Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Addo Elephant National Park, Eastern Cape, South Africa

This post was written on January 28, 2014.

Once again we find ourselves back with wilderness. Except this time it's a little more self-directed. The national park where we find ourselves allows you to take your own vehicle into the game area and view at your own speed. That does also lead to a few potential risks, given the inexperience of most people as it relates to game. Well today we had a couple of close calls.

1. We went to Hapoor (a watering hole famous for elephants) this morning to find literally hundreds of elephants playing in the water. It was absolutely mid-boggling. We figured there were about 200 present when we showed up and more kept coming. With this amount of animals in one place, a crowd of vehicles started to form on the nearby road. But as the vehicles swarmed, so did the elephants until each group was within 5m of each other. An elephant heard this large means there was lots of mating and lots of challenges happening. The challenges would see elephants battling out for supremacy to allow a better opportunity for mating. But when this challenges started happening right beside the vehicles, everyone started getting nervous. There were a few times where Christina quickly pulled the vehicle away and many others did the same. Thankfully everyone got a great show and it seemed no vehicles were damaged. As we were watching the whole thing, we noted that basically whenever we see elephants for the remainder of our lives, it will never be as interesting as this was.

2. The second close encounter of the day was a lot more unexpected. We had stopped at a local shop and picked up some savory meat pies and drove into the secure (no elephants) picnic area. Once we got there, we noticed there were no people and only a few monkeys hanging around. Christina had been wanting to see monkeys since we got here so it was pretty exciting. We got out of the car (allowed in the secure area) to get some better photos. As we got closer we realized that the monkeys had no fear of us at all. Christina apparently got a little closer than the one monkey liked and it started towards her. It got within a few feet and started showing its teeth. Efforts to intimidate it and scare it were fruitless. We went from excited to see the monkeys to afraid of getting bitten within 2 minutes. But we still hadn't had our snacks yet so we located a picnic area far away and started eating. As we were finishing our pies, sure enough, the monkeys found us and chased us from the table. It was at this point that I discovered we had "monkey repellent." Christina had a bottle of iced tea sitting on the table. I managed to scared the monkeys off enough to clear cameras and wrappers from the table including the iced tea. When the monkey started getting aggressive again I tried squirting iced tea at it. And it worked! Very well. The monkey retreated enough that we were able to get our stuff into the car. Now the monkey was waiting on the table, thankfully calm. So I managed to get a few photos of it before we left. While it was sitting on the table though, it started licking the iced tea. Soon thereafter, it discovered that the iced tea was delishesh. This was bad news. Our repellent was now useless. We quickly got in the car and got the heck outta dodge before we had any more trouble with the monkeys.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Johannesburg, Guateng, South Africa



Our journey now finds us in Jo-burg awaiting our drive along the a Garden Route starting tomorrow.

The journey to get here was definitely eventful. Our last night in Zanzibar included me getting the stomach flu in the middle if the night and spending most of the night laying on the bathroom floor. Especially problematic was the next days travel schedule. So with no sleep (for me at least) we took an hour long transfer to the Zanzibar airport which we'd briefly seen on the way in. On the way out we got a much better appreciation for how unique the place was. Upon entry to the airport you go through security (seemingly common in Africa) but here their x-ray machine was down. So the staff were non-chalantly going through every bag. After getting through this we got to the line for our boarding passes when we noticed the sound of a crying baby. We spot the baby, but there is no one around. After a few minutes a security guard shows up and tries to attend to the child to no avail. About 5 mins after this starts a mother walks over and received the withering stares of everyone in line. Upon reaching the end of the line, the gentleman who was tasked with taking the bags from the counter to the plane promptly insisted on a tip or our bags were going no where. Once we get to the other side, there is just one door out to the tarmac and our plane. And somehow in this airport, there was free wifi.


After that we had a four hour layover in Dar Es Salaam where we couldn't check into our flight because we were too early. We went to the nearby seating area to find it overflowing. Me, requiring frequent bathroom breaks and unable to be comfortable without laying down, decided to have a lay down on a towel in the middle of a hallway. After discovering our flight time was 3:40 and not 1:40, I resigned myself to a awful flight. I managed to eat some food and nap while the drunk South Africans did their best to pickup the flight attendants. Eventually we made it to Jo-burg and an airport that seemed world class compared to the other airports we'd been through (ie Nairobi: half burned down). We made it to our hotel where I had one of the best showers of my life before napping. Despite the exhaustion and dehydration we went out for a night on the town to an area recommended by out safari hosts. Thankfully, this morning I awoke with an appetite and some physical endurance as we went on a day long tour of the city. We visited the CBD, Soweto, Mandela's House, and the Apartheid Museum.



Tomorrow we head off in the morning for Port Elizabeth and our first of the South African national parks.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Not a lot of words describe where we are now. I've got a screen capture of our location and a photo taken on the (bad) iPad camera. I think this expressed fairly well what our live is like at the moment.



And it is unbelievably hot here. There will be zero sympathy given and zero expected. But it feels like 43 right now. I'm going to try to run this afternoon. Probably won't end well. 



Monday, January 20, 2014

Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

We are officially onto our next country. After taking another bush plane out of the western part of Kenya, we switched airports in Nairobi and flew into Zanzibar. Tonight we are staying in Stone Town which is the historic shipping port with narrow streets and centuries old buildings. Dinner will hopefully come via the market that takes place along the water front a few blocks from our hotel.

I've also included a photo of our bed in the hotel.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Maasai Mara, Kenya (2)

More story time today. I am currently sitting again in the hide waiting for animals to wander by. Today is January 17, 2014. Two interesting things happened to us since I wrote the last post yesterday.

1. Christina and I inadvertently experienced a date from the show The Bachelor last night. We were out on our evening game drive watching a group of approx 50 elephants (yes 50, it was unreal) when our guide got a call on the radio in Swahili and suddenly we were off. It was getting close to sunset so we expected we were going for our evening drink. We were cruising across the plains when in the distance we see a lone tree with lanterns hanging from the tree. There were chairs already set out for us and our guide and a variety of chilled beer and snacks to eat. There was no one else in sight. After watching the sun go down we headed back to camp for dinner. Typically we would go back to our tent, drop off our things and head to the common fire pit for a drink. But last night we got back to our tent to discover a roaring fire out front and a table set up in front with candlelights. Our backdrop was the Kenya plains with the full moon shining and a brewing thunderstorm in the background. We had our own private server along with a security guard to make sure no animals interrupted (still no fences). It was a completely surreal experience and something we will likely never forget. If only there were fireworks it would have been the full Bachelor experience.

2. This morning we decided to mix things up and try a different form of safari. Our camp offers a bush walk as an alternative to the usual drive. We set off this morning with the manager of the camp Chris and Dennis. Dennis was our armed guard/local expert. Dennis had with him a nice shot gun just in case anything got out of control. The walk started off pleasantly, with the sun rising behind us, we walked across the nearby ridge. A little while into our journey Chris and Dennis printout some water buffalo in the distance. They also remind us that they are some of the worst animals to run into while out on a walk, but they are far enough away that we have no issues. We continue walking until suddenly we are told to freeze. Dennis and Chris had spotted two water buffalo that were only 15m (i.e. unsafe). We stood still for a moment before one of the buffalo turned towards us. Dennis then loaded the shotgun. This is when we knew this situation was not good. We managed to reverse course and find a place where we could continue on while under sufficient cover. We continued on thinking that this was going to be the end of our thrills. But only a little ways along we spotted in the distance a lioness transporting her 4 week old cubs. Typically you really don't want to run into lions when you are on foot, but you can generally stand your ground and be fine. Unless, of course, there are cubs. So we immediately cleared the area as we wanted nothing to do with the potential troubles that could arise. There are three things you don't want to run into while walking and we'd already managed to see two of them. Thankfully we avoided any elephants (the third thing to avoid) before we safely made it back to camp for brunch.


Maasai Mara, Kenya




This post, while likely to be posted from the airport in Nairobi, was written while sitting in a wildlife viewing hide on the plains of the Mara Naboisho Conservancy in southern Kenya on January 16, 2014. Christina and I are sitting on the edge of a small stream near a salt lick.

Our time on Safari has been quite a bit different from what we expected. We booked a tent camp and expected that everything would be in line with that. Instead we have the most luxurious tented camp you could possibly imagine. Our room has a king size bed, flush toilet, shower, double sink, etc. Above that we are waited on to a near comical level. We get every meal prepared for us (and not just prepared, but amazing quality). Every drink is brought to us. We get 3 meals a day and 3 other snacks. Our dinner is always a 3 course meal at candlelight out on the plains or near a fire. We never eat the same thing twice. Our tent gets the shades lifted and dropped while we are out. Our bed is made, turned down and heated (with physic defying warmth). We fall asleep to the sounds of Kenya's wildlife and are awoken by the local birds.

None of what I've described so far has anything to do with the actual game drives which have been amazing. We go out every morning and evening for 4 hour drives. Some of the most interesting things that we've seen so far are lions eating a giraffe, vultures finishing off the giraffe the next day, a cheetah having a rest, dozens of giraffes together, lion cubs, large groups of hippos in the water and a hippo trying to hide from us.

 The amount of animals is frankly astounding. I completed underestimated the quantity that we would see. I've got a list and rough amounts of each that we've seen through 2 days. I took a few photos with my phone so I could share some of the game drive experiences.




1s
Lizard
Cheetah
Foxes
Water buffalo

10s
Lions
Elephants
Hippos
Vultures
Elands
Jackals
Monkeys
Baboons
Wart hogs
Water bucks
Mongoose

100s
Giraffes
Hartebeests
Topis

1000s
Zebras
Wildebeests
Grand Gazelles
Thompson gazelles
Impalas

Random stories:
1. We took a tiny airplane (11 seater) from Nairobi out to the conservancy. It was bumpy.
2. When our plane landed (in the nearby national reserve) we were immediately met by our guide Daniel who gave us the option of going out on a drive immediately or going back to camp. Seeing as we were in a reserve we weren't supposed to be in (a result from the one day delay in Paris) we thought we would take advantage. Literally 5 minutes after we got in the vehicle we had seen the elusive cheetah.
3. There is a convoy of zebras walking in front of me right now.
4. I did not bring a computer with my so I can't properly share any photos from the trip while we are gone. 

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Nairobi, Kenya

Travel can be hard some times. The last few days have reintroduced us to what happened when the system goes awry.

So since my running diary hit the skids at customs in Paris, we've been in line for quite a while. It took us a few hours before we got a new flight settled and a hotel in Paris. After we got there and had a nap (hadn't really slept in a day) we decided to take advantage of the situation. So we went for a quick stroll around the Seine. We wandered past Notre Dame, the a Louvre and pond du Arts.

After a solid night of sleep we returned to the airport to find things supposedly working properly. Some French air inspectors had a different plan for us. They performed an impromptu inspection that found a 3mm crack that needed to be repaired. This also required consultation with Boeing before we were allowed to go. This took four hours to sort out. All the while, we waited on the plane. So eventually we got in the air and made it through a 8.5 hour flight after that. And somehow our connection at the airport was painfully waiting for us, even after we were 28 hours late. But we are now safely in a hotel awaiting our departure in the morning. Somewhere in this post is a crappy iPad picture of our view here.



Random stories.
1. On the plane, the flight attendants treated Christina and I differently when we ordered booze. Christina would get one drink and I always got two.  :)
2. I brought my old phone with me. I already lost it.

Goodnight
3:53am 14 Jan 2014

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Paris, France (2)

9:17
We officially operating on Paris time. Now just to get our last boarding pass and we will be (hopefully) set. Seems we are still feeling the effects of the screw up in TO.

9:54
Waited in line for 30 mins to discover we can't get a boarding pass. Then had to clear security without a boarding pass. Then we got lost. Now we wait for a bus....

10:00
I'm about done with airport stress already. An hour till takeoff and we're in the wrong terminal sans boarding passes.

10:21
Just off the bus and getting word our flight may be cancelled. Ohhhh crap

10:25
There is no plane at our gate. Everything says the plane is on time.

10:34
Plane is delayed with no estimated time of departure. What the heck does that mean? Also, still no boarding passes.

10:44
Awaiting further instructions. Looks like we are stranded in Paris.

10:51
Well that's the anti-climatic end to the diary. Going through customs now. Could be stranded in much worse places. Thanks for reading.




Gibby Davis
On my iPhone
(780) 707-4414

Paris, France

13:59
YYZ is a hot mess! Ticketing systems still all down.

14:14
So we have snuck our way to our gate. But we don't have a boarding pass. So we were sent to our gate to get a boarding pass but there is a flight to Moscow boarding. But they don't have computers so they are manually checking in everyone. And they have to finish before we can get our boarding passes. Ooooooohhh boy this is getting interesting.

16:20
Since we can't do anything for a while, we are getting lunch. Also, there's been a time change.

16:58
Something about this airport feels different than the previous times I've been here. A definite sense of urgency and dread.

17:21
Still no boarding pass. 1:20 till we are supposed to take off.

17:39
Progress I guess. We talked to a guy and we are now checked in at least. Our boarding passes are supposed to be delivered to the gate. But there is no one here because they are all trying to manually check in everyone on the other side of security. This all goes to show how awesome technology is and how useless we are without it.

17:58
Still no boarding passes. 40 minutes till take off

18:03
And our first delay of the day. 20 mins.

18:18
We also don't have boarding passes for our flight to Nairobi either.

18:31
Success!!! We have boarding passes to Europe. Now we just have to deal with the inevitable delays getting out of here and our now short transition in Paris.

18:35
Now I know what a manual boarding pass looks like.

18:52
I think we are getting on a plane. This is a positive step.

19:03
There are no power outlets on the plane. The running diary is officially in jeopardy.

19:06
Everyone is speaking a lot more French than I was anticipating.

19:39
Only an hour late. Thanks a lot YYZ

20:35
I may have gotten into the Gravol...

20:36
International flights are great because the food is above average. We are getting fresh baguettes.

20:40
Watching The Hangover III. Feel asleep for a while. Didn't miss anything.

21:05
The time warp has begun. I don't really know what time it is. Nor could I guess based on how my body feels.

21:18
Baguettes and free beer!!!

23:31
Still working in a solid 10 mins of sleep. It's going to be a long night.

23:38
Good news. Only 11 hours of flying left to go. Bad news. I haven't felt my ass in over an hour and my eyes have gone blurry.

1:14
More food? More food!

1:15
I think it's tomorrow in Toronto now. Only 1 day of travel left to get to Kenya!

1:27
Wasn't paying attention before and I missed that we flew over Ireland. Whoops

1:43
I did it! Finally found a moment where Christina wasn't napping and I escaped from my seat. First time I stood up in 6 hours I think.

1:44
Now playing: Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

2:00
Feels like we were in Edmonton just a few weeks ago.

2:12
Already morning here. Sun is starting to rise.

2;45
We have made it to a foggy Paris. On to the next adventure!




Gibby Davis
On my iPhone
(780) 707-4414

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

7:34
Bags are packed. Car is loaded. En route to YEG!! Let's get this started!

7:35
I'm already tired. Woke up 2.5 hrs before my alarm due to excitement.

8:35
Things have progressed rather nicely. We have cleared security and now the only thing that stands between us and our flight is a cup of Tim Hortons for Christina.

8:37
Only One person in line at Tim's??? It's a (minor) miracle!

9:27
I have already realized that I don't need a running diary as much when I have someone here to talk to. Anyways, it's nearly airplane time.

9:27
Now reading reports of potential delays in Toronto (our first stop) due to computer failures. Now it gets fun.

9:29
I find my experience in airports improves drastically if I sit in a place where I can see out the window.

10:10
Airplane!!! #1

10:12
CD-Christina becomes delirious from lack of sleep

10:51
This morning we are flying westjet. Which means we have TVs. Which means I'm pleasantly distracted.

10:56
I'm watching Chopped Canada. I thought it was going to be better. But all the judges are just wayyyy too nice. I expected the usual striking critiques.

10:59
Guy loses on the show. Says "I thought I did my best. Couldn't have asked for anything more." How about winning? That would have been more.

11:01
Time for an old past time of mine. Watching Mayday (the airplane crash show) while on an airplane.

11:12
CD- Bored with mayday... Maybe there's something better on the W network.

11:38
I managed to get to watch the episode of Mayday where the plane successfully lands without incident. Got a nice adrenaline rush when the plane landed on the show.

12:32
Only 17 hours of flying left.

12:36
Flying over the USA right now. I wonder how many counties we will be over before we land in Nairobi.

12:37
I'm ridiculously excited to see Paris today. Even if it's from a plane.

12:38
Programming note: any post that starts with CD comes from my copilot.

12:40
#nowplaying
Miike Snow - Miike Snow

12:41
I'm jealous of the guy beside me who has slept nearly the entire flight. It's making me self conscious that i can't sleep on planes. Also making me wish I did more to try to prepare more for the upcoming jet lag.

13:38
After some "grab the seat in front of you" turbulence, we are now in Toronto! Flight 1 down. Let's see how messed up the airport is.



Gibby Davis
On my iPhone
(780) 707-4414

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Well the countdown to departure has finally turns from weeks and days to hours. That means last minute packing that turned my pile of stuff on the floor into one 10kg bag.

Thankfully we have found house sitters and seemed to have remembered everything we needed.

Next stop is the airport in the morning. As tomorrow is going to be a 3 continent day (3!!!), it only seems fitting that I do a running diary of the day (and a half). Here's hoping all the flights connect. Cheers

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

As is now my tradition, I do my year-end reflections with photos. 2013 was great to me. You will see how through photos from trips to Seattle, Coachella, Whitefish, Florida and many other mini-trips around the country.

This post also serves as a notice that the travel will be back in action over the next two months! Christina and I are headed for Africa. Jan 11 marks the beginning. Stay tuned!

Now here come the photos....