Southern Africa South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana

Sorry for the delay in the African update. We had an incredible time exploring the African outback and learning about the animal kingdom and the growing challenges ahead of the countries we visited. We are very fortunate to have met many wonderful people along the way who have added to the fun and excitement of our journey.

According to Christopher, Brennan and Gregory, Africa is the greatest, and Why are we only spending 3 weeks here? The kids were truly in their element while exploring the bush in Southern Africa.

We arrived on September 15 after an overnight flight from London to Johannesburg. Our first experience with the Wilds of Africa was at the Makalali Private Game Reserve, located on about 55,000 acres of conservancy west of the Kruger National Park in northeastern South Africa. Once we were in the park, we were transported in an open-air Range Rover to our thatched huts along the Makutswi River. You can imagine the excited looks on the kids faces when they saw our new home! From our verandas we could watch kudus, elephants, and nyala drink from the river!! The veranda ended up being the favorite spot for doing schoolwork! Our days began with a 6:00am wake-up call, then out for a three-hour game drive. The kids felt they we starring in an Indiana Jones film as we drove through rivers, along deep ravines and through thick brush! Thanks to our incredible guides, Uri, the head ranger, and Rams, our tracker, we learned a great deal about tracking animals via footprints and animal dung.Giraffes , Cheetah Brothers , White Rhinos . A highlight of our stay was watching 4 lionesses hunt and capture a waterbuck. It was a 4-hour process the kids found fascinating and all wrote about in their journals. Here is a copy of a letter Brennan sent her science teacher at Crane School in Santa Barbara describing the evening.


Dear Mrs. Beamer,

I am in Africa. I have been to South Africa and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. I am in Zambia now and will be going to Botswana tomorrow. I am going to tell you the most exciting thing that happened in South Africas Makalali Game Reserve.

One day the ranger, Uri said, Would you like to see the mommy lions hunt? We said, yes, so we went to see them hunt. We found them laying down waiting for it to get cooler. We waited for an hour then they started to hunt. We drove by a big ditch. Did I mention there were 4 lionesses? OK, back to the story. They tried to confuse us. But suddenly they smelled something. They turned around and went right by our car; they were about two feet away. They ran into the bushes. We thought they did not get anything. We drove into the bushes and found out they did get something. It was a boy waterbuck. It was still struggling to get away but it did not get away. They ate the waterbuck for three or four minutes. One lioness left to get the cubs. A couple of minutes later another one left for the cubs. Then after a few more minutes the third lioness left. A half of an hour later the fourth lioness left. Later we saw a jackal. We waited for an hour in the pitch black then the cubs came. The cubs were so cute! There were 13 baby cubs. Uri said some were 3 months old and some were 5 months old. We watched them eat more of the waterbuck.

Then we drove back to our camp and had our dinner. The next morning we went to where the four lionesses had eaten. The waterbuck was just bones. The hyenas hadnt been there yet. When the hyenas come they will eat the bones.

THIS IS A TRUE STORY!

Love, Brennan Cusack


After our morning and late afternoon game drives we were always warmly welcomed by Carla, our camp manager, who made our stay extraordinarily relaxing and comfortable. We were pleasantly surprised that mealtime wasnt as challenging as we had originally predicted. We found out after arriving that the kitchen at Makalali is considered one of the top 10 restaurants in all of South Africa! The kids, including Gregory , ate crocodile, ostrich and many other South African delicacies. At breakfast and lunch, vervet monkeys accompanied us on the open deck and, at dinner and bedtime, many members of the animal kingdom serenaded us with their own forms of singing.

You may be wondering when we got around to doing our schoolwork. Between our morning and our late afternoon game drives, we had a 5-hour stretch of time where we sat on the veranda and completed our work. I think some of the kids best writing was done here.

After four wonderful nights, we sadly departed Makalali; everyone wishing our time here hadnt passed so quickly.

Our next stop was Victoria Falls for a brief, three-night stay at the Victoria Falls Hotel , an old British colonial hotel built in the early 1900s. Because September is the dry season in Zimbabwe, the water flow was low enough to allow spectacular views of the entire falls . You could hear the roar and see the spray from a mile away! Christopher would like to add that the falls were 65 to 110 meters deep which is three times the size of Niagara Falls. We had a hard time convincing Gregory that this was not the place to learn to bungee jump! Later on our trip, while we were flying from Zambia to Botswana, we flew directly over Vic Falls and could easily see the 7 gorges down river and the far reaches of the great Zambezi River. We could easily understand why this was one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.

We feasted at the Boma Restaurant in Vic Falls where Christopher and Tom welcomed the succulent flavors of Eland and Warthog. We saw native African dancing , heard incredible music, and visited the witch doctor . Brennan decided to find an easier African hairstyle and had her hair put into 42 braids! I can highly recommend this hairstyle. No combing or brushing for 4 weeks! Tom, not to be outdone, also decided to change his hairstyle!

Leaving Vic Falls we drove across the border into Zambia and flew from Livingstone International Airport to Jeki Airport in the Lower Zambezi National Park. We flew in a six-seat, twin-engine Beechcraft to a dirt airstrip along the Zambezi River. The terminal consisted of a windsock and a Land Cruiser waiting under a shade tree. Before landing, we passed over the airstrip to make sure there were no grazing animals. You should have seen the looks on the kids faces when they realized we had reached our destination! We then had a two-hour game drive to the Chiawa Camp along the Zambezi River. The setting was so beautiful and tranquil. We had tents on platforms facing east ensuring a view of the beautiful sunrises over the river . Upon arrival we quickly found the camp had two resident pets. The first was a ground hornbill named Mumba that loves small people. Unfortunately for Gregory, she chose him as her favorite and surprised him on a number of occasions with a love peck! The other resident was Henry the Hippo, who had wandered into the camp a few weeks before we arrived. Apparently, he had been in a fight with another member of his pod and seemed to have been kicked out. While hippos generally dont get out of the water during mid-day, Henry seemed quite content to visit us in the early afternoon and graze on the fallen seeds of the winter thorn trees. We were well aware that this mild-looking animal could turn on us at any time, so we stayed clear!

We probably saw the most game while in Zambia. We truly felt that we were in the heart of the African animal world. The wildlife along the river was so plentiful we couldnt get enough during the day and could hardly wait until our afternoon drive.

Every drive was an adventure, and everyday we saw something new. The kids kept there eyes open and helped spot animals. Brennan was the queen of the impala and leopard sightings. We think she has a future as a ranger. Gregory mastered the fierce sign of the Cape buffalo. Whenever we came across a large herd of buffalos in our path, Gregory would lift his arms in the shape of the buffalo horns and the herd would instantly scatter. Gregory was also known for not only the number of questions he asked but also the content of the questions. On an evening drive, Gregory was sitting up front with our very patient, bachelor guide, Chris. We had been looking at the star constellation, Scorpion, in the sky of the Southern Hemisphere. Gregory looked over at Chris and asked, Have you ever been to any planets other than earth? This was definitely a first for Chris! As a result of his questions, Gregory was allowed to participate in some extra-special, guide-like duties.

In between the game drives, we could take a cruise along the Zambezi River looking for crocodiles and hippos. (Not difficult since they estimate there are 75 hippos and at least as many crocodiles per kilometer of river.) One day, while fishing for the elusive Tiger Fish, Christopher landed a 7-pounder. Wheres the picture of this memorable event? Its hard to believe but with all the camera equipment we brought we forgot to bring one on board! Chris accused Tom of purposely forgetting the camera so that there would be no evidence that Christopher had shown Tom up (Tom's was only a 5-pounder). Even though the Tiger fish is a popular game fish, it is not one of the tastiest, and was quickly released back into the wilds of the Zambezi River.

After saying our good-byes to all the people and wildlife at Chiawa Camp, we were back to the Jeki airstrip and off to the Muchenje Safari Lodge in Botswana. The lodge is located high on a ridge overlooking the Chobe River outside Chobe National Park in the northeastern part of Botswana. Upon arriving, the kids instantly felt at home and they happily attached themselves to our wonderful guides, Winston, Nao, and Thabo.

It was delightful for us that each place we visited was unique. Here, at Muchenje we spent an afternoon floating along the Chobe River. We watched many pods of hippos and herds of elephants play in the water. On more than one occasion we got very close to gigantic crocodiles and monitor lizards. The bird-life was breathtaking. I think we may have turned our kids into birders as they became adept at spotting the many unusual species of birds.

At Muchenje, we also took late evening game drives in hopes of spotting some nocturnal creatures. You may think that our kids would be exhausted after two game drives earlier in the day, but they didnt want to miss a thing and were always jumping at the chance for a night ride. I think it didnt hurt that they often were in charge of holding the spotlight! On our last night drive, we had great views of bush babies, civets, mongoose, snakes, porcupines and many other unidentified eyes shining in the dark.

We had the opportunity to visit an elementary school in Mabele, a small village near our camp. We were warmly greeted by teachers and students and were shown the 1st and 2nd grade classrooms. What an impression the school visit made on our kids! We talked about how similar the schoolwork was, though they had it a bit tougher because they had to learn in both English and the local tribal dialect. While it is apparent that education is important in Botswana (the school buildings were the nicest in the village), they still dont have the resources were used to at home. Nonetheless, the children seemed as bright, happy and eager to learn as any we have ever seen! The students were very excited to see blonde American children their age, and thought Gregorys Pikachu shirt and Brennans braided hair were pretty interesting (Zambia and Botswana are the only two countries weve visited so far that have not been exposed to Pokemon. There is still hope for the world!)

Our good-byes were the hardest here knowing that our safaris were at an end. Gregory had made a good friend, Winston, our guide. Winston shared his knowledge of his country; Botswana, and Gregory shared his Pikachu and taught Winston his version of how to play chess.

We then flew to Cape Town for a few days of rest and relaxation. We toured the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwesterly point on the African Continent. We climbed up to the lighthouse, viewed Jackass Penguins in False Bay, and took in the stunning views of the coastline, very reminiscent of the Northern California Coast. We also took the gondola to the top of the mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town. Stunning views! We didnt take in any of the South African wineries because of the potential for whining in the back seat. We did, however, manage to sample some of the local output!

After a wonderful time in Southern Africa, we made our way to Johannesburg and an overnight flight to Cairo on October 6. Well leave you now and promise to continue with Egypt very soon. We love hearing from you. Hope you are all doing well and this update finds you happy and healthy.

The Cruisin' Cusacks