We left San Diego on November 5 at 8am, bound for South Africa with a few bags of clothes, a guitar, a mandolin (did you really think I'd leave 'em behind?) and a camera. As you may have read in the past, Tiffany travels to Africa on business a few times a year to work in the CD4 HIV/AIDS arena and this time, I tagged along. Because I was coming with her, Tiffany gave up her business-class ticket to fly with the chickens in the back of the plane...what a woman. She did not sacrifice comfort, though, as she boarded the plane armed with a foot stool (apparently short people don't like airplane seats...who knew?), pillow, socks, and "blankey". After the first few glasses of chardonnay, she forgot all about the business-class comforts.
We had a rather uneventful 18 hour flight to Johannesburg. However, upon arrival we discovered that our bags were still in Dulles - two suitcases and the Larrivee guitar I gave Tiffany a few years ago. "Great", I thought, as we were not planning to stay in Jo'burg for the night - we were renting a car and starting our 6 hour drive towards Kruger National Park. South African Airways assured us that our baggage would be on the next day's flight from Dulles, and that they would deliver it to us in Dullstroom, our destination for the night. So, we loaded up on espresso, picked up the car and began our drive (on the left-hand side of the road, mind you) to the fly-fishing mecca that is Dullstroom and the Highlands area.
We managed to make it out of the airport without killing anyone or each other, and found our way past a few terrible accidents in the dark of night and to our lodge 3 hours north of Jo'burg. Tiff and I checked into the Critchley Hackle lodge just in time for a trout dinner, caught and prepared that day, and we shared a bottle of South African chardonnay, which rivaled anything I've ever had in California. It was time for bed and the chalet on the lake called.
After two days in Dullstroom, Tiffany's bag and the guitar arrived just before we were to leave town - still no sign of my luggage, though. We checked out and stopped by a little cafe on the corner of town to have breakfast before the 3 hour drive up to Kruger Park. More on this cafe later. Before we left town, Tiffany urged me to buy some clothes and a pair of shoes for the trip, as three days in the bush in jeans, a t-shirt, boots and a sport coat might be a bit uncomfortable. Wise suggestion on her part, and we headed for one of the outfitters in town. Now, I really would look like a white guy on safari. Fresh clothes and new shoes - kind of like the kid who had never been to camp before that shows up with new everything. 'Great', I thought.
As we approached the Kruger Park area, the abundance of game preserves increased and we dropped down into the Blyde River Canyon (the third deepest canyon in the world). Needless to say, this was a stunning area rich in natural resources and (seemingly) cultural heritage. I knew we were getting close as the number of Land Rovers with zebra patterns that we passed started to increase.
We entered the gates to the Manyeleti Nature Preserve around 5:30 pm on the 8th of November and proceeded to drive our rental car on the dirt roads deep into the preserve. Arriving at the lodge around 6, we greeted one of the rangers (Phillip) and were transferred into a safari vehicle to meet up with our ranger already in the bush. As we drove through the preserve, we saw warthogs, impala, kudu, zebra and too many birds to mention. The sun was setting as we met up with our ranger (Kerri), one of two female rangers at the Honeyguide Tented Safari Camps. On the front of the safari vehicle, was one of the African trackers - Mpho - who I would later befriend as our mutual interest in music became clear. As the sun settled down behind the distant range of mountains, Mpho fired up the spotlight for evening tracking. This preserve is one of the few that tracks animals at night and we were pleased to learn how careful they were not to blind certain species that are sensitive to light, like impala and other ungulates.
We spotted a cheetah that night, in addition to "bush babies", which are tiny monkeys that weight only a few kilograms and are able to sit on the very ends of tree branches. Returning to the lodge a few hours after dark, we were greeted by the camp manager, Thomas, and we offered a cocktail. I decided on a glass of scotch whiskey - Bells - as I was feeling very Hemingway right about then. The tented safari camp was as you would of expected it to be for Hemingway during his travels to Africa. Rugged luxury is the best way I can describe it. This was not the typical tourist safari lodge, as no tour bus could navigate these roads. It was sparsely developed, but done so with taste and everything you could possibly need was there, including a small pool for relaxing in the hot bush afternoons.
The main dining area was an open structure - no doors, no windows, no screens - essentially a covered table with a bar and full service kitchen. Off to the side was a fire pit where we greeted a few other campers, including a rather boisterous couple from New York....just imagine the stereotypical New Yorker and there you have it. Nuff said.
We sat down for dinner at the table and I was overwhelmed with an ill feeling, and at that point, I didn't know if it was from the scotch on an empty stomach or just jet lag. Regardless, I knew something was wrong - nausea had come for dinner. I decided to find the toilet. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, I declined dinner and headed straight to the tent to retire for the evening. Or so I thought.
Remember that cafe from earlier? Well, Tiffany & I ordered eggs over medium with bacon, toast and some espresso drinks that morning before we left for the safari lodge. And we think now that the eggs were bad, as it wasn't long before Tiffany joined me in the tent. We both spent the next 36 hours with the worse case of food poisoning we've ever had. It was pretty incredible being in our mosquito netted, king-size bed listening to lions roar outside of our tent, knowing that there was no way in hell either of us were in any condition to fend for ourselves should we have needed to.
By the morning of our second full day in camp, we were ready to go on the morning game drive. A typical day in the bush is as follows:
0500 - wake up to the sound of tribal drum beats coming from the main camp
0530 - coffee & "beddy" tea is brought into the tent by safari staff
0600 - morning game drive
0930 - return from the game drive to have breakfast
1100 - free time to swim, read, walk, or nap
1430 - lunch is served in the main camp
1630 - afternoon/evening game drive departs main camp
2100 - dinner is served in the main camp
The game drives were incredible and one of the highlights of the trip. Obviously, seeing the animals in their native habitat and talking with the guides and trackers about their behavior was very interesting to us both.
After the safari, we drove back down to Jo'burg and flew to Cape Town. We spent a week in Cape Town. Tiffany worked in the lab and I played music, performing at the Barleycorn Folk Club and a house concert. We had a view of Table Mountain from our apartment in Cape Town, and really had a fantastic time touring around the city. It was one of our best trips ever.
Well, the studio isn't quite done yet. I was hoping to finish by the end of October, but the panelling of the sound room took longer than expected, and my teaching & performing schedule hasn't really allowed for that. I now hope to be done by Christmas. Tiff and I leave for Cape Town, South Africa next week and will be stopping over in Johannesburg first for a week in the bush in Kruger National Park - looking for the "Big Five": Elephants, Lion, Rhinos, Leopards & Buffalo.