Almost time to say goodbye…

As one of my last activities in Botswana, last Sunday we travelled to Lobatse (about 60km I think from Gabs) for a braai. We actually went to visit a guy’s farm whom we met at one of the performances at the Number 1 Ladies Opera House. It is a big farm, perhaps not compared to Australian properties but certainly for Botswana. From my limited understanding of farming the cattle are sent to his farm for fattening up before going to the abattoir. It was a little disconcerting enjoying the braai meat while looking down at the cows in their pens waiting to be sent to the abattoir.

Sadly my time in Botswana is coming to an end. It’s a bitter-sweet feeling. I’m excited that I will soon be seeing my family again but sad because I will be leaving behind what has become my Botswana family. It’s funny how quickly you can adapt to living in different places. Only a year in Botswana and already it feels like a part of me. Dare I say that it almost feels like home. It has become my life and I am really going to miss it. Sure at times it has been frustrating but I have made friendships here that are very dear to me and I will cherish for the rest of my life. I’m definitely on an emotional roller coaster. One minute happy, one minute sad and one minute highly stressed! One thing is for sure, I will look back on my time here in Botswana very fondly.

Hmmm does anyone have a tissue?

and lastly the delta…

Here’s the last installment of our trip. These are from our time in the Okavango Delta.

This is the teeny tiny plane that we flew from Kasane to our lodge in the delta. At least it was about 50 years younger than the antique one that we flew from our camp to Maun in.

This is the tip of the mokoro (traditional canoe) that our guide ‘poled’ (hmm that doesn’t sound right!!) us in to the various islands for our walking safaris. We had to travel through reeds growing across the water and on more than one occasion I ended up with a spider on my face. As much as I wanted to freak out when it happened it wouldn’t have been a good idea while travelling in the canoe. Let’s just say I would rather a spider on my face than swimming with the hippos and crocs.

Minutes after this photo we found ourselves drenched. The rain came so quick and was so heavy, not even huge umbrellas could keep us dry.

While on one of our walking safaris we saw a family of giraffe, a pack of elephants and some leopards. The leopards were way too quick for my camera – or more realistically me lifting my camera.

Sorry about the out of focus elephants here. My excuse is that it was pretty freaky being so close to these huge creatures and have nothing between you and them. As I said we were on foot and they were only metres away. When I took this shot I accidentally used my flash (yeah I know duhhh) and that got the attention of the pack leader. We were quickly pulled away by our anxious guide.

When we got to Gaborone we went to Mokolodi Game Reserve where we were lucky enough to pat the cheetahs.

chobe national park

So here’s what we saw while in Kasane, in the north of Botswana. Just to clarify so I don’t confuse you – Kasane is the town but the national park is Chobe and the river is also the Chobe.

This is the view from the Chobe River of the lodge that we stayed at in Kasane.

Just some of the animals we saw on our afternoon river cruise down the Chobe.

We did a half day tour to a Namibian village while we were staying in Kasane. The Namibian border is just across the river.  This is a mud hut similar to the one I lived in when in Uganda.

We also went on a couple of game drives in Chobe National Park.

cape town to port elizabeth

So here’s the photos from the first leg of our trip – along the garden route.

My parents at the base of table mountain. We took the easy option of getting the cable car up and down the mountain. You can just see it coming down above my dad’s head.

The view of Cape Town from the base of Table Mountain. It’s the most developed city that I’ve seen in Africa and one of the most picturesque with the mountain in the background.

I can’t remember the name of this part of town but all the houses were brightly coloured.

The view from the V&A Waterfront (which is where we stayed) looking across to Table Mountain.

We took a trip to the famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town. Being the green thumb that I am not I have no idea what the name of this flower is. Any suggestions??

In Oudtshoorn we visited an ostrich farm. I find ostriches totally fascinating to look at, especially their head and neck. They have so much character and their features look almost exaggerated.  Like they are a caricature of themselves. I could stare at them all day.

And just to prove that I actually rode one – here is me on Peter the poor ostrich. He was very bony but surprisingly strong.

another southern africa adventure

Wow I’m all refreshed and ready to see out my final month here is Gabs. I just returned from 3 weeks holiday around South Africa and Botswana. I was chaperone and local guide to my parents who were first time visitors to Africa. We met in Johannesburg before flying on to Cape Town. We had a few days in the city before making our way down the Garden Route to Port Elizabeth. We spent a night in Stellenbosch, one in Oudtshoorn and two in Knysna. The highlight would definitely be watching my parents attempt to ride an ostrich. What a cack!

From Port Elizabeth we then flew back to J’burg and then on to Kasane in the north of Botswana. Here we did a couple of game drives in the Chobe National Park and a boat cruise down the Chobe River. We were lucky enough to see a stack of animals including most of the big five. We also went on a day trip to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and a village tour in Namibia.

After Chobe we flew in a chartered plane (and arrived very very very green) to our lodge in the Okavango Delta. Flying is really the only way to get into the Delta especially at this time of year when there is so much water (the delta is made up of several thousand islands of varying size and can only be accessed by boat or plane). Think of it like Venice but without the city and with dangerous wild animals walking around!

The Delta really is incredible. I really didn’t understand what all the fuss was about before I went but I’m really glad we got there. It’s just so isolated and peaceful. Just the sounds of the water and the animals (oh and the occasional boat and plane).

We did two walking safaris while we were there. Our guide would pole us out in a mokoro (well a fibreglass version of the traditional canoe anyway) to an island. We would then walk around the island learning about the different animal footprints and droppings. My heart was certainly pounding when we found ourselves face to face with a herd of elephants. And then when we happened upon two mating leopards and their baby. We were completely vulnerable and out in the open – our guide didn’t even have a weapon as it was a protected area. Crikey I feel like I’m turning into Steve Irwin!

From the Delta we made our way to Gaborone and went on a tour of my favourite spots. I think the whole trip was a real eye opener for my parents. I think Africa gets viewed so negatively in the press worldwide that they expected the worst. But Africa really isn’t all dictatorships and violence. Sure that does happen and you do see a lot of poverty but for the most part it is a warm, relaxed and beautiful continent (if not perhaps a little frustrating sometimes). I would definitely suggest putting it on the itinerary.

happy chocolate (oops i mean easter) long weekend

Well hello everyone, sorry bout me being a bit slack of late regarding this blog. And to make it worse I have nothing interesting to say today either!

But let me start by saying Happy (belated) Easter. To be honest easter has always been a bit of a dud for me. I know there are religious connotations about easter but really it is all just about the chocolate isn’t it? But for someone who doesn’t like chocolate it is a real bummer. As a kid Mum and Dad would buy chocolate easter eggs and I would see the crazy smile on my sister’s face when she woke to find the chocolate easter eggs on the floor next to her bed.  Her chocolate would last about half the day before it was gone. Mine on the other hand would last for months, in fact usually until it turned white and started to taste a little odd (from my perspective more than usual!). I have unwittingly handed this down to my mini-me, my niece Ruby, who like her aunt does not really like chocolate. I’m sorry Rube’s but I understand what you are feeling this easter! Thank goodness for marshmallow though!

So what exciting stuff have I got up to in Africa this long weekend? Hmm, let me see, absolutely nothing. I have sat in my room for four days straight with my only outings to the gym. But I did make some new friends. Let me introduce  you to Skype, YouTube & Google, my new best friends!!! I’ve dined with them, lounged with them, talked to them (I admit it, and they really are great listeners) and even drank with them. So cheers, here’s to you Internet. Let’s hope we continue to have a long and continuous relationship before mr power outage separates us yet again.

Hmm I am in an unusual mood. I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that I have not spoken to anyone for a few days. Can you say loopy Lorrin?

Botsalano Game Reserve

Last weekend we camped in the Botsalano Game Reserve just over the border in South Africa. It is about a 2 hour drive. We left before lunch on Saturday and stopped in Mafikeng on the way for lunch. As we left Mafikeng for the reserve it started pouring with rain. We were devastated. It really didn’t look like it was going to stop. Sophia and Mafa, who were first time campers, were quite distressed by the rain. Sophia had just purchased her first tent and we weren’t sure if it was water proof (turns out it is).

Thankfully the rain subsided as we arrived at the camp site and it turned into a great camping weekend. We even got to see quite a few animals on our self drive game viewings – giraffe, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, kudu and every type of buck/bok that exists! Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the white rhino. Maybe next time we’ll see it, if in fact it actually exists…

As you can see below at times the rain was so heavy we couldn’t even see the road in front of us. It could have been a very miserable camping weekend.

Mafa and Sophia with their anxious smiles on the way to the reserve.

Question: How many women does it take to put a tent up?
Answer: 3. An Australian, a Kenyan and a Motswana.

We took advantage of the braai (bbq) facilities at the campsite. I use the royal we but it was really all Sophia and Mafa.

We got up at 6am for an early morning game drive. Moments after rising Sophia was caught with a bottle of Savanna Dry (alcoholic cider) in one hand  and a chunk of meat from the previous night’s braai in the other.  And yes that is a beach towel she is wearing – she forgot to pack a jacket.

Ants in my pants

Well not actually in my pants but everywhere else in my room. I came home from work today to find ants everywhere. My curtains are cream but they were black today. The windows and the floors were covered with ants. It really grossed me out. I don’t usually like killing anything, including ants, but this was an exception. I went sick with the Mortein. I’m sure it’s not great for the environment but my sanity was at stake. So now I have a black floor but at least it isn’t moving.

I’m actually having these fears that I will wake up in the middle of the night covered in ants. Kind of like those horror flicks where someone is eaten alive by killer ants. Aagh I’m creeping myself out just thinking about it. I’m looking over at the pile of ants right now. It looks like the floor of a hairdresser – the ants look like clumps of dark brown locks.  It’s making my skin crawl. Here’s what I’m looking at. And this is just a section of the floor!

Dr Wembo’s miracle herbs!

I found this flyer in Ngaire’s car. I think it was placed on her windshield at some stage. It cracked me up. Is there nothing Dr Wembo and his herbal medicines can’t fix? My personal favourite is his promise to fix court cases!

But wait there’s more. His herbs can cure incurable diseases…the cheating husband!

Out and about in Gabs

On Thursday night Ngaire and I ventured to the No 1 Ladies Opera House just out of town. You might remember that this is where Heather and I went to see the Okavango Macbeth opera last year. Anyway they have recently renovated the space to be a 50 seater theatre. The performance we saw this time was titled Flamingos of the Makgadikgadi. It was a mime performance with 5 local Batswana actors interpreting the wildlife seen in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi region. It was a great performance with my personal favourite being one actor’s mime of a cheetah. He even had the short fast breathing down pat.

Here’s some of the actors in rehearsals.

Then yesterday we went to see the Botswana Zebras play South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in the African Nations Championship. It wasn’t the best game with a 0-0 draw but it was a fun afternoon. Botswana’s national stadium is currently being renovated so the game was played at the University of Botswana stadium which is a lot smaller. It was disappointing and somewhat surprising to see such a small turn out. Even considering Botswana’s small population I would have expected to see more people show support for their national side.

Ngaire and I wore our Zebras tops to the game. We might be terrible at speaking the local langauge but at least we support the national team!

Similar to Aussie Rules, the senior players were paired with junior players as they ran out onto the pitch. Then the national anthems were played and everyone shook hands.

The Zebras came out hard and I thought it was going to be a one sided game. But unfortunately it didn’t last long and and the game turned into hot potato.

These kids were very cute. The halftime entertainment was fantastic. Hmm is it bad to say that it might have been the highlight of the game? They had a bunch of dancers performing around the pitch. To say they were break dancers is an understatement  – they were like rubber men. Well these kids were just as entertaining as they performed their own dance moves. The kid on the right certainly had the attitude right!

The crowd was way less vocal than an Australian crowd at a sporting match which surprised me. There was no abuse hurled at the umpires instead the crowd just enjoyed the spectacle. I guess this may be the result of the lack of alcohol. It was a dry event.

A Zebras fan.

Oops I should mention (otherwise I’ll be in big trouble) that these images are courtesy of Ngaire.