Scuba and Goals

First off, I've added pictures to Picasa from when my mom visited. Be sure to check them out!

Now onto business. I finished my scuba certification course yesterday! Now I'm a scuba diver for life. The UCT underwater club, of which I'm a member, held an open water dive course so I signed up. Along with nine other students I got certified to dive up to 18m anywhere in the world. How cool is that?? We had two evenings of classroom instruction before getting in the water. Last Saturday I spent the entire day in a freezing outdoor pool on UCT's campus. We got to the club at 6:30AM and took a nice little swim in the pool before learning how to set up our gear. There were a bunch of skills we had to learn how to do before the end of the day, and we spent a few good hours in the pool. Sunday we met a little later in the morning and drove out to Windmill Beach in Simon's Town, about thirty minutes out of Cape Town, and did our first sea dive. It was so different! For one thing, the salt water tasted gross, as always. The visibility was really low, which was unfortunate, but I was so thrilled to actually be scuba diving in the ocean that I didn't really mind. In our first sea dive of the day (we did two that Sunday) we completed a few skills, then had a nice snack. For our second dive we got to swim around a little bit. That was really fun. It was the first time any of us got to stretch our legs and see what diving was really like. For the training dives we all kneel around in a circle and practice our skills, such as removing and replacing our masks underwater, sharing air with our buddy, etc., under heavy supervision so we stay safe. After two days of that, swimming around, even in murky water, was really fun. Once we got out of our gear and warmed up we went to this fish 'n' chips place in Kalk Bay called Kalky's. I'd never had fish 'n' chips before and I thought they were DELICIOUS. Maybe it was just because I was starving, but it hit the spot. We were all packing it in. Once we were done with lunch we took our exams and all of us passed. Yesterday (Tuesday) we didn't have school so we did our last dive. We went to a beach with a shipwreck not too far from shore to do our dives. It was so cold at the bottom! One guy said he was trying to use up all the air in his cylinder so he could get out of the water. Like on Sunday, the second dive was all about fun and we got to swim all around the wreck. It was so cool! There were sea creatures everywhere and little colorful invertebrates stuck all over the remains of the ship. I'm hooked on diving for sure. We went to a restaurant called Dixie's for a congratulatory drink after the dive. I'm so glad I signed up for the class. I wanted to try scuba out, but I had no idea how much I would enjoy it! It's like a completely new world has been opened to me and I'm so excited to start exploring.

Remember before I even left for South Africa I made a list of goals I hoped to fulfill on my trip? At the end I'll do a grand tally but I wanted to do an update to see where I stand. I thought this was a good time considering scuba was such a huge goal and I've just crossed it off.
1. Climb Table Mountain

2. Learn about South African wine

3. Learn to scuba dive
4. Cage Dive
5. Go on safari/go to Kruger

6. Travel to another African country
7. Visit Robben Island
8. Watch a soccer game. This will happen June 11, 2010. Uruguay v. France. Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town. WORLD CUP!
9. Learn some Xhosa. Meh, not really happening, but I can make many more clicks than before I left!
10. Try traditional South African food

11. Go whale watching. The whale season starts in June.
12. See penguins
13. Go to Kirstenbosch
14. Learn about South African art. I'm in the process of learning about South African art in my sacred art class.

15. Make friends with South Africans
16. Volunteer
17. Drive along the Garden Route

Maybe I should start adding to the list? I haven't got many left on the first one. But I'll save that for another post. Here are some things on the horizon:

Classes end May 12 (HOORAY), leaving me one week before my first exam. The oppotunities for travel in the week are endless. It looks like I'll be spending that week in Namibia traveling to the Fish River Canyon, the Skeleton Coast, and the Namib Desert. After finals, I plan on spending five days in Mozambique, where I'll be able to practice my new scuba skills. Possible trips to Malawi or Madagascar have been floating around, but I do have to pick and choose and Namibia and Mozambique are definitely top of my list. Starting June 11th is the World Cup, and I cannot wait to see what this place will be like.

-Sarah

Caldwell Girls Reunite! My Mom's Week in the Mother City

Now here's the post I've been waiting to write! As I mentioned at the end of my spring break post, I met up with my mom at the Joburg airport on the Sunday at the end of spring break. That wonderful couple hours was only the beginning of an AMAZING week. We met at the Cape Town airport when my mom's flight got in and hopped in a cab to Obs. My mom had booked her stay at the Aloe House B&B months in advance, but because of a mixup on the owner's part, my mom's room went to my friend's mom instead. So that first night we snuggled up in my house. It actually worked out better that way, because we didn't have to separate on the first night :)

Our first morning we headed to Mimi's, a wonderful little restaurant in Observatory, for breakfast. I don't know what my mom liked better, the fresh yogurt and latte or the view of Table Mountain from our table. After breakfast we took the Jammie up to UCT, where I had to turn in a paper. UCT is so beautiful and has an amazing view, so we would have ended up there anyways. Once the academic business was over with, we walked down the mountain and hailed a minibus for downtown. Luckily, we didn't get one that was too dodgy or broken down. The first stop in Cape Town was Vida e Cafe, a lovely coffee chain that serves the best coffee and snacks. It's right in this little cobblestone area that's always bustling, so it was the perfect place to stop and people watch while sipping away. From there we went to Green Market Square, the hectic and immense African curio market that takes up a whole city block. We went on a rampage and bought dozens of gifts and trinkets. My mom is an excellent bargainer! I had no idea. We bought things for prices I never even knew possible. Long Street was next on our list. We went into various shops, took in the sights, and explored the African Music Store. We also took a very nice stroll through the Company Gardens, a spot I hadn't been to yet. The Company Gardens is like the Central Park of Cape Town, but more landscaped like an actual garden. Large trees, beautiful flowers and shady pathways make it a great spot. Along the paths are various sculptures and art installations. At the edge of the Gardens are numerous museums which were all being renovated in anticipation of the World Cup (now less than fifty days away!). Finished with our walk, we headed back towards Green Market Square and had some lunch at a little cafe I'd always wanted to try. We each had a glass of wine and shared the most amazing roasted veggie salad.

Once back at my house we started looking for a replacement hotel. What we ended up finding was a very nice place called the Courtyard, which happened to be not far from my house. When we got to the hotel, it seemed as if we were the only people staying there. It's a spacious hotel with lots of courtyards (hence the name) and a great view of the mountain. The lobby had a complementary bar service, apples and other fruit, cookies, muffins, and coffee. Our room was great. I say 'our' because I stayed with my mom the whole time. Saying in a nice hotel was such a luxury after spending ten days in the bush. The room even had cable and internet.

That night my mom took my and four friends and me out to dinner downtown. We initially tried to go to Mama Africa, an infamous African restuarant on Long Street, but were unable to because we didn't have reservations. Instead we went to Cape to Cuba, a restaurant with a great vibe right across the street. They were only serving tapas and it was delicious. I'd never had tapas before and thought it was great. We ordered so much food and drinks. For dessert we had a couple desert-beverages. Before long it was time to head home, where we watched a crazy movie while falling asleep.

On her second day in Cape Town, my mom and I went on a guided Peninsula and wine lands tour. In the morning we took the hotel taxi service to the waterfront and had a quick breakfast before leaving for the tour. Our first stop was Boulders Beach, where we got to see the penguins. A bunch of them had babies. It was such a beautiful day. Not too hot but very sunny and pleasant. And not too windy, which is always a treat. After the penguins we went to Cape Point, where we hiked up to the lighthouse and around on the paths a little bit. Our tour guide knew so much, and it was fun chatting with her. We were with three other women on the morning tour. A mother and daughter from Spain and a friend of theirs from Germany. The six of us, including our tour guide, had a great time. After the morning tour my mom and I grabbed lunch at a nice restaurant at the waterfront. We also had a scoop of melty vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate sauce and watched the boats go by. In the afternoon we set off for Stellenbosch for some wine tasting. We first went to Spier, a vineyard that is absolutely made with wine tasting in mind. It's beautifully landscaped and set up, with many different buildings housing restaurants, distilleries, and the tasting room and wine shop. We tasted five wines and bought two bottles, a white and a rose. After Spier we went on a tour of the town of Stellenbosch. I had never seen the town and was surprised at how beautiful it was. Most of the architecture is of the Cape Dutch style, meaning whitewashed buildings with the decorative rooftops. We went to a second vineyard where we did more tasting as well as a cellar tour where we got to see how the wine was made. There were grapes all over the floor as well as three resident dogs, all three of which made me miss Roxy, which in turn made me miss Oliver. In the cellar there were thousands of barrels of wine. Our guide explained that the wood from the barrels came from all over the world, which I thought was pretty cool. It turns out none of the trees in South Africa have wood strong/dense enough to make wine barrels because trees here grow too fast, making their wood too porous to hold wine. I enjoyed seeing how wine was made, since I'm most often only on the consuming end. We bought two bottles from the second vineyard, a red and a white. I'm having a glass of white wine from this vineyard as I write this post, actually. It's quite delicious. Along with our wine tasting we had a cheese tasting. The cheeses were good, even though I thought the cheese my mom and I had at our cheese tasting in Chicago on Christmas Eve was better ;) We headed back to Cape Town after this last wine tasting feeling a little loopy.

At Cape Point

A beautiful day at the waterfront

Heaven is wine cellar 

That night we took my friends Erin and Jess out to dinner at Mama Africa, where we'd thought ahead and made reservations. There's live music every night at Mama Africa, and it has a total party atmosphere. We were seated right by the band. The group that played was great! It was a few guys playing drums a couple guys singing. The singers were so cool. They had this Afri-opera style that blew my mind. They had the whole restaurant dancing. Our meal was as amazing as the music. We split a sprinbok salad and crocodile skewers that were to die for. My mom brought the bottle of red she bought that day on our tour and we drank it with dinner. We all had really good meals; cape salmon, lamb curry, prawns and chicken malay. We followed the wine with margaritas and I can't remember if there was dessert involved.

The third day, Wednesday, we woke up early and went running. Can you imagine a true Caldwell girls trip without running? We took a cab to the waterfront and ran to Camps Bay. It was such a beautiful morning for a run. Not too hot or windy, and the sun was to our backs. Running along the seaside trail is always such a treat. When we got to Camps Bay we stopped for breakfast before taking a stroll along the beach. I had a test that afternoon (whomp, whomp) and afterwards we went back to the hotel, did some laundry and packed, and relaxed. That night we went to dinner at The Wild Fig, a restaurant right next to our hotel. It's funny, because our good friend of the family, Victor, who frequently conducts the Cape Town Symphony, had recommended it to us as one of his favorite restaurants and it just happened to be right next to the hotel. It totally deserves the rave reviews because dinner was out of this world. I can't even explain it to you, it was just delicious.

The next morning we left for Kruger. Our flight left at 5:15 and I slept the entire way. From the Joburg airport we got a cab to a hotel in a nearby suburb where we were scheduled to meet up with our tour group. Our tour group ended up consisting of us and six Norwegian students, four girls and two guys, studying in Cape Town at the Cape Peninsula School. Gustav and Nicholas were our tour guides. They were both young, and Nicholas ended up being younger than me. So we set off in our bus named Pavarotti and five hours later we were in Kruger. Kruger is beautiful. I was expecting more flat and arid land expances like in Botswana, but Kruger had lush and rolling hills. The first day we were there we went on a mini game drive and saw a few animals. My mom and I had upgraded to accommodated lodgings so we got to stay in little huts instead of tents. I did not know what to expect since I was used to living a rudimentary existence in manky old tents. I am so glad we upgraded. The first place we stayed was like a mini lodge. It had extremely comfortable beds, electricity, a shower, a kitchen with a fridge, and air conditioning. We went to the campsite for dinner but retired to our cool indoor sanctuary right after eating. Sleep was so good that night.

Kruger is a beautiful place

The next morning we took off for the next campsite. Along the way we incorporated a morning game drive and saw a ton of animals. We got to see three huge lions! They were just lounging on the side of the road. It was awesome. We stopped at the campsite for lunch and then had an afternoon game drive. On this one we saw a herd of hundreds of buffalo. It was crazy to see so many in one place. We also saw baby monkeys playing on the side of the road. They were so cute. In addition we saw numerous giraffes and zebras. The second place we stayed was in the main camp at Kruger and it was so busy. The campsite was like a little transient city plopped in the middle of a nature reserve. A cool thing about Kruger is that you can't just go on a walk through the park if you want. You have to schedule it with the park officials and they supply you with an armed guard and a guide. We didn't do any of that. Our second hut was awesome. It was this circular, thatched-roof hut with the kitchen and fridge outside on the porch with instructions to place a chair against the fridge so the monkeys couldn't get in. Again, there were extremely comfortable beds with the softest sheets and air conditioning. That night we had dinner at the campsite and hung out for a while afterwards. Everyone on the tour was really cool and friendly and we all got along well. The Norwegians were all second year students and were friends from back in Norway. They were really funny and had some great stories. The guides were great. Gustav was quite, but he knew a lot about the wildlife and had some great stories from growing up on a farm. We found out he's planning on opening up his own lodge with his fiance, which is so fitting for him. He's a real sweetheart. Nicholas was great fun to have around the campfire. He's had some crazy adventures, and has even had malaria and lived to tell the tale. So we had story time around the campfire and got to know each other a little better before heading to bed.

Herd of buffalo

On the third day we left Kruger for a private game reserve right outside the park. On the way we passed a huge elephant munching on some leaves right on the side of the road. It was amazing! We were so close to him and got to watch him grabbing the leaves with his trunk and stuffing them into his mouth. I loved it. After a bit of a drive we arrived at the next campsite. This place had really neat buildings and huts, with colorful geometric designs painted on the sides. After getting camp set up and eating lunch, we went on a tour of the village across the road from the camp. Our village guide took us all around and explained to us how all the electricity and water are funded and installed by the government. So everybody gets water, electricity, etc. for free. The question is how often do the lights actually turn on when you flick the switch and does one light bulb for an entire house really count as electricity. But that's besides the point of our quaint little tour, which made my mom and me quite uncomfortable. It felt strange to be led through these people's homes and lives like they're in a perpetual Colonial Williamsburg. Not so cool. What was cool was what you got to see when you looked beyond the strange. This village was beautiful in its surroundings and simplicity. There were beautiful gardens and trees and flowers everywhere, not all landscaped like most places but free as well as cared for. People's houses are like compounds, where a plot of land is fenced off and on it are various separate buildings each with a specific function. I really liked this one building in a compound that had been painted in bright colors unlike any of the rest. It was quite pretty. We made a stop into the witch doctor's hut, where there were bones in jars and bottles filled with various tonics. The door had a creepy black hand-print smudged onto it and the whole thing gave me a weird feeling. 

In the witchdoctor's hut

Pretty building

Village living

After the tour we had a night game drive back at Kruger. I had a lot of expectations for this tour, but it fell short. We didn't see many animals, at least nothing in the big five. One cool thing was we saw a battle royale between two wildebeests. One wildebeest was up in the other's territory so they duked it out. By far the biggest moment of the game drive was when, after feeling like something was touching my foot for five minutes, I finally looked down to find the BIGGEST BUG EVER laying there beside my foot. AHHHH! I freaked out and kicked the thing off the bus. It was terrifying and enormous and I have pictures to prove it. But what was really the coolest part of the night drive was the sunset, which, like most African sunsets, blew my mind.

AHHHH!

That's a bingo. Kruger sunset.

The next morning we left camp after a quick morning game walk. The site we were at didn't have much large game on it, but we did get to see a giraffe and a large kudu. We also saw two enormous spiders. Our lunatic guide Axen said they weren't poisonous, but I think otherwise. The drive back to Joburg was breathtaking. We drove through mountains that are beautiful in their own right, but we stopped at some truly amazing spots along the way. First we stopped at God's Window, a spot where you can see into a large gorge/valley between the mountains. There was also a very pretty spot where you were right at the edge of a drop-off and you could see these really interestingly shaped mountains, like huts. After driving a bit longer we stopped at the Bourke's Luck Potholes in the Blyde River Canyon. They were so cool! I'd never seen anything like them. First you walk out over this rocky ledge to a waterfall (beautiful) and then after crossing some bridges you're right over the Potholes! The water from the waterfall caused these wild holes to form in the rock. They were amazing. After the Potholes we booked it to the airport where my mom and I shared some amazing nachos and some salad. Then it was home to Cape Town.

The view from God's Window

Another view from the Window

At the Potholes

Bourke's Luck Potholes!

In the morning we still had some time before my mom's flight so we (of course) went running. After our run we had a nice breakfast in Obs, this time at a lovely organic restaurant called Quench. Our coffee was served to us in individual French presses and was delicious. The food was equally, if not more, tasty. Then, sadly, it was time for my mama to leave. It was a sad occasion and I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry the whole day and watch Love Actually three times. My mom's visit was amazing, and I'm so lucky she was able to come. I didn't realize how much I missed home until I got to spend the week with my mama, and it took some time to get back to feeling normal (or Cape Town normal, that is). We always have the best time together, and this was no exception!

-Sarah

New Photos!

I uploaded pictures from spring break. You can find them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahcaldwell9/SpringBreak#.

I also put more pictures up of my hike up Table Mountain. http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahcaldwell9/CapeTown#

Enjoy!

-Sarah

PS Here's a newly discovered picture by my neighbor/quasi-roommate Kristine:

The roommates minus Erin: Jugal, Alex, Kristine, me, and Callie at the top of Table Mountain.

Recent Activities

Good news, everybody: I turned 21, had an AMAZING birthday celebration, and didn't get a hangover OR throw up! Monday, April 12, 2010 I entered the world of (legal) drinking. Myself along with a bunch of friends went to a nice bar in Camps Bay (a nice area south of Cape Town, think Miami) called Cafe Caprice on Sunday. My friends supplied me with drinks the whole night and everybody, including myself, got thoroughly drunk. We all had a really great time and I'm really happy I was able to celebrate my birthday here with such wonderful people. I also got to wear my cowboy boots, always a bonus. Initially I was bummed that I wouldn't be celebrating my 21st birthday where turning 21 actually matters, but I'm really happy I celebrated it in Cape Town. Not only does it make an awesome story when people ask what I did for my 21st, but I really had an amazing time with really great friends. My friend Sam took some really epic pictures on Sunday night that made my birthday complete. On Monday I stayed in bed all day, until I met my friend Jess for some Cha Chi's chocolate cake, chocochino crush, AND potato wedges. Epic. For dinner a bunch of us went to Pancho's, a local Mexican restaurant that serves extremely potent and delicious margaritas. I was so stuffed from my enormous meal that I could barely go out that night, which was probably a good thing. At Pancho's they give the birthday girl/boy a shot of tequila and a sombrero to wear. I looked goofy but that tequila was super yummy. I coincidentally drank tequila most of the night and my huge dinner probably saved me from a tequila-induced death. 

Last weekend I FINALLY climbed Table Mountain. It was so hard. The trail was moderate but the weather made it immoderate and strenuous. It was blazing hot outside and we were in the sun for the most of it. The trail was a wasteland of people sitting down panting and guzzling water. I like to think of myself as an athletic person and I was dying. Even though the trail was hard, the views made it worth it. All up the trail were amazing sights of the city and the outlying ocean and mountains. After about two hours of hiking I made it to the top. It was great! I had finally conquered the mountain that had been looming over me for so many months. Being on the top was so cool. The view was out of this world. You could see the whole mountain range and what seemed like the whole world. The sea was a beautiful blue, as was the sky. The air was perfectly clear and we could see for miles and miles. There's a restaurant at the top of the mountain so after some refueling, we went down. This part was so hard for me. Something about going down is really difficult, and I definitely struggled. Climbing the mountain was worth all the pain. 

Victory is the view from Table Mountain

Kapstaad (Cape Town in Afrikaans)

Yesterday I went to Stellenbosch with a few friends. I actually just got back a few hours ago. My good friend Lara lived in a township right next to Stellenbosch called Kayamandi. She brought about ten of us to visit the family she stayed with for the five months she lived there. The mom of the house, Mama Lily, is an amazing cook and hosts dinners and caters events. We were lucky enough to have dinner at her house. This. Meal. Was. Amazing. There were multiple courses and as she presented them to us beautifully while explaining everything we were eating. First we had this corn and bean soup. The description does not do it justice, as corn and beans have never tasted so good before. She transformed them into a soup masterpiece. We then had chicken curry with this crazy bread. The curry was great, and wasn't too spicy. The bread was a monster ball of warm doughy bliss. It was the most filling bread I've ever eaten and was absolutely to die for. Then we moved onto the main course, which was comprised of chicken, pap, pumpkin puree, spinach, and chakalaka. The chicken could not have come from anywhere but heaven, and I'm going to leave it at that. I've never had such good pap before in my life. Usually I don't like it that much, since it doesn't have much flavor. Pap looks like mashed potatoes, but tastes like nothing. This pap, though, was fricking awesome. I don't know why. I'm not the biggest fan of the way spinach is traditionally prepared, so I kept away from it. Pumpkin is used frequently in South Africa, and it's definitely a good thing. Mama Lily's pumpkin was pureed and had cinnamon and other spices in it. It was almost like a dessert. My favorite part was the chakalaka. Chakalaka is this delicious veggie dish of tomatoes, peppers, carrots, onions, and beans in tangy/spicy sauce. I've had it before at various braais and restaurants, but Mama Lily's put it all to shame. It is my solemn promise to all of you who read my blog that I will perfect my chakalaka recipe and make it for you when I'm home. It is my favorite traditional dish. How could anybody not love it with a name like chakalaka?? Mama Lily topped us off with this muffin/cupcake hybrids. They were shaped like muffins and had the consistency of muffins, but were sweet like cupcakes and had a sweet cream on top. If I could I would have eaten ten, but I physically could not eat anything else. Mama Lily had also made ginger beer and this great juice that had a bunch of fruit juices in it, but all I know is it was the best juice ever. 

CHAKALAKA. Not Mama Lily's, I found it on google, but this is what the dish looks like.

After dinner Tuli and Ati, Mama Lily's daughters, gave us a tour of Kayamandi. Kayamandi is situated across from Stellenbosch and the people in the township definitely got the better view. From Mama Lily's house you can see the Stellenbosch and all the beautiful mountains. I enjoyed walking around Kayamandi. When you first see a township you think it's the saddest thing, but after a going to them time and time again you realize that the people are really happy. Nobody should have to live in a shack without running water or electricity, but the people living in townships have a very positive outlook and I think we could all learn something from the simplicity of life and sense of community they have. One crazy thing in Kayamandi were these things called 'smileys'. The girls asked us if we wanted to go see the smiley goats, and we did. I was thinking 'cool! a goat that smiles!'. NO. Smiley's are goat heads, cooked and charred. There were a bunch of them! EWW! Somebody was taking a searing knife and further burning them. It was so creepy, but oddly fascinating. 

Five of us girls spent the night in Stellenbosch and had a good time. Stellenbosch is a really fun town, and I got to see my friend Eric who is studying there for the semester. I plan on going back sometime so I can spend more time in the town, since we had to get back early to Cape Town to return our friend's car. Mainly, I want to go shopping there and eat at all the cute cafes. I have some housekeeping to do today, literally and figuratively. I still have laundry left over from spring break (gag) as well as a pile of dishes to wash. This evening I'm going out to dinner with a few friends at a new Africa restaurant that opened on Lower Main Rd. I went on Sunday for the first time and the meal was great. It's a really traditional place and they even brought out a basin for us to wash our hands. That's a common thing, to wash your hands in bowl of water before eating. I really like the custom. There is something so personal and symbolic about passing around the washing bowl and towel and washing up together, right at the table. Last time I had beef stew and it was sooooooooo good. Everyone should at some point come to South Africa and eat traditional Africa food. There isn't anything like it. The last time I went to the place I'm going tonight I felt like I was eating a home cooked meal. It was really nice and comforting. The owner was really friendly and talked to us a few times. It really felt like home. 

Anyways, I should get to the dishes. Everyone's mission is to go out and find an African restaurant and try some African food! I can guarantee you will love it and hopefully this post has peaked your interest.

-Sarah

THE EPIC SPRING BREAK POST

Without further delay, in what will probably be the longest blog post ever, I’m going to tell you about my epic spring break. As a basic overview, I spent ten days traveling through southern Africa in a large, 22-person overland truck named Janis. I went to Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We drove between each campsite and spent a good many hours in Janis, sleeping, getting bounced around, and playing cards. Not to mention the occasional day drinking. Here it goes:

We set off from Cape Town airport on Friday morning at 6:30 and flew to Joburg. I had never been on a flight where you had to walk up the steps from out on the tarmac, so I thought that was cool. The flight was great, I got to sit in the window seat and look out over South Africa for two hours (when I wasn’t sleeping). We set off for Botswana and after hours and hours of driving we finally made it to the border. Janis, our bus, is named after Janis Joplin. All Nomad tour buses (Nomad organized our trip) are named after famous musicians. We stayed in a nice campsite not far from the border. After setting up our tents we had a braai with the two other groups on the trip. We took off early the next day and drove further into Botswana. We slept at a camp near the entrance to the Okavango Delta and in the evening got to take a scenic flight over the Delta. I swear the pilot of my little five-person plane was no older than me, but he did a great job. We flew really close to the ground and got to see plenty of animals.

JANIS!

The next day we set off really early for the Delta in these open-air trucks. The ride took about three hours and it was arduous. We were crammed into this bus for the bumpiest ride ever. Even though the ride was kinda bogus, the scenery was really beautiful and we got our first glimpse of animals. I think we saw elephants, impala, and giraffes. We rode to the end of the road from which point we were transported by makoras. Makoras are wooden canoes carved out of various kinds of trees found in the Delta. At a certain point, makoras are the only way to travel in and out of the Delta. We packed all of our gear into the two-person makoras and set off into the wild. The ride was about an hour and a half. It was soothing to float through the reeds and lilies, even though it was sweltering and sunny with no shade. I can’t imagine a better introduction to the Delta. Our campsite was right on the water and was surrounded by thick forest. It was truly rustic. There wasn’t any running water or electricity, so we carried all of our water in and the only light we had at night was the fire. I had never been so far removed from civilization before and it felt wonderful.

Getting situated 

Floating down the Delta

We arrived at our camp in the early afternoon and were absolutely starving. After putting up our tents we had our long-awaited lunch (eight hours, actually, since our 6am breakfast). As I was walking with my loaded plate of tuna salad, I had the unfortunate experience of getting boiling water spilled down my leg. What happened was I was walking past the fire, one of the women who was helping the group for our time in the Delta was getting a pot of water off the fire. As I passed her, she turned and we bumped into each other, making the water splash onto me. A patch of skin on my hip was badly burned and blistered. The group helping us, who had also driven our makoras, was so sweet and took care of me, giving me ice and hugs. It cleared up fine, and by now is healed. It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t go swimming in the marshes immediately after lunch. The water felt AMAZING. It was so hot and we had been sitting exposed to the sun for hours that morning. Our group and another group all swam in the same spot, and a feisty chicken fighting match ensued. The representatives from my group won, of course, since lions are indeed king of the jungle. That evening we went on a game walk with one of the helpers, Julius. We didn’t see much that evening but it was really pretty as the sun set. At night we hung out by the fire and went to bed early since we had a very early morning the next day.

Lion's camp in the Delta

View from camp, makoras

Before the sun rose we set out on a three-hour game walk through the Delta. The sunrise was amazing and it was pleasantly cool outside. We came upon a herd of giraffes and zebras roaming around together. There were so many of them! And we got so close! I never thought I’d ever be that close to that many animals in the wild. They were so beautiful and majestic. As we got closer they took off running, and though I felt bad to have scared them, they looked even more beautiful in motion. We also saw a huge group of baboons and a ton of impala. The walk was fun and tiring, and we were welcomed back by our cook, Albert, with bacon and eggs. That day we had nothing to do so we brought out the sleeping pads from the tents and lounged around all day. We must have looked like slugs. The women in the group that came along with us set out bracelets and baskets that they had weaved out of reeds and grass that we could buy. I bought a very pretty basket and a bracelet. We could sit and watch them weaving the bracelets. In the afternoon we tried out steering the makoras, which was quite a hilarious scene. They’re so hard to steer! The makoras are about seven to ten feet long and are heavy. You steer them by standing in the back and pushing the boat along with a long pole. It was pretty fun, even though it was hard and we all frequently got stuck in the reeds. After a short swim we headed back to camp for lunch and afterwards it rained an absolute downpour.

So close!

Once it stopped raining we went on a beautiful sunset ride in the makoras. We went to this one opening in the marshes where we could watch the sunset and where there were a bunch of hippos. I was mildly terrified of the hippos, since they’re responsible for the most animal-caused human deaths every year. Luckily, my fears of being trampled weren’t realized. The clouds from the storm made for a lovely sunset, of which I took maybe thirty photos. Back at the camp, we were treated to a show by the group of Botswanans who had come along to help us. They sang traditional songs for us and preformed dances and stories along with the songs. It was so cool. I was almost brought to tears, thinking about where I was and what I was experiencing. I think everyone had a little moment when they started singing. We all got up to dance with them for some songs, which was both hilarious and great fun. The songs they sang all related to village life and rites of passage or other themes. After a song, which was usually sung in Swana, one of the members would explain what the song was about. When they were done we preformed for them. Two guys in the group wrote a rap about being in Botswana and we sang Shosholosa, a song I’ve mentioned in a previous post.

The sunset by which I will judge all future sunsets.

We left the Delta early the next morning the same way we came. Starved again, we had a large lunch back in civilization (including double scoop ice cream for cheap). We then set off for Camp Baobab near the Zambian border. It was such a cool campsite with a pool, bar, and baobabs. Unfortunately we did not get there in time to truly enjoy it, but it was cool to check it out. The next day we left for Chobe game park. Along the way we had to get out the bus, bring all of our shoes and sanitize them. It was so weird. I guess Botswana has a potential livestock disease problem so you have to make sure you don’t track any wild animal poop out on your shoes. At the Chobe campsite we were able to hit up the bar, a pleasant diversion. We went on a sunset cruise along the Zambezi River and had a great time. We stopped and saw about ten hippos chilling in the water and another perfect sunset as well. In the morning we went on a game drive through the park. We saw so many animals! Elephants, impala, warthog, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, cool birds, and a LION. Chobe was really pretty, and seeing all those animals was awesome; especially seeing the lion, which is a rarity in Chobe. After the drive we set off for Zambia.

Sunset from the Zambezi cruise

Chobe sunrise

LION

Crossing the border into Zambia is quite the experience. First, you have to wait in line for the ferry to take you and your bus across the Zambezi River. This could take anywhere from no time to five hours. We didn’t have to wait too long, luckily. The strangest part was getting onto the people ferry. The ferry didn’t come right up to the bank. Instead, we had to wade out to it. It was about a ten-minute ride to the other side, and on the other bank we again had to wade to the shore. So strange. We had to wait for about an hour to get our passports stamped and for Janis to make it to the other side. Once the ordeal was over, we left for Livingstone, Zambia. Livingstone is right on Victoria Falls and we stayed in this totally awesome campsite called the Waterfront. The area around Victoria Falls is infused with references to the Belgian explorer Livingstone, as everything is named Livingstone and there are statues of him everywhere. This was much to my delight, since I love 'Heart of Darkness' which is a book all about a man being sent to find Dr. Livingstone. Our camp was right on the Zambezi River and had a restaurant, really nice bar and deck area, two pools, and legitimate showers. The camp was really spread out and beautifully landscaped. There were also dozens of little monkeys roaming around. That evening we went to Victoria Falls to explore a bit. We went on this one trail that took you right along the edge opposite the lip of the falls. Since it’s the rainy season, the falls were so intense and at maximum volume. We got completely soaked from all the mist. There was a bridge that took you right across this gorge and we got drenched by the falls. It was like being inside a hurricane. I’ve never felt more soaked in my entire life. The power of the falls is unbelievable. They are truly fierce. On the other side, from where the water falls off and hence you stay dry, we were able to watch as the river ended and the falls started. The currents looked wild and if you fell in, you’d be sucked of the edge for sure. We were standing taking pictures at the bank of the river, about fifty feet from the edge, when all of a sudden a Zambian guy jumped into the river! We were stunned and thought he was surely going over the edge. About twenty feet from the edge he started swimming and made it to the bank. It was terrifying, as we all thought we were about to watch somebody die. With water that fast and full of fierce currents, it would have been impossible for any of us to help him. If you go over the falls, there is no hope of surviving. When he got out he told us he had been swimming at the lip of the falls his whole life and knew the currents really well. That would be a little too much adrenaline for me. I’ll stick to jumping off bridges.

The girls and Mike. Imagine somebody floating by right behind us.

That night Albert had made us a traditional African meal and it was absolutely delicious. We had pork chops, pap with red sauce, butternut squash with cinnamon, and coleslaw. I don’t know if I’ve had a better meal. The next day we went on various adventures. Some people rode elephants and some went bungy jumping. I went abseiling in the gorge. It was a day affair and involved a zipline, repelling down the gorge, and a gorge swing. The zipline was fun and you got a nice view of the gorge. The repelling was kind of lame, I thought, but a lot of people really liked it. We had to walk up to the top of the gorge after repelling down and it was the hardest walk of my life. It was a billion degrees outside and something about this hike, maybe because it was steep, made it impossible. We had to stop for ten minutes at one point to catch our breath. Thankfully they had the foresight to put a cooler of water halfway up. When we got to the top we had to wait in line for the gorge swing. It was about an hour wait and I was starving. I felt like I was going to pass out if I didn’t eat something. I asked if they had snacks but instead they had something much better. A beautiful bottle of delicious, cold Coke. I swear Coke has never tasted so good. I gulped mine down in less than two minutes, no doubt. The gorge swing was really cool. I went tandem with my friend Jess, who went bungy jumping with me on the garden route. We went backwards and I was terrified. It was really fun though. Walking back up the gorge was not that much fun, especially because there was not water left in the cooler so we had to break chunks of ice and chew on them. After the day at the gorge I sat at the pool and read, wrote in my journal, and ate ice cream. That night we had another delicious meal and had a bit of a party at the bar.

The next day we went to Zimbabwe. We had to walk across this bridge to get across the border and the view was amazing. It was right by the falls so the water below was really rough. There were small waterfalls trickling down the sides of this huge lush gorge. In Zimbabwe we had to take out money from the ATM and much to my surprise, it gave me US dollars! Even since the Zimbabwe currency crashed, they’ve been using US dollars as their currency. I think Zimbabwe has all of our old $2 bills, since I got a bunch from the bank. It was neat to have US dollars again, though they were much harder to part with than rand, which has a assumed an air of Monopoly money. In Zimbabwe I went on a lion walk with my group at a lion rehabilitation and protection center. We got to walk with two four-month old lions, a brother and sister. It was so cool! We each got to walk alongside them and pet them. Then we got to go see two older lions and hang out with them for a little. That was neat because they were a lot bigger and we got to be really close to them. After the lions, we went to a market where you can trade your stuff for goods. I was wearing a bandana and dozens of people wanted to trade me for it. This one guy kept trying to get me to trade him my gym shoes. So many of the people in my group ended up sockless and one girl traded her sleeping bag for a tall wooden giraffe. I bought a lot of stuff, including a wooden chess set that has animals as the pieces. On the walk back to Zambia, we could see a complete rainbow when we stopped on the bridge. Since we were at the top of a gorge that was full of mist from the falls, we could see the whole circle of the rainbow. It was amazing.

View from the bridge

That night Albert cooked us a steak dinner. Afterwards the whole group proceeded to get drunk off of boxed wine. We had a legitimate college party way out there in Zambia. We played a bunch of fun games. One great game we played was everyone had to say something they really enjoyed from the trip and if you also enjoyed it, you had to drink. After somebody from another camp came and asked us to be quiet, we moved the party to the bar. There, we proceeded to party until the wee hours of the night, then went swimming, and then passed out. We awoke in the morning to a complete downpour that had turned many of the tents into rafts and our campsite into a river. A bunch of people’s stuff got totally soaked and the tents were all wet. Luckily we pitched our tent (which Jess and I had named Lady Gaga) on high ground so we stayed dry. In our hungover state we packed up camp for the last time and left for the airport. We said goodbye to Albert, Brian (our driver), and good old Janis and left for Joburg.

At the Joburg airport the most amazing thing happened. I was able to meet up with my mom!!! Our layovers overlapped and we ran into each other at my check in. It was so wonderful. I wasn’t sure if we would be able to meet up because her flight got in right as I would have to check in. My flight was delayed and for once, it was a good thing. We got to hang out at the airport for a couple hours before I had to take off. Then we met up at the Cape Town airport a few hours later. A perfect end to a perfect trip. More to come on my mom’s visit in the next post!

-Sarah

Just a little post to hold you over

My apologies for not posting in so long! Ten days in Botswana/Zambia/Zimbabwe, followed by my mom coming to visit for a week including a trip to Kruger, followed by ruthless art history teachers with no sympathy and no soul doesn't leave much time for blogging.

Just a general update, I'm back in Cape Town, readjusting to a life that sadly doesn't include long drives through the countryside, wild animals, camping, or amazing sunrises/sunsets. What my life does include this week is a 4-6 page paper on Renaissance art that I have not yet started. I asked my professor for an extension because I am literally exhausted (look up the definition of exhaustion in Websters and you will find my picture) and he said no. Wow, who knew I was being educated by Scrooge? But poor me, the reason I'm so tired is because I was fortunate enough to spend the past two weeks traveling through Southern Africa and being visited by my lovely mama. So I'll put my nose to the grindstone, or more accurately pull out the old bullshitting hat and get to work. You can hopefully expect the first blog installation of my past two weeks by Monday. That is if I don't spend my entire 21st birthday weekend in a semi-intoxicated/hungover state. Hopefully blogging will make its way onto the agenda. 

-Sarah

PS Here is one sample picture from spring break. In keeping with my blog, my Picasa has also been sorely neglected. Update to come soon!

View from the scenic plane ride over the Okavango Delta, in Botswana.