Zanzibar (Tanzania) - Mercury Rising

STONE TOWN - ZANZIBAR (Tanzania)
06 December - 10 December 2017

How cool a name is Zanzibar!? How cool a name for a country would that have been? Actually, even when it became part of the United Republic of Tanganyika, it was still pretty cool sounding. It was one of those places on my global map that would always jump out at me as the mysterious named conjured up images of something exotic & unreachable.

Also, for those that aren’t aware of their rock history, Freddie Bulsara was born here in 1946, part of the baby boomer era, and if that name is still confusing you then just have a look at Live Aide from 1985 and spot the front man for Queen, that’ll give you some sort of clue as to the most well known export from the Sultanate of Zanzibar.

On the tarmac in Dar es Salaam - Tanzania

We were told that we couldn't bring our drinks onto the plane.

So we asked security to take our photo whilst we finished them - it was a WIN-WIN

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

In the middle of an afternoon downpour 

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Considering the proximity for Johannesburg the idea of making it to Zanzibar was influenced primarily by dreams of turquoise waters, exotic heritage mix, spice trading and all things Stone Town related, which to me felt akin to being a version of Fez or Marrakech on the Indian Ocean.

In part that what Zanzibar felt like when we arrived. Certainly a tropical feel, but then you get hit instantly by the obvious mix of cultures, African, Arabic, Indian and a dash of European. That type of fusion always makes for a fascinating and engaging environment, one where the ebbs and flows of dominant cultures can be seen in the architecture, culinary offerings and social etiquette.

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

We had this guy make us up a painting exactly like that - it now has pride of place in the Inga's mum's living room

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

To me, more than anything, I had the feel that Stone Town was more Arabic than anything else, although my readings stipulate Swahili, which is a unique mix of Arab, Persian, Indian and European elements.  Still, when you walk through the narrow alleyways of the centre of Stone Town, lined with shops, bazaars, mosques and boutique hotels, I can’t help but thing of Morocco, which in itself is a mixture of Berber & Arabic.

The name of the town itself comes from the ubiquitous use of coral stone as the main construction material, which gives the town a characteristic, reddish warm colour. For me, both the warmth and the entanglement of passage ways/alleyways it what makes this a place of mystery and discovery. For me there feels like there’s always something new to discover behind every door, up every obscured staircase, in the back of every bazaar.

Slightly dishevelled and a little gritty in part, there has been a concerted effort in the last 20 years to undertake restoration work which will bring the true feel of Stone Town back to life.  From my perspective it’s working. Historically however, what I didn’t know before arriving was that Stone Town was the host to one of the world’s last open slave markets, presided over by Arab traders, until being shut down by the British in 1873.

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

This is what happens when your team gets beaten - you drink to forget

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Slaves were shipped in dhows from the mainland, crammed so tightly in confined spaces that many fell ill and died, being thrown overboard on their journey to the island. Again, its one of those things that you understand that happened but can’t in any real way put your mind to the sheer cruelty of action from one set of human beings to another. How there could be no understanding to the extent of human suffering, to the mental torment, to the total eradication of any freedoms.

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Love this photo - just managed to catch that bird in-flight to the right of the photo

All I tend to feel in situation such as this is overwhelming pity, and also, fury and rage for those that simply treated humans as a business transaction. How could you ever think this was the right thing to do? Where is the compassion?

Markets - Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Outside of Stone Town, we took some time out to head up to the north of the island and spent a glorious afternoon on the beach in Kendwa.  A beautiful area on the calm Western side, this area has a number of stylish beach bars where you can laze out in the sun, order drinks, have a spot of lunch, and even indulge in some sheesha, which was quite an easy thing for us to do.

Getting on the water is also quite a pleasurable thing to do here, although options are still kind of primitive, we did manage to take a boat ride out to some of the nearby islands and spend a glorious afternoon on the water, doing not much really other than admiring the view.

Zanzibar is a marvellous place. I feel that on this occasion we didn’t quite get the most of it in that we spent a lot of our time in Stone Town without exploring the island entirely, but one day, one day we’ll be back, and its beaches will come under attack!

Johannesburg (South Africa) - The Emperor's new groove

JOHANNESBURG (South Africa)
05 December - 06 December 2017

Returning to Johannesburg after four days in Kruger allowed us a small amount of time for all the impressions of the park to settle, and also, a little time to reflect as a whole.

Again, staying close to the airport meant that we were actually a fair distance from the centre of Jo'Burg proper, but inevitably, the way my mum operates, she was able to find herself a casino close by - the 'world renowned', Emperors Palace Casino. In actual fact, it wasn't that bad, as the whole complex quite reminded me of something I'd seen in Las Vegas.

The next day it was time for us to head our separate ways. Mum was heading back to Belgrade and Inga & I were heading off to Zanzibar.

Kruger National Park (South Africa) - Out of Africa

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK (South Africa)
02 December - 05 December 2017

My entries are usually words that are supported by accompanying pictures of the events, but, seeing as though my last two Kruger entries were quite lengthy, I'm going to add mostly photos for this entry in order to cover the rest of our time in Kruger.

By the way, if anyone is interested - Robbie Williams of Nhongo Safaris, and, Robbie Williams Safaris, is the person you should be in contact with for all you safari experiences in Kruger NP.

Robbiewilliamssafaris@gmail.com

Here's a short pictorial digest.

Having a smoke in Kruger National Park - why wouldn't you!?

Kruger National Park - South Africa

No lions about this time....(this time)

I remember Robbie telling us that there was no sign of him feeling threatened or being alarmed

Never the less, he was ready to hit reverse 'at speed' if needed

There was something about the park, the atmosphere, I really don't know what, but it was a feeling that caught all of us by surprise.

Kruger National Park - South Africa 

Pretty exceptional to be able to get even this close to the rhino.

Poaching in the park is still a real issue and these poor guys are often the target

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

A real zebra crossing

Kruger National Park - South Africa

The Lioness

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Munchkin hyenas learning what their life is all about

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park (South Africa) - Dunlop Volleys

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK (South Africa)

02 DECEMBER – 05 DECEMBER 2017

This is an entry written specifically for our fantastic guide in Kruger NP,  Robbie Williams. It relates to an incredible encounter that we experienced on the third day of our safari, 04 December 2017.

But first, here's a bit more about Robbie in his own words;

'I'm currently doing an autobiography on my life in Kruger and outside of Kruger. The intended name of the book is Never Know Enough. The book is intended to be about being in and out of the straight path and then back into the straight path, and especially, how nature has saved me, got me through certain difficulties.

I've been working in the park for the last 24 years. I'm a Reaction Unit Officer for the Anti-Poaching Unit and I have my own Anti-Poaching company, as well as my own Safari Company which is called Robbie Williams Safari's.'

*************************************************************

Ever since I was a child I had known it was my mothers’ eternal dream to go on safari in Africa. It would often come up in our family conversations when discussing our top of our list destinations. However dreams can have the propensity of remaining just that, aimless thoughts that lie sedately in your mind, uncomplicated and uncommitted to ever finding a way to realisation. It had seemed, in my mind at least, knowing the financial situation of our family growing up, that my mothers’ dream would always be just that, a fantastic dream without the means to be realised.

We were a lower middle income migrant family that lived in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Not that we ever struggled in life, my father worked tirelessly as a Storeman for our national carrier, Qantas, for nearly 30 years. But making plans for what would have felt like an adventure for the rich and famous was somewhat beyond our financial means , and also contrary to our completely mundane, biennial visits to Belgrade, Serbia, where our relatives lived. Admittedly we were fortunate to have that opportunity but it was made possible only via substantially discounted airfares, (which we could afford), through Qantas, due to my fathers’ tenure with the company.

In recent years our family circumstances changed. My father passed away five years ago and I, now older and earning a reasonable salary, was now in the fortunate  position to be able to make my mothers’ dream come true, which is something that I had personally always wanted to do for her.

Thus this brings me to a story that took place in Kruger National Park, on a Nhongo Safaris tour,  guided  by the wonderful Robbie Williams, who I now consider to be a life-long friend.

For me personally I had always thought that in going on safari you needed to have a particular kind of passion or yearning for a specific style of experience. As I said, this was a dream that my mother always had, it was never mine. Truth be told, at the start of this adventure I anticipated that the only real amount of excitement that I would have would be the joy and happiness I received from knowing that my mother would be fulfilling her eternal dream. But hey, life is never short of surprises and you know the quote that goes, ‘Africa changes you forever…once you have been there, you will never be the same’. Let me tell you, not a truer word has been spoken. Africa, in particular Kruger NP, had a wonderful impact on me.

This story however is not about my own minor epiphany but rather about an encounter our safari group had with a somewhat curious and cheeky leopard that earned the nickname ‘Dunlop’.

Sighting location: 112rd, Southern Kruger

Date: 04 December 2017
Time: 09:30

During our second morning in Kruger our guide Robbie had wanted to follow up on the sighting of a pride of lions. I don’t recall exactly where it was but somewhere during the drive to the last known location of the pride, Robbie received a call of a dual leopard sighting on a road nearby that was occurring at that moment and thus made the decision to go and investigate.

It was probably a 5-10 min drive later that we sighted two safari vehicles stopped on the road, and right in front of them were two amazing looking leopards, with beautifully dark rosettes, light to dark golden coloured fur, a shortish ringed tail and beautiful white bellies. These cats were simply majestic.

Robbie stopped about 15-20 mtrs away from the other vehicles and it took about 10 seconds for us really to really comprehend what was going on. On closer viewing it appeared that one of the leopards had taken an interest to the tyre and mudguard of the front right wheel of one of the safari vehicles in front of us, and there we sat in our vehicle just watching as this cat pawed away and then licked both the tyre and mudguard for what seemed like an extraordinarily long period of time.

Investigating the vehicle in front of us - Kruger National Park - South Africa

A question from a guest in our own vehicle to Robbie was, ‘Is this a common thing for them to do?’, to which is responded, and I’m paraphrasing, ‘No, this is highly, highly unusual’.

For me personally I didn’t care whether it was unusual or not, the sighting was absolutely mind boggling and magical. It felt like there was a big playful cat just roaming around the streets of downtown Kruger NP looking to be mischievous and alleviate a bit of boredom from being out in the wild all day, taking a break from having to utilise its natural instincts to survive. This schism, the clear break that we tourists have from the reality of being in the natural habitat of wild animals is really a danger as our awareness of what is real becomes blinded by a false sense of security.

Now, I’m not sure what the trigger for Dunlop was but after a few minutes he got up and started to move, tracking directly toward our vehicle.

When I saw it coming for us, yup, that's when I started holding my breath

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Approaching slowly, almost languidly, the mood in our vehicle started to change gears. Cameras ready, phones pointed and held high, poised to capture fantastic shots, the leopard made its way to the front left tyre of our car. Rubbing itself against the tyre at first and then climbing under the vehicle, again it started pawing and licking, and then biting first the wheel and then mud guard. Sprawled out on the dirt road, laying on its back and looking upwards, it was, I’m sure, an exhilarating site for all those other groups that had now surrounded us.

In many ways this was the unforgettable dream sighting that we all wanted. The perspective however, which I feel in a situation like this gets kind of lost, is that this is not a Safari Disneyland. These animals are wild, we’re inhabiting their environment and believing in the predictability of their actions is both as ignorant as it is possibly stupid.

Robbie, constantly calling for updates for the positioning of the leopard from both within the vehicle and by radio to those that were surrounding us then said something that snapped my brain into a state of hyper vigilance…’Guys, keep your hands inside the vehicle, be as still as you can’.

...and thus earning the name, 'Dunlop'

Mechanics come in all shapes and sizes in Kruger NP

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

After what felt like an eternity Dunlop got up and slowly started walking down my side (the left hand side of the vehicle), I was seated on the highest bench on the back left hand side. All of a sudden I felt an overwhelming rush of anxiety and fear. This situation and this action pushed me into a sense of panic. But, to completely understand my blinding burst of fear I need to recount a situation, or rather an encounter some 7 years earlier to which I immediately regressed.

Years ago I had been travelling through South America and during my time dedicated some 4 weeks  to  undertaking volunteer work at a Wildlife Sanctuary in Bolivia.

Parque Ambue Ari was, and still is, a park that cares for many different types of animals, inclusive of such beautiful animals as jaguars, panthers and pumas. The work of the dedicated staff and myriads of volunteers that move through the camp involve, for a large part, taking these domesticated cats  (I say that facetiously), out for walks in the jungle environment of the Bolivian Amazon. Volunteers literally tie a rope onto the collar of a selected cat, wrap a harness around themselves and click themselves in via a carabiner. These volunteers, of which I was one, were tethered by a 3mtr length of rope to a power, unpredictable animal. That is all the protection that we were afforded.

If you want to read about the encounter then you can find it here: Parque Ambue Ari - The 3:10 express to Yuma

Now, youthful exuberance aside, there is something fatally flawed in believing in the total safety that we implicitly placed in that process. I discovered quite quickly that the false faith that I trusted to my 10min training and induction was crudely misplaced when on the second walk that I did, with a fully grown female puma, she turned on me, pinned her ears back, snarling and with animalistic fervour grabbed my leg with both its paws, claws cutting through my trousers, and then wrapped its jaw around my right knee. Let me tell you, there is nothing quite like the dismay, complete fear and overwhelming disbelief of being attacked by what is effectively a wild animal.  In an attack that lasted a matter of seconds the hundreds of thoughts that populated my mind all ended the same way, this attack could potentially kill me, this shit is real!

For whatever reason the attack was only short and the puma backed off, but the fear that accompanied that attack has always lived with me. This moment was now just about to be revisited.

Back in Kruger, sitting in an open vehicle, exposed on the back seat, I was frozen stiff. There was a leopard not 30cms from my feet, hovering with all the wild ferocity and unpredictability that a cat of that nature should have. Anything could have triggered an adverse reaction, if it has been spooked or simply curious and had jumped into the vehicle, what then? What would be our reaction? What sort of panic and what some of carnage could have ensued in that sort of scenario?

I simply held my breath and willed it to walk away, anywhere else at the moment was good enough.

‘Dunlop’ passed around the back of our vehicle and walked around to the front right hand side near the driver's door.

Robbie had armed himself with a baton of some sort, I’m not sure exactly what it was, but he and I both knew that in a real attack, what it could be used for could be counted on zero fingers. At best it could have been a momentary stall.

See the people hanging out of the vehicle...that's called tempting fate

When the leopard jumps up for your throat, maybe you'll reconsider your need for the epic Instagram photo

Kruger National Park - South Africa

For other passengers in our car I know that this experience was not fear driven but sheer excitement, I’m sure had they have placed their minds into the possible consequences then their thoughts may have been  different. Better for them I guess. Ignorance truly can be bliss.

Perhaps a minute later ‘Dunlop’ made his way off, tracking back passed us and along the dirt road we had driven in.

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Kruger National Park - South Africa

I literally breathed a sigh of relief.  A crazy, crazy encounter that in many ways we were both fortunate to experience and fortunate to get out of with just our photos and nothing else added.

What an experience! What a head spin!

To use a catch phrase from Robbie, TAB, That's Africa Baby!