Thanksgiving Day at Nechsar National Park and Lake Chamo

Itinerary Day 20: Thanksgiving at Arbaminch-Nechsar National Park - Lake Chamo 

In the morning, will have a game drive around the Nechsar National Park. This national park, with thrilling landscapes of mountains and lakes is one of the most attractive parks in the country. We will have the chance to see different mammals which inhabit the park including, the endemic antelope, Swayne’s Hartebeest, Gerenuk, Grants Gazelle, and Burchele Zebra. In the afternoon, we will have a boat cruise over Lake Chamo to see some of the biggest African crocodiles. Hippopotamus, and many beautiful aquatic birds including the lovely Kingfisher and African Fish Eagle.

Journal:  As I write this the blog is hopelessly behind, due primarily to the absence of adequate internet for much of the trip.   Decided to leap ahead and post our Thanksgiving Day now, and will continue to fill in the sizable journal gaps as time and internet availability permits.

Awoke on Thanksgiving Day thinking about the great Thanksgiving Day feasts we've enjoyed with friends and family in the bay area and in Chicago.  We'll miss the meal and the camaraderie,and the meal, and the meal.  But... we still had a great day in store.

The plan was to pick up a boat captain and a "Scout" (always required in the National Parks - think armed park ranger), drive to Lake Chamo, take a boat tour across the lake, a nature hike in the park on the other side, and see what there was to see.  As it turns out - there was a lot to see.

 On the drive over we saw these Guinea Fowl by the side of the road.

All I could think was how they would look roasted and stuffed in lieu of a turkey. On arrival at Lake Chamo we found our boat and the captain poled us out.

I forgot what the captain's real name was....

... we all called him "Captain Obama".

First stop - Crocodile Cove

There be monsters here.

We're told this where you find the largest crocs in Africa, and I've no reason to doubt it. They're the biggest I've ever seen by far. Some looked as long as the boat. Still... I was thinking... tastes like chicken... maybe - instead of turkey... stuffed croc kinda sounds good.

More sightings on the cruise across...

Fish Eagle

We watched him snatch a fish but didn't get a great shot

Hippo

Pelicans

Pelican air ballet

Giant Monitor Lizard

On the other side we disembarked and hiked up over a dry hot rridge. Then it got even better.

We found the herd of Burchelles Zebra we hoped to see. They strolled right by us. We watched and walked with them for almost an hour.

click to biggify

Sigrid could not get enough...

I don't know how many hundred of pictures she shot. This is just a sampling.

All in all, it was pretty frggin' amazing...

 ... and a truly great day.

But I still missed my traditional Thanksgiving Dinner.

Roasted chicken legs, processed mashed potatoes and a side of spaghetti was as close as I could get. 

I know...



Editors Note: I intend to pre-load and schedule automated blog posts with the daily itinerary for our Ethiopian adventure. For those interested, this may be an easy way to follow along. Since we will not have internet access for most of the trip, my hope is this will make it easier to add some pics and journal commentary if and when we run across an internet connection. If there are no pics or commentary, you'll just have to wait until we get back. We'll see how it goes. 

Africa Journal - Camp Okavango

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Monday, October 9, 1995

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Camp Okavango - Cathy Gets a Big One

Edward has taken the Beast and left. He will meet us Wednesday at our next (and last) mobile camp in the Kalahari. We board a six seat uncovered powerboat for a three hour cruise through the delta to Okavango Camp. I am reminded of an airboat tour through the Everglades, but as I watch the towering grass and papyrus fly by, the comparison fades. This is truly a strange and wonderful place.

 The water is crystal clear. Giant storks and cranes are all around us. We startle crocs and hippos as we speed past. Around a bend we encounter an elephant, standing belly deep in the channel.

And clearly visible under all that water, the white sand of the Kalahari, silently absorbing the entire flow of the river, until it ultimately emerges less than a 100 kilometers distant, a dry and desolate desert.

Brutus

The Okavango Camp sleeping tents are almost identical to Camp Moremi. The dining area, bar, and lounge are open and on ground level. The bar is better stocked and is manned by my new best friend Obie. After lunch we encounter Brutus, a tree monitor that patrols the camp.

Cathy's Fish - Wayne hangs his head in shame

That afternoon Sigrid, Manfred, and Amy decide to stay in camp and rest while Cathy, Wayne and I go fishing. Letto is our guide. Fishing consists of trolling a Mepps #3 behind the boat while Letto navigates the narrow waterways. A lot of time is spent reeling the lure in to clear snagged weeds. Wayne gets the first strike but loses it when the line breaks. Then Cathy lands a beautiful bright yellow-green Tilapia, which gives her First Fish and, as it turns out, Biggest Fish honors. I then bring in a Breem. The way he fights I think I’ve got a monster, but he is little more than half the size of Cathy’s fish. Finally, Cathy brings in a small Tilapia to finish the day and earn Most Fish honors - a clean sweep. Wayne got skunked.

My Fish

Cathy Celebrates Her Triumph

Back at camp, I celebrate my catch at Obie's bar with an Abelours (12 year old single malt scotch) served neat. Before dinner, I toast Cathy’s success with another. More South African red with dinner. We converse mostly with a Spanish doctor and his wife from the Canary islands. When I tell them my occupation, they want to talk about Bill Gates. They are stunned to learn that he is a trans-sexual. I am compelled to tell them the whole inspiring story, so familiar to all Americans in the high-tech industry. How Bill (then Wilma), a comely, curvaceous, and brilliant young programmer, finding her ambitions blocked at every turn by a sexist, male dominated computer industry, dropped out of college, flew to Sweden, and had the operation. The rest is history. The doctor is skeptical, until I ask him if he has ever heard Bill’s voice. He wants to know if there was a malpractice suit. I am amazed at how little they know about Bill in Spain.

That night I wake to see an elephant, in the light of a full moon, walk by the front of our tent, then pull down branches and eat them just outside of Wayne and Cathy’s. In the morning I learn that this is Bigfoot, a 42 year old bull elephant that has taken a liking to the trees in the camp. We are the same age. I wonder if we have the same birthday.

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NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: This is a back-post / cross-post from my first on-line journal/blogging effort - a journal of our Southern Africa Tour in 1995. Originally posted to an abandoned domain (NetSnake.com), the term "blog" had not yet entered the parlance. I am migrating the original posts to this blog. Links to the original journal Date Index or Africa Tour Home Page will likely eventually disappear. The images from the original post were graphics and screen caps from video which I am leaving in it's low-rez glory for historical integrity. My intent is to also add some of Sigrid's higher quality scanned photos to these blog back-posts.  The difference in images should be obvious.

Africa Journal - Hwange National Park

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Sunday, September 24, 1995

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Hwange National Park
We decide to sleep in but, as promised in Andrea’s itinerary, We are awakened at 6:00 by the sound of birds. I recorded the sounds on my camcorder and someday will include on this page as an .au file. No alarm clock could be more effective.

Off at 10:00 on an all day game drive with Ray as guide. It is Sigrid, myself, and a fellow named Herbert from Germany. We are riding in a Toyota Landcruiser that could seat 10. Hwange is the crown jewel of the Zimbabwe wildlife park system. It borders on the Kalahari Desert and the dry dusty heat pulls the moisture out of you. The landcruiser is well stocked with refreshments, and Ray insures we are comfortable all day.

This was a great day of game viewing. We have many opportunities to get close up video and photos of zebra, antelope, elephant, giraffe and more.

 I believe we saw most of the animals listed in Andrea’s itinerary, plus some exotic birds, including an African eagle owl.

Larry, I mean Ray, serving lunch.

Ray served us lunch in a hide overlooking a waterhole. There were more than 50 elephants directly below us, drinking, taking mud baths, taking dust baths, stomping around, trumpeting, and looking us over while we were watching them. 

Sable, Ostrich, and baboons also visited. Ray chased a baboon out of another tourists car, who had left the door open while running into the loo.

 

That afternoon, at another waterhole, we watched a hippo chase a crocodile away from the remains of a kudu carcass. I have some video of this sequence which I will include as an avi file on this page when we get home.

We finish the day at a waterhole on the Chokamella propery watching the sun set behind a small herd of elephant. The elephants look like they are walking through fire and red smoke, as the dust they stir up is lit by the setting sun.

For best results, view while drinking a cold Zambezi beer

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NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: This is a back-post / cross-post from my first on-line journal/blogging effort - a journal of our Southern Africa Tour in 1995. Originally posted to an abandoned domain (NetSnake.com), the term "blog" had not yet entered the parlance. I am migrating the original posts to this blog. Links to the original journal Date Index or Africa Tour Home Page will likely eventually disappear. The images from the original post were graphics and screen caps from video which I am leaving in it's low-rez glory for historical integrity. My intent is to also add some of Sigrid's higher quality scanned photos to these blog back-posts.  The difference in images should be obvious.