betsy's travels

All Day Game Drive

Last Friday I went for an all day game drive with James & Elise (owners of the hostel). And wow...we saw an amazing number of animals. James & Elise have been in the park countless times, and they were shocked by the day we had. We even saw animals that are rarely seen...multiple times!

Elise wrote down each time we saw one or more of an animal. We almost filled up the whole garbage bag (right). You can click on the picture and see exactly what we saw. Unbelievable.

And I continued to be stunned at how often they 'hang' together. It wasn't for lack of other grazing areas. There was plenty of that. Rather, the animals chose to be together. [Maybe I've just seen too much television. :)] Click below to see what I mean.

My favorite animal of the day was the giraffe. I tend to like animals in direct proportion to how odd looking they are (ie...I love warthogs!) The giraffe's big long neck and gangly yet graceful walk is enough to make it a favorite, but then you throw in the long eyelashes and the little fuzzy horns on the top of their head and the curious expression on their face when they stare your way...it's almost overkill. I couldn't have designed a better creature.

We also got close to a troop of baboons, which was a real highlight. (We saw vervet monkeys too but for some reason I was less excited about seeing them. Hmmm.)

And, last animal shot... In keeping with my love for ugly animals, I was fascinated by the odd looking bird, the ground hornbill:

It was an amazing day!

(As for what I have done since...I'm a bit behind on the blogging so I will post this week's activities on Thursday, before leaving for Johannesburg on Friday to start my GAP tour.)

PV Tribune Article about Warren

The following article about Warren ran in the Tuesday, September 4th issue of the Prescott Valley Tribune. I have pasted the article here (from the paper's website):
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Kinetic sculpture race trophy to honor Warren Parkes' zest for life
By Sam Lifshutz, for PVtrib.com

Last year, Warren Parkes presided as a judge at the First Annual Prescott Valley Kinetic Sculpture Race. A mere month later, Parkes tragically lost his life in a plane crash which also claimed the lives of four others. The small prop plane crashed just north of the Prescott Airport during a mission to photograph a MiG-21.

At this year's Kinetic Sculpture Race, officials will present to the grand champion a trophy honoring Parkes. It's a fitting tribute, as Parkes' positive attitude and zeal for life perfectly mesh with the ideals of the race.

"I immediately was taken by his wit, humor and wonderful way of looking at things," said KSR Commissioner and Committee Chair Cynthia Jones. "I really didn't know him well, but as the organizer of the PV Kinetic Sculpture Race, I knew his type of personality was perfect to be a judge in this event that's all about having a good time."

Unsurprisingly, Parkes was eager to oblige. "Even though he was up to his eyeballs in getting the Skyfest event together, he took a morning out to be a part of the race and he added a lot to it," Jones said. This sort of community spirit and desire to volunteer was no mere fluke for Parkes. Rather, it was the story of his life.

"I think the whole community really misses Warren," said Dave Newman, owner of Newman Gallery in Downtown Prescott. "He was so well-liked it was incredible."

Parkes' memorial service last year was in an airplane hangar.

"I don't know how many people were there, but there were 500 seats, and there were people standing," said Tom Parkes, Warren's father. "He touched people's lives in so many ways that we never even realized. People just came out of the woodwork and told us how he enriched their lives."

Although Parkes was known around town for his towering intellect, it wasn't until seventh grade that he really took an interest in academics.

"He came home one day and told his mother 'I know what I want to be when I grow up, an Astrophysicist'." By 9th grade he built his own telescope during industrial arts class , a five-foot-long, ten-inch diameter reflective telescope. "The teacher couldn't even help him because he was beyond the teacher," Tom recalled. "We'd go on hikes together and he'd give me my astronomy lessons, as we lay in sleeping bags under the clear night skies. He used to show me the constellations with his flashlight."

Astronomy became a great passion of Parkes', one which he would pursue throughout his life.

It was through his father that Parkes became interested in another of his great passions: flying. Tom, a retired Air Force pilot, has been flying planes for decades. He often took Warren flying with him. "At six years of age I remember he could keep an airplane level. I had him sitting on an attache case and a cushion and his feet were on the seat." It was Tom, an instructor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, who administered all of Warren's flying lessons.

Parkes had always been involved in photography, and it was through photography that he earned a living for most of his adult life. He owned two photography studios, PhotoGraphix, which he opened in 1996, and later sold to open Wild Blue Studios. It was at the intersection of airplanes and photography that Parkes really found his niche.

"He just lived for flying and shooting (photos of) other planes, and his portfolio is just full of absolutely monster pieces of aviation photography," said Joe Robertson, a classmate who attended high school and college with Parkes.

Robertson also sang with Parkes in both the high school and college choir, just another one of his many talents. Parkes even had the chance to sing in Westminster Abbey. "Warren was way into choral singing and solo singing - he had a heck of a voice," Robertson said.

On top of running a full-time business, Parkes found time to write for a local magazine and teach two courses - Astronomy and The History of Western Civilization, at Yavapai College. "Warren's intellectual pursuits took him into so many areas, there was hardly anything you could bring up from an academic standpoint that he hadn't either thought about, researched, studied or contemplated one way or another," said Robertson. More than anything, Parkes enjoyed sharing his knowledge. "When his twin nephews were four years old, he was teaching them to say 'a most prodigious undertaking,'" Tom said, laughing.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Parkes had a spirit of adventure. He and wife Betsy enjoyed traveling and often took active holidays to kayak or hike the Grand Canyon. Robertson remembers an occasion when Parkes flew him to Salt Lake City on a whim, just to have lunch.

It wasn't until 2005 that Warren faced one of his biggest undertakings. He became Executive Director of the Arizona Skyfest, a massive project which utilized his arsenal of skills and talent. As expected, Parkes surpassed expectations, winning the International Conference of Air Shows Marketing Award for his eye-popping programs and marketing materials. No easy feat, considering the ICAS comprises literally hundreds of air shows from around the world.

Today, nearly one year after his tragic accident, it's not Parkes' accomplishments, but his personality and his heart which continue to burn strong in all who knew him.

"He was one of the smartest people I've ever met, and humble. Sometimes just talking it about it, even now, makes me cry. He just was such a great person. He was one of a kind, really," said Newman.

Perhaps no one will miss Warren Parkes as much as his wife, Betsy.

"Warren was a gift in my life and I miss everything about him," she said. "I think he will be remembered for all of his many close friendships. Because he genuinely did like everyone, he had this magical way of making people feel great about themselves in his presence. People loved to be near Warren.

At times it would be hard to get through the grocery store, as we would run into so many people who were clearly thrilled to see their good friend Warren Parkes.

"Warren was very present with people. He would never look beyond someone or be eager to end a conversation. He gave whoever he was with his undivided attention, and I think that made people feel special. He truly felt that every person was important, and I think people could sense that when they were around him. Everyone felt like they were one of Warren's close friends because that is how he treated them. He also had a contagious enthusiasm for whatever he was doing, so people naturally gathered around projects he was involved in just to be a part of that excitement," she said.

"I have to be actively engaged in other things to keep my mind off of him. We have his photography around the house, the car I'm driving is his car. Everything reminds me of him," said Warren's father, a soft, bittersweet smile crossing his face.

Officials will present the trophy honoring Parkes at the conclusion of the Kinetic Sculpture Race, which begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, at the Prescott Valley Civic Center.

Kruger Area Part II - Culture

And here’s Kruger, Part II--My cultural/human interactions…

Township Tour
On Tuesday I went on a guided tour of a local township called Lulekani. In South Africa, “townships” are the black communities that were established under Apartheid. Most people have heard of Soweto, the most famous township (just outside Johannesburg), but there are actually townships all across the country. I knew before coming to Africa that I needed to see the townships in order to really see South Africa.

The tour was fantastic, and the guide (Ben) provided balanced and fascinating insights into the area’s history and culture. The only thing I didn’t like was that we drove around in a safari-type vehicle, which made the experience feel quite voyeuristic--like a human safari. The guide reassured me (and only me…I was the only one on the tour that morning) that locals are happy that foreigners come to visit their township (“so they know they are not forgotten”). And sure enough…

On every street I was greeted with kids running after the car waving and yelling “mulungu, mulungu”—a term for white person (translates literally as “good people”). Adults were always a little more reserved, but as soon as I smiled and waved, a big smile would cross their face and they would eagerly wave back. At times I felt like the Soybean Queen in a small town parade, but for the most part it was a really nice experience to be so warmly welcomed. Considering the history of racial segregation here in South Africa…this was not what I expected.

We stopped at several locations throughout the four hours. One stop was at a local resident’s house—in order to see inside, get a glimpse of their everyday lives.

Another stop was at the local “sangoma”--a shaman/ witch doctor/ traditional healer. Usually the tour just meets the sangoma and peaks inside her dark, potion-packed hut, but since I was the only one on the tour and since I have yet to utilize the services of a witch doctor, I seized the opportunity.

Caught up in the moment, I entertained ridiculously high hopes (“I see the spirit of a man standing next to you, a husband maybe?”) and I plopped down my 100 Rand ($12). The sangoma then threw down the bones (and other bits of wood and scraps of material and such) and read my future, my past, my present health. She spoke in a rhythmic, chanting fashion and continued on for about five minutes, not stopping for the guide to translate.

Afterward, the guide asked “Would you like me to translate what she said”—a rather odd question considering we both knew I don’t speak Xitsonga [the local language]. According to the guide’s translation, this is what the Sangoma read about me through the bones:

-I am healthy. There are no health problems for her to help me with. [True]

-I think too much, always trying to figure things, thinking about things that happened in the past. I should try to not think so much. It would be better for my health and happiness if I didn’t think so much. [True, but as Mom says…I gotta be me.]

-I lost a close friend who didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. Now the friend is worried about me. The friend had plans for his/her life that he/she didn’t get to do.
-I need to go to the friend’s grave with flowers, and if I do that, my friend will stay with me and help me. I should bring my kids with me to the gravesite.
-I am not married now, but I will be in the future.

Interesting. Pretty general, but still interesting. (She didn’t know about Warren, but the guide [who provided the translation] did.)

Afterward, the guide shared his condolences, then shared some interesting local beliefs. If someone dies young, it’s believed to be due to black magic carried out against the person by someone who was jealous of him or her. The family of the recently deceased will, shortly after the death, visit the sangoma to see who did the black magic. Also, as is common in many parts of the world, I am now obliged to marry a man in Warren’s family in order to keep the family name going. Since Warren has no brothers, I must marry an uncle or cousin, someone older than me. Tom and Kaaren, can you get working on that for me. I’ll be back in March.

Mozambican Refugee Settlement
Close to the township is a refugee settlement for Mozambicans who fled the civil wars that ravaged their country in the 1980s. Many at the settlement experienced such horrors that, twenty years later, they do not want to return. And so these refugees remain in this small settlement, two decades after the war has ended, without electricity or safe water and without the ability to work. (As they are not South Africans, they can only work in the informal sector.) After the township, we visited this refugee settlement.

And again, I was the novelty of the day. We walked around the community and visited one of the local schools. Most of the kids were in school, but the kids that are too poor to go to preschool ($5/mo) became my new best buddies, clamoring to hold my hand and touch my skin. It was pretty cute and funny for the most part (other than when they tried to get a souvenir of my arm hair, and other than the periodic gropes in my, um, “bathing suit parts”, which, despite the language gap, I was able to communicate a big NO to).

We spent a few hours touring the settlement, answering questions about myself for locals (through the guide), and taking pictures of kids and adults and then letting them look at themselves on the digital camera’s screen.

Considering my work with the IRC, this was a very interesting visit for me.

Kruger Area Part I - Animals

Since I have quite a few pictures to share, I have broken this entry into two parts. Here’s Kruger Part 1—Animals:

Kruger National Park is world-renowned for its wildlife. It is not uncommon to see all of the big five (lion, cheetah, elephant, black rhino, and hippo) as well as many other animals (zebras, giraffes, etc) in just one day at the park. I have many days here, and will surely have many wildlife encounters (especially given my recent inclination for uninvited wildlife encounters of the mountain lion and moose variety).

My first day in Phalaborwa (a small town on the edge of Kruger), I did nothing. It was Sunday and everything shuts down on Sundays in all but the largest cities in South Africa. It was also my birthday, so I spent the day lounging by the pool and chatting with another traveler—Miriam from Jerusalem.

“The Kill”

On Monday morning, Elise and James (owners of the hostel) came to inform me that there had been “a kill” in the park. They were headed in to see it, and invited me to come along. Being the city girl that I am, I wasn’t sure what they meant by “a kill” (I was hoping an animal hadn’t been killed by a car or something), but I went along assuming that if they wanted to see it, so did I.

Turns out the kill was the good kind, the ‘circle of life’ kind. A pride of lions had killed a water buffalo early that morning. They were kind enough to carry out the kill just by the side of the road so that the humans could watch them feast on the massive beast from the safety of our own vehicles. (Visitors are forbidden from getting out of their cars due to all the predators). What a treat for my first day here. And so kind of James and Elise to invited me along.

And, as an added bonus, I saw my first elephants and zebras and warthogs on the drive in.

Night Game Drive
On Monday evening I went on a night game drive coordinated by the park service. We rode in an open 4x4 vehicle and looked for nocturnal animals using spotlights. The tour started slowly, with the first hour feeling more like I was on a bird safari than a game safari (drive five minutes, then stop for five minutes to talk about some bird off in the distance, then repeat over and over and over. Sorry birders, I just can’t get into that.) Rather than get anxious and cranky, I talked myself into just being glad to be in the park, glad to be in Africa out in the bush.

And…it was a good thing I did because we didn’t end up seeing any of the big animals, but I had a great time nonetheless just breathing in the fresh, scented air and taking in the calm 360 degree views. We did see a number of rarely seen animals (ie…a gennet cat, a mother hyena and her cubs, a jackal), so that was quite nice. [I didn’t bother trying to photograph anything since it was dark out and I’m not spiffy enough with my photography equipment to get anything other than blur.]

River Safari
On Wednesday afternoon I went on a river safari along the banks of the Olifants River. James, the hostel owner, drove me out to the launch site and even accompanied me on the cruise. (I am SO glad I am staying at this hostel, “Elephant Walk.” More on that later).

The three hour trip was fabulous, amazing, shocking! It has positively spoiled me for the rest of my trip! Kruger is in the dry season right now—a fantastic time for wildlife viewing, especially along any water source where the hot and thirsty animals congregate in the afternoons. We saw herds of animals all along the shore, from elephants and water buffalos to baboons and giraffes to warthogs and impala and other deer-type animals that I cannot remember the names of. And, in the water, there were hippos and crocodiles all along the river.

What really surprised me was how much the animals intermingled. It was not uncommon to see elephants standing next to water buffalo standing next to baboons and warthogs and impala. I suppose all these herbivores were just too hungry and thirsty to care what any other animal was doing, but wow…it was an amazing sight to see. It was like viewing a real life Eden.

The biggest treat was the massive herd of elephants right along the shoreline. There must have been over 60 of them, and we were able to get right up alongside them…close enough to hear them chewing, even close enough to hear their stomachs rumbling! The guide said she had never seen this many elephants in one spot before, and we felt truly lucky as we quietly glided alongside the herd. It was magic!

Heading to Kruger

I've been at the sanctuary for two weeks now. I have experienced it, learned some things, and have decided to move on, two weeks early.

The Vervet Monkey Foundation is a great organization doing really important work. And the volunteers and staff are all very dedicated, very kind people.

In the end, however, it wasn't a good fit for me long-term. But I am glad I came. I learned things about monkeys and about myself. And really, that's why I travel--for the density of experiences that only travel affords, and for the new insights I glean about life and about the world and, ultimately, about myself. This experience of trying out the monkey sanctuary--something I was attracted to because it was so foreign from my normal life--reminds me of a quote I jotted down before I left. It's from Michael Crichton's Travels:

Often I feel I go to some distant region of the world to be reminded of who I really am...stripped of your ordinary surroundings, your friends, your daily routines, your refrigerator full of your food, your closet full of your clothes, you are forced into direct experiences. Such direct experiences inevitably makes you aware of who it is that is having the experience. That's not always comfortable but it is invigorating.

So, with that spirit, I am glad I experienced the sanctuary. But I am also glad to be moving on early. This afternoon I catch a bus to Phalaborwa, a small town on the edge of Kruger National Park. I will stay at the local hostel (or "backpackers" as they refer to them here in SA) and take daytrip safaris into the park, as well as a number of excursions into the surrounding countryside. I've perused the list of safaris and excursions available...they look amazing.

Other than coordinating my new adventure, I have spent most of the last few days in the nearby city of Tzaneen (pop. 80,000), soliciting sponsors for the foundation’s upcoming event. What a shock…it is so EASY to get businesses to sponsor events here. I went with another volunteer, Nicci (from San Diego), and we never even had to make a pitch. Everything was just offered up, free of charge! And getting the mayor to agree to come to the event took all of two minutes. If only it had been that easy at IRC Phoenix!

However, my favorite activity of the last few days was, oddly enough, going on the papaya run. A local pawpaw (SA for papaya) farmer lets the foundation take the damaged fruit for free (monkeys love pawpaws) so on Wednesday I crammed into the cab of a small pick-up truck with two sanctuary workers and drove through the local countryside to load up on pawpaws. Ahh, it was great to see the African countryside--to see people working on the farms, observe the comings and goings in the small towns along the way…to see real life in Africa! (I’ve been pretty cooped up at either the sanctuary or at the lodge.) When we reached the farm, we pulled up to a large building and immediately upon falling out (we were really crammed in there), I heard a beautiful chorus coming from the main building. I peaked inside and saw twenty or so women, singing while they sorted fruit. The song was in their local language, Sotho (pronounced SueToo), and the rhythmic melody provided a great accompaniment for loading up on pawpaws. Fantastic!

Before ending this blog, I thought I’d show a photo of the fire damage. It’s very hard to capture, but this might show a bit of the extent. (That’s the sanctuary pup in the foreground, who followed us up the hill behind the sanctuary to survey the damage).

(Reminder--you can make any picture bigger by clicking on it.)

FIRE!

Shortly after posting the last entry, we got word that there was a wild fire just outside the sanctuary grounds. This being rural Africa, WE were the firefighters, along with neighboring landowners and, eventually (2 hours into the fire), the local fire truck arrived--a very small pick-up truck with a very small water tank.

For three and a half hours, we ran buckets of water out to the frontline of the fire and even, at times, had to stamp out parts the fire with branches of trees. It was awful...exhausting and very scary. The fire was easily twenty feet high and the sound of its march through the shrubbery was loud and frightening. At the worst of it, we could see tall flames on three sides surrounding us--from 50 feet away to about 1/4 mile--and I was genuinely worried about getting trapped.

At one point, the founder, Arthur, and a few other volunteers got surrounded by the fire. The two volunteers were able to escape but Arthur was nowhere to be found. We thought for sure he must have died. But twenty minutes later, he staggered out of the fire mumbling about smoke inhalation, and it became clear that he had had a stroke while in the midst of the fire. Half of his face was paralyzed and he was having a hard time walking. With the fire still raging, he was rushed to the hospital. At this point, I don't know his status (as I am at the lodge and not the sanctuary today, my day off).

It looked very dire after about two hours, with the fire within 30 feet or so of the main building and encroaching into the monkey enclosures. We were forced to release the monkeys from the endangered enclosures, fearing that they would be trapped. Then, not only did we have to deal with the fire, but we also had to dodge freaked-out adult monkeys, some of them quite dangerous. One staff member was bit twice. At that point, some of the volunteers ran buckets out to the frontline while others beat off freaked-out monkeys with sticks. I was a bucket runner. It was a sureal experience to say the least.

Eventually we got the fire under control. Thankfully there was no major damage to the grounds. Several long term volunteers lost everything in the fire, and I believe only two monkeys died.

I was thoroughly exhausted when it was done, and had a terrible headache. I got back to the lodge at 6pm, showered and went straight to bed. What a day!

A Week with the Monkeys

Today is Monday, and I’ve been at the Vervet Monkey Foundation for just over a week. Seems like much longer. This may be a very long month, but I think it’s still too soon to make any pronouncements.

Why don’t I start by giving you a short lowdown on the place: The foundation was started in the mid-90s by an eccentric man named Arthur who now lives full-time in a 10’x10’ hut amidst the monkeys. He’s an interesting guy (interesting in both senses of the word). He and a few others started the foundation in order to provide a safe place for vervet monkeys, who are largely considered to be pests and were being killed in large numbers. In fact, until about 10 years ago, vervets were legally classified as vermin and were allowed to be shot on sight. The foundation has worked to change that law and now vervet monkeys are legally protected. Today, there are over 800 vervet monkeys here on-site, all brought here because they were orphaned (ie…their mother was shot by a farmer), or they were kept as pets and got too big for their owners, or they were used in laboratory experiments, or they were just bugging someone (usually a farmer) and he/she wanted the monkey gone.

When monkeys first arrive, they receive a general health check, then most get put in small Introductory Cages which line the main enclosures (see picture below). This allows them some time to get to know other troop members while still separated by the cage walls. Then, when ready, they are integrated into one of the troops of 30-50 monkeys, kept within the large enclosures. The foundation’s big goal is to get a large parcel of land and eventually release them into the wild (while still protected on the perimeters).

The volunteer work here mostly consists of hanging out with the baby monkeys, carrying out the various mundane tasks of a sanctuary this size, and helping to integrate troops in the enclosures. Since I am new, I’ve done mostly the mundane stuff. Although…

Yesterday I spent some time with a monkey named Skunky, an adult male that was delivered to the sanctuary after being kept as a pet for most of his life. He’s really mellow and virtually never aggressive, so he’s a good one for newbies like me. Monkeys love being ‘groomed’, so that’s what we did during our visit together. He’d hold up an arm, and I would ruffle through his fur looking for bugs or bits of dirt to be removed until he felt duly satisfied that I had canvassed the arm sufficiently, and then he’d indicate a new body part ready for grooming. (I had to tactfully draw the line when he stuck his rump in my face. “Skunky, I’m not that kind of girl, at least not on the first date.” HeHe.)

It’s clearly a very pleasurable activity for him, and after a full hour, I’d say I gave him the full spa treatment. Skunky’s not much of a giver though, so I left the cage only partly-groomed myself. It was a fun, odd experience though…first time I’ve been groomed by a monkey. And it was actually quite relaxing. Skunky would simply indicate his desire to groom me by smacking his lips and reaching for my hair. I would then dutifully drop my head down and allow him to root through my hair for bugs and bits of dirt to be removed. Luckily, he didn’t seem to find much (but the whole exercise did make me question whether a dandruff shampoo might be in order. :)

I also spend a good deal of time in the sanctuary’s Sick Bay where I feed recuperating monkeys water with an old Fanta bottle, prepare their meal bowls (corn flakes and milk with lots of fruit on top [just like Dad!]), wash out skanky feed bowls, and prepare formula bottles for the baby monkeys. I have participated in other, more mundane tasks (too boring to write about) and will soon spend some time in “Disneyland”, where the baby monkeys are kept. Should be fun.

However, having been here at the sanctuary for a week now, I’m fairly certain that a month here will be more than sufficient for me. The monkeys are cute, but I am not absolutely crazy about them like many of the other volunteers. And I am thinking you need to be crazy about any animal to want to clean up after their sh*t and scrub their dirty feed bowls and such. (Comments about human babies not necessary. I get the similarities.) It only took two days of being on the normal volunteer task rotation to realize that the fundraising committee was the best fit for me. So now, I spend most of my time with humans, not monkeys, helping plan two small local fundraisers that are coming up.

But, I still will interact with them a bit.

And, I am still incredibly glad to have made the switch to the lodge--for the comfort of it all and for the solace. I spent a lot of time alone after Warren died, and I have come to need my quiet time at night. I have included a photo of my room (right), since I’ve gotten lots of questions about the lodge.

That’s probably enough for now. Hope you are all doing well!

No Touch Monkey!

I'm here. I'm in Africa, in Tzaneen, South Africa--home of the Vervet Monkey Foundation where I will be volunteering for the next four weeks. Will be volunteering. Eventually...

I remember seeing a funny sign when I was in Thailand—“No Touch Monkey”—and now I can’t get that phrase out of my head because, well, I haven’t exactly done much interacting with the little buggers since I arrived a few days ago. I have a terrible cold, surely brought on by the exhaustion of my ridiculous travel schedule, and haven’t done much more than cough and sneeze for the last few days.

I did manage to sit in the chair on the admin building porch yesterday, and watched their general comings and goings. Vervet monkeys certainly are interesting to watch, particularly if there is something for them to be curious about…like a car, for instance, which has lots of things hanging off of it and even more tempting objects just on the other side of the glass. Their curiosity is hilarious.

So...the monkeys are cool, but the cold has taken over my life since I arrived. After two nights of suffering through this cold while sleeping in a tent in the sanctuary’s Tent Village (where all volunteers stay), I asked to be driven into town to stay at a lodge with a proper bed and electricity and tissues that don’t feel like sandpaper. I was driven to the closest lodge to the sanctuary, Tzaneen Country Lodge (www.tznlodge.co.za/), and, uh, it didn’t take long to decide that I was not going back to Tent Village. I loved camping while on overnight backpacking trips with Warren, but this is different. I’ll be honest…so far, it’s been misery!

So, I have just finished arranging to stay here for the remainder of my time at the monkey sanctuary. I don’t know how all the other tent-bound volunteers will feel about it (apparently this is the first time a volunteer stayed ‘off campus’), but I don’t see how sleeping in a tent in any way helps monkeys, and the sanctuary manager was actually quite agreeable to the idea. Ah, let those other volunteers think I’m a princess. Whatevah. I’ll be off relaxing at my four star African country lodge (for just $42 a night!)

Huh, my cold seems to be letting up. Interesting coincidence. :)

(The picture below is of the breezy patio café at the lodge, where I'm sitting right now to write this blog entry.)

Time to flee to Africa

Welp...I'm off to Africa in less than four days. And, it's time. I can't say I am excited, per se, as this isn't exactly the path I wanted my life to take. But I feel ready...ready for the change, ready for all that might be in store for me. Throughout my trip, I will use this blog to keep everyone updated on my adventures. I hope to post to the site at least once a week, and promise that each entry will be a spellbinding, riveting, exhilarating experience (he he).

Itinerary Recap:
For your viewing pleasure, I have added a handy dandy reference map that shows (roughly) the route that I will be taking. [As with all images on this site, you can make it bigger by clicking on it.] Most of you know the full 'plan', but for those that haven't heard it yet, here's a quick run down of the trip:

(1) I start the trip by volunteering for a month at a primate sanctuary in northeastern South Africa.

(2) I then travel for about a month, exploring much of South Africa as well as parts of Mozambique and Swaziland.

(3) Then, once I reach Cape Town, South Africa, I'll settle into a small house in the Observatory area, and spend the next four months volunteering at an orphanage for kids who've lost their parents to AIDS and at a penguin rescue center. (Why are there penguins in Africa? No idea. Guess I'll soon find out.)

(4) And, for the final leg of my adventures...I will go on a two month trip/safari, traveling thru Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya.

That's seven months. At that point, I will either come back to the US and face life, or go on to somewhere else. I’m not sure right now but I guess I have seven months to figure that out.

THE question: Am I ready?

That seems to be the question I get most often lately, and I'd say yes, I am ready. I will admit this: I've spent an absurd amount of time trying to create the world's most elegant packing system. (Ah, the dangers of having too much time to prepare for a trip.) I've never traveled for seven months in one stretch (my summer trips during grad school were just three months each), and I've never had the added hassle of needing to lug a sleeping bag with me. Ick! But, luckily for my sanity, I think I've got it all set.

Once I'm on the road, I'll let you know just how 'elegant' it turns out to be (ha ha). Until then...farewell all, and please do keep in touch.