December 03, 2005

08:15:13 am Botswana Safari--written by Deanna  

Saturday, November 19, 2005 - Chitabe Camp, Botswana

An African safari was the top destination for me when we started planning this trip. Before the trip began, we planned to go to Tanzania and thus we listed that country on our trip card. But as we traveled around the world and met various people, we asked those who had been to Africa what country they would pick. Botswana won out, with Tanzania second, and Kenya third. In addition to gathering the most votes, Botswana also received the most enthusiastic support, so we decided to go there instead of Tanzania.

Botswana has turned to eco-friendly tourism to boost its economy and it is working. A company named Wilderness Safaris has about 80% market share--deservedly so, as they do an excellent job. Most camps are owned individually, but operated by Wilderness. This allows for consistency throughout the camps. Even menus are coordinated so that you do not eat the same thing twice in a row when you switch camps. They also own the shuttle flight company that moves you from camp to camp. It all comes at a hefty price, but in our opinion, it is worth it.

We arrive in Joburg airport at 6:30 AM from Europe and clear the long customs line by 8 AM. Stacy and Bill meet us at the check-in counter. They are traveling light, but not by design--KLM lost their luggage. They are optimistic that the bags should arrive the next day in Botswana. After checking in, Stacy and Bill go on a quick shopping spree at the airport to purchase what they can to tide them over until their luggage arrives. Meanwhile, Nick and I are at the gate asking Air Botswana not to close it because Stacy and Bill are still shopping. Our pleas are ignored and the gate agent has to stop the bus to allow Nick and I to board it to get to the plane. Once we arrive at the aircraft, I plead with bus driver to radio and see if he can locate Stacy and Bill. A few minutes later, they arrive on their own shuttle bus.

After 24 hours of non-stop travel, we arrive at our first safari camp. As we approach the landing strip, we see giraffes grazing in the treetops and elephants sloshing around in the mud. We eat lunch and go over the rules of the camp. The rules are necessary--this is not Disney's Animal Kingdom with its hidden electrical fences to protect the guests. Here the animals are truly free and roam in and out of camp. The number one rule is that we cannot walk back to our tented rooms at night without an employee escort, even though all of the walkways and rooms are elevated on wooden platforms. The word tent here, while descriptive, is deceiving, as these rooms have all of the amenities of a hotel room. The beds have mosquito netting and the rooms are outfitted in safari chic. All have an en-suite bathroom and a shower, plus an additional outdoor shower for the daring. Our daily schedule is set for us: 5 AM wake up; 5:30 AM breakfast; 6 AM excursion; 10:30 AM brunch; 11 AM free time or nap; 4 PM tea; 4:30 PM excursion; and 8 PM dinner. The three to four hour excursions to see the animals are centered around sunrise and sunset, as those are the daylight hours when the animals are most active. Also, this avoids the hottest part of the day. We are in the southern hemisphere where it is light from 5:30 AM to 7:30 PM this time of year, with high temperatures around 90 degrees and low temperatures around 60 degrees.

Bill, Stacy, Nick and I meet for tea at 4 PM and then head off at 4:30 for our first African safari adventure in our open-air Land Rover with our driver and guide Ebs. To say the first time is always the best would be an understatement. We are so fortunate on our first excursion that we do think we are at Animal Kingdom and that we will see such abundant animal life on all our excursions. We started by watching eight lion cubs playing in the bush waiting for their moms to return after a successful hunt. Dad was not too far away fast asleep under a tree as he babysat while the lionesses were away. Next, we saw impalas, a form of African antelope. We also came upon a handful of wildebeest grazing in the high grass. The highlight of our excursion was watching two cheetahs stalk unsuspecting impalas. There was no chase as the impalas were too far away, but the sleekness and gracefulness of the cheetahs was amazing.

We have dinner and retire early for our early morning wake-up call.

Sunday, November 20, 2005- Chitabe Camp, Botswana

Our wake-up call came a little early when a troop of baboons used our tent roof as a path from the trees to the grasslands that our camp overlooks. Then came the African drums, signaling it was 5 AM and time to get up.

After breakfast, Ebs drove us to a different area of the camp than what we saw the day before. We first spotted two warthogs having breakfast with several giraffes grazing the treetops in the background. Next we caught up to another vehicle who had spotted mating leopards and we arrived in time to watch the proceedings--just like an Animal Planet episode, except I believe the female was not pleased with all the spectators. We asked to see elephants and like that, we were off to find them. We spotted a herd. There were many moms with their teenagers and babies. We soon found out that a female elephant is very protective of her babies as several threatened to charge us because they thought we were too close. After this thrill, we head back to camp for brunch.

Stacy and Bill's luggage has not arrived and their hopes of on receiving it any time soon are dwindling.

After tea, we head out again. This time another couple joins our foursome. He is a Professor of Biology at the University of Washington. They are very keen birders, which excites Ebs who is also a birder. Unfortunately, our guide's bird knowledge is wasted on the four of us. The excitement of the evening drive comes when we see a huge dust cloud in the distance. It is a herd of African buffalo. They look like they are wearing wigs but it is really the formation of their horns (see image gallery). The horns form a helmet (with a part) for protection. We watch the sunset over drinks in front of a waterhole full of hippos. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Monday, November 21, 2005- Chitabe Camp morning and Kwetsani Camp afternoon

The next morning we head out on our last excursion at Chitabe camp. Our first stop is to say goodbye to the lion cubs. They seem very hungry. Their mothers have not returned. If they do not return soon, some of the cubs will not make it. Buzzards sit in the trees watching over them. Even the kings of the jungle are never far from death in this environment. We see zebras, giraffes, elephants, and wildebeest. We see many birds along with a crown crane (see image gallery). This must be a rare sighting, because all camp staff and other guests are impressed we saw it.

After brunch, we fly to our second camp, Kwetsani. This camp is supposed to be on an island on the Okavango Delta. We land and are picked up by Conrad, who runs Kwetsani with his fiance Kerrie. They prove to be gracious hosts. He drives the Land Rover on soft sand roads--making for a very bumpy ride--for close to an hour. We go over a small bridge over what appears to be a large puddle and a short distance further arrive at camp. We are arriving at the start of rainy season and the end of dry season. There is no island currently. The island exists from May - July during flood season. The seasons are confusing. During the rainy season, there is no standing water. During the flood season, there is no rain, but there is standing water. The standing water comes from Angola and it takes several months once the rains end for the water to reach Botswana. The rooms are more impressive than our last camp with actual glass doors and double sinks in the bathroom. It is amazing when you consider that all these camps can be torn down in a couple of days and there would be no evidence that they ever existed.

We have lunch and then head back to our tents to wait out the heat of mid-day. Stacy and Bill's luggage still have not arrived.

In the afternoon, we go for a sundown cruise in a mokoro, a traditional African canoe with a flat bottom, dug out from one piece of wood. The sunset was spectacular. On our way back to camp, our guide Dan spots a lioness on the prowl in the dark. We watch her for a while, but there is no prey to be found, so we return to camp.

At dinner, the camp staff put on a wonderful show of traditional songs and dances for us.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005- Kwetsani Camp, Botswana

We awake at 5 AM, get ready, eat breakfast, and head off on the day's excursion. The four of us join a second couple from Virginia. We spot the 3 Brothers--three male lions that call the Okavango Delta home. Their bellies are plump so we suspect they had a successful hunt last night. One has a slightly grungy mane and looks as though he is blind or crazed in one eye. Our guide hypothesizes that he was injured while hunting--perhaps a zebra kick to the side of his head. They walk in a regal line with about 20-30 feet between each other. When you see this, you understand why they are called king of the beasts. As we search the area for hippos, we spot a jackal playing with her cub. Many of the animals have migrated south of us in search of water and greener plants. As the rainy season gets underway, many of the animals will return.

In the afternoon, we spot a wildebeest herd with a brand new baby. Most animals (antelope, wildebeest, giraffe, elephant, and so forth) are able to walk within moments of their birth and are running within an hour. This is essential for their survival for babies are the easiest prey for the predators.

Next, we spot four male elephants enjoying the cool late afternoon while munching on some small trees. They do not seem to mind us even though we are less than 20 feet from two of them. We watch them for a while. One rule of the safari is that you must not stand up in the Land Rover. Animals view the vehicle essentially as just another solid structure that moves, smells like petrol, and is non-threatening. If you break this rule by moving in the vehicle, the animal will become scared and charge. I am not sure exactly what happened but I think one of the elephants heard a camera shutter or saw the slightest of movements and became upset. Dan pulled away as the animal was staring us down, swinging its trunk, and threatening to charge. He was showing us what he was made of. We headed back down the road and came across one of the males eating the leaves of a tall acacia tree. We watched for a while, amazed at his gracefulness. We wanted to snap some pictures from the other side of the tree so we moved around the tree. As we sat and watched, the elephant turned and decided he did not like us there and started blowing his trunk and showing us how big he was. We were straddling the road. Dan was trying to move the vehicle but was having difficulty because we were wedged in the sandy ruts. As all of us held our breath, the adrenaline rushed through us while Dan managed to move us out of harm's way. In the meantime, the first enraged dominant male came up the road behind us so we proceeded ahead down the road. We pulled off to watch the elephants pass on the road. Two came up and started play jousting right in front of us. It was spectacular.

We watched the sunset behind a herd of zebras and wildebeests and discussed our day's exciting adventure.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005- Kwetsani Camp morning and Duma Tau Camp evening

No hot water this morning as some elephants broke one of the pipes during the night. On our morning excursion, we see the three lion brothers one last time. The sickly one seems to be doing much better. It is as though he has had a wash and blow-dry. The hot water was running again when we returned to camp mid-morning.

Duma Tau camp is located near Chobe National Park in the Linyanti Reserve. Our flight over was on a small Cessna with six seats. Both Stacy and I were ill after our 30-minute flight. There was good news upon arrival: Bill's luggage showed up. Stacy's is still missing though.

The highlight of our afternoon excursion was spotting hyenas. There were two of them eating the remains of an elephant carcass. It is a good thing that it is dark so that we could not actually see what they were eating (see image gallery). Everything is recycled out here. When an animal dies, within a few days, only the bones remain. Even the horns of a wildebeest are eaten by parasites. This was our first hyaena spotting. Our guide Moses also spotted a bushbaby. They are 6-inch long animals with really big eyes.

Thursday, November 24, 2005 (Happy Thanksgiving) - Duma Tau Camp, Botswana

We inform Moses that we would like to see hippos. He drives us to the camp's hippo pond. The hippos are all huddled together with their snouts barely visible. They are trying to keep warm. We watch a baby hippo jump out of the water as it plays while everyone else seems to be sleeping.

We move on from the hippo pond and see impalas, red lechwes, and zebras. It is the largest herd of zebras we have seen on our trip. On our way back to camp, we spot a hippo far from the pond in a very small waterhole. He has scratches all over his back. Moses speculates that he is an older male that has been defeated by a younger male for his harem. Birds are pecking at his wounds, eating his torn flesh. The water hole is too shallow for him to completely submerge and shoe them away. He is annoyed with them, and they could ultimately prove fatal to him, but there is little he can do. It is too hot for him to move to another water hole. Sunburn can be a killer of the mighty hippo.

Stacy's luggage makes it!

Another couple joins us for our afternoon excursion. They are from South Africa and own a travel agency. They provide us with recommendations for when we are in Cape Town. We spot two cheetahs and watch them search the grasslands for impala. The cheetahs have very poor luck. After all the impalas we have sighted on our safari (hundreds), there are none in sight now.

We join a vehicle from another camp that carries two couples we had met at our previous two camps. We swap stories over drinks and watch the sunset. On our drive back to camp, Moses shows what an expert he is. He spots a chameleon (see image gallery) in a tree in the dark of night. Amazing! Later we see the battle-scratched hippo from this morning. He has finally shed the birds.

Friday, November 25, 2005- Duma Tau Camp, Botswana, morning

This is our last day on safari. Moses promised us leopards, so we spend the morning tracking them. By chance, we stop to look at a bird and happen to hear the leopard's low bark. Moses fires up the engines and heads into the bush. It is very thick and hard to maneuver our large vehicle. Just as we are heading back to the road, Moses spots the leopard's tracks and we circle back around into the thick brush. After driving in circles, we give up. Another vehicle has spotted wild dogs and we decide to head in their direction. We stop to "check the tires" (aka use the bathroom) and decide to take it easy, giving up on the long drive to see the wild dogs. Instead, we have a quiet drive along the river before heading back to camp.

We pack and head to the airport. We have a new concern--now that Stacy and Bill have their luggage, not all of our luggage will fit in the small plane. We did not receive any information on packing or luggage restrictions prior to landing in Joburg. Upon arrival we learned we were to pack light in small soft-sided (duffle) bags. One of the great things about these camps is that they offer free laundry, so you really can pack light. Nick and I have packed light but that is to travel around the world--not for only one week on safari. Luckily, there was a second plane going to the same airport as us at the same time. We were able to put a suitcase on that plane.

As we flew over the African grasslands for the last time, I thought to myself just how fascinating and wonderful it is--full of life, death, and beauty.

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December 01, 2005

01:33:43 pm Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - Cape Town, South Africa; London, UK; Athens, Greece.  

A traveling day with a 12-hour flight to London, followed by a 3 1/2 hour flight to Athens, both on British Airways. We leave Cape Town at 8:15 AM and are scheduled to arrive in Athens at 1:20 AM, same time zone, the next morning. I think there were direct flights from Johannesburg to Athens on Olympic Airlines, but not every day of the week, and not from Cape Town. Also, those tickets cost a lot more than our booking, which was around $1160 per person for Paris-London, London-Johannesburg, Cape Town-London, and London-Athens. There was no way to include Africa on our around-the-world ticket, so we had to purchase a separate ticket. To include it, we would have had to visit Africa before arriving in Europe, skipping both India and Dubai or backtracking to Hong Kong to get to Africa.

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01:30:38 pm Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - Cape Town, South Africa - Sunny to mid-day, cloudy in the afternoon, High 70s. Includes comment on Argentina, Japan.  

Took a walking tour of downtown Cape Town that was quite interesting. Cape Town has good colonial architecture and also Art Deco architecture from the 1930s and 1940s. Before I went to bed, I finally got all of the pictures on the web site up to date, adding over 100 pictures today. The web site is now back to normal after five weeks of being behind due to death of my old PC.

We leave South Africa tomorrow morning and I'm not sure what to conclude about it. We had a great time here, better than anticipated. I arrived expecting to be bearish on the country's future. Now I see reasons to be bullish, although I recognize that the short amount of time we spent here was entirely in one of the nicest parts of the country, so my perspective could be skewed. The reasons for my bearishness before arrival were that: 1) from afar, what little I had read on the country, indicated to me that government policy was from the two-wrongs-make-a-right school (I'll explain that) and 2) African countries have a poor record post-independence. Although South Africa's independence dates from 1910, you could consider 1994--the end of apartheid and the beginning of non-white rule--as a second independence. I wish the second fact were not the case, but you only have to look to the northern border with Zimbabwe to see a country that has been an absolute disaster since its independence in 1980. It used to be a significant food exporter, now--due to seizing of white farmland--Zimbabweans are starving. South Africa is no Zimbabwe, but with its elaborate quotas since 1994 as to what percentage of jobs and ownership each business must provide to blacks, I wonder if it has abolished one race-biased system for another. This is not to suggest that the present system has the mean-spiritedness of apartheid. It is well intentioned. But history is full of examples of good intentioned government policy with unintended consequences. I wonder about the consequences of South Africa's present policies when I hear of a 28-person business artificially divided into seven different companies--each with four employees--to avoid the quotas and rules that kick in once you have five employees.

So before my visit to South Africa, I thought this might be a chance to see the country before it deteriorates economically. Now I am not sure it will deteriorate at all. Its future could be bright. I hope it will be. But I am still not sure. Talk to a few people with knowledge of the country and you will get widely different views of its future. Opinions range from former citizens who have left the country permanently, disgusted with the new rules, vowing never to return, expecting it to sink slowly into the abyss that consumes much of Africa. Others I know who are familiar with the country, but not resident there are sadly pessimistic, against their desire to see it do well. On the opposite end of the spectrum though, we met people widely enthusiastic about South Africa's prospects. Many people are in the middle--hoping for the best, fearful of the worst, with at least a vague exit strategy in the back of their mind should their fears play out.

In assessing countries, I think it helps to have a long-term view and to consider the position contrarian to the common view. From afar, this calls for a negative view on South Africa as 1) the long-term view is that over the past several decades much of Africa has moved backwards and thus South Africa might slowly, imperceptibly, do the same even if things look good on the surface; and 2) the jubilation over the end of apartheid may be misplaced. If those with the technical abilities to run the country are no longer in power or even no longer in the country (e.g. as Zimbabwe has learned, expropriating farms and giving them to unskilled people who do not know how to farm increases hunger, not equality), the country could fall apart. However, this negative view from afar is common enough, especially in conservative circles, that it may have become the conventional wisdom. Thus, maybe the contrarian view ought to be that South Africa will actually prosper.

Visiting--again admittedly we were there only four days and only in nice parts--you can construct the case for optimism. Positive factors include cheap prices, good infrastructure, and great weather, attracting people for vacations or to live there. Also, labor is inexpensive, plentiful, and English-speaking, making the country a possible location for outsourcing (I do not understand why this has not occurred with greater frequency). The consistent friendliness of blacks to white outsiders was noticeable and commendable, and in stark contrast to the indifference displayed often throughout Caribbean countries. At first impression, everyone in this multi-racial, multi-ethnic society seems to get along remarkably well--far better than one would expect given the history.

Negative factors are high crime, concern that current infrastructure investment is inadequate (but relative to India the infrastructure is light years ahead), and fear that government policy may not protect property rights or may create onerous bureaucratic rules.

Cape Town is doing well. There is obvious investment in retail, restaurants, and housing. Tourists are plentiful. Real estate prices, according to what I read, have risen rapidly in recent years. But it still feels like a small city, known and cosmopolitan, but still undiscovered by most of the outside world. The local newspaper is running a series on traffic congestion, but the streets seem pretty empty to me. There are condos along the oceanfront, but compared to other world cities, the coast is less developed and the prices cheaper. What may seem like out-of-hand growth to locals appears to me to just as likely be the early stages of a prolonged boom. If the government does not screw it up.

Anecdotally, a person I was talking with in Botswana told me that many people who left the country after 1994 have returned because they found they could not have the same standard of living and quality of life in the UK or Australia. I was skeptical of this, but after visiting I understand it. A middle class person in South Africa could have big house on a big lot in a good location with several domestic helpers. In the UK, this person might be in a cramped apartment with a long commute and of course no domestic help and poor weather. Australia can match South Africa's weather and does have lower prices than the UK, but prices are still higher than South Africa and with low unemployment, domestic help is not common.

My conclusion is that I am less certain of which future South Africa will have--optimistic or pessimistic--than before I arrived. That is unusual. With most countries on this trip, I have a strong view of the country, good or bad, by the time I leave. Sometimes the view is the same as before I arrive, sometimes it is different, but I have a view. With South Africa, I'm not sure of my view. I am leaning toward optimism. Offhand, the other country that comes to mind where I was less certain about its future at the end of my visit than at the beginning is Argentina. Arriving in Argentina, I was down on the country because of its recent 2001/2002 debt default, the shameful way it has handled that default, and its long history of always screwing up just when things are going its way. Leaving, I thought Argentina might be--and I say might, without deep-seated conviction--continue to be a good investment for a few years (it certainly was in 2004 and so far in 2005 as it bounced off the bottom). But I still suspect the country will screw things up at some point down the road, as they did for at least the last century. Thinking more, maybe Japan is another example. My long-term bearishness on Japan remains because of their demographic crisis and their opposition to immigration, but I think they could be in an upswing in the short- to medium term that will put off their day of reckoning for a while. These short-term views on Argentina and Japan aren't put forth as unique insight; I largely am just pointing the recent positive results in their financial markets. Where I differ from the markets might be that I think those two countries are just having a positive interlude without the negative long-term picture having changed.

Finally, with most countries we visit, I don't see myself returning right away, as--even if I liked the country--our visit satiates my interest for the time being. With South Africa, our visit stimulated my interest and I would like to spend more time there. If only it was not so far away!

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01:28:14 pm Monday, November 28, 2005 - Cape Town, South Africa - Sunny, High 85.  

Took a tour of Robben Island where political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, were held from the 1960s to the early 1990s. The boat left from Victoria & Albert Waterfront, a shops and restaurant area redeveloped in the late 1990s, with similarities to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The food in Cape Town is good--very flavorful and spicy, with noticeable influences from India, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. But bring a book and don't expect to get your meal quickly. Our dinner at Haiku took about an hour to arrive from the time we ordered. Nevertheless, in terms of the food, it was one of the best meals I can remember. Our experience the night before was similar, with long wait times between ordering and receiving food.

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01:27:29 pm Sunday, November 27, 2005 - Cape Town, South Africa - Sunny, High 70s.  

Deanna and I drove around surrounding area with Stacy and Bill, tasting wine at two wineries in the late morning/early afternoon and then driving down to Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope in the late afternoon/early evening. The terrain in the wine country is mountainous and beautiful. The wineries were nice (surprisingly nicer than around Adelaide) and the weather was perfect, a gorgeous day. Many people told us before we arrived how pretty Cape Town is, but it is even better than I expected.

I'm going to begin to post each day separately, rather than string many days together in one longer post. Reason for this is that when I make comments on other countries and cross-reference the posts under those countries (in addition to the country I am in), you won't have to read several days just to get to the couple of sentences on the cross-referenced country. For example, my November 29 post mentions Argentina and Japan. Under this new system, only November 29 will show up in the Argentina and Japan category. Before everything written (November 27 - November 30) since the last time I updated the web site would be listed in Argentina and Japan, even though only one paragraph on November 29 referenced them. If I get ambitious, I could go back to past diary posts and break them into individual days, but more likely this will never be done. Thus, there will likely continue to be long posts from earlier months that show up under a country where you have to hunt to find a passing reference to that country. Also, and of more benefit to the average reader I suspect, if I post each day separately the entire log (from this day forward) will be in reverse chronological order. Why I did not think of this obvious point back in July escapes me. Actually I did think about it, but I didn't want to be bothered to post each day separately. But now with the trip nearly over, I have newfound energy to keep things in order.

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