Water

Our next destination was Chobe National Park, and the drive in featured a half dozen elephant sightings (some only a couple of meters off the road).We had an evening cruise on the Chobe River with lots of hippos and crocs on display. We finished up with the usual sunset...ho hum.

It was a short drive to cross into Zambia, but required a ferry crossing to do it. We passed a good two kms of trucks lined up on the way in; some having been there over a week. We id much better as our crew ,Rogan and Alison, had us on the ferry with minimal delay. This feat requires cutting into lines,dodging touts and pressing our case with every official- great and small. We eventually wound up in Livingston and Victoria Falls. It is a rather luxurious campground/lodge and we enjoyed the comforts. Best of all the mist of the falls is visible from the bar. That first day there were two torrential downpours and we were concerned about what the next days might bring, but the rest of our stay was gorgeous.

There is an endless variety of exciting activities offered in Livingston ranging from bungi jumping off the gorge bridge to horse back riding. A happy coincidence putMike into a kayak to paddle rapids 11 to 25 in the Zambezi Gorge, a class 3-4 run with very high levels. He was pretty chuffed if somewhat beat up. He met a British pro paddler/photographer who has spent much time at the Lachine Rapids.

The next day Jane did her adrenalin thing, with an early morning ultralight

flight over the falls and gorge. She actually held the controls as they passed through the circular rainbow in the mist of the falls. We should say something about Victoria Falls. It is not your usual waterfall arrangement .Think of a capital T with the top of the T being the falls and the tail being the gorge ( but zigzaged).The falls are two kms across and about a hundred meters deep. The gorge runs for almost 200 kms. Quite rightly it is a world heritage site.

After two long driving days ,which Mike has named “truck it “ days, we made our way down a challenging road to South Luangwa National Park where we camped on the river bank. All day long we could see hippos and crocodiles along the shore or lazing in the water. We were told to keep our eyes open if we left the tents at night as hippos may be grazing in the camp.

Christmas Eve saw us at concert featuring a choir made up of workers from the various camps. They were superb as was the setting-a large open potatoe field, which had both elephants and giraffes in the distance. Our group had a great Christmas dinner with Mike's cook team hosting; including an enormous trifle , mince tarts and a Christmas cake. We had a gift draw ; a nice bracelet for Jane and three tennis balls to juggle and a ...wait for it ...a slingshot for Mike. Our camp grounds sometimes feature aggressive monkeys and baboons and theslingshot has already been put to use.

That night was everybody's Christmas gift. We woke about 4:15 to the sound of pots crashing and assumed the garbage had been left out. Our first thought was baboons , until we heard a rumbling growl and the clattering of the truck which made it clear it was something bigger. We. were unable to see anything as our tent had it's back to the truck; we could see the night watchman creep forward using a flashlight and clapping his hands to no avail. After 10 minutes we could see out the side window of the tent a set of enormous legs, followed by a full grown elephant at our front door. Eventually 5 or more adults and two calves ended up outside the front of the tent eating the shrubs and grass in front of the tent. Amazing how big an elephant looks when you are lying on the ground.(Note to Kimberly-the noise had prompted Mike to pull out his leatherman , but seeing the elephants he quietly put it away. Now he says he needs a bigger one.) After the elephants departed we gathered at the truck to see that the elephants had torn a steel plate door off the truck, to devour a stash of mangoes and cornflakes.

A view of a locust cloud over Lake Malawi.

Two more travel days have brought us to Kande Beach on the shores of Lake Malawi , the second largest lake in Africa). Tonight is New Years and our roast pig is roasting as we prepare this. All our very best to you for 2012 – we hope it will provide.. some great surprises and good health.

Jane and Mike

OkaVango Delta Blues

1. While spending time in Zimbabwe, we have been following the path of our passports which were sent off to the Ethiopian Embassy in Toronto to obtain our visas. To get there they had to go through South Africa, Germany, Holland and Britain. They are a whole lot better travelled then we are!
   We finally got them back the other day along with a very large bill. This whole thing was caused because in Canada you cannot get a visa to Ethiopa more than three months before you enter the country. The passports have now returned, looking none the worse for wear.
   
   
   We had four nights at a lion rehab establishment called Antelope Park. It was quite a nice resort type place. A couple of our activities that stand out were a lion feeding which is designed to help determine the dominant males. So what happens is you stand behind a wire fence with some slabs of raw meat lying on just the other side of the fence. A hundred metres away a signal releases 7 male lions who set off in a dead sprint for the meat. We both had trouble keeping our cameras focused as 6 inches away they fought for the best piece of meat. 
   
   
   
   
   
   The other favourite was spending a little over two hours with a pride of lions stalking a herd of elands. It was fascinating to watch their strategies as they moved through the scrub grass. One even circled the elands to flush the herd toward the rest of the pride.
   It all ended up with lions going hungry and the elands going home ( this time). That would be Lions 0, Elands 1.
   
   
   In Matapos, our next stop, we were treated to great examples of Zimbabwe's balancing rocks. You see these all over the country. 
   
   
   
   
   
   We did a rhino walk in Matapos National Park, but it was a miserable rainy day and there are very few animals in this park as it has been ravaged by poachers.
   The camp ground was highlighted by enormous sculptured boulders and colourful lizards. They were able to incorporate the boulders into their buildings..which was pretty neat. We are at the beginning of the rainy season and we have had heavy short downpours and all night steady rainfalls mixed in with gorgeous sunny days and beautiful skies.
   
   
   From Matapos we picked up the wandering passports and crossed into Botswana, whch looks to be a happy country. No no visas!
   
   
   We are now in the Okavango Delta and are told the Okavango River rises in Angola and flows south and east into the desert. There it creates a vast delta and turns the desert into grasslands, reed filled swamps and forests.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Our group travelled by mokoros ( dug out canoe) for a night and day exploring the delta. It is a paradise for animals and on our return we heard. the sound of hippos in the high reeds near our boats. Coming onto an open area we found 5 large ones snorting and breaking the surface. They were very aware of us and the guides were on high alert. As two came closer to our boats we hastily carried on our way. The Okavango has given us our very best sunsets so far. These are also the hottest temperatures...our guides showed us a swimming hole that was guaranteed to not have crocodiles It was delightful to just loll about.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   We expect to be on the move from now until Christmas, our next stop being Chobe National Park.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Zim Zim Zimbabwe

On the morning of the 30^th we crossed into Zimbabwe, and, following a very lengthy delay at the border (copies in triplicate using mimeograph paper), drove into the Buvumba Mountains (meaning “Mountains of the Mist”). We camped at a crumbling colonial home run by a crumbling white family who had had a coffee farm before the land reforms. Watching this third generation family offered another view of the cost of colonialism.

We were both wondering if there would be apparent changes from our first trip to Harare 21 years ago. We knew about the repression and severe shortages, but the city and shops seem to be re-establishing. Zimbabwe now uses the American dollar as currency and they are tired looking bills to say the least. Theft is a problem and our truck was broken into with 5 of our group losing computers,cameras and money. We saw few travellers; two girls from our campground had one of their backpacks stolen while picking up a pizza.

Jane's bus story: Our favorite Harare adventure was catching the local minibus from the crowded city centre back to our campground. Our fresh faced driver ( at most early 20's) gave us the front seats, where we sat for 20 minutes as the bus filled . We thought the bus was full but it became clear they thought the bus had plenty more room. Finally we pulled out into the traffic ( after knocking one pedestrian three feet back).The driver turned to me and said “sorry mom” as he made a double u turn returning to our original spot to look for more passengers As we finally set off I was startled to see the driver take a drink from a small bottle stashed in the driver's door. The second time he did this he smiled again and said” you saw that” and explained ( in case I didn't know) “it's whisky”

We had two nights in an Outward Bound Camp ,close to Chimanimani. It is a spectacular setting with two natural swimming holes, a dramatic waterfall and towering mountain cliffs off set somewhat by rainy overcast weather. A highlight for Mike was a zipline starting 45 feet up a eucalyptus tree.

Following this we had two nights camped by Great Zimbabwe, which is a remarkable stone ruin. It is a world heritage site and as a dry stone structure is a rival to Machu Pichu. Not the same masonry skill, but the Inca would appreciate the scale and the graceful curves.

Last comment from Mike: Left Side Tourism: There are lots of places that I would love to return to. Jane, quite rightly, points out there are an awful lot of places we have never been ...so get over it. I think I have come up with a solution to this irreconcilable situation always look left. You see plenty but if you return there is still an entire side to occupy, and indeed to thrill you. 

Good bye Mozambique

We left you in Tofo on the beach, where we had some great walks, both during the day and in the evening. We found a favorite restaurant for crayfish and prawns and on our walks home were treated to clear skies and the cloud of the Milky Way. One afternoon both Mike and I spent a lot of time in the ocean on a rented boogie board. The waves were a little small for a surf board but brought us right up to the sandy shore.  A group of 15 went snorkling in hopes of swimming with whale sharks. First hour and a half brought no joy, but when ordered to jump in the water Mike went over immediately and was stunned to face a whale shark headed straight for him. The shark glided past within arms reach , the tail being about the same height as Mike. As the tail went by he was swamped by a flurry of arms and flipper clad feet as the rest of the boat chased after the shark. Very cool...very few had as good a view.

The countryside in Mozambique is poor, with the people mostly in grass houses, but the settlements are neat and tidy and the people we met very friendly.

In Vilcanculos the highlight was a Dhow trip to an island offshore...very Robinson Crusoe. We both snorkled the coral reef. That night we were sent into the village to get another passport photo. It was in a little shop hidden down an alleyway ( our driver found it) . The photographer was able to produce a picture so dreadful that you will never ever see it . That effort was a special night price of 4 times the usual amount.

Last words from Mike:  You will be interested to hear that all our tents are named after fancy hotels. Our tent however is the Faulty Towers. Speaking of tents we have found out a worthwhile lesson regarding camping and weaver birds. Weaver bird colonies are pretty neat and one campground had a colony (always suspended in a tree) right in the middle of it. Dave and Graham  set up under the tree and within 30 minutes one side of the tent was covered with birdshit. Sort of like stucco.

This computer is not reading our camera so there will be no pictures for now. This blog is catching you up with Mozambique, we are posting it from Zimbabwe and hope to get up to date tomorrow.    

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Warthogs and Whale Sharks

 Drakensberg Mountains;  ten thousand year old Bushman paintings....the guy in the middle is an Alouettes fan.We had a 6 hour hike to get to these.

      Here we are climbing up the Sani Pass for our visit to Lesotho. Note the switchbacks in background.

  In Lesotho we visited a sheep shearing station .Cath, one of our group, is busy trying to rescue a rejected thirsty lamb. All the shearing is done by hand with a very sharp pair of scissors...the sheep have learned not to move.

 Our team and truck number three , which is the one that will take us all the way to Cairo.
 Turns out to be a pretty good team of travelers.

 This warthog visited our campsite in Swaziland. We went for a couple of selfguided walks in the nature reserve. the most colourful wildlife we saw were a couple of old hippies from Oregon.

                                                           Jane and Mike...one month in.

                                                  Look closely . Hint: Southern Right Whale

    A small orphanage in Swaziland that Mike and I founda few kms from our campsite. These kids are mainly orphaned by Aids . Before the picture was taken they had to run and get their bike.

We have entered Mozambique ( 84 dollars and a long wait) and are spending three days at Tofo Beach. Mike was hoping to build on an earlier surfing lesson but settled for a boat trip to swim with a young whale shark ( 4 meters long, they grow to 15). He was one of the lucky ones who actually was within arms reach as the shark swam by. I settled for a long walk with a truck mate.

We should tell you our posts will not be often as it is difficult to find a connection when we have time to write. We're told that this part of Africa is better serviced ..with fewer opportunities ahead.
 
 Happy 88th Birthday Dad!

Penguins at Rocky Point - a few (very few, there were a lot!) of the residents.

At Cape Agulas - the most southern point of Africa - will we get tothe most northern?  Where is that anyway?

Addo elephant

The cooks (and dancers) at Coffee Bay.

The round house which was where dinner was served.  Bring it on!

Fyn-something or other - the South African flower.

We are sitting in our campground reception tapping away at the computer - whic is about 8 inches too high - this entry will be brief!  We have been pretty busy so I'll just cover the more memorable bits.  Our first semi-major glitch has happened as our truck is at present having the brakes repaired.  Should be good to go tomorrow, other wise, as Nancy Sinatra said, "start walkin'".  Addo Elephant Reserve was outstanding.  We went on a couple of game drives but the est bit was the blind about 80 meters from our tent where we could watch a steady procession of elephants arrive at the water hole.  Highlights would include a stately (and enormous) old bull (drove off a young male "not ready yet dude"), several mothers and young to very young babies, and a fairly young male who took offense to a bird and tried to drive it off (to no avail).  The elephant put considerable effort into trying to swat the bird with his trunk.  No luck. 

Tsitsikamma Coastal Park was perched right on the edge of the sea, with large rollers crashing on the rocks.  What really made that special was when night fell, each roller was lite up by an erie green glow, that would run along the wave as it broke. 

Front page story, 1st impressions, and tv soaps

Our first day saw us buy a local paper - mostly not very revealing to a Canadian but there was a front page story you will like.  An apartment dweller a few km away from our hotel found a Cape Cobra in her bathroom.  By African standards it was not such a big deal - only a meter long and way way down the list for most poisonous.  I'm quite excited about the Black Mamba - 15 feet long, able to reach speeds of 23 km/hour and able to raise itself 1/3 of it's body length.  A bite allows you to reflect on eternity for about 30 minutes.  They are fairly common from here to Ethopia.

The first impression of our group was a bit misleading.  They don't look too much different to the crowd at Jane's storyfest.  About an even split between "mature" and "young".  Fortunately we didn't start to talk big - they make us look like kindergarten travel-wise.  One guy has 95 countries under his belt and between the lot they have been just about everywhere.  And are very good campers I may add.

We also had the chance to watch a few South African soaps.  Alot of sex and every once in a while someone gets bitten (or threatened) by a snake.  I'm not too familiar with American/Canadian soaps so don't know if that is a global pattern.

We've toured a couple of wineries , which are set in the middle of miles and mles of grape vines on sloping hills .The wine industry is huge and provides something like 6 percent of the worlds total production.

Highlites of our tavels along the east coast include Cape Agulas , which is the southern most point in Africa; the Rocky Point penguin colony  and in Hermanus a pair of southern right whales. They were moving along the rocky shore lineonly a few meters out and did that tail thing ( and we think we have some great video).

We're now into beach area and are debating surfing lessons.

Cameleaon (sp?)

Workers at Stellenbosch wineries (Jorden Wines)

Day 3 in Capetown

We have a couple of days under our belts now and I think have pretty much moved into Cape Town time.  The city is quite beautiful, what with the sea on one side and the mountains on the other.  Very modern and very western feel to it.  We were up Table Mountain a couple of days ago and yesterday took in the botanical gardens and a winery by way of a very handy city tour bus.  It isn't all that big a city, but is quite spread out - awkward with 2 mountains (and we are not talking Mount Royal here) smack in the middle of the city.  Reminds us of Vancouver but there isn't much space between mountain and sea!  We meet our group tomorrow, and get under way the next morning.

Just a practice run!

We are trying this out.  So far so good.  Since we have not yet left, this photo is not from our trip, but does give you some insight as to how we plan to do it.  Plenty of great pics in Google images!