We eat, go on a safari, and boat cruise

Kasane is situated right next to Chobe National Park, a huge game reserve in northern Botswana. Kasane is a pretty touristy city, with lots of upper-end resorts and tourists wearing safari hats in Land Rovers. We arrived in Kasane mid afternoon, and after having to patch a tire and a day of stressful driving, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner. Such a good decision! We ate at a beautiful resort called the Chobe River Lodge with a full buffet from 7PM-9:30PM. The food was excellent! I tried impala, warthog, kudu, and ostrich, not to mention the delicious mussels, stir fry, and butternut soup. There were so many options, and all of it was great (especially the dessert). We had a great view onto the Chobe Riverfront, although the waiter did tell us that there were often times crocodiles in the water. The next day, we woke up early (I saw more sunrises on this trip than I ever have in my life) to go on a 5:45AM safari. The game drive was great, we saw lots of hippos, elephants, impala, water buffalo, jackals, kudu, warthogs, anteaters, and more. Then, on the drive back to the hostel we passed three huge elephants right on the side of the road, which just felt like a continuation of the safari! We spent the day relaxing by the pool, until our 3PM boat cruise. The cruise was extremely relaxing, and we got to see a lot of animals on the banks of the water. We saw many of the same animals as in the morning, but also a baby crocodile and eagles. By the end of the day, we were all quite exhausted and ready for Zambia the next day!

We drive amidst potholes and elephants

Potholes and elephants, story of our Spring Break. The road between Nata and Kasane was by far, the WORST road I have ever driven on. Huge, deep potholes dispersed throughout the entire drive. There were about 10 km of road that was horrible, we almost thought we wouldn't make it! It resembled swiss cheese, with much more holes than cheese. At some points we had to drive on the unpaved shoulder of the road, which later proved to be a problem. And just when we would hit a stretch of nicely paved road, with smooth driving, we would approach a massive pothole that took up the entirety of the road and we would have to swing around into the shoulder. As an added delight, our presence would sometimes be graced by elephants. To be honest, at our first elephant sighting, I felt like we were in Jurassic Park. Elephants are HUGE! And when you're less than 10 feet away from them in a small car, it can be a little scary. One of the craziest things I've ever seen was along this drive, a massive dead elephant being eaten by vultures. Followed by a dead hyena in the middle of the road moments later. The drive was pretty surreal, and having driven part of it I felt very accomplished!

We drive for 12 hours, I get a necklace made of waterlillies, and we run over a hippo in a boat

Driving for 12 hours is not that fun. It entails waking up before the sun is up, quickly packing away anything you took out the night before, eating a diet of crackers and cookies for the entire day, and constantly wondering just where in Botswana we are. Driving from Gaborone to Maun was pretty uneventful, but arriving was exciting! Maun is situated right on the banks of the Okavango Delta, which is essentially a huge swamp with water canals, marshes, and wildlife. We spent our next day basking in the sun while enjoying the sights of the Delta, one of the trip highlights. We woke up early (reoccurring theme of the trip), and were driven by a speedboat to an area where the mokoros (dug out wooden canoes) were. One guide and two of us to a mokoro, we sat back and enjoyed our six hour tour of the Delta and its sights. Surrounded by waterlillies, in perfectly still water that reflected the clouds, I was in bliss. This was by far one of the most relaxing and beautiful ways I have spent a day. I sat with Nira, and our guide Dayz, was quite insightful about the Delta. He even picked us waterlillies from the Delta and made us necklaces to wear! Favorite comments include: Me: “So, do the hippos ever attack the canoes?” Dayz: “Yes, but only sometimes” Me: “But do hippos eat humans?” Dayz: “They eat everything.” Amusing. But here I am today, meaning no wild hippo attacks. We did see quite a few hippos but they generally just peered at us through the water. Well, except for the time when we were heading back from the mokoros, after being picked up by a guide from our hostel, who found it amusing to speed over a hippo we had just seen go underwater. Me: “How fast do the hippos swim?” Guide: “Faster than this boat.” Pretty scary, but I trust that the guides know what they are doing, although that hippo did look pretty angry. It was a pretty funny conversation between Nira and I when we compared how this situation would be different if it were in the United States. We concluded that the hippos would be in secured areas, we would be wearing life jackets, no waterlilly necklaces would be possible because signs would be posted about not disturbing the wildlife, and we would absolutely have to sign a 5 page wavier about the dangers of the Delta. Not in Africa!

Maya’s luggage gets lost, I drive on the left hand side of the road, and we almost lose the other half of our group

NOTE:
Due to two busy weekS of school, my Spring Break entries will be delayed and broken into shorter stories! It might take a little while, but I promise to have them up as soon as I can!

So, not the most exciting way to start a trip but it was a start. One of the girls going on the trip with us had her luggage lost on the flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg, which pretty much just meant she had a very limited clothing selection for the rest of the trip. Renting our cars was exciting, we really had no idea what to expect. I still can’t pronounce the make of our car, but it pretty much looked a like a mini version of a Honda Element. She treated us very well though, so no complaints! Driving on the left side of the road, with the steering wheel on the left side of the car, in South Africa, then crossing over into Botswana was surprisingly not as difficult as it may sound! I caught on quickly, after only a few small fender benders (kidding!) It really is very easy, just always remember STAY LEFT! I actually really, really enjoyed driving. Listening to music, chatting with friends…The roads from SA to Botswana were wide open with beautiful scenery (you will soon learn this is NOT the case throughout all of Southern Africa). We felt so accomplished after having crossed the border into Botswana, although it looked the exact same as South Africa. Somewhere along the drive, we realized the other group of four (who did not have a GPS) were no longer behind us. Oh, and we were in Botswana where our cell phones don’t work. Perfect beginning to the road trip. After arriving at our hostel, spending over an hour preparing for the worst case scenario, deciding if we would continue the trip without them and what our best options were, they showed up! Such a relief!! Lesson learned: stick together and buy Botswana SIM cards to put in our phones!

Mzoli's

On Sunday I went to Mzoli’s, a well known braai (barbeque) in the township (you should know the definition by now) of Guguleta. I don’t ever think I’ve seen so much meat! For about $2 per person, your table is served with a massive bowl of marinated steak, chicken, and sausage, pap (white porridge), salad, etc. Silverware, plates, napkins are not included which amounts to messy faces and dripping hands devouring hot food fresh of the grill. Very delicious. One downfall was that we arrived around 12:30PM and waited until 4PM for our food. We were told this was because Andrew, our landlord’s helper for lack of better terms to describe his position, didn’t give the cooks a big enough tip. Mzoli’s is only on Sundays, and what it is essentially is a celebration, a time for drinking, eating, and socializing. You are situated outside at big picnic tables with people sitting, standing, dancing, and walking around. Although most liquor stores are closed on Sundays in South Africa, the liquor stores in the township are open and you can buy beer, wine, etc. and enjoy before the food is served. There are people of all ages and races, from families with babies to grandparents to international students to locals. Many people were dressed up because they had just come from Sunday church service. It was explained to me that this was a celebration to look forward to after being forgiven of your sins and cleansed at church. One man at the table next to us asked if we would stand up and take a picture with him, because he wanted to be in a picture with white people-no joke. The food was tasty, the people were friendly and the atmosphere was great.

Spring Break Planning

One week until UCT’s 10 day “vacation,” or as we call it Spring Break! We are in the midst of planning our wonderful trip. So far, we have booked round trip tickets from Cape Town into Johannesburg departing on Thursday, April 2nd and arriving back in Cape Town on Monday, April 13th. I am going with 8 other students, some from my house, some from Wisconsin, and some that I have met here. Once in Jo’Burg, we are planning on renting two 4 x 4 vehicles and driving from Johannesburg, through Botswana, to the Ocavango Delta, then Chobe National Park, then Victoria Falls. I can't believe I get to see one of the seven wonders of the world! I am EXTREMELY excited for this trip. It will definitely be an adventure.

Completely, absolutely unrelated short story: Earlier this week I was on a train going to the beach, when a quite unusual incident occurred. A smiling old man boarded the train with a walking stick and dark glasses. He found his way to a seat, got out his donations box, and started playing the guitar and singing. He actually had a pretty good voice, but it was his rendition of Amazing Grace that left me with a real memory. Just imagine… sitting on a train, listening to a very happy, blind old man sing in a South African accent“…was blind, but now I see!”

Hout Bay

Last week, Conor, Ryan and I made a trip out to Hout Bay. The day was dreary and kind of cold (meaning high 60s-Oh, how I miss you Madison) and we didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into (This seems to be a reoccurring theme). We hopped on the Haut Bay mini bus from City Central, expecting to be taken to a beach or something of the like. The drive was much different than any of the other mini bus drives that take us to Camp’s Bay, Sea Point, Clifton, etc. We drove through the township Constantia, where we stopped and let many passengers off. At one of the stops, I noticed a sign posted on a store front that read “White people are the seed of all evil. They raped our women. They stole our country and our lives.” This was a little disturbing seeing as the three of us were the only white people within sight. It just goes to show that racism in South Africa comes from both sides. Although at times unnoticed, there is definitely a sense of division between black or colored (meaning mixed here) South Africans and white South Africans. There is also a clash between black South Africans and colored South Africans. I wouldn’t say I have had any specific experiences here that show this division, but when you observe your surroundings it becomes much more apparent. I am almost always one of the only white people on the train and on the mini bus. The derby I went to during my first weekend here was a prime example of this division of wealth. Certain restaurants and stores also show the divide. That aside, Hout Bay ended up being very cool. We ate fish and chips and calamari at a recommended restaurant called Fish on the Rock. The restaurant was a no frills, order at the counter, sit on benches outside type place that sat right on the ocean, and the food was fresh and delicious. We then walked from that restaurant towards town through the marina. We saw seals in the water and the scenery was beautiful. In a way, the chilly, windy, cloudy day added to the whole fisherman’s wharf experience. We stopped and got drinks at a café, and made our way to the Mariner’s Wharf, a large fishery, winery, and store. Ryan and I ate fresh oysters for 80 cents each. We bought mussel meat, fish, and crackers, and made our way back to Cape Town. What started as a potentially sketchy day ended up being a nice adventure!