Africa – Been There, Done That

Well, we are on the plane to India after 8 weeks in Africa. I had never set foot on the African continent so my expectations for taking a family there were quite simple – the kids would cease fighting and become best friends, their culinary tastes would broaden dramatically, Janet and I would approach each new challenge harmoniously, all our minds would be enriched to the point where we would become better world citizens, and we would see some animals. We did see lots of animals, we did manage to celebrate cocktail hour religiously, I actually have grown facial hair, (and on my way to a mullet), and we had incredible experiences. Yes, the kids still squabble and worry about who got the bigger half of the chocolate bar and we are still the same people with the same wants, but maybe we will remember the poverty and the smiling children who had no material possessions the next time we are feeling hard done by. My expectations for India are somewhat more simple – I just want to get a haircut!

For those of you that have read our blog you will know that Janet has been diligent about keeping a journal so I won’t recap the trip, but thought I would get some of my musings down before I forget some of the things that really struck me. Of course I thought about doing this as the thoughts struck, but procrastination and laziness won out. Actually, I have been pretty damn busy for the most part. Trying to hide the lack of planning (my department) from the rest of the family has taken some work. It was the shock, with the phrase, “you gotta be kidding me, we don’t have a place booked”, that clued me in that I should always know next day’s plan or at least bluff that I did. Sitting on the airport floor at the arrivals terminal phoning hotels has been a thing of the past since Zanzibar. Tracking down internet, finding and reading guide books, phoning places and talking to other travelers has been a major role, and enjoyable job for me.

Talking to others generally leads to good advice and often interesting antidotes. An advantage to staying in budget (ie backpacker) accommodation is that it is quite communal and we meet interesting people. In Kenya and Tanzania we met many volunteers who were working with Aids charities, clean water projects, sanitation for slums, etc. A British guy in Kenya was building sand dams for local communities in the drought stricken areas. It was interesting to hear that the idea was to capture water from a rain event that would then be stored under the sand that would collect behind the dam. This way the water does not evaporate, as it does in soil, and one rain event can supply 5 months of water for a village of 100 people. He also pointed out that Nairobi has 3 reservoirs and one was out of commission, one was empty and one was 20% full. At that time Nairobi was down to 45 days of water if it did not rain. Couldn’t tell you what happened, but the jist of this is that the drought in Kenya is bad. I won’t go into how the price of cattle has plummeted due to no water as this is all from the first 3 days of our trip and I should probably move on.

So what does one think of on departing for Africa for the first time – animals, “Africa hot”, poverty, jungle, maybe a beach, a sunset….. Well, you would not be wrong. Africa is all of those things, but not entirely, and of course, more! The animal sightings and contact has been amazing and the biggest thrills for the kids. Watching lions in the wild is awesome, spotting a leopard in a tree can hold you for 45 minutes easy and a herd of elephants can entertain you for an hour. The smell and sight of 100 hippos hanging out in their own little cesspool is also rather powerful! The bustling, chaotic city life is enthralling and exhausting. The concept of a sidewalk that is either not busted up or taken over by hawkers or beggars is still elusive. There is so much more…..

What you don’t think of is how wonderful it is to get to know your African guide and cook and enjoy their company as well as observing their interactions with other guides and cooks. To my surprise Africa has not been that hot and the bugs have almost not been an issue. OK, the afternoon flies in the latter part of our Namibia trip were a bit much, but I don’t think I have had a mosquito bite yet. Exactly why am I taking daily malaria pills? The security precautions one sees in all the cities reminds us why we were advised not to walk around at night. Having said that I have not seen or had a scary situation, but some of the dudes sure look scary. The most hardened and scary men are in the cities and the ones I saw in Dar es Salaam were all of that. We were in a less desirable area and I needed peanuts to go with my beer so I went for a little walk. As usual first impressions are misleading as the men I approached were friendly and engaging, though no help in my peanut search. Cocktail hour went on sans peanuts.

Cocktail hour has been an integral part of the trip and I do not think we have missed one yet – some just start earlier than others. The kids get a daily pop – never would happen at home – and mom & dad get their beer. Hey, $1 for a beer, what is one to do? Have two. There is something very rewarding, and perhaps familiar, about sitting down to a cold beer at the end of any day. Some days we would celebrate and talk about the amazing things we did and saw and some days it was just a relief to be away from the dust, be finished the rough drive or be out of the daily rigors of African life. Other than cocktail hour, sunrise seems to be a daily staple for me. They are generally spectacular, as are sunsets, but it would be nice to get off the work schedule and sleep in at some point.

Our perceptions of Africa are drawn from the media and the suffering and poverty we see is all there. What we don’t see is how life goes on around it, how people adapt and somehow manage – for the most part! Living in Usa River, more a suburb of Arusha than a village, showed us just how tough life is and yet how people manage. Aids is rampant, orphaned kids the norm, single mom’s with no means, illiteracy is very high and of course garbage is everywhere. Amongst all this hopelessness people are doing the best to look after themselves and they almost always had a smile and greeting for us. There were no beggars, as there are in the cities, and one got the sense of community. Our week in Usa River was always dusty. Despite numerous dirt speed bumps on the one main road every vehicle through up a cloud of dust that you learned to just walk through and live with the dirt. Our accommodation was extremely basic so a cold water bucket wash was not even daily and the food was rice and beans. The kids did fantastic! Yes, they got pretty hungry and we did search out a bakery and a café for sanity breaks, but they took our situation in stride and were wonderful with the kids in the orphanage and the other various tasks they took on. They were exposed to a lot of sights and smells as we walked everywhere throughout the sprawling village. Their ability to adapt was impressive and I think the memories of Usa River will be with them for life.

Namibia was amazing, AMAZING….am I clear. OK, you have to like desolation with stunning and varied scenery and not mind driving 100’s of kilometers with possibly not seeing another vehicle. The contrast with the dirty, hot, garbage strewn, densely populated Kenya and Tanzania was stark. Don’t get me wrong, Kenya and Tanzania were fantastic, but travelling there is hard work and you need a holiday from it eventually. Namibia was easy, clean, organized and geographically incredible. The campsites were nice without exception and some simply fantastic – if you like hot showers in your private roofless bathroom, tame springbok and meerkats visiting you, your own bar b que site and a great view. The 4000 kilometers and 3 weeks we spent driving and camping from northern Namibia to Cape Town were great.

It is now Sept 25 and I never did finish my ramblings, but time to get it posted.

The only other thing to add is that I cannot say enough good things about Cape Town. The stunning beauty of it, the pounding surf and of course the luxury we lived in was a perfect way to get a little R&R for our last week in Africa.