Saturday, January 30th - Livingston, Zambia

We were up at 6:00 this morning and out the door by 6:45.  Very shortly we were at the airstrip - a piece of levelled dirt - for our microlight flights over the falls.  Randy, Fran and Susanne went in the first group as they had another commitment after.  Andrea, Mike and I were in the second group. The company has three micro-light planes so only three could go up at any one time.  The pilot sits in front and the single passenger behind.  My pilot's name was Andres and he was great.  

The flights are only 15 minutes and they have everything timed precisely.  There isn't five minutes from the time the plane pulls in to the time it pulls out again and that includes unbuckling the passenger, getting their helmet and headset off, getting them out then getting the next passenger in, buckling them in and putting on their helmet.   Inside other people are taking the money, getting the signatures, selling the pictures, etc. And it all goes very smoothly.   We were the first of the day and we all commented that it might be interesting to see if they are still moving as quickly in the afternoon.  Hopefully the pilots get some down time during the day!

The flight itself was really nice.  I didn't really know what to expect but it was both windier than I'd expected and calmer than I'd expected.  The pilot said a couple of times that it was windy today and you could really feel the force of the wind against you.  At one point I thought my helmet strap was too tight and possibly going to strangle me.  Then I discovered that it wasn't my helmet at all but rather the neckline of my jacket as the wind blew it straight back behind me.  When we changed directions you could really feel the wind from that direction as well.  Sometimes it felt like it would blow you right off the seat or out of the sky, but of course it didn't.  At the same time, the ride was very smooth and there was no turbulence like you experience on a plane.  Or maybe there was and I just didn't feel it because of the wind.  I did think that the pilot must have a strong grip on the steering bar because it seemed like he had to be continually adjusting it.  However, that didn't stop him from pointing at things and even letting go at times to show me I could just spread my arms and fly - which I did for most of the flight including the landing.  And the landing was a piece of cake.  I thought that might be rough but it was so smooth it was hard to believe you were back on land.  This was my first experience in a micro-light but it was great and I certainly would do it again.

The view was fantastic of course.  We went from the one end of the falls to the other and he explained all the different parts of the falls and the islands and where the river is starting to cut a new falls.  We also flew over the gorge itself and saw the twisting turning gorge where the falls used to be.  We were over Zambia then Zimbabwe and then back over Zambia.  We came back along the river and spotted some hippos.  The water level in the river is quite low now but there is water lying around because of the rain.  Overall it was pretty amazing.  There is a camera on the tip of the left wing so at the end of the flight you can buy a copy of the pictures that it took.  That will be a nice souvenir.

Once back at the hotel I had some breakfast and then spent some time packing my now dry clothes and uploading pictures.  It was slow but at least it was working.  Three members of the tour group and our tour leader left for the airport as they are heading home.  Tonight we meet our new tour leader and others who might be joining us for the rest of the trip.  

At noon we had a transfer to our new hotel.  We're not sure why we had to switch hotels when it's all the same tour but we did it any way.  The first one had lots of warnings about the monkeys and baboons taking things.  The second one has warnings about hippos and other animals.  It is right beside the river but so far I haven't seen too much wildlife here.  The Matambo River, on which we are staying, is a muddy looking river.  The falls had very clear water flowing into them so I'm not sure if we are above or below the falls.  At one point we had a hippo right below us and several times he showed us how wide he could open his mouth.  I think he was probably just bored and yawning but it still looked impressive.

I stayed at the hotel all afternoon and had some lunch in the restaurant overlooking the river.  Randy, Fran and Susanne went white-water rafting and should have been back by 1 but they still weren't home by 4 (which it is right now) so I assume they stayed in town.  I was kind of waiting for them to go do some touring around Livingston but I guess that won't happen.   However, the Livingston Museum was the only thing I was really interested in and someone who was in town just came back and said the power was off so they couldn't see the museum anyway.  Obviously I was meant to have a relaxing day and get caught up on some of these blogs.  And lunch in the restaurant right on the river was very nice.

Zambia's official language is English so it is easy to talk to anyone here, although they do have a slightly British/African accent to add to the language.  Their currency is a kwatcha but most businesses take US or South African money so I never set get any Zambian money.  Their currency is in big bills like 10 million kwatcha so it's very confusing.  

Our meeting at 6 was the usual new group tour meeting but it was nice to meet the new people - two from Canada and one from Switzerland.  There are still 17 of us with 2 England, 3 Germany, 1 Switzerland, 2 Scotland and 9 Canadian.  Our two doctors from the first part left but we now have another doctor with us.  She is a psychiatrist but has medical training as well.  We thought the psychiatric training might come in handy anyway.  Our new leader is Arthur and he seems very nice, although not quite as personable as our last one.  I can't imagine he'll be as good as Hardie but we'll see.  He has just come in from a tour from Cape Town to Livingston and now will go back over the same route in reverse.  Some of the others who were with him on that trip said they loved it.  Of course there was a lot of driving through the desert and the scenery was quite repetitive at times but they said it was great.  They also said it was very hot but there was always a breeze so it didn't seem too bad.  I can hardly wait for some hot DRY weather.  I'm a bit tired of the humidity.

After the meeting we went for dinner in the restaurant and then I went back to the room while others stayed a bit longer.  It's lights out around 10 in these places so it's good to be organized before you find yourself in total darkness.  Especially when you are in a tent and have mosquito nets to deal with!

Friday, January 29th - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

We were up, packed, had breakfast and on the road at 8:30 - a bit of a later start which was nice.  The drive to Victoria Falls is 2 hours normally and we arrived about 11:30.  However, we did have a stop in town at the grocery store to get some lunch food and have another comfort stop.  As we are finished the main driving for this part of the trip we had to figure out who won the prize for the number of police checks.  The total over four days was 18 but I think the count should have been 16, in which case I would have won.  We actually counted one stop where we weren't even in the bus and Andrew wasn't driving and fewer than half of us were there as we were in two different safari vehicles.  That definitely should not have counted.  Then there was the time the cop waved us through but he was a friend of Andrew's so Andrew stopped to talk to him.  That shouldn't have counted either but the rule was if Andrew talked to them then it counted.  If they just waved him through it didn't count.  Anyway, it was all in good fun and no one got rich off the winnings.

By the time we got to the falls, paid the entrance fee and we're ready to go it was going on 12 noon and we had two hour to wander around.  The guide said we shouldn't need our jackets.  He even check with the ticket office and they too said the mist was not bad so rain coats weren't needed.  Well, they were right and the mist wasn't too bad at all.  The problem was the sudden downpour that caught us all off guard.  We were completely drenched.  Even my hiking boots were squishing after 30 minutes.  Luckily my camera is waterproof or I might not have been able to get pictures.  Oh, and because we were crossing the border later, I had my passport in my zippered pocket.  When it started getting wet I moved it to the inside of my belly bag but that didn't help a lot.  Everything got soaked.  I spent the rest of the day trying to dry out the pages and flatten them out again.  

My purple belt did not like being wet and it left purple all over the top of my capris.  My camera case, which is blue, green, tan and red, ran red all down the front of me.  My capris are now quite pink on the front of one leg and my underpants are pink in the front.  Even my socks were pink as the rain and pink dye just ran down the front of me. Everything in the case also turned red.  Everything was totally wet and it was the same for everyone.  Eventually we got to the exit point where we were to meet and we just all tried to dry off.  When the sun came out, our whole group and everyone else, was just standing around in the sun trying to dry off.  It was amazing and my boots are still not dry over a day later and after having had the blow dryer turned on them for quite a while.

The falls were spectacular, when you could see them.  They are long and when the water level is high there is a continuous falls over 1.7 km in length.  The drop is impressive too at 108 m but it's the length that makes them really impressive.  The water level is lower right now so it's more like a series of water falls than a continuous waterfall but they are still impressive.  You could get close to the river coming into the falls at one point and it looked very deep and clear and seemed to be running very fast.  The drop there was straight down from our vantage point and roar was quite amazing.  The falls we know as Victoria Falls, after the Queen, is known locally as Mosi-Oa-Tunya or something similar to Smoke That Thunders referring to the mist that looks like smoke and the sound of the falls.  I thought that name was very appropriate.

There is a path all along the Zimbabwe side of the falls for about 3 km from where we started and it has about ten lookouts along the way.  I had hoped to do all ten but in fact just completed about eight because of the rain and the fact I was so wet and I couldn't take pictures anyway.  The area we were walking through was literally a rain forest and it was thick with green vegetation.  Up until the point where it really started to pour rain, I got some great pictures so I was happy about that.

There is a statue of David Livingston, who discovered the falls in 1855, at the top of the falls and a couple of dug-out canoes.  I'm not sure if the implication was that Livingston used that type of canoe but if he did, it's a good thing he stopped before the falls.  The island right at the top of the falls is called Livingston Island and supposedly that is where he stopped.  With low water there are a lot of islands on the top but when the river is really full most of the islands disappear.  I guess he was lucky enough to have an actual island in front of him when he first saw or heard the falls.

After the falls we drove to our hotel for the night.  Our original hotel is under construction so we were switched to a different hotel.  The new one is 4 stare, which is a bit better than our normal hotel, and it's very nice.  It even comes complete with monkeys and baboons for added entertainment.  They were all over the place and they don't seem to mind having people around.  We spent quite a while just sitting on our step watching them.  One particular mom and baby were right beside us and the baby was very young, probably only about a month.  He was very cute to watch.  He'd wander away a few feet and then quickly run back.  Then he'd do it again.  Or he'd try to climb a tree or reach a branch and fall over and head back to mom.  Dad came along and the two of them had great fun playing around.  Then dad and mom decided to cuddle for a while so the little one had to get between them of course and try to break that nonsense up.  It was fun to watch.  And this was just one family.  There must have been 20 babies around playing with each other and the adults and they were all cute.  The baboons are not quite as cute but they keep you on your toes because they will grab anything you leave out or have in your hand.  One of the ladies in the group had her shoes out drying on the step and then had to fight to get them back.  I didn't see it but I guess she was swinging her handbag at them to get the shoe back and people thought it was pretty funny to watch.  No injuries on either side so everything ended well.

This was our last night with our tour guide so we all went downtown to the Cafe Zambia for dinner.  Everyone had a good meal and it was nice to have a chance to eat outside of a hotel and to say thank you and good by to Hardie.  It will be sad to see him go tomorrow as he has been excellent.  We also lose there members of our group tomorrow so we had to say our goodbyes to them too.  After dinner it was back to the hotel and an early bed time for those of us with 6:45 appointments in the morning.

Wednesday, January 27th - Matobo HIlls, Zimbabwe

This morning we got to sleep in and it was my turn to have a room of my own so that was wonderful.  However, I woke up at 6:10 anyway but did manage to stay in bed until 7:00.  I later found out that the other guys slept in until 7 so I would have been just fine sharing.

Breakfast was at 8 and then at 9 we left for our bush walk.  We all went, even though it was optional and it was good to be out of the bus and actually moving for a change.  We started off on just some sandy grassy ground and then ended up climbing over some rocks and over fences and under branches and vines, all the time  avoiding the plants which we needed to avoid as they are poisonous, had thorns or some other reason.  I think I was the only one who managed to fall but it was a nice gentle fall into the twisting vine branches that we were trying to go through so no damage done and lots of helping hands to get me up. 

The caves were really interesting.  The first one had many paintings in it and they were over 2,000 years old.  The bushmeat of Africa were from the Bantu tribe in the north and originally went to South Africa.  Then a smaller group of them came back up north a ways and some settled in this area.  They were bush men, hunting animals and living off the meat and the plants that they found.  Some of the paintings were very clear and well preserved while others were rather faded.  There pictures of people and animals mainly and most were simple stick figures but they were quite identifiable.  The paintings seemed more advanced than paintings I've seen in other locations in that the stick figures had more detail and depth, which may mean that I shouldn't be calling them stick figures.  The hunters had bows and arrows and spears.  Others carried bundles on their heads on their backs or in their arms.  You could easily see giraffe, rhino and a few others.  Some of the rest were debatable, but that had as much to do with the fact that I don't know all the animals and their shapes and horns as well as I should.

The second cave had one collage of animal pictures that were very large.  That was at the entrance.  Back further in the cave were pieces of pottery.  No full containers have been found.  There was also a lot of wood in the cave, supposedly their fire source, and a small mud kiln for firing the pottery and showing the hole at the bottom where the wood was put in.  The view of the hills from the big stone in front of the cave was quite spectacular.  From up above everything looks green even though it may be really dry.  And the rock formations are amazing.  There are huge boulders that seem to be suspended by pure magic on top of other boulders..  And they have stayed that way for thousands of years!

When we got back to the lodge I sat outside and downloaded my pictures to my iPad as the maid finished cleaning my room (a cleaning that probably wasn't needed for just a two-night stay).  I then changed into something cool and comfortable as we had several hours off to relax and enjoy the area.  I did a bit of laundry and then moved to the bar area as that was the only place you could get internet.  About half the group was outside the bar on their electronic devices when I got there.  The Internet was slow, probably because of so many users, but at least it worked.

At 3:30 we went for a 4x4 drive into Matobo National Park for a rhino walk.  We had two vehicles, both open in the back where we sat so we could stand up if something was spotted and the vehicle stopped.  After driving to the park gate and paying our entrance fees, the drivers/guides talked to the park officials to find out where the rhinos had last been spotted.  There were two locations so we then drove off to the first one.  The one guide ran on ahead to scout out the area and we slowly walked through the bush in the same direction.  Eventually he came back and said it looked like the rhinos had moved on so we decided to try the second spot.  However, the walk was not totally wasted as we did see other animals and we learned more about the trees and plants in the area.  We saw a couple wildebeest for a few minutes and some zebras way in the distance.  We also saw some Impala grazing but then something, probably us, scared them and they took of running.  As they ran past the one opening in the trees it was amazing to see just how many of them there were.  It seemed like hundreds and they were really running and jumping over things.  

We drove quite a ways to our second spot and it was already 5:30 before we started that trek.  That's when we were supposed to be finished and back at the lodge.  We went to a totally different part of the park and drove very slowly down some very narrow trails to get to our destination.  Eventually the vehicle in front stopped and everyone seemed to be looking to the left.  There were three rhinos in the bushes apparently but I couldn't see them.  Because rhinos have poor eye sight but a strong sense of smell, we climbed up a hill on the side identified by the guides to get a better view.  For a while I still couldn't see them but then they started moving towards us and coming out of the thicker bushes.  There was a female rhino and her baby - not a really young one but still smaller than its mom.  There was also a male who seemed to keep his distance.  The guides said that could be dad or it could just be another male checking out the situation.  At one point the little rhino went nose to nose with the big male rhino and I thought that was really cute.  But then there was a bit of huffing and grunting from both parties and the big male actually started retreating.  Apparently he didn't want this male getting too close to his mom.  They move very slowly so once they were in our view we had some fantastic viewing and some good photos.  Eventually though, the guides said we had to go because it was getting so late so we left the rhinos behind, walked back to the vehicles and piled in for a fast drive out of the park as the gates were already closed and we didn't want to get stuck on the inside.  One of the guides did phone ahead to make sure someone would still be there to let us out and we were then back on the main road heading to the lodge.  

Now by main road I should clarify that it's a wide area but only the centre single lane is actually paved.  Many of the roads in Zimbabwe are that way.  When you are the only vehicle on the road, which happens a lot as there isn't much traffic, you get to use all of the pavement.  When you meet another car coming from the opposite direction or when someone behind you wants to pass and get by, you move over and drive with one set of wheels on the gravel and one set on the pavement.  The other guy does that as well, hopefully on the other side of the pavement, and teh system seems to work quite well.  On our drive back to the lodge there was a lot of traffic and much of it was big trucks.  Sitting in the back of an open vehicle with a semi barrelling down at you is an interesting sensation.  However, everyone seems to know the system and it works well so we made it.  Of course by this time it is dark but I had to keep my sun glasses on because of the wind and the grit and sand in it.  The bonus was that we were treated to a very nice sunset on the way back.

Our drive had taken way longer than anticipated and we didn't get back to the lodge until 7:30, which was supposed to be dinner time so we pushed that back until 8 so we could have a couple minutes to clean up.  In my case, I had to get my contacts out because they were so full of grit that my eyes were stinging and I was crying or at least tearing up for most of the trip back.  Anyway, dinner was delicious.  We had roast beef that was incredibly tender, roast potatoes, gravy, carrots and beans for vegetables, tomato soup as a starter and banana custard cake for dessert.  All of it was great.  After dinner I did some e-mail and posted a few Facebook items and then it was time for bed. 

Monday, January 25th - Beitbridge, South Africa to Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

After an excellent night's sleep, having gone to bed and fallen asleep immediately at 09:30, we were up again at 5:45 to pack up and load up bags by 6:30, have breakfast and depart at 7:00.  Having to get up at 3:15 really makes you tired by the end of the day!!!

We had about an hour drive through countryside and one small town to get to the border.  The scenery was not as impressive or as varied as the previous day, but still nice.  It was just much less green and lush with very little agriculture, mainly just trees and shrubs.  There are a lot more baobab trees and they are so meet with their huge trunks and heavy branches.  There were also flame trees with their red flower and another similar red one called a flamboyant or flamboyance tree.  There was also one that was thick with yellow flowers and it looked very nice as well as one the refer to as the African Christmas tree that has yellow and pink flowers on it and they hang down for the branches like a Christmas decoration.

At the border we switched buses.  We said good-bye to our driver, Jocque, who had been absolutely wonderful - by far the best bus driver I've had on any tour.  He was an excellent driver and did a great job in navigating the roads and avoiding any animals or stupid drivers who got in our way, and it was always a smooth ride so motion sickness was never an issue.  And beside that he was a really nice guy with a great sense of humour - very dry wit that always surprised us with something unexpected.  He knew all of us and participated with us in meals and enjoyed seeing the animals as much as we each did.  He was also excellent at spotting the animals and was frequently pulling over or pointing before anyone else had spotted anything.  He will drive back to his home in Pretoria today on his own while we continue on.

We first cleared the South African immigration and that was a pretty quick process.  There were very few people in line and it was really just a formality.  We then moved on, a couple kilometres down the road, to the Zimbabwe customs.  That a took a bit longer as we were entering the country.  However, we did it quite comfortably.  We filled out the required form while sitting on our air conditioned bus.  Well, actually we only had to complete the forms.  Andrew, our new bus driver, had them partially filled out for us so that was a real bonus.  (He is a very young gentleman so quite a change from Jocque.)  We then had to walk into the building and stand in line for a while as each of us presented our passport, form and money to the cashier.  Then we went back out to the lovely air-conditioned bus and sat and waited while they processed the whole batch.  We are waiting as I type this.

The border crossing is not very busy according to our guide.  However, there are a lot of people around.  Everyone seems to be waiting so the process must be pretty much the same for everyone.  Aside from our group everyone is black so it's definitely a busy crossing for the locals.  There are lots of officials and customs employees around.  Labour is obviously cheap here and right now out the bus window I can see 23 customs and/or immigration employees just on my side of the bus.  There aren't many more people than that around.  There are a lot of trucks now lined up to get over the border into South Africa but I don't see any lined up to go into Zimbabwe.  I know we passed a lot of them on the road in so they must be somewhere.   The outside area is very clean and there is no garbage anywhere.  However, it is a very old looking building so looks quite dirty just because of that.  I would say the same is true on the inside of the building too.  It looks like an old factory on the inside and it was hot, but it was clean.

Finally at 12:30 we got our passports back and we were ready to go.  It was only a 2.5 hour wait and we had been warned for a three hour wait so it seemed okay.  We started out and had to had some paper work at the first stop.  Then the driver had to answer some questions for another group and eventually we were actually on our way.  

Zimbabwe's history is as convoluted as any country's.  The original tribes came from North Africa and from east Africa.   At one point they had dealings with China and Arabia.  The two main tribes now are the Ndebele and Shana (and please don't check the spelling on those).  In the 1880's, Rhodes, who made his money from diamonds and gold in Southern Africa, got a lot of people to head north to current Zimbabwe.  He originally wanted to build a corridor from Cape Town to Cairo for his Queen.  Matobo used to be Fort Victoria and was named for the Queen at the time it was built by the trekkers when they arrived.  Rhodes took more land than the tribes actually gave him and got away with it.  He found diamonds and some gold and other minerals, and the soil was also good for agriculture so it was a good settlement.  The area became South and North Rhodesia.  The North is now Zambia.and the South is Zimbabwe.  In the late '70s, Ian Smith was president and had a system of apartheid in Zimbabwe that was similar to South Africa's.  There were lots of jungle areas in the country and the "bush war" happened as the people revolted not only here but all around Southern Africa.  Russia and Cuba got involved at some point and the fighting really ravaged the area.  In 1980, Smith realized he couldn't hang on to the country any longer and  Rhodesia became independent as Zimbabwe and Mugabe took over.  Mugabe won the first election fairly but after that he started changing the constitution and making other changes to the way the country was governed.  Blacks started attacking whites.  White farms were taken over and destroyed and the people killed.  Mugabe and his people wanted the whites out because the whites were making money that Mugabe wanted.  In 1980 Zimbabwe produced 80% of its own needs.  Now they can't produce even 15%.  The people who took over the farms (and destroyed them) didn't know how to run them so nothing was being produced.  By 1995, just 15 years after independence, Zimbabwe could no longer support itself and inflation rose dramatically.  Mugabe changed the national currency to the US dollar, without US permission, which is why the paper currency in Zimbabwe is so old and dirty now since they can't exactly print any more.  Mugabe gets along well with the Asian countries and especially China.  China paid off $40 billion of debt for Zimbabwe so they are now tied very closely.  Mugabe has even decided to change its currency to the Chinese yuan - supposedly as of January 1st 2016 but we don't think it's instituted yet.   The US dollar and the South African Rand are still accepted as currency.

Mugabe and his people, including his wife, look after themselves only while the rest of the people suffer.  Prices are incredibly high and unemployment is at 65%.  Mugabe is 91 now and has been in power for 46 years, which is totally against the constitution.  However, he is apparently in very poor health, maybe even critical, so the people believe there is hope for the future - assuming his wife or the generals don't decide to try and continue his ways!  On the plus side, the people are wonderful and friendly and the country is safe.  And as another plus, the literacy rate is 91% in Zimbabwe as education is a high priority so Mugabe did get some things right, at least at the beginning.

The landscape was pretty barren as we drove along and the highway was certainly not of the same quality but still reasonably good.  The land is very dry and the drought is affecting Zimbabwe too.  There are lots of bushes and short trees and since they have leaves the area still looks green.  It just doesn't look like very good farm land.  Most of the time it is just flat land with very few hills and no mountains.  That may change as we get further into the country.  There is little wildlife here now.  There were many deer and antelope and similar animals but they were all killed by the locals as food so there is very little left.  I guess if you can't afford to buy food because your economy is so bad (very high prices and 65% unemployment!) you must provide for your family in whatever way you can so you really can't blame them.

Today we had to drive 380 km and we definitely wanted to get to our next stop before dark as the roads are not that great for night driving.  We are counting the number of times we get stopped by the police today.  Then we are having a lottery to guess how many times we will get stopped before we get out of the country in five days.  Apparently they have many road checks so it should be interesting.  Today's count was 5 stops.  Most were quick but the one was a bit longer as Andrew, our new driver, had to argue that the reflectors on the trailer behind the bus really were applied correctly.  It took a while but he did win the argument and we were able to continue with no fines or other problems.

Part way through our journey we entered a very different landscape with lots of huge boulders or rocks piled on top of each other to form hills.  It's a strange landscape but the rounded mounds are really quite pretty.  The name Zimbabwe actually comes from these hills and means something like the big house of rocks or something similar.  From a distance they just look like rounded hills standing on their own but when you get closer you realize they really are just a huge pile of boulders.  They are granitic rocks but cannot be mined for granite and that is about all I know about them.

We arrived at our hotel about 5:30 and it is in a beautiful setting.  We are up on a hillside overlooking a dam and the lake behind it.  Oh yeah, Zimbabwe rivers and lakes actually have water in them so that's definitely different than most of South Africa.   Anyway the resort is and old English style homestead and the gardens are amazing.  It was raining slightly when we arrived but the views were still spectacular.  The unit we are in could hold 10 people but there are just 5 of us in three separate rooms.  Our room has four twin beds in it but is big enough to hold about eight if needed.  There is also a kitchen and really large sitting/eating area with another two twin beds.  And we have a lovely porch overlooking the garden and lake so it's quite nice.  Some of the others weren't quite so lucky.  They have smaller rooms looking to the back and they have shared facilities.

Our dinner was very nice and shortly thereafter we all retired to our rooms because the generator was only working until 10 so we all wanted to get settled in before the lights went out.  I am typing this now as the frogs and cicadas and who knows what else are singing loudly.  The air has cooled off so it should be a good night for sleeping. 

Sunday, January 24th - Kruger Park to Beitbridge, South Africa

We were up at 3:15 a.m. To go for a morning game drive at 4:00.  It was dark at the start obviously so we used the spot lights again as in the night drive.  Then we were treated to a gradual lighting and a lovely but muted sunrise, and then brilliant sunshine with a few clouds.

The drive was good but we certainly didn't see as many animals as on our first morning drive.  We've now come to realize that our first drive really was quite incredible.  Anyway, this morning we saw rabbits, a little rabbit type animal they call the African kangaroo and you could certainly see why, tortoises, kudus, impalas, some small cats (Genet, Sivet or something), elephants including a very young one (probably less than a month according to the guide), bush bucks, springbok, giraffe, hippos, zebra, heron and other birds and even more that I can't remember.  It's amazing how relaxing and yet busy it is on the drives and you think you will remember everything because it is so new and exciting, but when you get back you don't remember even a fraction of it.  Maybe I should keep a note pad with e on the drives so I can record what I'm seeing.  That might also help me identify the animals and birds because right now I'm not sure I will be able to do it.  Anyway, the drive was good but we only saw one of the big five - the elephant.  The buffalo, rhino, lion and leopard were no where to be seen.

We got back at 7:00 and had some time to shower and get organized before breakfast at 8:00.  Our check-out and departure was to be at 9:00 but because restaurant was so slow we didn't get away until almost 10:00.  We were supposed to arrive at our next hotel about 2 in the afternoon so we had time to spare anyway.  Well, that was the plan.  

Before leaving the resort I should mention that the monkeys there were very cute and quite mischievous.  There were lots of warnings around and it was easy to see why.  They got into the garbage and would spend hours fighting over and cleaning out every last remnant of food from a take-away bowl or cup.  They definitely looked funny when several of them were sitting around with their faces stuck in different containers / packaging.  And if they didn't guard their treasure carefully, another one would run by and steal it away.  They were fun to watch but definitely made a mess. 

We drove for several hours to get out of Kruger National Park.  Along the way we were of course looking for animals.  We saw a lot of them but nothing new or different from what we'd seen before and only a couple worth stopping for.  One stop was for a herd of elephants that were crossing the road.  We didn't argue with them.  In fact we just sat back and watched while they lumbered across.  And one of them was absolutely huge and obviously old.  Even the guide had to say it was probably the largest elephant he had ever seen.  The rest of the sightings were the usual and ranged from small little tortoises crossing the road (much slower than the elephants!) to very fast impalas running along the side of the road to stately giraffes munching on leaves at the tops of the trees to large cape Buffalo wallowing in a muddy waterhole with just their head out of the water.   No two scenes or drives are ever the same, which is why I love going on these excursions over and over again.

Once outside the park we had another several hours to drive before reaching Beitbridge, our destination.  The views along the way were amazing.  At first it was the same as the park being basically flat and dry with small trees and bushes, and even some occasional animals.  Then we got into an agricultural area that looked very productive.  There was irrigation in some places and the rivers and lakes actually had water in them - unlike in the park where most of the streams were totally dry and there was very little water anywhere.  We thought the views were great there with the rolling hills in the background but it got even better.

Later on there were higher hills and mountains and the land very lush and green - almost like a rain forest in places with thick vegetation and undergrowth.  The farms in the area looked very productive and there were also many orchard.  This is a big fruit growing area with peaches, avocados, bananas, tea, etc.  We stopped at a fruit stand for our last break but it was nothing compared to our fruit stands.  In fact, the simple ones along the roadside would have been better.  However, they don't usually have the "facilities" we needed at our stop,

Our earlier stop had been at another resort just before we left the park.  It had a great view of the river below and some lovely small deer of some kind (don't know the name) in the yard.  It also had an elephant museum which was very informative.  We didn't have a lot of time to study the exhibits but some of them looked very interesting.  It covered the history of the elephant and its interaction with humans, including poaching for ivory, as well as biological information and general statistics.  It also went into detail on the tusks and what they are used for and how long they are.  They even had some of the largest on display with the details about the elephant's life (where they came from, birth and death dates, family details, personality, length and weight of tusks, etc.)  It would have been nice to have had more time but that was not to be.

The final pass between Beitbridge and our resort went from 950 metres to 1290 metres and back down again in less than 15 km.  The pass provided wonderful views but few pictures since the bushes along the side of the road were too high.  When we turned off the main road we followed a single path for about 5 km.  And we drove very slowly because it was so narrow and very bumpy.  We wondered how this part would go if you had a bigger bus or if it were raining and muddy (currently just a dirt road).  However, the drive was worth it.  

The resort is in a small valley and totally surrounded by high hills.  By the time we arrived about 5:30 (yes, much later than expected) the sun was already behind the hill tops and everything was in the shade.  However, it was still really nice.  The reception area has a nice seating area and shop and the dining room is very large and join on to the bar.  There is a loft above the reception area for TV viewing and games.  There are out door seating areas in several places and a pool area.  The rooms are octagonal chalets with thatched roofs.  They too have outdoor seating areas.  The grounds are actually a game reserve and there are walking trails in places.  Unfortunately since we were so late and it was getting dark, we didn't get to do any hiking.  I don't know what kind of animals they have but it was the monkeys and baboons who greeted us.  Unfortunately there are no screens on the windows so we had to keep them closed.  WE could have open them again after dark as the monkeys would then be asleep.  I was okay with that until the receptionist said something like, "I can't guarantee the snakes won't crawl in though."

Dinner was an excellent three-course meal.  I wasn't very hungry but had something anyway.  Shortly thereafter I went back to the room and called it a night.  I'm just not used to getting up at 3 in the morning.  And tomorrow is early too as we have to have bags out and get down for breakfast at by 6:30.  These early mornings may do me in!!!

Friday, January 22nd - Manyeleti, South Africa

We woke up to drum beats this morning at 5 a.m. - the lodge's version of a wake-up call since there is no phone service here.  No internet either so very peaceful.  Coffee, tea and biscotti were provided to get us fuelled up before our 6 a.m. Game drive.    Breakfast was to follow that when the drive was completed at 10.

The lodge is right beside the entry to the Manyeleti Game Reserve, a private reserve which back up against Kruger National Park.  Apparently there are four or five of these private reserves that opened when Kruger did and eventually they were so successful that Kruger allowed the fences to be taken down between the national park and these private reserves.  This allowed more room for the animals to roam.  The private reserves had to upgrade their fencing and security to Kruger standard of course, but they were willing to do that as they would get more animals on their reserves.  In exchange they pay an annual fee to the park so it's a win-win for both parties.  And if our drive this morning was any indication, it is also a big win for the tourists.

It took all of three minutes to get from the resort parking to the gate of the Manyeleti Reserve, and almost from the moment we drove in we were looking at animals.  We saw the big five very easily.  

- The elephants, which are generally the easiest to see because they are the largest, were the most elusive but we saw a few up on the hill early on and we eventually saw lots of them much closer.  They are always so magnificent to see.  I would have loved to have watched them (and all the others) a lot longer.

- We saw a white rhino down by the damn and that was a surprise to everyone including the driver/guide.  The rhino was just wandering through the field on the other side of the water.  Our other vehicle was on that side so they got an even better view.  However, we weren't to be disappointed thought because later on we saw three other rhinos that were much closer.  

- The lions were being lazy, which I think is the only way I've ever seen them.  There was a female sleeping in the shade about twenty feet from the road so she was easily spotted and photographed.  Another female and three cubs were just behind her and also very easy to see.  A couple of them were sleeping - one totally upside down with his feet in the air - while the front one was a bit more active scratching and cleaning himself.   

- The cape or African buffalo were not sleeping.  They seemed to be everywhere in big groups with some of the younger ones fighting with each other (in play we thought) and some very young calves probably only a day or two old.  When they appeared there were many of them and they just wandered across our path as if we weren't even there.  They never gave us any trouble at all but their very serious looks always look mean to me.

- The leopard was not quite as friendly.  Another guide coming the other way down the road told us that a female leopard was coming our way so we sat very quietly for about 15 minutes and then we saw her between the bushes but she was gone again.  We moved up and sat a bit longer.  She appeared again but just briefly.  Again we moved up and waited quietly.  Some of the others saw her that time but I never did locate her. I didn't get a picture at all with my camera - at least I couldn't find her in the pictures - but others got fabulous shots.

We also saw baboons, impalas, kudus, crocodiles, gnu, hippos, bush bucks, wildebeest, warthogs (even one family), one single giraffe, and probably others that I am forgetting, as well as a lot of birds that I can't even begin to remember the names for.  

The one giraffe appeared at a watering hole as we were on our way out of the park.  There were two gnu with it.  On the other side of the water a group of Buffalo appeared from the left with two kudus in front of them.  Another large group of buffalo was approaching from the right and a third group was coming across the road.  Then suddenly a large herd of elephants with lots of little ones appeared from the back and headed toward the water.  And of course there were hippos in the middle.  We couldn't stay long as our time was up but it would have been wonderful to have seen them all together around the water.

Speaking of water, there is very little of it.  They are definitely in a drought condition right now and there is very little water in any of these holes.  The hippos were always in the middle when we saw them and I'm guessing that is the only place deep enough for them.  One of the dams a bit further north is down to 12% of capacity and I'm guessing this park is in the same situation.  They need some rain right away if they are going to have enough for everyone to share, humans included.

We got back to the lodge just after 10 and had a delicious breakfast.  We were all pretty hungry by then so the delicious might have been relative to that fact but I don't think so.  After breakfast we had just a bit of free time before we left to got to a preschool that GAdventures supports through its Planterra charitable arm   The Hope Africa Children's Day School in Manyeleti has two classrooms and last year had 96 students between ages 2 and 5, and the classrooms were much smaller than any we would ever have in Canada.  They have very few educational supplies and furniture but the staff and the kids seemed very happy.  We arrived just before lunch and it was Friday so they had chicken and rice and it looked delicious and they had lots of it.  As each of them finished they took their plate and fork to the side, scraped off any extra food and put them in the respective pans to be washed.  Some of the tour group and brought balloons which they blew up and the kids liked those but didn't really seem to know what to do with them.  And someone brought bubbles and that was a real hit, although they all wanted to blow the bubbles and didn't really see the use in popping them or catching them.  We were only there for a short time but it was fun.  

After we got back to the lodge we had some free time, which I used to download my pictures and delete a lot of them as most of them were pretty bad.  However, there were also some mighty fine ones.   At 1:30 some of us had a light lunch, which really wasn't needed at the time but was good to tide us over to dinner time.  The afternoon was spent resting, reading, doing blogs (like this one), going for walks or some of the others went back out on another four hour game drive.  I decided against that since the morning one was so good and we saw everything possible here except for a cheetah.

Dinner was outside again and very delicious.  And tonight we had entertainment as some local dancers showed us some of their local dances.  It was another early evening as we have another early morning tomorrow and another long day ahead.

Thursday, January 21st - Jo'burg to Kruger, South Africa

We were up early again for 6:30 breakfast and 7:00 departure.  We have 600 km to drive before dinner time so not a lot of time to waste.  Despite the fact that we didn't get in until 6:30 in the evening, it was a very interesting day and I stayed awake for the whole drive.

We had several stops along the way for rest breaks and food but nothing long.  Even lunch was only 45 minutes that was to walk and find a restaurant, order, eat, pay and walk back to the bus so we were definitely rushing.  The rest stops along the way are a bit more used to that quick pace than the restaurants obviously were.

The countryside was beautiful throughout the journey and so varied.  We started just on the outskirts of Jo'burg and very quickly we were into areas with lots of agriculture. Corn, soybeans, cabbage, beans, and other things were in the fields.  Along the way you could see who had been getting rain or had irrigation and who had neither.  Some of the corn was barely a foot tall and some of it was five feet tall.  Jo'burg had no main river or lake and obviously the first part of our journey also had no ready source, although the guide said the water table was quite high so it was easy to get water.

We went up and down in elevation all day as we had to go through several different passes and mountain ranges.  The countryside was seldom flat.  There were always at least rolling hills but at times there were high mountains, part of the Drakensburg Range, and they were very impressive.  Our driver is great and he drives very smoothly but, since we were going to be going up and down and around curves, I sat in the front.  I never once felt car sick, which was wonderful, and I also discovered that the front seat has a much better view than other seats in the van (as long as you are not sitting right behind the driver where there is a petition so you can't see anything.  One of the other passengers has sort of claimed the front seats for himself.  He has his bags and his food piled on the seat behind the petition and he sits in the middle seat with a great view between the driver and guide at the very front.  I think he was a bit surprised when I joined him in the third seat but it was a great view and we got along find since we were both leaning across each other taking pictures all the time.  He is also probably part of the reason I stayed awake all day because he talks a lot! 

At one point our guide told us that Winston Churchill had been a reporter during one of the wars, sent over by one of the British papers.  He was captured and put in prison somewhere in the area we were driving through but he managed to escape and make it north to another country and from there he eventually made his way back to England.  Who knew?

Okay, back to the countryside.  I don't know what else I can say.  It was very green most of the way.  There were tree farms that have been harvested and replanted in some places and there was a lot of agriculture in other places.  Of course through some of the passes there was not much but rock and trees up the sides of the hills but they were beautiful to see.  We stopped at two lookouts to take pictures and the valleys below were spectacular.  There was a bit of smog but you could still see quite a ways and the view was definitely worth a picture or two.  

We also had one stop where we got to walk what he said was a 2 km trail but it didn't seem even that long.  This was at a place called Potholes where the Sad and Happy Rivers meet.  Legend has that during The Great Trek when 18,000 Dutch people set off to find farm land in South Africa, they made camp on the one river.  The men went out to scout for good places to farm and the ladies stayed behind.  When the men didn't return on the specified day two weeks later, the ladies waited a bit longer but eventually after another week they decide the men were dead and they should pack up and move on.  They named the river they were camped by the Sad River.  They had not gone very far before the men appeared so they made camp and called that river the Happy River.  Where we were walking was where the two rivers meet.

Part of the Rock is a very hard rock (granite I think) and not easily worn away.  Another part is a softer rock (sandstone I think) which can be worn away.  When the two rivers met they created a lot of tidal pools and the sandstone gradually got worn away.  That left large holes that really do look like pots.  It also left great designs and carvings.  It was a beautiful location with the one River coming in one direction over the hard rocks and tumbling down into the gorge to meet the other river flowing past it.  The gorge itself is the third largest in the world (and we think that means in length because it's certainly not deep) and it is quite beautiful to look at.

We eventually entered an area that was drier and less green than any before.  The villages were more like typical African villages with small homes and lots of people walking on the streets.  Of course it was late afternoon / early evening when we got there.  As we got closer to the parks we saw some animals and birds on the roadside.  Well, some people saw them.  I can't say that I actually saw anything.

The Shalati Lodge is really neat.  We are sleeping in tents but not exactly roughing it.  These have ensuites and mosquito nets and wooden floors that are raised off the ground.  They gave us lots of warnings about scorpions, spiders and snakes but it feels pretty safe.  Our "luxury" tents are in one area and in the centre there is a large  outdoor area for us with a covered bar and seating area.  We ate out in the outdoor area which was very nice.  We had a great meal of boboti, rice, squash, beets, salad, beans, etc and it was delicious.  That was at 7:30 and went until about 8:30.  No one last much longer than that as everyone to bed early as we have another early morning ahead - up at 5 with game drive at 6, which is one of the best reasons for getting up early that I can think of.

January 2nd - 4th - Zanzibar, Tanzania to Port Elizabeth, South Africa

I  think I left the last blog on the morning of the 2nd.  Our driver arrived just after noon and we drove from Nungwi to Stone Town.  He dropped Randy off at the hotel enroute to the airport.  Randy has two more nights there before flying to Rwanda to see the gorillas.  I decided to skip that five days as it was too expensive for my budget.

I got to the airport before 2 p.m. for a 4:30 flight.  You had to show your boarding pass to even get up the ramp to the airport.  Luckily I had mine on my iPad because I did not have a hard copy.  Then there is a security check right at the gate as you enter.  There were two lines but it was incredibly slow.  Check in was not much faster but the good part was that my bags were under the limit.  My checked bag was 19 kg and my carry-on bag was 5 kg so I was good to go.  Then we had to line up for immigration.  After waiting in line and finally getting to the front you find out you have to go fill out a form and then get in line again to get a stamp on your boarding pass that let's you then go through the next security - also very slow.  By the time I got finished that whole process it was well after 3 p.m.  The departures area was packed and there were very few empty seats available.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find food outlets and some shops and even free wifi!  I had a samosa, pop and an ice cream treat to tide me over as Mango airlines is South African Airlines no-frills subsidiary so there was going to be nothing free on the plane for to eat or drink.

The flight was late by half and hour but that was okay for me as I had no plans.  I was sitting in the front row - no, not first class, just the front row of a no-frills airline.  I locked my backpack and put it up above behind me.  I always hate doing that but the crew uses the first overhead bins so you can't put anything else there.  All I had with me was my book and a water and that turned out to be fine.   I had the aisle seat and there was a lady in the middle seat.  The window seat ended up vacant so she moved over there and we each had a bit more room.  She was interesting as she had lived in various parts of Africa over the past 30 years.  Her husband was a geologist I think.  Some of her stories about her experiences, the different places she'd lived and where we are going on our tour were fascinating.  I just hope we skip the not-so-nice parts of the stories and only get to enjoy the wonderful parts.  

When I arrived at the Johannesburg airport I had to stand in line for a short while in the visa line.  Canadians don't actually need a visa but the "no visa needed" line didn't have anyone in it and didn't have an officer at the other end so I went in the "visa needed" line, which turned out to be the right choice as others who took the first route got sent back to the end of our line.  I was to get my bag and go to the information desk to meet the lady to take me to the hotel shuttle but she didn't seem to be around.  They knew her and said to just wait so I did.  A half hour later I had them call the hotel so they could phone her and tell her I was waiting.  She came along right after that and I got my ride to the hotel.  While I was checking in, another couple arrived in a taxi and they weren't too pleased because they couldn't find the lady at the airport either.  The airport was basically empty so I"m not too sure what she was doing but she wasn't where she was supposed to be.

The hotel was nice but it was just a stop over for the night.    By the time I got to my room it was going on 9 p.m. and I was tired and hungry.  After such a healthy lunch my dinner consisted of Pringles, M&Ms and water - the only kind of thing I could get from the vending machines.  And after that delicious meal I went to bed.

The next morning I got up, had breakfast, packed up and caught the 9 a.m. shuttle back to the airport.   i checked in with no problem, went through security and then had time to look around on the way to the gate.  After so many small airports with just one departures area it was fun to be back in a large one with lots of stores, especially book stores so I bought a couple more books.    Then I made my way to the gate just as someone was running around telling everyone that there had been a gate change.  So we all took off in another direction to find the new gate.  It was on the lower level so obviously we were going out by bus first, not directly on to the plane.  We waited for quite a while down there and no one told us anything.  Eventually, well after our departure time, they eventually loaded the buses and boarded the plane.  But then it took quite a while to get going and there seemed to be some confusion over some seats.  The captain did eventually apologize and mention that they had to bring in a different plane and he apologized for the delay and for the mix up with seats.

The plane beside ours when we were boarding was the largest plane I have ever seen.  It had double windows from the front to the back of the plane so there were two levels of seats for the whole length of the plane.  There just happened to be four pilots who were going to be passengers on our flight so I asked them what it was and they said it was the new Airbus 380-800 (or something like that) and depending on seat configuration it can hold between 500 and 1,000 passengers.  They referred to the 1,000 passenger version as the cramped Chinese model while the 500 passenger version had lots of beds and private areas.  It's supposed to be a great aircraft to fly and very fuel efficient (although I can't imagine how!) but apparently not many of them have been built and sold as not many airlines and routes can justify that size of aircraft.  I think I could have told their marketing departments that tidbit of information.

Anyway, the flight was fine but I did arrive over an hour late.  The hotel had booked a taxi for me and the poor driver had been waiting all that time.  Just as we didn't know before we departed what the delays were and how long they were going to be, neither did he so he just stayed at the airport and waited - not a very good return on the time he invested but he seemed to be okay with it.   The hotel is just a block from the water and in a very upscale neighbourhood.  There are lots of large houses that I assume were all privately owned single family dwellings at one time.  Now a lot of them are hotels or guest houses.  This guest house only has about 10 rooms but it is very nice.  The rooms are large and very comfortable and have a small fridge and microwave and sink so you can eat some meals in.  There is a small swimming pool and garden area and a BBQ area (or braai in South African speak) and a games room as well as the restaurant and lounge area.  The restaurant only serves breakfast as far as I can tell but then at other times the office sells drinks from a cooler in the restaurant.  

I had breakfast at the restaurant on my first morning (the 4th) and I thought I was the last person to eat.  As it turns out I was the only one and they still did a full buffet with small amounts of everything.  What a waste of time, energy and food!   I have since bought some bananas, juice, cereal and milk so I can make my own breakfast.  I also bought some other supplies to so I can make some sandwiches if needed.  The grocery store is about five short blocks away so it's pretty handy.  And it's in a small mall so I also got an adapter as my universal adapter doesn't seem to work in South Africa for some reason, and a new memory card for my computer so hopefully I can start posting pictures again.  That story is still confusing to me!

I walked to the beach yesterday (3rd) about 4 p.m. after I was settled in.  It was still hot but there was a nice breeze blowing.  Apparently there is always wind blowing in Port Elizabeth because it is called the windy city.  The park right at the end of our street was crowded with people sitting in the shade and kids running around playing. There was not a good beach at that point but rather some rocks below a sand bluff.   I shall have to go exploring it more this week.  I went to the left toward Boardwalk and the pier.

The pier looked rather busy as I set out to walk to it but along the way I realized that the beach before it was totally packed with people.  There were hundreds of people on the sand and in the shallow water.  Before that there were also people in the pools behind the rocks.  Even the shallowest of pools would have people in it.  But the main beach was just amazing.  I don't know how they could possibly get that many people on one beach.  Very few were out in deep water.  Most were right at the shore in very shallow water and if they really wanted to get wet they had to sit down.  The noise was almost deafening with shrieks and laughter and splashing.  It was totally amazing to see and hear.  And 99% of the people were black.  There was an occasional white person around but certainly not many.

I walked out on the pier and the other side of the pier was rocks again.  While the first group had a calm little bay with shallow water, the other side had big waves crashing into high rocks and the people on the other side of the rocks were dry.  From this point on there were buildings along the water front with lots of shops, restaurants, bars and ice cream stands.  I walked down a ways further and saw another totally packed beach on the other side of the bay.  Obviously the locals all flock to the best beaches.

Now I thought the Boardwalk was going to be a board walk but I finally realized that I had in fact missed the Boardwalk so I backtracked and crossed the street moving away from the water.  The tourist information office, which is what I was looking for, was at the entrance to the complex which is sort of like a Downtown Disney set up.  There is a lake in the middle (man made I think) and around it there are restaurants, stores. a huge entertainment centre with lots of games for kids of all ages, and a huge casino for the more adult kids who like games.  There is also a big outdoor amphitheatre with nothing going on while I am in town, cinema, go-cart track, miniature golf, bumper boats and some rides for the young kids.  And every night during the holidays, meaning now, they have a water, lights, music, ... show over the lake - assuming it's not too windy in the windy city.  I will have to see it sometime but not last night.  I wanted to be a bit more familiar with my surroundings before walking home after dark.  Besides I was too hot and tired at that point.

I've sort of mixed up days in this blog but not much else happened on these days.  The afternoon of the 4th I simply relaxed by the pool and read for a while.  I had to read all the tourist information I got so I could figure out what I really wanted to see.  By the time the day finished I'd also figured out that I really only have three days left to see anything, not four as I had originally thought, so I'm not going to see too much at all.  But then I'm not likely to fight the crowds at the beach for my square metre of water to stand in so I may have lots of time to tour the city.  Stay tuned for further updates.

December 28th -January 2nd - Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania

December 28th was another quiet day on the beach.  Well, I shouldn't say quiet.  It's actually quite busy these days with lots of tourists around.  Our restaurant is almost always full from morning to night.  And at times, especially in the afternoons, it's hard to find a spot to sit or spread out a towel anywhere in the shade.  We have both commented that the beach itself - a lovely large stretch of beautiful white sand - seldom has anyone on it.  The people are just not laying around in the sun like they used to.  Everyone, young and old, seems to stay in the shade.  There are lots of people walking on the beach and maybe up until 9 or 10 a.m. there may be some people sitting around but it is well after 4 p.m. before anyone ventures out again to sit in the sun.  Either the sun is hotter here than in other places or people are actually getting smarter about sitting in the sun.

I moved locations several times today and I had two very short walks on the beach.  When I want to walk in the erly morning snd early evening the tide is too high and I can't get around the rock outcroppings in either direction up the beach.  The water was very rough today and it was windy.  The kite boarders were out in full force.  We have at least six of them here in the hotel.  It's one group of people from Romania and they are here for two months just to kite board.  Well, the men kite board.  The ladies just seem to relax all day.  I don't know what they do for a living but money does not seem to be an issue and neither is getting holiday time.  (Of course they probably say the same thing about us so it doesn't mean much.)  Then they go out partying each night.  They asked us to join them one night but we said we were too old.  Heck, I'm generally in bed by 10 and they are just thinking about going out then.  I couldn't keep their hours.

This is a very Muslim island and I have to say that the ladies and children who go buy totally covered up are absolutely fascinating.  Their colours are so vivid and amazing.  Purple, yellow, orange, red, green, blue, etc. in all kinds of combinations.  I don't know how many times I've commented on the vividness of the colours.  They brighten up everywhere they go whether at the beach, in town, in stores, in restaurants, or in a country field.  Even the uniforms the school girls wear, which include the head cover (sorry I don't' remember the correct term) are beautiful.  I always knew that the African ladies in general had a real flare for colourful, vibrant dresses and hats but I never realized that it included the Muslim ladies.  I always thought of them as more in black.  Regardless, my drab clothes certainly pale in comparison.

Tuesday the 29th was another windy day with lots of waves and white caps on the water.  Just watching the snorkelling and diving boats go out and rocking back and forth and up and down on the water made me glad I was on land.  The kite boarders loved it.  They were out in full force and some of them were doing some incredible jumps.  They are fun to watch but they certainly take up a lot of the beach space by the time they have blown up their big kites (well, really only blowing up the seams) and strung out all the guide strings that go with them.  We spent a long time sitting in the restaurant eating and staring at all the activitiy on the beach.  The only thing missing was the cows.  Eventually I moved to the shade for some reading and relaxing and stayed there until about 5 p.m. when I moved out to the sand by the water.  The waves were still big and it was great fun watching the kids play in them.  Even some of the adults were being knocked over by the big waves, and a lot of people relaxing on the sand were suddenly jumping up quickly as the water reached them and their towels and other possessions.  The usual walkers and runners were also out on the beach so occasionally they also got surprised by a wave.  As soon as the sun set I went back to the room and was totally inundated with mosquitos and other tiny insects.  There has to be at least drawback to every little piece of paradise, right?  I sat on our patio smelling like bug spray while I checked e-mails and ate my dinner, which was a pizza left over from lunch.  

Wednesday the 30th was a blustery day with some early morning cloud but still hot and very enjoyable.  Breakfast was long only because I did my banking and other important e-mails after.  The early mornings seem to be the best for the internet so one does want to make use of it when available.  I now think I have my bills all paid for the year end and travel arrangements all made right through to March which feels good.  I'll be in South Africa from January 2nd to February 24th with 30 days in the middle taken up by a tour through South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia.  Then I fly to South America for a tour in Bolivia that ends March 9th.  After that, who knows, but I'm guessing I'll start heading north toward home shortly thereafter with a few stops along he way of course.

But back to the 30th, as usual I spent time reading and relaxing and watching the activities on the beach from a comfortable spot on the shade.   That was the afternoon though.  About the time we were going to head to the shade in the morning, a young couple we had met previously a couple of times showed up so we sat and talked to them until it was lunch time. They headed off down the beach and we had lunch.  About 5 p.m. Randy always heads over for a coffee at a nearby restaurant so I joined him (for ice cream instead of coffee) and the couple was there again so we sat and visited some more.  Now we are going to have New Year Eve dinner with them as well.  

They are a really neat couple, probably around 30.  Alvaro is from Spain and Claudia is from Chile.  They spent the last six years in Chile and now have just moved to Spain.  They needed work so started a small clothing business in Chile - very mobile at the start but with three outlets and nine employees when they finished.  They sold the business when they left and had enough money to buy a flat in Barcelona with no mortgage needed, and to do some travelling which is why they are here.  They have both travelled extensively so it's fun talking to them about all kinds of different countries and experiences.  They are also very intelligent people and very up to date on world news - certainly can put me to shame.  One minute we'll be talking about the salt flats of Bolivia and the next minute about Catalonia wanting to split away from Spin or education in the US and Chile or Spanish history or the Canadian dollar.  Their English is great and they are very easy to talk to.  I can see him as the President of Spain someday.  He's just a well-rounded individual who understands business, politics, history, geography, culture, etc.  She is equally fascinating as a person but not quite as talkative, although she seems to know about everything he's discussing (which is more than I can say for my understanding on some of the subjects like Chinese cars and how they have a knock-off for almost every car made).  Tomorrow's New Year's Eve dinner with them should be fun, although again very expensive.

New Years Eve: The beach is a lot busier today and the crowd is a lot younger.  I have a feeling the holiday crowd has arrived to party tonight.  Right now, by 10 a.m. the beach is crowded.  There is a noisy volleyball game going on.  The cows are relaxing in the sand with all the other sun worshippers.  And yes, there are sun worshippers out today.  Luckily it is a bit cloudy and even calling for a thunderstorm this afternoon so they may survive the beach without too much of a burn.  Lots of boats went out this morning full of people going snorkelling .  At least I think they were going snorkelling.  They didn't have wet suits on and those are required to go diving here.  With al the new people on the beach the tour operators are busy trying to talk to everyone and make their sales.  That at lest means they will leave us alone, which is a good thing.  Oh my, I guess I have to shut this machine down now as it's at 5% battery life.

The morning flew by and suddenly it was time for lunch.  We were in the middle of that when Alvaro and Claudia came by and joined us and there we sat until 4:30 when the other three decided it was time for coffee.  The power was out, had been for most of the day, so they had to walk somewhere new in search of good coffee.  I decided to stay behind and relax (as it had been such a tough day so far!).  About 6:00 I decided to shower while there was still daylight.  There wasn't much water but it was okay.  Randy returned around 6:30, right after teh power came back on.  We went to the store to get some water and cookies.  He had his shower and then had a snooze.  I read for a while and then did some internet since my iPad had been charged at least a bit since the power came one.  This waiting until 8:30 to go for dinner is really strange for us.  We're generally done by that hour.  It will be interesting to see how long we actually manage to last tonight.

Well, I made it until after 1 a.m. and didn't actually get to sleep until close to 2 a.m.  Who knew I had it in me?  The dinner was good but I preferred the Christmas dinner.  This one was a buffet while the other was a "sit down and let us serve you" meal.  I started with a seafood chowder tonight and it was tasty.  Then I had some lobster, red snapper, calamari, curried vegetables and roast potatoes. There were other things available too but that's all I had as I was saving for dessert.  It unfortunately was a bit of a let down but at least there was some chocolate available.  We each received a glass of champaign when we arrived and again at midnight.  Our reservation was for 8:30 and we talked a lot and stretched the meal out as long as we could.  A lot of people left early but then reappeared just before midnight.

There was a band where we had dinner and they wee really good - quite mellow by comparison with the hotel beside us which was loud heavy bass modern music.  They also had dancers so that got distracting at times.  Our hotel beyond that had acrobats. All three places had a lot of tables and chairs out on the sand.  By the time midnight rolled around there were hundreds of people out on the beach and it was quite a celebration.  Even the Maori warriors were busy jumping and chanting and entertaining some of the crowd.  There was a bonfire in one location and some tourist was blowing alcohol on the flames, which was actually impressive in the dark night.   The two hotels ((where we ate and where we stay) shut down early but the middle restaurant/bar is thee one still going strong and it is packed with people and a lot of them are locals.   Who knows how long the partying will continue?

Since I was still awake at the time, I can tell you that the music stopped just before 3 a.m.  and the crowd seemed to disappear shortly thereafter.  I was still trying to get to sleep.  As a result, January 1st was a slower morning than most although I was up, showered, finished breakfast and laying on the beach by 10 which is typical.  I guess breakfast was later but I didn't sit in the restaurant as long since the internet was so lousy.  The rest of the day was reading, relaxing, repacking to ensure my one case was under 20 kg.  I flew in with two cases each with a 23 kg restriction but the smaller sports bag was only a couple kg and the bigger case was under 20, so it was a matter of just reshuffling most things and getting rid of a few.  Around 5:00 I walked over to the Z Hotel to join the other three for their coffee break.   They had been swimming while I packed.  I'm the only one flying out tomorrow.  The rest all have a couple more days.  Claudia and I went to the book exchange at the Z and I got a couple more books - not that I needed the extra weight but I did need some reading material   Around 7 they went back to their hotel and we went to ours for dinner and an early evening - still trying to make up for last night's late evening.

January 2nd - I slept really well last night and was up early to shower and get dressed and head down for breakfast.  At 9:30 I went back to the room to finish packing and at 10 we checked out.  We then sat in the restaurant waiting for our taxi which was coming at 12:30 to take us back to Stone City - me directly to the airport and Randy to the hotel for another couple nights.  Alvaro and Claudia came over to say goodbye so we had a last visit with before departing.  It was another hot beautiful day in Zanzibar with lots of people out enjoying the beach.  I never did get in swimming here which was a real shame but what can you do.  The blister on my leg did eventually drain and the top part of it looks fine.  The bottom part still looks rather red and angry though so I decided I'd just leave it alone a bit longer.  The salt water probably would have been good for it but the water gets pretty churned up at the shore and I wasn't sure the sand and other particles would be very beneficial.  Okay, enough of that.  What it really means is that I will just have to come back to the Nungwi Inn n Zanzibar some time in the future to really enjoy the water.  Now I'm off to the airport for a flight to Jo'burg, South Africa for overnight then on to Port Elizabeth in the morning.  I will pick up the story from there in the next blog.