south africa: cradle of humankind: sterkfontein caves and maropeng; rhino and lion nature reserve

Toward the end of my trip I decided to spend a few days in Johannesburg. One of those days I used to go on a day trip to a couple places nearby. 

The first is area often called the Cradle of Mankind. As far as scientists have been able to tell, this is where humans (as we know them) first existed, and from where worldwide migration started. 

My driver picked me up, and we drove north (I think) from Joburg. Along the way he pointed out new developments, and where the city used to stop. It's putting it mildly to say that the city is growing quickly. 

We arrived at a place in the cradle called the Sterkfontein Caves. Inside this cave system (which has never been fully explored but is thought to be quite large,) is where the oldest human remains were found. Very very very old remains. 

I walked into the visitors center and bought my entrance tickets to both this place and the cradle of humankind museum. From there I went into the exhibition area, which is where people wait when their tour starts soon. 

The exhibition area describes the formation of the planet, early life, and the history of humanity as we know it. It also gives a basic description of how these caves were formed, and has a few fossils on display. Everything is done really well. It's interesting, and informational. I was almost disappointed when they called out to everyone to say that the tour would be starting, as I hadn't finished seeing/reading everything. 

To do this tour you have to wear a hard hat. At first I thought it was a bit silly, but after knocking my head a couple times during the tour, I was glad to have it. Your choices are orange or blue, I went with blue. 

Our guide took us to an entry of the cave area. It is gated, so you can't get in there without a group tour. She gave a quick spiel about how everything formed, and a quick overview of what we would be seeing. 

These caves were originally discovered (in modern times) by miners looking for limestone. Those miners are the reason the caves don't look as fantastic as they once did. They set off explosives which broke the stalactites, and put a lot of black/brown dust on the surfaces we could see, argh. If that hadn't happened, we would've seen a lot of white and crystal. Oh well. 

Our guide pointed out where long fossilized remains had been found of Mrs Pless, (though they think now that the remains are of a juvenile boy,) behind a locked gate. 

She also pointed out the hole through which they think he fell into the cave. There is no evidence in the cave of it having ever been used as a habitat, so archaeologists are fairly certain that his fall was an accident. Though death is never celebrated, archaeologists are glad it happened the way it did, so the remains were available for study. The remains are OLD, part of a group of hominids called Australopithecus. (I think. Scientific names and specific distinctions aren't easy for me.) The remains are at least two million years old. Like I said, they're OLD. These particular remains were found in 1947, and there have been excavations ever since. 

We got to see the top of a lake, the bottom and full extent of which have never been explored. Once divers were allowed, but at one point a diver ran out of air and got stuck (I think,) and died. 

After that, the people in charge decided it would have to remain unknown. I wonder if that will ever change. The lake was quite pretty, and we could see stalactites reaching down toward the water. 

We exited the caves, seeing a group of school kids coming out soon after us. As we exited, we passed two statues. Touching each of them in various places is considered good luck, or will bring your money or wisdom. Obviously, there was a lot of rubbing going on, by everyone in the group. 

I tipped the guide, and said thanks. She did a great job of speaking clearly and giving enough information without being boring. She also kept our group together, which is never easy, especially when not everyone speaks the same language. 

After the caves, Elvis drove me to our next stop, the Cradle of Humankind Museum in Maropeng. Very unique architecture, to say the least. Most of the museum (all of the exhibit area,) is underground, and the way visitors get there is to ride a man made river on a raft. The ride takes you through the formation of the galaxy, then the earth. The ride was fun, and even though I like learning, this made it even better. 

In the museum I got to see great exhibits on the history of man and various species. I saw exhibits on evolution. There were exhibits on the life of modern times, the effects of humans on the earth, and what the future might hold. 

It was a fantastic museum, and should be on everyone's must see list. 

Out back of the museum I was offered views over much of the surrounding countryside. It was incredible to stand there and know that I was where the birth of mankind started. 

After the museum Elvis took me to the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve. The name is a misnomer, as there are more animals in there than just rhinos and lions. I got to see zebras (they didn't immediately run away!) and kudus and antelopes and tigers and ostriches too. I even got to see a young giraffe, which didn't make much sense since there weren't any trees in the area for them to eat. 

I got to see two groups of lions, both of them laying around and dozing in the sun. One of the groups was white lions, the others were 'normal.' 

After this visit I realized I'd seen four of the big 5 animals of South Africa during this trip. Yay! 

We drove back to Johannesburg, getting partly stuck in the beginning of rush hour. Along the way we passed a couple informal settlements, which still exist all over the country, despite apartheid no longer being legal. 

Elvis is a fantastic tour guide. 

botswana: chobe national park

When I first arrived in Livingstone, Zambia, my plan was to spend a couple days on that side of the border, exploring Victoria Falls. Then I was going to cross into Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, and explore the falls from that side for a couple days. While I did end up exploring the falls from both sides, I did not stick to this original plan.

When I checked into my accomodation in Livingstone, I was put in touch with a taxi driver in town, he drove me around for the next few days. He also suggested a tour I take while I was there, something I didn't know was possible before I arrived.

My taxi driver (Eric) suggested I do a day trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana. At first I resisted, as I didn't really want to spend the money, and I thought I would need the time in Zambia and Zimbabwe. He also suggested a helicopter tour of the falls, which I flat out said no to. 36 hours later I decided that going to Botswana would be a good thing to do.

The morning of the tour, he picked me up early in the morning, (at 0630) and drove me all the way (70km) to the border, a spot where Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana all come together.

There is a spot where you can see all three countries just by turning your head.

He showed me where to go for border control on the Zambian side, I got myself stamped out of the country. Then he brought me to the bank of the river, and showed me which boat I would be boarding. A few minutes later I boarded, and that was the last I saw of Eric until returning later in the day.

This boat was actually a passenger ferry, and took a group of us across the river. Across the river we walked up the bank, and over to a tent that was supposed to take care of health issues in crossing the border.

All of us had to step into a bucket with a wet cloth at the bottom. I'm assuming it was soaked in a disinfectant of some kind?

Nearby the health tent was the border control building for entering/exiting Botswana. Everyone on the boat went through the correct line, we all got entry stamps into Botswana.

Then we all piled into a van, which drove a little way down the road. We didn't go far, maybe 20 kilometers? I"m not at all sure, but I know it really wasn't very far. Everyone was dropped off at a cafe, where we had breakfast. Breakfast was tasty: apples and bananas, as well as muffins and donuts.

I kinda sorta maybe might've had too many donuts, as they were freshly made, and soooo good.

After waiting a while at the cafe (no one really seemed to know how long we would be there,) everyone piled onto a couple boats. Though there were two or three boats leaving the cafe, we didn't see them again, and it was nice to feel as though it was just our boat. There were two levels to the boat, and I went straight up to the second level. Both levels had no walls, or outer coverings, which I loved. Totally perfect for a river safari.

The boat moved along the river, with a guide giving an occasional spiel about the animals or flora we could see. He also told us about the borders of the area we were seeing. The boat occasionally got close to the river banks, to watch the animals. We got to see crocodiles (even while one of them was laying around with his mouth wide open, which the guide said aids digestion,) hippos, elephants, kudu, and antelopes. It was amazing to realize I was so close to real live wild animals. I know that sounds cheesy, but it really was awesome.

I got to watch elephants travel in a pack, and even cross the river. I learned about different types of antelopes. I got to watch warthogs too. (They're definitely part of Africa's ugly 5 of animals.)

There were drinks for everyone on the boat, water and juice. One lady in another group on our boat was korean, she looked to be sleeping for a while. How could anyone sleep in this setting?!

Eventually the boat came back to the cafe, and we all got to enjoy a buffet lunch. I overate, by a lot.

The food was really really really good. A table of salads and veggies, a table of mains (which were mostly curries, YUM,) and a pasta and rice. I had frut and dessert too.

After eating, we split into smaller groups, and got into safari vehicles, and drove down the road until we got to one of the official entrance gates to Chobe National Park. (During our river safari the entire thing had been inside the borders of the park, which includes the river and an island in the middle of the river.) Our guide told us our entrance was the Sedudu gate.

I was sitting on one side of the safari vehicle, which also had open sides. I loved the open sides, but I wasn't loving having the sun glare down on one arm, and only that arm.

Our guide drove us along various paths in the park, pointing out all kinds of wildlife, and occasionallly stopping to let us watch and take photos. We got to see elephants (which sometimes move in rather large groups, always protecting the young'uns) and giraffes, kudu and antelopes, guinea fowl and baboons, zebras and the bird (called Zazu,) in the movie the Lion King. I loved every minute, and would've loved to drive around for a couple days.

I think zebras were my favourite in this safari, though we didn't see very many. They're definitely more skittish around vehicles. I also loved the giraffes, which are both awkward and elegant. They look really strange when they bend all the way down to the ground to drink, legs pointed in all kinds of directions. Because their legs are so long they can move quickly without looking like any effort is being used.

Eventually we drove back out of the gate, and back toward the cafe. The drive along that road was quite windy, everyone's hair was blowing all over.

We drove past the cafe, all the way to the border. As we got closer and closer to the river/border, we saw more and more big rig trucks on the side of the road. Our guide told us that this is how international transport works in the area. Crossing the border can sometimes take up to a week!!

At the border we did the whole process backward, but skipped the health tent. When I got off the boat on the other side of the river Eric was waiting for me, helped me through passport control again, then drove me back to Livingstone.

It was a fantastic day, I definitely want to go back to Botswana and see more of the wildlife.