Where have I been?

Just a quick note for those of you who are confused - yep, I stopped in Melbourne for a few days in December (after boxing day! so I did miss Christmas) but spent most of my time up in Rutherglen. A few days later I went to Singapore to visit my mum. I have been there since and only just got back to Melbourne properly today (1st Feb)! I went to Malaysia for a weekend while I was there too.

the end! And... 25 hours later here i am in melbourne! christmas sort of flew out the window for me since it was christmas morning when i left cape town and the end of boxing day wehn i got here!

well, the end at last!wow guys, i hope you have had as much fun reading my blog as i have had writing it. you know its funny i thought i would come bck nd everyone would go wo! Africa on your own what a brave chick. turns out everyone just thinks i've gone completely bonkers - and everyone who already thought i was nuts has had it confired! ahaha... na well it has been an awesome advnture and it has been cool to share it with you all.

Africa has been everything i hoped it would be, among one of the things i sort of discovered is that i think you learn a lot just from seeing things with your own eyes.

.. on that note... here are just a few last words and some myths dispelled before i leave you...

myth 1: crocs are evil and they just want to eat you - guys, they don't actually actively hunt you down to eat you. everyone keeps asking if it's like all those monster croc movies where they sniff you out, creep up to your house, stalk you and attack when you least expect it... yeah, that doesn't really happen. or it didn't when i was at sepupa anyway. in my experience crocs don't seem to bother you unless maybe you decide to go swimming in the river or something (which, is their territory anyway), knowing ful well it is full of crocs... really, most of the time they are just going about their daily business and being a croc

myth 2: white sharks are evil - white sharks are the same as great whites by the way, it's just a less scary name.

these are one of the most beautiful creatures i have seen. you do dive in a cage and really you just kind of jump ino the cage when a shark is spotted. they're actually kind of scared of the boat and are not at all like you see in Jaws and things. even most photographs don't show them the way you really see them in the wild. They're a really dark blue on top and really white on the bottom, and not at all with a 'mean' looking face. not at all. and there's a lot of hoo-ha aout companies like the one i went with to see the sharks supposedly conditioning them to associate humans with food but really... we were out on that boat at sea, it was rought as anything we waited for four hours and in the last twenty minutes she appeared. even then she had a quick look at us and then was off. they weren't exactly lining up to snack on us. and i don't know about everyone else, but i didn't go on the boat trip for the thrill of being in the water with something that could eat me. i wanted to see what the sharks look like in real life. you don't really get white sharks in zoos and aquariums and stuff cos they don't do that well in captivity... like the crocs, they're just amazing animals to be able to see with your own eyes

a lot of people don't understand why i'm so interested in crocs and sharks. i guess what most people don't understand (or rather, the way i understand it) is that they're apex predators... and so, whatever happens to them, affects all the trophic levels below them... if anybody was interested in keeping places like the Okavango the way it is - and i think everyone would be - then it's important to understand these top predators. and we kind of forget after all that we ourselves are predators. and probably the worst kind. look at what we've done. crocs are crocs, they eat to live. it's the same with sharks. there are some people that do horrible things, just for the sake of it. just some food for thought.

lone female travellers in africa - it's not so bad. it's just, like you probably know, common sense. and keeping your wits i guess... if i was in the city bowl in cape town and walking alone if the street was quiet and i saw a bunch of boys walking towards me i'd just cross the street. simple! and i didn't carry bags or anything that looked worth mugging me for... but i guess i was kind of lucky too cos i more or less blended in since everyone looks so much of mixed origin in cape town! i had a lot of peole ask if i was living there! ha! i don't really know why still

about hitching - i spoke to a LOT of people before i left livingstone for maun. nobody recommends hitching but botswana is the only exception... you have no idea how many people i asked about how to get from livingstone to maun. in the end, everyone said soething different and i didn't have much choice... i suppose sometimes you just kind of have to go with the flow! like i said, if these people seemed dodgy i would have just said i didn't need a lift (and probably would have missed the bus to maun but anyway!) But i admit i was lucky and no, i probably wouldn't take my chances again! not alone anyway

anyway on that note if anyone is heading over to Africa and wants to ask anything, anything at all, start writing and send me a message! i love questions. especially if they're to do with travel. if any of you feel the slightest urge to go to Africa, GO! it will be more than you ever imagined. k. this is me signing off. i might add bits here and there if i remember anything, and will probably add more photos so, if you feel like it check back now and again. i'm sure i won't be able to stop talking about this trip for a while.

Seeeeeeeeyaaaa!
luv
Chels