Golfing at Leopard Rock and a Glimpse of Mozambique

Today we had planned to go to the Bvumba and then head back to Vic Falls, but since it was one of the most beautiful days we have had in Zimbabwe, we were easily convinced to stay another day ! The Bvumba used to be very well known for the many banana and coffee plantations before the land reformation forced many farmers out of Zim. As we drove through the area, Blessing and Archie pointed out many parcels of land that look neglected that used to be vast farms. It was unfortunate to see.We headed up into the mountains from Mutare early in the morning, stopping to look out over Mozambique and for a short hike overlooking Leopard Rock. Leopard Rock is quite a posh hotel, ｗｈｅｒｅ Queen Elizabeth stays when she visits the country. It is also home to a phenomenal golf course, rated the best in Africa/Middle East in 2000 by the PGA. It was just too tempting on such　a beautiful day, so we had to play 9 holes, and we convinced Blessing to give golf a try as well ! After golf, we headed back into Mutare for a late lunch and a stroll around town with Blessing where he ran into many of his old classmates and his uncle. We planned to get an early start the next morning for the 12+ hour trip back to Vic Falls. See more photos.

Our Day in a Shona Village

Today we visited a traditional Shona village outside Mutare, where Emma's family lives. Emma is a friend of Archie & Blessing and the caretaker at Ann's guesthouse where we are staying in Mutare. Emma's youngest daughter, Debbie (2) , lives with her in town, while her other children live with their grandmother in the village. We took a minibus out of town in the morning and met Emma's other children: Amanda (16), Takunda (14), Pride (12), and her nephew Dashinga (2). We spent the day walking around to the other villager's homes and visiting with them. Everyone was so kind and welcoming (and I'm apologizing in advance as it's now hard to recall everyone's names!). They showed us their gardens, as many practice subsistence farming and have little need to go into town but for minor supplies such as soap and cooking oil. A few had electricity thanks to small solar panels, so we were introduced to a favorite Zim artist, Macheso (we bought the cd to listen to at home we loved it so much!) It was a great afternoon! Afterwards we had lunch with Emma, her mother and children and were stuffed the rest of the day. The ride back into Mutare was interesting as we had to wait by the side of the road for a minibus to pick us up. We declined the first few rides as they were too expensive, but finally caught a ride in a small van filled with 23 people! I laughed internally as I read the sign that said "15 passengers maximum" inscribed on the wall and looked around to see all the adults squeezed in together and the children sitting on each other's laps! The entire day was such a unique experience this blog update won't properly do it justice but when we get home we'll share the video of Takunda and Christine dancing to Macheso! See more photos.

The Trip to Mutare in the Eastern Highlands

Today we continued to head east to Mutare, the third largest city in Zimbabwe and the gateway to the Eastern Highlands. For lunch we stopped near the Birchenough Bridge and then strolled across. During our stroll we made friends with several school children walking home from school so we introduced a game of follow-the-leader. In Zimbabwe, every road you travel has a well-worn dirt path along the side. Some of these children walked up to 5 km each way to school. The most memorable thing about our game of follow-the-leader (aside from the fact that cartwheels are universal) was that the young boy I was playing with was only wearing one left shoe. Many of the children were barefoot...tough little soles/souls. See more photos.

The Great Zimbabwe

Before departing from Bulawayo, we visited the Natural History Museum which was open again and got a very thorough history of Zimbabwe as well as the native wildlife. Although very informative, it was sad to see the state of the museum which was generally run down. As with most things in Zim, you could tell that there had been better days. We then drove on to Masvingo and the Great Zimbabwe. The Great Zimbabwe ruins are the remains of an ancient Southern African city whose name means “the great or big house built of stone boulders”. Zimbabwe derived it’s name as a country after independence as well as adopted it’s national bird, the fish eagle, from the Great Zimbabwe. Today was also a day where we began to see more clearly the impacts of the economic crisis in Zimbabwe. As we passed through different towns, we went into grocery stores where entire shelves were empty and saw long queues to get into banks. It was not uncommon to see women walking along the side of the road with large bags of mealie meal balanced on their heads with “US Aid” written across the bags, a sign of foreign aid which is common but not consistently distributed to the people in rural areas. But alas, a blog entry is too short to really fully explain the challenges in Zimbabwe. We stayed outside the Great Zimbabwe for an evening in a traditional rondoval at what used to be a very nice resort. Unfortunately, a lack of tourists had resulted in a lack of upkeep, although we learned early to have little to no expectations while traveling. In the middle of watching an Africa Cup game, the power went out, so we enjoyed the rest of the evening playing cards by candle light. We learned a new game from Archie and Blessing called crazy fours, which may be good for Scott as he is losing terribly at our on-going game of gin rummy! We play in each country and have a winner...so far Scott has only tied with Christine in Botswana and she has swept every other country on the continent! See more photos.

Supporting the Highlanders in Bulawayo

This morning we had planned to visit the Natural History Museum, but unfortunately it was closed due to a protest by the workers who hadn’t been paid. Instead, we spent the morning at Khami Ruins, a World Heritage Site. Khami Ruins was inhabited by the Torwa people between the 15^th-17^th centuries after the Great Zimbabwe, which we will be visiting later this week, was abandoned. While there, we also visited a Ndebele village where a grandmother ("go-go") lived with her three grandchildren. [Note: Most Zimbabweans are either Shona or Ndebele]. After returning to town, we had lunch at a local restaurant in the market. We ate pumpkin leaves and beef with sadza. Sadza is eaten with most meals and is the Shona name for a porridge made from mealie meal or ground maize/corn. In South Africa it is referred to as pap and in Zambia it is nshima. It is quite filling! Today we also had a rare treat. Archie and Blessing went into a local hotel bar to find out when the Africa Cup games were on that evening and we were pleasantly surprised (especially Scott) to find out that the local soccer team, the Highlanders, were playing a game in the afternoon against the Black Leopards from South Africa. It was quite fun, especially as Scott’s college coach, Bobbie Clark was once the coach in Zimbabwe for this very team in the early 1980’s! It was a great afternoon and also an interesting lesson in being the minority as we were the only white spectators in the stadium filled with 5,000 to 6,000 people. See more photos.

A Rare Look at Zimbabwe

We've decided that our next adventure will be a 5 day trip through Zimbabwe with our new-found friends Archie and Blessing. We are staying at the Savanna Lodge, where they both used to work prior to starting their own tourism business so they both came highly recommended. Due to the economic hardship in Zimbabwe and lack of tourists, it has been almost 6 months since they last booked a trip. We're excited for this adventure which will take us south to Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zim, then on to Masvingo near the Great Zimbabwe, and then finally to Mutare and the Eastern Highlands. Both Archie and Blessing grew up in the Eastern Highlands so we are particularly interested to view this part of Zim with the "locals".

One of the Seven Natural Wonders

Our final destination on our Nomad tour is Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The falls can also be seen from the Zambian border, but it is said to be more beautiful from the Zimbabwean side. Due to the economic hardship in Zim, many tourists are staying in Livingstone, Zambia, but we had a rare opportunity to visit a beautiful country even in a time of crisis. Though Victoria Falls is still a tourist destination, we were often told that tourism had significantly declined over the past five years. A lack of basic needs, such as petrol and food, forced people to cross into Botswana for supplies (if they had the means) or otherwise pay exhorbitant amounts for things in Zim…but more about Zimbabwe’s situation later. Our arrival in Victoria Falls also meant saying goodbye to our travel mates for the past two weeks. With a group of 23 people, we had a range of nationalities and personalities which made for a memorable trip ! On our last night, we enjoyed a great cultural meal at the Boma resort, which has traditional drumming and dancing and many tasty game meats. A great end to our tour. See more photos. Before departing with the group, we sat down with our tour guides, Todd and Charlotte, and received tons of great advice for our travels to Eastern and Northern Africa. With that we set off to make our next plans...

Chobe National Park River Cruise

After a relaxing few days in the delta, we headed further east to Chobe National Park. When we went game viewing in Etosha it was via overland truck. In the delta we traveled via foot, so in Chobe our mode of transportation was a pontoon boat. We spent the afternoon relaxing and watching the elephants, hippos, birds, monkeys and crocs along the water’s edge. Interestingly, we could view four countries during our cruise as many countries meet along the Chobe...Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. Unfortunately, instead of ending with a beautiful sunset, our cruise ended in a downpour. It made for an interesting night of camping as well !

A Bush Camp in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Our introduction to Botswana was the Okavanga Delta, certainly a highlight of our tour with Nomad. First, we did a scenic flight tour over the delta to get a good perspective of it’s size. Then, the next day, we departed for the inner delta via a two hour drive by overland truck followed by an hour and a half trip through the water channels via makoro. A traditional makoro is made from the bark of the sausage tree, but our poler, Alms, had gone upgraded to a fiberglass makoro…so no leaks ! We spent two days in a bush camp on an island in the delta and relaxed. We went on bush walks in the morning and evenings to view the natural wildlife. One morning we were so close to a herd of zebras and wildebeests it was amazing. We also went on a long trip chasing giraffes until we finally had to give up…realizing their legs were much longer than ours ! It was great to get to talk to the polers who grew up on the delta. They also entertained us one evening with songs and dancing, and we introduced the American tradition of s’mores to everyone ! See more photos.

Nomads in Namibia

We are in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia today and this concludes our travels through Namibia. We head to the border today to cross into Botswana and head to the Okavango Delta. We have done so much in the last 6 days we hardly know where to begin! After leaving Swakoptmund, we headed inland through the hot Namibian desert. We first stopped in Spitzkoppe, which is a natural rock formation created from magma that pushed the rocks upward to form mountains. It was once an active volcano, but the lava never broke through the surface. There, we were lead on a nature walk by our local guide Richie and we saw rock paintings done by the San people. This was our first night camping with the overland tour and we opted to sleep outdoors, falling asleep under the stars, and waking up to the sunrise on the rocks. In this part of Namibia, the local people collect the precious gems that are found in the area and sell them alongside the road. This is where we picked up our first Christmas ornament (we always collect them from the places we travel to), which is a palm seed carved with the "Big Five" game animals. The next morning we were off to Etosha National Park, further north in Namibia. We stopped to visit with a Herero woman who was selling hand-made dolls along the roadside. The Herero women wear very colorful dresses, which they fashioned after the Portuguese colonists who arrived in the 1800's. They added the interesting head dress, which is representative of the cattle, which are the main symbol of wealth in their culture. Cows are used for their milk, but a man must also have several cows as a dowery to marry a woman. We also visited a traditional Himba village. These people still wear loinclothes and live in very basic huts with no running water or electricity. They broke away from the Hereros because they wanted to maintain their way of living and tribal traditions. As necessity, the men will put on western clothes to go to work on the nearby farms herding cattle. The women and children earn money by selling the bracelets and necklaces they make to tourists who visit. Finally, the last two days have been spent camping in Etosha National Park. This was our first game drive and we have now seen 3 of the "Big Five" game animals. We encountered many lions, elephants and rhinos, as well as other animals and we hope to see the other 2 (leopards and buffalo) at Chobe in Botswana. We'll let the photos speak for themselves...see more photos.

Sand in Namibia

We flew from Cape Town, South Africa to Walvis Bay, Namibia yesterday morning so now we have our second country stamp in our passports! (Unfortunately, they didn't give us a stamp for Lesotho.) What a change of scenery! We didn't realize just how lush and green South Africa was until we landed in sandy Walvis Bay. From the airport, we picked up a car and did a few quick errands in this small port town (bank and groceries) and then embarked on the 5 hour drive down to Sesriem Camp in the Namib Desert. The roads are pretty rough since they are unpaved, but well worth the trip to see the famous red sand dunes in Namibia! It was a whirlwind trip since we start an overland tour today, but we fit in a sunset and sunrise at the dunes. The park gates open at 5:15 a.m., so we were up early to climb Dune 45 (appropriately named as it is 45 km from the park gate entrance. More photos of our adventures in the sand dunes! This may be our last post for a couple of days since we start our overland tour from Swakopmund, Namibia to Victoria Falls, Zambia tomorrow morning...we'll take lots of photos and share more stories soon! You can see our itinerary with Nomad for the next two weeks here.

Cape Town

We flew down to Cape Town on Monday and have enjoyed the last few days here. We spent Tuesday planning our adventures north and have now spent the last few days enjoying the area around Cape Town. Yesterday we traveled down to the Cape of Good Hope, the southern most point on the continent. We stopped along the way for breakfast in Simon's Town and visited the African penguins that live on Boulders Beach. We then traveled on to Stellenbosch and Franschhoek for a little wine tasting in the wine region. We spent the night in Franschhoek, which is much smaller and quainter than the larger town of Stellenbosch, and stayed at La Fontaine. We had an amazing dinner at Dieu Donne Vineyards overlooking the entire valley at sunset. The restaurant only opened a few weeks ago, but the food was divine! The French influence was a plus and we both agree it was one of the best meals we've had so far on the trip. The ostrich was yummy:) This morning we had a lovely wine tasting at Cabriere Estate, where the owner's wife took us on a tour of the wine cellar and we tasted their wonderful bubbly and wine - it was a 2 hour affair! Now we are back in Cape Town and headed for a hike up Table Mountain to catch the sunset. More photos from our travels in and around Cape Town. Tomorrow morning we are off to Swakopmund, Namibia to begin a two week overland tour through Namibia, Bostwana, and eventually ending at Victoria Falls in Zambia. We'll share photos and more stories when we get a chance...

South African History in Jo'burg

Sunday was spent learning about the rich South African history in Jo'burg with a visit to the Apartheid Museum and a tour of Soweto (Sew-way-too), which is short for Southwest Township. We visited the former home of Nelson Mandela, which is a traditional "matchbox" home in the township, which has been turned into a museum. After living there for only 11 days after he was released from prison, he had to leave because there were too many journalists visiting. Down the street from Mandela's old home is another Nobel Prize Winner, Desmond Tutu. In fact, we just read in the paper that he had just returned to Jo'burg from negotation talks in Kenya - yes, we are keeping abreast of the latest news in that country. We'll try to upload photos when we get a chance...for now the links will have to do.

Happy New Year from South Africa!

We arrived in Tuesday evening, January 1st after a long journey from Washington DC (via Paris) that included over 17 hours of flying time. After getting a good night's rest in Jo'burg, we drove down to the Northern Drakensberg Mountains, which are about 4 hours south. We stayed at the Amphitheater Backpackers hostel and had a few great day trips. One was a 7 hour hike up to Tugela Falls, which is the highest waterfall in Africa and the second highest in the world, after Angel Falls in Venezuela. On our second day, we took a guided tour of a small village in Lesotho, which is it's own country within South Africa. The people in Lesotho (Leh-soo-too) are referred to as Basuto (Bah-soo-too). We had a rare opportunity to meet the people of the village, see rock paintings by the native San people, visit with a Sangoma (a witch doctor), and sampled the local beer and food. We were amazed by how simply the people lived in such a remote mountainous area with no running water or electricity, and yet they all seemed so happy and the children had radiant smiles! See more photos.