gonna take some time to do the things we never had
And so here I am. Out of Africa. *plays music* We actually got back last Wednesday or so. It was so, so amazing. But I am so glad to be back home. Already it all seems kind of unreal, with the crusty dry skin on my hands and the thick layer of dust on my new black sneakers as the only evidence that I actually went on a goddamn safari. Which is why I'd better get this entry out now, while it's still somewhat fresh. In a few hours I probably won't even be able to think about anything but Harry Potter.
We got a camcorder specifically for this trip, and I kind of ended up the designated video camera person, so I shot a lot of footage. There are a few interesting videos that I'll probably want to post later on, as well as Carlo's photographs; but we've yet to sort through all those properly, so for the meantime, I'll have to post without visual aids.
CAPE TOWN
We stayed here for four nights. It is so freaking beautiful, I want to move there. Actually, it reminds me a lot of San Francisco, and California in general... only, THERE IS A FREAKING MOUNTAIN RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY. It's like in all those movies and cartoons where no matter where you are in Paris, you can always see the Eiffel tower from your window. Except instead of a tower, it's a freaking MOUNTAIN.
I was also struck by how friendly everyone seemed to be. Every single vendor and shop employee and waiter and taxi driver and everyone. I don't think I met one single mildly unpleasant person the whole time.
We spent a couple of days mostly hanging around the shops in the waterfront area, which was near our hotel. We went on a far too rushed half-day city tour, and a whole-day tour of the surrounding coast. We went to Cape Point, which is supposedly the point where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, even though it technically isn't really. The restaurant we ate at was plagued by marauding baboons, and the waiters there had to carry long sticks to ward them off. We also visited the penguin colony. Penguins~
KAINGO CAMP
The start of our safari. We stayed here three nights. It's a family-owned camp located somewhere in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. We saw a LOT of animals here. The night after our first full day, we were able to follow a pride of lions who were on the hunt, and that's when I shot my favorite video of the entire trip, which I will be posting soon. This was also the only place where we managed to see leopards (twice), which is kinda sad, since they're my absolute favorite; but I feel pretty lucky that we got to see them at all. The most prominent presence here, though, seems to be hippos. Every single night it sounded like freaking Jurassic Park outside, with all their roaring and snorting.
We weren't allowed to walk back and forth from our chalets at night without an escort. They always told us that it was because the camp is unfenced and wild animals like hyenas and elephants can and do walk through any time. I figured it was just something they said to impress the guests. But on our last night, when we returned from our night drive, we couldn't go back to our rooms... because there were elephants in the camp. A small herd of elephants had just wandered in, and were busy snacking on the trees. They were right there, as we ate our dinner. And the next morning, there were fresh hippo tracks right outside our door.
KALAMU CAMP
This is a brand new camp, located in another (much more undeveloped) area of South Luangwa. We were actually the first guests EVER. Everything in the camp was shiny and new; so shiny and new that in some cases it wasn't working properly yet. We stayed in these huge-ass tents that basically look like a five-star hotel room inside, with big comfy beds and a shower and toilet and two sinks and electricity. So while Kaingo was like a warm, homey but highly efficient bed-and-breakfast, Kalamu was like a ritzy Discovery Shores where the doors still have some splinters on them and the toilet doesn't actually flush yet, we'll get right on that, oops they're leaking now? They were probably pressured by the company into opening earlier than they were ready for. But it was kind of fun, since the camp was like a work in progress. We would make a suggestion, like putting a bolt on the doors or a little rack for the soap in the shower, and the next morning when we got back from the game drive it would be there. It was like that episode of Star Trek, where they went to Farpoint Station and there would be a fruit bowl and Riker would go "if only there was an apple", then turn around a moment later and there would be a whole bowlful of apples. I half-suspected they had a giant glowy psychic space jellyfish stashed somewhere in the back, reshaping the camp to our every whim.
Shame the space jellyfish couldn't do anything about the wildlife, which we really didn't see much of on this leg. Since the area had only recently started being developed, the animals were still shy and not enough roads had been cleared, so we rarely saw any kind of large animal on our drives. I honestly didn't mind, though; after all the big game we saw at Kaingo, I was happy to relax and enjoy the luxurious tents and pretty scenery, and to see small but weird creatures like nightjars and ant lions. But what was quite frustrating was one time we were on a game drive, and another vehicle coming down the road in the opposite direction told us they had just seen a pack of wild dogs just lounging about on the road, in plain view. We rushed to see them, but on the way met a huge lumbering truck which, of course, had already scared the dogs away. Then the next day, apparently, the same pack of wild dogs came right within sight of camp, pursuing a bushbuck which ran straight through the camp to escape them. Everyone else saw at least a glimpse of them; but I, of course, missed the whole thing. I was starting to think that those darn dogs were like Mr. SnuffleUpagus in reverse or something. But on the last night, as we were driving back to camp, we finally saw them right on the road, and followed them for a good long while. Doggies~
TO BE CONTINUED...! I don't think I can finish this now. I'll have to put up the second half of the trip in a few days, maybe. But for now, I expect my next entry will be full of "SNAPE? ...SNAAAAAAAAAAPE!!!!!"
We got a camcorder specifically for this trip, and I kind of ended up the designated video camera person, so I shot a lot of footage. There are a few interesting videos that I'll probably want to post later on, as well as Carlo's photographs; but we've yet to sort through all those properly, so for the meantime, I'll have to post without visual aids.
CAPE TOWN
We stayed here for four nights. It is so freaking beautiful, I want to move there. Actually, it reminds me a lot of San Francisco, and California in general... only, THERE IS A FREAKING MOUNTAIN RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY. It's like in all those movies and cartoons where no matter where you are in Paris, you can always see the Eiffel tower from your window. Except instead of a tower, it's a freaking MOUNTAIN.
I was also struck by how friendly everyone seemed to be. Every single vendor and shop employee and waiter and taxi driver and everyone. I don't think I met one single mildly unpleasant person the whole time.
We spent a couple of days mostly hanging around the shops in the waterfront area, which was near our hotel. We went on a far too rushed half-day city tour, and a whole-day tour of the surrounding coast. We went to Cape Point, which is supposedly the point where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, even though it technically isn't really. The restaurant we ate at was plagued by marauding baboons, and the waiters there had to carry long sticks to ward them off. We also visited the penguin colony. Penguins~
KAINGO CAMP
The start of our safari. We stayed here three nights. It's a family-owned camp located somewhere in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. We saw a LOT of animals here. The night after our first full day, we were able to follow a pride of lions who were on the hunt, and that's when I shot my favorite video of the entire trip, which I will be posting soon. This was also the only place where we managed to see leopards (twice), which is kinda sad, since they're my absolute favorite; but I feel pretty lucky that we got to see them at all. The most prominent presence here, though, seems to be hippos. Every single night it sounded like freaking Jurassic Park outside, with all their roaring and snorting.
We weren't allowed to walk back and forth from our chalets at night without an escort. They always told us that it was because the camp is unfenced and wild animals like hyenas and elephants can and do walk through any time. I figured it was just something they said to impress the guests. But on our last night, when we returned from our night drive, we couldn't go back to our rooms... because there were elephants in the camp. A small herd of elephants had just wandered in, and were busy snacking on the trees. They were right there, as we ate our dinner. And the next morning, there were fresh hippo tracks right outside our door.
KALAMU CAMP
This is a brand new camp, located in another (much more undeveloped) area of South Luangwa. We were actually the first guests EVER. Everything in the camp was shiny and new; so shiny and new that in some cases it wasn't working properly yet. We stayed in these huge-ass tents that basically look like a five-star hotel room inside, with big comfy beds and a shower and toilet and two sinks and electricity. So while Kaingo was like a warm, homey but highly efficient bed-and-breakfast, Kalamu was like a ritzy Discovery Shores where the doors still have some splinters on them and the toilet doesn't actually flush yet, we'll get right on that, oops they're leaking now? They were probably pressured by the company into opening earlier than they were ready for. But it was kind of fun, since the camp was like a work in progress. We would make a suggestion, like putting a bolt on the doors or a little rack for the soap in the shower, and the next morning when we got back from the game drive it would be there. It was like that episode of Star Trek, where they went to Farpoint Station and there would be a fruit bowl and Riker would go "if only there was an apple", then turn around a moment later and there would be a whole bowlful of apples. I half-suspected they had a giant glowy psychic space jellyfish stashed somewhere in the back, reshaping the camp to our every whim.
Shame the space jellyfish couldn't do anything about the wildlife, which we really didn't see much of on this leg. Since the area had only recently started being developed, the animals were still shy and not enough roads had been cleared, so we rarely saw any kind of large animal on our drives. I honestly didn't mind, though; after all the big game we saw at Kaingo, I was happy to relax and enjoy the luxurious tents and pretty scenery, and to see small but weird creatures like nightjars and ant lions. But what was quite frustrating was one time we were on a game drive, and another vehicle coming down the road in the opposite direction told us they had just seen a pack of wild dogs just lounging about on the road, in plain view. We rushed to see them, but on the way met a huge lumbering truck which, of course, had already scared the dogs away. Then the next day, apparently, the same pack of wild dogs came right within sight of camp, pursuing a bushbuck which ran straight through the camp to escape them. Everyone else saw at least a glimpse of them; but I, of course, missed the whole thing. I was starting to think that those darn dogs were like Mr. SnuffleUpagus in reverse or something. But on the last night, as we were driving back to camp, we finally saw them right on the road, and followed them for a good long while. Doggies~
TO BE CONTINUED...! I don't think I can finish this now. I'll have to put up the second half of the trip in a few days, maybe. But for now, I expect my next entry will be full of "SNAPE? ...SNAAAAAAAAAAPE!!!!!"