Yep. It’s almost Christmas. Last weekend, Cath and I went to Ford’s Theater to attend the play “A Christmas Carol”. This is the 5th or 6th year in a row that we’ve watched it at Ford’s, and it never fails to put me in the Christmas spirit. This wonderful story of redemption can soften even the grinchiest of hearts.

Redemption is a theme running through many of our favorite Christmas stories or movies. This is particularly true in “A Christmas Carol” and “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”, which are remarkably similar tales.

After the Grinch’s Christmas attack on Whoville, who doesn’t love his redemption and rebirth?

“He puzzled and puzzed till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.

Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.

Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!”

And we all know how Scrooge acts after the visit of the three ghosts. At the end of “A Christmas Carol”, Scrooge tell us –

“I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future! The Spirit of all Three shall strive within me. Oh Jacob Marley! Heaven and the Christmas Time be praised for this!”

While the stories of Scrooge and the Grinch are secular Christmas tales, their stories certainly fit the theme of redemption that runs throughout Christianity. Maybe that’s why both stories resonate so strongly with me. There is always hope for us as we go through life, no matter our mistakes and issues from the past. There is always hope.

My wish is that all of you find your Christmas and Holiday spirit this year. Maybe each of us can take a few minutes from our busy lives of work, responsibility and worry to celebrate the holiday and our fellow man. Dickens tells us at the end of “A Christmas Carol” –

“…he [Scrooge] knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us and all of us. As Tiny Tim observed, God bless us, Every One!”

May that be said of all of us. Merry Christmas friends….

****

Addendum: While attending Ottawa High School back in the day, I was a part of a choral reading group called Voices. There were about 10 of us, and we would recite various poems or stories with both choral and solo parts. We performed at various hospitals, old folk homes, and the like. The two poems I remember to this day are “The Hollow Men” by T.S. Elliot, and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss. One of my solo lines in the latter was –

If I can’t find a reindeer, I’ll make one instead!

So he called his dog, Max. Then he took some red thread,

And he tied a big horn on the top of his head.

THEN He loaded some bags And some old empty sacks,

On a ramshackle sleigh And he hitched up old Max.

Funny what stays with you…..

“Oh my God!”

“What, are you OK?”

“Oh my God! I just saw a whale!” called Cathy.

I turned towards her and saw the splash of something big hitting the water. I’d missed it. No wait! There it went again! The whale breached three more times, before disappearing. It was our first evening in Hermanus, on the Western Cape, and we’d just gone for a casual walk. The breaching whale was a perfect introduction to Hermanus.

That morning, we’d said goodby to Marty, Magoo, Bill and Jim, who we’d been traveling around Southern Africa with for the last month. We added on three days at the end of the trip for just Cathy and I, and we were going to Hermanus for some whale watching. We left Cape Town around noon in our rental car, and stopped for lunch at a neat little place called The Thirsty Oyster in Gordon’s Bay. We arrived in Hermanus in the late afternoon and that’s when we had that first whale sighting.

Hermanus is known for the best land based whale watching in the world. Every year in August or September, the Southern Right Whale travels from the waters of Antarctica to calve in Walker Bay, off of Hermanus. They stay in the area for a couple of months raising their calves, mating, and then traveling back to Antarctica. By the end of November, most of the whales are gone.

The first full day, we saw perhaps 15 whales. The best was off of Sievers Point where we spied two that were doing some kind of dance together. We watched the choreography for an hour as evening was setting. Were they playing, or getting to know each other, or mating? We don’t know. We do know that it was beautiful to watch.

The following day was even better. In the morning as we watched from Gearing’s Point, four whales with their calves paraded past where we were standing on the cliffs. They are huge animals – I’m guessing the mothers were over forty feet long. They took their time, before finally moving on.

After watching them for so long, we were hungry and walked to The Bistro, a restaurant near our lodge. As we were drinking our beers and eating our cauliflower soups with blue cheese, there was a commotion in the cove opposite the restaurant. The same four pair of whales entered the cove, and the calves started playing together. They were slapping their tails on the water, or learning to slap their tails, as some did it better than others. Some people think that the the tail slapping is a form of communications, but no one knows for sure. We watched them through out lunch. We talked with several locals, including the owner of the restaurant – everyone was enjoying the show. They said the whale watching this year was the best they’d seen in four years.

We finally left when the whales had moved on. We were walking back to our room when the four pair had one last surprise for us – they’d moved on to Fick’s Pool, directly across from our lodge and the calves were again playing together. We crossed the road and walked out on the rocks for a better view and continued to watch them for another hour. They finally left.

That night, we had a final dinner at a nearby restaurant, The Heritage Cottage. It was perhaps our best meal in town, with Cathy having mussels in a garlic cream sauce, while I went with the Kudu filet. I wasn’t sure when I’d be able to have kudu again, and didn’t want to pass up one last opportunity. The local Pinotage/Cab blend went pretty well with the meal.

The next morning, we packed and said our goodbyes at the lodge. We drove to Gearing’s Point one last time to see if there were any whales. The weather had cooled, and it was cloudy that morning. We left our car to scan the Bay for whales. After five minutes of watching, we saw none and decided to drive on to the airport in Cape Town. It was time to start our journey home.

*******************

********

This is the tenth (and final) in a series of short blogs about our trip to Africa in September and October of 2018. I’m not trying to be exact in detail, rather, I’m trying to give a bit of the spirit or feeling of the various parts of the trip. Read at your leisure. Or not.

Related Blogs about the trip to Africa:

Cape Town (ninth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/cape-town/

Wine Safari – Stellenbosch (eighth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/12/06/wine-safari-stellenbosch/

Rra Dinare Safari Camp (seventh blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/rra-dinare-safari-camp-in-botswana/

He was Young and Made a Mistake (Sixth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/23/he-was-young-and-made-a-mistake-sable-valley-in-botswana/

Vic Falls – The Smoke that Thunders (5th Blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/18/the-smoke-that-thunders/

First Safari Camp, at The Hide (Fourth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/first-safari-camp/

Fishing and Elephants (Third blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/fishing-and-elephants/

The Drive to Lake Kariba (Second Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/the-drive-to-lake-kariba/

Harare (First Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/02/harare-zimbabwe/

Zimbabwe (Just prior to departure) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/zimbabwe/

Pink Gins (The Genesis)- https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/pink/

Arriving in Cape Town was a bit of a disconnect at first, after all of the safari camps and countryside we’d been visiting. It was the first big city we were in since Harare at the start of October. The two days of wine tasting we’d just finished in Stellenbosch may have slowed us down a bit as well.

Our AirBnB was right on the edge of the Waterfront, and the views of the lights that first night were captivating. The Ferris wheel was in the center of it all. We had three days planned in Cape Town, including The Waterfront, Table Mountain, and The Cape of Good Hope.

Table Mountain is right in Cape Town. The cable car only takes five minutes to get to the top, but with the crowds, we waited in line for an hour before it was our turn. We could have walked, but age or laziness got the better of us. At the top, the views are stupendous and in every direction. Out to the Atlantic Ocean, of Cape Town itself, and Robben Island where Mandela was imprisoned for so long. The day was hot and after walking the trails for two hours around the perimeter of the mountain, we had a beer at the little cafe there at the top. The crowds didn’t seem so bad now. We eventually took the cable car down and made it back to our penthouse.

That night, Cath and I walked to the Waterfront and wandered among the shops, bars and restaurants. It was a fun area. We eventually stopped and had dinner at a place right on the water called Life Grand Cafe. It was our kind of place – Barrel aged Negronis, a great wine list, and all kinds of seafood. After an appetizer of roasted avocado and tomato ‘ceviche’, we had a Chenin Blanc with our Pernod lobster tail and line fish.

On the walk back to our room we crossed the waterfront and there was the Ferris Wheel. Cath said “let’s go”, and so we did. It was probably the first Ferris wheel we’d been on together since we were 17 and 16. Up we went and circled around. The lights of the harbor, the ships, and the restaurants all intermingled with the lights of the city. We were above everything and feeling young….

The next day, we drove to the Cape of Good Hope and toured, saw penguins, and again faced the crowds. It was worth the trip, and the view, but our group elected to have our picnic lunch, and as it turned out, our last meal together, away from the crowd and on the coast by ourselves. We found a piece of boat wreck and pulled out our cheese, charcuterie and wine. The meal was fine and we talked and laughed with the easy going banter that comes from spending a lot of time together.

There was a bit more time as a group, including Hashing with the Cape Town Hash, who hosted us with grilled tuna and lagers after the trail. A bit of wandering around town the next day with some shopping, and suddenly it was the last morning.

After thirty days together, our group was breaking up. Jim and Bill were flying home later that day. Dave would leave in two days, and Marty in three. Cathy and I were taking a few more days to go up the coast to Hermanus, and hopefully, see whales.

We had a last drink together, and posed for a couple more group photos. Someone commented that, “for all the drinking we’ve done, it’s good that no one had to pull themselves across the floor with their lips.” There was more than a bit of laughter at that. Hugs and handshakes all around, and promises to have a party in January to compare photos, and maybe drink a couple of South African wines.

And then it was time. I knew I would see most of these people in the next few weeks, but it was still a sad parting. We had thirty days of adventures, animals, good food and drink, and shared memories. Good friends and good times that I won’t forget.

*******************

This is the ninth in a series of short blogs about our trip to Africa in September and October of 2018. I’m not trying to be exact in detail, rather, I’m trying to give a bit of the spirit or feeling of the various parts of the trip. Read at your leisure. Or not.

Related Blogs about the trip to Africa:

Wine Safari – Stellenbosch (eighth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/12/06/wine-safari-stellenbosch/

Rra Dinare Safari Camp (seventh blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/rra-dinare-safari-camp-in-botswana/

He was Young and Made a Mistake (Sixth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/23/he-was-young-and-made-a-mistake-sable-valley-in-botswana/

Vic Falls – The Smoke that Thunders (5th Blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/18/the-smoke-that-thunders/

First Safari Camp, at The Hide (Fourth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/first-safari-camp/

Fishing and Elephants (Third blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/fishing-and-elephants/

The Drive to Lake Kariba (Second Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/the-drive-to-lake-kariba/

Harare (First Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/02/harare-zimbabwe/

Zimbabwe (Just prior to departure) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/zimbabwe/

Pink Gins (The Genesis)- https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/pink-gins/

The band at The Sir Thomas Brewery in Stellenbosch kicked in to Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)” as the waiter served our food. We’d stopped in for lunch and palate cleansers after tasting several wines at vineyards in South Africa.

Flying in from Botswana, we’d arrived in Stellenbosch the evening before. Our safaris in Zimbabwe and Botswana were great for animal viewing, but in South Africa we were going on a different kind of safari – we were hunting wines. During our travels through Zimbabwe and Botswana, we had South African wines with dinner just about every night. Most were quite good, and we were eager to taste them at their source.

On the first day, our driver, Jonathon, picked us up at about 10AM from our AirBnB and drove us to the first winery, Tokara. Hundred mile views greeted us as we walked in. The wines were OK, the brandy even better. People were relaxing, and getting in the spirit of the day. The next winery, Warwick, was excellent, and in retrospect, had some of the best wines we tasted. We found out they shipped to a distributor in the States, and Magoo and I ordered a case to split. The day was shaping up quite nicely.

Soon it was time for lunch, and we opted for the Sir Thomas Brewery after all of the wines we’d tasted. We weren’t disappointed, as they had good lagers and wood fired pizza. The crowd was about 1/3 tourist and 2/3 locals. The tourists had come for the beer, the locals for the beer AND the band. In addition to Pink Floyd, they played Van Halen and Dire Straits among other music. They were surprisingly good. It was strange listening to “Another Brick in the Wall” in South Africa, although not as strange as I thought at first. We later heard a band play the same song in Cape Town, which spiked my interest and made me go “hmmmmm…..” Doing some research after returning home, I discovered that the song was banned in South Africa in 1980, after black school children sang it as a form of protest against the inferior apartheid era education they were receiving. “We don’t need no education, We dont need no thought control...”. I love the fact that you can discover history in a brewpub.

We eventually left the brewery, and after one more winery, were done tasting for the day. After relaxing at our AirBnB, we ended up at The Fat Butcher for dinner- more nice wines, including Waterford, a vineyard we intended to taste the next day.

I should talk for just a moment about wine tasting in general. It appears to me that there are three kinds of tasters – those genuinely interested in tasting a variety of wines to form an opinion about a region, or Vineyard; those who are interested in wine, but also want to have a good time, talk and have a leisurely afternoon; and those who are along for the ride. They may not even be huge wine fans, but they enjoy the day, the company, and the moving party. I think in our group of six, we had all three types, which is fine, but it also effects the pace of tasting. That is, the pace slackens as the day goes on.

With that in mind, Magoo and I decided to start tasting earlier the next day, in order to visit a couple of extra vineyards. We’d then go back and pick up the rest of the crew at 11. While the others were just getting up, or lounging around, Jonathan picked the two of us up at 9:00AM and we checked in to Waterford as they opened at 9:30. We followed that up with Dornier, which was right next door. There were excellent wines at both, although I was dumping half of each taste. Tasting wine can be a bit daunting when you start that early.

After we gathered the others at 11, it was on to three more wineries with plenty of fruit of the vine. We also combined various food with the wines we were tasting, and while I’d like to tell you we were doing so to be prudent in our alcohol consumption, the real reason is that it all just tasted so damned good together. For lunch, we had a cheeseboard and charcuterie plate with our tasting. Later, the Wagner brothers did a set of Port and chocolate pairings at one of the vineyards, and at the last winery of the day, we all tasted six cheeses with accompanying wines. It was a full day.

In the late afternoon, we were on the road to Cape Town and city life. It had been a great couple of days in Stellenbosch. The Chenin Blancs, Sauv Blancs, and Bordeaux Blends were concensus favorites. We were divided on the Pinotages. One thing I know for sure is that I will look for more wines from South Africa in the States.

**

Addendum: Here are my ranking of the wineries. You can find wines from most of these vineyards in the U.S.

1. Waterford – excellent

2. Warwick – excellent

3. Dornier – Very Good

4. Neil Ellis – Very Good

5. Muratie – Good; also had a nice port

6. Fairview – Good (with excellent cheeses)

7. Tokara – OK, with excellent views, and a nice 10 year old brandy

8. Slaley – Not nearly as good as any of the others

************************

This is the eighth in a series of short blogs about our trip to Africa in September and October of 2018. I’m not trying to be exact in detail, rather, I’m trying to give a bit of the spirit or feeling of the various parts of the trip. Read at your leisure. Or not.

Related Blogs about the trip to Africa:

Rra Dinare Safari Camp (seventh blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/rra-dinare-safari-camp-in-botswana/

He was Young and Made a Mistake (Sixth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/23/he-was-young-and-made-a-mistake-sable-valley-in-botswana/

Vic Falls – The Smoke that Thunders (5th Blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/18/the-smoke-that-thunders/

First Safari Camp, at The Hide (Fourth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/first-safari-camp/

Fishing and Elephants (Third blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/fishing-and-elephants/

The Drive to Lake Kariba (Second Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/the-drive-to-lake-kariba/

Harare (First Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/02/harare-zimbabwe/

Zimbabwe (Just prior to departure) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/zimbabwe/

Pink Gins (The Genesis)- https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/pink-gins/

The puddle jumper flew us from Sable Valley to Rra Dinare (Father Buffalo), which was further into the Okevango Delta. Our next guide, Amos, met us at the plane and drove to what was now our third safari camp. It was both more remote and primitive, but also more luxurious than the others. It was hard to get my head around the contrast. All the wildness around you, and then great comfort in your tent and the dining area.

As we drove on safari that afternoon, we now found our eyes more capable of observing wildlife. We often saw animals before, or at the same time as our guide – a Lion, Cape Buffalo, Kudu, Jackal, warthogs, and always Impala. We came across a herd of elephants with several young ones. One in particular was tiny. Our guide said it was the youngest he had ever seen – perhaps two weeks old. It stumbled some, while trying to keep up with it’s mother. We stayed well away from them, as we didn’t want to spook mom.

Late in the day as sundown was approaching, our guide heard on his radio about the appearance of three Cheetahs, but quite a distance from where we were. Amos asked if we were up for a race, and of course we said yes. We spent the next half hour speeding and bumping across the dusty tracks in the sand and clay, and arrived at our destination close to sunset. There they were, a mother and her two daughters, laying in the shade. We were, perhaps, within 25 feet of them and watched for the next fifteen minutes or so. They finally roused themselves, and quietly walked away in the coming darkness. Their movements were graceful and elegant, and achingly beautiful to watch.

There were only ten of us in camp that night. Our six, an Italian couple, and a French/Belgique couple. As a special treat, the dinner table was set up al fresco under the stars with candles and candelabras. The food and drink were excellent as always. GT’s before dinner, a Chenin Blanc with our first course, and a Shiraz/Cab blend with dinner. Later, when it was time to go to bed, our escort guided us to our tent. In this case, we were on an elevated walkway. We suddenly heard noise below us and our guide shined his light under the walkway. Huge Cape Buffalo were laying down and settling in for the night. Their heads and horns were maybe five feet below us.

The next morning, we walked to the dining area for a quick breakfast before our early morning safari. The sun was just rising. Greeting us during breakfast was an elephant munching on a tree that was just a few feet from the dining area. When they are that close, you see how huge they truly are.

More and varied animals were seen in the next day and a half. We saw the three Cheetahs again, this time on the move. Elly’s again, and for the first time, lots of giraffe. We’d seen giraffe before, but never this many and never this close. The word stately comes to mind, when trying to describe the way they walk.

On a canoe trip, we saw birds and frogs and other small life. Remember, don’t put your hands in the water – you never know for sure what is below the surface.

The last morning, we came across a pride of hyenas with an antelope kill that our guide thought they’d taken from a pack of painted dogs. There were probably about 12 hyenas including some young pups. We watched them eat, and then noticed that the matriarch was limping. She was favoring her right front leg. Did something happen in the confrontation with the dogs? We didn’t know, but perhaps it was broken, or otherwise hurt. If it doesn’t heal quickly, she probably wouldn’t last, and another hyena will take over the pride. It only takes one mistake.

We returned to camp and packed. Amos drove us to meet our plane, which flew us to Maun. There we transferred to a larger plane and our flight to Cape Town, where we would be going on a different kind of safari – wine hunting.

**

I’d like to do a call-out to Karen Dewhurst of Sikelieli African Safaris (a family owned business). Karen was our travel consultant and arranged the middle part of our itinerary during our time in Africa. She did all of the work to coordinate our trips to: The Hide, Victoria Falls and the Ilala Hotel in Zimbabwe, and Sable Alley and Rra Dinare Safari camps in Botswana. All accommodations were amazing, the food and wine excellent, and the animal viewing exceeded all expectations. Additionally, I can’t quite imagine coordinating all of the travel arrangements themselves during this portion of the trip – the vans, puddle jumpers, planes, pick ups and drop offs. It all worked perfectly. If you are coming to this part of the world, I highly recommend them. You can reach Karen, and Sikeleli African Safaris at:

Karen Dewhurst

karen@sikelelisafaris.com / (+263) 78 310 6561 (Zimbabwe)

Sikeleli Africa Safaris Ltd.
(+1) 604 281 3274 / Toll Free: 1-844-972-3274 (North America)
https://sikelelisafaris.com

*********

This is the seventh in a series of short blogs about our trip to Africa in September and October of 2018. I’m not trying to be exact in detail, rather, I’m trying to give a bit of the spirit or feeling of the various parts of the trip. Read at your leisure. Or not.

Related Blogs about the trip to Africa:

He was Young and Made a Mistake (Sixth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/23/he-was-young-and-made-a-mistake-sable-valley-in-botswana/

Vic Falls – The Smoke that Thunders (5th Blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/18/the-smoke-that-thunders/

First Safari Camp, at The Hide (Fourth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/first-safari-camp/

Fishing and Elephants (Third blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/fishing-and-elephants/

The Drive to Lake Kariba (Second Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/the-drive-to-lake-kariba/

Harare (First Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/02/harare-zimbabwe/

Zimbabwe (Just prior to departure) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/zimbabwe/

Pink Gins (The Genesis)- https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/pink-gins/

When we arrived at the kill site, the hyenas were trotting away and five painted dogs were moving in. The giraffe was killed the previous evening by another male giraffe. The two males had fought and this one made a mistake. Perhaps half his body was already gone. As the painted dogs feasted, the buzzards were waiting their turn behind them.

The previous day, we’d departed Vic Falls in a van, and arrived at the Kazengula Border crossing about an hour later. We walked from Zim into Botswana and after clearing customs, boarded another van for transport to Kasane. There, we flew on a puddle jumper to our Camp at Sable Alley. (See callout to Karen Dewhurst, and Sikeleli African Safaris at the bottom of this blog. The coordination during this part of the trip was simply amazing.)

Getting off the plane on the clay airstrip, the hot air hit us like a brick. We were in the Okavango Delta at the hottest time of the year, and it was much hotter than Zimbabwe. We would find ourselves drinking untold amounts of water over the coming days.

Our guide, Zambo, took us out that afternoon on our first safari with him. We tracked and eventually had a siting of a leopard on the move. We viewed more elephants, and other animals, then drove back to camp. It had been a long day.

After cleaning up, we returned to the dining area. It had cooled down as the darkness fell and there was a fire going. We had gin and dry lemons while sitting around the fire before dinner, and then switched to a Chenin Blanc with our first course – Cold Broccoli and yogurt soup with a blue cheese crumble. The night continued with a very fine dinner, more wine, dessert, and after-dinner drinks. Eventually, we were escorted back to our tents and a deep sleep (for all of the safari camps, because of the animals in the area, you were not allowed to walk from the main area to your tent after dark without a guide – sometimes they were armed, sometimes not).

The next morning at breakfast, Zambo told us about the giraffe kill, which he’d just heard about on the radio. We drove there first thing. After watching the dogs, and then the buzzards feed on the giraffe we moved on to look for other animals. We came across hyenas with pups that moved on quickly, and then another leopard. This leopard was known to the guides, and they called him Nicholas. It turns out that Nicholas was comfortable with vehicles, and the noise didn’t scare him away. We actually would see him two more times during our visit.

Later that afternoon, we returned to the giraffe kill site, to see if lions, or any other animals had come to the feast. We arrived to find an adolescent hyena sitting in the center of the giraffe carcass. He was fending off the wild dogs and the buzzards who were all trying to get more of the meat. We asked Zambo why the hyena was there alone, and he said he was young and had made a mistake. He wanted more food after the rest of his pack left, and so he stayed. He could hold off the dogs indefinitely, but when a lion arrived, he would be trapped in the carcass and killed. He should have left with his friends. It only takes one mistake.

*******

This is the sixth in a series of short blogs about our trip to Africa in September and October of 2018. I’m not trying to be exact in detail, rather, I’m trying to give a bit of the spirit or feeling of the various parts of the trip. Read at your leisure. Or not.

Related Blogs about the trip to Africa:

Vic Falls – The Smoke that Thunders (5th Blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/18/the-smoke-that-thunders/

First Safari Camp, at The Hide (Fourth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/first-safari-camp/

Fishing and Elephants (Third blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/fishing-and-elephants/

The Drive to Lake Kariba (Second Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/the-drive-to-lake-kariba/

Harare (First Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/02/harare-zimbabwe/

Zimbabwe (Just prior to departure) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/zimbabwe/

Pink Gins (The Genesis)- https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/pink-gins/

*******

I’d like to do a call-out to Karen Dewhurst, and Sikeleli African Safaris, our travel consultant who arrange the middle part of our itinerary during our time in Africa. She did all of the work to coordinate our trips to: The Hide, Victoria Falls and the Ilala Hotel in Zimbabwe, and Sable Alley and Rra Dinare Safari camps in Botswana. All accommodations were amazing, the food and wine excellent, and the animal viewing exceeded all expectations. Additionally, I can’t quite imagine coordinating all of the travel arrangements themselves during this portion of the trip – the vans, puddle jumpers, planes, pick ups and drop offs. It all worked perfectly. If you are coming to this part of the world, I highly recommend them. You can reach Karen, and Sikeleli African Safaris at:

Karen Dewhurst

karen@sikelelisafaris.com / (+263) 78 310 6561 (Zimbabwe)

Sikeleli Africa Safaris Ltd.
(+1) 604 281 3274 / Toll Free: 1-844-972-3274 (North America)
https://sikelelisafaris.com

Walking along the trail opposite Victoria Falls, it’s easy to see why they call it “The Smoke that Thunders.” You can hear the Falls rumbling when you are in town, which is over a kilometer away. The smoke? The huge amount of mist that is generated by the Falls pouring into the chasm below.

We had arrived in the town of Victoria Falls the day before, after driving from The Hide Safari Camp. Following a quick wash-up, we were driven to the Zambezi River and a sunset cruise with cocktails. The river was beautiful, and we saw wildlife and a wonderful sunset. As we docked, we thought our entertainment was over, but it turned out to be just beginning. Our travel agent, Karen, had arranged a surprise alfresco dinner for us on the banks of the Zambezi – Three courses, of course washed down with much wine. During dinner, there was also musical and dance entertainment. It was a great way to start our time in Vic Falls.

The next day we visited the Falls themselves and they did not disappoint. Our friends, Dave and Bill, said there was a much greater volume of water during their previous visits, but I wasn’t disappointed. Cathy and I both spent time just staring at the Falls, watching and listening to it cascade below. We didn’t get drenched in water, but the mist was a nice cooling factor. One of the Seven Wonders of the World indeed.

We arrived back at our hotel, the Ilala, to find a note from Marty on our door. We were to meet at 5PM for Pink Gins at the old Vic Falls Hotel, followed by dinner at 7. When we first discussed this trip back in March, it was Marty’s description of drinking Pink Gins at the Vic Falls Hotel that clinched it for us going on this trip. I was pretty excited.

In the late afternoon we cleaned up and changed clothes. In the past, jackets were required for dinner at the hotel. They had relaxed the dress code, but collared shirts were required, and no jeans, or safari clothes were allowed. We walked over to the hotel and arrived just after 5PM. It’s a magnificent hotel that’s been there since 1904. We crossed out to the veranda and joined the others.

Pink Gins were ordered all around. Marty was right – it was a setting out of a book. We could see the Victoria Falls Bridge that crosses over the Zambezi River from Zimbabwe into Zambia in the distance, with a train stopped on it. To the left, the mists from the Falls themselves rose above the trees. Nearby, three warthogs with 5 babies crossed the lawn. As dusk turned to darkness, we ordered our second Pink Gins and candles were lit on the tables.

A little after 7PM, we adjourned to the Livingstone Dining room. There, we had a seven course meal, accompanied by a couple bottles of South African Shiraz. All of the food was excellent, but the dishes that really stood out for me were the Ostrich Carpaccio, and the Scallops with Pork Belly. Dinner finally came to an end, and we lumbered back to our own hotel, and bed.

We spent a couple more days in Vic Falls relaxing. We did some shopping and had other wonderful meals, including Kudu filet and Crocodile Risotto (I definitely need the recipe for that!). We also visited the 1,000 year old Baobob tree, just outside of town and had sundowners there. Marty told us of a close encounter he had with an elephant near the tree, a few years before.

While at the tree, we talked with some locals who were selling various items, and had a beer with them. As it got dark, they moved back to their wares and started hauling them into the woods. I asked what was going on and they said rather than carrying the items back to their village, they just hid them in the woods 50 yards or so off the road. No one would be crazy enough to wander around out there in the dark, with the animals in the area.

That night, Cath and I had our final dinner at The Three Monkeys. The next day, our group would cross into Botswana.

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This is the fifth in a series of short blogs about our trip to Africa in September and October of 2018. I’m not trying to be exact in detail, rather, I’m trying to give a bit of the spirit or feeling of the various parts of the trip. Read at your leisure. Or not.

Related Blogs about the trip to Africa:

First Safari Camp, at The Hide (Fourth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/first-safari-camp/

Fishing and Elephants (Third blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/fishing-and-elephants/

The Drive to Lake Kariba (Second Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/the-drive-to-lake-kariba/

Harare (First Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/02/harare-zimbabwe/

Zimbabwe (Just prior to departure) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/zimbabwe/

Pink Gins (The Genesis)- https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/pink-gins/

“You make one mistake, and you end up in someone’s stomach.” It was our first day at the camp, and Nicholas, our guide, was telling us about the animals in Africa.

We were at the Hide, a safari camp in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Our group was there for three nights and had unbelievable opportunities to view game. We were lucky enough to see four of the big five, including a cheetah on the way to our camp, and a leopard on the day of our departure. In between we saw lion, cape buffalo, wildebeests, baboons, impala, sable, kudu, giraffes, zebra, numerous species of antelope, and elephants. Elephants were every where.

The second day was special. That morning, we approached a watering hole where some wildebeest and a few zebras were drinking. As we watched, more zebras came in from the east. We were about to leave, when something else appeared out of the woods to the east, about 300 yards away. The animals were hard to make out, so binoculars popped up – sable – 6 of them. They were much more cautious than the zebra. It took 15-20 minutes for them to cross the 300 yards. Walk a few steps, stop, and look around. Walk a few more steps, stop, and look around. This continued until they finally arrived and started drinking water. At that point, Nicholas made us tea and coffee, and we had a second breakfast. While we drank our coffee, more zebras came in from the north, and a single bull elephant from the west. As we were packing to leave, a pack of perhaps 40 baboons came hurriedly from the east. No slow and go for them, they moved at a rapid pace. Zebra, wildebeest, elephant, saber and baboons all gathered around the watering hole, taking their turns and drinking their fill.

Driving back to camp, we passed a vehicle going the other way. Both vehicles stopped and the guides spoke together. As we departed, Nicholas informed us that the other guide was from Kariba (also Nicholas’ home town) and passed him a tip about a pride of lions that moved towards a watering hole we had visited the day before. We discussed whether to go now, (well over an hour away), or wait until later to drive there. Nicholas said the lions would probably not move in the heat, so we would go that afternoon around 4PM.

We had lunch at the camp, and dozed for an hour or two. Finally 4PM came and we moved out at a good pace to the location. On the drive, animals appeared everywhere along the way. Several herds of elephant, a large herd of cape buffalo, individual giraffes, more wildebeest, and small herds of impala were all there. Except for the buffalo, we didn’t stop for pictures, pressing on in search of the pride of lion.

We arrived near the watering hole, and Nicholas started looking. Suddenly, he stopped and pointed into brush about 70 yards away. We saw our first lioness. He moved our vehicle to a better vantage point and parked. We spent the next hour watching the pride slowly come to life in the late afternoon heat. One after another appeared from under the bushes. They stretched. They sat. Some moved slowly down to the water for a drink.

Nearby baboons were sounding an alarm, but the lions ignored them, as they continued to mill about. At some point in time, Nicholas served us sundowners, while we continued to watch. A couple of younger lions played with each other. Mostly they lounged about. Finally, it was getting dark and time to return to camp. There were impala in the distance, and perhaps the pride would hunt them as dark settled in. It only takes one mistake on the part of an impala.

Back at camp, we freshened up and had cocktails by the fire. At 8PM the drum sounded, announcing dinner. We moved to the white linen covered table and sat down to a dinner of roast lamb, served with South African Shiraz. For dessert, there was a chocolate mousse that Cathy says is the best she has every tasted. It was a great ending to an amazing day.

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This is the fourth in a series of short blogs I will publish over the next several weeks, about our trip to Africa in September and October of 2018. I’m not trying to be exact in detail, rather, I’m trying to give a bit of the spirit or feeling of the various parts of the trip. Read at your leisure. Or not.

Related Blogs about the trip to Africa:

Fishing and Elephants (Third blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/fishing-and-elephants/

The Drive to Lake Kariba (Second Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/the-drive-to-lake-kariba/

Harare (First Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/02/harare-zimbabwe/

Zimbabwe (Just prior to departure) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/zimbabwe/

Pink Gins (The Genesis)- https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/pink-gins/

At the start, I found it difficult to concentrate on fishing, with the elephants eating and drinking nearby. It was our first evening on the lake, and also my first real view of elephants.

We had left Kariba town earlier that afternoon on our house boat, P-Ten. The lake is over 400 Km long, and for a while, was the largest man-made lake in the world. That afternoon, we only motored a couple of hours, before the crew anchored the boat in a small inlet called Palm Bay.

With the houseboat’s two tinder boats, four of us went fishing in one, while the others left to view wildlife. As Magoo, Sinks, Roseanne and I moved towards the first fishing spot, I was warned again not to put fingers or hands in the lake. Evidently, more than a few tourists and locals have been lost to crocodile attacks. Along the way, we passed multiple pods of hippos. They are amazingly graceful, for such large animals.

At the first cove we pulled into, our lines were baited by Steve, our guide. We fished for a while, but the group wasn’t having much luck, so we moved on to a new location. Turning into the second cove, elephants came into view. We had observed several elephants earlier that day through binoculars while motoring up the lake, but this was our first close viewing. They were maybe 25 feet away on the shoreline. After baiting my hook and casting out, I found myself watching the elephants rather than my line, and lost two fish that way. Eventually, I caught a squeaker and a small tiger fish. A couple of the others reeled in some bream, which are excellent eating.

Later, we moved to a third location, and finally returned to our houseboat as the sun was setting. The others were already there drinking sundowners. We joined them and compared stories of our late afternoon activities. Fried bream appetizers were soon served by the crew and we became more animated as the darkness grew around us. Later, we settled into a nice dinner with several bottles of red wine….

…..We’re into our third day now, and have seen numerous elephants, hippos, Cape buffalo, gazelle, kudu, crocs and many beautiful birds, whose names I cannot remember. We are going out on a tinder in a couple of hours with the Wagner brothers for more animal viewing, and are told that there is a good chance we will see lions. Last week at this location, the crew saw a lion bring down an impala on shore.

Tomorrow morning, some of us will go fishing again, while others are looking for game. I’m betting the views from both boats will be pretty good.

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Addendum –

⁃ We didn’t see any lion that night, but were able to get within ten yards of some huge Cape buffalo, and perhaps five yards away from a rather large croc on the shore. There are some real advantages to game viewing from the relative safety of a boat.

⁃ We fished several times over the course of our five days on Lake Kariba. As a rule, we had middling luck. Then on the last evening, while Cathy and the Wagner brothers went out for a last wildlife viewing, Roseanne and I decided to fish one last time. As soon as we cast our lines, we were getting hits. We ended up catching well over twenty-five fish between us, in a little over an hour. For most of that time, there was a single bull elephant silhouetted in the setting sun on a spit of land fifty yards away from us. The view was perfect. He eventually walked off and into the surrounding woodland. We admired the colors of the sunset a bit more, before Steve piloted us back to the houseboat.

⁃ Later on our vacation, we were in Cape Town and met a mutual friend, Ian – he commented on fishing at Lake Kariba – “ah, great times. The laziest vacation ever.” I’d have to agree. It wasn’t safe to walk on shore, so the only part of my body that had any exercise was my left arm. I used it while casting for fish, and also for 12 ounce curls.

******

This is the third in a series of short blogs I will publish over the next several weeks, about our trip to Africa in September and October of 2018. I wrote most of this while still on the houseboat. I’m not trying to be exact in detail, rather, I’m trying to give a bit of the spirit or feeling of the various parts of the trip. Read at your leisure. Or not.

Related Blogs about the trip to Africa:

Pink Gins (The Genesis)- https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/pink-gins/

Zimbabwe (Just prior to departure) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/zimbabwe/

Harare (First Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/02/harare-zimbabwe/

The Drive to Lake Kariba (Second Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/the-drive-to-lake-kariba/

I popped my second Zambezi about 9:30 that morning. We’d been on the road from Harare since 6AM, and were a little over halfway to Lake Kariba. The eight of us were in a van, with a small trailer.

Sinks, Roseanne and Marty had met the rest of us at 5:30AM, at the guesthouse where we were staying. We loaded our luggage, and the considerable number of boxes of red and white wine, gin, brandy, whisky, Amarula, tonic, limes and various other drinks into the trailer (Five days on a houseboat is a looooong time). A cooler of beer and water went into the van with us. The rest of the beer, club soda and water for the trip were already on our houseboat in Kariba.

Once we cleared Harare, the traffic lessened, while the road worsened. Potholes and rough road were the norm. Along the way, we passed several old abandoned tobacco houses with busted windows that were no longer in use and had been empty since the early 2000s. They were victims of the land reparation that took place in the late 1990s and early 2000s. What had once been fields of tobacco, corn and other crops were now mostly empty. Roseanne, who was sitting behind me , told a few stories of that transition. The most memorable was about her husband’s brother, Mike…

….Mike, as a 19 year old, had cleared and built his farm himself in the 1950s, in what was then Rhodesia. The farm was a couple of hours outside of Harare, and at the time, there was no electricity there. In fact, he originally lived in a cave on the land. In building the farm, he had the help of some men from Tanzania, who were walking to Johannesburg to find work. He told them he had work for them at the farm, and they agreed to stay. They sent one man back to Tanzania to bring their wives and families. Over time, they helped build the main house, build their own homes, and worked the farm. Mike added a school and a clinic to the property, and streams were dammed to increase the water supply. The children of the workers grew and started marrying locals. For years, this life continued. In the 1970s, Roseanne would always bring visiting friends to see the farm, as it was such a beautiful place.

The guerrilla war, or civil war, depending on your view, started in the ‘60s and became more and more violent in the ‘70s. After years of fighting, a peace agreement was reached, and the transition from Ian Smith to President Mugabe took place. Over time, one of the results of the transition was land reparation. Although Roseanne’s brother-in-law had helped Mugabe’s government during the transition, he eventually lost his farm in the late ‘90s, and had to leave it. He was given papers for future compensation, but two decades later, he has yet to receive anything for his farm….

We drove on. About 9AM, we arrived at Lions Den, a well known break point that was halfway to Kariba. More importantly, it’s known for their homemade sausages and wurst, known in Zim as Boerewors and Biltong. Marty bought a few pounds for us to eat as snacks on the boat. We hadn’t left the compound before we greedily broke into the bags, sampling the several varieties he’d bargained for. All were delicious, and just salty enough to make a beer taste extra good. We climbed back in the van and I popped that second Zambezi. It’s probably my imagination, but it tasted better than the first one. I attribute that to the Biltong.

Fifteen minutes down the road, we felt a jolt. The driver slowed, and pulled off the road. We’d hit one too many potholes and shredded one of the trailer tires. Fortunately, we had a spare and twenty minutes later, we resumed our journey.

There was more beer and Biltong, and stories of previous trips to Kariba…flipped cars, elephants blocking the road, and a jumbo (elephant, not jet) blocking the runway once, when Roseanne piloted a small plane from Harare to Kariba. We also learned of Ghost Trees, Baobab Trees and other plants we saw along the way. Cathy, ever sharp eyed with regard to animals, saw a few monkeys in the trees.

The time passed quickly.

We pulled into Kariba town about 1230PM. Luggage and booze were transferred to our houseboat and we were underway. Fishing for bream, along with views of hippos, elephants, Cape buffalo, and crocodiles, were in our future.

*****

This is the second in a series of short blogs I will publish over the next several weeks, about our trip to Africa in September and October of 2018. I’m not trying to be exact in detail, rather, I’m trying to give a bit of the spirit or feeling of the various parts of the trip. Read at your leisure. Or not.

Related blogs can be found at:

Pink Gins (The trip is planned) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/pink-gins/

Zimbabwe (Just prior to departure) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/zimbabwe/

Harare (First Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/02/harare-zimbabwe/