The plan was to get up early and head to the border between Botswana and Zimbabwe, as I read online that it can take a while crossing the border. The reality was we didn’t get up all that early, and we had a nice, leisurely breakfast. We also took an abbreviated stroll through the lodge’s natural trail that is on their property, starting around 7:30. We thought it was entirely fenced in, and it is, except where the fence has been breached! The elephant droppings we came upon kind of gave us the hint. We became separated as I stopped to take some shots and they kept moving forward. I ended-up back at the lodge, but they were not. I checked the reception, our cabin, and restaurant. I checked with Barbara, who said she hadn’t seen them but they would be okay out there. Finally they returned after perhaps 30 minutes. Muffin-stealing monkeys at breakfast were also a distraction that ate up our morning time. So we didn’t depart from Kubu Lodge when I thought we would or what we all agreed to on the previous evening. We would be back to Kasane in time to do a river cruise in the afternoon, as we didn’t expect it to take a long time to get what we wanted out of the visit to Victoria Falls. That was the plan…
Jen offered to drive the ninety minutes each way, so I became a passenger for the day. She was a little shaky at first, what with the steering wheel being on the right side of the car, but got somewhat more comfortable over time. It was helpful that the CRV was automatic.
The border was very close to Kubu Lodge, as we mistakenly ended up there the night we came in to Kasane. The process takes a little time, as you first visit the immigration window and then customs window. Several different fees have to be paid and information provided. They wanted to know the size of the engine in our CRV for instance, along with some other off-the-wall details regarding the vehicle. I had no idea, said I had no idea, and just threw out some numbers. The guy would say “55?” and I would say “Yep. That’s it!” Passports were stamped and we finally moved on. In-between my periods of usefulness, I covertly made some waist-level images, as I felt they wouldn’t be too happy if I lifted the viewfinder to my eye. Visually, it was a very interesting place, and I wanted to give it a shot at trying to capture what was going on there. I like the results.
We drove into Zimbabwe, luckily using a paved road all the way into Livingstone, which is the area and town around Victoria Falls. It’s funny – you are driving past literally nothing, and then within a few meters these tourist shops and this quasi-civilized area erupts from nowhere. Capitalism is alive and well at Victoria Falls! We follow signs and pull into a small parking area across the street from the entrance area to the falls. A polite man in uniform confirms we can park there. We walk across, pay our entry fee, and study the map displayed on a big wooden board. There are only 2 main paths that make a long loop along the rim of the falls and then back to the entrance gate, so we begin our walk.
It’s a short distance to the first place to stop to view the edge of the falls, so I stop and put my rain sleeves on my cameras and shower caps over my lens. This works well here at the side of the falls. It’s fairly easy to keep droplets off the lens, and the sleeves I’ve been using for a couple of years now to keep the camera bodies dry. As we move around to the front side of the falls, the mist becomes heavier. The bodies aren’t a concern, but keeping the water off the lenses will be tricky. I mean I have to remove the shower caps to make exposures, so timing will be required. The mist isn’t constant here. The air can be calm and dry, providing a pretty clear view of the falls. But then there’s a shift, and rain actually falls UP in front of you – mist being pushed up the side of the cliff from the floor below and then it falls onto you on the other side. It’s a weird sight and sensation to see rain going up in front of you! I was moderately successful keeping the lens dry at the sides, but as I got closer to the middle it was a losing battle. In no time I was soaked through, a spot or two (or 3 or 4) would land onto the glass, but the cameras remained dry. It was constantly “raining” in certain areas. This was the dry season! We were told the falls were at their weakest this time of year, and we may get slightly damp. If that’s their weakest, I can’t image the power, the roar, and the soaking of being where we were when the summer rains swell the river and flow of the falls. It’s got to be incredible! Images capturing the size and depth of the area were impossible to make as mist created a veil that covered much of the falls. I read online that seeing the falls from both sides (Zambia being the other) was ideal, but also read the best view is from Zimbabwe. I also read crime against tourists was common in the area. Given more time and better conditions, I still wouldn’t be too interested in seeing what else was available in the area, as it looked fairly straight forward. Anyway, we reached the apex of the loop, and watched some bungee jumping over the river gorge before heading back on the trail to the entrance. It didn’t take as long to get back as we didn’t stop along the lookout points. We were back at the parking lot and were headed back to the border, having spent a little over two hours at the falls. Of course after the 90-minute drive and dealing with the border, which wasn’t as tedious as traveling in the other direction, we still got back too late in the day for a river cruise due to our late start. So, we decided to just go back into Chobe to see what we could see for the remaining two hours of the day before the park closed around 6pm. The players were pretty much the same, although Radhika spied a Giraffe in the distance that I didn’t get a chance to see before it disappeared into the trees. We went back to our Lodge a few minutes before closing, and prepared for dinner. This was our 3rd and last night at Kubu Lodge, and it was most definitely the nicest place we would stay at during our trip to Botswana. In the morning we would be hitting the road back to Maun to stay two nights at Kaziikini Camp, which is the closest camp to the south gate outside of Moremi Wildlife Preserve. This would require another early departure in the morning. So we did our packing and showering that night before and after dinner.
The next morning we awake at a good time and go for a walk on the nature trail for pre-breakfast exercise around 7:15. We walk the entire trail, something I haven’t done but Jen and Radhika did the morning prior. It takes us about 40 minutes. Breakfast runs us another hour so, as we all become involved with a Yellowbellied Greenbul that's inching it's way to my scrambeld eggs, and it’s now about 9:30. If a bird eats egg, is it a form of cannibalism? It’s after 10am before we are checking out, the CRV is loaded, and two members of the party are jibber jabbering in the reception with Barbara and generally loitering around. It’s pushing 10:30 now, and I say we REALLY have to go. Several times already we found ourselves driving late in the afternoon, trying to reach our destination before sundown. Our next destination is a remote camp, no doubt with very little artificial lighting. I didn’t want to get there after dark (which happens about 6pm or so)! So, we’re on the road back to Nata and then west to Maun. Our schedule looks pretty good in terms of providing us with time, so we decide to drop in on Budget to complain about the CRV not being what we had contracted for, and demand a true 4X4 to be able to navigate the abysmal road/trail conditions of Moremi. We also have to get a pass into the park for the next day, money from the ATM, and some food and water for the next two days as I read online that there was none to be had at the camp. The vehicle exchange took less than an hour I would say, with us getting a Toyota Hilux 4X4. We worked well as a team, splitting up the duties between us to cut the amount of time required to accomplish everything. Even so, with the best-laid plans we had delays. The ATM’s were not cooperating, the grocery shopping was tedious, and the takeout chicken dinner was anything but expedient! But we muddled through and got everything done and had about an hour to drive up Shorobe Road towards Moremi’s south gate where Kaziikini would be found. It’s about 48 kilometers total distance, and at the halfway point there’s a veterinary fence that you have to gain access through and the road turns from paved to dirt. So the last 24 kilometers is slower going. Fortunately for us the road signs provided were good, as nightfall once again provided a little tension as our journey concluded. We arrived at the camp in darkness, using the truck lights in an attempt to discover where we should go. We went along the sandy trail that took us by campsites with names and small huts, but we found no reception or check-in area or building. We returned to the area where we first came in from, and two young gentlemen met us. They said it was late (uh-huh) and reception was closed. Hmmm…it was barely 6:30, and my interpretation of what they were saying was “You can’t stay here”, so I gave my name and said we were staying here over the next two nights, and we had a guide in the morning. They disappeared down a road that had a “Staff Only” sign at the entrance way, and came back with keys to two huts and we followed them down the same dirt road we took earlier as they walked us to our huts as we drove behind them. Small, made of a reed/bamboo type vegetation, they were just enough for us, and our backpacks. Thirty seconds away were the showers and toilets, nice and clean enough as we checked them out after dumping our stuff after eating our chicken dinners that were bought in Maun. We kept the rest of the food locked up in the cab so as not to draw the interest of animals. The night skies were clear finally, after not being able to see the stars due to light pollution or clouds, and it was a tremendous sight! This was my first time seeing the southern hemisphere’s constellations, and what an incredible moment it was for me. I was in total awe – we all were. I can’t express how absolutely plain the night skies in the northern hemisphere are in comparison! The number of stars must be at least two-fold, and the arm of our Milky Way galaxy stretches from horizon to horizon! As chilly as the night was, I decided to take a shower that evening under the stars. The water was lukewarm, at best, but the show above kept my mind off the air temperature and any goose bumps I had could have easily been from the sight above than from the cool water hitting my warm skin. I will NEVER forget the sky on that first night.
The album for this post can be found at:
http://www.photoshop.com/user/johndp/?trackingid=BTAGC&rlang=en_US&galleryid=598aa22ec09946aab1631c5dfd155751&wf=sharegrid
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Africa - Part 4 (Chobe)
Up early after a good nights sleep, I quietly eased out of the cabin to enjoy the morning. Jen had already ventured out, so Radhika was left to snooze away. The lawn sprinklers were on over various parts of the grounds, and I had to time it just right to make it to the bank of the river without getting irrigated. Didn’t see any guests out and about, but lodge staff were scattered around, doing their duties. Saw nothing of interest in or near the river, so I worked on my timing again to get past the sprinklers. Did well with my timing but poorly on foot placement, as I stepped into a mud hole formed by the sprinkler. Guess it would’ve been smart to tie my shoes too before I slipped out of the cabin in my pj bottoms and t-shirt, because soon I had both socked feet in the mud as I looked back over my shoulder to see my shoes firmly secured deep in the brown muck! I have to pat myself on the back, only because I kept myself from doing something even more asinine, and that was the momentary thought of putting my muddy-socked feet into my new, still clean-on-the-inside Columbia hiking shoes. I balanced on one foot as I peeled the pasty sock off and carefully slid my clean foot inside one shoe. I bent down tying it just enough to keep it securely on, and then pulled the other one from the mud. Think of a sink draining the final measure of water in a whirlpool and the sound it makes, adding a little “pop” at the end for sound effect. And it was so securely in there that my pulling took me down at first more so than pulling out the shoe! Getting it on and quickly tying it, I returned to the cabin where I quickly gave the socks a sink cleaning, hung them to dry, and put on a clean pair and joined everyone for breakfast. A pretty yellow bird was chirping overhead near a platform at the corner of our outdoor location. I took this to mean only one thing – it was hungry and one of the humans down below needs to put something tasty on the platform. There was a family with two young children near this platform, and when I placed a small piece of bread on it, the yellow bird came down immediately and pecked away. The kids especially loved this close up view and sat there in amazement until the bird finished and returned to the tree. A fun start to our day.
The entrance to Chobe is just a few minutes drive, so we were there in no time. Once past the gate, we came upon a turnoff to the right with a sign that indicates the direction for the river route, which is where we wanted to be. It took us perhaps 30 minutes or more to reach the river, because almost immediately we saw Impala, and stopped every few minutes to observe them. But our “show” began in earnest when we reached the river. There’s a track that runs along the river several kilometers in length that you slowly drive, stopping whenever the situation dictates…like watching a group of hippos or giving ground to a frisky male elephant that’s picking up sticks and slinging them with his trunk in your direction. As a matter-of-fact, hippos and a group of crocodiles were the first animals we saw along and in the river. Soon, we were seeing more impala, elephants, baboons, warthogs, zebra, kudu, and many types of birds. All either stayed at or in the river, or made their way to it at some point during the day. But Chobe is known for the highest concentration of elephants in Africa, and that is what we saw. Elephants of all ages, solo, in small groups, and large herds. They are so much more magnificent-looking in the wild than they are in a zoo. Even more so than when we rode on elephants in Nepal during a bush safari looking for rhinos. Warthogs loudly munching vegetation at the waters edge, impala and antelope constantly grazing, hippos mostly dozing along with crocs, and baboons making their way across the watery field to play in the trees and get to the dry ground across our track and into the forest. We slowly drove the length of the trail, and at the end it seemed to me to be a dead-end…you just turn around and go back in the same direction. There were a couple of turn-offs along the way that lead you into the park, away from the riverbank. We took one of them as we double-backed, and it took us through sandy areas and a scrub forest before we came upon a sign that indicated a right turn would take us onto something called the “upper route”. Jen, with her adventurous spirit was very keen on taking this, but I was skeptical, as none of us knew where this would lead us. After a brief discussion, I said we would drive on it for a little while, seeing where it takes us. Well, a little while turned into a couple of hours, and as more minutes passed without signs or any indication of where we were headed, nervous tension began to permeate the vehicle. We had a map of Chobe, but no trail was marked as “upper route”. There was no cell phone coverage. No GPS. We hadn’t come upon or been passed by another vehicle since taking this route. Not one sign was passed that indicated a destination, the length of the route, or where we were. It had become late afternoon. I was (and possibly not alone in this) thinking we might be sleeping in the CRV tonight somewhere in this wilderness. Minutes dragged on as we continued to pass only unremarkable terrain and large piles of elephant droppings. No signs to direct us still. No signs of anyone else out there with us. We were hoping to be led back to the riverbank, and every so often became hopeful, as the terrain seemed to be changing back to what was found near the river. But those hopes were dashed and the scrub forest went on and on. Cell phones were frequently checked for signal, maps were being passed back and forth, and then silence would fill the CRV for a while as I just drove slowly on. I glanced at the time on the dashboard often. We came to an intersection where there was deep sand, and it was decided that we would make a left. But the sand was too soft from the side we were on and I did not want to cut the wheel and bury the front tires, so I went straight through. I hoped I could find, from the other side, a way to gain some speed along the safest path to avoid getting stuck. The path straight looked very overgrown, with vegetation so close on either side it was impossible to pass without the constant scratching of branches on the sides of the CRV. I stopped and managed to turn around, and now made what was a right turn, getting through the soft sand. On we went, hoping we were headed in a direction that would soon reward us with a road sign or any sign of human life! Fading light and gas level added to our concerns as we made our way. But almost out of nowhere, we drove up a small hill and on the other side was a paved road!! Everything that was puckered-up from tension in that car was released in unison! A couple of cars went by, and just up the road there looked to be some kind of checkpoint, so we pulled up and asked someone if Kasane was in the direction we were traveling. It was, indeed! We had no idea where we were, but so glad to be out of our “lost” situation. When a policeman at the checkpoint asked if we had seen the lion with it’s kill along the side of the road back from the direction he thought we had come (he obviously didn’t see us emerge from the forest), we didn’t flinch from our desire to get to Kasane, fill the tank with gas, and just go back to our lodge. We were going to Victoria Falls the next morning, and had enough adventure today. The excitement of dinner, a shower, and sleep was all that I was looking forward to, to end this day. The album for this post can be found at:
http://www.photoshop.com/user/johndp/?wf=sharegrid&galleryid=e3c6b6809fae4764865f22da26354c38&rlang=en_US&trackingid=BTAGC
The entrance to Chobe is just a few minutes drive, so we were there in no time. Once past the gate, we came upon a turnoff to the right with a sign that indicates the direction for the river route, which is where we wanted to be. It took us perhaps 30 minutes or more to reach the river, because almost immediately we saw Impala, and stopped every few minutes to observe them. But our “show” began in earnest when we reached the river. There’s a track that runs along the river several kilometers in length that you slowly drive, stopping whenever the situation dictates…like watching a group of hippos or giving ground to a frisky male elephant that’s picking up sticks and slinging them with his trunk in your direction. As a matter-of-fact, hippos and a group of crocodiles were the first animals we saw along and in the river. Soon, we were seeing more impala, elephants, baboons, warthogs, zebra, kudu, and many types of birds. All either stayed at or in the river, or made their way to it at some point during the day. But Chobe is known for the highest concentration of elephants in Africa, and that is what we saw. Elephants of all ages, solo, in small groups, and large herds. They are so much more magnificent-looking in the wild than they are in a zoo. Even more so than when we rode on elephants in Nepal during a bush safari looking for rhinos. Warthogs loudly munching vegetation at the waters edge, impala and antelope constantly grazing, hippos mostly dozing along with crocs, and baboons making their way across the watery field to play in the trees and get to the dry ground across our track and into the forest. We slowly drove the length of the trail, and at the end it seemed to me to be a dead-end…you just turn around and go back in the same direction. There were a couple of turn-offs along the way that lead you into the park, away from the riverbank. We took one of them as we double-backed, and it took us through sandy areas and a scrub forest before we came upon a sign that indicated a right turn would take us onto something called the “upper route”. Jen, with her adventurous spirit was very keen on taking this, but I was skeptical, as none of us knew where this would lead us. After a brief discussion, I said we would drive on it for a little while, seeing where it takes us. Well, a little while turned into a couple of hours, and as more minutes passed without signs or any indication of where we were headed, nervous tension began to permeate the vehicle. We had a map of Chobe, but no trail was marked as “upper route”. There was no cell phone coverage. No GPS. We hadn’t come upon or been passed by another vehicle since taking this route. Not one sign was passed that indicated a destination, the length of the route, or where we were. It had become late afternoon. I was (and possibly not alone in this) thinking we might be sleeping in the CRV tonight somewhere in this wilderness. Minutes dragged on as we continued to pass only unremarkable terrain and large piles of elephant droppings. No signs to direct us still. No signs of anyone else out there with us. We were hoping to be led back to the riverbank, and every so often became hopeful, as the terrain seemed to be changing back to what was found near the river. But those hopes were dashed and the scrub forest went on and on. Cell phones were frequently checked for signal, maps were being passed back and forth, and then silence would fill the CRV for a while as I just drove slowly on. I glanced at the time on the dashboard often. We came to an intersection where there was deep sand, and it was decided that we would make a left. But the sand was too soft from the side we were on and I did not want to cut the wheel and bury the front tires, so I went straight through. I hoped I could find, from the other side, a way to gain some speed along the safest path to avoid getting stuck. The path straight looked very overgrown, with vegetation so close on either side it was impossible to pass without the constant scratching of branches on the sides of the CRV. I stopped and managed to turn around, and now made what was a right turn, getting through the soft sand. On we went, hoping we were headed in a direction that would soon reward us with a road sign or any sign of human life! Fading light and gas level added to our concerns as we made our way. But almost out of nowhere, we drove up a small hill and on the other side was a paved road!! Everything that was puckered-up from tension in that car was released in unison! A couple of cars went by, and just up the road there looked to be some kind of checkpoint, so we pulled up and asked someone if Kasane was in the direction we were traveling. It was, indeed! We had no idea where we were, but so glad to be out of our “lost” situation. When a policeman at the checkpoint asked if we had seen the lion with it’s kill along the side of the road back from the direction he thought we had come (he obviously didn’t see us emerge from the forest), we didn’t flinch from our desire to get to Kasane, fill the tank with gas, and just go back to our lodge. We were going to Victoria Falls the next morning, and had enough adventure today. The excitement of dinner, a shower, and sleep was all that I was looking forward to, to end this day. The album for this post can be found at:
http://www.photoshop.com/user/johndp/?wf=sharegrid&galleryid=e3c6b6809fae4764865f22da26354c38&rlang=en_US&trackingid=BTAGC
Friday, August 27, 2010
Africa - Part 3 (Maun to Kasane)
It’s our first morning in Botswana, and we’re to pick up our 4X4 and drive the trail through the parks for 6 hours to arrive in the northeastern town of Kasane, where we will spend 3 nights visiting Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls 90 minutes across the border into Zimbabwe. At least…that’s the plan.
We are dropped off at the airport with our baggage to pickup our 4X4 rental, a Nissan X-trail recommended to me by Auto Europe, who I contracted with online. They in turn subcontracted with Budget, so that’s where we headed. Instead of the X-trail, Marcus had a Honda CRV that he vouched would handle the park terrain that we would encounter. He said it had just been in the parks for the past few days by the previous renter. I was slightly skeptical, but reasoning that this man had more knowledge of the area than I, was okay with it. I thought the vehicle had “on demand” 4 wheel drive, as I saw nothing from the driver’s seat that indicated manual engagement for 4 wheel drive operation (No, I didn’t bothered to look underneath). So, we load up and drive to what the map says is the office where we get permits to drive through the parks. We stop at what we think is the area where we will find the office. Radhika gets out and walks around – I wait a bit but then get out and walk in the direction she did. Finding her, we determine there’s no office here. Someone we ask says it’s further down the road, so we load up and drive on, stopping at the next location the office won’t be at! The building looks empty and is being painted and worked on. I walk around but don’t see anything close to what we are looking for. A rudimentary cardboard sign half torn off is stuck on the fence around the perimeter, indicating the office has moved. Ugh! Meanwhile…tick, tick, tick…the day is advancing and it’s now 11am. A woman sits in an official-looking jeep not far from us, so I ask her about the park office we are trying to find. She tells us where it is – luckily it’s not too far. From her clothing, paperwork, what looks like animal traps, and tools, I make out that she’s a researcher of some type. She looks at the CRV and doesn’t convey a lot of confidence – kind of like “You’re gonna take THAT into the park”? Uh-oh moment number one. We make it to the park office, where there are others getting served, as well. We tell them what we want and that we’re driving through the parks to Kasane. “It’s too late for that”. Uh-oh moment number two. “What do you mean too late”, I ask, “I understand it takes 6 hours to go from here to Kasane through the parks”. Again I hear, “It’s too late. Do you have a place to stay inside the park”? Uh-oh moment number three. “No. We have reservations for tonight in Kasane.” We’re told we need proof we are staying inside the park to enter the park. Uh-oh moment number four. Looks like we’ll have to lose our first $300 night for the lodge in Kasane and stay in the park tonight. I’m not a big fan of this idea, but Jen seemed to feel strongly about not going the alternate route, which involved a 6-hour drive on paved roads east from Maun to Nata for 3 hours and then another 3 hours north on a paved road to Kasane. So, we ask if we can get a place in the park. “Probably not at this late notice”. Uh-oh moment number five. Can you check for availability at any of the locations that would be along our route? “No”. We were told we have to drive to another place to get a place to stay. Oh, and this park office closes at 12:45, so you have a little over an hour. Jen asks if they can place a call to them to see if they have availability. “No”. Uh-oh moments 6 thru 8!!!!! By now I am irritated. All the pre-trip work and information I did to make it easier seemed to be a waste of time. It wasted my time as I was doing it and wasting even more valuable time now that we were in the moment. As we were dealing with the questions in the park office, I asked a fairly dirty-looking young guy who was with a group of tourists if he had been in the park. He said he had, and they had been in Savuti recently, which is about halfway to Kasane. He said Savuti is very sandy and tough going, doubted the 6-hour drive time, and asked what we were driving in. I pointed out the window to the CRV, and his expression was much like the female researcher, and may have even said something along the lines of “Yeah, I wouldn’t try taking that in there”. SHIT!!! I’m sick of uh-oh moments! WTF! One of the ladies from the park office looks out the window – imagine the expression of someone looking across a bottomless chasm that’s 8 feet 4 inches wide and they need to jump across that to get away from a man-eating lion, but knowing their best long jump EVER was a wind-aided 8 feet 3 inches. That’s what we kept seeing when we told anyone we were driving that CRV into Moremi. The “Yeah…right…sure you are” look. So, we go to this place to look into a place to stay inside. There’s a guy already inside ranting and raving about the backwards procedures that they are making him follow, and that they won’t take his Euros but gladly accept the lowly American dollar. I agreed with him, but man he was about to pop a vein! Why these departments were not in the same office space, or at least in the same building is a puzzle. So, we find out there’s space in one of the camps. Momentary joy, until I say, “Wait a minute. Is this a tent, lodge, or just a site where we have to provide everything”? Yep, our last uh-oh minute because from that point on I just wanted to hop in the CRV and drive the 6 hours to Kasane across the paved roads. We could still stay on schedule, but we had to leave soon because driving at night was not something I looked forward having to do! We scrambled back to the park office before it closed, getting Chobe Park tickets for the next day. A couple of stops for maps and drinks, a missed turn that quickly turned into a dirt road, a correction, and then we were finally on our way around 1pm.
It was actually nice getting on the relatively smooth road and driving. There were some things of interest along the way, villages, a couple of pissed-off ostriches, weird birds that didn’t quite get out of the way of the vehicles all the time, but mostly it was scrub and construction. Not even much vehicle traffic. The steering wheel being on the right side and driving on the left doesn’t bother me anymore, even with stick. We stopped in Nata for gas, which is ridiculously cheap in Botswana. If the US was still charging that low for gas everyone would still have their Hummers and guzzling SUV’s (remember those?). A drink, snack, and stretch and we were back on the road.
The sun was hanging low, light getting dim, and we weren’t in Kasane. You have to picture a road, and on either side no fence or barrier. We were seeing wart hogs here and there, and who knows what else was out there. During one stretch there was one to two foot tall grass right up to the asphalt edge. Anything could come zipping out and either be road kill or cause us problems. I was not willing to alter the path of the vehicle too dramatically to avoid hitting anything smaller than a medium-sized dog. I figured I would have enough warning with an elephant, zebra, and the like. I did moderately steer around a small antelope that luckily froze in its tracks on the road. I can’t recall if I steered in front or behind it. I just know I didn’t steer over it. Radhika freaked a little when the headlights illuminated it, but breathed a sigh of relief, as I did, when we successfully passed it. After that, I dropped my speed down a bit, as I was sure we were pretty close to Kubu Lodge. Of course we ended up at the Botswana-Zimbabwe border, making a u-turn realizing we were off course. It didn’t take too long to find our bearings and arrive safely at our destination. What a great feeling of relief. Our place was nice, the dinner fantastic, and the shower and bed felt so good. A day of unpleasant, unplanned for adventure, had finally come to a close. Tomorrow, the planned adventure of Chobe National Park will be the order of the day.
We are dropped off at the airport with our baggage to pickup our 4X4 rental, a Nissan X-trail recommended to me by Auto Europe, who I contracted with online. They in turn subcontracted with Budget, so that’s where we headed. Instead of the X-trail, Marcus had a Honda CRV that he vouched would handle the park terrain that we would encounter. He said it had just been in the parks for the past few days by the previous renter. I was slightly skeptical, but reasoning that this man had more knowledge of the area than I, was okay with it. I thought the vehicle had “on demand” 4 wheel drive, as I saw nothing from the driver’s seat that indicated manual engagement for 4 wheel drive operation (No, I didn’t bothered to look underneath). So, we load up and drive to what the map says is the office where we get permits to drive through the parks. We stop at what we think is the area where we will find the office. Radhika gets out and walks around – I wait a bit but then get out and walk in the direction she did. Finding her, we determine there’s no office here. Someone we ask says it’s further down the road, so we load up and drive on, stopping at the next location the office won’t be at! The building looks empty and is being painted and worked on. I walk around but don’t see anything close to what we are looking for. A rudimentary cardboard sign half torn off is stuck on the fence around the perimeter, indicating the office has moved. Ugh! Meanwhile…tick, tick, tick…the day is advancing and it’s now 11am. A woman sits in an official-looking jeep not far from us, so I ask her about the park office we are trying to find. She tells us where it is – luckily it’s not too far. From her clothing, paperwork, what looks like animal traps, and tools, I make out that she’s a researcher of some type. She looks at the CRV and doesn’t convey a lot of confidence – kind of like “You’re gonna take THAT into the park”? Uh-oh moment number one. We make it to the park office, where there are others getting served, as well. We tell them what we want and that we’re driving through the parks to Kasane. “It’s too late for that”. Uh-oh moment number two. “What do you mean too late”, I ask, “I understand it takes 6 hours to go from here to Kasane through the parks”. Again I hear, “It’s too late. Do you have a place to stay inside the park”? Uh-oh moment number three. “No. We have reservations for tonight in Kasane.” We’re told we need proof we are staying inside the park to enter the park. Uh-oh moment number four. Looks like we’ll have to lose our first $300 night for the lodge in Kasane and stay in the park tonight. I’m not a big fan of this idea, but Jen seemed to feel strongly about not going the alternate route, which involved a 6-hour drive on paved roads east from Maun to Nata for 3 hours and then another 3 hours north on a paved road to Kasane. So, we ask if we can get a place in the park. “Probably not at this late notice”. Uh-oh moment number five. Can you check for availability at any of the locations that would be along our route? “No”. We were told we have to drive to another place to get a place to stay. Oh, and this park office closes at 12:45, so you have a little over an hour. Jen asks if they can place a call to them to see if they have availability. “No”. Uh-oh moments 6 thru 8!!!!! By now I am irritated. All the pre-trip work and information I did to make it easier seemed to be a waste of time. It wasted my time as I was doing it and wasting even more valuable time now that we were in the moment. As we were dealing with the questions in the park office, I asked a fairly dirty-looking young guy who was with a group of tourists if he had been in the park. He said he had, and they had been in Savuti recently, which is about halfway to Kasane. He said Savuti is very sandy and tough going, doubted the 6-hour drive time, and asked what we were driving in. I pointed out the window to the CRV, and his expression was much like the female researcher, and may have even said something along the lines of “Yeah, I wouldn’t try taking that in there”. SHIT!!! I’m sick of uh-oh moments! WTF! One of the ladies from the park office looks out the window – imagine the expression of someone looking across a bottomless chasm that’s 8 feet 4 inches wide and they need to jump across that to get away from a man-eating lion, but knowing their best long jump EVER was a wind-aided 8 feet 3 inches. That’s what we kept seeing when we told anyone we were driving that CRV into Moremi. The “Yeah…right…sure you are” look. So, we go to this place to look into a place to stay inside. There’s a guy already inside ranting and raving about the backwards procedures that they are making him follow, and that they won’t take his Euros but gladly accept the lowly American dollar. I agreed with him, but man he was about to pop a vein! Why these departments were not in the same office space, or at least in the same building is a puzzle. So, we find out there’s space in one of the camps. Momentary joy, until I say, “Wait a minute. Is this a tent, lodge, or just a site where we have to provide everything”? Yep, our last uh-oh minute because from that point on I just wanted to hop in the CRV and drive the 6 hours to Kasane across the paved roads. We could still stay on schedule, but we had to leave soon because driving at night was not something I looked forward having to do! We scrambled back to the park office before it closed, getting Chobe Park tickets for the next day. A couple of stops for maps and drinks, a missed turn that quickly turned into a dirt road, a correction, and then we were finally on our way around 1pm.
It was actually nice getting on the relatively smooth road and driving. There were some things of interest along the way, villages, a couple of pissed-off ostriches, weird birds that didn’t quite get out of the way of the vehicles all the time, but mostly it was scrub and construction. Not even much vehicle traffic. The steering wheel being on the right side and driving on the left doesn’t bother me anymore, even with stick. We stopped in Nata for gas, which is ridiculously cheap in Botswana. If the US was still charging that low for gas everyone would still have their Hummers and guzzling SUV’s (remember those?). A drink, snack, and stretch and we were back on the road.
The sun was hanging low, light getting dim, and we weren’t in Kasane. You have to picture a road, and on either side no fence or barrier. We were seeing wart hogs here and there, and who knows what else was out there. During one stretch there was one to two foot tall grass right up to the asphalt edge. Anything could come zipping out and either be road kill or cause us problems. I was not willing to alter the path of the vehicle too dramatically to avoid hitting anything smaller than a medium-sized dog. I figured I would have enough warning with an elephant, zebra, and the like. I did moderately steer around a small antelope that luckily froze in its tracks on the road. I can’t recall if I steered in front or behind it. I just know I didn’t steer over it. Radhika freaked a little when the headlights illuminated it, but breathed a sigh of relief, as I did, when we successfully passed it. After that, I dropped my speed down a bit, as I was sure we were pretty close to Kubu Lodge. Of course we ended up at the Botswana-Zimbabwe border, making a u-turn realizing we were off course. It didn’t take too long to find our bearings and arrive safely at our destination. What a great feeling of relief. Our place was nice, the dinner fantastic, and the shower and bed felt so good. A day of unpleasant, unplanned for adventure, had finally come to a close. Tomorrow, the planned adventure of Chobe National Park will be the order of the day.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Africa - Part 2 (Johannesburg)
We left Amsterdam in the evening, taking the bus from Leidseplein to the airport. Of course the stop was closed at Leidseplein and temporarily moved to Overtoom, so we missed the first bus but caught the following one. It’s not uncommon or unexpected to have a “hitch” in the beginning of our trip. Jennifer was already there waiting for us. A little background – Jennifer is my second cousin who has been teaching in Amsterdam at one of the international schools for several years. One of my cousins in California told me about her being here and we met for the first time a little over a year ago. I know, small world! Anyway, we had a connection in Paris, and our flight was roughly 30% full. That allowed each of us to stretch out in the middle aisle across four seats for the long-haul portion of the journey, and grab some sleep overnight. It was one week after the World Cup final, and people were leaving Johannesburg en masse, but the numbers going were far fewer. We lucked out. This double-decker monster was practically all ours. Jennifer said she didn’t sleep much, but I was out most of the time and Radhika said she managed some shut-eye too, which is rare for her.
We landed mid-morning of the 22nd, and Nicky from Chamonix Guest Lodge was there to meet us. I always get a kick when I see my name on a sign being held at receiving once we leave customs. I even have a few tucked away somewhere. I know – such a child. Anyway, after exchanging some Euros for Rands, we made our way to the van and Nicky drove us to the lodge where we were staying. It was near the airport, as we had no plans to explore the city or area, having booked a flight out the next morning for Botswana. The place is very nice, beyond my expectations! I have learned to be optimistically cautious regarding what is viewed on my screen and what lies before me when standing there at the location. What was striking when we pulled up was the cinderblock wall that surrounded our lodge and all of the other properties in the area. On top of each wall was barbed wire, razor wire, electrified wire, or a random combination. This was curious, as we had never seen this type of “protection” before to such great lengths outside a prison. We were told it is because of “corruption”. That choice of word was puzzling. We would see this again later, and hear different reasoning. We did get settled, cleaned up a little, and then Nicky took us into Johannesburg. We went to the top of the tallest building on the continent for the view. Afterwards, Nicky went back to the lodge, leaving us to wander around and grab a bite, picking us up later that evening. The city wasn’t too inviting. A little rugged – raw. Some old buildings and churches amongst the newer construction. Fires in 50-gallon drums on dark streets keeping people warm on this chilly night. The people seemed mostly friendly. I can’t say the city and I connected, but I’m going by only a few hours. No burning desire to return. So, Radhika and Jen had some alcohol-enhanced convo at dinner, and I soberly listened. Can anyone explain to me the benefits of combining too much alcohol with anything, or where enhancement is the result? Okay, maybe parties. I’ll give you that one. We all know driving a car isn’t a bright idea. Sex and alcohol? - if you want to fumble and slobber your way through it. I’ve seen intelligent people try to hold conversations after imbibing a tad too much. It just doesn’t work. Anyway, I digress. The next morning we ate our breakfast, took our showers, settled the bill, and headed back to the airport for the flight to Botswana. I did take pictures during this period. Funny thing – I can’t find them anywhere! I have never “lost” image files before. I vaguely remember downloading a card to my Mac in the room at Chamonix, but so far I have turned up not a one. Damn! Just figured it out. I used Radhika’s Panasonic point and shoot while we were in Johannesburg. Whew. Thought maybe I had one too many beers somewhere along the way and deleted files. What I actually downloaded at the lodge were Radhika’s files from her camera. Never mind. So now I can put some images in an album for this post. Not much, but it’s what I came away with. Click on the “link to albums” found at upper right, and when you get to the site find and choose the Johannesburg album and run a slide show. I’ll have an album of images for each post from here on out. The address for the album is http://www.photoshop.com/user/johndp/?rlang=en_US&galleryid=01aefb7f75c64a3eb29782c0b5be34bb&wf=sharegrid&trackingid=BTAGC
We landed mid-morning of the 22nd, and Nicky from Chamonix Guest Lodge was there to meet us. I always get a kick when I see my name on a sign being held at receiving once we leave customs. I even have a few tucked away somewhere. I know – such a child. Anyway, after exchanging some Euros for Rands, we made our way to the van and Nicky drove us to the lodge where we were staying. It was near the airport, as we had no plans to explore the city or area, having booked a flight out the next morning for Botswana. The place is very nice, beyond my expectations! I have learned to be optimistically cautious regarding what is viewed on my screen and what lies before me when standing there at the location. What was striking when we pulled up was the cinderblock wall that surrounded our lodge and all of the other properties in the area. On top of each wall was barbed wire, razor wire, electrified wire, or a random combination. This was curious, as we had never seen this type of “protection” before to such great lengths outside a prison. We were told it is because of “corruption”. That choice of word was puzzling. We would see this again later, and hear different reasoning. We did get settled, cleaned up a little, and then Nicky took us into Johannesburg. We went to the top of the tallest building on the continent for the view. Afterwards, Nicky went back to the lodge, leaving us to wander around and grab a bite, picking us up later that evening. The city wasn’t too inviting. A little rugged – raw. Some old buildings and churches amongst the newer construction. Fires in 50-gallon drums on dark streets keeping people warm on this chilly night. The people seemed mostly friendly. I can’t say the city and I connected, but I’m going by only a few hours. No burning desire to return. So, Radhika and Jen had some alcohol-enhanced convo at dinner, and I soberly listened. Can anyone explain to me the benefits of combining too much alcohol with anything, or where enhancement is the result? Okay, maybe parties. I’ll give you that one. We all know driving a car isn’t a bright idea. Sex and alcohol? - if you want to fumble and slobber your way through it. I’ve seen intelligent people try to hold conversations after imbibing a tad too much. It just doesn’t work. Anyway, I digress. The next morning we ate our breakfast, took our showers, settled the bill, and headed back to the airport for the flight to Botswana. I did take pictures during this period. Funny thing – I can’t find them anywhere! I have never “lost” image files before. I vaguely remember downloading a card to my Mac in the room at Chamonix, but so far I have turned up not a one. Damn! Just figured it out. I used Radhika’s Panasonic point and shoot while we were in Johannesburg. Whew. Thought maybe I had one too many beers somewhere along the way and deleted files. What I actually downloaded at the lodge were Radhika’s files from her camera. Never mind. So now I can put some images in an album for this post. Not much, but it’s what I came away with. Click on the “link to albums” found at upper right, and when you get to the site find and choose the Johannesburg album and run a slide show. I’ll have an album of images for each post from here on out. The address for the album is http://www.photoshop.com/user/johndp/?rlang=en_US&galleryid=01aefb7f75c64a3eb29782c0b5be34bb&wf=sharegrid&trackingid=BTAGC
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Africa - Part 1
As many of you know, we took a trip to southern Africa over a 23 day period spanning July and August. I can say the planning rivaled the China trip we took 3 years ago in terms of difficulty! Actually, it was more difficult in several respects. One was booking places to stay. Hotel, lodge, guesthouse, bed and breakfast - it didn't matter. You had to make sure your schedule was set and wouldn't change, because there are no refunds. You cannot "reserve" accommodation at most places. Some allow for 24 hours, but after that you have to make payment or lose it. So, our schedule had to be set first, then our flights which there were 4 of within Africa, before I could commit to the places we would stay overnight. Another problem was logistics - driving from one place to another. What were the road conditions? How long does it really take? We did no driving ourselves in China, but that was not possible in Botswana, Namibia, or even South Africa due to the places we were visiting. Public transportation is not an option. Can't take a bus into Chobe National Park nor a ferry across the Okavango Delta! The trip was centered around my 2nd cousin Jennifer's week-long stint in Namibia where she was doing field work for her degree, and her return from the US before the Africa trip and her return to work teaching at the ISA in Amsterdam. We knew the beginning and ending dates, as well as where she needed to be between August 1st and the 9th. Everything else was built around this information.
So I sent requests for information from the tourist agencies of the countries we would visit. Namibia sent useful information quite quickly, but what Botswana sent was very lacking and came late. It was virtually of no use. The local sources in Amsterdam had limited information and it was all in Dutch, as well. The internet was my main source for information and tool for booking. Days and days were spent researching where to go, when to go, how to get there. I spoke to friends who had gone to Africa. Jyoti and Rajat in India had a great trip to the continent several years ago, but it turns out they went to central eastern countries, so I couldn't use their information. Right here in Amsterdam Brad and Natalia went just last year, but they went mainly east once they hit Johannesburg. I was able to use the agency they did for our time in Cape Town. Ultimately that wasn't as smooth as I had hoped for. More about that later. Justina, a friend in Amsterdam, had visited the areas we were scoping out, but it was so long ago that her memory was weak and probably so much had changed anyway. So I was basically starting from scratch.
Research, blogs, trip advisor, Google - site to site gathering and recording information day after day. Three weeks and a couple of days may sound like a lot of time fro a holiday, but there's no such thing as "enough" time for 99% of the places we have visited. Once I had a comprehensive list of places to visit, the hard task of editing that list down began. Of course many of those places that were removed from the list during the editing process due to time limitations were mentioned later once we were in the area by locals or other visitors who said you "can't miss" it. Well, we're just going to have to "miss it" as there's not enough time in 23 days to see everything you want in places such as these. Many articles I read indicated a need to book places a year in advance due to popularity and scarcity. Once I got into the "meat" of planning this adventure, I barely had a month. As a matter-of-fact, one flight (between Cape Town and Johannesburg on the back end of the trip), the last detail of the entire journey, was finalized AFTER we landed in Johannesburg! I had a hell of a time booking 4X4's. Reply after reply came back from my inquiry indicating "sold out". The 4X4 we initially had in Botswana from Budget wasn't even a 4X4, though I was told it was!! We drove a Honda CRV for 3 1/2 days before turning it in and getting a Toyota Hilux. That CRV would NEVER have handled the sand and water we would later encounter in Moremi Wildlife Game Reserve!! Namibia was the same - out of the dozen or more car hire companies I contacted only 2 came back with one vehicle left. It didn't help that we were going during their high season, so rooms and vehicles were hot property. Responses for many came slow because many don't have internet access on their premises, or services were down for 5 days I was told in one case. So I played the waiting game a couple of times trying to get the place to stay that I favored over others. Once I committed to my second choice when time was getting short only to have the first choice respond several days later when it was too late. Suffice to say it was a lot of work, many details, a little tense at times trying to make the right decision for everyone, keeping the budget low while providing nice places to stay, and keeping unpleasant surprises from ruining the experience. It's good to know that some places had no grocery stores, or that gas stations are spotty, at best, and in Namibia they only accept "gas cards" or cash. ATM's? Apparently Visa IS NOT everywhere you want to be! ATM's love the taste of plastic in Namibia. You need to go to several places in Maun to get access to Chobe or Moremi. You are told you cannot buy a pass at the gate - and then you get to the gate after jumping through hoops of fire earlier to buy passes and they tell you "Sure, you can buy passes here at the gate." WTF?!?!?!?!!!! You had to keep telling yourself "It's a developing country...relax".
So as you can tell, as much as I tried we still had surprises in store for us. Like reading time and again online that it takes 6 hours to drive through the parks (Moremi and Chobe) to go between Maun and Kasane. In reality, it's a 24 hour ordeal. Details about this later, too. I just wanted to drop a little info on the planning process. The three of us met at least twice to discuss the trip beforehand. The first time we pulled the trigger and Jen bought our round trip tickets, as the price for them was just getting higher. I'll start on the actual trip in the next post. But know that this was a trip for all trips! More different than any other trip we have ever taken in many ways. I will include an album of images that cover the area I talk about in the post. None for the planning stages (could've taken a pic of me sitting at the laptop, but really, who wants to see that?). Africa was terrific in so many ways. Not a trip for the pampered. You're going to get a little dirt under the fingernails. You have to be okay with that. You may get a little cold for a while, and sweat the next day. May get a bug bite, sleep on an uncomfortable mattress. But the experience will blow you away.
So I sent requests for information from the tourist agencies of the countries we would visit. Namibia sent useful information quite quickly, but what Botswana sent was very lacking and came late. It was virtually of no use. The local sources in Amsterdam had limited information and it was all in Dutch, as well. The internet was my main source for information and tool for booking. Days and days were spent researching where to go, when to go, how to get there. I spoke to friends who had gone to Africa. Jyoti and Rajat in India had a great trip to the continent several years ago, but it turns out they went to central eastern countries, so I couldn't use their information. Right here in Amsterdam Brad and Natalia went just last year, but they went mainly east once they hit Johannesburg. I was able to use the agency they did for our time in Cape Town. Ultimately that wasn't as smooth as I had hoped for. More about that later. Justina, a friend in Amsterdam, had visited the areas we were scoping out, but it was so long ago that her memory was weak and probably so much had changed anyway. So I was basically starting from scratch.
Research, blogs, trip advisor, Google - site to site gathering and recording information day after day. Three weeks and a couple of days may sound like a lot of time fro a holiday, but there's no such thing as "enough" time for 99% of the places we have visited. Once I had a comprehensive list of places to visit, the hard task of editing that list down began. Of course many of those places that were removed from the list during the editing process due to time limitations were mentioned later once we were in the area by locals or other visitors who said you "can't miss" it. Well, we're just going to have to "miss it" as there's not enough time in 23 days to see everything you want in places such as these. Many articles I read indicated a need to book places a year in advance due to popularity and scarcity. Once I got into the "meat" of planning this adventure, I barely had a month. As a matter-of-fact, one flight (between Cape Town and Johannesburg on the back end of the trip), the last detail of the entire journey, was finalized AFTER we landed in Johannesburg! I had a hell of a time booking 4X4's. Reply after reply came back from my inquiry indicating "sold out". The 4X4 we initially had in Botswana from Budget wasn't even a 4X4, though I was told it was!! We drove a Honda CRV for 3 1/2 days before turning it in and getting a Toyota Hilux. That CRV would NEVER have handled the sand and water we would later encounter in Moremi Wildlife Game Reserve!! Namibia was the same - out of the dozen or more car hire companies I contacted only 2 came back with one vehicle left. It didn't help that we were going during their high season, so rooms and vehicles were hot property. Responses for many came slow because many don't have internet access on their premises, or services were down for 5 days I was told in one case. So I played the waiting game a couple of times trying to get the place to stay that I favored over others. Once I committed to my second choice when time was getting short only to have the first choice respond several days later when it was too late. Suffice to say it was a lot of work, many details, a little tense at times trying to make the right decision for everyone, keeping the budget low while providing nice places to stay, and keeping unpleasant surprises from ruining the experience. It's good to know that some places had no grocery stores, or that gas stations are spotty, at best, and in Namibia they only accept "gas cards" or cash. ATM's? Apparently Visa IS NOT everywhere you want to be! ATM's love the taste of plastic in Namibia. You need to go to several places in Maun to get access to Chobe or Moremi. You are told you cannot buy a pass at the gate - and then you get to the gate after jumping through hoops of fire earlier to buy passes and they tell you "Sure, you can buy passes here at the gate." WTF?!?!?!?!!!! You had to keep telling yourself "It's a developing country...relax".
So as you can tell, as much as I tried we still had surprises in store for us. Like reading time and again online that it takes 6 hours to drive through the parks (Moremi and Chobe) to go between Maun and Kasane. In reality, it's a 24 hour ordeal. Details about this later, too. I just wanted to drop a little info on the planning process. The three of us met at least twice to discuss the trip beforehand. The first time we pulled the trigger and Jen bought our round trip tickets, as the price for them was just getting higher. I'll start on the actual trip in the next post. But know that this was a trip for all trips! More different than any other trip we have ever taken in many ways. I will include an album of images that cover the area I talk about in the post. None for the planning stages (could've taken a pic of me sitting at the laptop, but really, who wants to see that?). Africa was terrific in so many ways. Not a trip for the pampered. You're going to get a little dirt under the fingernails. You have to be okay with that. You may get a little cold for a while, and sweat the next day. May get a bug bite, sleep on an uncomfortable mattress. But the experience will blow you away.
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