Photos DONE!

All my faves and then some found here. 'nuff said.

First batch of photos posted!

I'm still not a big fan of Flickr, but I got the account upgrade, so I may as well use it. Thus far I have managed to get through the first month of photos, and you can find them in my Flickr photostream. :)

(For those of you who use Facebook, you can see the exact same things there.)

Welcome Home to Me!

I landed in NYC yesterday, and will be catching up with old friends for the next few days before heading to my actual home on Monday. I guess it is now time to reflect and be all philosophical about my four months in Africa, huh? It is difficult to begin to recount the many, many things about my trip that were amazing and fabulous, as well as a few things that were annoying, or otherwise unacceptable ;). I visited ten countries, and even so it is hard not to generalize, so I'm just going to try to sum up the things that stood out the most about Africa:

• Over-crowded, broken-down transport, on shoddy, potholed, or entirely unpaved roads. May include live animals and/or people with B.O. that smells like rotting onions.


• Discovering all the things that I will never be able to carry on my head or on the back of my bicycle: all manner of fruits or vegetables (e.g. bushels of plantains or 35 pineapples), or any mass quantity of groceries really, large bundle of logs, jerry cans (full or empty), hay, laundry, other human beings, and many other mystery packages all of which look very heavy.


• Stunning sunsets, especially in southern Africa.


• I hate being called "mzungu" by anyone over the age of 12, but being called "sistah" grew on me.
  


• I managed four months without any illnesses, especially of the intestinal/stomach kind, and am really hoping there is nothing latent in my system (i.e. bilharzia from Lake Malawi).


• The slowest customer service in the world has got to be African. Slow walkers too. I had a blister on my toe and thought I was moving slower than a turtle, yet, I passed many people, none of whom appeared to be handicapped.


• I can manage to pee pretty much anywhere after all the toilets (so-called, sometimes) I encountered along the way.


• I know more about African safari wildlife than ever will be necessary in my life again. But perhaps I will be good entertainment at cocktail parties, despite no animal attack stories. (Or because of it.)
  


• Red dust. Everywhere and on everything.


• Africa is expensive as a tourist. Some of the pricing I understand, to pay for conservation or parks, etc., but damn "mzungu tax" and all that business is irritating.


• I have haggled over the price of a fried plantain, and that sums up just how much is negotiable. Haggling is fun, to a point. Mayhaps I'll try it at home.

The major highlights/favorite memories, if I was really forced to choose my favorites, would be the Kili trek, and the Serengeti safari (actually almost all the various national parks since they were all quite unique), cool souvenirs, meeting my Dragoman pals and some other cool travelers along the way, gorillas, chimps (favorite chimp fact: we share over 98% of the same DNA), and feeding giraffes.

I plan to sort through all my photos soon after I get home, and posting the best of the best somewhere fun. I'll post a link on the blog. Talk to you/see you all soon!

Gorillas!!!

If a gorilla farts in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound? I'm guessing yes, judging by the loudness of the gorilla farts I was privvy to this weekend when I trekked the mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The family group I visited is called Rushegura, and has 16 members, including one silverback (the Alpha male). There are four groups habituated to visitors, and the visits are restricted to one hour per day in the company of the gorillas, and only 8 visitors per group. So, when I arrived in Uganda only 2 1/2 weeks ago, I was ecstatic to get my hands on a permit to see these animals, only found in Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC. Our trek involved about 45 minutes on a forest trail, and then about an hour cutting through thick brush and rainforest with machetes. When we finally happened across the first gorilla, he was only a few meters away, and seemed just as curious about us as we were about him. Soon enough, we saw the giant silverback, who enjoyed showing us mostly his backside. Occasionally the gorillas get can agitated by visitors, but our group was quite relaxed. At times it seemed that they were annoyed by the cameras, turning away as if they were camera shy. Another reached out teasingly towards the tracker who was cutting away some foliage to give us a better view. Amazing, to be only meters away, watching them munch on leaves, or the smaller ones climbing the trees, and most of all it was very cool seeing their very expressive faces. Words cannot really describe, so hopefully a few pics will suffice!






Getting there, however, was a nightmare and a half. It started when the bus driver in Kampala promised us when we arrived at 6 am that the bus was leaving at 7:30 am, regardless of whether or not it was full. This was not the case, and 5 hours later we finally left... Only to break down 2 km out of Kampala. They sent another bus, and somehow seats were rearranged such that my travel companions and I were seated next to the ten boxes of live baby chicks. About halfway through this neverending journey (which only took us to Kabale, 3-4 hours still from the park), we hit a bump and a box of about 40 chicks fell on my friend Hannah's head, scattering on her and the floor of the bus. Finally, we arrived late into Kabale and found a place to stay for the night. The next day the representative from the Ugandan Wildlife Authority told us we were "lucky" because a truck was leaving that day to Buhoma, where we needed to be for gorilla trekking. For "only" the equivalent of about $20 per person. Little did we know this pick up truck was also jam-packed like a bus full of livestock with Ugandans getting a ride for free. By the time this was all revealed, it was unlikely we would have organized alternative transport before the truck which was definite transport was leaving. The driver ended up kicking off the freeloaders for us, but then saying he HAD to allow only two students to join us. This turned into 6 additional people, one of whom smelled terribly as she must have peed herself. We tried to argue down the price after this cramped, bumpy, uncomfortable, bug-eating jouney, and the truck driver went a bit mental. So we paid that a**hole and went on our way. The next day I was not quite over my transit woes, and as my friends I got permits with in Jinja were trekking gorillas the day before me, decided to go on a forest walk. The same little liar from the UWA office in Kabale had told me that since I had a permit for the day after, I could get a discounted park entry fee the day before and do a guided hike. Well, basically the person at the gate and the rangers I spoke to when looking for the forest supervisor laughed at me for trying to argue that their representative promised me this, and that their policy of only allowing the discounted park entry fee the day AFTER a gorilla trek was stupid and nonesensical. After three days of BS I totally lost it, and ended up crying to my hostel manager, who then made the actual forest supervisor apologize to me, but it was too late. I was ready to go on my gorilla trek and never return to Bwindi National Park again! The gorillas were awesome and worth it, but if I ever return, I'm going to try Rwanda...



My luck did change, however, for the ride back, when a couple of the guys in my trekking group were kind enough to give me a ride, in the nicest vehicle I've seen in four months, all the way back to Kampala. Glorious. The journey still took forever and involved some dodgy single lane muddy and possibly dangerous forest roads, but such a relief to travel in luxury. Plus, we did the big tourist stop at the Equator on the way back and I got the obligatory hemisphere-straddle photo:

Good Times in Uganda

Uganda is definitely one of my favorite countries from this trip - the people are relaxed and kind, the countryside is beautiful, and there are amazing things to do here. Last weekend I went to Sipi Falls, and hiked through the village and its coffee plants, banana and passion fruit trees, and maize fields, to all three of the waterfalls, getting so close I was drenched (all part of the fun). The lodge I stayed at has one of the falls on its property, so I woke up each morning to the sound of rushing waterfall and chirping birds.

I also met a group of Uganda Peace Corps volunteers who went to Sipi for the weekend, and, despite the vast difference between Uganda and Slovakia, it totally made me reminiscent of my PCV days... cramming in with too many people into public transit to travel halfway across the country for a volunteer meet-up (i.e. party) and time to chat/complain/etc about the crazy shit from our sites. Swapping tales with the PCVs was a great addition to an already relaxing and wonderful weekend.

Tomorrow is actually going to be my last day at the school, since I need an extra day to get down to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest via public transit. There, I will trek mountain gorillas. I've heard it is an unforgettable experience, and I am hoping it will be a great way to end my time in Africa. After the gorillas, I have only a few days until I fly back to the US... I'll try to post a few more times before then, and of course there will be some serious photo uploading once I sift out my faves back home. I was hoping to add a few Uganda images to this post, but apparently this computer terminal's USB drive is just for show.

Africa pics

I've been back from Africa for a little while now. Had an awesome time with Michelle and Lindsay as we climbed a mountain, observed wild animals in their natural habitat, and evaded overzealous souvenir sellers. That's not to say it's not also good to be back in the civilized world, with its access to showers (with hot water, no less), machine washers, and other early 20th century technological marvels.

There's certain things that spring to mind when I think back on this experience. Among them: seeing the Southern Cross and the Milky Way from high up on Kili, the sky so clear it seems like you're watching from space...hearing hyena calls in the middle of the night in the Serengeti, and encountering elephants and zebra a few yards away at a camp in Ngorongoro...witnessing baboon and vervet monkey behavior that might be prosecutable were it something humans engaged in, and yet not being able to turn away...passing by Masai tribesmen in full-on traditional attire with their herd of goats or emaciated cows, mindful not to take pictures lest they start throwing rocks... watching as most of the passengers on board the Zanzibar ferry performed their own interpretation of the infamous blueberry pie scene from Stand by Me...the list goes on.

Here's a slideshow of some of the pics Michelle and I took.

(Use this link if you don't have Flash installed....)

Removing the Smell of Paint is Difficult

I have been in Jinja, Uganda for a week now, and have gotten involved in the Soft Power Education project I blogged about earlier. The organization has a great reputation in the area for all the work they have done with schools and communities. As a short-term volunteer, my duties are quite simple - help fix up and paint classrooms, as well as teaching aids onto the walls. I wish there was a bit more community involvement on our particular site, though the teachers and students are extremely grateful. Our school also has a program for deaf students, and it has been both amusing and frustrating to try to communicate with them. But they were excited to help out on a day off, as you can see in this photo (as well as the original state of things in the classrooms).



By the way, if you are able to donate even a tiny amount to Soft Power Education, I can tell you first-hand, the organization is doing some great thing here. In addition to schools, they have a community center project and health clinic, all funded by donations. http://www.justgiving.com/michellew54. :)

Monkey Mayhem

Yesterday was basically Nick's last day (he's getting on the plane in just a few moments to fly home) and we had a great day cycling through Hell's Gate NP and trekking through the park's central gorge like Tomb Raider (part of it was filmed there). All was great, except the bike seats being not the greatest, and the roads not the smoothest, left our butts a bit sore! When Nick gets home, hopefully he will have the chance to post some pictures. (not of our butts, but from his trip.) :)

After the bike tour, we were relaxing at our camp and decided to get some close ups of the vervet monkeys hanging around. After a while, they got quite accustomed to our presence and were closer and closer, until suddenly, I look and see four or five monkeys all encircling me and moving even closer all at once! They were on a mission for who knows what - perhaps my backpack, I think I had snacks in there - but my reaction was a little (maybe not so little?) shriek and to get the heck outta there. They stalked me for what seemed like forever but was probably only a few seconds. I think they were trying to steal my camera and write my blog - the only plausible explanation, really.

Later, when we sat down on the restaurant patio for dinner, hoping to watch wildlife while we ate, another little vervet monkey was up in an acacia, about 30 meters overhead, shaking branches so leaves were falling on us. We covered our drinks to avoid the falling tree bits, and lucky we did, because next thing I know, I feel what I could only hope were a few raindrops... nope. No such luck. A DAMN MONKEY PEED ON MY HEAD! We moved away from that table quickly, just before the monkey dropped a deuce on the other half of the table.

Today we have parted, each on our own matatu (minibus), me with my giant backpack on my lap for a couple hours. I am heading to Uganda tomorrow, where I will start my volunteering next week, and hope to get a chance to see mountain gorillas and/or chimpanzees!

Kili Recap

I promised a more detailed version of the Kili trek, but rather than bore you with the day to day details, Nick and I came up with a short list of the many things we feel sum up our experience:

• Going up was hard, but going back down was simply painful (lack of additional motivation, complete exhaustion, etc.). They should build a giant victory zip line for those who reach the peak!
• The final ascent image that sticks is a long, dark, steep climb, and the only way you know how long, dark, and steep it actually is, was by looking up at the trail ahead dotted with headlamps.
  
• Long drop dramas and jokes which never get old. Holes too small, floors slanted (or worse), backdrafts, and many unmentionable nasties.
• Pill popping like addicts - diamox, tylenol, malarone, immodium... you name it we probably had to take a pill for it.
• Being woken each morning by our lovely porters "Hello, hello... good morning" with a hot cup of tea delivered to us in our tent.
• "Warm water washing" twice a day.
• "You are welcome" almost always said before we got out a thank you.
• Good and plentiful food, but for a few misfires - 4-day old fried tilapia, blackened bananas, vegetable or mushroom soup with no signs of actual veg or 'shrooms.
• Thinking our guides didn't speak English too well until suddenly they did on day 4 or 5. Previously we thought we could talk about them at will and they wouldn't understand. Oops.
• Nick had some personal space issues with our guides that went unnoticed by the rest of us.
• Getting seriously annoyed at the number of people who asked if Nick was my brother. ummm... no.
  
• Learning the hard way that sleeping bag ratings are crap.

In other news, uploading photos should hopefully happen soon. Faves from Kili, faves from safari, and a few awesome photos from our delightful experience at the Nairobi Giraffe Center yesterday. We had a blast feeding and hanging out up close with the giraffes. They are hilarious animals. Nick almost got headbutted by a hungry old girl named Daisy, but in her defense, he was trying to pet her without providing any treats! We also learned yesterday that crocodile meat is nasty, but ostrich is quite nice. Now, back to plotting our escape from Nairobi, so we can head to one more Kenya site before Nick returns home. Where that will be exactly depends on the available escape routes...

Next Stop: Nairobi

After seeing lions, lions, oh, and more lions in Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, we are headed off to Kenya... I think between Nick and myself we have well over 1000 photos (no exaggeration), so posting merely a picture or two at the moment is not going to happen. Plus, we still have so many stories from Kili to share! It's a lack of quality internet blogger nightmare. ;)

Mission Accomplished!

The Pink Hippo and the Naked Pirate succeeded in conquering the beast of a mountain, Kilimanjaro. We did in fact battle cold and altitude and many a rumbling tummy to trudge to the top... the views were breathtaking and stunning, which my pictures barely capture. I ache all over, am a bit sniffly, and though I clearly won my battle to the top, I'm not quite sure if it is me or the mountain that won the war! :) A special shout out to shadoweyes - I most definitely remember and will tell you all about it in extensive detail later. We will both try to post a few more pictures and stories soon, but now it is time for breakfast and then we head to Ngorongoro and Serengeti for safari adventures. I know the others are looking forward to the animals mostly, but at the moment I'm looking forward to not walking anywhere for a while.

Last Post til Kilimanjaro

After a relaxing and wonderful couple of days on Zanzibar, which included haggling over everything including the price of a grilled banana and a horrible bout of seasickness on the ferry back, it is time to head north and towards Kilimanjaro. Keep your thoughts with us as we battle cold, altitude, and who knows what else to reach 5896 meters! We will try to check back in a week, assuming there is some internet at our hotel...

Please Support Soft Power Education

Friends,

I have decided that I am going to spend my last few weeks in Africa volunteering in Uganda for an organization called Soft Power Education. This organization helps build and refurbish schools and educational materials in Uganda. I learned of this organization from one of my Dragoman overland tour guides, as they sometimes bring groups there to volunteer. Thus, I'm highly confident that this will be a really worthwhile use of my time, and a great experience.

Soft Power does ask that volunteers pay for their own food and accommodation (no worries), and try to do a small amount of fundraising to help cover overhead and materials. If you can spare a few dollars to help this organization, I would really appreciate it! You can visit my fundraising page at http://www.justgiving.com/michellew54. (The organization is UK based, so the page is set up to receive pounds, but fyi, 2 US dollars equals approx. 1 pound.)

Thank you!

By the way, Nick and Lindsay have arrived and we had a lovely day out on and in the sea yesterday, snorkling near Mnemba Island nature reserve here in Zanzibar.

Jambo!

A quick post to let you all know I'm alive and well, and to make you all envious of the fact that I am sitting on a BEAUTIFUL Zanzibar beach, along the warm and lovely Indian Ocean, counting down the hours until Nick and Lindsay arrive! I'm extremely excited, and will try to post some good stories and photos after we conquer Kilimanjaro next week!!!

Close Encounters

We just arrived in Malawi after a great time in Zambia. The last few days were spent camping right outside South Luangwa National Park. When I say "right outside", it really doesn't mean much, as the park has no fences and animals are free to wander through the campsite. Our outdoor dinner was moved inside due to a crazy elephant one night (who also destroyed some random tent), a hippo decided to practically rub its fat ass up against our truck another night, last night there was allegedly a leopard roaming around my tent about an hour after I stepped outside to relieve myself, and this morning a monkey's poo almost fell directly into my cereal bowl from the tree above. The monkeys are cute but also a nuisance, and, upon close inspection, have very sharp teeth. We also went on a couple game drives in the park, and on our night drive were meters away from a pride of lions, including three cubs. One of the lionesses was roaming quite closely around our vehicle at one point, and although I knew we probably looked like one solid object instead of individual potential snacks, it was still a bit daunting!

The next week will be more about the people and the lake here in Malawi, and I'm looking forward to a possible beach soccer match with local children!

Truck Life

Since I'm sometimes easily irritated, there are many times when sharing a small truck with 19 people really gets on my nerves, but for the most part I have managed not to tear anyone's head off. I find myself using all sorts of British English - loo, reckon, torch, palava... (Damn colonialists!) Generally the group is quite fun, but I know some of you want some nasty dirt so here it is. There is one woman I like to refer to as "The Nemesis" because there is no one on the truck who really likes her, apart from her bf, though half the time they fight anyway. Mostly because she is a bossy lunatic who takes herself far too seriously and has zero sense of humor, or humour. Humility still escaped her when, on our recent two day canoe safari, Nemesis and Co. couldn't figure out how to operate a canoe and had the biggest canoe zig-zag I have ever seen. They kept crashing into EVERYONE else and then pushing our canoes out of their way! Being in hippo territory on a sometimes fast moving river, well, this was not a popular move. But this is mild compared to other nonsense. The worst bit for me was witnessing Nemesis ripping a customer service rep a new one for no reason other than she was stressed and then (poorly) justifying it the next day when I tried to call her out on it. Eff off I say!

I get to see a lot of different things while traveling by truck, including my favorite - lots and lots of friendly people who like to wave at us. Especially little children. Except for one knee-high lass who threw a stick at us and pointed accusingly. I have a lot of thoughts on the different villages and poverty and various other things we see, but I will save those things for when I have more time, and haven't just ranted about evil people.

I am currently in Zambia, have survived the canoe safari on the Lower Zambezi without any terrifying hippo encounters (because seeing them 50 meters away while in a canoe was terrifying enough), and will get to do some game drives in the next few days in South Luanga. Oh, and I found it a bit worrying that I could never spot the crocs on the shoreline. But since I didn't see them, they couldn't terrify me. ;)

By Any Means Possible, Including Elephant

The past week and a half has definitely lived up to African adventure! Oscar, our truck, had some troubles, and in order to keep on schedule we used some random forms of transport to try to stay on schedule. As well as adjusting the schedule a bit to accommodate Oscar. :( The first time it happened we were stuck at the Cheetah Park in northern Namibia - not my idea of a great time, surrounded by wild cats (mostly behind fences). We rode through the reserve on the back of a pickup truck and our guides threw fresh pieces of donkey, as the cheetahs stalked our truck. I swear I had a cat nightmare like that once, only no one had any donkey parts to fend them off.

Because the truck was broke down, we also got the chance to visit a local Hemba village and learn about tribal culture. The children were SO excited to play with us. The villagers were all very welcoming and excited to share their culture with us. Interestingly, the women cover themselves with mud to cool and clean themselves, because the area is so dry. The men, however, bathe when they are out hunting.

Next we headed to Etosha NP for some game drives, riding in the roof seats for a nice view, along with some sun and wind in the face. Because of a heavy year of rains, animals seemed to be few and far between, but we did manage to see some lions chilling in the grass as we were almost about to leave.


Unfortunately, here is where the kerfuffle really began, because Oscar's engine seized and we were stuck. We stayed at a random park/campsite and had a chance to play a little pick up soccer (yay!), but ended up a full day behind schedule and transferring our packs and food about fifty billion times between vans and open-sided safari trucks and campsites and back on the open-sided vehicles to traditional Botswanan mokoros (canoes) to head off into the bush of the Okavango Delta. Through it all we were led by our legendary chef, Denford, who generally kept us in good spirits despite being basically without a home (Oscar). The mokoro puts you eye level with hippos, which are crazy crazy huge up close! Here's a pic of my mokoro guide:


Our time in Botswana was short but sweet - spending time in the bush camp with our mokoro guides and singing and dancing by the fire was definitely one of the trip highlights so far. The sunset mokoro trip, however, was a bit disappointing, as traveling through the reeds at that time of day leaves one covered in tiny bugs and other nastiness. I even got a spiderweb in the face at one point. Ew.



We also visited Chobe NP in Botswana and took a sunset boat cruise, and had a blast watching elephants and hippos play in the water. The hippos are disgusting, really. Noisy burping sounds, pooing all over each other, munching noisily, etc. Being in a large boat allowed us to get quite close to the animals and made the safari cruise incredible. Below are a few of my favorite photos from that trip!





Now, we have made it to Livingstone, Zambia, where we will spend a couple days relaxing. Yesterday we got drenched at Victoria Falls - it was like walking through a rain storm at some parts and very fun after being cooped up in a truck all morning. This morning I went on a elephant ride, which was SO much fun on Madinda the dancing elephant, who felt the need to lift his feet and rock us around a bit. Elephants can have such personality.
Apparently Madinda faked an injury once to try and get extra treats after seeing another injured elephant receive special treatment! I also got to feed him treats afterwards and have confirmed the fact that the ellies are my favorite African animal!

Dunes and Bugs

Check this out - I just realized my camera has a "trim for blog" feature, so at least I can upload a photo or two into my posts where internet cafes allow! These photos were taken when I was watching the sunrise from atop Dune 45 in Soussesvlei, in the Namib Desert. Waking up at 4:30 in the morning to trek up the sand dunes before breakfast was 100% worth it - amazing landscape, beautiful colors (there are a lot of iron deposits in the sand giving it the reddish color), wicked sky too. We also did a guided hike through the dunes after breakfast, where our guide showed us beetles, lizards (he looked like he was going to eat it raw a la Bear Grills, but to my disappointment he did not!), and 6000 year old dead trees.

In addition, we have watched the sunset over the allegedly largest canyon in Africa, Fish River Canyon, traveled over gravel roads through varying desert landscapes, crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, and now landed in the coastal Namibian town of Swakopmund. This town is mostly known for its adventure/adrenaline activities, such as skydives over the dunes, sandboarding, and quad-biking. Since I've already done a skydive and sandboarding in other places, tomorrow I'm going to check out the quad-biking. Then we are heading further north and the safari adventures will begin.

Now, a bit about the whole overlanding experience itself! First, I have to note how AMAZING my tour leader Anna is! She has been leading groups for a long time, loves Africa (she's Aussie), and knows a ton about this continent. I feel really lucky to have her leading us and essentially taking care of me for the next 5 weeks. The group I'm traveling with is a fun bunch, though mostly on the younger side, so I feel like big sister to a lot of them. My tent-mate is a big ball of sunshine - 19 year old Daisy makes us check for "creepy crawlies" every night and is one of the most positive and sweet people I've ever met. As for the creepy crawlies, well, there are some wicked looking beetles and bugs, but I've only seen one snake (which our current co-tour leader had to destroy with a shovel in grand fashion as it tried to get aggressive near our dinner), and the mosquitos don't seem to have a taste for Jewish blood or something like that, because they generally don't bother me. Lots of other people and things I could tell you about, but I am sure the stories will only get better, and possibly more bizzare as we head further north... One overlanding post-meal time ritual that I can't get over is the plate flapping. I've never done this when camping, and find the process seriously hilarious. We stand around and each grab a plate or bowl in each hand and wave them around to dry them. It's effective, but I feel like an idiot everytime. Such is life living out of a giant truck! More on that next time... but here is a picture of Oscar (our truck) and some of the gang on what was probably a pee stop or photo stop:

Final Thoughts on South Africa

In a few days I'll be heading off to Namibia and all those other places on my overland trip, and I feel it is a good time for me to leave South Africa. Cape Town has been really cloudy and rainy, which makes it less exciting to visit. I have made the most of it by eating and lazing at the many restaurants and cafes. If you've been following my blog, you can tell I've had a great time, but I'm also really looking forward to seeing more of Africa. Since I've spent a quarter of my trip here, I thought I needed a solid final SA post, and therefore have come up with my top ten likes and dislikes.

Let's start with the negative (in no particular order):
- constant fear of/discussion of crime
- European-style two spout faucets that give you a choice of only scalding hot or freezing cold water
- insane disparity of wealth
- total lack of public transit in cities
- load shedding (random power cuts, which I mistakenly called load sharing once before)
- crappy coffee, particularly instant Nescafe
- people allowed to smoke everywhere
- spotty, slow, shoddy internet everywhere except Cape Town (and even here I couldn't upload my damn pics!)
- crazy drivers and crazy minibus taxis
- missing people back home! :)

And, to end on a positive note, my top ten favorite things about South Africa (again, in no particular order):
- Appletiser, 100% pure sparkling apple juice
- Parmalat brand yogurt, especially chocolate chip flavor
- multiculturalism
- stunning landscapes, especially the Drakensberg
- Big Five and wildlife (elephants are my current favorite)
- the friendly people of Durban, who, in my opinion, comprise the friendliest in the country and therefore deserve recognition, even though I wasn't a huge fan of the city itself
- drinkable tap water
- the Baz Bus (hostel-to-hostel traveler minibus, which was great for meeting people and a good way for the solo traveler to get around safely)
- cheap yummy food in Cape Town
- cool backpackers (both the people and the hostels)

No Photos Uploading, Again :(

Once again I have spent massive amounts of time trying to upload pictures to share. I have no luck. I am officially giving up! You will all have to wait to see my gazillion photos when I get home. I did upload a few more safari pictures, but I have seen and done so much since then, so I find it rather disappointing that I could not share more!

I am currently in Cape Town and not really feeling like being a super-tourist. It has been cloudy and blech outside. Tomorrow I have a ticket to Robben Island, so I am really hoping for decent weather - recalling the times I was sea sick in New Zealand and Fiji makes me wary of boat trips! I think I'm ready to go see some other countries and am getting antsy for my overland trip to begin (Monday).

Mass Thank You!

Hey everyone,

I've been away from the internet for a few days, and logged back in to find many wonderful bday greetings waiting for me. Thank you!!! It was great to feel the love from home while here in SA.

Though I was without you all, I managed to somehow have a very enjoyable birthday. I met a lovely Dutch woman in the Drakensberg, Hendrika, who has been traveling generally along the same route as me, so we met up again in Wilderness, a beautiful and RICH beach town surrounded by a national park. We decided a tandem paraglide was a good way to ring in year 31 for me, and year 26 for her (her bday was just last Wed.). I thought paragliding would be more of an adrenaline type activity, but it was really relaxing and cool. The scene at the launch zone was quite relaxed and friendly, which made for a nice atmosphere. There was actually only a small window of time during which the wind was right for paragliding, and so we were very lucky to have a go at it. The view from above included forests, lakes, rivers, and the Indian Ocean. The rest of the day was relaxing, and then we cooked dinner of ostrich kabobs, veggies, and a "Devonshire" cake (the cake was store bought). Good day.

Today, I went for a nice little canoe trip with Hendrika, and then the bus to Stellenbosch, where I will go wine tasting tomorrow. I just got a lovely shot to celebrate my bday from the bartender, who also sang to me in Afrikans... So adios for now. Thanks again friends. Miss you much!

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Today is Michelle's birthday! Team Skanktastic got together after another well-earned victory to take this picture in honor of the occasion. We're sure the score would have been even more lopsided if you were here playing. Certainly we would've been more entertained by the ever-present sarcastic commentary. We all miss ya and hope you're having a blast over there...

Playing Tarzan and Jane in Tsitsikamma Forest

I just finished a treetop canopy tour in the Tsitsikamma Forest in Storms River. It was really fun zipping from tree to tree via cables on a little pulley! The guides tell you a bit about the forest and birds, but really all I can remember is that I was traveling between South African yellowood trees (that have another name as well), because I was more interested in the cable system and platforms that were put together without any nails in the trees. Quite a thrilling ride too. :)

Before arriving in Storms River today, I was in the Eastern Cape/Transkei/Wild Coast, and spent a few days in Coffee Bay. Stunning coastline, nice beaches, but if anyone wants to know what kind of beach person I am they should ask Laura about our trip to Croatia, and how, upon returning, what's-his-name-volunteer said I didn't look like I had been near a beach at all I was still so pale. Plus, since I'm still nursing the wounds on my feet, I didn't think salt water would be so much fun. Thus, I did a nice hike along the coast and that was that. There was decent coffee in Coffee Bay, which has been a constant issue for me. Nescafe instant "coffee" is NOT acceptable. Blech. Anyway, the Transkei is often refered to as "real Africa" which I find annoying, since last time I checked I was in South Africa on the continent of Africa, so if somewhere I've been so far is fake Africa, I'd really like to get some money back.

Other SA randomness: Did you know that in SA, all hostels are also called backpackers? But not all backpackers are hostels... Cookouts and bbqs are called braiis, and the SA beef jerky (though not always beef) is called biltong, which would only be more amusing if it were pronounced "Bill Tongue" (alas, it is not...). I picked up a few Zulu words two weeks back, but of course since I'm no longer in a Zulu area, they are not so useful. People are nice when they are not trying to scam you at the ATM (and failing miserably - don't mess with the herd of backpackers), and the landscapes are awesome as I think I've noted but should reiterate again. Tomorrow I'm going to check out more of the forest on bike and relax. Because traveling and doing whatever I want every single day is somehow tiring at times.

Happy Birthday to my Dad today too.

Jenee and The Gorge

Jenee is the name of the blistered wound on my left heel, and The Gorge is what I call the matching area where skin once lay on my right heel. Jenee also happens to be the name of the speed demon South African woman with whom I did The Gorge hike in Royal Natal National Park, and during which hike I acquired said blisters!

So I spent the last five days exploring the Drakensburg mountain region of South Africa, and despite the very VERY bad blisters I got by doing a hike at high speed (it was longer than we had time for) with my feet unprepared (originally the plan was to do a short hike), I LOVED the mountains. So very beautiful and peaceful. I have many, many pictures of the dramatic amphitheatre escarpment from many angles. The highlight was a hike up to 3100 meters in the northern part of the mountain that involved a fun scramble up a gully, a visit to the second highest waterfall in the world - Tuluga Falls - and a mildly intimidating trip down some chain ladders. Tiring, and not a way to heal my blistered feed, but absolutely worth every minute.

Yesterday I did some hiking in another part of the region, because I simply couldn't resist despite the foot pain. That's what band aids are for, right? (And duct tape - thanks Lindsay for that tip!) Finally, I'm ready to rest and regrow some skin, as this week I'm headed down the coast for what I'm told will also provide spectacular scenery.

Everything is high in Lesotho

"Everything is high in Lesotho... except the economy" joked our host Kaywa in the small village in Lesotho where I was visiting. I went over the border on an organized trip with the backpacker I was staying at in the Drakensberg mountains. They have been partnering with a school and village in Lesotho, in part by bringing groups over the border to get a taste of Lesotho life. All noted the fact that they are the "highest" country in the world - the lowest point in Lesotho is over 1000 meters above sea level. We entered the village on unpaved roads to a community without any infrastructure; no electricity, no indoor toilets, small homes, the nearest hospital quite far away. Yet, the scenery was stunning, the people incredibly welcoming and kind, and the day was really wonderful.

We began with a visit to the school itself, where the children were incredibly excited to take pictures with us and, well, likely, to not be in class. Then we learned a bit of the history of the Basotho people, who were once part of the Zulu tribe but fled the wrath of King Shaka, leading them into the mountain region. We saw bushman paintings, and tried the local beer (yeasty, and not so good, I must say...). Then, we sampled some local food, which is basically the same as the traditional mielie pap (cornmeal flour + water = paste?!?) as other traditional South Africa cultures. Lesotho is definitely laid back, rural, traditional, and sadly, very poor. But I cannot emphasize enough how incredibly welcoming and nice the people were. I really wish I would have had more time to spend there...

Flickr sucks!

Some photos have been posted instead on google picasa.... sorry about the randoms, I was trying to back up all my photos. After two hours most still wouldn't upload. I've gotten up through my first day of safari. Here you can see a hyena and her pup! (assuming this whole post works as planned too...)

Editing to add... I'm a little cranky today. The weather in Durban is rainy and damp. I've spent too much time and money on things I really didn't want to - like sending a broken pair of sandals home because I want my money back for the damn things and buying cheap flip flops here to replace them. Or, because the internet is slow, and I am desperate to back up my pics online, I spent heaps on internet. Then, certain places seem to have problems with my credit card. Of course, this type of thing should be expected, right? It's still annoying! And since I'm no stranger to complaining, you can all share in my irritation. But tomorrow I will be heading to the mountains and peace and quiet. I think I may not be uploading too many photos along the way, unfortunately. I'm not trying again until Cape Town, unless I see a giant welcoming sign that says, "upload your photos fast and easy and cheap here!"

Small Snippets of South Africa

Greetings from the Happy Hippo backpackers in Durban, South Africa! There's so much I want to tell you all... so I thought I'd throw out a few amusing anecdotes and snippets to hopefully give you a sense of what I'm doing and seeing and learning about while I'm here!

Let's start with the convo I had this evening with an Afrikaner in the hostel bar. He was an attorney in SA during apartheid, and having received gov't funding for his studies, actually prosecuted for the state until he had a crisis of conscience and left his job and paid back the penalites on his student debt. He had some crazy stories, including one of a magistrate who he thought was going to stop some police officers from beating a defendant who had fled during trial. No, the magistrate was going to beat the defendant too. Of course, the police officers and the magistrate got off with just a warning. After that, he became a banker and now likes to dive and fish a lot...actually, it sounds like he avoids civilization most of the time!

Polygamy seems to be quite the status symbol. If you have the 11 or 12 cattle necessary to purchase the additional wives, of course. Actually, for the young barman at the last backpacker I stayed at in the middle of Zulu area, it is stressful enough trying to earn the money to buy the 11 cattle for the first wife. It is hard to be "culturally sensitive" when people are talking about paying for their wives.

I went on another game drive in Hluhluwe Game Reserve (this is of course pronounced the only way possible - "schluh-schloo-weh"), and saw some more amazing elephants ("stormed by elephants" as one co-safari-er described it, though that might be an exaggeration), lazy rhinos, funny baboons, and stunning scenery. At the backpacker bushcamp itself there were funny colored lizards and lots of bushbabys and monkeys. It was great being out in the middle of nowhere.

Lane markers here are really more of a guideline or a suggestion. The shoulder is apparently where you move to when someone wants to pass you. It is also where pedestrians frequently hail rides, sell fruits and veg, or just hang out. According to Sascha the German backpacker, however, he heard rumors that jumping out in front of cars from these shoulders is a common method of suicide. I'm glad I'm not driving is all I can say about that.

There may actually be an opportunity for me to post photos tomorrow. I'll give notice on the blog if this is so. Next, I'm heading to the Drakensberg Mountains and hopefully into Lesotho. Til then... email me updates from home. I'd love to read them!

To Do in Africa: See the "Big Five"

Well, I can check that one off my list! I had a SWEET first day of safari in Kruger Park, and saw all five of the "Big Five" hardest animals to hunt and/or kill.

First, the amazing elephant. They are pretty easy to spot, and very cool to watch. They are quite deliberate in their movements, and if they wanted could topple any of the vehicles that pass through.

Next, we came across lions and a cub crossing the road. The little cub gave out the teeniest tiny "rawr" as it ran past. (And in case anyone is wondering how this affected my fear of cats, well, the lions look a bit more like a cross between a bear and a dog if you ask me. Later in the day, when we saw a leopard (another of the Big Five) tearing apart an impala it had killed earlier in the day I was a little grossed out. Leopards are definitely creepy cats.

We also saw a HUGE herd of buffalo. As my fabulous guide Pasta said, "When the buffalo looks at you, he look at you like you just stole his money." Hilarious in its accuracy. I have a TON of photos of all these animals, but uploading them seems next to impossible, and the expense of the internet is preventing me from trying to solve this problem. I am not making this up though.

Finally, on our night drive, after seeing impala after impala after impala, suddenly right on the side of the road our spotlights found two white rhino! Rhinoceros are notoriously shy, so this was a very cool sighting. I took video as they chomped grass only about 20-30 feet away from us.

In addition to seeing the Big Five, I also got to see zebra, wildebeest, steenbok (which mate for life), giraffe (their coats are really beautiful), kudu, hyena (and one with little pups), jackal (another animal which mates for life), hare, many many bird species, hippos (from a long distance away), crocodiles, turtle, baboons, lizards, civit, bushbaby, waterbuck (they have a funny white ring on their bottoms that look like toilet seats), warthog, vervet monkeys, monitor lizards, dung beetle.

Some day I will prove this all to you with pictures. :)

Important Announcements

1. I have passed the MN bar.
2. I have participated in fellow traveler Ida's U Truth Project, so you all should check it out and watch for me in the coming weeks.
3. I have thus far without effort avoided the wrath of an angry hippo.
4. Posting photos might take way more time than I have, so you will all have to wait with anticipation until I get to a place with cheap and fast internet... I'm not going to hint at how long that might be.
5. I miss you!
   

Can't Wait to Leave Joburg!

Joburg is a city I kind of wanted to leave as soon as I got here. It's an ugly city, and everyone talks a lot about the crime - where it is safe to go, where it isn't, the safe way to get there, etc. Luckily tomorrow I'm out of here and heading to my first safari in Kruger Park.

So what did I see around here? Yesterday I did a "tour" (run by my not-so-sweet hostel, and tour is a stretch) that started in downtown Joburg and headed to the Carlton Tower. This 50 story building is allegedly the tallest in Africa. Our guide talked about all the places in downtown that are going to be ready by the World Cup in 2010. I didn't see any scaffolding anywhere. Good luck with that Joburg. I took some pictures of the stadium from the tower, but since I'm staring at a big sign warning me not to download anything, you'll just have to take my word for it.

Next, we went to Soweto, the biggest township in the area. It was, well, uncomfortable. Standing on a block surrounding by metal shacks, being told about how they finally have long drop toilets, while small children beg for change... and then our guide asking for money. It is shocking how a city so developed can't manage to get toilets to these people.

Then I went to a couple museums, including the Apartheid Museum. This was interesting. Not really time to tell you about all the details, I'll summarize with a few things I learned.

• The interrogation of death of Steve Biko, which was a very informative look into the brutality of Apartheid.
• This political party exists: SOCCER (Sports Organizations for Collective Contributions and Equal Rights)
• Load sharing. This means the power went out in the middle of my wanderings through the museum, as power is becoming in short supply. Thus, to conserve, the government simply shuts down power to certain areas at various points in the day. Who loses power when changes every couple weeks, so no one ever really knows when they will be in the dark.

I also learned that South Africans call traffic lights "robots", which I find hilarious.

Today I went shopping, and had some adventures, but my Internet time is short, so you will just have to keep checking the Pink Hippopotamus for more updates soon! After my safari for sure!

Packing Woes

Self-portrait of a packing phenom
Originally uploaded by michellew54

Packing for this trip has been much harder than any I've taken in the past! I want to be prepared for everything without taking too much stuff, and it has been stressing me out the past few days. I've had to make some hard decisions regarding pants, shoes, and worst of all, the tent. It absolutely won't fit. I was hoping to save a bit here and there by camping (secured sites only, mom!) and have the added benefit of not listening to some other random hosteler snoring, or worse. Alas.

Anyway, I've managed to stuff most of what I wanted to bring* into (or onto) my pack, as you can see in this lovely self-portrait. The pack and gear total a "mere" 45 lbs. (And of course, note the day pack I'll be bringing too.)

To learn more of my packing woes, visit this set of flickr pics.

* This would not have been possible without the kind offers from Nick and Lindsay to bring some of my cold weather gear I will only need on Kili when they join me in Tanzania.

Welcome to the Pink Hippopotamus!

I'm a little obsessed with traveling and have become a little obsessed with hippos while planning my big Africa trip. Thus, here is the blog about my travels named after hippos. I'll try to update regularly, and hope a few of you will leave me comments and/or check out my guestbook! There will definitely be photos, and hopefully a few good stories along the way.

This blog is designed to entertain family and friends, but if you're a stranger who has stumbled across it and want to know a little more about me, here it is: I'm a Minneapolitan, post-law school, post-grad school, soccer-playing, tree-hugging, dog-loving, coffee and/or beer drinking, adventure-seeking young(ish) woman. I've already been to 25 countries, mostly in Europe, and thought I'd see what Africa has to offer before (re)entering the "real world" this Fall.

F.A.Q.

• Where exactly in Africa are you going?
• What are you bringing for FOUR months?!
• Is it safe?
• What's all this stuff about the hippos?
• What are you going to miss the most?
• Did you pass the Bar?

Where exactly in Africa are you going?

Southern and Eastern Africa. I'm flying to Johannesburg, SA (via NYC and Amsterdam), and will explore South Africa for about a month. Then, I'll be doing an overland trip with a company called Dragoman from Cape Town, through Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania, to Dar es Salaam. I plan to leave the trip a couple of days early, extending my stay on the island of Zanzibar, since Nick (the bf) and Lindsay (friend since high school) will be meeting me there! Together, we will climb the roof of Africa (Mt. Kilimanjaro) and go on a Tanzanian safari. After they leave, I'll have another three weeks on my own to explore East Africa, and in particular, Uganda, where I hope to see some mountain gorillas. Then, sometime in August I'll return to Minneapolis, with a stopover in NYC for a few days on the way.

What are you bringing for FOUR months?!

Packing for a four month trip when you are going to be carrying everything you need in one very large backpack requires some planning. I'll try to take a few pics when I pack up, but here's a sampling of my packing list:

• Sleeping stuff - sleeping bag & liner, sleeping pad, camping pillow, tent (if room)
  
• Walking stuff - shoes! hiking boots, running shoes, sandals, flip flops, trekking poles
• Health stuff - kick-ass water filter and water treatment tablets, prescriptions for malaria prevention, altitude sickness, and severe stomach ailments, first aid supplies and lots of stuff for minor stomach ailments and other potential aches and pains, bug juice, sunscreen, hand sanitizer
  
• Stuff to wear - I'll pretty much be wearing variations of the same outfit for four months, since I need to prepare for almost all weather conditions (deserts, beaches, rainforests, snow-covered mountain tops, etc.); my fashion will be best described as "laidback and layered."
• Electronic stuff - ipod, digital camera, watch with alarm clock, headlamp, voltage converter/adapter and chargers, flash drive
  
• Other stuff - day pack, personal items to stay as clean and non-stinky as possible and mascara (because a girl has gotta have something girly), guidebooks, one or two regular books, journal, money belt, duct tape, Leatherman multi-tool, jump rope to keep up the cardio when running is not an option, a few photos of family and friends, my wit(s) and senses of humor and adventure
• Pet monkey (maybe)
  

Is it safe?

Absolutely not. ;)

Ok, I definitely appreciate that people are worried about me. And yes, travel through Africa might present some new challenges. But we all know I'm not a total idiot, and I promise to use common sense to stay safe and check in regularly so you know in fact I am safe and happy.

A few safety tips I plan to adhere to:

• Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle.
• Never leave valuables unattended. at home.
• Safety in numbers (this is of course the main purpose of bringing a pet monkey).
• Africa is not a giant petting zoo. Someone should have told that to this crazy lady.
• Seeing pink elephants is a bad idea.
• Avoid the wrath of an angry, territorial hippo.
  

What's all this stuff about the hippos?

They look rolley-polley and cute, don't they? Pfftt. Hippos are one of Africa's most dangerous animals. They are territorial, have giant, continuously sharpening teeth and a set of mouth tusks, and can run at speeds up to 30 mph. They might look all docile and lazy, but get in the way of a hippo and its water or its baby and there is trouble. Luckily, they are also creatures of habit, so with a good guide this problem should be easy to avoid. There are less than 150,000 hippos in all of sub-Saharan Africa, and in some areas the population is decreasing due to poaching and habitat destruction. (Most of the places I'm visiting have stable hippo populations.) I have included a few fun and informative links about hippos if you want to know more.

And in case it is unclear, there is no such thing as a Pink Hippo. I just like pink, and I've already tried to explain the thing about the hippos.

What are you going to miss the most?

I'm not going to name names, but obviously there are a lot of family and friends I will miss while on the road. But the wonders of the interwebs should help alleviate some of that, particularly when you all make comments on my blog or in my guestbook. :) So, the thing I'm going to miss the most this summer is SOCCER! 11 v. 11, 90 minute, outdoor, adult rec soccer. Especially my mamacitas de Fuego Rosado. I expect to receive many email tales of soccer glory!

Did you pass the Bar?

People. Stop asking this question. Won't you feel awkward asking me this if for some reason I did not? I promise, if (when!!!) I get the good news, you will be informed.