After 15 flights, approx. 35,000 miles of traveling, 22 game drives, 2 game walks, 2 boat cruises, 2 ocean boat rides, 1 helicopter ride, and a canoe ride... I am back in sunny Los Angeles.
I had an unbelievable trip and cannot believe that the 3 weeks went by so fast. Its going to take some time getting readjusted to my life in LA: Staying up til the wee hours of the morning and waking up whenever I feel like. Riding in a car with a roof and doors. Eating inside. Wearing clothes that arent beige and even putting on makeup.
I have to admit that I was getting quite used to the safari life and all that the bush had to offer. It is truly amazing how peaceful and quiet everything is. How you can hear a branch or twig break. How aware you become of your surroundings and your thoughts. The trip gave me plenty of time to think about my life and what is really important to me. And now, back in LA, I cannot wait to see how I integrate those realizations into this next chapter of my life :)
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Phinda Forest Lodge, South Africa
As much as I loved the accommodations at Exeter, the wildlife at Phinda is unreal. The reserve is massive with 7 unique environments (everything from sand forests, to savannahs, to wetlands). Because of that, we were able to see all sorts of animals in a short period of time.
The story that was most intriguing to the 3 children on the trip (Keith, Cheryl, and myself) was a lovely story about 3 male lions and their father. This adult male lion gave birth to 3 sons about 4 years ago. He was a very dominate male with a huge territory in the reserve. This male was very famous for being quite grumpy and mean to other lions. Something must have transferred over to the 3 sons, because after they were kicked out of the pride at age 2 (normal in lion prides) they went out for revenge on all lions in the area. Over the years they killed many lions claiming more and more territory. Today they only have one male lion they truly desire to kill: their father! They spend their time hunting and chasing him around the reserve- so far he has been able to get away, but how long will this little game last? Below is a picture of one of the 3 brothers and another yawning (check out those teeth!!!)....
The story that was most intriguing to the 3 children on the trip (Keith, Cheryl, and myself) was a lovely story about 3 male lions and their father. This adult male lion gave birth to 3 sons about 4 years ago. He was a very dominate male with a huge territory in the reserve. This male was very famous for being quite grumpy and mean to other lions. Something must have transferred over to the 3 sons, because after they were kicked out of the pride at age 2 (normal in lion prides) they went out for revenge on all lions in the area. Over the years they killed many lions claiming more and more territory. Today they only have one male lion they truly desire to kill: their father! They spend their time hunting and chasing him around the reserve- so far he has been able to get away, but how long will this little game last? Below is a picture of one of the 3 brothers and another yawning (check out those teeth!!!)....
After hearing and seeing these male lions I was looking to find a more peaceful, cuddly animal... the cheetah. If you dont know, there are only about 7,500 cheetahs left in the world. So as you can imagine they are not easy to find. Fortunately, Phinda has the ideal habitat for them and we were able to watch a mom and her baby traverse the area. Lucky for us, she spotted a herd of impalas and we were able to watch her sneak through the grass and hunt her prey. The process was about 45 min long, but being able to watch a cheetah go from 0 to 110km/hr in maybe 2 seconds was unreal. She was way too fast to photograph, but here are so pictures before the chase (the bottom is the cub, 4/5 months old)....
While at Phinda we took part in a rhino darting mission. In order to keep the white rhinos in check and out of fear of extinction, it is important to track their movements and life cycles. We joined some scientists who tracked the animal, darted, and notched them (cut the ears and put a microchip in them). The process doesnt hurt the animal, but it was a little hard for me to watch. I didnt think it would bother me, but watching this 2 year old rhino take a dart to the side and stumble to the ground was a little disturbing. I know its for a good cause, but I wish I didnt see that part... I have a series of pics of the process if you are interested. I felt better later on in the day when I ran into the rhino with her mom and dad... apparently the parents were feeling better since we happened to interrupt them, umm,well, you know... the dad wasnt that happy about being interrupted and starting snorting and actually blew steam out his nostrils. (our ranger told us later that he was concerned we were going to get charged by this 2 1/2 ton rhino....ahhh!) 
While at Phinda we took part in a rhino darting mission. In order to keep the white rhinos in check and out of fear of extinction, it is important to track their movements and life cycles. We joined some scientists who tracked the animal, darted, and notched them (cut the ears and put a microchip in them). The process doesnt hurt the animal, but it was a little hard for me to watch. I didnt think it would bother me, but watching this 2 year old rhino take a dart to the side and stumble to the ground was a little disturbing. I know its for a good cause, but I wish I didnt see that part... I have a series of pics of the process if you are interested. I felt better later on in the day when I ran into the rhino with her mom and dad... apparently the parents were feeling better since we happened to interrupt them, umm,well, you know... the dad wasnt that happy about being interrupted and starting snorting and actually blew steam out his nostrils. (our ranger told us later that he was concerned we were going to get charged by this 2 1/2 ton rhino....ahhh!)
And finally, if these couple days werent action packed enough- we had the pleasure of spotting a black rhino with a 3 month old cub. We were the first people (besides the black rhino research team) to ever see this cub! There are only have about 3,500 black rhino left in the world- and only 25 in the Phinda reserve. Such an amazing spot!
And so the safari ends, Keith and I decided we would return to Phinda one day to challenge our tracker (Bernard) to a "track off". We are going to do it on foot- with only the weapons he lets us borrow...sounds like a safe bet to me!
Exeter River Lodge, South Africa
I love love love Exeter River Lodge! The people, the animals, and the accommodations are all amazing. I'm not joking when I say that my room was maybe twice the size of my apartment. It had a private plunge pool, gorgeous deck looking over the river, and multiple showers (indoors and outdoors). If you havent ever showered in an outdoor shower, I highly recommend that you do so. It was pretty comical to have elephants, monkeys, and impala watching you shower. Only in Africa, right?
At this point I was pretty accustomed to the random animals cruising around the camps. For whatever reason the monkeys and baboons were particularly interested in us during the daytime. One afternoon dad and I were playing a game of Yahtzee outside on my deck. I turned around and walked 2 feet from the game when something caught my eye. I quickly turned back to catch a monkey with a dice in his hand. He ran up the tree with it in his mouth, trying to eat it and then just playing catch with another monkey! It was unbelievable!
In terms of big game, I finally saw a pride of lions. There were 2 male, 2 female, and 6 cubs (approx. 8 months old). These particular lions are so accustomed to the vehicles that we were able to get within 5 or 10 feet of the animals. It always made my heart race a bit as the lions would lock eyes with me and walk along the side of the jeep. I didn't know this when I started my trip, but most of the animals cant actually see the people when they are inside the jeep. Their eyesight is pretty bad so they just see the outline of the car and think its a big object. This is why you cant stand up or leave the vehicle at any time, it would change the shape of the car and you would pretty much be attacked within 2 seconds. Not scary at all....
Here are some pictures of other animals... first off, a male leopard on a search for some food. too bad we watched him hunt and miss his prey. and finally throughout the whole trip i made baby animals a requirement for any stop we made (joking of course) but for whatever reason we only saw rhinos with babies (this one is 3 months old)... very rare for this time of year, but i guess they are just drawn to me like i am to them :)
At this point I was pretty accustomed to the random animals cruising around the camps. For whatever reason the monkeys and baboons were particularly interested in us during the daytime. One afternoon dad and I were playing a game of Yahtzee outside on my deck. I turned around and walked 2 feet from the game when something caught my eye. I quickly turned back to catch a monkey with a dice in his hand. He ran up the tree with it in his mouth, trying to eat it and then just playing catch with another monkey! It was unbelievable!
In terms of big game, I finally saw a pride of lions. There were 2 male, 2 female, and 6 cubs (approx. 8 months old). These particular lions are so accustomed to the vehicles that we were able to get within 5 or 10 feet of the animals. It always made my heart race a bit as the lions would lock eyes with me and walk along the side of the jeep. I didn't know this when I started my trip, but most of the animals cant actually see the people when they are inside the jeep. Their eyesight is pretty bad so they just see the outline of the car and think its a big object. This is why you cant stand up or leave the vehicle at any time, it would change the shape of the car and you would pretty much be attacked within 2 seconds. Not scary at all....
Here are some pictures of other animals... first off, a male leopard on a search for some food. too bad we watched him hunt and miss his prey. and finally throughout the whole trip i made baby animals a requirement for any stop we made (joking of course) but for whatever reason we only saw rhinos with babies (this one is 3 months old)... very rare for this time of year, but i guess they are just drawn to me like i am to them :)
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
ZZZZZZZZZZ
Its about time that I talked about the crazy sleeping experiences I have had thus far. As many of you know, I walk, talk and am the lightest sleeper ever. Makes for a very interesting time on the safari...
So we started in Nxabega, I was totally ok with the tent situation and completely unaware of the animals cruising around at night. Given that these camps are not fenced at all and they have no real locks on the tent doors, I had to be barricaded into my room each night. In Nxabega this meant tying a rope to the outside door and connecting it to my porch. There was no way I would be able to open it. In Savute and Matetsi, we pushed all the furniture in front of my door "hoping" that if I walked I would trip and wake up. It was pretty hilarious and fortunately worked wonders.
And what about the animals? Lets just say I am now really good at sleeping with one eye open. The sound of the hippos and elephants cruising around was minor compared to my first night in Savute. At about 2am I woke up to what, at the time, I thought was a lions roar. Not exaggerating at all, it sounded like it was right outside my tent. I am pretty sure I had a minor heart attach that night! The next morning it turns out it was not a lion but 2 leopards mating - and since their roar doesn't carry over far distances I was told that they were maybe 300m away! From then on I think I averaged 4 hours of sleep a night...with one eye open, of course :)
So we started in Nxabega, I was totally ok with the tent situation and completely unaware of the animals cruising around at night. Given that these camps are not fenced at all and they have no real locks on the tent doors, I had to be barricaded into my room each night. In Nxabega this meant tying a rope to the outside door and connecting it to my porch. There was no way I would be able to open it. In Savute and Matetsi, we pushed all the furniture in front of my door "hoping" that if I walked I would trip and wake up. It was pretty hilarious and fortunately worked wonders.
And what about the animals? Lets just say I am now really good at sleeping with one eye open. The sound of the hippos and elephants cruising around was minor compared to my first night in Savute. At about 2am I woke up to what, at the time, I thought was a lions roar. Not exaggerating at all, it sounded like it was right outside my tent. I am pretty sure I had a minor heart attach that night! The next morning it turns out it was not a lion but 2 leopards mating - and since their roar doesn't carry over far distances I was told that they were maybe 300m away! From then on I think I averaged 4 hours of sleep a night...with one eye open, of course :)
Monday, June 1, 2009
Matetsi River Lodge; Victoria Falls; Zimbabwe
Whew, we are finally caught up! So, we just left Zimbabwe and are back in Jo-burg for the night.
Our experience in Zimbabwe kinda reached the melting point for us (maybe just me, but whatever)... we arrived at our lodge, which was very nice for the exception of one thing: wasps! I'm not joking when I say there must have been hundreds of them. They are really only out in the day but that was long enough to cause my first break down of the trip. Its kinda strange when you think about it... touching a great white- totally fine, having a lion and leopard less than 10 feet from me- no biggie, BUT have a swarm of wasps surround me and I cry like a baby... tear, tear. Thank god we could escape to the falls!
For those of you who haven't been to the falls there is really no way to explain it but amazing. The speed and amount of water that is flowing over the area is insane. The spray reaches up over 100m in the air, no joke its like you are taking a shower just standing nearby. We took a nice 2 hour walking tour so we could see the fall from every angle and finally hopped in a helicopter and saw the falls from above. I got a sweet picture of the falls, a rainbow, and my feet! The floor in the front of the helicopter is all glass so I could see from every direction- good thing I'm not scared of heights!
Finally, we stopped to shop a little in the open market for some local crafts. I only wish we got this on tape. The men were SOOOOO aggressive, wanting to trade for anything and everything. At one point I traded 2 highlighters, 1 pen, and a bag of peanuts I had from a Southwest flight for a stone pendant. Surprising to me was the item they asked me for most- my 50cent black elastic hair tie... Cheryl and I thought they were joking at first! What an experience!
Savute Elephant Camp; Chobe National Park; Botswana
(ghost writer: Cheryl Harwood :) )
Our next stop was Savute Elephant Camp - and the elephant part was totally true. There was a watering hole right outside of the main lodge and in the afternoon/evening there were always at least 5 elephants hanging around.
During our afternoon siesta, we learned that there was an elephant hierarchy where the lower men on the totem pole would often challenge the higher men to get access to the "better" water. We saw 5 elephants in a battle royale (trunks locked, pushing each other, and lots of growling!) where the last elephant was named King of the Watering Hole. Then he realized he was all alone and he left. Silly Elephant.
We also saw an elephant in meusth (aka horny). He dribbled urine, had a dark spot behind his eyes, and dragged a little something between his legs (check out the picture!). Our jeep also had to fight to get into the fenced camp against an elephant. No surprise, we won.
The next day, we followed a lion for 45 minutes (it was max 10 feet away) until he got sleepy and took a nap under a tree. We also saw another leopard, the near extinct wild dogs take down an impala in 7 minutes flat, and giraffes fighting. Since no pictures can do the fight justice, we'll try to post a short video as soon as we have enough connection speed. Cheryl is compiling them all to create a short film covering the trip... not gonna lie, its turning out really well so far!!!
Our next stop was Savute Elephant Camp - and the elephant part was totally true. There was a watering hole right outside of the main lodge and in the afternoon/evening there were always at least 5 elephants hanging around.
During our afternoon siesta, we learned that there was an elephant hierarchy where the lower men on the totem pole would often challenge the higher men to get access to the "better" water. We saw 5 elephants in a battle royale (trunks locked, pushing each other, and lots of growling!) where the last elephant was named King of the Watering Hole. Then he realized he was all alone and he left. Silly Elephant.
We also saw an elephant in meusth (aka horny). He dribbled urine, had a dark spot behind his eyes, and dragged a little something between his legs (check out the picture!). Our jeep also had to fight to get into the fenced camp against an elephant. No surprise, we won.
The next day, we followed a lion for 45 minutes (it was max 10 feet away) until he got sleepy and took a nap under a tree. We also saw another leopard, the near extinct wild dogs take down an impala in 7 minutes flat, and giraffes fighting. Since no pictures can do the fight justice, we'll try to post a short video as soon as we have enough connection speed. Cheryl is compiling them all to create a short film covering the trip... not gonna lie, its turning out really well so far!!!
Nxabega Safari Camp; Okavenga Delta; Botswana
Sorry for being MIA... Apparently internet is hard to come by in the middle of botswana and zimbabwe... So here is a catch up of my last week and my safari adventures! Enjoy!
Our guide, Master (love you, Master!), was a really good tracker and he tracked a leopard with nothing more then his spotlight. She was literally standing in the field right in front of us yawning, licking her paws, and preparing to take down an impala. Seriously such a beautiful animal...
Greetings from our first safari! We were told that our safari goes from "rustic to luxury" over the course of the next 2 weeks, not sure how much I believe that. Nxabega (pronounced - nah-bay-ha with a clicking sound for the nah) was an amazing camp- rustic my *ss. My "tent" consisted of a common area with a king size bed, desk, sitting area and a bathroom larger than my bedroom at home. If you want to see pictures of the camps, they are all run by the company &beyond (formerly known as CC Africa)...Anyways, two nights in the safari was def not sufficient for me to get over the elephants and hippos cruising by my tent in the middle of the night. They dont fence out the animals so you really never know who or what will be coming to visit you in the night- scarryyy!
We had a lovely two hour drive from the airport (dirt runway with animals crossing constantly) which had moments on land and sea. It was like a combination of the jungle cruise and indian jones ride at disneyland. Ive never seen a car that had a snorkel attached to it and have to use it!!! 
The schedule was a little difficult to get used to- 6am wake up call (in person, not phone), 630 breakfast, 7-11 morning drive, 11 brunch, 12-3 siesta, 3 high tea, 4-8 afternoon drive, 8 dinner, 10 bed. So much food, not enough sleep for Miss Lisa.
The schedule was a little difficult to get used to- 6am wake up call (in person, not phone), 630 breakfast, 7-11 morning drive, 11 brunch, 12-3 siesta, 3 high tea, 4-8 afternoon drive, 8 dinner, 10 bed. So much food, not enough sleep for Miss Lisa.
Our guide, Master (love you, Master!), was a really good tracker and he tracked a leopard with nothing more then his spotlight. She was literally standing in the field right in front of us yawning, licking her paws, and preparing to take down an impala. Seriously such a beautiful animal...
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