i'll patch up this mess in the next couple of days.
apologies.
(dyane's email "critical accident" is clearly a hack - interesting one though)
Location:palo alto
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
zero internet access
absolutely zero wifi over the last 7 days.
i'll patch up this mess in the next couple of days.
apologies.
(dyane's email "critical accident" is clearly a hack - interesting one though)
i'll patch up this mess in the next couple of days.
apologies.
(dyane's email "critical accident" is clearly a hack - interesting one though)
Monday, July 22, 2013
Big Cave Camp
22nd July
Early morning walk to check out nearby rock art and bantu granaries. Very very nice, better preserved than what we will see late today.
grain storage
Nice breakfast. Goodbye to Indians and Germans and then with box lunches on board we are off to explore the Rhodes Mopoto national game park. This game park was Cecil Rhodes personal estate. He is buried on the top of one of the large granite "whale backs".
In a word this was a bust. Very few animals. A couple of hippos and baboons.
but some nice local reed harvesting scenes
Interesting rock art around the park but it has been severly beaten up over the years
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Early morning walk to check out nearby rock art and bantu granaries. Very very nice, better preserved than what we will see late today.
grain storage
Nice breakfast. Goodbye to Indians and Germans and then with box lunches on board we are off to explore the Rhodes Mopoto national game park. This game park was Cecil Rhodes personal estate. He is buried on the top of one of the large granite "whale backs".
In a word this was a bust. Very few animals. A couple of hippos and baboons.
but some nice local reed harvesting scenes
Interesting rock art around the park but it has been severly beaten up over the years
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Location:Mopoto, Zimbabwe
Big Cave Camp
Got in an uneventful evening boat trip on the Zambesi before or last night in Vic Falls.
The usual suspects were about
Dinner was ad hoc at the only restaurant on the main drag. Everyone says that even 5 years ago this place was hopping with tourists. Now it is deserted. As Vic Falls, the town, has collapsed Livingston, across the Zambesi in Zambia has boomed. (This explains why the Canadaian couple got married there instead of Vic Falls)
But not all is good in Zambia. The all knowing president recently released 5000 poachers from jail and announced that the animals in the national parks were fair game. Hungry people and big game is not an ideal recipe for conservation.
After another excellent breakfast (this place has an excellent kitchen) we say good bye to Vic Falls Safari Lodge
with its biobab tree
and hello 525 km of police harrasment. Exactly 6 police checks and 2 "toll booths". Each police check was to ensure we had the two safety triangles, the reflective vest, the fire extinguisher, the red reflective stripe across the rear bumper and the white reflective stripe across the front, the TIP (temporary import permit) and finally a valid driver's licence.
I tried to photograph one of these random checkpoints but got caught and had to delete the photo. Geoff claimed this was a good thing as they were less likely to conduct an illegal shakedown if they thought we had their mug shots.
Its a long fairly boring drive to Bulawayo and our goal was some 50km passed there at Big Cave Camp. Bulawayo is big time compared with what we have seen so far but as it is Sunday everyone is in church in a zionist group sitting on the road side, dressed in white and being sermonized by the
preacher.
Further evidence of economic collapse, if any is needed, is the fact that there was no restaurant between Vic Falls and Bulawayo.
Big Cave Camp is set in the Mapopo Hills noted for their large rock formation. In fact the Camp is built into the rocks.
our room
We took the drive to Lightning Rock for sundowners with Roy, the guide
Excellent dinner, with fellow guests, the indian doctor couple and the german couple with their guide who had already shelled out $400 in fines to the random checkpoints.
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The usual suspects were about
Dinner was ad hoc at the only restaurant on the main drag. Everyone says that even 5 years ago this place was hopping with tourists. Now it is deserted. As Vic Falls, the town, has collapsed Livingston, across the Zambesi in Zambia has boomed. (This explains why the Canadaian couple got married there instead of Vic Falls)
But not all is good in Zambia. The all knowing president recently released 5000 poachers from jail and announced that the animals in the national parks were fair game. Hungry people and big game is not an ideal recipe for conservation.
After another excellent breakfast (this place has an excellent kitchen) we say good bye to Vic Falls Safari Lodge
with its biobab tree
and hello 525 km of police harrasment. Exactly 6 police checks and 2 "toll booths". Each police check was to ensure we had the two safety triangles, the reflective vest, the fire extinguisher, the red reflective stripe across the rear bumper and the white reflective stripe across the front, the TIP (temporary import permit) and finally a valid driver's licence.
I tried to photograph one of these random checkpoints but got caught and had to delete the photo. Geoff claimed this was a good thing as they were less likely to conduct an illegal shakedown if they thought we had their mug shots.
Its a long fairly boring drive to Bulawayo and our goal was some 50km passed there at Big Cave Camp. Bulawayo is big time compared with what we have seen so far but as it is Sunday everyone is in church in a zionist group sitting on the road side, dressed in white and being sermonized by the
preacher.
Further evidence of economic collapse, if any is needed, is the fact that there was no restaurant between Vic Falls and Bulawayo.
Big Cave Camp is set in the Mapopo Hills noted for their large rock formation. In fact the Camp is built into the rocks.
our room
We took the drive to Lightning Rock for sundowners with Roy, the guide
Excellent dinner, with fellow guests, the indian doctor couple and the german couple with their guide who had already shelled out $400 in fines to the random checkpoints.
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Location:Motopo, Zimbabwe
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Vic Falls
20th July
There really isn't enough here to justify a two night stay but we were being conservative not really knowing how tricky the border would be. There are scary stories about. Turns out to have been fine for us.
Spent the morning trolling the shopping areas..
Lots of sellers, not a lot of buyers. Regardless, the prices seem high to me - even with Geoff doing the bargaining.
I forgot to mention how nice the accomodation is here at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. Room with a (great) View.
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There really isn't enough here to justify a two night stay but we were being conservative not really knowing how tricky the border would be. There are scary stories about. Turns out to have been fine for us.
Spent the morning trolling the shopping areas..
Lots of sellers, not a lot of buyers. Regardless, the prices seem high to me - even with Geoff doing the bargaining.
I forgot to mention how nice the accomodation is here at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. Room with a (great) View.
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Location:Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Zimbabwe
20th July
We are visiting Zimbabwe at a pivotal time in the country's history. The elections scheduled for the end of this month will determine if Zimbabwe has any chance whatsoever to recover from the economic devastation that has wasted this country in the last 10 years.
One can argue the root cause but the wholesale confiscation and reallocation of land was tough but when businesses too were seized and given to government favourites then the course to ruin was set.
The end result has been runaway inflation. Inflation of the kind that makes Argentina's look totally manageable.
There were 9 series of bank notes issued up until 2009 when the Zimbabwean currency was elimianted entirely and the country resorted to using either the US dollar or the SA rand. The later series (above) were issued with expiry dates - as little as two months. The decision to eliminate the currency was made with very short notice. Urban dwellers might have had enough time to exchange their money at a bank but the majority of rural dwellers kept their money under the mattress and were caught completely off guard - most losing their entire savings. This has had a direct effect on the economy and things have ground to a near halt.
There are innumerable evicted former business owners that are now sitting on "the border" poised to resume operation if the opposition party is elected. The main plank in their platform is the stabilization and reissuance of the Zim dollar and the subsequent return of a business friendly environment. Its almost palpable, there is this anticiptory optimism in the air but then this morning president Mugabe's wife annouced the free distribution of 20,000 tons of food. Such benevolence is traditionally the mark of a great leader and will effectively garner the existing government many votes.
The french couple we met at Chobe NP tell the awful story of their rental car trunk being tyre-ironed-open while they were swimming in a lake and then the bad guys robbed them when they reemerged from the water. They were the only folks at Chobe NP without a camera.
Even more unstable times are sure to be here in about 10 days time - how long they last is a good question and highly dependent on who wins the election.
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We are visiting Zimbabwe at a pivotal time in the country's history. The elections scheduled for the end of this month will determine if Zimbabwe has any chance whatsoever to recover from the economic devastation that has wasted this country in the last 10 years.
One can argue the root cause but the wholesale confiscation and reallocation of land was tough but when businesses too were seized and given to government favourites then the course to ruin was set.
The end result has been runaway inflation. Inflation of the kind that makes Argentina's look totally manageable.
There were 9 series of bank notes issued up until 2009 when the Zimbabwean currency was elimianted entirely and the country resorted to using either the US dollar or the SA rand. The later series (above) were issued with expiry dates - as little as two months. The decision to eliminate the currency was made with very short notice. Urban dwellers might have had enough time to exchange their money at a bank but the majority of rural dwellers kept their money under the mattress and were caught completely off guard - most losing their entire savings. This has had a direct effect on the economy and things have ground to a near halt.
There are innumerable evicted former business owners that are now sitting on "the border" poised to resume operation if the opposition party is elected. The main plank in their platform is the stabilization and reissuance of the Zim dollar and the subsequent return of a business friendly environment. Its almost palpable, there is this anticiptory optimism in the air but then this morning president Mugabe's wife annouced the free distribution of 20,000 tons of food. Such benevolence is traditionally the mark of a great leader and will effectively garner the existing government many votes.
The french couple we met at Chobe NP tell the awful story of their rental car trunk being tyre-ironed-open while they were swimming in a lake and then the bad guys robbed them when they reemerged from the water. They were the only folks at Chobe NP without a camera.
Even more unstable times are sure to be here in about 10 days time - how long they last is a good question and highly dependent on who wins the election.
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Location:Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Friday, July 19, 2013
Vic Falls
July 19th
Nothing scheduled today but for getting across the Botswana/Zimbabwe border. Its about a 20 min ride in a seconded game drive vehicle...
to the border from Kasane and then change vehicles and a further 60 mins into Vic Falls. We had a little bad luck falling behind 2 giant SA tour buses that got in the visa queue...
before the other two member of our transfer party. We had our visas so for us it was a breeze but we had to wait on the other side of the border for the other two.
Got dropped at the Vic Falls Safari Lodge ...
and immediately saw Geoff walking and birding in the hotel gardens.
Took the 4km trip to the falls and took them ...
double rainbows included.
Visited and walked around the old colonial Victoria Falls Hotel.
Classic.
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Nothing scheduled today but for getting across the Botswana/Zimbabwe border. Its about a 20 min ride in a seconded game drive vehicle...
to the border from Kasane and then change vehicles and a further 60 mins into Vic Falls. We had a little bad luck falling behind 2 giant SA tour buses that got in the visa queue...
before the other two member of our transfer party. We had our visas so for us it was a breeze but we had to wait on the other side of the border for the other two.
Got dropped at the Vic Falls Safari Lodge ...
and immediately saw Geoff walking and birding in the hotel gardens.
Took the 4km trip to the falls and took them ...
double rainbows included.
Visited and walked around the old colonial Victoria Falls Hotel.
Classic.
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Location:Zimbabwe
Chobe NP 2
18th July - afternoon
Late breakfast so not hungry for pre-paid lunch. Forced down a salad.
3pm boat-based game drive down Chobe river. Chobe drains into Zambesi and over Vic Falls. We'll get there first (tomorrow)
this wasn't us but could have been
this hotel uses every opportunity to up-sell. Fair enough. We were told 10 times that if we drank the booze on board it could be charged to our room.
then it was a case of driving around the river and observing land and water based action
Elephants distracted during a river crossing
aww baby elephants
aww baby yawning hippo
very non-baby croc
yawning adult
sunset - game over
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Late breakfast so not hungry for pre-paid lunch. Forced down a salad.
3pm boat-based game drive down Chobe river. Chobe drains into Zambesi and over Vic Falls. We'll get there first (tomorrow)
this wasn't us but could have been
this hotel uses every opportunity to up-sell. Fair enough. We were told 10 times that if we drank the booze on board it could be charged to our room.
then it was a case of driving around the river and observing land and water based action
Elephants distracted during a river crossing
aww baby elephants
aww baby yawning hippo
very non-baby croc
yawning adult
sunset - game over
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Location:Kasane, Botswana
Chobe NP
17 July:
Arrived at Chobe Park Safari Hotel. A tad more up-market than the Etosha NP lodges. Not quite the number of bus tours but still a diverse mix of nationalities.
Much confusion upon arrival as a) the room wasn't to be ready until 2pm and b) the room key generation machine was broke.
Lunch on the patio overlooking the Chobe river was very pleasant. First scheduled activity was the 3pm 3-hour game drive. The NP itself is just 10 minutes down the (paved!) road from the lodge.
Large numbers of elephants on the islands along with hippo floatillas. Yer regular girrafes and impalas
a rare sable antelope (even the Kruger NP family was impressed. All fairly vanilla until our driver picked up word of a leopard sighting many km west of the entrance. We all voted on a gamble and Shauna, honeymooning Canadian, said she felt very lucky about this. Boy was she right. Leopard, female, up close and personal. Made the day.
The light was fast disappearing
Held appetites at bay until 8pm and did the "buffet". Very complicated, its entirely an african, everything is complicated. I'd like to buy a bottle of white wine, no problem sir. Here is the (impossible to read in zero light) wine list. I'd like this one please. I'm sorry we don't have that one - how about this one - sorry sir, not that one either. OK i'll have the expensive one. Pause while complicated paper work order is filled out. Sommelier disappears for a long time - like two courses long - returns to say he's looked every where aand can't find that particular wine. OK, I say, can I coose another one? Yes sir, let me go and get the wine list..... Another long pause. 4th choise arrives in time for dessert.
Very comfortable room and shower. Much classier than Etosha.
I wonder if in the great scheme of things that this might well have been a better first stop after a 36 hour journey rather than Gunn's Camp and its mid-afternoon only for a short time shower. Logistically challenging to go Maun, Kasane and then Gunn's Camp.
18th July:
5:20am wake call - its still and hour to dawn - to be ready for the 6am departure of the morning game drive. We are talking seriously cold in the open viewing vehicle. Blankets and hoods. Where is the puffy down jacket when you need it? Basically traversing the same route as the previous evening with the driver (Ooh-Bee, the very well informed) explaining
that there are no animals because it is cold and dark.
Suspicious and wise canadians posit that the morning game drive has to be early so that the vehicles get back in time
to take out the 10am Victoria Falls day trippers. Fairly convinced that the morning was to be a bust when we came across a leopard cub hanging out waiting for its mother to come home.
Two days and two leopards - amazing.
Hippos still on land - so still not hot by definition
Back in time for the buffet breakfast. Custom made omelletes work for me. We have until 3pm, our next "game drive" but this time water-borne on the river.
The new "larry recommended" binoculars are spectacular - so to speak.
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Arrived at Chobe Park Safari Hotel. A tad more up-market than the Etosha NP lodges. Not quite the number of bus tours but still a diverse mix of nationalities.
Much confusion upon arrival as a) the room wasn't to be ready until 2pm and b) the room key generation machine was broke.
Lunch on the patio overlooking the Chobe river was very pleasant. First scheduled activity was the 3pm 3-hour game drive. The NP itself is just 10 minutes down the (paved!) road from the lodge.
Large numbers of elephants on the islands along with hippo floatillas. Yer regular girrafes and impalas
a rare sable antelope (even the Kruger NP family was impressed. All fairly vanilla until our driver picked up word of a leopard sighting many km west of the entrance. We all voted on a gamble and Shauna, honeymooning Canadian, said she felt very lucky about this. Boy was she right. Leopard, female, up close and personal. Made the day.
The light was fast disappearing
Held appetites at bay until 8pm and did the "buffet". Very complicated, its entirely an african, everything is complicated. I'd like to buy a bottle of white wine, no problem sir. Here is the (impossible to read in zero light) wine list. I'd like this one please. I'm sorry we don't have that one - how about this one - sorry sir, not that one either. OK i'll have the expensive one. Pause while complicated paper work order is filled out. Sommelier disappears for a long time - like two courses long - returns to say he's looked every where aand can't find that particular wine. OK, I say, can I coose another one? Yes sir, let me go and get the wine list..... Another long pause. 4th choise arrives in time for dessert.
Very comfortable room and shower. Much classier than Etosha.
I wonder if in the great scheme of things that this might well have been a better first stop after a 36 hour journey rather than Gunn's Camp and its mid-afternoon only for a short time shower. Logistically challenging to go Maun, Kasane and then Gunn's Camp.
18th July:
5:20am wake call - its still and hour to dawn - to be ready for the 6am departure of the morning game drive. We are talking seriously cold in the open viewing vehicle. Blankets and hoods. Where is the puffy down jacket when you need it? Basically traversing the same route as the previous evening with the driver (Ooh-Bee, the very well informed) explaining
that there are no animals because it is cold and dark.
Suspicious and wise canadians posit that the morning game drive has to be early so that the vehicles get back in time
to take out the 10am Victoria Falls day trippers. Fairly convinced that the morning was to be a bust when we came across a leopard cub hanging out waiting for its mother to come home.
Two days and two leopards - amazing.
Hippos still on land - so still not hot by definition
Back in time for the buffet breakfast. Custom made omelletes work for me. We have until 3pm, our next "game drive" but this time water-borne on the river.
The new "larry recommended" binoculars are spectacular - so to speak.
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Location:Kasane, Botswana
Gunn's Camp
SFO->LHR->(7hr at AA)->JNB->(3)->MUB->Gunn's Camp
A long journey. LHR was broken up nicely with a $99 monthly pass to AA's Admirals Club. Pass allows one accompanying guest so that will work out to $25/person/visit.
Gunn's Camp: Pretty rustic camp with limited access via the strip (20 mins from MUB) or boat (4 hours from Maun)
Louie flying a 206 for Moremi Air out of MUB.
Elephant on air strip.
Had to buzz him off. Same elephant who is gradually destroying the Camp.
6 or so luxury tents - depending on elephant damage.
15th July
arrived at lunchtime and then, with the 3/4 of the german family (Andrea, Carsten etc) we headed out on the power boat to view the delta and its inhabitants.
very pleasant. strange to see so much water flowing yet the its the height of the dry season. all the water is from Angola. Elephants and crocodile. King Fishers
dinner: why did i eat the carrot and ginger soup? Disastrous bathroom-centric night throwing up.
16th July
Boat to island and 3 hour game walk without the game. Nice boat ride though.
Skipped the afternoon dugout canoe trip but Dyane thought it very good
dinner: skipped the soup! fully recovered don't want to mess that up.. Australian alpha females have arrived. Dinner conversation consisted of an unrequested explanation of Aussie Rules football.
Its like someone described what luxury is to a westerner and then that information was passed as in a game of "telephone" so the message received is slightly wrong. High Tea? Formal Dinner? Can't help but think that Colin Edwards in Rockview, Guyana actually got a lot of it right after all.
buffalo - run up termite mound. if it charges lie down
elephant - trumpet ok, trunk between legs and flattend ears is big trouble
leopard - dont make eye contact
lion - do make eye contact
17th July
Elephant doing serious tree damage outside the tent for early part of the night. Best line of trip so far: Aussie son (about 12) says at breakfast he was expecting his mum to go out and sort the elephant.
Gordon (from Colorado) subcontractining his Kovango Air plane to Moremi Air picks us up from Gunn's for the 80min flight to Kasane.
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A long journey. LHR was broken up nicely with a $99 monthly pass to AA's Admirals Club. Pass allows one accompanying guest so that will work out to $25/person/visit.
Gunn's Camp: Pretty rustic camp with limited access via the strip (20 mins from MUB) or boat (4 hours from Maun)
Louie flying a 206 for Moremi Air out of MUB.
Elephant on air strip.
Had to buzz him off. Same elephant who is gradually destroying the Camp.
6 or so luxury tents - depending on elephant damage.
15th July
arrived at lunchtime and then, with the 3/4 of the german family (Andrea, Carsten etc) we headed out on the power boat to view the delta and its inhabitants.
very pleasant. strange to see so much water flowing yet the its the height of the dry season. all the water is from Angola. Elephants and crocodile. King Fishers
dinner: why did i eat the carrot and ginger soup? Disastrous bathroom-centric night throwing up.
16th July
Boat to island and 3 hour game walk without the game. Nice boat ride though.
Skipped the afternoon dugout canoe trip but Dyane thought it very good
dinner: skipped the soup! fully recovered don't want to mess that up.. Australian alpha females have arrived. Dinner conversation consisted of an unrequested explanation of Aussie Rules football.
Its like someone described what luxury is to a westerner and then that information was passed as in a game of "telephone" so the message received is slightly wrong. High Tea? Formal Dinner? Can't help but think that Colin Edwards in Rockview, Guyana actually got a lot of it right after all.
buffalo - run up termite mound. if it charges lie down
elephant - trumpet ok, trunk between legs and flattend ears is big trouble
leopard - dont make eye contact
lion - do make eye contact
17th July
Elephant doing serious tree damage outside the tent for early part of the night. Best line of trip so far: Aussie son (about 12) says at breakfast he was expecting his mum to go out and sort the elephant.
Gordon (from Colorado) subcontractining his Kovango Air plane to Moremi Air picks us up from Gunn's for the 80min flight to Kasane.
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Location:Botswana
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