wormer family band

The 1200 mile flight to Cape Town was smooth and uneventful. We arrived in just under three hours and were through customs quickly. Our guide Kyle met us in the terminal and drove us to our AirBnB in the Waterkant district, a nice area with colorful houses and plenty of shops and restaurants.

Cape Town is South Africa’s capital and second largest city, after Johannesburg. The Portuguese first reached the area in the late 15th century. The Dutch arrived about a century later and established a colony that was then ceded to the British at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814. The Dutch imported slaves from Indonesia and Madagascar to work the farms and vineyards they established, but the Brits abolished slavery in 1833.

Driving from the airport Kyle pointed out the numerous “townships”, which are huge slums. The townships are divided along racial lines, with African townships and colored townships. The colored townships are mostly mixed race and descendants of the Indonesian and Malay slaves. The townships do have electricity, but no water or sewer service except for communal facilities. They house over two million people.

In contrast, the modern areas of the city are tree lined, with first world amenities. Although no longer segregated, they are still predominantly white.

Our house is quirky, with one bedroom downstairs and one bedroom upstairs. Each has a private patio or balcony. The kitchen is on the ground floor, but the dining table is on the second floor. Metal spiral stairs connect the ground floor to the second floor, and the second floor to the rooftop terrace. It takes us awhile to learn how to use the stairs.

There are shops around the corner, and plenty of restaurants nearby. There is a gay bar on the corner called Manhattan, and Steve gets catcalls as we walk past. The houses are all painted bright colors and well maintained. we can see Table Mountain from our terrace.

We stock up on food and water, and get takeout sandwiches for dinner. After a pleasant evening on the terrace we are ready for bed. There is no heat or air conditioning in the house. There is a small space heater in each room, but ours is broken. There are hot water bottles in the armoire with knit covers, and we fill them to warm our feet. On safari they were called “bush babies”, and they are very comfy. We have a good night’s sleep.

Our last morning at Victoria Falls we’re up early. We’re crossing the border to Zambia to see the falls from the other side, and optionally to swim in the river at the edge of the falls. It’s chilly. The border crossing is absurd. Our driver picks us up at the hotel and drives the five minutes across the Victoria Falls bridge. We go to the border stop and get our passports stamped, then walk out to meet our second driver on the Zambian side. He drives us the five minutes to Livingstone Island.

The island sits at the brink of the falls, and at low water in September through December you can reach the Devil’s Bathtub and swim. The water is too high in July, but with a guide you can wade to the edge of the falls and swim. A young veterinary student from Shanghai and two Korean missionaries are in our group and planning to swim. We are not.

Donning rain ponchos we walk the short distance to the river . Mist soaks us through the ponchos. Water drips down our legs into our shoes. It’s cold. We carefully walk onto a rocky outcrop at the edge of the falls. The brave swimmers wade into the water one at a time and immerse themselves. With a guide holding their ankles, they get within inches of the precipice, water rushing over them.

Adrenaline charged they emerge from the water smiling in triumph. I’m cold and wet.

We walk back to a pavilion for breakfast. The coffee is weak, but hot and we embrace it. Breakfast is filling and warm. Leaving our ponchos, and quite wet, we walk to our car, where the driver ferries us the five minutes to the border, we get our passports stamped and reconnect with our original driver for the five minute drive to the Victoria Falls Hotel.

In half an hour we’re on our way to the airport for our flight to Cape Town.

At 6 AM wake-up we were packed and ready to go. A quick breakfast, then off in the boat for our last chance to see some wildlife. Two days earlier we had spotted a pride of lions lazing on a beach finishing off the remains of a red lechwe. We headed back there today but the lions were gone, and a couple of elephants wandered the beach. Several juvenile elephants were on the opposite side of the channel, and called for their mothers. Trumpeting echoed across the water.

The lechwes were out as usual, as well as a Cape buffalo with an egret hitching a ride, and a group of hippos snout deep in the water. The morning light was beautiful as it lit the water and the grass. We stop for our coffee and biscuits, watching a kingfisher dive for fish nearby. Then it’s back to camp for a light lunch, grab our gear and head to the airstrip.

Bags stowed, we climb into the Safari Air Caravan XL. A truck drives down the runway to clear any elephants or lechwes attempting to cross. Off we go.

Our 45 minute flight lands in Kasane, near the border with Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Our driver picks us up at the airport and we drive east for about an hour to the town of Kasungula, where we cross into Zimbabwe. The border officer is an African albino, with very poor eyesight. He holds our passports two inches from his face to read. We pay our fifty dollar visa fee then head to another car for the ride from the border to the Victoria Falls Hotel.

The hotel was built in 1904 and overlooks the Zambezi River gorge. Mist from the falls rises in the distance. Beautiful gardens surround the hotel. There are guards everywhere. When you leave the hotel grounds to walk into the city of Victoria Falls it’s a different world. Young men approach constantly, offering to sell you 20 Billion dollar bills (yes, they are real), or small carved statues of elephants and leopards.

The economy in Zimbabwe is terrible, largely due to corruption and mismanagement. The old currency became so devalued that most transactions are made in US Dollars. It is a country rich in resources, but lacking the economic stability to foster investment. Tourism is one of the few areas of economic activity in the country.

After our check in we had a great dinner at the Livingstone restaurant in the hotel, then went to bed. Our first night in an air conditioned room since we left Johannesburg. In the morning we see Victoria Falls.

Our second morning in Camp Xugana we went for a hike on Baobab Island. Our guide Joe armed himself with a.375 Holland & Holland rifle (an elephant gun). We stepped off the boat and waited as Joe walked ahead and checked for danger. The island is quite large and has numerous trees, including the eponymous baobab. There were many birds, lechwes and a few warthogs on the island, and a raft of hippos across the channel.

As we walked through the brush we heard a splashing, and several red lechwes came rushing down the river bed, then turned sharply and veered inland. Baboons were shrieking in the trees and birds took flight. We couldn’t see anything but Joe was on alert. Something had spooked the animals, and it wasn’t us. Joe directed us atop a nearby termite mound for a better view. He checked his rifle and released the safety. We waited, scanning the brush for a lurking predator. It started to get hot. We couldn’t see anything, but Joe was anxious. We waited,

After some time Joe relaxed. The animals resumed their grazing and the baboons quieted. We continued our walk. We passed a leafy plant that had a foul odor. It looked like an herb. Joe asked us what it smelled like, and responses ranged from body odor to urine to vomit. It was the African sage plant. I asked Joe if it was used for cooking and he laughed. “No one eats it, not even the animals.”

We walked toward a large Baobab tree with a cavernous opening in the trunk. “The bushmen would use this for shelter. But so will the animals “. The tree was a thousand years old.

We spotted more birds and a few warthogs rooting in the ground, then headed back to our boat. A break for coffee, and then off to camp for lunch and our afternoon siesta.

At 3:00 PM we have light refreshments, then return to the boat for our afternoon excursion. Today we’re learning about plants and going for a short ride in a mokoro, or dugout canoe .

Bushmen in the Delta used Pampas grass and Papyrus for building shelters. Water lillies were an important source of food, with a large tuber at their base. The lily stem is hollow, with a honeycomb interior that helps filter water for drinking. The base of the papyrus is also edible.

We then reach the mokoros, tied to the dock near the airstrip. Traditional mokoros are made from large trees, and vary in size from small one or two person craft to larger boats used for transport. They could be very heavy. Ours were not the real thing, and were made of fiberglass. We sat in the bottom as Joe poled us through the water silently, drifting past water lillies and reeds, the sun warm on our backs. The currents through the Delta are surprisingly strong, and as we turned back to the dock Joe used his pole mainly for steering. A pleasant ride.

As the sun sets we stop on the water for a cocktail and a snack. The sunsets are beautiful. Then back to camp for our dinner. Tomorrow afternoon we will leave Camp Xugana and the Okavango Delta and head north to Victoria Falls.

Our last morning at Camp Moremi we packed, ate breakfast and headed out for one last game drive. We hadn’t seen any hippos on our earlier drives, but today they were abundant. Usually in the water and nearly submerged. They make a loud chomping noise as they eat the vegetation in the water. They are very good swimmers, but are usually standing in the water as they eat. They are dangerous if approached, and quite territorial. A hippo will open its mouth wide and show its teeth as a warning. They grunt and roar. They are often seen in large groups called rafts while in the water, but they sleep on land.

After our morning drive we headed to the nearby airstrip. A quick ten minute flight brought us to another airstrip and our boat to Camp Xugana. The camp is on an island and all of the wildlife is reached on flat bottom skiffs. As we skimmed through the narrow channels we passed small islands and open marshes. Various birds, red lechwe, and hippos were spotted.

The lechwe is a marsh dwelling antelope about the size of a small white tailed deer. they keep to the wetlands to avoid predators and are seen grazing in the shallow waters or on small islands.

Both Camp Xugana and Camp Moremi are owned by Desert & Delta Safaris along with two other camps. They have a shared solar power system that provides electricity to the camps. Although we technically sleep in tents, they’re quite luxurious, with ensuite bathrooms. Camp Xugana also has outdoor showers surrounded by a bamboo privacy wall- nice!

Meals are served in a communal dining area, and it’s been fun meeting the other guests, including a couple in their 80’s, John and Kay from New Zealand, several Swiss and German groups and a couple from Singapore. Before each meal the staff welcome us with songs and dancing. The food is good and plentiful. The bar is open.

Animals roam freely in and around the camp, and after dark guests must be escorted to and from their rooms. We could hear hippos snorting nearby and there were baboons in the trees but we didn’t have any close encounters.

Mornings start early, with a wake up call at 6:00, followed by a breakfast buffet. Then out on the boat.

Early one morning as we turned down a narrow channel an elephant stood in the water eating grass. We stopped to admire him and then skirted past, at which point he turned, flared his ears and trumpeted a warning.

Shortly after midnight I felt the first rumblings. By 4 A.M. there was no doubt. The scourge of travelers in exotic lands was upon me. I had gone through Egypt and India without problems, and had always been careful to avoid the fresh fruits and salads, enticing though they were. But now I had let down my guard. I was sure it was the lettuce.

It was a long night.

I took an Azithromycin and drank some water about dawn. The game drive would have to go on without me.

Alone in the cabin things started to settle down, and I got some sleep. It was cold. I was tired and washed out by my nighttime exertions, but the drugs had done their work, and by noon I was up and nearly functional. A very light lunch, a debriefing from Melissa, Patty and Steve; They had seen a herd of elephants, a pair of giraffes and some hippopotami, jackals, and birds. They felt fine. I know it was the lettuce.

Never trust lettuce in foreign lands.

Our Cessna Grand Caravan EX touched down on the dirt runway near Camp Moremi. An elephant could be seen near the end of the runway, and he made our pilot, Junior, nervous. But the elephant slowly ambled away and we disembarked.

We had already flown from Johannesburg, South Africa to Maun, Botswana via commercial plane earlier in the day. The Cessna holds twelve passengers, and as the name implies looks like a minivan with wings attached. Flying low over the Okavango Delta we saw scattered herds of zebras on the ground.

We met our guide Rodgers and loaded our bags into the Land Cruiser, followed by a light lunch and a gin & tonic (medicinal of course, in case the Malarone we’re taking wasn’t sufficient to ward off malaria). We then set off for our camp. The deeply rutted trail was no problem for the Cruiser, and we looked for game as we passed. A large bull elephant was eating a tree just off the trail.

We passed impala and zebra and exotic birds. The night before our arrival a lion had killed a zebra, and we stopped to watch the feast. One of four young lions was gnawing on the carcass, one watched nearby and two were lolling in the grass. The mother, swollen from her recent meal was stretched out napping, looking like a pregnant cat.

We arrived at Camp Moremi just as the sun was setting. After settling into our cabins it was dinner time, with lamb and fish eaten al fresco overlooking the Delta.

Tomorrow promises an early start for more game viewing, but it’s all very civilized. Back for lunch and a siesta, then more driving around the Delta looking for game.