As we headed to breakfast, impalas, a member of the antelope family, populated the valley below our camp along with a troop of baboons. Our guides have taught us much about the African animals during game drives, and any misinformation I pass along is solely my mistake.
A group of impalas is called a rank, and a dominant male with a pair of curved horns guards his harem which includes infants and youngsters from other interested males. He is constantly running either chasing females to mate - he has to prove competent and catch them first - or chasing other males away. Older but not dominant males form bachelor groups and spend time eating, gaining strength and practice sparring. The male mating call sounds like a pig...snort, snort and then a bleating. After about a week or two of running, mating, fighting and not eating, the dominant male is over-powered and the cycle continues.
Baboons are playful, very social omnivores, with good eyesight and leopards are common predators. Mothers carry their young clutched to their stomach for the 1st month until the child if old enough to ride on mom’s back. Their call is either a wild chattering or a single note bark. Their group is called a troop or a “congress”. I am not making this up so when you think our government can sometimes be a bunch of baboons then....
Game drives are a highlight as we look for wild animals in their natural habitats. Even though the wake up calls come early - usually 5:30 - we are ready to head out since many animals are most active in the early morning or late afternoon. We are in African National Parks. Yes, boys, I came to Africa to see more national parks!
Roads are unpaved, deeply rutted, and either filled with rocks or thick dirt. The dirt is handy for tracking animals by their distinctive footprints and scat or dung or poop. As we rock and roll in our jeeps, we have the “African massage”. I’ve got bruises from the side rails and some bumps give you “air time” especially if you are in the back row. We were told the roads would be bumpy, and you had to climb a series of steps like a ladder to get into and out of the jeeps. All true!
There are few toilets in the bush or rather there are lots of toilets, and they are called bushes or termite mounds! I’ve tried several “loos with a view” also called “going to pick roses”, a “smile break”, or an “African toilet”! We say the men are”marking their territory” like their animal counterparts.
Conditions in camp have been rustic but comfortable. I am a fan of flush toilets, and we have those! Electricity is provided by solar power and/or generators which have a tendency to shut off which also turns off the water. We were told not to bring hair dryers since this stresses the grid and the trip was not suitable for anyone requiring a C-Pap machine or anything requiring a constant source of electricity.
Besides the animal drives, we have loved our food. Each camp has a chef, and we are given 3 meals a day, plus tea/snack break in the morning, and tea again in the afternoon. We may all be fatter heading home than when we arrived. An optional bar in always available so beer and wine are plentiful. The staff at each camp have been warm and welcoming. Robyn says it’s the best hospitality she has ever experienced, and Kingsmill Resort could take lessons!
Unfortunately, several members of our 16 person group have contacted a respiratory infection and are passing it along to the others. Everyday someone new is coughing on game drives and several members have stayed in their tents to sleep and try to heal. We aren’t near medical care so people are using medicine from home, salt water gargles, and lots of hot tea.
Insects especially flies are a constant nuisance, but a literal dousing of bug spray keeps most of them at bay. Flies, ants, moths, and assorted other flying critters have provided some of the protein in my diet since they slide right down when your mouth is open on game drives. You also learn to look in your drink before take a swig since insects love to take a swim!
We have been learning about Africa’s big five animals: elephants, lions, rhinos, Cape buffalo, and leopard. There is also the ugly five: hyenas, warthogs, maribou stock, vulture, and wildebeast. As our trip continues, we laugh and invent the small five: rabbit, turtle, snail....
The baobab is a huge native tree and some may be a thousand years old. Many in the park here are several hundred years old. If you’ve been to Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, the massive tree centerpiece known as “The Tree of Life” is a baobab tree. The fruit is an elongated pod and the white seeds can be eaten like popcorn.
The fields are covered with mopane trees which naturally grow large, but elephants love their leaves so they trim them constantly. Another interesting tree is the sausage tree and when you see a picture you will understand why. Their fruit is also tubular shaped and looks like someone hung their deli meats on the limbs! Each one weigh about 6 lbs and would make a handy club. Medicine men use the fruit for male enhancement...yes, even in Africa...and also to help with skin cancer.
The environment is filled with natural medicines that the Africans use everyday. If they contact malaria, an ever present and recurring disease, they use the ....tree for quinine. Another shrubs’ leaves can be crushed and applied to wounds for healing. Flowers can be crushed, mixed with water to make a soap-like product, and another bushes’ stems make good toothbrushes. Sage leaves can be rub on the body as a natural deodorant and bush hunters picked sage the night prior to a hunt and them mixed them with water. In the morning, the sage water was poured over their bodies to disguise their human scent from animals.
Christianity is the main religion, and we see multiple dominations in villages and towns. I also saw a Jewish synagogue, but Islam and Hinduism is aqlso practiced. I wanted to attend a local church for Easter service, but we were leaving too early heading to our first camp.
Most children attend school, but it is not free. Fees are collected and families usually pay by selling cattle or produce. If parents are unable to pay, they are allowed to pay a few dollars at a time. Many of the four countries we visit...Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa...start schooling at 6 years old or “1st form”. Some may have preschool as young as 4, but in 7th form, the students take exams based on various subjects...math, English, their native language, agriculture, and general studies. They must pass these to continue to secondary school. After 192th form, students can decide whether to continue to university or vocational or trade school.
Birds are plentiful and mostly colorful. I’m not a bird person and there are too many to name, but they are in the trees, on the shrubs and grasses, along the water and in the water. My favorite is the lilac breasted roller; a 7-colored bird whose male rolls in flight when he is trying to impress a potential mate. The Cape Turtle Dove looks like a dove, and we hear its 3-note call in each country and on every game drive. We’ve been told it is saying “Work harder, work harder” throughout the day and in the evening, it’s “Drink lager, drink lager “!
There are falcons and cranes, stocks and ducks. The Egyptian duck looks like it has painted eyes, and the Jesus bird has long legs and is said to walk on water.
Then there are the two ugly birds that are both in the “ugly five animals” - the vulture and the Maribou stock.
HIV and AIDS are a major health crisis throughout Africa, but it appears the rate is declining. Some of the southern countries we are visiting have HIV and AIDS populations of 10-17%. The governments are trying to educate their people but ignorance, misunderstandings, mistrust, and even the younger generation thinking, “I’ll just treat it if I catch it” create difficult situations. When America became involved in the crisis, some Africans initially thought AIDS stood for America’s Ideas to Discourage Sex.
Another day in Africa continues.....
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