...and don't forget the birds!

the top if the tree is full of little weaver bird nests. quite the center of activity throughout the day. busy and vocal little birds!

grazing pond

there is a pond in the yard that attracted a revolving door of animals... including this guy, either a waterbuck ir a cape buffalo.

...back to the wildlife.

our "backyard" when we arrived was FULL of bush animals grazing. pictured below was a bunch of zebra, including the cutest little baby zebra! it is spring down here, so all the animals have little ones around!

i can't believe it, zebra in our backyard.

our "room"...

...is off the hook! met up with Lori in the pool, and she showed me the room. it is huge! full living room, bedroom and bathroom with a big tub, shower, ac, tv's, minibar, and all sorts of crazy luxury! very much not what I expected our "camp" to be.

the bush "camp"

as I have mentioned before... I didn't have any time to really research my trip before I left, so other than the basics of what I would be doing, and what I needed to bring, I am just taking in the details as I go.

not even 10 minutes from the airport, we arrived at the "camp". our group is split into "huts" in 2 locations. and by huts... it turns out we are in a really gorgeous exclusive and fairly luxurious African bush camp, with the huts ( thatched roof) sitting on the edge of an expansive nature preserve.

the first hour here was fairly overwhelming to take in! meeting all the new people, settling into the accommodations, and on my, the wildlife........

arrived!

we stepped off the plane to wonderful dry heat, and made our way through the one room airport. we had to line to to "clear customs", and purchase our visas for Zimbabwe.... which took quite a long time for the officers to review and fill out all the documentation by hand. starting to understand Africa time.

we met one mire member of our travel crew in line, Ted, also a sf local... and were met by Laurence, or trip leader, and Piero a guide from Peru.

Zimbabwe out of the plane window

I met erica and her step-mom dee, and her friend Jessica in the airport just before boarding the last flight. and, I relaxed a little when I saw my bags loaded onto the plane, but by now was getting pretty travel wary. pretty ready to "be there".

...a little too close for comfort!

after over 11+ hours on the plane from London to Johannesburg, and I am starting to feel a little punchy! made it through customs, collected my bags, and apparently missed the "international flight recheck" sign. ended up in the main terminal of the airport to check in for the final leg of the trip to Victoria falls... only to be informed the flight checkin was closed for my flight! yikes. still an hour to departure, they snuck me in, and I am just praying my bags also make it. fingers crossed.

well, i made it to africa! vic falls... here I come!

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the Zambezi rivet canyon...

...and it was a tasty lunch too!

London airport lunch with erica

a mini day gone by.

sleep. that was all I managed to do on the flight to London. read 3 pages of my gossip mag, and didn't even bother to start a movie. all systems shut down. long overdue much needed.

arrived in London, and my friend erica was waiting to meet me at the gate. erica and I booked onto this trip months ago through very different circumstances, and only realized that we were on the same trip late this summer. small world. we are on different flights, but traveling through the same places along the way.

with only time to kill, we took busses all over heathrow, and found a bar to park at to get a bite to eat for lunch, and have a few beers.

I know the travel fatigue will set in at some point, but so far, these mini days are treating me well. left sf late at night. slept. spent a short afternoon in england, and it is night again. 1 more beer, and I should be set to sleep some more on the way to Johannesburg.

I arrive in Africa tomorrow morning... and I think I need all this transition time to prepare me for the physical climate and culture shock! just thinking about it makes me sleepy.

happy Saturday all... I am on my way to Sunday. :) (in Africa!)

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the journey has begun....

the day, hell the week, has been beyond nuts. managed to get myself packed in a frenzy (after 4 hours in the car dropping the meow meow off in Sacramento this am!), and ran out the door like a bat outta hell... made it to the airport. bags checked. taking mt first deep breath in a while. many things I wish I had time to do before setting off to Africa, but doesn't matter now! first leg, 11 hours to London. will give me some time to wrap my brain around it all. or sleep. not sure which I need more at the moment.

for now, three more bites of this overpriced sandwhich, n off to board the plane. see ya later San Francisco. sigh.

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sure tastes like vacation to me!

...less than 24 hours to go!

....I JUST finished all the work i can do, and I am OFFICIALLY ON VACATION! Woot. woot. I think a celebratory beer is in order? yes. yes indeed. maybe 2. lot's to do before i go, but from here on out, it is about vacation. :)


This is where I am going:
http://www.bbxrafting.com/pages/destinations/africa/zambezi

making the list...

... no time to check it twice! getting on a plane headed to Africa in 49 hours, and I'll be lucky if I manage to get on the plane with clean laundry! so much to do before I go. very surreal to be headed to Africa.... I can't quite get my head around it. the almost 30 hours of travel time to get there will give it a little time to sink in. maybe. at this rate of chaos, I may just sleep the whole way. wishful thinking?

so... where am I going you ask? Africa! heading down there for about three weeks. the first 12 days, I'm joining a group of 9 others, one being my friend Lori who talked me into the trip. I'm flying into Victoria falls Zimbabwe, and we will be spending a lot of time rafting the mighty Zambezi river, exploring the magnificent Victoria falls, and a nearby wildlife preserve. after the 12 days of everything being taken care of, Lori and I are thinking bout venturing into Zambia to a mire remote wildlife preserve. we haven't planned anything yet... and I really look forward to Making it up as we go along. we will see what happens!

I am planning to keep up the blog as much as possible as I travel... so check back often! send me comments! :)

-girl wandering (again!)

summer vacation

finally made it out of work tonight at 10pm... but email have been
sent, priorities and tasks conveyed, and I am on vacation! they got
it, and even if they don't, this time around, i couldn't care less. it
is good for all for me not to be there for a bit. obviously, much
needed time to get away.

walking away. off to live life. be me. get dirty. wander. I have a big
agenda for the next two weeks, but I would be just as happy to stray,
hide, and do jack shit. with my skin in the sun, and toes in the water
(sunscreen in the tats, of course. ha).

got a lot to think about. or not. where am I going, what am I doing
with my life. typical shit.

for now, this beer tastes good. the lists can wait another 5 minutes.

last views of NZ

hit the duty free shops, and spent the last of my NZ currency on
candy, food and beer. wrote the last postcards, and did a little
blogging (was determined to finish before I left... but didn't quite
get there!). boarded the plane out if Auckland late afternoon for the
long flight home... and it was kinda fitting that my last views of NZ
were of waiheke island, where heather and I had started our travels
almost three weeks before.

I'll be back. for sure. :)

flying up over the south island

hearher and i made our way to the airport in queenstown the next
morning, and began the long journey home. we parted ways, and were on
separate flights back. we both flew fron queenstown back to Auckland,
with some amazing views traveling back up the south island over the
mountain ranges.

in this pic, the franz Josef glacier (the ine we hiked) is on the
left, the fox glacier is just in front of the plane engine in the
center, and mt cook (highest peak in NZ, I believe?!), is on the right
side. stunning, even from the air!!

last bits of our last day fading away....