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Trans Africa 2019
  • Marleen Relling
  • Marleen Relling

Trans Africa 2019

Februar - April 2019 Read more
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  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    Local cows
    Tea farmersBlack teaBlack teaLocal cowsWhen it rains, it rains heavily

    Day 21: Jinja - Kampala - Masindi

    February 22, 2019 in Uganda ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Another day of driving ... about 10 hours in the truck. We are all pretty tired and happy that after this day we will have some active days ahead 💪🏃🏼‍♀️🥾

    But there was also a reward at the end of the day: The hotel we are staying at for the next two days is much much nicer than any place we have stayed at before ... so a day to be grateful for 🙏

    Today I’m showing you some more beautiful pics of Uganda and a video of the rain ☔️    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    1Cute couple ... i think one of them is smiling
    Piles of hippos everywhereCrocodileScenery at the boat cruiseWaterfallAnd a rainbow ... no gold at the end thoughHello 😊Me and my girls (they are the best)Chunky chunkyChimp - as seen by the other group

    Day 22: Hippos & Chimps

    February 23, 2019 in Uganda ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Today we went to Budongo Central Forest Reserve, a big mahogany forest in East Africa 🌴🌱🌿🇺🇬

    We started with a boat cruise along the river Nile in Murchison Falls National Park. And I now know why we call hippos “Nilpferd” in Germany...the river is home to soooo many of them...amazing. Just look at the picture of the two cuddling hippos...one of my favorites so far 🦛💛

    Afterwards we hiked through Budongo forest for more than 3 hours (loved it) hoping to see some chimpanzees 🐵 Unfortunately, my group was unlucky - we did not get to see them 🤷🏼‍♀️

    Which brings me to another lesson learned from this trip: Be grateful for the things that did work out and just forget about the rest 🙏
    This is something we tend to forget most of the time - we are very good at complaining 😉 But at the end of the day happiness can only be created by ourselves 💛    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    Baby rhino about 2 months old
    Africa 🇺🇬💛2Mom and baby rhinoRhino brothersBig boyWe gave them balloons🇺🇬💛🇺🇬Drinks with the gangThe Uganda group

    Day 23: Back to Kampala

    February 24, 2019 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    The day started off very nicely: We went to a rhino sanctuary 🦏🇺🇬. Rhinos were extinct in Uganda, thus, this place is trying to bring the rhinos back to the country...so far white rhinos only.

    We were walking through the sanctuary where the rhinos are running around freely. And we were able to stand right next to them...they are huge and it is an amazing feeling to stand this closely to these creatures 🦏 Again, we were also able to see lots of baby animals (as you know this makes me very happy 😊).

    Then, on our way to Kampala, we stopped to switch cars and quickly we were surrounded by several local children. They were asking for sweets so I gave them my cookies and afterwards we gave them pencils ✏️ and balloons 🎈 They were so happy ... incredibly happy ...

    I’m falling in love with this continent more and more every day ... before I left, some of you were telling me “I bet you are not coming back home after this trip”; well, let’s see 😉💛

    PS: Today I had air conditioning and a hair dryer for the first time in weeks ... heaven ... simply heaven 😂🙏🇺🇬    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    1

    Day 24: Moving on to Gorilla land

    February 25, 2019 in Uganda ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Another full day in the car, driving through Uganda to get to Lake Bunyonyi, the place where we will hopefully find the Gorillas within the next days 🇺🇬🦍🇺🇬

    On our way we passed the equator again ... time for pictures 😉

    And finally, we have arrived at the most beautiful place I have seen so far ... amazing nature 🌿🌱; this part of Uganda is very green and it seems like the people living here are enjoying a much better life than in other parts of the country ... see for yourself 🇺🇬    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    1Me and Anne1Today's group

    Day 25: Monkey island

    February 26, 2019 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    This was the big day we have been waiting for the past days, the highlight of this trip: Walking through the jungle to see the gorillas 🦍 🇺🇬

    I will let the pictures speak for themselves...it was a great experience and I highly recommend you do it yourself 🦍🦍🦍

    You will also find a picture of me and the group as well as of me and Anne. Have I told you about Anne? She is a role model: 77 years old lady from the US, more fit than the rest of the group (always the first when hiking through the woods), traveling alone (her husband stayed at home) and an absolutely sweet character (never complains) - when I’m 77 i would love to be exactly like her 🙏💛    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    At the museumGravesWall of names - some people are still missingGravesLots of people are riding bikes - this is different from other East African countriesTea and rice fields everywhere

    Day 26: Hotel Ruanda

    February 27, 2019 in Rwanda ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    🇷🇼 🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼

    Today I went on a day trip to one of the neighboring countries, Ruanda. Ruanda has a very sad history as in the 1990s as well as before that it had to experience genocide. The saddest thing is that most of us don’t even know about this genocide ever taking place ... at least I can’t remember anyone teaching me this in school. If you are interested I suggest you watch the movie “Hotel Ruanda” ... it’s a good movie which provides some insight into what has happened back then.
    Out of respect, I haven’t taken many pictures at the memorials ... it was a very emotional day with lots of tears.

    Apart from its history, Ruanda is a beautiful country. Very clean (plastic bags are illegal) and also quite developed in terms of infrastructure. I will come back one day for sure ...

    🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    Anne ... she is the best

    Day 27: Back to Kampala

    February 28, 2019 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We are now on our way back! This means my first overland truck tour is almost coming to an end 😱 I’m not ready for home AT ALL so any day that passes by scares me a bit.

    Today we went back to Kampala 🇺🇬 - another 10 hours drive. But we get to stay at the nice hotel with air conditioning and hair dryer again 🎉

    Tonight we also had to say goodbye to a few fellow travelers as not all of us are going back to Kenya. This is a bit sad as we have grown so close to each other within the past days. But we will keep in touch, I’m sure!

    You will find some photos I took on the way...    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    Local church
    First time I have seen this in AfricaLocal mosqueSchoolLocal restaurant 😳Coffee

    Day 28: Jinja

    March 1, 2019 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Remember Jinja? I have been here before. Only this time I had half a day to spend in this nice town. So I have decided to get a local guide and take a tour through Jinja village 🇺🇬

    The guide was the sweetest man. Very, very smart!!! Actually he knew more about what is currently going on in the world than I do 😂 And he taught me about his culture and believes 🙏

    You will find some pictures of the town. I will make another post just about the children I have met today - they were very sweet 💛    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    My guideThe guide in front of his house

    Day 28: The children of Jinja

    March 1, 2019 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    As promised some pics of the local kids ... they are very curious and like to hold hands 💛🙏😍

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    The guides cooking lunch
    2New friends 😉They loved the balloonsCooking on the truck (Karen)

    Day 29: Back to Kenya (Eldoret)

    March 3, 2019 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Today we left Uganda 🇺🇬 and started to go back to Kenya 🇰🇪 But before the trip ends in Nairobi, we stayed one night in Eldoret, a beautiful village in high altitude (2,000m).

    On our way we stopped for lunch on the side of the road ... and it only took a few minutes until we were surrounded by local children. They loved our balloons and were excited about being with us. At the end we shared our food with them 💛🙏Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    Our guides - they will also be on my next tour
    The best group ever 💛I will miss them 💛Me freezing on the truck - glad I had my Kili clothes😂1First time in the poolWe enjoyed itA lot 😉

    Day 30: Another chapter comes to an end

    March 3, 2019 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    I am really glad that today we arrived back in civilization (Nairobi), but this also means that after Kilimandscharo and Zanzibar another chapter comes to end (Uganda, Ruanda & Kenya) 😢

    I have made really good friends on this trip and I will miss them so much 💛 - only one of them is staying, all the others are flying home today.

    But I have so many wonderful adventures ahead of me that I am also excited about what’s next. Starting tomorrow I will move on to Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe ... and finally South Africa 💛    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    1My new home for tonight

    Day 31: New beginnings in Tanzania

    March 4, 2019 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    New day, new week, new trip, new group. But luckily same guides and same truck 🙏

    Today I have started a new chapter of this trip: Nairobi to Victoria Falls (Kenya 🇰🇪 to Zimbabwe 🇿🇼). Leaving Kenya behind, we crossed the border to Tanzania 🇹🇿 and finally arrived in Arusha to spend the night.

    I am struggling a bit without my old group. We have spent the past two weeks together and some of them have become my travel family 👩‍👩‍👧‍👧; we were such a great team ... now I’m back on my own again. You know me, I’ll manage and I’ll make new friends ... but I really do miss them 😢

    Almost no pics today - but I’ll make up for it in the upcoming days!    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    Along the crater
    Camp at the crater1

    Day 32: Off to Ngorongoro and Serengeti

    March 5, 2019 in Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    A day of driving. But unlike the days before, today’s drive was about getting to one of the major highlights of my entire trip: The Ngorongoro crater and the famous Serengeti 🐘🦛🦏🐆🦒🦁.

    If you know me, you know how much I love animals and nature, so you can probably imagine how excited I am about this excursion 💛

    I have attached a few pics I have taken along the way ... isn’t it gorgeous? I hope you enjoy the colors as much as I do 💛    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    Buffalo
    One day, I will do this with someone specialBig papa1Snuggle bugsCheetah1Look at the colorsFull belly, nap time - they just ate a wildebeest2I love animal feet ... cute, ey?

    Day 33 & 34: Serengeti national park

    March 6, 2019 in Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Time for game drive at the world famous Serengeti national park (🎼 “da gibt’s alles was ich mag“; do you also have the radio jingle in your head when you think of Serengeti?) 🦒🐆🦏🐘🦛

    Anyways. If you ever want to do a safari, I recommend you come to this national park. It is so unique and so much more wildlife than any other park I have seen before.

    First of all, we sleep in a camp that is not fenced. So when you go to the bathroom at night, it’s quite likely that you meet someone. In my case, a hyena 😂 I LOVED IT!!! (while everyone else was scared). It gets better: On day 34 I came from the washroom and bumped into an elephant 🐘; just to afterwards realize that my tent was surrounded by buffalos 🐃 Let me say this again: I LOVED IT 💛💛💛

    Second, I have never seen such masses of animals in one place (have a look at the zebra video). It was breathtaking - millions of animals in one spot 👌

    And finally, it is so wild and free. All you see is the savanna, an amazing blue sky and nature at its best. That’s why next time, I really want to fly across this place with a balloon 🎈

    I hope the pictures capture a bit of it’s beauty. But really I recommend you come here and see for yourself. I’m making multiple posts on this as I want to show you pics and videos.    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    1
    1Posing just for the perfect pictureBrothersJackalThe lake was full of flamingosView from the topI know they are ugly (Gnu) ... but the more time you spend with them, the more you like themEarly morning sunrise

    Day 35: Inside Ngorongoro Crater

    March 8, 2019 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We have left Serengeti, but before we went back “home” to Arusha, we went for another game drive - this time we actually drove into the crater 🗻

    Inside the crater you find a whole new ecosystem with thousands of animals, beautiful lakes and green fields. It kind of reminds me of the kids movie “The land before time” where the dinosaurs were looking for the The Great Valley 🌿🌱

    See for yourself ...    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    Local market - mainly sea food1My house for the nightMosqueView from my houseMount Kili on the wayMount Kili on the wayMe at my favorite occupation: playing games

    Day 36: Bagamoyo - Gate to Zanzibar

    March 9, 2019 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Leaving Arusha behind, we travelled around 500km west to reach the coast of Tanzania: Bagamoyo. We are just staying for one night as tomorrow we will go to Zanzibar - I cannot wait for two days at the beach 🏝

    On our way we passed the Kilimandscharo again. It is so beautiful 🏔 And when I see it I always think “I was up there - all by myself 💪💪💪” ... still proud of this ☺️

    Attached you will see some pics of the lodge as well as of Bagamoyo town ...    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    1

    Day 37 & 38: Zanzibar 2.0

    March 11, 2019 in Tanzania ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    I am back in paradise for a few days: 1.5 days of relaxing on the beach of Zanzibar in Nungwi 🏝

    I really needed a break so this was just perfect 👌 I desperately needed some “me time” and a break from being on a schedule all the time. I wish we would spend a few more days here - it’s so beautiful.Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    Local music store
    LunchWomen working at the spice farmShe was the cutest ... I met her at her family's house who kindly allowed me to use their bathroomOur cook - such a beautyStone Town architecture1Slavery monumentChurch in Stone TownTypical door designWoman working at the spice farm

    Day 39: Spices and Stone Town 2.0

    March 12, 2019 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Back again to a typical Zanzibar Spice Tour and Stone Town. At first I was hoping I could skip today’s program as I have done the exact same thing just a few weeks ago. But I went and I actually liked it as I have seen and experienced many new things 💛

    For example, we did have lunch at the spice farm. Local food: spicy rice and cooked banana with vegetable sauce. It was delicious 😋

    And in Stone Town we visited an exhibition on slavery which was very interesting. Zanzibar has quite a sad history. Once you enter one of the chambers in which the slaves were kept back then you really feel the horror of those days in which slavery was part of Zanzibar’s every day life.    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    1

    Day 40: Dar es Salaam

    March 13, 2019 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We are back on Tanzania mainland and spent an afternoon in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city.

    It’s a busy place 😉 We spent the day walking through some local streets and visiting a local market. You can buy anything you need for your home at this market: From fresh fruit and vegetables to clothes and household equipment. It was great fun and also quite nice to walk for a bit.

    But I am a bit sad today as I just realized that more than half of my trip is already over ... time flies and I am sooooo not ready to go home 🤷🏼‍♀️    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler

    Day 41: Going South (Mikumi)

    March 14, 2019 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    So we have left the busy town of Dar es Salaam and spent the day in the truck to go further south and closer to our next country, Malawi 🇲🇼

    The traffic jam in Dar es Salaam was awful so the drive took a very long time. In the late afternoon we finally arrived at the next destination: Mikumi National Park. A beautiful lodge where everyone had their own little cottage.

    Like Serengeti, this national park as well as the lodge property are not fenced ... so guess what happened? Yes, I have been visited by four-legged creatures again. Two water buffalos having dinner right in front of my house 🐂.

    It’s probably just a coincidence. But I feel blessed that on this trip the wild animals always came very close to ME ... I love wild life and maybe this is just the law of attraction at its best 🤷🏼‍♀️🙏✨    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    1

    Day 42: Mikumi National Park & Iringa

    March 15, 2019 in Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today was a perfect day. Really just perfect 💛

    We started the day with another game drive at Mikumi National Park. We got to see so many giraffes 🦒 and elephants 🐘 ... the elephants came really close to our vehicle. I’m never getting tried of being with these creatures. Although I must admit I have started to take less photos and just focused on observing them with my eyes. If you think about it: How many people travel and see only with their phones and cameras but not with their eyes and with their minds? It’s all about getting that perfect picture to show to friends and family. And that’s fine. But I have decided that for me it’s more about being present in the moment myself 🙏

    After the game drive we headed further south to a place called Iringa. On our way we stopped on the side of the road as we have seen several Baobab trees (very old trees, some almost 2,000 years old) - the locals believe that you need to hug one of these trees and make a wish and it will come true ✨ let’s see ... I made two ✌️

    When we finally arrived at the lodge, we came to find one of the most beautiful lodges I have stayed at in the past week. An old farm house. The farm is still intact producing meat and vegetables 🌽🥦🥬🥕🐄🐑. We also had dinner at the farm; they served us a meal with only produce from the farm. It was yummy! But the best was actually the rooms. I slept in the stables. And for the first time in weeks I had a proper pillow and blanket ... I slept like a baby 💫✨🌙    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler
    Love my new head cover
    What you see here is the walk in front of my room covered in dead flies 😱Local hospitalLocal hospitalView from the lodge - the lake is beautifulThe vehicle for the mountain trip

    Day 43 & 44: Lake Malawi (North)

    March 17, 2019 in Malawi ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Lake Malawi is a beautiful place ... just look at the lake 🌴

    The only problem: it’s so incredibly hot... much hotter than anywhere else I have been before on this trip. And: there are so many flies 😱

    In the morning we went to the local village. This village is supported by an NGO, namely the lodge that we are staying at (and USAid). Any profit this NGO makes go directly into support for the local village. A very nice idea - which makes the fact that our accommodation was very very basic (no water today for washing) seem irrelevant. The village was beautiful 💛 So many happy and proud people. They were especially proud of their local hospital. And we were very impressed by everything they have accomplished 🙏

    Remember I was supposed to give Anne’s umbrella to the local kids? Well, I did and they were soooo happy about it. Just a simple umbrella. And more than 10 kids were excited about it ✨

    In the afternoon I was ready for another adventure. I wanted to go up to Livingstonia. Not hiking - too hot - driving up. It was an adventure for sure. We drove in a small car, no 4x4 ... and of course did not make it to the top 😂 At some point two passengers actually jumped out of the car as the car was just going downhill backwards (quite scary when the driver is not doing anything to stop this process) ... I stayed inside trying to explain to the driver how to drive an automatic car. He did not quite like it (he was actually surprised that I can drive a car in my home country) ... but finally accepted help and we made it safely back down to the hotel. The others were a bit terrified ... but I loved this trip ... when things do not go as planned you usually make the best memories 🤷🏼‍♀️☺️🙏    Read more

  • Marleen RellingTrans Africa 2019Traveler

    Day 45: Lake Malawi (Central)

    March 18, 2019 in Malawi ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Another day, another drive. We travelled down south along the shores of lake Malawi 🇲🇼 to spend two days at another lodge.

    And this lodge is just perfect 👌 After two days of just very basic accommodation, this place feels like pure luxury: Right at the beach, nice garden, soft bed, clean bathroom with running water and an infinity pool 💛 Please forgive me for being so excited about this 🙈 - but these accommodations are so rare on this trip that when I do get some comfort I get really excited about it ✨

    When we were driving through Malawi I was thinking about our first world definition of wealth and poverty. Malawi 🇲🇼 is supposed to be a very poor country. But if you take a close look you see happy faces, people having enough food (because they grow everything they eat themselves) as well as small houses surrounded by lots of amazing nature ... and a huge fresh water lake. So basically they have what they need for a happy life, no?
    Almost no one is driving a car here ... they walk, they ride bikes. But I feel not having cars is actually a benefit - better for the planet, better for personal fitness and it makes you stick to the local community. At night everyone is out on the streets - happy!
    Don’t get me wrong the people here have their problems (like medical care for example) and they do need support, but I do think they are not just poor ... they have wealth ... just a different kind than we have and we should admire them for it 🙏💛    Read more

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