The adventure continues! Mike and I spent a day in Zimbabwe, a long train ride, a great few days in rural Zambia and then headed to Lusaka, the capital.
On Thursday, we saw the mighty “Mosi-oa-Tunya” or “Smoke that thunders” from the Zimbabwean side of the falls. We were able to see more of Victoria Falls along the walking path from this side of the border although we got quite soaked in the process. It really is an impressive sight. The water crashes over a series of falls nearly a mile long and is crushed into the bottom of the gorge with such force that the spray coming back up feels like actual rain. We also walked around Vic Falls, the town just over the border (Zimbabwe’s equivalent of Livingstone.) We found a beer-hall with the help of a friendly local and tried the widely popular “Chimbuku”. This is also called “opaque beer” and it is made out of maize. It was certainly a new taste (an acquired one at that.) Maize is the staple food in this area and their main starch is ground, cooked maize called nshima, which comes out looking something like mashed potatoes. It is eaten twice a day, with your hands, accompanied by a small salad, sauce and meat (chicken, fish, beef or bushmeat.) It is super tasty and we eat it pretty much wherever we go.
Friday we packed up and prepared to head out of Livingstone. We took the train because it is several dollars cheaper than the bus but it took us 19 hours to get to Kafue, just south of Lusaka (a journey we were told would take 11 hours). The bus would have taken a third of the time or less but we wanted the experience. It was a slow, drafty ride overnight that allowed us to see a bunch of the countryside (as soon as it got light.)
Saturday afternoon, we finally arrived in Kafue. From Kafue we took a shared taxi east to a town called Chirundu, on the Zambezi River which forms the border with Zimbabwe. The mighty Zambezi is the river flowing over Victoria Falls and the Lower section is supposed to be teeming with wildlife.
Sunday we hiked and then hitched further east to a safari lodge to try and book a canoe safari. We got some helpful information and then took a boat transfer downriver to another lodge so that we could bargain directly with the people who offered river safaris. Unfortunately even their best offer was out of our price range so we decided to do something else in the area. Waiting for a ride east, we met a nice man named Mateo who told us about a local guest house with good food and good prices just 3 km up the road. So, we decided to walk it and soon found ourselves with Faith, the matron of Zindoga Guest House. We showed up right at lunchtime so she brought us into her hut and we had a lunch of nshima and fish with the ladies of the house. Their spontaneous hospitality reminded me a lot of Senegal and it felt good to see traditional African customs again. Faith (Mrs. Zindoga) set us up in the very affordable guesthouse and then we walked down to the river. A local man showed us the village’s extensive gardens (sugar cane, maize, tomatoes, bananas, squash, cabbage, sweet potatoes and lots of other crops.) We also met a fisherman and learned about the area. More nshima and local fish (Bream) made for a delicious dinner.
Monday morning we did a short canoe safari of sorts with a local man. He took us up river and we walked around on a mid-river island. We finally saw hippos! We came close to one chilling in the water and we saw a group of 6 off near the far shore. They really are cool looking creatures even though they are way more dangerous than most people realize. They are fast and aggressive both on land and in the water and hippos account for more animal-related deaths than any other African creature (except for maybe the mosquito.) We hung out all afternoon in the village with local children and young adults. We discussed life in our different countries and what people do for fun. The village doesn’t see a lot of tourists because most outsiders stay at the (way over-priced) safari lodges and this village wasn’t even on the map. We got lucky that we ran into Mateo and were able to find a cheap guesthouse that came with a genuine rural experience. Two white people, or “mazungus” were something of a novelty at first but after 3 days in Chiawa, we were part of the village.
Tuesday we went on a walk with local big man, Jackson Zindoga. He was sort of paternal during our stay, ensuring that we had a wonderful time and were well provided for. He owns the local grocery, bar and guest house and is well-known in the community. He even treated us to more “opaque” maize-beer our first night in the village (the local brands in Zambia are Lusaka and Nkhosi). We were able to relax and see how the locals kick back at the end of the day. Anyway, we walked around the surrounding area before packing our bags and saying good-bye to the very friendly people of Chiawa.
Earlier, we had learned that there was a large banana farm run by Jerry the Irishman. We visited him because we were interested in working on the farm for a few days to earn a ride to Lusaka on his bi-weekly banana trucks. Jerry informed us that, though we could not work, we could still get a free ride on the truck. So, we spent the afternoon watching the men harvest, separate, clean, crate and weigh over 400 crates of bananas. They loaded the truck and we set off. It took just over 4 hours to get to Lusaka and it was an enjoyable ride because Jerry had given us 2 dozen ripe bananas before we left.
Wednesday we saw the better part of Lusaka on foot. We ran some errands at the bank and then checked out Kabwata Cultural Village. I picked up some cool souvenirs directly from the artisans that make them and then we tried some nshima with bushmeat. We walked around to Lusaka’s golf course and polo grounds before doing the rounds in “Embassy Triangle.” We checked in with both the Tanzanian and Kenyan embassies to make sure we knew what the visa requirements would be for the last leg of our trip. We also went to Tazara House to get our train tickets to Dar es Salaam for Friday. Then we got passport pictures taken for our Tanzanian visas. It was an exhausting day!
Today (Thursday) we are tying up some loose ends in Lusaka. We will get our visas sorted out and then prepare for the 48-hour international train ride. Zambia has been a really fun country. The food is great, the people are friendly and it is full of natural wonders and wildlife. With just 4 more weeks to travel, however, it is time to move on to new adventures (which Tanzania is full of). Hope everyone had a great week!
Cheers.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Victoria Falls
Hey all! So, a couple things to add. Here is me going off the epic sandboard jump in Swakopmund. Not the best quality, but the guy caught me at a fine moment.
Also, it was so bizarre to drive on the left side of the road, on the right side of the car with the shifter on the left. It gave me some good practice. I think the weirdest thing was turning left on red.
Mike and I made it to Livingstone, Zambia with no problems. We settled into a nice backpackers hostel (camping outside since all the cheap options in town were booked). We explored town and found some great street food. We are definitely back to a more African-vibe area with big, street markets, cheap local food and people hanging out on the street. We have left the neat, paved roads and sterile malls of South Africa and are thoroughly enjoying Zambia.
Today we took a mini-bus down to the Falls. It really is the "Smoke that Thunders." We haven't gone into the national parks yet but we got some good views from the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The viewing is supposed to be better from the Zimbabwean side so we are planning to spend the day there tomorrow. Today, however, I was determined to go bungee jumping. The bridge at Victoria Falls has the world's 3rd highest jump at 111 meters (364 feet.) I must say it was totally worth it but also the scariest thing I have ever done in my life! It is more intense than skydiving because you have to throw yourself off the ledge when you feel like you aren't attached to anything. I personally prefer skydiving because you get a much longer fall and an upright landing.
Anyway, we are having lots of fun and planning our next week or so in the country. After that we are taking the train all the way to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The adventure continues.
Cheers!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Namibia
Wow, Namibia is an intense country! First of all it is huge with some crazy landscapes, game parks and coastline. Second, there aren't many people here. About 2.1 million which isn't much considering its size. In fact, it is a lot like Idaho: a big open expanse of adventure (full of wildlife, light on people) that is somewhat hard to get around but totally worth the effort.
Needless to say I have spent the last 10 days exploring this rugged, varied and awesome land. Mike and I rented a car (with some other travellers we met along the way) and covered about 2,500 miles in 7 days. Yeah, I am still trying to catch my breath.
So, we got to Windhoek just fine after a 20 hour bus ride. Problem was, we arrived at 4 in the morning. So, Mike and I trooped over to a nearby backpackers hostel with Yuko and Jeff, two other travellers on the bus to wait til day light. It's funny because we later ended up renting a car with those same two travellers. Our journey together started in Cape Town and we didn't even realize it.
Anyway, we explored the town all day Sunday. We walked along a hiking path on a ridge that overlooks town (which is in a valley, kind of like Boise.) and saw a lot of historic buildings. There is very little public transit around Namibia and it is hard to see the really cool parts of the country without wheels or joining an organized tour. Problem was, the organized tours are super expensive! So, we decided we would go it alone, rent our own car and finally have some flexibility to see and do whatever we wanted to.
I must say, it worked out quite well. The car gave us exciting new possibilities but also came with a lot of responsibility. But we were able to see what we wanted to and the car performed brilliantly.
The four of us started out in Windhoek on Monday and headed south-west to a little town called Sesriem. We camped there Monday night because it is right on the edge of a big national park with huge sand dunes. We got an early start and explored the park on Tuesday. We even climbed up a dune to watch the sunrise. We visited Sossusvlei which is a big flat pan that has dried hard after all the water evaporated. It was a short hike over to Dead Vlei which was a similar thing. The whole landscape is full of white pans with towering red dunes. It was very eerie and totally cool!
After that, we headed up north along to coast to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. I tried sandboarding in Swakopmund on Wednesday and it was so awesome! Sand handles a lot like snow but it is heavier so it grabs your board when you go slow and throws you into the sand. But if you ride fast, it is quite smooth. It is tough though, because you have to climb back up the dune after every ride. We drove around Walvis Bay, home to a huge salt works that supplies 90% of South Africa's salt and also a huge coastal wetland network that hosts a huge migration of flamingos. Maybe you are beginning to see that Namibia is a country of truly epic porportions.
We headed north again on Thursday but left Yuko in Swakopmund as she had to return to Windhoek. We drove up the so-called Skeleton Coast. It is a long barren stretch of trecherous coastline layered first with a row of sand dunes and then a large desert and finally huge mountains farther inland. Anyone shipwrecked here could be sure about their fate. In fact, it is famous for its shipwrecks and we saw a few of them on the way. We also stopped in Twylfelfontein which is home to one of the most extensive collections of rock engravings in all of Africa. The artwork depicted mostly animals and is estimated to be about 6,000 years old! We camped just outside Etosha National Park Thursday night.
Friday morning bright and early we were into the park and driving around in our little white Toyota Corolla. It was quite covered in dust by now from all the unpaved roads but it handled well the entire trip and wasn't too expensive split several ways. On the way to the first water hole we passed ostriches, zebras, springboks and giraffe. At the first water hole, we were lucky enough to spot a young male lion, lazily sipping water and laying down in the tall grass while all the other animals eyed him warily and kept their distance. Throughout the day, we traversed the western half of the park in search of game. We drove around the giant Etosha Pan which is a large flat area that was left after an ancient lake dried up. The water is low because it is winter and the dry season so game is concentrated at the few water holes that aren't dry. We also saw a female lioness later at a different watering hole. It helped to start early because the game disappeared some during the heat of the afternoon. We later saw wildebeest and a rhino with a baby!
We camped inside the park at Halali Lodge which has its own floodlit water hole. Jeff and Mike even saw elephants there late at night.
Saturday morning we headed out, you guessed it, early again. By 7 am we had seen 3 lionesses stalking across the plains as well as a reclusive leopard hidden in the bushes. We didn't spot these magnificent creatures on our own, mind you. We just happened to be driving past and stopped where a bunch of other cars were stopped and got lucky. We saw a lot more giraffe on the way out as well as eland, impalas, roan antelope and oryx.
We drove most of the day, letting Jeff off in Rundu because he was hitching toward Victoria Falls (where we are headed to tonight) but Mike and I had to return the car to Windhoek today. As a final last hurrah in the region, we headed into Botswana to see the Okavango Delta because we had one day left with our sturdy little Corolla. We mis-timed the border though because it is an hour earlier in Namibia than it is in Bostwana. So we got out of Namibia but then had to sleep between the two countries at the border. We got safely into Bostwana at 6 am Sunday.
We drove down to Seronga on the Okavango panhandle and organized a makoro (small, traditional dugout canoe) ride into the delta for the afternoon. We saw some fish, snakes, monkeys and a water buffalo skull. Our guide was excellent but we didn't have time to go find hippos, as they hang out farther away from the population centers.
Then, not a moment to spare, we drove south along the delta, reaching the border at 7 am sharp to cross back into Namibia bright and early Monday morning. On the main road, right after the border crossing we spotted a cheetah, casually crossing the road! We have been so fortunate with the wildlife sightings and this one was quite a luckily find. Driving back to Windhoek, we also saw baboons and warthogs on the side of the road. We are trying to catch our breath in Windhoek right now. We had the car thoroughly cleaned and will return it this afternoon. I also had my first proper shower in 3 days and am feeling mightily refreshed. It was quite a high-speed adventure through this part of Africa and I am ready to relax for a few days at the wonderful Victoria Falls.
Hope everyone is well.
Cheers!
Needless to say I have spent the last 10 days exploring this rugged, varied and awesome land. Mike and I rented a car (with some other travellers we met along the way) and covered about 2,500 miles in 7 days. Yeah, I am still trying to catch my breath.
So, we got to Windhoek just fine after a 20 hour bus ride. Problem was, we arrived at 4 in the morning. So, Mike and I trooped over to a nearby backpackers hostel with Yuko and Jeff, two other travellers on the bus to wait til day light. It's funny because we later ended up renting a car with those same two travellers. Our journey together started in Cape Town and we didn't even realize it.
Anyway, we explored the town all day Sunday. We walked along a hiking path on a ridge that overlooks town (which is in a valley, kind of like Boise.) and saw a lot of historic buildings. There is very little public transit around Namibia and it is hard to see the really cool parts of the country without wheels or joining an organized tour. Problem was, the organized tours are super expensive! So, we decided we would go it alone, rent our own car and finally have some flexibility to see and do whatever we wanted to.
I must say, it worked out quite well. The car gave us exciting new possibilities but also came with a lot of responsibility. But we were able to see what we wanted to and the car performed brilliantly.
The four of us started out in Windhoek on Monday and headed south-west to a little town called Sesriem. We camped there Monday night because it is right on the edge of a big national park with huge sand dunes. We got an early start and explored the park on Tuesday. We even climbed up a dune to watch the sunrise. We visited Sossusvlei which is a big flat pan that has dried hard after all the water evaporated. It was a short hike over to Dead Vlei which was a similar thing. The whole landscape is full of white pans with towering red dunes. It was very eerie and totally cool!
After that, we headed up north along to coast to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. I tried sandboarding in Swakopmund on Wednesday and it was so awesome! Sand handles a lot like snow but it is heavier so it grabs your board when you go slow and throws you into the sand. But if you ride fast, it is quite smooth. It is tough though, because you have to climb back up the dune after every ride. We drove around Walvis Bay, home to a huge salt works that supplies 90% of South Africa's salt and also a huge coastal wetland network that hosts a huge migration of flamingos. Maybe you are beginning to see that Namibia is a country of truly epic porportions.
We headed north again on Thursday but left Yuko in Swakopmund as she had to return to Windhoek. We drove up the so-called Skeleton Coast. It is a long barren stretch of trecherous coastline layered first with a row of sand dunes and then a large desert and finally huge mountains farther inland. Anyone shipwrecked here could be sure about their fate. In fact, it is famous for its shipwrecks and we saw a few of them on the way. We also stopped in Twylfelfontein which is home to one of the most extensive collections of rock engravings in all of Africa. The artwork depicted mostly animals and is estimated to be about 6,000 years old! We camped just outside Etosha National Park Thursday night.
Friday morning bright and early we were into the park and driving around in our little white Toyota Corolla. It was quite covered in dust by now from all the unpaved roads but it handled well the entire trip and wasn't too expensive split several ways. On the way to the first water hole we passed ostriches, zebras, springboks and giraffe. At the first water hole, we were lucky enough to spot a young male lion, lazily sipping water and laying down in the tall grass while all the other animals eyed him warily and kept their distance. Throughout the day, we traversed the western half of the park in search of game. We drove around the giant Etosha Pan which is a large flat area that was left after an ancient lake dried up. The water is low because it is winter and the dry season so game is concentrated at the few water holes that aren't dry. We also saw a female lioness later at a different watering hole. It helped to start early because the game disappeared some during the heat of the afternoon. We later saw wildebeest and a rhino with a baby!
We camped inside the park at Halali Lodge which has its own floodlit water hole. Jeff and Mike even saw elephants there late at night.
Saturday morning we headed out, you guessed it, early again. By 7 am we had seen 3 lionesses stalking across the plains as well as a reclusive leopard hidden in the bushes. We didn't spot these magnificent creatures on our own, mind you. We just happened to be driving past and stopped where a bunch of other cars were stopped and got lucky. We saw a lot more giraffe on the way out as well as eland, impalas, roan antelope and oryx.
We drove most of the day, letting Jeff off in Rundu because he was hitching toward Victoria Falls (where we are headed to tonight) but Mike and I had to return the car to Windhoek today. As a final last hurrah in the region, we headed into Botswana to see the Okavango Delta because we had one day left with our sturdy little Corolla. We mis-timed the border though because it is an hour earlier in Namibia than it is in Bostwana. So we got out of Namibia but then had to sleep between the two countries at the border. We got safely into Bostwana at 6 am Sunday.
We drove down to Seronga on the Okavango panhandle and organized a makoro (small, traditional dugout canoe) ride into the delta for the afternoon. We saw some fish, snakes, monkeys and a water buffalo skull. Our guide was excellent but we didn't have time to go find hippos, as they hang out farther away from the population centers.
Then, not a moment to spare, we drove south along the delta, reaching the border at 7 am sharp to cross back into Namibia bright and early Monday morning. On the main road, right after the border crossing we spotted a cheetah, casually crossing the road! We have been so fortunate with the wildlife sightings and this one was quite a luckily find. Driving back to Windhoek, we also saw baboons and warthogs on the side of the road. We are trying to catch our breath in Windhoek right now. We had the car thoroughly cleaned and will return it this afternoon. I also had my first proper shower in 3 days and am feeling mightily refreshed. It was quite a high-speed adventure through this part of Africa and I am ready to relax for a few days at the wonderful Victoria Falls.
Hope everyone is well.
Cheers!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
South Africa part II
Mike and I are now in Cape Town and it has been a great 10 days or so since my last update. We headed to the Transkei aka the Wild Coast. We spent two days in a eco backpackers called Bulungula Lodge. We explored the area and saw a whale breaching (jumping out of the water) in the bay! It was so amazing, it just kept jumping for like 30 minutes. It was probably a southern right whale. We also saw two huge pods of dolphins. Wednesday we hiked 10 miles up the coastline to a spot called "Hole in the Wall". The name is due to the huge rock formation on the coast with a big hole in the middle. The hike took 8 hours because the coast line is very hilly and my pack weighs about 40 pounds. We spent Thursday in Coffee Bay, another few miles up the beach, but this time we hitched a ride there. The whole area is very green and the coastline is incredibly beautiful.
Friday was an adventure as we tried to head west but all the bus companies were full. We ended up getting two stand-by seats from Mthatha to Port Elizabeth with one company and then headed farther west to Swellendam with another company.
From Swellendam we headed south to the southern-most point in Africa at Cape Agulhas (I did the western-most in Dakar at Point Almadies, so I am halfway there.) From there we hitched a ride up the coast a little to Hermanus.
Hermanus is a cool little town and "The best land-based whale watching in the world." Well, we did a hike along the coast but didn't quite catch any whales.I tried to book a day trip shark cage diving but everything is super booked out since South Africa has seen around half a million tourists during the World Cup. Oh well, it just means that I will have to come back to do that.
Tuesday we headed north to Stellenbosch, just outside of Cape Town, which is the heart of South Africa's wine region. We walked the entire town in about 20 minutes. It is very picturesque but small. The most striking feature of this region of South Africa are the huge mountains jutting suddenly out of the countryside. Wednesday we went on a wine tour and got to see four different cellars all around the region. We started out at Simonsig in Stellenbosch and then went to Fairview, Dieu Donne and Boschendal in the neighboring towns of Paarl and Franschhoek. At Boschendal (established in 1685 and the 2nd oldest winery in South Africa) we had a contest to guess the age of the historic tree in their courtyard. I guessed 285 and was spot-on so I won a nice bottle of red wine.
Wednesday afternoon we took the commuter Metro train into Cape Town and found a nice backpackers on Long Street, which is a hopping district full of bars and restaurants in the heart of this big, beautiful city. Yesterday we settled in and today we started exploring the many, many sights here. We had an exceptionally beautiful day so we headed up to the Table Mountain Cableway. It is a rapid ascent to the top in a large gondola that rotates as it climbs to give the riders a wonderful 360 degree view of the city. We hiked around at the top and then headed back down into town. We wandered around the V & A Waterfront, got some great sushi and then headed over to Green Point to see the stadium.
Tomorrow we are hoping to see some more of the city. Cape Town is called the "Mother City" of South Africa. There is a lot of history here, including beautiful old buildings, museums, gardens, beaches, hiking, etc. Saturday morning we are heading north, off to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. South Africa has been a great place to explore and I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing more countries soon.
I hope everyone is doing well. Happy 4th of July (a little late) and take care!
Friday was an adventure as we tried to head west but all the bus companies were full. We ended up getting two stand-by seats from Mthatha to Port Elizabeth with one company and then headed farther west to Swellendam with another company.
From Swellendam we headed south to the southern-most point in Africa at Cape Agulhas (I did the western-most in Dakar at Point Almadies, so I am halfway there.) From there we hitched a ride up the coast a little to Hermanus.
Hermanus is a cool little town and "The best land-based whale watching in the world." Well, we did a hike along the coast but didn't quite catch any whales.I tried to book a day trip shark cage diving but everything is super booked out since South Africa has seen around half a million tourists during the World Cup. Oh well, it just means that I will have to come back to do that.
Tuesday we headed north to Stellenbosch, just outside of Cape Town, which is the heart of South Africa's wine region. We walked the entire town in about 20 minutes. It is very picturesque but small. The most striking feature of this region of South Africa are the huge mountains jutting suddenly out of the countryside. Wednesday we went on a wine tour and got to see four different cellars all around the region. We started out at Simonsig in Stellenbosch and then went to Fairview, Dieu Donne and Boschendal in the neighboring towns of Paarl and Franschhoek. At Boschendal (established in 1685 and the 2nd oldest winery in South Africa) we had a contest to guess the age of the historic tree in their courtyard. I guessed 285 and was spot-on so I won a nice bottle of red wine.
Wednesday afternoon we took the commuter Metro train into Cape Town and found a nice backpackers on Long Street, which is a hopping district full of bars and restaurants in the heart of this big, beautiful city. Yesterday we settled in and today we started exploring the many, many sights here. We had an exceptionally beautiful day so we headed up to the Table Mountain Cableway. It is a rapid ascent to the top in a large gondola that rotates as it climbs to give the riders a wonderful 360 degree view of the city. We hiked around at the top and then headed back down into town. We wandered around the V & A Waterfront, got some great sushi and then headed over to Green Point to see the stadium.
Tomorrow we are hoping to see some more of the city. Cape Town is called the "Mother City" of South Africa. There is a lot of history here, including beautiful old buildings, museums, gardens, beaches, hiking, etc. Saturday morning we are heading north, off to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. South Africa has been a great place to explore and I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing more countries soon.
I hope everyone is doing well. Happy 4th of July (a little late) and take care!
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