Monday, October 8, 2007

Cape Town is cold

The main thing we did in Botswana was check out the Okavango Delta. It's a pretty standard trip for people on the overland trucks. You meet up with some local people who take you out into the wilderness on their mokoros (a very shallow canoe). It wasn't until I was safely back on the truck that someone informed me a tourist had been taken from their mokoro by a crocodile.

We got to the site and set up camp. It's not like other campsites since it's in the wilderness. We didn't have showers, toilets or anything. But the locals were kind enough to dig us a hole.

The first afternoon we were taken on a 1.5 hour game walk. Our guide was Mots, (or Mops or Mox). He looked the part of the traditional tracker in his shoes and designer jeans from timberland. But he was very knowledgeable
about animal shit. Which was just as well because that's all we saw. We saw Elephant, Hippo, Zebra, and Giraffe shit. We were very amused that he used the term "shit" rather than the less colourful term "droppings".

He also taught us a bit about the various plants and what they are used for. At one point he told us the poison something was used to cure the something. We asked are you sure? Turns out you use the roots, the leaves are poisonous. A bit later on he told us another plant that was nice to taste. So I stuck a leaf in my mouth. It was then he told us you use the roots, not the leaves. I should have known.

We were following
his stories fairly well up until when he told us about the plants used to cure babies. When the shadow of the eagle is cast on the baby you need to give them the plant to stop it from getting sick. It was then we thought, how much of the other stuff he's told us is also bullshit.

The next day we got up early to do a 4 hour game walk. It was different to the previous walk because this time we saw some Hyena shit as well. At one point we saw what was either a red back deer, or a rock. My bet was on rock until it jumped up and ran away.

Mots was very apologetic that there wasn't much game around. But if they aren't around there's not much he can do about it. At one point he suggested maybe the lions had scared them off to another section of the park. So I asked, "So what you are saying is there's a pack of hungry lions roaming around and we're the only edible thing for miles." He just laughed.... and nodded.

That night the locals put on a song and dance show. They were a bit embarrassed and were slow to get going. But it soon became apparent that they were great natural singers. Their dancing however reminded me of the Werrimull School dance of 1989. Lots of small shuffles to the left and then shuffles to the righ
t in equal number.

It was then of course our turn to give a song. The group dynamics had changed considerably since Rachel's 21st and so the song of choice was some Beatles number that I didn't even know the words too, and some Barry Manilow (well maybe not Barry but you get the picture). So I volunteered "Pump up the Jam" which I did a solo acapella version of.

We then jumped back on the truck and headed to South Africa. At the border it took a huge amount of self control not to hold up my passport and say "Duplamatic Ummunitee". But I did manage to not say it and got through without any incident.

Once inside South Africa we stayed at a campsite that still felt like it had aparteid. The white guys bar had a bunch of angry looking Afrikaner farmers. Just across the road was a run down shack with no roof that had people singing dancing and heaps of music. I wanted to go hang out with the blacks but I didn't have any Rand yet and I was very tired.

That night it rained and thundered and lighteninged and my stuff inside my tent got wet. But it was the last night of camping THAT I WILL EVER HAVE TO DO IN MY LIFE. So it was ok.

I'm now in Cape Town. I was told it's a lot like Melbourne and that's true. So far it's been very cold, wet and raining and also quite sunny, and that's just this morning. Only 5 days to go and I'm back in sunny Cairns.

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