Tag Archive | Africa

Security on 9/11

Sep10

We are anticipating security hassles as we have everything a terrorist might need: various equipment to navigate Africa, fix a failing Land Rover, make a good cup of coffee, supply a school and a soccer team.

Electronics include a Garmin Nuvi GPS, a netbook with GPS receiver, plus the standard electrical stuff including flashlights and cameras. Then we have the cords, wires, plugs, and accessories to recharge from any socket anywhere, car lighter, even solar. We have a first aid kit with enough prescription pain killers to anesthetize a plane-load or enough laxatives to keep everyone “busy.”

Then there were the unusual nondescript liquids — sunscreens and repellents in various liquidifications and colors. Together, we must have had the ingredients for a nuclear bomb, or at least something flammable, or at the very least a good try at Hogwart’s Vanishing Potion. And that was just our carry-on’s!

In our checked bag was a roll of duct tape, straps, pliers, Leatherman multi-tool, and knives. Plus, just to confuse TSA, eight deflated soccer balls strapped tightly together along with eight steel tube hand pumps. Certainly, flying into New York on 9/10 and out on 9/11 would trigger extra security. I rehearsed it in my head, very calmly explaining our trip to TSA, and I braced to be repeatedly patted up and down and questioned. Nothing could have prepared me for TSA’s reaction: Nothing. We glided through security without a hitch, question, frisk, or bag search!

Either TSA’s personnel and equipment are incredibly advanced or we should all be very scared.

At Last: SFO

Sep10

SFOFinally, after all of the planning and plotting, packing and repacking, stuffing and sorting, trying to reach balanced bag nirvana, we are here at Gate 82 at SFO. After a gin and tonic and a crab and shrimp quesadilla, I’m starting to get that “on vacation” feeling. There’s always an element of grumpiness when we first set out on a trip. But, a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, squirreled away months ago, was liberated from my bag, creating a more celebratory mood. After all, today is our first wedding anniversary!

Now we are off to whatever security shenanigans await us, traveling through JFK on another anniversary: the attacks on the World Trade Center towers.

Finding Our Way

Aug27

Zambia MapWe visited our local Borders book store and bought the Michelin Map of Zambia. It wasn’t that helpful. It gave us a basic idea of our travels: We planned to fly to Livingstone, pick up the car, spend 9 days in Kafue National Park, drive through the capital city of Lusaka and across the country for 3 days, and then spend another 9 days in South Luangwa National Park. Roughly 1000 km on pavement and 1000 km on two-track dirt. Zambia is roughly the size of California and Nevada combined and the lack of detail on the country map gave us…trepidation. So we stepped boldly into the world of GPS navigation. We purchased a Garmin Nuvi 500 GPS (about $200) and used it to go to work, the store, and shopping for about a month. Then we loaded it with the essential Tracks4Africa (aka T4A, http://www.tracks4africa.co.za) and punched in our planned route. The downside: with satellite phone and GPS (and digital cameras of course) we were bringing technology with us. And with the electronics we needed the rechargeable batteries and the ‘stuff’ to charge batteries using local electricity, solar, and the cigarette lighter in the Rover. Bummer. [retrospect: A GPS and T4A are essentials. We could have left the solar option at home].

Futbol Diplomacy

Aug27

FutbolsWe expect to rely on the kindness of strangers more than once or twice on our trip. We tried to think of something simple, lightweight and meaningful to give as gifts for such occasions. Given World Cup competition in South Africa this summer, we thought that soccer balls might be just the thing.

Thanks to help from Ken and Mary at Sport About, they outfitted us with a variety of sizes and an inflation pump for each ball. I picked them up on Thursday, and we were a little dismayed at how much space they occupy. Up until now, we each had our carry-on suitcase and small backpack, plus one smallish duffel to check with items like our first aid kit, small tools and mass quantities of insect repellent (not the 3-ounce size!). We may have one more small checked bag to accommodate the trappings of the diplomatic part of our trip – a small price to pay for a meaningful way to say, “twa to te la.”

Spices? Who cares! What beers do they have?

Aug21

Steve’s 2-cents:

Carolyn is fretting about spices and I am thinking about the more guy oriented stuff — GEAR! I start a bucket-o-stuff and start chucking stuff into it as I think of it. Cam-straps. Carabiners. A shank of rope. Multi-tool. Leather gloves. And duct tape! Once the duct tape is in the bucket I can think of even more important things… What beer do they have in Zammmmmbia? [In retrospect: we never used much of this stuff but would I still bring it? Probably. And the beer? Mosi was my favorite.]

Spice Trade

Aug21

Spice stackAs we make our lists and pack our “must-have’s,” we decided that the pre-packed kitchen stocks from Safari Drive are too limited for our tastes. Having no idea what might be available in the markets in Livingstone – and for what price – I decided I’d like to take along some of my favorite cooking herbs and spices. The trick was to find a container to carry them that didn’t cost $20.

The solution? One of those 7-day pill dispenser containers that can be found cheaply at nearly any pharmacy. I purchased something just a little more fancy: small stacking plastic jars that screw into each other to form a small tower of jars. It’s perfect! My precious cargo includes cinnamon, basil, thyme, oregano, paprika, ginger and garam marsala. We’ll have the tastiest camp fare in Zambia! And, if we need the space, I can always leave the container tower and remaining spices at our last camp.

This made me think about the few things we’ve packed as small, lightweight, low-maintenance creature comforts. I can’t help but wonder if we are simply another couple of travellers in the long line of human history, carrying along a bit of home, and planning to leave a portion behind. I wonder if this is how the spice trade got started.

Stupefying Nonchalance

Aug10

DSCF0713“The wilds” are not unfamiliar to us. We’ve traveled to remote corners of North and Central America: places where poisonous snakes and scorpions reign, and the home grounds of moose and elk and bears: black and grizzly. There have been trips when we hauled around cans of pepper spray in the same size that people buy air freshener. But, we are a little intimidated by African carnivores. We witnessed two lions hunt and bring down a wart hog, and had other lions stalk our land rover on a game drive on our last trip. We’ll be plenty aware when we are on the ground, and not safely tucked in our vehicle or tent.

We are ready to head into “the wilds.” We’ve taken care of all of our official documents. We’ve been poked in all the appropriate places with all the appropriate vaccines. We’ve paid all the fares, fees and taxes we can until we arrive in Zambia. Heck, we’re even two-thirds packed.

Lacking much of anything else left to do to prepare, I picked up one of the guide books last night and started reading the section on bush camping. I’m sure that I read this section while we were determining if self-drive camping was for us. But, now that we are much closer to departure, this short paragraph caught my attention.

According to Chris McIntyre in the Bradt guide to Zambia, “Don’t expect an unattended fire to frighten away wild animals – that works in Hollywood, but not in Africa. A campfire might help your feelings of insecurity, but lion and hyena will disregard it with stupefying nonchalance.”

So. There you have it. Stupefying nonchalance. Huh. Who knew?

Bradt Travel Guides

Getting Readier

Aug7

Safari clothes

Every day we are closer to Zambia. We read incessantly, surf the web for hours, gleaning any aspect from the words, pictures and videos. Batteries are charged. Bags are loosely packed with clothing, with anything blue weeded out of the stacks. (We hear that tsetse flies like blue.) Soccer balls and pumps are ordered – I pick them up next week.

With the wonders of electronic communications, we are in touch with some of our hosts along the way: what can we bring? Are there local schools or clinics you support? How can we help? Of course, not all contacts are altruistic: can we go fishing? Can we go walking with your guides? Just giving our hosts some information (or warning!) about our interests for our upcoming visit.

A scent on a breeze, we are anxious to catch the essence of Zambia. We can’t wait to be on our way!

Choosing a Rental and Outfitter

Aug6

DSCF3504We have no idea. This is our experience, not our advice: We surfed the web, read blogs, and ended up with Safari Drive. Were they perfect? No. Were they very good? Yes. We paid approximately $300 per day for the vehicle. The Land Rover we rented ended up being very low mileage (14000 km before we put another 2000 on it), outfitted for comfortable camping including about 3-5 days of basic provisions (you’ll still need to shop), tent, table, chairs, bedding, all the ‘stuff,’ GPS, and satellite phone. Safari Drive also offered advice, made reservations, provided maps, personally helped us work out the itinerary, gave us an in-country briefing on the vehicle, smiled and waved goodbye as we ground the gears, slipped the clutch, and disappeared into the dust. We ran into people who paid half as much but didn’t have the support, gear, sat phone, planning, or GPS. We also ran into a rental vehicle that had broken down and been abandoned, a vacation ruined. We were glad to pay more. But obviously, for those more daring, there are bargain vehicles to be found that could save thousands if it works out well.