Falls, a Lake and 5 Days on a Bus

We're writing this post on a very hot, muggy Christmas Day in Lusaka, Zambia.  Colleen and I are singing Christmas Carols and we made eggnog, it was pretty good.  Colleen and Olivia just put some Christmas cookies into the oven, they smell good. 
Anyways, we've been out of South Africa for two weeks now and had some great adventures.  We started out flying to Livingstone, Zambia where we stayed at a really cool backpacker's lodge called Jollyboys.  You could pick mangos off the tree or sit in the cool sunken pillow lounge and chill.  We went to Victoria Falls with a friend we made from Colombia.  The falls were amazing, this is the dry season so they weren't at their full volume but we were kind of glad they weren't because we hear that when it is at full strength you just get soaked and can't even take pictures because of the mist and spray from the falls.  After looking at the falls we went around behind them and walked around in the riverbed above the falls.  That evening we took a sunset dinner cruise aka booze cruise but thankfully there were only 4 other people on the boat and it was mellow and sober crowd.  The cruise was 3 hours long and we saw many hippos and crocodiles and watched the sun set over the Zambezi River.
The next day we took a bus to Lusaka to meet up with COLLEEN!  The bus took about 6 hours.  We basically went to sleep and got up the next morning at 3:45am to catch the bus to Lilongwe, Malawi.  This bus took 13 hours.  The bus was crowded and the aisles were full of bags and boxes, a suitcase fell on Colleen's head, there was no bathroom on the bus...they did give us a coke and cookies though.  The bus stopped about 5 times for people to go to the bathroom, but usually there wasn't a bathroom to go to... We got to Lilongwe and slept at a backpacker's lodge there then woke up early the next morning again to catch a bus up to Nkhata Bay, a town on Lake Malawi.  This bus took 7 hours, it was full, people were standing in the aisles and sitting on each other and it stopped every kilometer it seemed to pick up more people...and chickens. By the end of this trip I was saying to myself that this place had better be worth all these bus rides and I'd look at Olivia and Colleen and just shake my head miserably. 
Well, we arrived and let me tell you, it was definitely worth it.  We stayed at a backpacker's lodge called Mayoka Village (everyone should go there because it's AWESOME!).  We had a little stone and bamboo hut right on the shore looking out at the beautiful lake.  The water was warm and full of tropical fish, yellow ones, blue ones, orange ones, purple ones, red ones.  Lake Malawi is apparently one of the best places to freshwater snorkel/dive in the world and we agree!  The place provided us with free snorkeling equipment and there was a floating dock in the middle of the bay that you could swim out to and lay out on.  The food at the lodge was amazing, every day we'd wake up excited to see what the special for the day was.  They had pizza night twice and this made Olivia very happy.  They also had giant amazing pancakes with honey and lemon...so good.  Pretty much we spent a week swimming, snorkeling, eating, reading and playing Monopoly Deal (the best card game ever).  Lake Malawi also has a very interesting secret.  One day we were siting on the floating dock and we saw a dark cloud moving over the water's surface.  Colleen and Olivia thought it was smoke, but a boat would have had to explode to create that much smoke.  I remember having seen on Planet Earth about huge clouds of Lake Flies on Lake Malawi so I asked a local man in a passing canoe and he told me yes, they were flies...billions and billions of tiny flies.  There is a picture below.  Apparently a couple of fisherman have died, caught in a swarm of the flies and suffocated. 
Now we are back in Lusaka after two more days of lovely bus rides: 8.5 hours and 11 hours.  When we arrived in Lusaka they were unloading the bags from under the bus and in one of the compartments there was just a goat sitting there.  The man who owned it said it was Christmas dinner...shame.
In a couple of days we're heading to Cape Town with Colleen then back to Zonke for a month.  We've enjoyed seeing other parts of Africa, Zambia and Malawi are very different from South Africa.
Love,
The Wandering Two

Victoria Falls

Hippos on the Zambezi

Lake Malawi, the view from our room

Our room...and Colleen

Traditional Malawian dugout canoes, there were many on the lake every day

Just sitting in the water, watching the fishies

Lake Flies, found only in Malawi

Olivia and Colleen on the dock

Me peeking out from the outdoor shower

We spent a lot of time here.

Candlelight Vigil and Simunye Peer Educators

Since being back at VVOCF, Olivia and I have been spending most of our time preparing for and carrying out the peer educator program.  What we’re doing is training a group of about 10 of the older youth who attend the centre to be HIV/AIDS peer educators in the community.  We had an application and interview process to help them get experience in applying for jobs and for the past weeks we’ve been meeting twice a week and doing activities and training with them.  They have chosen the name “Simunye Peer Educators”. Simunye means “we are together”.  Our goal is to prepare and train them to lead workshops for their peers about HIV/AIDS.  We are also addressing other topics such as gender equality, human rights, English proficiency and basic financial literacy.  It’s been really interesting and challenging as well.  We look forward to continuing this in January when the centre reopens.  (Most of) the group is pictured below.

On December 1 we had a candlelight vigil for World AIDS Day.  The kids prepared for two days, practicing songs and chants which they sung as we marched around the township for 2 ½ hours that evening.  It was a really special experience and I can’t think of a better way to commemorate World AIDS Day than with children who are most directly affected by HIV/AIDS. 

Olivia has started the research project she and her professor and a few others will be working.  It is to look at the adherence to HIV treatment among the HIV positive children who attend the centre.  Olivia has been surveying and interviewing the children; I go along as well as one or two of the staff members to translate.  It’s a very humbling experience to realize how much these kids have to deal with and under what circumstances they live yet they are always so happy and joyful when we are there with them. 

We had a big party Friday for the last centre day before the holidays.  Had music and dancing and fried chicken.  We’re off now to Zambia and Malawi for three weeks to meet up with our friend Colleen who’s been serving at the Banani School in Zambia and travel around. 

Simunye Peer Educators

We're going to need a bigger boat!

>

The Wandering Three embarked on our last adventure together to Cape Town. Upon arrival in the beautiful Mother City we got dressed up in our best Bafana Bafana spirit and took the bus with hundreds of other crazy fans to Green Point Stadium to watch South Africa play the USA in the Nelson Mandela Cup. The whole night was filled with the beautiful sound of thousands of Vuvuzelas!  Our friends who were with us said it was just like during the world cup since it seems people had world cup withdrawal and were going all out! Lucky us, we got to our seats and found ourselves surrounded by some obnoxious American exchange students but it was okay, I just blew my Vuvuzela until I got blisters on my lips! Unfortunately the USA won 1-0 with a goal in the last couple of minutes but the energy was amazing and we had a great time.

We got to bed around 2am, and woke up two hours later to set out on our next big adventure: cage diving with GREAT WHITE SHARKS! We had to drive to a town called Gansbaii two hours away from Cape Town. We got to the office and met our guide; Telia anxiously pointed out that he was missing a finger but we decided a shark couldn't have been delicate enough to only bite one finger off, it would have taken the whole hand, so he must have lost it some other way... We boarded the boat and rode half an hour to our destination to a place near the shore and only about 9 meters deep. The water was so beautiful and inviting but it was much colder in reality. We got into our wetsuit and they dropped some fish head bait into the water and our first shark appeared shortly after. Seeing the first shark was so amazing and exciting and we couldn't wait to get in the cage. We were the third group to get in, it fits 5-6 people and your head is above water the whole time. The back of the cage is attached to the boat and when a shark approaches the captain yells ''DOWN DOWN DOWN!!'' and you just take a deep breath and go under to watch as the shark tries to catch the bait which is being lured towards the cage. The sharks were amazingly close to us; the largest one was 3.5 meters long. We saw a total of 5 Great White Sharks that came and went throughout the duration of our dive. I was the first one to get out of the cage after our first dive and right as I climbed on the boat one of the sharks smashed into the cage. The whole boat shook so I can only imagine what it was like for Olivia who was in the corner of the cage right where the shark hit. I was worried that she would be scared but when she came up for air she and Telia were just screaming and so excited. We dried off on deck then went down for a second turn. By this time the sharks were really warmed up and were just constantly swimming around us. At one point I was watching a shark swim by and I turned my head and there was a huge shark right in front of me just looking at me. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we were surprisingly unafraid of the sharks; they are more scary on tv than they are in real life. Cape Town is definitely one of the best places to dive with sharks as you only have to go 30 minutes on the boat to get to the area where they are whereas in other places you have to travel as much as 8 hours to see them. We're definitely glad Telia convinced us to do it.

The next day we went to Boulders Beach to see the penguins, which was cool, but...we had just went diving with great white sharks the day before... The rest of the week we spent just hanging out with friends and enjoying beautiful Cape Town...and watching a Barcelona game for the first time in 3 months, which they won 8-0!! On Monday we dropped Telia off and she flew back home and The Wandering Three became The Wandering Two once again.

Now we're back in Zonke until the centre closes over the holidays. Oh, and my laptop broke an hour after we got back from Cape Town...shame. Now Olivia has to share.

Love,

The Wandering Two

The Wandering Three Gets Bit by Lions

Back in Zonkizizwe, we held a meeting for the guardians of the children at the centre. 7 of them showed up and we told them all about the activities we’ve been doing at the centre and they shared with us their comments and suggestions and all expressed their gratitude for the effect the centre has had on the children’s lives. After that we spent the weekend with Malibongwe and his family and went to an amazing devotional with the Swaziland National Baha’I Choir. They had come down to Johannesburg to record an album and we enjoyed listening to their beautiful singing all evening! The following day Malibongwe took us to the Cradle of Humankind where some of the earliest hominid fossils were discovered and we went on a tour of the caves where they were found. Afterwards we went to a lion park where you could pet and play with lion cubs. I don’t know about you but when I think of lion cubs I picture cute little baby lions…however, these lions were BIG and were very active. It was a little bit scary. Naveed and Telia both got pounced on and bit multiple times and Naveed’s shirt has seen better days. They would look so cute and be sitting there but when we’d approach for a picture they’d leap up on us and try to bite us…all playfully of course. Let’s just say this would NOT be allowed in North America as it’s several million dollar lawsuits waiting to happen!
Back in Zonkizizwe again, Telia repainted the main VVOCF sign. 2 minutes after she finished the rain started pouring down so we covered it with pieces of tin, soccer jerseys and plastic bags and it survived and is now beautiful again. We had a culture day with the kids by Telia on China and they all really enjoyed it and they all remembered so many things that we had taught them about Kenya the week before. They are very eager to learn about the world and other countries and cultures.

Love,
The Wandering Three

The Wandering Three on Safari

We set out on our journey to Kruger National Park in a rented Chevy Spark (google it, it’s a pretty funny looking car) with Naveed having a crash course in driving standard, on the left side of the road, sitting on the right side of the car.  Let’s just say we all have whiplash… We got lost several times until we finally found the right highway to Kruger and got there.  We entered the park with an hour until our rest camp gate would close for the night.  We were informed by the park ranger, “You will not stop if you see any animals. Proceed to the rest camp directly”.  Yeah right…30 seconds later….screeeech ELEPHANTS!!  In the following hour that it took to drive to our rest camp we saw a hippo cross the road in front of us, a rhino, 4 elephants, many impalas and 6 giraffes; in each case we definitely stopped and took pictures for extended amounts of time. We arrived at Skukuza Rest Camp and checked in to our little safari tent and went straight to bed to sounds of the bush.  The next morning we got up at 4:30am and hit the road.  Pretty much we drove for 12 hours straight, on paved and dirt roads, around Kruger and saw so many animals all over the park.  Often it was just us and the animals; we didn’t see many other cars.  We were very close to them and at one point got scared and had to back away from one particularly large elephant that came walking quickly towards us.  That night we went on a guided night safari tour.  Everyone has to be inside the camps by 6:30 so this is the only way you can be out after sunset.  It was nice to be out and listening to the sounds at night, however we only saw impalas and rhinos, no lions L and were smothered by a sea of termites for the 3 hour tour.  The next morning we got up at 5am and slowly made our way out of Kruger and saw many more animals including a leopard in a tree which was amazing!  We left the park satisfied.  Here follows the final safari animal count as recorded by Telia:

14 elephants

1000+ impalas

10 rhinos

80 zebras and one almost-3-legged-zebra

41 giraffes

89 baboons

9 hippos

67 wildebeest

8 hyenas

97 buffalo

23 warthogs (Pumba!)

14 springboks

21 camel/deer/moose thingies that we don’t know the name of

10 monkeys

1 crazy lizard

4 turtles

1 lion

2 spotted pygmy owls

1 snake

1 mongoose

1 rabbit

2 carcasses

7 vultures

2 crocodiles

1 leopard

8 giant snails

10 meerkats

We then drove down to Durban through Swaziland.  At Swazi immigration the lady held up a form and asked us for it.  We said we didn’t have that form, and she waved us through anyways.  In Durban we stayed at a psychedelic and surprisingly awesome hippie backpackers lodge.  It was raining the first day unfortunately but our next day was beautiful and we enjoyed the sun and warm Indian Ocean.  The last day of our trip was spent driving back to Johannesburg and visiting the Apartheid Museum.  Throughout our trip Naveed would often curse the crazy South African drivers (such as people passing people who are passing someone else on a hill in the rain around a corner…) When we reached Durban the hot news story was about corruption in the driving schools and how just anyone can get a driver’s license.  Shame. 

Love,

The Wandering Three

... South African driving school...

Beach time in Durban

Beautiful Kruger

Zebras

Big elephant crossing the road

Illegally out of the car again

Humphrey the hippo

Mommy monkey and baby

Fighting impalas

Mommy elephant and little one

Rhino

Pumba

Just some giraffes crossing the road...

Zebra

Baboons

Hyena

Warner Beach in Durban

Naveed and Telia and their new friend

Illegally out of the car.. Tee hee!

Scary buffalo!

Crazy horned antelope-type-thingy