Falling in Love with Africa

Another long holiday weekend here in Botswana gave me and the other IIP interns the opportunity to escape Gaborone to visit two of Africa's most popular tourist attractions: Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls.

After a short 1.5 hour flight from Gaborone to Kasane on Sunday morning, we were picked up by a van at the airport and driven to the Water Lily Lodge. We ate a light lunch and lounged by the pool before setting out on a boat cruise down the Chobe River.

Chobe National Park was established in 1967, making it Botswana's first national park. It is also the second largest park in the country (12,000 square km), and is thought to be the most ecologically diverse. Aside from its age and size, one animal species in particular makes Chobe stand out amongst the rest: the elephant. Home to 60,000 Kalahari elephants, Chobe National Park has the highest elephant concentration in Africa.

We were certainly not disappointed with the number of elephant sightings on our river cruise. Within minutes of leaving the dock, we saw many of these massive and majestic animals lining the shore. We watched quietly as they grazed on long strands of green grass after swinging it back and forth with their powerful trunks to remove any dirt and debris. Our guide told us that these animals can live to the age of 60 or 70 and can weigh up to 7 tons.

Later on, we were able to watch one of the elephants wade into the water. He stepped back onto the land, but then suddenly veered off course. We soon noticed why. He had been trying to avoid a close encounter with a well-camouflaged crocodile. 

Other animals we saw included: buffalo, kudu, olive baboons, hippos, sable antelope, and fish eagles. As the boat headed back to the lodge, we watched yet another stunning African sunset, its beauty enhanced by casting a reflection on the water.  The wide array of wildlife set against an amazing blue and green background makes it hard to imagine there being a more beautiful place in the world than Chobe... 

...Until we went to Victoria Falls the next day. The falls were discovered by David Livingstone, a Scottish Missionary, in 1855 and named in honor of British Queen Victoria. Located on the Zambezi River at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world: 5,600 ft wide and 350 ft tall (more than twice the height of Niagra Falls). 

We woke up early and ate breakfast before driving to the Botswana-Zimbabwe border. After going through the lengthy procedure of getting visas and going through customs, we signed up for activities at the Falls. While some of the more daring girls chose to do the bungee jump or the gorge swing, Allie and I opted for the "slide" -- zip lining from one side of the falls to the bridge. Although considered the least adventurous of the activities, I'll be the first to admit that I was still terrified as they hooked my harness to the line and pushed me off of the edge. I only managed to take one picture of the view below me because my hands were shaking so much. As we waited for the other girls to do the bungee or the swing, Allie and I walked around the bridge and were constantly haggled by people trying to sell us over-priced crafts (my only complaint from the trip).  

After a short stop to eat lunch and do some shopping, we headed back to walk around the actual falls. We began walking the trail and stopped periodically at look-out points. The view that awaited us at each look-out point somehow managed to be even more breathtaking than the previous one. As we continued deeper into the falls,we became engulfed in clouds of mist and were surrounded by a series of rainbows. At danger point, visitors can wander off the path and risk climbing a few slippery rocks to get a completely unobstructed view of the falls. The experience of being so close to one of the 7 natural wonders of the world is one that I cannot even begin to describe.

We drove back to our camp, ate dinner, and chatted around a campfire. As we sat there,  we noticed a herd of elephants approaching the watering hole. Later, a few giraffes joined them. We spent an hour or so observing the animals until they had their fill of water and left the watering hole to settle down for the night. It was amazing to be able to watch the group dynamics and behavior. At one point, one of the female elephants kicked her misbehaving calf in the head (I''m glad my mother never used the same child-rearing tactics on me).

The next morning we went on a game drive through Chobe National Park. Within 5 minutes of entering the park, our vehicle got a flat tire. We got out of the car and waited as they replaced the tire with a spare. Suddenly we noticed a large male elephant heading in our direction. Fortunately, he passed by without paying us much attention and got back in the car shortly thereafter. 

In addition to many more elephants, we saw hundreds of giraffe and witnessed a fight between two males.We also spotted impala, zebras, buffalo, kudu, vervet monkeys, sable and roan antelope. Overall, it was an excellent game drive. Rarely more than 5 minutes would go by without seeing some sort of wildlife.However, there were two situations in which our driver placed our vehicle between two elephants (usually not a good idea). In the second instance, she placed the car between a mother and one of her babies (an even worse idea). The elephant began shaking her trunk and head and flapping her ears angrily...the first warning sign that she is going to charge. Fortunately, she did not do so, and started walking in the opposite direction. We drove back to the Water Lily Lodge, checked out, and headed to the airport for our flight back to Gaborone. 

Our trip to Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls was unforgettable. It gave me an even greater appreciation of Africa's natural beauty. I highly recommend that you visit both of these places if you have the opportunity. I can almost guarantee that you will fall in love with Africa too. 

A Taste of the US in Gabs

1 week. 2 holidays.

July 1st, a holiday here it Botswana, allowed us to have a 3-day weekend. The day was spent catching up on some much-needed sleep and baking cupcakes for a friend's birthday. In the evening, Allie and I went to a nearby restaurant called Linga Longa for "rib night." It was here that we had our first taste of St. Louis, a locally made beer. I thought it was pretty good, especially considering the price of 14 pula (less than 2 US dollars).

We celebrated July 4th by getting off work early (after being forced to recite the pledge of allegiance in front of our co-workers) and attending a party hosted by the US Embassy. We called a cab and asked the driver to take us to Embassy. Once we arrived, tickets in hand, we asked one of the uniformed and heavily-armed guards where we should go for the party. He wore a confused look on his face; he didn't know of any 4th of July party. Turned out that the celebration was not at the Embassy itself, but rather at the recreation center further down the street (I hadn't read the invitation closely enough in the rush to leave). Despite the mistake and the fact that we didn't get to go inside, it was still fun to see Botswana's US Embassy.

When we arrived, the recreation center was decorated with red, white and blue and American flags. Feeling a little bit awkward about being some of the first people there (apparently even American events run according to Africa time), Allie and I headed to the bar and very un-patriotically ordered 2 bottles of St. Louis. We ate hamburgers, hotdogs, corn, cupcakes and much much more at dinner. It was nice to have American food for a change since we couldn't be home to celebrate.

Between the holiday festivities, we also got to see a few really interested cases in the clinic this week. I was allowed to scrub in on a surgery to repair a vaginal prolapse (apparently very common in a breed found in Africa called the Boerboel). The procedure required us to pull the part of the vagina that had been externalized back into the pelvic cavity and fix it there with sutures. 

The same day, a dog came in with extensive soft tissue damage to the palmar aspect of one of its forelimbs. The owners were not home when the injury occurred, and the vet recommended amputation. It was a very interesting surgery to watch (we had only seen a partial amputation in the past). It is remarkable how quickly animals recover from this type of procedure and how well they cope with only three legs. 

Later in the week, a dog came in with a basketball sized mass on its chest. The vet suspected that it was a seroma and proceeded by opening and draining the lump. At first a large amount of serum-like fluid and blood poured out. Upon further exploration however, the vet discovered cancerous tissue that appeared to be a hemangiosarcoma. Based on this finding, the owner elected to put the dog down. 

Looking forward to spending a nice, relaxing weekend in Gabs (one of our last, since the rest will be spent traveling).