Travels with Tam

Have you ever seen a Sunrise in Sabi?

June 1, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

June 16 Our first morning game drive! They woke us at 6a.m., and by 630p we were in our open Land Rover and on the bushveld watching the sun come up over the African horizon. Our first stop was at the local watering hole to see two hippos chilling out. They were enormous! Hippos can be quite dangerous, but these two were happily submerged. We had an awesome morning, we hung out by a leopard for about 40 minutes…it was atop an old termite mound, resting, bathing, watching. Our more experienced companions, two South Africans Willem and Leon, said that it was an exceptional sighting as leopards are generally extremely shy animals and most sightings involve a few spots glimpsed through the veld. The leopard was a large male known as the SandRiver leopard. This animal is pure muscle, absolutely gorgeous. As close as we were, he didn’t seem to have much interest in us, in the distance he was lazily keeping an eye on zebra and impala. I cannot believe I was within 8 to 10 feet of a wild leopard in Africa!

After we left the leopard we came upon a white rhino and her baby, with two males feeding nearby. They were wary, but we were still quite quite close to them. It is amazing that we get within 10 to 20 feet of these animals. The baby White Rhino is cute beyond words…he would come close then dance away, with momma keeping an eye on us.

We saw a Fish Eagle somewhat similar to our bald eagle….a very majestic bird. Bird species abound….we saw a Goshawk eating a snake today! We had coffee in the bush, they pull the Land Rover over and pop open a table on the back with cookies, pastry, coffee and hot chocolate. On our return to the lodge Ally said, “just watch us go round that bend and find elephants!”…..and yes, we ran across several elephants feeding around the bend. She is our elephant whisperer. We also saw a lone warthog and a lone water buffalo. The lone water buffalo is a very dangerous animal, they disappear into the bush and if you disturb them they will charge. We have seen the Big Five in our first 12 hours: lion, leopard, water buffalo, rhino and elephant. The Big Five is so called because of the old game hunting trophies, these animals were the most valuable. I cannot imagine wanting to shoot and kill one of them, we are happy to shoot with a camera. Alexandra and Randy are taking a million photographs. Can’t wait for our afternoon/evening game drive!

The afternoon and evening game drive was incredible. We sat in our vehicle watching

a pride of 16 lions wake up. 16 LIONS!

There was our roaring male from the night before with all of his females and cubs. They are incredibly beautiful, obviously well fed (they had had a wildebeest the night before), and feline. Watching them was so similar to watching Boo Radley, Strider, and especially Buddha (our cats)…stretching, bathing, playing, lying on their backs…the male never did get up while we sat watching them for an hour! The lion pride was beyond words. ….what an experience to see these animals in the wild! Don’t forget to check out more photos on the Africa page!

To the Bushveld and Sabi Sabi in Kruger National Park!

May 30, 2013 By Tam Warner 1 Comment

bushveld, Sabi Sabi, Kruger National Park — The Earth Lodge water hole

June 16 Today we made our way to Sabi Sabi, a private reserve within Kruger National Park. It took five hours from Johannesburg through eucalyptus trees, citrus groves, mountains, and “bushveld” to get here. What is the bushveld? “The Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) is a large layered igneous intrusion within the Earth’s crust which has been tilted and eroded and now outcrops around what appears to be the edge of a great geological basin, the Transvaal Basin. Located in South Africa, the BIC contains some of the richest ore deposits on Earth.” We are staying at the incredible Earth Lodge, an eco-friendly and luxurious set of lodges built into the veld. No fences separate us from the animals of Sabi Sands. The Earth Lodge is most definitely one of the best lodgings we have ever stayed at. We are in one lodge, the kids in another. It is the size of an apartment. We have a private plunge pool on our patio…hopefully no hippos will want to swim!

At night and early morning a ranger escorts us to the lodge for our game drives and meals. The ranger carries a rifle….after all, who knows what could be hanging around waiting to eat us? Our ranger is Peter, an Afrikaan of Dutch descent, and our tracker is Pat who is of a tribe I cannot spell or pronounce…South Africa has 14 different languages. Amazing!

We headed out this afternoon for our first game drive.

I’ve been to zoos, animal sanctuaries, circuses, big cat rescue….but nothing can prepare you for seeing these animals in the wild. Nothing! We saw warthogs, impala, and kudo….water buffalo, wildebeest, zebras and giraffes. We mingled with a herd of elephants, and we were ten feet from the King of the Jungle (or bushveld, rather). The

lion was sound asleep when we came upon him and he did not bother to wake for us. We waited quite a while before it became dark, the stars came out, and he began to stretch, roar, and finally, he sat up.

His roar sounded over and over again….our presence did not seem to bother him in the least. When he finally stood up we were all amazed at his musculature, his beauty, and the sheer power of him.

To say it was a thrill is absolutely correct: the thrill of danger, a touch of fear, a sense of complete awe. We leave again at 6 a.m. for our next game drive, and we will be ready!

After the game drive we headed to dinner at the boma ( a dining area around a fire ). The meal was wonderful….I had potato crusted chicken and French bean soup and Ran, Ally and Wes enjoyed Ham buck, a kind of antelope. We were escorted back to our lodges by our ranger, and we will be back at it tomorrow!

Today we made our arrival in Johannesburg South Africa!

May 28, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

arrival in johannesburg, tour of johannesburg, south africa — Tam, Wes, December and Randy

June 15. We arrived in Johannesburg at 7 a.m., and went to the hotel and once again slept. Amazing how those time changes and treks through customs and immigrations can wear one out! With only one day in Johannesburg we decided to do an afternoon tour with a guide named December. He was born on December 25 but he says he celebrates every day of his life, just because he is alive. He is a Zulu from Botswana; his father was a bushman. We enjoyed December tremendously, and he was extremely informative and friendly. He showed us Nelson Mandela’s home in Johannesburg, and he actually took us Hillsborough, a place just southwest of Johannesburg which is reputed to be the den of drugs and violence in Johannesburg. A terrible tragedy occurred there in 1991, forty people died when fans surged toward a jammed exit to escape rival brawling fans at a football match. The tragedy of drugs and violence around Johannesburg has left its mark, and we were not sorry when we headed back toward our hotel.

December’s major excitement was the new “football” (soccer) stadium being built for the 2010 World Cup. The World Cup in 2010 was talked about by everyone we met in South Africa, stadiums were being built in 4 cities. At the hotel that night football (soccer) fans were all over the streets and in the hotel bar celebrating their win and their beloved “bafana, bafana”. We heard “Bafana, Bafana” everywhere that night, and discovered that it is actually a Zulu term of endearment meaning “our boys”.
We spent our one night in Joburg at a hotel within the Emperor’s Palace Casino area. Of course, I had to go check out the casino (I love to gamble as well as travel). It is a huge complex, and the resort is very, very much like Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. I wish I could say I hit a big jackpot, but alas, I lost my South African Rand. Sad. They were doing construction while we were there, and this particular photo of the “emperor” cracked us up.

arrival in johannesburg, tour of johannesburg, south africa, Johannesburg South Africa — The Emperor and his construction

The Empire is Expanding! Good one.

Flying From the Big “D” to Africa (via London)!

May 27, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Big D, Africa, London — Ally, Randy, Tam and Wes

A celebratory graduation trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana! Cast of characters, Tam (me!), Randy (spouse and father), Alexandra, 22, college graduate, and Wes, 18, high school graduate. We left for DFW airport on Friday June 12^th 2009 and had a most exciting trip to the airport. There was an accident on I 635 and the traffic was at a complete stop to the I 35 junction. We needed to get to the airport, so Randy decided to drive in the emergency lane to make up some time (NOT something I would do). Most people did not appreciate this move….many people pulled out to block those who were in the emergency lane, a couple even opened their doors to keep people from passing! One guy in a red truck became particularly incensed when Ran pulled around his block move….then, when we were closer to the accident and almost through, Mr Red Truck joined us in the emergency lane. When we finally cleared the accident and could drive, Mr Red Truck pulled in front of us and cut us off at every opportunity until finally he exited on 114 or 121, whichever it is, I am happy Mr Red Truck left us….he was so irate you could see him screaming and gesturing from quite a distance. I’m just glad he didn’t have a gun! I feel sure Randy would have been in his sights.

Wes had flown with me in Business Class once to London to visit Ally when she lived there for a semester, but Ally had only flown Coach. When we boarded our British Airways flight she saw our Club World “pods” and I do not think she ever quit smiling. BA’s Club World has full recline, individual tv screens complete with movies, tv shows, news, etc; drawers for your items, and first rate service. Wes said he was actually excited to fly for the first time since he was a little boy. The four of us had fun playing with the automatic windows in our pods, but finally, we all slept. Our flight was comfy and uneventful, I always enjoy flying British Airways. Club World is their Business Class, but it is as good as First Class to me, the only real difference is you don’t get pajamas in Business Class (yes, in First they give you jammies!)

On our arrival to Heathrow we made our way to our “car hire” (AVIS) and rented an Audi to make our way to Kent where we were going to tour Hever Castle and look at Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s old home! I must say you have to hand it to Ran, he is one talented guy: he not only can drive on the left, but he can sit in the driver’s seat on the right and shift gears with his left hand! I really am amazed that he can do it. We pulled out of the airport and just as we were headed toward Kent (a county), the car started to pour smoke from under the hood. Obviously, we had to get back to the airport and switch cars. Thankfully we had also rented a TomTom, even so, it took forever to get back to Avis. Finally, a new vehicle and off we went again, quite late on our schedule.

Kent and Surrey are green and blooming in June. Wisteria tumbles over old stone walls, arches and doorways; the effect is quaint and charming and so completely British. We stopped at a pub in Hever called The Crown Inn, had a bite, then made our way to Hever Castle, the home of the family of Queen Anne Boleyn. As one of my favorite historical figures, I always wanted to see Anne’s home where Henry reputedly fell in love with her in the garden. The grounds are breathtaking, the castle is full of history, it was a place of absolute serenity. However, Anne does haunt Hever, on Christmas Eve. “Her somber specter is seen drifting silently over the picturesque bridge that spans the River Eden, in the grounds of the home where she knew much happiness, and from which she embarked upon a journey that would change the course of English history.” This ghost story was taken from the book “Haunted Castles of Britain and Ireland” by Richard Jones. Alas, I did not see Anne since I was there in June.

We drove by Chartwell, the home of Sir Winston Churchill, our car adventures cut into our time to go into the home. Then…back to Heathrow for our 11 and a half hour flight to Johannesburg. The British Airways Club World Lounge has showers, drinks and food so we showered, ate and drank, got on the plane, and promptly fell asleep on the way to Africa.

Taking off on Tam’s Travels!

May 22, 2013 By Tam Warner 2 Comments

With friends in Boulder Beach, outside of Cape Town, South Africa

My first post on Travels with Tam on May 22, 2013….and, oh, the places I have been!

I love to travel. I am an addicted scuba diver, underwater photographer, marine conservation geek, and I love to take pictures of my fishy friends. I love my fellow land animals as well. Our natural world is an amazing, magical place, and I want to see every inch of it! I enjoy traveling just about anywhere, even if I cannot dive. New places, new people, new animals, new scenery are irresistible. I have been asked by friends and family, why don’t you write a book or post a blog about all of your trips? I have kept journals, and even blogged on some trips, and I post my photos on Facebook, but I have thought about doing a travel blog. I love to write and to journal about everything so I can keep it fresh. Even as a child I loved to travel, loved animals, people, nature and history.

I travel for interest, pleasure, business, and I enjoy every trip and new adventure. I am a history buff as well, and included in this blog will be International trips, dive trips, college…any trips, really. If it interests me, I know there are others out there who will be interested as well. I travel alone, with my spouse, Randy, with my children (twenty-somethings), or with friends. One of the enduring jokes about me is that I have “fallen on every continent”. Well, that is not quite true, I have not been to Antarctica, or Australia….but I have fallen on all the others. I have always been the type of person who cannot seem to stay out of trouble…interesting things do happen to me. I have taken quite a few spectacular falls….I think family and friends want me to document my trips so they can have a written version to laugh at. I am also an empty nester, and now is my time to travel, to challenge myself, and to undertake new endeavors. This blog is one of them. I confess I am not lamenting the fact that my children have grown up, I am happy for them and happy they are starting their adult lives. As much as I loved that chapter of my life, it is now closed, and I am happy to start on the new chapter. My priorities are dive, dive, travel, dive, travel and dive!

I find it very difficult to stay in one spot for long; we own a home in Cozumel, Mexico, and we are very often there. My underwater photography serves as my Dive Log. (We also lease our villa to vacationers, so visit us at www.vrbo.com/368692. Cozumel is one of the best dive spots in the world!). I had to get that plug in there!

I think I will start Travels with Tam with my Photos and Journal of our first trip to Africa. We traveled to South Africa, Sabi Sabi in Kruger Park, Victoria Falls where we did Lion Encounters, and Chobe in Botswana to see elephants and hippos. Cape Town and environs was a special ending to our trip (especially Boulder Beach, see post photo!). In May 2009, my daughter, Alexandra, graduated from college, and my son, Wes, graduated from high school. And yes, I know it looks like it should be the other way around, but Wes is the younger! My husband and I decided to take them on a “trip of a lifetime” adventure to celebrate…we have returned to Africa and certainly plan to go back, and we have continued to enjoy “trips of a lifetime” (all trips are trips of a lifetime to me!) I hope you enjoy my adventures, trials, and (more than) occasional tribulations!

RESTART! REVITALIZE! REVAMP!

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