a merry christmas to all our readers!

I have a terrible confession to make. I have not sent a single Christmas card ... not one. Like I said before, Christmas creeps up on you in Africa and I just, well ... forgot.

But John and I would like to wish all our friends and family a really wonderful holiday and hope that 2009 is a healthy year for all of us.
It's getting hotter and hotter in Botswana - we are waiting for the weather to break and send us some decent rain. That would be a wonderful Christmas present. Pula!

Christmas in Francistown

Work has finally finished and I've had my first weekend off for months. We've decided to stay at home for the holidays ... it will be weird not to be with family but I just could not face the travelling to go to either UK or Cape Town. It has been very hot and dry here for the past few days so we are hoping for rain later this week. It doesn't matter how long I live in Africa - Christmas in summer just doesn't do it for me!
Francistown is completely manic - the supermarkets are heaving and the traffic - well, I won't even go there. There is a definite seige mentality - although I think a lot of the shoppers have come over from Bulawayo in Zim, because, of course, there is nothing in their shops. Someone told me the other day that it can take 5 hours to get through the border now because of the sheer volume of traffic. A Zimbabwean guy we know who lives in Francistown came to us for help yesterday - he'd been in Zim selling maizemeal and as he got back to Francistown on his way home, he got beaten up by a couple of guys and had his money and cellphone stolen. Someone knew he had money. So no Christmas for him and his family. John bailed him out but it is poor comfort. Our neighbour phoned on Saturday to say that we must be more security concious as someone in the Inchwe River Residence next door, got burgled on Friday night ... it is the season, but not to be jolly!

You Tube 2

I've managed to get 2 more videos up - the first is all about a fantastic new hardware product from Microsoft - 'Surface'. This video is not exactly marketing material ... but you'll get the idea! The second video is about the Wii Fit which is my latest toy. John bought me one for my birthday - but I think I like it more than the guys who made the video. In fact, Christmas Eve is officially declared Wii Fit Day in our house as we have friends (Lesley and Guy and their daughters Maggie and Tess) coming round for the afternoon to play on it. For Christmas, John got a whole load of accessories, tennis bats, golf bats, cricket bats etc so we can play all those sports without even leaving the living room. Then we're going to have a braai and stuff our faces with chocolate cake and mango tiramisu ... yum!

New gadget - video bar

I have added a new gadget to the blog - I am highlighting my favourite You Tube videos. To start with I have only put up my all-time, never to be surpassed, favourite YT vid. Please click on the FIRST box to view - and send me a comment to let me know what you think. A word of warning - you have to like either Nilsson or Mariah Carey to appreciate this video ... but then it is very, very funny. Thanks to Flora Okuku who sent this video to me on Facebook. Flora was a Multimedia lecturer at FCTVE and is now on her way back to Kenya with her family. Great stuff! Look out for more videos when I have time.

Four flights and 29 hours later ...

... and I am home again - and only 4 hours late! Flying around Africa on tin-pot national airlines is really not the way to do it. (I hope John doesn't read this otherwise I won't be able to stop him from rushing out to buy an aeroplane!) We were delayed for 2 hours out of Kigali on Rwanda Air ... got to the hotel in Entebbe at 11pm ... up again at 4am ... SAA to Johannesburg (that one worked ok). Then a long wait for Air Botswana who were nearly 2 hours late leaving JNB (and through a mega thunderstorm) but it didn't matter because the Air Botswana Francistown flight was delayed due to a breakdown of the incoming aircraft from Kasane. That flight arrived about 3 hours late so were delayed 4 hours in Gaborone. Gaborone airport must be the hottest airport on this earth ... there are no fans, no AC and no thought went into the design to ensure air flow through the building - it is dreadful.

But it's great to be home even though I've only been away 10 days. Everyone missed me and now we are on the countdown to the final week of the FCTVE project and then Christmas. Still haven't decided whether to stay in Francistown (not the favoured option - it is just too hot) ... go to Cape Town to see Desna and Miranda (and where John might have another hospital procedure) or to join Daniele and Tom in Zanzibar ... decisions, decisions. We'll let you know what the outcome is!

Phew!

The presentation is over and I can relax a little now ... although it sounds like the work is only just about to start. The Ministry Management Team bought my ideas and I am requested by the Minister to start working on a new ODL institution for Rwanda tomorrow - he's given me an interim project team and told me to get on with it! Oh and I'm not allowed to go home on Thursday ... yeah, right!

I'm pleased they agreed with what I had to say - although at dinner last night it became patently obvious that the Minister had already made up his mind that what he needed was distance learning. Consequently my presentation was far too long as I went through the whole 'selling' bit. Nevermind ... as Laurence said, they must have liked it or I wouldn't have been offered the job. Of course there's a little thing to sort out like a contract - but at least the first hurdle has been crossed.

This evening I will meet up with Paul again and together we will try to plan out the next steps of action. More from Kigali later ...

Retail Therapy

Just got back from a mega-trip around the new Kigali with Paul. First we went to change some dollars into spending tokens. No more queuing up in banks or getting ripped off by street exchange merchants - there are little 'cambio' offices everywhere. Apparently all the street guys have been forced to get offices. But it is great ... no queue, no fees, good exchange rate - excellent!


Then we went to the Trade Expo for Artisans ... it was totally wonderful. About 80 stalls from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania selling fab stuff. Paul was the most effective 'financial adviser'. The sellers took one look at the muzungu and doubled their prices. Paul promptly beat them down to half - and then started negotiating. I bought TONNES of stuff (not sure how I'm going to get it home) for very cheap (don't worry John :-)


After we were shopped out, we went on a tour of Kigali to see all the new buildings and gardens - it's certainly a lot more developed. We went to a big new, modern shopping centre - the like of which has never been seen in Kigali. It even has a supermarket - a proper one! The traffic is absolutely crazy - there are just so many cars on the road. There is a huge area in the centre of town which used to be full of shacks and dwellings - it has now been totally cleared to make way for a new business park. The people were given compensation but of course they say it is not enough. All the land owners in the centre of town have been told to either build a multi storey building or sell the land.


OK, I still love Kigali.

Greetings from Rwanda

It's great to be back in Rwanda! It's cold and wet and there is still red mud everywhere - but I love it! I haven't seen much other than the inside of a conference hall and the hotel but certainly there are lots of (huge) new buildings around and the roads are all repaired with good pavements at the side and the central reservations have well-tended gardens. The whole of Kigali is being fitted with fibre-optic cable so that the ICT revolution can really take hold. For the past 2 days I have been in a workshop to discuss a national ICT in Education policy for Rwanda.

I've spent 2 evenings with my old counterpart, Paul, from Kigali Institute of Education - he's been updating me on all the news - there is certainly a lot going on here. Over the weekend I am meeting informally with several of the Ministry Directors who I knew from before ... to find out more about what is happening in education. On Sunday evening I am to have dinner with the Minister and the Education Adviser from DFID. On Monday morning I make a presentation to Ministry Senior Management meeting on my ideas for open schooling in Rwanda.

Not entirely sure what I am going to say yet ... but inspiration will come as I talk to people over the weekend. Tomorrow morning Paul is taking me to a Craft Expo ... looking forward to that. Oh .. and a message for George and John - the dawn chorus is just as loud as it ever was - wonderful!

My brother is complaining...

... that I haven't updated the blog - so in haste - here goes.

I have more or less finished the Botswana project - just waiting for comments on our final report. Busy trying to work with lecturers to finish the last few learning materials. I have lots of leave to take so I only go in on odd days.

This week Wednesday, I fly to Rwanda to talk to the Minister about open schooling and make a presentation to Ministry Management. Looking forward to seeing lots of old colleagues there - especially my counterpart from Kigali Institute of Education, Paul Masterjerb.

Yesterday, another friend sent me details of a great project looking for a team leader in Solomon Islands for next year - so John and I spent most of yesterday (after breakfast with Daniele and Tom!) putting together a technical proposal. That was the easy bit - trying to find costs of flights from Francistown to Honiara is the difficult bit! That's his job for today.

John is feeling much better ... at last ... and now has some energy reserves. It is very, very hot here now so he is suffering from the heat. He doesn't manage heat well, for an African! It's likely that we will stay in Francistown for Christmas but he is busy trying to persuade me we should go to Mozambique. Daniele and Tom are off to Zanzibar next weekend - lucky them! Not really looking forward to Christmas here ... we'll miss the family ... and Christmas in summer is just all wrong for me.

The Ministry here have asked me to continue working at the college for a couple more years but are in the throes of sourcing the funding. They have given us a letter to Immigration Department to request an extension on our work permits so we will probably stay here until March to see what pans out. I'm also in a bid to do a 14-country research project for SADC so if we win that one, I'm going to be busy!

Apart from all that, I am trying to carry out research interviews with colleagues who are leaving the college ... the others I'm planning to get in January. I suppose I'll finish this doctorate one day ... but the light at the end of the tunnel has not yet been turned on!

In my tree ...

... this week I have had several special treats ... I saw a new bird. A puffback, a kind of shrike. He looks like a ball of very fluffy white cotton wool with a black head, legs and tail sticking out! And this morning when I looked out of the kitchen window there were Mr & Mrs Cape Francolin with 4 little Francolettes. Also this week I have seen Mr & Mrs Paradise Flycatcher. He is absolutely stunning with a long golden/rust tail and they have dark blue heads with sky blue ring around the eye ... magic!

Commotion in the orchard

George was going crazy in the orchard yesterday - and when I went to see what all the noise was about - she was having a stand off with a HUGE chameleon. He was blue and black and grey and hissing at George like crazy. George was jumping about and barking and was very interested in the visitor. I dragged her back to the house and grabbed my camera. When I got back outside, the chameleon was nowhere to be seen. But I searched around and found him under some mulberry leaves. By now he was about a quarter of his original size and was bright, bright green. I spent ages watching him and taking photos as he climbed up the mulberry branches. Of all the critters in our garden, the chameleons are my favourite!

New blog

I have added a new entry to the list of blogs I'm reading. Go to 'mind of a fox' and read what Clem Sunter has to say about strategic planning ... well I think it's interesting!!!

Unique driving experience

No, I'm not talking about a trip in a Bugatti Veyron ... but a quick stop at our post box in Francistown. It just happens to be right next to the central bus station and taxi rank. For those of you who have never driven in Francistown, I can't begin to describe the experience. The sheer volume of traffic, mutatus and taxis ... and NO-ONE was giving way to anyone. The whole area was grid-locked for ages. The mentality of these guys - and yes they are nearly all men - is completely Neandethal. All they need is a stone club to knock each other on the head and they would be well away! For readers who have lived in Rwanda - think Kigali Market Square at 11am on a Saturday - to the power 10!!!

To give you an idea of the kind of vehicles we see ... look at the first pic. The second one is the Veyron (drool!) But you don't see too many of those in Francistown :-)

They grow up so fast ...

... don't they? I heard from my friend Bronwen in Australia today. Her son Aiden - who used to go to school with Boot in Windhoek - has just had a son - Cooper. I can't show you a photo of Cooper, but Aodh is the one on the far left. OK - it was Boot's 10th birthday party - he's standing next to Aiden. This was a game to scoff the donut on the string as fast as you could without using your hands - if my memory serves me correctly Aiden did it almost in one bite! Next to Boot is Alex, then Ben, then Christophe. They're all about 6 feet tall now!

The President comes to town

Today was the grand opening of Francistown College of Technical & Vocational Education. We had a great day - the President came to officiate plus a whole host of dignitaries, government officials, stakeholders and the general public. The TA Team Project Directors came and European Union Delegation as well - seeing as though they funded nearly 3/4 of it! It really is the most beautiful place I have ever worked. Here's a photo of the main Admin building - I'll post some photos of the celebration next week. Here's a link to a newspaper article about the college from earlier this year.

who's guarding the guard?

The day after I wrote the last post ... and then went off to Gaborone - the guard decided to take John's car out to the pub! First I knew about it was Friday morning when I got a phone call from Francistown police. What a nightmare ... he really has lost it this time! He doesn't even have a licence. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do about him - let him go, I guess. I've got people looking for a replacement for me - but it's difficult to know who you can trust. And it's difficult sorting things like this out when John is away :-(

on the move

I'm off to Gaborone for the rest of this week until Monday. The guard? Well he decided to pitch on Tuesday to ask for his money - as predicted. Long story short, we had a long chat and he asked for his job back ... promised to be reliable etc etc - we'll see. So at least I have someone to take care of the house and garden while I'm away. My neighbours were really helpful - arranged a night guard to cover - and even offered to come and check the place themselves. People are so kind.

I've also got to go to the dentist - again!!! More root canal work. My dentist is really weird - he ONLY does root canals - says its the only bit of dentistry he enjoys. I remember a dentist once telling me that doing root canal work is like doiong knitting in a jam jar! I think I'm on my way to needing implants - now there's something to look forward to!

It is very, very hot here - John is complaining because apparently it is freezing in Cape Town. But he's had his procedure, was a bit sore at first and is starting to feel better now. He's off to Windhoek next week to sort out the businesses there and try to persuade them to give us another work permit - hold thumbs.

People are asking where we are going next - and the answer is, we don't know. So far I have being talking to people about short and long term projects in places as far apart as Rwanda, Pakistan, Romania, Tanzania, Namibia, Kenya and Scotland!! I'll let you all know when a decision is made. Laurence has been really helpful and skillful at finding projects for me and revising my cv and application letters - I knew he'd come in useful one day :-)

What a night ! (2 soggie doggies)

So John has gone to Cape Town and I'm left all alone with Sid and George. Great, I think. Big plans for a girls Friday night with Daniele... drinking champagne ... playing on the Wii Fit. Much as we love our men it's great to be home without them!

It's a (very) long weekend in Botswana. Tuesday and Wednesday are public holidays to celebrate Independence. The actual day is Tuesday 30th but the day after is given off as well because no-one shows at work the next day anyway. And this year ... Monday, well ...?? And it's been a very heavy week. The project is frantic now as it is the end of our last quarter and we are trying to get everything done that we said we would and write the quarterly report. So I was really glad to slip away early on Friday afternoon and start THE BIG PLAN. The idea was to go for a massage and relexology treatment at our lovely local spa ... have fun with Daniele on Friday night and then spend the next 5 days getting stuck into my research, doing my sewing/crafts and having a detox. You know, no tea, no champagne, only water and juice and raw fruit and veg. Even some weights and aerobics. And then have some more me time ... get my nails done, have a pedicure and facial etc etc.

The first bit worked ok - got home from the spa, all cool, calm and collected, only to find that the house is FULL of flies (at least 40) and the gardener - who acts as our guard when John is away, decides he too, is having a holiday. This, despite a long talk with him with John before he left when he promised that he would look after 'Madam' and would stay over every weekend to look out for the tsotsis! I was just reeling from that, logging in to email to check on job applications and searching for the Doom (fly spray) when the electricity went out. This is a fairly regular occurance here - but I couldn't face putting on the generator as it is so noisy and smelly. I sat in the dark chatting to Dan for quite a while and then the heat really got to me - no fans in 38 degrees (at 6.30pm!) when there is not even a breeze ... is not a breeze if you see what I mean. Power finally came back after 3 hours!

Then the gardener/guard decides to pitch. Long story short, he lied to me about why he didn't come to work (this is the second day running) and I just lost it ... and sacked him. Bit rash?? probably ... but he's become increasingly unreliable and is really no use to me whatsoever. Last time John was away and he was supposed to stay over he went missing for 5 days!

So now I'm really all on my own. Dan & Tom have gone camping in the desert with most of our other friends and nearly everyone I know is away for the holidays. I could have gone with them but I don't like trips like that without John and I'm not sure I'd last that long with a big group of people (about 14). I checked that the neighbours are home so at least there's someone there if I need them. Sid and George and I have just been for a swim in the pool. The electric beams are on around the outside of the property and it sounds like the party has just started across the river bed ... I think I'm in for a long night.

But still looking forward to some me time ... got all my decoupage stuff out and plan to make some leaving presents for the girls because it looks like we will be departing Botswana in December - but I'll save that for another story.

In my tree ...

I'm adding a new feature to the blog - which might only interest the birders amongst you (mum, mike, alan) I've been running it as an email from time to time but maybe other people might be interested.


Outside my study window (where I spend most weekends) there is a tree with yellow flowers and huge bright green seed pods. There is a security light next to it which attracts the bugs. On the other side I have hung a bird table where we put fruit and nuts. Consequently we get a huge variety of seed, bug and fruit-eating birds (and squirrels and bush babies). John wanted to cut the tree down when we arived because it was partly covering the security light - I'm so pleased I persuaded him not to.
Anyway this little feature will give a running commentary of the birds I see in my tree.


In my tree today there is ...

• a crested barbet (see pic)
• a fork tailed drongo
• 4 blue waxbills
• a masked weaver
• 6 arrow marked babblers (VERY noisy)
• a Senegal coucal (my favourite)
• 2 boubous
• a brown headed kingfisher

I hope you like hearing about the activity in my tree ... it provides endless entertainment for me (when I'm supposed to be studying!)

Our House

Several people have asked about where we are living - so I thought I'd put up before and after photos - at least of the garden. We rent a small house on a large plot on the northern edge of Francistown. It's got 3 bedrooms, living/dining room with a big bar, massive kitchen, a strange, wide hall and a nice guest cottage. We are about 50kms from the Zimbabwe border in northern Botswana - which brings certain security problems. The house was a bit sad and uncared-for when we took it on but we've managed to make it home. The garden was a dust bowl when we arrived but John has worked hard on it and it's lovely now. It's amazing what you can do by just moving plants around and regular watering. There is borehole water, so that is useful! We've got a nice orchard with lemons, oranges, grapefruit, guava, mango and mulberry trees. Not that we get to eat much of the fruit because the moneys and birds get to it before we do. Even the dogs eat the mulberries off the lower branches! There are many, many birds of different varieties - too many to mention here.

We've been very happy in this house - the landlord is very friendly and has improved the security and done a fair bit of renovation for us. It's still old and a bit run down - but we like it!

I know I look too young ...

... to have a 20 year old son - but it's true - Laurence was 20 last Wednesday. Just to celebrate and let him know I love him and how proud I am of him - here's a couple of pictures of my baby boy. On the left is one of his early passport photos (he didn't like the flash!) and on the right the evidence of a great Euro-Tour he did with Ben last summer (Brussels, I think).

George & Eli's Namibian Odyssey

Here's the epic tale of a trip around Namibia seen through the eyes of a not-quite first time visitor from Seattle. For those of us who live or have lived in Namibia, it will present an interesting perpective. For those who want to live in Namibia (Jerry) ... keep saving your pennies! Warning - it's a long post ... but interesting reading.


We started our Namibian roadtrip by flying into Windhoek (the Capitol) and picking up our 4x4 Nissan Hardbody and driving about 1 hour outside Windhoek to the Amani Lodge. It was an easy first day of driving giving us a chance to get used to the truck and the gravel roads and the quickly changing landscape. Amani is a nice lodge run by a french man and his shirtless long haired romance novel cover son.

It is also home to a Cheetah rehabilitation center sponsored by the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF). We arrived in time for a late lunch and an afternoon "big cat drive". It was a totally weird Jurassic Park experience. We were loaded into a land rover with a few other folks being driven by a young Namibian version of the guy from the crocodile dundee movies named David and we set out on to the vast property to feed the cheetah, lion and leopard that are living on the property ...either for re-hab or as in the case of the lion and leopard to live out there days in a close approximation of the wild (due to injury or human contact they would not survive in the wild and can not be rehab'd). After cruising down some crazy "roads" we came through several locked gates....and then more locked gates with high fences and there we were in the cheetah's area....I had know idea what to expect...I was looking everywhere for cheetah...and then we came to a clearing and David stops the truck and opens this locked cooler box beside him and pulls out 3 giant steaks....he then proceeds to walk up this big hill with them in his hands....I was expecting he might just throw them on to the hill and jump back in the truck...but no he starts climbing this hill and making "here kitty kitty sounds"...the cheetahs finally come out from hiding and he lures them down the hill towards the truck with these steaks...it was the most insane crazy thing to see....when they finally come close enough he tosses them the steaks one by one...and climbs back in the truck...2 cheetahs took their steaks and got to the business of eating but the 3rd sneered and growled and looked more like he might make us his dinner instead! It was amazing to see and definitely thrilling....but the best part is knowing that these cheetah will be re introduced in the wild in only 5 months...thanks to the CCF Namibia has the largest free roaming cheetah population in the world.

With our hearts pumping we went on to watch the lions and leopards eat.....which you do from far away on big fenced in platforms. We returned to the lodge just in time for some sparkling wine and our first Namibian sunset....which is truly something to behold....you watch as this giant red....(because of all the dust) ball of fire slowly drops below the horizon....it seems like time almost stops....Whew...that was day 1.

The next day we hit the road in earnest driving about 5 hours south on gravel and dirt roads towards the Namib-Naukluft Park and the great dunes of Sossusvlei. It felt like a long way to travel as we were not yet used to driving on those types of roads..but watching the senery change from the low sparse mountains to the very sparse scrub of the Namib dessert was cool....( the most quoted person on our trip has been Will Ameden...we both have said "aww cool" at least 10 times a day)....the other wild thing about driving in Namibia is that you feel like you are the only people here...and this is the high tourist season....you can drive for hours without seeing another vehicle or any signs of human life...at first it is a little errie...but then your mind starts to open up...and you begin to see the dessert...full of a whole new range of soft sun faded colors of green and lavender and orange and of course brown and red. Our day of driving was very exciting..especially when I took the wheel for the first time...first big truck...first gravel/dirt roads....first left hand side....I took to it quickly and I think after a couple hours George started to relax....When we arrived at our destination Le Mirage....it was foggy and crazy windy and I felt like we were truly at the edge of the earth....George took a nap and I went for my first ever massage in Africa....I can't say it was good...or bad really....but it was definitely not relaxing....I believe the bones of my feet were totally re-arranged.....I was a cross between a massage and a procedure....When I came back in the room after what we now refer to as my afro-seugere. By now it was becoming clear that Namibia is like no place else on earth...We went to bed excited because in the morning we were supposed to take a hot air balloon ride over the desert. We woke early and headed out in the dark towards the balloon... but we were turned around because the winds were too high... It was a strange morning in the desert. It felt wet and cold and windy nad the visibility was very low.. It felt a little like the Washington Coast without the ocean. We recovered quickly from our disappointment and packed up and headed toward the park entrance in Sesriem... we decided to drive to the closest dune and have a look around. It was about 50 minutes in the car before we arrived at Elim dune... there were no other people around... we got out of the truck and looked across the desert and saw our first oryx... a big antelope that is grey in color with beautiful long horns... we set out on our trek up the dune... it looked like maybe a 20 minute walk to the top (this dune made Sandy Neck look like an ant hill). The first 100 feet were the hardest... straight up in sand... at some points I had to crawl to make any traction... It was an exhausting hard climb that took about 1 1/2 hours... but it was incredible to be up there along together. It had started to rain a little and the sand was damp and cool... we took pictures of sand bugs and marveled at our progress. The climb up was great and the view was terrific even with the fog, but coming down was a blast... I tried to slide (George has video) but my clothes were not slippery enough! I felt like I was 12 years old... It was a great great morning... by the time we had reached the car the sun was starting to come out... and the sky was clearing and suddenly all around us were these giant red dunes that we didn't know were there... suddenly this veil of fog was lifted and the desert was at our feet... feeling totally exhilarated we drove to the next night's lodging... the Kulala Lodge... we loved it here.

We stayed in this tented chalet nestled at the feet of the dunes. We had a great porch for viewing the sunset and a roof to climb on for seeing the starts... best of all we would be here for 2 nights!We spent the afternoon playing cribbage and relaxing before our next days journey deeper into the dunes. We set out before sunrise with a guide from the lodge... Kulala has its own entrance to the park which makes it easy to get in early when the light is magic... after only a few minutes we were in the middle of the biggest reddest dunes in the world... It seemed unreal... like a fantasy of what the desert would like like. We stopped and took pictures of the dunes at sunrise... have I mentioned that Namibia is the quietest place I have ever been... remarkable silence... almost scary at first... I had begun to understand the comparisons to the moon... it is so totally otherworldly that you feel like you could not possibly be on the same planet.

When we arrived at dune 45... the most famous dune and one that people are allowed to climb... it was bizarre. It was crawling with people... I could not figure out where they had come from... it was a bit jarring but it didn't detract from the experience... I climbed to the top of dune 45... along the spine and then ran down the side... it was thrilling... George stayed down below and took some great pictures.Our guide Aloysius took us further in to see Dead Vlei and Sossusvlei... areas that millions of years ago had water but now are fields of dead trees (total moon feeling). In the afternoon we went to Sesriem Candyon... the day ended with a spectacular treat... we stopped on the way back for "sundowners"... which are cocktails by your truck while the sun sets... and we watched the sun set and the full moon rise at the same time... the moon was bright and full which made it hard to see the stars of the Southern sky... but certainly worth the once in a lifetime chance to see the red sun go down as the pink moon rises... I had the best night's sleep I've had in years that night... Kulala Lodge is great... because it gets so cold at night and there is no heat... they put hot water bottles in your bed! One of the great traditions I hope to bring home... (also note to Meg... thanks for suggesting we bring hats and gloves... they were essential to enjoying the desert at night)

We got an early start the next day as we had our longest drive ahead of us... we were driving through the desert to the Atlantic coast and straight north to the Skeleton Coast... it was incredible to watch the landscape change again from sparse to desolate... The NY Times is right, Namibia is filled with a "terrible beauty". The drive was about 8 hours on gravel and salt roads. George and I split the driving and decided to mostly listen to whole albums along the way... I think I will look back on this driving day as one of my all time favorite days... just sitting with George in the truck driving through explosive nothingness listening to great music and watching the world strip itself away to just flat salt pans and massive sand dunes and pounding seas... remarkable.

Arriving at the Cape Cross Lodge was bizarre... you drive and drive and it seems less and less likely that anything or anyone could possibly be at the end of the road... and suddenly right at the door step of the Atlantic next to the world's largest fur seal colony is a little hotel... It was a haunting respite... we relaxed a little before heading down to dinner... This part of Namibia defines the word desolate... I'm so glad we experienced this kind of emptiness... but it definitely left us both a little unsettled on that first night... It felt very possible we were about to be in a seaside version of "The Shining".We relaxed into it the next day... and after a very leisurely morning we set out exploring on our own... we looked for crystals and lichen and salt and just walked around on the flat unending sands along the coast... we ended our day with a trip to the seal colony... more seals than you could believe exist... the sound and the smell were a little much for me... George enjoyed that bit a little more than me. The warm breezy air of the coast provided some nice relief from the battering wind and sand of the desert... it was a nice relaxing few nights before we headed inland... toward the animals.

Our next stop was Damaraland... specifically Twyfelfontein, home of the desert-adapted elephant. We left Cape Cross early so we would make it in time to take an afternoon drive with a guide to go searching for the elephants... it was an interesting 4-5 hour drive away from the flat unending coast back inland to the low mountains and canyons of Damaraland... Namibia's population is only about 2 million and the country is twice the size of California, but much of the environment is difficult to live in. Most of the population is in the north near the Angloa border... Damaraland is still far from there but you begin to see more very small villages and signs of human life as you enter it. The Twyfelfontein Country Lodge was by far the largest place we stayed... we spent the night with busloads of tourists who like it when the staff sing their "tribal songs"... deifinitely a strange dinner... but our drive to see the elephants was incredible. We found them near the Huab river (which like all the other Namibian rivers we saw was dry and dusty). These elephants were so beautiful and graceful and our guide Sigi had much to teach us about the flora...George and I both were getting excited to hear further north to Etosha National park where we would spend our last 3 nights before returning the car.
It was another 4 1/2 hour drive to Etosha... we loved the drive again moving from sparse to less sparse into more savannah type lands with acacia and mopane trees. We arrived at our lodge for the next 2 nights... the Epacha Lodge and thought we had landed in heaven... it was beautiful... with a lovely pool and spa and our room felt like a palace... we decided to spend the afternoon relaxing... I got a pedicure and George an afro-seugere... then great showers... and a nap... and when we wok up... our room... walls, floor, ceiling were literally covered with these little green bugs called stink bugs... I discovered them when I stepped on the floor and killed about 20. It was crazy! So much for honeymoon heaven and first impressions.

The bug problem only got worse at dinner when they were climbing all over the table, on the plates, up your chair, it really got wild when they started falling from the ceiling onto my head and into my soup... at that point you have to laugh and order another drink (George comments: actually, what she said was "OK, we need to get the %!*# out of here")... it was an adventure of a totally different kind clearing the bed of stink bugs before going to sleep.The next day we drove into the park with a guide from the Lodge... it was incredible to see the variety of game across the saltpans of the park but our guide was more of a driver... he didn't share so much knowledge and we were in a truck with 2 Italian families with you kids for 9 hours... it was great to get an introduction to the park and the elephants and giraffe and the many different antelope were amazing but the drive back to the lodge with the punishing wind and dust was hard not to mention darkness was coming which meant another night of stink bug city... ahh, so romantic.We were happy to leave Epacha behind... not only because of the bugs, but the management was utterly unhelpful and rude. We drove back to Etosha in our truck the next day... and had a great morning just sitting at one of the waterholes watching the animals come and go. It was a great combination of peaceful and exciting...

We would spend our last night closer to the park at the Ongava Game Reserve... this place was incredible... no stink bugs! instead we went on a guided drive in the afternoon through the reserve with Abner... this had the same excitement and adrenaline that I remembered from Botswana. We were in the truck with 4 other people... very nice... and driving through the mopane forest... my first glimpses of the giraffe took my breath away... not long into our drive we came across three lions and I thought my heart would stop... I started weeping... they were so beautiful and powerful and awe inspiring... we sat watching them for a long time - and when the last one stood up to leave... we saw that he was terribly thin... his leg was broken and he hadn't been able to hunt... our guide felt that he probably would not last longer than another week... it was heartbreaking.After leaving the lions just before dark we came across three white rhino... they are definitely the strangest most beautifully bizarre animal I have ever seen... It was the perfect last day... made even more so by the great bottle of wine we had at dinner (we brought from South Africa) and getting to see a rare black rhino mother and baby at the waterhole while we were eating dinner... our night ended back at our room and from our deck we saw a lone giraffe bending down to take a drink at the waterhole in the moonlight!The next day we had another short drive with Abner on the reserve and then we left for the drive back to Windhoek... another 5 hours but this time all on tar.

We drove well over 1000 miles in all and saw some of the strangest most beautiful places we'll ever be lucky enough to see...

This weeks' news

Off to Gabs this week to do a bit of work plus some interviews for my research and to visit the dentist – really looking forward to that – not! John is due to return to Cape Town for more medical procedures but our passports are with Namibian Home Affairs to get work permits stamped so we have to wait until those are processed – could be a while. And I was planning to go to Zambia for a conference in mid September – sounds like it may be a problem.

Our friends George and Eli have sent a couple of emails from their African homeymoon - I'm going to post the one from Namibia because I think it will interest most of you. See the next post if you want to read about their exploits and impressions of our favourite country.

and here's another thing ...

... that made me laugh! Sent to me by my darling husband!

Where the hell is Matt?

Matt is a friend of my friend George. Why do we worry about where Matt is? Well, Matt spends his time travelling around the world and videoing himself doing a little dance with the people he finds there. The result is something quite special, I think, but you have to judge for yourself. You may have noticed the link to Matt's blog in my blog list - you can go there and find out about Matt in his own words. You can view his latest video here. or you could if I could work out how to link to video. OK - just click on Where the hell is Matt in my blog list - please!

ooh - err!

I see that my slideshow is now picking up lots of different photos from Botswana - all sorts of interesting stuff but I think I'd better see if I can fix it. Maybe I should try to put up the family photos. Let's see now ... see if you can spot yourself!

Flickr

I've just put loads of photos up on Flickr - so if you want to see more of my (not so) stunning photography, then go here. So far I've got a family collection, wedding photos and Botswana. Now I've just discovered that I'm only allowed 3 collections unless I hand over loads of munny - so I'll have to rotate the collections in a few days. You can post comments to individual photos too - nothing rude please!

Ooops - sorry George

I've just fixed the slideshow on the blog and linked it to what I thought were my photos on Flickr. As I wanted the slideshow and admired my excellent photography - what great photos! But then a growing unease emerged and I realised that they were not my photos at all. Flickr must be picking up all photos tagged Botswana - not just mine. I then realised that the excellent photography is, in fact, the work of my friend George. George and his new wife (as of YESTERDAY) Eli, came to visit Botswana last year. I have known George for about 4 years as he and I used to share a house in Kigali. Apart from being a brilliant musician, computer whiz and all round good guy, George is a really great photographer. Enjoy his photos of Botswana! You can find out more about George by reading his blog in my blog list.

Home again

I'm back from 3 weeks leave in the UK - which was very wet and cold and windy - much like a normal British summer, I guess :-( It's good to be back in Africa and even better to sleep in my own bed.

We spent a couple of weeks in Wales with mum and dad ... riding on the Great Little Steam Trains of Wales. Took me back to my childhood as I spent many a happy holiday on these trains - courtesy of Dad being a bit of a steam fanatic. John and I love trains - we'd planned a ride on the Orient Express this year but it is unlikely to happen. And if we'd gone on the OE then we would not have been able to spend time with our good friends Sally and Mike at their in-the-middle-of-being-renovated Woollen Mill at Penygroes.

John's gone back to Cape Town for more hospital treatment - he's starting to feel a little better although the holiday was a bit strenuous for him. Looking forward to him coming home next week.

Boot and Chobe and ...

As predicted, we had a great time in Chobe - we say EVERYTHING including 3 lionesses - it was brilliant. We spent most of the time fighting over Boot's new camera which has a great zoom - and even has an anti-shake thingy for people like me who cannot hold a camera steady. We got great photos of lots of birds, hippos, elephants, buffalo, crocs and my favourite - monitor lizzards. No photos to show here though as Boot downloaded the pics to his Mac and I forget to make a copy - duh!

His time with us was all too short - even he said he wished he had stayed longer - but he has now gone off to Windhoek to his school friend Ben. We will all meet up again in London when I go there for a conference in July.

Laurence starts his placement at Foreign & Commonwealth Office in July and then his one-year internship at Adam Smith International - a London-based development agency. He wants to get on the FCO fast track scheme as the start of a career in the diplomatic service when he graduates.

We are due to leave for England at the end of June - although we won't be going anywhere if John doesn't behave - his health is still not good. We are planning a trip with mum and dad to Wales to see Mike and Sally and ride on the steam trains. It was supposed to be the Orient Express this year but under the circumstances - Great Little Trains of Wales will have to do!

Waiting for boys to come home

John arrives home on Monday and Boot comes in on Wednesday so I've been planning a trip to Chobe. Next weekend we'll be at Chobe Marina Lodge. We were there a year ago with the olds - it's fabulous. I'll post some more photos when we get back.

husband improvements

On the subject of improvements - here is a view of the new, improved version of John!!! He's lost about 20kgs and is starting to remind me of someone I met nearly 12 years ago. And as it was our 4th wedding anniversary yesterday - that is a good thing.

Home improvements

John is in Cape Town and I am awaiting the arrival of Number 1 son for a holiday, so naturally I am tidying the house and making some home improvements. I thought I would share with you the extent of expertise in plumbing services in Francistown as I have had a new water heater fitted in the bathroom :-)

Don't you wish you were coming to stay?

ELEPHANT Sands

Sorry if this is getting boring but I want to talk about Elephant Sands again - where we spent another few days last week. It really is a great place to relax and now I know why it is called ELEPHANT sands!!!

The first evening about 8 elephants, including 2 littl'uns came to the waterhole. We couldn't see them very well, but we could hear them and saw them by torch light. The next afternoon, everyone had gone for a nap and I was sitting alone in the boma with my books and 2 big guys came to the waterhole for a drink. Then they went to the edge of the waterhole and started kicking and churning up the mud for a cooling mud treatment - it really should be called Elephant Sands Spa!

The same thing happened on the second afternoon and evening - except they came up to the swimming pool to drink - not content with dam water! On the morning of the third day, we learned that the 2 big bulls had trashed several trees around the camp - just for the hell of it. We also saw lion tracks following the elephant tracks across the campsite - we think they might have been after the babies. The young couple who were camping showed us elephant footprints 20cms from where they laid their heads!!!

When it was time to pack the bags to leave, I couldn't walk back to the cottage where we were staying because the elephants were there! A tour guide who had just arrived with a party of Americans had to drive me back in his vehicle!

We met some interesting people, got lots of sleep - although it's pretty chilly here now at night - and had a good rest.

We'll be back!

Missing pic

Here's the missing photo from our Easter weekend at Elelphant Sands! (apart from the one of the elephants!)

Photo credit to Daniele

Elephant Sands

What a great place this is! We REALLY like Elephant Sands. It's quiet and calm and very peaceful. The owner - Ben - is very easy going and nothing is too much trouble.

We had trouble on the way though - 15 minutes out of Francistown the rear tyre shredded! The last thing John felt like doing in his condition was change a wheel but between us we managed.
And the last 10 kms before the camp - you couldn't see the road for the potholes - that was fun!

At dusk, Daniele, Tom & I went to search out the elephants. Dani took us to a place where she had seen 20 or more on her last visit - but alas they were hiding. They must have been roosting in the trees or something! On the way back, we saw a herd of zebras and one big bull elephant who stood in the track and would not let us pass! We sparred with him for 30 - 40 minutes before we finally got past. John was pretty tense when we got back as the sun had gone down and you don't stay out in the bush after sundown. But all's well ...

John had built a small braai near our tent and Ben set up a table and brought us plates. Daniele brought big candle holders, we had wine and music, a great meal and talked long into the night.

The next day John & I were up at 6am! It was cool and bright and we went to the boma and got tea and rusks and just sat and watched the birds. I saw a shaft-tailed whydah which I had never seen before and lots of sparrow weavers building nests. When Dani & Tom emerged we had a huge breakfast cooked by Lazarus - the Zambian chef - fabulous! We went out elephant hunting again (metaphorically speaking) at a different pan this time and we saw a couple of beautiful giraffes and a pair of bull elephants. John has great photos which I will post later. For the rest of the day we just relaxed, swam in the pool and rested.

That evening the camp was full of young people on an overland trip to Zambia and several other couples - it was a real party atmosphere. We played Rumikub and Lazarus managed to prepare vegetarian food for me. He looked very quizzical when we told him that I don't eat meat. Why would you not eat meat if you could afford to?

A great place - highly recommended - next time you're in Botswana ... pass Nata on your way to Kasane - 53 kms ... just turn left!

Transport in Africa

I thought I would share a photo with you from my collection 'Transport in Africa'. And for those who don't believe it - we frequently see vehicles like this. In Rwanda they were ususally full of bananas!

New addition to the family

Two weeks ago John did a "it followed me home, mum!" (My mother knows what I mean!)

He brought me a new friend to play with. I LOVE chameleons! This one was very happy sitting on our arms - he especially liked the green tablecoth in the kitchen! When we tried to put him in a tree in the garden, he didn't like it, instantly grew black markings, puffed himself up and hissed! He eventually climbed off J's arm and lost himself in the tree.

Getting better

John is on the mend ... he's got to take lots of drugs and rest (he'll be good at that!) The doctors want him to rest for 2 weeks and get strong enough for the tests to find out what caused the problem.

We had booked to spend Easter weekend at Elephant Sands bushcamp with our friends Daniele and Tom. We are still planning to go - as long as John behaves himself!

You can see some pictures of Elephants Sands - wish you were coming too?

This is Dani & Tom and J before he lost loads of weight last year.

Distance education course launched

Here's some better news. John had to hold off being too poorly on Saturday as I was at college all day. We admitted the first students to the college and I'm proud say it was our distance education course for beauty therapy. Colleagues and I have been working really hard to get this unit on The Human Body ready and in the event, we were the first ones to meet the requirements of the Quality Assurance people!

26 ladies and 4 gentlemen have joined the pilot course. We plan to evaluate as many aspects as we can in order to inform future distance delivery of the programme.

Update on John

Over the weekend, John became very poorly. I took him to the doctor on Monday morning and he immediately admitted him to the private hospital. A nurse to take BP & temperature .. forms to fill, payments to make. Admission and tests/x-rays cost about GBP 250 - a fraction of the cost of private care in UK. And the treatment was very good, taking bloods and xrays trying to find out what was wrong with him. He was completely white and dizzy.

While we were in x-ray, 2 nurses, a doctor and 2 porters barged in and rushed him to ICU. The bloods had come back and he had a very low red blood cell count and haemoglobin had dropped through the floor. No wonder he was white. They needed him to have an immediate blood transfusion but the Botswana government does not allow this in private hospitals. So we had to get Medrescue to take him to the General Hospital. The MedRescue guys were great - only cost P1200 - about GBP 90.

The General Hospital - what a salutory experience that was. I never want to hear anyone complain about the NHS again - just be thankful for small mercies.

First we were put in A&E - another nurse to take BP & temperature, another administrator asking questions, payments to be made, another doctor to prod and poke. No matter that we were only there for the blood. They had a checklist and they were going to work through it. The nurse from the private hospital brought a sample and came with us and tried to get the bloods cross matched quickly but it did not speed up the process.

Eventually they admitted him and put him in general medical ward - wow - that's a place to go to die. There was no space in the ward so they just put the bed in the middle of the ward. The ward looked untitdy and dirty and smelled highly suspicious. There was no private room available. Another nurse to ask questions - take his temperature and BP for the 8th time. Eventually they brought the blood - freezing cold even though they had been asked to take it out hours ago. They wrapped it in a blanket and left it to warm up. They thought I was crazy when I unwapped it and stuck it under my arm. Needless to say it warmed up much quicker! We had to keep reminding them that the blood must be administered very slowly so as not to put a strain on the heart.

The ward was full of very frail looking old men. Their families come in 4 times a day to feed and wash them. They all looked like AIDS patients who were waiting to die. That evening I was told there was a private ward available but we couldn't have it because the people who collect payments had gone home. I made a fuss until they accepted to move him and let us pay in the morning - P150 per night - about GBP11.

Another nurse to take temperature and BP. Another doctor to ask questions. The private ward was much more comfortable for him even though the curtains were hanging off the rails, furniture was broken and the loo didn't flush. it was, at least, clean. Over the night they gave him 2 units. He had to keep calling them to get the flow right and release blockages but eventually it was done.

When I arrived next morning he had been waiting for several hours as they had 'gone to fetch the next bag'. Eventually I shamed them in to going to fetch it - of course it arrive stone cold. I did the underarm trick again and they got very upset - 'it's not supposed to be like that'. I told them I didn't care - I just wanted to get the blood through and then take him back to the private hospital. The last bag took about 6 hours because no-one would help him get the flow right. But by now he is feeling much better.

I asked for a doctor to sign discharge papers and eventually one came. The notes he wrote were completely made up and did not bear any resemblance to what John had told them. After asking several times, I got the line removed and got him cleaned up. Then I asked for a porter and a wheelchair. The bonly wheelchair had taken another patient to physio - we would have to wait.

Eventaully I got him into the car and back to Riverside. Completely different story. Doctors and nurses rushed out to greet him and told him how much better he was looking. They were all so relieved as he had given them a nasty scare.

The upshot is that he is very anaemic and too weak for further tests. He is on bed-rest and drug therapy for 2 weeks then we have to go back.

Sorry to give everyone a scare - but we were also scared :-(

I'll keep you posted.