Junes 2nd week

June’s second week

We are just back from a long weekend in Kasane (Friday 28th July to Tuesday 1st August). We stayed in a five star lodge that was just magnificent. All the rooms had a veranda facing the Chobe River, which runs through the Chobe National Game Reserve. Hot and cold running service. Very African in style, well at least the Africa Europeans expect. The foyer didn’t have a roof but did have a big tree in the middle called a Baobab tree. The terrace looked over the Chobe and we watched the sunset sipping G and Ts before dinner where animals that we saw in the reserve were often on the menu: like Impala, wart hogs, guinea fowl and kubu. We didn’t even have to pour our own wine or turn down the bed for sleeping. George managed to get a special offer that he had seen in the local paper that made it affordable! We were the only Brits there. We met Americans, Ozzies, Italians (one couple on honeymoon); French; German; South African; Zimbabwean, Dutch; Japanese and of course some Batswana people. They were mainly middle aged, which I suppose you would expect. But there were a few couples (without children) in their late 20s early 30s there. Very much a couple place, not really for families.

It is difficult to select which part of the trip to talk about first. It was all such an experience. We started most days early around 6ish to get the most from the day. This meant we were abed by around 9pm. The beds had been turned down when we were at dinner and chocolate left on the pillow! Most days we went to bed dazed with so many new sensations. Often, even I was left speechless by what we were seeing. Not something that happens a lot.

We are definitely not in Kansas now Toto. (You have to be a friend of Dorothy to get this quote.)
Zimbabweans come across the border at Kasane to buy things here. They can’t buy a lot of everyday things in Zimbabwe. Very few of them have cars so they wait for lifts from busses or passing cars but each one has enough bags to fill a car boot so don’t know who gives them a lift. The buses all have roof racks to take the extra loads. When you go for petrol, they are always there with any plastic containers they can find to fill up with either petrol or paraffin. We saw petrol being put in 2-litre coke bottles! You can’t get fuel in Zim. They even take plastic bags from dustbins to use again to carry the things they buy. You can’t get carrier bags in Zim either.

Goats, donkeys, cows and dogs all roam freely here so you often see herds of them grazing by the side of the road un-tethered and sometimes they decide to go to the other side which is dangerous for both them and you. We didn’t see much road kill (except one unfortuante donkey), so maybe they are adept at avoiding cars. But something you don’t expect to see is a troop of baboons crossing the road. This was what surprised me that even on the road nowhere near the game reserves, which are fenced in for the animals’ protection, you come across animals just crossing the road or wandering around freely. We have seen elephants, baboons, and impala just wandering around. It just amazes me.

On the road to Kasane we saw quite a number of very poor communities. People who lived in makeshift houses of reeds they cut down. Some have roofs of plastic sheeting more are left open to the skies. The structures are not high enough to stand up in but they shelter them from the wind. It must get very cold at night cos the temperature drops hugely here in the winter and because of the differential it seems much colder. These people are mainly Zimbabweans looking for work.

You can’t take things for granted here.
Cash- you need to have cash with you. I am so used to using a debit card. You can’t do that here. You can’t assume that the ATM will work so you have to plan getting your money out in plenty of time. Very few places take credit cards. Of course George didn’t plan this and thought we would get money from the ATM in Kasane, but it was broken. The bank systems inside were also down so we couldn’t get cash. When we asked where the nearest ATM was we were told Francistown, which is where we came from 500 kilometres away. It was a bit worrying for a while but it worked out. We just put everything on the room bill!

When we were leaving we needed petrol for the return journey. The petrol station had run out so there was a melee of cars, trucks and people with containers of all sizes waiting. The tanker arrived and we all started to get petrol as the tanker was filling up! Oops. It took us half an hour to fill up cos the pump was working so slowly but we couldn’t go without cos the nearest petrol station was in Nata 300 kilometres away and it might be out of petrol too.

The shops have fruit and veg, which is in season not anything like you can get at home. They also run out of things. It just means rethinking how you work but for me it is taking some getting used to. I think it is easier for George cos he never shopped at home anyway! Probably more down to temperament, he doesn’t like to plan so making do with what is there works for him. I just need to adjust how I do stuff. I’ll get there. Chill June.

Way of life.
After only two weeks I am a tourist still so feel I have a long way to go before I understand the people but I have met a few Batswana now and they all seem to think their own people are too lazy. They are proud of their government cos it is one of the few governments in Africa to give every child a free education, uniform and school meals; free medical treatment for everyone; pension for all over 60 (not that many make it) and welfare for the out of work. But simultaneously they feel the government gives the people too much and it is making them lazy and dependant. They are worried that people do not have enough get up and go to start businesses. On the other hand, the Zimbabweans have a reputation for being hard workers but they are also distrusted cos it is feared they will steal.

If you have a bag here when you go shopping you have to check it in before going into the store in case you put something in the bag and steal it. In one shop, your goods are checked at the till and then again it is checked against your receipt when you leave to ensure there has been no pilfering.

Despite being an educated country AIDS is at 38% and rising. People are unwilling to heed the advice of abstinence or protection. They seem to accept that this is their lot. The government gives out free retroviral drugs but only when the blood count is so low they have full blown AIDS anyway. We met someone working in a clinic and she says the men won’t wear condoms. I think the ads need to target women. It might be easier to get them to change their habits. It doesn’t help that teenage pregnancies are high but among the wealthier groups this is changing. But fatalism or acceptance seems to be a way of life. Que sera seems to be a philosophy. Religion may also be partly to blame. People seem to think it is in God’s hands.

They think I am mad when I walk about in T shirts when they are wearing coats. But it is hot for me here.

Victoria falls



To say Victoria Falls is breathtaking is an understatement. They are just magnificent: over a kilometre in length and 108 meters drop. The noise was deafening (another George fact they were called ‘the smoke that roars’ by the local people until Livingstone came along and renamed them). You can rent raincoats to keep the spray off but we didn’t bother cos it was just great to get wet and then dry off quickly. We also met a bronze Livingstone, we presumed. You can do helicopter rides and bungee jumping but we thought we would leave that till Rachael comes. We’ll let her go first and if she enjoys we’ll do it too.

We visited the Victoria Falls hotel, which is one of these colonial built hotels. All faux nostalgia and Victoriana. It was very beautiful if you like symmetry and classical architecture. Too balanced and clean for me. I like things to be more lopsided. Looked like something out of a picture postcard. Still wouldn’t say no to a night or two there. Probably too pretentious. It does seem odd when locals can’t get anything in the shops, you can get anything at this hotel.

We had to pay £30 each to cross the border into Zimbabwe and that was more than other Nationalities pay. We pay higher cos of our governments position on Zimbabwe. We kept being told that it was safe there for tourists now and that more should come. There did seem a lot there but probably not the same throughout Zimbabwe. A plate of soup costs a million Zim dollars so for a day we were millionaires.

George’s facts
George kept coming up with ‘did you know’ type facts. One was that where we were was the only place in the world that 4 countries borders meet: Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia. I feel a quiz show coming on. There were many more but I’ll keep them for another day.

The game



We have seen so many animals: giraffes, kubu, elephants, warthogs, hippos, impala, lions hunting buffalo, wild dogs which are rare, puff adders, hyenas, mongoose, crocs, baboons, the tracks of a large python but not an actual one, the tracks of a leopard but not an actual one. This is apparently really rare. We have also seen so many different birds: varied types of eagles, hornbills, different storks; lots of different kingfishers, cranes, and vultures. The list is endless. Some are really colourful. George played golf one day and was warned to watch out for the black mamba and python snakes but luckily he didn’t see either. He did see the crocs sunning themselves on the fairway though. It was amazing how close you got to the animals. We went into the park three different ways: by boat, in our own car with a map, and with a guided tour. Each time was a different time of the day and we saw much the same animals but doing different things, which was really great. I think I enjoyed the elephants spraying themselves with mud the best. Each of the herds we saw had baby animals and it was just so moving even the crocs. George and I enjoyed the day we ventured in by ourselves the most cos we felt like explorers. It was certainly adventurous even in a four by four. At one point three elephants walked out right in front of the car and we could see their eyes and if they had decided to turn round we would have been very squished. Luckily they went forwards and down to the water.

Enough for now more next week. We intend to spend this weekend at home and we are going to meet some of George’s colleagues. Whole new ball game.

PS from George



You will gather from June that we had a great time. My highlights were staying in the lodge, which was absolutely fabulous, and the fact that they had a 9 hole golf course – grass! - which of course I enjoyed playing on one afternoon while June was at the poolside. The wild dogs we saw were just great – its not everyday you will see a ‘very endangered species’ (estimates only 3000 left), and we saw a pack of them!

Vic Falls was a ghost town compared to what it used to be. Jan told me it was often hard to get accommodation ‘in the old days’, throughout the year. Another Zimbabwean I met at the petrol queue joked that if you got 2 cars, one in front of the other in Zimbabwe, it was an official traffic jam! It’s a great shame for a country that had the reputation as one of the most efficient and organised countries in Africa.

June has the house looking more like a home now. We have a settee; a carpet; some batik tablecloths we bought in a Zimbabwean craft market (for a £tenner!) as wall hangings; some wooden hippos; wooden bowls; wooden face masks; and some other stone carvings for the mantlepiece. And, a cheese grater and potato masher – no home should be without them!

The car is running really well. On the road it drives very easy - just like an ordinary car, but you can turn off road and go anywhere! I had more fun driving in Chobe Reserve. I’m planning more adventurous outings, more details later

Junes Contribution 1

Wednesday 26th July

George thinks it would be a good idea if I put up some thouhts while I am here. I have been here a week already and I have no idea of where the time has gone. Not surprising really when you visit any new place. I don’t ususally keep a diary but this might be fun to read after two years to see the differences.

First impressions
While being here is not like being in Europe or America there are so many things, which are familiar that it is very comfortable for me. There are children’s playgrounds, parks, traffic lights and cinemas. There are familiar names like Shell garage’s, Specsavers, Woolworth’s; a spar shop; but there are also chains I haven’t heard of but are clearly popular out here. The burger style joints are similar too; Nandos is one we have at home but there is one called ‘Bimbos’ here which I suppose is only for WAGs and blonds. I won’t be going in there. So on the surface it seems familiar. I am sure when I have been here a bit longer I’ll be able to scratch the surface and see what happens underneath.

Yet, there are also enough differences to make it strange and different, but in a safe way. I felt more foreign in South America than I do here. People do sometimes stare but not many. Children are more likely to than adults – hardly surprising children are always more curious. One woman (in Arabian style clothes) called me ‘white colour woman’ but not many really pay any more attention than they would to anyone. I still haven’t ventured out on my own yet. I went to town with Avia one day to buy some groceries and to get her some bits and bobs but have since learned I can’t drive here unless I get a resident’s licence so need to get special driving permit before I venture out. I could walk and probably will one day when I feel I won’t get lost. It’s not far to town about 20 minutes walk but there are no maps, so haven’t quite got my bearings despite George’s orienting day.

Francistown
The day after I arrived George gave me an orienting tour so I would know where things are but there were so many malls and areas I just am not sure yet. I can find the way from his work to here but not sure about other places. There are no pavements so you get dusty and it is hot from 1000– 1500hrs so need to try to get in early. All the goods in the shops are recognisable but the pavement sellers, of which there are many, there were a number of things that were difficult to identify: one of which was dried worms. Don’t think I will be trying those in a hurry! There are very few shops that cater for a tourist trade so most things on sale are practical and basic. No nice presents for anyone from here. No craft stalls with jewellry or nic naks. We needed a sofa for the living room and the choices were so old-fashioned that even your granny would think they were not for her. Hideous, big, lots of decorative carved dark wood and bad patterns. I had hoped for something ‘African’, but the kind that ethnic shops at home sell doesn’t happen out here, except in the tourist restaurants and hotels selling images of Africa. We did eventually find a plain sand coloured 2 seater which you might get in IKEA. (They have a Habitat in Gaborone apparently and it sells our version of African patterns and styles.) Ironic enough even for me.

All the buildings in Francis town are new or newish. Most onle story high. It seems a bit like a new town like Glenrothes. Lots of commercial, idustrial and domestic areas interspersed.

My first adventure
The pool George has is not usable yet. It is still too cloudy. He has to do a few more chemical mixes to get it right. Strangely the water would be very cold anyway and there would be no way I would go in. I feel hot most of the time but as soon as the sun goes down it gets cold. The air doesn’t hold the warmth. Not like home in the summer when you can sit outside till very late. I keep having to remind myself it is winter. I didn’t need any reminding last Saturday. George took Friday off work so we went to a lodge up by some salt pans so we could see a bit of the country and also the pans. We got up around 6am (yes on a holiday Saturday) to join a guided tour of the pans. We turned out to be the only ones on the tour. The guide told us it would be cold but I figured in Africa how cold can it get? Bloody freezing is the answer. (Apparently no-one swears here and it is especially frowned upon for woman so I have to watch my language. Really difficult. I reckon it is just a ruse on George’s part to get me to stop altogether). Anyway back to the story. We had blankets wrapped round us and it was still freezing. Because the rains had been so good this year the ‘lake’ hadn’t receded to show the pans so you couldn’t drive through them as in some years and this meant that the flamingos which are usually in their thousands, were not there. We saw one lone flamingo. However all was not lost we did see lots of pelicans, wattled cranes which are huge (bigger than our eagles), ostriches and herds of springbok. The sunrise was wonderful. What a colour the bush was, really lovely- very dramatic almost ‘out of Afrcia’ but without the elephants. We’ll have to come back in the dry season to see the flamingos.

The lodge we were staying at was ‘African’. It was decorated with giraffes on the curtains, lost of rustic features but not basic. The kind of Africa you could imagine Disney creating. Lovely. Lots of big comfy padded chairs to sip your G+T as the sun goes down. Felt very colonial. We even had a shower room that was attached to the room but outside so you could see the wilderness. Excellent sanitised start to my African adventure.

On the way home we took a wee detour to get another look at the pans/lake and as we were travelling along we saw very close to the road a herd of wilderbeast just grazing near a waterhole. We couldn’t believe it. For the first time I felt I was somewhere very different. It wasn’t like looking at a herd of cows. The other side of the road there were some more springbok grazing very close. It was truly amazing. I got quite excited. What am I going to be like when I see lions? Or elephants?

Travel companions
People hitch here all the time. Most can’t afford cars so they rely on people stopping for them. In saying that the cars that people do have are in good condition - nothing like the bashed up heaps driving around in Gambia or Peru. We stopped a couple of times to give women a lift. Each time we thought it was one woman and then out of nowhere comes more with their children. They are always quite shy of us but will talk if you ask questions. The last group has waited for an hour and half to get a lift.

Houses
In Francistown houses look like they do at home. Usually they are bungalows. The richer areas have bigger bungalows with lots of ground and electric fencing round them; the poorer ones smaller and less ground. In our street there are wide roads and lots of land. In the country side there is more variety. Some of the people live in round mud huts with thatched roofs. The richer they get the more they add. They have wooden corals round big areas and as more money comes in they develop more on the plot of land. We saw one plot with a mud hut; an outside brick built toilet, a bungalow with inside facilities. Interesting combination. Some of the mud huts had been painted; some had mud walls round them.

George’s colleagues.
I have met all of George’s colleagues now except the woman Alison who is on holiday but I think I will meet her before I go home. Like George, the two European guys are both in their late 50s but are seasoned African project workers. When George and I went out to his gold club one night all the guys in the bar (and they were all men) were well into there 50s too. There must be young guys here too cos I see a lot of young white woman out and about ‘doing lunch’ or shopping. The strangest thing I saw was a shop that gave massages and did nails but you could also hire a sunbed. Who on earth would hire a sunbed out here? Crazy. But then Avia thinks I am crazy anyway cos I sunbathe. She would never think of doing this. While we were in the bar I noticed that instead of serving nuts or crisps you can buy packets of dried meat – biltong - bit like the American beef jerky.

Avia
Avia is about 30 I guess although it is hard to tell. She seems to like it here but she only gets to see her husband at the weekend. He works as a picker on a farm about 40 miles away. She isn’t going to see her daughter till Christmas. It bothers her but there isn’t a lot she can do about it. She wants her to go to school in Zimbabwe. Today she asked me if I believed in God. I think my answer disappointed her. She believes in God and thinks that the devil is out to try to trap us at every opportunity. She said that those who don’t believe in God walk on their knees. I will have very sore knees I am afraid. She likes to watch programmes on the TV that are about angels, devils or religious. There isn’t much work for her to do here cos there is little furniture and no dusting so she watches TV a lot. I found it difficult at first to let her tidy up after me. One day I started the dishes and she said that she would do it. I let her and haven’t tried since. I suppose it must be what it is like for most men having someone to do stuff for them and magically their clothes are washed and dried and ironed. I must admit I could do with her at home but I doubt she would like Scotland – too cold.

Bye for now
Well that is my first week over. Nothing profound to say but liked writing about it. Not sure what it will be like if (when) I come out here for good. It has been great to be with George again though. Missed the silly old bugger. He has taken Friday and Monday off so we are off to visit Victoria Falls this weekend. Looking forward to that.