Leaving Africa

By Deb

After a month here, we are returning to Europe and winter.  Our trip began in Johannesburg, South Africa, where we spent 2 weeks with good friends Rich and Michelle Franzen.  Rich and Michelle work with people who live in the spatter camps, providing programs like preschools, health clinics, a baby rescue center, and an ESL class.  They have 3 cool kids who became instant friends to our boys.  So, we spent the 2 weeks either hanging out with the Franzens or helping out at one of the preschools.

Next, we went to Cape Town for ten days.  We went to amazing food markets with gourmet food stalls selling delicious food such as risotto, paella, empanadas, sushi, crepes, pastries, and Cape Malay and Afrikaan dishes.  We explored cool neighborhoods like Kalk Bay, with little shops and restaurants that line the street and views of the bay on the other side of the street.  We found beaches like Camps Bay and Llandudno and watched surfers attempt unbelievably huge waves.  We did the touristy stuff, like taking the cable car up to Table Mountain, visiting the penguins at Boulder Beach, and making our way to Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern point of Africa.  And, on our last day in Cape Town, we took a boat trip to Shark Alley and went shark cage diving.

After Cape Town, we flew to Zimbabwe, drove across the border to Botswana (where our guide pointed out the spot where 4 African countries meet:  Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, and Namibia), and spent five full days at Chobe National Park.  Our safari lodge is located right on the river, with signs warning of hippos and crocodiles that may roam the property at night.  We didn’t see hippos and crocs on the property, but there were plenty of cheeky monkeys playing together and trying to steal from the tourists. 

We took lots of 2 or 3 hour safaris and were able to choose either a drive or a river cruise.  I liked our river cruises the best.  Our family would hire a boat and guide and were able to direct the guide to exactly what we wanted to see.  We saw hippos, water monitors, cape buffalo, crocodiles, beautiful birds, and elephants.  The guide would get the boat as close as possible to a family of elephants drinking by the river, and we were able to watch them drink and get themselves wet and then give themselves a mud bath.  The highlight was on our last river cruise when we got to watch a family of elephants swim across the river to an island.  On our land drives, we saw impala, storks, mongooses (or mongeese!), tortoises, baboons, and more elephants.  On our last land drive, we saw 3 lionesses heading to the river; and then, from far away, we spotted four giraffes along the river bank.

We left Chobe and spent Thanksgiving Day in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.  Bruce and the boys went bungee-jumping.  I wanted to be the cool mom and join them, but I couldn’t even watch them jump without crying like crazy.  So, signing myself up for that would have been a very BAD idea.  The boys were so brave to jump 111 meters, and the guys there said that Daniel was one of their youngest jumpers.  After that huge adrenaline rush, we checked out Victoria Falls and enjoyed a beautiful rainbow over the gorge.

Africa has won my heart, and I'm trying to figure out how to make it back here again.