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Trip of a Lifetime: Ultimate Africa: Day 5

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November 7, 2015 – 5:40A

Slept so much better now that I’ve experienced a game drive and, therefore, my mind is no longer racing with curiosities.  I’ve also gotten used to falling asleep to baboons, hyenas and lions.  haha.  Feeling refreshed and ready for another game drive in Chobe.  🙂

Ostriches

Curious ostriches (2 of 3) along the side of the road on the way to our morning game drive in Chobe.

2:28P

Wow!  Just returned from our third and final game drive in Chobe National Park.  The terrain of the park is a beautiful wide open space with the Chobe River running through it.  On the other side of the river is Namibia.  Chobe is 4,500 square miles.  We did see many parts that were tree covered.  A great deal of the trees had been eaten by the 120,000 elephants that are estimated to populate the area.

Chobe Botswana

Chobe National Park in a nutshell (Botswana) – Various antelope, a warthog grazing (middle left) and a few zebra in the background.

Saw lots of cape buffalo, impala, kudu, warthogs, giraffes, elephant including a tiny baby elephants that were skipping amongst the adults as the “parade” passed us by.  What a magnificent sight to see.

Elephant and baby

Elephant and her young in Chobe National Park, Botswana

All of a sudden, we were informed by another tour group of a leopard in a tree with it’s kill (an impala).  So our driver Genius hurried our jeep out to see the leopard.  It was perched in an acacia tree guarding its kill.  We sat there with the engine off for close to a half hour just admiring this stunning animal.

Cat in Acacia

Leopard in acacia tree

And not only this … we saw a female lion and had the unique privilege of watching her hunt down and chase a roan antelope – which our guide “Genius” said is a rare species in this area.  The lioness was deep in the tall golden grass down by the water, too far for my zoom to get a good picture.  But then she came right to us and laid down beneath a tree to rest in the shade.  She was panting heavily either from just having eaten or the heat.  We watched her for a long time and then she spotted the roan antelope by the water.  She hunched into a darting position but instead of running, slowly moved past us and crouched down in the grass to move in.  The antelope did not see her until she was running in for the kill.  It was so exciting to see this live.  The antelope got away by leaping into the water.   The lion would not go into the water.  I thought this was because cats were afraid of water but actually lions are very good swimmers and like being in the water but they’ve learned to avoid it because of the crocodiles.  Very interesting.

Lion in Chobe

Hungry lioness spots potential prey

We also saw a hippo in the water with its eyes and top of its head peeking out and new saw another one shading underneath a tree. We could only get a view of its back and man was it massive.  Apparently, these animals can get up to 3.5 tons.  Wow!  Oh yeah, we also saw a Nile crocodile.  What an experience overall.  I would be remised if I didn’t comment on all the beautiful bird species we saw throughout Cobie.  My two favorites were the lilac-breasted roller (or “rrrrrr-oler” as Vitalis would say) and the red-billed hornbill.  Fascinating colors.

African Bird

Lilac-breasted Roller

It was also cool having a picnic lunch in the “bush.”  Before lunch I spotted some monkeys in a nearby tree.  I was able to get right up to the tree without them running away.  I snapped a dozen photos just waiting for this one particular money seated in a branch to look directly at my camera and finally he did.  Money shot!

Monkey in Chobe

Money Monkey Shot!

After lunch “Six” pulled out a map of Botswana and explained to us the recent history of the country and its national parks.  Very interesting.  During the presentation this beautifully iridescent blue-eared starling was hanging out below our picnic table.

African bird

Blue-eared starling

Now we are back at our “tent” resting before heading out to see a small village called Mabele and basket weaver.  But first, I’m going to catch a quick and unfortunately, cold, according to Aryn, shower.

9:30P

Exhausted.  Long and exciting day.

The basket weaving demonstration at the Lwaavo Arts & Culture Center in Mabele was fun and very educational.  I spent $110 on woven baskets, trivets, earrings and necklaces.  Most of what I bought was made by a young woman named Joy, who conducted most of our presentation.

African Basket Weaving

Joy explaining how some of the color in the basket came from a rusted soda can.

Following our learning and discovery of African basket weaving, we went bar hopping at a bar next door to the basket weavers and another one down the road.  At the first bar fellow traveler, Vern from Minnesota, bought all of our drinks.  I had a local beer called Windhoek lager.  Bar hopping was such a blast and as we drove back from Mabele the sun was quickly lowering itself on the horizon.  It was such peaceful view and the temperature was comfortably cool.  An overwhelming feeling of gratefulness came over me.  I was in awe and appreciation of my surroundings.  I felt incredibly blessed.

Bar Hopping

My dear friend Aryn and I enjoying a Botswana brew at a local bar in Mabele, Botswana

Unexpectedly, our jeeps pulled off the road and parked by a row of trees along a ridge.  Down in the valley we saw a table was set up with a few of the people from our camp.   This was to be our “sundowner” time.  What a nice way to spend our last evening in Chobe.  We walked down to the table which had the word “ENJOY” spelled out in reddish-brown beats.  The staff from the camp served us each a champaign glass of Amarula and gave a nice toast.  As we drank our tasty Amarula (I need to pick me up a bottle of this stuff – tastes like Irish Cream) we gazed out in the wide open grassy space as far as the eye could see.  As even fell, its backdrop became a magnificent sunset.  Off in the distance a parade of elephants appeared.  What a perfect picture.  Breathtaking. . Everyone in our group knew how fortunate we were because these animals are not cued to appear.  When you go on these game drives what you see is what you get and its the total luck of the draw.  Aryn and I were reviling in the fact that were were standing there together in Africa.  How cool.  Judy noted that we were surrounded by the same tall golden grass that the lioness had been hiding in earlier this afternoon.  What if there was a lion hiding out there now?  All we could do was hope that our guides were keeping a good watch or we might be someone else’s dinner before we made it back to dinner ourselves.

Sundowner Drink

“Sundowner” drinks in Botswana, Africa

At camp we gathered in the sofa area of the lodge where Vitalis briefed us on tomorrow’s schedule and served us up a yeast alcoholic drink called “Shake Shake” that he had bought from the first bar in Mabele.  It was milky-looking with a slight grit and smelled like rising bread dough.  I didn’t care for it but it was a cool thing to experience.  No regrets!

Being our last night in the camp, dinner was a traditional Botswana meal served with us seated around the “boma” (campfire).  Prior to serving the food one of the staff members came to each one of us with a pitcher of water and a bowl.  We held our hands over the bowl and she poured the water over our hands to clean them.   We ate using our hands and the white polenta too scoop up the food.  It was delicious – especially the corn soup.  Traditional African meals do not include a dessert, however, they did give us each a piece of watermelon.  The conversation was very nice and after dinner we gathered by the pool for a performance of traditional singing and dancing by the staff.  We were also asked to perform a song from our homeland (the States).  Our talent amounted nowhere close to the staff’s.  haha!  But it was fun nonetheless.

Praying for a good night’s sleep.  Aryn and I hear a male lion;s mating call in the near distance.  This would probably make my Aaron nervous.  But overall, I think this trip would grow on him.  Wish he had come.

Travel

Trip of a Lifetime: Ultimate Africa: Day 4

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November 6, 2015 – 12:00P

Rough night’s sleep.  My mind kept pondering over what to expect on our first game drive plus, the repetitive male lion mating call in the near distance took some getting used to.  haha!  Finally, I fell asleep sometime after 2:30A.  I woke up once to use the restroom.  Aryn had brought these mini battery operated candles that she had bought form the dollar store.  There is one beside our sink and one on the back of our toilet.  They provide a great little night light for the tent.  I was awoken this morning by native drums and a friendly “good morning” from one of our guides.  As I stretched myself into consciousness we heard a “plop” above our heads followed by a sliding sound down the pitch of our canvas roof.  We were like:  “What the heck is that?”  Then we saw a little baboon head pear over the edge of our roof into our room.  There were baboons jumping from the overhanging tree onto our roof and sliding down our roof.   They were playing!  It was hilarious.  They were also jumping down onto our stone front porch but as soon as we stood up from our beds, they left the porch.  They seem curious yet very skittish.  Much like the zebras we’ve encountered along the side of the road.

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Baboons sliding down our roof

I have a new morning routine out here in the bush:  following my shower and moisturizer I have to apply sunblock and Deet for the mosquitos.

Breakfast was simple but filling.  Then it was off to our first game drive in Chobe National Park.  Our total group (minus our trip leader) equals 15.  We go out in 2 separate jeeps.  Out guides at this camp are “Six” and “Genius.”   They’re very friendly and incredibly knowledgable.  It’s amazing how they can spot even the smallest of creatures at a distance.  What I found the most interesting on this drive was the variety of different species co-habitating together.  In the grass across the Chobe River in Namibia we saw different types of antelopes (impalas and kudus) grazing with a “dazzle” of zebras and we saw a “clan” of hyenas running behind them all.  Amazing.  Inspiring.  And very educational.

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Our game drive jeep

Our most frequent encounter on this trip were impala antelopes (mostly female).  We also saw a lot of zebra, sable antelope, cape buffalo, elephants (baby elephants are so cute btw) and get this … cows!  And they were wearing bells – no joke!  The beef industry is apparently huge in this region.  So these cows were all owned by a Namibian farmer.

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Cape Buffalo

We also saw a lot of magnificent birds and even a few monkeys.  There were also a lot of small grey & blue spotted chicken-like animals called guinea fowls.  They travelled in packs and were quick to scatter as our jeep approached.  Our guide said they were nicknamed “Chobe Chickens” and someone in our jeep (I believe Donna) asked if they were edible.  “Six” said the meat of the guinea fowl is edible but so tough that they have to be cooked for many hours over hot coals and then once the meat is cooked the natives throw away the meat and eat the coals instead (because the meat is so tough).  haha!

Guinea Fowl

Guinea Fowl aka “Chobe Chicken”

“Six” is a funny guy.  The roads of the park are dirt and extremely bumpy.  They called riding through these parks the “African massage.”  Six kept joking:  “It’s not the driver or the jeep, blame the roads.”  He was a good driver and very aware of tree branches that encroached the road.  He would slow down the jeep and raise his had to try and lift the branches up over the roof of the jeep.  He would then joke:  “I am the branch manager.”  I found this hilarious since that’s what I do for a living – branch manager of a bank.  🙂

I also learned what a termite mound was.  Very interesting.  If they were solid they are still active, the ones with holes (exposing the inner tunnels) are no longer active.  The soil from these mounds is so dense and strong it’s used to build the walls of the homes in African villages.  They range in size but are typically tower-shaped structures some thousands of years old.  For example, it takes a termite colony 100 years to build a mound the size of a soccer ball.  Very interesting.

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A 1,000 year-old termite mound

Lunch was delicious.  Had my first taste of shepherd’s pie – very tasty.  Now I’m sitting on the cement ground of our front porch at our “tent.”  Aryn is inside trying to take a nap before our 3:00P afternoon game drive and “sundowner drink.” – not sure what that is but it sounds fun!  I’m looking out at Chobe National Park.  It’s so beautiful and peaceful.  I can hear a hyena in the distance.  Before yesterday, I didn’t even know what a hyena sounded like.  Now I’m hearing them not only in person but in their natural habitat.  What a privilege.  Everything else around seems still and relatively quiet.  There is a gentle breeze that feels good amongst the, otherwise, hot air.

9:30P

Today’s afternoon/evening game drive was awesome.   Our first sighting was a “troop” of baboons around a grove of trees.  They were nestling their babies in their arms and when they walked their babies clung to their bellies and wrapped their tail around their mother’s tail.  So adorable.

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Baboon mama and her babies

Next our jeep ventured into a trio of Southern Giraffes.  Six turned off the engine and while we sat their snapping a million photos another giraffe appeared from the trees, followed by two more until we were surrounded by 20 giraffes.  They kept coming from behind trees and cross the road right in front of us to go munch on more trees on the other side.  They were watching us as closely as we were watching them.   We must have sat there, in absolute awe, for, at least, a half hour, watching this “stride” of giraffes.  It was an amazing experience that I will never forget.  So cool!

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I like that at the end of the day Vitalis briefs us on what to except the next day, including what time we need to wake up and be at breakfast.  After this briefing, our guides Six and Genius walk us to our “tents” by flashlight.  There are two guys dressed in all black that sit up along the trail leading to our tents.  Apparently, they stay up all night on guard.  They are watching for lions and leopards coming through camp.

Time for some sleep now.  It’s quieter tonight.  Mostly, I’m just hearing cicadas and crickets and the occasional baboon barking or hyena howling.  No lions tonight – as of yet.

Travel

Overseas Adventure Travel: Ultimate Africa 2015 Pre-Trip

2015 ULTIMATE AFRICA PRE-TRIP:

Roughly 2 years ago (March 2013) my partner, Aaron and I were back in the San Fransisco Bay Area for a friend’s wedding.  During our trip we stayed a few nights with an old college friend (and the maid of honor) Aryn.  I’ll never forget this moment that sparked the trip of a lifetime: “Ultimate Africa”  The three of us were seated in Aryn’s living room of her Concord, CA apartment when I noticed a photo book placed on her coffee table.  I picked it up and paged through it amazed by all the beautiful photos of African animals.  I asked where she bought the book and she said they were her photos she had submitted through Shutterfly.  I was completely blown away.   Not only were these photos magnificent but the proximity Aryn was to these wild and roaming animals I had only ever seen in cages at various zoos.  “Oh yeah,” Aryn said, “these game drive jeeps take you right up to the lions and rhinos.”  Wow!

Aryn had mentioned that her and her mom Judy were looking to take a second trip only to a different part of Africa.  She emailed me a link to OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) and their “Ultimate Africa:  Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari” including an overnight in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Without hardly a second  thought, I enthusiastically said”: “Sign me up” and on November 3, 2015 Aryn, her sister Katherine, mother Judy and myself were all on a plane from Atlanta to Johannesburg.

During this trip, I kept a daily journal and I thought it would be fun to post this (day by day) on my blog.  I will begin with the first post tomorrow proceeding for the next 17 days (taking a break for the Thanksgiving Holiday and maybe Black Friday).  I will be including photos and videos that correspond with the events and sitings of each specific day along with videos of the “tents” we stayed in at each location.

8 months prior to the trip I had to get in touch with Passport Health Dept to begin my vaccinations and 2 days prior to the trip I had to begin taking my daily malaria pill (I highly recommend taking this WITH food).  Packing was very involved, I had to get a specific type of mosquito spray (Sawyer brand) to apply to my clothing – which it’s recommended to do outside and away from many contact with pets and your skin).  I also purchased 3 cans of bug spray containing, at least, 30% DEET, that I sprayed on my check, ears, and any exposed skin each morning.  I ended up only using 2 cans of the DEET so I’m returning the 3rd to Dick’ Sporting Goods tomorrow.

I also recommend packing a back-up battery for your camera.  Our tented camps provided laundry service for everything except our “smalls” (underwear), so I only packed 2 pairs of shorts, a pair of gym shorts, swimming trunks, 5 pairs of socks, a hoodie, hat and 4 shirts.  I packed enough underwear for 10 days as I was able to wash them in the bathroom sink in our tent (powered soap was provided).  I also recommend buying a cheap pair of sunglasses (don’t bring your expensive name brand pair).  Other items are sunscreen, a flashlight, an extra bag to pack souveniers and whatever toiletries you need – including Advil, DayQuil, NightQuil, Tums, Vitamin C & Zinc, extra contacts if you wear them, lotion, aloe, and see if the pharmacy will prescribe you a pill for traveller’s diarrhea.  The flight from Atlanta was 15 hours, so I recommend bringing something to read (although there were dozens of good movies to choose from, plus the essential sleep – if you’re able to sleep on a plane).  Check with your cell phone provider too about a cheap international calling or FaceTime Plan.  🙂  Lastly, I highly recommend buying a pair of “zip off pants” that covert into shorts.  I bought mine online form Eddie Bauer for $40 plus shipping.  TOTALLY worth it!

OAT is great about helping you prepare for this trip and they do accept installments on your payment.  A couple weeks prior to the trip they sent me a small booklet called: Your Final Document Booklet.  This thing was incredibly informative and I was very glad I brought it with me.  It included our Day-by-Day Itinerary, Friendly Reminders and Emergency Contact Information of each place we were staying to copy & give to our loved ones at home.  I called and asked for an extra copy to leave at home with Aaron, which they gladly sent.

Hope you all enjoy my blog!