Botswana & South Africa

Johannesburg; Monday, Sept 6, 2010

Here we are, finally, in Africa!

The plane touched down at the Johannesburg airport a little past 5pm local time – that’s around 11amEST. We left home more than 24 hours ago. The flight was long. 8 hours from Washington DC to Dakar, Senegal; an hour staying on the plane for refuel; then another 8+ hours to Johannesburg. Luckily we were in first class so we slept most of the way. I’m very impressed with the South African Airlines aircraft. The business/first-class is much much better than the business class of United! For one thing, the seat has 3 modes – upright, “cradle”, and bed. And for “bed”, it goes FLAT! Not tilted like United. That’s the key reason I could sleep. Cool! The service was efficient and polite, even though not the kind of warm/fuzzy friendliness. I’m fine with that. And, we did not have any problem with our luggage! Some people told us that she had her luggage lost/delayed twice on South Africa Airlines, which scared us into trying to take most stuff as carry-on and only checking in 1 duffle bag. It really was not necessary – should have checked in all 3 pieces.

After we got on the plane, waiting for take-off, I took out the iPad and played Scrabble with Bob. Got to talk with a young man about iPad. It turns out that he is actually a pilot, flying Gulf Stream private jets. He is from Botswana and now lives in Johannesburg. He was very glad to hear that we’re going to his home land, and chatted with us about Botswana. It scares me to hear that the AIDS infection is actually up to 16% in Botswana! Mostly from truckers. The young generation, in the 30’s, is affected the most, so now it’s the older generation taking care of the young …. People there do not believe in the danger of AIDS. There’s a lot of superstition going on….

Going through immigration was a breeze. Then we took the hotel shuttle to this Grande D’Oreale hotel by the airport. The Interconntinental is actually much closer – you walk out of the airport and can walk straight into it. I was wondering why our agent did not book us that hotel …. I started to worry/wonder what kind of hotel is this Grande D’Oreale, until it came into sight. It was very grand looking, like a sprawling palace. In the evening sky with all the lights on, it was quite pretty. My worry subsided It is a 5-star hotel. Quite nice!

After settling in to the room, we wanted to look around. It turns out that this is part of a bigger “complex” that consists of three 4- or 5-start hotels, plus a casino. Bob was happy to see that. We walked to the casino area, looking for some shops, and looked at the food court. Boy, it is like the shopping “forum” in Ceasar’s Palace, maybe shrink it 20 times, in size and in its grandness. I’m sure whn they built this thing, they were trying to immitate the one in Las Vegas. As far as shopping goes, it’s close to zero.

Even though neither of us was hungry, and I had a queasy stomach from the 3 heavy meals they fed us on the airplane, I could not resist the urge to try the Chinese restaurant in the food court. I really wanted to have some “soul food”, as Bob calls it. Surprisingly, the good was quite good! I spoke with the chef (I think he was one of the chefs), who is from my father’s home town FuQing. I ordered my favorite dish, YuXiangRouSi. He said he would ask the SiChuan chef to make it for me. Guess what – it’s SO GOOD! Better than any of the dish I had in Boston! Even better than some of the ones I had in China!

Bob stopped by the blackjack table to start “working”, and I came back to the hotel room, to write my journal here. It’s probably the last time we have internet access for the next 2 weeks. Tomorrow our flight is around 10am local time, to Botswana. That’s when our real “adventure” will start.

Oh, I almost finished the book “Whatever you do, don’t run”. It was truly a fun read! I cracked up laughing aloud on the plane. I am starting to wonder what kind of guides we’ll get and how they will talk about us behind our backs …..

Little Vumbura Camp, Botswana; Tuesday, Sept 7, 2010

Neither Bob nor I slept well last night, especially I, probably because we slept quite a bit on the plane, also the excitement. Bob did OK with the blackjack, paid for last night’s dinner any way, and he had fun. We got about 4 hours sleep, got up at 6am, got everything packed then went down for breakfast.

Wow – that was some breakfast buffet! Probably one of the best we’ve had! A large variety of choices, even including Japanese rolls and Chinese stuff! We stuffed ourselves, knowing we might not have lunch. And the dining area was beautiful! It opens to a large gorgeously manicured garden, which looked especially lovely in the early morning sun.

Our flight was a little after 10am local time. We took the hotel shuttle and got to the terminal a little past 8. I realized last night that I had forgotten to pack sleep shirts for Bob and me, so I wanted to find 2 large T-shirts. You would think that would be the easiest thing to find at the airport souvenir shops. But the shops there had all sorts of designer stuff. I could only find 2 cheap T-shirts with South African soccer or something – they’ll do for sleep shirts.

The plane from Johannesburg to Maun was a small one, by Air Botswana. It was full with 80+ passengers, and we got to Maun in about 2 hours. The airport at Maun reminded me of the airport in DunHuang, China, where we went in 1998, maybe a little bit better, but not much. We debarked on the tarmac and walked to the “terminal” where there is one conveyor belt. Everyone was standing there waiting to pick up the luggage which arrived in a while. All the people there were for safaris. There was one group from Stanford, with a number of olderish folks, probably professors. I was standing in line for the bathroom behind an older lady, who belonged to that Stanford group. Oh, by the way, there was a sign on the bathroom door apologizing that there’s no water …. But, one had to go if you had to go!

A guy from Wilderness Safari met us outside of the luggage area. We’re among the few small groups of people he was waiting for. He told us to check in our luggage at one of the stands, where we got our “tickets” for the entire safari flights.

Then we got on an even smaller plane, which seats 14 people total including the pilot. There were only 7 of us boarded that little plane at Maun. One couple is from HongKong, British, just married and came for their honey moon. Another girl from California whose husband is a private safari guide, and they live in Cape Town now. She was going to one of the camps to meet her husband for a short break/vacation. There was another couple whom I can’t remember much about. All these people were headed to different camps in the Delta. The plane stopped 3 times, dropped off people and picked up some. Ours, the Little Vumbura Camp, was the last stop and we were the only 2 headed there on this plane. Bob got sick after the first stop – motion sickness – and started throwing up. He turned quite pale and I was worried, but there’s not much that can be done. He said it’s because he was trying to look outside for animals and that’s how he got dizzy. The weather was very hot, which does not help. We finally landed at the camp a little before 3pm. Sean, who introduced himself as one of the camp managers, was there waiting for us with a Land Rover open top 4×4. We had to wait a little bit because the pilot and his helper (named Bob, a local young man) planned to stay over today at Little Vumbura, and they were discussing the logistics. Finally Sean started the engine and we were on our way to the camp, which turns out to be 45 minutes away!

Oh, forgot to mention that, from the plane, we saw elephants, zebras, and giraffe! When I saw the giraffe, the first thought that crossed my mind was “is that a statue” (like what they display in those souvenir shops)? It stood there very still, so tall! A second later I realized that it was a REAL giraffe! I was very excited!

Anyway, the Land Rover started moving. Oh boy! Now I understood what a bumpy Safari ride is like!! I had to hold on really tight to the railing, lest I would be thrown off the jeep. The pilot sitting next to me said “you’ll get use to it”. And he was right. Sean said he needed to rush a bit, because he would like us to catch the 4pm game drive. We did not stop to look for animals specifically, but we saw elephants, baboons, warthogs, impalas, and various kinds of birds. The road was not only bumpy, but very wet at places – we drove through water as deep as almost the entire wheel. Apparently there has been a lot of rain this year. Some of the tents in Little Vumbura were flooded just not too long ago, we were told. Now the water just started to subside.

Little Vumbura is on sort of an island. We had to get off the jeep and get in the boat for a 3-minute ride to get to the camp. The camp staff was standing by the dock, singing and dancing to welcome us. It was close to 4pm, and the guests were congregated at the lounge area, having tea. The lady manager, a very nice and pleasant one named “One”, took us to our tent right away so we can freshen up and then join the game drive at 4pm. She was very considerate and knew how badly we needed to sit down and get organized a little bit.

Our tent is tent #2. It is a wooden and canvas structure, tastefully done with a big bed, mosquito net, drapes along the walls/windows, a couch, a leather foot rest, etc. The bathroom and shower are a bit on the primitive side, but adequate, considering where we are. Even though I wish for the modern bathrooms, I can’t really complain.

Twenty minutes later, after changing into shorts, we got on our first safari game ride! Our guide’s name is “Rain” – a pleasant and smart local young man, speaking very good English. There were 5 of us guests/tourists in the jeep – Mike and Rosemary from NY (Mike is retired from IBM after working there for 43 years), and Diana from San Diego. In addition to Rain, another lady also was with us. Rain said she is from the community.

So, what did we see on this game drive? The 2 main things we saw were 3 lions and 5 cheetahs. It was quite amazing that we were just about 10 feet from them! Unfortunately they were mostly sleeping, especially the 3 lions. And we couldn’t really get close enough to them to take good photos. In addition, we saw some elephants kind of far away, some baboons, plenty of impalas, and different kinds of birds.

It was a hot day, in the high 80s or low 90s. But as soon as the sun went down, it’s like a different season. It was actually quite chilly in the jeep. The others all put on their fleece and/or jackets. Bob and I were in shorts and short-sleeves, but it was not too bad. Before it got dark, Rain stopped the jeep at a spot for us to have a “sun downer” – he brought all the material to make tea, or drinks, and some light snacks. We stood there, ate/drank, and chatted, before getting back into the jeep to head back to the camp.

We got back to the camp around 7:50pm. Dinner was at 8:15. We quickly cleaned up a little bit and then joined all the guests at a long table for dinner. We were served mushroom risotto as appetizer, roasted chicken plus cabbage wrapped lentils, and a salad as main course, and flan for dessert. Everything was tasty. We have no complaints. We did not linger too long after dinner, as everyone was pretty tired, so we all went back to our tents and called it a day/night. As we were escorted back to our tents, we looked up to the sky – it was so vast and so clear! There were millions of stars and they were so clear!

It was a busy, activity-filled first day to start our safari. I really did not know what to expect for these safaris, so I did not have any pre-conceived notions. I would rate my first day of experience as a B+. I think I might have had higher (maybe unrealistic) expectations for the animals we’d be seeing. Even though I did not really have specific expectations, those animal pictures I’ve seen from African safaris might have influenced my subconscious expectations.

Little Vumbura Day 2, Botswana; Wednesday, Sept 8, 2010

We got the knock-on-the-door wakeup call at 5:30am, as expected. We slept decently, even though I woke up a few times – still dealing with the time change. The bed was really really comfortable – the best part of the tent! And I love the big mosquito net that covers/drapes around the big bed! Even though it was so hot during the day, it was not hot at night at all. We have an electric fan blowing on top of the bed, which makes it even more comfortable.

The morning was gorgeous! It was cool and tranquil. We had our simple breakfast – freshly made muffins, pancakes, bread, cereals, fruits, tea and coffee. Perfect! We started our game ride around 6:30, just when the sun started to pop up from the end of the earth. The morning sunlight was perfect for taking photos! But we can’t get to the animals or birds close enough, and being with other folks, I could not really try to take a lot of time shooting. I think we definitely want to do a private game drive at least once this trip!

Talking about taking photos, I start to really appreciate what Mike taught me. He should be relatively pleased to know that I have been using the Manual mode, setting the aperture, then adjust the metering. The result is definitely better than if I used Automatic! But I screwed up the white balance a few times, and I forgot how to set focus (confused it with metering) until I bugged a photographer who was among the guests in the camp. He sounded a bit condescending, but at least I learned how to adjust the focus.

Let me try to remember what we saw in the morning game drive …. The most impressive things were giraffes, wild dogs, large herds of buffalos, and hyenas. Oh, also there was a big hippo, but it was rather far away.

There was a group of about 20 wild dogs, including 10 puppies. They were taking their nap, playing with each other, etc. This was apparently a rare scene, as wild dogs are actually endangered! They looked like they had skin disease – well, their fur was not exactly good looking. They had funny round big ears. Rain taught us a lot about these wild dogs. Apparently, within one group, there can be only 1 male and 1 female mating and producing puppies. The primary male would regurgitate food for the puppies, when the puppies “ask” him for food. While we were watching them, he actually did it twice. They probably ate not too long ago. When they eat, the male would swallow the first few bites in whole, without chewing. Later he would regurgitate these chunks out for the puppies. When he did it the second time today, strangely the female dog fought the puppies and ate it! Rain kept saying “that’s not good”. Then he said it must be because the female did not eat enough this morning – some other animals (e.g. hyenas) might have taken away their food.

We saw large herds of buffalos. There’s not much to say about them, but the quantity was quite impressive. Then Rain saw vultures flying around a specific spot, so he drove over. There we saw 2 hyenas by a dead baby giraffe! It was already partly eaten. One hyena was lying in front of it, guarding, the other (smaller one) was eating. Another hyena walked by, the one lying there growled, and this one just walked away. The vultures were standing on a tree close by, waiting for their chance.

The morning drive included a tea-break before we headed back to the camp before 11am. We were given a surprise picnic for lunch. Again, all the guests of the camp gathered there. We had delicious pasta with some sort of delicious sauce (not tomato), plus beef, salad, etc. Very pleasant lunch!

After lunch, we all went back to our tents to rest. Rain came knocking on our door to ask what we’d like to do. Originally he suggested that we go boating. But Rosemary and Mike were not interested. We were not that enthusiastic either, as there would be no animals to see, so we decided to do another game drive – see the same animals in a different light, perhaps. Just as Rain was leaving our tent, he turned back and called us out – a big male elephant was just outside of our tent, on the other side of the wooden walk way. This elephant has been around this camp ground for the last few days. Apparently he stepped on the water pipe this morning, so we lost water when we came back after breakfast. But it’s been repaired since.

It is awesome to be able to see the elephant so close, without any barriers between him and us. He was moving slowly, eating grass leisurely, swinging his trunk as he moved along. As he started walking in our direction, Rain instructed us that if we see his ears fanning forward, we should slowly move back into the tent. But the elephant did not seem to consider us hostile. He walked his direction, past us, and continued on. It was amazing to see how he carefully crossed the wooden walkway without stepping on it! He walked towards the water and then in, and away. Truly amazing and gratifying! Hopefully one of the photos I took would come out OK.

The afternoon drive turned out to be quite exciting. We saw more elephants, baboons, giraffes, a bunch of other less exciting animals and birds, and wild dogs. Towards late evening, we saw 3 wild dogs. Rain told us these were the 3 that broke out of the other big pack (he said that when a male and female decided that they want to mate, but they were not the primary ones, so they would break out and form a pack of their own). Apparently these three broke out and then had 7 puppies. Rain said they would be trying to catch/kill one of the impalas – they were running in the direction where there were a bunch of impalas. Rain then took off chasing them, wanted to see the action. Oh boy that was a thrilling ride! Imagine the jeep running on the bumpy plain, over shrubs, water, and all the ups and downs. We had to hold on to the railing really tight. And Bob lost his hat – it got blown away. We did not get to see the action and lost sign of the wild dogs, until Rain’s fellow guides radio’d him and told him the wild dogs made a kill. Then he quickly drove over (don’t know how he could recognize the “roads” and never got lost!). There we saw an impala already half eaten, and one of the wild dogs was still eating it. Then, surprisingly, he left without dragging the rest with him, just walked away! Rain said it’s because they were worried about the puppies they left behind. After he left, a hyena came out of nowhere, and started eating. We were less than 10 feet away from him and the dead meat, could hear clearly how he (or she?) was tearing things apart and chewing …. After a while, he dragged the rest with him and walked away. By that time, the sun had already set. We stopped to have our cocktails, then headed back to the camp.

We got back to the camp around 7:30 and it was already dark. Dinner was at 8. We were served lentil soup for appetizer, pork chops and fish for main course, plus vegetables and salad, then some kind of a small round cake for dessert. Everything was very tasty! Oh, I was introduced to the ginger beer, which is supposed to be a south African drink, sort of like our root beer, but tasting very different. It was really good, had a strong ginger bite!

Tomorrow morning we’ll be doing the mokoro trip, which was like canoe, but someone else would paddle for you. There won’t be any animals, but is supposed to be enjoyable. We’ll be up at 6 instead of 5:30.

Today’s score? I’d say A-. I still want to see lions in action, and more animals/predators.

Little Vumbura Day 3, Botswana; Thursday, Sept 9, 2010

The wakeup call came at 6am and we promptly got up. But there was no water – maybe the elephant broke the pipe again? Not sure …. Bob went to tell them and was told it would come in 10 to 15 minutes. We went to the lounge area, ran into Sean, who told us that there is a leak in the water pipe and the water would not come back until 7am. And that’s when the water came. We quickly washed our face, etc. then met Rain in the lounge.

This morning’s activity was Mokoro – a canoe operated by a pole man. We did not expect much of this, but it turned out to be a very enjoyable ride, after I overcame the initial fear when the thing started “wobbling”. So, I sat in the front, Bob in the middle, and the pole man in the back, standing and operate the mokoro. The morning air was so fresh, cool, and pleasant. The ride was very peaceful and relaxing. The pole man (did not catch his name) tried to explain to us the various things in the water. He was from the delta area – his village was some 50 km away and he loved the delta area. Rain was the pole man for his own mokoro, carrying some tea stuff. We all got on shore at a small island. Rain and the pole men set up a table and prepared tea/coffee for us, before we turned back. Rain showed us an area where there were many many cob webs, by those tiny spiders.

We returned to the camp before 10am, and we had brunch around 11am. Mile and Rosemary and a bunch of others were leaving. Rain took them to the airstrip after our brunch. So now Rain only had the 2 of us plus Diana. After lunch, Diana wanted to try the swimming/plunge pool, so we all went to the pool area. Bob took a nap. I got my legs wet in the pool, which felt good, as the weather was getting hotter and hotter. We ended up chatting till about 2pm, then went back to our rooms.

It was really really hot inside the tent – don’t know how bob could sleep, but he took a long nap. I was puddling around. All of a sudden, I heard a snorting noise outside. I looked out – guess who’s there? The elephant!! He went to the water pool at the back of our tent. I was so excited, trying to take some close photos. But I did not dare to open the porch door to scare him – he was probably 5 feet away from the porch. I took a few photos from inside the tent, through the screens. The pictures won’t be that great – really a shame! He then walked from the side of our tent, pulling and eating grass as he went, and then slowly walked away, from behind tent #3, where Diana is staying. She saw it too and was trying to take some photos. It is pretty exciting!

Diana had talked with One, one of the camp managers, and wanted to learn an African dish. Diana arranged for her to meet in the kitchen at 3:30pm. It’s to make a simple beef fish – cut the beef into 1inch cubes, heat up a pot, put in a little oil, then put the beef in. Then add some salt, stir the beef until it turned color. Then add water, slow cook for 3-4 hours. When we came back, we went back in the kitchen to finish it up – simply use a wooden spoon to press the meat into shreds, similar to pulled pork. This dish would go with “papa” – polenta flour and water cooked together. The beef was very tasty! This is apparently a traditional African dish.

Our afternoon activity was game drive. The photographer group saw a leopard this morning, so we were hoping to see it too. But it was nowhere to be found. The drive was a bit uneventful, saw the usual elephants, baboons, etc. until after sunset, when we started chasing the wild dogs as they went for another kill. Rain was communicating with other guides over the radio, looking for the wild dogs. He again started a very fast drive, which was very exciting! We finally found the wild dogs – it was that 20 pack, 10 puppies and 10 adults. But by the time we got there, they had already finished whatever they killed. The adult dogs were just regurgitating the food to feed the puppies. Quite a sight!

On the drive back, we saw giraffes, zebras, and of course impalas, etc. When we drove across a bridge and Rain used a light to shine into the water, we saw the huge back of a hippo, swimming away. Everyone was excited to see that.

The camp welcomed 8 new guests – a couple from Indiana and 3 other couples from Texas. We had dinner together. Tonight we were served some fancy pastry for appetizer (delicious), and the main course included venison stew, a variety of vegetables, plus the beef we helped to make. The dessert was chocolate cake with some caramel dressing.

Tomorrow we will do a morning game drive, then we’ll leave at 1pm for the airstrip, heading to our next stop, Savuti Camp.

Little Vumbura to Savuti, Friday, Sept 10, 2010

The wakeup call came at 5:30am as expected. He probably had to knock many times before we heard it – we slept well! I did 90% of the packing last night, so we quickly washed and then went to breakfast. It was an overcast day, which was great as it would not be too hot, we hoped. But the sun did peek out when we took off before 7 – I got a couple of sun rise photos.

The morning drive started relatively uneventfully – we stopped to learn about the termite mount and chit chatted about the animals. Then we saw a large group of baboons. We sat and watched them for a while – very amusing. I took a bunch of photos. The exciting part was when Rain spotted a wild dog running. Immediately he knew there was a kill going on! So we went on another wild ride – flying across the savannah, over bushes and water and dips and bumps! Then we saw the 3 wild dogs tearing open an impala …. Others later said they actually saw the impala moving when we got there, I did not see that. But it was a recent kill for sure. And it was shocking to see how fast they devour the impala. This is the 10 pack – 3 adults and 7 puppies. They were all there, tearing, eating, with blood all over their faces and front legs …. I really had to turn off my feeling. Even though I understand this is the circle of life, and the impalas seemed to be born as feed for the other predators, just like pigs were fed just for their meat for humans.

We had to get back to the camp around 10am, because Diana’s departure was 11am and she did not pack last night. I finished the last bit of packing and waited in the room till close to 11:30, which is when they were supposed to come to pick up our luggages. We then went to the lounge for lunch, and waited till a bit after 1pm to leave for the air strip.

Rain came with us, because it is his vacation time – he worked for the past 3 months, now he’ll get a month off. He’s headed to Maun to meet up with his wife, who works in the lodge of another camp. I think their home is somewhere near Kasane. He said he’ll meet us at the Kasane airport when we go to Victoria Falls.

The plane came 20 minutes late. It was a very small plane – seating 6 people max including the pilot. It was hard to climb in. I was nervous. But it turned out to be a quite smooth flight. Bob did not get sick. I even fell asleep! We got to Chobe air strip in 35 minutes. Goodman, our guide from the Savuti camp, was there to meet us. He is an older guy – well, older than Rain – and seems very experienced. When we got on the road, he asked us what we would like to see – animals, or birds. We told him that we want to see animals. And we told him what we had seen (he confirmed that seeing all those wild dogs was a very fortunate thing), and that we’d love to see lions, leopards, hippos, etc. He said that they had seen a leopard by the Linyanti river, and we could go there for this afternoon’s drive. And he also made suggestions on what we should do for the next couple of days. We agreed that we’ll do a long day drive tomorrow – leaving early as usual, but go till 2 or 3pm, to try seeing more leopards and lions. Of course, he reiterated that there is no promise of seeing any of those, but we will try.

The landscape around the Savuti camp was so different from the Delta – it’s dry, and very sandy. The land seemed to be filled with tall grass, and very thing is brown. They had just come out of the winter. The place will turn green probably in a month. The road is bumpy, especially at places where the sand is very thick. The jeep not only goes up and down, but also rocks sideways. Goodman calls it the “African massage”. We had quite a lot of such massages!

We arrived at the camp around 4pm. The staff was there to welcome us. There were two Caucasians – Warren the manager, and a lady whose name I can’t remember. Goodman took our luggages to our tent (#7), and the African lady manager gave us the orientation in the lounge. Then she walked us to our tent.

This tent is quite different from Little Vumbura – I’d say it appears to be more luxurious. The lounge area was quite big, with a pretty elaborate layout, right by the river. You can see elephants across the river at the far end. The camp has 7 tents – one more than Little Vumbura. All the tents are by the river, with a good view. The tent is nicer than Little Vumbura’s. I’m pleased. I think Ian had arranged the camps in such a way that it goes better and better. If that’s the case, we certainly appreciate it.

We quickly got our cameras ready and then headed out to meet Goodman for our game drive. He would take us towards the river to where they saw the leopard earlier today. That leopard ate a baboon. And he hoped we could still find her. We got lucky! After an hour or so drive, we saw two other jeeps parked near a tree and everyone was looking up in the tree. That was where the leopard was! She was lying on a horizontal branch of a big tree which was full of leaves. Goodman said one would have never spotted her unless they followed her. She was lying there, facing down, hugging that branch, with all 4 legs dangling. Her tummy was round and she was panting. Goodman said there are 3 situations where the leopards would pant – just chased something, too hot, or very full. We think the 3rd situation describes the condition of this leopard. I took some decent photos, even though the sun was already almost gone, and she was totally in the shades of the tree leaves. Thank Mike for teaching me the crash-lessons, otherwise I would have never been able to do what I did!

We waited there, as Goodman said when the sun sets, that’s when this leopard would come down to find some water. And he was right! She came down and headed towards a water hole behind us. All the jeeps (3 of us) followed, and she was not scared. She got to the water hole, crouched down, and drank for a while. By that time, it was already dark. The people in the other jeeps were using flash lights. I was able to take a couple of pictures, using very high ISO. After she had enough to drink, she walked away, and we took off to head back to the camp.

After many African massages, we got back to the camp. We washed up a little bit and then met at the lounge for dinner. There we met the other guests. There is another tour group of 7 from the US – Colorado, New Hampshire, Raleigh, etc. We chatted at the dinner table. Dinner included a delicious soup (probably spinach and something else), barbecued steak, sausages, spicy Chinese cabbage, potato, etc. Dessert was some sort of panna cotta. The barbecue was great!

Back to the tent, unpacked, downloaded the photos, and started writing my journal. The tent was definitely nicer than Little Vumbura, even though the bed is not. I’m also not too impressed with the service – the drapes were not pulled all the way closed, the mosquito incent went out, the mosquito net was drawn wrong …. Oh well! ….

Too early to give the camp a mark – we’ll see how the next few days go. Oh, we have the jeep and Gooman just for the 2 of us!!

Savuti Camp, Botswana; Saturday, Sept 11, 2010

As usual, we got up at 5:30. Went to breakfast a little after 6, but did not leave until close to 7, so regretfully we pretty much missed the sunrise – the sun was already quite high when we took off. We had a full-day activity – i.e. we won’t be back until 3 or 4pm, and we will not be doing the normal morning and evening drives, just one whole day drive. It turned out that we actually did not come back until 6pm. And it was a great day! And then we did a night safari! So it’s late now and I’m very tired. Tomorrow we’re going to do another all-day drive, so let me just jot down the things we did today so I won’t forget.

We saw 100’s of vultures feasting on a large dead giraffe. Don’t know how the poor giraffe died. The hyenas already tore its belly open, and the vultures were all over him. Goodman told us there’re 3 types of vultures. The ones with more power were eating when we were watching. 100s of the “secondary” vultures were just standing by watching, waiting for their turn ….

We saw elephants, hippos, giraffes, zebras, baboons, warthogs, in addition to the “usual” impalas, and other similar kinds of animals whose names I could never remember. There was a sad and scary incident when a large giraffe tried to cross the Savuti channel, then lost its footing and fell entirely into the water. He struggled to stand up and finally succeeded! I almost cried. Goodman said there’s nothing he could do or would do, because it is nature ….. I do have a soft spot especially for giraffes – they are so big and they look so kind! I hate to see them getting hurt …. Oh, also, we saw a leopard briefly, as he/she was walking away. Then we spotted a dead, partial impala hanging on the big tree branch. Apparently the leopard dragged it up there to eat. But he/she got nervous when a vehicle came, so we did not get to see much of him/her. We actually came back to that spot in the afternoon and waited for at least an hour, hoping he/she would be back. But we did not wait long enough – through the radio, Goodman learned that the leopard did return around 5:30, when we were almost back to the camp.

After we got back to the camp, just when I was about to take a shower, 10 or 11 elephants came into the water right outside of our tent – drinking water and playing. I took many pictures, of course. But even though we were careful not to make noise, the opening of our door still disturbed them and they walked away ….

After dinner, Goodman took us on the night safari to see that dead giraffe – to see how much there’s left and who might be there. On the way, we saw a leopard mother of her baby by one of the water holes. Goodman said the mother is hunting for food. The baby was so cute, following its mother, trying to nurse, running around, etc.

That dead giraffe was still there. Its rear end was gone, but rest is still there (except the body was hollow, similar to the morning). There were 2 or 3 hyenas working on it. We watched (under the red light Goodman was carrying) for about 20 minutes, then left to come back for bed.

A very good day! I think it’s the best so far!

Savuti Day 2; Sunday, Sept 12, 2010

Getting up at 5:30, leaving for the drive after 6:30. Too late again to see the sun rise – need to leave before 6:20. We’ll do that tomorrow.

It’s another whole-day drive. But we did not really drive all day – we spotted a freshly caught dead impala at the foot of a tree, and Goodman pointed out the drag line to us. Apparently it’s killed by a leopard, but that leopard was no where to be seen. The poor impala was draped over a termite mount at the foot of the tree, all limbs seemed intact, but the chest/tummy was open and the intestines were exposed …. We drove around looking for the leopard but could not find it. Goodman said we should drive to the river and have our lunch and then come back. And that’s what we did. So we came back after lunch, and saw the leopard high up in the tree – about 60 feet high, well hidden behind all the branches and leaves. She was sleeping contently, panting. She was hugging a horizontal branch, all 4 limbs hanging, and a long tail dangling. Very cute! That’s until she opened her eyes – those cold chilling predator’s eyes …. We sat in the car for 6+ hours, waiting for her to come down, but she disappointed us. We left after the sunset and it started to turn dark …. Will need to find out if/when she came down and if she dragged that impala up the tree! Oh, today we first drove to the other tree where there was a dead impala hanging – it was gone. Goodman said he heard that actually 2 leopards came, and they dropped the impala, then the hyenas snatched it.

In the morning, on our way to looking for the leopards, we went by that dead giraffe – it’s still there. Goodman said the 2 hyenas probably worked on it all night. It appeared to be in the same shape as last night, but it became more and more hollow. A hyena was there, digging into the tummy/chest cavity, while100’s of vultures standing by, on the ground, on the trees, waiting for their turn. When the hyena took a break and went off to have a drink in the nearby Savuti channel, the vultures swarmed over, then flew away when the hyena returned. Once in a while, a few brave vultures would get on the giraffe while the hyena buried himself in the giraffe cavity. Then the hyena came out, charged towards the vultures, and they flew away. It was interesting to see that there was another hyena watching nearby in the bush. Then another one came straight to the giraffe to eat, without being chased away or fight. Goodman said he and the one eating belong to the same family.

What else did we see? Some giraffes, elephants, a large herd of buffalos, zebras, birds, hippos, and a crocodile. Even though we did not get to see leopards in action, or lions, we are content.

Savuti Camp to Little Mombo Camp; Monday, Sept 13, 2010

We got up at 5:30 and quickly had a simple breakfast, left for sunrise before 6:20. Goodman wanted to drive us to the channel to watch the sun popping up. We got there and spotted a male leopard. We followed him for a while, watching him marking his territory and making the calls. Then he climbed a tree and went to sleep. Goodman said he might have had the dead giraffe, as it was not that far from the spot, so he was full. Soon after we left him, Goodman spotted another female lion, who was making the noise to call her cub, as Goodman explained to us. He was right – very shortly after, the cub appeared. She was such a good mother – she played with the cub, just 30 feet from us! She was not scared of the land rover – I guess she was used to it. She later came by our vehicle and was less than 5 feet away from us. She watched us and decided it was not danger, and called her cub to follow. It was by the Savuti channel – they came to the front of the car, which was close to the water, and started drinking. Then the mother walked away, and the cub followed after a while. Then the mother climbed a tree, and the cub stayed behind. It turned out that she had stored a dead impala on that tree, so she went up to continue her meal. The cub remained on the ground, but within her sight.

We returned to the camp by 9am, finished packing, took some photos of our tent and the camp surroundings – we were so busy the last couple of days and had not had the chance to take any pictures of the camp. Then we had a nice brunch – eggs and toast, etc. We left for the airstrip at 10:40.

We arrived at the airstrip as the plane was also arriving – very good timing. It was a 14 seat plane, like the one we took from Maun. The plane was almost full when we took off, with only 3 seats empty. The planed made one stop shortly before Mombo, picking up 2 more guests. Most of the people on the plane were coming to Mombo. We’re the only 2 for Little Mombo.

The car ride to the camp was about 10 minutes. From the outside, the camp looks very rustic, with its old thatched roof and canvas tents. The lounge area was not as elaborate as Savuti. But the beauty is the inside of the tents! It was very impressive! It’s a large tent, bedroom, sitting room, long connecting room between the bedroom and living room to the spacious bathroom area, which has double sinks and double showers, plus a separate bathroom. We very much appreciate the fact that the faucets in the sinks have the cold and warm “merged”, which neither Little Vumbura nor Savuti had! The showers are both rather modern – with overhead rain shower as well as hand-held. The whole place feels clean and does not have spiders and other little bugs like the other two. Well, for $3500 a night, I guess I would not expect any less …. Each tent has its own outdoor shower and lounge – very nice! We have tent #2, which is a little bit away from the lounge.

Our guide who picked us up is named Moss – and olderish guy, looking a little bit like one of the black movie actors (can’t think of the name). And we need to share the vehicle with another couple, who came from France, speaking very British sounding English. It’s an aristocrat-looking couple, reminding me of the people in “Out of Africa”. Their names are Pamela and Neville. I wish we were able to reserve a private vehicle, and they also, but it’s no longer available.

I dragged Bob to visit the little curio shop – it’s bigger than the other two and had some more supplies. Then we came back, bob took a nap, and I downloaded all the photos from the morning. 3:30 was tea, when we met our vehicle mates, and we took off for the afternoon drive around 4.

The wild life indeed lives up to its reputation. Not too long after we left, we saw 2 male lions! Unfortunately both were asleep – apparently they saw the lions eating a wilder beast yesterday and this morning, so they were full. The most interesting thing was, there was one wild dog, who adopted 2 jackals, and she was howling by the lions. Later I learned that she was trying to warn her “pack”. This wild dog lost her pack and is alone, so she adopted the 2 jackals, even regurgitate for them!

Later we saw 2 warthogs in their hole, half out. They were so ugly-cute! A very funny sight! The first one was half peeked out when we drove by. We stopped to take his pictures. Then the second peeked out right next to him, as if saying “get a picture of me too!”.

Then we drove to a hyena den and saw a hyena baby and her mother and older sibling. Even though the hyena is really ugly, its pup is very cute! Just like a cute domestic dog puppy!

After that, we saw a leopard. It was first lying on the ground, then climbed onto a termite mount, as if posing for us. There were 3 vehicles there, so it got many shots taken.

We had a sun-downer and then headed back to the camp. There was rule in this private game reserve that has the rule all vehicles must return to camp by 7pm.

Tonight is the traditional dinner night (we finally got one!). It was very nicely done – best food we’ve had so far. Everything was good. After dinner, we were given a show of local sing and dance, by the open fire. It was very nice – making you want to go join them!

As I’m writing, I can hear the water splashing right outside of the wall, and some occasional snorting – it’s the elephants. Not sure what they’re doing – wish I could see outside, but it’s so dark and we’re not allowed to go out on the back deck – even if they allow it, I would not dare …. The tent is right by the water. On our way to dinner, walking on the wooden boardwalk, we saw elephants right outside of the railing by us – big and small, quite a few of them! Very exciting!

Time for bed now – 5:30 will come very soon.

Little Mombo Camp, Botswana; Tuesday, Sept 14, 2010

I’m 62 today – scary!

The staff here is really nice. I guess Bob told them it’s my birthday today, so they made a chocolate covered muffin with a little candle, brought it out to me at breakfast, singing happy birthday. I was touched and a little embarrassed, as all the camp guests were there to wish me a happy birthday.

This is a happy lions day!! In addition to the usual impalas, elephants, baboons, warthogs, etc. we saw many lions!! They’re THE animal I really wanted to see, up close. And my wish has come true! In the morning, we saw 2 males – they’re called the “Western boys”. Beautiful males, in their best years, I guess, with beautiful manes! Then we saw a pride of 19 or 20 lions – can’t remember how many males and females. But there were 2 pups and an old impressive looking old male. They were all lying under the bush shades and sleeping. When the sun started to get hotter, they started moving to other more shady spots, and later on they moved into the tall grass area. We all took many many photos. Out of the 100’s I took, I think there were a few pretty good ones!

Then in the afternoon, we saw more lions! First a relatively young male and female. Then another pride, with 3 pups!! We watched them, followed them, for a long time, took tons of photos. The pups were SO CUTE! They played with each other, nursed, played with their mommy’s tail and rear end. Then they ventured to visit the other lions in the pride. The mother kept a close eye on them. At one time, the pups started to play with another adult female, who stood up and tried to touch them. The mother jumped up and growled at her and sent her running away!

A guy (did not catch his name) from Wilderness Safaris’ rhino protection program joined our afternoon drive. Before dinner, he gave us a short slide presentation about the Okavango delta and the rhino protection program. Very nicely done! Wish we could see the rhinos. But they are endangered and the poachers almost destroyed their population. Mombo used to have lots of rhinos, but now you can’t even see them. The rhino protection program has re-introduced them back in, but it’s hard to trace and find them. So, out of the big 5, we’ve seen 4, and if we are lucky, we might be able to see a couple in Victoria Falls.

I took a nice long nap today – bob slept on the outside deck, with a comfortable breeze; I slept inside on the bed. The camp staff made a “happy birthday Rulian” using red beans on the bed. Nice touch! I messed it up when I took the nap. When we came back at night, I found a birthday card and a present on the bed, which contains 3 traveling scented candles. I’m very touched!

Dinner again was very nice! Delicious. Oh, for lunch we had a picnic away from the camp – Moss drove us there to meet up with other guests of the camp and we had a nice lunch there. I learned that the chef’s name is Marco – he’s Caucasian, seems to speak perfect local language and dances very well (he was one of the most active ones at last night’s local night). The meals here are much more formal than the other camps. Dave is the person who serves us afternoon tea and all the meals – a very pleasant and courteous man!

All the guests chatted and mingled at and after dinner. Tony and his 2 companions (photographers) will leave tomorrow, 2 new guests will come. Neville and Pamela will do some helicopter ride to see a special owl after the morning drive, then they’ll have their private vehicle (the one Tony and company had). We’ll have 2 new guests join us.

Now I start to understand why Mombo is so expensive and so in demand. This game reserve is at an ideal spot – it has dry places but also river/water. You see large span of grass land, with many different animals happily co-existing – elephants, giraffes, impalas, warthogs, wilder beasts, etc. And the lions, leopards, and hyenas are just around the corner. When we see the grass land, the word paradise just pops in our heads. This is a gods given land! Bob and I are talking about coming back here in 2 or 3 years, but we definitely want to book a private vehicle for the entire stay – I want to be able to watch the animals for hours, if we want to.

I started to react to the sun – my arms, especially the right arm which is more exposed to the sun throughout the drives, are having bumpy rashes. I regret that I did not bring more long sleeves. Tony (who works for Wilderness Safaris) said that I should not wear short sleeves. With long sleeves, if it’s too hot, spray with water and cool off. I’ll try tomorrow.

It’s an unforgettable birthday!

Little Mombo Day 2; Wednesday, Sept 15, 2010

The usual morning routines – up at 5:30, breakfast at 6, drive started around 6:30. The weather is nice and cool till about 9am, then it would get hotter and hotter. It was quite cold yesterday morning, but today it’s just a bit chilly – I would trade the chilly temperature for the hot any time!

The morning drive started off somewhat uneventful, until we tracked down the first lion pride that consisted of 14 lions, then another pride with 7 (or 8). Of course we stopped and watched for as long as we could. A female lion in the second pride was sick – she walked to behind our jeep and started retching then finally throwing up. It worried us, as humans would not intervene in their sickness (unless it’s caused by human), and if they cannot get well on their own, they would die …. I hope she will get well!

Pamela and Neville are very much interested in birds. They chartered a private helicopter to track down some special kind of owl. Moss went with them. We parked our vehicle at the air strip, and another vehicle came to pick us up and brought us back to the camp. I hope they do get to see that owl.

We had brunch back at the camp before noon. Then we went to the “Mombo mall”, hoping to find me a thin/light long-sleep shirt. My rash is not getting better, so I wore my only long sleep shirt today, but it was too heavy and I get too hot. We ended up getting a 2XL linen like thin man’s short sleeve shirt. I can wear it as a cover and later bob can wear it.

For the evening drive, we had 2 new guests join us, as Pamela and Neville got their own private vehicle (Tony and company left around noon time, freeing up the other private vehicle). They’re newly weds and this is their honeymoon. They are Tom and Laura, from Cleveland, Ohio. They’re middle-aged and this is second marriage for both. Very pleasant people. Tom turned out to be a dare-devil type, as we found out through dinner talk at the table. He’s done all the crazy things like sky diving, parachuting, etc. And he’ll be doing some kind of shark adventure, in a cage, with the great whites, in Cape Town. This is Tom’s 3rd safari and Laura’s first.

Our afternoon drive was not too special. I’m happy because we saw lions again – the pride with 14 lions. They were trying to catch a zebra but did not succeed. I felt really bad for the lions, as they had not eaten for a while. I contradict myself by hoping that they would catch a zebra, feeling cruel …. But the mother lion needs to nurse 3 pups and they had not eaten for a couple of days ….

It’s amazing how smart the lions are. They have a strategy without having to talk with each other. One lion would try to sneak behind the zebras, driving them towards the other lions; and the other lions spread out, hidden, prepared to ambush their prays. Amazing!

Dinner was the 6 of us – we had a great time chatting. Neville and Pamela turned out to be very nice, once they warmed up towards you. They’re seasoned travelers from all over the world. And they have a good sense of humor. They are very familiar with Cape Town and offered us lots of good advice.

Tomorrow’s morning drive is our last at Little Mombo. Our flight is at 11:45am, heading to Kasane then Livingstone, for Victoria Falls/Toka Leya camp.

Little Mombo, Botswana to Toka Leya, Zambia; Thursday, Sept 16, 2010

The morning drive, the last one at Little Mombo, was fantastic! After taking tons of photos right outside of the camp of the hippo (who graced our last day by coming out of the swampy river and eating on the grass right outside of the camp!), we started off by chasing/following the one and only wild dog who was hunting, followed by her 2 jackals. We had a good chase, even though she did not catch any kill. I feel bad for her – she’s hungry and it’s very difficult for her to get a kill alone …. But she’s been single for 2 years, so I guess she’ll survive ….

Then guess what we saw – the white rhino!! This is really a rare and special treat! We’re very lucky! This big rhino was chomping down the grass, like a weed whacker – very funny! Quite a few birds were by his side – they were eating the insects coming out of the grass because of the rhino’s “weed whacking”.

Not far from the rhino, there was a pride of lions, all sleeping. And that’s the end of our last game drive. Another driver/jeep was sent to pick us (and another couple from Mombo in a different jeep), because we needed to be ready for our 11:15 leaving. And Moss continued on with Tom and Laura.

We were back at the camp shortly before 10am. We finished the last bit of packing, had brunch, and got to the air strip 3 minutes before our plane arrived. It’s the 12-seat plane, like the one we took from Maun to Little Vumbura. It made a stop at Chobe (the same air strip we used for Savuti), then flew on to Kasane. There we got off, cleared custom for entering Zambia, then boarded a 6-seater. Bob got to sit next to the pilot. 2 young Americans sat in the middle, I sad in the last row together with luggages. It was HOT in there. Fortunately the flight was only 24 minutes, and relatively smooth. Nice landing at Livingstone, Zambia.

As we stepped into the airport – ah, air conditioned!!! It felt so good!! The weather was really hot, and it was painful (for me at least) to walk under the sun. I already got the heat rashes spread all over my arms and legs, and I am really worried if the condition gets worse ….

It was all rather confusing at the airport. Someone got our luggage. We had to fill the immigration forms, paid VISA money, met the wilderness safari guy who took us to a car from Toka Leya, and handed us an envelop that contains info about our stay here. It seems that there are many options for activities, and it’s up to us to choose. There was only one activity that was arranged for us – the elephant safari ride for tomorrow morning at 6:45am. Coming off of the 9-day safaris in Botswana, where everyday’s activity consists of 2 game rides, all arranged, we were quite confused about what we’re supposed to do.

The 2 young Americans (2 guys, one from Texas, the other California, and they just did Botswana safaris) were in the same car with us. We got to the camp and were welcomed by the staff, and then given an intro. The camp is right on the Zambezi river, with a nice lounge area setup. We have room #4, first one on the right from the lounge area. The room is quite nice! It’s actually meant for a family of 4. In addition to the big bed in the front, there is another room in the bed with 2 twin beds. Large bathroom, large shower with an additional outdoor shower. More importantly, the room is actually air conditioned! Even though it’s not very powerful, it made the room much more pleasant than without it.

We got into the room around 3:30, and there’s a 4pm boat ride. We decided to go and do it. We met a young couple, Ali and Lilly, from Boston and the 4 of us shared the boat ride. I don’t think the river scenery had anything special, but the best thing is that it has a lot of hippos! As the boat drove by a couple that were just popping their heads out, I shouted at them, which got one of them mad and started chasing our boat! That was a little scary, but our guide who drove the boat laughed and was not scared. I did not take the long lens with me, to my regret. I had the rare opportunity to see the hippos yawn, but all the pictures came out very fuzzy …. I tried to take some photos of birds, without any luck. The other fun thing was to see the “home” of those very pretty little birds (can’t remember their names) – they’re holes on the bank wall. We got to see these little birds fly in and out of those holes.

I took a shower after we finished the boat ride. Dinner was at 7:30. All the tables were set as private tables, on the patio by the river, with candle light. Very nice! We already placed our choice of entree in the afternoon – we both had the lamb which was quite good.

When we just started eating, I noticed the couple sitting at the table next to ours – it was Bob and Karen, the couple we met at Little Vumbura and then Savuti! So we pulled our tables together and had a nice chat. They’re leaving tomorrow heading home. Today they did the “Devil’s Pool”, which we wanted to see tomorrow. I really want go into that pool, but I am not sure if I have the guts. Bob does not want to go in, period.

Aside from the morning elephant ride, we don’t have a definitive plan for tomorrow yet. We should find out after we return from the ride. One thing is for sure that we’ll go see the falls the morning of the last day, day after tomorrow – morning is the best time to see the falls.

It’s been a busy day. And we only have 2 nights at this camp, so tomorrow is packing time again, followed by more small plane ride in the heat. But we heard from multiple people that the scenery at Sausage Tree Camp is gorgeous, so we’ll see ….

Toka Leya Camp Day 2; Friday, Sept 17, 2010

We got up at 6am to leave at 6:45 for the elephant ride safari. It was in a different location about 15 minutes drive from our camp. We joined a group of 9 other people from different camps. Each elephant has a trainer and takes 2 guests. We walked in the bushes for an hour, including going into the Zambezi river. Our elephant’s name is Danny (I bought one of his foot prints), and his trainer is Africa, who actually came from Zimbabwe. These elephants are all rescued elephants. There is a 3 or 5 year old, which is being ridden by his trainer (without guests), just for training. There is another baby elephant who is only about a year and half, who just came for the ride/walk. She was so cute! She was actually adopted by this group of elephants one day from the safaris, when they found her alone. These elephants are free to roam around in the bushes (not always confined in their fenced-in place), but there’s always someone with them.

I was chatting with Africa. He lives in the elephant camp and work for 30 days straight, then he gets 6 days holiday, and he would go back to Zimbabwe. I asked if his family is here with him. He said he’s trying to. He’s saving up the $150 needed to get the visa. He’s very sweet, showing me the birds as we were riding on the ellie. I left him a $20 tip.

The ride was fun – much different from that first ellie ride we had in Thailand and much better! While we were on the ellie, we saw people walking at a distance away, and I learned that it was the “Lion Encounter” program, where you get to pet the lions! This is something that Wilderness Safari does not approve or recommend, but they won’t prevent you from doing it. I was determined to do it.

When we came back, we spoke with the guides here about the rest of the activities. It turns out that they were not able to book us the Livingstone island (Devil’s Pool) tour any way, so we re-arranged our activities as follows:

We’ll do the Vic falls tour this afternoon, followed by a 15-min helicopter ride to see the falls from above (some folks we met at the ellie ride highly recommended it). Then we’ll try to do a little local shopping in the Livingstone crafts market, and that’ll be the rest of today. Tomorrow morning, we’ll do the Lion Encounter, while it’s cool.

Vic falls are truly magnificently fantastic! Even though this is not the time when the water is full, it is still very impressive! I guess it’s because the falls are over a very deep gorge, that makes the falls even more impressive. It’s like the great canyon plus the Niagara falls, kind of. Mike the guide from the camp took us there and walked around the falls. It was really hot there. After the walk, he took us to our helicopter ride. He spoke to the guy who led the 6 people to the helicopter, so we were able to get the front seats by the pilot (of course I tipped that guy). The helicopter ride was nice – got a nice bird’s eye view of the whole falls and their surroundings. But because it was mid afternoon, and very hot, the air was hazy, so it was not as nice as it could have been.

After the ride, I wanted to go shopping at the local craft market. Mike took us there. The whole row of 55+ stores seemed to be selling more or less the same things – wooden bowls/plates, cotton paintings, wooden and stone animals, etc. Very pushy sellers, but nothing really appealed to me. The large items were out of the question even if I wanted to get them – I would have liked to get a big wooden hippo. I love the wood – iron wood, etc. I finally got a smallish hippo – it’s kind of abstract but cute. I guess that’s all I’m getting from Zambia ….

We got back to the camp past 5pm. After freshening up a bit, we went to the lounge and sat around with Mike the guide, etc. Took a few sunset shots. Then went back to the room until we heard drums and music. We were told that there will be traditional dance tonight. They lighted a fire and the band was playing rhythmic African music which really made you want to dance/move, even if you don’t know how.

The band lead made a speech about someone’s birthday on Sept 14th, but we’re celebrating it now. I could not understand all the words, so I was saying to Bob whose birthday that was, which was on the same day as mine. Then I realized they were doing this for MY birthday! I was truly surprised, and touched! They also made a cake for me and brought it out. So sweet!!

We sat with Lily and Ali at the same dinner table, chatted about Cape Town and the great food they had, about Boston’s great restaurants, etc. Lily recommended “Moo” in Boston, and Mistral. We’ll definitely try them! Also Crege’s. They’re leaving for Kruger tomorrow, then heading to Greece to attend a wedding. We chatted all the way through dinner and afterwards. Then we started chatting with Chris – one of the two guys we flew in the same plane here. It turns out that he is a doctor/radiologist in Austin. He and his friend (Tim) have traveled around the world. He highly recommended Cambodia, and Jordan. I definitely want to go there!

Tomorrow we’ll be up early again, for the Lion Encounter! Can’t wait to touch the lion cubs!! Then we’ll be flying to Lusaka and then to the Sausage Tree Camp. It’ll be another LONG day ….

Toka Leya to Sausage Tree; Sept 18, 2010

We’re in the Sausage Tree Camp now. It’s a very interesting camp – not quite sure how we like it yet …. It’s at least an hour drive from the Jeki air strip (which has a dirt runway). On the drive to the camp, we were very very impressed with the animals we saw – BIG herds of buffalos and SO MANY elephants, with babies! And not to mention the large groups of impalas, plus kudu, water buck, etc. etc. The scenery was also quite different from what we’ve seen – large amount of flat planes, with no grass whatsoever. It’s apparently been dry – we can see that when the water comes, there’d be water land. And there are many baobab trees – those huge succulents. I was saying to bob that we definitely want to come back here. And while we were waiting for the plane in Livingstone, a father and son (who were originally from South Africa but are now in the States, who just spent time in a camp near the Sausage Tree Camp) who told us that this area is beautiful and the Sausage Tree Camp is very luxurious. That kind of got my hopes up. I also read what Ultimate Africa wrote on the itinerary – each tent has a butler, etc. After we got here, we’re impressed with the scenery – the camp is right by the river. It is beautiful. But, it was built with the intention of being out in the nature. The tent is round. The side facing the river is wide open with sliding wooden doors. But above the door and between that and the tent, it’s open, so mosquitoes can fly in, or any other bugs. The toilet and shower is outside – the enclosure wall is like the Spanish style, clay style and colored. Basically you’re exposed to the nature above. There’s a big tree above you, and the baboons can come in to take your little things. The biggest thing that bothers me is the mosquitoes – we’re supposed to put on the bug spray at night. Our butler, William, will prepare our mosquito net around the bed, spray DOOM around ….. All this is a bit too camping-ish to me ….. I think I’d much rather have a tent like what we have in Toka Leya, or any of the ones in Botswana that we stayed ….

But the guests here are very interesting! We met a couple, Rose and John, from Brisbane, Australia; Jim and Judith from York, England, Helen and ? from Washington state, and another couple we did not get the chance to introduce ourselves to. Judith is really really funny! A typical English lady, with a good sense of humor. William came to get us at 7:30 as we agreed. We all sat by the fire, eating peanuts and cheese twirls, chatting. Dinner was delicious and lot more chatting – Judith cracked me up so much! The camp manager, Nicky, seems to be a nice young lady. The camp seems to be very well run. The staff was all attentive and friendly.

I’m getting ahead of myself and went straight to Sausage Tree Camp. But we also did a great lions walk in the morning! Our first time ever to be able to touch a lion! The 3 lions we walked with were about a year and half old – one male and two females. With all the trainers and guides around, it’s quite safe to do as instructed – touching them on the back, walking with them, taking pictures. I understand that this is not “natural”, but I’m just happy that I finally got to touch a lion!

After leaving Toka Leya, we flew from Livingstone airport to Lusaka. The plane was delayed for almost an hour. But our connecting flight at Lusaka was waiting for us. We got to the Jeki air strip around 4:30, and got to the camp around 5:30. Too late to get on any drive. After the intro by Nicky, we went to our room and I took a shower – I had to ask Bob to stay in the outdoor bathroom with me for me to show ….

Tomorrow we’ll do the canoe first, which is Nicky’s suggestion. Then we’ll do the game drive in the afternoon and the next morning, then a boating safari in the afternoon. The morning when we leave, Nicky said we can do fishing on our way to the airstrip. That’ll be nice.

Hippos are snorting right outside of our tent – I’d LOVE to go out there and take a look! But I don’t dare …. When William walked us back, he shined his flashlight all over the place to make sure there’s nothing lurking there. This place does not have the jacked up boardwalk, so we’re walking in the dirt/sand. From what I heard, the animals are right around us …..

Tired after a long day! Will call it a day now.

Sausage Tree Camp Day 2, Zambia; Sunday, Sept 19, 2010

The morning canoe trip turned out to be fun and relaxing. There were 2 couples and 4 canoes. Each of us was paired with a guide who did the canoeing. The mandatory safety introduction scared me to almost want to back out – all that about what to do if a hippo flipped the canoe, what to do if we ran into a croc …. But everything turned out to be good. It was a peaceful ride. We saw many many hippos – usually many formed a “hippo city”, which I called a hippo island because from afar, the bunch of brownish foreheads/ears/eyes appears just like an island. As soon as they see the canoes coming, they just submerged into the water, one by one. When the canoes passed, sometimes we heard loud snorting, as if laughing. They really are funny creatures, even though quite ugly. We saw a big dead hippo – they said they found it a couple of days ago, probably the result of hippo fighting. There were no crocs or vultures around it yet. It was half submerged in the water. When the body starts to decay, that’s when the crocs will be there, as the skin is too tough for the crocs or the vultures to eat. We also saw a few smallish crocs – I think they’re hideous looking things!

We got back to the camp a little before 11am. We had a nice Sunday lunch at noon (almost forgot today is Sunday – we’ve been out for 2 weeks!) – the food of this place is very good! Nicky manages the camp quite well!

We had a long siesta. Bob took a long nap, and I did a short one too. A big elephant walked past our front porch before I took my nap. While I was lying on the couch which is facing the doors that are widely open to the outside towards the water, when I heard tree brunches crashing. I quickly rolled out of the couch to look outside – there he was, walking right by in front of my face, chewing on whatever branches he got in his mouth. I poked bob awake to look. I was a little scared, because it was so close I could almost touch him! And he is huge! I tried to take photos, but the few did not come out well.

The afternoon game drive got us to see the lions. This is the pride that killed a buffalo the day before yesterday. A quarter of the buffalo, with its head, is still there, which started to smell. A couple of vultures were standing above on the tree. The lions were just nearby, all sleeping, except the small cubs. One of the female lions ware on the tree branch, hugging it and sleeping. 3 lion cubs (probably 6 or 8 month old) were on the same tree, at a lower place. 2 3-month-old cubs were walking around. Other females were lying belly up, sleeping quite soundly. Their tummies appear round and full. I took some photos, but none came out too well.

Our guide is Chris, and he has a helper who shines the red light to try spotting animals on the way back, when it’s dark. We did not see a thing – heard some leopard noise, but did not find it/them.

Tomorrow we’ll do the morning game drive – I’d like to see the crocs and hippos, to take some photos with the long lens. And I’d like to see that huge baobab tree – Chris said it’ll require a little walking and we’ll need to have one of the park guards with rifle to go with us. I’d like to see the lions again if time permits.

Sausage Tree Day 3; Monday, Sept 20, 2010

Last full day of our safari. We went on a game drive in the morning. Chris had told me that we needed to walk a little bit to see that huge baobab tree, and it’s required that we have an armed park guard with us. The guard came at our breakfast time. And the jeep took 6 of us – 2 other couples from the UK, both seemed to have been to Africa multiple times. I thought it would be a short walk, but it turned out that Chris (our guide) had planned a walking safari! The other 2 couples both welcomed the walk, so we had to oblige. And the walk turned out to be more than 2 hours. It was interesting in a way, as we learned a bunch of stuff as we walked along – e.g. how some small animals feed on the elephant dung; how the ecosystem worked; how the civets “plug” themselves by eating palm leaves because their digestive system works too fast; how the male impala poos at the same spot to mark his territory, etc. And the huge baobab tree was very impressive. But I did not expect such a long walk, so neither Bob nor I had the right walking shoes. And I had to carry my big lens camera, which really did not have much use for this. And, the weather got very hot quickly. Any way, I’m glad we survived – the first walk since we came to Africa.

In the afternoon, we took a river boating safari, with Graham and Jillian from the UK. We saw elephants crossing the river, buffalos, a few crocs, and of course hippos popping in and out of the water. It was a very pleasant and non-dusty ride, and we enjoyed it. Nicky was nice to arrange a night game drive after the boat – the boat sailed to a certain spot, and we had the sundowner, a jeep is waiting for us there, with the “torch holder” (the one who shines the red light next to the driver for the night drive); and someone else took the boat back. It was nicely arranged. Even though we did not get to see a porcupine, as we had hoped, and did not really see anything (except impalas) during the night drive, we tried and that’s important. We’ll have to leave seeing a porcupine and hippo yawns for the next trip!

Oh, I had a massage after lunch – it’s an 1-hour Swedish massage. Jill is the name of the masseuse. She did a nice job and I enjoyed it very much. She said I need to have massages more often, because my back is very very tight. She said that I would find that I would find myself explode with anger for trivial things, if I don’t get my back loosened up. Um …. she might be right! I’m going to try finding a good massage place after I get home.

The camp is full now – there was a rather big crowd for dinner. 2 oriental young girls came today – I think they’re Chinese. They are in the next tent – they’re laughing very loudly even now …. I’m glad we’re leaving tomorrow. The owner of this camp was here today – Jason, an Australian, rather young. He had dinner with the guests.

Our flight leaves the Jeki air strip at 10:20am. We’ll take a boat ride trying to do some fishing and the boat would take us to the air strip (a vehicle will pick us up at the river then drive to the airstrip).

Our safari is coming to an end and soon will be our vacation. It’s been a wonderful experience so far, and we do want to come back in a couple of years.

Tomorrow will be a LONG day – from Jeki air strip to Lusaka, clear custom and board another plane to Johannesburg, then change plane to Cape Town, getting there around 9pm.

Sausage Tree Camp, Zambia to Cape Town, South Africa; Tuesday, Sept 21, 2010

Today was the last of our safari. Our flight out of the Jeki air strip was at 10:20am. Nicky arranged for us to do a short fishing trip, with our luggage in the boat. We’d be dropped off at a place 10 minutes drive away from the air strip, and a jeep would pick us up from there and bring us to the air strip.

The short fishing trip was actually fun. I did not think I would enjoy it, but I did – just sitting there enjoying the tranquil morning and the hippos popping in and out of the water was satisfying. Bob actually caught 2 tiger fish! The 2nd one was 12 pounds! It’s a catch and release kind of fishing. But the guide kept the 2nd fish to use as bait later. I did not catch any, even though I was doing much better with the line throwing and the fishing rod – Bob kept getting the string tangled, but he got the fish – go figure!

We got on the plane at 10:20 sharp. It was a 12-passenger plane, small but not too small. We got to Lusaka in about half an hour, and waited for the South African airline flight to Joburg for 2+ hours. The Lusaka airport is much better than the Livingstone one. We actually had lunch in an Indian restaurant there – quite tasty.

From Lusaka we flew to Joburg, followed by another 2+ hour wait for the flight to Cape Town. The flight to Cape Town was on a regular plane – back to the “normal” kind of flight. They fed us supper on the flight. We were met by a Wilderness Safaris guy, with a “Fiske” sign at the airport in Cape Town, who drove us to our hotel (we did not catch his name).

It turned out that this was our private guide who will be with us for the next 2 days and take us to see the key Cape Town sights. I did not realize that was the arrangement, but we were happy about it – much easier and relaxing to be driven around then having to drive ourselves!

We got to the hotel probably around 10pm local time. The hotel room was comfortable – it’s probably a 4+ star hotel. Coming back from living in the safari tents, this is really comfortable

Cape Town, South Africa; Wednesday, Sept 22, 2010

We got up at 7:30, had a nice breakfast in the hotel, and met our guide (still did not catch his name and too embarrassed to ask ….) in the lobby. Today’s activities included the following:

• Drive down along the Atlantic ocean side of the peninsular all the way to Cape of Good Hope, then back along the Indian Ocean side. • Take a 45-minutes boat trip to see the seal island – it was very touristy; • Take a tour at the ostrich farm – would have loved to get a ostrich skin bag, but it was way too expensive ($2000+, for the one I liked), so we got an ostrich egg instead. • Take a tour of the botanical garden – it was absolutely gorgeous! If we come back and stay for a month here, we can easily spend 2 days in that garden! • Have lunch at one of the sea-side restaurants.

We very much enjoyed the drive and the scenery of Cape Town! As the guide said, it’s very similar to the west coast of the US, like the big sur area. Absolutely gorgeous! I especially love the rocky coast line- there were whales very close to the coast, amazing!

The day started out overcast, but cleared up mid-way. We got to see the top of the Table mountain emerging from the clouds in the afternoon. We did not get the chance to go up there – will do it tomorrow or Friday.

We asked the guide for recommendation of dinner place – I wanted to try one of the top-rated ones. But he recommended one by our hotel – called “Baia”. It’s a seafood restaurant. It was good, but nothing that special – maybe because I’m never too excited about seafood.

Tomorrow he’ll take us to the wine country.

Cape Town Day 2; Thursday, Sept 23, 2010

Today was wine country tour day. As Andrew (our guide, his name is Andrew Brink) said, it’s an entirely different scenery from yesterday, the coastal line. We drove towards the mountains. Before we drove towards the wineries, Andrew took us to downtown the shopping area – kind of disappointing. Either it’s the stuff that’s very expensive, genuine African crafts, or junk. We did not have the time to really browse or shop – we’ll do that tomorrow when we no longer have our guide.

Andrew took us to 3 wineries – the one in Stellenbosch called Rustenburg, the one in Franschhoek called Boekenhoutskloof, and the one in Paarl called Glen Carlou which is owned by an American and belongs to the Hess group (which owns 4 wineries – here, Argentina, California, and Australia). We really enjoyed the wine tasting. But we only drank one sip of each and poured the rest. Even with that, I fell asleep in the car between driving to the tastings. The sceneries were really idyllic! We’ll have to come here to spend 2 weeks in that wine country!

We had lunch at one of the restaurants in the wine country – it was pretty good.

The thing I liked most (aside from the sceneries) was the town of Stellenbosch! It’s a university town (U of Stellenbosch). It’s a beautiful town, with an upper scale downtown and shops. I got a couple of things. I wish we had more time to shop there ….

We had dinner at “Jardine” – it’s one of the recommended restaurants in downtown, upper scale. It was one of those contemporary trendy ones. We have the chef’s tasting menu, which was creative and pretty good. The environment and atmosphere was just so-so – many young men waiters were busily walking around constantly, making you dizzy …..

Cape Town Day 3; Friday, Sept 24, 2010

We woke up to a gorgeous day – the Table mountain was beautifully exposed right outside of our window, not even one shred of cloud! We got to the cable car for the top before 9am and were among the early ones to get to the top. Boy, it was COLD up there! I had to buy a fleece top from the store, otherwise I would not be able to survive or enjoy it, not to say take photos. It was truly an enjoyable and impressive sight! We looked down to the Cape Town and all the surrounding towns – wonderful scene!

After the Table mountain trip, we came back to the hotel and promptly left for the Green Market Square in downtown. It was extremely disappointing! First of all, most of the shops were closed because today was a holiday! Those street stands were selling more of less the same poor quality, high-priced junk. We did not get anything.

We went to an Indian restaurant called Bhukarah (sp?) – it was recommended by the concierge. It was pretty good! We ordered a Tendoori ostrich – it was OK. The meat was really rare and I did not think too much of it. The chicken Bhyriyani was very good!

We walked around a bit after lunch and found nothing interesting in downtown, so we came back to the hotel and took a nap. Then we killed the rest of the afternoon at the shopping centers near the water front. Got a few souvenirs, and got myself the expensive elephant pendant.

We had dinner at the recommended “Aubergene” restaurant downtown. It was quite good. We liked the food and the environment. We had the degustation menu again and I had the wilder beast meat. Bob had the fish – king clip and yellow fin, they were nicely done.

Tomorrow the wilderness safari guy (not Andrew because he’s taking on a new group) will come to pick us up at 10:30am and drive us to the airport. Our flight is around noon, I think. Bob will check and find out the exact time.

This is the last day of our vacation. This has been probably the most interesting and most relaxing vacation we’ve had! We truly enjoyed every minute of it! Hopefully we’ll get to do more of these in the coming years!!