Blog vacation...

Hello everyone!

I am back from my blog break...I needed a week to sort out boxes and boxes of stuff for a move, and felt I needed a mini vacation from blogging...but I'm back now :)

I am adding some more photos of our Zambian trip, just because I SO loved it !

On Saturday afternoon, the skies cleared and we were able to go canoeing on the Mighty Zambezi. This little phrase "The Mighty Zambezi", is used by all the local people, almost said reverently, with awe, so we all got used to calling it thus. We were very excited to see the river from a different perspective, and fortunately I didn't worry about taking my camera on the canoe as it was safely tucked into the underwater housing...



After a bus ride (during which we were stopped by a road block...quite an experience in Africa...), we arrived at the start point, only to find that the river was so full that the banks extended far past the usual areas and we had to wade through smaller rivers to get to the actual bank of the Zambezi. I was somewhat concerned about walking through water i couldn't see through, with gazillions of crocodiles about (one thing to note: we saw way more crocs during our trip, than any other animal, and we saw LOTS of animals...gets you thinking...), but it was ok.

As we were donning life vests, the friendly guide gave us some safety tips...firstly, if a hippo should surface under your canoe, and up-end it, we were to swim to the river bank and not try to get back in the canoe, as the hippo would most likely attack the canoe... :o

Secondly, we should try not to canoe near the river bank, as that's where the crocodiles liked to be... :O !!!!!!!! (so, what is a girl to do, I ask you....)

This indeed made me realise that Africa is not for the faint-hearted, and off we went...

The Mighty Zambezi was peaceful and majestic...it was a remarkable experience, and although I had some interesting moments in the canoe with my dare-devil daughter (who btw has decided to start her own blog, which you can find here (http://lifesonebigadventure.blogspot.com/) ), who thought a near-swim would be a lovely memory(!), I thoroughly enjoyed the ride :)

We saw hippo, LOADS of crocodiles, including a huge fellow, which I managed to get a pic of before he slipped under the water, see below. We also criss-rossed the river and passed a whole lot of islands in the middle of the Zambezi, where weavers had made countless little nests, hanging from the branches, swaying in the breeze...

The one thing I really love about living in Africa, are it's skies...these deep blue, vast expanses of sky and cloud...makes you feel the timelessness of Africa...the feeling that although time and life passes, nothing really changes...tomorrow the sun will rise again...

A large fellow, can you spot the bits of him?

Weaver nests...

Mr P, and the little adventurer...

This pic was taken towards the end of the canoe trip, and you can see that we are near the falls, as the vapour cloud is clearly visible.

En route back to the hotel, we were greeted by a beautiful herd of giraffe, wondering across the road, and not at all afraid...they ate some leaves, wondered off, looked back, and faded into the savannah...

A few kilometers further, and we turned into the hotel entrance. Who should we encounter? A male giraffe eating leaves...right next to the road. We opened the door of the transport bus, he looked at us curiously, ate some more, and eventually turned his back and elegantly walked off...amazing!

Behind him was mom and baby zebra...grazing...

We really had an awesome experience!

Dinner time, will you take a look at those skies! I LOVE them :)

This week I will be starting a tutorial on how to knit a pair of fingerless mittens...something simple, but quick and fun! They make great gifts and are really easy to knit...so stay tuned!

That's all folks...have a great evening!

Lots of Love,

Heidi :)