CHRIS & KATHY'S AFRICA TRIP PAGE
Welcome to our Africa Trip 2008 web page. On this page you will find photos, videos, and travelogues/stories from our brief travels in Africa. We chose to travel to Africa this summer so that Kathy can work at a pediatric HIV clinic in Lesotho, a small country that is landlocked inside of South Africa.
On the left hand side you will find a list of links that may help you to jump down to each section of the page. Be sure to check back to this page for updates! Enjoy!
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
We arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa on Monday. Due to a delayed flight and subsequent last minute flight changes, we got to fly through Paris instead of Washington DC but arrived in Jo’burg at 9pm. We did ok getting our luggage and rental car but immediately got lost. After a few detours, we finally arrived at our hotel at midnight.
After a late start the next morning (our clocks are way off – sleep has been difficult), we headed out to drive northwest toward Kruger National Park. Driving in South Africa is crazy. Not only are we driving on the left, but people cross the highways in the middle of traffic! Speeding drivers pass by each other at the worst of times and people generally walk right on the side of the highways regularly - even as cars pass each other in the shoulder and buzz by them within inches! It is as if there are no road rules.
Just outside of Jo'burg, we got lost again and ended up going the wrong way down a one way bus lane in not-the-best area of Pretoria! With people eyeing us, Chris tried to turn around but with the awkward stick shift on the left hand side, couldn’t get the car into reverse at a most inopportune moment! He eventually turned us around, and we found a safe haven in a McDonalds parking lot. The experience was so hair-raising that Kathy was almost ready to eat a few hamburgers! Thanks to the staff and a nice patron, we got back to the highway.
Return to the top of the page »
KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
Kruger National Park was amazing to say the least! Just inside the gate we saw a group of impala and then a huge elephant right at the side of the road. Chris thought it was a dinosaur it was so big. Our camp, Olifants, was beautiful, with a panoramic view overlooking the Olifants river (thanks Tim and Ania!). As soon as we arrived, we saw Chacma Baboons cruise by our lanai opening garbage cans and causing havoc. After a night drive, mountain bike ride, morning walk, sunset drive, and cruising on our own through the bush over the next 3 days, we saw so many animals! The video above and images below are a sampling of some of the wildlife that we saw, which included: elephant, giraffe, zebra, spotted hyenas, hippos, crocodiles, buffalo, blue wildebeest, warthogs, kudus, steenboks, waterbucks, vervet monkeys, genets, civets, impalas, eagles, herons, and many more. And on the last day, big cats! Two lions and a leopard! So cool… Kathy’s ready to quit medicine and go back to being a field biologist… just kidding!! :)
Return to the top of the page »
MASERU, LESOTHO: ARRIVAL
We arrived in Maseru, Lesotho on Sunday evening, where Kathy will be working at a pediatric HIV clinic and Chris will be working on a few volunteer projects for the clinic. The land and views here are beautiful: rocky mountains, colorful skies, and rolling hills. Unfortunately the country is very poor, so most people live in small structures that are dilapidated and poorly constructed, often using a combination of cinder blocks, metal/tin, blankets, plastic, and wood scraps. Some are nicer than others, but in general most are very sad. The temperature is cold, being that it is winter, but it was not as cold as we thought it was going to be.
We are staying at a nice two bedroom place on the Baylor Clinic grounds: a gated campus with a security guard 24 hours a day. It is an oasis in a city of poverty. Lesotho is currently going through a power shortage/crisis situation, where everyone is losing power for a few hours everyday. Nobody knows when it will happen and everyone appears to get by and live with it. Luckily our place is connected to the clinic generator, so we have only lost power a few times and for very short periods.
On the night that we arrived, Chris joined one of the other residents, Henry, on a night trip to bring back pizza. Apparently nobody delivers to our area, which is just outside of town, and nobody staying here has a car, so taxis are the safest and most recommended form of transportation. For some reason, either due to a local taxi strike or a problem with the telephone lines, we could not get a taxi, so Henry suggested that we take a "combi" - which are minivans that run along the main roads, similar to buses. People get on and off along the road and the cost is minimal (approx. 50 cents). Upon exiting the grounds, the security guard pleaded with us not to go. "It is not safe. Please do not go. If something happens to you, I will be responsible. Please do not go. Not at night." Henry insisted that we would be ok, and off we went despite the guard's warning. At this point, I was ready to go back, but decided to go against my better judgment and follow Henry's confidence and go along for the ride.
Getting the combi on the main road was the easy part. It was jam packed with mainly males, almost all of them drinking beers. We got many stares, being the only two foreigners stupid enough to travel by combi at night. Henry did all of the talking, since I had no idea where we were or where we were going. All was going fine until we took a side turn down a very dark alley. I looked at Henry (who was seated in the back - we got separated at some point in the shuffle of picking up and dropping off passengers), "where are we?" I mouthed. "We're ok." Thumbs up, he gave me. But I can tell that it was a half-hearted effort to comfort me. I could see that he was a bit worried too. We turned left down another alley, right down another, passed vacant buildings, destroyed concrete walls, people in the middle of the streets, and small fires along the side of the road. I'm thinking the worst of thoughts, ready to hop out and run at any moment... but where to? It would be near impossible to find my way back at this point. We pull into a dark, crowded parking lot with people staring at us. The van stops and everyone gets out except for us two. "What do we do now? Do we get out and try to walk from here? Where are we?" Henry explains that we must be at a combi station, a vacant parking lot where routes intersect. Luckily, after a few moments of uncertainty, our driver returned and said that he will take us to Scooter's - the pizza place. Phew!
Along the way the driver tries to ask if we can get him a job in the United States. Many people here look to us as a means toward prosperity and opportunity, hoping that we can someday take them with us to the US and help find them jobs and get rich. It was interesting to listen to him. Once at the pizza place, we asked him if he could drive us back to our house for the standard taxi fare (approx. $7.00). Luckily, he agreed. Upon arriving safely back home, I let out a HUGE sigh a relief... it was a harrowing first day experience.
Afterwards I learned that Lesotho does not have a large drug problem, other than alcohol and the rare abuse of marijuana. The people here are very poor, but are generally happy and friendly. It definitely wasn't the smartest thing in the world to take a combi ride at night, but as I learn more about the layout of the city, I know that we were probably much safer than we felt. In any city environment where poverty is abundant, crime and safety will be issues, but the more I learn about the Basuto people the safer I feel. It is much safer here than in Johannesburg. The larger problems facing Lesotho are poverty, HIV, and the constant threat of political instability.
Return to the top of the page »
MASERU, LESOTHO: THE BAYLOR CLINIC
The Baylor clinic architecture is beautiful and the interiors are well designed. The pictures below are pieces of art that are on display within the Baylor clinic. They include traditional lesotho hats, baskets, weavings, blankets, prints, and creative clothing and artwork using recycled material such as a women's skirt equipped with bottle caps, and another skirt made out of plastic candy bar wrappers and potato chip bags.
Every morning at Baylor, the patients and staff sing a hymn during the morning prayer. Their singing is amazing. Listening to the performance is quite an emotional experience. It's so moving that both Kathy and I have had to fight back tears on several occasions. Listen to the music in the video below for an example.
During our first weekend here we worked at a HIV testing event targeted toward faculty workers and their children. The factory workers were supposed to have the day off (Saturday) in order to get tested, but unfortunately had to report to work and therefore could not get tested. Only a few families managed to make it, so the event was eventually called off early; an unfortunate result for a relatively large scale effort and a great cause.
The next weekend, we participated in a monthly "HIV Teen Club" - a Baylor event for local teenagers with HIV. The event was a huge success, with 80+ kids playing games, singing, and learning about how to live with HIV. They were all quite small, appearing to be much younger than they actually were - their growth stunted from malnutrition. It was so nice to see them smiling and laughing throughout the day. At the end of the day they sang a song that brought us to the brink of tears, yet again.
Return to the top of the page »
SEMONKONG, LESOTHO: THE MARATHON HIKE
Last weekend we traveled with our roommate, Gina, to Semonkong, a small village located in the mountains at the very end of a long, steep, road. Kathy and I thought that we were in store for a nice, relaxing, lazy weekend get-away at a winter lodge. We were wrong.
On Day #1 we went for a pony trek to the Maletsunyane Falls, the largest waterfall that I have ever seen at around 190 meters - over 600 hundred feet! After hiking down the canyon and back, we took an alternate (read: treacherous) route back to the lodge. Up and down steep, rocky slopes our horses were slipping everywhere. Gina's horse fell on its rear twice and nearly toppled her over! At one point, we had to get off our horses because the path was too steep and dangerous for us to ride. As we carefully kept our balance on foot, we turned around at one point to watch Gina's horse almost fall down into the ravine by the river! The poor horse scrambled and slipped on the slanted rock ledge, with look of terror in his eyes. All we could do was watch in fear as our guide kept whipping it and yelling, "Haight!"
On Day #2 we decided to take a nice leisurely hike to a remote village.... over 10 miles away! The hike took us 7 hours, each way. Prior to this, the longest hike that we have ever done was probably 4-5 hours. So we thought, "No problem, we can handle this." Wrong. Mud, snow, ice, rock ledges, hills, mountains, streams, rivers, steep ascents, steep descents, etc... you name it, we went up, over, around, and across it. Picture this: you have been hiking all day and are sitting on top of a mountain. You see many mountains, hills, valleys, canyons, etc. in every direction (the views are truly amazing). No villages or people anywhere in sight. You go over one mountain. Pass through a small village. Is it ours? Nope. Keep walking. Up a never ending hill. Over another mountain. Then another. Into another small village. Is it ours? Nope. Keep walking. Go over another mountain. Then another. Repeat for hours. This went on for what felt like forever! The worst part was that our guide, Ntate Joseph, spoke little English and was unable to tell us how far we had to go or how long we had to get there. He would just point and say, "That way, and around."
Around 4 or 5 hours into the hike, we pass a man on a horse who says to us, "you go into water?" We knew that we had one large river to cross, but neither our guide nor our hosts back at the lodge had given us any warning as to how large, or deep this river would be, or how we would get across it exactly. We simply assumed that our guide would take care of us. Wrong. The man on the horse offers to take us across on his horse for 20 Miloti ($2.50). "Sounds good," we replied. After another tiring incline, slippery ledge, and steep descent through snow and ice, we find our river. It's about 40 feet across with white rapids and a rapid current. "We can do this," we reassured ourselves. We'll be on a horse, right? Wrong. Our friend with the horse never shows up. After a half hour of waiting in the cold, our guide takes us to a spot with a fast current and white rapids, then tells us to take off our shoes and roll up our pants. "Are you kidding?!?!?" Nope.
Gina went first. Kathy and I stared in disbelief. Our guide, (who was wearing "gum boots" - waterproof rubber boots/leggings), nonchalantly wades across holding Gina's hand and leading the way for her, telling her where to step. At this point Kathy and I are thinking, "OK, once Gina is safely across our guide will come back and help us out." Wrong. Halfway across the river, they stop and wave us on to follow them. We look at each other in disbelief. The river is way too fast and dangerous to do it without our guide's help. Gina, knee deep and freezing in the middle of the river yells, "I'm freezing my ass off! Get in the water!" In we went. The blind leading the blind. I have never seen Kathy so scared in my life. I wasn't sure if it was the freezing cold water, or the fear of getting swept away by the rapids. We held on to each other as if our lives depended upon it, not knowing where to go or step and trying our hardest not to fall on the slippery rock faces that we clumsily traversed under the water. At one point I slipped into a gap and was in as deep as mid thigh. I then managed to find a flat rock that was only a foot or so under the surface and a few feet away. It was perfectly too small (and too slippery) for the two of us, which we discovered shortly after Kathy jumped onto to it with me. There were no other options, and we came so close to toppling over! Our guide quickly ran over to rescue us and guided us to the other side. Elated, and in shock, we laughed. Four mountains, three valleys, and two hours later, we could finally see our village! It was only two mountains and three valleys away.
The village was amazing. Only 10-15 huts, two horses, a few dogs, and a small farming area for crops. We were greeted by the village chief's wife, who gave us each a blanket to wear (mine was pink) and we huddled together in our traditional Basuto hut deliriously giggling and waiting for tomorrow, when we do the exact same hike in reverse. At night, we saw the most star-filled sky that we had ever seen. With no electricity, lights, or cities for many miles, it was a breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime sky.
Despite our sore legs, the hike home went much smoother. The chief's wife lent us a horse to cross the river, and since we knew what we had in store for us we were able to pace ourselves and enjoy the scenery on the way home.
Return to the top of the page »
LEAVING LESOTHO
While Kathy was working at the clinic, Chris worked on a few video projects for the Baylor Clinic. One was a nutrition video designed to be shown in the waiting room, and the other was a promotional video shown below:
After one month in Lesotho, we headed to Cape Town for a week of vacation before returning to the US. Leaving Lesotho turned out to be quite an adventure of a day.
It began at 8AM. We arranged for a taxi to pick us up early to take us to the airport in Bloemfontein, a small town just over the border in South Africa about an hour drive away. The price was 600 Miloti (around $75 US). Despite our wake-up call and confirmation, our taxi driver was about an hour late. "Minor car troubles," he told us. A young woman riding with him explained to us that the side doors to the van weren't opening due to some "electrical issues", so we had to climb in through the passenger side front door.
Just prior to the Lesotho-South Africa border we stopped at a gas station directly across from the customs building. It is common in Lesotho for taxis to fill up on gas mid-trip, requesting cash up front in order to pay for the petrol. We gave him 200 Miloti. He then told us, "while I fill up, you two should go through customs, get your passports stamped, and I will pick you up on the other side." We didn't feel comfortable leaving our bags behind. After much debate and apprehension, we decided to quickly run into the customs building, get our stamps, then promptly run back to the van. When we got back, the van was parked behind some bushes near the gas station with the hood up and our driver on the ground working on the underside of the van. The car wouldn't start. It's a good thing that we decided to come back rather than cross the border.
"It should only take a few minutes to fix. In the meantime, you two need to go get your second stamp, it's through the gate on the other side. Just follow the path. I will pick you up on the other side, I promise." It's apparently a two-step process. "No way," we replied. Surprised by our lack of trust, he tried to reassure us that even in the worst case scenario he had another car, and that he can have it brought to us in a matter of minutes. We were not convinced. Luckily, the young woman that was traveling with us explained to us that it was her Dad's car and that he was on his way to help fix it. She then offered to introduce us to her Dad and then walk us through the customs process and wait with us on the other side. With much hesitation, we took our backpacks out of the van, which contained all of our valuables, and left our larger bags containing our clothes behind.
On the way we ran into the young woman's father, who was on his way back to the van to fix it. We started to feel better. Then we came across a HUGE line. Easily 100+ people. We were beginning to understand why the taxi driver wanted us to go ahead and get stamped while he fixed the car. She then took us to a much shorter line (that we would have never found on our own). In a matter of minutes we had our second stamp. Shortly after that, the van rolled up, with Dad now coming along for the ride. Things were looking up.
As we pulled up to the final border check, we passed our passports to the driver, who was busy loading a CD into the stereo. Previously, the stereo had been off for the entire trip. Just before the gate he hits play and turns up the volume with Marvin Gaye singing, "Let's Get it On!" It was hilarious. The music was so loud. The armed guards didn't even look at our passports. They just smiled and waved us on.
After dropping off the young woman in nearby Ladybrand, we were on our way to the airport. Around 30 minutes later, the van breaks down. The driver and the father try to restart it, but with no luck. They pop the hood and start troubleshooting. At this point it's around 12:30 and our flight leaves at 2:30. We have no idea how far away we are. We decide to give them 15 minutes, then we will ask them to call us another taxi from nearby. 30 minutes later they tell us that not only do they not know of a local cab company in Bloemfontein, but that also may not have any airtime on their cell phones (most people use prepaid cell phone services in Lesotho). Kathy and I have yet to buy a SIM card for South Africa, so we are dependent upon the use of their phones. Kathy finds a number in her Lonely Planet book. The taxi driver calls... wrong number. Kathy then finds the number of a local hotel. Meanwhile, the father is up the road closely eyeing each passing car looking for Lesotho license plates. Every once in a while he sees one and tries to wave them down, but without any luck. Finally he flags down a car with two young guys from Maseru. They offer to give us a ride for 100 Miloti We immediately hopped in.
Even though we were late for our flight, we still felt bad for the father and the taxi driver, who were still stuck with a broken car in another country miles from home. We decided to pay them the remainder of the fare, minus the 100 Miloti that we paid the two young guys. We thought that it was fair. The airport ended up being right up the road, maybe 2 miles away! We could have walked it in less time than it took to flag down a ride or call a taxi.
Once we arrived at the airport, the second half of the adventure began: our flight to Cape Town got cancelled. We had to wait a few hours to get re-routed through Johannesburg. One of the main reasons why we traveled to Bloemfontein was to avoid Johannesburg. We also wanted to arrive during the daylight to arrive at a decent hour at our friend Tim's parent's house, our kind hosts for the next couple of nights.
Two delayed flights later, we arrived in Cape Town at around 10:00PM. By the time we got our rental car and drove the half hour to Tim's parents house, it was close to midnight. Luckily, Val and Dennis were there to welcome us. They were so kind and understanding - great people.
Return to the top of the page »
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA: VACATION
Cape Town was a beautiful end to a great trip in Africa. It reminded us of Hawaii, with beautiful beaches, mountains, and nice weather. During the first four nights we stayed with Tim's parents, Val and Dennis, who treated us like family in their lovely home. Kathy fell in love wither their dog, Ruby. We drove through the vineyards of Stellenbosch, thanks to Tessa, Tim's kind friend who was nice enough to spend the day with us. The highlight of our wine-tasting day was visiting her boyfriend's vineyard De Meye, where we drank excellent wine and got a private tour. Later that week, we drove to the beach town of Hermanus, took a cable car to the top of Table Mountain, and drove to Boulder's Beach, home to thousands of African Penguins.
Toward the end of our stay in Cape Town, we stayed at a cool little hotel/B&B called the Silver Lattice right near Long Street and downtown Cape Town - thanks, Eileen! It was nice to walk around the city, shop for African crafts, and eat at local restaurants. It was perfect. We will miss Africa, a place that has truly changed our perspective on life. We will be return...
I hope that you have enjoyed our stories, pictures, and videos.