AFRICA TRIP 2006

LONDON

2006-12-20T12:01:00.000-08:00

October 14-16 -- LONDON

We drove to Kim’s house in Lafayette, left my car there, and got a shuttle to SFO. The flight was easy and we landed in London Sunday afternoon (Oct. 15). We checked into the hotel – on Jermyn Street near Piccadilly Circus – took a short nap and then headed out to explore.

We walked from the hotel to Buckingham Palace, admiring the buildings and the parks along the way, then wandered back towards Piccadilly Circus, explored the Piccadilly area, found a little Italian Café, had dinner, and turned in early.

The next day (Monday Oct. 16), we got tickets on the open air “hop on hop off” bus and toured London, including Trafalgar Square, Westminster Cathedral, the river, the tower of London, London Bridge and the Millennium Bridge, then got off the bus and rode the London Eye. What a great view, and what an incredible piece of machinery! We marveled at the smooth ride, and the ingenious design of the “pods”. After that, we got back on the hop on hop off bus and continued to explore the city.

Everyone told me it would happen -- we fell in love with London! What a beautiful, charming, diverse, amazing city!

Anyhow, we returned to the hotel in the evening and caught our ride to the airport. I told the driver to take us to South African Airways and Roger learned that we were not going to Russia or China – we were returning to Africa!

Heathrow was an absolute nightmare thanks to the recent security changes due to the terrorist plot involving liquids. Anyhow, after a big hassle, we got on the plane and, a mere 12 hours later, we landed in Cape Town!

While we were in London, Mom and Dad were in Madrid. All I will say about that is that mom and Dad did not fall in love with Madrid!

CAPE TOWN

2006-12-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

October 17-20, 2006

Here is a map of Africa. On this trip, the four of us went to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Roger and I also went to Mozambique.

Here is a larger map of the areas we went to:

Roger and I arrived in Cape Town at 10:00 am on Tues. 10/17. As we drove to the Cape Grace Hotel on the waterfront in Cape Town, we passed a couple of townships and we learned that a "township" is a slum. More about the townships later.

When we reached our hotel, our driver told us the Cape Grace was voted the top hotel in the world a number of years running, and we could see why – it is beautiful! We checked in, took a nap (it's vacation after all), then met up with mom and dad in the whiskey bar, where they serve hundreds of different whiskeys. We had a few drinks, then wandered around the waterfront, had a nice relaxing dinner, then headed back to the hotel.

The next day (Weds 10/18), we met our guide Greg, who took us on a tour of the Cape Peninsula. As we headed out of town, we had wonderful views of famous Table Mountain, and the less famous Lions Head and Twelve Apostles. We drove down the Atlantic seaboard, passing many beautiful beaches and beachfront homes, then left the populated areas and headed down the windswept coastline.

During the drive, Greg told us the history of the Cape:

The Portuguese "discovered" the Cape first, but they preferred the calmer waters of Mozambique, so they did not establish a post on the Cape. In 1647, a Dutch vessel wrecked in Table Bay. The marooned crew built a fort and stayed for a year, until they were rescued. Shortly thereafter, the Dutch East India Company established a permanent settlement on the Cape, so that passing ships could shelter there and sailors could stock up on fresh supplies. A small VOC expedition under the command of Jan van Riebeeck reached Table Bay on April 6, 1652, and Cape Town was born (van Riebeeck is South Africa's Christopher Columbus).

The Cape stayed under Dutch control until the English seized it in 1795. The English gave it back to the Dutch for a brief period, and then took it back again a few years later!

In 1910, SA became a union. In 1961, SA withdrew from the British Commonwealth (because of members who were critical of apartheid) and became a Republic. From the 1960's on, a number of black political groups, increasingly supported by sympathetic whites, opposed apartheid with tactics ranging from peaceful demonstrations to strikes, violence and sabotage. These strategies met with severe reprisals by the government. By 1970, the African National Congress had been banned and virtually all of the leaders of the resistance movement, including Nelson Mandela, were imprisoned. While the rest of the world was moving towards equality, SA was moving backwards.

Slowly, apartheid was denounced by the international community. In 1985, the United States and Great Britain imposed economic sanctions on South Africa in protest of apartheid. Throughout the late 1980's, anti-apartheid pressure mounted both within and outside South Africa, fueled by celebrities who made people around the world aware of apartheid. During this same time, Africa experienced its most violent protests and great bloodshed over apartheid.

Finally, beginning in February 1990, the SA government buckled to internal and international pressure and began to dismantle apartheid. The black congress was re-legalized and the long-imprisoned black leaders were released. In 1994, the country's constitution was rewritten and general elections in which all races could vote were held for the first time and, with Nelson Mandela's election as South Africa's first black president, the last vestiges of the apartheid system were finally outlawed.

I discuss apartheid in more detail in a separate blog entry, but that is the "short" version.

So, back to our Cape Peninsula tour: We left Cape Town and drove south through a number of small towns and beach communities, then we headed into the windswept Cape Peninsula National Park, and to the Cape of Good Hope / Cape Point, the southwestern tip of Africa, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean.

After admiring the view, we headed north (we were at the southwestern tip of the continent – we couldn’t head south!) and stopped for a relaxing lunch on the cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean. Next, we went to famous Bolders Beach to see the penguins - lots and lots of penguins! The penguins were molting, so they were quite scruffy, but adorable.

After marching with the penguins, we continued north, then turned inland, back towards Cape Town. We stopped at the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and spent an hour or two wandering around the gardens, admiring the beautiful plants and trees. It was early spring, so lots of plants were blooming and the colors and smells were wonderful. Mom could have spent all day there!

I must say, at this point I was thoroughly confused. Everywhere we went, we could see Table Mountain. However, once we left Cape Town, Table Mountain did not look like Table Mountain! Greg explained that we had driven completely around Table Mountain and that you only see the famous view – the view that looks like a table top – from Cape Town itself. The views from the other sides of the mountain are totally different. This really confused me. I guess I am accustomed to the mountains being on one side of me (East, North, whatever) – I’m not used to being able to drive around a mountain in a day!

Anyhow, we headed back to the hotel, relaxed, had drinks in the Whiskey Bar, walked around the waterfront and had dinner at a nice outdoor waterfront restaurant.

The next morning (Thurs. 10/19), our guide Greg said that, since we had good weather, we should take the tram up Table Mountain. Greg explained that the tram closes whenever the weather is inclement, and the weather changes often. So, Greg drove us to the tram and Dad, Roger and I headed up. Mom stayed behind on terra firma.

We did not think the ride was all that scary until about the last 200 feet, when suddenly the tram rose straight up, like an elevator! Dad and I have been on a fair number of ski gondolas and trams, but we have never experienced anything like it. The world simply dropped away – what a feeling!

Roger, Dad and I wandered around Table Top, snapped a bunch of photos, then headed down, joined up with mom and Greg, and we headed off on our winelands tour.
We drove east from Cape Town and, very quickly, we were in beautiful rolling wineland / countryside.

We started at Ernie Ells winery (a famous golfer). We tasted some very nice wine and sat out on the patio, enjoying the view of the beautiful countryside.

From Ernie Ells, we drove to the town of Stellenbosch – the oldest town in SA (Cape Town is the oldest city). The town is beautiful, with restored cottages and streets lined with huge oak trees. It also has Stellenbosch University, a very highly regarded but apparently quite conservative "uni".

Next, we headed to an old farm manor that has been turned into a winery, for lunch. We ate outside, at the casual deli-restaurant located in the old stables/servants quarters/carriage house.

After a relaxing lunch, we went to La Motte winery for more wine tasting, then headed to the town of Franschoek ("French Corner" in Afrikaan). Franschoek was established by the French Huguenots in the 17th century, when they were expelled from France because of their Protestant faith. It is located in a picturesque valley and has a mixture of vineyards, Cape Dutch architecture and French Huguenot culture. It is a cute, charming town and is very popular with the tourists, but we all agreed that we preferred the oak-lined streets of the university town Stellenbosch.

Greg then drove us back to the hotel and we relaxed, had pre-dinner drinks in the bar, then wandered around the waterfront and had dinner at a very nice waterfront restaurant, Balthazar.

I had left our last day in Cape Town open because I thought we might be exhausted!. Unfortunately, Greg was not available, and Robben Island (the Alcatraz-like island where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 of the 27 years of his imprisonment) was booked. So, we decided to take a city and township tour.

Our new guide, Keith, met us the next morning (Friday, 10/20) and took us on a tour of the city. After we explored the city, Keith took us to the area known as District Six.

District Six is a famous area in Cape Town. It was a poor but thriving community. In 1966, the White government declared it a "White" area, forced all of the residents out and bulldozed the area. Over the next 10 years or so, 60,000 people were forced out of their homes and relocated to the townships far outside of town. The government never did anything with this area and, to this day, District Six remains an open barren area within the city.

Keith showed us where his father had lived in District Six and explained that his family was defined as "Coloured" under apartheid. Keith explained that people could apply to have their ethnicity changed, and that one of tests was quite simple: a government official stuck a pencil in your hair near the forehead and had you bend over. If the pencil fell out, you were White. If it did not fall out, you were Coloured or Black.

Keith had an aunt who successfully petitioned to be deemed White, but the rest of her siblings remained Coloured. Once she was "elevated" to White, the aunt lost moved out of the area, in order to start a new life as a White person. She basically had to abandon her family so that she could be deemed White.

As he was telling us these stories, Keith took us to the District Six Museum, which was established by Nelson Mandela in December 1994 to commemorate the forced removals in District Six and elsewhere. It is filled with stories of people who were forced out of their homes simply because of their color. It is so moving to see photographs of a thriving, vibrant (but poor) community and then see a photograph of barren wasteland, and realize it is the exact same area. I cannot adequately explain what an impact the museum had on us.

After visiting the District Six Museum, we headed out to the townships.

I must admit, we were somewhat hesitant to visit the townships – after all, they are slums! However, we were told by many people that it would be enlightening, so we decided to go.

If you have not read the blog on apartheid, the short story is that townships are the areas outside the cities that were created under apartheid where Coloureds (people of mixed race) and some Blacks were forced to live (many Blacks were froced to live on the SA version of our Indian reservations). A township is basically a slum with no Whites.

Keith took us to a small township with "only" 250,000 people – Langa, the oldest township in SA. Keith drove us through the streets and we were amazed. The structures aren't nice enough to be called shacks – they are made of cardboard, tin, plywood -- whatever the people can find, all leaning on each other, barely standing up.

However, as we looked more closely, we saw that the homes had electricity running to them (albeit a little precariously). Keith explained that, when Nelson Mandela was elected President in 1994, the conditions in the townships improved dramatically – communal bathrooms were added, electricity was provided and clean water taps were added every block or so. We noticed that the people we saw were bathed, with clean clothes, and that people seemed to be busy. We saw very few people sitting around doing nothing.

Keith explained that Langa was planned as a "model" township, with a single entry/exit point, wide streets, floodlights and a police station at the single entrance – all designed to allow "easy control" of the inhabitants. To this day, there are still only two entrances to Langa.

the townships:

Keith told us about the problems the townships are facing: the HIV/AIDS rate in the townships is the highest in Africa, the unemployment rate is 80% (!), the crime rate is high, etc., etc.

Keith also told us the positive: Schools and medical clinics are being built. More people are getting an education, and people are getting better health care than ever before. Keith also drove us to an area on the edge of Langa where homes were being built. Keith explained that the government is moving people out of the shacks and into homes and apartments. Slowly, the shacks are being replaced by small homes and apartments.

Keith pointed to a large empty field next to the new homes and told us that SA has a huge immigration problem – people are pouring into the country from countries with high unemployment / inflation / poverty / famine, etc. Keith explained that, as soon as the government moves a family out of a shack, it is taken over by an immigrant family. So, the government now demolishes the shanty the moment the family moves out of it. The result is large empty field where shacks used to stand, where the next set of homes or apartments will be built.

Keith then took us to a part of Langa that, even to our inexperienced eyes, was obviously worse than the rest of the township – and explained that this was the immigrant section. Here, there was no electricity or running water (it is not a sanctioned area and the residents officially do not exist). Keith explained that the immigration problem has caused a huge increase in guns, drugs and crime. Locals complain that immigrants are taking their jobs in that they work for too low a wage. Keith said that violence between the locals and the immigrants in the townships is a huge problem.

Keith then took us to the largest township on the Cape – Khayelitsha (Ki-uh-leech-uh). It is huge! The township runs alongside a freeway, nonstop, for over 10 miles, and is over a mile deep. Now, that may not seem large, but remember, the shacks are tiny – maybe 10x10, and lean against one another, so that you have a continual wall of shacks, running for over 10 miles, with only small breaks for roads. Keith told us that over 1 million people live in Khayelitsha! One million people!

Keith took as to a craft market in the heart of Khayelitsha. Local men and women make jewelry, sculptures, paintings, weavings, carvings, etc., etc. – and the tourists go there to buy them. It is a great source of revenue for the people and it encourages tourists to visit the townships, which really helps to open people’s eyes to the problems and that have existed and the progress that is being made. We bought a bunch of stuff – partly because we wanted to support the endeavor but also because they have great stuff!

We finished our township tour and returned to the hotel early. We walked around the waterfront, stopped at a little coffee shop (see the photo - that is out hotel and Table Mountain in the background), and then returned to the hotel for dinner at One Waterfront – the restaurant at the hotel. We had a wonderful meal and then turned in for the night. We all agreed that we liked Cape Town very much an that we would return again – if it weren’t so far away!

Rovos Rail

2006-12-18T13:12:00.000-08:00

October 21 - 22

The morning of Saturday, Oct. 21, we went to the Rovos Rail station for our two day train trip across South Africa, from Cape Town in the southwestern corner of the country, to Pretoria, in the northeastern part of the country.

The Rovos Rail station is beautiful, with wonderful old-fashioned decor, giant overstuffed chairs, and posters declaring Rovos Rail to be "the most luxurious train on earth."

After a short wait during which we were served drinks and snacks and listened to a small orchestra, Rohan Vos, the owner of Rovos Rail, welcomed his 70 guests to what he called the most expensive toy train set one can own, and we boarded the train.

What can I say about the train? It was absolutely gorgeous, and beautifully restored down to the smallest detail. There were two dining cars and two lounge cars, plus a number of sleeper cars. The ride was smooth, the service was spectacular, and the food was incredible. My only "complaint" is that I did not know that I had booked the smallest rooms on the train ("junior suites" – junior indeed!). Had I known, I would have booked something larger.

Anyhow, after 2 days of luxurious rest and relaxation – and a lot of eating and drinking – the train pulled into Rovos's private station in Pretoria. We said goodbye to Rovos and headed for the Johannesburg airport for our charter flight to the Sabi Sand private game reserve, next to Kruger Park, for safari.

LONDOLOZI CAMP, SABI SAND RESERVE, KRUGER PARK

2006-12-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

October 23 - 26

At the Jo’burg airport, we caught a charter flight to the Londolozi safari camp, which is located on a private game reserve (the Sabi Sand), just outside of Kruger Park. We had a smooth 1-½ hour flight in a little 10-seater "bush plane" to the Londolozi airstrip, where we were picked up in an open Range Rover and driven a few minutes to the Londolozi camp.

The Londolozi camp is built in the trees, overlooking the Sand River. The main area of the camp is a raised deck built in the enormous boughs of an ancient Ebony Tree. The camp is part of the CC Africa, which is our favorite safari provider. We stayed at "Bataleur" camp, which is the largest camp, with 6 huts (12 people).

The main gathering area:

At Londolozi, each room has a private "plunge pool" -- basically a hot tub with no heat...

The camp also has a pool. It is the only part of camp that is fenced - so that you do not end up swimming with crocodiles!

We arrived too late for the evening game drive, so we relaxed a bit, then went up to the main camp for a wonderful dinner in the "boma" – an outdoor eating area that is enclosed with a natural fence (branches) to keep the animals out. We had dinner with our guide John and a Afrikaan couple who would join us in our vehicle.

The schedule in camp is that you are awoken at 5 a.m. by someone knocking on your hut. At 5:30, everyone meets on the main deck for a snack and a sip of coffee or tea, then you hop in your open Land Rover and head out on a game drive by 5:45. You safari for a few hours, then stop "in the bush" for a light snack and coffee, tea, hot chocolate or -- my favorite -- a chocaccino (a mocha with a dash of amarula, an amaretto-like liquer). You get back in the Land Rover and safari for a few more hours, then, about 10 a.m., head back to camp where you have a hearty breakfast. After that, your time is your own – you can nap or relax by the pool (which is protected with a fence to keep out the animals) or get a guide to walk with you over to the local village (you have to have a guide to go anywhere), etc. About 2:30, everyone meets up at the main lodge again for a light lunch then, about 3:30, you head out on a game drive again. You safari for a few hours, then stop for "sundowners" – fruity beverages, beer, wine, etc., served in the bush at sundown – then you safari for a few more hours, returning to camp around 8 or 9, have dinner, and turn in for the night!

a typical game drive landrover...

stopping for coffee and biscuits during the morning game drive...

stopping for sundowners on the evening game drive...

There are a couple of great things about the private reserves: First, they are completely open to Kruger Park. The animals are free to roam in all areas, so there are lots of animals. Second, no one else is allowed on the private reserves, so you don’t run into many other people. In fact, sometimes, you don’t run into any other people! Third, on the private reserves, you are allowed to drive off road, so you can get really (and I mean really!) close to the animals. Fourth, the private reserves have strict policies limiting the number of vehicles at any animal sighting. In the national parks, you may find 10 or 15 vehicles watching a pride of lion. On the private reserves, you will never find more than 2 or 3 vehicles at any sighting. Fifth, you can stay out after dark on the private reserves, whereas you have to be in camp by 7 pm in the national parks. This means you can see predators at night, when they are more active, and you can even have dinner out "in the bush".

Returning to our stay at Londolozi: We had an amazing time. On our very first game drive, we saw 3 rhino, who hung out only about 15 feet away from our vehicle. Rhino are pretty rare, and seeing three of them 15 feet away is really special (we saw 2 in Tanzania, from about 150 yards!). After the rhino, we parked in the midst of a large herd of elephant. We also saw all the "usual" animals – wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, hippo, impala, other antelope, monkeys, baboon, etc., etc.

On one game drive, we saw a mama lion and 2 male cubs. The mama was missing her tail and our ranger said she lost her tail in a fight with a pack of hyena. The wound was terrible – part of her spine was exposed, and he had thought she was going to die. She got really skinny but she slowly rebounded and, by the time we saw them, she and her 2 male cubs looked pretty healthy.

On another game drive, we saw a beautiful leopard snoozing in a tree, and we saw her cub snoozing in a smaller tree nearby. We parked only a few feet away and the leopard mama eventually opened her eyes. I thought we had disturbed her but our ranger explained that we had not – the animals are completely accustomed to the vehicles and think nothing of them. He then pointed out a hyena poking his head out from behind a bush not far away and explained that she had heard or smelled the hyena and was keeping an eye on him to be sure her cubs were safe. We got a great picture of her in the tree, watching the hyena.

the leopard cub...

...he did not seem too concerned about us...

mama did not seem too concerned either...

...but she was concerned about a hyena that was nearby..

On our last evening game drive at Londolozi, mom asked to see hippo out of the water, so we had sundowners near the hippo pool and waited for them to leave the water (they stay in the water during the day to keep from getting sunburned and leave the water at night to feed). As darkness fell, the hippos began their hilarious grunting (ask Roger to do his impression of a grunting hippo sometime) and then they slowly emerged from the water. It is hard to believe that hippos kill more people in Africa than any other animal – they don’t look fast or dangerous, but they are!

a rare picture - hippos out of the water...

As we were preparing to leave Londolozi, we commented that the only things we had not seen were cheetah and Cape Buffalo. As luck would have it, there were 3 very large male Cape Buffalo standing in middle of the road right as we left camp! Our ranger John said he had stayed up all night finding the buffalo and herding them back to camp. We half expected to see a cheetah waiting for us at the airstrip, but it did not happen. Mom and Dad checked "Cape Buffalo" off their to-do list and we headed to the airstrip for our flight to Victoria Falls.

Here are a few pictures of what we saw:

We saw kudu (a type of antelope)...

...and Nyala (another antelope)...

...and giraffe...

...and zebra...

...and rhino...

...and elephant...

Here is one of the male lion cubs...

and some miscellaneous photos from others we met:

VICTORIA FALLS, ZIMBABWE

2006-12-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

October 26 - 27 – Victoria Falls

We flew on another small "bush plane" from the Londolozi airstrip back to Jo’burg, then on to Victoria Falls.

Vic Falls is the largest waterfall in the world – i.e., it has the most water going over it. The falls are over 1 mile long, with a drop of 400+ feet. They are over twice as long as Niagara Falls, with 2-3 times the drop of Niagara. Suffice it to say, Vic Falls is big!

October is the end of the dry season, when the falls are at their lowest, which is supposed to be a good time to visit because you can actually see the falls – during the high season, the falls are often totally obscured by mist from the sheer amount of water tumbling over the falls.
Zimbabwe is on one side of Vic Falls and Zambia is on the other side. We stayed at the Victoria Falls Hotel in Zimbabwe – the oldest hotel at the falls.

our hotel:
the view from our hotel:

The falls were beautiful, but the most interesting thing was Zimbabwe itself. Long story short, the country is seriously messed up! You may have heard that Zimbabwe has 1000% (yes, one thousand percent) inflation and very high unemployment. This is the product of extremely poor (i.e., "corrupt") government. President Mugabe was elected 26 years ago on the platform of taking the white-owned farms and giving them to the black people. Mugabe took almost all of the white owned farms, but he gave them to his buddies – not to "the people". His buddies apparently did not even try to run the farms and just took what they could. The result is that Zimbabwe – which used to be one of the shining examples of democracy and progress in Africa –is now in abysmal shape. There are essentially no working farms, no cattle, no diaries, etc. Just outrageous inflation and unemployment.

Things are so bad that the government had to print new currency (imagine turning in a $100 bill and receiving a $1 bill!). And, get this – the new currency is only good for one year – their money has an expiration date! Also, foreigners cannot use Zimbabwe money – they insist that foreigners pay in their own currency (their money is worthless, so they make you pay in your own money). In fact, everything there is priced in U.S. dollars (menus, rafting, helicopter rides, etc.). it’s weird to be half a world away from the US – in Africa! – and find things priced in US dollars.

Unfortunately, the situation is dire and people are desperate, so they are taking advantage of visitors. Everywhere we went, we were charged outrageous fees, then there would be some inexplicable surcharge, plus some new tax, etc., etc.

Here are two examples of the rip offs.

Example #1: Dad and I went to the gift shop for candy bars, and 2 candy bars (basic, regular old candy bars) were $20 US!!! A few days later, we saw the same candy bars in Botswana for 50 cents each!

Example #2: We took a small bus/van from the airport to the hotel – about a 15 minute ride. We had pre-arranged the transportation. We met a UK couple who had not pre-arranged transportation, but took the same bus with us – the bus ride cost them $200 US! A one-way, 15 minute van ride should not cost you $200, even in New York or Tokyo or Moscow, let alone in Africa!

Apparently, the tourists have learned that they will get ripped off and they are staying away from Zimbabwe – in Vic Falls, the hotels have only 15% occupancy, whereas the hotels on the Zambia side of the falls have 100% occupancy! We noticed that our hotel was practically empty and the giant resort hotel next door was practically empty as well.

We found Zimbabwe depressing. Our hotel was a beautiful old hotel, but it was rundown: the carpets were worn out; the staff uniforms were dirty, stained and torn, and the staff themselves looked haggard and rundown.

We spent a couple of hours talking with a fellow who was born in Zimbabwe but had lived in Zambia for 30+ years. He was visiting Zimbabwe under protest – a visiting family member insisted on going to Zimbabwe He confirmed what we had suspected – the country has massive problems which are not going to be fixed as long as Mugabe(or one of his cronies) is in power.
Long story short (I know, too late), we were happy that we only had 1-½ days in Vic Falls, and we were happy to leave.

Oh, we did take a neat helicopter ride over the falls – what a beautiful view, and my first ride in a heli!

the helicopter ride:

our hotel, from the air:

MOMBO CAMP, OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA

2006-12-15T12:56:00.000-08:00

October 28 - 30: Mombo Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana

A van drove us from Victoria Falls to Kasane airport in Botswana, about a 1-1/2 hour drive. One interesting thing was that, the moment we crossed from Zimbabwe into Botswana, we began seeing large farms. A fellow had told us that many of the white farmers who were forced out of Zimbabwe had been invited to Botswana by the government. As soon as we crossed the border, we believed him – we went from being surrounded by desolate landscape (Zimbabwe) to being surrounded by large, successful farms (Botswana).

Anyhow, from the Kasane airport, we flew on a tiny 6-seater bush plane to Mombo Camp in the Okavango Delta. Unfortunately, it was a very bumpy 1-1/2 hour flight. Anyone who knows me well knows what happened! Let’s just say that you could call me Ralph.

The Botswana government has limited safaris to small environmentally-friendly camps. In Botswana, you do not find huge safari lodges or lots of people. The result is spectacular game viewing.

Mombo Camp sits in the trees, on the edge of an open plain that is grassy in the dry season (when we were there) and that floods in the rainy season. You can sit on the deck in camp and see impala, red lechwe (a small antelope), zebra, wildebeest, cape buffalo, giraffe, elephant, and sometimes lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena, as well as the ever-present monkeys and baboon. You can experience an entire safari sitting on the deck in camp!

The camp has raised platforms that connect the main lodge area to the tents (which are also built on raised platforms). The raised walkways allow animals to wander through camp, under the walkways. In fact, the day we arrived, an elephant had walked through the raised walkway, tearing it down. We later learned this happens a couple of times a month. Elephants apparently just don’t care about the maintenance and repair budget!

a view of Mombo camp from the air:

Mombo camp:

We arrived at camp, marveled at the view, and then went to our respective "tents" – a large tented bedroom, sitting area and bathroom (probably 1,000 square feet total), on raised platforms, with a large outdoor deck, shower and a giant covered bed for lounging. The tents are have views of the grassy plains so you could just sit back and watch the animals.

Our room:

the bathroom:

each room has an outside bed as well:

When Roger and I walked up to our tent, a very large elephant was standing right next to the walkway, munching on the tree next to our front door. That was quite the welcoming committee!

We spent the next few days taking game drives in the early morning, relaxing in the afternoon, and taking games drives again in the evening. We saw even more animals in Botswana than we had seen in SA – including a cheetah and her 3 cubs, a pride of 18 lion, and a gorgeous bull rhino (can you call a rhino gorgeous? maybe "impressive" is a better word), plus all the "usual" animals like zebra, giraffe, hippo, elephant, cape buffalo, baboon, monkey, etc.

the cheetah and one of her cubs:

look at that tummy!

mama stopped and posed for us...

each evening, we stopped for sundowners...

the bull rhino:

his left back leg is hurt -- he was beaten up by two other lion...

sunset on the Okavango Delta, Botswana:

Incidentally, one of the Mombo camp managers was from Zimbabwe. He said his father, who still lives in Zimbabwe, had done everything you are supposed to do – he worked hard all of his life, saved, invested, and retired. Now, because of inflation, his father cannot support himself and his kids have to support him. Imagine having $1,000,000 in a retirement account one year, and it being worth only about $100,000 the next year, then only $10,000 the next year! That is what his farther has experienced – a lifetime of work with virtually nothing to show for it.

Anyhow, we had a wonderful time and left understanding why Mombo Camp is one of the top camps in one of the top safari destinations in the world – it was truly amazing!

From Mombo, we flew back to Jo’burg (thankfully, on a larger plane this time) and said goodbye to mom and dad, who headed to Madrid, and then home. Roger and I spent the night in Jo’burg and then caught our flight to Mozambique for some R&R.

here are some of the animals we saw...

...monkeys...

...Cape Buffalo...

...zebra...

...elephant...

...hyena...

...hippo...

...wart hog...

...wildebeest...

...and a pride of 18 lion!

MOZAMBIQUE

2006-12-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

October 31- November 3: Benguerra Island, Mozambique

Roger and I said goodbye to mom and dad, spent the night in Jo’burg and then hopped on yet another plane, this time to Mozambique. After much confusion – including the airline not being able to find our names in Jo’burg, and us not being able to figure out whether we were supposed to take a boat or a plane from the mainland to the island – we saw someone we recognized: the pilot who had flown us to Londolozi airstrip, a week or two earlier! We were in a different country, flying a different airline, but he was our pilot again! We figured out that we were flying to Benguerra Island and off we went. I kid you not – 5 minutes later, we landed on Benguerra Island and were driven to Marlin Lodge, one of only two lodge son the island.

the "airstrip":

Mozambique was very beautiful. The people were extremely nice and the food was wonderful. However, I am sorry to say that the accommodations just did not compare to The Palms on Zanzibar. I’m afraid The Palms ruined us for any other beachfront lodge.

the lodge:

Nevertheless, we had a very nice, relaxing time. We dove, took naps, lounged by the pool, walked on the beach – did everything you would want to do on a remote island in the middle of nowhere.

the view from our hut:

the view of our hut, from the beach:

On our last night there, the staff wanted to give us a surprise, so they set up a "Mozambican hot tub" on our patio – basically, a large metal tub and a medium metal tub (like you would wash your clothes in, or perhaps a small dog), filled with bubble bath and strewn with flowers. It was such a sweet gesture, but there was no way Roger could fit in the tub. We splashed around a bit but quickly gave up and took a shower.

the Mozambian hot tub:

I think the hot tub exemplifies Marlin Lodge, Benguerra Island and Mozambique in general: they are somewhat new to the tourist industry, they are trying hard and their heart is in the right place, but they have not quite gotten it right. If I had never been to The Palms on Zanzibar, perhaps I would not have been disappointed, but we had such a perfect, amazing time at The Palms, in every way (accommodations, view, activities, food, people, etc., etc.). Marlin Lodge just fell short.

Anyhow, we hopped on yet another plane (with the same pilot again), and flew from Benguerra Island to Jo’burg, then on to London, where we spent a day and the caught our final flight home.
In all, we were in 5 different countries (the UK, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique), we were on 14 different planes, we went through customs/immigration 10 separate times, we stayed 8 different places, and we passed through 11 time zones.

Was it worth it? Yes!!!

APARTHEID

2006-11-29T12:21:00.000-08:00

Here is a summary of what we learned about apartheid:

When the Dutch East India Trading Company ("VOC" in Dutch) established Cape Town, they were short of labor. They freed a number of Dutch indentured servants and allowed them to establish farms to supply grain, fruits, vegetables, etc.

When the VOC still did not have enough labor, they brought in slaves from Indonesia, India, Madagascar, East Africa, etc. Interestingly, the Dutch did not enslave the locals.

The freed Dutch and the slaves soon began to commingle. The resulting population, which is quite ethnically diverse, became referred to as Coloureds. In contrast, the now-local whites who did not "commingle" with other races are referred to as Afrikaans (white Africans).

In 1948, the conservative National Party won the general elections for the first time on the platform of apartheid (literally, "apartness"). The purpose of apartheid was separation of the races: not just Whites from non-Whites, but Coloureds from Blacks and, among the Blacks, one group from another.

The system of apartheid was ingenious – while Whites had far more rights than Coloureds or Blacks, Coloureds had more rights and privileges than Blacks. This helped to keep Coloureds and Blacks divided and fighting among themselves, instead of fighting the Whites.

Under apartheid, Coloureds and Blacks were not allowed to live in certain areas, such as within Cape Town itself. If Coloureds or Blacks lived in a White area, they had to move. If they refused to move, they were either forcibly removed or their home was bulldozed -- even with them in it.

The areas the non-Whites were forcibly relocated to were called townships. The problem was, when people had lived in the city, they had been able to find work and they could get to work. Once they were forced outside of the city, people could not find work or they could not get to work! Thus, the townships became slums.

Even worse than the townships were the "independent homelands". These are the areas the Blacks were moved to -- the equivalent of our Indian reservations.

During apartheid, over 3 million people were forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to townships or independent homelands.

Under apartheid, not only were Coloureds and Blacks not allowed to live in certain areas, they were not even allowed to be present in certain areas (again, such as Cape Town itself), unless they had a pass allowing them to be there. A Black who worked in the city could get a pass that spelled out the exact times he was allowed to be in the City. If he was in the city during times not specified in his pass, he would be arrested. If he was in the city and did not have a pass – or did not have his pass with him – he would be arrested.

Anyhow, in the 1960's, black political groups began openly opposing apartheid with a variety of tactics, including violence, strikes, demonstrations, and sabotage. These strategies met with severe reprisals by the government. By 1970, the African National Congress (aka the Black Congress) had been outlawed and virtually all of the leaders of the resistance movement, including Nelson Mandela, were imprisoned.

Slowly, during the 1970's and 1980's apartheid was denounced by the international community. In 1985, the United States and Great Britain imposed economic sanctions on South Africa in protest of apartheid. Throughout the late 1980's, anti-apartheid pressure mounted, both within and outside South Africa, fueled by celebrities brought unprecedented publicity to the issue. During this same time, Africa experienced its most violent protests, with great violence bloodshed.

Finally, the National Party buckled to the pressure and, starting in February 1990, began to dismantle apartheid. In 1990, the black congresses was (re)legalized and the long-imprisoned black leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were released. In 1994, general elections in which all races could vote were held for the first time, Nelson Mandela was elected as South Africa's first black president, and the last vestiges of the apartheid system were finally outlawed.

Sorry for the history lesson, but we found the history of the area fascinating. There is so much we did not know - and so much we still have to learn!