Safari Thoughts

From Gabe:

We got back from Safari Monday. It was certainly an experience; the highs were amazing, and the lows helped me to develop my patience and learn firsthand what the Blood Diamonds acronym "TIA" (this is africa) means.

Let me start by saying that my perception of a safari was way way off. Of course it's dangerous to have preconceived notions, but I thought that a safari was mostly about watching animals. Having been through the experience, you watch animals during "game drives", and while they are an important part of the experience, an equal or more important part of a safari is getting from point A to point B. Points A and B are often separated by long long distances on poor dirt roads with potholes. To quote Walt, it was kind of like driving over swiss cheese. For better or worse, we were given a two wheel drive, 12 passenger van, along with a land rover. Needless to say, the Land Rover did pretty well on the terrain, while the two wheel drive van failed miserably.

Now in the US, getting from point A to point B is generally a given. If you setup a schedule for a road trip, most of the time you can stick to it. In contrast, on swiss cheese all bets are off. This became apparent on Day 1 of the trip, when we arrived in Kafue National Park (west of Lusaka) around 6pm, only to find that we had another 40 km to go on swiss cheese. Hence arrival at the campsite occurred close to 9pm. Similarly, on day 3 we lost two of our tents due to the bumpy terrain and swarming Tsetse flies, then had the leaf-spring on one of our trailers fracture 20km from our destination. As the sun set, several of us jury-rigged the suspension and then we limped into camp after dropping off the trailer for repairs. Consequently day 4 was spent waiting for repairs. Fortunately we were staying at a lovely campsite on the Iteschi Teschi, an enormous lake regulating waterflow on the Kafue.

Day 5 was a sketchy drive back east through stunning terrain. We followed a clear track until it began to braid. At first the braids came back together, and then the track disintegrated into chaos. At one point our driver threw up her hands in some combination of frustration, helplessness, and good natured TIA... It was shortly after this that the driver, Adri, seemed to find her cigarettes more readily. Needless to say, with a lot of help from the locals, we found powerlines and followed them to Namwala, stopping twice with all hands to extract the floundering passenger van embroiled in sand. When we hit pavement again near Choma, there were audible sighs of relief all around.

The first five days were nevertheless punctuated with sublime moments. On a boat ride on the Kafue river, we came within 20 yards of schools of hippos, then goggled at kingfishers, water monitors, egyptian geese, and baby crocks. On a walking tour, we saw the remains of a ground hornbill taken by a leopard, and watched a native guide make rope from the fibers of a tree. The sunset over the Kafue was unrivaled.

At Iteschi Teschi, we took a late afternoon/evening game drive onto the plains. This was Africa as I'd imagined it; numerous types of antelope in large numbers on grasslands, elephants feeding in the forests adjacent to the fields, and bushbok wandering through native villages. We watched a wildebeest terrorize puku antelope, fretted slightly as we had a puncture within a quarter mile of elephant, and then marveled as we stumbled upon a cheetah moving through the grasslands. I couldn't get my camera working fast enough to capture the cheetah, but the mental image is fixed in my neurons. As the sun set, we switched on high powered lights and looked for the telltale glint of cats eyes; we caught a glimpse of a serval cat. On the way back, the lead car was treated to the trumpeting of an elephant just off the road; slightly dangerous for sure.

The second half of the trip was punctuated with the same mix of good and miserable. Heading South on the road from Choma to Livingstone, Rylie, Kate, and Clare all struggled horrendously with a stomach virus. Surely that 6th day was one of the worst of Rylie and Kate's lives. We practiced triage, postponing the trip into Botswana's famous Chobe national park while the ladies recovered in Livingstone. Our South African guide, Hendrik, took us on a game drive in a local park outside Livingstone, where we caught our first glimpse of giraffe, and came face to face with Zebra and Cape Buffalo. After a couple days of recovery, we headed into Botswana to Chobe. While we only had one day in Chobe (we were originally slated for 3), it was surely the highlight of the trip. Herds of impala, kudu, and giraffe roamed the dry grasslands. As we crested a ridge, the lush Chobe river came into view. The contrast between dry and wet was astounding, and the animals flocked to the moisture during this dry season. Herds of elephants, hippos, and the supremely impressive and unattractive Marabou stork coexisted with crocodiles sunning themselves. It was unreal.

On the way back into Botswana, the last bolt holding the rear axle of our Land Rover to the wheel hub sheared off, and after some trial and error, we ran the rear wheel drive in 4 wheel mode with no power in the rear wheels back to Livingstone. Fortunately the next day was slated for Victoria Falls, and Hendrik once again spent his day conversing with the locals in an effort to get repairs done on a Sunday. While he slaved, we enjoyed the falls, which were breathtaking. We bought and bartered for curios (Gibson traded his watch and a water bottle for a necklace, bowl, and a mask). In the evening, we enjoyed watching Spain and the Netherlands battle out the finals of the World Cup with an international assemblage of musungos and tourists at our safari lodge in Livingstone.

I would be lying if I stated that the safari was incredibly fun. It was more of an acquired taste for me. I, like most Americans, am accustomed to getting what I want when I want it. The nature of a safari, however, is unpredictable, and you must relinquish control. We ate less and often at very late times than we were used to, and spent long long hours in the cars. Our guides, while nice people, operated on African time, meaning that attempts to break camp and leave by 8:30 often became 10:00 or later. Piece of mind was often lacking as days were spent getting repairs done rather than traveling. Nevertheless, the necessity to adjust and relinquish patterns is part of the allure of the safari. When we banded together to remove the passenger van from sand, or when we all collectively breathed a sigh of relief on reaching tar road again, or when I tried to comfort Kate and Rylie, I was reminded of how fortunate we are in the US to have predictable lives. And certainly the wildlife is unlike anything i may ever see again.

It's late, so i'll save the discussion of the issue of race as it pertains to safari for some other time.