Annettes Travels Red Hat Society Red Backs Chapter of Sydney creativMAUVE

Annette's Travel Agenda
Left Sydney Aug 29 2002 for Africa. Arrive in Johannesburg and onto
Maputo, Mozambique for 2 weeks at the International Voolunteers for Peace Workcamp.
From there I go back to South Africa and fly to Cape Town for a 56 day safari. Then travel
north through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania,
Uganda and finishing in Nairobi, Kenya.
After Africa is London for a couple of days, stopover in Frankfurt before arriving in
Seattle on the way to Alaska for about a week. Then to Michigan and Virgina (visit son)
and Christmas in Texas (with daughter).
Back to sydney on January 6 2003

14 Sept 2002 - I arrived safely in Maputo. No one met me at the airport, they were late, so I took a Taxi into the city and got a hotel room for the night. After traveling for about 24 hours I was ready for a sleep. We watched 4 movies on the journey from Sydney to Jo'burg. I've met lots of interesting people, the director here is from Denmark, several others here from there too. I stayed at Fatima's, a backpackers place until this morning. We go to the camp in a few minutes. I booked a trip to Inacha Island, very near here. It was cancelled because of the weather. I hope to see Swaziland next weekend.

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15 Sept 2002 - Hello from Maputo,
I arrived back in Maputo last night on a bus crammed so full of people we could not see out the windows. They put about 100 people in a bus only half the size of a regular bus. I was praying all the way that we did not have an accident. Yes, Denis, I got your e mail. It´s great to hear from ya´ll, but please no Forwards while I´m traveling. Neva, I´´ll see you in Texas, I´m glad to hear Olivia is nearly walking and that Ashley is dribbling. Keep in touch. Bertha, I slept in a real bed last night and had a hot shower too, DELICIOUS! The scenery around here is pretty flat with only scrub. There are a few hills, but not many. It´s very dusty when the wind blows.

Tomorrow I fly to Jo´burg, today I walked to the Internet Cafe, about 2ks, good exercise and they said this was the safest city in the world, lots of police around and most houses have guards. Labor is cheap as most people are starving. Thursday, we went by bus to Ressano Garcia, a border town, pretty dangerous, but that was our culture. I saw three young men with red hats, but when I asked to take their photo, they got angry, so needless to say, I didnºt get one. Wednesday we were invited to have lunch with a youth association to educate about Aids. We had delicious beef ribs, fantastic!! I got my photo of an African Nanny. A lady let me tie a baby on my back and Armando took my photo. The people are very friendly, great to talk to and hard working, always laughing and smiling at the same time. Moamba has 6 schools and night classes. I went with Marcelo to a Uni. Math class and Geograppy, I didn´t understand a word they said, but it was a good experience!! The camp overall was outstanding and I´m so glad I did it.

We walked 5 ks to the River to see where the bridge was washed out in the floods of 2000, it has not been replaced, no money!!Swaziland was terrific, the scenery is such a change!! Beautiful mountains, I stayed at a Backpackers located in a wildlife Reserve, saw 5 zebras, walled for 3 hours, saw warthogs and antelopes. We had Impala for dinner around an open fire. I went to the king´s royal residence, but did not get in. I talked to the guards for about an hour, took their picture and had to leave. They were very friendly and acted surprised when I told them how many times I´d been married and how old I am. People seem surprised to see an older lady doing a workcamp. Most of the people are young. I gave them all my Australian pictures and the map of the USA.

They loved the tatoos and I wish I´d have brought more!! I promised to send more and they wanted to know if I´d do it tomorrow.I hope to see the beach today, the money museum and the train station which is said to be built by Eiffel from Paris. The Palano Hotel is still 5 star quality and it´s shocking to see such luxury when so many are so poor. It does give lots of people a chance to work.

6 Sept 2002 - Hello Again from Mozambique, Africa,
We have been at the workcamp for a week, it is in Moamba, about 70 ks from Maputo. No lights, no running water, no beds, just a sleeping bag and mat on the concrete floor. My whole body feels bruised. We get up at 6 am, have bread & jam for breakfast. We cook outside over an open fire. When it rains we just move it inside. Mostly, it is sunny, but last night we got an unexpected shower. Actually it was great to settle the dust, the wind blew all day yesterday. We eat a lot of rice, tomatoes, peppers and onions. We had beans one day, Rosita, our cook, puts sardines in everything. One learns to eat simply here or not at all.

We are making bricks by hand, we move the sand with a wheelbarrow, shovel the cement into the sand and mix it by shovel. Add the water, mix with the shovel some more and then they shovel it into the forms, drop the form to pact it firmly, shovel some more mix and then pat it down tight. They put it on a smooth sand bed, let it dry, pour water, let it dry, pour more water in the brick. I think they have made about 300, one bag of cememt makes about 30 or 35 bricks. Its a very slow process! We have about 15 workers, mostly standing around, they take turns. I personally do not lift the heavy forms. Mostly, I do clean up and cook, really I just help Rosita cook. I am not used to cooking outside over an open fire. The surface for preparing the food is a concrete slab, we just splash water to clean it. We do the dishes outside too, it is the only time my hands feel clean.

We have proper toilets, but there is no running water, so we flush with a bucket. No showers, just use the cloth with a dishpan. The people are very friendly, fun loving, great to be around. They speak very little English, mostly Portuguese, so we are learning a bit of that. It is very difficult. I gave them the koalas clips, which were a big hit.

They loved the pictures of my family, the maps of Australia & America. They put the tattoes, Australian maps, on their arms and I took their picture, they yelled Australia, the power. The most popular saying is "Forget About It". We came into Maputo by noon on Fri to have a warm shower. We will go back out on Sunday. Brian, from Denmark, is the only other white person in camp. He is 17 and seems like a very good kid. The other two did not show up. It is dirty work, which really helps me appreciate the place I live in, even more. The mothers carry their babies on their backs, wrapped in a cloth. I hope to get a picture of one on my back.

There are lots of plastic bags blowing around, lots of broken glass, there is no place to put garbage. If it can not burn, it gets broken. No bothers to pick it up. Things move very slow here in Africa, time means very little. They have no place to go in a hurry. Yesterday, they opened a new school in Moamba, funded by Finland. They had a big to-do out on the grounds with the lady president of Mozambique and lots of white people from Finland. The band played, people marched and danced. We saw a movie last night for 1,000 metricals. That is about 5 cents, actually it was only a video on a TV set, but to them it was a movie. It had subtitles, with English. I never got the name, but it had Michael Jordan and the guy who played Maurice in Northern Exposure.

With no lights, when it get dark, we go to bed early, usually by 8 or 9. The floor is so hard that I wake all night anyway, then we get up at 6am. I will try to keep in touch as often as I can. I look forward to the safari.

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21 Sept 2002 - I'm now in Cape Town, I've seen the Point, it's beautiful down there. Jo'burg was wonderful and I have to say most Australians give it a bad reputation which it doesn't deserve! I was frightened to go out of the airport. The place where I stayed was excellent. It's a Backpackers located near Rosebank, an old mansion. I walked to Rosebank Shopping Center, Hyde Park and all over the area ALONE! We had circular rooms, thank God, I'm not much of a drinker! It could have gotten confusing!!I did a tour of Soweto, very interesting! It's the only place in the world where 2 Nobel Peace Prize winners live on the same street. Winnie Mandela still lives there and she has live guards, cameras and fences all around her house.

I did the LESEDI Cultural Center where they have mock villages set up to show way of the life of 5 tribes, Ndebelle, Basetho, Yhosa, Pedi & Zulu. The next day I went to Pretaria, excellent museum of the old Africa history, real eye opening history of the Boer War! My driver's name was Simba, from Lion King. He took me to downtown Jo'burg, where I went to the Top of Africa in the Carlton Center, 50th floor. He said you just have to know what you are doing in the city after dark.Next day, I flew to Cape Town, systems were all out, so it took over half an hour to get going. Cape Town looks like Sydney with mountains all around it.

The sunsets are beautiful from Table Mountain and I went to the Cape Point today and tasted wine early this morning. This backpakers is excellent too. Tomorrow I take a ferry to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent so much time in prison.

28 September 2002 - Hello Again, We are now in Swakopmund, Namibia
Last night was the first time I slept in a real bed since Saturday night, that's a whole week! We started our journey with Worldwide in Cape Town with a three hour lunch just about 3 hours out of Cape Town in a place called Die Strandloper. We had 10 courses with drinks as we dreamed along the beach, lovely! Our group is small with only 8 people, 1 Texan, 1 American from Ohio, 1 Australian from the Victoria border, 1 Canadian, & 4 Brits. Our driver, Jacko, is from Newcastle, our lady guide is from England and the cook is from Kenya. We eat very well, 3 times a day. We all get along really well, thank God. I'm the oldest person on the tour, most of them are not even 30 yet.

We've been living in tents, they're very easy to set up and take down. They better be since we've been moving every day, we're all experts already. Springbok is a small town, we just drove through it. We camped at Clan William, where we rafted the Orange River. There was another raft full of Aussies who tried to drown us. The Orange River forms a natural border to Namibia. The scenery changed quickly from green lush river trees to lots of sand and mountains. One night we camped at the Fish River Canyon where we saw the sunset, next day we saw the sunrise on the other end of the same canyon after packing up our gear and tents in the dark at 5:30 am. Another early morning to see the sunrise on the beautiful red sand dunes in Sossus Vlei. We climbed to the top of one the night before to see the sunset then slid down the other side, great fun. The sand is so fine, it looks like liquid. It's a great workout for the calves and thighs.

A young Japanese girl guided us through the salt pans and over more lovely red dones explaining about the life of lizards and beatles in the desert. It's amazing how many things survive out there, lots of silver fish to feed the birds and desert mice. The springbok eat a things that looks like a custard apple, it grows on a very prickly bush. There's a beatle who collects moisture with his wings from the fog & dew, another one that has wings which he doesn't use to fly but to operate as insulation and a cooling device against the heat. Another one secrets a type of sunscreen to endure the heat and sun. It's an interesting area! Tomorrow we'll go Quadbiking and Sandboarding as a group.

Today most of them are going Tandem Skydiving, I've already been in New Zealand, but I hope to do a sightseeing flight. There is a very vicious snake in the desert called a Puff Adder, he is not afraid but aggressive and will bite. However, he's a bit lazy and usually only bites the second person in the group. Luckily, we did not see one. There are other poisious snakes as well, but we didn't see them yet! We haven't seen many animals, mostly Springbok, Gembok, Ostrichs and a few Dassies. In Fish River Canyon we climbed to the top of one of the mountains, great views.

The people here are so friendly, always smiling and gracious. They have a saying, "May all of Africa be united in the fight against Crime". They are trying to forget the past history and move on. Actually, it's a lot different that I expected.

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October 3, 2002 - We are on the way to Etosha Game Park for about 3days. It should be great fun, I survived the sandboarding, quadbiking and the Cheetah Park was fantastic, best of the trip.

Thursday, 10 Oct 2002 - We had a wonderful time in Etosha Game Park. We stayed first at one end, packed up and moved to the other end. We have lots of experience in putting up and taking down our tents. We saw elephants, giraffes, eland, Springboks, Gemsboks,(Oryx),wilderbeasts, lots of cheetahs at the Cheetah Park. He had some babies only 9 days old & very cute. The man there had 4 domestic Cheetahs and he let us pet them, fantastic experience. I have my picture taken in my red hat.

We went with him as he fed the cheetahs, we were in the back of his truck, I got some great photos. From there we flew to the Okvanga Delta, Botswana,to stay in a bushcamp there. The little plane made a dive over the water buffalos. We had 2 days there. Our guides took us to see animals in little boats called mokorros, they did the poling which looked not only hard but risky. We saw lots of hippos, one even yawned for us. There were 2 giraffes mating, they did some very heavy necking. When they are in season they hit each other with their necks. Quite a sight to see.

There were elephants walking through our camp. Our tents were set up on raised platforms. It was an interesting experience. We saw lots of elephants there too. On our last day we spotted a big lion, he had a couple of mates with him. They are such beautiful, graceful animals. I love watching them walk through the grass looking like truly kings of the jungle. Yesterday we drove most of the day and camped near Chobe National Park. We'll do another game drive later today.

I'm meeting lots of interesting people from all over, ladies who are missionaries from Vir, a couple from Ca, lots of Aussies, our pilot was New Zealand, one lady from Canada lives in Dallas, Texas, but so far I'm the only Texan.

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24 October 2002 - We've been doing a bit of traveling!!! We are currently in Dar es Salaam, which is mostly muslin. We have to cover up our shoulders and knees. We'll take the ferry to Zanzibar about noon today.

Our trip through Chobe was excellent. We saw animals that I've only seen in books or zoos. Giraffs & elephants were just looking at us as they grazed. It was exciting to see herds of zebras and impalas. We actually saw a leopard on a night drive, he looked at us, then crouched down in the tall grass. I saw his right shoulder before he went down. I saw civets, jenets, another cat, pudu, kudo and hyneas as they gnawed on a dead giraff. There were about 6 lions feasting on the carcass of a Cape buffalo.

When we got to Zambia we did a rhino-walk. We actually got out with the rhinos, elephants and zebras. One big male was named Gumboots, he was very testy. Molly, the female didn't like him which made his nervous. He charged a pick-up truck, barely missing the bed and only hooking his horn in the tire. Of course, it punctured it and they had a flat tire. It was the owner of the park and our guide said he was stupid to go so close and then to wait so long to move! The truck had a family with a young child, you should have heard all the screaming!! The guide said Gumboots had taken out 42 vehicles thus far. A resident guard had been charged by an elephant and died just two weeks before. Thank goodness these people were not hurt, just really scared.

After he charged the truck, he turned on another female named Mama. It was a thrilling morning to say the least. These are the only 5 white rhinos in the wild. George was another male, he was a gentleman. There was also a herd of cape buffalo nearby. They are clever animals, even allowing enemies to come into their center before charging and killing them. They kept their eyes on us and we gave them a fair bit of space.

We spent a few days in Zimbabwe where a couple of our guys did the bungi. I chose the gorge swing in Victoria Falls. It was a free fall of 52 meters, about 160 ft. I did it backwards the first time, really scary!! He bound my feet and then dropped me backwards, what a thrill. A young man from Queensland did a tandem with me. We stepped off together, it makes for a faster fall, we went forward!! We swung back and forth for quite a few minutes.

On the way out of the country we went over the Zambezi Bridge, it's quite a drop. I saw the falls on both sides, the Zambabwe & Zambia, they are both excellent. It's a bit dry so there wasn't a great deal of water, but the rainbows were there anyway. The countryside is beautiful, very lush & green, especially in Malawi. We spent three nights in Paradise,at Kande Beach, Lake Malawi is gorgeous. No shoes, it's too sandy. The sand got blistering hot at noon, so we put the shoes back on again. It was marvelous.

They took us on a village tour, the hospital had 2, 2 day old babies. What beauties!! Their mothers let us hold them. Hygene conditions are appalling there. The school needs books and pens or pencils. I got the address and perhaps some of our schools could make that a project?? I went to the Church of Central Africa on Sunday. The choir director wants bells. Their church is simply bricks on the floor with 4 or 5 wooden benches. They have absolutely nothing. This could be a good mission for some of the rich churchs in the US or OZ. I got her address too. Maybe we could help them?? They get as dressed up as finances allow and their choir was magnicent, even without music. They did have one drum which make pleasant music.

Our group is bigger this trip. At Vic Falls we picked up 8 more and dropped off 2. We played beach volleyball, the US against the Commonwealth. US won 2 games out of 3. Our Uno card games get pretty exciting. We spent 12 hours on the truck yesterday, everyone is looking forward to 3 nights in beds on Zanzibar. More later.

1 November 2002 - Hello to all,
We have been doing some great distances and seeing wonderful places. We spent 3 days on Zanzibar taking the ferry across from Dar es Salaam. These are both Muslim territories, which meant we had to keep our shoulders and knees covered. My silk outfit I bought in China came in very handy. We did the Spice Tour, saw the Slave Markets, it was interesting.

The spaces they kept the slaves and the auction block made me claustrophobic. I didn't know cinnamon came from the barks of trees or where they got nutmeg and mace. They grow on a tree, the mace is wrapped around the nutmeg. Lots of information, pineapple and passion fruit was delicious. It rained so we improvised by using a banana leave for an umbrella.

I visited Prison Island to see the giant tortoises, also dik diks and beautiful peacocks. The water was 3 shades of blue, like Hawaii. The red Colobus monkey is found only in Zanzibar. We came back on the overnight ferry. I heard a rooster crowing and when we got off, he did too, in a palm tree woven basket. From there we drove for 12 hours to Arusha. This is the point for Safaris to Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.

Both of these are unusual and fascinating places. We saw hippos, elephants, zebras, impalas, hartebeest, wildebeest, jackals, hyenas, lots of birds, cheetahs, but the leopard eluded us again. It was freezing cold on the rim of the crater. We were in 4 wheel drive vehicles and had the tops up, just like in Jurassic Park movies. Near the Serengeti we stopped to visit the Masai Mara tribe, they had us dance with them and showed us their torn ears with huge earrings in them. Their huts make me appreciate Western culture. It's amazing what they do and how they live. The men herd cattle wearing their red wraps and carrying a spear and long stick.

We saw young boys in black wraps and white paint. They looked like Halloween costumes. It's a ceremony that lasts 30 days. They will be circumcised (sp) and the brave will not even wince. They do the same with the girls. I'm again glad to be an American, I'd hate to have that done to me. I enjoyed the visit, but personally I don't agree with the Muslims repression of women, it's very depressing. It was wonderful to hear from all of you. I love travel & it feels good to hear about you. It makes me feel connected and part of your world as well. I love the letters from home and your activities. More later. We cross over to Kenya today.

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10/11/02 - Dear Family & friends,
We are back in Kambala, a big city in Uganda. We went to see the gorillas, I got lots of photos. It was exciting, they look so much like humans. They act like some of us too. Our group was too big, so they split us up and ask for someone to volunteer to stay in Uganda to see them. I volunteered then wished I hadn't, I wanted to see Rwanda too. Anyway, I got to see the gorillas with 13 armed guards. It was a bit daunting to walk off into the forest with them. They had automatic rifles and I was the only one on tour. We did a 2 hour hike through the jungle, they used machetes to chop the vines and braches out of the way. I rented a pair of gumboots and they cut me a walking stick out of bamboo.

It was fantastic to see the little babies with their mothers. One came up to the guide and pulled on his sleeve. The big, gigantic silverback jumped on a tree, it broke and he tumbled down the hill. One laid down right in front of me and spread out all fours. What a thrill!! They live in the mist, high up near the volcanos, just like in the movies. We have had a lot of rain and if anyone had told me it would be that cold in Africa, I wouldn't have believed them. We stayed at Lake Bunyoni last night, it was gorgeous, but cold. We get to upgrade and get out of our tents and stay in a cottage. They roasted a whole pig for us last night.

We stopped at the Equator at lunch and they demonstrated the water flowing in different directions and when he got to the center, it flowed straight out the bottom. The roads are terrible and we got stuck behind a truck with a trailer, both filled with petroleum. We had a 2 hour delay before they built a temporary road around him. First we helped them cut a tree that fell across the road. It was like circus, all the locals came out to watch.

On the way back from the gorillas, we had to turn around because another truck was in the road and we couldn't get around them. Parts of Africa have been very dry and other places it rains everyday. I hope the droughts are over soon in Oz.

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17/11/02 Hello from Kenya,
I'm finally off the truck!! God, it feels good to have some space and time to myself. It was a great trip, all 56 days on the road. November is the begining of the rainy season and it rained everyday. We had mud in our tents and our clothes looked like they have never been washed. With 28 people on the truck, it was dirty and starting to smell. We spend 2 days in Lake Navaiska, a beautiful area, where most of the plants and flowers are exported from Africa. We rented mountain bikes. The scenery was outstanding.

A Vet nurse trainee and I stopped in Victory Medical Clinic for a sticky peak. The doctors were so friendly. Back at camp, there were hippos coming up on the grass right near our tents. There is an electric fence to keep them off our tents. We had monkeys scampering up the trees, the black and white colobus monkey in on the endangered species list. They are so cute, looking like skunks up in the tree. We had high tea at Elsamere, the Joy & George Adamson home. She is the lady who wrote Born Free, Living Free and Free Forever, very impressive. Her work to save the animals here in Africa is world renown. The cakes and tea was delicious too.

I'll be staying at the Nairobi Backpackers for 2 nights before flying to London Nov 11. We have been packing up our tents at 6 or 7 am nearly everyday, so sleeping inside a building and in a bed will be a real treat. I met a lady from Australia today who is getting on the truck I just got off of, she's going back down south.

29 November 2002 Hi Guys,
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! I'm spending the holiday in Talkeetna, Alaska with the Prospectors. They are a wonderful group, it's like a homecoming. We played cards and Tripoly last night. I lost, but had a great time. They had a band down the street playing Blue Grass Music, we were up til 1am this morning.

I flew into Seattle where I got harassed by an immigration officer because I'm traveling with an Australia passport. He said he didn't have to let me into the country. I Yes Sirred him until he agreed, but only after he warned me not to leave my American passport in Sydney, but to carry it with me. It is so precious to me, I did not want it to get stolen in Africa.

Before leaving Nairobi, Kenya, I went to a rhino and elephant orphanage. I got to play with a baby elephant. She, Wendy, was only 2 months old, so cute!!! I have photos. They had a baby rhino who followed his guard around like a puppy dog. We went to feed the giraffs afterward. There was a litttle boy throwing pellets in a giraff"s mouth. It was funny to see that big grey tongue as it caught them.

From Kenya, I flew into London for a lovely visit with Nerelle. It was a bit harrowing when I lost her phone number. I called her daughter in Sydney, got her address and had a great visit. I made several calls to friends in London & regret not having time to see them, time gets too short to do everything. I went from her place to Frankfurt, Germany to see another friend, Marika. She's wonderful and I loved Frankfurt. We had some traditional Frankfurt dishes in the open air markets, visited her mother and looked at the Christmas Fair. They were setting it up for Monday. It was a magical Christmas atmosphere. Thanks to both of them for their hospitality. My first night in Alaska I spent in the Youth Hostel. It brought back memories of when I was here in 2000. Tish picked me up the next morning and I've been with her. We had several hikes in the woods, went to the Prospectors meeting Tuesday night, then came to Talkeetna for Thanksgiving. I'll be here til Friday when I travel overnight to Michigan.

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Welcome to the Sydney Chapter of the Red Hat Society - The Red backs

Annette's
Travels - 2003

Welcome to the Sydney Chapter of the Red Hat Society - The Red backs

Annette's Travels - 2003

Annette's
Travels - 2003