Adventures in Africa Archives

Great White Sharks and the Cape

June 18, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

The next day was our Great White Shark Adventure, which turned out to be a pretty lousy day. Did we see a Great white shark or two? Yes…a BIG one. But no breaching, and the visibility was so bad that they could not be seen from the cage. The weather was awful, swells of 8 feet or more, there was definite seasickness on the boat. One poor woman was completely passed out. Seal Island has over 30,000 seals living on it…they make quite a noise and one does not want to be downwind. It is sickening, absolutely. Overall, we were tremendously lucky with animals…but the weather did not cooperate with the sharks. The boat and captain have been on Nat Geo, it was just a lousy winter day. Worth a try!

south africa — Guys with HUGELY fat seal!

We spent our last day going to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, driving and seeing wildlife, and of course, having a fabulous meal on the waterfront. Our guide took us to a marina to see the “seal man” who has “tamed” a wild seal who comes daily to visit and be fed. We all enjoyed feeding this huge guy! He is in his thirties we were told…he is hugely fat!

We stopped at an ostrich farm and fed ostriches….it was great fun, but I was really the only one that loved it. They are so funny….and strange looking! But I loved them. I laughed so hard and could not stop when they pecked my fingers…I heard Ran say to the kids, “Now you know why I married your mother!”. Ran is so sweet. sigh.

baboon, south africa, table mountain — Just a few days old.

We drove up the Cape Point and saw baboons, one was even sitting on a car! One needs to be a little careful with these guys. If they decide to sit on your car, that is tough luck for you! You’ll be waiting until they choose to get off! We also saw a baboon family of three…they are so human! The baby was so pink and only a day or so old.

South Africa, Bantry Bay — Sunset on Bantry Bay

That evening was one of the best sunsets we have ever seen….we have a great view from our balcony of the ocean, but we walked down to the water to see the sunset.

Africa has been a revelation in so many ways…we all want to return. It has been a tremendous adventure and one of the best experiences of our lives.

Boulders Beach

June 16, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Outside of Cape Town is Boulders Beach, a beautiful spot where a South African Penguin Colony lives. They are the cutest …birds you can imagine! They are birds, but of course, they don’t fly in the air, they fly underwater! The penguins are nesting at this time of year…I had no idea that penguins made little dens and sat on their eggs. These little babies are brown and furry! We always hear about the Emperor Penguins, but most penguins do not live in such arctic conditions. These penguins are known as Jackass Penguins. I’m not kidding. They are called Jackass because of the “heehaw” sound they make! They really do sound like donkeys! We walked among them, saw their nests and their young, then walked on the beach where a small group of them came out and swam. I sat near the water and enjoyed watching them in their little tuxedos! It was a cloudy day, and “winter” (to them) as well, so we pretty much had them to ourselves. The beach was pristine, with huge boulders (hence the name Boulder’s Beach), and tidal pools filled with sea stars and crabs and other little critters. Incredible experience!

Wes and Ally...bouldering — Wes and Ally…bouldering

We also met a new animal, the Rock Hyrax or “dassie”. Strangely enough, their closest relative is the elephant! They look like rodents….they are absolutely adorable. I’m sure you will agree that Ally took some wonderful photographs of them.

The Rock Hyrax, or “Dassie”!

We stopped for lunch in Simon’s Town where Ally took a bit of a tumble (fell on her ass, actually). It is usually me, but Ally took the fall on the continent of Africa! (Of course, I have fallen on Africa too….just not on that trip!) Afterward we went up Table Mountain to see the view….endless vistas…

Another beautiful day in South Africa!

Hermanus and a “go around” in Cape Town

June 14, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Hermanus, small town in South Africa, known for Whale Watching.

Yesterday was travel day….we left Botswana at 10a.m. and did the border crossings again into Zimbabwe and to the Victoria Falls airport. From there we flew to Johannesburg, then caught another flight into Cape Town. I think when it comes to Africa, every flight has to go through Joburg! Our flight was VERY interesting heading into Cape Town. As you may or may not know, the cape is known as the Cape of Storms, because storms form with no warning … as we began our descent a line of squalls quickly came up. The pilot came on the PA system and announced that we might have to do a “go around”, a common maneuver at the Cape Town airport. The plane tries to land, but if the squall comes in at a certain speed, the plane must pull up suddenly (no matter how close to landing) and then “go around” before taking another “bash” at landing! I’m not sure “bash” was the right word to use in this case….Yes, we experienced a go around….wow! The landing gear is deployed, you are almost touching down and boom…the plane suddenly pitches up and accelerates and you are pushed back in your seat! Kind of like the plane in the movie AIR FORCE ONE. It took us 45 minutes to land. Most exciting! We then rented a car and drove to Hermanus (Randy is the MAN, cannot believe he can drive on the left and shift with his left!). We expected a charming hotel on the coast….we arrived late and were a bit surprised at the tiredness of the hotel…our rooms had no heat and there were towels under the windows to keep out the howling wind and rain. We were so tired we didn’t protest, just slept. We didn’t arrive at the hotel until midnight. Things always look brighter in the morning… the hotel has a long ago charm to it (a little “longer ago” than anticipated), and we were shown to better rooms with sitting areas and balconies as the view is quite magnificent even in the rain (cliffs, pounding ocean, mountains barely visible through the mist). We are taking a day to have our laundry done, catch up on sleep and reading and Internet, and watching the weather change every 15 minutes. We are hoping to see the whales out there, but it is very rough and we have not seen any yet. As I write Wes is reading, Ran is working, Ally is sleeping, and I am journaling. The ocean is feral as the South Africans would say!

Chillin’ in Cape Town

The hotel in Hermanus was so cold and miserable that we came to Cape Town a day early. What a beautiful city, surrounded by ocean and mountains and islands. We are staying in Bantry Bay (what was known as Botany Bay in history), at the Protea President (which was opened by Nelson Mandela) with an incredible view of the ocean. What is a Protea? Well, Protea is a botanical name and the English common name of a genus of South African flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes. Remember, Protea President Hotel is on what used to be Botany Bay.

Ran has been ill and unable to enjoy Cape Town today, but we are hoping he will be able to join us for dinner tonight on the waterfront. The kids and I explored Cape Town, going to the aquarium where I had a bit of fun, Nobel Square where Nobel Peace Prize Winners are immortalized: Albert Luthuli, former president of the African National Congress, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, last president of the ‘old South Africa’ FW de Klerk and the legendary Nelson Mandela, affectionately called by his clan name, Madiba, by many South Africans. We explored the V & A waterfront and shopping areas. Cape Town is quite cold, winter in Africa is just starting.

Nobel Square: founders of democracy in South Africa

Ah, Randy did feel better and was able to join us for a lovely dinner at Quay Four, a fabulous restaurant on the waterfront. I can heartily recommend it! Also, at the Haagen Daaz (of course, South Africa has heavy Dutch influence) they have a wonderful concoction: Midnight Cookies and Cream! Chocolate Ice Cream and Oreos. Heavenly!!!!

A gorgeous city, reminiscent of San Francisco, but Cape Town is marred by the abject poverty of the shanty towns that ring it. I have never seen anything like it….miles of “homes” and “townships” made of scrap metal. It is horrifying. It has been 15 years since the end of apartheid, but there is a very long way to go for true equality. A failing economy is not helping. Our country didn’t have true universal suffrage until 1965, with the passage of the Voting Rights Act, so it is understandable that in 15 years things in South Africa are not perfect….but the sight of the miles of shantytowns will stay with us.

The Wonders of Chobe

June 13, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

We left Zimbabwe for Botswana on the 21^st. An interesting trip! We drove to the border where we had to exit Zimbabwe’s immigration station, then we drove to the Botswana immigration building which was a true eye opener. It was a tiny, tiny little building, jammed with people, and I won’t comment on the restroom except to say you would not want to use it. Everything was very primitive, and it was sadly apparent in the room that people from Botswana do not have access to daily showers.

The road to Chobe was riddled with potholes and donkeys and goats and warthogs were everywhere. Upon arrival at the Chobe Safari Lodge we chose our activities from a list of possibles and got ready for our first Chobe game drive. The Chobe National Park is on the Chobe River which separates Namibia and Botswana. It is known for huge elephant populations and justly so. The number of elephants is about 60,000 plus. They travel in big families, 30 to 50 at a time. The game in Chobe is plentiful and yet the elephants are so populous they are destroying the vegetation in the park. Botswana wants to “cull” them (kill them), but it is very difficult to do. Elephants are extremely intelligent and emotional with LONG memories which are transmitted generation to generation. The park cannot allow elephants to remember, and pass down, that humans hurt them. There are too many elephants in the area, but I am glad they will remain.

We saw towers of Giraffe!!! Ah, my favorites, they are so long and elegant! We hired a private boat to take us on the river and Ally took the most incredible hippo photographs. There were so many, I cannot even guess how many there were.

They were in the water, in the grasses, in the mud….just everywhere. The boat we hired is an air boat, very small and if a hippo really wanted us, there would be no problem at all. There are crocodiles on the banks and in the water.

We saw Sable Antelope (very rare find, few left) and they are incredibly gorgeous. Their horns are magnificent. We saw kudos, impala, elephants, and even water buffalo. Also, monitor lizards and tons of baboons. We glimpsed the rare Red Lechwe, a tiny water antelope, and a Sitatunga, another antelope type creature with great spiraling horns. We also saw a couple of lions snoozing under some bushes, but it was very hard to get a photo.

We saw elephants, and more elephants. We watched a couple of young males “fight”, and a couple of the younger males made some threatening movements toward our open air vehicle. Quite imposing….we certainly did not want to piss off elephants, so we slowly backed away. There were several young males around, letting us know we were not exactly welcome. We also saw elephants dusting themselves, snorting up huge amounts of dust and then spraying the dust all over their bodies. Dusting keeps them cool, serves as a sunscreen, and keeps insects away. In Chobe they also visit mineral licks, or salt licks, and eat the dirt which is rich in minerals and sodium. Scientists hypothesize that elephants need to supplement sodium, which is lacking in the water and in their food supplies. Many other animals, including giraffe and zebra, also visit the mineral licks.

The lodge was nice, but the food mediocre and served buffet style. YUCK. Our room overlooks the Chobe River, and the courtyards are full of birds, warthogs, and monkeys. One woman wanted to pet the “wildebeest”, but I advised her not to. I mean, warthogs have some major tusk action going on I didn’t want to see anyone gored! We loved sitting on the balconies and watching the wildlife. Warthogs snort just like pigs do!

Please go to the Africa photo page for more Chobe photographs! There is just no way to put it all in a blog entry. Chobe is dense with wildlife!

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe is the Home of the Smoke that Thunders

June 11, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

smoke that thunders, the smoke that thunders, victoria falls, zambezi — The Smoke that Thunders

The smoke that thunders! We loved our trip to Zimbabwe, and particularly enjoyed visiting Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The falls are known as “the smoke that thunders”; it is twice the size of Niagara Falls, and there is so much mist and fog you cannot see the entire falls at once. It is like a rainforest, green and leafy and lush. Rainbows are present beneath you on sunny days, rainbows within rainbows! If you were in a plane or helicopter you could see the entire area, and if you dare to jump into Devil’s Pool you can really get a view! You have to be in Zambia to do it though, on Livingstone Island. Check out how awesome the view is! http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-656-s&va=devil%27s+pool+victoria+falls [Read more…] about Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe is the Home of the Smoke that Thunders

Our last game drive in Sabi Sabi

June 7, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Our last safari drive at Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge!

As always, a great morning with a herd of water buffalo, impala, zebra…rhinos and a herd of elephants with a baby who came charging at us! He was so tiny and so cute! Elephants are amazing creatures, and we are looking forward to our trip to Chobe, Botswana where over 60,000 elephants live.

Our fist safari experience has been out of this world. It is humbling to see these animals in their own environment, it makes me realize that we truly are part of the “circle of life”. We mustn’t take more than we give….we must protect these habitats for them. Our “Big Five” was achieved within our first 24 hours, and we are still reeling from all of the excitiement!

After our game drive we had a quick breakfast with Pieter and sadly said our goodbyes and exchanged contact information. The rangers are quite remarkable. They go to school in order to become a ranger, the knowledge they have is seemingly endless. At the Earth Lodge rangers are “in charge” of a certain group of guests, and this includes game drives, meals, escorts to the lodges after dark and first thing in the morning (the big feeding times). We have really enjoyed our time with Pieter, he is a terrific young man. I hope we’ll meet again.

The Big Five: Cape, or Water, Buffalo:

ran sabi 1st day 09 water buff wound with bird — A bird cleaning a wound

LION

LEOPARD:

ELEPHANTS:

RHINO:

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