African Safari Conclusion

---

And so it ends. All we have left is a torturous 16 and a half hour flight from Johannesburg to JFK and then our vacation will have come to a conclusion. Since my last post Jason and I have gone on a few more safari excursions, both by land and by boat. On our last game drive yesterday morning we were fortunate enough to come across another carload of people whose guide had spotted a leopard. We had spoken with our driver at the start of the morning that we really wanted to see more lions and hopefully a leopard. We know that they can't guarantee that we will see anything but we were still hopeful we might get lucky and sure enough we did. When we came across the other driver who saw the leopard, our driver took it upon himself to illegally drive off the road, and over a small tree to get right next to the log where the leopard was hiding. We all got a look, snapped a few photos (which unfortunately I can't post until I get home tomorrow but trust me, it's worth the wait) and then went back out to the road where we continued to sit and watch the leopard. About 100 feet from the leopard was a single grazing impala who was slowly headed in the leopard's direction. As it got closer, the leopard crawled out from behind the log and got a little closer to the impala. From the looks of it, the leopard was hunting the impala and we were going to sit back and enjoy the show. After waiting for a couple more minutes the leopard crawled back to where it originally was and the impala walked away. Regardless, our driver was telling us that even though there are more leopards in Chobe National Park than there are lions, it is more rare to see a leopard so we were pretty happy we spotted one.

Later that afternoon we took a village walk to Impalila Island in Namibia. Our guide was born, raised, and still lives in one of the villages on the island. We went to Kufubu island and walked around for a little bit while he told us about village life. There are about 60 different villages on the island and each village has a chief and an assistant chief. The chief is the eldest male in the village and the assistant is the 2nd eldest male. On the island there is also a head chief who is elected from amongst all the chiefs. If there is a problem in the village the people can take it to the assistant chief. If he can't solve it then it can go to the chief and if he still can't solve it then it can be taken to the head chief to make a final decision. Most of the men in the village make a living as fishermen and the women try to supplement their income by weaving baskets and making other crafts. All the homes were mud huts. If a married family lived in a home the house was surrounded by a reed fence. If a single male or female lived in a home there would be no fence to distinguish that the people living in that home are not married. The village used to not have running water so the children would go down to the river to fetch water in buckets. Our guide said that there were a few children who were eaten by crocodiles while getting water so the couple of hotels on the island put in pipes and provided the village with running water so they wouldn't have this problem. Any schooling and health care must be paid for by the family. If a family can't afford to send their child to school or to go see a doctor, then they can't go. The government does not provide them with anything to help with this. On our way out of the village the women set up their market and Jason and I each bought some things to bring home with us. Just like I did in Langa, I felt a little uncomfortable in the village. It's always strange when you see people living in conditions like that and even though it is home for them, it's always an adjustment when entering their world. I think it's hard for many of us to imagine living in a small mud hut and possibly not being able to get a basic education because you can't afford it, or even the thought that your children must get eaten by crocodiles while they're getting water to drink. Regardless, seeing people who live this way provides us with a glimpse into what life is like in different parts of the world and allows us to better understand them. I don't think we should feel bad for them or guilty that we have things that they don't. I think an understanding of how people around the world live is one of the most important things that we can bring back with us.

Overall, Jason and I had a pretty good vacation. Certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity and definitely worth the 4 year wait that it took me to get to Africa. We had a lot of disappointments during our time here but despite not getting to do things we were extremely excited about, we still had one hell of a trip. Now we just have to survive a 16 and a half hour flight home. I can't post photos from the airport, so check back in the next day or two for a ton of pictures. You'll be glad you did.

---