Since many of you have asked me what I did while in Southern Africa, I decided to make a journal for you all rather than type it out a few dozen times for each of you. If you have no interest in this, stop reading now, cause that's all I'm talking about here.

We started out the day after graduation, flying from Kinross (in the UP of Michigan) to Detroit, then Amsterdam and finally to Cape Town, South Africa. our entire trip was organized through an overland company called Drifters, and we spent our first few days in their lodge in Cape Town. While there we went to Robben Island (the prison where Nelson Mandela was held), toured the wine country, and down to the actual Cape of Good Hope. Unfortunately due to weather we couldn't climb Table Mountain, but ah well. One thing to note was the seafood here is amazing and all fresh! After our time in Cape Town we drove north to a town known as Dogshead where we stayed before going into Namibia.

We got up early the day we went into Namibia so we could clear customs. The place where we were going was right across the border, but we weren't staying there. We packed overnight bags and all our food and gear into canoes and proceeded down the Orange River (which is really quite green despite the name). The river was calm most of the way, but we did have some small rapids. I'm not sure they were big enough to be "classed" though. We spent that night on a sandbar under the stars, the first of many such nights on the trip. The next day we continued further down the river and had our first boating casualty. One boat overturned int he rapids and they had to swim it to shore. Sadly, later that day, the same boat went over, and it was the only one to do so throughout the whole time. Our comedic relief came when the guy steering that canoe said "Every move I make seems to make the canoe tip!" and our guide responded with "Stop making moves!" At the end of the day we pulled out and were driven back to our starting point and our truck for the evening.

Leaving the river we started to head into the desert and camped out on the savannah. While there we got our first "real" taste of African wildlife with herds of Oryx and Giraffe around us. We went on some game drives here including a night drive where we got to see Jackals, Aardwolves and Bat-eared foxes, among other wildlife. We also did some hiking in the boulder strewn hills around camp to see the plants and smaller wildlife up close. The next day was early again (a recurring theme) to head into the desert itself and climb the dunes.

We drove straight in in the morning but it still took us until nearly 11 am to get to the bse of the dune we were going to climb - Big Daddy. The highest dune in the area that we knew of (there is some debate) it stands about 370 Meters high (1200+ft) and all very soft, red sand. The hike was quite difficult as the sand is always shifting and we were walking along the ridges all the way to the top, so it was a VERY narrow trail. All told though it took me about an hour to summit, but then about 2 minutes to descend because we literally went straight down the face. Afterwards as we were eating lunch i got quite a bit of a treat as a Balack-backed jackal came trotting over and took a nap under a bush near where we were. The rest of our group really didnt care at all, being far more interested in elephants and zebra and the like, but it was something I was very happy to see.

After the desert we kept heading north along the coast (more or less) to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. There we went on a marine tour and got to pet pelicans and cape fur seals while eating more fresh seafood (so much for the idea of loosing weight in Africa). We also went on a "cultural tour" there, which, while not my cup of tea, it was a class for diversity credits, so I coped.

The next day we headed out to Etosha National Park, one of the largest in Namibia. Once there we were barely in the gates before we were seeing elephants, zebra, giraffe, and wildebeest. It really was phenomenal to see them all in one place, and later that evening we stayed near a lighted watering hole to see some of the nocturnal animals come out. The next day we started our drive across the park, seeing many more animals including hartebeast, lions, and many more. That night we went to sleep outside literally listening to lions roaring.

After Etosha, we went across the border into Botswana and into the Okavongo River Delta. This took quite a trip as we left our main truck for nearly two hours in a boat, then another hour by overland truck, and finally riding in mokoros (polled dugout canoes). We stayed int eh delta for two days, sleeping in tents and studying the flora and fauna ranging from baboons to hippos. After two days in the delta we retraced our steps to our main truck and once again continued onwards, driving south around the delta in the Kalahari desert. Camping again near the border, we prepared to head to Zimbabwe.

The crossing into Zimbabwe was easy and uneventful (thankfully) and we spent some time in the markets around Victoria falls before heading to our lodge. the next day, myself and one other girl from our trip participated in a lion waly where we got to walk with and pet two young 913 month) lioness' with no leashes or anything. We had only a stick, about an inch thick and a yard long which we used to distract them if the got unruly. Distract in this case usually being to drag it int he dirt like a cat toy. Afterwards we went to see the actual falls. When we were there was just after peak flow, so honestly, there wasnt much to see - it was all obscured by mist. There was quite a sense of the size and power of it though, which was awesome in and of itself. After seeing the falls we headed bck down into Botswana for our last night there.

the next day was almost all driving, heading south back into South Africa and all the way down to Johannesburg. We stayed the evening there before being up VERY early the next day to go to our final event. Tranquilizing and tagging a rhino. We were in the chase vehicles as the vet took the actual tranq shot from a helicopter, though we got to watch it all from a few hundred feet off. After the animal was down, we moved in and planted RFID chips in it's horns and hump, notched it's ears for ID, and took some other measures and samples. it was a pretty phenomenal experience to say the least. After our Rhino experience, we went back to Jo'berg for our long flight home. I left the group in Detroit though as it was far more economical for me to catch a plane from there to MSP instead of having to drive all the way back.

There you guys have it! My Africa trip in a nutshell. If you've managed to read this far and have anyquestions, I'll be happy to explain anything you like, just ask em below!