Truck Clean Zimbabwe Africa

We stopped for a truck clean. We do that whenever the truck reaches on of the milestone destinations of the trip. At those locations the truck may add people and we may loose people. The location in question is Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. I understand that we loose four and gain five. But, who really knows until all the people show up. In the mean time we take all the stuff out of the truck and clean it. We take all the loose stuff that no one has laid claim to and put it on a couple of ground cloths and, eventually, everyone finds their stuff. Some things get thrown away if no one clams them. I got a can of coke and an unopened package of cookies from the pile after everyone had laid claim to their goods. I guess all that cleaning paid off. The picture is of the group getting ready for lunch, which proceeded the truck clean. Note that the largest dimension available for this picture is 1024 X 768 as it was uploaded at a very slow bandwidth from a remote location in Africa.

Bags On Zimbabwe Africa

It’s another cool morning in the back of the truck. This day must have been especially cool. Almost everyone has a bag on. I still haven’t figured out to my satisfaction why we keep opening the big windows of the truck when it is so cold outside. Note that the largest dimension available for this picture is 1024 X 768 as it was uploaded at a very slow bandwidth from a remote location in Africa.

Zimbabwe Safaris Africa

I will give the group credit. A bunch of them got up, grabbed their sleeping bags for the cold ride to Matobo National Park, the local national park. I didn’t go. The $75 price was more than I wanted to pay and the tour was going to miss the grave of Cecil Rhodes, which would have been one of the major points of interest for the tour. Plus, I was interested in getting into the city. So, while half of the group went to meander among the boulders in the wilderness of Matobo National Park and look for white rhinos, half the group went looking for cheeseburgers in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Did they find them? Yes, indeed. Along with a nice internet cafe that was selling internet time at a very good rate. I bought an hour and then I went walking around Bulawayo. It was supposed to be a town of a million people. I’m not sure if it was. I did mange to learn to catch the fifty-cent minibus back to Burke’s Paradise. I always tend to feel good when I can deal with local transportation issues. Note that the largest dimension available for this picture is 1024 X 768 as it was uploaded at a very slow bandwidth from a remote location in Africa.

Intellectual Pursuits Zimbabwe Africa

Not once did anyone on the tour ask me if I had ever been to a museum. Or ask me what my favorite places were to go and why. Their primary focus was finding the next bar after a hard day of sleeping on the truck while it was rolling down the road. The first night at Burk’s Paradise the group found the VCR and a good Dumb and Dumber tape. The refrigerator was stocked with beer for them. Literally. Miss Burke understood overlanders. Maybe I’m a little hard on all these young people. Then again, maybe not… Note that the largest dimension available for this picture is 1024 X 768 as it was uploaded at a very slow bandwidth from a remote location in Africa.

Burke’s Paradise Zimbabwe Africa

It was supposed to be paradise. It was nice. I’m just not sure that I could ever find a piece of Zimbabwe that I could ever call paradise. That’s because I’ve heard that if you don’t vote for the current president come election time you could loose a finger. Or worse. But, people seem to be genuinely happy here. Burke’s Paradise was a campground, hostel, and rooms for rent all rolled up into one. The place was large and there was a pool and a cottage with two bathrooms and a kitchen as well as a TV room. However, we lost power about halfway through our two night stay and we never regained it. That’s not all that strange as I found loosing power in Africa is a high probability occurrence. I’m glad I brought a good flashlight. With no power, the hot shower I thought I was going to get turned out to be a little cooler than I expected. Plus, there was no internet in Paradise, the TV was had a really bad picture, and the VCR had a serious tracking problem. Paradise? Well, maybe for Miss Burke… Note that the largest dimension available for this picture is 1024 X 768 as it was uploaded at a very slow bandwidth from a remote location in Africa.

The Lions Are Eating Zimbabwe Africa

The lion feeding was really interesting, but after the presentation I got the feeling that most people did not feel it was worth the $30 price tag. We did learn quite a bit about lions during our stay at the park. When you turn five lions loose on a pile of meat, one lion will be dominant and control the largest portion of the meat. Other lions will get some, but there is a unique pecking order for lions. The toughest lion gets the most meat. The next toughest get the next largest share of meat and so on down the line until the least toughest usually get the least amount of meat. It really was interesting how they ate. I just think that Antelope Park made more of a show out of it than necessary. They liked to tell us that they needed to find the dominant lions so that they could pass on the more dominant traits for breeding purposes. I think it was more for show and to justify the $30 we paid to watch. Note that the largest dimension available for this picture is 1024 X 768 as it was uploaded at a very slow bandwidth from a remote location in Africa.

The Crowd is Stirring Zimbabwe Africa

I was a little unnerved by it all. Antelope Park touts itself as a place for animal rehabilitation and futuristic animal projects to return lions to their native African habitats. I saw it as something of a Disneyworld for Lions. Their sales pitch is to buy activities to support their efforts to return African Lions to the wild. Had they returned one lion in the 13 years that they had been trying I would have been less of a cynic. Here the troops are gathered to watch a group of five lions charge a large pile of animal by-products to get the meal they are provided every few days. The troops got to get within a couple of feet of lions arguing over who gets the biggest share. While the lions were eating the troops seemed to enjoy taunting the lions enough to get a little response out of them. They were confident that the fence would hold. There’s nothing quite like having a lion let out a growl and lunge at you, teeth bared and dripping with blood. As long as the fence holds. I’m not sure who was more blood-thirsty, the lions or the tourists. Note that the largest dimension available for this picture is 1024 X 768 as it was uploaded at a very slow bandwidth from a remote location in Africa.

Lion Walking Zimbabwe Africa

This is me walking with a lion. Note the fearless look on my face. Actually I’m trying to pace myself to stay behind the lion like I was told. Walking along next to the lion is the whole point of the lion walk. Everyone who wanted to was able to walk with one. I think that everyone in our group got to do it, but I wasn’t keeping score. As I was walking the guides kept tell me to grab its’ tail and hold it while I was walking. I felt that I should wait for my 2nd walk before performing that trick. Anyway, the lion walk cost $80 and was an event I will probably never undertake again. But, you never know… Note that the largest dimension available for this picture is 1024 X 768 as it was uploaded at a very slow bandwidth from a remote location in Africa.