Topdeck Travel Blog

Back in March Amanda Griffin won herself an African Safari in our "Wild About Topdeck Africa" competition. Well, Amanda has just returned home after 19 days on the road and has put together a selection of photos she'd like to share with us. "It was a chilly morning when we got up at 5. We were the first footprints to break the surface of the Dune 45 that day. When we got back after our explorations we were greeted with a feast of pancakes prepared by our guides - such a good day!" "We were so lucky to see this leopard (or leo-parrrd as our guide says) about 10m from us at Chobe National Park. The safari guide got a call on the radio in another language and next thing we had turned around, unaware of what was happening, and were zooming towards something unknown. It turned out to be this amazing sight. We sat there for a long time just mesmerised by the beauty of the leo-parrrrd." "Another absolutely beautiful area to camp, Spitzkoppe is completely untouched land (sans a few bushman artworks on the rocks from thousands of years ago). There are no showers, amenities or toilets - it was hard-core camping! We had the option to sleep outside, but it was freezing cold (and I have a fear of scorpions climbing into my sleeping bag) so none of us braved the weather - which in the morning we realised was wise as there was frost on one of the mats left outside! You can see our safari truck in this picture and it gives an idea of just how HUGE the boulders are!" "These animals were less than 50m from us as we sat behind a fence just watching them. Crazy."

"Just chillin' in the Mokoro as the local guides take us to our bush camp in the Okavango Delta - no fences, no protection, no amenities - just camping in the wild with the animals! We did a bushwalk with the local guides and a huge elephant came within 10m of us while we were strolling. We were instructed to stand still so as not to alarm the elephant and wait for it to walk away - definitely got the heart beating!"

"The beautiful Sossusvlei used to be a lake, but is now a clay/salt pan surrounded by contrasting dunes. Also a part of Namib-Naukluft National Park - very pretty!" "My absolute highlight of the trip! In Livingstone we had an optional activity to go on a lion walk where we could pat 17 month old lions and walk with them as they familiarised themselves with the landscape (Note: they are not drugged or anything). They gave us a stick just in case the lion 'gave us a funny look' so that we could tap the ground to distract it (I think it was really just so we felt safer) Very cool!" "Africa was absolutely amazing! The tour guides were fantastic, people were fantastic, we got to see the Big Five (including a leopard eating a baby elephant - pretty insane!), walked with and patted some lions (crazy cool!), went on a microlight flight over Vic Falls and I went skydiving in Namibia! Overall it was an absolute success of a trip that I wholeheartedly recommend." *** Amanda travelled on Topdeck's 19 day Desert Tracker. If you want to experience all that Africa has to offer join us on one of our safari adventures.