hello! i'm finally back and re-settled in after my crazy spring (fall) break. I was on an 11 day whirlwind overland trip to botswana, zambia and zimbabwe with 50 american students.
The trip started on saturday morning at 4:45 with me in not very good spirits. I was probably the only person in the group to not be excited. I was angry with one particular person, and also depressed because i was assigned to a truck that none of my friends were on. After the early morning flight to Jo'burg and a brief, uneventful ride on a truck where i knew no one, we hit a rest stop for lunch. At this rest stop i discovered that there was a girl on the truck with all my friends (the elephant truck) who didn't know anyone, while all her friends were on my truck (the lion truck). so we made a permanent swap and i got to spend the rest of the trip with my friends. Thank goodness for this since the trucks were very much separated even though we were stopping at the same campgrounds. Also i discovered that i better learn to like tomatoes and cucumbers on my sandwiches because otherwise my plain sandwich of mystery meat, cheese and iceberg lettuce was going to get very boring. That first night on the bus people started drinking and dancing and being crazy. i just observed because i was still in a weird funk from prior to the trip and didn't feel like joining in just yet. That night we reached a very nice campground in Palapye (Botswana) where a delicious dinner of steak and garlic bread was waiting for us.
Each day we'd usually wake up to tea and cookies, take down camp, hit the road then stop on the side of the road somewhere for a breakfast of bread, cereal, yogurt, bananas when we were lucky, and jam. Then we'd keep driving and if we'd reached our destination we'd have lunch there, otherwise on the side of the road. Lunch was always cold sandwiches and we usually didn't know what kind of funky bologna combo we were eating. Then we'd either have activities or more driving. Dinner was always delicious with wonderful meat and pasta or rice and grilled vegetables. On our trucks we had a cook (Benson) and a driver (Jarius). They were awesome and had so many interesting stories to tell us throughout the trip. They were also very good at bribing border officials so that we could get across in only a few hours instead of a few days like it took many poor locals. more on that later. We were sharing 2 person tents and had really comfy roll up mats provided for us. The truck had regular seats as well as 2 tables with 4 seats around each one for playing card games and such. There was also a round seating area in the front of the truck. We had Mike, the guy who organized our trip, on our bus, as well as his friend Ian and a girl who worked for the adventure company named Mandy.
The 2nd day we woke up early and headed out on the road again for another full day's drive. We went all the way to Maun, which is an hour away from the Okavengo Delta (our first real destination). That day was fairly uneventful. The bus ride was extremely long, but i was at least starting to feel more comfortable around the group again. Botswana is really really hot compared to south africa and so much more empty. We would drive for miles without seeing anything but bush and the occasional donkey. Then we'd see a small town with some round huts and lots of little children waving at us. There was usually a small general store and a petrol station and a bar, and that was it. It's weird that Botswana is so empty because it's currency, the Pula, is actually more valuable that the South African Rand. That night we went to the campground bar to hang out and then went to bed reasonably early because we were all so excited for the next morning when we would enter the Delta.
We woke up the third day and took down the campsite. we loaded all of our gear onto open trucks that were going to take us to the edge of the delta. We drove along dirt roads for 1.5 hours until we got to the edge, where the marshes started. There was about 50 locals waiting for us with their makoros. Makoros are hand carved canoes made out of the sausage tree. The polers push them through the marshes with 10 ft sticks that they also carve themselves. There were 2 of us in each boat and we layed down on top of our luggage. I was sharing with my friend Tim and we almost sunk our makoro. i'm the biggest girl and he was the 2nd biggest guy and well it wasn't great for the self esteem. but actually our makoro was poorly made and very shallow. Even later on when tiny little girls rode in it, it still nearly sunk. so that made us feel a little better. Everyone got sunburnt on the trip to our campsite because it was sooo hot out. Our poler, Matthew, gave us a book of local wildlife to look at during the boat ride. Tim decided it would be best to read about all the meanest, scary things like the crocodile, the baboon spider and various pythons. however, we soon found out that the actual meanest animals in the delta are the mosquitos. When we got to camp we all laid out our sleeping mats on a clearing since we weren't going to be using tents in the delta. Someone dug some holes to be used as a latrine and we all went swimming in a natural swimming hole. The water was sooo nice, except we were all a little afraid to venture more than a few yards from the hole because of the risk of crocodiles. We also used all the delta water as our drinking and cooking water over those few days. The delta is a fresh water river that doesn't flow into the ocean. It just sort of stops at the Kalahari desert, but it still has a current. This creates a very marshy land rich with wildlife. To be honest, i don't really understand how it works. The first afternoon, after much swimming and napping, we went on our first game walk. KC was our leader and we didn't see much besides termite mounds, an elephant mud hole and various dung. That night after dinner we hung out around the campfire playing card games with our polers. They taught us a fun game called "Blind" and we taught them games as well. That night while we tried to sleep we all got attacked by mosquitos and ants and were all so lumpy and itchy the next morning that we looked radioactive.
The 2nd day in the delta we woke up early for a long game walk. This time we saw a lot more things. We saw zebra and wildebeest. the wildebeest hang out with the zebras because wildebeest have very poor eyesight. We also saw a couple very large elephants. A warthog ran right past us. It was cool to stomp around as quietly as possible through all the grass. The grass is sharp and often goes up higher than your waist. For the rest of that day we napped, swam and hung out. That night we went on a sunset cruise in the makoros to an area where there were some dried elephant tusks. We all tried to pick them up - they were so heavy. When an elephant dies the rest of the family mourns it. elephants have a very good memory and are very emotional. They often create areas where they bring their dead bodies, like a graveyard. After the cruise we had dinner and then the polers sang and did skits for us around the fire. Since our whole group knew that some of us were taking african dance they encouraged us to perform for the polers. We had them create a beat and then we did some dances for everyone. It was really fun and i think they were impressed by our moves.
During the night i couldn't sleep because i heard a lot of animals. I thought i heard lots of hooves and then at one point all the hooves started running. I thought there was going to be a stampede right into our camp! The next morning on our last game walk my suspicions were confirmed when we saw a large amount of zebra tracks and dung right outside our camp as well as hyena tracks. clearly we almost saw a hyena attack in the middle of the night. After the last walk we packed up camp and had a makoro ride back to the edge of the delta. We said thanks and goodbye to all the polers. They were so friendly and the experience of them teaching us so much about their home was really unique. They all know the delta like the back of their hand and we learned a ton. After that we went back to Maun and showered at the campground (we were completely filthy). From there it was on to Nata, a campground in northern botswana. We had all bought some alcohol and snacks in Maun before we left and so we had a little party on the bus on the way there.
The next day we continued on to Chobe National Park. On the way there were constantly elephants by the side of the road. One giant male tried to charge our truck. It was pretty scary. Also along the way there are lots of veterinary stops to help curb the spread of foot and mouth disease. You all have to get out of the bus and bring all the shoes you have and walk through this disenfectant stuff. It's really disgusting and i'm pretty sure it's completely ineffective. Botswana was very much like our stereotypical image of "africa." So much so that when South Africans leave the country they say they are going to "africa." They consider South Africa to be something completely different. Which it is. For instance the South African border operates with computers and technology. The Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe border control all have large notepads and pencils. That night in Chobe we went on a sunset game cruise. We saw an elephant scratch an itch, some fish eagles, a crocodile and a huge family of hippos. We actually saw the hippos fighting! it was awesome! Also we got to hang out and get a little silly.
The next morning we woke up exceptionally early to go on a game drive in Chobe. We saw tons of baboons. A lot of the mothers were carrying their newborn babies around. We also saw kudu, springbok, a giraffe and a bunch of warthogs. At one point our driver said he saw a lion, but i think he was lying. from there we drove to the zambian border. To get to Zambia you have to cross the Zambezi river. They only have 2 small ferries and one is kind of broken. Because of this there is a 2.5 day wait to get into Zambia. However, because we were white and bribed them with cigarettes and other things, we only had to wait in the hot sun for 4 hours to get onto the ferry. Then we got into Zambia and were immediately harassed by people trying to sell us things. It was a pretty stark difference between Botswana and Zambia. Botswana was much mellower and friendlier, Zambia was harsh and intense. There were lots of posters up at the border about women remaining virgins. One said "a real woman waits" and someone had graffittied on it "and then she gets old." The anti-AIDS campaigns around there seem to not really be well received. People kept trying to trick us out of our ballpoint pens, apparently they are extremely valuable around there. Also for some reason a lot of people were crossing the border with bedding sets.
As soon as we got to the Zambezi Waterfront Campground, a very high class place, we went to the falls. The water level is uncommonly high right now, so high that no one is allowed to go rafting (one of the main adventure attractions). However, this means that the spray of the falls is much more powerful and impressive. As soon as we got close to the falls we were drenched by the spray. I had not so smartly chosen to wear a white wifebeater with a dark bra and therefore was declared the ultimate winner of the wet tshirt contest. It was really unbelievable how wet we all got. The spray was so intense and the mist so thick that you could hardly even see the falls. After walking around it got dark, but we were there on a full moon. Every once in awhile, when the water level is high and there is a full moon, a phenomenon called a lunar rainbow is created in the mist above the falls. We actually got to see it and it was so cool. Apparently it only happens once every few years so we were really lucky to be there.
The next day we went skydiving. To do this we had to cross the border into Zimbabwe. Naturally at the border they only take SA Rand and US Dollars. No one takes Zimbabwean dollars and they don't take Zambian kwacha, even though it's the bordering country. Crossing the bridge over the falls between the border posts was beautiful. The border itself was hectic, but we got through pretty easily as tourists. When you go through they give you a cardboard slip that one person carries and it has the number of people in your group on it. This is given to the guard at the gate to prove that you paid. It's sooo third world. Once we got across the border we were met by Gary and Philemon, our skydive guys. Gary was british but had been living in Zimbabwe since he was 6. He's been skydiving since 1989. He was the tandem jumper for all 6 of us. Philemon was the guy who set us up on the ground and who helped us when we landed. When we got to the Zimbabwe Vic Falls airport we started getting all set up. I got to go 2nd. 3 of the girls in our group had been skydiving before. For some reason I was not at all scared, even though i'm still scared of bungee jumping. We were going up in the airplane one at a time. The plane only had one seat, for the pilot (sydney), and was extremely small. Gary had me practice my jump before we took off and he explained how everything was going to work. We then took off and started heading for 9,000 ft. Because it was a really windy day the plane was bumping around a lot. I'd say that being in that tiny scary plane was actually the hardest and scariest part of the whole experience. Well also, once Gary opened the door of the airplane and we started to perch ourselves on the edge, that was pretty scary. But as soon as we jumped it was just awesome! You're just floating in the air. the falls were amazing and the zambezi gorge was huge. The Zimbabwe countryside is really flat and the whole thing was so cool. We freefalled for almost 30 seconds and then floated with the parachute for a couple minutes. Once i landed me and lauren and tim decided to go into the airport to get some lunch. The only place was the bar. Gary and Sydney were also in the bar grabbing a fanta. When Gary realized that we only had rand on us he gave us some Zim dollars and then we sorted out a much better exchange rate with him later. Because Zim dollars are so worthless he had to give us 3.5 million dollars to buy lunch with. a hamburger cost $Z400,000! Also, all the bills have expiration dates on them because at the end of the year the bill will be even more worthless. Zim has one of the least valuable currencies in the world and the people there have to buy their foreign currencies on the black market because the world bank doesn't recognize the zim dollar. It's pretty intense. The people who went craft shopping in Zimbabwe barely had to spend any money. Instead they traded hair elastics, bras, pens, and anything else they had on them. that night we mostly just all hung out around the bar and went to bed pretty early.
The trip started on saturday morning at 4:45 with me in not very good spirits. I was probably the only person in the group to not be excited. I was angry with one particular person, and also depressed because i was assigned to a truck that none of my friends were on. After the early morning flight to Jo'burg and a brief, uneventful ride on a truck where i knew no one, we hit a rest stop for lunch. At this rest stop i discovered that there was a girl on the truck with all my friends (the elephant truck) who didn't know anyone, while all her friends were on my truck (the lion truck). so we made a permanent swap and i got to spend the rest of the trip with my friends. Thank goodness for this since the trucks were very much separated even though we were stopping at the same campgrounds. Also i discovered that i better learn to like tomatoes and cucumbers on my sandwiches because otherwise my plain sandwich of mystery meat, cheese and iceberg lettuce was going to get very boring. That first night on the bus people started drinking and dancing and being crazy. i just observed because i was still in a weird funk from prior to the trip and didn't feel like joining in just yet. That night we reached a very nice campground in Palapye (Botswana) where a delicious dinner of steak and garlic bread was waiting for us.
Each day we'd usually wake up to tea and cookies, take down camp, hit the road then stop on the side of the road somewhere for a breakfast of bread, cereal, yogurt, bananas when we were lucky, and jam. Then we'd keep driving and if we'd reached our destination we'd have lunch there, otherwise on the side of the road. Lunch was always cold sandwiches and we usually didn't know what kind of funky bologna combo we were eating. Then we'd either have activities or more driving. Dinner was always delicious with wonderful meat and pasta or rice and grilled vegetables. On our trucks we had a cook (Benson) and a driver (Jarius). They were awesome and had so many interesting stories to tell us throughout the trip. They were also very good at bribing border officials so that we could get across in only a few hours instead of a few days like it took many poor locals. more on that later. We were sharing 2 person tents and had really comfy roll up mats provided for us. The truck had regular seats as well as 2 tables with 4 seats around each one for playing card games and such. There was also a round seating area in the front of the truck. We had Mike, the guy who organized our trip, on our bus, as well as his friend Ian and a girl who worked for the adventure company named Mandy.
The 2nd day we woke up early and headed out on the road again for another full day's drive. We went all the way to Maun, which is an hour away from the Okavengo Delta (our first real destination). That day was fairly uneventful. The bus ride was extremely long, but i was at least starting to feel more comfortable around the group again. Botswana is really really hot compared to south africa and so much more empty. We would drive for miles without seeing anything but bush and the occasional donkey. Then we'd see a small town with some round huts and lots of little children waving at us. There was usually a small general store and a petrol station and a bar, and that was it. It's weird that Botswana is so empty because it's currency, the Pula, is actually more valuable that the South African Rand. That night we went to the campground bar to hang out and then went to bed reasonably early because we were all so excited for the next morning when we would enter the Delta.
We woke up the third day and took down the campsite. we loaded all of our gear onto open trucks that were going to take us to the edge of the delta. We drove along dirt roads for 1.5 hours until we got to the edge, where the marshes started. There was about 50 locals waiting for us with their makoros. Makoros are hand carved canoes made out of the sausage tree. The polers push them through the marshes with 10 ft sticks that they also carve themselves. There were 2 of us in each boat and we layed down on top of our luggage. I was sharing with my friend Tim and we almost sunk our makoro. i'm the biggest girl and he was the 2nd biggest guy and well it wasn't great for the self esteem. but actually our makoro was poorly made and very shallow. Even later on when tiny little girls rode in it, it still nearly sunk. so that made us feel a little better. Everyone got sunburnt on the trip to our campsite because it was sooo hot out. Our poler, Matthew, gave us a book of local wildlife to look at during the boat ride. Tim decided it would be best to read about all the meanest, scary things like the crocodile, the baboon spider and various pythons. however, we soon found out that the actual meanest animals in the delta are the mosquitos. When we got to camp we all laid out our sleeping mats on a clearing since we weren't going to be using tents in the delta. Someone dug some holes to be used as a latrine and we all went swimming in a natural swimming hole. The water was sooo nice, except we were all a little afraid to venture more than a few yards from the hole because of the risk of crocodiles. We also used all the delta water as our drinking and cooking water over those few days. The delta is a fresh water river that doesn't flow into the ocean. It just sort of stops at the Kalahari desert, but it still has a current. This creates a very marshy land rich with wildlife. To be honest, i don't really understand how it works. The first afternoon, after much swimming and napping, we went on our first game walk. KC was our leader and we didn't see much besides termite mounds, an elephant mud hole and various dung. That night after dinner we hung out around the campfire playing card games with our polers. They taught us a fun game called "Blind" and we taught them games as well. That night while we tried to sleep we all got attacked by mosquitos and ants and were all so lumpy and itchy the next morning that we looked radioactive.
The 2nd day in the delta we woke up early for a long game walk. This time we saw a lot more things. We saw zebra and wildebeest. the wildebeest hang out with the zebras because wildebeest have very poor eyesight. We also saw a couple very large elephants. A warthog ran right past us. It was cool to stomp around as quietly as possible through all the grass. The grass is sharp and often goes up higher than your waist. For the rest of that day we napped, swam and hung out. That night we went on a sunset cruise in the makoros to an area where there were some dried elephant tusks. We all tried to pick them up - they were so heavy. When an elephant dies the rest of the family mourns it. elephants have a very good memory and are very emotional. They often create areas where they bring their dead bodies, like a graveyard. After the cruise we had dinner and then the polers sang and did skits for us around the fire. Since our whole group knew that some of us were taking african dance they encouraged us to perform for the polers. We had them create a beat and then we did some dances for everyone. It was really fun and i think they were impressed by our moves.
During the night i couldn't sleep because i heard a lot of animals. I thought i heard lots of hooves and then at one point all the hooves started running. I thought there was going to be a stampede right into our camp! The next morning on our last game walk my suspicions were confirmed when we saw a large amount of zebra tracks and dung right outside our camp as well as hyena tracks. clearly we almost saw a hyena attack in the middle of the night. After the last walk we packed up camp and had a makoro ride back to the edge of the delta. We said thanks and goodbye to all the polers. They were so friendly and the experience of them teaching us so much about their home was really unique. They all know the delta like the back of their hand and we learned a ton. After that we went back to Maun and showered at the campground (we were completely filthy). From there it was on to Nata, a campground in northern botswana. We had all bought some alcohol and snacks in Maun before we left and so we had a little party on the bus on the way there.
The next day we continued on to Chobe National Park. On the way there were constantly elephants by the side of the road. One giant male tried to charge our truck. It was pretty scary. Also along the way there are lots of veterinary stops to help curb the spread of foot and mouth disease. You all have to get out of the bus and bring all the shoes you have and walk through this disenfectant stuff. It's really disgusting and i'm pretty sure it's completely ineffective. Botswana was very much like our stereotypical image of "africa." So much so that when South Africans leave the country they say they are going to "africa." They consider South Africa to be something completely different. Which it is. For instance the South African border operates with computers and technology. The Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe border control all have large notepads and pencils. That night in Chobe we went on a sunset game cruise. We saw an elephant scratch an itch, some fish eagles, a crocodile and a huge family of hippos. We actually saw the hippos fighting! it was awesome! Also we got to hang out and get a little silly.
The next morning we woke up exceptionally early to go on a game drive in Chobe. We saw tons of baboons. A lot of the mothers were carrying their newborn babies around. We also saw kudu, springbok, a giraffe and a bunch of warthogs. At one point our driver said he saw a lion, but i think he was lying. from there we drove to the zambian border. To get to Zambia you have to cross the Zambezi river. They only have 2 small ferries and one is kind of broken. Because of this there is a 2.5 day wait to get into Zambia. However, because we were white and bribed them with cigarettes and other things, we only had to wait in the hot sun for 4 hours to get onto the ferry. Then we got into Zambia and were immediately harassed by people trying to sell us things. It was a pretty stark difference between Botswana and Zambia. Botswana was much mellower and friendlier, Zambia was harsh and intense. There were lots of posters up at the border about women remaining virgins. One said "a real woman waits" and someone had graffittied on it "and then she gets old." The anti-AIDS campaigns around there seem to not really be well received. People kept trying to trick us out of our ballpoint pens, apparently they are extremely valuable around there. Also for some reason a lot of people were crossing the border with bedding sets.
As soon as we got to the Zambezi Waterfront Campground, a very high class place, we went to the falls. The water level is uncommonly high right now, so high that no one is allowed to go rafting (one of the main adventure attractions). However, this means that the spray of the falls is much more powerful and impressive. As soon as we got close to the falls we were drenched by the spray. I had not so smartly chosen to wear a white wifebeater with a dark bra and therefore was declared the ultimate winner of the wet tshirt contest. It was really unbelievable how wet we all got. The spray was so intense and the mist so thick that you could hardly even see the falls. After walking around it got dark, but we were there on a full moon. Every once in awhile, when the water level is high and there is a full moon, a phenomenon called a lunar rainbow is created in the mist above the falls. We actually got to see it and it was so cool. Apparently it only happens once every few years so we were really lucky to be there.
The next day we went skydiving. To do this we had to cross the border into Zimbabwe. Naturally at the border they only take SA Rand and US Dollars. No one takes Zimbabwean dollars and they don't take Zambian kwacha, even though it's the bordering country. Crossing the bridge over the falls between the border posts was beautiful. The border itself was hectic, but we got through pretty easily as tourists. When you go through they give you a cardboard slip that one person carries and it has the number of people in your group on it. This is given to the guard at the gate to prove that you paid. It's sooo third world. Once we got across the border we were met by Gary and Philemon, our skydive guys. Gary was british but had been living in Zimbabwe since he was 6. He's been skydiving since 1989. He was the tandem jumper for all 6 of us. Philemon was the guy who set us up on the ground and who helped us when we landed. When we got to the Zimbabwe Vic Falls airport we started getting all set up. I got to go 2nd. 3 of the girls in our group had been skydiving before. For some reason I was not at all scared, even though i'm still scared of bungee jumping. We were going up in the airplane one at a time. The plane only had one seat, for the pilot (sydney), and was extremely small. Gary had me practice my jump before we took off and he explained how everything was going to work. We then took off and started heading for 9,000 ft. Because it was a really windy day the plane was bumping around a lot. I'd say that being in that tiny scary plane was actually the hardest and scariest part of the whole experience. Well also, once Gary opened the door of the airplane and we started to perch ourselves on the edge, that was pretty scary. But as soon as we jumped it was just awesome! You're just floating in the air. the falls were amazing and the zambezi gorge was huge. The Zimbabwe countryside is really flat and the whole thing was so cool. We freefalled for almost 30 seconds and then floated with the parachute for a couple minutes. Once i landed me and lauren and tim decided to go into the airport to get some lunch. The only place was the bar. Gary and Sydney were also in the bar grabbing a fanta. When Gary realized that we only had rand on us he gave us some Zim dollars and then we sorted out a much better exchange rate with him later. Because Zim dollars are so worthless he had to give us 3.5 million dollars to buy lunch with. a hamburger cost $Z400,000! Also, all the bills have expiration dates on them because at the end of the year the bill will be even more worthless. Zim has one of the least valuable currencies in the world and the people there have to buy their foreign currencies on the black market because the world bank doesn't recognize the zim dollar. It's pretty intense. The people who went craft shopping in Zimbabwe barely had to spend any money. Instead they traded hair elastics, bras, pens, and anything else they had on them. that night we mostly just all hung out around the bar and went to bed pretty early.
The next day 10 of us went on an all day zambezi gorge adventure. We went gorge swinging (terrifying, they basically dump you backwards off a cliff for a ridiculous freefall and then you swing), abseiling (pretty tame), forward rappelling (scary, literally said "i don't like this" as i was going down), and did a flying fox (zip line across the top of the gorge, really fun and easy). Basically though after that day i decided that i'm completely done with adventure sports and death-defying activities for awhile cuz i don't really like them (with the exception of skydiving, which i loved). As soon as we got back from the adventure day we had to change clothes and get on the much-hyped zambezi sunset booze cruise. basically everyone got ridiculous and by the time it was done at 6:45 we were all going insane. There was a crazy dance party in the amphitheater, followed by skinny dipping and "streaking through the quad" a la Old School. The whole night was filled with highly innocent debauchery. we were in bed before 10. The next morning we had to wake up at 4, it was dark, no one was conscious and we took down camp. From there we started our long 2 day trek back into South Africa. We were all so sleepy for the bus rides so they were fairly uneventful.
The last night we were at our original campground in Palapye and we were shown a slideshow of our trip. It was a nice time of reminiscing and our leaders gave us all stupid awards. I'm proud to say that I won the "naked award" largely due to that last night. so yeah.
and that's the end of the trip. i had an amazing time. I learned to appreciate people's quirks instead of letting them piss me off, i got 12 new passport stamps, and i saw a lot of Africa, although now i just feel like i have sooo much more to see!
posted by kerry at 12:34 AM
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