Our friend
Carolyn's Visit
started in Swaziland on November 28. She visited Kruger Park on her own
while Rick and I completed
our TechnoServe assignments.
Then the 3 of us traveled to Victoria Falls in Zambia and Zimbabwe (we also took
a river cruise
and an elephant safari)
and thoroughly enjoyed Cape Town and Winelands in South Africa.
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Africa is truly the land of
simultaneous contrasts. (Far L) Traditional Swazi woman as beast of burden, seen on the same day as (L) the modern Mandela Mall in Johannesburg. The Mall's Christmas lights are dim compared to the colorful flowers in Cape Town (R). |
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| (Above Far L) Dr.
Livingstone, I presume, greets Rick upon our arrival at Victoria
Falls in Zambia. (Above L) Real zebras and a metal warthog
family (Center & R) drift through the grounds of the Zambezi Sun Hotel, in which lobby the hand-beaded chairs (Above Far R) are too delicate for actual sitting. |
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| Shortly after check-in to
the Zambezi Sun, Carolyn, Rick (Above Far L) and I walked in less
than 10 minutes to Victoria Falls. (Above L) The Falls are on the Zambezi River which has cut a deep, narrow gorge between Zambia and Zimbabwe (formerly Northern and Southern Rhodesia). If you look closely for his tail, you can see the Chacma Baboon (Center) enjoying the cooling mist from the Falls. (Above R) Victoria Falls actually consist of many cascades and flumes that stretch past this long bridge inside Zambia (Above Far R). |
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| Too good an opportunity
to pass up, we boarded a small river boat for a sunset cruise on the
Zambezi River at 4pm on our arrival day in Zambia. (Above Far L) The boat drove to about 200 meters from the Falls as you might be able to tell from mist beyond the trees. We were able to get within 30 meters of hippos lolling in the water with just their ears and eyes visible, and just as close to four elephants (Above R and Center) playing and spraying each other. We quietly floated by a 3-foot monitor lizard (Above R) who was so still he looked like a weird log on the bank. (Above Far R) The spectacular sunset reflected on the river. |
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| Bright and very early the
next morning after seeing elephants in the water, we were able to
ride on some of their cousins (Above Far L), the original land cruisers among the African Big Five. These elephants had been orphaned or abandoned then rescued by the owners of the preserve. They get to keep their tusks, are protected from poachers, and don't have to continually forage for the hundreds of pounds of food they must intake daily. (Above L), Carolyn was mounted on her charger with the handler, and (Center) off she went with a baby elephant being trained for riding in a few years. The highlight of the elephant safari was crossing a river that was 10 or 12 feet deep. (Above R) A guide took our picture as the handler began to drive our elephant into the water. If we hadn't been instructed to put our feet on the top of the elephant's back, our legs would have been soaked! At the end of the safari, we got to cuddle with our elephant (Above Far R). |
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| As a small token of our
appreciation for carrying us, we fed our elephant by putting food at the end of his trunk and directly into his mouth when we said, "Trunk up." |
The same day as the
elephant safari, we hired a driver to take us to the Zimbabwean side
of Victoria Falls, which was even more spectacular than the Zambia views. The fuller water flow and heavier mists created rainbows in every direction. |
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| After communing with
elephants, hippos, and endless waterfalls, we returned to
civilization (Livingstone, Zambia to Johannesburg to Cape Town,
South Africa). The next day was absolutely perfect to take the tram (Above Far L) to the top of Table Mountain. (Above L) Carolyn looks out over the ocean as it blends with the horizon--can't tell if this is the Indian or Atlantic, both of which are visible from Table Mtn. (Center) The mountain top's landscape is an interesting combination of rocks, vegetation, and small critters (Above R) such as this foot-long, multi-colored lizard "hiding in plain sight." (Above Far R) Carolyn takes a rest and enjoys the backdrop. |
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| After a tough morning of
staring at the deep blue Atlantic and Indian Oceans from the top of Table Mountain, we needed a shopping break at Victoria & Albert Wharf in Cape Town. But first we stopped to watch many boats pass through the various draw bridges at the Wharf. (Above R) The dock workers are actually re-assembling the bridge that creates the dry dock, which was an amazing process. |
Once you arrive at the
Cape of Good Hope at the bottom of Africa, you can point in any
direction and "see forever". Or at least you can tell how far the crow must fly to Beijing which is only a few hundred kilometers further away than New York City (16,541 km). |
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| Our last stop in South
Africa was Stellenbosch, the equivalent of St. Helena in Napa
Valley. (Above Far L) This quaint street of downtown
Stellenbosch is around the corner from the 300-year old hotel, d'Ouwe Werf (Above L) where we stayed, which is South Africa's oldest inn. The vineyards and mountains (Center and Above R) could be Napa or Sonoma. (Above Far R) Carolyn is stretching Rick's arm, neck, and back to ease the pain of his pinched nerve that was not already numbed by several "shots" of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon he received at the 4 wineries we visited. |
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