It has taking us a good 4 days to finally get to the main attraction... Well, what a bloody lot of water and a big racket on the ears... seriously, I am not going to try and paint a picture of the falls - look it up on the net. But I tell you the "smoke that thunders" is impressive...no wonder it is one of the 7th natural wonders of the world.
The mist that comes up must rise a good 100 feet, and turns into rain. And not London rain (drizzlely stuff) but a full on tropical downpoor! You need a rain coat to avoid getting drenched to the bone, and even then the mist coming up seems to get in underneath anyway. The paths and lookouts are refreshingly unsafe - many not even having a railing! Good ol' raw Africa just delivers it big beautiful and rough around the edges.
We then took a walk down to the boiling pot - which is basically the first 90 degree bend after the falls where all the water boils in a big whirlpool. A fair old walk down it was too in the heat of the African sun. Now on the way back was when the drama started - we experienced first hand the violent muggings we were trying to avoid.
This other lot of tourists (not sure of their origin) got mugged by a baboon. He took there bag containing crisps, smokes and camera. Mind you, Josie and I have been sat in the middle of this pack for about 30 minutes before the tourists arrived - and I can only think the baboons recognised in me an alpha male, not to be messed with ! So, they fannied about while the baboon opened the crisps and started eating them up the hill a bit. He then opened the ciggies and stuffed about 10 in his mouth. But he was not happy, either with the brand or the fact he didn't have a lighter!?
Yours truly, then took up a big stick (always speak softly but carry one) and scared off the criminal mastermind to return the camera to the helpless tourists. Movie rights are patent pending.
We then ran into our first snake - which would no doubt have given my dad the heebeejeebies...not sure what make and model it was, I don't like not knowing what is venomous - but took the aussie rule that it probably would kill you if it got a bite in. So we have a couple of photos...
I am getting tired so will keep the last bit brutally short and lacking in colour....we then wandered to another resort (at the falls) with Zebra and Velvet monkeys all about the place - had a quick beer and headed for the curio shops to haggle for wooden stuff the bloody aussie inspectors probably won't let us in with anyway.
Damn the locals can haggle too - put the negotiation skills course I did to shame. But I think I did ok - less than a third of the asking price. But took about 30 mins each negotiation - you know it won't be easy when they offer you a stool to talk price :)
But Josie is now the parent of more animals and we now need to figure how to get the buggers home....
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
The falls themselves
It has taking us a good 4 days to finally get to the main attraction... Well, what a bloody lot of water and a big racket on the ears... seriously, I am not going to try and paint a picture of the falls - look it up on the net. But I tell you the "smoke that thunders" is impressive...no wonder it is one of the 7th natural wonders of the world.
The mist that comes up must rise a good 100 feet, and turns into rain. And not London rain (drizzlely stuff) but a full on tropical downpoor! You need a rain coat to avoid getting drenched to the bone, and even then the mist coming up seems to get in underneath anyway. The paths and lookouts are refreshingly unsafe - many not even having a railing! Good ol' raw Africa just delivers it big beautiful and rough around the edges.
We then took a walk down to the boiling pot - which is basically the first 90 degree bend after the falls where all the water boils in a big whirlpool. A fair old walk down it was too in the heat of the African sun. Now on the way back was when the drama started - we experienced first hand the violent muggings we were trying to avoid.
This other lot of tourists (not sure of their origin) got mugged by a baboon. He took there bag containing crisps, smokes and camera. Mind you, Josie and I have been sat in the middle of this pack for about 30 minutes before the tourists arrived - and I can only think the baboons recognised in me an alpha male, not to be messed with ! So, they fannied about while the baboon opened the crisps and started eating them up the hill a bit. He then opened the ciggies and stuffed about 10 in his mouth. But he was not happy, either with the brand or the fact he didn't have a lighter!?
Yours truly, then took up a big stick (always speak softly but carry one) and scared off the criminal mastermind to return the camera to the helpless tourists. Movie rights are patent pending.
We then ran into our first snake - which would no doubt have given my dad the heebeejeebies...not sure what make and model it was, I don't like not knowing what is venomous - but took the aussie rule that it probably would kill you if it got a bite in. So we have a couple of photos...
I am getting tired so will keep the last bit brutally short and lacking in colour....we then wandered to another resort (at the falls) with Zebra and Velvet monkeys all about the place - had a quick beer and headed for the curio shops to haggle for wooden stuff the bloody aussie inspectors probably won't let us in with anyway.
Damn the locals can haggle too - put the negotiation skills course I did to shame. But I think I did ok - less than a third of the asking price. But took about 30 mins each negotiation - you know it won't be easy when they offer you a stool to talk price :)
But Josie is now the parent of more animals and we now need to figure how to get the buggers home....
The mist that comes up must rise a good 100 feet, and turns into rain. And not London rain (drizzlely stuff) but a full on tropical downpoor! You need a rain coat to avoid getting drenched to the bone, and even then the mist coming up seems to get in underneath anyway. The paths and lookouts are refreshingly unsafe - many not even having a railing! Good ol' raw Africa just delivers it big beautiful and rough around the edges.
We then took a walk down to the boiling pot - which is basically the first 90 degree bend after the falls where all the water boils in a big whirlpool. A fair old walk down it was too in the heat of the African sun. Now on the way back was when the drama started - we experienced first hand the violent muggings we were trying to avoid.
This other lot of tourists (not sure of their origin) got mugged by a baboon. He took there bag containing crisps, smokes and camera. Mind you, Josie and I have been sat in the middle of this pack for about 30 minutes before the tourists arrived - and I can only think the baboons recognised in me an alpha male, not to be messed with ! So, they fannied about while the baboon opened the crisps and started eating them up the hill a bit. He then opened the ciggies and stuffed about 10 in his mouth. But he was not happy, either with the brand or the fact he didn't have a lighter!?
Yours truly, then took up a big stick (always speak softly but carry one) and scared off the criminal mastermind to return the camera to the helpless tourists. Movie rights are patent pending.
We then ran into our first snake - which would no doubt have given my dad the heebeejeebies...not sure what make and model it was, I don't like not knowing what is venomous - but took the aussie rule that it probably would kill you if it got a bite in. So we have a couple of photos...
I am getting tired so will keep the last bit brutally short and lacking in colour....we then wandered to another resort (at the falls) with Zebra and Velvet monkeys all about the place - had a quick beer and headed for the curio shops to haggle for wooden stuff the bloody aussie inspectors probably won't let us in with anyway.
Damn the locals can haggle too - put the negotiation skills course I did to shame. But I think I did ok - less than a third of the asking price. But took about 30 mins each negotiation - you know it won't be easy when they offer you a stool to talk price :)
But Josie is now the parent of more animals and we now need to figure how to get the buggers home....
Choking the chicken
I know what you are thinking - I am going to drop the level a little to low for a "G" rating. If you are not thinking that, commend yourself for rising above the meaning of gutter slang. But this post is about life in the backpackers where are staying.
We are staying in a 1 room bungalow style hut - we share our bathroom, but have a fan and a mozzie net. It is costing us $25 a night, (12 quid for you brits, or 30 aussie bucks). And as we are getting the 7th night free, that gets even cheaper.
We share a bathroom and bogger, which are probably a bit too far away to be fair - but are always spotless and smelling good - no mean feat all things considered. We can get brekky for about 2.50 US and dinner for 6 bucks. A beer (Mosi is the local drop) costs 1.50 or so and is very tasty - so far better than Killi, Tusker and Castle. The drinks are also served icy cold form the bar - for those in the know, this makes Bradley a happy boy!
At 4.30am, 5.30am and 6am this bloody franking cockeril next door blasts out like some kind of alarm clock for the dead. In case you are wondering, sunrise is about 6.30am - so what the pluck is wrong with this chicken. Now I am not too clued up with the local laws here - but Josie and I are plotting to go halves in a murder charge....at the moment we are still not in agreement over the method. Josie wants to wring its neck (being hippy-ish and wanting least painful) whereas I would like the most painful and damaging death possible for this chicken who is obviously mad. Damn chicken. We have 2 more nights (and therefore mornings here) - that bloody chicken is playing with fire and walking a very fine line. Stay tuned, and be ready with some bail money if we need you....
We are staying in a 1 room bungalow style hut - we share our bathroom, but have a fan and a mozzie net. It is costing us $25 a night, (12 quid for you brits, or 30 aussie bucks). And as we are getting the 7th night free, that gets even cheaper.
We share a bathroom and bogger, which are probably a bit too far away to be fair - but are always spotless and smelling good - no mean feat all things considered. We can get brekky for about 2.50 US and dinner for 6 bucks. A beer (Mosi is the local drop) costs 1.50 or so and is very tasty - so far better than Killi, Tusker and Castle. The drinks are also served icy cold form the bar - for those in the know, this makes Bradley a happy boy!
At 4.30am, 5.30am and 6am this bloody franking cockeril next door blasts out like some kind of alarm clock for the dead. In case you are wondering, sunrise is about 6.30am - so what the pluck is wrong with this chicken. Now I am not too clued up with the local laws here - but Josie and I are plotting to go halves in a murder charge....at the moment we are still not in agreement over the method. Josie wants to wring its neck (being hippy-ish and wanting least painful) whereas I would like the most painful and damaging death possible for this chicken who is obviously mad. Damn chicken. We have 2 more nights (and therefore mornings here) - that bloody chicken is playing with fire and walking a very fine line. Stay tuned, and be ready with some bail money if we need you....
Heliwopter
Well I am starting to fall behind in these posts, there is not much time left in the day after the lounging, eating and drinking are all accounted for.
Somehow I talked Josie into another foolish activity for someone scared of heights - thats right, a helicopter ride over Vic Falls. Now the plus side for Josie was we decided NOT to do microlights - she was considering these but thought they were more like glider planes. She was so relieved when she saw what a microlight was, she just skipped onto the helicopter without a thought - whoops.
Now these choppers are the little ones - what my Dad refers to as Hueys, from 'Nam. The can actually seat 4, and are nearly all glass to provide good views - and what good views indeed. But no point in me trying to describe it as a picture and 100o words blah blah blah. However, what was interesting (and by that I mean funny after the event) was Josies white knuckled grip of the seat and almost the pilot at one point when we were banking! She is a brave little trooper and we are probably lucky she didn't have a panic attack, go mental and take us all down in flames.
But hey, what a ride and view. We also met a group of guys planning an expedition from the sea to the source of the Zambezi - kind of like Livingstone - to make a documentary. They are ols hands, having done the Amazon, Mee Kong (spelling) and some others probably only Sam would be able to tell you there names. Great guys and bloody lucky to be doing that for a living - they even gave us some great tips for Thailand and Chang Mia... and also Laos "the land of a million elephants" - you can bet Josie's ears pricked up when she heard that !
Well enough for this update, I have 2 more to catch up on...
Somehow I talked Josie into another foolish activity for someone scared of heights - thats right, a helicopter ride over Vic Falls. Now the plus side for Josie was we decided NOT to do microlights - she was considering these but thought they were more like glider planes. She was so relieved when she saw what a microlight was, she just skipped onto the helicopter without a thought - whoops.
Now these choppers are the little ones - what my Dad refers to as Hueys, from 'Nam. The can actually seat 4, and are nearly all glass to provide good views - and what good views indeed. But no point in me trying to describe it as a picture and 100o words blah blah blah. However, what was interesting (and by that I mean funny after the event) was Josies white knuckled grip of the seat and almost the pilot at one point when we were banking! She is a brave little trooper and we are probably lucky she didn't have a panic attack, go mental and take us all down in flames.
But hey, what a ride and view. We also met a group of guys planning an expedition from the sea to the source of the Zambezi - kind of like Livingstone - to make a documentary. They are ols hands, having done the Amazon, Mee Kong (spelling) and some others probably only Sam would be able to tell you there names. Great guys and bloody lucky to be doing that for a living - they even gave us some great tips for Thailand and Chang Mia... and also Laos "the land of a million elephants" - you can bet Josie's ears pricked up when she heard that !
Well enough for this update, I have 2 more to catch up on...
Monday, February 19, 2007
Here Tiger Tiger Tiger
What's that you say, there are no tigers in Africa? But you would be wrong, they have the best kind - they have Tiger Fish! And Josie and I are back from a mornings fishing on the mighty Zambezi ! And we have wrestled with the mighty Tigers - and came out about even...
...with all the water, and based on input from others I was worried we wouldn't even catch a fish - let along a tiger. The day started early (as all good fishing adventures should - 6.30am) with a 30 minute drive and then we were on the water. Only about 10 mins up the river and our lines were wet.
For those of you who are not into fishing, or have never fished this might be quite a boring read... but I am addicted, and Josie is only marginally less enthusiastic. So where was I, oh ,yeah - the 1st spot. We were drift fishing with dead baits....now I have never been keen on this type of fishing, normally only resulting in lots of snags and frustration - but Ralph was the boss. Now the 1st hour we didn't really get the jist of the whole technique - which meant no fish. But then, it all started to happen.
Unfortunately, Josie got the 1st fish - which is bad news when it is just the two of us and one has bragging rights - but it was a wee catfish, barely out of kindegarden. So first blood, but not too much harm done. I immediately levelled the tally with a catty of my own, but if Josie's was from kindy, this one was maybe grade 3 or 4... So we moved, bad spot now Ralph says, the catfish will all arrive. So we move over to the other side of the river.
make sure you have the right picture in your head here - it is a cracking day, narry a cloud, the swollen river is rushing past, hippos are grunting in the background, and we are in a lovely decked out fishing tinny, with an esky full of cold drinks. So we mosy over to the trees on the other side and start getting the hang of how to fish. And it must be about 15 mins before Josie lets of a holler - and sure enough it is a TIGER! How can you tell, we the bugger jumps like a barra or queenfish and fights like, err well a tiger. But the fish gets lucky and throws the hook at the side of the boat.
So of course, I am not too polite when fishing and lob my bait right in where Josies was....and.....nothing. Josie gets a new bait and plop...and....SMASH ! Another bloody one. Dancing on the water, the drag screaming....and this one she got safely into the boat. Now I was in trouble. She was taking the piss big time and even Ralph was joining in ! So I gritted my teeth and kept at it. Sure enough, I got lucky - but my tiger was a kitten, still in nappys. SO this actually made it worse - the ribbing went up another level !! Bastards.
However, I then managed to get onto another 1, slightly bigger and start winning some pride back. But Josie, jammy as only a Paddy can be, managed to bring in another 2. We lost some BIG ones - which was exciting....but had a cracking day. I am keen to go out again, the fishing bug is biting like the mossies are biting Josie ! But we will see - a lot to do and so little money ;)
...with all the water, and based on input from others I was worried we wouldn't even catch a fish - let along a tiger. The day started early (as all good fishing adventures should - 6.30am) with a 30 minute drive and then we were on the water. Only about 10 mins up the river and our lines were wet.
For those of you who are not into fishing, or have never fished this might be quite a boring read... but I am addicted, and Josie is only marginally less enthusiastic. So where was I, oh ,yeah - the 1st spot. We were drift fishing with dead baits....now I have never been keen on this type of fishing, normally only resulting in lots of snags and frustration - but Ralph was the boss. Now the 1st hour we didn't really get the jist of the whole technique - which meant no fish. But then, it all started to happen.
Unfortunately, Josie got the 1st fish - which is bad news when it is just the two of us and one has bragging rights - but it was a wee catfish, barely out of kindegarden. So first blood, but not too much harm done. I immediately levelled the tally with a catty of my own, but if Josie's was from kindy, this one was maybe grade 3 or 4... So we moved, bad spot now Ralph says, the catfish will all arrive. So we move over to the other side of the river.
make sure you have the right picture in your head here - it is a cracking day, narry a cloud, the swollen river is rushing past, hippos are grunting in the background, and we are in a lovely decked out fishing tinny, with an esky full of cold drinks. So we mosy over to the trees on the other side and start getting the hang of how to fish. And it must be about 15 mins before Josie lets of a holler - and sure enough it is a TIGER! How can you tell, we the bugger jumps like a barra or queenfish and fights like, err well a tiger. But the fish gets lucky and throws the hook at the side of the boat.
So of course, I am not too polite when fishing and lob my bait right in where Josies was....and.....nothing. Josie gets a new bait and plop...and....SMASH ! Another bloody one. Dancing on the water, the drag screaming....and this one she got safely into the boat. Now I was in trouble. She was taking the piss big time and even Ralph was joining in ! So I gritted my teeth and kept at it. Sure enough, I got lucky - but my tiger was a kitten, still in nappys. SO this actually made it worse - the ribbing went up another level !! Bastards.
However, I then managed to get onto another 1, slightly bigger and start winning some pride back. But Josie, jammy as only a Paddy can be, managed to bring in another 2. We lost some BIG ones - which was exciting....but had a cracking day. I am keen to go out again, the fishing bug is biting like the mossies are biting Josie ! But we will see - a lot to do and so little money ;)
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Dr Livingstone I presume
Well, another bus trip - this one running pretty well to Africa time. We
are now safely (and very comfortably) holed up in a backpackers in
Livingstone. Finally a decent place (run by an aussie - coincidence?)...
are now safely (and very comfortably) holed up in a backpackers in
Livingstone. Finally a decent place (run by an aussie - coincidence?)...
...and it looks like there goes the budget !! Damn there some things we can
do here...Jet boating, canoesing, fishing, rafting, microlight flights over
the falls, elephant back safari, walking with lions - need I go on, ok then
- booze cruises, 5 star brekkie at the base of the falls, bungie jumping,
horseback riding... so we are trying to balance time and money and get all
the good stuff in! It also likes like all that rain will be useful - as it
means the falls (and the rapids will be booming) - yee har :)
So we are here for a week, and then we will cross over the the 'other' side,
Vic Falls...but for now, a leisurely stroll through town, and then it is
back to the pool to get reacquainted with our navels.
_________________________________________________________________
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Thursday, February 15, 2007
The big Choo Choo trip
Hi Ho again folks....well we are not where we were, but we are where we planned to be. We jumped abroad the Tazara train at 4pm on Tuesday to head somewhere not in Dar - as we had enough of this city.
Visa - check, tickets - check : we had to book all 4 sleepers of a cabin (as we were mixed sex) costing us a small fortune (well a 100 quid) - as I quickly compared to UK train prices was actually a bargain for 46 hours of x-country travelling. Mind you, the locals queuing behind in the ticket office did find this madness and crowded around very close, either to see if we would doing something else daft, or to try and get some of our cash...
But at 3.50pm it was all abroad and off we went. And let me tell you, after about 1min30s I was a train convert - you can stick your buses and planes as there is no better public transport than a train... I guess it has a certain ambience that all the others lack, with the rythmic motion and the landscape blurring past - plus the fact you can move about like a human, rather than a sardine. Not to mention the loo's don't block up, as well, they are a hole onto the tracks, but more on that later. And also this train was old school - big ass deisel engine, must of been about 30 carriages and windows wide open for you to hang out of...
To be honest, Josie and I were a bit like kids on a school trip, somewhere good. We were done to death with Dar, the heat, and our noisy backpackers...and looking forward to going somewhere interesting - and having our own private sleeper carriage to get there. The train here still has some novelty factor for the local kids too - as they all rush out to watch it go past and wave - much more acceptable than those blokes who loiter at the end of the UK platforms 'trainspotting'...
Josie felt close to royalty and started to perfect her wave to the kids... as we moved out of town we realised the other good thing about the train is all you get to see, especially when it is going through national parks! At about 6.30 we started seeing the first signs of wildlife - baboons, followed by gazelles and then loads of giraffes - but our excitement was short lived as the sun went down and our little LED tourch failed to light up the wilderness at night :( We strongly suspect the trip the other way would have you in the National Parks in daylight.
Not much longer into the trip, Josie started her exercise routine. In all, she must have clocked up about 2km in distance over the journey which is not bad when you expect to be sitting in a train carriage. However, Africa and its wonderful surprises brought on Josie's first case of 'the runs'... and let me tell you, the loo in the train was no place to be spending that amount of time.
Now I apoligse now if toilet humour is not your thing, as it is mine and you should have expected to read something shitty (pun intended) in this blog at least 5 times. I am unable to comment on my own situation lest I incur the wrath of Karma. I will say I wish I was sharing the cabin with Simon and Brett who could have fully appreciated how Africa was affecting me ;)
But poor Josie, on the bright side, was she was expecting this and had planned to use the 'experience' to counter the over indulgence at Xmas - which is quite a cunning plan although a little extreme for my tastes.
Overall though - the trip was a cracker. They served us meals for about 50p, we stared out the window at the stunning landscapes and played some 500. This is travelling !
We ended up where we supposed to only 6 hours late. Not bad for Africa time...and being late on the train is 'easy time'...kind of like in the movies about criminals, you know, the opposite of 'hard time'. In a train, getting delayed is almost pleasant. And no major events, well none that we could understand. There was a great deal of shouting last night at 2am...and today 2 men handcuffed were escorted off the train under machine gun supervision - but this is not newsworthy here in Africa.
I now must confess some startling news - I have something nice to say about an American [not like one yankee in Dar who was followed into the resturant by her cab driver - when she said "I thought you said FREE! No lady, most cabbies charge, in this case 3 (thousand shillings)!!] ...
But anyway, back to this nice american (Not every day you hear that now is it)... well this young bloke on the bus, helped out by changing some US dollars for me (at the right rate), recommended the backpackers we are in now, and sorted a taxi for us form the chaos that greets you at the bus terminal. Not only that, but he is in the peace Corp and has been working in Zambia for 2 years helping the locals improve sustenance farming... Bugger must have been no more than 21y.o. too - makes you think maybe the world isn't go to pot that quickly!?
Another local also split a cab and sorted us onto the right bus - these bloody Zambians are a friendly lot I can tell you.
So tonight we cool our heels in Lusaka (the capital), tomorrow either we high tail it to Livingstone, or sneak away for 3 days fishing on the Zambezi for Tiger fish - it all depends on how flooded the river is and if it is worth the time and cost to sneak away. Either way, things are on the up again now we have left Dar (he says recklessly)...
Visa - check, tickets - check : we had to book all 4 sleepers of a cabin (as we were mixed sex) costing us a small fortune (well a 100 quid) - as I quickly compared to UK train prices was actually a bargain for 46 hours of x-country travelling. Mind you, the locals queuing behind in the ticket office did find this madness and crowded around very close, either to see if we would doing something else daft, or to try and get some of our cash...
But at 3.50pm it was all abroad and off we went. And let me tell you, after about 1min30s I was a train convert - you can stick your buses and planes as there is no better public transport than a train... I guess it has a certain ambience that all the others lack, with the rythmic motion and the landscape blurring past - plus the fact you can move about like a human, rather than a sardine. Not to mention the loo's don't block up, as well, they are a hole onto the tracks, but more on that later. And also this train was old school - big ass deisel engine, must of been about 30 carriages and windows wide open for you to hang out of...
To be honest, Josie and I were a bit like kids on a school trip, somewhere good. We were done to death with Dar, the heat, and our noisy backpackers...and looking forward to going somewhere interesting - and having our own private sleeper carriage to get there. The train here still has some novelty factor for the local kids too - as they all rush out to watch it go past and wave - much more acceptable than those blokes who loiter at the end of the UK platforms 'trainspotting'...
Josie felt close to royalty and started to perfect her wave to the kids... as we moved out of town we realised the other good thing about the train is all you get to see, especially when it is going through national parks! At about 6.30 we started seeing the first signs of wildlife - baboons, followed by gazelles and then loads of giraffes - but our excitement was short lived as the sun went down and our little LED tourch failed to light up the wilderness at night :( We strongly suspect the trip the other way would have you in the National Parks in daylight.
Not much longer into the trip, Josie started her exercise routine. In all, she must have clocked up about 2km in distance over the journey which is not bad when you expect to be sitting in a train carriage. However, Africa and its wonderful surprises brought on Josie's first case of 'the runs'... and let me tell you, the loo in the train was no place to be spending that amount of time.
Now I apoligse now if toilet humour is not your thing, as it is mine and you should have expected to read something shitty (pun intended) in this blog at least 5 times. I am unable to comment on my own situation lest I incur the wrath of Karma. I will say I wish I was sharing the cabin with Simon and Brett who could have fully appreciated how Africa was affecting me ;)
But poor Josie, on the bright side, was she was expecting this and had planned to use the 'experience' to counter the over indulgence at Xmas - which is quite a cunning plan although a little extreme for my tastes.
Overall though - the trip was a cracker. They served us meals for about 50p, we stared out the window at the stunning landscapes and played some 500. This is travelling !
We ended up where we supposed to only 6 hours late. Not bad for Africa time...and being late on the train is 'easy time'...kind of like in the movies about criminals, you know, the opposite of 'hard time'. In a train, getting delayed is almost pleasant. And no major events, well none that we could understand. There was a great deal of shouting last night at 2am...and today 2 men handcuffed were escorted off the train under machine gun supervision - but this is not newsworthy here in Africa.
I now must confess some startling news - I have something nice to say about an American [not like one yankee in Dar who was followed into the resturant by her cab driver - when she said "I thought you said FREE! No lady, most cabbies charge, in this case 3 (thousand shillings)!!] ...
But anyway, back to this nice american (Not every day you hear that now is it)... well this young bloke on the bus, helped out by changing some US dollars for me (at the right rate), recommended the backpackers we are in now, and sorted a taxi for us form the chaos that greets you at the bus terminal. Not only that, but he is in the peace Corp and has been working in Zambia for 2 years helping the locals improve sustenance farming... Bugger must have been no more than 21y.o. too - makes you think maybe the world isn't go to pot that quickly!?
Another local also split a cab and sorted us onto the right bus - these bloody Zambians are a friendly lot I can tell you.
So tonight we cool our heels in Lusaka (the capital), tomorrow either we high tail it to Livingstone, or sneak away for 3 days fishing on the Zambezi for Tiger fish - it all depends on how flooded the river is and if it is worth the time and cost to sneak away. Either way, things are on the up again now we have left Dar (he says recklessly)...
Monday, February 12, 2007
Hot n Sweaty
Just thought we would keep you in the loop for the good as with the bad. Africa is a big place and travelling is not what you would call fun. "Africa time" is actually later than both French and Spanish time - and generally a whole lot sweatier. I could try and describe the smell from the bus toilet after a 10hour trip (supposed to be 8)... but some things are beyond words.
Also, the feeling of 33 degress in the afternoon when you are not on a beach with a suitably cold beverage....is decidedly stickly.
Next on our great travel plans is a 40hr train trip across Tanzania and into Zambia... we shudder to think about what could happen on this trip.
Will be in touch again from Livingstone....as in Dr Livingstone I presume....proabably in another 4 days.....travelling gods of africa willing!
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Friday, February 9, 2007
The Big 5 and the little thousands...
We have been out in the boonies as we say...to be a little more specific, we have spent a day at Lake Manyara, 3 days in the Serengeti and 2 days in Ngorongoro Crater....and it was absolutely bloody brilliant - we kid you not.
Now I could try and go all poetic, or maybe a little David Attenbrough with some prose trying to describe the wild side of Africa - but I won't bother. It wouldn't do it justice, and I would just sound like a tit. But I will give you a few of our highlights from the last 6 days....
Firstly, it started in luxury (and continued that way) - but hey, it is our honeymoon and we really splashed out on this. It was 5 star lodges all the way, and just the 2 of us with our guide in a 7 seater modified landcruiser... oh yeah baby ! Safari done properly ;)
As I said, day 1 was lake manyara, and to be honest we weren't *really* sure what to expect... so we checked in at the gate, put the roof up in our ride and headed into the wild. Well, it must have been about 1min 30s before a massive group of baboons decided to cross the road in front of us... (not a bad start we were thinking - is this normal)...with one of the cheeky buggers trying to hitch a ride. After a frenzy of photographic activity from the lovely Mrs Rudduck we decided to continue on.
Now, surely it was no more than 4 mins later (and we passed some other animals but forgot) when we were in the middle of a bloody great herd of elephants !! And I am sure I don't need to tell you, Josie was happier than a pig in sh*t, in fact I am pretty sure there was a tear in the eye (but hey Africa and dust maybe?). The rest of the time passed in a bit of a blur...it was animals everywhere, and not like little specs off in the distance either...in fact, we were probably closer than seeing them at the zoo !! probably the last highlight was a male and female lion perched up a tree (nearly above the car) doing what we discovered lions do best - a lot of bugger all, and snoozing.
So, We thinks to self this Safari thing is pretty special huh, and this is day 1...but will the Monkey Whizz Voodoo come back to bite us...
....as your intrepid explorers brave the conditions (hey the road was bumpy and there was no aircon) as we decended onto the plains to be surrounded by herds of migrating 'food type animals' (not be confused with 'eating type animals')... it is stunning stuff, the kind of sight that stirs the soul, we kid you not.
So we drove about 4 hours to the central serengeti...now the problem with this, was the migration was in the southern serengeti... so the longer we drove, the less animals we saw. We then found out from our Guide (Daniel), that the muppet in the UK didn't know his arse from his elbow in booking our accommodation. I starting preparing myself to get all irate and stroppy at the thought of 3 days without seeing any animals - when out popped a cheetah in front of us (maybe 30ft) from the long grass - and jumped across the flooded stream....oh, yeah - flooded stream.
I must admit when we orgainised this we didnt think rain would be a problem...you see Small rains were supposed to fall in Nov/Dec and then big rains in Mar/Apr. Well, the little rains turned into big rains and haven't stopped since November (much like at home in Townsville). This means everything was brilliantly green and the grass was long - making it harder to see everything but giraffes and elephants.
So, anyway the appearance of the cheetah - yet again, furious camera activity - had it been a hunting safari think Rambo III with the minigun ! (we will be able to cure insominia with the number of photos we have). Well it was a like a ray of sunshine...a really fluke chance sighting given the length of the grass, and all to ourselves...we then saw another long list of animals as we made our way to the lodge...
Day 3 we decided to see what we could see in the green grass and spent the day buzzing about the roads... again we got lucky (although I suspect everyone sees a hell of a lot) and managed to catch a quick chase by 4 lions of a antelope (or Warthog as both were legging it) that was unsuccessful...and so the 4 lions climbed a bloody big tree for a sleep (surprise surprise). We then mosied over to the 'hippo pool' to watch the 16 of them do much the same as the lions, with some occassional bickering over postion in the pool. Don't get us wrong, that is not all we saw, but we would bore you to death listing all the animals, and blah blah. In fact, my fingers are starting to get sore already and I have not done these days justice (and thankfully you might say) will shorten the telling of the rest.
The next day brought a cunning change of plan - by driving back to the migration itself ...no flies on us ! And what a day (perhaps the best) which started with 2 cheetahs on a hill surrounded by zebra, antelope etc. Well now the zebra were a bit noisy, making their zeebra noises and going forward and back towards the cheetah (kind of like young lads geeing each other up for mischief)...well then, one (brave) zeebra went the cheetahs, and quickly followed by another 3...and the chase was on!! Thats right, in reverse ! These 4 zeebra giving the 2 cheetahs a lot of whoopass...in fact the 2 cheetahs bought a very hasty retreat to the horizon. Well, the zebras obviously very fired up then ran 0ver and give 3 hyenas a good kicking too !! Daniel had never seen that before :) herbivorse 2 carnivores 0
...numerous other less exciting sightings before we came across 3 full grown male lions, you guessed it, lounging ! Damn these big boys are a little scary up close, despite being holed up in our trusty vehicle....puts the hair up on the back of your neck !
Skipping ahead to our last day (yesterday as I write this and Josie starts looking bored after 1 hour in the kiosk) and we were into the Ngorongoro Crater (for the 2nd time, the 1st time was good but very muddy and we got bogged). But this day we got up before the other lazy tourists and must have been 3rd car into the crater.
We found a pride of 2 males and 3 female lions right on the road....but this time instead of lounging - the females were a little frisky and there was some naughty business going on! In fact, one of the lioness' got a serve 3 times in the 45mins we were watching them! The male (doing all the shagging) even scent marked our truck - he was obviously aware of my manly presence and threat to his title of 'king of the jungle' - my guide advised I didn't respond by pissing back... hmmpf, obvioulsy not an alpha male !!
The day continues with amazing sight after amazing sight, probably the best being another hunt from a single lioness after a baby wilderbeast (in a herd). With Josie egging the baby on, and me cheering for the lion...unfortunately the lion lost (not really surprising giving the amount of lazing they do, lions could use some fitness training)...
So I will stop there...we are back now in Arusha, amongst the noise, no longer staying in luxury and trying hard to deal with reality... sigh. Not sure yet where we go tomorrow, we only know we want to go back to where we were!
if you get a chance, do a safari! Bloody brilliant and not easily forgotten...
I asked Josie for a quote, but she needs a wee....maybe in the next post !
Now I could try and go all poetic, or maybe a little David Attenbrough with some prose trying to describe the wild side of Africa - but I won't bother. It wouldn't do it justice, and I would just sound like a tit. But I will give you a few of our highlights from the last 6 days....
Firstly, it started in luxury (and continued that way) - but hey, it is our honeymoon and we really splashed out on this. It was 5 star lodges all the way, and just the 2 of us with our guide in a 7 seater modified landcruiser... oh yeah baby ! Safari done properly ;)
As I said, day 1 was lake manyara, and to be honest we weren't *really* sure what to expect... so we checked in at the gate, put the roof up in our ride and headed into the wild. Well, it must have been about 1min 30s before a massive group of baboons decided to cross the road in front of us... (not a bad start we were thinking - is this normal)...with one of the cheeky buggers trying to hitch a ride. After a frenzy of photographic activity from the lovely Mrs Rudduck we decided to continue on.
Now, surely it was no more than 4 mins later (and we passed some other animals but forgot) when we were in the middle of a bloody great herd of elephants !! And I am sure I don't need to tell you, Josie was happier than a pig in sh*t, in fact I am pretty sure there was a tear in the eye (but hey Africa and dust maybe?). The rest of the time passed in a bit of a blur...it was animals everywhere, and not like little specs off in the distance either...in fact, we were probably closer than seeing them at the zoo !! probably the last highlight was a male and female lion perched up a tree (nearly above the car) doing what we discovered lions do best - a lot of bugger all, and snoozing.
So, We thinks to self this Safari thing is pretty special huh, and this is day 1...but will the Monkey Whizz Voodoo come back to bite us...
So we drove about 4 hours to the central serengeti...now the problem with this, was the migration was in the southern serengeti... so the longer we drove, the less animals we saw. We then found out from our Guide (Daniel), that the muppet in the UK didn't know his arse from his elbow in booking our accommodation. I starting preparing myself to get all irate and stroppy at the thought of 3 days without seeing any animals - when out popped a cheetah in front of us (maybe 30ft) from the long grass - and jumped across the flooded stream....oh, yeah - flooded stream.
I must admit when we orgainised this we didnt think rain would be a problem...you see Small rains were supposed to fall in Nov/Dec and then big rains in Mar/Apr. Well, the little rains turned into big rains and haven't stopped since November (much like at home in Townsville). This means everything was brilliantly green and the grass was long - making it harder to see everything but giraffes and elephants.
So, anyway the appearance of the cheetah - yet again, furious camera activity - had it been a hunting safari think Rambo III with the minigun ! (we will be able to cure insominia with the number of photos we have). Well it was a like a ray of sunshine...a really fluke chance sighting given the length of the grass, and all to ourselves...we then saw another long list of animals as we made our way to the lodge...
Day 3 we decided to see what we could see in the green grass and spent the day buzzing about the roads... again we got lucky (although I suspect everyone sees a hell of a lot) and managed to catch a quick chase by 4 lions of a antelope (or Warthog as both were legging it) that was unsuccessful...and so the 4 lions climbed a bloody big tree for a sleep (surprise surprise). We then mosied over to the 'hippo pool' to watch the 16 of them do much the same as the lions, with some occassional bickering over postion in the pool. Don't get us wrong, that is not all we saw, but we would bore you to death listing all the animals, and blah blah. In fact, my fingers are starting to get sore already and I have not done these days justice (and thankfully you might say) will shorten the telling of the rest.
The next day brought a cunning change of plan - by driving back to the migration itself ...no flies on us ! And what a day (perhaps the best) which started with 2 cheetahs on a hill surrounded by zebra, antelope etc. Well now the zebra were a bit noisy, making their zeebra noises and going forward and back towards the cheetah (kind of like young lads geeing each other up for mischief)...well then, one (brave) zeebra went the cheetahs, and quickly followed by another 3...and the chase was on!! Thats right, in reverse ! These 4 zeebra giving the 2 cheetahs a lot of whoopass...in fact the 2 cheetahs bought a very hasty retreat to the horizon. Well, the zebras obviously very fired up then ran 0ver and give 3 hyenas a good kicking too !! Daniel had never seen that before :) herbivorse 2 carnivores 0
...numerous other less exciting sightings before we came across 3 full grown male lions, you guessed it, lounging ! Damn these big boys are a little scary up close, despite being holed up in our trusty vehicle....puts the hair up on the back of your neck !
Skipping ahead to our last day (yesterday as I write this and Josie starts looking bored after 1 hour in the kiosk) and we were into the Ngorongoro Crater (for the 2nd time, the 1st time was good but very muddy and we got bogged). But this day we got up before the other lazy tourists and must have been 3rd car into the crater.
We found a pride of 2 males and 3 female lions right on the road....but this time instead of lounging - the females were a little frisky and there was some naughty business going on! In fact, one of the lioness' got a serve 3 times in the 45mins we were watching them! The male (doing all the shagging) even scent marked our truck - he was obviously aware of my manly presence and threat to his title of 'king of the jungle' - my guide advised I didn't respond by pissing back... hmmpf, obvioulsy not an alpha male !!
The day continues with amazing sight after amazing sight, probably the best being another hunt from a single lioness after a baby wilderbeast (in a herd). With Josie egging the baby on, and me cheering for the lion...unfortunately the lion lost (not really surprising giving the amount of lazing they do, lions could use some fitness training)...
So I will stop there...we are back now in Arusha, amongst the noise, no longer staying in luxury and trying hard to deal with reality... sigh. Not sure yet where we go tomorrow, we only know we want to go back to where we were!
if you get a chance, do a safari! Bloody brilliant and not easily forgotten...
I asked Josie for a quote, but she needs a wee....maybe in the next post !
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