights here and are sharing the site with our friends from Team Maverick again. On the other side we have the Sole Sistas who are a fellow Project Rhino supporter. We had a good chance to chat and they might be interested to Adopt a Rhino under their Sole Sistas name.

The boys organized a fantastic lunch of borevors rolls with potato and onion. Maybe not the healthiest thing but it sure tasted good.

It was nice to have some down time in the afternoon. Traveling is fun but tiring and we probably spending more time in our car than most others. Bruce is doing a stirling job chauffeuring us around the continent.

We teamed up with the Creastfesters, sole sistas, tekkietubs and the legendary Team Maverick for the Booze cruise at 5.00 to view the animals in the park across the river and see the hippos and crocodiles in the river. We saw a good herd of Elephants coming down to drink, Kudu, Crocodiles, Buffalo, Little Egrets, Cattle Egrets, green backed heron, blacksmith lapwing, giant kingfisher, pied kingfisher, fish eagle, reed cormorants and spoon bills. The no swimming signs are for real! Ngepi camp does have a swimming pool in the river which has netting around it so you are safe from the crocs.

As we were coming back we were treated to another stunning sunset. The colours of an African sunset are quite unique. It seems every shade from yellow through gold, red and purple feature in the sky at the same time. As the sun went down we were treated to the largest moon since 1930. It was huge and again all the colours of the spectrum. The reflection on the Okovango river was an added bonus.

The Ngepi camp has to be seen to be believed, they have a very relaxed vibe and will make a plan about anything. Everything runs on an honesty system which was a new experience for many of the South Africans. You run a tab up and pay on exit.

Tonight the super moon is the biggest since 1930 and with the current poaching crisis in Africa we are very concerned for all the Rhino and Elephant that will loose their lives tonight. The full moon has become known as the poachers moon as it makes access to the parks so much easier. The Super Moon turns the night into a darkened twilight which provides plenty of light for the poachers to track these iconic animals.

Although we are on the Put Foot Rally, which does great work with school kids in Zambia, our cause is to raise awareness of the poaching crises decimating the number of Rhino. We are traveling under the www.imakeadifference.co.nz banner and our Kombi is becoming known as the Rhino car. Our mascot Bheji is a clay model Rhino and we have tried to photograph him in some of the iconic places we have visited.

It is with a heavy heart that I have to report that the poaching crises has claimed a victim close to our camp. Bheji has had half his horn removed in the night. We have no idea how this happened as he was locked away in our Kombi and it was on constant guard. At least he was not slaughtered or left drugged for extended periods ruining his internal organs, like so many of his species. None the less it will take many years to hone his horn to a point again and he may now suffer short horn syndrome.

It really brings it home to our camp that we need to wipe out the trafficking in endangered species and their body parts.

You may have noticed that we have a New Zealand domain extension for our website. Yes we are a NZ based fund, raising money for saving the Rhino. We see the plight facing the Rhino and Elephants as a global problem and want to use our business contacts (Our business is called Imake Ltd and we sell DIY equipment and supplies to make your own food and alcoholic drinks at home) to help raise funds and awareness for this heinous international crime. We have raised money from many of our international suppliers and customers from countries as far away from New Zealand as UK, Canada, USA, China, Taiwan, France, Australia and even South Africa. We also believe that the education about the poaching problem is as important as raising funds to try to make a difference in this war against poaching.

One thing I want to make very clear is that all funds raised are used for the projects listed on our website. No donated funds have been used for a joy ride around Africa. All costs for this trip including the cost of the Kombi, maintenance, fuel, signage and crew feeding and lubrication have been born by either us personally or Imake Ltd.

Our points of difference for our fund are that 100% of all donations go to the cause. All administration costs are born by Imake Ltd or are donated. We work with existing NGO's or similar but try to provide goods or services where we pay the suppliers of these directly. For instance when we paid for a reprint of enviro kids magazine we paid the printer, when we pay for helicopter reactions to poaching we pay the invoice from the helicopter owner, when we paid for the second tracker dog in Phinda we paid the breeder. All these payments are done through The Bagpipe Whisperer whose other life has him as a lawyer based in KZN. This gives us an added level of comfort. Chill also donates his own time and that of his staff to facilitate this.

Well the Dtours team will need to pick up its game today. Arriving late last night we only put in a very quick appearance at Joes Beer house. The kitchen was closed so we made our way to the Kebab store just managing to be the last ones fed for the night. The kebabs were fantastic and the staff were really nice. It was a great way to end a tough but fun day. Gabby even got into her work by cleaning up after us, a great start in her new role.

We had a lekker doss, so we are sorted for any kak that comes our way today.
So nice to have some time to relax this morning, do some shopping and get connected with this interweb. Well it appears that these fancy Apple devices turn into Granny Smiths as soon as you leave the 1st world and the blackberries show their true worth.
Us old ballies are struggling with the technology, I'm wishing Steve Jobs had visited the African continent with his phone and Chill can't seem to get a handle on Twitter.

Leaving Windhoek in the sun and warm weather LuLu quickly hits her pace. She is loving this trip as much as we are. The betties are looking paraad in their new save the Rhino T shirts so will be helping to spread the word as well.

Bheji had a leg stretch on the long endless roads of Namibia, it seems just to far to walk so he's back in Kombi.

What a laugh seeing a warthog crossing sign on the highway but very necessary as we quickly passed so many of these just at the side of the road. We are suddenly driving through bushveld with baboons, impala, ostrich, korhaan (I know these have a new name but we are old ballies so will stay with the old one), helmeted guinea fowl, red hornbill, yellow hornbill, pale chanting goshawk, kudu, and blue throated bee eater to name a few.

The new sims installed but still no Internet so back to MTC in Otjiwarongo. Apparently you need to change the settings manually. Gee it feels so nice to be connected again, am going to struggle when we get to more remote places. This town sure is fairly typical of Africa, the city park has lots of people sitting around waiting. Never sure quite what they are waiting for?

Grabbing a few provisions, gas up and we are off to checkpoint jol.

This ride is gonna be kif in Etosha!

When that Blackberry alarm starts it annoyingly brilliant wake up siren, and its only been 4 hours since you set it, you know its going to be a long day ahead. 4am in Bloem and we were up and battling the frigid morning air.  Lulu was cold. She needed love and a slow start. 

A quick oil check, filled her up and we were on the road again. Onto the N1 and the Mother City was our destination. 1010km to Cape Town. It was a big ask of the vintage beauty. But we never doubted her for a moment.

We stopped somewhere near Colesburg for a break and some coffee. Freezing hardly describes how we were feeling. With no heater in the German Touring van and a few breezes blowing in here and there, we were starting to feel that icy period just before the dawn.

It was so cold that when the attendant tried to clean our windscreen it just frosted over. No problem – he fetched a bucket of hot water and poured this over the windscreen. It cleared it, but then the edges started to freeze. It was time to get out of there. Onwards into the Karoo. 

The rest of the day went well and we rolled into Cape Town to meet up with the rest of the crew at 10pm'ish! It was a long day but we were at the start. Lulu did us proud. Tomorrow – some final preparations and shopping and then registration at Camps Bay and meeting the other teams.

The Put Foot Rally is for those who see themselves as Explorers, unafraid to chart the uncharted, unfazed by running out of petrol or losing a tyre... in the middle of a pack of lions or herd of elephants. This adventure is for those who listen to the Garmin and Tom-Tom girls for their sexy voices and for those who laugh in the face of a 2-minute noodle diet. If you are that person..  the passionate adventurer who takes life as it comes.... then this is for you!

Registration is on 17 June 2013 at Camps Bay High School, Cape Town!

This 1973 Volkswagen Combi is the proud maternal protector of imake a difference's 2013 D-Tours Put Foot Rally team! And she comes with more Put Foot Rally miles (or km's) than anyone on our team.

For Lulu's 2nd turn (in a row - more on this "just now") on the unforgiving and sometimes treacherous roads of Southern Africa, we decided to throw out the free-spirited hippy vibe in place of one that would not only encapsulate the vision of her drivers but also of ever-present yearning on our continent's heart - the protection of our rhinos!


In 2012, Lulu hosted "Team Liz" #27. We hope to do the previous team proud by continuing the rally with the same style and finesse as Lulu's previous owners did.

You know they say life begins at 40... With a rack like that she's sure to be a knock out with the lads ;)