No, these are not my neighbours. Contrary to the thinking of some foreigners, we South Africans do live in cities. I would, however, prefer contending with lions than with car jackers and the general dangers of "the big city". The picture to the right is in fact a Mozambiquan refugee village I lived in about two years ago. I spend 2 months living with the natives, adhering to their culture and learning their language. There was a drought at the time, so myself and the team I went with were rationed only one litre of water a day for drinking, washing and cleaning. It was a profound experience living in such poverty with no turning back. No comfortable bed or bath for 2 months! And I won't even begin to tell the horror stories about snakes and spiders...

I spent a lot of time with the children, as they were the most patient teachers of their language. None of the people could speak English, so it was loads of fun (???) The kids adored me; probably because I'm so silly. I was one of the only idiots they could drag along on "walk abouts". I never had a clue where they were taking me, but it was always fun. On Easter morning I witness the birth of a calf, which was awesome.

They gave me a Shangani name ("Thlangalani") which translates into "the Happy One". That was really special, as they only name those they trust and enjoy.

Several months after returning, I went to the Okavongo swamps in Botswana. Once again, we were hundreds of miles from civilization. We camped out in the untamed bush. One night we had to save our camp from a bunch a deranged hippos. They're known as the firemen of the bushveld, since they rampage camps at night to stomp out bonfires. The trick is to get the fire out before they get to the camp. We were right on the edge of the water...!

We spend our time exploring the swamps and fishing in a little boat. I of course just had to swim the the river to be able to say "Been there done that!" despite seeing the biggest crocodiles I'd ever seen while there. We chose a lagoon one day and romped in the dark waters. The next day we saw a family of crocodiles at the very spot we had been swimming the day before.

I was born in Zimbabwe, but we moved to South Africa when I was very little. It is a beautiful land, filled with opportunity for adventure. I go there about once every two years with my parents. This is the Victoria falls to the left, a pic taken several years ago when it was full. There has been poor rainfall up North at the source of the Zambezi River which feeds the Vic falls, so the falls are now very empty (see pic to right). When the falls are full, the spray creates a huge cloud, resulting in a rainforest where it rains non-stop. I have a dream to go absailing and rock-climbing on the rock face of the falls as they are now. Something else I'd like to do soon in Zambabwe is go on a 5 day canoe trip along the Zambezi river. It is very beautiful and there is a lot of wildlife to be seen along the banks of the river, not to mention in the water.

Another great attaction in Zimbabwe is Kariba Dam, which is (I think) the second largest manmade lake in the world. It takes an overnight trip on a ferry to get from one side of it to the other, length ways. When I did this trip, a storm broke out with waves so high that it was as though we were in a storm at sea.

During the day, however, it is fabulous to take a boat out, exploring wildlife like hippos, antelope and elephants on the banks, not to mention going Tiger fishing. Tiger fish look a lot like piranhas (they also have huge teeth) and catching one is quite a feat, as they fight like demons... loads of fun. The trees you see protruding (pic to the left) are in fact in the middle of the lake, though it is deep there. These are huge trees still left from when the dam was made.

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