It's the old "Good news, bad news" routine

     The good news is that I'm home from Botswana, safe and sound for the most part.  But the bad news is that I've lost my iPad.  It's just an iPad, you say?   Yes, but it had the nearly 500 photos I took on it.  I'm just sick about it.
     Scott and I are still making calls trying to find it, but I feel less optimistic every day.  The last time I know I had it was at O'Hare, and one can only imagine how many things get lost there daily.
     The fall-back solution is to rely on the photos of my many cohorts at Modisa and the handful of photos I was able to email to Scott while I was there--something that was very difficult to do, because of the extraordinary demands on the weak WiFi signal in the midst of the Kalahari.  It will take me some time to collect these, so for now I will post a photo of Sirga, the super star of Modisa.  
     She is an 18-month old lioness who was raised from just a few days old by Val Gruener, one of the founders of Modisa.  She is astoundingly fond of him and plays and wrestles with him as affectionately as the sweetest housecat.  But Val has achieved something uniquely amazing with her.  She hunts just like a wild cat, strolling along with Val until she gets a whiff of prey and then sprints after it. She has been successful in her hunts on several occasions, but seeing her come back to Val after the chase--completely of her own volition--is a wonderful sight.
     There were lots of wonderful sights, and I hope to be able to post many of them, just as soon as my iPad comes home! 
     Check out Sirga's story here!  http://modisa.org/sirgas-story/ 

The clock, she is a-ticking, my friend

     Well, I don't have to tell YOU that time flies.  Going to Modisa seemed like a hypothetical possibility until just a few days ago, and when I found myself saying "I'm going to Botswana Wednesday," no one was more surprised than me.
     Up to last Thursday, I was focused like a laser beam--and a highly nervous laser beam at that--on the presentation I was giving at Nicolet College for their Creative Arts series.  I was invited to talk about Cambodia and the Elephant Valley Project, and that required a LOT of preparation, especially since it had to be in PowerPoint format, which I've never used.  
     This preparation required me to immerse myself totally in my photos and old blog entries from 2011, and Cambodia seemed much more real to me than Botswana as a result.
      Jack had sent me a boxload of the little wooden elephants carved by the mahouts at the Elephant Valley Project, and I gave them away in exchange for donations to the Project.  This turned out to be hugely successful, and it was thrilling to realize we had earned nearly $1000 to send to the Project!       

I'm just not going to say what relevance this slide had--you'll just have to guess.

     Around 200 people showed up at Nicolet on a night in which the projected low temperature was minus 24 degrees Fahrenheit!  How exciting to think that so many people in our little community would come out on such a night to talk about a few old elephants halfway around the world!  And everyone seemed to go home happy, so I consider the whole thing an unqualified success.
     But what an abrupt shift now!  I am scurrying to get packed and prepared.  There's not as much to do as with previous trips, because Africa has much better access to quality veterinary supplies than did Cambodia, and Mikkel from Modisa assures me that they have a first-rate veterinarian on call and are well-provided-for in that area.
     Also, I don't have any shots to get, because those I got for Cambodia are still up to date.
     I am also assured that at Modisa, they have reliable WiFi access, so I'm hoping that I will be able to keep my blog up contemporaneously, which will be something new.  So, you faithful friends and readers, you and I should be able to stay in touch with each other.  I'm going to Botswana on WEDNESDAY (March 5)!!!! 

M to M to M to M to M to M

     Some of you may be wondering why--after more than a five-month delay--I should suddenly complete the last two blogs from South Africa.

     The answer is simple:  I'm going back to Africa!  After much agonizing about whether I should go, whether Scott would like to go too, and where the destination should be, all indecision is now officially resolved:

     Scott is NOT going, but I am.  I am going to Modisa, near Maun, in Botswana, leaving March 5.
The title of this blog?  McNaughton to Mondulkiri to McNaughton to Moholoholo to McNaughton to MODISA (and with any kind of luck, back to McNaughton).  This time, it's LIONS!  Click here for more info from Modisa.

layover at Joburg

     My flight from Huidspruit arrived in Johannesburg more than five hours before my flight to Paris was scheduled to leave. Lots of time, and no relatives to share it with. So I decided to have a nice leisurely lunch. 

     The airport at Johannesburg is large and modern--lots of fast food restaurants. But I was looking for one where I could enjoy a sit-down and a drink. I found a place called Kegs and Aviators--sounded just fine.

     When I walked in, a loud roar arose from a crowd. Obviously, I was startled, not expecting quite so enthusiastic a greeting.  The guys at the door laughed and explained that two of the most popular football teams in South Africa were playing each other, and one of them had just scored a goal. 

     The patrons at the bar seemed to be pretty much equally divided among the two teams, and the histrionics of both the staff and the patrons was exciting. I was confused by this drone going on while the game was on. Sounded like distant mosquitoes--and lots of them--but I gathered it's some sort of horn that is blown pretty much continuously during African football games.

     Well, it was by the far the happeningest place I've ever seen in an airport! Maybe people are not restricted from entering airport bars like they are in the US, but these were undoubtedly FANS, certainly little different from Packer fans at their most rabid.

     Scott often scoffs at my method of ordering at a restaurant. By habit I always ask, "Could I have a xxxxxx, please?" Scott thinks that is ridiculously deferential; it is, after all, an establishment that is the business of serving its customers FOOD!   

     But when I ordered at this restaurant, the waitress firmly said "no." I smiled and said something to the effect, "Oh, you're out of that?" And she said "No, it's not NICE." When I looked puzzled, she repeated, more firmly this time, "It's not nice!" I relented and ordered what she agreed I could have. She was right-- it WAS nice!

Last Day in Limpopo (and Mpumalanga)

     After we reluctantly left Hlokamela, Mona took me back to the Otters Den to get my luggage and get ready for my long flight home.  I felt genuinely sad to leave Otters Den for--probably--the last time.  I will always savor the memory of that fabulous bridge swaying precariously under my feet and the lovely Blyde River flowing beneath.   Here I am, re-enacting the concluding scene of one of my favorite movies of all time, The Man Who Would Be King.  Be grateful that there is no soundtrack to MY photo, but take the time to enjoy this fabulous scene.  Click here to see it  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apfaDqcf2FA

      My farewell to the Otters Den was somewhat friendlier and less dramatic--PLUS, unlike poor Sean Connery, I lived to tell the story myself!

     Mona had one more place to show me before we went to the airport in Hoedspruit.  Knowing how much I admired the Blyde (pronounced BLI-duh) River, she thought I'd like to see the Blyde River Canyon, one of the biggest canyons on earth and the largest "green" canyon--green because it has lush tropical vegetation throughout. I simply had no idea there was anything so extraordinarily beautiful just a couple of miles from Moholoholo.  





    

       Mona and I walked up a trail following a small tributary to the Blyde where there was a pool.  A local family was picnicking there, and they had two of the most fetching little children ever.  The girls were trying to catch minnows in their swim goggles, and the parents kindly permitted me to take their  photos.  The setting was so idyllic--why, it reminded me of a shampoo commercial!





This photo is, I think, the best one I took the whole trip.  I love how the sunlight is reflected in the girl's face.

    

On the way back, I irrevocably broke one of my faithful sandals which had served me so well throughout my travels.  There was no point in hauling them home, so I threw them in the nearest garbage can, but not before taking a commemorative snapshot.

      And that was that!  Mona rushed me to the Hoedspruit airport barely in time for my flight to Johannesburg, we hugged good-bye, and I was on my way home.

Hlokomela

       I think that one of the very best things about travel is the totally unexpected, unplanned-for thing that turns up by the merest of chance.  Hlokomela was one of those things.
       While we had been driving around, Mona told me about her work.  Mona is a 22-year-German woman who has not quite decided what she wants to do with her life.  She has no children, no boyfriend, but a big sense of adventure and of social commitment.  She decided to work as a volunteer for Hlokomela near Hoedspruit.  She was offered housing at Otters Den, a walking distance away, for the duration of her one-year commitment (which she hopes to extend), and that's how I was lucky enough to meet her.
       I find it difficult to describe precisely what Hlokomela is, so I have resorted to the Box of Truth (the internet) for a description.  Here is what I find:  "Hlokomela is an award winning HIV and AIDS educational and treatment programme targeting workers and communities in the Kruger to Canyons Area, Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces.  The programme aims to reduce the HIV vulnerability through peer education, awareness raising, prevention and treatment.  The project has been runing successfully for the past 6 years and is currently rolled out on 70 sub project site.  An estimated 12,000 people are reached through the activities of the programme."  http://www.givengain.com/cause/2936/
       One of the activities Hlokomela conducts to raise funds is an herb farm, and that is principally where Mona works.  The herb farms grows and sells beautiful fresh herbs and flowers to local restaurants and markets and uses the proceeds to help support the services.

 

Here are the extraordinarily well-tended gardens--all under protective netting to provide shelter from the blistering African sun, cut down on evaporation, and provide protection from bugs.  The gardens are tended to by the people requiring the services, and the care is meticulous.  Check out these gorgeous lettuce beds!     Not a weed or even so much as a yellowed leaf in sight!

And here is the building where they dry herbs and make items for sale, such as lavender pillows,

potpourri, dried flower arrangements, food items, and the like.  Like the gardens, it was completely well-tended and neat as a pin.

                                                                                                                                  

      By the way, you can just see how blistering the sun is, can't you?  My poor little iPad could hardly stand up to the glare!

      And here are my heroes, Mona and Angie (one of the main directors of the program) and her husband (who are English).  They are standing on the porch of their extremely modest little home overlooking the Blyde River and the Drakenburg mountains.  It was as pretty a location as I've ever seen, and these people were doing work as good as any I've ever seen.

                                                                     

                                                                            

  Hippos hang out in the river in front of their home.  I could have sat and watched them for hours.  But, I couldn't.  It was my departure date, and Mona still had more to show me before I left.  I did make a modest donation to Hlokomela.  If you feel moved to make a donation too, I see there is a place on their website where you can.  I doubt whether you'll ever make a more appreciated charitable contribution.http://htt.org.za/

 

Kruger National Park

       It turned out that the road Mona and I had taken from Hoedspruit to Hazyview ran parallel to the west boundary of Kruger National Park, so we decided that on the way back, we would drive into the park and see what we could see.  The photos that I got there are much more indistinct than the photos I got at Moholoholo and Hazyview because the animals we saw were truly (or maybe, MOSTLY truly) wild animals and definitely not approachable.  I have no fancy zoom lens; the only camera I used the whole trip was my iPad mini. 
       One is not permitted to even get out of one's car in all of Kruger National Park except in extremely specified (and fenced-in) areas.  The areas of the Park we saw were NOT spectacularly beautiful, though some areas were quite pretty.  One thing one can't help noticing from the get-go is that LOTS of elephants live there--in fact, way too many!  [I never thought I'd ever think there were too many elephants ANYWHERE!]
       The land reminds me of an area where there was a tornado last year.  The trees and bushes are smashed down and torn up--this is the result of over-grazing by elephants.  And the roads are amazingly strewn with elephant turds!  I can't for the life of me imagine why the resident elephants like to walk on the road so much, much less use the roads as a pooping grounds!
       Anyway, here is a blurry--sorry--photo of a small herd of elephants in Kruger.  It was thrilling to see some actual "wild" elephants.

This guy did not seem to be happy about having to yield the road to motorists.  We waited about 10 minutes for him to complete his business and saunter off.  If you google Kruger National Park, you will see many reports of elephants charging cars.  Oh, and by the way, it seems that virtually all cars in South Africa are white, for obvious climate-related reasons.

Here's a pretty big crocodile sunning himself on the mud flats.  Thankfully, the only crocodiles I saw in Africa were this one and a couple of others a safe distance off in Kruger National Park.  I am truly afraid of crocodiles!







 





And here is a contemplative water buffalo enjoying a drink
in one of Kruger's many rivers.                        









We saw many many elephants, zebras, giraffes, baboons, impalas, kudus, and lots of other wildlife, but none of my photos of them are very good.  But this one photo is the Kruger National Park photo
I like best of all--unexpectedly, not of an animal at all, but rather of a BAOBAB tree.  What a wonder!

 

Well, after all this excitement, two weary, dusty, but very happy travellers found their way back to Otters Den, had an OSTRICH supper, and I settled in for my last night in Africa.