Africa-ca-ca

Lady and baby from the Bushman Tribe.

The Bushman kids helping us set up our tents

Sunset mokoro ride on the Okavango Delta

Cassie the Delta Princess

Bindi.... I mean Cassie Irwin

Hello pussycat!

Getting pretty wet at Victoria Falls

Cruizin' on the Zambiezie

For those of you who are “Long Way Down” fans, you may recall the episode when Charlie and Ewan are in Livingston in Zambia. Apart from watching hippos at night, Charlie and one of the camera men bunji jumped off the bridge that spanned victoria falls. “That could be me soon” I mentioned to Steph (housemate who was also watching the episode with me) “I might go to Victoria Falls.” I said this almost six months ago and although I am pretty much petrified about bunji I kinda made a promise to myself then and there, that if I ever did go there I would have to bunji.

So when I eventually did get to Victoria Falls and there was a discount to do the Slide (flying fox across the gorge) Swing (basically you are harnessed and swing back and forwards across the gorge) and Bunji, there was no refusing the experience and the value.

The Slide was easy and very relaxing, a great view of the rapids below. The Swing I did in Tandem with Cassie.

I was greatful to do something scary with someone else. Our whole account of the event was quite amusing (and I have the DVD to prove it). At the last minute, as we are on the ledge, Cassie, strapped to me is just about to back out, she is already telling the guy she can’t do this, but he is too busy counting us down to notice, 3, 2, 1, Swing.... then Eeeeeeeeeeekkkk, I get an earful of Cass having somewhat of a panic attack! The free fall was sooooo scary, you are there dropping down into the gorge and thinking when is the swing going to go taught and swing us across. It finally did kick in and once Cass had relaxed we swang back and forth across the gorge.

By the time I got to the Bunji I wasn’t really scared of anything anymore. I did panic a bit as I stuck my toes over the edge and contemplated what it was that was actually holding me from my death. So the bunji was a tranquil experience. I bacially just fell into the gorge and lets mist submerge me. It was quite peacefull to bounce around upside down.

I really did not prepare for Africa, I didn’t even really read the trip notes. My preparation consisted of going to see “The Lion King” musical in London’s West End (which was quite awesome by the way). Which has been quite fitting because we have constantly been singing verse after verse on the bus. So when we were on a bush walk with some local guides, and they were trying to explain what creature had dug up the earth, they told us ‘a pumba’ had been there. Similarily when we were on a game drive, our guide said, “look there are some pumbas.” I love the fact that Pumba has become the universal word for “warthog.”

Africa is a lot more developed than I expected. After doing some touring in Mongolia and then contemplating a ‘drive yourself holiday’ in Africa, I was quick to shoot down the idea as I thought it is going to take too much planning, the roads will be shit, we can’t guarantee the petrol stations on the map will have petrol. But obviously you can’t paint developing countries with the same brush. Our route through Botswana and Namibia although remote, has taken us along many a village giving an impression that a lot of the countryside is populated, unlike Mongolia where you can drive for hours and not see another ger. Although the houses are simple mud and stick chalets, most of them have adjoining vegetable gardens or crop to some extent, which would be a luxury in Mongolia. Addmittedly I haven’t seen the whole country, but all the talk about Africa centres on the relative poverty of the population and the harsh conditions. Given all that I had herd and read I was surprised to find large town with internationally branded supermarkets (Spar) and petrol stations (BP), prefabricated houses in small villages with satellite dishes, cars and fresh fruit and vegetables.

Perhaps we can thank England’s attempts at collonisaion of Africa for the widespread use and understanding of the English language. Our guides are from Kenya, but as there are god knows how many languages and dialects across Africa, even they use English when communicating with people outside their language group.

Any expectations I had about Africa have literally gone out the window. I knew we would be going into some national parks with the possibility of seeing wild animals, but I didn’t expect them to be plentiful and for the most part not too scared by vehicle movement. I pictured us all requiring binoculars (and I bought a pair according to my expectation) to see anything, but no, they literally hang around on the sides of the road and most wait patiently for you to take their picture.

There are a lot of parrellels to be drawn between Africa and Australia. The vegetation, landscape and cultures are not mirrors but echos of Australia. We spent one evening with the Sani bushmen, who took us on a walk where they showed us how the hunt and forage for food. Their techniques and way of living is quite similar to that the Australian Aboriginals.

I love being on the water, and that is perhaps why I enjoed our time in the delta so much. We spent two nights in the Okavango Delta in Botswana where we spent a great deal of time ferrying between islands in Mokoros. Originally dug out canoes, polers (those who steer the canoes) now opt for fibreglass version. Their long slender shape and flat bottom make them ideal for navigating through the grasses and the shallow water of the delta. However being that low also make you suceptable to hippos (Africa’s most dangerous animal) and elephants who bathe and eat in the delta. It got a little hairy at times when we had to navigate our way around these animals.

One of the highlights of my trip, and it continues to be, is that I get to spend so much time with Cassie and Renee! It is so fantiastic to share such a great trip with such awesome friends!

More about Africa to follow! Maybe even some photos!