Zambia - Livingstone

Livingstone is said to be the Adventure Capitol of Africa, and based upon the fun we've had over the past few days, we are not going to disagree. In the past week, we've all o supply of adrenaline inducing activities, ranging from a 54 m freefall into the Batoka Gorge, white water rafting down grade 5 rapids on the Zambezi, and taking a microlight flight over the falls in a contraption that bears a striking resemblance to a go-cart with a hang glider strapped to its back.

Phil repelling down the Batoka Gorge.

Melissa taking her turn on the wall.

Neil, right before reaching the bottom of the rapell.

Melissa taking a step into thin air before free falling 54 m into the Batoka Gorge.

Phil in mid-fall on his first plung into the gorge.

(Despite the look on our faces, this was really an amazing activiy...kinda like Bungie, except you swing across the gorge at the end of the free-fall rather than bounce aimlessly in the air.)

Graeme in a microlight, just after take-off.

More microlight photos...

Zambia - Livingstone (Victoria Falls)

After two long days of driving through eastern Zambia, and covering almost 1100 km, we found ourselves in Livingstone, Zambia. On our first morning in town Mel and I took a cab out to the airport to meet my dad as he flew in from Lusaka. Quite to our surprise, his flight was mostly on time; certainly within African standards of punctuality. Despite two back-to-back overnight flights, my dad joined us for an afternoon excursion out to the falls. Marked as one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, Victoria Falls lies along the Zambezi River, marking the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. We spent most of the afternoon walking along the rim of the Zambian side, taking lots of photos, and occasionally stopping to stick our feet in the water upstream. It was amazing how close you could get to the edge of the falls along the upper Zambezi! The river is so wide at the top of the falls that it has very little current, allowing you to venture down to the water, and even allowing some locals to wade across on foot. Internet time here is scarce and sketchy, so these next few posts will be brief. As always, I hope you enjoy the photos.

Lunch stop along the highway in central Zambia. Off to the left of the photo you can see our beautiful blue African Chariot.

Eastern edge of Victoria Falls. This photo shows only a tiny extent of the falls, as the river is over a kilometer wide as it meets the falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Rainbows rising up out of the mist. The photo was taken from a point called Knife Edge Bridge, which takes visitors to a outcropping of rock directly opposite the falls.

Victoria Falls as viewed from the Zambian side near the Eastern Cataract.

Phil and Neil enjoying some beers at a local bar while Graeme was playing with his camera.

I took this photo in the bar while we were waiting for our meals. The blue spiral is the bar, while the orange and yellow spirals are beer ads hanging on the wall. It's a random photo, but I like the swirly colours!

Malawi - Chitimba Camp

Our first two nights in Malawi were spent on the shores of Lake Malawi. There weren't many available activities at the camp, so most of our time was spent relaxing and playing with the local kids. On our first morning at the camp, Melissa and I went on a tour through the village where we visited the local school and hospital, as well as the friendly neighborhood Witch Doctor. The school was impressive despite minimal resources and obviously absent funding. Most of the furniture and school supplies had been donated by western countries; Canada gave a few bookshelves but not before pasting giant Donated By Canada stickers on all available surfaces. After seeing the hospital, it was easy to see how most of the citizenry still prefer the local Witch Doctor. Understaffed, undersupplied, and not entirely sanitary, it was a place that I would hope to avoid. In the afternoon, Mel and Neil went off to play some soccer with the locals. By their reports, it seemed that 10 minutes of soccer was played before the child with the ball was called home by his mother. As you can probably tell, the main theme of our time in Chitiba was the children. As english is the official language of Malawi, the kids have no difficulty striking up a conversation with any foreigner that happens to stray withing range. Despite being constantly at the center of the mob, it was an amazing experience. The photos below are in close keeping with the theme.

On our final morning in camp, we awoke to find the sky completely filled with small flies. There were dense clouds of flies over the lake which were completely black, and cast dark shadows. It was truly incredible to see such vast numbers of insects and I'm quite happy to report that they were entirely harmless. I've posted two photos at the bottom that try to capture their density; however, these need to be enlarged significantly before you can fully appreciate the scene.

While waiting for the Witch Doctor to finish his business, Mel and I played with the kids. Just before this photo was taken, the small girl in the background had managed to get bonked in the nose with my Nalgene bottle. For about a minute after the incident her face was scrunched up as she contemplated whether or not it was appropriate to cry. Disaster was averted; however, there were a few tense moments where it could have gone either way.

This is Neil's photo; I love it. Each hand in the picture belongs to a separate child.

This photo was taken on the sidelines of the soccer game. What's he thinking?

Neil, I'm not too sure that this little guy wants his photo taken...

Melissa's flower. These trees were in full bloom throughout the campsite.

Thousands of flies glow in the early morning sunlight.

Sunrise over the lake was mostly muted because of the vast clouds of flies like the one seen on the right hand side of the photo. While the bench and thatch umbrella were about 5 meters away, the cloud was at least 200 meters off hovering over the lake...to give you a sense of scale. At times, it completely blocked the horizon.

Zanzibar - North Coast

From Stone Town we drove to the northern tip of the island to spend some peaceful time at the beach. Awaiting us was 3 days of sunset sailing, beautiful scuba diving, and more than our fair share of local gin. The diving was amazing, though currents were very strong so they turned out to be a bit tricky. On the way to the dive site we encountered a large school of dolphins, which allowed us to jump in the water with them for a few minutes before they tired of us. As well, we saw large numbers of sea turtles swimming along the reef walls throughout both dives.

Africa is said to have the world's most beautiful sunsets and without offending any of our Kincardine friends back home, I can at least say that they do tend to be fairly spectacular.

[More content and captions to come; however, I'm about to go for a night dive in Lake Malawi and I have to go...I hope you like the photos!]

Melissa (who looks quite pleased with her lot in life).

I love this one! African Dowe shot just before sunset.

Our boat looked just like the one on the right, with a raised platform over the main cockpit.

Silhouette of other travelers against the setting sun.

Zanzibar - Stone Town

ZANZIBAR!

From Ngorogoro Crater, we drove southeast towards Dar Es Salaam and the Tanzanian coast. After a pleasant evening on the beach, we got up early and caught a very full ferry taking us to the island of Zanzibar where we stayed for 4 nights. Upon stepping off the ferry we were greeted by a beautiful town of narrow streets and old colonial buildings. At one time, Zanzibar was the epicenter of the East African slave trade, and it shows signs of its opulent Arab past. Since then, much of the city has been transformed by British influence. From Stone Town we joined a Spice Tour which showed us the history of the town and brought us to a spice farm where we sampled native ingredients. Among the highlights were fresh ginger, vanilla, and turmeric (which looked quite lovely when applied to Phil's cheek). We spent only one night in Stone Town but it can be easily said that it is the friendliest place we've visited since coming to Africa.

Phil poses for a picture while Graeme sneaks up behind. Oddly enough, Phil is actually trying to look natural in this photo...Graeme is not.

Our Spice Tour driver was quite excellent at navigating extremely narrow streets in a big bus.

Slave quarters below ground level at the sight of the old Slave Markets in Stone Town. Our group filled the room with 20 people; however, it was said that the rooms were meant to house over 80 women and children before they were brought to market - it was quite appalling.

Tile decorations at the alter of the church that now sits at the site of the old slave market.

We ate fresh coconuts from this very tree after watching a professional tree climber shimmy his way up 100 feet of vertical trunk. They were tasty.

Melissa samples the natural cosmetics at the spice farm. Much cheaper than Clinique and I swear it lasted just as long!

I don't really know how to describe this photo; we just kinda liked it.

Algae covered sea wall on the Stone Town waterfront.

Two children knocking on the door of an old colonial mansion. Extensive giggling could be heard coming from the other side of the door - my guess is that their sister decided to lock them out!

Tanzania - Ngorogoro Crater

Our second round of game drives brought us to the Ngorogoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania. Set inside a 20 km wide volcanic caldera, Ngorogoro Crater plays host to Africa's densest population of wildlife. Within the crater live enormous herds of Wildebeast and Zebra, as well as smaller groups of Thomson's Gazelle and Antelope. To provide some balance, the crater is also home to Lions, Cheetah, and Leopard. To be fair, we never actually saw the "Leopard" so we're still a little skeptical. All the same, we did manage to take some fantastic photos. The photos were shot by both Phil and myself. Phil was using his 10D with a Canon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS lens which he bought in Bangkok, while I was using my 30D with a Canon 70-200 f/4 IS lens. Again, we hope you enjoy them!

Two male Wildebeast sorting their problems out in a civilized manner. I swear this photo could have come straight out of National Geographic. (Phil)

Wildebeast on the move. (Graeme)

Wildebeast contemplating Life, the Universe, and Everything, while simultaneously blocking the road. (Graeme)

Spotted Hyena sitting amongst a pile of broken machinery abandoned within the park. This one is definitely one of our favorites. (Graeme)

Baby Hippo sticking his head out of the water while surrounded by about 15 tonnes of adjacent Hippo Bum. This is also high on the list of our favorite shots. (Phil)

Hippo yawning in the afternoon sun. Lions are not the only African mammal that are perpetually lazy. (Phil)

Cape Buffalo peering at us through the morning mist. (Graeme)

Yellow bird of unknown variety. We like him because he's got such a sexy look on his face. (Phil)

Ostrich standing in the grass. From earlier experience in Africa, we learned first-hand that these big guys are really tasty. We wanted to take him home for dinner but we were told this was against the rules. (Graeme)

African Eagle soring overhead as we sat eating lunch. (Graeme)

Kenya - Sunrise, Champagne, and Balloons

We splurged...!

Melissa and I opted for opulence and decided to take a sunrise balloon ride over the Masai Mara on our last day within the reserve. Starting well before dawn, we drove in to the park to the Fig Tree Lodge. If at any point in my life I come in to exceedingly large amounts of money, this is where I would stay the next time I go on Safari! We were served fresh Kenyan coffee before setting off on foot to the launch site. Getting there, we saw two huge spans of canvas stretched out across the ground. Walking up, we were greeted by our flamboyant Korean pilot, who was proudly sporting a CTV hat. Intrigued, we stuck up conversation only to find that he had competed in a competition in Winnipeg a year earlier, and had spent time working as a balloon pilot in London, Ontario...what are the odds?

The ride was peaceful and beautiful. Initially, we rose up high above the plains to watch the sun rise up through the clouds and from there, descended down to hover just above the tree tops as we floated across 20 km of open Savannah. Upon touching down, we were brought to the banks of the Mara River for our Champagne Breakfast! We were all quite giddy as we contemplated just how wonderful it all seemed. The breakfast was phenomenal, and the champagne unlimited; however, the finishing touch was added when a full grown Bull Elephant came in to view on the opposite bank. At this, we came to realize that we had found an almost perfect moment, one which we will remember for many years to come.

Flames and fans begin to inflate the balloon.

We watch as our balloon slowly fills.

Sunrise over the Masai Mara, minutes after taking off.

Our friendly Korean pilot, Kim.

Melissa watches the sunrise and contemplates... life?

Champagne with Masai blanket napkins.

Kenya - Photos from the Masai Mara

One thing we've definitively learned in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zanzibar is that the East African Internet relies on some entity even more lethargic than the Nepali Donkey Train. Thus, getting pictures posted has been akin to technological warfare: Graeme vs. The Machine! However, as I write, it seems that slow progress is being made on my upload and there is a glimmer of hope that I will be able to share with you our experience in Kenya's Masai Mara.

To give you a bit of background, the Masai Mara is Kenya's northern extension of the East Africa Savannah which includes the Ngorogoro Conservation Area as well as Serengeti National Park, both of which are in northern Tanzania. The landscape brings to mind the true image of wild Africa with Acacia trees dotting the landscape which provide a setting for herds of Giraffe, Elephant, and Cape Buffalo. It has been almost four years since I last visited this part of the world, and I'm happy to say that it still takes my breath away.

SUCCESS! Photos = Uploaded (Some of them anyway...)

Traditional Masai women performing a welcome dance outside their village, set on the outer edge of the Masai Mara.

(I think this is my favorite from this set!)
Bull Elephant with baby and mother off to the side. This photo was taken while there was a herd of 10-12 elephants walking slowly past the left side of our truck.

Young Bull Elephant walking towards us through the tall grass. About a minute after this photo was taken we had to put the truck in reverse and retreat as the Elephant had decided to take a particularly aggressive stance against our vehicle.

Lazy female Lion lounging in the grass. This photo comes as part of a complete yawn series! Did I mention that Lions are freakin' lazy!

This is Phil's Black Rhino, and to be honest, it's probably one of the rarest animals we could have hoped to find in the Masai Mara. After the encounter, our driver told us that he had seen only two other Black Rhinos in the past six years.

Two Masai Giraffes grazing at dusk. Once we get to Botswana and Namibia I'll try to find some Reticulated Giraffes as well. They are supposed to have much more clearly defined patchwork... or so I'm told.

Lone Acacia Tree set against the sky at dusk. I don't think any East African photo collection would be complete without the signature lone Acacia... I like the next photo better though!

Sunset over the Masai Mara. It was a good day.

I hope you enjoyed the photos and that one day you may be inspired to visit this beautiful place.