Night two in the Flatdogs easy bake oven, aka tent 8, was a bit better. We smartly moved the oscillating fan inside the mosquito netting so it blew right on us. And we are either getting used to the heat or it cooled down a tiny bit. There was an elephant outside at some point but nothing shaking the tent or preventing us from going to breakfast. And maybe our jet lag is subsiding. One can hope.
We opted for a walking safari in the morning. Zambia is known for pioneering walking safaris. While we did a short one in Namibia four years ago, we hadn't done a real one with a guide with a gun and all that. Bwalia had told us the night before that we needed to make sure we were wearing neutral colors and nothing bright. This was easy for us but Chris, the guy from Australia by way of England, pretty much didn't have safari clothes. For some reason, he thought white t-shirts and jeans/faded jean shorts were appropriate for sweltering weather and dangerous animals. It turned out he had a grey sweatshirt that was deemed appropriate to wear with his faded jean shorts. We don't really get how some people chose to dress for this. Your best tube top dress in bright colors really isn't appropriate.
But I digress. In addition to Bwalia, Miriam and Chris, two British gentlemen - Jeff and Lee - joined us, along with a lead tracker with a gun. A driver, maybe Albert?, dropped us off at around 630 AM. Bwalia let us know the rules. Walk in single file. No loud noises or talking. The tracker with the gun goes first, followed by Bwalia.
If a dangerous animal approaches, stay still and then follow their lead. Reassuring, right? Actually it was all quite lovely. There is a quiet that you don't get in the vehicles due to their engines. You also notice more about the terrain, very dry right now, but also rocky in places. And it changes its look pretty easily, from grass to sand to almost volcanic looking ground. You learn a lot looking down, as you see - or as Bwalia points out - all the different animal track and, as he says, their poop. He pointed out leopard, lion, elephant (those are easy), civil and hyena tracks among others. We walked in hippo trails that had other tracks in them, like leopard. We didn't get too close to any animals, but saw a number from a distance. There were some giraffes that we walked by that were pretty cool.
And we learned some interesting things about the termites and their huge mounds, like the queen bee can live for 30 years and the workers will continue to build the mound the whole time. She also lays up yo 2,000 eggs a day. They also now how to regulate the temperature inside. Amazing, right? Trust me. It is.
At one point, Moira said to me, "Did you hear that hippo growling? (Pause) It was actually my stomach." I guess moving around a bit made first breakfast digest faster.
The walk lasted about two hours and it felt really good to move after bouncing around the safari vehicle for a day. We walked until we came upon our jeep, with the set up for morning coffee. We were all so parched from how hot and dry that it was, that we mostly drank juice and more water. In fact, all of us said we were pretty thirsty all day after that. I don't know how the animals do it. After that, we had about another hour ride before returning to camp. The most exciting part about the drive back was that we saw a leopard in a tree! That is an ultimate safari thing. But it was so camouflaged that it didn't really show up in pictures.
Wendy told us at breakfast about a local shop/workshop called Mulberry Mongoose which is the concept of a British ex-pat named Kate. She trains local women to make jewelry using both African stones and the wire from poaching snares. $5 from each purchase goes to the anti-poaching foundation. Wendy showed us the necklace she was wearing from there and said Leonardo DiCaprio has goods from their too. Well, if it is good enough for Leo, it is good enough for us. Wendy told us there is a taxi driver that will take us over, 15 minutes ride, free of charge and wait for us. So we went.
It was really quite lovely. There is a big elephant outside that the school children made by collecting trash. It has beer can feet, sandals on its side, etc.
A woman named Clara showed us around and explained what they had. Kate was there briefly but then had to go pick up her kids. We bought a few things, helped save the elephants and bolstered the local economy.
Sidenote: We were commenting on trusting we are. We got into a car with a taxi driver (who seemed like a regular guy with a regular car) who we were told we didn't have to pay and rode away. Now granted, Wendy arranged the whole thing. But as Moira said, he could have taken us somewhere and harvested our organs. He didn't though and our trust in people being good overall will give us good karma.
One thing I forgot to mention about yesterday is that before we left for the afternoon game drive about 12 elephants walked by our tent and through the camp. This is important because after we went to the shop and after lunch, when we walked back to our tent, the same group of elephants were there right outside our tent...making it impossible for us to go in. Lee and Jeff saw us standing there and said they would send someone back. Wendy came back (not that she could intimidate an elephant) and after a bit, we all started walking towards the tent. Then about three of the elephants decided they didn't like that, stared us down a bit and started coming towards us. We slowly backed away even though we weren't that close to them. They messed around a bit and then finally left.
The most momentous part of the afternoon/evening game drive was that we went back to where the leopard was earlier, only to find out he was still up in the tree. However, now, there was a dead impala at the bottom of the tree which was obviously said leopard's handy work. Later Albert, our night spotter, saw another leopard staking out a group of impala. He looked ready to pounce. Our car was about one out of six (at least) waiting to see what he would do. The jeeps kept flashing their lights on him which must have made him aware that the impala might see him or react differently. Eventually we gave up and headed back to camp.
The next morning, we had one last drive before leaving Flatdogs for Mfuwe Lodge. Lee and Jeff were with us again. The most significant part of the drive was that we went back to see the leopard and it was still there. It was under a bush opposite the tree where it was yesterday. We didn't see the dead impala from the night before but we smelled it. Then Bwalia pointed it out that it was hanging up in the thick of the tree where the leopard was perched last night. The leopard then got up, walked over to the tree, climbed up and started eating more of the impala for breakfast. We also saw two male lions - Ginger (named for his color) and his brother. They are about 8 years old. They left the area after they were cubs but returned a couple of years ago. We didn't know his brother's name for awhile but found out later it is The Guardian.
After the ride, we went back to Flatdogs, got out stuff and were driven over to Mfuwe Lodge. We felt a little guilty about going to a lodge so close. But Kensington suggested it for a different experience...and because this is the time of year that elephants often walk through the actual lobby to eat from the mango tree in the courtyard. If you google "elephants in the lobby" you can easily find video of it.
When we pulled in, it was clear this was more of a lodge with the big lobby, a nice bar and nice seating area inside. There is also a deck with nice chairs and sofas and a pool. It all looks over a waterbed so there were lots of animals like zebra, impala (which are really everywhere) and even elephants in the distance. A woman named Beauty checked us in, along with a gentleman named Angus. (Sidenote: Beauty is cute but I wonder what you would feel like if you were named Beauty and were not remotely attractive. That would be a tough cross to bear) She gave us the rules of the lodge which were similar to Flatdogs with a few exceptions. There is a hut called the library which has free wifi. There is an indoor and outdoor gym. We don't have to surrender our food. Game drives start a little later as we are already in the park. Brunch is at 11 and dinner at 8. They have an award winning spa (!!). Oh and here is the best part...the chalets where we stay have air conditioning!!! We almost hugged her when we heard that. They only ask you don't run it when you aren't there. Not a problem!
Angus took us to the chalet which is a lot like the tents but has a concrete type of exterior which keeps it cooler. It is really beautiful. The bathroom is all indoors which means no hiding things nightly from cheeky monkeys. And the kicker is a gorgeous backporch complete with swing chairs (more on that below) and a great view of the waterbed and a huge group of hippos. Next to the AC, I was most excited about that chair. As I was just telling Carrie and Moira last week, we had one on our porch in Pottsville when I was a kid. I used to always sit and read there. When we moved to Camp Hill, I agreed to take the smaller bedroom under the condition that I could get one of those in my bedroom there. I think pierced ears may have also been part of the bargain. I never got that chair and I never forgot it. Deprived, I know.
The meals are served buffet style here and the food was very healthy. We spent the afternoon in our much cooler room. Tea is served starting at 3:15. There we met our guide, Frances. He is very sweet with a nice laugh and a big smile. An older couple (75 as they told us later) was supposed to be with us but opted not to go out. She (Shelia) is obsessed with elephants which we discovered right off the bat and wanted to stay there and watch them. While they didn't come through the lobby, they did come past the reception building and walked through the camp. Sheila took off like a heat seeking missile to follow them. At that point Garth started telling us a out Sheila loving elephants, their safari in Tanzania, that they bought their own safari vehicle and that they rent it out to a guide there, they help with his family, etc. It wasn't a humble brag...it was a straight out brag. And in a bit of a know if all way. Suffice it to say, we weren't upset they pass up on the ride with us.
We also met Amy the camp manager who I would guess is in her 50s and from the states. She is originally from Tennessee, lived on a Pueblo Indian reservation (like Lori's friend Herbert Marie "I sure do wish I was back on that Indian reservation) in Arizona and owns a place in New Mexico. She has been here about six years. We got talking about travel and she is thinking of going to Argentina during her January break so she wants to pick our brains on that. She also gave us a list of all the mammals, birds and reptiles that are here. Moira is obsessed with checking them off now.
We left shortly after 4 for our afternoon drive. In addition to Frances, we had a spotter whose name I couldn't understand. We were joking with Frances that he could make things up and tell us and we wouldn't know the difference. Particularly with birds. He then decided to point out pretty much every new bird we saw on the drive. Which is actually pretty interesting., believe it or not. His eyes are amazing, as is his knowledge. His style is a bit different than Bwalia, kind of slow and deliberate. He did a nice job of keeping us away from other keeps. The highlight of the drive was when Frances noticed a bunch of kudu standing alert, all looking in one direction. He told us that was the sign of a predator being near. Sure enough, under a tree in the shade was a leopard. They are pretty solitary animals, unless taking care of a baby. No one else was around and we got to see it without interruption.
We had a nice sundowner with the bar on the front of the jeep.
We didn't see anything new on the night drive back in, except maybe some mongoose.
They had dinner going when we got back, around 730, mostly because there are some kids here. It was set up outside, with a Mongolian barbecue.
No comments:
Post a Comment