Hello!!
I am in Zanzibar, Tanzania. 3 countries have flown by since my last post. A quick one night bush camp stop in Mozambique, then Malawi with a relaxing few days at Kande Beach and another 4 nights on the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar, Tanzania. Since Mozambique we have driven through plenty of villages and towns and its been the first time I've really seen the daily life in action. South Africa is very modern and the cities feel very familiar, where as Namibia and Botswana were vast desert lands with a couple of shacks or shanty houses sparsely scattered around until you got into a city. The past few weeks I have had my head out the window the entire drive!
There have been lots of markets, making cook group shopping a lot more fun and challenging! The landscape has changed drastically too. It is incredibly lush and green, covered by banana plantations, palm trees and spice and fruit farms. Lake Malawi was gorgeous and when you swam in it it felt like the ocean with big waves crashing onto the beach. Here on Zanzibar we have snorkeled and wandered through the narrow alleyways of Stonetown. Jen, Rachelle, Sohette and I rented a car and drove around the island to find more secluded beaches and take in the area. That has to be one of my best days in Africa so far. We ate at a tiny restaurant with the freshest food. I was boring and had bolognaise but it was amazing. Though being here has pushed me to eat more adventurous meals and I had some excellent calamari!
Also this is the first time my fashion radar has kicked in. The women from Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania all wear these beautiful fabrics called Kangas. They are bright and patterned and the women mix and match. Outside of Tanzania they would be wearing a colourful top with a Kanga skirt and head wrap, which I believe helps them balance the massive baskets on their head, and here in Tanzania, since it is a very Muslim country, their head scarf and skirt combinations have been stunning. The fabric is very bold but I bought a few to take home and see if I can pull it off!
Next we are onto the Serengeti and then into Kenya!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
HEY!!!
Just left Antelope Park, and am in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. If you ever touch African soil you must make your way to Antelope Park! I blew the bank a little there with a lioness package but it was well worth it. I did 2 lion walks (where the lions are honing their hunting skills and getting exposed to real African bush). They are such beautiful creatures and to walk with them and see them stalk other wildlife was amazing. Then I did the lion feeding as mentioned in my previous post - just incredible speed and ferocity in the big cats! Then I did the cub viewing, where I saw 9 week old cubs. At that age they are exactly like kittens. So playful and fluffy and CUTE!! Then I did the night encounter where you go on a night stalk with big cats again (but in a truck with spotters), we saw a crazy antelope chase, which they didn't end up catching, and then we saw them a bit later with an antelope kill. It was too fast to see the take down but we saw the gory, gruesome death and devouring of the antelope. At one point one of the trucks got stuck in a ditch so all of us had to pile into one truck while the staff pushed the truck out, while the 4 lions (2 female, 2 male) stalked around us, and the number 1 rule of the night encounter is never get out of the vehicle because these lions only have one agenda, to kill, and that point they hadn't made one yet. Luckily they just watched from behind a tree but it was still quite nerve-wrecking in the pitch black. It was also an exciting time to be at the park because they were releasing a pride back into the wild. The rehabilitation and release program there is really well done and I would love to go back as a volunteer. I also went to see the elephant training the morning we left and did a horseback game ride through the park. On a horse you can get up to 5-10 meters away from the wildlife!
Thus my top 3 animal sightings have changed:
1. Lion cubs, Antelope Park, Zimbabwe
2. Mother and baby elephant at the waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia
3. The Lion Feeding (the big boys), Antelope park
Surprisingly, despite getting closer to the equator, it has gotten colder again, especially at night and the power is often cut off. It was nice to get out of Vic Falls and see a bit more of the real Zimbabwe and interact with more locals. We had a group perform traditional song and dance again last night. Also we had a very interesting talk with our guide for the Great Zimbabwe Ruins (which we also did yesterday) who had a hard life story, having lost both his parents due to the political struggle in the country. Nevertheless he was a very positive and welcoming man!
The group has gelled really well together and I already know its going to be hard to part from them in 1 month for a few and 3 months for all.
Just left Antelope Park, and am in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. If you ever touch African soil you must make your way to Antelope Park! I blew the bank a little there with a lioness package but it was well worth it. I did 2 lion walks (where the lions are honing their hunting skills and getting exposed to real African bush). They are such beautiful creatures and to walk with them and see them stalk other wildlife was amazing. Then I did the lion feeding as mentioned in my previous post - just incredible speed and ferocity in the big cats! Then I did the cub viewing, where I saw 9 week old cubs. At that age they are exactly like kittens. So playful and fluffy and CUTE!! Then I did the night encounter where you go on a night stalk with big cats again (but in a truck with spotters), we saw a crazy antelope chase, which they didn't end up catching, and then we saw them a bit later with an antelope kill. It was too fast to see the take down but we saw the gory, gruesome death and devouring of the antelope. At one point one of the trucks got stuck in a ditch so all of us had to pile into one truck while the staff pushed the truck out, while the 4 lions (2 female, 2 male) stalked around us, and the number 1 rule of the night encounter is never get out of the vehicle because these lions only have one agenda, to kill, and that point they hadn't made one yet. Luckily they just watched from behind a tree but it was still quite nerve-wrecking in the pitch black. It was also an exciting time to be at the park because they were releasing a pride back into the wild. The rehabilitation and release program there is really well done and I would love to go back as a volunteer. I also went to see the elephant training the morning we left and did a horseback game ride through the park. On a horse you can get up to 5-10 meters away from the wildlife!
Thus my top 3 animal sightings have changed:
1. Lion cubs, Antelope Park, Zimbabwe
2. Mother and baby elephant at the waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia
3. The Lion Feeding (the big boys), Antelope park
Surprisingly, despite getting closer to the equator, it has gotten colder again, especially at night and the power is often cut off. It was nice to get out of Vic Falls and see a bit more of the real Zimbabwe and interact with more locals. We had a group perform traditional song and dance again last night. Also we had a very interesting talk with our guide for the Great Zimbabwe Ruins (which we also did yesterday) who had a hard life story, having lost both his parents due to the political struggle in the country. Nevertheless he was a very positive and welcoming man!
The group has gelled really well together and I already know its going to be hard to part from them in 1 month for a few and 3 months for all.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Hello
I'm sorry for another long pause between blogs but I am in Zimbabwe (since the 2nd) and the power often cuts off at random so there has been few internet opportunities whenever we have had free time. Even here at Antelope Park the internet isn't working so I'm sending this from a cafe in town. Carol says that this is one of the longer periods that we will go without internet for a while though so stay with me!
Since the 21st I have continued to be overwhelmed with all the amazing things we do on this trip. Right now I am at Antelope park, near Gweru, in Zimbabwe. We just got here yesterday and despite the name it is known for its lion encounters. This morning I went on a walk with lions (10 months old) in their Stage 1 release program. Their aim is to re-release the lions back into the wild and reverse the rapid decline on African lions. Yesterday we saw a lion feeding, with fully grown lions. It was incredible. They are so fast and so strong and they put the meat right by the fence so they charge at you at full speed, claws out. All the meat is in one spot so they have to fight for it like in the wild. I have a video that I will post when possible. Later today I am going elephant training and tomorrow I will be playing with the baby 2 week cubs!! Soo excited.
In Zimbabwe we started at Vic Falls where I went white water rafting with grade 4 rapids on the Zambezi. We all fell out at some point into the crocodile-inhabited water, my second swim with the crocs. We saw them bathing on the banks and so we paddled faster. That night we watched the Tin Can Kids perform at Shoestrings, the backpackers hostel down the street where we spent most of our evenings. They are a group of kids aged 5-11 who were discovered in the streets dancing and creating music out of tin cans and garbage. They were the best dancers I have ever seen and they were so passionate about it. They were raising money for school fees and books. Then the next day I went bunji jumping (3rd highest in the world) off of a bridge over the Zambezi. It was much scarier than skydiving, and much harder to jump initially but it was the biggest rush I have ever had and I would do it again in a second. In fact I now want to jump off the highest and 2nd highest in the world to complete the trifecta! We then went on a sunset cruise also known as the booze cruise, followed by an adrenaline day of gorge swinging, zip lining, abseiling and doing something called "the Flying Fox" (a straight zipline over the gorge). Up to Vic Falls we went to the Cape Cross Seal Colony where there are thousands of fat, lazy, smelly, suuuper cute seals all lying on the beach, on top of each other and in the water. I am certain my dog Ziggy has been reincarnated into a seal. Then we went on to see The White Lady cave paintings the next morning and ended in a Cheetah Park to camp. The park has 3 tame cheetahs that you can pet and live with the family in their house and then they have over 50 wild cheetahs that they look after so that the farmers don't shoot them, as they are considered pests in Namibia. We went on an evening feeding with the wild cheetahs which was amazing. We were loaded into these open trucks with just one bar between you and the cheetahs with a bucket of raw donkey parts attached to the front, whilst drinking Savanahs. When we got inside the compounds you could see the cheetahs starting to stalk around the cars and it was quite intimidating since they literally brushed past the truck. We have learnt that in Africa, safety isn't a major concern so we just laugh, say T.I.A. and hold on for dear life. Then the guide opened the bin and started throwing meat out and 10-12 cheetahs started fighting for their meal. Following the Cheetahs we went to Etosha National Park where we went on a few game drives and saw animals galore (a list to follow). At night you can go and sit by this waterhole and see what animals come in. They fence it off and put low floodlights on all night so we stayed until we couldn't keep our eyes open and returned at 4am. It was incredible! We saw elephants (mum and baby), rhinos, giraffes, the works. Soon after we crossed the border into Botswana and have started a game that lasts for life called 'Bull'. From now on we all have to drink from our left hand, if your caught drinking from your right you have to scull the whole drink. Pretty brutal, but now my left hand almost feels natural.
In Botswana we had the most amazing 3 days in the Okavanga Delta. We took Mokoro (small wooden boats - similar to canoes but very low on the water). Then we camped on an island, went on game hikes, relaxed and swam (with crocs and hippos) in the Delta and enjoyed traditional song and dance (after which we had to return the favor and thus performed the Chicken dance, and YMCA- not quite as intricate). They are amazing dancers but as we found out in Vic Falls, they learn at a very early age. We all had the best time and has topped a lot of our activities list. A few of us then did a flight over the Delta to get a real idea of its enormous size. It is a stunning place. Following the Delta we went on a river game cruise up Chobe river (in Chobe National Park) where we enjoyed hippos, crocs, elephants and wilderbeast. Some of the most beautiful animals have actually been the different birds. They come in the most vivid colours and are often quite funny-looking. I can also now identify almost every animals poo, a real skill if you ask me! And now we are in Zimbabwe. Tomorrow I am bunji jumping in the morning, followed by having a picnic by the Falls and finishing the night off with another cruise. The guides that camped with us even took down our tents for us so it felt quite luxurious.
Our facilities and campsites have far exceeded all my expectations! The bathrooms have been clean, even if it was a drop hole, the water has been hot or at least warm in most places. I've only had to have 1 cold shower. Even bush camping has been a lot of fun and presents interesting and hilarious challenges (I'll leave those up to you to figure out). We have bush camped at Spitzkoppe National Park, Brandeburg, and beside the largest baobab tree in Africa, in Namibia, as well as Tsodilo Hills, the Okavango Delta and a random dirt road in Botswana. Even more shocking are the gourmet meals we've been having. I was literally expecting the bare minimum for $2 a person a meal, but we've been eating like Kings! We've had bolognaise, stroganoff (my cook group), mac and cheese, pad thai, stirfrys, bangers and mash, shepards pie, Kudu fahjitas, jacket potatoes with beans and cheese (my group again), curry, beef stew and soon to enjoy lasanga! For breakfasts we've had lemon sugar crepes, beans on toast, even eggy bread!!! I have to say I feel spoiled almost because a few of those are on my favourite dishes list back home.
Here is a list of my truck mates:
Carol - tour leader
Nev - driver
Passengers:
Narelle, Jen, Sohette, Rachelle - tent buddy (only to Nairobi), Glynn + Carli (only to Nairobi), Courtney + Nick (only to Nairobi), Cameron, Leah + Sean W., Sean M., Colin, Kate + Sam, Corne, Spike + Kirsty, Felipe, Simeon + Jess, Thorbjorn
Also in light of everything thats happened so far, despite how hard it will be to pick, I've decided to make a few top 3 lists:
Top 3 animal sightings:
1. Mother and baby elephant at the waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia
2. Lion feeding at Antelope Park, Zimbabwe
3. Hippo yawning at Matopaso Park, Zimbabwe (rivaled closely by Kamil, the giraffe at the Cheetah park who stuck her head in our truck)
Top 3 activities:
1. Skydiving, Swakopmund, Namibia
2. Okavanga Delta trip, Botswana
3. Bunji Jump, Vic Falls, Zimbabwe
Top 3 dishes:
1. Peanut butter thai satay noodle
2. Jacket potatoes with beans and cheese
3. Bangers and mash with onion gravy (rivaled closely by lemon sugar crepes)
Top 3 nights:
1. Shoestrings after the sunset cruise, Vic Falls, Zimbabwe
2. Swakopmund night after sky diving dance party, Namibia
3. Cheetah feeding, Namibia
Top 3 items:
1. Saks beige cargo pants (so soft and baggy)
2. Serong
3. Hair brush (the truck windows are always open and it creates a wind tunnel!)
Top 3 campsites:
1. Antelope Park, Gweru, Zimbabwe
2. Rest Camp, Vic Falls Zimbabwe
3. Sitatunga Camp site, Botswana
I can't believe we're almost a month in! To sum up so far I am having an incredible time with incredible people!
I'm sorry for another long pause between blogs but I am in Zimbabwe (since the 2nd) and the power often cuts off at random so there has been few internet opportunities whenever we have had free time. Even here at Antelope Park the internet isn't working so I'm sending this from a cafe in town. Carol says that this is one of the longer periods that we will go without internet for a while though so stay with me!
Since the 21st I have continued to be overwhelmed with all the amazing things we do on this trip. Right now I am at Antelope park, near Gweru, in Zimbabwe. We just got here yesterday and despite the name it is known for its lion encounters. This morning I went on a walk with lions (10 months old) in their Stage 1 release program. Their aim is to re-release the lions back into the wild and reverse the rapid decline on African lions. Yesterday we saw a lion feeding, with fully grown lions. It was incredible. They are so fast and so strong and they put the meat right by the fence so they charge at you at full speed, claws out. All the meat is in one spot so they have to fight for it like in the wild. I have a video that I will post when possible. Later today I am going elephant training and tomorrow I will be playing with the baby 2 week cubs!! Soo excited.
In Zimbabwe we started at Vic Falls where I went white water rafting with grade 4 rapids on the Zambezi. We all fell out at some point into the crocodile-inhabited water, my second swim with the crocs. We saw them bathing on the banks and so we paddled faster. That night we watched the Tin Can Kids perform at Shoestrings, the backpackers hostel down the street where we spent most of our evenings. They are a group of kids aged 5-11 who were discovered in the streets dancing and creating music out of tin cans and garbage. They were the best dancers I have ever seen and they were so passionate about it. They were raising money for school fees and books. Then the next day I went bunji jumping (3rd highest in the world) off of a bridge over the Zambezi. It was much scarier than skydiving, and much harder to jump initially but it was the biggest rush I have ever had and I would do it again in a second. In fact I now want to jump off the highest and 2nd highest in the world to complete the trifecta! We then went on a sunset cruise also known as the booze cruise, followed by an adrenaline day of gorge swinging, zip lining, abseiling and doing something called "the Flying Fox" (a straight zipline over the gorge). Up to Vic Falls we went to the Cape Cross Seal Colony where there are thousands of fat, lazy, smelly, suuuper cute seals all lying on the beach, on top of each other and in the water. I am certain my dog Ziggy has been reincarnated into a seal. Then we went on to see The White Lady cave paintings the next morning and ended in a Cheetah Park to camp. The park has 3 tame cheetahs that you can pet and live with the family in their house and then they have over 50 wild cheetahs that they look after so that the farmers don't shoot them, as they are considered pests in Namibia. We went on an evening feeding with the wild cheetahs which was amazing. We were loaded into these open trucks with just one bar between you and the cheetahs with a bucket of raw donkey parts attached to the front, whilst drinking Savanahs. When we got inside the compounds you could see the cheetahs starting to stalk around the cars and it was quite intimidating since they literally brushed past the truck. We have learnt that in Africa, safety isn't a major concern so we just laugh, say T.I.A. and hold on for dear life. Then the guide opened the bin and started throwing meat out and 10-12 cheetahs started fighting for their meal. Following the Cheetahs we went to Etosha National Park where we went on a few game drives and saw animals galore (a list to follow). At night you can go and sit by this waterhole and see what animals come in. They fence it off and put low floodlights on all night so we stayed until we couldn't keep our eyes open and returned at 4am. It was incredible! We saw elephants (mum and baby), rhinos, giraffes, the works. Soon after we crossed the border into Botswana and have started a game that lasts for life called 'Bull'. From now on we all have to drink from our left hand, if your caught drinking from your right you have to scull the whole drink. Pretty brutal, but now my left hand almost feels natural.
In Botswana we had the most amazing 3 days in the Okavanga Delta. We took Mokoro (small wooden boats - similar to canoes but very low on the water). Then we camped on an island, went on game hikes, relaxed and swam (with crocs and hippos) in the Delta and enjoyed traditional song and dance (after which we had to return the favor and thus performed the Chicken dance, and YMCA- not quite as intricate). They are amazing dancers but as we found out in Vic Falls, they learn at a very early age. We all had the best time and has topped a lot of our activities list. A few of us then did a flight over the Delta to get a real idea of its enormous size. It is a stunning place. Following the Delta we went on a river game cruise up Chobe river (in Chobe National Park) where we enjoyed hippos, crocs, elephants and wilderbeast. Some of the most beautiful animals have actually been the different birds. They come in the most vivid colours and are often quite funny-looking. I can also now identify almost every animals poo, a real skill if you ask me! And now we are in Zimbabwe. Tomorrow I am bunji jumping in the morning, followed by having a picnic by the Falls and finishing the night off with another cruise. The guides that camped with us even took down our tents for us so it felt quite luxurious.
Our facilities and campsites have far exceeded all my expectations! The bathrooms have been clean, even if it was a drop hole, the water has been hot or at least warm in most places. I've only had to have 1 cold shower. Even bush camping has been a lot of fun and presents interesting and hilarious challenges (I'll leave those up to you to figure out). We have bush camped at Spitzkoppe National Park, Brandeburg, and beside the largest baobab tree in Africa, in Namibia, as well as Tsodilo Hills, the Okavango Delta and a random dirt road in Botswana. Even more shocking are the gourmet meals we've been having. I was literally expecting the bare minimum for $2 a person a meal, but we've been eating like Kings! We've had bolognaise, stroganoff (my cook group), mac and cheese, pad thai, stirfrys, bangers and mash, shepards pie, Kudu fahjitas, jacket potatoes with beans and cheese (my group again), curry, beef stew and soon to enjoy lasanga! For breakfasts we've had lemon sugar crepes, beans on toast, even eggy bread!!! I have to say I feel spoiled almost because a few of those are on my favourite dishes list back home.
Here is a list of my truck mates:
Carol - tour leader
Nev - driver
Passengers:
Narelle, Jen, Sohette, Rachelle - tent buddy (only to Nairobi), Glynn + Carli (only to Nairobi), Courtney + Nick (only to Nairobi), Cameron, Leah + Sean W., Sean M., Colin, Kate + Sam, Corne, Spike + Kirsty, Felipe, Simeon + Jess, Thorbjorn
Also in light of everything thats happened so far, despite how hard it will be to pick, I've decided to make a few top 3 lists:
Top 3 animal sightings:
1. Mother and baby elephant at the waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia
2. Lion feeding at Antelope Park, Zimbabwe
3. Hippo yawning at Matopaso Park, Zimbabwe (rivaled closely by Kamil, the giraffe at the Cheetah park who stuck her head in our truck)
Top 3 activities:
1. Skydiving, Swakopmund, Namibia
2. Okavanga Delta trip, Botswana
3. Bunji Jump, Vic Falls, Zimbabwe
Top 3 dishes:
1. Peanut butter thai satay noodle
2. Jacket potatoes with beans and cheese
3. Bangers and mash with onion gravy (rivaled closely by lemon sugar crepes)
Top 3 nights:
1. Shoestrings after the sunset cruise, Vic Falls, Zimbabwe
2. Swakopmund night after sky diving dance party, Namibia
3. Cheetah feeding, Namibia
Top 3 items:
1. Saks beige cargo pants (so soft and baggy)
2. Serong
3. Hair brush (the truck windows are always open and it creates a wind tunnel!)
Top 3 campsites:
1. Antelope Park, Gweru, Zimbabwe
2. Rest Camp, Vic Falls Zimbabwe
3. Sitatunga Camp site, Botswana
I can't believe we're almost a month in! To sum up so far I am having an incredible time with incredible people!
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