This is Africa!



The memories and stories have carried on in our final few days in Zimbabwe. On Christmas day, we watched Shaun and Adam bungee jump on the second largest bungee in the world. It was located on the bridge connecting Zimbabwe and Zambia over the Zambezi river. So it was neat walking from one country to the next. After that, we checked into our lodge, and then shortly after headed for a tour of Victoria Falls. Victoria falls is one of the 7 wonders of the natural world, and I must say, it is breathtakingly beautiful. I have been to Niagara Falls, and Vic Falls blows it out of the water. Victoria falls is the tallest falls in the world, and they are between Zimbabwe and Zambia. I must say, they are outstanding. I could probably sit and stare at them for hours! We walked along the falls, taking it all in and snapping photos left, right and centre.



Victoria Falls



After the falls tour, we headed to The Boma, a traditional African restaurant for our not-so-traditional Christmas Dinner. This was our first time as a family going out for Christmas dinner, and our first time not having turkey dinner. Instead we had Kudu, Warthog, Buffalo, and the oh so lovely Morpani worms. Morpani trees are seen throughout Botswana and Zimbabwe, their leaves looking like butterflies. The worms come from this tree, were cooked, and although stated as a “delicacy”, they taste like burnt worms. There was African drumming, singing, and lots of fun. We also paid for Valentine’s family to come join us for dinner, so his wife, Nancy, and 3 children, Brandon (9), Tristan (7), and Neladi (11 months) were there to complete our African Christmas along with the rest of us 12. Early the next morning, Shaun, myself, Sunee, Chris, and Frank were up at 6am for breakfast before river rafting. We headed to the rafting centre to sign our lives away, before we headed out (I found it hilarious that on the waiver form, it asked if you have a psychiatric illness, and if yes, do you have your medications. I laughed but then maybe got a bit worried haha). We got to the Zimbabwe side of the gorge, and we then hiked 750ft down the gorge to the river. The setting for river rafting was breathtaking, along the Zambezi river, nestled in high natural and lush rock walls of the gorge between Zimbabwe and Zambia. River rafting was a blast! They were mostly class 4/5 rapids, but also some points where we were allowed to cliff jump (off a 15ft cliff), and ride out some class 1 rapids in the water. We all fell in at some point along the way, and laughed along the way. I’m just hoping I didn’t catch some form of parasite or illness from the water. Here’s to hoping. After rafting, we then had to hike up the 750ft to the top of the gorge before lunch. We were soaked, sun burnt, tired, and the terrain wasn’t well maintained. It didn’t make for the easiest hike, but it was well worth it. Shortly after river rafting, we got to go hang out with some lions that are in a rehabilitation program called ALERT. It was unreal. The lions are wild, but they were often orphaned cubs. The African lion population has decreased by 80-90% and they need a program to rehab and get lions back into the wild. It is a 4 stage program, where they create prides of lions with orphaned cubs in large natural environments, where the lions can be monitored, but they live in environments with other competing and prey species, so they learn to hunt and kill.  When they mate with other lions in the program, the new lion cubs will not be in contact with humans, and will eventually be realized as a pride into the wild, where there are minimal to no other competing lion prides. It’s pretty awesome. So we ended up petting and walking with 2 sets of lions, 18 month old male and female from the same family, and then 10 month old sisters. It was pretty unreal. Then last night we had an awesome final dinner with our “African family”. It was Sherry’s 50^th birthday, so we ended with cake and shots of Amarulu to celebrate.

So we have left Zimbabwe, left our safari group, and are now back in Joburg for a night. I can’t talk enough about how much we loved Botswana and Zimbabwe. We have seen and learned so much about mother nature and the whole circle of life, but we also were lucky enough to meet and travel with some pretty awesome people from all over the world, and been guided by amazing locals. You are always a little worried when you know that you’re 4 of 12 people in a group, as the other 8 could be weird, antisocial, nit picky, or downright strange, but the other 8 were the best mix of individuals we could have asked for. Even though we had long days where we were tired from being up before the sun, spending the whole day in the heat, and then returning to camp after the sun went down, functioning on sometimes 5-6 hours sleep, there were always stories to share, tales to tell, and we were laughing the whole time. The memories I have from this trip wouldn’t be the same with any other combo of people. There’s one story I have to share, and we are all sad that we didn’t have it on video for youtube, as our (and by our, I mean Chris’) commentary was hilarious. I still laugh thinking about it. When we were in Chobe, driving around in our Safari truck, we came across a huge group of baboons. We were watching and taking photos of them, when there was 2 baboons right beside the vehicle grooming eachother. It started off as a very G-rated simple grooming, until the male turned over on all fours, and the simple interaction went from G to X-rated pretty quickly, and the baboon got a nice “rub and tug” from his lady. I guess it’s all natural fun, but we were killing ourselves laughing, and from then on, made jokes about “Baboon Style”. Still funny as I think of it! That’s the scene they left out of the Lion King.

As much fun as we did have as a group, as awesome and outstanding this trip has been this far, and as much as the grand scheme of life seems to make so much more sense, there are certain things that can only be explained by a 3 word sentence: “This is Africa”. These are things that didn’t make or break the trip, but just made you shrug your shoulders and chuckle. For example, the internet doesn’t work when it rains, nobody is on time, people are either early or late, and taking their time in between. ATMs and credit card transactions seem to only work sometimes, and I seem to be able to be better versed with the VISA machine than the people working there, and I’ve never used one in my life. We have paid for things in South African rand, US dollars, Botswana Pula, and other currency, and everyone seems to be okay with it. Getting stuck in the mud, or mechanical problems seem to be a way of life. Your skin seems to peel every time you touch it due to the layers of sunscreen, bug spray, and dirt on your skin. No matter how much sunscreen you have on, the African sun gets you every time. The water is either boiling hot or freezing cold. You have daily interactions with monkeys and baboons, who try to steal your food and objects by dropping sticks, or throwing things to sneak in. You don’t get bit by mosquitos in the thick of the bush, but in the “city” of Victoria falls, you get eaten alive. Electricity seems to work only some of the times, and the plugs and converters needed were inconsistent. Or the fact that the Victoria falls airport had two large flights to Joburg scheduled for the same time, checking in probably 300 people, and their waiting room at departure gate 1&2 (the only departures gates that are maybe 10 ft apart) maybe seats 50. Hilarious. It’s a different world over here, and the African people have been amazingly hospitable, hilarious, fun and constantly reminding us that “This is Africa”. 

So we are now back in Joburg for the night, and we’ve taken on our next challenge of renting a car and we are driving to Hazyview in the morning. Hazyview is just outside of Kruger National park. People drive on the other side of the road here, so our adventures continue, and it should be fun! Hope all is well at home, and everyone is enjoying some quality time with family and friends around the holidays! We miss and love you all! I've posted a few photos below for you to enjoy! Cheers! Xoxo



Hungry hungry hippos

Angry Angry Hippos

Scary Scary Hippos

So Awesome!

Beautiful Lion

Beautiful Zebras 

Elephants!

Giraffes!

A 2-3 day old dumbo! So cute!



He was adorable!



 

Christmas Safari!

Well Merry Christmas from Zimbabwe!!!!  I apologize for the lack of blog posts, but we have been without internet access and only recently entered into cellular zones! The game reserves don’t have internet to make it more difficult for poachers to communicate. But I should start off saying that the past six days have been incredible! We have done and seen so much!! The past 6 days have been full of safari, heading into the game reserves to see what we can see. We started off 6 days ago in Maun, at Thamalakane Lodge. We went to Mokoro to go poling (similar to canoeing, where the poler stands in the back, using a large stick to push us along), which is a way to transport goods and people through the Delta. The boats only fit 2 people and our poler, Richard, who has been poling since he was 10 years old and was taught by his grandfather.  It was awesome to talk with him about his life in the village where he grew up, and what life is like for them. After Mokoro, we moved to a bush camp called Mankwe, located between Moremi and Chobe National Parks. We stayed there for 3 nights. The camp ran on generators, we were staying in raised tents, and animals roamed in and out of camp as they pleased. The place had a bar run by a man named Tears. He was really funny, and always had to escort us back to our tents after dark for our safety, even though it is illegal for any of the guides or camps to carry guns. They feel that if you need a gun, you are willing to risk too much, pushing the boundaries with nature. Without guns, you will keep enough distance and respect the animals. Our camp was visited by elephants during the afternoon one day, and we saw tracks of hyenas and giraffes in the morning, so they had clearly walked through at night. Beaman said he heard the roaring of lions at night also. The days started early, generally up at 5am or earlier for breakfast, then heading out into Kwai, Moremi, and Chobe National parks to look for animals. We spent 10-14 hours a day out in the parks. It was like an amazing game of hide and go seek with some of the world’s most astonishing animals. It is odd being out in the African wilderness. It’s like a reverse zoo, where we are in captivity and the animals run wild. We are to remain in the vehicle at all times, and if we do stop, Valentine and Beaman check the area before we get out, and keep on the lookout while we are stopped. We spent some days following different animal tracks, all in attempt to see something amazing, and always succeeding. Our guides, Valentine and Beaman are awesome! Beaman grew up wanting to be a guide like his father. It is incredible how they are so in tuned with nature. They can tell how fresh the tracks are, and how animals are feeling based on how they react. They seem to know everything about animals, including exact species, how old they are, and how they interact with their own kind and other animals. Over the past few days, we have seen tons of elephants, giraffes, hippos, antelope of all kinds (kudu, impala, steam buck, springbok, reed bucks, water bucks, eland, and wildebeest), birds like no tomorrow (storks, eagles, vultures, and a bunch others that I can’t remember the name of if my life depended on it), zebras, crocodiles, warthogs, baboons, turtles, monitor lizards, and the most amazing lioness I’ve ever seen. On day 3 out in Moremi national park we were really on the hunt of giraffes and lions, as we had only seen a lone giraffe on our first day, and had yet to see a lion. After lunch, we didn’t seem to have much issue seeing giraffes, and we’ve been seeing a ton of them ever since. But lions are much more difficult to track, as they often hunt and move in the evening, and during the day, they find cool places to hang out, as the heat exhausts them. We had been told that there was a pride of lions in the area, and we were on the hunt. Valentine and Beaman spotted a ton of vultures and other predatory birds flying above (and I’m not talking 3-4, but 15+), and so they said that when this occurs, they are often waiting for a kill to occur below them. So we were right in there, offroading, searching for a cat on the hunt. In the meanwhile, we got our truck stuck in the mud, and hit a pretty huge tree, throwing off our wheel alignment, but that didn’t stop us. We unfortunately didn’t spot anything, and the birds dispersed with time. We kept searching, following lion tracks. We had almost given up for the day, when Beaman spotted a female resting under a tree. We approached her, and she was the most beautiful and incredible animal I’ve ever seen. We were only 15 feet from her. She had been separated from her pride, and was roaring for them as a signal. The noise that came out of her mouth was the most primal and primitive noise in the world. It terrified and amazed me at the same time. Her roar chilled me to my core, and I was just astonished and speechless. She got up and went in search of them. We caught up with her down the way, while she was resting again due to the heat of the day, and we managed to capture some awesome photos. I’m still in complete and utter awe. Yesterday in Chobe National Park, we spotted another pride of lions, 2 males and 3 females. We couldn’t get nearly as close, as we were told that one of the males is quite aggressive, and we didn’t want to risk pissing off the top of the food chain. They were beautiful though none the less. Our days in the bush have really made you appreciate and understand the whole circle of life, and appreciation for mother earth. It's amazing!

Elephants in Moremi!



Our first lion spotting!!!

Other things that I’ve learned while in Africa the last 6 days:

1. Elephant dung and wild sage act as natural mosquito repellant.
2. Zebras raise their white stripes in the summer to stay cool, and raise their black stripes in the winter to absorb heat.
3. Giraffes have the largest heart of any land mammal, weighing in at just over 4kg (9lbs). They need it to be so large to be able to pump blood up their long necks to their brains. When they sleep, they have to keep their heads up (even if they are lying down) cause if they keep their head down, their brain will explode with the amount of pressure their heart pumps blood at.
4. Giraffes don’t have a voice box, and it is said that they are the quietest mammal. Some people say that they can hear them crying at times, but they don’t know how they produce this sound.
5. When giraffes are born, the mother doesn’t lower herself to the ground during labour, and the baby just falls to the ground. They say that when a baby giraffe hits the ground, it is similar to a doctor slapping a baby to start its breathing.  
6. Hippos are the number one cause of death in southern Africa. They can actually run up to 50km/hour, and they are terrifying animals. Yesterday, we stopped for a quick stretch break infront of a pond with 17+ hippos in it. They all started approaching shore, and the alpha male started gesturing creating a mock charge, to let us know who was in charge. I personally, was terrified. Their teeth are MASSIVE! He was growling, splashing water, showing us his teeth, and moving towards us. It was definitely a “get in the car FAST” type moment. But ultimately, it was amazing to see!
7. Crocodiles can live to be up to 150 years old. Their species has remained untouched since the Jurassic era, due to their incredible ability to adapt. They can go for 1.5 years without eating or drinking due to their natural ability to slow their metabolism to an almost stand still.
8. Dead elephant is the most putrid smell ever.
9. Vultures will eat anything (see number 8). It’s disgusting.
10. Baby elephants are probably THE CUTEST things you’ve ever seen. We saw a baby dumbo, probably 2-3 days old (as per Beaman and Valentine) and my heart melted watching her awkwardly run and stumble around, just wanting to constantly play.
11. You would not likely survive a swim in the Chobe River, as it is infested with more hippos, crocs and tiger fish than imaginable. One of them would probably kill you.  
12. A kudu tusk is hollow and is often used as a horn for musical fun.
13. Elephants eat approximately 600lbs of grass and tree bark per day.
14. Termites  taste like peanut butter.

This is the first Christmas that we’ve spent in 3 countries! We woke up in Botswana, spent the afternoon in Zambia, and are now in Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge for the next 2 nights. It is beautiful and located close the falls. We have been warned about hippos, monkeys, elephants and other animals that roam around here day and night. The fun will continue tomorrow when Shaun and I are headed white water rafting down the Zambezi River, and we are all then going to interact with lions in the afternoon. Should be interesting! Sorry for the minimal photos! Most of them are on the DSLR camera, and the files are too large for limited internet! Will post others when we get a chance. We miss you all and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and that you are all happy, safe, and lovely. With love from Zimbabwe!

This is Safari, not Vacation.

Hello from the Okavango Delta in Botswana!

Yesterday we spent the day in Joburg, learning much more about South Africa, and the Apartheid. We headed to the Apartheid museum, learning all about the Apartheid and Nelson Mandela. It was fascinating, sad, horrific, and triumphant. Mom got really sick, so we ended up heading back to the hotel, and dad, shaun and I went for dinner and wine nearby, while my slept. Thankfully she woke up feeling better today!

And then there was today….Today has been unreal! This morning we left Joburg for Maun, Botswana. After the 1.5 hour flight, we were picked up by Judy, a representative from Thamalakane Lodge. We were then transported back, met the rest of the people on our safari. They all seem awesome! There are 5 people from the USA (Altanta and DC), 2 Australians and a German. So there are 12 of us total, plus our guide, Valentine. We got our rooms, which are awesome, and right on the river. They are thatched roofed huts, and the bugs run rampant. The cockroaches and beetles are the size of my fist, and there are moths as large as birds. They are creepy and gross, and I still scream and bat my arms like a crazy person. But such is life on safari. Maybe I’ll acclimatize. Probably not. Haha.

So after 10 minutes in camp, we packed back in the vehicle to the airport to jump in THE smallest plane I’ve been in, and we were off and flying in a 7 passenger plane over the Okavango delta. We flew 500 ft above and we saw giraffes, hippos, elephants, wildebeests, antelopes, and more. The scenery was picturesque and stunning. The delta was beautiful, and it is crazy to not see any signs of civilization. It was awesome!!! So awesome that I puked! Well I puked because I was sitting up front, it was probably 40 degrees, and we were flying in a storm (ie// we were flying sideways, there was lightning and turbulence). Never to this day had I ever been motion sick, but today was not good. I let the pilot know that I thought I’d be sick, and within 30 seconds I was. But I bounced back and was taking photos shortly after. But the experience itself was incredible.

We returned to camp, and showered for dinner. Outside a hippo emerged from the river. We have been notified to go nowhere near the river, as you probably wouldn’t make it back alive due to the hippos and crocodiles. Danger bay! We had an overview of the next 3 days, where we will be staying out in the middle of the safari in tented camps. We will be up every morning at 5am or earlier, in attempts to see game. We were also told “this is safari, not vacation” therefore not a time to sleep. I couldn’t be more excited! The bugs and the heat are my biggest battles at the current moment. We are all taking Malaria pills, spraying deet like it’s perfume, and spraying stuff called doom in our rooms. I’ve NEVER seen beetles and cockroaches this big. It’s insane! But we will adapt and it’ll be awesome (well maybe not)!

Tomorrow will come quickly, and adventure will continue! Tomorrow we start the morning off with a canoe trip up river with crocs and hippos, and then we are heading to camp in the Moremi game reserve. There’s no fences, so game can walk right through camp. There is also an extensive safety briefing upon arrival at camp. I will update the next time we get to another fixed camp with wifi. I appologize for no photos, but there's no real time! Hope you’re all well!! 

Day of Reconciliation

Joburg Day 1:

So after a year of planning and 35 hours of travel, the Bromley clan have arrived in Africa. This trip started as an idea in my head when my awesome parents made Shaun and I a deal that, after we graduate from university, we could pick anywhere in the world to go and we will go on a family vacation. So in 2006, when Shaun graduated from BCIT, we went to Bali and Singapore for 3 wonderful weeks. So here we are now, 5 years since I graduated from undergrad, and 2 years since I graduated from OT, (and with multitudes of other worldly experiences under my belt), the little idea in my head became reality. Africa is a place I've wanted to adventure to my whole life. To go on a safari, see animals in the wild, visit the people and learn about their culture and history fascinates me. I always have been curious to the vast amount of struggle and inequality the people of Africa have faced (and continue to face), yet continue to carry on with hope and promise for tomorrow. Now I understand Africa is a big continent, and we are only catching a glimps of it's wonderment, but I'm so excited for the adventures to begin. 

So the exciting thing is that the 4 of us traveled in close proximity to one another for what seems like an inhumanly amount of time, and we haven't killed each other, not even a fight, despite the minimal sleep, fatigue, hunger at times, and confined spaces. I guess we can be thankful the wine on the flight was free. 

So we have arrived in Johannesburg where we will spend the next 3 days exploring the city and all it has to offer, as well as catch up on some sleep and adjust to the time change. We have arrived in South Africa on a public holiday, called the Day of Reconciliation. I can only imagine it to be something similar to Canada's Remembrance Day, but it occurred in 1994 at the end of the Apartheid. The intention was to foster reconciliation and national unity. So tomorrow we are heading to Soweto, where there is a strong political history linked the the apartheid, particularly in 1976 when 10,000 students were protesting their educational and human rights when police open fire, killing 200 students that day alone, the first being a 12 year old boy. So incredibly sad. We are so lucky in Canada to have never bad to experience such devastating events. 

So today we didn't do a ton. We were all pretty exhausted from traveling for son long with minimal sleep. We arrived at our hotel at 745am, then checked I'm and hit the pool for a couple hours, had lunch, then had the most glorious and much needed nap. We all cleaned up, had some drinks, then headed for dinner at a restaurant specializing in African cuisine.  It was unbelievably delicious! We had antelope, lamb, cous cous and other great dishes. Wine of the day was a Cabernet Sauvignon from Springfield estate. It was also delish. But now it is bedtime! A busy day awaits tomorrow. 

Mom and I with our faces painted at dinner

Wine of the Night-- Springfield Estate Cab Sav. Awesome!

Joburg Day 2-

Today we woke up early due to nothing but jet lag, but excited to explore Joburg. We made arrangements after breakfast to get a tour of Soweto, a district of Joburg where the blacks were forced to during the apartheid, as the Afrikaans no longer allowed blacks in downtown Joburg. After the blacks were forced out, some blacks were granted passbooks, essentially a pass that allowed them to go into downtown for a restricted number of hours for working purposes only. If they were caught downtown outside of their allotted hours, they were subject to imprisonment, violence or otherwise. Soweto is also where Nelson Mandela lived with Winnie Mandela before he was imprisoned. 

So we were picked up by Jabo, our tour guide. It isn't recommended that you go to Soweto without a guide, as parts are still considered unsafe. As we entered the Soweto region, it is apparent that a great degree of poetry that exists. Many people were out in the streets, as yesterday was a national holiday, which gave them a long weekend. Some houses didn't appear to have electricity, and questionable plumbing. Some were no more than shacks and tarps, while there were some homes that were considerably nicer with yards and fences. 

Soweto

Soweto business

Soweto

Surgery or Dental Work anyone?!?

We started by visiting the Hector Pieterson museum. Hector was the first child to be killed in the educational protest on June 16, 1976. He was 13 years old. In the 70's, 63% of Soweto's population was under the age of 25. The educational inequality between whites and blacks was sickening. For every 660 African rand spent on a white child, 42 rand was sent on a black child. Classrooms had minimal funding, often having 100+ kids to a teacher, sometimes rotating so each child only got 2-3 hours of education per day and often the teacher wasn't even fully qualified. In 1976, the government enforced that education be taught in Afrikaans, rather than English or their mother tongue. Kids started struggling and failing, as they couldn't understand. Students started holding meetings after parents and teachers seemed defeated after fighting this. Students had several walk outdo, but decided that on June 16, 1976 that they would have a march to protest equality and educational rights. They organized all the major schools in Soweto to form together and congregate to march to the stadium. They met up with police, who threw tear gas then open fire. There are a variety of versions of the events that led up to this point, so it's hard to determine exact truth. Bottom line is that it was devastating. I couldn't imagine at the age of 13, organizing a protest for my educational rights, never mind being shotnfor fighting for my freedom. Many students, if they weren't dead or injured, were arrested, or fled the country in fear of imprisonment. It really makes you think about the strength and determination of the youth at this time. Or the youth of anytime for that matter. 

Hector Pieterson Memorial

We then headed to the famous Vilakazi street, home of 2 noble peace prize winners: Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu. We visited the home of Nelson Mandela prior to his imprisonment. It was where he lived with Winnie Mandela and her daughters. We are going to be learning more about him tomorrow in downtown Johannesburg and at the Apartheid museum. He is one fascinating man with one incredible story. We had lunch at a restaurant on Vilakazi street. It was definitely lively with a fun atmosphere surrounded by locals, but the food was... Interesting to say the least. It was a buffet style with options including: chicken feet, "inside cow", animal necks, chicken livers, and other interesting delights. This meal made us appreciate last night and tonights dinners! Although, I definitely had no issues with portion control. 





Locals use these hand signals for catching buses.

Goat Crossing in Soweto

Electricity Towers doubling as a bungee jumping sight!

The Mandela House

Mandela Quote

Tonight we went to the Grillhouse for dinner. It was delightful and the wine was fantastic as always, and goes highly recommended by the Bromley clan! Tomorrow will be another exciting, but last day in Joburg before we take off to Botswana!!! 

Family Dinner Night 2

Now THIS is a wine bottle. 27 litres seems appropriate!

My Awesome Parents!



Wine of the Night-- Waterford Estate Cab Sav! So Good! We are visiting this winery when we go wine tasting in Cape Town!