Africa Day 4: The Elusive Black Rhino

Early (notice the trend?) the next morning, we went on our morning game drive. Early on in the drive our guide Jason, and tracker Don spotted some tracks that belonged to a black rhino. Don got out of our vehicle and began tracking on foot while we drove around looking for him. The black rhino became our white whale. We looked for over an hour, driving back and forth looking for him. It was frustrating. Mainly because we did not see a single animal while looking for the rhino. Not even an impala.

Interesting fact: The rhinos are heavily poached for their horns. Chinese men think this helps them out in the male department. For this reason, if the guides or trackers see a rhino, they don't report it over the radio. Sometimes they will use code phrases or words, but only in rare circumstances.

After a while we took a break to use the... bush... and eat a little snack. Off of the truck we were given a lesson in identifying animal droppings. I can tell the difference between elephant, white rhino and black rhino, giraffe and impala. Impressive, right? And then Jason grabbed some impala poop and put it in his mouth and spit it out like a watermelon seed. He told us we should all do it. I'm all to embrace the experience, but I do have to draw the line somewhere, and this was it!

We also took a walk. I felt safe with Jason and his gun. But I couldn't help but wonder if he was that quick with it if something were to charge us. Thankfully, we didn't need to find out!

The afternoon was a lazy one with time spent at the pool.

For our evening game drive, I sort of mentioned to Jason that we wanted to be sure to see a giraffe. The other truck had seen several. We had not. The other truck saw a bunch of animals in the morning. We spent our time searching for the black rhino. Well, say no more! The evening drive did not disappoint! We saw the male lions that are usually on the property. We saw giraffes! We even saw a leopard with it's kill in the nearby tree. It was fabulous!

After our drive, we went to a fire pit and had drinks (whisky and ginger for me!), and roasted kudo (deer type animal). We had a dance and singing show. At one point they said we should join the dancing line around the fire. Some of us girls did. And then we had a sort of dance off. Each dancer paired up with one of us. My guy said that I better not let him down! It was awesome!

From there it was back to our lodge for another amazing meal.

Africa Day 3: Up, Up, and Away!

Another early morning for us... this time we had to leave the hotel by 6:30. Only some of our group participated in the first event of the morning... microlight flights! Somehow I ended up being the first one to go. It was amazing! We flew over our hotel, Victoria Falls, hippos in the river, a giant crocodile in the river, elephants wondering around... it was incredible!

After a quick breakfast on our return, we were off to the next adventure - jumping off the Zim Zam Bridge! (So named because it links the countries of Zimbabwe and Zambia). Our options were to do a zip line across the river, bungee from the bridge or swing from the bridge. Ben and I opted to do a tandem (the two of us together) swing jump. The swing really was a lot like the bungee, but instead of bouncing up and down to stop, we swung back and forth. It was so much fun! Unfortunately, Paul took a video of our jump with his thumb in frame the whole way, so we don't have proof of our adventure.

The bridge was an interesting experience. Scott was there. But not really wanting to be. He was upset and swearing at us for "making" him be there. When it was his turn, he was panicked! They told him to let go of the hand rails they had to pry his fingers off. And then he quickly grabbed back on. Finally, they got him to let go and he jumped! And it was a perfect swan dive! It was glorious! When he got back up he had huge hugs and thanks for us for making him go through with it. And then, Poto convinced Sophia to do the swing with him. I am so proud of how people conquered their fears and embraced the adventure!

After the bridge we raced back to the hotel to pack up and leave Zambia. We took a commercial flight into South Africa, then hopped on small (Cessnas) planes to fly into Ulusaba! Ulusaba is Sir Richard Branson's resort. The reception of the resort is located at the end of the runway. They greeted us with champagne. We quickly changed into game drive gear and loaded up into land rovers for our first drive!

Our driver and ranger was Jason and our tracker and bait was Don. I really liked both of them. Anyway, on our first drive we saw some various deers, zebras, elephants, water buffalo... and lions! We found two lionesses and two adolescents. It was right at sundown. It was so cool to see them up close and in the wild. And then, they two cubs went on the other side of our vehicle. Then it got a little creepy... I started to feel like dinner. We left there and met up with the other land rover and had light snacks and drinks. I asked for a vodka soda and somehow ended up with a whiskey ginger ale. It was pretty good! On our way back we rounded a corner and there were rhinos! It was so cool! It was hard to see them in the twilight, but it was cool.

When we got back we quick changed and had a fabulous meal and evening. 

Africa Day 2: Forward Beasties!

Our day started pretty early. Ok, we left at 7:30. But that's still pretty early. LOL We walked down to the water's edge and got into some small boats. Ben warned Dori about the hippos. And, yep, saw a bunch of them not far away from shore. After a very short ride, we were at the edge of Victoria's Falls. We were brought to the shore where there were ropes in the water. They kind of followed some rocks. So, I thought we were walking across the rocks. Nope! We got into the river! (Yes, the river with hippos). It was an interesting swim. Our guide kept us close and we did almost a zig-zag pattern. If you strayed from that, you could feel the current. Oh, and the water was very... refreshing.

After a short swim, we climbed into the Devil's Pool. This is a natural occurring pool right at the edge of the falls. It is a deep pool, so as a result, the water is calm. Even though you are right at the edge of the world's largest waterfall. Did I mention we were at the edge??? It was pretty cool. After we got our pictures taken (on someone else's camera, still waiting on them to give them to me), we went back into the water to swim back to shore. They served us a wonderful breakfast (they had amazing biscuits!) and then we headed back to the hotel.

After a short break, we headed out for our next adventure - white water rafting! We took a truck to the midway point in the Zambezi River's rapids (there are 25 rapids: we started at 10 because some in the first 10 are class 5 rapids. And it would be an all day thing). After a brief safety training, we were given our gear for a hike down the hill. Yeah. We were told that it was a steep climb down, but that doesn't begin to explain it! It was steep. And the "path" was a bunch of branches made into a ladder put on the ground. It was an exhausting climb. My legs were like jello. The branches/logs were slightly slippery. No hand rails. But I made it!

It took a while for the whole group to make it down (interesting fact: the fastest one of the porters can go up and down is 22 minutes). Once down, we loaded up in our rafts and headed out. In our raft was Alex, Kevin, Andrew (Poto), Ben, me and our guide Scott. It didn't take us to long to get to the first of the exciting rapids - 12 a,b and c also named "the 3 ugly sisters" followed immediately by rapid 13, "the mother." We let the other 2 rafts go through first. And they both flipped. We made it through the rapids, in tact. Phew. Once cleared from the rapids, we went into rescue mode and helped get the ones that fell out of the rafts. We pulled Meredith and Scott out. They both were completely speechless and stunned. It took a few minutes for them to snap out of that. And by then, everyone was back in their rafts. (Along with the rafts were a few helpers in kayaks that helped retrieve people and paddles out of the water).

We had a little bit of a break on rapids 14-17. And then it was rapid 18 - Oblivion. Once again, we went last. At was another exciting ride! This time only one raft flipped. And the other one lost a member (Jessica). But our raft was still unflipped!

Rapid 23 we were allowed to get out of the raft and ride them ourselves. Of course we had to do that! Although, a few that flipped at the mother decided to stay in the boat. It was much more exciting than I was expecting! One wave totally crashed into my face and knocked my glasses off (luckily I had them tied on).

Our guide Scot was from the UK. When he wanted us to paddle, he would say, "Forward, team, please." But because of his accent, we thought he was saying, "Forward, beasties!" So, that became our team name. We also may have gotten a little cocky and after clearing rapids, we would air guitar for the camera.

After an adrenaline filled day, it was so nice to have a nice and peaceful dinner on the lawn of the Royal Livingstone. 

Africa Day 1: Arrivals and Grubs

After a delightful breakfast at Ten Bompas (Poached eggs!), Ben and I headed back to the airport. At the Johannesburg airport we met up with a few from our group and we all headed out to Livingstone. The flight was short and fine. But man! Immigration was terrible!!

We were at the back of the plane, so we were some of the last in line. There were three desks open. Every single transaction lasted no fewer than 5 minutes. So obviously, the line was very slow. Kevin and Ashley had been near the front. We thought about joining them in line, but figured everyone would get mad at us. So we stayed in the back. And waited. And waited. It was terrible.

Finally we got our stamps and visas, and were on our way. Kevin and Ashley wisely made their way to the hotel without us. Luckily, we still had a driver waiting for us. He got our bags loaded up and brought us to the Royal Livingstone Hotel. It was beautiful! But because we had gotten held up so long at immigration, we didn't have much time to enjoy our surroundings. We got our room, dropped our bags and loaded up!

Our first group activity was to go to an elephant experience. We were able to feed, pet and look at elephants. Elephants are huge!! I didn't fully appreciate their size until I was standing next to one. After that we had a very lovely high tea.

We made our way back to the hotel. And... their were zebras outside our room! Just wandering around, munching on grass. It was so cool to be close to them. While fairly tame (they live on the property so they are used to humans) they are still wild animals. A guy was standing around making sure we didn't get too close.

For dinner we were off in golf carts to a private dinner on the far side of the property. We were greeted by singers, dancers and drummers. They had a huge spread of meats and vegetables. And grubs. A whole big bowl full of them. Somehow my table all decided to give them a try. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I was still choking and gagging it down.

After dinner a few of us got up and danced with the dancers. I'm sure we were pretty entertaining! After a bit, we headed back to our resort. A few of us stayed up and had a drink, but none of us lasted too long after a busy day and an early day ahead of us.

Getting to Africa

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to travel to Africa for a Maverick Epic trip. And it was epic! So many great memories and adventures. But first, we had to get there.

We left on a Friday morning. Our first flight was to MSP. It felt a little like being back home. On our way between gates we stopped at the rest rooms. I hung my hoodie on the hook on the back of the door. I put our passports and tickets in the pocket. I went about my business. I put my backpack back on. I carefully grabbed my hoodie, making sure everything was still in the pocket. I washed my hands. I reached into the pocket and... no passports! Other pocket... nothing. Floor... no sign of them. I ran out of the bathroom (freaking out) to tell Ben. Then back into the bathroom to check the floors and ask the ladies in there. No passports. Great. We hadn't even left the country, and now we can't leave the country! I was so upset with myself. I reported back to Ben. He was very chill and unconcerned, by the way. As I headed back to the restroom to look again, he went to the closest Delta gate. Sure enough, someone had found our passports and tickets and returned them. Still baffles me as to how I managed to lose them.

Ben used his global upgrades to get us into Business Class. It was so nice to have room, good food and a seat that went flat for sleeping. We traveled to Amsterdam in comfort. Once there we went to the lounge to see if we could get an upgrade to Johannesburg (that leg was KLM and Delta can't confirm upgrades). Luckily for us, we got the upgrades for that leg too! Another pampered flight for us.

We arrived in Johannesburg around 9 pm. We had a driver waiting for us to bring us to our hotel. We stayed at a very nice boutique hotel owned by Starwood (Ten Bompas). The staff took great care of us.  In our room we had "welcome fruits" and champagne. Our shower was also a steam room.

And after a good night's sleep in a real bed, we began our "real" trip.

LIB 2016

Skipping ahead to almost the present...

This year over Memorial Day Weekend, as a family we attended Lightning In a Bottle (LIB). Every time Ben and I go to a music festival, Adelyn and Odin lament the fact that they are not old enough to come with us. And for a few months they started asking when we can go camping. LIB was a perfect solution! LIB is a music festival crossed with art crossed with workshops crossed with camping... and they have a very family friendly attitude about everything too. They even have a special camping area for families. We thought this would be a great intro to camping (free water and food trucks available). And we had a blast!

The event started on Thursday and it was about 6 hours away. We had heard from others that the family camp filled up fast. With this in mind we headed to Bakersfield, CA on Wednesday so we would be closer on Thursday. We did manage to get everything in the car, but it was a tight fit! Thursday we got to the festival around 9:30. After slowly making our way through the gates, we got in about an hour later. First complaint (there aren't many): the guy directing traffic made us go down a road that did not lead to Family Camp. We knew we were going the wrong way, but he insisted. We ended up having to turn around and get on the correct road. Finally we made it to family camp. We were surprised at how many people we already set up. We found a spot that we thought would be good at got to work. We set up our tent, shade structure, and inflatable couch and then took a break to look around and grab some lunch.

The first food truck we came to was a chicken and waffles place. They had a low table and cushions set up under a shade. We went no further. And man! Am I glad we stopped! I haven't had that many c & w's, but this was by far the best I have ever had! The chicken was fried to perfection... not too much breading, a bit of zip, and juicy and delicious. And the waffle. So. Good. It just melted in your mouth. So good. We had nice conversations with the other people eating at the table.

After getting beds and everything set in the tent, we went exploring. We quizzed Adelyn and Odin about where we were and where our camp was as we went. We came to a stage with music. We stayed on the outside and had a family dance party. When the sun set everyone cheered. The kids thought this was great. We headed back to camp shortly after this because it was getting cool fast! We got back to Family Camp and were shocked... so many other tents appeared while we were out. They were crammed in every possible space. That left finding a path to accommodate our wagon a little tricky. We got the kids all tucked inside their sleeping bags. They were asleep pretty quickly.

The next few days were a blur of activity. We would wake up and eat breakfast at camp (breakfast bars for the win!). And then set off. There was a Family Love Village with a lot of kid activities, and lots of other things to see and do. When we got too hot or hungry, we made it back to camp for a lunch of crackers, cheese, nuts and summer sausage. Then we hung around, played and talked with our neighbors, took naps or whatever else we wanted to do. We would head out for a early dinner at the food trucks. After that depending on the kids we would try to stay out late or head back to camp.

Highlights for the kids were the Ferris wheel, the Woogie stage (they liked the bright colors and name, we didn't actually spend much time there), face painting, watermelon and sleeping in sleeping bags. (Doesn't take much!).

The second complaint is a huge one - leaving. We left camp around 11:30 and made it to Bakersfield (2 hours away) at 9 pm. The logistics leaving the camp ground were terrible!

All in all we had a great time. The kids are already talking about next year.

Pictures in a different post. Stay tuned!

Lights Out!

I can't believe that I forgot to mention this in the last post... the last week of October we were without power!

It was a lovely Friday afternoon. I had just gotten home from the grocery store and the pizza store. I opened the refrigerator to put away the food and I noticed the light didn't come on. Weird. So, I checked the lights in the kitchen. Nope. Checked the circuit breakers. Those were fine. Hmmm.... Then we heard a bunch of sirens and watched as several fire trucks pulled into our building. That's not good. The alarms weren't going off on our floor, I figured that was a good thing. I ended up calling the front desk to see what was going on. They didn't know much, so I went to go visit Sonya in the office. Apparently there was an electric arc on the electric buss for that caused a fire and knocked out the power to floors 37 and above. Hm. Not good. Since it was Friday, she went ahead and booked the theater room for us. Ben was able to grill our pizza and we were able to watch Peter Pan on the big screen. The kids were impressed by that! We got a note that night that the soonest the power would be restored would be Monday.

We needed electricity just for a few things.... WiFi and the refrigerator (and an occasional charge for phones and laptops). We bought an extension cord and used the hallway power (that still worked, strangely) to power these things. And we had a fine weekend.

But then Monday happened. The office found out we were using power (and by we I mean everyone else in the building that didn't have power). They left notes saying we couldn't use hallway power and then cut the power. We scrambled and ran around town looking for a generator. We found one that was "as quiet as a conversation." Apparently that conversation is between deaf people who don't realize they are deaf because it was LOUD. We knew we couldn't run that without completely ruining the lives of those below us. So we borrowed some coolers from Bobby and called it good.

No power didn't prove to be too big of an inconvenience. Ben used his phone to hot-spot WiFi for his computer. The front desk would charge our phones. Eating out was a nice treat. We did have hot water, so we could still shower, wash dishes, etc. Laundry was becoming an issue, but my friend Rose came to the rescue and let us have a clothes washing play date. We grilled a lot. Ate meals by candlelight. In some ways, we didn't really miss it!

We got periodic updates. The unit was a custom one, so it had to be fabricated. Across country. It was hopefully going to be finished on Wednesday and over-nighted here and installed on Thursday. Fingers crossed. Well, it did get finished on time! And on Thursday power was restored. It was a huge relief on multiple fronts - mainly because Ben and I were leaving and I hated the thought of leaving Grandma, Grandpa and the kids powerless while we were gone. Phew!