Thursday, October 7
After breakfast around 9:30, we headed out with Martin and Crispin to a small fishing village on the island, first going by boat to Inpalila Island Lodge (a sister to Ntwala, located a short motor trip away), and then by footpath to the village.
One funny thing – Rita gave me her credit card to carry, in case there was anything in the village to buy. On arrival at the village, I chuckled. It was a village of only about twenty people, no streets, dirt floors in homes, homes constructed of mud and tree branches, some of stone or other type of material. Chickens running loose with their chicks. One lone dog. One woman doing laundry by hand in a large plastic bowl, one lady cooking lunch over an open fire outside, one lady arriving with sardines caught for lunch and her young baby carried over her back. One outhouse. A few young friendly kids. The men were out fishing, and the school-age kids were at school. Most homes had their own garden plot, surrounded by fencing to keep out the animals, and a pen for the chickens at night, so carnivores couldn’t get them. Sleeping was on mats on dirt floors. In rainy season, I would imagine that the whole town becomes a sea of mud.
View from our deck
Hippos, just around the corner from Ntwala's docks
Setting out for the village
Birds, birds and birds around here!
Chuck, Sarah and Martin
We were able to communicate with the women, either directly in English or through Martin and Crispin. They were lovely, and were anxious for us to take photos once we told them we would send copies to them. They didn’t ask for money – a surprise to anyone who has photographed people in other countries. They seemed to be really happy with their lives. A good lesson for all of us!
Typical garden in the small village
One type of home -- mud clods between branches; final finish of smooth mud is to be added.
Dirt floors; no furniture.
Laundry time
Grass-enclosed courtyard around stone home
Grandma lives with the kids and grandkids
This serves as someone's kitchen
The only home we actually entered was obviously one of the more successful residents – there was a tall reed enclosure around the three buildings, so it could be closed off at night. One small building was where the grandmother lived. A larger building was for the family, and there was another structure that the baby was lying in (on a blanket on the ground), and appeared to be used for storage otherwise. A covered structure outside the buildings was used for cooking over a log fire. The one thing that stood out – they had a satellite dish! Our guides said that they had a small generator to provide electricity. Who would have thought that this small village had a TV? Their home was likely a gathering place during rest days! I didn’t ask if they had Internet, too.
Mom arrived back in the village, with a cookie tin of sardines that she had
just caught, and would fix for lunch
This is what the mud clod home looks like with a final finish and a roof
And again...not sure why it all isn't covered outside
Grass harvested for repair of roofs and fences -- their local Lowe's!
Woman fixing something with maize -- resembles mashed potatoes
We asked about medical care, and our guides told us that there was a clinic staffed by a nurse, about a twenty minute walk from this village. Glad they have that available!
One nice thing – since the lodges were built on their water supply, the lodges agreed to pump water to the village (and another one), so water is available in a spigot in the village – no need to cart containers around to pick it up.
We were back for lunch on the veranda, a short rest, and then off at 2:30 for a river tour of Chobe National Park (which was technically in Botswana – but not necessary to go through immigration). This was like Kruger, but from a boat…much easier than bouncing around in a Land Rover! Our boat was larger and wider than the motor boats, and had a cover to help (somewhat) keep the sun off of us. But when you’re in the water, the sun hits you from every angle. Thanks SPF 55!
We saw hippos not far from our lodge (under water with only their eyes and ears showing, since it was mid-afternoon), crocodiles, a kind of stork that nests in trees (hundreds in a tree), eagles and other birds, giraffes, a lone lion, and Cape Buffalo. And elephants. Lots and lots of elephants. I didn’t count, but we saw several groups that had to have a hundred or more, and that was just the portion of the herd that we could see from the water. We also saw (later in the afternoon) hippos out of the water – our first such viewing. There were several large herds of impalas. We also saw elephants at the water drinking, with a herd of impalas joining them at water’s edge. Elephants swimming. Elephants playing. Baby elephants chasing impalas. I felt like we were in a Dr. Seuss book! Here are the photos -- probably too many, but they're so cute!!
This tree (and tons of others) was full of storks nesting.
The trees all turn white. Can you guess why?
The dad with his wings spread (left side of photo)
is not drying his wings -- he's providing shade for eggs,
to keep them from overheating in the hot sun.
Who said men were worthless??
Juvenile storks
This little one was actually chasing an impala.
Good luck with that one, kid!
Along the way, we saw many fishing camps by the river, fishermen in small boats carved out of tree trunks (propelled standing up), lodges, etc. The sunset was just another African sunset -- unlike any I’ve seen elsewhere in the world! Lots of photos!
Family at fishing camp on the bank of the river; proud dad holding up
baby for us to see!
Fisherman pulling in nets
Harvesting tall grass on the riverbank
We didn’t arrive back at the lodge until almost 7:00 – well after sunset. We’re glad the guys knew where to go, although Rita thought they were lost. Dinner was again on the veranda. Tonight it was just the O’Koons and us, as the guests that were here for dinner last night left today, and no new guests arrived. We had asked Sam, the manager, if the generator could be left on later tonight, and, at dinner, we were told that it would remain on until 11:30 tonight. Hooray! We’ll have fans to cool us off when we go to bed!
Another observation – we have had cell phone service (including e-mail and text) everywhere we’ve been, including this isolated lodge on a small island and the lodge in Kruger. Who would have thought it?
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