AnadventureinAfrica30JuneDearAihuaHowareyou?SorryIhaven’twrittenforsolong.I’vebeenquitebusyarrangingmyholidaywithmyolderbrother,Colin.ColinandIplantospendafewweekstravellingbeforehegoestouniversity.We’regoingtovisitsomanyexcitingplacesanddolotsofextraordinarythings.WewillgotoAfricafirst.Ican’twait!Haveyoueverbeenthere?WeleaveLondonon15July,andwe’llbetakingaflighttoMorocco,innorthernAfrica.We’regoingtoridecamelsthroughtheSaharaDesert.It’sthebiggestdesertintheworld―aboutthesizeoftheUS!Iexpectitwillbeveryhot,dryanddustythere.We’llbetravellingbycamelwithlocalguides,campingintentsandsleepingontheground.I’veheardthat,intheSahara,thereisnoshadeduringtheday,andthestarsseemespeciallybrilliantonclearnights.I’llbringaflashlightwithmesothatI’llbeabletoseeinthedark.Altogether,thetripwilltakesixdays.ThatmeansI’llhavetositonacamelforalmostaweek―howuncomfortable!Ihopemycamellikesme!Afterthetripbycamel,we’regoingtotraveldowntheRiverNile.We’llstartatLakeVictoria.AlittlewaydowntheriverfromLakeVictoria,thewatergetsquiterough.So,we’llgowhite―waterrafting.It’squitedangerous,butveryexciting!Youhavetowearahelmetandalifejacketforprotection,justincaseyoufallintothewater.Then,we’regoingonatriptoseewildanimalsinKenya.We’lllivewiththelocalpeopleintheirvillages,anddrinkwhatevertheydo,includingcow’sblood!DoyouthinkIshoulddrinkit?Sincewe’llbewalkingforalmosttwoweeks,I’llneedtobuyalargebackpackinadvancetocarrymysuppliesoffoodandwater.Duringtheday,we’llwalkacrosstheland,followingthetracksofwildlifesuchaselephants,lionsandgiraffes.We’lltrytogetascloseaspossibletotheanimals,eventhoughthey’redangerous,sothatwecantakesomereallygoodphotographs.Butdon’tworryaboutme.Ourguideswillhavegunswiththemfordefence―theycanusethegunstoscaretheanimalsawayiftheycometoonear.Ireallywanttoseeanelephantupclose,andColinwantstoseeagiraffe.Afterthat,we’llbemovingontoTanzania,wherewe’regoingtoclimbMountKilimanjaro.Mountainclimbingcanbeverytiring,andmanypeoplefeelsickastheatmospheregetsthinner,soColinandIwillmakesurethatwewillgetplentyofrest.TheAfricapartofourtripwilltakeaboutfourweeks.Afterwards,we’regoingtotheHimalayas.I’llsendyoupostcardsfromallthedifferentplaceswevisit!LoveToby