Monday, September 22, 2003

African Safari 2003


Monday, September 22, 2003
Cape Town, South Africa

Just a quick not to let you know that I arrived in Cape Town this morning (Mon).  My two days in London were awesome.  I sat and chilled in a lounge chair in Hyde Park, befriended some local guys at a pub (turns out they are cops...), had a cold one and some fish and chips.  Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Parliament buildings, London "Eye" ferris wheel, Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, etc.  So far no jet lag.  I've been pretty much into the new schedule re: sleep every step of the way.

The hostel I"m staying at in Cape Town is great.  Right by the beach.  Easy bus to Table Mountain.  Restaurant and bar right here.  Today I"m exploring Table Mountain.  Tomorrow I'm doing paragliding, then meeting up with Lindy (friend of volleyball friend Lars) for dinner.  Wednesday we go to Cape Point, and the penguin colony. Cape Town is beautiful.  Gorgeous sunshine, temp in the high teens.  Shorts and Tshirt with windbreaker is all I need

I'm in Cape Town until Thursday morning, then heading north into Namibia. Not sure how much Internet access I'll have until Swakopmund,Namibia in about a week.

Stress-o-meter has plummeted to about 40%, and decreasing all the time.

This is good, very good.....

Heather
CapeTown, South Africa
-----

Wednesday, Oct 1, 2003
Swakopmund, Namibia

I having a great time.  Cape Town was awesome.  The weather was warm, the sunshine was shining.  Highlights included Table Mountain, where I took the tram to the top and hiked around on the trails. I loved it up there. Panoramic views of the entire city, Robben Island (where Nelson Mandella was imprissoned), and most of the way down the coast to Cape Point. Such a beautiful warm day, with sunshine and unlimited visability. Day two was spent paragliding from Lion's Head peak. I hiked up to the top take off point with a huge backpack of gear. The pilot (tandem instructor) took inventory of the wind (of which there was very little), and we waited for about an hour and a half until the wind was right to do our jump. We got the gear ready, got strapped together, and on a count of three we ran. The parachute lifted us up before there we had to jump off the side of the mountain. The flight was awesome, with views of the ocean, and Cliffton and Camps Bay beaches.  It lasted only about 18min, with some crazy spiral stunts right at the end as we prepared our landing just meters from the ocean. I loved it! That evening was spend with Lindy, a friend of my friend Lars. She took me to an authentic African restaurant with live music, and bar hopping on Long Street (much like Bourbon Street in New Orleans). Very enjoyable night. Cape Point was amazing, it's the most south western point in Africa.  Saw baboons, ostrich, penguins, antelope and heaps of Right Back Whales.  It's mating season for the whales, so they were pretty frisky, breaching and playing in the bay.

Other highlights include white water canoeing down the Gariep river separating South Africa and Namibia.  No crocodiles or hippos in that river, just birds and fish.  So many fish, they were literally jumping out of the water all over the place.  And the canoeing was actually a cross between canoeing and kayaking. Canoe shapped boat with kayak paddles. Then we travelled north into Fish River Canyon in Namibia, which is the second largest canyon in the world, second only to the Grand Canyon.  We took a hike along the edge, then stayed for sunset at the canyon.  So magical.  The sand-dunes in the Namib desert were awesome.  We woke up at 5am so we could climb the dunes to watch the sunrise.  So hilarious.  We are trekking up the side of this dune in the dark, we have to walk on the ridge, with a pretty steep drop off either side. Sunrise was amazing.  We played in the dunes for part of the day, climbing and running down.  Checking out the dried river beds, and dead animal carcasses we could find.

Camping has been great.  The facilities are great, showers, electricity etc. I love my group, everyone is really cool.  There are two Aussie couples, a Hungarian woman, a guy from Ireland, a guy from Scotland, and an Englishman from Winchester, England.  One American guy from New York, and a Canadian girl from Toronto.  The tour leader is awesome, so much fun - "Paul" from South Africa.  He's a great cook too.  Everyone is really laid back and cool, and we're having lots of laughs.  Lots of silly-ness and good fun.

The landscape in Namibia is nothing like I've ever seen.  It feels like I"m on the surface of the moon.  Desert and nothingness for as far as the eye can see.  WE are in Swapkupmund for three days.  This place is where the desert and ocean meet.  This is one of the largest communities in Namibia, but you can walk from one end to the other in ten minutes.  Very civilized place.

Next on the itinerary is Etosha National Park, where we will likely see lots and lots of game.  Amoung others, we'll hopefully see the big five (Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion and Leopard).  About a week from now we'll be in Windhook, Namibia, (Vind-hook) , where I *MAY* have access to the Internet (not sure if there will be time).  After Windhook we headed into Botswana which is VERY remote.  We go to Okavango Delta where we will be camping in the wild, with the animals etc.  That will be the most dangerous part of the trip.  Our tour leader hasn't lost anyone yet, and I"m hoping not to break the streak.

I"m really happy with how I packed.  I have all the right stuff, and nothing extra.  It's really important to be well prepared on this type of trip, because supplies are few and far between.  I love my new digital camera, and I'm glad I brought my discman to listen to music on those long drives (sometimes 3 hrs, sometimes 7hrs a day).

My health is great, and so far I haven't been concerned about my personal safety.  Stress level has done a nose dive.  I'm just completely relaxed and enjoying every moment.

Oh, I forgot to tell you..... I'm going skydiving later today.

Lots of Love,
Heather - Queen of the Namibian Desert
------

Friday, October, 3, 2003
Swakopmund, Namibia

I just wanted to send a follow up message to let you know that I survived the skydiving, and I'm still alive.  It was awesome, so thrilling!  I'm having a tough time putting into words the experience of jumping out of a plane and plummeting to earth at 250 miles per hour.  It was exhilarating and nervousness all in one.  It was different that I imagined it to be. First of all, I thought it was a 'jump', but in fact, it's not.  I sat with my feet hanging outside the plane for a second then my tandem instructor just hurled us out of the plane.  The freefall was awesome, the view of the sand dunes, the desert, the ocean and the little town were awesome.  It was a beautiful warm day, not a cloud in the sky.  We could see forever.  We jumped at 10000 feet with 35sec of freefall, and then the parachute opened at about 5000 feet.  The parachute part lasted about 5min, including some crazy stunts (spiraling, back and forth swinging).  So awesome!

Yesterday we all went sand boarding, which is like tobogganing but on the sand dunes instead of snow.  At first I didn't like it because of the high winds.  It was such a struggle to climb the sand dunes with sand flying in your face, and having to carry our sliding board. The wind died down after awhile, and the sliding part was actually alot of fun.  Bombing down these huge sand dunes at 80km/hr head first.  It's kinda crazy actually...... Anyway, that was great.

Having the time of my life.......

Heather - Queen of the Namibian Desert

----

Wednesday, Oct 7th
Windhoek, Namibia

I've decided that the tour leader reminds me of a cross between Ashton Kucher and Crocodile Dundee.  He's a 25yr old blond hair, surfer guy, with African safari know-how.  He's awesome.

I have so much to report since my last update from Swakopmund.  We traveled north visiting a seal sanctuary (thousands of seals flopping on the rocks - it was mating season, so love was in the air!).  We stayed in a VERY remote campground (no water, no toilets, no electricity) at a place called Spitzkopp.  This is Namibia's largest mountain, which amounts to a huge rock outcrop jetting out of an otherwise flat and desolate landscape.  We enjoyed the most magnificent sunset.  The sun turns the most vibrant red colour, and the sky turns a million shades of red, pink and orange.  We cooked our dinner over an open fire (as usual), drank some beers, then most of us decided to sleep out on the rocks instead of setting up our tents.  What an amazing experience.  I fell asleep under the moonlight and star filled sky, and woke up to the sunrise over the mountain. So awesome.  I took a picture of the 'reception office" of this campground, where two women spend their days.  It is a hut the size of my bathroom, with a little veranda.  I gave the women some gifts (pens, toys for their children) and a Canadian pin.  They were so thrilled, they insisted that I choose one of their homemade necklaces as their gift to me.  So cute.

The following night was at Brandberg Mountain, where we saw the bushmen paintings of 5000 years ago.   That was quite cool.  We had to hike for quite awhile in the blazing heat (40' +).  I was really struggling in the heat, drinking lots of water (despite the fact that it was also 40').  Our campground was very basic, although this time we had toilets and showers.  I loved the shower.  It was open air, and the water was hot.  Our guide pointed out that there were fresh elephant tracks right beside our campsite, and that elephants always use the same path.  The park ranger anticipated another visit from the elephants, and that they usually travel at night.  So we put out a bucket of water for them to drink, and stayed quiet all night in the hopes we would see them.  Many people slept out by the campfire so we could be really close.  Unfortunately, the elephants didn't come....... Another one of the highlights from that place was the donkey cart ride that we took around the campground.  So hilarious.

Next stop was Etosha National Park (Game Reserve).  As soon as we drove through the gates we saw giraffe and zebra.  I was going nuts.   Our campground was part of a resort complex with pool and restaurant and bar. There is a flood lit watering hole just steps from where we sleep.  This is where the animals come to drink.  It is so hot and dry here, the animals have no choice but to come to where the water is.  The first night at Etosha, we couldn't peel ourselves away from the watering hole.  We saw elephant, giraffe, rhinos, lion, all sorts of antelope, etc.  The lions were the highlight.  Right out of nowhere, three lioness and about 7 cubs and one male lion strut down to have a drink.  All the other animals scattered away. It's very clear that there is a pecking order.  We stayed at Etosha for three days, each day with a game drive in the morning and afternoon.  We saw heaps and heaps of animals.  The best was the heard of elephant (15+) that arrived to a spot not long after we did.  It was so neat to see the family interaction.  We also saw lots of lion, zebra, ostriches, giraffe, warthog, impala, wildebeest, yadda yadda yadda.  Back at camp, and down to the resort watering hole we enjoyed the best show of all.  A heard of about 30 elephants arrived to drink, roll in the mud, have a bath, etc.  Again, I was overwhelmed by emotion.  After the elephant left, the rhino show started. There were about 7 black rhino, a few of which were in an argument.  We watched all of this with beers in hand, just steps from our campsite.  The watering hole is fenced off with a thick stone wall, with benches all around.  It is very safe to sit and watch.  It was so awesome to be so close to the animals (only a few feet in some cases).  I slept on the roof of the truck at Etosha Park.  It is so nice to sleep under the stars, and so mild. Etosha isn't in a malarial area, so it's safe.

And then there was the late night skinny dip in the pool at Etosha Park. I was one of only four people in our group who were brave enough to do it with the spectators of the resort bar right beside the pool.

We've arrived in Windhoek, which is the capital of Namibia.  Approx 120,000 population.  This is a very civilized place.  We are staying at a very nice guest house in town, with pool etc.  We'll be here just one night, before we head into Botswana tomorrow.  Our guide got a text message from the other guides saying that the elephant are going crazy in Botswana (lack of water), and so we have to be extra careful!

Some of the highlights:
- hearing a lion's roar in the distance as I drift off to sleep in the open air
- the hot dry weather in the desert - my hair goes from dripping wet to perfectly dry in 2min
- the herds of elephant at the watering hole in Etosha
- donkey cart ride in Brandberg
-seal colony - watching the young ones suckle, and the males battle for breeding rights with the females
- sleeping on the rocks at Spitzkopp, after enjoying an awesome sunset.
The next anticipated connection to the Internet is Victoria Falls, Zambia, in about a week.

Cheers!

Heather
-----

Thursday, Oct 16, 2003
Victoria Falls, Zambia/Zimbabwe

So much to tell since my last update.  After leaving Windhoek, we traveled across the Namibian border into Botswana.  We stayed our first night in Botswana in the Kalahari desert, near a bushmen village.  Our campground was awesome.  Thatched roof huts with open air toilets and showers and a common building for meals etc.  We were the only group at the campground, and there were about as many local staff taking care of us as there were guests.  They made our meals, and even gave us a hosted bar (free beer).  The owner piled a bunch of us in his pick up truck and took us to the watering hole that was on the property.  It was like a quarry swimming hole, which was so refreshing in this heat.  That evening we enjoyed a song/dance ritual performed by the local bushmen group.  The medicine man put his healing hands on my head to cure me of all that ails me (which isn't much, frankly). That was such a magical performance, I was just in awe.  I slept out that night, with my cot right beside the campfire, with the stars and moon as my ceiling.  I love doing that!  The next night was in Maun, also the Kalahari. Maun is one of the largest cities in Botswana, but you'd never know it. Botswana is one of the richest countries in Africa, but it's the strangest thing.  Everyone dresses very well, but they live in shacks.  Our resort in Maun had a swimming pool, which saved me from melting in the 46 degree heat. We got our selves ready for the next day, which was a trip into the Okanango Delta.  We were only allowed to bring a small bag, sleeping bag and water. We were transferred by four wheel safari vehicle for about an hour an a half deep into the bush, where we hooked up with our mokoros.  These are primitive dugout canoes, which we traveled in for about 2hrs to our campsite on an island in the delta. It was wild camping, with no electricity, water, etc.  We camped amoung the animals, and went on walking safaris with our guides.  We saw a dead buffalo killed just a day earlier by a lion.  We saw lots of elephants, monkeys, baboons, antelope, etc.  At night the Lion and hyena came into our camp. Luckily nobody had contact with them, we could just hear them, and see their tracks in the morning. The elephant got really close to us, probably 50 or 100 feet.  One of our group was going to the toilet when he looked up to see an elephant just there.  Needless to say, he cut his visit short.  The Okavango Delta was amazing, I can't even describe it.  Hopefully pictures will help tell the story.  Pictures can't quite capture the heat though, topping about 50 degrees on day. We took respite from the heat by taking frequent dips in the swimming hole beside our camp. The water is about 6 feet deep in that spot, and clear enough to see if there are any crocodiles in the immediate vacinity. We had great fun jumping into the water, playing frisbee, and monkeying around on the mokoro canoes (it's harder than you think!)

After the Delta, we went to the Magadigadi Pans in Botswana.  This is a dried up inland lake, where we actually drove out truck into the middle and set-up a little wine and cheese party for ourselves.  People played frisbee and cricket, had our drinks and snacks, listened to music, did a little dancing, and watched the sunset. So much fun.

Crossing from Botswana into Zambia was interesting.  After considerable confusion, we boarded the 'ferry' for the 10 min crossing.  The organization surrounding the ferry loading is quite unobtrusive, and frankly, totally lacking.  The ferry itself was old and rickety, held together with paper clips and rubber bands. It holds only a handful of cars, or two semi trucks at a time.  There used to be two ferries in operation, but one of them sank only a few weeks before we were there.  About 15 of the passengers were killed, most by the crocs in the river.  Our safari truck was initially loaded, with back wheels almost hanging off the end of the platform, then unloaded because of excess weight.  Finally, after an hour of complete chaos, our truck was loaded again, and we made the crossing.  A local Zambian fella on the ferry look an immediate shinning to me.  He wanted to know where I was from, and told me that he is looking to marry a white girl.  He asked me to give him a chance, and almost so much as proposed marriage to me.  So hilarious.  Once on the Zambia side, we cleared customs, and proceeded on to Livingston, which is the community in Zambia across from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Our last and final stop is here in Livingston/Victoria Falls.  One of the seven wonders of the world, and it's easy to see why.  The falls are on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and are about 4.5kms long.  Our resort is right on the Zambesi river, my tent has a view of the river.  Our first afternoon here we went to see the falls from the walking trails on the Zambia side.  I was moved to tears.  I can't actually believe I'm here.  This is so awesome.  Again, I can't describe in words, hopefully pictures will paint a good picture.  Our evening was spent on the Zambezi sunset dinner cruise, one of the best experiences of my trip. We cruised the river watching the hippo and elephant in the water and on the shore.  We even saw elephant crossing the river - yes - they can swim!  The sunset was awesome, best I've ever seen in the world.  All of the above was done with beers in hand, appetizers and then a barbeque dinner.  The staff even sang us some local songs as we docked back at our resort. After our 'booze cruise' was over, we all piled into the resort bar, and continued the party. Let's just say that the night was a bit of a blurr after that, and that the grass outside my tent have never been so fertilized as it was that night. Let's just leave it at that. Since our resort was right on the river, there can be chance encounters with crocodile on the resort grounds. In order to safely get to the toilets in the middle of the night, I do a quick flashlight surveillance outside my tent to make sure the coast is clear.

Day two in Vic Falls was spent white water rafting (with a wee hangover).  This river is known world wide as the most challenging, with class 5 and 6 rapids.  We had to hike down into the Zambezi gorge, not an easy feat.  Then piled into the raft, got a briefing, and then set off down the river.  I stayed in the raft for about half the rapids.  Most of them tossed me out.  The only time I was panicked was on our first class 5 rapid, where I was trapped under the raft for a short time, then tossed around in the white water for another little while.  Breathing air was starting to get quite urgent.  Then when the rapid was over, we spotted a crocodile on the rivers edge, so they had to scramble to get me back in the raft.  The hike out from the gorge was another huge challenge.  After all that exercise and sun, we had to hike straight up out of the gorge on a make-shift wooden ladder system.

Today is my last day in Africa.  I was up for part of the night listening to the hippo, and fearing that there was one right outside my tent.  This morning's activity is right up there on my list of trip highlights.  I took a 30min helicopter ride over Vic Falls, through the Zambezi canyon, and over the nearby game park, and local villages.  It was so thrilling, I can't even explain.  The view of the falls can't properly be appreciated on the ground. The part I loved the best was the canyon.  The helicopter dove directly down in the gorge, bobbing and weaving over the rapids that we rafted.  We were just meters from the water.  We saw hippo, and elephant and crocs in the river.  In the game park, we saw rhino, buffalo, giraffe, etc.

I leave for my flight home in a couple of hours.  I'll be about 25 hours in transit, arriving back in Vancouver around 11am on Friday, Oct 17th.  It's pretty sad saying goodbye to all my new friends.  I'm looking forward to coming home though.

Time of my life.....

Heather
-------

Animals I saw in Africa
Horitz (the size of a rabbit, and the closest living relative to the Elephant)
Baboon
Ostrich
African Right Whale
Goats
Cows
Water Scorpion
Bats
Eagles
Springbok (Antelope)
Rabbit
Giraffe
Oryx (Antelope)
Zebra
Elephant (African and Desert)
Black Rhino
White Rhino
Lion
Warthog
Owl
Wildebeast
Kudu (Antelope)
Vulcher
Hyena
Impala (Antelope)
Hartebeast
Dick Dicks (small antelope)
Steenbok (Antelope)
Monkeys
Fish Eagle
Buffalo
Hippo
Crocodile

-------

Animals I ate in Africa

Kudu
Crocodile
Springbok
Pojike Pot - stew of assorted game
Warthog
Oryx
Ostriche
Elephant