South Africa, Zimbabwe & Botswana Oct,-Nov. 2013

 

More photos here

This was an exciting adventure although it got off to a rather inauspicious start. My flight took off right on time and the plane was emptier than I’ve seen on recent trips. I had a two-seat section to myself, which meant I could stretch out a little. The timing wasn’t really right for sleeping since we left New York at 11:00 AM. By the time I was ready to sleep we were almost in Johannesburg.

The itinerary from Road Scholar indicated that we would arrive at the hotel for Happy Hour, time to settle in to our rooms and then meet for dinner. My flight, however, arrived at 7:30 AM.  Following instructions, I found the tourist information desk and looked unsuccessfully for someone with a Road Scholar sign and for other Road Scholar travelers. I circled the arrival area looking for red Road Scholar baggage tags and listening to hear what language was being spoken by obvious groups of tourists, but no luck.

We had been given an emergency number to call if no one met us in timely fashion and the folks at the information desk were very helpful.  However, three attempts to reach the transportation company sent us to voicemail and no call back. The person helping me even called the hotel to see if perhaps the group had arrived before me, but they had not.

After a little more than a half hour a young man came running up, asking if I was Ms. Hauser and identifying himself as my driver. He said that the driver scheduled to meet me had experienced car troubles and he had been called at the last minute. It seemed I was the only one arriving on that flight so off we went.

It was too early to get into my room, so the concierge showed me to the dining room where I met our group leader for the tour and then two women who had arrived a couple of days early. I killed time chatting with them until my room was available and then tried to figure out how to spend the day until the group arrived in the late afternoon. I was tired, but didn’t want to nap for fear that I then wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

The hotel did not serve lunch and there was nowhere within walking distance to eat, so I took a taxi to a nearby shopping mall, arranged to be picked up in a couple of hours and found a place to have something to eat. I wandered around the mall for a while, browsed in a bookstore and bought an anthology of contemporary South African poetry with pieces in English, Afrikaans and a few native black languages, chatted with a very funny young Israeli guy who was selling products from the Dead Sea and we chatted about New York and Tel Aviv while he applied various lotions and rubs to my hands.

I met the rest of the group when they arrived (eleven of us in all, but only one man!), had our first dinner and heard a little about the activities planned for the next couple of days.

Our first day began with a morning tour of Soweto and an afternoon visit to the Apartheid Museum. Our Soweto guide was excellent.  He categorized much of what we saw as "the good, the bad and the ugly." The bad and the ugly was some pretty disturbing poverty – corrugated tin shacks with no plumbing, people selling all sorts of stuff from little shacks by the side of the road, tracts of housing for migrant workers, unemployed, etc., small houses that might hold four generations and perhaps 10 or 12 people in two bedrooms and a living room. But we also saw nicer homes in more prosperous areas – the good.

We saw Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital - the largest in Africa according to our guide, with a school of nursing that sends graduates all over the world. We saw Freedom Square with a carved representation of the constitution in a tower that is lit from above by a carved-out skylight in the form of an X representing voting. We saw Mandela House and the former home of Archbishop Tutu on the only street in the world that can claim to have been the residence of two different Nobel Peace Prize winners. We saw the Hector Pieterson Memorial, a very moving tribute to a young boy who was killed by police during the Soweto uprising in 1976.

We ate lunch at a restaurant in Soweto where the buffet selections included tripe (I think I was the only one who took that and it was tasty but chewy), cooked veggies, lamb, beef, chicken, pap – a polenta-like corn meal dish – and some delicious bread. I was pleased to have a chance to sample some traditional local foods.

After lunch we visited the Apartheid Museum. The displays were very interesting, but the museum itself was confusing to navigate. I hooked up with one of the other women, who seemed to have a good sense of direction, and I think we saw most of it, but frequently needed to double back in order to move ahead.

The museum had a large section devoted to Mandela, which was interesting, but most of the display showed things that he covered in his memoir. I was surprised that only a couple of people in the group seemed to have read it and recommended it whenever possible. There was a very large group of school kids visiting the museum with their teachers. It’s always nice to see kids having experiences like this.

As we walked along an outside passage we had seen a series of metal containers with long sticks in different colors. When we finished viewing the exhibits and were heading toward our meeting spot we saw what they represented. One wall showed a number of inspirational quotes by Mandela on several different topics – racism, women's rights, forgiving one's oppressors, etc. Each category of quotes was printed in a different color: red, white, green, blue, or yellow. Visitors were encouraged to take a stick in the color of their favorite quote and insert it into one of the display bins lining the walkway. I chose a white one for a quote about true freedom not being realized until women had equal rights with men. It was nice to see that every bin had a good, diverse color selection.

At the gift shop I found a small book of poetry called Voices That Lead, described as "an eloquent epitaph of those heroes of the struggle who gave their lives for South Africa's freedom." Powerful pieces!

We had a very early departure the next day to fly south to Port Elizabeth. We landed a little before ten and set it for Plettenberg Bay for lunch. We ran into rain on and off during the drive of about three hours, so we were concerned that our planned cruise and whale-watching might be cancelled. En route our leader gave us some information about the flora and fauna of the area.

Lunch was in the restaurant of a perfectly charming bed and breakfast. The main course choices were sweet and sour chicken or a Malay dish called bobotie made with spicy ground ostrich meat and a custardy topping.  Of course, that's what I had! No one else in the group was remotely tempted, but when I offered tastes to three of the folks at my table they all agreed that it was delicious.

After lunch we made a couple of scenic stops, one at a gorge and a second at the world's highest bungee jumping place. Not ideal sightseeing for someone who is uncomfortable with heights! But there was a fair-sized display of carved pieces at the bungee place, spread out on the lawn with various craftsmen selling their wares. To my surprise and pleasure I found an owl to add to my collection! I undoubtedly paid more than I should but I was so happy to find it that I didn't even care.

Meanwhile, we learned our whale watching cruise was, in fact, cancelled, but our leader was able to switch that with the activity planned for tomorrow afternoon, a visit to Knysyna Elephant Park. That was an amazing experience. The elephants have all been rescued and provided with a safe home. After a short film, we got buckets filled with pieces of apple, carrots, pumpkin and sweet potato and had a chance to feed the elephants by hand. We were shown how to hold out one piece at a time on a flat hand. The elephant picks it up with his or her trunk and pops it into his or her mouth. It was quite wonderful.

After feeding, we were divided into smaller groups and had a chance to meet a couple of the elephants up close. I patted two of the elephants on their trunks and on their sides and looked into their big, wise eyes. We learned that Sally is the matriarch of this group and strictly controls things.  In fact, two of the young males have been separated from others because Sally won't accept them being in her herd. When the boys get older and can stand up to her, they will be reintroduced and will, perhaps, be able to mate. I could easily have stayed there for a longer time.

Dinner was lovely. The place, a small inn called Boogie’s, was really charming and the food was delicious.  We had ostrich liver mousse, tomato soup, a choice of filet of sole or springbok ragout, and strawberries with ice cream for dessert.  I was pleased to see that most of the group ordered the springbok.  I don't know if I really had any influence on that decision, but I know that one woman, at least, announced that she was going to be adventurous with her meal choices. And everyone enjoyed the meal.

The next morning I walked down to the shops at the waterfront. I got there before they were open, but had a chance to stroll and window shop.  I spotted one shop with lots of critters fashioned out of shells, including a really cute owl. So far, that’s pretty typical.  I buy the first one I see because I think I’m not going to find another one, and then I do find another one that is really different.

Later in the morning we visited the Featherbed Nature Reserve, a private reserve with amazing views of the Knysnya Lagoon (actually an estuary). We took a ferry across the water and then were driven up to the top of the overlook. We hiked down – about a two-mile walk, mostly down stairs carved out of rocks or constructed from dirt and wood. Most of it was pretty easy, but some places were steep and the footing was a little unsure. The last part of the trail was mostly flat, along the water. It was very beautiful with lots of flowers and shrubs on one side and waves and clear blue-green water on the other.

We were supposed to go whale watching, but once again it was cancelled because it was too windy to take the boats out safely. Instead, our leader proposed a trip to the beach at Plettenburg Bay so we could, as he put, dip our toes into the Indian Ocean. It was very nice walking along the shore, getting our feet (and sometimes a bit more) wet, finding shells, spotting blue bottle sea urchins on the sand, and few tiny little snail-like crustaceans skittering along the sand, burrowing into holes when the waves came in.

On the drive to and from the beach we finally saw baboons by the side of the road.  It is really strange to see animals that I picture in the jungle living right in the midst of people's homes. And apparently they are a nuisance, breaking into houses when they can, stealing food and causing damage. That seems so odd, but I guess every area has its indigenous pesky critters.

On Monday we hit the road fairly early for our morning adventure, lunch at Grootbos and a visit to a nature reserve and a school training young people for careers in horticulture related fields. The dining room was lovely, with breathtaking views of the mountains and the Atlantic. Then we set out for a nature walk through the forest, learning about some of the trees and other plants and some of the birds in the area. Our guide, was interesting and made it very enjoyable experience. The vegetation in this part of the country is referred to “fynbos” and comprises several kinds of slender bushes and grasses, some flowering, and all quite lovely.

We had been told about this visit in our trip literature and most, if not all of us, had brought school or gardening supplies for the school. Green Futures Horticultural and Life Skills College trains about 10 students a year in horticulture, language skills, computer skills and other subjects. The program director told us that they have graduated 101 students in the ten years they have been operating, and they have nearly 50 applications for the next bunch. They look for a minimum level of language proficiency, interview the applicants, invite about 20 to come and work with them for a trial period and then select the ones who will continue. It sounded as if most of them are successfully employed, even if it isn't always in a horticulture field. For example, she mentioned a couple who became policemen, one of whom, sadly, was killed in the line of duty.

We then had a chance to plant and name our own tree. Our tour leader and the one man in our group dug the hole, the student with us placed the tree in the hole and filled in the dirt, and several of us took turns watering it. Then we chose a name – one of the women suggested Kaelah, which is apparently her dog's name, and we were all OK with that – and our guide took pictures with lots of cameras of the group gathered around "our" tree.

Then it was on to our hotel for the night – Harbour House, in Hermanus. It's right on the water and there is a seaside esplanade where one can watch for whales. We saw a couple, but they were pretty far off.  Some people had good views from their balconies and a couple saw dolphins in the morning. That night we had a braai, or barbecue, for dinner, and the next morning we left for another one night stand in what has been described as a "charming little town" before three days in Capetown and then the grand finale of three days of safari.

South Africa is much more diverse geographically I than I had anticipated. So far we’d gone from cities, to forests, to farmland to mountains to two oceans. It is also just as economically divided as I did anticipate. In the space of just a few moments we passed fairly expensive homes and vacation villas and shanties made of corrugated tin or scrap wood with black plastic sheeting roofs all huddled next to each other on dirt tracts, laundry hanging outside and grubby kids playing in the dirt. These shacks have no plumbing or electricity, although some clearly are "borrowing" from nearby power lines and we did see a few satellite dishes on some pretty squalid looking shacks. We have been told by a couple of different people that unemployment is 40-45%. That is a breeding ground for crime and unrest, and in the cities that is exactly what seems to be happening.

The next day we drove to Franschhoek through the Winelands countryside. It was all very lovely and scenic until we started to cross the mountains. The mist grew thicker and thicker until visibility was almost zero. As a rough estimate I'd say that most of the time our driver could see between 5 and 10 feet ahead. Signs on the side of the road became visible when we were on top of them. He did an excellent job of negotiating a tricky road under tough conditions and we all gave him a hand when we were down the mountain and out of the mist. We were supposed to have stopped at a scenic overlook, but it would have been pointless.

Franschhoek is, as promised, a charming little town with some cute shops and an outdoor market  with some interesting art. I bought a couple of pieces depicting Zulu warriors, made in a mosaic style using slices of banana leaf. I also visited a Huguenot Memorial commemorating the arrival of the Huguenots in the 17^th century.

We stopped for lunch at a place called Moreson's Bread and Wine. The meal was provided on a system I've not run into before on previous trips. We were given menus with prices and told that we could order whatever we wished up to a total of 110 rand – about $11.00. We could, of course, go over, but would then pay the extra ourselves. It made a certain amount of sense since it gave everyone more choices than we might have had otherwise, but it was a bit odd.

Our next stop after lunch was the Plaisir de Merle winery for a wine tasting. As a non-drinker I was offered a cold can of Grapetiser white grape soda, which I passed on. It was interesting to hear the descriptions of the seven different wines offered. There were plates with small containers of sundried tomato, raw cashews, fig balls, fruit cake and some other things. The woman running the tasting suggested taking a sip of whatever wine was being presented, and then following it up with a taste of one or another of the foods.  She explained which one was recommended for each wine.

We went from the wine tasting straight to our hotel in Stellenbosch with about 2 1/2 hours to relax, stroll or whatever before dinner. I decided to explore. The first route I took wasn't very interesting but I did pop into a bookstore to ask if they had the poet Ingrid Jonker's book. At the bookstore in Franschhoek I had been told that it is rarely available. The owner here looked in his computer and it seemed to indicate that the two copies they'd had were both sold. He suggested a place in Capetown where I might find it and I left. A few seconds later he was running down the street after me with a copy, unfortunately in Afrikaans. I needed one in English, of course. I thought that was very nice of him and I felt sorry that I couldn't buy it. 

In one store selling crafty things I bought a thumb piano, an mbira, for the kids in Tucson. The merchant asked me where in the states I was from. When I told him New York, he asked if I was familiar with Central Park and then told me that his father had worked at Tavern on the Green for several years when he was little. Small world!

The next day we came to Capetown, where we spent three nights.  Our first stop was supposed to be the cable car ride up Table Mountain, but the top was totally covered in mist, so instead we did a little walking tour of the city. We  saw a castle that dates back to very early settlers, the city hall where Mandela mae his first speech after being freed, the Parliament Building and President's House and a street protest demanding land and housing. They only had a couple of handwritten signs that were hard to read. My immediate thought was that they needed a much more efficient coordinator. No one we asked seemed to know why they were marching. The protest seemed peaceful, but we learned later that it turned nasty with a lot of looting and property damage. We were fortunate to be far away before that started.

Lunch was at the Rhodes Memorial, a very impressive memorial with a spectacular view of the city. I’m sure the view from the top of Table Mountain would be even more spectacular, but this was quite nice.

In the afternoon we visited Kirtsenbosch Botanical Gardens, guided by Andrew, who was wonderfully knowledgeable and also quite funny. The plants are almost all endemic or indigenous and mostly left to grow as they would in the wild. We walked through the garden for over and hour and it felt like no time at all had passed. The pincushion plants and some others are just beautiful shades of yellow, orange, white, and red. We also saw gorgeous bird of paradise plants in yellow and a golden orange-y shade, some planted in honor of Mandela. Andrew said there are, I think, 9 botanical gardens considered the best in the world. This is one and the one in New York is one. Some of the plants and trees are endangered and the garden is also dedicated to saving them from extinction. We learned that South Africa has more different plant species than anywhere else in the world. And I believe it after this visit.

We had some free time until dinner, so. I set off to explore the Victoria & Albert Waterfront, an easy walk from the hotel. There was one large building filled with different crafts vendors and another filed with vendors selling all kinds of food.  

A little further on were restaurants, a Ferris wheel, some fairly upscale shops and a pavilion where a group of musicians were playing steel drums.

The next day we still were not able to take the cable car up Table Mountain because of the weather. It was rainy and cold but we did some interesting things. First we drove along the coastal route, with stops at a couple of scenic or interesting places. One stop was at a memorial for a dog named Nuisance who was considered a helper and comrade by the naval ratings (equivalent of noncoms) in the early 1940s. He was given the rank of sergeant and a naval burial.

From there we went on to Boulder Beach to see the penguins.  At this time of year they are molting, losing their winter feathers, and so they are confined to land. It was very different from seeing penguins in Australia. There we were kept away, told to stay quiet, and generally not even allowed to take pictures since we saw them at night and were told that flashes would upset them. Here they were all over the place - not on the walkway itself, but right up next to it, gathered in groups, not at all fazed by our presence. They really are cute, although the ones who hadn't finished mounting look pretty scruffy. We saw a few young ones, but mostly adults.

Next we drove on to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. The flora was lovely, similar to what we saw in parts of Kirstenbosch yesterday. The fynbos - delicate bushes- was lush and green, a function, I'm sure of the moist weather.

From there it was on to the Cape funicular that took us up to a lighthouse on top of the mountain. This was our first occasion to see baboons up close. Apparently they are a huge nuisance and have become really dependent on human habitations for food.  They did not seem at all shy around us, but I didn't want to get too close. They don't look cute or cuddly! The biggest ones I saw were about the size of a medium dog. They are monkey-agile, leaping from the roof of one building to the roof of another and scrambling up the side of the building. We saw one eating what looked like a piece of orange, possibly dropped by a tourist. And our leader warned one woman who was strolling along holding a can of Coke to be careful because a baboon might come snatch it.

We had a choice of walking down rather than taking the funicular, and I would have liked to, but it was still too cold and rainy, so I rode down and poked around in the gift ship for a while. There were some pictures of women carrying bundles on their heads and other images, made mosaic-style from butterfly wings. The label on the back said the butterflies had all died of natural causes and the pictures were really different and not too expensive, but ultimately a little creepy, so I passed.

Heading back to the hotel there was some debate as to whether or not a tour of District Six was on the itinerary. Our booklet said yes, and our leader said it wasn't in his itinerary. But we drove through anyway and he told us a little about the destruction of homes in order to drive out the colored residents and make the area into a white area. When I looked it up I learned that it had been a very vibrant and diverse neighborhood with lots of artists and activists. We also drove though an area called Bo-Kaap, home to a lot of Malay and other Coloreds. The houses are painted lime green, hot pink, fuchsia, day-glo yellow and other bright colors. It reminded me of the houses in Kerala. The people here are of Malaysian descent, mostly Moslem, but I wonder if there is some cultural connection to the folks of southern India that results in the same desire for color and light. We were all still hoping to get to Table Mountain, which had been shrouded in mist since we arrived, but it was not to be.

Our next excursion was to Khayelitsha township, guided by a charming young man named Xolani, pronounced with a click for the X. He described the sound to us by comparing it to the way one would click to a horse to get it to go faster. As we drove through, looking at the "informal settlements" which is what they call the shack communities, I asked how the people in these areas feel about being tourist attractions. His answer was interesting. On the one hand, some do feel vulnerable, but on the other hand, tour companies make donations to community-based projects, so the tourism is a good thing.

We visited three places.  The fist was a day care center.  We saw two small classrooms with about thirty kids in each, very crowded, but the kids seemed happy and healthy.  They were singing songs and didn't pay all that much attention to us. A third room had some littler ones, two of whom were sound asleep despite the noise from the other areas. The school also provides services to older kids in the form of afterschool activities and counseling.

Our next stop was an organic garden project. They grow all kinds of vegetables and market them in various ways. Xolani told us that the chef from one of the big hotels visited and was so impressed that he now purchases veggies from them. The most impressive thing there was home-built biogas production. They feed scraps and leftovers into a big vat, stir it to break it down, it then goes into a "stomach" where it is further broken down and produces methane which they use for cooking. Super clever!

Our final visit was to a senior citizens' center or, as our guide called it, kindergarten for oldies. We were greeted with hugs by one man and about four or five women as we entered. The director explained that many of the others were not there because it was pension day. A couple of others did join us as our visit went on. She explained that she had been an actress and had visited an old woman in preparation for a role.  She was so disturbed by the conditions in which this woman was living that she decided she had to do something, so she opened this center.

We were seated in a row of chairs on one side of a large room and the "oldies" were on the other side. We were asked to introduce ourselves and tell a little about ourselves - our names, where we come from, if we were married, had children, our professions, etc. the director translated into Xhosa and there was a round of applause after each one of us spoke. We all chuckled when the translation for those of us who are divorced involved a vigorous wiping away gesture. And the folks who had several children and grandchildren were rewarded with murmurs of approval. One of our group is Grace and her name got a bit of a reaction. We were told that it was one of the names that African servants were given by their white masters. I guess that, like the Old South, Biblical names were popular even though they were given by people behaving in a most unchristian way.

Then it was their turn. The women all seemed to have been domestic workers. The one man spoke with pride of having certificates in first aid and conflict resolution. One of the women spoke at length with great gusto about apartheid days, about visiting her husband without the proper pass and being taken to jail. I wasn't sure if she was talking about something that happened to her or just telling us that this did happen. It was all quite moving. They asked our impressions of South Africa. I spoke about the contrasts; others spoke about how kind everyone was. Their impression of America is that there are more opportunities, although they were surprised to hear that there are no automatic pensions for seniors who haven't held salaried jobs. They spoke about their pensions as one of good things that came about with the end of apartheid.

They sang a beautiful song for us, filled with all the gorgeous harmonies that I remember from groups like Ladysmith Black Mambazo and others. For a second song we were asked to join them. Then we were asked to sing and I suggested You Are My Sunshine. We did OK, but didn't sound anywhere near as beautiful as they did. They sang a final song thanking us, and walked past us with everyone giving hugs and thank yous. The man, who was described as a poet, sang/chanted/shouted what we were told was a song praising us for having come to visit. It was all wonderful, moving, and memorable.

Our afternoon was technically free, but 10 of the 11 of us had chose to take the Robben Island visit. The one who didn't go was our lone man. He is a golfer and had spotted a public course not far from the hotel. He was able to arrange to play and had a good story to tell us when he got back. He connected with 11 men who were looking to form 3 foursomes and needed an extra guy, so he joined them.

The boat ride to Robben Island was about a half hour and pretty rough seas. Once we got there we were herded onto buses for a drive around the island with a guide who pointed out the various buildings, told a little about the history dating back to its days as an encampment for early Portuguese explorers, a leper colony, a World War Two gunnery installation and finally as a prison. We saw the places Mandela wrote about in his book, and I was happy to have read it before the visit.

After the bus tour we were met by a former political prisoner who walked us through some of the prison buildings, told us about how the prisoners were treated, showed is Mandela's cell and really made it all come alive. It was fascinating and horrifying all at the same time. I had my friend Robert Gibbons's poem for Mandela with me and I read it silently during the tour. I'd have liked to find a place to leave it, but that didn't seem feasible.

When we returned we still couldn't get up to Table Mountain because it was still covered with mist that our tour leader referred as the table cloth. That is exactly what it looks like, a covering of mist that spills over the top and partway down the side like a big, white cloth.. Instead we went up to the top of Signal Hill with views that were pretty spectacular.

Dinner was in a Malay restaurant called Bo-Kaap, like the neighborhood, with some gorgeous views of the city. Besides us there was a large pre-wedding party for a Zimbabwean couple. The groom turned out to have gone to Harvard Law and lived in Cambridge for a while. I told him I had grown up in Brookline and spent a lot of time in Harvard Yard as a teen. Another small world encounter. Their guests, all of whom were dressed in white, had come from all over the world – friends they had made in their studies and travels. When the groom welcomed them he encouraged them to sit near people they didn't know. I thought that was a nice touch.

The next day we left for what would be for me the highlight of the trip – three days at Honeyguide Tented Safari Camp. We had our first drive that afternoon and saw elephants, impala, kudu, waterbucks, giraffes, zebras, lots of birds whose names I don’t remember and generally were amazed. The highlight of our first drive was a huge lion who let us get within perhaps 10 or 15 feet of where he was resting, stretching, yawning, licking himself and generally acting like a the big cat he is. I thought about visiting the Galapagos and how amazing it was to get so close to the birds, reptiles and other animals there.  But none of them are considered dangerous and we knew we were quite safe.  Here there was that little element of danger that added spice to the experience.

During our afternoon safari we stopped for drinks and snacks. We parked near a small waterhole and watched some waterbuck while we nibbled pigs in a blanket and had a drink. There was everything from soda to juice to wine to gin and tonic to scotch. It was all set up on a folding camp table and we were presented with moistened washcloths first so we could wipe off our hands. Quite elegant!

The tents were very comfortable. There was a little veranda with a sofa, lamp, desk and chair, a large bed enclosed in netting with a headboard that held two lamps, a fan and whistle for emergencies, a bathroom area with a sink, large counter, sunken tub and two open air shower heads. Most of the tent was open around the sides, so monkeys could, and apparently do, come in to explore. We were advised to keep our toiletries zipped in a case and our suitcases closed. The front area around the veranda is zipped shut at night, but you can see through the netting and hear things moving.

At about ten minutes to five the next morning I was awakened by the sound of monkeys scampering across the roof of my tent.  I thought I would be too nervous to sleep, but our guides had been very reassuring.  They explained that we are neither food nor competition for food and so the animals really don’t care about us as long as we don’t do anything stupid.

The drums sounded at 5:30 and we wended our way to the dining area to start our first morning adventure at 6:00. Our morning safari was pretty successful. We saw lots of giraffes, a herd of buffalo, three rhinos close enough to get good pictures, kudu, wildebeest, impalas, waterbuck, a little steenbok, zebras and a few elephants. So in less than 24 hours we had seen several examples of four of the Big Five. We hadn’t seen a leopard yet, but we had a few more chances to try.

A funny moment while we were sitting and watching some elephants. One was facing us and quite close. One of the women said that this was closer than seeing them at the zoo. Just as she said "zoo" the elephant shook his head and made a sound, almost as if he was reacting to a word he didn't like to hear.

We drove through, over and around some rough terrain hoping for a leopard, but no luck yet. About halfway through the drive we stopped and again the folding table came out.  This time we were offered tea, coffee or hot coca and little muffins. At about 9 we returned to camp for brunch. Then, after a brief break we set put for a bush walk.

Vaughan took us around and showed us various animal tracks, some insects, some plants, and talked a little about conservation. It was interesting to do a little sightseeing on foot instead of from the vehicle, and we didn’t see anything scary, but I was glad that Vaughan had a rifle just in case.

Now that the day warmed up, I decided to shower.  When I finished and was just dressed, I heard something rustling at the front of my tent.  I assumed it was monkeys in the trees, but when I came around to the veranda I saw an elephant strolling by, eating grass just a few feet away, He stayed around for a while before moving on and another one – definitely bigger than any we saw yesterday or earlier - came by.  This one didn't come as close, but I could see him clearly through the brush.

This experience was amazing. I don't know if I can adequately describe how incredible it was to see these animals in the wild, get so close to them, and feel pretty safe doing it. When we were in the vehicles for the safari drives the only rules were keep arms inside, not stand up to take pictures, and get quiet when told to. And these rules had more to do with keeping the animals from being startled and going away than anything else.  On the walk, things were a little stricter. Besides the fact that Vaughan had a rifle, we were told to stay in single file, always behind the rifle, to stay fairly quiet while walking, and to follow directions without question if told to do something for our safety like climb a tree .Nothing remotely dangerous happened, but clearly it can and sometimes does. Vaughan made a big point of the fact that his concern for our safety was partly selfish. If a tourist dies on his watch he loses his guide license.

The afternoon drive was a success. We saw three cheetahs and later saw hippos. The people in the other vehicle saw a leopard, but by the time we got to where he had been seen he was gone. But we saw more of the same animals we had already seen and, in fact, joked about the fact that we had become very blasé about “common” sightings” like impalas, kudus, and giraffes.

The next morning we set out directly to find the leopard, but no luck. We had two more chances, the afternoon drive and our final morning drive on our last day. We did see a large herd of buffalo, some giraffes, some zebras, lots of impalas running and leaping back and forth across the road, some lovely birds, a couple of elephants and a large troop of baboons including several babies. One baboon sat up in a tree keeping a lookout for anything that might present a danger, very focused, very intent on doing his job.

The afternoon/evening safari was an amazing, awesome success. We started out seeing a lot of birds, and a lovely group of four zebras that were very cooperative about posing. One in particular reminded me of a runway model as he took a few steps across an open area, paused for a moment and turned his head to look our way as if posing for a snapshot – which of course he was! – and repeating the sequence several times as he crossed by us.

We also saw a male ostrich, all black with white under feathers. He shied away as we first approached, but then grew quite calm and we were able to get quite close to him. And we saw a rhino. They seem to be much shyer than the other animals and we could not get super close, but we were able to her some good pictures.

Vaughan made an excellent call when he suggested stopping early for our “sundowner” drinks and snacks. If we did that we could then search for the leopard as it was growing cooler and he would be out and about. So we stopped by a big watering hole where there were loads of geese, a few waterbucks and a couple of visible crocodiles. When we finished he got word over the radio of a leopard and we hurried off. The different guides and drivers stay in touch with each other during the drives, and if one sees something special he notifies the others so they can bring their group to see it as well.

Another safari vehicle stayed in place until we arrived, just as we had done the day before when we spotted cheetahs. Vaughan drove fast over bumpy roads and then into a field until we spotted the other vehicle and the leopard. He was magnificent and we spent several minutes watching him stroll around, use a bush as a scratching post, mark his territory and then climb up on a small termite mound or hillock and pose for us. It was a total treat and completed our Big Five sightings. It was really special to get to see him while it was still daylight. And when it started to get dark our tracker, Ezekial, used the spotlight and we got even more photos.

At dinner Vaughan commented on how cooperative we five ladies had been during the drives when we were trying to find the leopard. We had a few times when we drove really fast, ignoring elephants, giraffes, impalas and other animals in our quest to arrive at a spot where the leopard had been sighted. We were smacked in the face by flying beetles, jarred over huge bumps in the road and often over no road at all, but we didn't care. We wanted to see that leopard and finally we were successful.

Our final morning game drive was a huge success. First thing we saw was a male lion drowsing in the shade with a cub next to him and two females resting under a bush a few feet away. As before, he let us get quite close, looked up a couple of times and put his head down to nap. The cub walked around a little and then headed for its mom.

While we were watching the lions a herd of zebras came along.  They were quite close to the lions, but the lions were either too full or too sleepy to react.  We waited around for a bit to see if anything would happen, but it stayed quiet.

Further along we saw giraffes, a couple of elephants, some more birds - notably vultures sitting at the tops of trees warming themselves up before the day's excursions.  We stopped for our morning coffee, tea or cocoa near a watering hole we had visited before and did a bit more bird watching. On our way back to the camp we passed a little stretch where there were zebras, impalas, a couple of waterbucks and a gnu all together grazing. Quite a sight!  And pretty close to the camp we finally saw a warthog close enough and enough in the clear to get a couple of decent photos.

The safari experience was clearly the best part of the trip for me. In Johannesburg I found the Soweto tour and the Apartheid Museum interesting. The little stops in Knysna, Franschhoek and Hermanus had lovely the scenery and it was fun being right on the water with potential for seeing whales and dolphins, but I wouldn't necessarily have wanted to spend any longer in those places than we did. Capetown was interesting, but I liked the tour of Khayalitsha best. Robben island was fascinating as well.  And the penguins were fun to see. 

But this was unique.  The closest thing I can compare it with is the Galapagos, as I said before, but the animals there are not predators and not dangerous for the most part except to each other. We got closer to them there and that was pretty amazing, but here, being in an open vehicle just 10 or 15 feet from a lion or leopard, having an elephant walk calmly past your tent, having to stop the vehicle to let a herd of buffalo cross or watching impalas leaping back and forth expending energy is just sensational.

We flew from Hoedspruit, a tiny airport with one runway, to Johannesburg and said goodbye to the seven who were returning home. Four of us had signed up for the extension.  We returned to the same hotel in Johannesburg where we had stayed at the start of the trip and prepared to fly to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in the morning.

Getting into Zimbabwe was quite an experience. Two planes landed at more or less the same time, and we all formed one long line outside the airport building. Eventually we were separated into people requiring a single entry visa and those requiring a double entry. We needed double. It was a very slow process. There was only one person at each desk who took our immigration form, passport and money, hand wrote a receipt, found a blank page in the passport to paste and stamp the visa, wrote something in a ledger on his desk and then handed back the passport. Each person took about 2-3 minutes to process and we were at the back of the line! Our luggage had been brought from the plane to a large space just beyond the visa desks – no conveyor or anything, just piled up there. The one good thing about being at the end was that our luggage was clear of other suitcases.

More photos here

Our new tour leader, Priscilla, met us and suggested that we not go to the hotel as originally scheduled, but go straight to our first visit to a tradition village. She said it was close to the airport and if we went to the hotel we would just have to come back. That was fine with all of us.  After standing in line for nearly an hour we were happy to be sitting on the minibus drinking cold water.

The village visit was fascinating. The headman, Mr. Mpisi, spoke to us at length about the way things are organized in the community.  He described himself as the servant of the people, not their leader. He also spoke about God communicating through all of nature to everyone who listens. We walked around a bit, saw goats and chickens, some school kids, a communal kitchen, heard about how the women's council and the wife of the chief have more power than the men and learned that villagers can form collectives to get bank loans. It takes 6 women or 10 men. Apparently they consider the women more industrious and more responsible. We also saw some lovely carved pieces and paintings that were for sale. And I got to show off a skirt and hat crocheted out of cassette tape, accessorized with a purse made from two phonograph records with a strip of cloth glued between them. Not a pretty picture, but a very creative use of available materials.

The following day's activities started early.  We left the hotel at about 7:30 and headed for Botswana. It was about an hour's drive on an almost totally deserted road. While we were driving Priscilla told us a little about Zimbabwe's history. It started academically with names and dates, but when she got to the civil war that ravaged the country from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s it got very personal.  She told us about government forces coming into her village looking for rebels. They tortured her uncle and then shot him, forcing the villagers, including the children, to watch. They also prevented his family from burying him and the villagers had to watch his body rotting in the sun. She said she had scars herself from being tortured. Horrifying, sad, and hard to understand how she could talk about it and not be seething with hate. At dinner she spoke a little about it again and credited the elders in her village and family with helping the kids get past the nightmares and fears and to understand that punishment would eventually come to the people who did these terrible things, so they didn't have to worry or plan to take revenge themselves.

She spoke pretty openly about Mugabe and the problems he has caused, but said that anyone who had lived through civil war would not want to ever experience that again. Mugabe is old – nearly 90 –and will be out of power soon enough by natural means so there is no need to try to get rid of him now.

Getting through border control leaving Zimbabwe and entering Botswana was easy enough. We left our Zimbabwean driver, Tumi, and picked up our Botswana guide and driver, Oona. Then it was on to the Marina Chobe Lodge, a pretty fancy looking hotel on the Chobe River and near Chobe National Park.

We loaded into a four-by-four for a safari drive. It was different from Honeyguide in that there were a lot of other vehicles, some carrying as many as 12 passengers.  Also, the vehicles cannot go off-road. Despite that, we saw lots of hippos, a few crocodiles, many antelopes of various kinds and loads of elephants. The elephants were in nursing herds, led by a matriarch.  There were lots of babies, including a few that were still nursing.  Quite a sight! We even saw a lion, although he was not real close, sleeping under a bush. Sadly, the rhino population has been decimated by poachers looking for rhino horn to sell in the middle East and Asia where it is presumed to have aphrodisiac powers.

After a lovely lunch at the lodge, we set out for our afternoon excursion, a boat cruise on the river to see birds and other wildlife. We saw a lot of interesting birds, more crocs, hippos and elephants from a different perspective. At one point we watched as maybe 40 elephants came down to the water to drink and cool off. It was really amazing.

Back at the hotel, one of the women and I walked down to the gorge. There were a couple of persistent vendors along the way who tried to sell us carvings and, in one case, an old 5 million Zimbabwean note. When I said I didn't have money he offered to trade for my shoes! And when I said I needed my shoes, he offered to trade for my socks!

The gorge was quite spectacular, but pretty scary. There was a lookout point with a platform and I couldn't even get near the fence. A security guard showed us where the bungee jumping, zip lining and other “adrenalin activities” take place. He also walked us all the way back to the hotel, which was very kind of him.  I gave him a couple of dollars for his trouble. I don't know if he expected a tip, but I felt he deserved something. Later I read a very funny anecdote about the opening of the bungee jump.  There was a sign that said “Bungee jumping: $100.” An elderly security guard asked to try.  When they had him all strapped in, he asked when he was going to collect his money.  When they explained to him he didn’t get paid for jumping but had to pay them, he tore off the harness and ran away!

The next morning we were free and one of the other women and I planned to visit the shops and the open-air crafts market. After breakfast we walked into town.  It is not a long walk at all, but it was very hot and humid and I was totally dripping by the time we got to the shops. I wasn't really looking for anything, but the first time my companion made a purchase I realized that I needed to buy something in order to have small bills. So in one shop I bought a cute carved giraffe - very folk artsy. It was $12 and the woman in the shop had to call to a friend and send her to go get change of a twenty. It took a while, but it was sort of cool under the ceiling fan so I didn't mind too much.

We poked into a couple of other shops and then headed for the open market. We wanted to check out the women's collective. There were three large buildings with long rows of stalls, items displayed mostly on the floor and a woman at each one.   They were pretty aggressive, picking things up and shoving them in our faces, offering good prices for bowls, carved spoons, small animal carvings, beads and so on. Despite the fact that it was a little unsettling, I really did want to support them.  I ended up buying a carved wooden wall hanging of the Big Five.

I wanted to stop at another shop that benefitted blind and disabled, but with the condition that if it was the same set up I wouldn't be able to deal.  However, it turned out to be a proper shop. It was a relief to not be pushed to just look, just feel, just hold.  And as we were leaving the market a guy we had seen on the way in came running out to entice us into his shop. When I said we had no more money he said, "I knew you were going to say that. Thanks for being understanding." I thought that was sort of rude, but I guess they do hear the same comments from tourists all the time.

Our final activity included a wonderful lecture about the life and accomplishments of David Livingston, who “discovered” Victoria Falls. The lecturer was a fascinating storyteller who really made the history come alive. And our visit to the falls was spectacular.  They are one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, and rightly so.  We were there at the very end of the dry season, so some parts of the falls were dry or nearly dry and they were still amazing.  The power of all that water pouring over the edge of the drop and cascading down the sides of the gorge is just incredible.

The next day it was time to leave and return home. The flight from Victoria Falls to Johannesburg left right on time from the tiny airport, and the transfer to our flights back to the US went smoothly. It was a strange feeling to be in an airport thousands of miles from home and know my way around.  We were in the same terminal and same gates almost as when we flew to Zimbabwe, so I felt like an old hand. I exchanged my remaining rand at the first bureau I saw, so no more shopping.

We had about an hour and a half before boarding, so I did wander a little. It turned out that there was another, much stricter, security check at the gate. The security for our flights within South Africa and even from South Africa to Zimbabwe and back had been pretty informal.  No water confiscated, no shoes off, no little baggies with 3-ounce containers, no pat downs. The gate check for our flight home was US style - shoes off, pat downs, carry-ons opened, liquids dumped or small containers in a Ziploc bag. I got checked and patted down, boarded the plane, and settled in for the long trip home.

All in all it was a wonderful adventure and I brought home a few nice souvenirs, many photographs and lots of great memories.

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