Alright, so all my stuff is here, moved in, I moved some of my stuff back to my dad's because it doesn't fit. Overall, it's a tight squeeze, but everything I need is here. I'm not sure I will be able to get my couch back out of the apartment, but whatever. The move was not so smooth - my movers (Frisbie Moving in Ann Arbor/Detroit - boo) have damaged some of my stuff - nothing ridiculous, but my headboard/footboard have been damaged, along with my bed frame. And my old TV is also worse for the wear, but everything is still usable. But it was super annoying, and as usual, they are making it as hard as possible to make insurance claims - taking 2 weeks to send me the forms!
It's been pretty hot and humid here, and I don't have an air conditioner in yet, b/c my windows are being replaced next week - which is almost 2 weeks later than what I was originally told. I figure I'd wait until the new windows are in. So, I have two fans going at all times in the apt. And I'm at two showers a day. I try to find places with a/c to pass the time, so I've seen a bunch of movies recently. Here are my reviews:
Knocked Up: A-. Izzy isn't as annoying as she is on Grey's, and Seth Rozen (the dude from 40 Year Old Virgin) is hilarious, as is Paul Rudd. I'm pretty excited for Super Bad too.
Die Hard: B-. Pretty good action, Bruce is still awesome at 50, but the ending is super cheesy and really obnoxious.
Transformers: Solid A. I really liked it - the action and special effects are great. Great movie, it's a bit long, but you don't feel like it.
No Reservations: B. A pretty good rom com, there's no real conflict in the movie, so its pretty harmless. Supposedly, the restaurant where Catherine Zeta-Jones is the exec chef is on Bleeker and Charles - down the block from me! Oh, and Aaron Eckhardt is hot.
I've also read the new and last Harry Potter - I'd say this is probably the best book since book 3. It's long, but goes fast, as usual. I won't say anymore in case some of you have not read it and are planning too.
I've gone to Bed, Bath and Beyond a lot the past two weeks. Thank god my mom sent me all of her 20% off coupons. They really need a Target in the city - I know there's one in Brooklyn, right off the 4/5 subway stop, but really, who wants to go all the way out there? I still need some things, like a small filing cabinet to put some papers in. Shelves, hooks, and other ways to create more storage space - I should go to Home Depot.
Anyways, I start work in a week - August 7 - I got my training schedules for the week (Tues - Fri). Apparently, there are lessons for Excel and Powerpoint. Awesome, I'm glad I spent the past two years in bschool for this. But I'm excited for my first paycheck - which probably will not be until the end of August - kill me. Being poor in NYC is no fun. NO FUN I TELL YOU.
Well, sorry for the boring update, but I haven't really been doing anything fun except deal with apartment stuff for the past two weeks. It's really a big hassle. Moving sucks. I'm sure I'll have more exciting updates after I start working. We can chat about the ins and outs of business casual attire.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
NYC Apartment!
I have finally done it! I have found an apartment in the neighborhood I want, in the budget range I want! Well. Let's be honest. I'm paying my max amount possible for a small studio in the West Village. Small as in, it's barely 9 feet wide, but it's very long with a brand new kitchen and bathroom. My kitchen has granite counter tops and comes with a microwave. Nice! And its a ground floor apartment, which I am not in love with, but I am having bars put on them, so it's safer. And an easy move in. I signed the lease this week and get the keys before the weekend! My lease starts on July 15 which is perfect since my movers are schedule for the 16-21st. So my apartment seems to be almost done. I still need to put in shelfs and curtains, etc, but that should be fun and good since I don't start work until Aug 7. So I have plenty of time. woo hoo! Here are some pictures for your amusement at my living situation.
Besides that, it has been great to be back in NYC. It has been super hot this past week - mid 90s and humid. that's made for a super sweaty Wendy stomping all over the city. Pretty gross. Dewy, I like to call it - that sheen of sweat that has been constantly covering me all week.
Anyways, that's the update for now!
Besides that, it has been great to be back in NYC. It has been super hot this past week - mid 90s and humid. that's made for a super sweaty Wendy stomping all over the city. Pretty gross. Dewy, I like to call it - that sheen of sweat that has been constantly covering me all week.
Anyways, that's the update for now!
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Links to Online Albums
Okay, I've put together all my pictures. I tried to filter them - but I couldn't delete all the pictures - there are some that are blurry if viewed screen size - that zoom! The albums are broken down by country.
They are all located at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/wendyy
It's over 1000 pictures, sorry they are so many - I am a bad editor!
They are all located at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/wendyy
It's over 1000 pictures, sorry they are so many - I am a bad editor!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Videos
Okay, so I have uploaded 4 videos.
Video 1: Two oryxes fighting with their horns - taken from the overland truck in Etosha National Park in Namibia.
http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/1f9cdfb01f1ae392
Video 2: A bunch of elephants washing themselves at a watering hole in Etosha. This one is awesome!
http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/1f9cdfb01217e392
Video 3: A group of vultures picking at the remains of a wildebeest in the Serengeti.
http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/1f9cdfb0121ce892
Video 4: Elephant on the side of the road in the Serengeti eating some tree branches - HUGE elephant!
http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/1f9cdfb01316e392
I think the links work - let me know if they don't!
Video 1: Two oryxes fighting with their horns - taken from the overland truck in Etosha National Park in Namibia.
http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/1f9cdfb01f1ae392
Video 2: A bunch of elephants washing themselves at a watering hole in Etosha. This one is awesome!
http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/1f9cdfb01217e392
Video 3: A group of vultures picking at the remains of a wildebeest in the Serengeti.
http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/1f9cdfb0121ce892
Video 4: Elephant on the side of the road in the Serengeti eating some tree branches - HUGE elephant!
http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/1f9cdfb01316e392
I think the links work - let me know if they don't!
Back in NYC - with lots of Pictures!
Alrighty. After 26 hours of flying and waiting in airports, I am back in NYC - and apparently, it is quite humid. I prefer Africa hot to this. Really. Anyways, I am posting a bunch of pics that recap my trip from start to finish, kind of - the videos will come next, they are taking a lot longer... for those of you that are around the tri state area, give me a ring or shoot me an email, I'd love to hang out! And show you the rest of my photos. Or not. And I have to find an apartment. And figure out what to do with my car.
So, without further ado...
We stopped by an ostrich farm on the way down to Cape of Good Hope. The pictures will get better, I promise.
These flowers were all over in Capetown - King something.... that was like 2 months ago, you can't seriously expect me to remember!
A penguin hiding out in its little burrow, I might have chased it there, who knows...
Nelson Mandela's cell at Robben Island, off of Capetown.
I think this is sunset in Camps Bay in Capetown - I took so many, I can never be sure - but they are all kind of different - at least in hue...
A bedazzled car in Capetown!
A snapshot of Fish River Canyon in Namibia - it was nice, but I still think the Grand Canyon is way cooler.
A rhino at the watering hole next to our tents in Etosha (Namibia).
Ann and Mina were apparently bored by our safari in Etosha and napped on the truck.
Ann and Mina posing by their mukoros (dugout canoes) on our way to our campsite in the Okavango Delta (Botswana). We rode in these canoes while our "polers" pulled us for 2.5 hours in the delta! My poler sucked, he got me really wet. I was not happy.
Crossing the river in the mukoros. I wanted to bring one back and use it as a bookshelf - a bunch of the lodges in Tanzania had them as furniture. I didn't think I could check it at the airport.
Baboon sitting in and eating elephant poo. Love the primates.
Hippos just chilling in the Chobe River - this is at like 6:30am mind you.
Hyena being lazying in Chobe National Park - they are ugly!
Crocodiles munching on a dead buffalo in the Chobe River!!! You can see the horn of the buffalo - it is severely bloated.
Two elephants chilling, going for a walk.
Elephant and hippo stand off at the edge of the Chobe River. Here's how it went down, the two elephants in the pic above were walking along the edge as the hippo came out.. and then the 2nd elephant turned around and kicked some dirt at the hippo and trumpeted a little and then turned around and stormed off - as much as an elephant can storm. The hippo didn't really pay it any attention. But hippos are scary - they can run up to 35 km per hour!
Here is me, Mina and Ann at Victoria Falls, thoroughly drenched from our walk of it. Highly recommended - altho they are supposedly better from the Zimbabwe side, since the Zambia side only has about 500 meters of the falls.
Our last dinner with the overaldn group! This is Kelly (she's the red head, I'm the Chinese one) - she's from Australia.
Mina and I in our "bus" t-shirts (I will have to explain to non-Michigan folks some other time) in front of our overland truck - with Letaloi, our driver. He is not a bus driver - he is a truck driver.
Here are some pictures from our Lion Encounter adventure in Zimbabwe. These are the two 12 month old cubs - when they said cubs, I thought they would be like kittens, but apparently, they are almost full grown. And like to make out.
Me and Mina petting one of the cubs... I kept freaking out whenever he twitched!
Lions are really beautiful animals, even if they could rip me apart in one swipe. But you know, still really pretty.
Me on the gorge swing by Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia. Never again. Thanks a lot, Mina - you big bully.
Our guesthouse in Johannesburg - we stayed in the Houghton Estates suburb - very posh, 4 blocks from Nelson Mandela's home. Behind 5 different forms of security. That's Mina if you can make her out.
Butcher shop in the Soweto townships in Johannesburg! YUM.
A view of Mt. Kilimanjaro from our plane.
A warthog up close in the Ngorongoro Crater - they are ugly! But I got used to them and in the end, found them kind of cute. Pumba (Lion King) really put the warthog on the map!
Baboons in the road in Ngorongoro - we had to stop and wait for them to move, the babies are kind of cute, but that's about it.
Giraffe crossing in Ngorongoro.
After the Ngorongoro Crater, we stopped by a Masai village before heading to the Serengeti. The Masai tribe spans Kenya and Tanzania and most of the warriors wear the traditional red blankets - one of our overland tour guides is a Masai warrior, and he always had his blanket draped over his normal clothes - he said it was better than a woman!
Here is a traditional Masai "manyatta" or hut - they live and cook in these! It's so crazy!
Now onto the Serengeti, apparently lions chill out in trees!
Beautiful giraffe, can you see the eyelashes?
Wildebeest crossing - we were in the middle of the migration - probably over a million wildebeest moving from the Serengeti up to Kenya...
Hippo pool - they really smell.
Another one of the mom lion and her two cubs - soo cute!!!
We kind of drove off the track to get a little closer to the lion...shhh.
Isn't he beautiful? Look at his yellow eyes!
Here's that preening leopard again...
The buffalo seem a little mad that we're snapping pics of their baby....
And finally, here is the beach at Zanzibar. That was the view from our bungalow. A great ending to an amazing trip.
So, there you have it - I know that was a lot of photos, but I have 1151 that I need to edit through and then I will upload them to picasa or something and send out the link - and if any of you go to Africa - bring a REAL camera, not a small digital one - you need a serious SLR to get the great animal pictures - a lot of mine are fine small, but even blown up to my laptop screen, a ton are blurry - sigh, digital zoom vs optical zoom I guess...
So, without further ado...
We stopped by an ostrich farm on the way down to Cape of Good Hope. The pictures will get better, I promise.
These flowers were all over in Capetown - King something.... that was like 2 months ago, you can't seriously expect me to remember!
A penguin hiding out in its little burrow, I might have chased it there, who knows...
Nelson Mandela's cell at Robben Island, off of Capetown.
I think this is sunset in Camps Bay in Capetown - I took so many, I can never be sure - but they are all kind of different - at least in hue...
A bedazzled car in Capetown!
A snapshot of Fish River Canyon in Namibia - it was nice, but I still think the Grand Canyon is way cooler.
A rhino at the watering hole next to our tents in Etosha (Namibia).
Ann and Mina were apparently bored by our safari in Etosha and napped on the truck.
Ann and Mina posing by their mukoros (dugout canoes) on our way to our campsite in the Okavango Delta (Botswana). We rode in these canoes while our "polers" pulled us for 2.5 hours in the delta! My poler sucked, he got me really wet. I was not happy.
Crossing the river in the mukoros. I wanted to bring one back and use it as a bookshelf - a bunch of the lodges in Tanzania had them as furniture. I didn't think I could check it at the airport.
Baboon sitting in and eating elephant poo. Love the primates.
Hippos just chilling in the Chobe River - this is at like 6:30am mind you.
Hyena being lazying in Chobe National Park - they are ugly!
Crocodiles munching on a dead buffalo in the Chobe River!!! You can see the horn of the buffalo - it is severely bloated.
Two elephants chilling, going for a walk.
Elephant and hippo stand off at the edge of the Chobe River. Here's how it went down, the two elephants in the pic above were walking along the edge as the hippo came out.. and then the 2nd elephant turned around and kicked some dirt at the hippo and trumpeted a little and then turned around and stormed off - as much as an elephant can storm. The hippo didn't really pay it any attention. But hippos are scary - they can run up to 35 km per hour!
Here is me, Mina and Ann at Victoria Falls, thoroughly drenched from our walk of it. Highly recommended - altho they are supposedly better from the Zimbabwe side, since the Zambia side only has about 500 meters of the falls.
Our last dinner with the overaldn group! This is Kelly (she's the red head, I'm the Chinese one) - she's from Australia.
Mina and I in our "bus" t-shirts (I will have to explain to non-Michigan folks some other time) in front of our overland truck - with Letaloi, our driver. He is not a bus driver - he is a truck driver.
Here are some pictures from our Lion Encounter adventure in Zimbabwe. These are the two 12 month old cubs - when they said cubs, I thought they would be like kittens, but apparently, they are almost full grown. And like to make out.
Me and Mina petting one of the cubs... I kept freaking out whenever he twitched!
Lions are really beautiful animals, even if they could rip me apart in one swipe. But you know, still really pretty.
Me on the gorge swing by Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia. Never again. Thanks a lot, Mina - you big bully.
Our guesthouse in Johannesburg - we stayed in the Houghton Estates suburb - very posh, 4 blocks from Nelson Mandela's home. Behind 5 different forms of security. That's Mina if you can make her out.
Butcher shop in the Soweto townships in Johannesburg! YUM.
A view of Mt. Kilimanjaro from our plane.
A warthog up close in the Ngorongoro Crater - they are ugly! But I got used to them and in the end, found them kind of cute. Pumba (Lion King) really put the warthog on the map!
Baboons in the road in Ngorongoro - we had to stop and wait for them to move, the babies are kind of cute, but that's about it.
Giraffe crossing in Ngorongoro.
After the Ngorongoro Crater, we stopped by a Masai village before heading to the Serengeti. The Masai tribe spans Kenya and Tanzania and most of the warriors wear the traditional red blankets - one of our overland tour guides is a Masai warrior, and he always had his blanket draped over his normal clothes - he said it was better than a woman!
Here is a traditional Masai "manyatta" or hut - they live and cook in these! It's so crazy!
Now onto the Serengeti, apparently lions chill out in trees!
Beautiful giraffe, can you see the eyelashes?
Wildebeest crossing - we were in the middle of the migration - probably over a million wildebeest moving from the Serengeti up to Kenya...
Hippo pool - they really smell.
Another one of the mom lion and her two cubs - soo cute!!!
We kind of drove off the track to get a little closer to the lion...shhh.
Isn't he beautiful? Look at his yellow eyes!
Here's that preening leopard again...
The buffalo seem a little mad that we're snapping pics of their baby....
And finally, here is the beach at Zanzibar. That was the view from our bungalow. A great ending to an amazing trip.
So, there you have it - I know that was a lot of photos, but I have 1151 that I need to edit through and then I will upload them to picasa or something and send out the link - and if any of you go to Africa - bring a REAL camera, not a small digital one - you need a serious SLR to get the great animal pictures - a lot of mine are fine small, but even blown up to my laptop screen, a ton are blurry - sigh, digital zoom vs optical zoom I guess...
Saturday, June 23, 2007
A Few Pictures from the Serengeti!
Okay, I finally got to upload a few photos - I can't upload more, the site keeps timing out on me - but hopefully these will give you a snapshot of all the cool things I saw in Tanzania!
Mother lion and two cubs - look at the one on the left yawning, how cute! This is in the Serengeti - they were high up in the rocks.
A zebra on the side of the road in the Ngorongoro crater. Isn't she beautiful?? Or isn't he handsome? whatever, you know what I mean.
The giraffes in the Serengeti are known to be darker than in other parts of Africa. Why? I have no idea. Someone else can google it or look it up on wikipedia.
And finally, the hardest to find (besides a cheetah) - a leopard! Look at him, all posing for the cameras on the dead tree trunk. "I'm so pretty. Look at all my spots." Seriously, this cat was posing and preening for all of us. There was a caravan of 4x4 trucks lined up on the road to watch this cool cat!
Alright, so that was a preview - I will upload ALL 800+ of my pictures later this week when I get back - I'll be back in NYC on Thursday! And I'm going straight to eat chinese food! and maybe some sushi. and a big salad. Apparently, no one eats vegetables in Africa. Just red meat and carbs. So much for my diet.
Mother lion and two cubs - look at the one on the left yawning, how cute! This is in the Serengeti - they were high up in the rocks.
A zebra on the side of the road in the Ngorongoro crater. Isn't she beautiful?? Or isn't he handsome? whatever, you know what I mean.
The giraffes in the Serengeti are known to be darker than in other parts of Africa. Why? I have no idea. Someone else can google it or look it up on wikipedia.
And finally, the hardest to find (besides a cheetah) - a leopard! Look at him, all posing for the cameras on the dead tree trunk. "I'm so pretty. Look at all my spots." Seriously, this cat was posing and preening for all of us. There was a caravan of 4x4 trucks lined up on the road to watch this cool cat!
Alright, so that was a preview - I will upload ALL 800+ of my pictures later this week when I get back - I'll be back in NYC on Thursday! And I'm going straight to eat chinese food! and maybe some sushi. and a big salad. Apparently, no one eats vegetables in Africa. Just red meat and carbs. So much for my diet.Stone Town, Zanzibar
After 5 days on the beach on the North Shore, we have moved to Stonetown - which is the largest city on Zanzibar - where about 200,000 people live. It is on the West Coast and about 30km from Dar es Salaam. I'm quite tan after being on the beach, a bit sunburned in random places (that always happens), and attracting new bugs to bite me. We got here yesterday and today took a Spice Tour - after all, Zanzibar is known as the Spice Island! We went to a spice farm, and were shown all sorts of plants and trees - cinnamon, cloves, ginger, curry, vanilla, etc and also all sorts of fruit trees and plants - oranges, litchi, pineapple, etc. It was really good, we got to taste a lot of different things, but as I'm not much of a cooker, I didn't buy any spices to bring back. If you want something, let me know, I'll see what I can do!
Tomorrow, the girls and I will take a Historical Walking tour of the city - and learn more about Zanzibar's part in the slave trade. We've run into some other bschool friends here and they really enjoyed their time, etc. I only have 5 days left of my journey! I fly back to NYC on Wednesday night, arriving on Thursday - I'm excited for the movies I'll have on KLM - good airline! Africa has been wonderful, I highly recommend it for those of you who have not yet been here - the scenery and animals are amazing! And come in the winter (our summer) - the weather is great, and not too hot!
Tomorrow, the girls and I will take a Historical Walking tour of the city - and learn more about Zanzibar's part in the slave trade. We've run into some other bschool friends here and they really enjoyed their time, etc. I only have 5 days left of my journey! I fly back to NYC on Wednesday night, arriving on Thursday - I'm excited for the movies I'll have on KLM - good airline! Africa has been wonderful, I highly recommend it for those of you who have not yet been here - the scenery and animals are amazing! And come in the winter (our summer) - the weather is great, and not too hot!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Update from Zanzibar
So, here's the deal. A lot has happened since my last blog - sorry for the lack of updates, but interestingly enough, it was hard to find an Internet connection in Johannesburg - that I could use for an extended period of time. Weird, but true. Let's do a recap:
We (Mina, Laura and I) arrived in Jo-berg on June 10 and ran a bunch of errands the first day - I mailed a bunch of stuff home (gifts, sleeping bag, etc) and then on the second day, we toured Soweto, which is the biggest township in South Africa and then went to the Apartheid Museum. The Apartheid Museum is amazing, we spent about 4 hours there, and we could have been there longer if necessary. What happened in South Africa is unbelievable and then learning about the end of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela etc, was really emotional. And we also saw where Desmond Tutu and Mandela lived. I actually stayed in a guest house 4 blocks from Mandela's house - we were in a pretty cushy area, but better to be safe than sorry!
We arrived in Tanzania on June 13 and did 4 days of game drives in the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. The Serengeti is amazing! I would highly recommend a visit soon - it is getting very touristy and I think that affects the animals as well. We saw a ton of everything - it is currently in the middle of the migration - where zebras, wildebeest, and gazelles go north to Kenya to follow the rain, so we saw thousands of these animals. We also saw lots of big cats - lions and leopards! That was very exciting. And we saw a cheetah - from really far away, through binoculars. I'm not sure if that really counts. Anyways, the landscape of the Serengeti is great too - it changes so often, from flat open plains, to lush trees and grass, to hills and mountains. Besides Etosha National Park in Namibia, I would rank the Serengeti as my favorite part so far. And Etosha only ranks up there b/c it was the first game drive, we saw tons of stuff, and we had the watering holes to watch at night.
Now, we have arrived in Zanzibar, and this is my last destination for the next 9 or 10 days before I head back to the States - how sad is that? This trip has been great - I've seen so many different things - animals, various tribes, landscapes, and now I'm on the Indian Ocean.
Sorry there haven't been pictures lately - I can't seem to find any Internet connection that is remotely of normal speed, of course I'm in Africa, I realize that. Hopefully, I can get it uploaded sometime in Zanzibar, but otherwise, it will have to wait until I get back to NY.
Until next time!
We (Mina, Laura and I) arrived in Jo-berg on June 10 and ran a bunch of errands the first day - I mailed a bunch of stuff home (gifts, sleeping bag, etc) and then on the second day, we toured Soweto, which is the biggest township in South Africa and then went to the Apartheid Museum. The Apartheid Museum is amazing, we spent about 4 hours there, and we could have been there longer if necessary. What happened in South Africa is unbelievable and then learning about the end of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela etc, was really emotional. And we also saw where Desmond Tutu and Mandela lived. I actually stayed in a guest house 4 blocks from Mandela's house - we were in a pretty cushy area, but better to be safe than sorry!
We arrived in Tanzania on June 13 and did 4 days of game drives in the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. The Serengeti is amazing! I would highly recommend a visit soon - it is getting very touristy and I think that affects the animals as well. We saw a ton of everything - it is currently in the middle of the migration - where zebras, wildebeest, and gazelles go north to Kenya to follow the rain, so we saw thousands of these animals. We also saw lots of big cats - lions and leopards! That was very exciting. And we saw a cheetah - from really far away, through binoculars. I'm not sure if that really counts. Anyways, the landscape of the Serengeti is great too - it changes so often, from flat open plains, to lush trees and grass, to hills and mountains. Besides Etosha National Park in Namibia, I would rank the Serengeti as my favorite part so far. And Etosha only ranks up there b/c it was the first game drive, we saw tons of stuff, and we had the watering holes to watch at night.
Now, we have arrived in Zanzibar, and this is my last destination for the next 9 or 10 days before I head back to the States - how sad is that? This trip has been great - I've seen so many different things - animals, various tribes, landscapes, and now I'm on the Indian Ocean.
Sorry there haven't been pictures lately - I can't seem to find any Internet connection that is remotely of normal speed, of course I'm in Africa, I realize that. Hopefully, I can get it uploaded sometime in Zanzibar, but otherwise, it will have to wait until I get back to NY.
Until next time!
Friday, June 8, 2007
Leaving Zambia for Johannesberg
So, I can't seem to upload any pictures here, the blogger server keeps timing out on me - therefore pictures will have to wait until Jo-berg hpoefully.
Anyways, updates on what I have been doing since we got to Livingstone, Zambia. There was a lot of nothing for the first day,. I've been lounging around the hostel a bunch. On Friday, Mina and I went to the local craft markets for souvenirs. There was a lot of bartering - trading goods for my hair ties, ziplock bags, and tee shirts. I picked up a good number of things for decent prices.
I was supposed to go on a Rhino Walk at a local park however, on Thusrday night, poachers broke into the park and killed one of the rhinos and seriously injured the other! They went in for tusks and basically the park now is shut down - how awful is that! I was so shocked. Instead, Mina and I went to Zimbabwe yesterday morning to do a Lion Walk - basically it's lion cubs in a park that are being rehabilitated and we can interact with them. Several other people on our tour had done it a few days ago and raved about it. The Zimbabwe thing was a bit weird, with our visa money going to support the awful gov't over there, but then again, by contributing to the local tourism industry, I figured that we were doing some good for the workers. Anyways, the Lion Encounter consisted of us (8 ppl) going on a stroll in the park with two 12-month old lion cubs - and I thought that they'd be little, but apparently, they were 80kg! They were big! I got a bunch of pics with them, petting them, will upload when I can. But it was for about 90 min and we learned a lot of lions and the project that the company is doing to try and reintroduce lions to the wild. Apparently, in the 1970s, there were over 250,000 lions in all of Africa and now there are only about 20,000 due to poaching, snaring, and regular hunting. Crazy!
Yesterday afternoon, b/c I hadn't spent enough money, Mina talked me into doing a gorge swing. A GORGE SWING. Me - afraid of heights and free falling (altho skydiving was different) and who days before, watched other people from our tour group bungy jump off the bridge at Vic Falls and hated it, got convinced to do two gorge swings next to Vic Falls as well. So basically, you jump from a platform and the swing itself is only 53 meters (vs 114 meters that was the bungy jump) and then you're still 43 meters off the ground and have to be lowered to the bottom of the gorge and hike the 96 meters back up. Mina and I started with a tandem swing (and you swing down backwards) and then I did a single forward jump - both super scary! Walking off a platform into a free fall is the MOST unnatural thing ever. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone unless you are an adrenalin junkie - which I think Mina is and I am not. So, while I am glad that I did it b/c I was so scared, my body is a bit sore today and I don't think I would do it again. I would skydive again, but not gorge swing. I have pictures of that too. Apparently, there is video of me during my solo swing screaming "oh my god oh my god oh my god" on the way down. I'll try and get that uploaded here too. Shout out to Motion Box instead of YouTube b/c my former boss now works there.
We're flying out of Livingstone today to go down to Jo-berg for a few days, we have to leave in about an hour to go to the aeropuerto. Ann leaves us today, she has to get back to NYC to start her job next week. We said goodbye to a lot of our tour friends over the past few days, while I am glad the group tour is over, some of the people I met were really cool and it was nice to interact with them here in Livingstone in a different setting vs sitting on a truck for 8 hours a day and tenting next to them. Anyways, Jo-berg will be a big errand stop for me - laundry, mail stuff home (like all those crazy souvenirs that I bought, plus the camping gear that I do not need anyore), and we (Laura, Mina and I) are going to see the Apartheid Museum and do a tour of the Soweto township. That should be really eye opening.
Anyways, sorry for the long text update, but I will try and get photos on here when I can!
Anyways, updates on what I have been doing since we got to Livingstone, Zambia. There was a lot of nothing for the first day,. I've been lounging around the hostel a bunch. On Friday, Mina and I went to the local craft markets for souvenirs. There was a lot of bartering - trading goods for my hair ties, ziplock bags, and tee shirts. I picked up a good number of things for decent prices.
I was supposed to go on a Rhino Walk at a local park however, on Thusrday night, poachers broke into the park and killed one of the rhinos and seriously injured the other! They went in for tusks and basically the park now is shut down - how awful is that! I was so shocked. Instead, Mina and I went to Zimbabwe yesterday morning to do a Lion Walk - basically it's lion cubs in a park that are being rehabilitated and we can interact with them. Several other people on our tour had done it a few days ago and raved about it. The Zimbabwe thing was a bit weird, with our visa money going to support the awful gov't over there, but then again, by contributing to the local tourism industry, I figured that we were doing some good for the workers. Anyways, the Lion Encounter consisted of us (8 ppl) going on a stroll in the park with two 12-month old lion cubs - and I thought that they'd be little, but apparently, they were 80kg! They were big! I got a bunch of pics with them, petting them, will upload when I can. But it was for about 90 min and we learned a lot of lions and the project that the company is doing to try and reintroduce lions to the wild. Apparently, in the 1970s, there were over 250,000 lions in all of Africa and now there are only about 20,000 due to poaching, snaring, and regular hunting. Crazy!
Yesterday afternoon, b/c I hadn't spent enough money, Mina talked me into doing a gorge swing. A GORGE SWING. Me - afraid of heights and free falling (altho skydiving was different) and who days before, watched other people from our tour group bungy jump off the bridge at Vic Falls and hated it, got convinced to do two gorge swings next to Vic Falls as well. So basically, you jump from a platform and the swing itself is only 53 meters (vs 114 meters that was the bungy jump) and then you're still 43 meters off the ground and have to be lowered to the bottom of the gorge and hike the 96 meters back up. Mina and I started with a tandem swing (and you swing down backwards) and then I did a single forward jump - both super scary! Walking off a platform into a free fall is the MOST unnatural thing ever. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone unless you are an adrenalin junkie - which I think Mina is and I am not. So, while I am glad that I did it b/c I was so scared, my body is a bit sore today and I don't think I would do it again. I would skydive again, but not gorge swing. I have pictures of that too. Apparently, there is video of me during my solo swing screaming "oh my god oh my god oh my god" on the way down. I'll try and get that uploaded here too. Shout out to Motion Box instead of YouTube b/c my former boss now works there.
We're flying out of Livingstone today to go down to Jo-berg for a few days, we have to leave in about an hour to go to the aeropuerto. Ann leaves us today, she has to get back to NYC to start her job next week. We said goodbye to a lot of our tour friends over the past few days, while I am glad the group tour is over, some of the people I met were really cool and it was nice to interact with them here in Livingstone in a different setting vs sitting on a truck for 8 hours a day and tenting next to them. Anyways, Jo-berg will be a big errand stop for me - laundry, mail stuff home (like all those crazy souvenirs that I bought, plus the camping gear that I do not need anyore), and we (Laura, Mina and I) are going to see the Apartheid Museum and do a tour of the Soweto township. That should be really eye opening.
Anyways, sorry for the long text update, but I will try and get photos on here when I can!
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Botswana and Zambia - no pics yet
Hello all. I am now in Livingstone, Zambia. We arrived this morning after a long border crossing and stop in Victoria Falls - very awesome, I got soaking wet and almost run over by a large baboon. I have pictures, but my camera is recharging now and the Internet here is on the slow side. So for now, a text recap will have to do.
After my last update in Windhoek, Namibia, we went to Botswana. Botswana is definitely less developed, I felt like I was really in Africa vs what I had encounted in Capetown and even in Namibia. We spent about 6 days in Botswana - in small towns like Maun, and then we went to the Okavango Delta, which is essentially this large wetland and the Chobe River flows through it and the river originates in Angola. We took these mukoros - dugout canoes - for 2 hrs to get to our campsite, and we went on some bush walks and saw elephants and baboons. I also took a scenic flight in a 5 seater plane over the delta and we saw so many more animals - hippos, elephants, buffalo, giraffe, etc. And I threw up. Apparently, I can't fly in small aircraft. But I can skydive.
After the delta, we went to Chobe National Park, which is famous for its elephants. We went on a morning game drive and didn't see much but then we did an afternoon game cruise and saw hippos and elephants really up close and some crocodiles eating a dead buffalo - that was kind of gross and cool - I'll upload photos of that later.
Today we left Botwana and came to Zambia. The tour I am on now ends tomorrow but I will be staying here for a few more days before flying down to J-berg on June 10.
The weather is warm and mosquitos are out and about and there are monkeys everywhere. I'll be back soon (before I leave Zambia) with pictures!
After my last update in Windhoek, Namibia, we went to Botswana. Botswana is definitely less developed, I felt like I was really in Africa vs what I had encounted in Capetown and even in Namibia. We spent about 6 days in Botswana - in small towns like Maun, and then we went to the Okavango Delta, which is essentially this large wetland and the Chobe River flows through it and the river originates in Angola. We took these mukoros - dugout canoes - for 2 hrs to get to our campsite, and we went on some bush walks and saw elephants and baboons. I also took a scenic flight in a 5 seater plane over the delta and we saw so many more animals - hippos, elephants, buffalo, giraffe, etc. And I threw up. Apparently, I can't fly in small aircraft. But I can skydive.
After the delta, we went to Chobe National Park, which is famous for its elephants. We went on a morning game drive and didn't see much but then we did an afternoon game cruise and saw hippos and elephants really up close and some crocodiles eating a dead buffalo - that was kind of gross and cool - I'll upload photos of that later.
Today we left Botwana and came to Zambia. The tour I am on now ends tomorrow but I will be staying here for a few more days before flying down to J-berg on June 10.
The weather is warm and mosquitos are out and about and there are monkeys everywhere. I'll be back soon (before I leave Zambia) with pictures!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Animals!!!
Alrighty everyone - this is what you've all been waiting for! At least this is what I've been waiting for. Game drives and pictures of lots of animals!! I'm so excited - we were in Etosha National Park in Namibia for 2 days and went on some game drives and saw really cool things! I also took some videos, but they are apparently all 65 MB and not dealing well on YouTube. I'll upload them back in the States. Anyways, so at Etosha, we stayed at this campsite that had a watering hole - and what's cool about the winter is that it is dry and the animals seek out the watering hole throughout the day and we just sit there and watch them. We saw and heard a lot of great things - elephants, rhinos, and lions roaring, but not approaching the watering hole. So on to the pictures:
Giraffes! I don't think I really need to explain, much, right? You guys just want to see the pics, no?
This elephant is by our watering hole - there's another picture further down by our watering hole, but I uploaded them out of order - sorry.
Zebras! There were lots of zebras, I actually got a little zebra'd out.
Zebras mingling with some Oryx - their horns were super long and sharp. They can actually pierce through lions and throw them.
Zebras hanging out with the wildebeast. Wildebeest. I don't know how to spell it.
Elephants! Look at the baby elephant!
And here are the elephants again at our watering hole - near sunset.
This is a little far away - but it's a rhino! Actually 2. or 3. Anyways, we saw more rhinos at night at our watering hole, but it was dark and my pictures never came out. Sorry.
And finally - LIONS!!! We saw lions! I was so excited, actually our entire bus was super excited. Here is a male lion, he was prowling around the watering hole (a different one) and got lazy and just lied down. It must have been too hot for him. The female lions are the ones that hunt anyways, so the males can just laze around - typical.
And here is another male too - we thought it was a female because of the lack of a mane, but our guide said that it's just a young male and you can tell (through binoculars) that he has a small mane growing.
But here is the young male lion across the watering hole from a giraffe - I think the giraffe got a little freaked out.
So that's all the pictures that I am going to upload. That should capture the past two days. We are in Windhoek right now, the capital of Namibia - just for the night, and tomorrow we go to Botswana! We're going to the Okavango Delta on Thursday and Friday - where we do some "game drives" in a dugout canoe - so more of a hippo and crocodile type of drive - I am excited for that one! Although there's supposed to be a lot of mosquitos too, I am going to have to sleep with my mosquito net - another key purchase apparently. Gotta love REI. After that, we go to Chobe National Park for more game drives - not sure what other animals we are going to see. But so far, we've seen 3 out of the Big Five - Lion, Elephant and Rhino. The remaining 2 are Water Buffalo and Leopard. Hopefully I can see those two before the end of my Africa trip. And then we go to Zambia - for Victoria Falls. And this group overland trip that I am on ends on June 6. I am not sure what Internet will be like in Botswana, so I might be without an update until we reach Livingstone in Zambia - which will be June 4.
Until next time everyone!
Giraffes! I don't think I really need to explain, much, right? You guys just want to see the pics, no?
This elephant is by our watering hole - there's another picture further down by our watering hole, but I uploaded them out of order - sorry.
Zebras! There were lots of zebras, I actually got a little zebra'd out.
Zebras mingling with some Oryx - their horns were super long and sharp. They can actually pierce through lions and throw them.
Zebras hanging out with the wildebeast. Wildebeest. I don't know how to spell it.
Elephants! Look at the baby elephant!
And here are the elephants again at our watering hole - near sunset.
This is a little far away - but it's a rhino! Actually 2. or 3. Anyways, we saw more rhinos at night at our watering hole, but it was dark and my pictures never came out. Sorry.
And finally - LIONS!!! We saw lions! I was so excited, actually our entire bus was super excited. Here is a male lion, he was prowling around the watering hole (a different one) and got lazy and just lied down. It must have been too hot for him. The female lions are the ones that hunt anyways, so the males can just laze around - typical.
And here is another male too - we thought it was a female because of the lack of a mane, but our guide said that it's just a young male and you can tell (through binoculars) that he has a small mane growing. 
But here is the young male lion across the watering hole from a giraffe - I think the giraffe got a little freaked out.
So that's all the pictures that I am going to upload. That should capture the past two days. We are in Windhoek right now, the capital of Namibia - just for the night, and tomorrow we go to Botswana! We're going to the Okavango Delta on Thursday and Friday - where we do some "game drives" in a dugout canoe - so more of a hippo and crocodile type of drive - I am excited for that one! Although there's supposed to be a lot of mosquitos too, I am going to have to sleep with my mosquito net - another key purchase apparently. Gotta love REI. After that, we go to Chobe National Park for more game drives - not sure what other animals we are going to see. But so far, we've seen 3 out of the Big Five - Lion, Elephant and Rhino. The remaining 2 are Water Buffalo and Leopard. Hopefully I can see those two before the end of my Africa trip. And then we go to Zambia - for Victoria Falls. And this group overland trip that I am on ends on June 6. I am not sure what Internet will be like in Botswana, so I might be without an update until we reach Livingstone in Zambia - which will be June 4. Until next time everyone!
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