From my bed over looking a balcony I can see the sun , a red ball of fire, setting on the Chobe River. The sunrises and sunsets are amazing, but I was disillusioned to find out later that this is due to the dust in the air! A short time ago a monkey ran across our balcony. The hotel hires people to use slingshots to chase the monkeys away. Today was a long day of experiencing cultures unlike any other. We left for Jo,burg airport at 7:30 A.M. and arrived in Chobe at 4:30; the flight was only 1 hr 10 minutes and we left at 11; the drive from the airport was 1hr 20 minutes. The rest of the time was spent going through customs in 3 countries. When we arrived in Zimbabwe, we stood in line for an hour and a half in a small, hot room. We had to buy transit visas for Zimbabwe, which is an unbelievably corrupt country. It was very unorganized and 4 men could barely do the job of one man in the U.S. In addition, a large tour group from Japan managed to maneuver in front of us although our group was first in line. On our tour was a Japanese American couple. The husband made a disparaging comment, "Oh, those Japanese." When I said, "Bob, you're from the same culture," he responded, "They're different!"
Out of 24 people on tour, 1/3 are teachers including 4
special Ed teachers so we passed the time telling the funniest stories about our kids. When we finally got thru, we had to collect our luggage, which is often stolen in Zimbabwe, and lift it to a security conveyer. The guy monitoring it, was reading a paper. Great security! On the flight I sat between a man and wife who were going on a real safari to kill animals. They each had 2 bottles of wine to drink, free, on the plane and spent the flight first one, then the other justifying their actions. They had a $35000 gun with them, which the guards took apart at security. I didn't try to argue with them, because what's the point! They would have shouted me to death. I just don't understand how anyone can kill these beautiful animals for sport.
.As we exited, there were 6 men in animal skins singing and dancing. We had an hour ride thru Zimbabwe. It is a very arid, flat country with a variety of scrub trees. Along the way are speed traps: 2-4 people jump out in the middle of the road. The fine is $20 if you want a receipt or $5 if you don't. The “tax collectors” pocket the $5. At the Botswana border, we got off the bus to go thru Zimbabwe customs, having to hold our passports open in a certain way. Because. Bofswana wants the $, we had to get off the bus, go through Botswana customs, and get on Botswana jeeps. After they drove us a few yards, we had to get off, walk thru a hoof and mouth disease disinfectant, and get back on the jeeps. On the twenty minute drive to Chobe Lodge, we saw 3 herds of elephant, lots of warthogs, and monkeys.
The lodge is beautiful. Situated on the Chobe River, the public rooms are all open air much like Hawaiian hotels with an enormous outdoor dining room that serves buffet style. I had a difficult time finding something to eat because I was afraid to eat the raw fruits and vegetables, and a lot of the meat was warthog, impala, etc. I settled on chicken stir fry and ice cream.
The next day we went to a fishing village in Namibia, a prosperous country because of gold and diamonds. We first went on the Chobe River to the Botswana border, where we got out, walked up to a shack, filled out forms in duplicate, and presented them to customs. Back in the boat, we went a short distance, got out of the boat, walked to another shack, filled out forms in duplicate, and presented them to Namibian customs. It was a schlep to the village on a long, rocky ,dusty road. The native guide told us how the various trees were used for medicine including one to increase lactation for mothers without enough milk. The village had 10-12 huts, which have a layer of a mixture of twig and termite mud and an outer layer of cow dung.
If a hut had a fence, it belonged to a married couple. We were on an island with 32 villages. Doweries are paid in cattle. There is no running water, electricity, plumbing. There was a woman about 8 months pregnant. She will give birth in the village in a 12 x 12 room on a dung floor. What a contrast to western women who give birth in sterile environments in modern hospitals with specially trained OB's.
I wonder what the infant and maternal mortality rate is.
In the center of the village was a huge Bilabob tree. 20 of us stood around the circumference with outstretched arms holding hands. 90 percent of the tree is water. When it dies it will shrivel down to nothing. In all countries we visited, it is legal to have more than one wife. The President of sSouth Africa has 4. Going back to Chobe we had to do the customs routine in reverse. You can either be aggravated by it, or find it humorous! The people in our tour group were all good sports.
In the late afternoon, we got on a large flat boat, completely open with just a top covering, to spend 3 hours on the Chobe River, going in the opposite direction from our morning excursion. We saw hundreds and hundreds, possibly thousands of birds and animals. In all cases the boat was able to get up close and personal. We first encountered a large group of bull elephants on an island. On the opposite bank we saw a small group of females and adolescent males and a youngster. Close to them was a huge congress of baboons. The dominant male was agitated and chased one particular younger male swinging from tree to tree. Also along the bank were crocodiles, one with his huge mouth open evidently to regulate his temperature. We were only 2-3 feet from him. During the trip, we saw about 30 or more crocs in the midst of all the other animals who were not threatened. I thought we would see animals in separate groups, but they were all comingled: elephants ,hippos, impala, cape buffalo, warthogs, etc. The most spectacular were the giraffes. We first spotted one silhouetted against the sky. Later we saw a herd of about 7, male and female, young and adult. Of course there were beautiful birds, species I had never seen before. I'll send the list next time. It was like watching a scene from Lion King with all the animals gathered together. Against the setting sun, we saw a line of mother and baby elephants walking in single file. It was a magical experience, and one of my favorite memories of the trip.
The next morning we started our safari at 6 A.M. Our guide warned us that it would be cold, but it was hard to believe him because the previous days had probably been in the high 80’s. We should have believed him! It did heat up after an hour or so. Our jeeps held 9 people, three each in 3 ascending rows with the driver lower down in front. Chobe was the most desolate of the three parks we visited, extremely dry with little foliage on the plants and trees. The earth is a rust color and very dusty. I had been told that if it was necessary to go to the bathroom, there were always the ladies’ bush and the men’s bush. At this time of the year, there were no significant bushes—just branches and twigs. Fortunately during the trip, Dan and I had no problems. When we stopped for tea and coffee at a watering hole in Chobe, I refrained. I wasn’t taking any chances! One man on our tour just did his bit behind his jeep. We were right behind him, and captured his performance on film! On all of our safaris, we’d drive for 10-15 minutes before seeing anything. I kept thinking there are no animals here, when suddenly we’d encounter elephants, giraffes, and every other type of creature. In Chobe, we saw baboons, impala, kudu, a sable antelope, which is very rare, giraffes and one lion.
On the way to the airport, we stopped at a school, K-8, which has 2000 students. There are two sessions of school each day The school receives support from outside groups including Vantage, our tour company; consequently it’s one of the nicest in the area.
Children, 9-12, sang and danced for us, and we in turn were asked to sing a song for them. We chose, “When you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.” The children evidently knew the song because they started to sing along with us. Before we left on the trip, Vantage suggested that if we liked, we could bring school supplies. The government provides nothing. The table was brimming with all the supplies our tour group brought. We also collected about $300 for the school. Many of the children were at recess. They came over to have their pictures taken, mugging at the camera like kids anywhere. They are beautiful children, very happy and upbeat.
They all wore uniforms and had shaved heads, which isn’t as bad as it sounds as we saw many adults with shaved heads, too.
We visited a classroom taught by a young man in a long sleeved shirt and tie. He teaches 50 students at a time. Part of the curriculum is a class on aids. We all visited with the children. One adorable boy about 10 came up and asked me questions. I saw a map on the board and went over to show him where I lived. The map was from my perspective upside down with Australia and Africa at the top!
Of course, from his perspective it was correct.
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