This is a chronicle of our family vacations. In 2013, we visited South Africa. In 2012, we spent nine weeks adventuring in Spain and surrounding areas. When not traveling, we live in San Francisco, and there are four of us: Bill, Sue, and our twins Bryce and Laurel, born in 2001.
We had talked about doing a river raft trip down the Zambesi for the last week or so, but when Ann - our trip leader - got information it would always change. Some days they said it was all class 5 rapids, but closer to the rafting date they said it was 3 and 4. Kids under 15 were not allowed, so I went with 7 others in our group, including Aaron - a 15 year old boy - and Alex, a 13 year-old who we said was 15.
I'm so glad we went! We started with a 20 minute hike down the gorge to the launching area, all of us in Tivas or sandals. From there, we mounted a boat, and got to know our guide, Mr. "K". They also had two safety kayakers, and a videographer. So we all felt safe, and if something unfortunate happened anyway at least we might wind up in a viral "epic fail" video on YouTube.
The rapids were really fun. Mr. K told us the first one was a "5", and we had a 50-50 chance of making it through without capsizing. He may have been exaggerating, but we did get up on edge a few times, and there were plenty of times he said "everyone down", which meant to get your whole body inside the boat. I've done a few raft trips in the past, and this was as rough and tumble as any I remember.
Anticipating the rapid
Bracing for impact
"Everybody down"
There were also a few times where Mr. K said "Who wants to swim?" I had done this before, so I was always first overboard. A couple of others followed, and we bobbed through some rapids with our life jackets keeping us above water. That part was really fun too.
We also saw a few small crocs on the side of the river. Apparently crocs, hippos and elephants fall over the falls from time to time. All the big animals never make it, but some of the smaller crocs survive, and we saw three of these lucky few gracing the riverbanks. We trusted our guide so much that when he offered to let us swim, none of us thought twice about the crocs we had seem upstream.
Returning from rafting, we piled into an open-air land rover, and drove on some dirt roads through some of the native villages. The driver would toss water bottles out for the kids who ran next to our vehicle, and then we started doing the same. Ann had some clothes she was going to leave behind, so she started tossing them out to the villagers as well. They were all excited to receive these unexpected, random gifts - such as they were.
Villager boys chasing our jeep
While the rest of our group did a more leisurely river float in the afternoon, the eight rafters finished the day at the Royal Livingstone's river deck lounge again, watching the mist from the waterfall rise in the distance with yet another spectacular African sunset as a backdrop. As we were enjoying drinks, a group of monkeys were playing nearby, and then a herd of five Zebras raced across the lawn behind us. The whole thing was surreal.
Chobe National Park promised to be different than our other two destinations, and we weren't disappointed. We were told that over 60,000 elephants inhabit the park. Plus, the only watering hole is the Chobe river that borders the park, so if you're looking for animals going to the river is a great strategy.
We started yet another 6 AM game drive, and fortunately it wasn't nearly as cold as Entanebi or Simbavati. Since Chobe is a big and famous park, and the rules dictate that all vehicles must stick to the road, we started out in a train of about seven Land Rovers. Immediately, we saw a pride of three lionesses in hunting formation - all even evenly spaced, going at the same pace. We saw more hippos, tons of impala, lots of elephants, warthogs, baboons, and even a female leopard. Our guide told us that the afternoon drive would be even better, since the weather had been cold, and today was forecast to be 80 degrees.
Female Leopard
Our afternoon plans didn't include a game drive, but instead - a boat ride! Our crew of 25 boarded our own river boat, and we proceeded to cruise down the Chobe river. This was the best game sighting experience we've had on the entire trip. There's an island in the middle of the river, and it had tons of crocs, elephants, hippos and other game. Our boat drove right up to a variety of pockets of animals. The elephants were playing in the mud, eating grass and spraying mud on themselves. The crocodiles were everywhere, lounging on the banks, and some posed for us with their mouths open and their sharp teeth showing, The hippos were in a variety of poses, some grazing on the grass, and some wallowing in the mud in groups of nine or ten, and occasionally the pod leader would open his mouth wide for us as well. We had lots of great photo opportunities.
Posing Croc
Grazing Hippos
This hippo looks like he's about to eat a bird
The highlight of the ride was watching a herd of about 50 elephants swim across the river to get to the grazing island. The dominant female elephant went first, and the other elephants followed behind - even the babies. In about three minutes, the entire herd had crossed to the other side. It was incredibly beautiful - so mush so that one mom in our group was crying. It was a sight none of us will ever forget.
Leaving Simbavati Lodge and the Timbavati wilderness, our next stop was the Wild Side Lodge in the Entabeni game reserve. Entabeni is a little different than Timbavati - it's a smaller game reserve, and it's actively managed so that the population of lions, wildebeest, and other creatures stays in balance. Besides lions and wildebeest, there are hippos, elephants, vervet monkeys, baboons, impala, kudu, rhinos, zebra, giraffe and probably some other animals I have forgotten. It's also at the base of a cool 900 foot rock formation called Hanglip, which looks a lot like Yosemite's half-dome.
Wildebeest with mountains in the background
We arrived late Wednesday afternoon, ate a quick lunch, and planed for an abbreviated afternoon game drive. Within minutes of arriving, we had giraffes wandering through camp. As we left for our game drive, a herd of zebras were right outside the gate. We didn't have a lot of time, but we managed to see a couple of jackals, as well as get our first up-close glimpse of a wildebeest. The jackals look like medium sized dogs. Wildebeest look like a mix of buffalo, zebra and cattle.
Wildebeest
Jackal
We had yet another delicious diner, and were awakened the next morning at 6 AM for our morning game drive. This time, we found a pride of lions snacking on a recently fallen wildebeest, and we parked maybe 20 feet away as the male pulled it apart and snacked on the intestines. A little later, we encountered a white rhino, lumbering down the road at his own pace. We parked ahead of him, and he strolled slowly by, just ignoring us. He was massive and elegant.
Later in the day, Ann - our trip leader - arranged a paintball event for us. 16 of us went, including all of the boys, and we played three games amongst the African bush. We played three games: the adults against the kids in a "shoot as many people on the other team" game, then a capture the flag style game. The final game was "survivor" -- every man for himself. Bryce and I formed an alliance from watching countless episodes of Survivor, but he got pegged quickly, and in spite of my lying prone on the ground to be a tough target, I got hit in the arm moments later. It was the first time playing paintball for Bryce and I, and we both enjoyed it.
In the afternoon, while the kids went on a game drive, the adults got treated to a bush walk. Sue and I, along with four others, had a guide named Aubrey take us outside our encampment. Aubrey carried a rifle in case of any trouble, and had us walk single file. I got nominated to be the last in line. I'm not sure why, but probably because I was the tallest of the bunch. Being last made me feel like I was the most likely to get eaten, but as you guessed that didn't happen.
Aubrey showed us a variety of cool things about the brush. He grew up living in the bush, and had a lot of great stories for us. As kids, they would send messages by writing on a piece of bark with a guinea hen quill and ink made from a plant, and seal it with glue from the sap of a tree. Young boys would run from village to village, and look under a specific rock for mail for their village, and also deposit mail from their village. Aubrey also taught me how to make a snare. We even smoked elephant dung - elephants eat all the medicinal plants (since they are so smart), and as such by lighting some dung on fire and inhaling it, we are administered the essence of all those plants. The bush tour was one of the highlights of our trip so far.
I was looking forward to experiencing the morning game drive, since I missed it yesterday. The knock on the door came at 5:30 AM as promised, but Sue and I were already awakened by the unfamiliar noises of the bush. The mornings are advertised as "very cold", and I had long gloves, underwear, pants and sweater, and a shell. Even so, once you get into the open air Land Rovers, the 37 degree weather seems even colder, so they give us a blanket and a hot water bottle. The first hour is indeed very cold, but it warms up quickly once the sun rises.
Morning Sunrise
We tracked a lion pair through the morning mist for about 30 minutes or so, hoping to see a live kill. The driver of our Land Rover thinks he is an animal as well, so we crashed through the bush following the lions, running over trees and bushes like they weren't even there. Bryce loved it.
Our lion in the mist
The rest of the morning we tried to track a pair of rhinos unsuccessfully, but on our way home we saw some giraffes and a warthog family. Both sets of animals were kind enough to pose for us.
Morning Giraffe
Warthog mommy protecting the kids
The afternoon game drive was equally interesting. As a part of our "bucket list", we wanted to have a cape buffalo encounter, and we weren't disappointed. Our guides found a herd of about 400 buffalo, and knew exactly where they were going to go. We parked at their destination - a popular watering hole - and awaited their arrival. You could see a dust cloud in the distance coming closer and closer, and eventually the sound of a couple thousand hoofs filled the air. As they approached the watering hole, they broke into a trot to get to the water. It was quite a sight.
Our safari has finally started! We traveled most of the day Saturday from Johannesburg to reach the Simbavati Lodge, in the Timbavati private game reserve. We stopped at a few interesting places on the way, including a cool waterfall called Lisbon Falls, and "God's Window", an amazing vista point overlooking a huge valley.
Lisbon Falls
We arrived after dark. Three open-top land rovers greeted us where the bus could go no farther, and Bryce and I got to ride in the dark, through the bush, looking up at the clear night sky. I saw a shooting star.
Arriving at Simbavati, the first order of business was to learn the safety rules. We are out in the middle of a game reserve, and wild animals run everywhere. We are not to leave the grounds of the lodge, and at night, we need an escort to our rooms, even though they are 30 feet from the common area. Kids are to be accompanied by an adult at all times. 'Nuff said.
Game drives - where we driver around the bush and look for animals - are at 6:30 AM and 3:30 PM. The animals are most active at sunrise and dusk. Wake up is at 5:30 AM, which is challenging for our family of night-owls, but we resolved to go with it nonetheless.
The first night, Bryce got sick, and I opted to keep him company instead of doing the morning game drive. We both slept in, and when the rest of the group returned from the morning excursion, we were regaled with tales and photos of lions, elephants and more.
Elephant from the morning game drive
Bryce rallied for the evening game drive, and we weren't disappointed. We saw a pride of lions feasting on a dead cape buffalo. We saw a white rhino. And best of all, our guides located a leopard who had just killed a kudu, and was ripping it apart. Cool stuff.
White Rhino
Lion #1
A buzzard waiting for the lions to be done
Lion #2
Our flesh-ripping leopard
Video: Our leopard eating a kudu
One of the unexpected and slightly unnerving things about safariing here is that our open-air land rovers get super-close to all the animals. We were 15 feet away from the lions and the leopard. You can hear the flesh being ripped off of the dead animals, and the purring of the lions. Supposedly, the animals don't realize that each vehicle contains 13 tasty human treats, and instead view each land-rover as a single, very large entity that is not to be messed with. It's as if the animals don't even notice us, and they just carry about their business as usual.
A Land Rover with some of our crew
The lodge itself is deluxe. We have a big deck to hang out on during the day, which is a great place to spot more animals and birds. We've seen baboons, hippos, an elephant, warthogs, and other assorted birds and animals from here. The bar is always open to serve drinks. The food is delicious. Our room is comfortable, and even has heated mattress pads. Ann, our trip leader, told us this may be the nicest place we stay during our entire safari, so I plan on enjoying every minute of being here.
After our day of experiencing the poverty of the townships, today was a 180 degree contrast. Our entire crew - now nine adults and nine kids - packed into two vans and headed to South Africa's wine country. In the morning, we went to Meerlust, a winery that was founded in 1689, and is now run by the eighth generation of the owning family. Afterwards, we walked through the quaint, pretty town of Stellenbosch. The experience was similar to wine country in California, but a little deeper. Stellenbosch was extremely clean, with a lot of Dutch architecture, and every building was white. There were a lot of delicious looking eateries and clothing stores. Bryce thought it "boring", but I think peaceful is a better way to describe it.
Stellenbosch
For the afternoon, we went to lunch at the most amazing winery I have ever seen: Delaire Graff. Founded by a diamond merchant, they spared no expense in creating a beautiful restaurant and winery on one of the most stunning locations on earth. We were seated on a deck, surrounded by mountains, with grape vines growing in the valley below. The weather was perfect, and the food and wine were exquisite. Most amazingly, the most expensive entrees were $18. After lunch, we had a custom wine tasting set up for us, and we were able to purchase some amazing bottles of wine for as little as $6. We wound up staying at Delaire Graff for four hours, since nobody wanted to leave.
The Dining Area at Delaire Graff
Bill with a box of great, cheap wines
The happy, sated family
Lamb's neck appetizer
Seafood entree - whitefish, mussels, mushrooms and more yumminess.
Meanwhile, the kids were taken to another winery and had a Segway (stand uo scooter) tour. Bryce - being all about anything with wheels - loved it, of course. We weren't sure how Laurel would enjoy it, but she reported back and said it was a lot of fun. While they were riding Segways through the winery, they stopped and talked to some of the wine makers to learn a little more about the craft.
Kids on a wine country Segway tour
We returned by nightfall, sated and exhausted, and feeling very fortunate.
I've always been curious how the less-privileged live, and when the opportunity to take a tour of one of the local townships presented itself, we jumped at the chance. Our family, along with Kathryn, her two boys, and Bo (13) went on an escorted tour of Khayelitsha, a township of 2.5 million people about 25 minutes outside of Cape Town.
Our guide was Mzukisi Lembeni ("Mzu" for short), a 30-ish man who grew up in Khayelitsha, and has had the wherewithal to set up his own business giving tours. Driving into the township, we noticed a sea of shack-like structures with corrugated aluminum walls that stretched as far as the eye could see. We got to visit inside one, and although is was relatively comfortable, the roof had holes in it, and the owner relayed to us that anytime it rains everything gets wet. The house had a working kitchen, running water, and a kerosene heater, which made it a bit more deluxe than many other places. This family also had a car. Mzu said about 35% of the families in the township own cars, and 95% have cell phones. We also saw a lot of satellite dishes. Another area we visited had no running water to the houses, and a row of outhouses for bathrooms. The human waste winds up in 10 gallon plastic containers, and is removed later. A common water source supplies water to these homes.
Khayaleitsha
Pre-fab corrugated aluminum shacks for sale
Another great encounter was with the local bike builder. His mission is to build bikes for the local kids. For about $0.20, he will build a bike out of spare parts. He also teaches the kids basic bike building and repair. He relayed to us that as a kid, he always wanted a bike, and as he got to be a grown man he vowed to make as many bikes as possible for all the other kids. He had about 10 kids hanging around his shop, and some were helping him. We left him with a bag of chocolate for his kids, and a small donation.
Outside the Khayaleitsha bike shop
There are power poles throughout the township. People are supposed to pay for electricity, but many just attach a wire to the nearest pole and then to their home. Mzu called this practice "spiderman".
Some of the houses are built more like real houses. Mzu told us an Irish man has come to the township and helped build about 20,000 houses over the years. He also teaches the locals how to build. The Irish government, as well as the local government sponsor him, and the homes are free for those lucky enough to get them. Most of the people who upgrade from the shacks to these homes are grateful, but Mzu told me some sell their houses and return to another shack instead. Some people also erect a shack outside their new home to handle overflow family members.
About 75% of the population is officially unemployed, but there is an unregulated economy. Coca Cola signs were everywhere, as some people set up little mini-markets. Other people cooked chicken and sausage. Surprisingly, a lot of hair cutters and beauty shops were to be seen. As a part of our tour, we visited the main supermarket, which was much like a Costco or warehouse store, and bought biscuits and bags of chips for some of the kids we would visit later.
The most fun was our interactions with the local kids. We visited a preschool, and gave out lollipops, chips, biscuits and pencils. The kids sang us a song, and they were so cute and grateful getting gifts. Following that, we went to Mzu's neighborhood, and a bunch of local kids were playing in the street. We had pencils and some snacks for them too. I noticed some of the kids doing a Gangnam style dance, and coaxed Bryce and Laurel to dance with them, and they were all dancing together. I showed off some poi moves, and tried to teach the kids some basics. It was priceless.
A happy little girl from preschool, with her new pencil
A young boy playing with the poi
Bryce, Laurel and kids doing Gangnam Style dance.
When we returned to our flat, I asked the kids what they thought of the tour. "Better than Disneyland" was how they put it. And indeed it was.
Update: You can contact Mzu at 021 824 8976 or 073
507 3622 to arrange a tour. Or email him at info@imizamoyethu.co.za
