We woke at 7 AM for a 10 AM cab ride to the airport. Today we will fly to Johannesburg to spend one night at the Sandton Hilton. It is a very nice hotel. We checked into our room on the sixth floor, which was also the location of the executive lounge, and never left the floor! We had a light dinner in the lounge, plus breakfast the following morning.
Thursday morning before breakfast we did go downstairs to confirm that a car had been ordered for us to take us to the airport at 7:45 AM. Good thing we checked since the concierge had not ordered it, but no worries, it was arranged. When we left the hotel, we realized that the clock for our journey of 43 hours to go home had begun. The next hiccup was the Johannesburg traffic. The main freeway was all backed up due to an accident, but our driver knew all the back roads, and we still made it to the airport in 35 minutes. We checked in for our flight to Sao Paulo on South African Airways and proceeded to the premium lounge. Oddly, business class on the plane was nearly empty. Their were two compartments with 16 seats each. Our compartment had 8 passengers, and the other sat empty. The flight left on time at 11:10 AM. Rob watched two movies: Joy and Carol, and we stayed awake for the entire flight. We landed in Sao Paolo on time and proceeded to yet another lounge to sit for the next 5 hours. We are already quite tired.
Our United flight to Washington, D. C., also left on time. Rob went to sleep pretty quickly (after scoring a large quantity of pillows), forgoing the meal. Roy ate and then went to sleep about 1/2 hour after Rob. Rob got about 6 hours of sleep; Roy maybe 4 1/2 hours. We landed in Dulles airport at 6:30 AM local time (it is now Friday) and cleared customs in 15 minutes -- wow! Since our next flight was on an independent itinerary, we collected our luggage and exited to the arrivals hall, then went upstairs to check in for our flight to San Francisco, not scheduled to depart until 1:15 PM -- ugh!
Fortune is with us, however, as we are allowed to move up to the 8:54 AM flight, cutting over 4 hours out of our travel time -- yay! Roy contacted the limo service, and they could accommodate our early arrival. Our flight departed on time, and oddly the plane was not full. We had window and aisle seats in an exit row with no one in the middle seat. Gloria Borger, CNN political analyst is also on our plane, and Rob told her that he enjoyed watching her on TV. She said it's been a crazy election cycle. That's an understatement.
The plane landed at 11:00 AM, and one limo ride later we were home -- 43 hours total travel time shortened to 39!
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Parks in Cape Town and Other Sights, Tuesday, May 3
Our last day in Cape Town will include some good destinations. After another good night's sleep, we took a late breakfast in the executive lounge. Sometime after 10 AM, we set out in a taxi for the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. It is a large space in the southern part of the city and is highly recommended. On arrival, we bought our tickets and a map and proceed to walk through the gardens. It was really peaceful and pleasant, and the weather, yet again, is perfect.
The favorite plant that we saw was called the silver bloom or the silver tree. I was planted in several locations, but it took bit of hunting to find an example with a label. We wondered if this would grow in California?
We also learned about native plants called Fynbos. I photographed a sign which provided a definition. We completed our tour of the gardens around lunchtime and at 1 PM we took a taxi to another park.
We were back in the city center and planned to visit the Company Garden. This is a lovely urban oasis surrounded by impressive buildings such as St. George's church (where Archbishop Tutu preached), the South African parliament building, the Natural History museum and the art museum. There is also a prominent statue of Cecil Rhodes pointing north to indicate his desire to make South Africa a British colony. We stopped at a recommended restaurant for lunch in the middle of the park. We each had a Darling beer and a chicken sandwich, removing the lettuce for safety's sake.
After lunch, we continued walking through the Central Business District (CBD) to arrive at Cape Town's city hall with a large open space called the Government Parade opposite the entrance. This is where Nelson Mandela addressed the people after he had been released from the prison at Robben Island.
We then proceeded to the Greenmarket Square to look at the souvenir stands where we bought an elephant carved from mahogany. We notice that there is a lot of outdoor shopping in this town -- from socks to soap! From here we made our way back to the Hilton to relax a bit, but not before a quick detour to the nearby Muslim neighborhood that features beautifully painted houses.
Dinner tonight is again in the executive lounge: chicken with veggies and butternut squash.
We also learned about native plants called Fynbos. I photographed a sign which provided a definition. We completed our tour of the gardens around lunchtime and at 1 PM we took a taxi to another park.
We were back in the city center and planned to visit the Company Garden. This is a lovely urban oasis surrounded by impressive buildings such as St. George's church (where Archbishop Tutu preached), the South African parliament building, the Natural History museum and the art museum. There is also a prominent statue of Cecil Rhodes pointing north to indicate his desire to make South Africa a British colony. We stopped at a recommended restaurant for lunch in the middle of the park. We each had a Darling beer and a chicken sandwich, removing the lettuce for safety's sake.
After lunch, we continued walking through the Central Business District (CBD) to arrive at Cape Town's city hall with a large open space called the Government Parade opposite the entrance. This is where Nelson Mandela addressed the people after he had been released from the prison at Robben Island.
We then proceeded to the Greenmarket Square to look at the souvenir stands where we bought an elephant carved from mahogany. We notice that there is a lot of outdoor shopping in this town -- from socks to soap! From here we made our way back to the Hilton to relax a bit, but not before a quick detour to the nearby Muslim neighborhood that features beautifully painted houses.
Dinner tonight is again in the executive lounge: chicken with veggies and butternut squash.
South Africa's Wine Country, Monday, May 2
Today was our day to explore the nearby wine county of South Africa. Our driver, Allie, who is an Indian Muslim non-drinker of all things, arrived at 9:15 AM to collect us. He is a chatty man, which is to be expected for someone who offers tours, and we told him what kind of winery experiences we liked. We prefer smaller wineries that are less touristy and offer higher quality wines.
It was not a long drive to our first destination near the town of Stellenbosch, a wine farm (this seems to be the preferred term in South Africa) called Warwick. It is a historic property that has been growing grapes for quite a while, but only began making its own wine recently.
A nice young man name Soko led us through the tasting, and he was extremely knowledgable. We were seated outside overlooking the farm, very pleasant. The wine here was very good. The grape varietal that is most popular in South Africa is a hybrid that was also developed here called pinotage. It is a hybrid of pinot noir and hermitage, which today is more commonly called cinsault. One of the wines we especially liked was called a cape blend. This term means that it is a blend of pinotage (could be anywhere from 30 to 70 percent) with any other red grape varietal. Warwick also made an outstanding cabernet franc. We ordered an assortment of six bottles to be shipped to us, which was not terribly expensive since they were not actually going to be shipped from South Africa, but rather fulfilled by their American distributor in California.
Our next stop is only five minutes away and is call Kanon Kop (means small cannon hill). We enjoyed the lovely tasting room here and the adjacent art gallery featuring local artists. One ceramicist has made some lovely bowls and we bought a piece. The winemaker, Abrie, happened to be on site, and we had a nice chat with him. Our server, Elistine, was also quite knowledgable. The pinotage here is the star. Their top pinotage is made from grapes harvested from 30 to 60 year old vines. A second label, called Kadette, is made from the vines that are younger than 30 years. This wine can also be ordered from a U. S. distributor, and we will be sure to do that when we get home. We also were able to taste their top of the line wine called Paul Sauer, named for the owner. It is fantastic, and when we later consulted our guide book, we discovered that it was the #1 recommended wine to sample!
We had time for one more winery before lunch, so we pulled into a more modern looking facility called Neil Ellis. We were the only customers at this time, and the staff was very charming. The main server told us she wanted to visit the U. S. in order to try a corn dog, which she thinks everyone on TV and in the movies is always eating! We were also told the story of the French tourist who tasted every wine on the list (a total of 17), only to pronounce at the end, "I did not like any of them." We, on the other hand, liked two of the wines in particular: the grenache and a syrah/grenache blend called Rodanos. We bought a bottle of the Rodanos.
Lunch was over-the-top! Our drivers had made reservations for us at a winery/restaurant called Delaire Graff, owned by the Graff family who apparently have diamond wealth. We were seated on an outdoor patio with views of vineyards and spectacular mountains. The views were so beautiful that they seemed unreal. We started with soup and then Rob had chicken (breast and stuffed thighs) and I had fish called kinklip served on a sort of caper tartar sauce, which I quite enjoyed. We enjoyed this with a sauvignon blanc/semillion blend white wine. There is a tasting room here also, but we decided to pass and save our time to go somewhere else.
Someplace else was supposed to have been another small wine farm, but when we got there, they had closed early. Today was some sort of bank holiday for celebrating May Day. So we continued on to a larger, more commercial place called Spier. The wine here was okay, but not as good as the previous places that we had visited. We did appreciate the opportunity to stroll around the historic Dutch style estate/farm -- lovely buildings.
It was time to call it a day and return to Cape Town, but our driver wanted to take us on a village tour. I assumed he meant that he was going to drive us through Stellenbosch, South Africa's second white settlement after Cape Town, but I was mistaken. He meant to take us through Khayenitsha. Khayenitsha is a township where native Africans were forced to resettle in the 1980's. It looked like a horrible slum from our ride in the car. He told us that 2 million people lived in the township, but a more accurate estimate is 400,000. We saw an endless mass of shacks with corrugated iron construction, presumably with no heat or running water. As bad as this seemed, my research has uncovered that half of the township's population actually do not live in a shack, but house. This statistic is up from 1/3 of the population ten years ago. So perhaps conditions are improving, but the ongoing influx of people for the eastern Cape area continues to impact overcrowding. There must be a way to help these people have a decent quality of life, but I don't know what it is. We had not expected to be brought to a place like this, and we can only assume our driver wanted to make a political point to us. He seemed very upset that his government would allow people to live like this.
We returned to the hotel feeling a little down. Dinner (since we had such a substantial lunch) was in the executive lounge once again. It was hard to get motivated to go out and find a restaurant given that the concierge had told us it was not safe after dark.
It was not a long drive to our first destination near the town of Stellenbosch, a wine farm (this seems to be the preferred term in South Africa) called Warwick. It is a historic property that has been growing grapes for quite a while, but only began making its own wine recently.
Our next stop is only five minutes away and is call Kanon Kop (means small cannon hill). We enjoyed the lovely tasting room here and the adjacent art gallery featuring local artists. One ceramicist has made some lovely bowls and we bought a piece. The winemaker, Abrie, happened to be on site, and we had a nice chat with him. Our server, Elistine, was also quite knowledgable. The pinotage here is the star. Their top pinotage is made from grapes harvested from 30 to 60 year old vines. A second label, called Kadette, is made from the vines that are younger than 30 years. This wine can also be ordered from a U. S. distributor, and we will be sure to do that when we get home. We also were able to taste their top of the line wine called Paul Sauer, named for the owner. It is fantastic, and when we later consulted our guide book, we discovered that it was the #1 recommended wine to sample!
We had time for one more winery before lunch, so we pulled into a more modern looking facility called Neil Ellis. We were the only customers at this time, and the staff was very charming. The main server told us she wanted to visit the U. S. in order to try a corn dog, which she thinks everyone on TV and in the movies is always eating! We were also told the story of the French tourist who tasted every wine on the list (a total of 17), only to pronounce at the end, "I did not like any of them." We, on the other hand, liked two of the wines in particular: the grenache and a syrah/grenache blend called Rodanos. We bought a bottle of the Rodanos.
Lunch was over-the-top! Our drivers had made reservations for us at a winery/restaurant called Delaire Graff, owned by the Graff family who apparently have diamond wealth. We were seated on an outdoor patio with views of vineyards and spectacular mountains. The views were so beautiful that they seemed unreal. We started with soup and then Rob had chicken (breast and stuffed thighs) and I had fish called kinklip served on a sort of caper tartar sauce, which I quite enjoyed. We enjoyed this with a sauvignon blanc/semillion blend white wine. There is a tasting room here also, but we decided to pass and save our time to go somewhere else.
Someplace else was supposed to have been another small wine farm, but when we got there, they had closed early. Today was some sort of bank holiday for celebrating May Day. So we continued on to a larger, more commercial place called Spier. The wine here was okay, but not as good as the previous places that we had visited. We did appreciate the opportunity to stroll around the historic Dutch style estate/farm -- lovely buildings.
It was time to call it a day and return to Cape Town, but our driver wanted to take us on a village tour. I assumed he meant that he was going to drive us through Stellenbosch, South Africa's second white settlement after Cape Town, but I was mistaken. He meant to take us through Khayenitsha. Khayenitsha is a township where native Africans were forced to resettle in the 1980's. It looked like a horrible slum from our ride in the car. He told us that 2 million people lived in the township, but a more accurate estimate is 400,000. We saw an endless mass of shacks with corrugated iron construction, presumably with no heat or running water. As bad as this seemed, my research has uncovered that half of the township's population actually do not live in a shack, but house. This statistic is up from 1/3 of the population ten years ago. So perhaps conditions are improving, but the ongoing influx of people for the eastern Cape area continues to impact overcrowding. There must be a way to help these people have a decent quality of life, but I don't know what it is. We had not expected to be brought to a place like this, and we can only assume our driver wanted to make a political point to us. He seemed very upset that his government would allow people to live like this.
We returned to the hotel feeling a little down. Dinner (since we had such a substantial lunch) was in the executive lounge once again. It was hard to get motivated to go out and find a restaurant given that the concierge had told us it was not safe after dark.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
The Cape of Good Hope, Sunday, May 1
We got a good long sleep and rose after 8 AM. I did hear the Muslim call to prayer at 6 AM, however. The hotel is adjacent to an Islamic neighborhood, mostly of Indonesian origin, I believe. Indonesians were brought to Cape Town as slaves, obviously long, long ago. We had a reservation at Hertz to pick up a rental car at 10 AM, although when we arrived at Hertz, it seemed unclear if this reservation actually existed. Nevertheless, we secured our car (a white compact Ford), and we were off!
Our plan today was to drive to the tip of the Cape peninsula, Africa's most southwestern point. It is not the most southern point, as some people think, nor is it the place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. However, it is extremely scenic and a wonderful place to explore. Despite the unhelpfulness of the Hertz attendant, we had no trouble exiting the Central Business District (CBD) and finding our way south. The highways and signage are excellent here -- as good as any first world county.
Making our way through very nice southern suburbs (all white, most likely), we reached the coast at the town of Muizenberg. We see the painted cabanas that line the beach that are featured on the cover of our Top Ten Cape Town guide book. We continued along the coast to a town called Kalk Bay, which is lovely and lined with attractive restaurants and shops. We passed through on to the next town called Fish Hoek. Fish Hoek seems a little more downtrodden than its neighbors.
Our first stop today was at the town called Simon's Town. This town has a large naval installation and also has a great Victorian era main street, very charming. We parked the car and strolled up and down the main street, making stops at the visitors' center and at a street vendor selling lovely beaded flowers, which we bought!
Just to the south and east of Simon's Town is a real popular attraction: a penguin colony. Of course, we parked and walked to see the penguins -- very cute!
From here we continued driving south along the coast, admiring the rugged scenery -- wow!
When we got to the entrance of the national park that contains the Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, we found a long line of cars to get in, but it was only a 20 minute wait to pay our entrance fee. We first drove directly to Cape Point, where we parked and climbed up to the lighthouse, as did every other visitor it seemed. It was not too crowded, though, and the weather was gorgeous, yet again.
Returning to the parking lot, we checked out the gift shop and found Cape Point fingernail clippers to add to my collection! There are two dining options here, but both were crowded and not very appealing. It was after lunch time, but we passed -- hopefully we won't get too hungry. From here it was a short drive to the parking lot at the Cape of Good Hope. There was another hill here to climb, which we passed on.
We decided to opt for the photo op at the sign instead, which required fighting off many Asian tourists who are here by the busload.
After this, we departed the park and chose a more western route back up the peninsula (avoiding baboons who decided to sit in the middle of the highway).
We thought we might stop back at Kalk Bay for a bite to eat, but there was a road construction project that impeded us as well as a lot of other people with the same idea, so we just continued on back to Cape Town. It was our objective to make it back before dark, and we did, thanks to the car's GPS.
We enjoyed an early dinner in the hotel's restaurant called Signal Hill Terrace (not Halaal certified). Rob had roast chicken, and I had a delicious steak -- very nice!
Our plan today was to drive to the tip of the Cape peninsula, Africa's most southwestern point. It is not the most southern point, as some people think, nor is it the place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. However, it is extremely scenic and a wonderful place to explore. Despite the unhelpfulness of the Hertz attendant, we had no trouble exiting the Central Business District (CBD) and finding our way south. The highways and signage are excellent here -- as good as any first world county.
Making our way through very nice southern suburbs (all white, most likely), we reached the coast at the town of Muizenberg. We see the painted cabanas that line the beach that are featured on the cover of our Top Ten Cape Town guide book. We continued along the coast to a town called Kalk Bay, which is lovely and lined with attractive restaurants and shops. We passed through on to the next town called Fish Hoek. Fish Hoek seems a little more downtrodden than its neighbors.
Our first stop today was at the town called Simon's Town. This town has a large naval installation and also has a great Victorian era main street, very charming. We parked the car and strolled up and down the main street, making stops at the visitors' center and at a street vendor selling lovely beaded flowers, which we bought!
Just to the south and east of Simon's Town is a real popular attraction: a penguin colony. Of course, we parked and walked to see the penguins -- very cute!
From here we continued driving south along the coast, admiring the rugged scenery -- wow!
When we got to the entrance of the national park that contains the Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, we found a long line of cars to get in, but it was only a 20 minute wait to pay our entrance fee. We first drove directly to Cape Point, where we parked and climbed up to the lighthouse, as did every other visitor it seemed. It was not too crowded, though, and the weather was gorgeous, yet again.
Returning to the parking lot, we checked out the gift shop and found Cape Point fingernail clippers to add to my collection! There are two dining options here, but both were crowded and not very appealing. It was after lunch time, but we passed -- hopefully we won't get too hungry. From here it was a short drive to the parking lot at the Cape of Good Hope. There was another hill here to climb, which we passed on.
We decided to opt for the photo op at the sign instead, which required fighting off many Asian tourists who are here by the busload.
After this, we departed the park and chose a more western route back up the peninsula (avoiding baboons who decided to sit in the middle of the highway).
We thought we might stop back at Kalk Bay for a bite to eat, but there was a road construction project that impeded us as well as a lot of other people with the same idea, so we just continued on back to Cape Town. It was our objective to make it back before dark, and we did, thanks to the car's GPS.
We enjoyed an early dinner in the hotel's restaurant called Signal Hill Terrace (not Halaal certified). Rob had roast chicken, and I had a delicious steak -- very nice!
Cape Town, South Africa, Saturday, April 30
Our first day in Cape Town began with a nice breakfast in Hilton's executive lounge. This is a free perk afforded to us, since we have "diamond" status in the Hilton frequent guest program. Hardly anyone was in the lounge, which was nice -- at other Hiltons, these lounges can become free for alls! After breakfast, we went to the hotel lobby to meet with the concierge. We had several questions for him and needed some help in planning activities. He was very helpful. He explained how we could rent a car with Hertz for our drive down to the Cape of Good Hope and told us he could arrange a driver for a tour of wine country. One question we had, though, received a disappointing answer. We had asked if it were safe to walk around Cape Town after dark, and his answer was "no." That's too bad.
After our successful meeting, we decided to walk to the Victoria and Alfred (not Albert) Harbor, a main tourist destination in Cape Town. The original harbor created here was named for Victoria's son Alfred. At some point, it was decided that it was not large enough, so a second larger harbor was established, and this one was named for Victoria. Now, the two are just referred to using the combined names. There was really nothing notable to see on our walk to the harbor, except one nice looking church. At the harbor, there was a lot of new construction -- very active place -- and we made our way to the central area there.
As with most tourist destinations there are nice shops and lot of harbor-view restaurants. We stopped to admire an old clock tower that is a landmark.
This is also the place where one could get on a boat to tour Robben Island. Robben Island is the location of the infamous South African prison, most notable for being the place where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for twenty-seven years. A tour to the prison is part of many tourists' itineraries in Cape Town, but we had already decided that we would pass. We were afraid it would be too depressing. We continued on to cross a pedestrian bridge and then found a nice bench where we could sit and admire the harbor on this lovely, sunny morning. We stroll around a bit more, venturing into an art gallery to admire some photography and then decided to have lunch at a seafood restaurant called Harbor House that had pleasant views. We both ordered cape salmon with vegetables in a orange beurre blanc sauce. It was delicious! We had a sauvignon blanc to accompany it.
After lunch we continued our harbor tour. We took a little detour into a gigantic and very modern shopping mall called the Victoria Mall, supposedly the largest in Africa. Then we walked to Nobel Square, where there are four statues of South Africa's four Nobel Prize winners. They are Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela. All four played a part in bringing democracy to South Africa and ending apartheid. It is a honorable tribute.
Nearby there, we spied another shopping venue called WaterShed. We went in and saw a lovely variety of shops selling locally produced art items. We were absolutely taken with a shop selling beaded African figurines in various sizes. We bought a figure of an African lady decorated with blue beads and small sea shells -- can't resist!
At this point, I was struck with the idea that we might enjoy riding the "hop-on, hop-off" tour bus, which could give us a flavor for the environs of Cape Town (this would be very unusual for us -- we almost always avoid touristy activities like this when we are on vacation). The station where the tours depart was very close to where we were at WaterShed. As it turned out, this was a very good idea. The bus took us through various charming neighborhoods, which were former farms, and then to the base of the famous aerial cableway which transport passengers to the top of Table Mountain. Table Mountain is Cape Town's most impressive geological feature as it towers over the entire city. Normally, we would want to ride the cableway, but today, we admired the spectacular view that we had here at the base and decided that higher view might not be any better. Plus, we could see that there was a pretty long line to get only the cableway. We decided to pass and continue on with our bus ride.
The bus routed continued on to the west side of Cape Town (the other side of Table Mountain), where there are truly charming beach-side communities, most especially Camp's Bay. Since today was Saturday, the beaches were very popular. It was about 79 degrees and sunny. If we ever come back to Cape Town, I want to stay at the Bay Hotel, here in Camp's Bay. It looks great!
The route continued to follow the shore north, then curved back to the east at the top of the peninsula, eventually returning to the harbor. We saw other nice residential areas and also the giant soccer stadium that was built for when South Africa hosted the World Cup. After the tour, we walked back to our hotel along Long Street in central Cape Town. Our appetites are not so great this evening after our large lunch, so our dinner consisted of some snacks in the hotel's executive lounge. Again it was not very crowded.
After our successful meeting, we decided to walk to the Victoria and Alfred (not Albert) Harbor, a main tourist destination in Cape Town. The original harbor created here was named for Victoria's son Alfred. At some point, it was decided that it was not large enough, so a second larger harbor was established, and this one was named for Victoria. Now, the two are just referred to using the combined names. There was really nothing notable to see on our walk to the harbor, except one nice looking church. At the harbor, there was a lot of new construction -- very active place -- and we made our way to the central area there.
As with most tourist destinations there are nice shops and lot of harbor-view restaurants. We stopped to admire an old clock tower that is a landmark.
This is also the place where one could get on a boat to tour Robben Island. Robben Island is the location of the infamous South African prison, most notable for being the place where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for twenty-seven years. A tour to the prison is part of many tourists' itineraries in Cape Town, but we had already decided that we would pass. We were afraid it would be too depressing. We continued on to cross a pedestrian bridge and then found a nice bench where we could sit and admire the harbor on this lovely, sunny morning. We stroll around a bit more, venturing into an art gallery to admire some photography and then decided to have lunch at a seafood restaurant called Harbor House that had pleasant views. We both ordered cape salmon with vegetables in a orange beurre blanc sauce. It was delicious! We had a sauvignon blanc to accompany it.
After lunch we continued our harbor tour. We took a little detour into a gigantic and very modern shopping mall called the Victoria Mall, supposedly the largest in Africa. Then we walked to Nobel Square, where there are four statues of South Africa's four Nobel Prize winners. They are Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela. All four played a part in bringing democracy to South Africa and ending apartheid. It is a honorable tribute.
Nearby there, we spied another shopping venue called WaterShed. We went in and saw a lovely variety of shops selling locally produced art items. We were absolutely taken with a shop selling beaded African figurines in various sizes. We bought a figure of an African lady decorated with blue beads and small sea shells -- can't resist!
At this point, I was struck with the idea that we might enjoy riding the "hop-on, hop-off" tour bus, which could give us a flavor for the environs of Cape Town (this would be very unusual for us -- we almost always avoid touristy activities like this when we are on vacation). The station where the tours depart was very close to where we were at WaterShed. As it turned out, this was a very good idea. The bus took us through various charming neighborhoods, which were former farms, and then to the base of the famous aerial cableway which transport passengers to the top of Table Mountain. Table Mountain is Cape Town's most impressive geological feature as it towers over the entire city. Normally, we would want to ride the cableway, but today, we admired the spectacular view that we had here at the base and decided that higher view might not be any better. Plus, we could see that there was a pretty long line to get only the cableway. We decided to pass and continue on with our bus ride.
The bus routed continued on to the west side of Cape Town (the other side of Table Mountain), where there are truly charming beach-side communities, most especially Camp's Bay. Since today was Saturday, the beaches were very popular. It was about 79 degrees and sunny. If we ever come back to Cape Town, I want to stay at the Bay Hotel, here in Camp's Bay. It looks great!
The route continued to follow the shore north, then curved back to the east at the top of the peninsula, eventually returning to the harbor. We saw other nice residential areas and also the giant soccer stadium that was built for when South Africa hosted the World Cup. After the tour, we walked back to our hotel along Long Street in central Cape Town. Our appetites are not so great this evening after our large lunch, so our dinner consisted of some snacks in the hotel's executive lounge. Again it was not very crowded.
End of Safari, On to Cape Town, Friday, April 29
We enjoyed another morning that did not require us to rise early. We awoke at 7 AM and headed to breakfast at around 8:30 AM. We had been asked to have our bags ready for transport at 10 AM for a 10:30 AM departure -- no problem. After another wonderful breakfast, we had some time to return to our room, sit on our deck, and admire the Zambezi River flowing by.
The transport to the airport was pretty quick and took us through central Livingstone. This was our first opportunity to see the actual city. We saw a nice downtown shopping area and a few taller buildings. It seemed nice. We passed some nice looking houses -- quite a contract to our village tour of the day before.
As seems to be their practice, A&K got us to the airport very early for our flight to Johannesburg, at least two hours, maybe more. The airport, which had been closed for a few years due to an economic downturn, now seemed brand new and modern, although not very large. We had a lot of time to sit and talk, staying as a group. There were some nice shops for last minute souvenir hunting. The flight to Johannesburg was uneventful, and we were even served sandwiches on the plane. When we arrived at Johannesburg, the whole group proceeded to immigration, which took about 1/2 hour to clear. However, as we were standing in the line, we noticed that Andrea (Mac, short for MacRitchie) was missing from the line. I had been sitting next to her on the plane and detected some nervousness on her regard related to traveling on her own, and now I was concerned that she had taken a wrong turn. Well, I couldn't think of any options and hoped for the best. The mystery was solved when we met an A&K representative in the arrivals hall who was holding a sign for her. He explained that since our flight from Livingstone had been on British Airways, as were her flights to Boston, connecting through London, she had been ticketed all the way through to her final destination and could skip immigration in Johannesburg. What a relief! The rest of us in the group had independent itineraries for the remainder of our travel and weren't able to do as Andrea did.
Rob and I said our goodbyes to the group and made our way to the domestic terminal in Johannesburg. We found our gate and then hoped that the passes given to us by A&K for premium lounge access might be of some use. They were not -- only valid for a lounge in the international terminal. Nevertheless, there was a premium lounge in the domestic terminal whose fee was only about $15 each, so we paid to go in there. The lounge was very nice with an attractive spread of food and wifi for internet access. We both had salads with a few added snacks with some white wine. Our flight to Cape Town was called, so we were off.
The flight to Cape Town lasted about two hours. Neither of us was hungry, so we refused the food that was served. On landing, we found the official taxi stand inside the airport and took a cab to our hotel, the Cape Town Hilton City Centre. It was after dark by this time of day. In fact it was 9 PM by the time we checked in. We ordered some wine from room service, watched a little TV and went to bed. Our only issue with the hotel is that it appeared that it catered to an Arab/Muslim clientele. The main restaurant is Halaal certified (meets Islamic dietary standards) and does not serve alcohol. There is also no alcohol in the mini-bar, although it can be ordered (which we did). This is certainly not a deal breaker, but I am hoping not to feel uncomfortable tomorrow, as if for example we were the only westerners in the hotel -- we'll see.
The transport to the airport was pretty quick and took us through central Livingstone. This was our first opportunity to see the actual city. We saw a nice downtown shopping area and a few taller buildings. It seemed nice. We passed some nice looking houses -- quite a contract to our village tour of the day before.
As seems to be their practice, A&K got us to the airport very early for our flight to Johannesburg, at least two hours, maybe more. The airport, which had been closed for a few years due to an economic downturn, now seemed brand new and modern, although not very large. We had a lot of time to sit and talk, staying as a group. There were some nice shops for last minute souvenir hunting. The flight to Johannesburg was uneventful, and we were even served sandwiches on the plane. When we arrived at Johannesburg, the whole group proceeded to immigration, which took about 1/2 hour to clear. However, as we were standing in the line, we noticed that Andrea (Mac, short for MacRitchie) was missing from the line. I had been sitting next to her on the plane and detected some nervousness on her regard related to traveling on her own, and now I was concerned that she had taken a wrong turn. Well, I couldn't think of any options and hoped for the best. The mystery was solved when we met an A&K representative in the arrivals hall who was holding a sign for her. He explained that since our flight from Livingstone had been on British Airways, as were her flights to Boston, connecting through London, she had been ticketed all the way through to her final destination and could skip immigration in Johannesburg. What a relief! The rest of us in the group had independent itineraries for the remainder of our travel and weren't able to do as Andrea did.
Rob and I said our goodbyes to the group and made our way to the domestic terminal in Johannesburg. We found our gate and then hoped that the passes given to us by A&K for premium lounge access might be of some use. They were not -- only valid for a lounge in the international terminal. Nevertheless, there was a premium lounge in the domestic terminal whose fee was only about $15 each, so we paid to go in there. The lounge was very nice with an attractive spread of food and wifi for internet access. We both had salads with a few added snacks with some white wine. Our flight to Cape Town was called, so we were off.
The flight to Cape Town lasted about two hours. Neither of us was hungry, so we refused the food that was served. On landing, we found the official taxi stand inside the airport and took a cab to our hotel, the Cape Town Hilton City Centre. It was after dark by this time of day. In fact it was 9 PM by the time we checked in. We ordered some wine from room service, watched a little TV and went to bed. Our only issue with the hotel is that it appeared that it catered to an Arab/Muslim clientele. The main restaurant is Halaal certified (meets Islamic dietary standards) and does not serve alcohol. There is also no alcohol in the mini-bar, although it can be ordered (which we did). This is certainly not a deal breaker, but I am hoping not to feel uncomfortable tomorrow, as if for example we were the only westerners in the hotel -- we'll see.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Victoria Falls and Zambia, Thursday, April 26
Sleeping all night was great! We finally didn't have to wake up early or set an alarm. After eight plus hours of sleep, I woke up at 6:30 AM.
At breakfast we celebrated another birthday; today the party was for Tom.
At 10:30 AM we were collected for a tour of Victoria Falls from the Zambian side. Our tour guide was a young Zambian man named Haafwuma, which he instructed us to pronounce as Ha-Hoo-Ma. He is a member of the Tonga tribe, located nearby. As we drove to the falls, he pointed out an interesting fact that we were traveling on the Great North Road, which stretches from Capetown in the south to Cairo in the north. We enjoyed learning quite a bit about the area and country from him while we were on our ride. The information he shared included:
- Livingstone was founded in 1905 and has about 350,000 residents. It is the second largest city in Zambia.
- Zambia was formerly known as North Rhodesia. Its name changed in 1960.
- There have been six presidents of Zambia (he told us all of their names), and a presidential election is scheduled for August.
- For the first 27 years, the president did not allow any other political parties. The presidential ballots consisted of his name and the image of a frog. Then, fearing he would lose to a frog, the ballot changed to a choice of "yes" or "no." "Yes" meant retain the current president; "No" meant that no change in president was desired. Kind of like, "Heads I win, tails you lose."
- The money is called kwacha if paper or ngwee if coins. "Kwacha ngwee" translates to bright morning.
- The food that everyone eats is ground maize, served with any kind of relish.
- There are 73 tribes; 74 if you count white people.
- The main industries are mining (lots of copper, number two producer behind Chile), agriculture, and tourism. Agriculture has been improving. When Zimbabwe seized all of their white persons' farms, Zambia invited these farming experts into their country.
- The country's flag features the national bird, the fish eagle.
Whoa, that was a lot to learn!
At the falls, the views were again spectacular! We viewed the rapidly flowing water at the top of the falls and then, of course, the falls. In many viewing locations, the mist was so thick that you could barely see the falls, but there was still plenty to admire. We were provided ponchos today, but still got pretty wet, especially as we crossed the slippery metal footbridge.
At breakfast we celebrated another birthday; today the party was for Tom.
At 10:30 AM we were collected for a tour of Victoria Falls from the Zambian side. Our tour guide was a young Zambian man named Haafwuma, which he instructed us to pronounce as Ha-Hoo-Ma. He is a member of the Tonga tribe, located nearby. As we drove to the falls, he pointed out an interesting fact that we were traveling on the Great North Road, which stretches from Capetown in the south to Cairo in the north. We enjoyed learning quite a bit about the area and country from him while we were on our ride. The information he shared included:
- Livingstone was founded in 1905 and has about 350,000 residents. It is the second largest city in Zambia.
- Zambia was formerly known as North Rhodesia. Its name changed in 1960.
- There have been six presidents of Zambia (he told us all of their names), and a presidential election is scheduled for August.
- For the first 27 years, the president did not allow any other political parties. The presidential ballots consisted of his name and the image of a frog. Then, fearing he would lose to a frog, the ballot changed to a choice of "yes" or "no." "Yes" meant retain the current president; "No" meant that no change in president was desired. Kind of like, "Heads I win, tails you lose."
- The money is called kwacha if paper or ngwee if coins. "Kwacha ngwee" translates to bright morning.
- The food that everyone eats is ground maize, served with any kind of relish.
- There are 73 tribes; 74 if you count white people.
- The main industries are mining (lots of copper, number two producer behind Chile), agriculture, and tourism. Agriculture has been improving. When Zimbabwe seized all of their white persons' farms, Zambia invited these farming experts into their country.
- The country's flag features the national bird, the fish eagle.
Whoa, that was a lot to learn!
At the falls, the views were again spectacular! We viewed the rapidly flowing water at the top of the falls and then, of course, the falls. In many viewing locations, the mist was so thick that you could barely see the falls, but there was still plenty to admire. We were provided ponchos today, but still got pretty wet, especially as we crossed the slippery metal footbridge.
And a few videos:
Haafwuma provided us a briefing about the explorer Livingstone. He was the European discoverer of the falls in 1855 and named them for his queen. He had camped on Livingstone Island at the top of the falls when he discovered the falls. Later on his journeys, he contracted malaria and died from it. He had been accompanied on his African travels by his porters, Sussi and Chuma. After his death, the porters opened up his body, extracted his heart and buried it under a baobab tree in northern Zambia. This is a place you visit today. To ease in transit, they then dried his body in order to get it back to England. Livingstone was an unpopular man to some of the white people in southern Africa who were slave traders. He had actively opposed their immoral activity. As a result, these slave traders stole his body and buried it themselves in Africa. Sushi and Chuma, out of loyalty, dug up the remains. They then made the decision to chop his body into smaller parts, so that they could fit the body discreetly into a suitcase. They then were able to continue their mission undetected. They were successful in getting his body back to England, and Livingstone was buried in Westminster Abbey. The lesson from the story is this, though: when you come to Africa, you will leave your heart.
After the tour of the Zambian side of the falls, we (Jackie, Becky, Andrea, Rob and Roy) stopped at a local souvenir marketplace to do some shopping. There were nice carved animals and other items, but the bargaining soon became unsettling. We did buy some nice souvenirs and small gifts, though.
Back at the camp, lunch was again delicious: bream from the Zambezi River. Then we had an afternoon break that didn't seem anywhere near long enough.
At 3:30 PM, Jacky, Becky, Rob, and Roy were the only takers for what was described as a "village tour." A young man named Mabvuto began by providing information about the school in the village, which is supported by A&K. He then showed us his home and other dwellings in the village, as well as discussing the ravages of HIV (1 in 3 are infected in Zambia, 1 in 4 in this particular village). The experience was sad and unsettling. The dwellings were mostly mud huts with no doors or windows. To us, this seemed like terrible poverty. Mabvuto shared his email address with me, and we gave him $20 to show our appreciation for his time. In addition to supporting the school (which receives NO government support), A&K also supports a bicycle repair shop in the village. Later than day, when discussing this experience with Poniso. He told us that we shouldn't feel to bad about this. He explained that the children in the village (who had seemed happy to us) have opportunities in life. They are not condemned to this lifestyle.
As soon as we made it back to camp, we set out on a Zambezi River boat cruise. Our fellow travelers had already departed on a separate boat. While the Chobe River had been smooth and slow moving, the Zambezi River is fast moving (heading towards the falls). It is very wide, and there are many islands in the river. In some places it appears that the waves in the river are actually moving upstream. This is likely because of variation in the river depth which can create a variety of currents It is very scenic.
Dinner tonight featured a mini-buffet of local foods. The local staple food is ground maize, which can be augmented by any number of items. I chose two types of sautéed greens which were quite tasty. Everyone was encouraged to try to deep fried caterpillars, but not everyone did. I think I was the only person who actually thought they weren't so bad. I ate three -- they were chewy and mostly tasted of salt. At the end of the dinner, each person was asked to name their two or three favorite memories. When it was my turn, I listed three: (1) The lioness carrying the cub in her mouth that we had seen at Sandibe, (2) The elephants by the water that we had been so close to on the Chobe River, and (3) The amazing bird life, which I had not expected. Then I added a fourth: our amazing accommodations. This got a round of applause from everyone.
We turned in right after dinner. Fortunately, Rob and I were already packed for tomorrow's travel.
On to Victoria Falls, Wednesday, April 27
Today, we left Botswana to drive to Victoria Falls. We boarded a mini-bus at the camp and set off. Our first stop was a little side trip to the spot where four nations meet: Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. This place is called Kazungula village, and it is also the confluence of the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers. There is a ferry here that transits cars across the Zambezi, but mostly it is carrying commercial vehicles including semi trucks. Those large vehicles are transported across the river one at a time it seems. There are a total of two ferries doing this work. We could see how long the line is for vehicles to wait for their turn on the ferries, and Poniso told us that truck drivers can wait as long as three weeks to get across the river. It seems inconceivable that with this level of commercial traffic that there would not be a bridge. However, this is Africa, and African nations don't necessarily have the funding for even the most basic projects. Thankfully, the money has hopefully been secured, and we can see that construction on a bridge has begun. Also at this location, it was also noted that explorer Livingstone camped here.
We crossed into Zimbabwe with little trouble and only a bit of nervousness. Relations between the United States and the government of Zimbabwe are poor, so it is best to maintain a low profile. Before entering the country, Poniso advised us (quietly) to make sure we don't ask anyone any questions about Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe. I later learned that criticism of the president is an actual crime. After we crossed the border the scenery was dry and generally flat. We were actually driving through Zimbabwe's Zambezi National Park. After a short time, we arrived at the falls. Total drive time was about 1 1/2 hours. Our guide for the falls, Felix, had been on the bus with us since we left Chobe Chilwero, and we learned that he was a Zimbabwean citizen himself. Before we began our tour, many of the group took a bathroom break, Felix then began a conversation whereas he was criticizing the policies of his government. Those of us who happened to hear this fell immediately silent.
Victoria Falls are amazing! From the south, where we were, we can't even see all the way to the north end of the falls. The volume of water coming over the falls is enormous. We were told that in one minute, the volume of water coming over the falls is enough to supply Australia for one month. At this time of year, the water must be at its maximum flow. The walk on the Zimbabwean side was not too long, and we were supplied with umbrellas to try to keep us dry. The mist rising up from where the water hits the bottom or the gorge then reverses course and lands on us as rain. This small area is actually considered a rain forest. We had been warned that there would be so much water that I did not bring my phone to take any pictures. Rob did bring his water-proof camera.
After our tour, we were taken to the historic Victoria Falls Hotel, a property that goes back to 1904, the year the railroad came through here. It was originally conceived as accommodation for the workers who were to construct the Victoria Falls Bridge (more on this later).
A lovely buffet was served to us (this was described as a snack -- lunch would occur later in the day!), and a marimba band serenaded us as we sat at an outdoor table near the hotel's beautiful pool and cabanas. The hotel is really nice and superbly maintained with period furniture and decorations. There is a large veranda with an outdoor restaurant that overlooks the famous bridge and the clouds of mist rising from the gorge of the falls.
We were offered a short tour of the hotel from a guide named Sindy, who had a lot of personality. He told us a lot about the hotel's history, but the most interesting part of the tour was entering the suite of rooms where King George and Queen Elizabeth stayed during their visit in 1947. Their daughters, Elizabeth (the current queen) and Margaret had also accompanied them. Some of the furniture in the suite remained from 1947 including a framed picture of the falls that I took a picture of.
After our "not lunch" at the hotel, we reboarded the mini-bus to cross the Victoria Falls Bridge to Zambia. The bridge was completed in 1905, and at that time it was the tallest bridge in the world. During our tour Sindy told us the story of the problem encountered in completing the bridge. When it was time to put the final piece in place, it was discovered that the piece was two inches too long. The engineers were devastated that this mistake had occurred. They all went to the bar at the Victoria Falls Hotel to drink. In the morning, after the cool of the night, they returned to the work site and discovered that the piece had contracted and as a result fit perfectly. Everyone was happy and could only conclude that drinking can solve any problem! Another feature of the bridge that makes it unusual in modern times is that it accommodates three types of traffic: trains, motorcars, and foot traffic. However, there is only one lane for cars and the bridge can only handle one car in one direction at a time. Worse, there did not appear that there was any authority directing traffic, so one might need to wait a while before it became your turn to cross.
On the other side of the bridge is Zambia. We cleared immigration and drove to our camp, another Sanctuary property called Sussi and Chomo. Those are the names of the African porters who served explorer Livingstone. The camp is contained within Zambia's Mosi Oa Tunya National Park. The park is named after the African name for Victoria Falls. In English, Mosi Oa Tunya means "the smoke that thunders." Seems appropriate! Our check-in was to be expected delightful with singing and celebrating from the staff! The hotel staff was expecting to provide us with lunch, but that seemed ridiculous given how much we had already eaten, but they insisted on providing us with "tea," which involved way too many sweets. I ate a few to be polite.
Our afternoon activity was to view white rhinos. They are located close-by in the national park, which we learned was a relatively small park. We took a short drive and were met by armed security personnel (AK 47's no less). They are on hand to protect the animals from poachers. They escorted us a short way on foot to the rhinos. We walked single file to appear to be a large entity to the rhinos.
There are only 11 white rhinos in Zambia, and 9 of them are in this park. They are considered to be "endangered." Zambia also has 43 black rhinos. They are "threatened." The white rhinos are not actually white. The name arose from a misunderstanding. The original Boers (white Dutch settlers) told the English that they were called "wide-lipped" rhinos, but because their English was heavily accented, the English misheard this as "white." The white rhinos have wide lips, which enables them to eat from the ground. The black rhinos have hook lips, which enable them to eat from trees. Both rhinos are hunted for their horns, which are not made from bone, but are compressed hair. They can weigh from 3 to 5 tons. There were five in total that we were viewing, including a youngster named Lucy, who was born in February 2014. It was really amazing that we could be in such close proximity to them, but the rhinos did not feel any threat from us.
On the return trip to camp, we passed a morula tree that had small green fruit. Morula was the name of the elephant we had met at Stanley's camp, and it is also the name of a fruit that the lions like to eat. I tried a piece and it tasted good, even though it was not fully ripe. When ripe, Poniso said it would be delicious.
We discussed the origin of the work Africa. I had been curious to find out if it was the same word in all of the different African languages, and Poniso said it was. He believed that it meant "movement of people," or something similar to try to describe in one word a way of life of the African tribes: always moving around.
Before dinner, drinks were served on a candle-lit deck overlooking the Zambezi River. Then dinner was a seven course meal. I can't recall all of the courses, but it began with a tomato tart accompanied by a shot of tomato juice, then I also recall a tasty lentil soup. For the main course, I had chicken with mashed potatoes in some sort of sauce, and Rob had lamb with roasted vegetables. Dessert was lemon meringue pie.
We crossed into Zimbabwe with little trouble and only a bit of nervousness. Relations between the United States and the government of Zimbabwe are poor, so it is best to maintain a low profile. Before entering the country, Poniso advised us (quietly) to make sure we don't ask anyone any questions about Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe. I later learned that criticism of the president is an actual crime. After we crossed the border the scenery was dry and generally flat. We were actually driving through Zimbabwe's Zambezi National Park. After a short time, we arrived at the falls. Total drive time was about 1 1/2 hours. Our guide for the falls, Felix, had been on the bus with us since we left Chobe Chilwero, and we learned that he was a Zimbabwean citizen himself. Before we began our tour, many of the group took a bathroom break, Felix then began a conversation whereas he was criticizing the policies of his government. Those of us who happened to hear this fell immediately silent.
Victoria Falls are amazing! From the south, where we were, we can't even see all the way to the north end of the falls. The volume of water coming over the falls is enormous. We were told that in one minute, the volume of water coming over the falls is enough to supply Australia for one month. At this time of year, the water must be at its maximum flow. The walk on the Zimbabwean side was not too long, and we were supplied with umbrellas to try to keep us dry. The mist rising up from where the water hits the bottom or the gorge then reverses course and lands on us as rain. This small area is actually considered a rain forest. We had been warned that there would be so much water that I did not bring my phone to take any pictures. Rob did bring his water-proof camera.
After our tour, we were taken to the historic Victoria Falls Hotel, a property that goes back to 1904, the year the railroad came through here. It was originally conceived as accommodation for the workers who were to construct the Victoria Falls Bridge (more on this later).
A lovely buffet was served to us (this was described as a snack -- lunch would occur later in the day!), and a marimba band serenaded us as we sat at an outdoor table near the hotel's beautiful pool and cabanas. The hotel is really nice and superbly maintained with period furniture and decorations. There is a large veranda with an outdoor restaurant that overlooks the famous bridge and the clouds of mist rising from the gorge of the falls.
We were offered a short tour of the hotel from a guide named Sindy, who had a lot of personality. He told us a lot about the hotel's history, but the most interesting part of the tour was entering the suite of rooms where King George and Queen Elizabeth stayed during their visit in 1947. Their daughters, Elizabeth (the current queen) and Margaret had also accompanied them. Some of the furniture in the suite remained from 1947 including a framed picture of the falls that I took a picture of.
After our "not lunch" at the hotel, we reboarded the mini-bus to cross the Victoria Falls Bridge to Zambia. The bridge was completed in 1905, and at that time it was the tallest bridge in the world. During our tour Sindy told us the story of the problem encountered in completing the bridge. When it was time to put the final piece in place, it was discovered that the piece was two inches too long. The engineers were devastated that this mistake had occurred. They all went to the bar at the Victoria Falls Hotel to drink. In the morning, after the cool of the night, they returned to the work site and discovered that the piece had contracted and as a result fit perfectly. Everyone was happy and could only conclude that drinking can solve any problem! Another feature of the bridge that makes it unusual in modern times is that it accommodates three types of traffic: trains, motorcars, and foot traffic. However, there is only one lane for cars and the bridge can only handle one car in one direction at a time. Worse, there did not appear that there was any authority directing traffic, so one might need to wait a while before it became your turn to cross.
On the other side of the bridge is Zambia. We cleared immigration and drove to our camp, another Sanctuary property called Sussi and Chomo. Those are the names of the African porters who served explorer Livingstone. The camp is contained within Zambia's Mosi Oa Tunya National Park. The park is named after the African name for Victoria Falls. In English, Mosi Oa Tunya means "the smoke that thunders." Seems appropriate! Our check-in was to be expected delightful with singing and celebrating from the staff! The hotel staff was expecting to provide us with lunch, but that seemed ridiculous given how much we had already eaten, but they insisted on providing us with "tea," which involved way too many sweets. I ate a few to be polite.
Our afternoon activity was to view white rhinos. They are located close-by in the national park, which we learned was a relatively small park. We took a short drive and were met by armed security personnel (AK 47's no less). They are on hand to protect the animals from poachers. They escorted us a short way on foot to the rhinos. We walked single file to appear to be a large entity to the rhinos.
There are only 11 white rhinos in Zambia, and 9 of them are in this park. They are considered to be "endangered." Zambia also has 43 black rhinos. They are "threatened." The white rhinos are not actually white. The name arose from a misunderstanding. The original Boers (white Dutch settlers) told the English that they were called "wide-lipped" rhinos, but because their English was heavily accented, the English misheard this as "white." The white rhinos have wide lips, which enables them to eat from the ground. The black rhinos have hook lips, which enable them to eat from trees. Both rhinos are hunted for their horns, which are not made from bone, but are compressed hair. They can weigh from 3 to 5 tons. There were five in total that we were viewing, including a youngster named Lucy, who was born in February 2014. It was really amazing that we could be in such close proximity to them, but the rhinos did not feel any threat from us.
On the return trip to camp, we passed a morula tree that had small green fruit. Morula was the name of the elephant we had met at Stanley's camp, and it is also the name of a fruit that the lions like to eat. I tried a piece and it tasted good, even though it was not fully ripe. When ripe, Poniso said it would be delicious.
We discussed the origin of the work Africa. I had been curious to find out if it was the same word in all of the different African languages, and Poniso said it was. He believed that it meant "movement of people," or something similar to try to describe in one word a way of life of the African tribes: always moving around.
Before dinner, drinks were served on a candle-lit deck overlooking the Zambezi River. Then dinner was a seven course meal. I can't recall all of the courses, but it began with a tomato tart accompanied by a shot of tomato juice, then I also recall a tasty lentil soup. For the main course, I had chicken with mashed potatoes in some sort of sauce, and Rob had lamb with roasted vegetables. Dessert was lemon meringue pie.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Chobe National Park, Tuesday, April 26
Today is our first full day in Chobe, and as we left the camp to begin our morning game drive, we were met by a small heard of African buffalo. They were a group of males. Poniso explained to us that the buffalo have about a 25 to 35 year life span, but their prime age is from years 8 through 14. After their prime, the males are rejected from the herd and will roam with the other rejected males -- a group of bachelors. The buffalo can be hunted for their meat. Before the era of guns, Africans would create giant pits, which would be camouflaged. After an unfortunate buffalo would fall into the pit, the Africans would spear the buffalo to death. In addition to the horns on their heads, the males also have a solid bone like head covering called a boss. If a bullet hits the boss, it will ricochet.
Poniso next pointed out a nearby tree that had been broken apart about five months ago. Two bull elephants had a fight. As part of their contest, they tore down trees to demonstrate to their combatant how strong they are. The large trees that we see in the area are called Zambezi teak.
After we entered he park, which does not allow driving off the designated paths/roads, we saw a baby impala, then hippo tracks, and a pair of fish eagles. It was a male and a female, who mate for life. We then saw an attractive egret by the river and then another buffalo wading. He has a bird perched on his back. We saw another hammerkopf; this one is building a nest, and then we stopped to admire more guinea fowl. They are attractive -- beautifully colored heads. We also saw a red lechwe and more impala, always good to look at.
The terrain here is sandy, but more of a red sand. The flora is actually a little like California in the summer, green trees and brown grass, but flatter. We don't see termite mounds here like we did in the Okavango Delta, but there were mounds, just smaller. That is because the termites here are a different variety: harvester termites.
Then there was a surprise: a type of antelope that we have not seen before called a puku. It is a threatened species who move in groups of five or six and are also aquatic. Unfortunately, this means that they are eaten by crocodiles.
We then came across a red billed hornbill eating termites and then saw a male lion's tracks, which Poniso stepped out of the vehicle to show us more clearly.
Then a real treat: a fight between two male impalas. It was mating season for impala here at Chobe (will not occur in the Okavango Delta for another two months), so the males were fighting for supremacy, and the females were ready for breeding. The fight continued for several minutes and it was quite thrilling. I got it all on video:
It would be hard to top that, but we kept going. We came across an older African buffalo, about 16 years old, and then a large group of elephants, about 12 in total. They were related females, including three babies. Chobe National Park is noted for its elephant population. We stopped to admire them.
As we drove along, we saw a plant growing that we had not seen before, so Rob asked Poniso to stop the vehicle to look at it. Of course Poniso can identify it! It is called wild daha or hemp. It is not marijuana but apparently it can be smoked to produce a similar effect.
We paused to look at a rotting elephant carcass, about five months old. Even though the carcass has been picked clean by vultures, it still as an unpleasant smell. A few of the bones have been scattered by the living elephants.
It was time for our morning break, but when we reached the designated break spot, it is overrun by elephants, which is to our good fortune! We took lots of pictures and some video, while we enjoyed our drinks and our mini-muffins. It was a little odd to be mulling about surrounded by wild elephants (they weren't too close), but they paid us no heed, and we offered no threat.
After our break, we began driving back towards the park entrance. We soon saw giraffes, which we enjoyed and learned that male giraffes will also fight during mating season: "neck fights." Another giraffe fact: they can develop Parkinson's disease.
We then came across an attractive group of kudu, which made for another great video:
As we admired them, Poniso looked to the sky and saw the Botswana presidential jet coming into the Kasane airport! Later he learned that the president was in town to scout the location/resort that would be used for an upcoming meeting of SADC (Southern African Development Community). The SADC consists of about 14 countries, and all their heads of state will be here for the meeting. This is kind of a big deal.
Here is a photo without animals that might show how similar to California this area can look:
Next, we paused to admire a "business" of mongeese (mongooses?). They are cute when they frolic, but at the end of the day, they are just pesky rodents.
Exiting the park, we took a little detour to drive through the nearby town of Kasane to get an understanding of what a relatively prosperous town of 15,000 might be like. We saw churches, nice shopping centers, banks, as well as older homes. Poniso pointed out a building paid for by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to assist those infected by HIV. I tried to find a vehicle that might resemble Mma Ramotswe's little white van from the #1 Ladies Detective Agency novels, but didn't spot a good candidate.
Back at Chove Chilwero camp, we enjoyed a nice lunch of curried chickpeas in a tortilla. Then we returned to our room for a rest. It wasn't too restful as our cabin is soon overrun by baboons of every age and size. It was a little menacing as they stood on our front patio peering into our glass doors. Needless to say, an outdoor shower was out of the question.
Our evening activity is another boat ride on the Chobe River. I'm not sure what we will see tonight that will be different than yesterday, but no doubt it will be great. As soon as we set out we came across a crocodile -- that's different! He was about ten years old, not terribly old. He is of the type called Nile crocodile, which is the only type found in Botswana. They can get about five times larger than the one we were corrently looking at. He could take down an impala who might come down to the river for a drink of water. Shortly after this, we saw a much smaller crocodile. He was only about 4 to 6 years old and was maybe about four feet long. A crocodile of this size would eat birds and fish; he was not large enough to take down an impala. The crocodiles can live to be 80 years old; they have an incredible immune system and never get sick. As well as impala, the adults can eat kudu and buffalo, grabbing them with their teeth and performing the crocodile twirl.
Moving along, we saw another African buffalo, walking in the water:
Then we saw another amazing sight; a family of elephants along the water, very active, almost playing in the mud. Poniso pulled the boat in close, almost too close, and we just watched. I got an amazing video:
Turning back down the river, we spied yet another crocodile that is also out of the water. He is a male about age 20. You can identify the males because they have thicker tales. The ridges on their backs are called scoots, and they are also thicker on the males. Two more fun crocodile facts: crocodile tails are considered good eating, and crocodiles don't hunt hippos.
Of course, we saw more hippos, which we enjoyed and photographed again. However, we also had two more birds to admire on this ride: a fish eagle and a tiny bird called the African Jacana or lily trotter. He was perched on a lily and was beautiful. I couldn't get a picture of the Jacana, but did photograph the lovely lily pads and the fish eagle, too. The fish eagle is the closest relative to the American bald eagle.
Before we get back to the dock, Poniso gave us the opportunity to reach into the reeds on the north side of the Chobe River and touch Namibia -- so I did! Another beautiful sunset (with hippos):
Coincidentally (or maybe not), dinner tonight featured an appetizer of crocodile tail. Both Rob and I tried it; it tasted like pork. However, I didn't relish the thought of eating a crocodile, so I only had a few bites. The entree was the fish called kinklip -- very good!
Poniso next pointed out a nearby tree that had been broken apart about five months ago. Two bull elephants had a fight. As part of their contest, they tore down trees to demonstrate to their combatant how strong they are. The large trees that we see in the area are called Zambezi teak.
After we entered he park, which does not allow driving off the designated paths/roads, we saw a baby impala, then hippo tracks, and a pair of fish eagles. It was a male and a female, who mate for life. We then saw an attractive egret by the river and then another buffalo wading. He has a bird perched on his back. We saw another hammerkopf; this one is building a nest, and then we stopped to admire more guinea fowl. They are attractive -- beautifully colored heads. We also saw a red lechwe and more impala, always good to look at.
The terrain here is sandy, but more of a red sand. The flora is actually a little like California in the summer, green trees and brown grass, but flatter. We don't see termite mounds here like we did in the Okavango Delta, but there were mounds, just smaller. That is because the termites here are a different variety: harvester termites.
Then there was a surprise: a type of antelope that we have not seen before called a puku. It is a threatened species who move in groups of five or six and are also aquatic. Unfortunately, this means that they are eaten by crocodiles.
We then came across a red billed hornbill eating termites and then saw a male lion's tracks, which Poniso stepped out of the vehicle to show us more clearly.
Then a real treat: a fight between two male impalas. It was mating season for impala here at Chobe (will not occur in the Okavango Delta for another two months), so the males were fighting for supremacy, and the females were ready for breeding. The fight continued for several minutes and it was quite thrilling. I got it all on video:
It would be hard to top that, but we kept going. We came across an older African buffalo, about 16 years old, and then a large group of elephants, about 12 in total. They were related females, including three babies. Chobe National Park is noted for its elephant population. We stopped to admire them.
As we drove along, we saw a plant growing that we had not seen before, so Rob asked Poniso to stop the vehicle to look at it. Of course Poniso can identify it! It is called wild daha or hemp. It is not marijuana but apparently it can be smoked to produce a similar effect.
We paused to look at a rotting elephant carcass, about five months old. Even though the carcass has been picked clean by vultures, it still as an unpleasant smell. A few of the bones have been scattered by the living elephants.
It was time for our morning break, but when we reached the designated break spot, it is overrun by elephants, which is to our good fortune! We took lots of pictures and some video, while we enjoyed our drinks and our mini-muffins. It was a little odd to be mulling about surrounded by wild elephants (they weren't too close), but they paid us no heed, and we offered no threat.
We then came across an attractive group of kudu, which made for another great video:
As we admired them, Poniso looked to the sky and saw the Botswana presidential jet coming into the Kasane airport! Later he learned that the president was in town to scout the location/resort that would be used for an upcoming meeting of SADC (Southern African Development Community). The SADC consists of about 14 countries, and all their heads of state will be here for the meeting. This is kind of a big deal.
Here is a photo without animals that might show how similar to California this area can look:
Next, we paused to admire a "business" of mongeese (mongooses?). They are cute when they frolic, but at the end of the day, they are just pesky rodents.
Exiting the park, we took a little detour to drive through the nearby town of Kasane to get an understanding of what a relatively prosperous town of 15,000 might be like. We saw churches, nice shopping centers, banks, as well as older homes. Poniso pointed out a building paid for by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to assist those infected by HIV. I tried to find a vehicle that might resemble Mma Ramotswe's little white van from the #1 Ladies Detective Agency novels, but didn't spot a good candidate.
Back at Chove Chilwero camp, we enjoyed a nice lunch of curried chickpeas in a tortilla. Then we returned to our room for a rest. It wasn't too restful as our cabin is soon overrun by baboons of every age and size. It was a little menacing as they stood on our front patio peering into our glass doors. Needless to say, an outdoor shower was out of the question.
Our evening activity is another boat ride on the Chobe River. I'm not sure what we will see tonight that will be different than yesterday, but no doubt it will be great. As soon as we set out we came across a crocodile -- that's different! He was about ten years old, not terribly old. He is of the type called Nile crocodile, which is the only type found in Botswana. They can get about five times larger than the one we were corrently looking at. He could take down an impala who might come down to the river for a drink of water. Shortly after this, we saw a much smaller crocodile. He was only about 4 to 6 years old and was maybe about four feet long. A crocodile of this size would eat birds and fish; he was not large enough to take down an impala. The crocodiles can live to be 80 years old; they have an incredible immune system and never get sick. As well as impala, the adults can eat kudu and buffalo, grabbing them with their teeth and performing the crocodile twirl.
Moving along, we saw another African buffalo, walking in the water:
Then we saw another amazing sight; a family of elephants along the water, very active, almost playing in the mud. Poniso pulled the boat in close, almost too close, and we just watched. I got an amazing video:
Turning back down the river, we spied yet another crocodile that is also out of the water. He is a male about age 20. You can identify the males because they have thicker tales. The ridges on their backs are called scoots, and they are also thicker on the males. Two more fun crocodile facts: crocodile tails are considered good eating, and crocodiles don't hunt hippos.
Of course, we saw more hippos, which we enjoyed and photographed again. However, we also had two more birds to admire on this ride: a fish eagle and a tiny bird called the African Jacana or lily trotter. He was perched on a lily and was beautiful. I couldn't get a picture of the Jacana, but did photograph the lovely lily pads and the fish eagle, too. The fish eagle is the closest relative to the American bald eagle.
Before we get back to the dock, Poniso gave us the opportunity to reach into the reeds on the north side of the Chobe River and touch Namibia -- so I did! Another beautiful sunset (with hippos):
Coincidentally (or maybe not), dinner tonight featured an appetizer of crocodile tail. Both Rob and I tried it; it tasted like pork. However, I didn't relish the thought of eating a crocodile, so I only had a few bites. The entree was the fish called kinklip -- very good!
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