Catch up on Zambia and Botswana

My last week in Africa in 2007 was spent in Zambia and Botswana with my dad and my friend, Ted. After wrapping up work on November 16th, we left Cape Town and flew to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.

The Zambian part of our adventure came from a connection from my dad. My dad has trucked farm equipment from Minnesota to the port on its way to a farmer in Zambia. The farmer's cousin, Gladstone, has worked with my dad and happened to be in Zambia at the same time to attend a family wedding. Gladstone had invited us to both the wedding and then to spend 4 days at Costain's (his cousin, the farmer who is pictured above with his wife, Ted, and me - Costain is also a likely candidate to become the next Zambian president!) 25,000 acre farm. (This picture is of workers separating the soybeans from the husks and then churning them in the barrel to coat the seeds with fertilizer - yep, both Ted and I took our turns).

The wedding was similar to weddings I've been to in the States (white bridal dress, cutting the cake, toasts, etc) but the most interesting part was all the choreographed dancing of the bridesmaids and groomsmen - dancing I wouldn't be comfortable performing in front of family!

The following day, we drove about 2.5 hours to the farm. Gladstone took us around showing us the different irrigation pumps they have and the different fields (including the bananas)and we saw some of the farm equipment my dad has hauled out in the fields - small world!

This picture is of the burning in Costain's fields in preparation for the next crop - led to an interesting discussion about freedoms: Freedom to do as you wish on/to your land without requiring a permit versus the freedom to speak out against one's goverment.

Oh, and the first picture on this post is of a group of female employees walking back to their homes - each with a large bundle on their head AND a baby tied around them in a wrap.

We left the farm with Desi (pictured in the RWS hat), another cousin of Gladstone, who was going to drive us to Livingstone to see Victoria Falls, supposedly 5 or so hours away. Things were going smoothly until the fan went out on the car and we pushed it to 'Dallas Ranch' and hitched a ride (luggage and all) 30 minutes down the road where Desi had a friend and we could get another vehicle. Hitchhiking in Zambia - check.

Victoria Falls was amazing; the water was flowing substantially less than normal (so we were told) but it was nice because we were only misted while taking pictures instead of being drenched by the spray.

We stayed just outside Livingston along the river in a little hut with mosquito nets. Almost as scary as the hitchhiking incident was seeing the snake crawl up the outside of our screen - they are not my favorite creature.

But the Falls made up for the snake scare! We also hiked down to the 'Boiling Point' and watched people bungee jump from the bridge connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe. Such a beautiful place.

From there, we went to Botswana for a safari and stayed in a beautiful lodge on the Chobe River (bordering Namibia) and saw plenty of animals including the season's newborns: a baby crocodile, baby warthog, kid elephant, and an impala being born. There's something about watching the animals on safari that captivates you; no matter how many lions you see, you can't stop staring...

After Botswana, we made our way back to Livingstone and flew to Johannesburg and then back to the States (all on different flights...) and I made it back just in time to have a glass of champagne with Jack to celebrate his birthday...

Imizamo Yethu

Sunday we drove south along the coast to Hout Bay and I had my first planned visit to a township (I confused the M44 for the R44 a few weeks ago and drove into a place that wasn't the safest). Imizamo Yethu (a.k.a. Mandela Park) was established for a few hundred people and is not home to thousands.

I struggled with whether or not to do a this while I was here because at in effect, you are going on a tour to see people in poverty.

It was eye-opening and sad. Africa (our guide) met us just outside the township and told us the history. He took us to his home, a local food store, a shebeen (bar), and my favorite part was a visit into a church. There were about 20 people inside the tin shack singing, dancing, and playing improvised instruments. Pictures do more justice than my words...

A little note about this picture: the van driving by is the transport- ation residents (through- out the Cape) use to get around. It's about $1 for a ride into Cape Town and the operators fill the vans as full as possible to earn more money. It's a very sad story - there are frequent news reports about accidents involving these buses and people dying due to lack of seat belts and the vans having too many passengers. Up on the hill, the sign posted says: Occupation of this embankment poses a threat to life and property.

fire drills, fishing, and .... a shark!

It was another picture-less week; my camera grew some legs last week and I'm hoping it walks its way back but it's doubtful. My dad's arrival was well-timed as he'll take more pictures than I'll know what to do with.

The fire drill we experienced at work demands a recap. Our team heard a rumor that a fire drill was scheduled but figured we'd ignore it and continue working. A few minutes into the light flashing and annoying beeping, a woman began giving instructions on the PA system to evacuate the building. We packed up (with plans to head to Bread, Milk, & Honey, a nearby coffee shop) and headed for the stairs that cascade through the open atrium in the center of the building. (As a side note, a part of the fire emergency protocol includes certain people putting on neon yellow vests and hardhats so they are easily identified and can help usher people out of the building.) Halfway down the first flights of stairs, we were caught by a yellow vest and were told that we are not following the proper procedure and needed to return the way we came and use the marked emergency exit. We climbed back up to the 6th floor and wander our way through the building looking for an emergency exit. Long story short, the yellow vests had difficulty finding this 'well-marked' exit for us to use...

Anyway, my dad arrived on Wednesday and we spent today (Saturday) fishing on False Bay with JP. After a dead battery and fried jumper cables (one car's battery had the ground connection in red and the live in black), the fishing didn't go as well as planned. But, while we were waiting for the nibbles on the calamari and sardine bait, I noticed a big black shadow and asked JP what it was. It was a great white! He came up to the surface about 20 meters away from our boat and was 4-5 meters long- huge! We watched him for about a minute and then he slowly faded away again. Ironically, there was actually an attack last week nearby and a surfer lost his feet. Luckily for my toes, we leave Cape Town next Saturday and I won't have time for another surf session before then...

whisky, scuba, and rain

It was a weekend of no pictures and no partner in crime. I did manage to stay busy with starting with a whiskey festival Friday evening. I was probably in the minority of those in attendance who made it out of bed Saturday morning at a decent time but I had priorities: scuba diving in Simon's Town.
A friend here works for a company that develops breathing apparatuses (including for scuba) and has all the equipment. I wore my little 4-3 wetsuit and because JP had a thicker wetsuit, he let me layer up and wear his sleeveless hoodie top (another 5 mm) under my wetsuit. It made SUCH a difference (along with the 5mm gloves and booties). The dive was just under 40 minutes and only 11 degrees C at the coldest point and I didn't even feel chilled! The best part was swimming in the kelp; it wasn't very dense but still incredible to see. There weren't as many fish about but we saw more shells, jellyfish, starfish, abalone, and some South African creatures he pointed out but I can't remember the Afrikaner words...

I went hiking near Stellenbosch on Sunday but got caught in the rain - supposedly the locals are disbelief by the wet weather we've been having - sounds painfully familiar about how cold and unseasonable the winter was that we just went through. Anyway, my dad is arriving tomorrow followed by Ted next Monday so I'm sure pictures accompanying stories will soon be plentiful.