back in the RSA

A whirlwind summary of the trip, with some illuminating photographs to follow if I can get it together. Otherwise, some sort of mass Flickr upchuck will happen when I'm more organised.

South Africa
- Camp in Cederberg mountains / Dinosaurland
- Hike to magical pool of lizards
- Bathe in river, dry clothes on trees
- Subsist entirely on moonlight, trillions of stars, Thanksgiving canned curry.



Namibia
- Scrubland, desolation, fenced stretches of emptiness.
- Desert
- Dunes writhing right up to the coast, edge of town.
- Quad biking in dunes, yoga on the beach.
- Spitzkoppe mountain, "He is calling to you from far away to come and visit him."
- Pet cheetahs, penned cheetahs, cheetahs eating huge chunks of meat, cheetahs that let you touch them.
- Rhinos, springbok, jackals, big lizards, cheetahs that don't let you touch them, giraffes, zebras, "What I would really like to see is just one oryx sitting by itself. That would be new and different." Wildebeest. Lions in the dark. Lone female hyena crossing the road. World's smallest antelope.







Botswana
- Wandering donkeys #3 cause of traffic deaths in Botswana.
- Get a little too close to surly buffalo and elephants.
- Nearly grab deadly cobra by the tail.
- Hippos & crocodiles from safe distances.
- Canoe rides, swamp camping, constantly expect to see baby ride down the river in a basket.
- Finally buying stop newspapers at every opportunity.
- Lions, secretary birds.
- Colonial-type guide at Chobe park refers to camp cooks/assistants as "my boys."
- Tents with mattresses and pillows.
- Lose phone in tent with mattresses and pillows.
- Searched repeatedly by police for meat/dairy products, shoes disinfected.








Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)
- Waterfalls. Duh.
- White water rafting in crocodile-infested river.
- Bungee jump into gorge.
- Everyone, including the (few) tourists, seems generally unhappy. Ranger at lion rehabilitation centre wonders if I'll tell all my friends about the good work they're doing and come back some day to give them more money. $7 gin and tonics. No, I really don't want to buy your giraffe carving, not even in exchange for my shoes. Not tomorrow either, sorry. Sorry, sorry sorry sorry.

Back at work. Skeleton staff for the holidays. Bring it on, bring it on.