Victoria Falls

The Zambezi River Bridge
View from our Hotel Porch

Victoria Falls is on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. We thought about staying on Zambia side because we don't want to support the government of Robert Mugabe.  However, this time of year the water flow is low and the falls that can be viewed from the Zambia side are dry.  So we rationalized that we're helping the desperately poor people of Zimbabwe by staying on this side.  The town of Vic Falls, the friendly people and the lovely hotels here give no hint of the destitute economy or politics of the country.  Tourist police keep the streets safe.  Even the inevitable street sellers will go away if you firmly say, "No".

It's the beginning of their much needed rainy season so we've had sporadic showers.  We were determined to get photos of the falls with sunshine and rainbows in the mists so we postponed our walk to the falls for two days due to rain showers and overcast skies.  We didn't waste our time while waiting for sunshine.  The first day we walked across the bridge over the Zambezi River to Zambia.  We were befriended by two well spoken young street vendors who entertained us with their stories and encouraged us to try bungee jumping.  We resisted that offer as well as their sales pitch for the jewelry they claimed to make.  We did give them a tip for their "companionship" and went on our way.  That evening we took the sunset cruise on the Zambezi River above the falls.  We enjoyed a beautiful cruise, some interesting wildlife spotting and Italian table mates.  They encouraged us to visit Sicily - hmmm...  another trip?

Red Leswe, water antelope

Saturday we had the day free so we did a day safari to Chobe Park in Botswana.  You'd think we'd had enough of animals, but off we went anyway.  What a delightful surprise!  The park surrounds the Chobe River where we enjoyed close up views of crocs, hippos and elephants from a boat.  We had an exciting moment when we approached too close to an elephant and it moved quickly toward us.  I can't use the term "charged us" because he couldn't move very fast through the water, but made he made it clear we needed to back off.  After lunch we boarded a Land Rover for a land tour through the park.  We encountered more elephants, hippos (out of the water for the first time), red leshwe (water antelope), 7 lions, sable antelope and many more...  The influence of the river and the swamps around it gave us a very different safari experience than we'd had in Tanzania and South Africa.

Despite clouds and scattered showers we visited the falls on Sunday.  Even at low water flow they are magnificent!  Unfortunately due to the weather we don't have trophy photos to bring home with us.  We do have trophy memories of 6+ wonderful weeks in Africa however.  We sat on the porch of the Victoria Falls Hotel last evening and toasted a great trip.  We board the plane this AM for our long trip home.  Farewell Africa!

Chobe River, Botswana

Zanzibar - The Spice Island

Famous Wooden Doors of Zanzibar

Stone Town is the old part of Zanzibar City.  It's a maze of narrow, winding streets lined with shops, restaurants and homes.  The population and culture are primarily Muslim, very unlike the mainland.  Hot and humid are the only words to describe the climate - unless it's raining, in which case you can say hot, humid and raining.  Our hotel sits on the beach in the heart of Stone Town.  Fortunately our rooms are air conditioned and the pool is cool.

Slave Holding Cell at the Market

We took a 3 hour walking tour of the town.  Highlights included the site of the former slave market and the old market.  Three hours was plenty - we felt like we'd seen all there is to see, unless you want a bit of shopping.

The next day the six of us did a spice plantation and island orientation tour on the way to our accommodations at the Matemwe Beach Inn.  Not much to see on the island, but the plantation was interesting.  We saw local spices -- nutmeg, cardamon, pepper, etc. growing and sampled them in their natural state - right off the tree or bush.  Trust me, fresh pepper is HOT!

Beach at Matemwe

We arrived at our beach accommodations - home for the next 4 nights.  Our hope was to find a quiet place for R&R after the safari.  We succeeded beyond our wildest dreams!  Our days are packed - rise about 6:00 am, coffee and a walk on beach, breakfast, 3 hours in the pool to stay cool, lunch, afternoon in the hammock reading, then a drink and watch the sunset before dinner.  This is a place for serious relaxation!  We've titled the swim pool the hippo pool as we float around in it for hours, just like the hippos in the Serengeti.  Fortunately we are six friends, all talkers, so we've kept boredom at bay.

View from the Hammock

The Indian Ocean is beautiful, the beaches long and white.  Sadly our rooms are not air conditioned so Rand and I have difficulty sleeping.  We're  glad to have the relaxing time with friends, but are again reminded we don't enjoy heat and humidity.  We were ready to move on to Victoria Falls.  We say goodbye to Mary Ann, Byron, Carol and Fran at the Dar es Salaam airport.  They head back to the US and we had for Zimbabwe...

Safari is Over

Karatu School, 5th Grade

Let's look back for a recap of our safari experiences...

Terri and David, Trip Leader

We saw the Big Five (cape buffalo, lion, leopard, elephant and rhino) in both South Africa and Tanzania, including a "5 in 1" (all five in one day) our second day in Kruger.  In Tanzania alone we saw 3 leopards, 63 lions, countless antelope, and tens of thousands of wildebeests and zebras during the migration.  We ran into several waves of the migration.  I once timed a constant stream of running wildebeests and zebras, several animals wide, crossing the road in front of us that went on for more than 12 minutes.

Karatu Farm Woman

We were totally delighted with our travel companions and guides in Tanzania.  Traveling with friends and family is a wonderful way to share experiences and cement relationships.  Our guides were professional, yet fun.  They taught us much about the animals and culture of Tanzania.  We'll long remember them.

6th  Grade Class

Though the safari was over we spent one more day in Karatu participating in a "day in the life" experience.  We started with a morning visit to the Karatu elementary school where we met with 2nd, 5th and 6th graders.  Each class consists of approximately 50 well behaved students who greeted us with smiles and songs.  With the older children we asked and answered questions so they could practice their English.  We are humbled by their enthusiasm for education and learning.  The schools and teachers are accomplishing so much with so little.  We all gave generously to the school through the Grand Circle Foundation.

Brick Yard

A visit to a local brick yard followed our school visit.  The villagers share an area where they dig clay to make bricks.  Each family makes its own for sale, but they help one another with the hard work.  In temperatures reaching 100 with humidity and in full sun they dig the clay, beat it with sticks to pulverize it to dust, mix it with water, form the bricks, let them dry, create a kiln and fire them for 3 days.  In the end they sell each brick for about $1 each.  It is tremendously hard work, but a way to supplement income while awaiting the rains so they can plant crops.  When we see how difficult substance living is here, we realize why the children are so enthusiastic about their education.

Bill, Dave, Byron, Rand, Steve, Terri
Jennifer, Mary Ann, Patsy, Pat, Rick, Fran, Martha, Karen, Carol

One last afternoon at leisure and we re-joined our friends in the other safari group for a "farewell dinner".

Early the next morning we once again boarded our Land Rovers for the 2 hour drive to Arusha.  We had time for one last stop at the Cultural Heritage Center for shopping, then lunch.  Immediately after lunch Mary Ann, Bryon, Fran, Carol, Rand and I said farewell to our travel companions and headed to the airport for our departure to Stone Town in Zanzibar.  The rest of the group would return to the US that evening.

Ants in My Pants 11/12/2012

Sunrise on the Serengeti

Sunday we awoke to find thousands of ants in our toilet area - not just any ants, fire ants.  We shook out our clothing and dressed quickly, getting out of the tent as fast as we could before they spread to the bedroom section of the tent.  I felt prickles on my legs and quickly pulled off my pants and shook them off outside the tent.  So much for modesty.  I went through the same antics once more before ridding myself of the pests.  Fortunately, the camp staff took care of the problem while we were at breakfast.  I don't know what they did (and probably don't want to know what kind of poison it was) but there was no sign of our 6 legged friends when we returned to our tent.

Hadrian's Wall of Wildebeests

One That Didn't Make It

We're totally amazed each day on our game drives as we encounter the continuous migration of the wildebeest and zebra.  We see thousands of them each day in herds that look like Hadrian's Wall, going on for miles from north to south.  We're reminded of the buffalo in the American west and hope these magnificent beasts do not suffer the same fate.  The books say there are about 2 million wildebeest in the migration.  Sometimes we think we've seen them all.

Our days are filled with animal sightings and our nights with their sounds.  We occasionally awaken from a sound sleep to the sounds of lions, zebra, Cape Buffalo and other animals near our tents.  We're told we're perfectly safe inside our tents, so in an act of faith we enjoy the sounds, then roll back over for a couple more hours of slumber.


Ngorngoro Crater 11/13/2012

All These Land Rovers - Must be a Leopard!

We bid a sad farewell to the Serengeti this morning and began our return trip via the Ngorngoro Crater.  The crater is really a collapses volcanic caldera approximately 11 x 13 miles in diameter.  Most of the animals here are resident v. migratory as they are in the Serengeti.  We enjoyed many animal sightings, including the elusive black rhino, but missed the massive numbers we'd seen  in the Serengeti.

No, It's a Lion

We arrived at the Tloma Lodge in Karatu in the late afternoon, dusty and road weary.  We all showered (soaping 2-3 times to get the dust off), then sent our clothes to the laundry.  Next a dip in the pool, a gin and tonic, a wonderful dinner and a good night's sleep.  AHHH...  

Rand and I sat up a long time and talked of the wonderful time we'd had on safari - the animals, the cultural understanding, the camaraderie with friends.  We both regret the trip is coming to an end.  I realized I'd rather be in the Serengeti than Paris. My sister reminds me of my earlier proclamation that this is the last time I'll come to Africa.  I smile and I tell her, "I say a lot of things, don't pay too much attention to some of them - I've changed my mind."   I know I'll return.

Serengeti Welcome 11/09/2012

Rain  is Coming on the Serengeti!

I've been writing as we go along but since we've had very little Internet connection for nearly 2 weeks I'm going to try to catch up with blog reports - probably one a day for several days...

It rained heavily all night - much needed as this area has been in significant drought for several months.  We luxuriated with a bit of a sleep-in and didn't leave the Kitela until 8:30.  Nice...  We filled the gas tanks and tires because we would be in the Serengeti for 4 days.  Up the mountain and at 7500' we were rewarded with a view down into the Ngorngoro Crater.  No time for a visit now, we'll stop on our return.

By noon we were at the Oldupai Gorge (spelled and pronounced "Olduvai" outside of Tanzania), the Cradle of Mankind where the Leakey's discovered the oldest human remains and footprints of the first humanoids to walk upright.  We enjoyed the museum then were able to drive into the gorge to see the actual place the remains were excavated.  Brother-in-law Dave, Rand and our trip leader David held a post graduate level discussion about early humanity that left the rest of us in the dust.  We are continuously amazed by the depth of knowledge David has on a myriad of subjects - from early anthropology to African wildlife to world politics.  Oh, yeah, Dave and Rand are impressive too.

From there we headed for the Serengeti.  First we traveled through the Serengeti Conservation Area, a buffer area around the park where the Masai, their livestock and the wild animals live in harmony.  We saw hundreds of Thompson Gazelle and zebra as well as a number of giraffes and elephants even before we entered the park boundaries which are unfenced.  We didn't think it could get better than that, but again we were wrong.  Within a few miles we encountered the Great Migration of the wildebeest and zebras.  Historically the migration was predictable and would not have been here for another month or two, but climate change is impacting the Serengeti also.  Fortunately, it brought the migration early this year and we are right in the middle of it!

Dining Tent
You didn't really think we'd show us in the shower, did you?

We arrived at our private tented camp later than expected because we stopped frequently to observe the animals.  We're right in the middle of the park with our own walk-in sleeping tents, a dining tent and similar facilities for the kitchen and camp staff.  Sounds rustic, but it's not.  Our tent is outfitted with camp beds - complete with linens, blankets, pillows and en suite facilities (shower and flush toilets).   The latter two keep us from having to leave the tent in the night when animals are nearby.  More about that later...

Cats, Cats and more Cats 11/10/2012

We were up early this morning for a game drive.  We had a hearty breakfast and were in the vehicles at 7:00 in search of wildlife.   In addition to a plethora of other animals, we'd seen elephant, lion, and leopard (3 of the big 5) before lunch.  By evening we'd added the Cape Buffalo.  Only the rhino eluded us, which is not surprising as there are only 28 in a park the size of 6400 sq miles.  We saw more than a dozen lions, several cheetahs, and three leopards this day!  I wonder if our guides are packing in the viewing because we don't know how the weather will be the next few days.  So far we've had rain only at night.  If it rains much more or during the day we won't be able to go to some areas of the park due to mud and road closures.

You'll recognize Rand taking photos

Our days are packed - up at dawn, quick face wash, breakfast and into the Land Rovers for a game drive.  We scout for animals until 1:00 when we return for lunch and 2 hours of down time before a late afternoon game drive.   We return to the camp at 6:30 and clean up for dinner.  We're asleep by 9:00 - exhausted!

About the showers - Twenty liters of warm water are delivered to our tents and hoisted by pulley above the back of our tents.  We take turns slipping into the private shower portion of the tent, turning the lever and wetting down with warm water and quickly turning the water off.  We soap up, shampoo and turn the water back on until it runs out.  When one of us is done the camp staff refills the bucket for the second shower.  Twenty liters lasts a surprisingly long time and is very refreshing after a day on dusty roads with open windows and top.

Saturday evening our group met with our friends in the other group on the Serengeti for sundowners.  We had a glorious reunion - comparing sightings and experiences.

Safari Serengeti

No Internet for a while, so this is a catch up posting...  Sunday we flew from Camp Town > Johannesburg > Dar es Salaam and ultimately to Kilimanjaro airport near Arusha where we joined 13 friends and family from all over the US for our safari.  We are in the "real Africa" as promised.  The streets are filled with people walking, riding motor cycles (dim headlights and no tail lights), and bicycles.  Picture an old man in full Masai dress riding a bicycle.  The streets are lined with small shops selling everything from tires to bottled water to used shoes.  The day markets team with live chickens, fruits, vegetables, housewares, used clothing - virtually anything people need for their daily living.  Just getting our visas at the Dar es Salaam airport was a 1.5 hour administrative nightmare followed by 3 security checks, none of which caught Rand's artificial knee with the metal detector!  Only the third X-ray point noticed I had a bottle of water in my backpack.  I was told to please drink it before boarding my flight and passed on through.  So much for security...

The trip started gently as we were all pretty road weary.  We spent the first day in Arusha where we visited the Shanga River House, a coffee plantation that has expanded to include a workshop for handicapped people who make products for sale.  We met people who were deaf, blind or otherwise physically handicapped who had jobs making jewelry, weavings, glass beads and blown glass from recycled bottles, and multiple products from used beer cans.  Without this workshop these people would be at home without a livelihood.  The grounds included a lovely restaurant where we were treated to a cooking demonstration and a delicious lunch of traditional Tanzanian food.  Our visit ended with a trip to the gift shop where in addition to purchasing products made here at least one of us bought a lovely tanzanite, the beautiful blue/violet, precious stone found only in Tanzania.  One more stop at a huge African art gallery where I believe I may have seen a couple more pieces of tanzanite purchased.  I drooled but did not buy.  Rand smiled!

This day was very special for the four of us who were in Tanzania 14 years ago as Julius Lasier, one of our guides from our prior trip, joined us for coffee, dessert and recounting of wonderful memories from our previous visit.  I expect we will form the same kind of lasting bonds with our current trip leader David Mollel an our guides Lonnie and Lucas, all three Masai tribesmen.  A good night's rest and we were ready to head out into the bush, but not before breakfast and greeting 14 more friends who arrived the night before for a safari that follows ours by one day.  If you put all of us in one group we'd be 29, too many for a single safari group, so scheduling on successive days means we are in the same lodging several evenings and can all share the trip while enjoying the intimacy of traveling in a smaller group.

The Valley of the Elephants

We stopped at a large supermarket to stock up on essentials (wine, gin, and granola bars) before heading out of town. I was surprised by how modern and well stocked the indoor market is - quite a contrast to the street markets.  Then we hit the road for Tarangari Park, the first of the parks we'd visit.  No sooner were we through the gate than we encountered zebra, impala, giraffe, and elephants.  The lions proved a bit more elusive but we found them as well that afternoon.  We've noticed improvements in the roads and toilets since our last visit but are pleased to see that the animals are as charismatic as before!

We enjoyed a warm shower then "sundowners" and dinner on the deck overlooking Lake Burunge before a good night's sleep in a lovely hut.  Today we re-entered the park in the early morning for more game viewing.  Since game is more active before the heat of the day we saw even more than yesterday.  The highlight was the Tarangari River flood plane where we saw elephants in all directions.  There must have been hundreds of them - all sizes, all ages.  Some were almost close enough to touch from our seats in the Land Rover.  So far we've seen 2 of the Big Five - elephant and lion .  We've yet to see the rhino, the leopard or the Cape Buffalo since arriving in Tanzania.  I'm sure we'll find them on the Serengeti or the Ngorongoro Crater.

Since we stayed in the same place two nights, last evening the other group caught up with us and we celebrated Africa in style with a cocktail party on the deck before dinner.  I reveled in enjoying my favorite place with my favorite people.  It was pure bliss.

This morning we visited a Masai boma and enjoyed their singing and dancing before we were clothed in native dress and persuaded to participate in their dancing and daily tasks.  Three of us even helped mud the walls of their hut with a combination of dirt, water and cow dung.  Of course the family members who live in this boma are paid for entertaining tourists, but their friendly greeting and enthusiastic interaction with us made the experience exceptional.  Our three Mass guides added to the experience by helping us understand the the strong Mass cultural heritage.

We had been told our accommodation had been upgraded for the evening and were not disappointed by the Kitela Lodge when we arrived!  Our room is huge with an over sized king-size bed, fireplace and sitting area overlooking the valley below.  Our bathroom even includes a soaking tub with the same view.  After a swim in the lovely pool, we're enjoying the quiet comfort of our room before dinner.  Tomorrow we head to our private tented camp in the Serengeti for 4 nights.  We'll have no Internet so this is my last posting for several days.

Nelson Mandela's Legacy

Cape Town from Robben Island

"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve, but if need be, an ideal for which I am prepared to die."  

Nelson Mandela.

Mandela's Cell

Mr. Mandela's legacy is a democratic country of extraordinary beauty and potential.  Though already the most wealthy and developed country in the continent, South Africa has a ways to go before achieving his dream.  Like most of the people here I am hopeful men and women of Mandela's vision will lead this country to its full potential in the 21st century.

Rand and I have enjoyed three quiet days since the our travel mates left for home.  As promised we slept in the first morning, had a leisurely breakfast and gathered our dirty clothes (everything we brought except what we were wearing that day) and took them to the laundry across the street.  We took the bus to the lively commercial area of the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront then walked to the city center and Green Market Square.  We walked until our feet hurt and greatly enjoyed the pure joy of exploring on our own.

Green Market Square

With fresh, clean clothing we left the hotel on Friday for the boat to Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Mandela and many other political prisoners of apartheid were held for many years.  Our guide was a former prisoner who could talk to us from the perspective of personal knowledge.  It was a sobering experience.  We returned to the hotel late afternoon for an early dinner and evening as the transport arrived at 3:45 AM this morning to take us to our shark diving experience.

Our Shark Dive Boat

What we saw (not our photo)

Doing a great white shark dive has been on Rand's bucket list as long as I've known him.  It's not been on mine.  At first I thought I'd let him go on his own, then I decided I'd go along and watch from the boat, but ultimately I concluded I couldn't bear the ribbing I knew I'd take the rest of my life if I didn't do it.  So at 7:00 this morning we donned wet suits, climbed into a steel cage attached to the side of our boat, put on goggles and a breathing regulator in our mouths, submerged into the icy waters and watched as the great whites swam by.  Well, "swam by" is a bit of an understatement as they were thrashing and leaping out of the water trying to get to the bait our boatman was using to chum them in.  One even ran headlong into the corner of the cage.  Turns out that with us securely inside the cage, we found the experience thrilling but not scary.  Now that's done and off Rand's bucket list and on my bragging list.

Tomorrow we leave for Tanzania, where we will enter the "real Africa" - the part with greater poverty, few paved roads, and few white people other  tourists.