On the Floodplain

We were still on the hunt for an old Cape Buffalo that we could give to the village to provide meat for the families. Since we had not found the one in the forest area, it was time to head to the floodplains.

These floodplains are extremely flat, low-lying areas associated with the Zambezi Delta. During the wet season, water spreads across portions of this landscape. As water levels subsequently fall, the exposed ground supports productive grasses and other vegetation.

The area provides an interesting landscape, with large open areas and small islands of trees….

Because of the varied terrain on the floodplain, they use a particular vehicle called a “Bandvagn”. It runs on two tracks, similar to a tank, and is amphibious as well.

We picked up our trusty steed at a camp close to the floodplain….

It is not a particularly comfortable ride, but what this vehicle can do is amazing.

Notice how easily it transitioned from dry land to crossing a stream and then back to dry land again!!

We stopped numerous times for Ben to “glass” the area for animals. His favorite perch was on the highest point of the vehicle!!

Unfortunately, because the vehicle is so loud (as you heard), it can only be driven up to a certain point. Then you have to cross the area on foot.

AND, because the floodplain is littered with swampy areas, you end up having to cross some. We had to cross ONE!! The water was almost up to my waist, and the mud was thick and sticky, meaning that your feet would slide all the way under the mud and then you would have to pull your feet out to continue. Our guide, Ben, told us to point our toes when we were pulling out of the mud, and it would help. Unfortunately, it is hard to pull your feet out like that AND maintain your balance!!

That was where Jorge came in to play. As I struggled through the water and mud, he magically appeared at my right elbow, placed his hand under my armpit, and somehow kept me upright as we crossed. We were both all smiles when we got to the other side….

I had on lightweight nylon pants, and this was how I looked after the crossing….

Fortunately, it was warm, and the pants soon dried. The shoes were disgusting and, upon arrival in camp, were whisked away to be washed. They were dry and ready for us the next day!!

We spent most of the day on the floodplain, and finally killed a Cape Buffalo that would be appropriate for the village food stores.

Now came one of the most surreal parts of the trip. Ben needed to communicate with the camp (his wife) and tell her of our arrival time, etc. There was NO cell phone service in the area, so he pulled out a box that contained a Starlink Mini, set it up on the front of the BV and, just like that, we had SCREAMING FAST internet….in the middle of the bush of Mozambique!!

Technology is amazing!!

Next weekend, we will finish up our trip to Mozambique, including delivering much-appreciated meat to the villages and a fond farewell. Be sure to come back for that!!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

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Helping a Village!!

Zambese Delta Safaris focuses on the conservation of habitat… animals, flora, and most importantly, people!!

They recently discovered that there was an area at the edge of their concession that was in limbo…. C-11 thought that C-12 owned it and C-12 thought that C-11 owned it!! It actually was part of the Coutada 11 (Zambese Delta Safaris) property.

They also discovered that there was a village in the area that no one really knew anything about. As the people from ZDS approached them, they were told a story of an old Cape Buffalo that was getting too close to the village and was threatening the people of the village.

This is the sort of thing that ZDS does best…..so they sent out a team (us, our guide Ben, and two trackers named Tasco and Jorge) to find this problem buffalo, kill it, and turn it into meat for the village.

When we drove into the village, Ben commented that they possibly had never seen a white woman before. That was an interesting thought.

We stopped at the local school, and it was fun to see the classroom….

….with the blackboard with yesterday’s math problem….

The girls wore interesting expressions….

…while the boys stood in the standard, defiant pose…

I have found that this defiance lessens if you smile and wave. Even the oldest will smile and wave back.

Two of the young men offered to show us where the buffalo often stayed, so we took off walking! The young men would stop every so often and point to where we were headed….

We passed a number of wells as we walked….

None of them had any safety measures, and who knows how deep they were.

Jorge and one of the helpers climbed to the top of a termite mound to get a better view….

Yes, it was over 10 feet tall!!

Apparently, Black Mambas like these mounds as well, so you are always vigilant when you are around them.

This was my scene for much of the trip…..

Yes, they are carrying firearms. Remember that this is a 1000+ pound animal that can turn you into goo at a moment’s notice.

You can see that I stay behind everyone else!!

Because of recent rains, the grass was quite tall, and at one point I found myself with this view….

I was only out of their sight-line for a few seconds, but it seemed MUCH longer. Needless to say, I hurried to catch up!!

We never found the buffalo, and the tracks indicated that it had moved into the neighboring Concession, meaning that the ZDS guys couldn’t do anything about it.

HOWEVER, when we were walking back to the village, the trackers started talking excitedly, finally telling us that the buffalo had crossed over our path AFTER we had walked past. Who knows how close he was with no one knowing that he was there.

As another example of the work of ZDS, while we were there, another village reported that there were 10 elephants in their village, destroying the crops and generally wreaking havoc. Mark Haldane jumped into one of the small helicopters and “pushed” them out of the village and escorted them several miles away.

At ZDS, human life and welfare always come first!!

So ended our adventure in the forest areas of C-11….. tomorrow we head to the floodplain.

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

Baobab & Buffalo

Our stay in the Massingir district was a very comfortable one.

The camp was run by Jason and Britt and they were amazing hosts!!

Our chef was named “Good Life”……

…and he provided some outstanding meals from a very compact kitchen!!

Hi name is actually “Hard Life”, but someone in camp started calling him “Good Life” and it stuck!!

He was assisted by Simon…..

…who made sure that everything was “just so”!!

Each night we enjoyed the typical African “Fire Pit”……

This is a fun and super relaxing tradition…. Maybe we should build a fire pit at home?

The camp was overrun with birds including various species of Horn Billed Parrots…

Not far from camp, we encountered Elephant tracks. Look how big they are compared to Michael’s foot….

I love that you can see the “toes”!!

There were also large herds of Cape Buffalo roaming the property….

They have such interesting looking faces…..

There was an electrified fence around the campsite to keep the buffalo out, but one had learned how to jump the fence!!

He was missing an eye so we named him “One-Eyed Alphonse”, and always had a good look for him prior to walking to our cabin!!

This camp is highly involved in the community, helping to build a new 4-room schoolhouse….

….that will take the place of this one room building currently used…..

They are also helping to prepare a new soccer field….

…a VERY important part of village life!!

One of my favorite finds in camp was a giant Baobab tree……

This tree would be hundreds of years old….possibly as many as 800 years!!

The wood looked more like rock than wood and it was interesting to see this hole in the trunk…..

It was my first Baobab sighting and it was wonderful to see a tree that I had studied with awe so many years ago!!

We stayed in the Massingir District for 7 days and were sad to leave…..but there are more things to be seen in the Kalahari Desert!!

Come back on Thursday for the last of our destinations!!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

The People of Mozambique

Yesterday, we visited the people living along the lake. Today, let’s look at other parts of the country.

On Sunday morning, we were met at our guesthouse by Dylan Holmes, our guide for the Mozambique portion of our trip. Dylan has guided for us before and he and his wife (and new daughter Emily) have become great friends. In short….he is one of our “kids”!!

As we drove out of Maputo, we encountered a large market that took up two lanes of a four-lane major highway.

Now, this is NOT a market for tourists where every stall has basically the same crafts and every stall-keeper is telling you that HE made everything in the stall.

THIS market was where the city’s inhabitants bought the items needed for their everyday life.

It was quite hectic….

The mini-bus in this photo is actually a taxi and we passed hundreds of them as we drove. They are mostly 15-person vans but are often stuffed with 20-25 people. Most of them have a small trailer on the back where they load all of the larger baggage of the riders. Those without trailers carry long lengths of rope and they will stuff everything in the back of the bus and then lash the back door down.

Dylan said that they are often involved in accidents and you might hear of 20+ people killed or injured in one crash!

Things became much less crazy as we left the city and entered the rural areas.

Since it was Sunday morning, it was fun to see groups of people, mostly women and children, walking to church. The ladies were all dressed “to the nines”, with many wearing a white head covering…..

Most of the churches were simple metal sheds, with the doors thrown open and people spilling out as they worshiped. I have to say that it warmed my heart to see this!

As we drove, we often saw groups of women at the local well, each carrying a large barrel to be filled with water and then taken back to their homes. These gatherings also served as a place for the women to meet and catch up on the latest gossip!

There was a huge variety in the houses that we passed. A few were made from bricks…

… but most were a form of stucco. The base of the house is made from two sheets of wire with rocks placed inside the “walls”…

The walls were then covered with a mud mixture to add additional insulation to the structure….

We often passed these bags along the road…..

…and naturally wondered what they contained.

Dylan explained that these were bags of charcoal that the villagers were selling to earn money.

The charcoal is made by cutting down trees, chopping the branches into smaller pieces, covering it all with dirt and then setting fire to it. The fire smolders, partially burning the wood and producing charcoal that is used to heat most homes.

Sadly, this practice has lead to the de-forestation of much of Mozambique, including the old trees that are now extinct.

The really sad part is that each of these bags would be sold for about $2.

We also passed houses selling plastic bottles filled with a slightly yellow liquid. Apparently this was Palm Wine and should NOT be drunk by the unprepared!!

Tomorrow we will spend a little time at the Massingir camp.

You don’t want to miss it!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

On Location in Maputo, Mozambique

On this trip we were determined to spend a little bit of time in a city and not just out in the boonies!!

To fulfill that desire, we hired a guide to show us around the city of Maputo, Mozambique.

I could have just shown photos, but there were so many things that you needed to HEAR as well, so enjoy this video…..

Tomorrow we will continue our tour of the back country areas of Mozambique….

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!