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Trip of a Life Time: Ultimate Africa: Day 13 Part 2

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November 15, 2015 12:46P post cont …

While Mafuka continued making the bracelets out of the baobab tree fibers, he invited us to ask whatever questions we like. After all, we’re out in the middle of nowhere so, other than a nearby fisherman down on the riverbank, who else in the world is going to overhear our discussion? No one! Our questions eventually led us to another controversial topic: Parents teaching their kids about sex. Here in Africa, what a child learns about sex is from another adult figure other than their parent. In fact, parents won’t even so much as kiss one another in front of their children. Vitalis seeing your parents kiss would only occur at a special event, such as a wedding, and it would be very brief. These affectionate displays are kept private. So when a parent realizes it’s time for one of their children to learn about the birds and the bees they will approach a respected elder in the village that’s close to the child (say an uncle, grandparent for close family friend) and ask them to have “the talk” with the child. It’s not that it’s too embarrassing for the parent to talk to their child about sex, it’s simply that it’s not an appropriate behavior in the African culture. Very interesting.

While we were all standing beneath the thatched roof of the stone pavilion, listening to Mafuka, we spotted a crocodile floating along in the water down below. In the distance, there arose a rather plump hippo.

Speaking of animals, when you’re out on these game drives, never assume any of them to be uneventful. On our ride back to camp, we had a near assault with a rather upset teenage male elephant. I was able to get some great photos, being so close, but wished I had caught the experience on video instead. Here’s what happened: we were driving up the dirt road and spotted two elephants to our right. The nearest one was not happy to see us. He raised his head and threw out his giant ears.

Elephant throws out his ears as a warning.

I zoomed in my camera lens and got a great close-up shot. This one is definitely getting framed!

Quite possibly one of my favorite pics from the entire trip.

Our guide Thabani said that the elephant was probably trying to cross the road and our jeep had interrupted his path. The second elephant stayed calm in the background but the one nearest to us, continued staring us down. For a moment, I sensed that he and I had locked eyes. I moved my camera out of sight worried that he might think it was some sort of weapon. He began swaying his head from side to side, flopping his ears.

Angry teenage male elephant approaches our jeep.

We all sat there breathless with our hearts racing. Thabani backed up the jeep to make room for the elephant, who them stepped into the road. As he crossed the road he faced us head on and ran forward. We thought we were about to get plowed over by this massive creature. Suddenly, he reared back and trumpeted loud. None of us could move Oddly enough, Thabani and Vitals, seated at the front of the jeep, appeared perfectly calm – almost relaxed. After the elephant cross the road he rounded one of the mopane trees, tilted down his head and thrusted his entire head and body into the tree knocking it to the ground. Wow! Now the road was clear and Thabani turned around and asked: “Had enough?” Each of us swallowed the lump in our throat and assured him that we were ready to get the heck out of there!

Elephant stepped into the road and started to charge towards our jeep.

Now that we are back at camp, I am relaxing on the front porch of our tent enjoying the peaceful view. At each the 4 camps I have collected a small handful of dirt from just outside our “tent.” The dirt I collected from this particular camp was a few feet from the stairs to our tent and had a lion print in it. How cool! I’m hoping to find a wood-carved bowl with a lid, identical to the ones placed on the bathroom counters at every one of our tents, holding the powdered laundry detergent we can use to wash our “smalls” (underwear).

Before our evening game drive, the camp staff is going to show us how they make origami safari figure out of table napkins. Lots of laughs.

Origami with napkins lesson at the dining table of the main lodge of Kashawe Camp.

3:31P

Maybe this is just a guy thing but it’s so cool to stand over a toilet as you’re gazing out through your screened tent window into the nature of Africa. Haha!

9:10P

I love watching all the warthogs run away. They’re so cute with their tails sticking straight up like an antenna and then having to stop and look back at what they’re running from because they’ve forgotten. So funny.

Back at tent 9 relaxing in my very comfortable bed. It’s a cool, clear night with no lightening or thunder so hopefully we get a good night’s sleep.

Napkin folding was fun to watch and our game drive’s main highlight was pulling up to the top of a ridge for a stunning look of the golden and green valley below.

Stunning evening view of a small piece of Hwange National Park.

This was a great opportunity for Aryn, Judy, Katheryn and me to capture a picture together with the beautiful view in the background.

Kathryn, Judy, Aryn and me in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.

Two particular palm trees were pointed out to me as resembling the facial image of two lions. Very cool.

The Lion King palm trees in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Mafuka and I. This cat’s been leading safari game drives for over 50 years.

We remained up on that ridge, taking pictures and mingling, right through to the final drop of the sun into the horizon. It was a beautiful experience I will never forget.

Sunset over Hwange National Park. See image at top of blog for another sunset view from the same night.

Our drive back to camp was full of laughter as Aryn, Katherine, Judy, Cheryl, Donna and myself joked about making up some extravagant tale we could boast to the group in the other jeep about what we saw on our drive back. The story took the embellished and hilarious turn (thanks to Cheryl’s contagious laughter) of our group witnessing an elephant giving birth to a baby. Before you knew it we were fabricating that the infant got stuck halfway outside of the mother and Cheryl had to get down from the jeep and assist in delivering the baby! She said: “Oh yeah, I just reached right in there and pulled on the baby’s trunk!” We laughed the entire way back to camp.

(Note: I just heard a hyena in the distance).

Aryn and Cheryl both have much nicer cameras than my Canon Power Shot. Aryn has a DSL and Cheryl a two DSLR’s. I know they were able to get some pics of animals running or birds in mid-flight that my camera’s shutter speed is too slow to catch. Cheryl’s always so funny when she gets one of those unexpected amazing shots – with an expression on her face as if to say: “Wow. That was 100% luck.”

I’m off to sleep now. Tomorrow we are visiting a village “homestead” and an elementary school. These are schools that OAT supports and money has been raised at this particular school for a computer room.

January 18, 2016 by Brian

Travel

Trip of a Lifetime: Ultimate Africa: Day 12

November 14, 2015 – 7:30A

Today is my dad’s birthday! Happy Birthday Dad from Zambia!

We are getting ready to take off on our 12-seater “puddle jumper” plane to leave Zambia for Zimbabwe (or “Zim Zim” as Vitalis calls it). Zimbabwe is his homeland and you can tell he is both proud and excited to show us some of its highlights. Unfortunately, Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate is 80%. Yikes! Many of its unemployed are earning money by selling their hand-carved and handmade goods (i.e. sandstone and wood carvings). Our pilots again are Julie and Shane. Skies are clear and the sun is shining. It’s tough to leave this particular camp. The riverfront view from the main lodge and our “tent” was spectacular.

Last night, I woke up briefly around 1:30a to use the bathroom and heard footsteps in the grass outside our tent. I turned off the oscillating fan for a better listen and discovered there were two hippos using the “hippo highway” right along side our front porch. One at a time, they splashed into the water. I then, turned back on the fan, walked through the mosquito netting, and got back into bed. While we were getting ready this morning, Aryn said she had been awake and heard them as well.

I woke up to my 5:30a cell phone alarm (a half hour earlier than our wake-up call from the camp staff). I planned this to give myself some extra time to sit out on our front porch. As I stepped outside, all wrapped up in my giant white comforter, I checked my surroundings for hippos. As soon as I knew the coast was clear, I sat down on one of the director’s chairs with my feet stretched out before me and gazed out at the morning view of the beautiful Kafue River. The reflection of the trees in the water across the river was stunningly perfect. The staff informed us that the water level is currently down around ten feet due to the lack of rain. From my vantage point, the benefit to the drought is the ability to see the intimately-woven root system of the trees exposed along the river bank. The low waters also allow the hippos to stand on the river’s bottom and poke their eyes up and look around. I saw a couple pairs of hippo eyes popping up this morning, as well as, a couple of fish jumping up out of the water. I could have sat there for hours. It was so peaceful. It was perfect!

Morning view of the Kafue River from my tents front porch. Zambia 2015

As I was sitting there thinking, I recalled saying to the group during one of our recent game drives that with all the magnificent animals and scenery we’ve experienced: “I expect my afterglow from this trip to last me a whole year.” After saying this, Norma turned to me in the jeep and said: “Brian, it will last you the rest of your life.” I bet she’s right.

Now, we are flying at 10,900 feet with beautiful views of the green “bush” all around. So far, it’s been a smooth flight. Thank you Julie and Shane!

Vitalis told us that on our way to our next camp, Hwange National Park, we are stopping to look at fabrics. Should be interesting. I know Aryn’s mom, Judy, is very excited as she hopes to buy a huge variety of bright colors to make things when she returns home. Vitalis told the women in our group that he would pay for the first round of fabric. His idea is that they are to bring one of their fabrics to the homestead we are going to visit and the women there will show them how to properly tie it around their waist.

On a side note, I find it interesting how the staff at each of these tented camps will spend months away from their families. They either work for 3 months with one month back home with their families or work for 2 months with eighteen days off back home. That must be a hard schedule but they say they love it. We’ve learned that some of the single staff members end up dating some of the other single staff members and, sometimes, marrying them. Makes sense because these are the people with whom they spend most of their time.

On another side note, I must say that I have been very fortunate with the choice of anti-malaria pill (Proguanil) that I was prescribed by Passport Health back home. Even though the bottle lists no specific instructions, I have always taken it will food and have yet to experience any stomach issues.

We are now flying over a large blue lake. Spanning from its breadth is an intricate system of rivers stretching and turning in all different directions. What a spectacular perspective we have from this height. I’m really hoping for some Wifi at the airport. I’d like to get some communication out to Aaron and Ma, but I’m also curious about trying out some Delta 8 THC CBD Gummies, Flowers, Pre-Rolls, and Edibles while waiting.

4:10P

After landing and crossing into Zimbabwe by minibus, we were able to stop at the Sprayview Hotel in Victoria Falls (which is actually going to be where we’ll stay for our last two nights of this adventure). There I found a single spot where my phone was able to get a good enough signal to send text & Facebook messages. I camped out in this chair for a good half hour touching base with Aaron and sending other messages. I also visited the Sprayview Gift Shop in the lobby (bought nothing) and shared a Zambezi beer with Karen, one of the ladies from our group. While checking in with Aaron I learned that nearly 200 people were killed in Paris by members of the Isis terrorist group and the entire soccer stadium was under threat and, therefore, evacuated. Back in the US both JFK and LaGuardia airports were shut down as a safety precaution.

After leaving the hotel, we briefly stopped at a small tented marketplace in town to browse and buy the $2.00 fabrics Vitalis had told us about. They were all so colorful and I bought two (a tan and brown one for me and a purple one for Aaron. Purple was his mom’s favorite color).

Beautiful fabrics only $2 a piece at an open-air market in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

The bus ride to Hwange was over an hour and before entering the park we passed through an open casting coal mine – very interesting to see.

Now we have arrived at Kashawe Camp in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. From our front porch we overlook a beautiful view of the rust-colored river valley. Again, the water level is extremely low. Hwange National Park is 14,000 square km and the terrain is completely different than the previous game reserve parks we’ve visited. The terrain here is quite rock and hilly. The main lodge at Kashawe overlooks the dry river valley and the golden rolling hills and tall bluffs. When we arrived there were 12 giraffes down in the valley feeding off the acacia trees. Vitalis proudly refers to this as “African tv.”

My travel companions enjoying the view from the main lodge at Kashawe Camp in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

A few of the giraffe’s we were watching from the main lodge. “African TV” in Hwange.

We all stood in the main lodge and looked out at all the giraffes. The camp managers, Sally and Ed, requested our attention and introduced us to our game drive guides Mafuka and Thabani and briefed us on the camp’s layout and safety protocol (ie. the medical emergency horns, walking backwards vs turning and running if you encounter an animal, etc). The current temperature is 98 degrees and Sally explained that this hot dry weather is unusual for this time of the year. Their rainy season was supposed to have begun by now. We filled our OAT water bottles before being shown to our tent (Tent 9).

Tent 9 at Kashawe Camp in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

On each of our beds was a towel folded up into the shape of an elephant. Very cute. As always, our OAT bags were in our room when we arrived. We only are responsible for carrying any small bags (ie. carry ons). The room is very comfortable. I’m going to grab a quick cold shower before walking back to the main lodge at 5:00P for our evening game drive. When I get there I do want to check out their gift shop.

Inside Tent 9 at Kashawe Camp in Hwange National Park. Notice the towels on our beds formed into the shape of an elephant.

9:10P

Our evening game drive took us past scores of vultures perched high up in the trees.

Vulture perched high up in a tree scouting the area.

This is a good sign that there is a lion nearby so we began scouting for the high profile animal. Unfortunately, we did not find one. We did, however, stop to watch an entire herd (or properly referred to as an “obstinacy”) of cape buffalo. There were dozens of them along with some of their young. It’s funny how they will stand there staring back at you, motionless, the entire time you’re there. We also saw a few giraffes, a memory of elephants and actually heard a couple of elephants trumpeting in the distance during the picturesque sunset … Ahh Africa!

Our jeep in Hwanage.

Cape Buffalo staring at us in on our first game drive in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Before dinner, Mafuka was standing at the edge of the bluff, beside two wicker chase lounge seats, that looked down into the river valley. A few of us walked over and he held one finger up to his mouth and said: “Shh, there is a leopard out there. I can hear it calling.” In my opinion, the leopard call is the most intimidating. It’s a low and throaty panting grunt. We stood there listening for a while but did not hear the leopard again. Sometimes the waiting is the most exciting part. 🙂

Right now, I’m propped up in bed at our “tent.” Dinner was delicious but dessert was even better: chocolate mousse. Our guides, Mafuka and Thabani, escorted us to our tents bearing rifles. This is the first time we’ve been delivered to our tents by armed guards. Apparently, it’s Zimbabwe law. They did warn us about frequent lion and leopard sittings throughout camp. Jetting in one direction from the main lodge is the rust-colored dirt path to our tents. The shorter path to each “tent” is marked by a series of sticks planted into the ground. The number of sticks marks the tent number to which the path leads. It was a long walk to our “tent” – Tent 9. The guides were sure to shine the flashlight into the darkness looking for eyes looking back at us.

Tomorrow morning’s wake-up call is early at 5:00a in order to beat the heat while out game-driving. I hear lots of sounds outside although, so far, no cats. Night night! Don’t let the lions bite!

January 9, 2016 by Brian

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Trip of a Lifetime: Ultimate Africa: Day 11

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November 13, 2015 – 6:14A

Awake and showered. Feeling great! I woke up at 5:30A and laid there for about ten minutes in the cool air with the comforter over me before getting up and putting on my glasses so I could sit outside on our front porch and enjoy the peaceful view of the Kafue River here in Zambia. I had to wrap myself up in my giant white comforter because it was a bit chilly. Doesn’t look like we got any rain though. On the opposite side of the river the trees are beautifully reflected in the water. I watched a lazy crocodile silently float downstream and listened to the birds. It was such a relaxing way to start my new day.

I thought more about the people we have encountered here. They all seem so relaxed and always smiling. When you return from a game drive, for instance, and they ask you “how was it?” they seem genuinely interested in what you have to say.

I hear some hippos grunting – I think they’re coming from across the river.

Heading to breakfast now. Our first activity of the day is fishing! Very excited for this!

1:18P

What a fun day so far! I wonder what’s around the next corner (maybe another elephant – haha!)

This morning after a nice breakfast of fresh fruit, porridge and pancakes those of us who opted to go fishing got on a small boat and sailed down the Kafue River. As our guide “Golden” moved up the river looking for a good spot to fish, we saw many animals including various antelopes, birds and, of course, hippos.

Hartebeests along the Kafue River in Zambia

“Golden” was very patient with us as some of the people in the group had never fished before while the rest of us were, by no means, experts. Therefore, “Golden” had to repeat his instructions on how to cast a fishing pole several times. Haha! We fished from 7:00a till around 10:00a. “Golden” jokingly said if we don’t catch any fish we don’t eat dinner tonight! All six of us caught, at least, one fish. I lucked out and caught eight! They were all tilapia and catfish. I was so proud of myself for having caught the most.

My first catch of the day on the Kafue River in Zambia

One of the Tilapia that I caught while fishing in Zambia

The fish we caught were to be cleaned, cooked and served up with tonight’s “traditional dinner.” It was funny to be fishing and, all of a sudden, you’d see a pair of hippo eyes curiously popping up out of the water. Some of them even swam closer to our boat. Very curious creatures.

On the ride back we saw a huge crocodile crawl from the river bank into the water. What an experience to have gone fishing in Zambia! How cool is that!

During our fishing expedition the other half of our group was on a game cruise up the Lafupa River. When we returned to camp they were already there eager to inquire about our luck with fishing. We all gathered in the main lodge and relaxed on the sofas swapping stories and photos. It was so much fun. The lodge also had a nice little gift shop with some very cool stuff. I was saving my money for the open air market I knew we were going to hit up in Victoria Falls.

While everyone was relaxing, Aryn’s sister Kathryn and I got word that there was an elephant out front so we jumped up, grabbed our cameras and hurried to go see. This thing was huge. It was walking along the road into camp eating whatever trees were to its left and right. It walked from where the jeeps drop us off down to the “boma” just across from the bar. I captured a great video of the whole experience on my iPhone. This elephant wasn’t but a few meters from us and we were quickly advised to back up.

Elephant walking by the “boma” at Lafupa Tented Camp in Zambia

Me with the elephant in our camp in Zambia.

What did the bartender say when the elephant walked up to the bar?

The best part was when the elephant tried to walk between two of the buildings, he got stuck and had to back up to get out. Haha! So cool to watch.

Elephant got stuck!

After we ate lunch, Vitalis briefed us on the optional excursions in Victoria Falls and passed around a sign up sheet. I am opting to do the elephant back safari ride & rhino game drive combo and the helicopter flight over Victoria Falls. So excited for this!

Afterwards, we were released for our mid-afternoon siesta. I decided it was time to finally hit the pool and boy what a good decision. One of the ladies from our group, Rene from Wisconsin, was already there. The water was absolutely perfect. It was so nice and cool and exactly what I needed to escape the afternoon heat. Rene and I talked about previous travel experiences, our life and careers back home and future travel goals when, all of a sudden, here comes this massive elephant (probably the same elephant from before). The elephant walked right up to a palm tree beside the pool and started eating the branches and leaves. Right away, a staff member appeared to monitor the elephant. We all watched, afraid to move or make a sound, and, at one point, the elephant turned and looked directly at Rene and I. The staff member was standing by a nearby building and came forward and threw two rocks directly at the animal. It turned its head and walked away from us. Wow! That was exciting. We have all been warned that the elephants in Zambia are more aggressive towards humans due to the country’s history with poaching. We learned that elephants have incredible memories and are actually able to genetically pass these memories on to their offspring. So bad memories from the area’s past issues with poaching have been passed along to the current generation of elephants. Fascinating.

I stayed in the pool for almost an hour. A giant breeze came through which felt great against my wet skin. I didn’t even need a towel to dry off.

Now I’m relaxing on the deck of the main lodge looking out at the two rivers. This place feels like a resort! The sky is filled with beautiful white billowy clouds. Perhaps some rain is headed our way? I feel incredibly relaxed. Today is Friday the 13th.

2:40P

We are being held up at the main lodge by an elephant loitering around outside the reception area. I got some great pics and vids of him with his two left feet standing inside the boma. I guess I’ll have to wait for a while before I can go back to my room to change out of these gym shorts (that I swam in). This guy seems in no hurry to leave the camp. Going to get some more pics.

3:11P

I’m sitting on the front porch of our “tent” looking out over the river. Darker clouds are beginning to roll in and winds are really picking up to the point of creating small, gradual waves upon the river. The staff is predicting some rain. The view here is so nice that I don’t want to leave but I’d like to take a quick shower before “high tea.”

9:00P

Before heading out on our evening boat ride on the Lafupa River, one of the staff leaders, Phineas, gave us a brief history lesson on Zambia. The economically depressed situation of this country makes me so sad. Sixty percent of Zambia’s population is currently unemployed. It was also interesting to learn that the average life expectancy is only 47. This is mostly due to the spread of HIV from infidelity in some marriages. We also discussed the controversial issue of poaching since it is still a major threat here. Elephants are killed for their ivory tusks and rhinos for their horns. So very sad. All we can do is spread the support of more game viewing vs game shooting for purposes other than food.

On our boat ride up the Lafupa River we saw many hippos and a small crocodile but the majority of the time our cameras are feasting upon the awesome sunset during our “sundowner” cocktails. I was seated at the bow of the boat with my feet propped up on the railing, taking in the peaceful scenery while drinking a Mosi lager.

Relaxing during our game cruise along the Lafupa River in Zambia

Dinner around the “boma” was fun. The table tree stumps were from leadwood trees. Vitalis had me lift one of them to experience just how heavy they are. Boy was he right! It was cool eating the tilapia and catfish that we had caught. Also served, was oxtail soup in a delicious brown gravy, polenta and vegetables. The tribal entertainment (singing and drums) was awesome. The staff manager, Natasha, was so nice and wanted a goodnight hug from each of us. What a fun evening and exciting day overall. Feeling very tired. Tomorrow’s wake-up call is at 6:00a. I’m setting my alarm for 5:30a so I have time to sit on the front porch and enjoy our view of the river. Night night!

P.S. I forgot to mention I was bit by a tse tse fly during the evening boat ride. Damn! It hurt like hell. Also, there is apparently a friendly warthog, named “Lulu,” that roams the premises here in camp. She will actually come right up to you if you offer her food and eat right out of your hand. I have yet to meet her but Kathryn said she met “Lulu” and she was approachable. I want to meet Lulu! I want to take her home. Her and Louie (my pug) can run around the house snorting together. LOL 🙂

January 6, 2016 by Brian

Travel

Trip of a Lifetime: Ultimate Africa: Day 10

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November 12, 2015 – 5:48A

Slept great! Woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the Kafue River as I sat out on our front porch wrapped up in the big white comforter from my bed. It’s amazing how when you go to bed at night, you hardly need a sheet and when you wake up your pulling the comforter up to your chin. Very cozy mornings. As I was watching the sunrise and elephant appeared to my left. It was walking right through camp eating whatever tree branches it desired. LOL. Too funny.

I love hearing all the various sounds of nature in the early morning. The shower water was hot and felt great. Heading to breakfast with Aryn soon. I enjoy sitting down with everyone around the long community dining table at each lodge. We chat with a hot cup of coffee and whatever breakfast is being served that morning. OAT has truly done a great job designing this trip.

1:02P

Breakfast was a made to order omelette, oatmeal with yogurt, fruit and muffins. My favorite fruit with the oatmeal is the papaya or “pawpaw.” Brunch was a tasty beef and noodle stir fry. I make sure I stake my spot at the table so I’m facing the view of the rivers. It’s just so beautiful and so serene.

The Zambian terrain is different: more trees and they are taller. There are some different tree species as well, one of which is called the Candelabra Tree. It’s has a tall trunk that blooms out on top in the form of tall cactus leaves. Very interesting.

Candelabra Tree in Zambia’s Kafue National Park

As we continued on our morning game drive we spotted two female lions (sisters) walking amongst a grove of trees. Both our jeeps headed towards the lions. On our way, we caught a quick glimpse of a massive crocodile moving from the grass into the water. Our guides pulled both jeeps right up to the female lions, turned off the engines and there we sat for the next half hour, watching these magnificent lionesses relaxing in the shade. I noticed when we pulled up to the lions it was 8:30A and I thought to myself – if I were back home in Akron right now, I would have been at work for a half hour and my team would just be arriving. But instead, there I sat – watching two wild lions from just a few feet away on a beautiful clear and warm morning in Zambia, Africa. Wow!

Female Lioness

Lioness heading for he shade.

Lioness joining her sister in the shade.

Look at the size of those paws. Notice the blood stain on the bottom of her front left paw. She had just made a kill.

Just before lunch we all gathered at the entrance of the main lodge to watch a giant elephant headed our way. He had just entered the camp to snack on some grass followed by leaves from a tall palm tree. It’s amazing how graceful these animals are considering their mammoth size. I took a brief video but Natasha was quick to step out of her lodge to warn us to step back and some of the men from the staff appeared and shoo’d the elephant away.

Now I’m sitting at the desk in our “tent” looking out at the Kafue River. It’s a hot day in the sun but cool in the shade.

2:40P

Resting in our tent to escape the afternoon sun. I converted my tan Eddie Bauer pants into shorts. These were a pre-trip purchase btw. $50 online and shipped in about 8 days.

A puku is walking between trees in the near distance.

The water on the river is shimmering like diamonds. I may walk to the main lodge soon to enjoy the breeze coming from the water. I’m also considering taking advantage of the pool (I didn’t think to pack swimming trunks but I can wear my UMASS gym shorts).

I just looked up to see two monkeys staring down at me from one of the trees outside.

“High tea” is at 4:30P today.

9:17P

During “high tea” Vitalis delivered a very interesting lecture on the history of Zimbabwe. It was cool to learn that Zimbabwe shares a commonality with the United States as being the only two countries to ever break away from British rule. The US in 1776 and Zimbabwe in 1980, Their current president is 91 years old and has been in power since the 1960’s.

I hope I’m not jinxing myself by saying this, but I have yet to see a single mosquito. I have, however, seen what’s called a tse tse fly. Although I have yet to get bit by one, I hear they are quite painful. Fastened to the front of our jeep, by aluminum wire, is an empty paint can. On this evening’s game drive, our group opted for the local insect repellent: a log of elephant dung placed in the empty paint can and lit on fire. This gives off a smokey incense that, apparently, repels the tse tse flies and other insects. I was not only surprised how well it worked but that it emitted a pleasant aroma: similar to citronella.

Elephant Dung smoking in bucket to ward of the tse tse flies

Our evening game drive went into the night. It’s called “spot-lighting.” Our guide tonight was “Boyd.” We experienced two highlights during this game drive. One was a parade of elephants that walked right across the road in front of us. Following along right at their feet were these white birds called cattle egrets. They never left the parade and walked along with the elephants like they were part of the group. Very interesting.

Parade of elephants and the cattle egrets following their footsteps.

Our second highlight was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen in my life with fan palm trees in the foreground. We joined the other jeep and parked to watch the sunset as we enjoyed our “sundowner” drinks. The guides always have a wonderful selection of ice cold local beer, wine, soft drinks and water. I had a local Zambian beer called a Mosi lager.

At this point the sun has nearly set

Another view of the sunset

I really enjoyed our conversations tonight over a steak with potatoes and vegetable dinner. Tomorrow’s wake-up call is at 6A. That’s “good good” news that we are able to sleep in a bit longer.

P.S. Laundry service at these camps has been terrific. We receive our washed & pressed laundry neatly folded and tied up in a bow by a long piece of dried grass. It is sitting out on our beds waiting for us when we return from dinner. Everything is smelling fresh and well-pressed – including our socks. I have never in my life had my socks ironed. How nice! Thank you to all the wonderful staff (at all three camps) and all their amazing behind-the-scenes work.

Good night!

January 3, 2016 by Brian

Travel

Trip of a Lifetime: Ultimate Africa: Day 9

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November 11, 2015 – 9:12A

It was nice to sleep in till 6A. Had a quick & delicious breakfast before saying goodbye to Kay and all the wonderful and friendly staff at Wilderness Tented Camp before we all hopped in our 2 jeeps and MP and Paul drove us to the airstrip.

Kay and I by the bar in the main lodge at Wilderness Tented Camp

Proctor and I in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Paul, our guide Vitalis, and Proctor in front of one of the jeeps at the Okavango Delta airstrip. Donna and Barb are in the jeep.

We stopped to view a hippo walking around, a dozen or so more in the water and a steenbok laying in the grass. Proctor said that steenboks are affectionately referred to as “chiwawas” because they are the smallest of the antelope.

Young Steenbok laying in the grass.

I couldn’t help but reflect that on the last few game drives I’ve really had fun bonding with two of our travelers Cheryl and Norma. Cheryl is Italian and lives in San Diego, California. She and Norma travel together. Cheryl is very funny with a contagious laugh. She is a great photographer and actually takes pictures of horses (or “anything with four legs” as Cheryl puts it) for a living. Cheryl always has 2 cameras ready while we’re on these game drives and her 40 lbs (I’m guessing) backpack of camera equipment. I’ll never forget seeing her lug that around everywhere. haha! Norma is retired and lives in Palm Springs. I enjoyed a really nice chat with her as we sweated out the afternoon heat in the main lodge yesterday. She is 74 and this is second Ultimate Africa trip with OAT. The other day when Vitalis had us all tell one another a little something about our background and reason for coming to Africa, Norma talked about the peace that she’s experienced during her two trips to Africa. She stated that she believes “God lives here.” I also learned that Barbara, from Washington state, is an artist. I would love to see some of her drawings and asked her if she was going to do sketches of some of the photos she and her husband Dana have taken.

I’m now on the 7-seater “puddle-jumper” with Aryn, Judy, Katherine and our pilot flying back to Kasane Airport. It’s so cool being able to look down and spot elephants and giraffes feeding off trees.

I’ve learned so many new things on this trip. I think back to the days and weeks before I left for this trip and people would ask me what it was going to be like. My only response was I had no expectations. I had never been on an African safari. All I knew to expect was what I’d read from the little “Final Document Booklet” that OAT had mailed me. This entire trip has been quite the learning experience. I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about all the wonderful people I’ve met so far. They are always smiling and seem to maintain a positive attitude. I also get a sense that they take very little for granted. They don’t seem to be wrapped up in gossip or “drama” as we say in the US.

Vitalis told us that the African culture believes in witchcraft. He shared two anecdotes of how the African culture relies on guilt to punish those who’ve wronged against you.

One Example: There was a man who stole a plow from his neighbor in the middle of the night. The plow was very heavy and he carried it home on his back but when he reached his home he could not get it off his back. For a while he tolerated carrying around this heavy plow on his back, for many days and nights until he couldn’t take it any longer and decided to return the plow to its rightful owner, who, at first, said to him: “that’s not my plow, you can keep it” knowing that the witchcraft’s punishment of guilt would force the thief to continue lugging the heavy plow around on his shoulders. Finally, after the plow owner felt the thief had learned his lesson, said: “You know, come to think of it, that is my plow. Thank you for returning it” and wouldn’t you know it, the plow was finally able to be released from the thief’s shoulders.

Second Example: There was also a man who stole corn from a farmer’s field in his village and for days he suffered of corn kernels falling out of his scalp and hair. Eventually, the thief couldn’t take it any more and fessed up to steeling the corn and the corn kernels stopped coming out of his hair.

On another note, Vitalis educated us on the cultural belief: ‘you get what you give.’ For example, if you are starving you can go to a neighboring family and they will feed you. Also, if you are out of something in your kitchen (ie. cooking oil) you just go to a neighbor and ask if they will give you some cooking oil (versus walking all the way to the nearest store). The African culture understands there will come a day when they are out of something in their kitchen or they are hungry and will need to seek a favor from that same neighbor. I appreciate all the “learning and discovery” that Vitalis and the other camp staff members are providing us. Well worth it.

We would be landing soon. Then it’s off by minibus, boat and another plane to Zambia. (btw – I’m amazed how well I can write in my journal on this flight – very smooth flying).

2:50P

Flying at 12,400 feet in our “upgraded” 12-seater “puddle-jumper” over Zambia. Looking down at a beautiful view of the great Zambezi River. We had a half hour delay at Livingston Airpot due to an issue with a traveler’s luggage. Unfortunately, Wifi was down at the airport. What a bummer since, last night, I had prepared a long text of updates to quickly send off to Aaron and my mom. Oh well. I’ll try again in 3 days.

It is said that yesterday’s high temp was 105. Today’s is 110 and we are flying north, which means closer to the equator so I can only imagine how hot it’s going to be in Zambia if this heat wave keeps up. For the next three days we are staying in another “tented” camp but this one’s situated along the junction of two big rivers. As always, I am excited to see what this next camp is going to be like.

While we were waiting on our bus, a group of natives came up to our bus windows selling copper bracelets and wood carvings of animals. After some persistent bargaining, I bought 5 bracelets for $20 – a good price for five. The bracelets are beautiful. I have one for me, Aaron, my mom, my sister Lisa and my friend Lynne. Vitalis said to rub the inner lining of the bracelet with clear nail polish to keep the copper from turning your wrist green. I noticed that our pilot Kyle’s wrists were green where he was wearing 3 or 4 copper bracelets on each wrist. Our pilots on this flight are Shane and Julie. They are very friendly. Shane is from Ireland and introduced himself to me at the Livingston Airport. He was very nice and we actually talked a lot about Ireland as I am planning on traveling there in 2017. He gave me a few tips on food to try and towns to visit. Thanks Shane! Very nice guy.

I’m signing off for now.

5:10P

OMG! I love this new camp! It’s beautifully situated where the Lafupa River meets with the Kafue River that eventually flows into the Zambezi River. We are literally 100 km from any other form of civilization. How exciting! The camp is called Lafupa Tented Camp in Kafue National Park (say that 10 x’s fast). As our jeeps pulled up, we were welcomed by men singing and playing African drums along with a cool wet hand towel (which has been a standard at each camp). The hand towel is handed to you to unfold and place over your neck or forehead or just rub all over your face if you wish to help cool down … haha! The camp manager is Natalie. Very sweet girl. The back of the main lodge is a long stretching balcony that overlooks the beautiful rivers. The view is absolutely stunning.

Deck at Lafupa Tented Camp’s main lodge overlooking Lafupa River & Kafue River intersection.

When we first arrived we were served another one of those sweet tri-color cocktail along with “High Tea.”

TriColor Welcome Cocktail served to us at Lafupa Tented Camp.

This was tea served with three different kinds of flat bread pizzas (chicken, ham and vegetable), filo dough triangles filled with creamy butternut squash and a chocolate and white cream roll (like a pumpkin roll). Delicious. We sat at 4-seated small round tables along the deck overlooking the sparkling tier and the staff delivered a quick orientation of the camp, only to be interrupted a few times by some nearby snorting hippos.

Seating Area of Main Lodge at Lafupa Tented Camp in Zambia

After “high tea” we were escorted to our “tents.” Aryn and I, of course, are in the furthest tent from the main lodge – #9. We’re practically in stitches laughing over how being the youngest, we’re placed in the furthest tent. HAHA!

I’m sitting at the desk of our tent and absolutely loving the view of the Kafue River. Right beside our front porch is a large indentation in the land leading down to the water. This is what they call a “hippo highway” as it’s the repeated path that the hippos take to get from land to water. Hmm … I wonder if we’ll have any visitors tonight. The tent is extremely spacious. It’s walls and ceiling are canvas with a cement floor and a wooden front porch with two director’s chairs. I’ll definitely be sitting out there. I absolutely love this place although I did love how at the previous camp our beds faced the opening flaps of the tent for a great view. I also miss Kay and the staff there. They were all so nice and friendly.

Inside Tent #9 at Lafupa Tented Camp in Zambia

We are surrounded by a lot of tall trees so it doesn’t feel as hot as I thought it would. At 5:45P we are to meet at the main lodge to leave for our first game drive in Kafue National Park – so excited!

Monkey mom carrying her tiny baby outside our tent at Kafue Tented Camp in Zambia

9:30P

We’re back at our “tent” after a delicious dinner. For my “sundowner” drink I chose a Jack & Coke instead of a beer – which was very refreshing. Our game drive was very interesting because half of it was a “night drive.” The elephants are more aggressive here because of the history of poaching in the area. We encountered an elephant and our guide “Golden” (short for “Golden Boy”) would only stop for a few seconds for pictures. The elephant looked up from the tree he was eating, turned to face us and immediately started towards us with his trunk raised and that’s when “Golden” stepped on the gas. Wow! That elephant meant serious business. I think all of our hearts literally skipped a few beats. Next we heard the warning call of a puku (another type of antelope that is prevalent in these parts) and just then a leopard striding down from its perch on top of a termite mound and disappeared into the “thicket.” So for the next half hour, we drove throughout the area with “Golden” directing the spotlight all around looking for the glowing eyes of that leopard. What a unique and exciting experience. We never did see the leopard again but it was cool looking out with the spotlight and seeing pairs or dozens of pairs of eyes glowing back at you from a distance. Someone mentioned the glowing eyes looked like a small town in the distance and I said: “Yes, it looks like Bethlehem” and we all agreed that that was a perfect description of how peaceful and beautiful those eyes appeared among the dark African night. Mostly, we saw puku and impala but we did see a mom, dad and baby hippo walking in the grass. Later on, we spotted another few hippos, a beautiful genet cat, a scrub hair in the middle of the dirt road staring back at us and two spotted hyenas creeping along – very spooky. My camera takes horrible night shots but one of the couples in our jeep Dana and Barbara had an amazing camera that beautifully captured one of the hyenas. Dana promised to send me that shot! I love these night drives! Very peaceful and intriguing to be on the hunt for these wild animals at night.

Spotted Hyena taken by Dana during our first night game drive in Zambia

During dinner, an elephant walked right up to the entrance of the main lodge but the staff quickly “shoo’d” it away. Golden then told us a story about one night last week when one of the guests blew their air horn (which is supposed to be for medical emergencies ONLY) because their was a hippo outside the door of their tent. The entire staff came running for the emergency, with Golden at the head of the group. When he saw the hippo he warned everyone else to go back. The hippo immediately began chasing him. Apparently, when hippos run after someone their jaws repeatedly open and close. So imaging Golden’s fear as he looks back to see this giant opening and closing jaw at his heels. The hippo chased him all the way inside the main lodge where Golden was finally able to dart behind a corner, which confused the hippo, and Golden managed to get away. Wow! What an incredible story.

Speaking of hippos, Aryn and I just heard one snorting and grunting outside our tent. We’re hoping to hear more. We just heard a hyena too. Hoping to sleep well tonight and praying for cooler temperatures tomorrow. The good news is there is a swimming pool here.

Okay … I’m sitting here at the desk in our tent and there is something very large moving very slowly right outside. The noise started right behind where Aryn is laying in bed, across the room, surrounded by mosquito netting and writing in her journal. She can literally hear it breathing down her neck. Holy cow. Hold on.

We just turned off our main lights and it moved to the back of our tent. I stood up on our toilet seat to try looking out through the screens above the bathroom but it was too dark out to see anything. By the sound of it we assume it must be a hippo because when we heard it eating the leaves, it was too quiet for an elephant which would be breaking off tree branches and leaves to eat where it sounds like this thing is going only for the grass on the ground. I hope these canvas walls are strong. Very exciting yet quite intimidating.

Oh Geez, it just pooped outside our tent – you can totally smell it. It’s amazing to us that there is nothing more than a canvas wall separating us from this 2.5-3.5 ton wild beast. OMG! It is now scratching is body against the back corner of our tent. Our entire camp walls and ceiling are now shaking. Holy Geez!

Now it’s walking along the side of our tent and seems to be heading towards the water. I can see it now through the screened windows and yes – it is a massive hippo. Amazing!

Well, on that note, time for bed. I hope I can fall asleep after that experience. HAHA! Night night! Don’t let the hippos bite! 🙂

January 1, 2016 by Brian

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