Miss Lily

I cannot believe it but all of a sudden I'm back in South Africa and my 7 weeks on the truck is done and gone. 

 

I'm trying to comprehend everything I have experienced and let it all sink in.  All the game drives, the bush walks and boat tours on rivers and deltas in search of Africa's wildlife. All the hours on the truck on bumpy roads, in the bush and in queues into bigger cities or for border crossings. We were banned to call the truck "a bus" unless we were in those queues when we without bad conscience drove passed the 2 km line of trucks (since we were a bus with people onboard you know), leaving them there to wait for days to cross. Very convenient! ;)

 

I keep to my first opinion that doing an overland trip is THE best way to see and experience a country/continent. To be able to not only observe but feel like a part of the nature and surroundings even though just passing through a village or farming community. To be able to take in the changes in attitudes from the people as they see a huge truck with mzungus coming past and take in the smells of rain, bush fires, food cooking and more often garbage burning is something that other bus tours do not offer their tourists. Some might not want it but if I visit a place I want to be able to see every aspect, good things and bad, the happy and the sad, the wealth and the misery. It makes you appreciate everything so much more the times you see how people can survive and be genuinely happy with so much less than others are used to. Also it makes you realize what is needed for you to help later on. 

 

The friendliness of the people all the way up was surprising to me. I only got a few fingers directed my way but once a flipflop thrown towards me on the truck. The boy that threw it got quite a scare when the big overland truck slammed the brakes and reversed towards him, he proved that Kenyans are very fast runners right there and then! ;)

 

To do an overland trip is however not a piece of cake some of the times. If you are not up for camping in a tent, in pouring rain and mud sometimes, with only a mattress and sleeping bag at your service every night there is upgrades sometimes, but really what is the fun in that? The days on bush camps with no toilets or showers are not for people who are used to be clean and comfortable. You also get very used to have many days between hot showers so in the end cold showers is the deal on these trips. If you are not keen for sitting for hours and hours on the roads with only a book to read or, if the road is not too bumpy, card games to play or sleeping as activity then you are in it to be bored sometimes. 

 

The most challenging aspect of trips like these however is the group dynamics amongst the people jumping on and off the trucks. Even though I enjoyed my trip overall I am debating whether or not I would do it again, simply due to the fact of the people on my truck. To have people on a truck like this that have been traveling for months together and finding how much they can't stand each other with no way to change mindset or route was one reality. Couples getting together for the sole reason (is my opinion) that it was convenient to have someone close on the trip but then getting stuck with each other for the rest of the way, spending every single moment next to each other gets them after some months to the point where most couples would be after years of marriage and the negativity that it brings to the groups atmosphere can be detrimental. On top of that I was faced with the most negative people I think I have ever met and have found out that all evil on this world simply comes from raw insecurity in mankind. People who are forced to push other people down in order to push themselves up makes me sick to the core. And people who makes themselves being treated like dogs only due to loneliness and "love" are very close on that list too, together with the ones that treat others that bad. 

 

One of the team said to me one day; "Wow Sof, you joined this trip being a happy and cheerful girl and the words that come out now is completely different!" It's true, the people on the trip got to me in the end, even if I fought it good for three weeks or so it is hard when you don't get away from them more than a couple of minutes every day. I got quite bitter the last weeks but I have no doubt that I will bounce right back and have only the good memories left in a while and go back to the positive me. After all I met not only the bad kind of people but had amazing times with the rest which was very loving and positive, fun people. My brazilian darling who gave warmth and smiles to everything and everyone, the crew of three from SA and Hong Kong that joined with me in Joburg but stayed too short time, the German who joined for an even shorter time in the middle and my last crew of Australian sarcasm and British "don't really fancy that much" buddies that gave me such joy and good times to round up the trip. Also the drivers of the trucks were amazing! I miss most of them a lot and thought to myself that I might still do this thing again, I think I have had the worst crew I could have gotten in a lot of ways and still feel ok with it so as the German would say; "Why not?" ;)

 

To sum it up, If you have not done an overland trip yet, Do it! Just be prepared to turn your head away and adapt to group dynamics and focus on the good and amazing things that is happening outside the truck. Traveling overall and especially on a truck like this shows you that there is more important lessons to be learned that you ever had before.