I'm on a Boat!

Botswana

Pictures: sunset boat cruise on the Thebe River between Namibia and Botswana. Elephants in the background! I kept singing "I'm on a Boat" from SNL...no one knew it and thought that I was crazy. Oh well. Also, bench pressing an elephant bone! The awesome cheetah picture is below this post.

The last week has been my favorite of the trip so far. We took ride a 3 ½ hour mokoro ride (picture a canoe carved out of a tree) into the Okavango Delta. The mokoro boats are made from the African Sausage Tree. Gerad/Bridget/James, if you recall, we saw one of those trees at Jungle Island. The ride was so peaceful on the Delta. Each boat had its own poler, so all we had to do was relax, watch the world go by and avoid eating too many bugs.

We were literally miles away from anyone in the Delta. Just the wilderness and us. We went on over 8 hours of bush walks around the Delta. We were hiking through bush as tall as and taller than most of us… no trails! We saw elephants, lots of baboons, zebra, wildebeest and hippos. I swam in the Delta, but I didn’t stay in long because of the crocs and hippos in the area! I also tried my hands at poling the mokoro. Thank goodness I’ve got okay balance or else I certainly would have flipped it!

The last evening spent on the Delta will probably go down as one of the most memorable nights from my time in Africa. The African guides and polers who were with us wanted to perform some local music for us. They ended up singing and dancing for at least a half hour…some of the coolest acoustic music I’ve ever heard. Then, they asked each country represented on the trek to perform for them. Of course the other 4 Americans nominated me to choose what we would perform (their mistake!). So, when it was the USA’s turn, I had the 2 guys shaking their rump and the other 2 girls and I rapped ‘Baby Got Back’ as loud as we could. I was laughing so hard that I cried! We all danced, sang and laughed for hours. It was great to have so much fun with no electricity, no cable…nothing but a campfire under the stars.

Chobe National Park, along the Thebe River, was definitely the best game viewing so far. Lots of carnage: a recently dead water buffalo being eaten by several crocs, a jackal devouring a recently killed impala and vultures picking at another deceased water buffalo. Let’s get it on: baboons join the list of animals that I’ve witnessed mating! Baboons are very promiscuous.

There are over 120,000 elephants in Chobe, and we saw at least several hundred of them. At some points during the game drive, they were no more than 10’ from our open air truck. The definite highlight of the trip was watching 2 lionesses and their 3 lion cubs playing in a grassy plain. We heard a warthog nearby and then watched as the two lionesses started stalking the warthog. They divided into two different bush patches – one chased the warthog towards the other. Unfortunately, they didn’t make the kill…but it was awesome to watch it all transpire. They ended up walking right past the truck, no more than 5’ away! It was crazy to be so close to them!

We camped overnight in the park. Trine and I stayed up later than anyone else chatting around the campfire. We could hear elephants ripping down tree branches nearby, watched two honey badgers devouring our leftover food in the cook’s area of the camp and saw stars shooting around the Milky Way (star gazing is incredibly here!). Then, a lion roared very close to our camp. We screamed and ran like hell into our tents!

We made it into Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side yesterday. I’ve already purchased one hundred trillion, fifty trillion, ten trillion and twenty billion Zimbabwe dollars. They’re worthless, but it’s cool that I have a fifty trillion dollar note! This afternoon I’m doing the ‘adrenaline’ package. Just down from Vic Falls, I’ll be repelling down the gorge, jumping into the gorge, swinging into the gorge, zip lining across the gorge and something else that I can’t remember but it sounds cool! I hope we get helmets. I’ve booked a spa package for Sunday – an hour massage, hour facial and mani/pedi for $45. You have no idea how dirty you can get by camping in the bush. Monday we head into Zambia where I’m doing a micro light flight over Victoria Falls.

Medical update: had some kind of crazy reaction to either a plant or insect. Not sure what it was, but I basically thought I would have to amputate my toe for about a 24 hour period. It was really swollen, red and I couldn’t walk. It’s much better now. Probably picked it up in the bush during one of our roadside restroom breaks!

Lenna, congrats on the Dean position! That is awesome! Candi, sorry to hear about Misty. I named one the baboons in her honor. Internet access will become more difficult as we move farther north and east. I’ll do my best to update when I have the opportunity! That’s all for now from Zimbabwe! (Just in case you’re curious, I wrote all of this in Word on the truck on someone’s laptop and then just copied and pasted – don’t want to waste all my time in an internet café!)

Cheetah Picture

Week Two: Namibia

Greetings from Botswana! We crossed the border into Botswana this morning, and the border patrols are so casual compared to the States. We also had to cross a foot and mouth disease checkpoint where we had to carry a pair of shoes and wear a pair and rub them both in some kind of solution. I have 3 other pairs in my pack, guess they aren't worried about the diseases I might have on those shoes!
Cheetah Park and Etosha National Park were awesome. They are rehabilitating wild cheetahs at the park. We went on a ride in the back of a truck (wide open!) where they fed the cheetahs donkey meat. It was awesome because the cats all got really aggressive and fought for the meat. I took what the group has voted a 'national geographic worthy' picture of a cheetah jumping in the air for the meat, but I can't upload pictures from the internet cafe today unfortunately! Next time!
In Etosha, we saw a bunch of giraffes, elephants, zebras, wildebeests, impalas, warthogs, springbok, oryx, kudu...the list goes on and on! 5 lions over the course of two days. Highlights of the game drive: a zebra stampede and a pair of lions mating. It appears that I seem to move animals to mate - they've done it everywhere I have been so far! ;)
Here's a little bit about a typical day on the trek. We get up anywhere between 4:45 and 6:00 AM. Breakfast is typically cereal and fried eggs. We are on the truck (fits 30, we picked up two more people so we're full!) for about 4-5 hours a day heading to our next destination. I read, listen to music, sleep and watch the beautiful landscapes pass us by. My favorite times on the truck are when we slam on the brakes because a herd of cows, donkeys or goats (not sheep - I know the difference!) are running across the street. Most of the roads in Namibia were not paved, they've been good in Botswana and were in South Africa. Made for a bumpy few hours! Depending on when we arrive at the next campground, we'll either eat lunch there or stop on the side of the road for a picnic. Lots of veggies, sandwiches, pasta salads, fruit - much better than I had anticipated. At the campground, I usually go for a hike exploring what's around and get organized. It gets dark at about 5:30 here, so we start a campfire and then all sit around together and drink. I've become a big fan of boxed wine because it travels well and it's South African wine, so much better than what you get at home. We tell stories, laugh and try to figure out where we're going the next day. Dinner usually consists of some kind of veggie, meat and a starch. The trek has well exceeded my expectations!
Time has slowed significantly for me and I think no more than about 12 hours ahead anymore! It's a wonderful feeling...my only stress is what to wear the next morning! I think I'd also like to retract my statement about not being able to survive camping. I actually am really liking it. I like the simplicity of carrying everything I need in one bag and not knowing what the next place I'll sleep will look like. Trine and I are masters at setting up the tent. We time ourselves and have cut our time from 5:35 to 3:52 seconds. Talk about improvements in efficiency! I have forgotten what it's like to wear make up. Contrary to what a lot of you might think, I am showering daily.
The weather is crazy here. I've never been in anything like it. It gets down to the 30's and 40's as soon as the sun goes down, and pushes up into the upper 80's and 90's about an hour after the sun comes up. Makes dressing each morning a real challenge! Thank goodness I bought the 20 degree sleeping bag, I've been plenty warm each night! My malaria meds have made me extremely sensitive to the sun, so I'm wearing a lot of sunscreen - sun is hot so near the Tropic of Capricorn!
Tomorrow we head into the Okavango Delta for two nights of game hunting in wooden canoes with the locals and bush camping (no showers or toilets for two nights!). Then, we're off to the Chobe National Park where we'll see a lot more game. I finally feel like I've gotten to Africa! It was such a great feeling to see an elephant, giraffe, zebra and lion in the wild for the first time...almost surreal.
Having a blast..thinking of all of you often! Thanks for the comments to the blog! It's great to hear from you. Will write after Chobe!

Overland Trek: Week One

My apologies for the delay in blog posts! Some of the places we have stayed do not have power and/or the internet. I'll be lucky to post every 7 days from now through the rest of my time in Africa! Once I get a quicker connection, I'll upload a lot more pics onto picasa.

The first week of the overland trek brought many 'firsts'. The first time I've pitched a tent, the first time that I've seen a desert and the first time I've seen a pack of wild zebras on the side of the road!

On the trek, there are Irish, Scottish, English, Dutch, German, Danish, Spanish and Australians, as well as 4 other Americans. 11 of us are traveling alone, and there are only 9 guys...no potential there! ;( It's a fun group. We've all gotten along really well so far...hope that lasts!

This week we crossed from South Africa into Namibia. We watched the sunset over Fish River Canyon, 2nd to the Grand Canyon for largest canyon in the world. The reflections of the sun deep into the canyon were post card worthy. We camped outside Bethania where I climbed to the top of a mountain (photo). In the distance, you can see the one dirt road in the vast landscape. There are only 2 people per square mile in Namibia, and it has been refreshing to see such vast streches of untouched nature.

Thursday we climbed Dune 45, supposedly the highest in the world, to watch the sunset in the Namib-Naukluft Park, one of the oldest deserts in the world. It was a really difficult climb straight up in the sand, but the views at the top were well worth the effort!

From Friday until this morning, we spent time in Swakopmund, a small German-influenced resort town on the Atlantic. I went sandboarding and quad biking (four wheeling) in the Namib desert. Sandboarding is way easier when it's warm and doesn't hurt when you fall. I ate a lot of sand and had it in places I didn't know sand could go. Quad biking was scary in the sand dunes! We were out for two hours and I was scared that I would flip the whole time. We stopped by the Atlantic to check out the desert sand that goes right up to the ocean...saw a humpback whale a short distance out into the sea. That was cool!

Animal watch: first pack of wild zebras just hanging out on the side of the road, ostrich, springbok, oryx & kudu (all part of the deer family). i also saw a jackal peering at me with his piercing green eyes when i was walking back from the bathroom alone in the middle of the night. Scared me to death! ;)

Noteworth nibbles: I've eaten warthog ribs (better than Sonny's), kudu steak, baboti (springbok meatloaf), biltong (dried springbok...just like beef jerky) and oryx steak. All were good and, most importantly, I didn't get sick!

This week we're headed to Cheetah park and Etosha National Park. Will see a lot of game this week.

Camping for 35 more nights will prove challenging. I didn't sleep at all the first two nights due to the snorers in the group. Now that i know who they are, my tentmate and I stay away from them! Trine (pronounced Trina) is my tentmate. She's a 29 year old teacher from Denmark. She's very funny and slightly crazy...perfect tentmate for me!

Happy Birthday wishes to Sarah Ryan and Todd Galinski. Doris, the travel pillow you gave me for my birthday has been a life saver on the truck. Cameron, I love Beach Music. Conroy is a brilliant writer. Thanks for giving that to me, it's provided hours of entertainment. That's all for now. Thanks for posting comments! It's nice to hear from you all!

More than once since arriving in Cape Town, I have found myself smiling for no real reason at all. This is an amazing city, and I hope that all of you have a chance to visit! The wine tour was a nice, relaxing way to see the country side. Two of the most notable vineyards we visited were Villiers and Fairview. You can buy both in the States. Fairview produces the 'Goats do Roam' line...I saw goats there and ostriches were mating on the vineyard! We also passed the Graham Beck Vineyard, but did not stop.
Since I am writing this, I obviously survived the cage shark diving! It was an absolutely awesome adrenaline rush! There were 4 sharks, ranging from 6' to 11'. I went into the cage twice. The second time in, they dragged the bait line just over the cage and the shark actually bit the cage! The cage shook and then the shark whipped around and thrashed the cage with its tail. I screamed more than a few expletives! You can see the cage at the bottom of the picture! We saw a family of baboons on the way to Gansbaai where we went out to see the sharks. Also, the whales that are mating now are the Southern Right Whale. Only saw one of those, which was good for me because it was my first!!
I went on a half day township tour that took us through some of the most impoverished areas of the world I have ever seen. I will be starting a fundraiser when I return to help one area get supplies for the children. Over 1,000,000 are living in shacks with no running water, little electricity, etc. The amazing thing is that all of the people that I met and talked to were very happy. Yet another illustration that 'things' do not define happiness.
One thing that I would be happy to have on the trek I leave for in 20 minutes is a toilet! We've been told that while traveling on the bus, if we need to use the restroom, they'll pull over on the side of the road. They have a 'pooper scooper' that we'll use to bury our #2's. It's going to be an adventure to say the least! There are 27 people on the tour, mostly females. That will be an adventure too! ;) Will write more at the next opportunity. Until then, miss you and love you all! (Mom, sorry my calling card ran out without getting to say that to you!)

Hello Africa!

After 30+ hours and 4 flights, I was happy to find my new home away from home in Cape Town, South Africa. Flights were great, other than when I watched Marley & Me on the DC to Dakar, Senegal leg and woke up the nice South African man next to me because I was sobbing so loudly!
The agenda today: sleeping off the jet lag, getting to know the city centre and watching the sunset from the top of Table Mountain. I succeeded! You know you are comfortable in a city when you can give other tourists directions - I helped a British couple find the water front and was able to direct my taxi driver successfully to the market this evening! Everyone is very friendly and helpful on the streets.
I have now seen the northernmost point of Europe and the southernmost point of Africa...Cape Good, visible from the top of Table Mountain. The sunset was breathtaking. I am truly blessed to have seen both the sun rise and set over the Atlantic. The weather has been beautiful...upper 70's today but colder and windy on top of the mountain.
Animal report: Thanks to all of you for your vote of confidence in the mosquito attacking me first. (a side note: at least 11 of my blog followers voted for the elephant or the lion...who are you!?). The truth is that I was attacked by a bird on the top of Table Mountain. I bought a nice bottle of South African red wine, some crackers and cheese to enjoy while watching the sunset. I was mid-bite when a bird flew right into my face and grabbed my gouda off the cracker. Erica, you would have died! I screamed, everyone looked at me and then I spilled my wine. Tragic. Also, I saw a 5' seal in the harbor and some strange beaver looking animal on the top of the mountain!
On tap for tomorrow: Wine tour of the Stellenbach region. Shark diving on Friday. Great whites are in the water now, along with a type of whale that we'll also get to see. I'll update again after the wine and sharks! Ciao!