Victoria Falls: Risk Taking at its finest

We woke up early in the morning to begin our journey to Victoria falls, which lies on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.  In fact, the bridge that goes across the Zambezi river to connect the two countries is called "No Man's Land" as the river is a neutral zone, one side of the gorge is Zambia and the other is Zimbabwe, but the river is free to flow as its own entity. As soon as we were coming into the town of Victoria Falls we could see the spray from the falls over top of the trees.  We checked in to a very "colonialist" hotel, which obviously caters to the popular image of Africa.  There were men in loin clothes and animal skins who were sent to greet us, and we walked through lobbies decorated with spears and masks, which I assume was meant to represent Shaka Zulu, but we quickly re-gathered ourselves and went to the Victoria Falls Bridge where seven of the students bungee jumped from the bridge (over 300 feet high) towards the Zambezi River (which has both crocs and hippos in it).  Three of us (including myself went to the Zambian side of the gorge and zip lined over 300 feet above the gorge/rive from the side of the gorge to the Victoria Falls bridge.  Although fearing for my life, I must say the view was one I would not have been able to appreciate from any other space than attached to a rope floating above the river.  From there we took a walking tour of the Zimbabwean side of the Falls which was absolutely stunning.  The Zimbabwean side actually is the side where the falls pound over the edge into the river, the Zambian side is the water flowing towards the falls. We ended our day with a sunset cruise on the Zambian river, where we were able to see the hippos and crocs up close and personal and view one of the most picturesque sunsets of the trip. The sun sets very quickly here because of how far South in the Southern hemisphere we are...by the time one counts to 10 it is over, but we are able to witness every stage of sunlight here for the same reason. Tomorrow...we begin with white water rafting...then we are off to the market and a group dinner at the hotel with music and maybe even dancing!

African Safari Part Two!

Today was something I never thought in a million years I would have the opportunity to do...go on an African safari.  Firstly, I have always had an issue with people associating the entire continent of Africa (approximately 57 countries) with animals like great apes and the "big five" (Cape Buffalo, Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Hippo) as these animals actually only inhabit a very small percentage of the continent (the rainforest belt and parts of Southern and East/Central Africa).  So many times I have had to say that the only animals I have seen are goats and dogs, because people honestly believe that there are just lions sitting outside of peoples homes, but today I saw nearly all of those animal, in the wild, that people dream of seeing one day.  We took two safaris, an early morning and a late afternoon, as the animals visit watering holes and hunt at various point during the day.  The morning was FREEZING, we were in an open air truck tucked under blankets hoping to see animals while simultaneously trying not to go numb and get hypothermia. While trying to stay close and keep warm we were shocked when a Giraffe walked right in front of our vehicle! This was followed by sightings of ostrich, hippos, crocs, Cape Buffalo, Kudu, and various birds and bucks. Our first outing was three hours, so we returned to the hotel for breakfast and left for the Painted Dog Sanctuary.  Apparently, the painted dog is on the verge of extinction because of the poaching of larger animals.  The dogs get caught in the snares and are injured/killed so the sanctuary rehabs injured dogs and educates the public about their importance.  This sanctuary has to make its own electricity (they purchased solar panels off of donations) and they sell artwork made of old snares that they have removed from trees. We left the sanctuary and went to the New Camp Primary School where we were greeted with song and dance from the young children.  We had purchased school supplies which we donated, and in return they taught our students how to play net ball (it was an exciting game!!!). In return, they wanted us to sing for them and the only thing we all knew in unison was "Hang on Sloopy O-H-I-O" so we taught the children how to sign it with their arms, and for the rest of the afternoon the children wanted to continue making the letters with their arms.  When we were leaving the school, the headmaster asked that if we returned next year if we could bring with us a proper soccer ball, and a proper basketball...such a humble request.  The evening safari was peppered with elephants that wanted to get right into our vehicle....the mothers all had young babies and the packs were large.  We also continued to watch Giraffes drink from watering holes, hippos swim, crocs sun, guinea hens scurry, kudus and bucks run, and so many other animals so close to our setting. Tomorrow, we leave for Victoria Falls...could life get any better?

Safari Day One

Arriving at Hwange was like a dream come true, we knew that soon we would be going on a safari and that our room directly had views of a popular watering hole for the animals.  Within minutes of our arrival we had giraffes, baboons and Mpala all drinking from the watering hole (and this was before even leaving the hotel!!).  Our drive to Hwange was a bit long so on the way we stopped at a restaurant to pick up lunch and ended up playing pool for a while with some of the people there while we were waiting on our food to be ready.  The evening included some drumming outside of the hotel, surprisingly others came out to see who was playing the drums and were surprised when it was the students and myself that were working it out with the beats!!!  We decided to go on a short game drive through the park were we saw zebras, mpalas, guinea hens, and even a few giraffe which left everyone excited for the next morning when we would have a “real” safari in open sided jeeps early in the morning.

The Matopos...a few photo shoots, and the "worlds view"

Today was brilliant and frustrating all at the same time.  We started the day by stopping at the grocery store to pick up food items to make lunch while we were out today as it was going to be a long day in the mountains.  We were not very creative, nearly everyone decided on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so we just all bought the components and made the PB & J's while we were up in the mountains.  The Matopos are beautiful! I wish I could post pics...I will add them if the internet is better in South Africa.  Essentially, they are mountains made of granite rocks that are balancing one on another.  They were formed under the earths crust millions of years ago and with the tectonic plate movement eventually they have become the massive structures that we now see.  The beautiful thing about the Matopos is that there is a game park there, so we were surprised with a Black Mamba snake almost immediately scurrying in front of our bus (he was HUGE!) and throughout the day we saw giraffes, hippos, mpalas, reed bucks, guinea hens, and of course our friends the baboon.  We climbed to the top of a viewing platform (which the guide said was a short BUT steep climb) I am not sure what he considers short but this climb was intense and although most of it was jagged rock climbing (which although a serious workout is doable) there was a stretch of smooth rock that made sliding a bit too common for my comfort.  We ate lunch at the look-out platform and were joined by some rainbow and striped lizards as well as a ridiculous amount of gnats.  My favorite part of lunch was the rock photo shoot we had...everyone posed with a beautiful background....until we got to our resident clumsy lady...Miss Ellen who decided she was going to slip through a tree stump and scrape up her leg.  Good thing I am a nurse and was able to clean and dress her quickly...so that she could be a part of the 900 other photo shoots we had throughout the day. After leaving the game side of the park, we went to the recreation side where we first visited the Nswatugi caves which had cave paintings that have been carbon dated as being over 60,000 years old! I never in my life thought I would see something so phenomenal. The painting were done by the San people and told stories of people, animals and life. We were also able to find pieces of tools used more recently by the San. The frustrating part of the day came next...we went to what the locals call Malindidzimu "the place of the good spirits" which has one of the most stunning views I have EVER seen.  Unfortunately, this space is known as "World View" to the tourist industry as it is where Cecil Rhodes chose to be buried.  If one understands the history of Africa, they will understand how sick this is...a man who stole land, exploited people, and made wealth for himself ONLY has taken the sacred land of the people he exploited and chosen it as his burial ground with a condition that NO ONE else can ever be buried there.  These are some of the issues we come across on a daily basis.  Another example, the San cave painting we went to see are called "Bushmen" paintings as a way to degrade and create the image of the savage in the minds of the outsider.  The students are learning so much, through a lens that I don't know they would have ever had access to before. After sunset, we left the park and went for dinner and are now preparing to check out of yet another hotel so that we can move to our next spot...Hwange National Park where we will take a "real" safari in open sided jeeps and our next hotel is in the National Park right near a watering hole!!!

Mother with Child Rock Formation

Animals, Dancing, and Food

We got up early this morning and left the ruins of Great Zimbabwe (since our hotel was on the grounds!).  We stopped at a marketplace so that the ladies could shop for some craft items.  This was a smaller market and had fabric, some jewelry, and soapstone carvings which were beautiful. Then we set off for our four hour drive to our next destination Bulawayo (city of the Kings). We made a surprise stop at an animal orphanage.  They take in animals that have been injured, orphaned, or even those  that were kept as pets and then became dangerous as they grew.  It was a great experience....it was interesting to see how the animals (no matter what kind) responded to the keepers and in most cases even their names! We stopped in the city for food and went to a Zimbabwean-Portuguese restaurant that had some of the most amazing food.  Ellen and I got a bit excited as they had veggie burgers with a brilliant hot sauce on them...a nice change from eating salads, sides, and Sadza. We finally arrived at our new hotel the Cresta Churchill and stayed just long enough to relax for a few minutes, get dressed, and head right back out to a local Zimbabwean club called "From Cape to Cairo"...the name had me a bit upset because of its honoring of Rhodes, BUT the environment was great.  I believe it was a sports bar, but they set out a scrumptious buffet for us with Sadza, peanut butter rice, chicken, Peanut butter greens, pumpkin, and a wickedly hot chutney. We took over the dance floor and Jasmine even took over the DJ booth and we danced the night away! I was so proud of all the ladies as everyone let their guard down and just had a great time!! This was one of the best experiences of the trip, as everyone was smiling, laughing, and dancing! I still cannot get pictures to post...but I am trying to keep up with at least the words!

The Ancient Ruins of Great Zimbabwe

Okay..so this not being able to post pictures is getting old!! I want everyone to see everything but the internet is just not cooperating.  Today we left Nyanga early this morning and set off on a 5.5 hour drive, which turned into a 7 hour drive! Part of it was our doing as we stopped in Mutare to shop a bit and find some bathrooms (which was an experience) and then we stopped again to walk across the Birgenough Bridge (the first suspended bridge in Zimbabwe). But we were also stopped at least 20 times at police road blocks to "check our paperwork" which added at least another hour to the trip.  BUT on the way we bought some roadside snacks, one of which were fried Quelea birds (beaks, feet, and all) which two of the students were brave enough to try, and I was soooo proud! They both said that it tasted like "chicken." We also bought some pineapples as the ladies have discovered that fruit on the continent is so much sweeter and tastier than fruit stateside! After our 7 hours of bumpy bus driving we arrived at the Great Zimbabwe Ruins (ZIM=Big BAB=House WE=Stone) Big house of stone.  The building for these great stone structures began in the 4th century and continued through the 1800s when I post picture you will see how amazing these structures are.  (you can youtube it for now or look up images in a google search).  We hiked all the way to the top, which was a bit treacherous, but we all made it (helping each other along the way).  Once at the top a family/group of baboons was not happy that we had made it, although the babies seemed interested in us, the Alpha male began grunting and following us very closely.  After hiking to the top....and climbing back down, we went to the great walled enclosures where there are mazes of stone walls (some of which were used to train elephants!!). It was getting dark as we were coming out so we were able to see ANOTHER brilliant African sunset. Tomorrow morning we leave early again for yet another town, where we will visit craft markets and engage in local culture...we are steadily making our way towards our Safari and then Victoria Falls and Zambia...in 1 week we will fly out from Zambia and head to South Africa for a few weeks! Hopefully soon the internet connections will approve and I will finally be able to share some pictures as I have been snapping away.

Mount Nyangani and Nyangombe Falls!!

So today was a day that we all had to push ourselves physically and mentally.  We were set to hike Mount Nyangani which is Zimbabwe's tallest peak (a little over 8000 feet high), so many of us are either scared of heights, had never hiked before, or were just nervous about how much energy it would take to reach the top, BUT EVERYONE TRIED!!! Seven of our Twelve Ladies made it to the highest peak and most of the rest of us made it to the second highest peak where a waterfall was.  The hike was  difficult as the trail was narrow and very steep the entire way, there was little room for error, and of course NONE of us actually have hiking equipment.  The hike took a few hours and in the same national park we saw baboons, wildebeest, and even a few lizards and a snake.  We left there and headed to lunch where some of the girls found some more baboons and a trampoline.  I am not sure how they had the energy to jump when they had just completed the hike, but they did.  Ellen and I were finally able to try the traditional dish Sandza as this place made a vegetarian version for us. IT WAS AMAZING!  Then after lunch we headed for another difficult hike to Nyangombe Falls where we saw the falls and saw the sunset. They love being here and I love hearing them say how amazed they all are that they are actually here! Tomorrow is a long drive (5-6 hours) to the ruins of Great Zimbabwe and another hotel change as we work our way towards Victoria Falls and a new country Zambia.  The blog is still not accepting pictures but I will keep trying and if I get more reliable internet I will update the posts!

First Full Day in Zimbabwe

We did so much today and I am so proud of everyone for keeping up and trying so many new things! This morning after breakfast we went to two different marketplaces in Harere.  The first we saw medicine men and they explained what they can cure and how they do it.  At the second we looked at crafts and I began teaching them how to negotiate payments!! We talked about how important of a cultural experience it is, and they even began using phrases in Shona (the local language) to engage the crasftsmen/women.  Also, today ShaRayna turned 21 so we have had mini-celebrations all day! After the market we went to the national Art museum and saw Shona stone carvings as well as paintings from artists all over the continent.  We discussed how the image of "African Art" is very biased and single minded in the West and what an amazing experience it was to see Art created by African people instead of "African Art"....after the museum we began making our way towards Victoria Falls and Zambia.  It will take us a few days to reach, so for now we are up in the mountains for 2 days.  Tomorrow we are actually climbing a mountain!! I can't wait...even with my fear of heights you have to realize this may be the only chance you get to do something like this so you just have to push things aside and do it!

We Made it to South Africa

After an 8 hour flight to Dakar, Senegal...another 8 hours to South Africa, we are on our layover waiting to head to Zimbabwe.  Here are some pics to enjoy in the meantime! I am having a problem getting pics to upload from the airport....but here are a few

Kayla and Harmony waiting on the plane in Dakar, Senegal

I ran up to check on Tiera and Cimone while we were in Dakar

My across the aisle mates...The "Pretty Girls"

Anastasia and Rashay

One Step Closer

So after arriving at the Columbus airport at 4:10am, we checked in (without too much drama) and are now in D.C.  We have a 10 hour layover then board a 17 hour flight. When we land we will be in Johannesburg, South Africa...but we are only there for a quick plane change and by the time we finally put our feet on solid ground Tuesday evening we will be in Harare, Zimbabwe.  The ladies are still awake but we are early in the layover...until later here are some early morning pictures

ShaRayna and Tiera

Group pic in front of our South African Airways Plane (Next time I will use my camera instead of my phone as the pic came out dark)

Our Plane

Harmony and Dr. Mphande having an early morning conversation

Wish we were First/Business Class but grateful we are going!!

11 hours until we hit the air for Southern Africa

So tomorrow morning is the big day...packing is complete (that was a serious task) now it is just to put the suitcases in the car, eat some dinner, and get to bed early since we have to be at the airport at 4:10am.  Hopefully I will be able to post some pics from the airports tomorrow so you can see how awake and excited everyone is!!  I also have two students who have started blogs for the trip: ShaRayna's blog site is: http://sharaynasafricandiaries.blogspot.com/  and Ellen's is: http://mygloballens.blogspot.com/
Til tomorrow....