Ok, I realise many of you were left in suspense by my last post and there has likely been much groaning and grinding of teeth in the seemingly eternal delay. Right.
Well, suffice to say that Chobe, Vic Falls and Zambia were great. Maybe during a quieter time, I'll pen some of my thoughts on the matter. But now, that's old news, and I'm in Cape Town, South Africa thanks to the very good and kind hospitality of Julie Hagen. We drove down on Monday and Tuesday, a mere 1400km and since then I've been officially 'on vacation'. Yes, I'm slowly ticking off as many tourist targets as possible. On Wednesday, it was the V&A waterfront, Thursday Cape Point and Boulders Beach (PENGUINS!), and yesterday the city centre, museums, knife wielding mugger, and Table Mountain. Today we went out to Hermanus in search of whales, but unfortunately they weren't near the coast and it was too windy to go out on a boat. Ah well!
But, I don't think that this list format is doing anyone any favours, particularly the sights themselves. So I'll give a brief rundown of each-
Victoria and Alfred waterfront - good weather helped here, and I even saw a seal. The two oceans aquarium was good as well. There is also a regular ferry out to Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned, but the prison is undergoing refurbishment at the moment (odd, I know...), so I gave that a miss.
Boulders Beach - home to the Cape penguins, formerly known as Jackass penguins beacause of their braying, though I think that was rather mean. They were really nice, if a bit smelly.
Cape Point - apparently the point where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, though there is some debate about that. Some great views as you walk down it and see less and less land and more and more and more sea far below you. Slightly less popular but maybe more interesting was the cape of good hope, the most south-westerly point of Africa. I had to wait in line behind a load of Japanese tourists, but I got a cool photo of that (thanks Julie!). Oh, and as if all that wasn't memorable enough, a baboon leapt into the car, ripped open a bag to get at the bananas inside, and proceeded to peel and eat them on the front passenger seat. I had to swipe it with my bag to convince it to leave, after it started going after my sunscreen (yellow bottle - not a baboon-proof idea).
City centre - I didn't have much time here, so I tried to do as much as possible. I went to the castle, where I saw people dressing up and firing dinky cannons. I went to the National Gallery where there were exhibitions on local art relating to Apartheid, and the museum where I got to see whale skeletons, rock art and a planetarium.
Knife wielding mugger - wow, I've enjoyed making you all wait for this story, though I'm grateful it isn't more dramatic. Long story short, two guys stop me in the street, ask for money. I give R10, walk away. Same two guys follow me down busy street, chatting. Then they stop me again, ask for more. I give R10. One guy pulls out knife, and tells me not to *$!" with him, upon which request, I hand over R300 and politely ask to be left alone. I proceed to nearest cafe, and stop shaking gradually and realise what a bargain it was to not risk being stabbed. Also, pretty happy I kept my camera and phone, both of which are greatly more valuable and important to me. Although if asked to choose, my casio or my life, I'm sure some rapid re-evaluation would take place.
Right, I think that's more than enough drama for now kiddies, off to bed!
edit: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2627&l=6bc04&id=505324220
Saturday, 23 June 2007
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
I know the question on all of your minds - did he, didn't he?
He did!
Oh yes, I bunji jumped from Victoria Falls this Sunday, and I'm happy to report that my retinas seem to have remained intact, even after the incredibly rickety 6 hour bus journey to Francistown. It was the highlight of a great weekend, where on the same day, we camped out under the african sky in the bush, saw a lion, got soaked at Victoria Falls and added considerably to our passports. I took 300 photos this weekend, though admittedly maybe 150 of them are the same things from minutely different angles, but I think that should be a measure of the weekend. It takes far too long for me to upload lots of them however, so I'm just going to put a few select ones up for the time being.
So, after a 12 hour bus journey from Gaborone to Livingstone in Zambia with 12 Canadians and 2 Americans, we arrived at Jollyboy's lodge. From there, Chove National Park overnight, where the elephant population outnumbers the human. Back to the lodge in the morning and from there to Vic Falls - quite rightly one of the 7 wonders of the world.
I'll write more later, but for now...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2380&l=f9466&id=505324220
He did!
Oh yes, I bunji jumped from Victoria Falls this Sunday, and I'm happy to report that my retinas seem to have remained intact, even after the incredibly rickety 6 hour bus journey to Francistown. It was the highlight of a great weekend, where on the same day, we camped out under the african sky in the bush, saw a lion, got soaked at Victoria Falls and added considerably to our passports. I took 300 photos this weekend, though admittedly maybe 150 of them are the same things from minutely different angles, but I think that should be a measure of the weekend. It takes far too long for me to upload lots of them however, so I'm just going to put a few select ones up for the time being.
So, after a 12 hour bus journey from Gaborone to Livingstone in Zambia with 12 Canadians and 2 Americans, we arrived at Jollyboy's lodge. From there, Chove National Park overnight, where the elephant population outnumbers the human. Back to the lodge in the morning and from there to Vic Falls - quite rightly one of the 7 wonders of the world.
I'll write more later, but for now...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2380&l=f9466&id=505324220
Thursday, 7 June 2007
I've noticed a slight dip in my output as of late, and as such this is an effort to remedy that situation. Go - Filler!
Right, tonight I'll be departing on an overnight bus to Livingstone in Zambia, with 14 other people. We'll be staying in a backpackers lodge that has been recommended to me by a few people, and from there we'll be heading out on a safari to Chobe, where we'll be camping on Saturday night, and from there going back to Livingstone in the morning after our third game drive. (pause for breath). And on arriving, we'll be bundled into a bus to look around Victoria Falls, where I will have to make that decision which has plagued man for generations - to bungi or not to bungi? If it was as simple as that, I would be over in a heartbeat. But! Thanks to some of my friends, two words have become lodged in my head - detatched retinas. So now I've got an excuse not to do it, but if it was really a likely problem, then there's no way as many people would do it as they do. So... at the moment I'm leaning towards it (though not too far forwards that I lose my balance).
I should be back Monday evening, and I'll be sure to take plenty of photos!
Right, tonight I'll be departing on an overnight bus to Livingstone in Zambia, with 14 other people. We'll be staying in a backpackers lodge that has been recommended to me by a few people, and from there we'll be heading out on a safari to Chobe, where we'll be camping on Saturday night, and from there going back to Livingstone in the morning after our third game drive. (pause for breath). And on arriving, we'll be bundled into a bus to look around Victoria Falls, where I will have to make that decision which has plagued man for generations - to bungi or not to bungi? If it was as simple as that, I would be over in a heartbeat. But! Thanks to some of my friends, two words have become lodged in my head - detatched retinas. So now I've got an excuse not to do it, but if it was really a likely problem, then there's no way as many people would do it as they do. So... at the moment I'm leaning towards it (though not too far forwards that I lose my balance).
I should be back Monday evening, and I'll be sure to take plenty of photos!
Monday, 4 June 2007
Rain, rain go away
I was at the pre-school today, doing some hard labour for the playground, and afterwards went in to play with the kids. They sang the classic "Rain rain go away", which struck me as pretty funny considering that this country is in a drought. Yes, little Johnny might want to play, but your dam is less than half full...
I was lucky enough to be invited away for the weekend with some friends at the hospital, so we went to Tau (lion) lodge in Madikwe, a reserve in the north of South Africa. It was really good, and I am trying to upload photos even now, but if it doesn't work then I'll try from another computer later in the week. It was a very different Africa that I saw in that 5 star lodge (one night was more than a month's budget...), and one that I think most of us want to see when we come over on holiday. But, it is a very different place to what most Africans live with. For example, I think half of these guys have never seen a lion, yet we have it on our 'must see' list. Don't get me wrong, I loved my time there, not having to worry about food (fridge still broken), getting shown everything in great comfort, but I am also enjoying my time in the real world, with friends and a routine.
Oh, we saw two of the Big 5, a lioness and elephants. We even got to eat ostrich on Saturday, which I would highly recommend - a very lean meat, more like beef than chicken.
Next weekend I should be going up to Chobe, a destination I've really been looking forwards to. I thought I had a travel plan, but all of a sudden (i.e. this morning), the guys I was planning on going with have said that their organisation has arranged something similar for them, but that I am still welcome to come along. I'll go for sure, I just don't know exactly when, where or how much it will be. Ah well, everything will work out in the end!
And it is now just a fortnight until I go to Cape Town, so I'm getting very excited!
For photos, try http://picasaweb.google.com/mattman.d/UntitledAlbum
I was lucky enough to be invited away for the weekend with some friends at the hospital, so we went to Tau (lion) lodge in Madikwe, a reserve in the north of South Africa. It was really good, and I am trying to upload photos even now, but if it doesn't work then I'll try from another computer later in the week. It was a very different Africa that I saw in that 5 star lodge (one night was more than a month's budget...), and one that I think most of us want to see when we come over on holiday. But, it is a very different place to what most Africans live with. For example, I think half of these guys have never seen a lion, yet we have it on our 'must see' list. Don't get me wrong, I loved my time there, not having to worry about food (fridge still broken), getting shown everything in great comfort, but I am also enjoying my time in the real world, with friends and a routine.
Oh, we saw two of the Big 5, a lioness and elephants. We even got to eat ostrich on Saturday, which I would highly recommend - a very lean meat, more like beef than chicken.
Next weekend I should be going up to Chobe, a destination I've really been looking forwards to. I thought I had a travel plan, but all of a sudden (i.e. this morning), the guys I was planning on going with have said that their organisation has arranged something similar for them, but that I am still welcome to come along. I'll go for sure, I just don't know exactly when, where or how much it will be. Ah well, everything will work out in the end!
And it is now just a fortnight until I go to Cape Town, so I'm getting very excited!
For photos, try http://picasaweb.google.com/mattman.d/UntitledAlbum
Thursday, 24 May 2007
Jipped
Right, my African Oddysey is more than half way through, and things are starting to happen.
- My fridge/freezer is broken, just as soon as I have managed to reach a level I can call 'well stocked', it dies on me. I miss the noise it made at night that could wake me up, at least then I knew it was working. The director at the Hospice has said she'll sort it, but until then I'm going to be living out of tins!
- It's got cold all of a sudden! Not fair, this is not what I signed up for... So I've got some warm clothes, but I think I'm going to cave in and get some more.
- Three new volunteers have arrived at the hospice from Canada, and they are settling in well. I'm going to try and see if any of them are interested in my trip to Chobe - I hope so, company is nice!
Last Sunday my kind Cape Town invitation provders weren't at church, so I'm hoping to catch them this week, to sort some details and double-confirm that it is really happening. Yay!
The hat hunt continues, undaunted by the weather!
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
Deja vu
Ok, I’m writing this one at home again, so I can’t remember what I wrote about last time…
I don’t think I’ve mentioned it already, so here it goes – I spent a week in a local government-run hospital called Princess Marina Hospital, which was arranged for me by Dr Moffat and Dr Magdi, both of whom I’m very grateful towards. I spent the mornings doing a combination of sitting around; pretty sure I’d been forgotten about, and following the doctors on rounds throughout the Male Medical Ward. One of the precursors for my time there was that I should actually try to help out, rather than remaining a passive observer getting in the way. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do for the first few days until I know my way around and how to perform various basic tasks. I’ve learned a lot of the basics I think, and now (I’ve arranged to work in the hospital 1.5 days a week), I’m starting to help by filling out forms, fetching things and talking to the patients.
Oh, on a brief aside, I’ve picked up a bit of Setswana, but unfortunately, it is mostly variations on ‘how are you?’, which, in a hospital leads to distinctly non-standard responses to which I can only smile and shrug.
In the afternoons, I often wandered over the Female Medical Ward, where there are quite a few American med students, who are here on six-week rotations. Happily, they don’t mind me tagging along, and I’ve seen lots of basic procedures and learned even more. Everyone at the hospital seems bent on getting me to begin taking blood – something that I’m obviously nervous about (80% of patients are HIV positive…), but I think it doesn’t look too hard, and I’ll have to do it eventually anyway. Personally, I’m hoping for a patient who is out of it (technical term there, look it up if you have to), as they often are, and is not likely to question my credentials closely!
The hospital makes a nice break from the hospice, where there isn’t much going on at the moment (still no new clients…), and all I can really do is lend my IT skills whenever they’re needed. One thing I’ve started looking forwards to is going to the Pre-school to help deliver lunch, as that place is always lively – it lifts my spirits. Ah, and while I remember – the stationary and notebooks from St. Gabriel’s were gladly received a few weeks ago.
I’m also starting to get very excited about an upcoming trip to Cape Town, which I was very kindly invited on by Julie and Dave from church, who live there normally. It’s going to be a 10 day trip, three of those spent driving, with the rest divided between the many tourist destinations – Table Mountain, Cape Point, Whale-watching, Robben Island, even the Cape Penguins! So excited, the end of June can’t come fast enough!
Before I leave (not an event looking too far off any more), there are three more things I want to do – Cape Town, the magazine (proving difficult), and Chobe, which I intend to start researching soon. The solitary adventure is looking more and more plausible.
Sorry about all the brackets (not!).
I don’t think I’ve mentioned it already, so here it goes – I spent a week in a local government-run hospital called Princess Marina Hospital, which was arranged for me by Dr Moffat and Dr Magdi, both of whom I’m very grateful towards. I spent the mornings doing a combination of sitting around; pretty sure I’d been forgotten about, and following the doctors on rounds throughout the Male Medical Ward. One of the precursors for my time there was that I should actually try to help out, rather than remaining a passive observer getting in the way. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do for the first few days until I know my way around and how to perform various basic tasks. I’ve learned a lot of the basics I think, and now (I’ve arranged to work in the hospital 1.5 days a week), I’m starting to help by filling out forms, fetching things and talking to the patients.
Oh, on a brief aside, I’ve picked up a bit of Setswana, but unfortunately, it is mostly variations on ‘how are you?’, which, in a hospital leads to distinctly non-standard responses to which I can only smile and shrug.
In the afternoons, I often wandered over the Female Medical Ward, where there are quite a few American med students, who are here on six-week rotations. Happily, they don’t mind me tagging along, and I’ve seen lots of basic procedures and learned even more. Everyone at the hospital seems bent on getting me to begin taking blood – something that I’m obviously nervous about (80% of patients are HIV positive…), but I think it doesn’t look too hard, and I’ll have to do it eventually anyway. Personally, I’m hoping for a patient who is out of it (technical term there, look it up if you have to), as they often are, and is not likely to question my credentials closely!
The hospital makes a nice break from the hospice, where there isn’t much going on at the moment (still no new clients…), and all I can really do is lend my IT skills whenever they’re needed. One thing I’ve started looking forwards to is going to the Pre-school to help deliver lunch, as that place is always lively – it lifts my spirits. Ah, and while I remember – the stationary and notebooks from St. Gabriel’s were gladly received a few weeks ago.
I’m also starting to get very excited about an upcoming trip to Cape Town, which I was very kindly invited on by Julie and Dave from church, who live there normally. It’s going to be a 10 day trip, three of those spent driving, with the rest divided between the many tourist destinations – Table Mountain, Cape Point, Whale-watching, Robben Island, even the Cape Penguins! So excited, the end of June can’t come fast enough!
Before I leave (not an event looking too far off any more), there are three more things I want to do – Cape Town, the magazine (proving difficult), and Chobe, which I intend to start researching soon. The solitary adventure is looking more and more plausible.
Sorry about all the brackets (not!).
Saturday, 5 May 2007
Whatever's pulling you isn't pulling me
Right, time for another piece of my life which may seem trivial to me now, but I hope you can all glean novelty from -
It's hot here, lots - big surprise, I know. But! Winter has officially arrived, and now I actually need a blanket at night (how I scoffed when I saw it on arrival...), and shorts are no longer the safest option in the early mornings. But, this cool burns away fairly quickly, so if you're not careful you'll be left looking foolish in a jumper under the african sun.
Thabo got back this wednesday, bringing news from home and even an encounter with my family. It's weird to think that he has seen them more recently than me, but I was pleased to hear that him and all the other youth from the cathedral enjoyed their time in England. All his talk of amazement at all of the grass, hills and people made me feel quite proud!
This week has been good, I've been at Princess Marina. the government funded local hospital shadowing doctors, trying to help, and gradually getting over some issues with basic procedures. There is a ever-changing community of med students from the states there, and it was good to spend time with them learning the basics. I suppose that would be the best sort of group to attach myslef to for travelling, but I'm also leaning towards a solo expedition, as I've met some others who are doing that sort of thing. It would be an adventure!
I went out for a change last night, had a nice meal and I even went to see Spiderman 3 on it's opening night! Africa is hard, I might not make it. . .
It's hot here, lots - big surprise, I know. But! Winter has officially arrived, and now I actually need a blanket at night (how I scoffed when I saw it on arrival...), and shorts are no longer the safest option in the early mornings. But, this cool burns away fairly quickly, so if you're not careful you'll be left looking foolish in a jumper under the african sun.
Thabo got back this wednesday, bringing news from home and even an encounter with my family. It's weird to think that he has seen them more recently than me, but I was pleased to hear that him and all the other youth from the cathedral enjoyed their time in England. All his talk of amazement at all of the grass, hills and people made me feel quite proud!
This week has been good, I've been at Princess Marina. the government funded local hospital shadowing doctors, trying to help, and gradually getting over some issues with basic procedures. There is a ever-changing community of med students from the states there, and it was good to spend time with them learning the basics. I suppose that would be the best sort of group to attach myslef to for travelling, but I'm also leaning towards a solo expedition, as I've met some others who are doing that sort of thing. It would be an adventure!
I went out for a change last night, had a nice meal and I even went to see Spiderman 3 on it's opening night! Africa is hard, I might not make it. . .
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