Friends and Family

Holi Cow

Holi Cow Ticket

Holi is an important Hindu and national holiday in India, and we coincidentally arrived in the country just in time to celebrate it.  Sasank insisted that we stay through the weekend so that we could check out the Delhi festivities in full force.  Ok, big fun party – twist our arms…

I am not familiar with the religious significance, but from what we witnessed, Holi involves dressing up in white clothes, going to a party and then covering yourself and others with large quantities of bright-colored powders.  It’s quite hilarious.

However, colors (as they’re called) are not reserved for private parties between friends.  On Holi (and the days leading up to Holi), one is at the mercy of anyone they may pass on the street.  We regularly saw people on the metro covered in color days before the main Holi celebration.  Ted and I got targeted on our cycle-rickshaw ride through Old Delhi (the kid missed, thank goodness).  People in the street outside Sasank’s apartment were also a threat, with both colors and water balloons stockpiled on balconies.  These colors are beautiful and fun however, they are extremely potent and could easily ruin your clothes, stain your skin or dye your hair.  Kinda intense if you aren’t ready for it.

At the big party we went to on Holi (aptly named Holi Cow) – we were ready for it.  We got decked out in new white outfits we secured at a cheap market, we lathered our skin and hair with coconut oil (to avoid staining, seriously), we drank a couple beers, and we piled into a cab to the party, ready to go get colorful.

The "before" picture

Holi provisions

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves but all in all, we had a hilarious day relaxing in the sunshine and making a complete mess of ourselves.  Our before and after pictures say it all.  Luckily the oil did its job and most of the color came out of our hair and off our bodies after our first shower.  As we traveled through the country for a few more weeks, we came across many blonde travelers that were not so lucky.  They were sporting pink hair for weeks!

Applying colors

Colored up!

Colorful and happy

Our Holi Cow Crew

The "after" shot


A Soft Landing in India

We had heard a lot of intense things about India before our arrival, so we didn’t quite know what to expect.  Overall most people liked the place, but no review of the country was without some obvious cautions.  Some of the most common warnings we heard had to do with lack of personal space on a daily basis, the general dirt and filth of the streets and public spaces, the fact that you are being stared at by someone at all times, and the glaring and depressing poverty.   Someone once told me that India stands for I’d Never Do It Again.  Wow, what were we getting ourselves into?!?

Despite all of these warnings, our arrival to the Indian sub-continent was actually quite smooth.  Delhi, known as an overwhelming big city that most people try to get in and out of as fast as possible, turned out to be a place we rather enjoyed, thanks to an old friend.  Sasank is a friend from high school who learned of our round-the-world trip via Facebook.  He saw our travels were taking us to India and he invited us to stay with him.  No, we hadn’t seen him since high school graduation, nor had we emailed or spoke on the phone, but that didn’t stop him from offering us a gracious invitation and didn’t stop us from happily accepting.  It was great to catch up after all these years – in no time we felt like we’d been in touch all along.  He was an amazing host and a wealth of information about the city, Indian culture, religion, food menus, and more.  AND he’s got a sweet pad in a cool area of the city, complete with full-time domestic help – a super nice guy named James.  James whipped us up breakfast, did our laundry, and made the most delicious chai in India.  Delhi”s not so bad…

Sasank and Sarah

James and Ted

A huge thank you to Sasank and his roommate Brian for hosting us twice as we toured the country, and for telling James to take care of us!


Africa – The Numbers

Here are some interesting figures from our 2nd continent:

  • 3 – Months we spent in Africa
  • 46 – Number of beds we slept in
  • 8 – Countries Visited (South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, Kenya)
  • 39 – Days we spent in South Africa
  • 3 – Hours we spent in Lesotho
  • 7 – Cars we rented in South Africa
  • 5900 – Kilometers we drove in South Africa (3600 miles)
  • 30 – Number of deeply discounted or comp’d hotel nights through Ted’s tourism connections
  • 26 – Days spent with family in Africa
  • 35 – Percentage of nights we paid for accommodation (thanks Moms and Dads, and tourism connections!)
  • 38 – Hours on a bus (nothing compared to the 182.5 in South America)
  • 14 – Beaches visited
  • 45 – Number of game drives
  • 50 – Number of lions seen on game drives
  • 2200 – Photos taken (and kept)
  • 12 – Number of guides and porters assigned only to us for our Kili hike
  • 13,393 – Vertical feet climbed on our summit hike of Kilimanjaro
  • 19,341 – Highest altitude in feet we’ve ever climbed to
  • 6 – Flights on big airplanes
  • 6 – Flights on small airplanes
  • 10 – Visits to the Johannesburg airport
  • 1 – Number of police reports filed

Check out our Best of pics from Southern Africa, East Africa, and African Mega-Fauna for some visual highlights.  Now, on to the Indian Subcontinent…


New Friends

Ted is the type of guy that if you meet once or twice and casually say, “If you are ever in Tanzania, give me call,” he will actually do so. Matt Brown is a former Boulderite that works for The Nature Conservancy in Arusha, Tanzania. Ted had connected with Matt in Boulder at one point through a mutual work colleague/friend, and Matt had invited Ted to look him up on our trip when we were in Tanzania. And we did.

Since January 2009, Matt has lived in Tanzania with his wife Lisa and 3 beautiful children. They graciously welcomed us into their home and along on a family camping trip with some other friends for the weekend. We had a wonderful time getting to know them and hearing about the challenges and rewards of living and raising children on the other side of the world. They have a beautiful home, a great international school down the road from their house, and a community of friends and other expats.

Sarah playing with the Brown girls

Packing for camping - nice digs in Africa!

Start driving early in Africa

The camping was a blast. Just a couple hours from their house was Lake Chala. No one in the group had been there before so we were all equally blown away. Upon Google-ing the lake name, the first link that comes up is about a death by crocodile attack a few years back, however the parents sussed it out, talked to the locals and decided it was no longer a threat. Phew! Though quite a steep hike down to the lake for children ages 3-8, it was totally worth the effort to get there and the kids were troopers. The lake was clear and the perfect temperature for swimming. The evenings were spent relaxing, playing with kiddos, eating yummy food and, after the kids went to sleep, drinking a few cocktails.

Lake Chala

Sarah and Lisa

Fun at gorgeous Lake Chala

Very fun indeed! A huge thank you to the Browns for generously letting us overstay our welcome. Next time you’re in Boulder, dinner is on us!


Southern Africa Wrap-up

We visited a total of 6 countries in Southern Africa – Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Mozambique – but some for only a matter of days, and some for only a matter of hours! That being said, we’ve decided to combine them all together for a regional wrap-up. Below, in no particular order, are our Top 10 Highlights, Bottom 5 Bummers, as well as Favorite Food/Drink and Animal Sightings (new category for Africa!) of our two months in Southern Africa. You can also check out our Best of Southern Africa photo album for some more visual highlights (and don’t forget the African Mega-Fauna album for our top animal sightings).

Top 10

  1. Mokoro Ride

    Victoria Falls – What can we say? They are one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World and they are some incredibly impressive falls.

  2. Remoteness of the Botswana bush – A safari in Botswana is a unique experience. You are hundreds of miles into the wilderness away from cities, towns, and other people. There are no power lines or fences or signs of civilization. The only way in and out is via bush plane. It’s just you and the animals in the bush.
  3. Small plane flights between safari lodges – Due to the remoteness of the safari camps in Botswana and seasonal weather conditions, several times our transport between camps was by small plane. One flight was a total of 8 minutes and Ted got to sit shotgun with the pilot.
  4. Mokoro ride – Our safari group in Botswana got treated to traditional Mokoro rides, which are similar to dug-out canoes. Powered only by a long pole, you are gliding just inches above the water and kinda feel like you’re flying.
  5. Family-filled January – How incredible is it that both sets of our parents came all the way across the ocean from the Northern United States to Southern Africa to visit us?!
  6. View from Table Mountain – Nothing quite like it and I think we appreciated it even more due to the energy we expended to get up there!
  7. Morning at Clifton Beaches – Just around the corner from Cape Town’s city center are the most beautiful, tucked-away beaches. We went with the Graces on a weekday and nearly had the place to ourselves.
  8. Cheetah!

    Animal Sighting Good Luck Charms – The Martens saw it all in the animal department – including the much talked about Big 5 (elephants, leopards, rhinos, buffalo and lions) plus cheetahs and lots of other good stuff in a matter of days. Ted and I had not seen a rhino or a cheetah before their visit and we’d been on nearly 30 game drives before they came.

  9. Bush to Beach to Bush – I wrote about this day in a previous post, and it was really quite awesome. Seeing big animals and swimming in the ocean makes for an incredible day.
  10. SCUBA Diving in Moz – We both love being underwater and I wish we got to do it more often. We were very impressed with the coral and the variety of fish in Mozambique.

Bottom 5

  1. Lame NYE – We’d love to have a memorable, exciting story to share about our New Year’s Eve on the trip, but low and behold, we were asleep before midnight.
  2. Theft – At the lodge we stayed at in Cape Town with my parents, we had an issue with some sticky-fingered housekeepers. Wily Ted was able to prove their misdeed. The manager was appalled and immediately and appropriately addressed the situation, including reimbursing us for the small amount taken.
  3. Bad Bus Ride

    Bus to Tofo BeachWe’re wimps. We didn’t take a whole lots of public transportation in Africa, and I’m using this fairly uncomfortable bus ride as justification of why we didn’t do so.

  4. Visa debaclesLet’s just say that in Johannesburg we went to the India Embassy three times (to get a visa), the Mozambique Embassy four times (to get a visa), and the U.S. Embassy once (to get more pages in my passport).
  5. Failing to visit NamibiaWhen we left the US for our trip, we were 100% positive we were going to Namibia. Ted has a travel industry friend and contact living there with his family and we were planning to pay them a visit. Sadly, it didn’t happen.

Favorite Meals and Treats

  1. Sundowners – The idea of having a cocktail while watching the sun go down is a good one. We enjoyed our sundowners on the Zambezi River in Zambia, in the Botswana bush, with city views in Cape Town, throughout the greater Kruger Park area, and the list goes on.
  2. Ostrich Fillet - Mmmmmmm

    Stuffed Crabs – Mmmm. We discovered these stuffed treats in Mozambique and ate them all week.

  3. Unique Game – Never before had we eaten ostrich or impala – and we quite liked it. Other game options included crocodile, kudu (a type of antelope), and warthog!
  4. Ocean Basket – OB is a South African chain restaurant that serves fresh seafood, fish and chips, and sushi. They are everywhere and we ate there many a time including with both sets of parents.
  5. NatHab Safari Meals – When we were on safari in Botswana, we ate entirely too much amazing food. How they got such fabulous fresh food out into the middle of the bush in order to feed us so well is beyond me.

Animal Sighting Highlights

  1. Wild Dog

    Wild Dog – Our one and only sighting of wild dogs was in Botswana. They are endangered and extremely rare to see. Even the guides were excited, that is how we knew we were lucky.

  2. Pursuit of first leopard – Francis, our guide in Botswana, is the man. With his animal tracking know-how, his persistence and determination, his off-road driving and a little bit of luck we spotted our first leopards – a momma and two older cubs. You wouldn’t believe the amount of vegetation we got to drive over just to find them.
  3. Baby animals – Due to the time of year we were visiting, we got the opportunity to see lots of mommas and their babies. There isn’t anything much cuter than baby lions, elephants, and impala.
  4. Elephants – Ted’s favorite animal to see. We saw lots.
  5. Giraffes – Sarah’s favorite. Oh, and to see a giraffe running is incredible – it appears to be happening in slow motion.
  6. Rhinos

    Game drive with Ocean – Ocean was one of our guides with Ted’s parents and he kept things interesting. Within a couple hours we saw 4 of the Big 5 (elephants, lions, leopards, buffalo and rhinos) and evaded an aggressively charging male elephant!

  7. First rhinoceros – Finally! After our Botswana safari and several days in the Kruger Park area we were beginning to think they didn’t exist. But they do!
  8. Cheetah with it’s kill – What an amazing site to come upon. We didn’t realize it had just hunted until the little impala almost got away and the cheetah had to finish it off.
  9. Surprise night-time leopard sighting – Last night in the Kruger Park area and our way back to the lodge we magically came upon a leopard.
  10. Lotsa fish – Between snorkeling with the Martens and SCUBA diving in Moz, we got to see some great underwater animals as well!

Don’t forget to check out the Best Of photo albums here and here.


Sani Pass to Lesotho

Upon leaving the beach, we headed inland to the Drakensburg Mountains. South Africa does not disappoint with the rich variety of scenery packed into a relatively small space. The Drakensburg Mountains aren’t jagged and pointy like the Rockys, but rather impressively green and endlessly rolling hills. The drive through the area is quite stunning and we were happy to be spending a few days in the region.

The Southern "Burg"

Drakensburg Mountains

The Drakensburg Mountains are also where South Africa and Lesotho (pronounced le-su-tu) share a border. Similarly to Swaziland, Lesotho is a teeny, tiny country that few have heard of that is surrounded by South Africa on all sides. The popular day trip in the southern “Burg” takes you by 4×4 Jeep up the wickedly steep, rocky and bumpy Sani Pass and into Lesotho. The road was more gnarly than we anticipated, but our experienced guide got us safely to the top and the views along the way up kept us quite entertained.

Sani Pass Border Control

Up the road to Lesotho

View to South Africa from Lesotho

After the hilariously brief ‘customs’ and ‘immigration’ procedures, we got the opportunity to visit a local village. Though just miles from the border of Africa’s most developed nation, Lesotho is a much poorer country and we felt it right away. In the village we visited, the men are traditionally shepherds that spend weeks and months at a time in the hills with their flocks. The women are busy at home carrying for the family and all of life’s other tasks. They did not have electricity or plumbing and have to rely on their blankets and indoor fires to keep them warm during the brutal winters at high altitude.

Lesotho Musicians

Traditional Lesotho Family Home

The tour finished up with a meal and a beer at “The Highest Pub in Africa” topping out at 2874m (9500 feet). We made it safely back down the mountain to our little B&B and our gracious host. We had one more delicious dinner at the only restaurant in town and the next morning we woke up and headed back to Johannesburg (visit #8 of 10 to the JoBurg airport). It was time for the Martens to go home and we couldn’t believe how fast the two weeks had gone by. We had an amazing visit and managed to pack in 3 different countries, hundreds of big animals, mountains and beach, and lots of kilometers on the rental car. We can’t thank them enough for their generosity and look forward to our next group road trip!


South America – The Numbers

Ok, so it’s been a while since we’ve left the South American continent, but here are some interesting numbers to tell the story of our time there.

  • 4 – Months we spent in South America
  • 68 – Number of beds we slept in
  • 5 – Countries Visited
  • 12 – Number of friends and family visited (Two of them in two different locations!)
  • 24 – Number of deeply discounted or comp’d hotel nights through Ted’s tourism connections
  • $6460 – Value of comp’d tourism industry activities through Ted’s tourism connections
  • 6 – Number of overnight buses (2 in Bolivia, 4 in Argentina)
  • 182.5 – Number of hours on a bus (that’s 7.6 full days on a bus)
  • 1 – Number of computers stolen
  • 2783 – Number of photos taken (and kept)
  • 7 – Number of flights
  • 1 – Number of big ships

South America well exceeded our expectations, and we’re on the hunt for ways we can get back for an extended period of time down the road.  Check out our Best Of pics from Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile for some highlights.


Big Cats

While we were in the St. Lucia area with Ted’s parents, we had the opportunity to visit The Emdoneni Cat Rehabilitation Centre to see some big (and not-so-big) cats up close. Animals end up there for a variety of reasons – some were orphaned at a young age and would not have survived alone in the wild, some were injured, some were born in captivity, etc. The ultimate goal is that the (capable) cats will be treated and released, but there are a few that won’t because after being raised in captivity they just couldn’t hold their own in the wild.

We got to meet several different kinds of cats – many which are very difficult to spot in the wild. Our guide was the cats’ care-taker and he knew everything about where they had come from, how long they had been there, if they would ever be released, etc. He also knew the animals’ personalities which allowed us to enter their cages and even pet some.

African Wild Cat

Caracal (Lynx)

Caracal (Lynx)

Serval

The highlight of the day was definitely the cheetahs. Raised by our guide from a very young age, the two male cheetahs that we got to “meet” were very comfortable with visitors. Though our safety had been guaranteed, I have to admit that I was still a little nervous to be voluntarily walking towards two large, male cheetahs with the end goal of petting them.

Ted and his mom, however, had no such qualms. While Rob and I were content to pet the things and take their photos, Ted and Sarah happily sat down and allowed the cats to sit and purr on their laps, petting their rough coats while being licked by their even rougher tongues. Ted compared the licking to running sandpaper over his skin – it’s no wonder cheetahs are able to keep their coats so clean just by licking!

Petting Cheetahs

Getting licked by Cheetahs

However, the cats weren’t all fun and games. Within minutes of leaving the cheetah pen, both Sarahs had intense allergic reactions. Sarah (Ted’s mom) broke out in a rash all over her arms from where the cheetahs had been licking her. Though she is allergic to regular house cats, she had never experienced the intense physical reaction that she did from the cheetahs and it lasted for several days. I too am allergic to cats and was quite miserable with traditional allergy symptoms from itchy eyes and throat to sneezing and congestion, but mine only stuck around for a couple hours.

So, for future reference, we can vouch without a doubt that if you are allergic to house cats, that same allergy also applies to cheetahs!


The Elephant Coast (via Swaziland)

Swaziland is a teeny, tiny little country in Southern Africa that most people have never heard of – look on a map and you’ll see that it is nearly encompassed by South Africa. They have a much-loved King (with many wives), their own currency, and a lot of national pride. We didn’t get to experience much of what Swaziland has to offer but we did spend a night there and enjoyed the beautiful green hilly scenery from the car on our shortcut through the country to get from the Kruger Park area to South Africa’s Elephant Coast.

Swaziland's green rolling hills

Swaziland from the car

Spanning the northeastern seaboard, the Elephant Coast is a popular vacation destination for JoBurg folks looking to escape the big city. St. Lucia is the main hub around these parts and thanks to its location on the Indian Ocean (rather than the Atlantic), the water temperature is much more inviting for swimming than we’d experienced at the other beaches in South Africa.

Elephant Coast

Elephant Coast

One of our favorite days with Martens was a bush-to-beach-to bush experience. At the iSimangaliso Wetland National Park, you have the opportunity to self-drive your car through an incredibly beautiful and world-renowned wetland landscape, where you see everything from kudu, to zebra, to rhino, to hippos – only to end up on an amazing strip of white sand beach where you can swim, surf, and snorkel. We picnicked along the beach and then took turns swimming in the beautiful blue water and snorkeling along the small reef near shore. When we’d had enough sunshine for the day, we piled back in the car to look for more animals as we headed towards town.

Kudu

Picnic on the beach

Cape Vidal

Bush to Beach to Bush

I can’t imagine there are too many places in the world where you can see a rhino in the morning, eat lunch with monkeys in the trees overlooking the beach, swim with fish, and then spot dozens of zebra and warthogs on your way home. What a day!

Family photo


Safari Upgrade

Wanting the Martens to have all their animal questions answered, we spent a few nights just outside  Kruger Park in the Thornybush Game Reserve at Kwa Mbili Lodge.  The owners were a South African man and his American wife who had both worked for IBM for years in California before deciding to do something different.  Very different.  They are now raising their two young daughters in the bush and hosting visitors from all over the world at their lovely property.

We had an amazing few days at Kwa Mbili, with several different incredible guides.  Our first, AK, was a South African version of the Crocodile Hunter.  He’d been a guide for decades and it was what he was born to do.  He loves the bush and the bush loves him.  At one point we got out of the Land Cruiser and pursued a rhino on foot before it got away from us!  That was a first!

AK and a tortoise

Our second guide was a man named Ocean.  Though a man of few words, he showed us all the animals.  Ted’s mom was bound and determined to see a lion and Ted and I were crossing our fingers that it would happen.  Within 10 minutes on our drive with Ocean, we rounded a corner to see a gigantic male lion within 10 feet of the road.  Needless to say, Sarah (Ted’s mom) was thrilled as were we all.  Ocean also almost got us run over by an aggressive charging male elephant.  Luckily we were able to reverse fast enough to avoid his pursuit!

King of the bush

This guy was enormous

Ocean delivers the animals

However, our most memorable animal sitings occurred with Kwa Mbili’s owner, Neil, as our guide.  With loads of help from our mighty tracker (a local man experienced in finding and deciphering animal tracks), we were able to see a cheetah (our first!) with his kill.  In fact, the baby impala was still alive when we came upon them.  It was amazing how close the animal allowed us to get to him and how intricate and beautiful the spots are on his body.

Cheetah with a fresh kill

Resting after a big feast

And a top highlight for sure was on our last game drive at the lodge.  After our sundowners and on the way back to the lodge, we came across a leopard in our headlights.  He was literally walking across the road and we couldn’t have had better timing – 5 seconds earlier and it would have still been in the bush and 5 seconds later he would have disappeared in the other direction.  We stopped in awe and he proceeded to walk by us within feet of the car.  I don’t think any of us were breathing at that point.  It was a totally incredible sighting and the perfect way to wrap up our time in the bush.

A bit close for comfort?


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