Scarf Turbans and Sequin Brassieres

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!