Arrived at the Cairo Airport - the worst airport in the world to spend any type of time - at 12AM to catch my 1:45AM flight to Johannesburg - affectionately and not-so-affectionately known as Jo'burg.

I was taken under wing by a group of South Africans returning from a scuba diving trip on the Red Sea. Fortunately, they all lived in Pretoria - a city 40 minutes outside of Jo'burg, and the capital - where I needed to go to sort our various visas for other African countries. So, I was offered a lift and subsequently a place to stay with a very generous and friendly local, whose son was also generous enough to let me stay in his bedroom for a few days, while he took to the living room floor.

A real bedroom! It was wonderful to sleep in a real bedroom!! I was still recuperating from my sickness in Turkey and low on energy, so it seems a guardian angel was watching out for me by giving me a home to rest in for a bit. A weeks rest at my new friend's and mixing with the locals re-energized me for my travels and also rewarded me with life-long friends.

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Tonight I sat be a campfire under the Milky Way and heard jackals calling beyond the campfire light. What other way to start off an African experience!? My new friend from the Cairo airport decided we would go hunting. And, thus, I will have my first hunting experience. I am not sure what to expect.

Tonight we arrived at the game park in the darkness. As we stepped out of the car to open the gate, I glanced up to get a look at the amphitheater of stars. I was startled at an illuminated milky strip that stretched across the sky above me, and I realized I was looking at the Milky Way. I suppose I only know it from books, because I can never recall gazing upon it at any other time in my life. It was glorious and mysterious...it made you want to lie on your back and just gaze at this starry blanket, that was so bright and stretched from both horizons. It struck me as I looked at the Milky Way that I was in the Southern Hemisphere. And I thought how far from home I was.

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It was a beautiful day. Sun, a slight breeze, blue skies. Vincent, the game park owner (this was a private game park) was leery about an inexperienced American girl shooting on his farm. My friend, Steven, convinced him to let me try my hand with the rifle on their shooting range.

Vincent acquiesced and next I find myself holding a heavy rifle, my finger around the trigger, the butt of this gun held tight into my shoulder as instructed, and my head cocked looking through the scope at my target a fair amount of meters away.

I was a bit nervous with my head behind the gun and I kept imagining it backfiring. Boy did I get a jar when I pulled that trigger! It jammed the rifle back into my shoulder and gave me quite a charley-horse. Ouch! And my surprise amused my companions, as I did not expect such a huge BANG! (Ouch, my poor ears.).

Well, I did well. Both my shots weren't much worse than theirs, and close to the bullseye! So the decision was made to got out into the bush, looking for impala, and if I felt comfortable they MIGHT let me shoot.

It was exciting heading into the bush- my first time in the African bush! The jolting ride took us over a bumpy dirt road, through a huge ditch and past wildlife such as warthogs, waterbuck, zebra, and kudu.

Eventually we got out and walked. After several failed attempts I finally got my best opportunity with a herd of male impala. I picked one that seemed the best target. I was so nervous that I would only wound the animal that my hands were trembling. I didn't want to screw up.

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My shot was dead on - right behind the shoulder as I was instructed to aim - and the impala "hit the dust," so to speak. Steven and Vincent cheered with amazement (they were expecting me to miss) before I even realized my success and Steven quickly snapped a picture to capture the excitement of the moment. The rest of the day they called me "Calamity Jane."

Afterwards we enjoyed a South African brunch - a cholesterol ridden smorgasbord of burgers smothered with fried eggs, bacon, and butter. In the afternoon we went out again so Steven could do some more hunting, after which we had ourselves another impala and probably several months worth of game meat.

The rest of the day was for napping and reading. We enjoyed quite a braii (the South African "bbq") and campfire that night with Vincent and his brother and girlfriend - Alfred and Jackie. The five of us indulged in friendly banter and good food: salad, steak, "pop" (a South African maize dish) and boerwosh - a spicy sausage that translates to "farmer's sausage." Steven also introduced me to biltong - dried beef or game meat, like jerky but much better - and now I am hooked.

Later around the campfire we enjoyed wine and Amarulla (a creamy sweet liquor from the Amarulla tree) while looking at the stars and listening to the night noises. We could hear jackals calling in the darkness and the moon rose - an intense red disc - on the horizon. It was so red and bright that I thought it was a bush fire at first. All in all, it was a memorable day and night, and one of my best in Africa.

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Old Friends, Elephants, and Whale Watching

Eventually it was time to say goodbye to my new friend, Steven, and head towards "The Garden Route" - a portion of the south coast on the Indian Ocean that running west eventually meets the Atlantic and curves north to Cape Town. Known for its beauty, forests, mix of rocky coast and nice beaches, whale and shark rich waters, its quite picturesque. On the way down I stopped in Port Elizabeth to visit Leon and Zona (couple on the left), the couple I met on the Greek Islands and with whom I partied at Hotel Sammy's Palace in Turkey. As hospitable as ever, they had many wonderful things planned out for us, including a wonderful braii "a la Leon" with their neighbors and a sunset champaign on the beach.

Day 2 we visited Addo Elephant Park and I got my first close up look at the huge African elephant. It was very exciting and even in a car you feel small and vulnerable when they get close.

Elephants can be quick to anger making them somewhat dangerous to humans. In fact, more people are killed by elephants and hippos than any other animal (except for the malaria mosquitio, which I guess is not an animal anyway, is it?).

These elephants could easily roll your car if provoked. The highlight was when we came across a herd of up to 19 elephants, babies and all, directly along side the road. They were spread out feeding on the various vegetation. Eventually a huge bull elephant led the way - his ears puffed out to intimidate us - and the herd lumbered across the road behind our car. Cars behind us backed up to give them their space.

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Day 3 we travelled up the Garden Route. We stopped at Jeffrey's Bay - a well known surfer hub - and continued to Plettenburg Bay for whale watching. I experienced my first beach launch and landing, which to me was almost like a ride in an amusement park and rather scary. We sat in the boat which was on a tractor-truck and they instructed us to hold tight. The truck accelerated down the beach towards the waves and then hit the breaks at which point the boat launched with a thump into the water. For the landing the boat merely sped into shore with the waves and skidded right up onto the beach. It was quite fun, if a little frightening.

While out in the bay we had wonderful whale experiences. We cut the engine at a safe distance from two huge Southern Right Whales playing on the surface. They seemed interested in us as well and swam right up to the boat, submerging and re-emerging in different places around the boat. It was eerie when they disappeared underneath and we stood watchful and silent, anticipating where they'd surprise us next with their reappearence. You imagine them directly under the boat, and that is spookie.

We next had a very special treat when a whale in the distance began breaching, repeatedly hurtling himself out of the water and smashing back in with a great splash and spray.

On the other side of the bay we hoped to see dolphins but saw something even more special. A lone whale relaxed on the surface and was singing! She seemed to attract another whale who soon joined her. And then the mating dance began. They "played", rolling and mudging and very affectionate-like. They couldn't have cared less about the presence of the boat.

For almost 20 minutes we watched them in their mating ritual and witnessed the actual mating which takes place when the male, with his weight, pushes the female beneath the water after she rolls on her back on the surface.

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South Africa is amazing in many, many positive and negative ways. It is truly mind-boggling. Here, I have experienced the most warm and welcoming hospitality yet on my journey.

In the last two weeks I have:

• made life-long friends,
• gone hunting,
• shot an impala,
• gazed at the Milky Way and the Southern Cross,
• heard the cry of jackals from beyond the campfire light,
• kissed an African Grey parrot ,
• watched Southern Right Whales mate right off our boat,
• watched a herd of 19 elephants cross the road,
• helped an ostrich chick hatch from its shell,
• have learned more than I ever thought I would about the history and political turmoil here.

And I have only just begun....

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Nature Trails and Ostriches

After saying goodbye to Leon and Zona in Knysna, which was as far as they could go having to get back to home and work, I explored this Garden Route town. It's built on the hills surrounding an estuary which fills rapidly with the ocean during high tide. Many ships have wrecked trying to come into the estuary during high tide between the rocky heads.

Knysna is a beautiful and peaceful spot with a quaint village and a hill-top nature reserve on the opposite side of the lagoon. I did a special day trip: a boat ride across the lagoon and then a tractor pull to the top of the nature reserve and finally a trek on foot back down before enjoying a fish-fry lunch.

There were many beautiful views, overlooks and picture ops. On this trek I met Natalie and David whom I met up with again later in Cape Town for a few night of parties and drinks.

A nice Irish couple in South Africa on honeymoon allowed me to accompany them to "Monkeyland" - a sanctuary area for various monkeys from all over Africa, including some former pets. Some were very naughty, coming onto the deck snack area and trying to snatch food. It was also entertaining...they knew they were being naughty.

Next destination was reached by an old train. It took me inland to the mountain town of Outdshoorn in an area known as the "Little Karoo". This dry mountainous area is abundant in ostrich farms, which can apparently be very lucrative.

I visited a farm and learned that almost every part of the ostrich is sellable: the feathers for costumes and featherdusters; the skin for leather; the eggs as food; the egg shells for painting; and the meat is desireable as the only cholesteral-free, low-fat red meat. I rode an ostrich which was a very fun but jolting experience. The highlight: visiting the incubation tanks and helping an ostrich chick break out of its shell.

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WILDFLOWERS, WINE, & COMEDIANS ON THE WEST COAST

I arrived in Cape Town to the cold, wind, and rain. Table Mountain was covered in fog. Fortunately, my friend Steven was also in Cape Town for business and he took a couple days off to explore the West Coast with me.

With the blessing of a rental car, we escaped the wind and rain and headed north towards the sunshine. Serendipity followed us...we had much luck and great timing in meeting with many nice experiences. We conversed with friendly locals, sampled fine wines on the mountainous wine route, experienced a most fantastic sunset, discovered fields ofspring wildflowers along the coast and had a very special evening of Afrikaans culture.

On this particular evening we pulled into a small fishing village called Paternoster to discover a huge Afrikaner crowd at the local hotel and restaurant there. We learned that a prominent Afrikaner folk singer was performing along with a well-known comedian. The tickets were sold out. The accommodating staff set us up in the dining room and opened the french doors into the concert room just off of the stage area, giving us a prime view. So, I enjoyed a succulent lobster dinner while watching Afrikaans entertainment with Steven graciously acting as translator. The evening was another memorable moment for me in South Africa.

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I have spent the last week on Lake Malawi, with waters crystal clear and palm tree beaches. One wouldn't think you were on a lake, but on the ocean in the tropics.

I did some scuba diving, and I stayed in tent accommodations on an island reached by kayak. There were tons of fish eagles on the island, the locals whistled at the eagles and threw fish into the water so we could watch these birds swoop down and scoop up the catch with their talons. It was all-around beautiful.

After three weeks of feeling incredibly fatigued and queasy and having hardly any appetite, I got some blood tests done and learned I have...da, da, DAAAAA.....Bilharzia.

Yes, this disgusting sounding disease is, well...disgusting when you know the facts. Bilharzia is caused by parasitic worms which get into the human bloodstream in which they mature and reproduce. The parasite larvae develop in snails. These snail are often in ponds and lakes in tropical areas. The spores are transmitted from the snails into the water, and then into the human who has been in contact with the water, where they bore their way into certain veins.

So, I am now the host to a little tropical worm. Lovely to think about. Fortunately, it is totally treatable. I have to take one pill that apparently kills the parasite. And then I am healthy again.

I have never been sick so often as I have been while traveling over the last six months. But, I still maintain....IT'S WORTH IT! When traveling in third world and tropical areas, one has to expect to get sick sometimes.

I am glad I got a plethora of vaccinations before my departure. My immune system definitely couldn't stand up to viruses and bacteria that someone who grew up here could handle. My God. Thankfully, I'm getting treatment before leaving Africa. Who knows if they could treat it in India?!

Yes! India! My next destination. I should be in India by Tuesday, November 13th. I still can't believe I am going to India: A whole other world in itself. What is in store for me?!

February 7, 2002

Where does a traveling girl go at the end of a long journey? Back to her favorite continent. Africa! I still have yet to see the Serengeti Plains, the silverback gorillas of Uganda, the "spice island" of Zanzibar, the Masai Mara of Kenya. And of course, I have life-long friends to visit and many opportunities for adventure...and maybe even work! My stay here is indefinite. It depends on the opportunities that present themselves. We'll see.

Swaziland is the smallest country in the southern hemisphere. And its a monarchy. Yes, they have a king. Swaziland is a small country landlocked by South Africa, populated mostly by the Swazi people with their own culture and traditions. Its has beautiful mountainous scenery. Arrived here after scuba diving one of the best spots in SA, Sodwana Bay, near the border of Mozambique. This time of year its possible to see whale sharks!

More pictures soon! And maybe some videos!

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Feb. 20, 2002

The deal of the century: A three day, three night, 5 dive package in Mozambique to see the gargantuan WHALE SHARKS. Almost a guarantee of diving with them as spotter planes go out to find them each day. And this all for....are you ready for this....US $75.00 !!!!

If anyone is worried for my life...no need. Whale sharks are plankton eaters. I just have to try to not look like plankton.

Last week was another successful trip to Kruger National Park. I experienced more "firsts":

• Two bull giraffes fighting
• A bull elephant bathing and frolicking in a pond (ever seen an elephant completely submerge himself under water?)
• A herd of buffalo close up.
• A leopard lounging lazily in a tree
• A bushbuck
• And I almost hit an impala when he sprinted out in front of my truck -And I successfully controlled my dangerously sliding and swerving vehicle without hitting the impala.

Pictures and videos of above mentioned to come soon.....

March, 2002

Trip to England and Scotland! (See British Isles)

April, 2002

Last time I saw Victoria Falls, in September, it was dry and they weren't at their full force. This time I am seeing them in all their roaring glory. At some viewing points you can't even see the Falls, only a lingering white mist. By the time you leave, you are SOAKING wet. In spots it is a full-on downpour. Incredible.

My friend Steven and I decided to tackle the Zambezi rapids again. This was exciting and fear-inducing at once. Our boat was the only to flip...which is a better record than last time, in which I found myself in the churning water three times (including once underneath the boat). But we survived them again, and Steven even riverboarded parts. And speaking of adrenalin, he also bungee jumped, quite a feat considering he has a fear of heights.

One of our favorite experiences was riding into the bush astride an African elephant. One of our guides walked ahead with a rifle in case we came across wild male elephants who took an interest in the female elephants we were riding. Hmmmm. Now THAT would of been interesting.

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May 23, 2003

Cape Town is experiencing unseasonable hot weather. The last two days have been HOT! And its winter! Two organized tours have taken me to Cape Point, a national park jutting into the Atlantic and the most southwesterly point of the African continent, and to the Winelands where I sampled fine wines and enjoyed the mountainous scenery. Once again, I meet all kinds of travelers in the hostels and buses. These include: a young English doctor returning from her residency in New Zealand, a geologist from western Washington state, a French couple traveling a year around the world, a BBC engineer on holiday, an Irish software engineer living in Dubai, and an Italian film school graduate working in films in London.

A week ago I visited with friends at a private game farm and in Kruger National Park. I had an up close and personal encounter with an ostrich who continuously tried to eat the door handle of the vehicle. These small- brained birds, which havn't evolved since the dinosaur, like shiny objects and I was afraid he would go for my sunglasses as I lowered and raised the window trying to get a picture without being nipped.

Kruger Park was quiet, but beautiful as always. Many rewarding bird sightings were made including mating Egyptian ducks, a giant kingfisher beating a fish against a tree, and a lilac breasted roller beating an insect. I guess they prefer their protein tenderized. We also had a very rare spotting: a Serval! The serval in the cat family. It looks like a petite cheetah but with different spots and a tiny face with big ears. We followed him along the road for a bit and then he disappeared into the long yellow grass. It was very exciting.

A 5:30 am "bushwalk" was exciting and invigorating. A guide took us for a walk onto the riverbed and up close to the hippos - the number one killer of man. We waited a few minutes to ensure all the hippos were back in their territorial pools after a night of foraging. The guides had rifles in case of an incident, but Jumbo, as our guide was called, said in a thousand walks he has never had to fire even a warning shot. We heard lions roaring not far down the riverbed. Wow! We drove towards the spot and found their tracks. And track them we did. On foot. We never found them; they may have seen us and run off. But it was still exciting.

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June 9, 2003

In an effort to explore a new corner of Africa, I booked a 5 day budget safari into the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Peace Park which covers corners of both South Africa and Botswana. I believe you could fit Wales and Scotland into the park.

The desert is beautiful and magical: Rich in earthy hues that seem to absorb new glowing colors during the sunsets. Sundowns are not to be missed here. The silence is so loud you can hear it...except when interrupted deep in the night by the moaning, purring sound of a female lion, jackals calling in their high pitched yelps, and something scampering around outside of your tent. Yes, this is the real McCoy....wilderness camping in the middle of nowhere with no fences to protect you...only the canvas of your tent.

My adventure started in Cape Town where I was required to catch an overnight bus to Upington where I would catch my safari. I noticed a strikingly tall, broad-shouldered fellow with shoulder length hair in the same line for the bus. Upon hearing me speak to the attendant, he turned around and introduced himself. He was my guide. He delivered surprising news: the others booked on this desert trip had cancelled. It was just him and I. At first I paused, shocked at this information. Then it dawned on me...I'm going into the desert wilderness of Africa for MY OWN PERSONAL TOUR... with my OWN PERSONAL GUIDE/DRIVER/COOK/CAMP SETTER-UPPER/FIRE STARTER/PROTECTOR/and LIFTER OF ALL HEAVY THINGS. COOOOL!!!!!!

"Excellent!" I purred with a big smile. And thus began a new friendship, and an unbelievable experience into the wild.