Meredith Was Where?

May you Enjoy the Celebration of the Holidays   Best Wishes ​for 2021 As 2020 comes to a close.. As this year of dreadful loss comes to a close, I realize I have thought frequently about the bongo drum.      I would like to share it with you, in this season where we appreciate the love around us and hope for better for those suffering and alone. The Beauty of the Bongo Drum. Just outside the quiet, dusty Orpen gate, on the western edge of Kruger National Park in South Africa, there is a lean-to of a shop carrying handmade goods from local craftsmen. Hanging from the ceiling on one end and along the front were an array of drums and other percussion instruments of all types and sizes. They were handmade with leathers, rawhide pieces, bone and animal skins. The big bongo drums came in a vast array of tans and black, sands, browns, reds, and every imaginable shade of earth and animal tone in between. Pieces of animal skins were woven together with long cords of rawhide and strings of leather, pulled over a bone frame. They were so beautiful, so precisely made, it was hard to choose a favorite.  Even as I meandered amongst them, trying to talk myself out of it, trying to convince myself of the sheer inconvenience of carting a large bongo drum around Africa for the next 3 weeks, I knew I wanted one. I told myself security might not let me take it on a flight, and I certainly couldn’t check it. Then I thought perhaps I’d see a similar one somewhere along the way, but we’d traveled quite far already and had not seen these before. Or maybe I should just get it “next time.”  Lara laughed good-naturedly, and encouragingly, as she knew we were leaving there with a bongo drum. Everywhere we went, the drum stirred a response. Going thru airport security with the drum became predictable. A tall stern security gentleman would pick the drum up off the conveyer belt before it went thru the scanner. He would look it with furrowed brow, over and over, turning it around and upside down, shaking it to ensure it was empty. Then finally, each time—the stern face would break into a huge, slightly embarrassed, delighted smile as a beat or 8 on the drum could not be resisted. I will never forget the beauty of those smiles.   Then there were the flight attendants who took great pains to find a safe space for our souvenir, as it refused to fit in all but the biggest overhead. It usually ended up at the front of the plane, passed from person to person, nary a one who could resist a beat or so on the drum and the laughter it brought. Everywhere we went, the bongo drum brought an unanticipated moment of joy and an opportunity to connect. My bongo drum brings back the wonderful memories of that trip; the grins of the people who probably thought we were nuts; the smiles of the Africans who appreciated that we loved something enough to go to all the trouble to lug it a long way home. And especially now, in this year, the beauty of the bongo drum is as a constant reminder to take a moment to do that thing, whatever that thing is, to take that moment, because you may never pass that way again. ​​​​ In memory of my parents Margaret Lee “Baboo” Ayling and Robert Ian Ayling and our beloved cousin Mark William Kerr, fellow adventurers who left us this year and with love and gratitude to the friends who got me through.

Just the name, Malta, inspires feelings of intrigue. Even if you are not versed in the depth and totality of its multi-millennium, multi-cultural history, you know it’s something special, mysterious and unique. For thousands of years, its position at the crossroads of the world, half way between Gibralter and the Suez, half way between Sicily and north Africa, made it an integral part in the always changing world. It changed hands, was conquered, and passed from empire to empire, never losing its importance or its strict Catholicism, due to the Apostle Paul being shipwrecked on the island about 34AD. For two periods, for hundreds of years, Islam ruled. The only strong remaining vestige of that time is the language and alphabet. Maltese and English are each spoken by 98% of the population.

This tiny island nation belonged to Britain for two hundred years, and was the first granted independence by Britain in the early 20th century. It served Allied forces well as a British Naval base, though much of the island was destroyed by German bombing. It was rebuilt, post-war, with the loving oversight of Queen Elizabeth, who happily spent early months of her marriage there and considers it the only place she has ever called home outside of England.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The weather is temperate, the sights absolutely beautiful, and the several “cities” on the island are perfect for exploring when not sailing or fishing. Neighboring Gozo is great for a day as well. The digs range from high end to very reasonable, and a December visit was perfect for us, and completely without crowds. Public transportation, ferry’s, great art and music and a quick and easy flight from any European city make Malta the perfect short add-on! It is sooooo simply charming and beautiful!!!!

ANGKOR Wat….Is magical. It is completely different from the ruins and places of worship in Peru, yet gives one that same feeling of wonder. Strolling through the lovely trees down the path toward the front of ta Prohm, one is completely content, at peace, in what could be any century. The temples, the vastness and perfection of even the ruins, is overwhelming. It is incredible that Angkor Wat was built in a mere, but the spiritually significant number, of 37 years.

In town, Siem Reap, there is a plethora of wonderful places to stay, both small and charming within walking distance to the tourist part of town and $3 espresso martinis and $6/hr foot massages, and large, lovely tourist hotels with wonderful amenities!!! Angkor Wat is done by many tourists in a day….but not really. Take 3 and a tuk tuk. You won’t be sorry!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

An hour south of Atlanta, in the beautiful rolling hills near Warm Springs GA, sits the tiny town of Molena, and Wild Daisy Farm Bed & Breakfast and Café. Teddy and Jenny Meeks run the farm, the café, and the amazingly renovated bed and breakfast. The amazing renovation of an old tenant shack, which is now their 600 square foot home, garnered them Pike County Preservation Society’s annual award! Stop by anytime, or better yet, check in for a wonderful stay. WildDaisyFarm109@gmail.com

 

So, the problem with bucket list adventures is, every once in awhile, the thing becomes not once-in-a-lifetime, but a passion that one must do again and again!  So it is with whitewater rafting and Lara….and maybe me too.  Whitewater rafting the Zambezi was frightening, fun, frightening, wild fun, FUN !!!   As soon as the guides pick you up, you know it is no joke…they are taking you for serious business.  Briefing after briefing, you get the point.  Their livelihood depends on seeing that nothing happens to you in what is essentially, quite a dangerous activity and venue.   The hike DOWN the gorge to the Zambezi is quite a hike.  Two of the four of us fell…hard.   It is not reassuring to hear one of the guides say, “yes, it’s sad when someone’s rafting trip ends before they get to the water.”

And then after many briefings and lessons and instructions and practices, there was the rafting trip itself.  WOW.  So it is supposed to be the best white water rafting in the world.  It was great fun, and challenging, and pristine.  Simply beautiful scenery that there is no other way to see than by river raft.  And yes, Lara and I are planning a 5 night to do the whole raft-able portion of the river….that has to be done between August and mid-November.  So what we won’t talk about is the hike OUT of the gorge.  Obviously, I am writing this, so I made it.  When Lara joked about throwing herself down rather than continuing the climb (and I do mean sometimes hands and knees climb) up, without a blink the guide responded, “helicopters are expensive.”  The guides were impressive.  They are trained on the river of course, but they also are trained in emergency medicine, and our guide in training, a recent hire, spoke 7 languages.  They simply exude competence and make you feel safe every minute.

We returned home exhausted, bruised and so, so HAPPY.   Lara took a 3 hour nap and I sat on the river lawn with a glass of wine, a book, and 40 of my monkey friends, listening to the singers heralding the arrival and departure of each river boat.

We departed Johannesburg for Victoria Falls on the 15th, after a beautiful drive down from Kruger and a great stay at the Premier Hotel.  A nationwide high school football (soccer) tournament was being held in Jo-berg and the hotel was filled with high school boys and their coaches.  Of note has been how wonderfully friendly the people are here…and as Lara and I have both noted, they are beautiful as well.  So this group of lively, friendly boys and their coaches filled the air of this big hotel with their excitement and optimism.  It was great to see.

We hit Zimbabwe running, and ventured to Victoria Falls immediately after our arrival.  It is simply stunning and goes on forever.  It is hard to imagine being the first person to unknowingly come across this amazing wonder.  One can only hope it was not from up river, in a boat!!!   There is not much more that can be said about it….AMAZING.  The Victoria Falls entrance is just a 5 minute walk from the center of town and the entrance area has a lovely cafe and small information center.  The information area is  small, yet has a ton of really interesting historical and geographical information that really adds to the visit.  “Livingstone, I presume?” was not uttered here, but on the banks of Lake Tanganyika, to the very same enduring Scottish explorer who “discovered” Victoria Falls and was the first European to map much of Africa.

 

After our visit to the falls, we explored our A’zambezi River Hotel.  It was really a piece of heaven right on the Zambezi River.  The river boats came and went from where we sat on the beautiful lawn and the sun set seemingly into the amazing river.  The restaurant was outdoors, under a giant tiki hut with a roaring fire pit off to the side.  The food was good and we were entertained by native dancers and scores of little monkeys and baboons, most with new babies, clinging for dear life to their mommas.  They are the most fascinating creatures to watch, so nearly human, and so scrawny and adorable.  It is amazing to watch their arms and hands, so like ours, work a million miles an hour at some task, their faces darting around and searching each others, then looking directly at you, and then darting on to something new.  Very cute till you realize that adorable little monkey is taking things out of YOUR purse!!!!!  And GONE!!!!!  in a millionth of a second!  This lawn here is probably the most peaceful, placid, beautiful place I can remember.  The tranquility is only interrupted by the African singers greeting the incoming boats, and those sounds seem so a part of the landscape, just a gentle reminder that there are humans here, in this paradise.

11 January. Our first day in Kruger National Park, South Africa’s great game park, started with an am game drive. The driver picked us up at 5 am and we proceeded with another couple from another lodge to a private game reserve that is adjacent to Kruger. We joined another couple there and climbed into the open viewing vehicle. Being familiar with safari in Kenya, the thing we were not expecting was to be COLD! We bundled up with blankets and coffee and hit the park in search of … The folks on the drive remarked that on their evening game drive the night before, their lodge had sent them off with vodka & tonic fixings as well as tea time acoutrements. The lodges here are amazing and famous for their over-the-top hospitality. Almost immediately, we saw wildabeast, huge herds of water buffalo, and fairly quickly, a lion pair. Impala, kudu and a plethora of small deer-like creatures abound…simply millions of them everywhere. Your head never stops spinning, searching, for the elusive carnivors. After seeing the two young lions first thing, we didn’t see any more this am. We were back at the lodge by 10 for a wonderful breakfast, a few hands of Canasta, then we packed up and headed for Kruger National Park proper! We entered Orpen Gate, on the western side of the park. We were immediately overwhelmed by the wildlife everywhere around us. We saw herds of every type of hooved animal imaginable, tons of adorably ornery, impossible to domesticate zebra, groupings of the ever elegant, magnificently lanky giraffe, so many elephants of all shapes and sizes, birds of unimaginable colors, and monkeys with an ilk for exhibitionism 😊. We stopped at Skukuza Lodge to poke around and check out South Africa’s version of a national park campsite. Both Skukuza and Lower Sabie were amazing and I can’t wait to stay there next time. We ended up flying down gravel roads, running a bit late to make sure we made it out of the Melalane Gate by 6:30 pm when the park closes for day visitors. So every animal known to man was on their way to cocktail hour as well. We drove through herds of everything, hundreds of zebra and giraffe on the move, never ending trains of elephants crossing the road, and agitated baby elephants separated from mom! We made it out Melalane Gate at 6:30 on the nose and within minutes were settled at our charming home for the next three days: Hsusha Hsusha.
It is hard to believe that you could spend days driving around in the dust at 20 km an hour, searching for leopard, lion, cheetah, rhino, hippo, elephant, buffalo, baboons, etc., and never get tired of it. The days just fly by, the landscape everchanging and beautiful. During breakfast our first morning, one of the guests was giving us advice on getting “sightings” and laughingly said that there would come a time when you thought, “oh, just another freaking elephant.” It’s true. There are millions! But I never tire of seeing them, especially watching them gently steer their babies around with their long trunks. I am not a bird watcher, but the huge variety of stunning birds is incredible. Lara and I had a couple of favorite spots for hippo sightings. There are two restaurants across the river, the Crocodile River, that serves as the southern border of Kruger. From both The Deck Restaurant and from the deck of the Pestana Kruger Lodge, hippo sightings are a sure thing. We had been watching a couple of hippos from the deck, when one of them let out a HUGE snort, and in unison, about 10 huge hippos stood up out of the water! They are an amazing sight! There were lots of leopard sightings while we were there, but we missed them. They are pretty elusive, except for the one that was siting by a road sign. Very “right time, right place” dependent here. Our time at Kruger was too short. Had an amazing meal at Lower Sabie lodge, where you sit on the river and watch the animal kingdom stroll by. One lovely evening with friends, we ate at The Deck Restaurant and were entertained by 2 dozen elephants playing in the river.
Kruger is a wonderfully run park. They artfully balance people’s enjoyment and the delivery of an amazing experience, while maintaining the very serious undercurrent that this is a big and important project: To display and thereby protect the wildlife that is the South African national heritage. One feels honored to be part of the project. On another note, the nearby towns of White River and Nelspruit are beautiful, beautiful cities. White River is a very charming old world city, which wears its Dutch origins on its sleeve. The food and wine have been extremely good and also very, very reasonable.