Pictures, finally!

Some sunsets, part of Victoria Falls, view from the plane, a lovely turtle, and elephants at the river

Exciting adventures!

Here are some highlights from my recent travels- I was lucky enough to see some amazing places over my Christmas break, returning to Cape Town and getting to see the legendary Victoria Falls and Kasane, one of the most beautiful areas in Botswana.

Highlights of Cape Town: I could hardly contain my excitement arriving in Cape Town- I had already witnessed what a beautiful place it was, but the second time around was still breathtaking. Table Mountain looks completely surreal as the backdrop of a sprawling city and amazing beaches. I was surprised at how dry the areas below the mountain appeared this time around, especially since it’s the rainy season in Botswana, but the higher parts of the mountain were still a lovely green mixed with the rocky cliffs. Chandni and I met up with her cousin Jackie and her husband Jay and we drove together to the same backpacking place I’d stayed before. We went out for really nice appetizers and champagne at Wakame, a fancy restaurant/bar overlooking the ocean. Afterwards we walked along the pier to watch the sunset- amazing! We all awoke early to drive to the house in Camps Bay, one of the more upscale beachfront areas of Cape Town. The house was unbelievable: 8 bedrooms and bathrooms dispersed over 3 floors with huge windows looking out at the ocean and the 12 apostles (on the backside of Table Mountain)- the view was unbeatable. All the rooms were incredible, and the top floor had a huge deck and hot tub. We were too excited to leave the house for most of the first day.

Over the next several days we met with more of Chandni’s family and I started taking morning walks along the beach- I couldn’t resist the chance to walk in perfect weather with such breathtaking scenery! Chandni’s teenage cousin came along for some of the walks and we discovered a whole crew of rock dassies- creepy and strange groundhog-like creatures that lived in the cliffs along the beach. All of us spent time at the beach, drove down to Boulders Beach one day to see a huge gathering of African penguins, went to the top of Table Mountain by cable car and hiked around (you can see all of Cape Town and the surrounding bay areas and mountain ranges- it’s a little dizzying but unbeatable as far as views go)- there was no shortage of fun. We spent one day driving around Stellenbosch, one of the luscious wine-growing regions outside of the city. We visited Spier vineyard, where we indulged in an incredible gourmet African buffet with countless delectables to choose from. The food in Cape Town deserves mention - I didn’t have one meal that wasn’t amazing. All in all it was an incredible trip, and so much fun to get to be there with friends and Chandni’s family.

Livingstone/Victoria Falls/Kasane/Chobe National Park: It was so exciting to finally get to Livingstone in Zambia, home to part of Victoria Falls- a magnificent waterfall that spans part of the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. As we hiked along the huge gorge to the waterfall we were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water in the spray from the falls- within minutes we were completely drenched! We rented raincoats for the rest of the walk which at least served to protect our cameras a bit. The waterfall is really a series of smaller falls cascading over a deep ravine that stretches as far as one can see- the gorge wraps around a corner when meeting the Zimbabwean border. At one point a bridge crosses another ravine, giving you a view of where the water continues into yet another parallel gorge. Rainbows could be seen on both sides of the bridge due to the spray- it was a beautiful sight.

After visiting the falls we shopped at an open-air market run by local vendors and artisans nearby. It was a little overwhelming to be confronted with the intense persuasion and sales pitches of each vendor, and bargaining with them was exhausting, but we all managed to find a few beautiful pieces of jewelry and art to take home.

We had an interesting encounter at the Zambezi Sun, a large resort not far from the falls where we attempted to have lunch. We had ordered a pizza to share and had started eating it when the umbrella over our table started to tilt- I grabbed onto in time to keep it from falling on us, only to realize the cause of the trouble- a monkey had jumped from the roof of the restaurant onto the umbrella, then onto our table to grab a piece of pizza. One of us swatted it away, but it boldly returned to the table and in the bustle knocked over a drink, gin and tonic and broken glass flying everywhere. What a mess! It was pretty ridiculous. I had always though monkeys were cute, but changed my mind after that incident.

After visiting Livingstone I returned to Kasane, the nearest town in Botswana, which is accessed by ferry across the Chobe River. Kasane borders the Chobe National Park, a huge expanse of luscious green hills and valleys surrounding the river. I went on a game drive through the park where I got to see wild dogs attacking a baby impala, hundreds of baboons, hippos, crocodiles, and countless species of birds and antelope. In the evening I went on a river cruise to see elephants and many other animals, as well as the Caprivi Strip, part of Namibia that borders much of northern Botswana. The long green grasses and setting sun were stunning to see, especially reflected in the river.