Today Lisa, Callum and I had to wave goodbye to our wonderful tour group.
We stayed in our own chalet last night as technically we are no longer part of the tour, although I don't think Tsepo would have minded if we stayed in the tents for one extra night- but, when you have paid for an actual bed- you might as well use it! We got up in the morning and walked over to help everyone pack up their things. Having lost Coops and Brooke yesterday we had to work on how to pack the truck without them! They were the most organised, productive couple I have ever met! Usually, by the time our bags are packs and our tent is down, Coops and Brooke had already packed most of the truck on their own. Today was a challenge.
It's going to be so lonely without our large family! Eventually the tents were packed and everyone was ready to hit the road. There were a few tears, I think Belinda started us off! The tour bus left singing our famous 'Beautiful Botswana' song to a very sad Lisa and I.
I'm really glad Callum is still with us. At least we are not completely on our own. We spent the day relaxing by the pool, Callum met a few local friends, and we walked into the markets.
The markets were an interesting experience. As soon as you get close to the stores you suddenly feel the store owners pounce! They just walk beside you, constantly talking to you, trying to convince you to come look at their shop, or trade something with you! Sometimes you have 4 or 5 people trying to get your attention. Callum got a ridiculous amount of offers to trade something for his t-shirt and hat. There is just so much desperation for even a dollar- or new clothes! In most of the shops and outside stalls they are all mostly occupied by men, however as we walked into one of the tin sheds, it was very confronting to see a gauntlet of women with cramped together stalls willing to sell you anything they had! This is where Lisa and I got most of the attention “Beautiful skirt” “beautiful eyes” “come look at my art” “ this necklace is perfect for you,” they had so much fabric and beads and wooden bowls and spoons for sale. Wooden and stone carvings- everything! Although most stalls had very similar or the same items, even though they all told us they were the 'artist' and we should come to admire and support 'their' work.
Back to the pool for a swim and a relax before the start of the festival tonight. The Vic Falls music festival is a big event held every year that plays a variety of different African bands and music. There is a shuttle bus that constantly runs back and forth from the primary school (where it is held) to our campsite. Convenient! Callum convinced us to get tickets, and I am so glad we did! There are so many people if our campsite specifically here for the festival- I'm so glad we booked our accommodation here so early, as we probably would have missed out! It's packed! Mainly with South African's on uni holidays here for the festival. We have a group of South African boys camped on our chalet's front yard. There is about 6 of them all together- and they seem really awesome! They have a good set up with eskies and a BBQ, so we are planning to try join them for New Years before the concert tomorrow night.
The power has been on and off all day, so it has been very difficult to get Internet reception here. There seems to be a lot of storms over the past few nights- lots of rain and lighting, even though it is still warm! I was able to get a text message home to the family as I have been out of contact for a few days.
Unfortunately Lisa has been feeling unwell in the stomach for a little while after eating some local beef stew. When you order a local dish, always look at it first. She was expecting was a vegetable casserole with beef pieces in it. No. It seems like they get an entire cow, and chop it up into small pieces to put in the stew, bones, organs, arteries and all- waste nothing! Although disgusting, she was determined to experience all of the African culture, although I think she might be regretting that choice now.
It was a challenge to get her on the bus to the festival, but I'm so glad she came because she picked up so much when we got there! She decided not to drink, but when we hit the atmosphere at the festival, it was hard not to enjoy yourself! We both loved it! It was incredible! There were a lot of people there, but it was not crowded. You never felt as if you didn't have any space.
The set up was great. Barely any line to get in, and you were given a wristband to now simply enter. Rather than dealing with cash- which is extremely difficult to do (they use US Dollars over here which all look the same from a glance, unless you read them), you bought coloured tokens which are used for your money. This made me feel much safer. Everything is so much cheaper, even with the expensive festival prices. $1 for soft drink $2 for beer and cider $3 for spirits. There were so many workers behind a long table taking tokens that you never had to wait for drink. It will be interesting to see if it will be much busier tomorrow since it is New Year's Eve.
We visited all the tents, some much more random than others. One tent was a 'green tent' where you sat in furniture made on completely recycled products, eg beer cans or water bottles. One tent had blow up couches with some under water movie playing. One tent sold coloured eye contacts?! One tent sold food, pop corn and fairy floss, as well as colourful lit up toys. One tent sold detoll sanitary wash items and durex condoms?? They must all be the festival sponsors- but it was very random!
We had a few drinks and lots of dancing listening to the bands! It was surprising when we actually knew a few songs! Callum was completely in his element-loving life. Lisa and I left him there to party the night away, while we went home to have a good night sleep. We would rather prepare ourselves for the bigger New Years event.
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We stayed in our own chalet last night as technically we are no longer part of the tour, although I don't think Tsepo would have minded if we stayed in the tents for one extra night- but, when you have paid for an actual bed- you might as well use it! We got up in the morning and walked over to help everyone pack up their things. Having lost Coops and Brooke yesterday we had to work on how to pack the truck without them! They were the most organised, productive couple I have ever met! Usually, by the time our bags are packs and our tent is down, Coops and Brooke had already packed most of the truck on their own. Today was a challenge.
It's going to be so lonely without our large family! Eventually the tents were packed and everyone was ready to hit the road. There were a few tears, I think Belinda started us off! The tour bus left singing our famous 'Beautiful Botswana' song to a very sad Lisa and I.
I'm really glad Callum is still with us. At least we are not completely on our own. We spent the day relaxing by the pool, Callum met a few local friends, and we walked into the markets.
The markets were an interesting experience. As soon as you get close to the stores you suddenly feel the store owners pounce! They just walk beside you, constantly talking to you, trying to convince you to come look at their shop, or trade something with you! Sometimes you have 4 or 5 people trying to get your attention. Callum got a ridiculous amount of offers to trade something for his t-shirt and hat. There is just so much desperation for even a dollar- or new clothes! In most of the shops and outside stalls they are all mostly occupied by men, however as we walked into one of the tin sheds, it was very confronting to see a gauntlet of women with cramped together stalls willing to sell you anything they had! This is where Lisa and I got most of the attention “Beautiful skirt” “beautiful eyes” “come look at my art” “ this necklace is perfect for you,” they had so much fabric and beads and wooden bowls and spoons for sale. Wooden and stone carvings- everything! Although most stalls had very similar or the same items, even though they all told us they were the 'artist' and we should come to admire and support 'their' work.
Back to the pool for a swim and a relax before the start of the festival tonight. The Vic Falls music festival is a big event held every year that plays a variety of different African bands and music. There is a shuttle bus that constantly runs back and forth from the primary school (where it is held) to our campsite. Convenient! Callum convinced us to get tickets, and I am so glad we did! There are so many people if our campsite specifically here for the festival- I'm so glad we booked our accommodation here so early, as we probably would have missed out! It's packed! Mainly with South African's on uni holidays here for the festival. We have a group of South African boys camped on our chalet's front yard. There is about 6 of them all together- and they seem really awesome! They have a good set up with eskies and a BBQ, so we are planning to try join them for New Years before the concert tomorrow night.
The power has been on and off all day, so it has been very difficult to get Internet reception here. There seems to be a lot of storms over the past few nights- lots of rain and lighting, even though it is still warm! I was able to get a text message home to the family as I have been out of contact for a few days.
Unfortunately Lisa has been feeling unwell in the stomach for a little while after eating some local beef stew. When you order a local dish, always look at it first. She was expecting was a vegetable casserole with beef pieces in it. No. It seems like they get an entire cow, and chop it up into small pieces to put in the stew, bones, organs, arteries and all- waste nothing! Although disgusting, she was determined to experience all of the African culture, although I think she might be regretting that choice now.
It was a challenge to get her on the bus to the festival, but I'm so glad she came because she picked up so much when we got there! She decided not to drink, but when we hit the atmosphere at the festival, it was hard not to enjoy yourself! We both loved it! It was incredible! There were a lot of people there, but it was not crowded. You never felt as if you didn't have any space.
The set up was great. Barely any line to get in, and you were given a wristband to now simply enter. Rather than dealing with cash- which is extremely difficult to do (they use US Dollars over here which all look the same from a glance, unless you read them), you bought coloured tokens which are used for your money. This made me feel much safer. Everything is so much cheaper, even with the expensive festival prices. $1 for soft drink $2 for beer and cider $3 for spirits. There were so many workers behind a long table taking tokens that you never had to wait for drink. It will be interesting to see if it will be much busier tomorrow since it is New Year's Eve.
We visited all the tents, some much more random than others. One tent was a 'green tent' where you sat in furniture made on completely recycled products, eg beer cans or water bottles. One tent had blow up couches with some under water movie playing. One tent sold coloured eye contacts?! One tent sold food, pop corn and fairy floss, as well as colourful lit up toys. One tent sold detoll sanitary wash items and durex condoms?? They must all be the festival sponsors- but it was very random!
We had a few drinks and lots of dancing listening to the bands! It was surprising when we actually knew a few songs! Callum was completely in his element-loving life. Lisa and I left him there to party the night away, while we went home to have a good night sleep. We would rather prepare ourselves for the bigger New Years event.
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