Vic Falls - Zimbabwe - New Years Eve

This morning Lisa had a massive sleep in while I caught up on writing some journal articles. It's nice to have a day of rest.
We have been trying to organise our accommodation in Nairobi for the past few days with no luck at all! We have sent emails, called a billion different numbers that we have found to try contact the hotel,- but they are either not answering or cannot help us. We wish to book transfers from the airport to our hotel, as we land quite late at night, and Nairobi is not really the place I want to be after dark.

Finding 'air time' to have the ability to actually make the calls was probably the most stressful part of the day. Again, everyone wants your business which means that people are extremely helpful when trying to sell you something but also will tell you anything you want to hear to make the sale meaning that you may or may not be getting the correct information! We were dragged from place to place trying to buy these stupid 'air time' cards. The hotel told us we could use their phones if we bought the air cards, but everywhere we went they were simply just trying to sell us an entire Zimbabwe phone kit because 'landlines don't exist in Zimbabwe'…. Well they do. You have one right there. :/ ugh. Anyway, we eventually bought some airtime tickets that he he didn't want us to buy for $3US and it turned out to be exactly what we needed! We went back to the hotel and an incredible receptionist 'Rejoice' helped us make a few calls. Again with not much luck. She continued to call people all throughout the day for us! Even sending emails- I wish we had been able to give her a massive tip for everything she did to help- even if it didn't work! However, it was difficult to do it when she was always with other staff and we didn't know if it was acceptable or not. During this time I had got to my most stressful point and used my Australian phone to call the Australian office for booking.com, which is the website we booked through. I explained my situation how I had called the hotel many times with no response or answer and I was almost settled that what I had booked was a fake. She wanted me to hold the line while she made a few phone calls- but I politely told her I had waited on phones enough and that if she could organise my transfers and confirm my booking from her end and call me back I would be extremely grateful!

Meanwhile, Lisa and I had done some research and contacted Tim and Andrew with an accommodation back up plan when this all fell through. Annoying!

I returned back to the Chalet after my stressful phone calls to find Lisa still asleep! Very jealous- but also understanding since she is a little bit of a sick girl! I hope I don't get it!

We got up, had some showers and then sat by the pool with Callum. We organised to go to the 'Victoria Falls Hotel' with our new found South African friends camping on our yard, which is this extremely fancy hotel with a great view of the Falls 'smoke' rising and the bridge that joins the borders between Zimbabwe and Zambia where the falls begin. It was very 'Colonial' according to the boys, which I have found out means very fancy with dead animal heads all over the walls and a man constantly playing the piano in the corner of the bar. Very 'Colonial'! So many old rich ladies sitting in their overly classy leather chairs tapping their fingers away to the piano notes while a lion skin lies on the floor, and a zebra skin on the wall! We had a few ciders but then decided we were not dressed well enough to look like we belonged there!

Back to the hotel for a sleep to prepare for New Years!

Got dressed- put makeup for the first time since I arrived in Africa and sat around at the boys camp for a few pre-drinks. By 7.30 we made our way to the bus and hit the carnival!

It was fairly quiet when we first arrived but the South African's wanted to get there to watch the band 'Short Straw' who played at 8. So glad we did! I loved them! So much fun dancing to their music! During this time I also ran into Nick Coots- a boy I went to uni with in Ballarat! He is a PE teacher now working at Assumption College and he was there with his partner Ally and 5 other friends- from Ballarat! Random! It was nice to have a bit of home here! Trust the Carroll's to find someone they know in some other random part of the world!

The next artist was Jeremy Loops. He was a bit of a mixture between Xavier Rudd and John Butler trio- good relaxing music! He started something and looped it over and over adding more and more to each loop- it sounded awesome! We met so many great people here and I loved every minute of spending so much time with Lisa and Callum- it was nice to have our little group even if we missed the others. I took so many great photos of us this night- I'm so sad I can't share them with anyone or keep them. :( Unfortunately, my poor little worldly travelled digi camera fell victim to the craziness of Vic Falls Carnival and is now lost forever. Shattered.

One of the best parts of the night is when booking.com called to say our hotel had been confirmed and there would be a driver waiting for us at the airport! Finally!

Vic Falls, Zimbabwe - end of tour

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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Victoria Falls- Zimbabwe

This morning we had to be on a bus at 7am for whitewater rafting! A tough ask when we had partied well into the night! We had to say a quick goodbye to Rebecca and Rhiannon (as they fly back to Abu Dhabi this morning) and sadly also to Coops and Brooke. :( We have become quite close to Coops and Brooke and although technically our tour finishes today also, Lisa, Callum and I had already booked another night in the same campsite so we get another night with the others.
The bus trip on the way to the falls was rough! Very bumpy, dusty roads. Lisa had to sit on use edge- just in case! When we arrived we were out in an open aired room overlooking the gorge-beautiful! We were fed tea/ coffee and Marie biscuits for breakfast, and listened to our safety guide, Colgate! I love all their strange English names, there was a justice, blessed, sunrise, the list goes on!
What I got out of the safety message was don't let go of the end t-bar of the paddle because you will hit someone in the head, don't stress about hippos- the water is too rough for them, and only swim in the water that is constantly moving- there are too many crocs in the still water…what have I got myself into!?
Luckily there were 7 of us in our group so we had an entire boat to ourselves with our guide, James, which the boys playfully renamed Jimmy. We all grabbed our oars and life jackets and started our way down to the boats. 1 hour later we were still walking down the steep, one person wide path, tripping and spilling on the loose gravel and at times walking down makeshift dodgy ladders- nothing about this track would have passed Australian safety standards- but it was definitely a great way to wake us up and walk off the hangovers!.. And it was incredibly beautiful. There was another of other rafters struggling to make their way down the path- there was no warning of these walks when we all booked- probably for good reason! If you were not reasonably fit or did not have good balance- you would be in a fair bit of trouble!
Eventually we made our way to our boat and went through the safety precautions and learning how to paddle properly in the calm pool of water before the rapids. There were am number of times where we had to abandon the boats and then learn how to drag each other back in again- the whole duck and pull. It was only later when I thought about it that I asked about the crocs in that calm water….the only response was?.. we were not in the water for very long! It made me question whether there were crocs even in there, and maybe it was just a scare tactic! Nope…sure enough, soon James had pointed out 3 crocs sitting in the banks. Whoa. Only little ones though! :/
The rafting was Incredible! I loved every second when we hit the rapids- some which were massive but we were able to keep our ground and no one fell out. I was very nervous about the big whirl pools we kept seeing. If we were to fall out and be sucked down by a whirlpool, we had to count to ten before it spat us out again. If we counted to 10 and it hadn't released us- count to 10 again! Luckily none of us had to experience this.
There were a few rapids that James allowed us to swim down without the boat- all we had to do was to keep hold of each other and try not to let go - I was having the time of my life! Towards the end of the rapids their were a few long paddles between and you could feel the energy levels in the group die down. Every time James told us to paddle you could see the exhaustion in everyone's faces. When we saw the end point though- we all didn't want to stop! We wanted to keep going through the rapids!
It was done… But oh no it wasn't! The same kind of walk we did on the way down- we now had to do that- up hill! The people that struggled before… were really struggling now! Belinda found it very difficult, as did Lisa- so they took their time to come up together with the help of James. It was so hard! Zea had poor knees, so also found it difficult. Callum and I powered to the top. I was afraid to stop in case I couldn't start again! I think for both if us, it was nice to get in some exercise again! Reminded me if hiking- although much steeper in some parts! On our way up we passes many poor tourists upset about the walk- secretly again- I loved it! We also passed these incredibly fit men- some of which could have been well into their 70's racing up and down the paths carrying the boats!! We were struggling just to walk it and they had a boat over each shoulder! It was nuts! Later we found out that these poor workers get paid $1 per boat they drag up the hill! And…. To qualify for the job they must be able to walk the hill (without a boat) in 6 minutes! A climb that took Callum and I 45 minutes to do and about an hour for the others! It was absolutely insane to think about! James,our guide, had been a boat carrier for 10 years before he was able to complete his qualification of becoming an actual rafting guide. Whoa! Talk about tough!
At the top of the hill we were rewarded with rice, chicken and salads for lunch along with ice cold beers and soft drinks. On the bumpy ride back to the campsite, we all began to notice how incredibly sunburnt we were. We had sunscreen on- but the sun must have been strong coming off that water! Being wet and sunburnt made the ride back actually feel freezing!
Back at the campsite we had showers and then Lisa and I went for a one hour massage, manicure and pedicure! I fell asleep during my massage- and for the first time in a few weeks my fingernails and toes were actually shiny and clean! I don't think this will last for long!
We had this done at a backpackers down the road from our campsite- called Shoestrings- and it's here where the others met us for dinner. We all had pizza and cider for dinner- although some of us were still waiting for our pizzas 3 hours later! Again… No one is in a rush over here….Over the course of the night, people slowly retired off to bed until there was only Lisa, Callum, Tsepo and I left along with a new found friend Sunrise, and Blessed, which we called B, who was a guide for us on the rafting boats that day! We had a few drinks, watched some fire dancers perform and then eventually made our way back to the dance nightclub next to our campsite! There was a market place where we could buy souvineers and Lisa bought a drum from a Bob Marley look-a-like who took 20 minutes to carefully wrap the precious drum, of course taking a quick break to search for his weed stash in the garden!?
We ended the night with a Millers promoter following Callum around and giving him free drinks so he could keep taking photos of him! Such a model! ;) a really good night!

Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

Leaving Botswana into Zimbabwe

2.45am sucked- and it was raining and thunder storming all night.
We packed up our tents in the rain in record time and was on the bus! Because we were went and it was so early it was a bit of a chilly ride, so we sheltered under towels, as I had not thought about keeping out a jumper! It had been too hot for that!
We slept most the way until we reached the border. We didn't have to be up this early- but none of us wanted to experience what we did at the Botswana crossing again!

Tsepo got so excited when we got to the post around 7am- no lines- 1st bus! We got through the exit checkpoint almost immediately! The next checkpoint is always the worry though. No one there- good sign. We filled out the paperwork and Tsepo took our passports and completed the process while we went back to the bus. Much different to Botswana- still had to wait about an hour though! At least we could sit in the shade and out of a crowd though! We entertained ourselves by watching the crazy baboons that are everywhere and trying to scare them away from getting in our bus. They are absolute menaces! We saw one come in the building once and grab a lady's shopping bag full of 2L soft drinks!
Eventually we got our passports back with Visa's inside. We are now extremely early into Vic Falls and arrive at our campsite by 9am. We set up our tents and have breakfast around the bus.

Tonight the new tour members join the party - so it's going to be strange! We go from having 16 of us to 23 of us for one night. 7 of us started in Johannesburg and finish in Vic Falls (me)- 7 started with us in Johannesburg and finish back in Johannesburg on another route through Botswana- 7 new ones start in Vic Falls and finish in Johannesburg. It will be incredibly sad to watch half our group continue the tour tomorrow without us- and with replacements!

We left our campsite to organise our last few days together. Dave, Belinda, Zea, Ben, Callum, Lisa and I all booked a half day white water rafting experience, while others booked helicopter rides, elephant tours, adrenalin packages etc- we all booked a booze cruise along the Zambezi river as our final goodbye as a group. After booking tomorrow's adventures, we all went to check out the famous Victoria Falls- one of the seven natural wonders of the world!

Wow- awe-inspiring. Victoria falls is one of the biggest waterfalls in the world with more than five hundred million cubic meters of water per minute plummeting off the edge of the Zambia border, with over a width of nearly two km into a gorge 108 meters below! It's an incredible sight- and as you stand on the edge of Zimbabwe looking over to the falls it's almost like you are literally standing under the shower- you get saturated! We all had plastic zip lock bags to try and keep our cameras dry and safe. We were prepared an d had rain coats- but it was such a hot day we just embraced the cool water!
You can see the spray from the falls from kilometers away which looks like smoke rising into the sky. Local tribes named this place 'Mosi-oa-Tunya’ meaning ‘The Smoke that Thunders’. It's an incredible sight.

There is a path wrapping around the cliff edge- but no safety barriers or anything. It made me very nervous to watch people getting extremely close to the edge to take their epic photographs. As some of the spray cleared we were even able to see a across to the Zambia side and watch people swimming in the Devils pools. People actually pay money to go swim in the pools where the water goes straight off the edge! It was absolutely insane! People climbing on slippery rocks and having to hold onto anything they can grab as to not be swept over the edge by the current! You would hate to be a weak swimmer! We all watched in horror as we were certain someone was going to be swept off the edge to their death below! Never.ever.ever! I would love to know the statistics of how many people have been killed going over the edge.

After our incredible view of the falls- we went back to camp for a snooze before preparing for our cruise.
By 4 o'clock we were in our way to the boat- 2 hrs, unlimited alcohol! Oh dear! It was a big night to finish on all together- the best part? The family of hippos that were swimming less than 10 meters from our boat! A little baby one too! We went to dinner at a place called Mamma Africa and then some of us joined the dance party at the club next to our campsite- even in bed the music continued until about 3.30 at night making it difficult to sleep!

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Elephant Sands - Botswana

This morning we got up, packed up our tents and got on the road towards Elephant sands. A big 8 hour day of driving.
I spent most of the trip reading my swahili book and trying to catch up on some learning of the language. It's difficult to practice it down here- because. I have met no one that speaks it yet!

A lot of our drive was through the national park, which meant that at times we had to slow down for the bamboons to get off the road, and even wait for the elephants to cross! The first elephant we saw was the most exciting! It was so close and just trying to hide behind this tiny little tree- he wasn't fooling anyone, poor little buddy! He was just gorgeous!
When we arrived at our new campsite there were people everywhere- mainly other tour groups. It so funny to see how territorial everyone became when we saw another tour group, as it it was 'them' and 'us'- and of course we were always the better group! What we have noticed for most of our campsites is that we never camped with fences, we were in with the animals for the night! When I mean with the animals for the night, I mean they literally set up a pool, a bar, a restaurant and a campsite right next to the waterhole! Which meant that when you sit down to have a drink at the bar- there is a very real elephant having a drink 20 meters away from you! Very surreal!

We went of a game park drive through the park that afternoon, however we were not as lucky as our first game drive. We saw a few birds and a few Elephants- but still no lion or leopard! It just seemed there was not a great deal of animals around, unfortunately.
That night we had another buffet dinner at the restaurant where we had the choices of chicken casserole, ox tail casserole, Pep, rice and salad. Callum and I challenged each other that we had to eat at least a little bit of everything! I tried everything- but I think he was the clear winner as he even went back for seconds! The food is very filling and rich here. Ox tail was interesting, but actually just tasted like tough beef! I think the trick is to mainly avoid the meat and try and scavenge out the veggies!

While we were eating, Elephants were constantly making their way down to the waterhole for a drink. It was amazing to just sit there and watch them so close!
All night we were dodging dung beetles that seem to fly around with seriously no direction or purpose- it's as if they have no control and they constantly run into you! It's a good little thump too when they hit- they are fairly massive for beetles- and everywhere! You had to just move them out of the way when you try to wash your hands or brush your teeth in the bathroom- they seem to be in every sink! As if they had somehow flown in there and now can't get out! Strange little creatures- Tsepo tried to make Lisa hold one and I've never seen her scream so much!

Tomorrow we have to cross the Botswana border into Zimbabwe. We never want to experience the Botswana border crossing incident again, so as a group we decided to have an extremely early start. 2.45 wake up call! Wish me luck!

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Boxing Day - Okavango Delta, Botswana

Today we woke up and packed up all our tents and luggage. We loaded all our our gear back in the mokoros and set off back to the poling station. The trip felt so much quicker on the way back. It was very peaceful. Lisa and I organised some tips for the polers. I don't think they get paid very much- even though they do a phenomenal amount of work. I will never understand the tipping process- it's really difficult to figure out how much to give!

When we arrived back at the station, we loaded all our things back to the truck and went for a walk into the village. We took all our toys that we had handed to each other in Christmas morning and donated them to the kids in the village. It was amazing to see all the kids run out to us, just wanting to see what was going on and then reluctantly taking their new toys. Again, I wish I had so many more gifts and things to hand out! At one stage, Dave handed his toy Tonka truck to a little boy sitting along side his little brother in the shade. He slowly put his arms out to accept the truck and then picked up his brother, moved him to another tree out if the craziness and sat down to teach him how to push it along, making little noises as they played. We watched them from a distance for ages! It was gorgeous! Even though we didn't have things to give to everyone, it was amazing how well they all shared their new gifts.

Back at the hotel in Maun, we set up our tents again and had a day to relax. We did some hand washing and I was able to skype my family from the Lobby. They were all at the Hooper's Boxing Day Christmas lunch and it was amazing for me to see them all there together in their Christmas hats! Mum, dad, Erin, Sharni, Ben, hoops, Leigh and Jude. I couldn't help but start bawling my eyes out wishing I was home, just for that moment! It was the best Christmas Skype ever!

Lisa decided to head into town with a few of the others to do some shopping and grab some snacks for the trip tomorrow, but I stayed with Zea, Ben, Belinda and Dave to share some wine and pizza around the pool for the afternoon. It was just what I needed!

At 4, Simon, Zea, Ben, Belinda, Dave, Lisa and I were driven to the Maun International airport for a scenic flight over the Okavango Delta. I got to sit in the front seat with Pilot Ted, who was a German guy who had been living in Africa for two years. This was one of the most incredible experiences! We were in a tiny airplane, which meant that you felt every turn and every bump- but I loved it! As yet, we had not seen a single elephant, crocodile or buffalo, but on this flight we saw heaps! I am so glad we had been camping in the Delta prior to this flight, as it seems that crocodiles and Hippos are much more common that perhaps we were led to believe! We saw herds of elephants, monkeys, giraffes, hippos, buffalos, antelopes, zebras, wilder beats- so much! We even think we may have seen a lion walking to a waterhole, but it was hard to tell from the height we were at at the time.

We all exited the flight on such a high! This group in particular are the people that I have bonded with the most- I never want to leave them!

That night we had a buffet dinner at the hotel and sat around for a few drinks. It was the best! To make it even better- Judge (one of our polers) and even pilot Ted showed up to share a few drinks with us!! We sang songs around the table and shared stories and jokes as a group- great night!

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Christmas Day - Okavango Delta

Early start at 5.45 for a morning walk through the island. Coops, Brooke, Belinda and Dave were in a group with Lisa and I among with a new poler that arrived last night. His name is Judge, and he is probably one of the funniest men I have met over here yet.
He took us walking through the bush explaining things on the way, although it was very similar to our walk with oracle the night before. Judge is a deep thinker sometimes he just zones out thinking or listening to the sounds around him. He spent a lot of the walk talking about how animals assist each other through symbiotic relationships,as if he had some sort of science degree! Later, we learnt that he learns a lot simply from reading. He seems to soak up everything around him. During the walk. Coops was fascinated by the termites, we saw a herd of zebras, some springboks, a couple of wilder beasts a small wild dog, a honey badger, and a large variety of African bird life. No lions or leopards. It was such a hot day, and being such an early start, we started dragging out feet a little towards he end. Judge was adamant to walk back through the long grass, even after we saw a black mamba snake skin! This is the African snake that can kill up to 40 grown men with one bite! I was very nervous about walking through the grass, but judge told not to worry- “snakes are everywhere-There is no way to avoid them! ”

When we got back to camp it was time for Christmas brunch. We had eggs on bread with venison and kuda (some type of antelope). One of the boys came up with an idea to have egg in a hole- cutting out the middle of the bread and cooking the egg in the middle of like an egg ring. We had some orange juice, tea and coffee.

Then, time for KK presents! I can't believe how organised people were! Out came some Christmas hats, flashing badges, more tinsel- it was awesome! Belinda tookt he role of Santa handing out each of the presents one by one. I wish we had known that the polers were camping with us so we could have organised presents for them also. They were sweet, sitting down watching us open the presents and laughing and smiling when we opened each gift. Some even helped us open the paper. I wish I had taken my pencils or bought some gifts for them.

We were given a 50pula budget to buy our presents, so there were lots of water guns, bags of lollies or chocolates, there were some stuffed toys, and dart guns, there was even a bottle of wine and toilet paper! I got a bright orange scarf, a face washer and a packet of Marie biscuits. It was so much fun to get everyone's toys out and try them out. We went swimming, we read books, we played an epic game of Uno, we had water gun fights- it was such a great day with amazing company, just relaxing in the sun and the shade. We are in Africa! So strange!

We finished the night with a 1 hour Mokoro ride to watch the sunset. The polers were making people bracelets and necklaces out of water reeds and hats made of lily pads. It was a peaceful ride, but At one stage, we all retreated quickly into the river reeds, while the polers were all speaking quietly in the Botswana language. I was nervous, but kept being reminded to out my trust in the locals. Oracle later translated to us that they were hiding as they thought there were some hippos up ahead. We didn't see the sunset that night- it was quite cloudy and we didn't see the beautiful colours in the sky as we have in previous nights.

That night we ate rice, chicken and pep with some sweet potato and pumpkin. Our polers put on a singing and dance show for us, showing us some of their local songs and dances. They were incredible- I loved every minute of their stamping, and chanting. Judge came completely out of his shell singing in the deepest voice and jumping around as if he was a frog wishing for rain. We tried to give a performance back to them by singing some Christmas songs, but we were no where near as talented.

Such a fantastic Christmas. It was sad not being with my family for the day, but i was able to get a message out and felt calm being around such beautiful people. I really do love them!

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