One of those lame summing up posts.

I should probably write something meaningful here summing up my trip, and how it changed my life but i'm not very good at that - also I was basically on a 8 month holiday and there's nothing particularly meaningful about that! So i will sum up some top fives here....

• Best Countries - Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zim and Lesotho (Kenya looses out as the South is a bit shit whereas the north is AMAZING).

Sudan	Making friends in Zimbabwe

• Worst Counties, I can't pick 5 here, but definitely Mozambique (for the unfriendly people, getting ripped off and un-laid back vibe) and South Africa (for the prices, the segregation and feeling the most unsafe in the whole of Africa)
  
• Best manmade places - The pyramids (Cairo, Egypt) Karnak Temple (Luxor, Egypt), Orlando Towers (Soweto, SA), The Big Hole (Kimberly, SA) and Great Zimbabwe (Masvingo, Zimbabwe)

Karnak Temple	Orlando Towers

• Best natural places – the skies in Kenya, Sanddunes in Namibia, Sudanease desert, Mountains in Lesotho and the Simien Mountains
  

Soussivali, Namibia	cloud porn, Kenya

• Best 'cultural experiences' - any local disco, the King of Swaziland's wedding, Samburu scrabble in Kenya, negotiating the markets in Ethiopia, the ferry between Egypt and Sudan.
  

Topless virgins at the King of Swaziland’s wedding	Diet coke break anyone? Somewhere on Lake Nassar, Egypt

• Most underwhelming places - Tanzania (seems a bit 'blah'), Zanzibar (not the island paradise I was expecting), Victoria Falls (good but just not amazing), Marsabit NP (no animals, truck with no breaks), The Masai Mara.
  

I guess Vic Falls is alright…	…as is Zanzibar

• Best animal moments - feeding the hyenas in Harar, Ethiopia, seeing the gorillas in DRC, Ostrich riding in SA, Elephants in South Lwanga NP, Charly, Alice and me posing like animals at every opportunity

Seriously who needs wildlife when you can just create your own/this is what happens when you spend 10 hours squashed into a truck listening to inane conversations.	Riding an ostrich, as you do, Oudstoorm, South Africa.

• Worst campsites - Karen Camp (Nairobi) Kande Beach (Malawi); The other place we stayed  (Malawi) Jinja (Uganda), Grubby’s Grotto (Livingstone, Zambia) and all those other compounds we stayed in in Southern Africa that I've erased from my memory.

Birthday breakfast, the only good thing about Karen Camp	Sam and Alice doing anything to entertain themselves, Grubby’s Grotto, Livingstone.

• Best campsites - any bushcamp in Sudan, The quarry on the way to Harar, Mount Kenya, Side of the hill, Lesotho, The place with the camels, Sudan/Ethiopia.

Good morning camels	Quarry, Ethiopia

• Best food/drink - Karl's veggie patties, Diet Coke, lemon curd at the farm, KFC brownie avalanche ice cream/any fast food in SA, beer in Ethiopia

30cent beer…yes please	fast food overload in SA

• Worst food/drink - Simien Mountain beer, Chibuku, that gross carbonara we had on the truck once, powdered milk, warm water in Sudan.

Chibuku!!

• Best oufits – my England Shorts, Tris’ muu muu, Galbyn’s Christmas Hat, Amy’s Arusha jumpers, Alice’s Bindi outfit

muu muu!!	And Bindi was born

• Best nights out - unbreakers (Bahir Dar, Ethiopia), Marsabit (Kenya), Chibuku night (Malawi), The last night in Cape Town (South AfricA) and the night of the Gondor Brewery Tour (Ethiopia)

‘unbreakers’	Marty showing off his dance moves, Cape Town

• Songs of the trip - Wavin' Flag, Waka Waka, anything written by Tom, Where can you see lions? and that Australian song they always played on the truck.

Kenya, Kenya, Kenya, Kenyaaaaaa

• Favourite dance moves - the reverse boxer (made famous by Galbyn), The Ethiopian shoulder dancing, the bird dance (as taught to me and Charly in Malawi), Samburu warrior dance and of course the funky chicken (seen everywhere and anywhere)

Samburu dancing/funky chicken	The reverse boxer

Thank you Africa, you've been bloody brilliant!

 

(where shall I go next?)