Vacation Part 4: Kasane and Chobe

July 15^th we headed to Kasane by way of combis, starting at like 4:30am. An atm almost ate my debit card at like 4:15am, but the rest of the trip went smoothly, if not crowded. We saw zebras and elephants on the way after we passed Nata, including one elephant that didn’t look too happy we were there. We stayed at a bed and breakfast called the Old House, which has some of the best food in Kasane. We went on 3 early morning game drives and one evening boat cruise on the Chobe river. We also just enjoyed relaxing a bit and strolling around the town, including going to a local nature center and seeing reptiles.

African Fish Eagle.

Impala- so pretty.  And SO many of them.

Hornbill!

Leopard! She calmly walked past a traffic jam of excited tourists and nervous giraffes and climbed a tree.

Alert giraffes.

Looking at the leopard.

So beautiful.

This lioness was calmly under a tree keeping an eye on the leopard. The leopard saw her too, hence climbing the tree.

Female Kudu. (In the antelope family)

Male Kudu.

A pod of hippos. Apparently the biggest in Chobe, and always in the same spot.

Holding a snake at the nature reserve.

Mom holding a snake.

A herd of buffalo. We only got this close by being in a boat.

Rare out of water hippo.

Phants!

A whole herd (or more) crossed from the mainland to the island, causing a boat traffic jam of excited tourists.

We got a little closer than we (and they) wanted, but it was so cool to see.

Kasane was a neat place. Elephants crossing roads, warthogs near the supermarket, and colorful birds everywhere. Next up: Victoria Falls!

Vacation Part 3: Maun

Maun is beautiful.  We flew in from Gabs, since I didn’t want to make my mom suffer TOO many all-day bus/combi rides. We went to the Old Bridge Backpackers, dropped a few things off into their safe, and headed out on a 3-day 2 night camping trip in the Okavango Delta. I’ll have to photobomb the actual backpackers another time, but it’s a pretty cool place.

 Liliac breasted roller. One of the prettiest birds I've ever seen.

Mom and I eating lunch on an island lunch break.

So, our boat had some mechanical issues and another came to replace it. We are apparently high maintenance. And by that I mean our guide wanted a boat he could steer properly.

Storks! They are a lot bigger than I thought they would be.

Zebra bums.

Our campsite.

Mom, content next to a termite mound.

Elephant, complete with waterline!

A presunrise boat ride to look for hippos.

Oh hai.

Water lilies!

We got to ride in makoros, traditional dug out canoes.

Then we got to go basket shopping in a local village in the delta!

More phants.

Our classy bathroom at camp.

Wildebeast!

We ate like kings at camp. A tablecloth? We are fancy.

Giraffe!!!! Not the best picture of one from the whole trip, but the first I've ever seen in the wild.

One of the cool things about game walks, as opposed to game drives, is seeing footprints, scat, bones, and other easily missed things used to track animals. Elephant footprint!

Carol, our guide, and mom on a big termite mound.

Gorgeous sunsets always.

We were sad to leave the delta, but then we went onto Kasane, home of (almost) ALL of the animals.

Vacation Part 2: Salajwe continued

While in my village, it’s safe to say my mom and Carol got the full Peace Corps experience.  The electricity went out for a few hours the first night, so we made dinner by candlelight. The water went out the second night as we were going to bed- luckily I had filled all of my storage containers when we first arrived, and it was back on in the morning. Bucket baths, laundry by hand, sand everywhere, and kids playing in my yard. Then the third day as I was finishing laundry, we had a crazy dust storm blow in followed by a thunderstorm… in July. It’s the dry season. But it rained for EIGHT hours that night, which of course knocked the power out again. It also made it impossible to dry everything, since we were running around grabbing clothes off the line as I yelled, Get inside!!! As a wave of dust preceding the rain ominously blew towards us. Nothing like a little drama. I was worried that the rain might delay us from leaving the next day (rain can wreak havoc on the dirt road out of my village), but it actually compacted the road nicely and made for a less dusty ride, although it was pretty cold.

My new house! And nice big yard.

Neighbor's donkey cart, used for collecting water and fire wood.

My neighbors. Note the solar panel leaning against the left hut. 

My school in the background.

My neighborhood kids were thrilled to have a new playmate!

We taught a few kids to catch, and mom taught them all how to high-five.

Making homemade tortillas in my kitchen!

We went on a walk around the village...

The Chibuku (local brew) bar. 

The inside of our general dealer, where I can buy non perishables and whatever random produce he has in the front. Today, cabbage, onions and potatoes.

Goats!

Sheep.

We stopped by the clinic and I figured something out for them on their computer.

Kgotla. This is where the village chief and elders have a few offices, and where they call village meetings to discuss things.

This is where those meetings take place. It's not exactly a democracy, but everyone has a right and a chance to speak and have their voice and opinion heard before the elders make decisions. This sometimes means that meetings can last HOURS, but its a pretty neat process, and even better than colonization didn't trample it like in lots of other former colonies.

Laundry! By the bucket system.

The secret is 2 rinse buckets, and to wash outside. Otherwise I wind up mopping the floor as well.

Hello sir. Can we ride in the back of your truck?

Hunkered down in the back of the truck with Carol. Yes I know I look like a space alien, but this keeps the dust out of my hair. Also, it's cold! 

Mom is amused with the transport and ready to take pictures.

The road out of my village. Sometimes you find yourself amongest the cattle/goats/donkeys/sheep/guinea fowl/horses/ostriches. Today it was mostly cattle.

And so we left my village, back to Gabs, headed to Maun!