August 22 - Etosha National Park, Namibia

Living like turtles, we have everything we need on our back.. Our new Toyota has a fridge (which means cold beer/wine/pop daily) and two tents on the roof we pop up at night for sleeping. Our plan is to spend about 20 days driving and camping from Tsumeb down to Cape Town, meandering and moving sometimes every day, and sometimes every couple of days. We spent our first 3 nights and 4 days in Etosha National Park.

Our first day was all business before entering the park. We got our vehicle and spent the day stocking it with food, drink and any camping supplies not already provided (not many). Do you ever notice sometimes when you cross a border, although the distance from one country to the next (at that point) is only a couple of feet, the difference between the two staggering? We noticed an immediate change once we entered Namibia from Zambia. The towns are immaculate, there are almost no noticeable local “markets”, roads are paved, toilets are stocked with toilet paper (you will notice a recurring commentary on toilets from Janet) and there are actual road signs. And the supermarkets have a lot of the “stuff” we have be yearning for. With a nod to the undeniable German influence in Namibia, we bought good cheese, amazing bread, and sausage.

Entering the park was what we called a “speed safari” as we dashed towards our destination, Camp Halali before the gate closed at sunset. Seems our time in Africa is often defined by making it somewhere before the sun goes down. However, the speed safari was very eventful. We saw giraffe, elephant, countless zebra & Springbok before the ultimate prize of seeing a Cheetah and her two cubs come out on the road (in time enough for us to stop) and amble about for a while so we could take a good look at close range. We have since found out we were really lucky to have seen Cheetah, as generally only about 1 in 1,000 people do. And we made it to camp on time, just. The camping facilities here are unbelievable! Each camp site has good running water, bbq and fire pit and close proximity to immaculate toilets/showers (again with the toilet fixation) with hot water and usually a separate hut you can go to wash your dishes. We stayed two nights in Halali with a full day of game drive in between. It seems the action in Etosha happens mainly around the watering holes, some natural and some man-made. We also drove out on to the salt pans where you can see for miles and miles. Our prize for this day was to see a leopard lounging up in a tree not even 30 m. from the track. We sat for a long time watching her. And back at the camp (where we enjoyed some of our home cooked fare after eating out for 5 weeks) we wandered up to the watering hole they have fenced off and light up at night. Both nights we saw black rhinos and hyenas come to take a drink.

The concept of a self drive camping trip in Namibia was to some (including Janet) a bit daunting. BUT, we feel truly safe travelling around and note how the whole country seems to be geared towards people doing exactly what we are doing. There are large groups and small, a few families (not many) and for us, a good balance between nights we are with company, and nights we are on our own. The only negative we have noticed is the people are much less friendly here. I guess they are not really unfriendly, more completely indifferent and cold. The landscape blows your mind, endless, dry and really unique.

We were supposed to stay for 3 nights at Halai but decided to wing it and head to the other (fully booked) camping area closer to the park gate we were going to exit the following day. Camp Okaukuejo was incredible (and still fully booked) but we hung about for long enough to have burgers from the snack bar and a long swim in the pool. Their adjacent watering hole was even larger and much busier. Time to strategize how to spend the night. We came back at sunset (after a fairly uneventful game drive where we did finally see a giraffe drinking, one of the things on Ron’s wish list) and sent Ron in to Reception. The deal was, we knew they’d be unable to turn us away and send us back into the park after sunset. They were grumpy, didn’t believe Ron’s story (something about needing a jump and waiting for cables etc.) but gave us an overflow site. Whoo Hoo! The camping shower put put our home bathroom to shame with rain heads, pebble stone floors, raised bowl sinks and slate tile. I think the girls counted more than 10 rhino and 4 elephants at the watering hole that night.

Our exit from the park was no less eventful having realized we were never charged for or given a mandatory park permit. It’s not like you enter the park and they give you a full run down on what to do and how to go about getting it done, that would be too hospitable. But as usual, sometimes ignorance is bliss. We played dumb and sure enough, the woman at the gate raked Ron over the coals (fortunately he is tough…) but let him go without driving back to camp to buy the permit (N$80 pp per day or US$10) and accepted instead N$100 for her pocket. Now some of you may or may not know just how comfortable Janet is going against the rules, but she survived these two back to back episodes. And she may even be starting to realize the benefits often outweigh the fear factor.

August 11 - 16 Livingstone, Victoria Falls, Zambia

Adrenaline and Jolly Boys

Our next flight took us from Jo’Burg to Livingston, Zambia – Victoria Falls. We anticipated an expensive week at the Falls, both accommodation and activities. Livingston is a hot spot for extreme tourist activities, some of which we wanted to check out. We booked into the Jollyboys Backpackers Lodge with low expectations (especially coming so soon after our Jo’Burg experience) and were very pleasantly surprised. Janet’s first check is usually the toilet. She came out grinning as they were spotless. A brother and sister team from Courtney B.C. along with their British friend Sue own the place and they have infused some Western style standards we much appreciated. There were numerous spots to chill out, a bar and small restaurant with great food, pool table, table tennis, CNN and they gave us a spacious dorm style room in the guest house all to ourselves. The activities available were endless although somewhat limited for us due to the age and size of the girls. We settled on rafting for Ron (I guess the Zambezi River is HUGE with class 5 rapids so not an option for the girls) and a day at the gorge doing zip line, gorge swing and repelling for all of us.

Our first day we explored Victoria Falls from the Zambia side. Zimbabwe charges expensive entry AND exit fees even if you are going just for the day and apparently there is a specific distaste for Canada as they charge even more for us! We spent 5 hours hiking around to the various view points up top and at the bottom of the falls. Incredible. Vic Falls is 1.7 km wide and about 100 m high (Niagara falls is about 1km wide and 60 m high) and is one of the Natual Wonders of the world. It is dry season here so the water is not as big as it is in May & June but no less spectacular. The hikes take you out on the edge of sheer cliffs on either side of the gorge, across a bridge and the final hike of the day took us down the gorge to “the boiling pot” where the rafting boats put in. Before heading home we walked down the road to the bridge over to Zimbabwe where they bungee jump. Cool. Anna wants to do it one day but the minimum age is 14 yrs. It did not feel crowded at all even though during one of their two "high seasons". Of course humor was also provided by the baboons. We were entertained our whole route by the boboons playing and steeling food.

We were trying to figure out a way to walk through the river and get to one of the pools at the top of the falls but there are various opinions about whether or not and how to do that. There are plenty of illegal guides combing the trails, one of which approached us. While we were talking he took off (in bare feet) at lightening speed over the rocks and back into the river, letting the fast water catch him and take him towards the falls (we were not very far from the top) only to catch a rock at the last minute and pull himself over towards safety where he could climb back to the other side. Sure enough, a park ranger came into view shortly after and stood on the bank making sure he didn't come back.

Day 2 brought us a few complications. Sadie had come down with a serious stomach bug which completely flattened her. Luckily we were in very comfortable living conditions with plenty of water and a few comforts. Ron went ahead with rafting and Anna was a complete trooper patiently helping me tend to Sadie and watch her sleep. We got a lot of reading and "screen time" in. I guess getting sick is inevitable and we've already had our fair share (ask us in person about bed bugs, yuck) which is either a way of getting us tuned up or, getting it out of the way early. Hopefully the later but we are prepared for either scenario.

What a great and exhausitng day rafting on the Zambezi River. I was lucky in that the water level was just deemed low enough open rapids 1-10 the day before we arrived in Livingstone. This meant leaving the family behind for the day and spending 5 1/2 adrenaline pumped hours on the river. I linked up with 3 young english guys - my new best friends in Livingstone - and an english girl. Our guide Tambo was hilarious and we were in a paddle raft. We were also short 1 person so when Tambo yelled for us to dig in he meant it. It was full on from the start. The raft was launched from an awkward rocky area and we all had to jump in the fast flowing river and swim to the raft to begin the trip.

I was surprised how big the water was - the holes were huge and we had 25 sets of rapids to run. We made it to rapid 5, Stairway to Heaven, before a wave nearly flipped us and sent myself, the guide and Flip, the english girl, out of the raft. I held onto the rope and Tambo grabbed my life jacket, making me swallow a pint of water. He apologised saying he did not want to get separated from the raft. I guess he did not trust we would rescue him, though there were kayakers in the water to do just that. They kept very busy throughout the day as there was a total of 10 rafts of which 5, including us, flipped right over and numerous people ended up swimming. I certainly realized why children were not allowed. It was very physical, particularily since our raft was not an oar raft, and it was scary.

We had a lot of laughs and there was a lot of fooling around in our raft, but the rapids were to be taken seriously. Tambo's anxiety increased notably when I and 2 others were thrown out of the raft in Terminator 1. He was yelling to the others to get us back in and paddle like hell as Terminator 2 was fast approaching. Just as I got back in and was trying to find a paddle we hit T2 and I watched as 2 others were flipped out. Tambo was yelling to paddle and get them back in the raft and I was laughing so hard with the others that we were practically useless.
About half the rafts left at 1/2 way and the rest of us carried on to finish and awesome day with a bar b que at the end and as much beer as we wanted.

With rafting under my belt it was off to Gorge Swing, zip line and rapelling the following day with Anna. Unfortunately, sadie was sick. As it turns out rapelling backward and forward down 175 feet, ziplining out over a 300 foot deep gorge and freefalling 150 feet before a rope swing catches you and swings you out into the gorge is no big deal for Anna. She did not hesitate at all and I know first hand it was scary. The gorge swing was much more terrifying than when i bungee jumped. To step off a cliff face and freefall with the ground coming up at you and waiting for a rope to become taught and swing you out into space was not a comforting feeling. Anna and I went tandem the first time and they had us go backwards - I screamed! The second time we went solo and went forwards, which seemed a little less terrifying. What a day!

I'm not too sure how to describe our last adventure at the Falls and do it justice. But if you Google "Devil's Pool, Victoria Falls" you may catch the Youtube video that got us pshyched about doing while researching at home. Swimming at Devil's Pool is usually only open by August 15th when the water flow is down enough to make it safe. It opened on August 14th allowing us to make our booking to go on the 15th. We splurged on booking the boat ride from The Royal Livingston Hotel out to Livingston Island which is a small piece of land on TOP and in the middle of the falls. From there we scrambled over the rocks with our guides forming a human chain (steps away from the edge) to where we had to swim accross the current on a very specific path in two sections to eventually reach a small grouping of rocks...even closer to the edge. Now you can perhaps imagine how we felt wondering what we were doing there with our girls. But the guides did not blink an eye and one was assigned to Anna as her own personal porter to get a accross (on his back a little further up stream). They were both very brave (I think Sadie is a stronger swimmer than both Ron & Janet), there was lots of water, the spray of the falls and an incredible sense of "holy _ _ _ _!" I don't think I've ever put so much blind faith into something believing that if it wasn't really "safe", they would not be providing the service. I think Anna's only real trauma was the guy she had to ride was a little odd looking with a huge distended belly and was wearing only his skimpy underwear. Once we got to the destination rocks we were at Devil's Pool where we could jump or slip into deep water and get gently pushed by the current to the natual rock wall separating us from the abyss of 100 m down. The water overflows out of the pool, like a natural eternity pool, making it feel important to hold on to each other...and the guide sitting there. Ron of course, asked if he could look over...they said no. Sadly the trip out there was a bit rushed, we're not sure why, perhaps because the water is still relatively high. But we did not hang about which was actually ok for Janet (thoroughly enjoying the experience but freaked out being there) and the girls were freezing. We arrived back to safety after another swim through the current and into a warm white towel. We then had high tea (bit of a misnomer as Janet & Ron had Gin & Tonic) back on the island with crumpets, tarts, pudding and white table cloths. We arrived back to the Livingston Hotel in time to sit on the grassy bank in teak loungers and watch the sun set. The tranquility was only slightly disturbed by aggressive monkies chasing us and mating. Kind of distracting. Devil's Pool was such an amazing way to end a fabulous week in Livingston. Oh, and the Royal Livingston Hotel is incredible. Like something out of a novel written about the high life in Africa, white walls, dark wood, huge ceiling fans, zebras grazing on the lawn, teak loungers, umbrellas, marble...unbelievable.

Sunday, August 16th brought us our first long haul on a bus - 14 hours to Tsumeb, Namibia. But the bus was a deluxe double decker with a/c and recling seats. We arrived at 3am (after a 2 hour mechanical delay somewhere between there and here) to a great room with 4 beds which we slept in "hard", thankful to be horizontal. I can't say enough how great the girls have been taking everying as it comes. Someone mentioned to me in email about toilets and yes, we have become experts (girls anyway) at dealing with whatever is available. We are working on our quad strenght for skiing doing our squats and yes, we've are already accustomed to a "hole in the ground". We have definitely learned to always carry tp with us. Three of us have already come down with travellers grunge but all luckily relatively short lived. August 14th marked the end of our first month. Time is already speeding up too fast and I would say it took us this whole month to get into a good rhythmn. We are just about to get the run down on the vehicle we will have for our 3 week overland camping drive. We are really looking forward to making our own way around, camping and seeing everything Namibia has to offer.

August 10 - Jo'Burg, South Africa - Living Large

Leaving Tanzania was bitter sweet as I’m sure will be the norm as we move on from one place to the next. We flew from Stonetown to Dar Es Salaam and stayed for one night only which was a good thing. We did not have a reservation for accommodation so we were at the mercy of suggestions from our taxi driver we found at the airport. It is so much less desirable but inevitable to occasionally find a place to stay this way. Our internet access has been so limited we have not had the ability to plan ahead like we would have liked. So…our hotel was reasonable but good from afar, and far from good. Plus, it was in a pretty seedy area which prevented us from exploring. We just hunkered in until our 5am rise to catch our next flight, to Johannesburg.

Now our Jo’Burg experience was a different story. We had booked in an airport hotel as we had to fly out again the next day. We booked the same hotel as Ron’s friend Mike (from work) so we could have an evening with him. It was a splurge and it was AWESOME! Turned out Mike missed his flight connection and wasn’t able to be there. Although we were disappointed not to see Mike and his wife, we completely immersed ourselves into the task of enjoying the hotel luxury; unlimited amazing food, crisp white sheets, cloud like pillows, brand new fitness centre, high speed wireless, pool area and lounge chairs, incredible huge shower, complementary wine and refreshments with cheese (brie!) and crackers and cable TV. I think we looked like a pack of hungry hyenas in the corner of the dining room at meal time. I’ve NEVER seen the girls pack away so much food. We ate too much to really have a great sleep in the fresh sheets, but it was worth it. We left the Southern Sun Tambo Airport Hotel full, refreshed and happy. A little luxury goes a long way for the budget traveler! I’d like to say we took the time to check out Johannesburg…but time was short and we felt this was one city (safety) we could probably miss for now. Although they are in full swing getting ready for World Cup Soccer in 2010 so apparently the city has really cleaned up (the airport is phenomenal) and the crime is not as bad either.

August 8 - Stonetown, Zanzibar

Ok, we've been lion bait, battled a few cities, humanitarians and now we have been slugs on the beach. Oh, and Sadie has changed her name to Sara. Seems Africans have a really tough time saying and remembering the name Sadie, so she is now introducing herslef as Sara in the hopes they will remember. It seems to be working. We arrived in Stonetown desperate for a hot shower and a clean room which we got at the Abuso Inn. We stopped in Stonetown for 2 nights before heading up the coast to the beach.

Zanzibar is a heavily touristed island off the coast of Tanzania. It is the birth place for Christianity in Africa and the African slave trade. Obviously Christianity did not take hold here like it did on mainland, it is 95% muslim. Most women have their heads covered and many wear berkas. As I look accross the skyline from my roof top table and see the mosque, I realize it will be an early start tomorrow with prayers broadcast over the loudspeakers at 5am. We just visited the site of the slave trade market where the slaves were held in chambers waiting for their market day and eventual journey to America, Europe and even Brazil. Now there are only two chambers left for viewing and an Anglican Cathedral in place of the slave market site. There is a beautiful sculpture to honor the slaves and tours to educate tourists about the history of the slave trade and its eventual abolution. You can't help but feel the history. Ron and I have both just read The Book of Negros, a Canadian novel about an African woman in the slave trade. Thank you to whoever reccommended we save this read until Africa.

Stonetown is a really interesting place full of shopping opportunities (Sadie, Anna & Janet took full advantage while Ron eventually ditched us), history, good food and various tours. We went on the spice tour to learn about all the spices they grow here. The tour itself was a bit underwhelming but cool to see where the stuff in all those little jars in the cupboard beside the stove come from! We can't say the best part about Tanzania has been the food so we sought out a few comforts of home like espresso, gelato, pasta etc. We did try out the local bbq garden. Local chefs set up tables in a seaside garden and cook tons of different foods, seafoods, Zanzibar pizza (unlike anything we would call pizza but good) and chips (aka french fries). It was a treat and the local vibe was really fun. We had a drink at the infamous Africa House Hotel on the rooftop to watch the sunset while the girls played with the owners 4 mo. old monkey named Geo. Heaven.

The best part of our week though was of course the beach. We drove for about 1 1/4 hours up the coast to a place called Kendwa Beach and checked into a beach side resort. The beach is stunning; white sand, clean and really long. The water is the most amazing turquoise blue. Our six days up there consisted of; laying in the shade on the beach, reading, laying in the shade on the beach, swimming, laying in the shade on the beach, walking (we even did a family run one morning along the beach), laying in the shade on the beach and eating. We eventually got into the groove of how to "reserve" a beach shade hut, hammock and loungers, keep it all day for us to come and go. We also learned the fine art of waiting for table service which took up to 1 1/2 hours between ordering and eating. We have played countless games of Euchre.

We did venture out on a snorkeling day trip. Our vessel was a traditional Dow with sail and motor. The sail is a large piece of canvas strung up on a mast and boom - sort of - made from lashing together lengths of local trees. There was about 20 of us on board. Our route was during low tide so we had to travel outside the reef to our island destination. About six people were sea sick within the hour. Luckily the Gosneys used every ounce of concentration they had to stay well and it somehow worked, we rode on the roof with the crew! Snorkeling was new for both Sadie & Anna. We were not feeling especially confident when we were finally ready to jump ship, one girl was already climbing back over the side saying the current was too strong. Sadie didn't skip a beat and after an initial bit of panic, Anna caught on and we swam all over. The fish were fabulous, Anna & Ron even saw a stingray. After snorkeling we headed over to a beach where some of the crew had cooked up 2 huge tuna, rice and sliced fruit for lunch. The trip home was much less eventful with calm seas and under sail (with a wicked sail set up I'd have to draw instead of try and describe) getting us home in the late afternoon. Zanzibar is very expensive so we kept our activites fairly simple knowing we needed the rest.

Zanzibar was also our first intense experience with touts, or people trying to sell us stuff. Bargaining is definitely part of the process and learning to say no thank you in as nice a way as possible is a necessity (they are offering anything and everything!). The girls have both tested out the fine art of bargaining and I'm sure soon will be teaching us how to do it better. In general we have felt quite safe here in Africa. The general rule of thumb though is to stay close to home after dark and if you have to go out, take a taxi. Since it is impossible for us to even try to blend in around here, we are following these guidelines. We did walk the beach after dark though at Kendwa Beach in front of the resorts to find our dinner each night and that was completely fine.

And how are we doing as a family? Well, it's been just under 4 weeks since leaving Toronto and it has been 24/7 with no break. I have no real perspective to gage how we are doing but I think in general we're doing ok to great. Getting in touch with home and the occasional treat goes a very long way for all of us. Oh, and a beer for Ron & Janet most evenings too. Ron is working like crazy to work out most of the logistics and we love him for that. Every day is not perfect for sure but as I write these notes, it becomes crystal clear how much we are seeing and experiencing. Ron and Janet have each read a couple of books already and the iPods are a saviour at times. I think food has been the biggest challenge (very clearly predicted by Ron from the start) to date. The girls have both lost a few pounds and are still resisting the local fare. And have I mentioned how much Janet craves a really good coffee?

Thanks to everyone who has been in touch, it is much appreciated. Asante Sana, which means thank you very much. Victoria Falls is next via Johanasburg where we are booked in a nice hotel with a pool and hopefully high speed internet. Whoo Hoo!

July 25 - August 1st Usa River, Tanzania

Our noses are pressed to the window in the plane checking out the turquoise sea below us and the glimpse of white sand. A welcome sight after our week at Usa River, Tanzania.

But let's back track a bit and tell you about our week. We've just spent the week staying with Crispin, the Founder of an orgnaization called Tanzania Millenium Hand Foundation or TAMIHA. Sounds grand, but it has been a week of very basic living in a small village while volunteering for the various projects Tamiha was created to support local orphans, widows and people living with HIV. We heard of Crispin and Tamiha through a friend of Ron's at Powerex. Crispin offered to take us in for a small fee in exchange for room & board and the opportunity to lend a hand. Wow.

Here are a few of the words that come to mind when thinking about our week; basic, sad, educational, frustrating, dusty, rewarding, interesting, joyous, crowded...We could go on and on. We lived in Crispin's home with his wife, two girls and 7 other volunteers. The house is tiny with no running water and the power goes out daily for anywhere from 10 min.to 3 hours. We stayed in The Bob Marley Shack in the yard - a converted shed with a huge poster of Bob himslef inside. Bathing was a bucket shower when water was available and we had beans and rice for lunch and dinner all week. Breakfast was usually chapaties and bananas, that's it. Janet went for the first time in about 20 years without coffee - and everyone survived. The other volunteers came from Ireland, US and Australia. They were all much younger than us and great company. Most were there for one month and one couple was there for 3 months.

We spent the week volunteering in the morning at the orphanage where a local "teacher" and whatever volunteers on hand looked after about 60 3-6 yr. olds. They do not stay overnight, they are cared for by relatives...sort of. Somehow they all turn up each day in uniform and raring to go. It was so incredible to see Sadie & Anna embrace the kids, and did the kids ever embrace them. Anna learned quickly to tie back her hair back. We would sit with the kids after they had a group lesson and help with their notebooks. The facility is a dirt floor with a roof over top and an outdoor kitchen where they are served poridge in the morning after receiving medicine (many had ring worm, some HIV). they loved to jump and play, and they learned a few of our songs we eventually remembered. Ron and I were handed watering buckets when we first arrived and told to water and weed the garden beside the orphanage with water we hauled up from the local river (water I swore I would never touch), some people get all the glory. We made quick work of that so we could join the orphanage.

In the afternoons we wandered for about a 20 min. walk to a place called The Cradle of Love. This orphanage takes care of newborns to 3 yrs. These children have nobody so they sleep at the orphanage. It is not a Tamiha project but one that needs all the help it can get. We spent 2 afternoons there, one in the nursery with the newborn to 3 mo. olds and one afternoon with the older children. Wow again. There were more than 30 children there, cared for by a great but small staff and again, whatever volunteers are around. We arrived to a tour of three large rooms with cribs. the babies were just waking up and ready for milk. We had to take them outside and lay them down on big mats where they got their bottles, the older kids got sippy cups and we had to bottle feed the little ones. To see so many was a bit overwhelming to say the least. But it was a happy place I think, these kids are the lucky orphans. Feeding time was a frenzie - they all needed food at once. The staff are all women so the boys loved Ron - they climbed all over him for the whole time he was there.

In the early evenings we went to what they call Lukandane, a Tamiha widows project where they raise pigs, keep orphaned exhotic animals and host weekly gatherings for the local volunteers to raise money (buying drinks and dinner). Our job was to help water the garden there and best of all, wash the tortoises. While we were there, they brought in two new Python snakes which Janet, Anna & Ron all took turns holding. Yes, even Ron. On the friday we joined the Lukandane gathering and drank banana beer with our new friends. It was a gas, traditional dancing, snakes, feeding the monkeys and great food for us (a welcome break from rice and beans). I won't say we will give up our favourite beer though for banana beer - it tastes just about as bad as it sounds, but the second one is definitely better than the first!

Tamiha also provides a vocational school for older orphans who are learning how to use computers, sew and cook.

We took one day off to do a local hike in the foothills of Mt. Meru. We paid a small "park" fee which came with a guide for the day - a guy named Sayeeday (no clue how to really spell it, but that's how it sounds) who also works with Tamiha. We headed out of Usa River by Dalladalla, the local transit which is an experience in itself. They are CRAMMED with more people than seats, and the marketing guy is hanging out the side door (it's only the size of a very small van) recruiting more people to squish in, yelling and the driver is honking all the while. Bad BO is part of the ride, BO you could chew on as aptly described by one of the volunteers. Our hike promised to be a full day and started wandering through coffee and corn fields as we headed up hill. Beautiful. It eventually became clear though we were not on the trail we thought we were going to be on, but communication is not and important skill around here as far as we could tell. Apparently we "missed" the lunch spot because we chose not to descend down a very steep ravine only to turn right around and head back up - we didn't know this was the lunch spot. So...we didn't stop for food until after 2:30 (started at 10am) - you can imagine how the mood was in the last hour. The eventual destination was a lovely water fall in a small canyon and fortunately, the trek home from there was under an hour.

Anna was traumatized by the sight of hanging chickens (live) at the beginning of our journey when we passed a market (she has been counting chickens and naming them with Sadie everywhere we go). Aparently it's "ok" to see a lion hunt and eat a zebra, that is natural. But it is terrifying to see a human carry a live chicken by the legs. At the very end of our journey the trauma continued as we saw a local boy take aim with his knife at the head of a mole-like rodent (large), one of thousands that eat the village crops. The tears sprung again. So many tears, a local and ancient village woman carrying her shockingly large load on her head, put it down to ask (translated by our guide) why she was crying. She asked if she could pray for her and once given permission, grabbed Anna's head and chanted until she felt the bad spritis were gone. It got nervous smiles and laughter eventually from Anna. It was a long hike and the destination was a little less thrilling than what we anticipated (but he did change routes on us) but seeing the village life in the foothills was really great.

Usa River itself was a very typical African village with dust, garbage and colourful local life amongst which we felt very safe - during the day. we walked everywhere and eventually found two hidden gems, a German bakery and a small cafe selling milk shakes, lattes and burgers. completely out of place but we didn't question, we just enjoyed. We shopped locally for coke, water, bananas and cookies to fill the gaps between meals. Most nights we did not eat dinner until after 8:30pm.

Sadie & Anna have done an incredible job taking all of this in stride and so early in the trip. These were very tough conditions for sure. We were very proud of them. Their most exciting moments I think are usually encounters wtih animals which thankfully are all around us. Sadly Anna got a stomach bug on our last morning in Usa River so we headed out of town with barf bag in tow. She was better though by the time we boarded our flight to Zanzibar. Here we come beach and SHOWERS!!!

July 26 - Safari

Here we sit, under a tree in our hosts' yard in Usa River, about 20km outside of Arusha. Arusha is the gateway to the northern mountain regions of Meru & Killimanjaro. It is also the launching point for hundreds of saffari companies sending their clients to Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater and Manyara National Park to name a few. In Arusha we saw our first abundance of white tourists here to explore, safari and hike. Arusha itself is quite a large town, busy and noisy. We did some walking about but mostly to find an ATM that would work. We've had trouble getting our bank card to work but finally had success using Janet's old card which we fortunately had with us. Phew.

Our 5 day, 4 night saffari with SOK Adventure was incredible. We were a self sufficient group with a Land Rover, guide (Aninyn) and belive it or not, a cook named Henry. Our supplies included tents and sleeping bags, this was an outdoor adventure! Manyara National Park was our first stop which we travelled to on paved roads. The anticipation was mounting as we started the game drive, "Are we going to get skunked? Will we actually see animals?" While Aninyn paid our park entrance fee, Anna sat beside a baboon and we could spot sky monkies all through the neighbouring bush. It was a great start. And before long driving into the park, we had seen buffalo, elephants, wildebeest, giraffe, hippos, impalas, zebras and the horizon was framed at the bottom with a sea of pink, flamingos.

The drive to Serengeti was 3 hours to the park entrance and hilarious. We took a video to try and remember just how bumpy it was...and dusty. We were covered. We did a game drive once in the park and the fun really began. We saw a number of lions, one pride with about 15 cubs playing and nursing. Aninyn proved to be full of knowledge answering our rapid fire questions. He was also really aggressive getting as close as possible to the animals. Before the end of the evening, we came upon a leopard which aparently is very rare ,we are very lucky. I'm tempted to write about every detail but I fear your heads will bob before the end. The girls kept a list of every animal we saw and what they were doing including; two male lions, countless females and cubs, the leopard, two cheetahs, wildebeest, hippos, mating ostrich (giggles all around the vehicle), mating baboons, three female lions hunting gazelle (unsuccessfully but watching the hunt was incredible), lions eating their kill (zebra), hippos playing in the water...it just seemed to go on and on. We had amazing evenings eating Henry's food and talking to them both exchanging stories and questions about Canada & Tanzania.

Camping in the Serengeti is a whole new experience, even for those who consider themselves seasoned campers. Somehow Janet could not manage her fluid intake to make it through the night whithout a visit to the toilet. "Ron, will you walk with me?" She asked after debating to herself whether or not she could brave it alone. As we flashed our headlamps into the bush and fields beside the loooong route to the toilet, we saw the reflection of many eyes looking back at us. And finally a SNORT delivered by a buffalo, one of the African Big 5 named so because they are considered aggressive. GREAT. We made it though and yes,had to do it all over again the next night. Aninyn wasn't impressed. Our last night was camping on the edge of the Ngorongoro crater - very chilly. Our mornings were early trying to catch the sunrise and animals while they are more active.

We will never forget the hilarious baboons who jumped into a land rover to steal bananas (the lucky clients still in the car) and others who unzipped our tent to steel our shoes. We had zebras cruising though our campsite at Ngorogoro Crater and two elephants who sauntered up beside the dining hut to take a long drink from the water tank. We were sad to say good-bye to Aninyn & Henry who we will keep in touch with for sure. Aninyn hopes to start his own safari company so if you know of anyone coming here, check in with us first.

I can't tell you how fabulous it was to see the girls' reaction to seeing the African animals. Anna & Sadie have also been very busy reading and writing in their journals. Anna has been keeping a list of Swahili words and uses them as we cruise about in the village and markets. Sadie has been busy taking really creative photos. We have managed to to remember and teach the girls how to play Euchre, the competition is really ramping up. We've also been taught how to play an African marble game which is good for a couple of hours each game! Our nights are early and we rise early to the local chickens, dogs, mosques and roosters where ever we go. Oh, and it seems advertising from a roaming vehicle with a loud speaker at 5am is the new wave in marketing. Yikes. We have definitely learned the value of water and toilet paper. We now carry a roll where ever we go!