I should start off by apologizing for how long this post will be,
internet has been scarce and I have been busy. Since I last posted I have been to Botswana and Zambia....
here's the scoop.
After leaving Namibia and entering Botswana we went straight to
Ghanzi in the Kalahari desert. Here we went on a walk with local bushmen and learned about the plants they eat and use for medicinal purposes. It was very interesting. That night we slept in reed huts, they were
surprisingly warm and bug free. The next day we were off to
Maun to prepare for the following days of bush camping (think holes in the ground for toilets and no showers for 3 days and two nights). Preparing meant buying water, beer, snacks, and most importantly chocolate. Once we were ready it was off to the airport for a scenic flight over the delta we would be camping in.
Unfortunately the only scenery I enjoyed was the bottom of my barf bag, my stomach and
the 5
seater plane did not agree.
The O
kavenga delta is a huge inland delta. We rode in small
mokoros or dugout canoes that were driven by
polers.
Polers are locals who literally use long poles to push the
mokoros through the reeds on the delta. The ride out was fantastic, I hung my feet over the edge and enjoyed the reeds tickling them as we listened to the sounds of all the animals. The island we stayed on was large, I think they said about 10 kilometers wide. Once there it was pure relaxation, lying out in the sun, swimming in the freezing water, and trying out poling the
mokoros. In the evening we went for a sunset hike around the island and saw some zebra. The next day was a whole bunch of the same stuff, sunrise hike, sun bathing, swimming, and an evening
mokoro ride to a hippo pond. For all of you who think hippos are cute, think again. They are aggressive and they did not like us in their pond especially when the
polers thought if funny to agitate them. Did you know that a hippo can breach, shooting half its body out of the water like a whale? I didn't until one of them submerged and shot up right in front of us, don't ask me how but I did manage a photo of it too. After about an hour of being terrified we safely made it back to shore and the next morning made it out of the delta and back to the truck.
Our next stop was
Gweta home of the giant Baobab trees. We camped here among the trees. The trees are pretty tall but it is the width of them that is amazing. It took 17 of us to wrap all the way around the widest one. This is also where the beer part of the title kicks in. The campground had a nice bar and luckily I was a few in when the locals come in and put on a traditional song and dance show....I say luckily because I was pulled up to dance with them, don't worry there are pictures.
The next day we were off to
Chobe National Park, home to the largest population of elephants, the
Chobe River, and the first
booz cruise. As soon as we arrived in town we were at the market loading up on beer and then it was off to the dock for our sunset cruise. Despite the large quantities of beer I drank I still had a great time and saw a lot. There were many more hippos (thank god we were on a large boat with about 60 other people), crocodiles, elephants swimming across the river (a rare sight), warthogs, baboons, but most importantly water buffalo, the last of the big 5. I was so excited/drunk I made sure that everyone on the boat knew that it I had seen all of the big 5.
The next day we crossed the Zambezi river by ferry into Zambia. The whole processseems disorganized and takes about 3 hours but it was interesting to watch. Once in Zambia we went straight to Victoria Falls. The falls are amazing, the only place you can see the whole thing from is the air (an option I did not take, puke). There is so much spray and water rushing over at once that you get drenched, think about the hardest day of rain San Diego has seen, it is that constantly. We stayed there until sunset and then went back to town to book our activities for the few days we had there. This is where
adrenaline and
booz mix. Before I knew it I was booked for rafting on the Zambezi river, gorge swinging, zip lining, bridge swinging and bungee jumping. I also learned that I would be
bungeeing first thing the next morning,
cue the beer to calm my nerves. So the next
morning we show up at the bridge there are 5 of us jumping and many others watching. I was the 4
th one to go in our group. We were jumping off a bridge over the Zambezi river, a 111 meter free fall before bouncing on a huge rubber band with an upside down view of Victoria Falls. To say I was terrified is a huge understatement. As I was being strapped in I was shaking, me knees were giving out, my eyes were tearing up and I was a babbling idiot. I was walked to the edge where I wanted to say
never mind I am not doing it and then next thing I know
completely on my own free will I was diving head first off the edge (there is video and stills of the whole thing for you none believers). The thing about bungee jumping too is that you fall hit the bottom of the cord and bounce back up almost to where you jumped from and fall again.....terrifying. I did remember in the first free fall to yell Happy Birthday Dana as it was on July 6
th. The gorge swing and bridge swing were next, think bungee but instead of head first and bouncing you go feet first and swing. I did the bridge swing with Dana from the tour and the gorge swing with one of the guides, Barry. We were strapped together and had to step off into thin air together. After this rough day of throwing myself off of perfectly good bridges and cliffs we went on
booz cruise number two. This one
unfortunately is a little blurry, I am still unsure when others had my camera and when they took pictures that are on there, but it was fun and a great last night. Yesterday was the rafting of the Zambezi quite a thrill. There was one class 5 rapid and of course our raft flipped, it was fun. While all this was going on, sad times were
occurring too. The tour came to end the day after the bungee/bridge swing/zip line combo. Everyone but myself packed up and took off for home. Luckily our guides were not leaving yet so I spent the day with them, gorge swinging, drinking (
surprised?) and relaxing. The next morning the guides left, I went rafting, which was good because I was so bummed to have to say good-bye. I really grew close with the people on the trip and the guides.....hopefully my next tour in Africa will include them. In a few hours I will be boarding a plane to South Africa where the last 3 weeks of my trip will begin....stay tuned.
Dana and I stepping off the Vic Falls bridge for the bridge swing.
