Around the World in Review, Leg 08: Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, and Seychelles

Angela and I left the Middle East for points south, returning to Africa for the second time during this trip around the world. We flew directly into Mombasa, Kenya, and drove out of the city to stay at the blissful Diani Beach. It was then on to the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar where, between quiet walks on the endless beach at low tide, we found time to scuba dive and to visit a fascinating spice plantation.

After a quick stop at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro, we spent an unexpected night in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, when we were refused a transit visa. Nonplussed, we found a quiet hotel and a wonderful dinner to pass the time until we could fly on to Kigali, Rwanda.

Thus far, Angela and I had avoided any major sickness on this trip. But that changed with an ill-fated meal at a Chinese restaurant that shall remain nameless. I left Rwanda dehydrated and dizzy, but still able to press on.

We spent two nights recovering in the capital of Lusaka before flying on to Livingstone, Zambia. A thunderstorm hovering over the airfield in Livingstone caused us to experience our first aborted landing, but we touched down about an hour later without issue.

For the next ten days we kayaked on the Zambezi River, swam in the Devil’s Pool, watched the sunsets and stars in Botswana, and walked across the border into Namibia, all while continuing to slowly recover from the previous food poisoning. Then it was a quick couple of days in the Botswanan capital of Gaborone before making our way to Cape Town, South Africa, where we dove with fur seals and shared the beach with penguins.

After a restful four days in Maputo, Mozambique, we hopped through Addis Ababa once again before leaving the continent and arriving in the Seychelles. Although the weather didn’t cooperate for diving, we did manage to visit a beautiful botanical garden and feed the island’s giant tortoises.

Previous: Leg 07: Cyprus, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Kuwait, UAE, and Oman

Next: Leg 09: Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Macau, and China