The Great White Place

Covering an area over 8,000 square miles, Etosha National Park is a wildlife sanctuary like none other, at least as far as I’ve been fortunate enough to see.  Etosha sits in the Northern region of Namibia – a very dry, very dusty place where seemingly nothing would live.  But, in fact, a lot lives there - from cheetahs to lions to elephants to rhino to numerous other mammals and birds.  It’s an oasis of life. 

 

The Etosha salt pan is made up of millions (probably billions?) of these little clay polygons.

The name Etosha means “Great White Place,” and although the entire park is not one huge salt pan, the main point of interest in the park is the Etosha salt pan, which measures slightly over 30 miles across by nearly 80 miles wide.  When the park was originally established in 1907 its area covered over 34,000 square miles from the Skeleton Coast to its current location, but after many size adjustments the park was reduced to its much smaller, current size; which is still seven times the size of Rhode Island.

My friends and I traveled to Etosha for one reason: the wildlife.  In particular we wanted to see cheetahs and desert elephants, and although the cheetahs eluded us over the four days we were in the park we were able to see plenty of elephants.  

Some of the 16 elephants that we saw at the watering hole in Halali.

The elephants of Etosha are a wondrous bunch.  These elephants belong to a special group of elephants found only in Northern Namibia and Southern Angola.  The elephants are taller than their counterparts from other parks, yet lack the large tusks that distinguish the elephants of Southern Africa and Eastern Africa due to a deficiency of minerals in their diets – causing smaller, shorter tusks.

A mineral deficiency (probably calcium) causes the elephants of Etosha to have smaller husks, although the elephants are the tallest in all of Africa.

Calves like this are at the center of the herd's attention and although this is the time they're most likely to be killed by lions, the entire herd will make a very intimidating wall of bodies and legs should a predator be found nearby.

Living in Etosha’s arid environment comes with other challenges aside from a lack of particular minerals.  Namely water is the limiting resource for these large consumers and because of this their numbers hover between two to three thousand in total for the park, whereas Chobe National Park (a park of similar size) just some few hundred miles away has an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 elephants.  

Luckily, the lack of water sources lends itself to increasing the numbers of elephant sightings due to the fact that elephants must drink water nearly everyday, so to see them a person only needs to go to a watering hole and wait.  Patience will bring the elephants.  During my time in Etosha we saw over 40 elephants, but at a waterhole in Halali we saw 16 at once.  

In Etosha National Park, water is the most limiting factor in why such a large park only has two to three thousand elephants, where as Chobe National Park in Botswana has at least 50,000.

What makes elephants so interesting to watch is that elephants exude many of the same mannerisms that humans do, while other animals – impala for instance – just go about their time grazing and walking around.  Elephants are far more interesting because they’ll play with each other, chase other nearby animals, actively reach out and touch one another, are inquisitive, and even coddle their young.  

 

Watching these 16 elephants at Halali for a couple of hours was the highlight of my time in Etosha.  We saw two male rhino fighting one another, lions stalking springboks, but the elephants - in my opinion - were the best.

I’ve seen plenty of elephants during my time in Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania but I would have to say that the elephants of Namibia’s Etosha National Park were my favorite.  It can’t be an easy task to scratch out a living in a park that’s known for 2,400 square mile salt pan and allows nothing to grow.  

Overall, I would go so far as to say that Etosha as a park ranks second on my list of parks that I’ve been fortunate enough to visit (it would be second only to Kenya’s Maasai Mara Nature Reserve).  And to have the opportunity to stand in the middle of a “Great White Place” where the air is as dry as anything you could imagine, while having lunch with friends, is a memory I won’t likely forget anytime soon.  

In the middle of Etosha Pan.  From the left: Jacob, Team, Caleb, myself.

A Tree for Multiple Generations

If I ever write a book about my time in the Peace Corps I might think to call it Living Among the Mangoes because that’s exactly what I did for my first two years in Zambia.  My small hut was hidden away beneath three mango trees and my village as a whole was the same setting with mango trees looming over us everyday.

My compound's three mango trees.  I loved sitting beneath them where it was infinitely cooler than being in the sunshine.

Mangifera indica.  That’s the botanical name for the Indian Mango, the most commonly found mango tree in the world.  Over 400 varieties of mangos exist in the world, but this one is the most commonly seen in Zambia.

Mango season is the time when the villagers around me were most likely to be without food (November until February) during a time called the "hunger season."  The mango tree’s fruits help to alleviate the impact of hunger everyday, as well as providing a good source of Vitamins A and B - two essential nutrients that children in this area are greatly lacking during hunger season.

I have a theory that villagers hardly ever, I mean nearly never, cut down a tree that provides them with food - especially a tree in which they’ve invested the energy of planting and caring for.  A prime example of this is when crossing the border into Malawi where an enormous population has led to huge amounts of deforestation, but guess which tree is always standing strong throughout the fields and villages – the mango.  

As soon as kids get out of school they head up into the trees to look for mangoes - a delicious, sweet after school snack.

There are other fruit trees grown in Zambia like papaya, orange, lemon, guava, and every once in a while cashews and peaches can be found.  But, mango is by far the most common.  There are two kinds grown largely in Zambia: a small mango, about the size of a fist, and the big mango – two fists.

I had to make a deal with the kids in my village because being the little scavengers that they are they can go through an entire mango tree in two weeks (even the unripe mangoes they’ll destroy), so I told them they could have as much as they could gorge off of two of my mango trees, but I wanted them to leave half of the third one for me – the other half was communal.

With their tiny faces poking out from time to time, I was always assured a few mangoes for myself once the kids went up into the trees.  There they would climb, sing, pick mangoes, and shake the branches until they had more than they could carry.

The mango tree is so great for food security because even in times of drought its deep roots can tap into ground water reservoirs far down into the Earth, and even when there isn’t water near the surface, the mango tree will keep churning out fruits.  A typical tree takes about 7 years to mature and produce fruit, but will live in excess of 30 years, which is long enough for it to feed multiple generations.

Carrying the day's bounty.

There are special varieties of mangoes from Kenya and Tanzania that can be grafted onto local trees and produce all different kinds of mangoes: red, big, yellow, etc., but they’re less commonly found.  Instead we see the previously mentioned Indian mango.

Locally, planting mango trees is tricky because without a strong fence goats will destroy the seedlings.  However, the mango tree’s pits sprout all over the place, with little effort, ensuring that mango trees will continue to feed future generations.

My half of the tree remained with mangoes for much longer than the communal half.  Even green, unripe mangoes will be eaten by the kids.

All of this has led me to my belief that the mango tree is the most important tree in a village, maybe in all of Zambia and the region.

Eating mangoes during the rainy season will always remain as one of my favorite memories of the village.

Fun fact: My personal record for mangos eaten in one day is twenty, and I think if I would’ve started earlier in the day I could’ve managed a good thirty.  

World Heritage Sites with the "World's Greatest"

During my trip to Namibia for New Year’s I was informed by Team Chen, a friend of mine on the trip, that he was “The World’s Greatest Explorer.”  I doubted this, as did the other two guys on the trip.  But Team kept on about how he was the Greatest and in the end I have to admit that he did point us in the right direction of a great find when he suggested we visit the petroglyphs of Twyfelfontein.  

Walking from the parking area to where the petroglyphs were carved.  The Twyfelfontein area is barren and arid.  The Skeleton Coast is less than 75 miles from where we were, but that didn't help.  Rain hadn't fallen in the area in over three years at the time of our visit.

Lying some hundred and twenty kilometers or so from Namibia’s infamous skeleton coast is a place called Twyfelfontein, which in Afrikaans means the “Doubtful Fountain.”  It was so named this because the original European settler in this area would always remark that he was doubtful the local spring would produce much water that year.  Sure enough it didn’t and he had a pretty dreadful time making a living there. 

The original white settler's home... or at least what remains of it. 

He wasn’t the first inhabitant of that area - far from it actually.  Long before him, and even now, there are a lot of indigenous groups calling the Doubtful Fountain their home.  While living there they created timeless works of art, which were the reasons for us even wanting to drive out there in the first place.  

A couple of giraffe and a rhino were etched between two to five thousand years ago on this panel.

Led by Team’s notion that this is something worth seeing and fueled by his desire to see “every UNESCO world heritage site on the planet… there’s only a few thousand” we exited the car and hired a guide named Sylvia.  During our hike with Sylvia we saw seven panels of petroglyphs that ranged from two to five thousand years old.  As it turns out the petroglyphs were used as an indicator from one passing hunter to another of what prey had been seen in the area at one time or another.  This caused some confusion for me because I wondered aloud, “Well, if they’re so old how was a hunter able to tell the difference between what was there 1,000 years ago compared to just 10 years ago?”  

Sylvia being a boss and breaking down petroglyphs for the four of us.  One of the best guides I've ever had on a tour - anywhere.

Sylvia was on it!  She said the hunters were so experienced that they would’ve been able to tell the difference between the newer carvings versus the older ones.  The carvings themselves were amazing: rhinos, lions, elephants, giraffes, human footprints, and even seals were carved by hunters from long ago.  (Seals can be found on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast some 100+ kilometers away).

Here is a very old giraffe carving with human footprint carvings flanking the two sides of its neck.

As it turns out, during our time in Namibia the four of us visited the only two world heritage sites in the country (the other being the Namib Sand Sea), which puts Team (and the other three of us for that matter) on the right track of visiting all the really important sites that give human existence on this planet some meaning and context.

Team "The World's Greatest Explorer" Chen on the left, Jacob Johnson sitting on the UNESCO Heritage Site Marker, Caleb Rudow looking too cool for school on the right, and myself made up this Namibia expeditionary group.

Additional Pictures of the Petroglyphs at Twyfelfontein:

This petroglyph panel features a lion, multiple giraffe, wildebeest, hartebeest, and other animals found in the area.

Us (Caleb, Jacob, Team, and I) with two German girls that we basically stalked through Namibia.  Everywhere they went we would show up about a day later and camp right next to them (we did not intend for this).  They were good sports about it.  And on this day we bumped into them right there at the petroglyphs.

A blue wildebeest carved into a stone face.

A giraffe carved into the rock.

Zambia: A Christian Nation

I wrote this post on a Sunday: a day when a whole lot of people go to church.  I’ve had more than a few people ask about the religious makeup in Zambia, so this post is for them.

The church that I most often attended while in my village.  Belonging to the Evangelical Church of Zambia (ECZ) denomination it wasn't too far from home and the music was pretty good.

First the Zambian government clearly states its standing on this topic when it openly claims to be a Christian nation.  Seemingly, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for those of other faiths but there are many other options for the interested and inclined; those with religious convictions – even atheists.

I’ll start with the big one: Christianity.  In my area, nearly everyone says they’re Christian.  Typically one of the first questions I’m asked when meeting someone (after they ask my name) is to which church do I belong.  Then come the other questions like am I married, am I from England, and what am I doing in a village in the middle of the Zambian bush?

This embracing of Christianity is seen everywhere and in many, if not most aspects, of life here.  From everyday bus rides where a preacher boards the coach and gives fire and brimstone sermons to the passengers; to the continuous prayers before and after every meeting whether it’s at a national meeting or at the more meager rural meetings for cooperatives, women’s groups, and the like.  

The sermons at the church were nearly always in Kaonde, which offered me a chance to reflect on my life (more often than not I day dreamed).

A fairly large Catholic contingent can be found among the population of Northern Province, while my former province of North-Western has a large evangelical following.  The rest of the country is largely one Christian denomination or another.

My dear friend, Nshimbi, was a proud member of this church.  We would walk into the Sunday morning service and he'd set down his Bible and hat, then walk straight to the front and hop in with the choir (seen here as they enter) to sing his lungs out.

Islam is predominately located in the capital’s province and in Eastern Province of Zambia, but as this faith is following global trends here it is spreading into other parts of Zambia and is expanding beyond these two areas.

Jehovah’s witnesses and their Kingdom Halls are found dotting the entire country.  In fact, one of their churches was located within walking distance down the road from my old hut, and practitioners of this faith do move around from hut to hut, knocking on doors, and talking to the willing.

The man squatted in the front is the head pastor of this church: ECZ Kalambo.  Those surrounding him are deacons and other members of the church's board.

And that example, my hut in relation to houses of worship, is as fine an example as I can come up with to show the ties that Zambians have with religion – within a two (2) mile radius of my hut were seven (7) churches.

I suspect the strong ties to religion are primarily due to the area’s extensive interactions with missionaries.  This is a country where Dr. David Livingstone of “Dr. Livingstone I presume?” fame once marched as he worked his way across Africa as a missionary in the 1800s, and those ties, as well as more contemporary ones, still remain.  Livingstone's commitment to the people of Zambia through the mission field is still easily, and often seen, today in the varying mission hospitals pocking this country and the countless missionaries that have given 10+ years of service to Zambia's poor and in-need (something I have tremendous respect for).

Some of the congregants after a church service.  Nshimbi is second from the right in the blue shirt.

All of this has absolutely affected me and my beliefs, which I won't be stating here, but I will say that I think my beliefs now are stronger than ever in what I believe, but the vastness of what Christianity means among Zambians and the common use of "being a Christian" have caused me frustration over these past three years.

For instance, a man stole something from me once and when I called him on it he said, "You're a Christian and I'm a Christian, so you can't be angry at me."  No, I don't believe that's how it works.  It's that falling back on religion and believing it exempts you from punishment that I have a hard time with and openly question.  However, nothing gives me more pause than when a drunk man is telling me how he's a pastor or a deacon, then goes on to discuss his multiple girlfriends (he's married).  That's difficult to rectify, difficult to look past.

Yes, Americans do the same thing as well, but - to me - it's much more openly accepted here as a part of life / matter of fact, which I'm really uncomfortable with.

And that's a brief overview of Zambia's religious breakdown.  In short, the government declares itself to be a Christian nation, while the population declares the same sentiment, but it seems to me there are more shades of Christianity, rather than a one-size fits all look to it.

What the world needs most is a music video - duh! Maybe a few of them.

I'm going to just stay this... the song "Do They Know Its Christmas?" is pretty awful.  I don't get offended often, but this nearly pulled that string for me.  Band Aid's "Do They Know Its Christmas" song is abysmal, absurd, and prejudiced.  Some of the following lyrics were of specific distress to me:  

• "Do they know its Christmas?"  

Shoot me now.  Who do you think gets those crappy packages people in the West send over?  They know.  They may not have Christmas trees or mobs of people on Black Friday, but they know.  Stop thinking we know something they don't... as if Christmas is the key to our success.

• "Well tonight were reaching out and touching you, And bring peace and joy to Africa, Where nothing ever grows, No rain nor rivers flow"

I will admit that Africa as a continent isn't in the finest of positions now (Ebola in the West, extremists in the North, the newest nation has fallen into a civil war, CAR is in the midst of a genocide, and Malawi is now flooded to the hip), but that's not the entire country.  Zambia's peaceful.  We've got peace, and so do a lot of other nations.  

And then to say that there is no rain and that rivers don't flow - ignorant.  The continent is criss-crossed with some of the Earth's most powerful rivers and lots of things grow here... it's not a barren wasteland.  And last I checked, Christmas is synonymous with snow, not rainfall.  Does this mean when they bring Christmas that they'll bring snow too?  I hate it, I just hate it.

As much as I love Bono, I'm honestly disappointed and confused by his being apart of this latest edition (I'll give him a pass on the first).  Didn't he learn anything on those (RED) campaign trips?  Sure, Africa does have some issues with clean water and there are some darker parts to its current existence, but it's surprising that he'd align himself to such a biased view of a continent of over 50 sovereign nations and their more than one billion people.  And Sinead O'Connor too?  And Emeli Sande whose own father is Zambian?

And you know what else... those clowns from across the pond weren't even as good as the American attempt to solve Africa's problems in the 1980s.  Not only did USA for Africa have a better song than Band Aid, but they packed superior star power: Springsteen, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Kenny "Danger Zone" Loggins, and, of course, Michael Jackson.  We.  Are.  The.  Best.

 

During the 2015 holiday season I plan on releasing a video called, "Yes - sure enough - they knew it was Christmas."  Stay tuned for that. 

Three Saints in the Devil's Pool

The Devil’s Pool is a small, slightly enclosed rock enclave perched precariously above the chasm that the Zambezi River has created over centuries and millennia: Victoria Falls.  At 105 meters in height, a slip, fall or wash over the side would spell certain doom for the careless or unlucky.  However, it’s a must do kind of thing when in Zambia, and I waited until my third year to actually do it.  

Jenny and Megan near the gorge created by Father Time and the Zambezi River.

I’ve been to Victoria Falls many, many times before but this is something that had never shown up on my itinerary.  I’ve walked next to rhinos, rafted the Batoka Gorge, even sat with a Scotsman that sleeps on a bed angled at 45 degrees, but never had I visited the Devil’s Pool.

Megan, looking model-esque, after we swam / partly walked across the Zambezi River on the way to the Devil's Pool.

When my two dear friends Jenny and Megan came I suggested it and they immediately agreed.  They were game.  On the day that we were supposed to clamber into the Devil’s Pool we began marching out to the site right about the time one of the first thunderstorms of the season was rolling in.  Perfect timing, eh?  We got out to the river’s bank, right as the downpour set in.  After about 15 minutes the guide said he thought it was okay.  

Panorama shot of some American guys that happened to be on the trip to the pool with us. 

Thinking back to my time in Arizona and the continual worry about flash floods I asked, “Should we be worried about all of the water that’s running off into the river?  You know, won’t it raise the water or something?”  His reply, “Uh, yeah… it does seem like it’s moving faster than usual.  Let’s go.”  We went.

Just behind us is a 105 meter drop into the Batoka Gorge.  Depending on which side of the shore my body would have washed up on in the event of a fall I would belong to Zambia or Zimbabwe.  Me and Bobby Mugabe could be pals.

The first thing to know about Devil’s Pool is that you don’t walk to the pool.  You swim – across the river that is about to tumble over 100 meters over a rock edge into a rocky gorge.  Essentially you swim across the top of Victoria Falls.  I’m not trying to be dramatic, but I’m also not sure I would’ve agreed to do this if someone told me you swim across the falls.  That just seems crazy.  We swam.  

This one's for all of the ladies.  Ha!

We got to the other side and after going over some sharp stones we sat on the edge of the pool.  Lucifer himself couldn’t have done a better job of explaining where to swim and what not to hold on to then out guide did.  We were an entirely captive audience.  The guide jumped in and then me, followed by the girls.  You know that seen in Indiana Jones where he takes the step of faith to save his father?  It kind of seemed like that to me.  We all just blindly followed the guide into the pool and hoped there really was an edge like they claimed that would stop us from our impending plummet.  Luckily there was.  

Inaccessible for parts of the year, the Devil's Pool is by far one of my favorite excursions in Livingstone.  The company definitely had something to do with it - Jenny and Megan were amazing guests to have in Zambia.

You could sit, wait til the guides looked away and lean over, pose for pictures until you felt like a Sports Illustrated model, and the whole time you knew that a few inches this way or that and you would be a few seconds from splat.  Also, swim the wrong direction and the current takes you right over the edge.   
 

I don’t know how long we sat in the Devil’s Pool – maybe 15 minutes – but we couldn’t stay forever.  There was a thunderstorm going on remember and sooner or later the pitch fork heaving son of a gun that bathed there would have to return, so we left for drier, safer conditions.  

Leaving Devil's Pool panorama.

My final evaluation of the Devil’s Pool was that it was well worth the 50 dollars spent, well worth the potential lightning strike my fat body was tempting, well worth the free fall followed by drowning or sudden impact or both, and well worth remembering (which is why I’m writing it down because I just may forget someday).