Chasing the Monkeys

Arriving at the cottage at the Magalies River in North West Province in the latter half of last month was quite a shock to me, and I think to Piccolo as well. We both had so many memories of little old Skippie. Her ‘smells’ and presence were still with us and I felt it very strongly. Piccolo seemed at a total loss and I thought, almost in a depression. She slept the whole day and didn’t seem interested in anything.  I didn’t know what to do with my doggie or how to entertain her, as suddenly there were no long beaches on which we could walk, or run.

But, then something magic happened: the vervet monkeys came to visit in the trees around the house and Piccolo started chasing them; from there onwards she had a ball! It took a few days and then this was the game of choice…chasing the monkeys.

Piccolo on the deck, looking for the monkeys in the trees

Poor old Piccolo is half blind and deaf and half the time she misses spotting the monkeys when they are right above her, but she loves the game and somehow I think the monkeys understand that she is harmless. They started playing with her in the sense of hanging low from the branches and troops would tease her for hours on end. But they are free and live the life of nomads. They go where there is food and fortunately at this time of the year the white stinkwood trees around the cottage have many juicy berries that they love, but they have a routine of moving through the area in the day.  

Monkey in the tree, watching us

 This poses a problem as Piccolo waits impatiently for them to return…sometimes the whole day. She would come to call me with a pleading look in her eyes, as if to say, “Find the monkeys for me” and that was how the game started…

Monkey sitting at the bird feeding tray, eating pieces of apple

I would run out of the house, look up at the trees and clap my hands, calling “Monkeys, monkeys where are you. Piccolo wants to play!” Whether she ever hears me I don’t know, but she soon got into the habit of looking up and when the leaves on the trees move, she believes there are monkeys. Many times there are and she can of course smell them as well. It has become such a game that I think they come to look for her in the day and they tease her. We even found lately that some days they sleep in the trees above the roof, because early morning they would wake us by dropping down onto the roof, making quite a racket. Of course, that means that Piccolo starts ‘chasing’ monkeys from 6 o’clock in the morning. She no longer sleeps in the day.

Sleeping by the fireplace at the lapa after a heavy day of chasing monkeys

But on the odd day they haven’t come and I eventually did the unspeakable and started to put out little bits of fruit for them (I know Garry is going to have a problem when we leave) but I believe it is unavoidable as, ‘anything for my Piccolo.’

We have watched her with delight, but some days we are concerned about her as she doesn’t stop running the whole day and in between finding the monkeys she sometimes chases one of the Emus that belong to the neighbor, but for some reason they like to come to our field of grass. The Emu has a mate, but it was born with deformed legs and can’t really run. I am proud of my Piccolo as she never chases the weak one, but in return I also believe that the monkeys are kind to her as they must surely sense that she is an old girl (17 years). In her younger days chasing birds were a no-no, but she is no match for the Emu and it keeps her busy. What makes me happy is that she is content. The only problem is that I have taken the place of Skippie and have become her companion as some days it is all I do the whole day, namely calling the monkeys; I have lately even started to play my own game with them.  About that you can make up your own mind.

Piccolo, in her younger years, at the river

Soon however, our time will be up here, and once again we will walk the beaches of Cape Town, but before then she surely needs a bath as at the moment she is what we call, ‘a mucky pup,’ albeit a happy one.

A Tribute to Skippie: Exuberant till the end

Can one love a pet so much that your heart wants to break when they die? Oh yes, you can and I am going through that now. Darling little Skippie was diagnosed in December with Aggressive Haemangiosarcoma, a form of skin cancer; within three months she had become a shadow of her former self, but her inner core never changed. On Monday, 7 March 2016 we said goodbye!

When she was still healthy.

She was exuberant - a 'noisy' little being. When she drank water she did so with relish; she gulped her food down noisily; she snored so loudly that it often left us giggling as no one could sleep through it, and most precious of all, when I fetched Garry from the airport she would howl at the top of her voice when she spotted him, still some distance away. Life was one big joy to her. Her tail never stopped wagging, her eyes stayed relatively clear. She never lost her lust for life, although she became quieter the last while. She was a fine example of someone who embraced life and with her noisy character I branded her a 'screamer'.

What a treat!

Never will I forget how excited she became when her leopard skin basket was put in the car and she ran to get in too, although the last years it was more of a hobble on her arthritic foot. Both she and Piccolo loved to visit friends, the beach, shops or anywhere we wanted to go.  All the more was her exuberance when I would tell her who we were going to see. For instance when we visited the Olssons , I would explain to her and stretch out the words Jordi, Damita, Jimmy and Missy and her 'screams' pierced through the car and probably the neighbourhood, especially when we took the last corner to their house. So great was her excitement when we arrived that she would scramble out of the car and bark for the front door to be opened; a doorbell therefore totally unnecessary.  I remember the times while driving, that she would scratch me on the shoulder. I could never work out whether she wanted a hug (which she would get) or if it was instigation on Piccolo’s part of insisting to know where we were going (which I would then explain in great detail). Regardless of which of the two it was, it  always seemed to satisfy her, but we all understood that she was the officially, designated 'communicator'.

Skippie loved to canoe. She is wearing her Doggy Life Saver Jacket. 

I will miss my doggy of fifteen years, who was such a big part of my life; Garry will miss her, as whom would he scratch now? She loved her daddy for those chest, tummy and head scratches and both of them could never seem to get enough.

Daddy is taking a break from scratching Skippie, but she is waiting...

I shudder to think how Piccolo will cope in future. Skippie became Piccolo's ears when the latter’s hearing went, only for Skippie to lose hers lately. Yet, I communicated with them, and they with each other, and everyone understood.  She could bully old, gentle and frail Piccolo, as being 'first’ was always so important to the little plump one, but they were friends and had been together for all of those fifteen years.

Skippie in her leopard skin basket.

Skippie waiting for her mommy. To Garry's frustration she wouldn't go anywhere without me.

I will miss you, my little lump. You have taken a bigger chunk out of my heart than you could ever know. You were my little darling friend, whom I could hug and kiss until you lifted your lip to show me 'enough is enough'. We had been through miles of walking, rowing on the river in the canoe, just sitting on the beach, eating lovely treats together and playing with your squeaky chicken when you were still young enough to enjoy silly games. You were well travelled and should have qualified as a 'frequent flyer', you always received compliments about good behaviour in restaurants, and you went on holidays and stayed in B + Bs. You had the best and you deserved the best.

Skippie playing with Piccolo tug of war over the squeaky duck.

She loved her 'walks'. Skippie in her backpack when the arthritis in her legs prevented her from walking.

One of our favourite pastimes. Walking on the beach and then enjoying the view.

It has been a lifetime and I wish you a well deserved rest; I will never forget your warm little body as you cuddled up to me when your time came, yet you were so calm and I have absolute peace about that.

I believe you are with Jesus in Doggy Heaven. A place where there is no illness, disease, anxiety or fear. I imagine you in a beautiful, lush garden with ample shade, green grass, a mountain even more beautiful than Table Mountain and soft white sand; a soft (leopard skin) bed, abundant food (chicken and rice) and biltong snacks. I imagine you running around and playing without arthritis, no cancer spots erupting in a bloody mess and I imagine St Francis of Assisi as your loving minder.

Rest in Peace my precious one!

Skippie 7.3.16 R.I.P

‘Free kisses’

The rainbow is there for the picking

Traveling up-country from the Western Cape we noticed how dry and parched the land really is, with no water in most of the rivers. Just before we left Cape Town there was a call to the local community to donate water for Aliwal North in the Eastern Cape. We have since heard that similar calls have been made elsewhere in the country where people are also without drinking water. It is almost impossible to imagine a resource, although known to be scarce, to be totally unavailable!

Upon arrival at the cottage situated on the Magalies River we noticed how low the water level was, but that very same evening a well-known Highveld thunderstorm greeted us with heavy rains and massive hail stones. Later that evening a huge body of water came from upstream and washed the thickly packed hyacinth towards Hartbeespoort Dam. What a relief and no doubt early the next morning, those who were there, made the most of a clean river and descended onto the water – some canoeing and others just paddling about, but all having fun.

The river after the first rain

Since then, we have had heavy storms with rain almost every day and we are thankful for the rain. However, our electricity was knocked out one afternoon and although Eskom was still working on the lines late that night, the fault was only restored the next afternoon. At the time however, I decided to stay positive and make the best of the situation. The doggies and I went out on the canoe, a treat they thoroughly enjoy.

While peacefully rowing about I noticed how green everything was and that was in huge contrast to the brown muddy water that has been flowing in, obviously washing loads of topsoil from the farmlands in the vicinity. It was as though nature has come into its own again and the restoration had begun, as to me everything looked greener, the water level was slightly higher than the day before and the song of birds could be heard all around.

Suddenly so many birds that usually frequent this area are around. Here is the woodlands kingfisher. They obviously stayed away because of the drought.  

Stopping in the middle of the river and just floating about, feeling much at peace, I was trying to distinguish between the various greens…so many different shades in the trees, shrubs, grass, reeds and plants. I noticed a red bishop hopping from branch to branch in a tree on the water’s edge. The bright yellow of the southern masked weavers were remarkable as they were hard at work building their nests. A brown hooded kingfisher was sitting on a branch waiting for his prey, while a squacco heron was sitting on a rock basking in the sun and the white egrets took off in front of me. Looking up I noticed that although the sky was blue there were some loose clouds drifting about, which indicated more rain.  

I was sitting there marveling at the beauty of it all and wondered, while watching the rainbow of colours around me, what has happened to our rainbow nation. Lately, we have seen racism coming to the fore. It has probably always been there, buried just below the surface. We need healing in this country, but a weak and corrupt government only intent on enriching themselves and their respective families are contributing to the downfall of our nation. Instead of keeping to their election promises of uplifting  the poor, creating an enabling environment for job creation, they have allowed the economy to weaken to such an extent that the divide between rich and poor are even bigger than ever before. I believe that is the source of most of the frustration.

The ship is not only rudderless, but has holes in it and is sinking fast. However, does it help if we all complain and thereby contributing to the climate of discontent, hatred, and mudslinging? I believe not and that we should rather try to remain positive and see the good around us. We have a great country. We often hear of Europeans making it a life dream to come to Africa. In fact I am reading such a book once again. Yet, we are right here, but we don’t appreciate what Africa has to offer. I believe that self righteousness does not contribute to nation building. Everyone has something in his or her attitude, world view or outlook to change or fix. The Bible tells me to take the plank out of my own eye before I point out the speck in my brother’s eye; to me that means that I cannot always claim to be right or know better.  

If we start by having more compassion, accept the differences in each other and celebrate that which we have in common we may start noticing the colors of our rainbow nation once more and contribute to healing this beautiful land of ours. It may be something small, yet rather contribute to a beginning and not an end.  

Sunset at the cottage

The Cheetah - a most precious animal

It was a huge treat when our grandchildren, Damita and Jordi, came for a week-long visit during their school holidays at the river cottage. We were on the go all the time and we visited a number of places in the area, but one of the most special was the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Farm at De Wildt. 

The magnificent cheetah

It was certainly my first close interaction with cheetahs and we found the visit immensely enriching; I bought her book and read through her story in record time. What an unbelievably useful and purpose-driven life she has had! Through her passion and hard work she has built up the cheetah center and has saved the cheetah from imminent extinction. Many people shared her passion and offered time, money and/or resources to contribute to this worthwhile cause. She is one of those people who will always be remembered. Her argument has been that this graceful felid, the fastest mammal on earth, has evolved and survived on our planet for millions of years and reminds us to think back about who were the companions of emperors, maharajas and pharaohs, yet the species is now threatened.

We had a chance to learn more about the cheetah, wild dogs, honey badgers, vultures, caracals and even the Anatolian shepherd dog, which are all either bred or housed after injuries. We were fortunate to be allowed into a cheetah’s enclosure and could touch a King Cheetah after his handler calmed him down – what an experience!

Inside the King Cheetah's enclosure - touching him. No touching of the face or around the tail as it upsets him!

Ann and her late brother Godfrey were given the farm of their deceased parents and by chance landed with two cheetah cubs. This started a new era for them where they worked together with the Pretoria Zoo and entered into an agreement whereby they made part of their land available for a period of fifteen years for the breeding of cheetahs in captivity, something not tried before. At that stage the cheetah faced extinction and very little, if any, research and data were available. Through years of hard work, observation and trial and error they, together with many volunteers and donors, built up wonderful experience, knowledge and a data base of how to breed cheetahs in captivity. There were happy times and many sad ones – often caused by callous actions of some farmers who cruelly harmed them because of stock loss. After the Pretoria Zoo withdrew from the project, many others made it possible for her to continue with her dream.

What beautiful animals

At the end of her book Ann asks the question whether we can merely ignore the cheetah’s history and allow it to become a museum piece or a painting on the wall. According to her this present generation has to decide whether cheetahs, wild or captive-born, should survive or die. She reminds us that we are the custodians of the wild and each one of us should play a part in ensuring its future. This species has to adjust to living in the 21^st century and its survival will depend on its acceptance of a controlled environment and restricted habitat in a tourist-orientated land. She finally ends by saying the cheetahs of tomorrow will never be able to experience the complete freedom of their ancestors but will, at least, continue to grace the planet.

It boils down to, too many people and new developments that keep on encroaching on the available land for wild animals – at the end of the day, the choice is in our hands.

The King Cheetah in all his glory (it's not a new breed, but where both parents have the recessive gene)

The Bird of all Birds

One of the main aims of our recent trip to Zambia was to see the Shoebill. In fact this has been on hubby’s bucket list and little did I know to what extremes I will have to go, to finally get a glimpse of this magnificent bird…and believe me, magnificent it is.

The ferry at the border post where heavy trucks as well as our vehicle went on

Traveling through Botswana, we entered through the Kazungula border post and on the ferry into Zambia; through Livingstone, Lusaka, further north and then turning north-east towards Lake Bangweulu. Here we stayed in a tented camp.

Our tented camp at Bangweulu

Zambia was experiencing a serious drought at the time, although it happened to be their dry season, but during the rainy months this area may be inaccessible or at best can be reached only by boat. It is one of the world’s great wetlands, in total 15,000 square kilometers, fed by seventeen principle rivers and drained by the Luapula River.

Sunset at the camp

We were fortunate to see a Shoebill that was rescued from the Lusaka Zoo. He is believed to be still young and there are chances that he may be healed sufficiently to return to the wild. At present he is resident in close proximity to Carl, a South African student, who is doing his PhD on researching this magnificent bird. He is unable to find his own food and therefore dependent on humans for survival. We were told he struggles to distinguish between a shoebill and humans.

The magnificent shoebill

Quite a privilege to see the shoebill as there are only about 500 in the world

We were able to get quite close to him but were warned that his beak has the ability to do serious damage should we come too close.  There is only one word to describe him...magnificent. His eyes caught my attention as he looks at you with years of wisdom and many years of history behind him. He could be from a prehistoric age.

After his meal he was too lazy to get up. Not even for a camera shoot!

There are different opinions what species he relates to. Some say it is the stork whereas others say he may have a closer genetic relationship with the pelican. His height was about 1.4 meters which is huge for a bird.

Wattled storks. Take note in the rainy season this would all be under water.

The next day we set off on an excursion to find the nest of a baby shoebill. It is important to note that this species of birds is on the endangered list and there are only about 500 left in the world to be found mostly in northern Zambia, DRC and Uganda. They breed once a season, have two babies and the second baby seldom survives. We were surprised when told that it would take most of the day to get to the nest.

Black lechwe all around us.

We started our journey and saw wattled storks - so many. Our next treat was to witness a herd of black Lechwe. There were about 75,000 of them. Later that evening at sunset we saw great numbers running through the water pan, moving to higher ground in order to get away from the hyenas that are hunting them at night.

Black lechwe making their way back the next morning from the higher ground to get away from the hyenas

We eventually parked the vehicle and set off walking, through the seasonal wetland which happened to be dry because of the drought. We were handed Wellington boots which at the time didn't make sense but later after we had met up with some fisherman who are employed to look after the bird's nests - a task they take very seriously, we reached the swamp. We struggled through that for what seemed to be forever and as we approached the nest we were told to be quiet and finally we saw the baby shoebill. We couldn't get too close but it was indeed an unique experience. 

The shoebill nest for which I slogged miles through a wetland

A sunrise to die for! Only in Africa. 

The Smoke that Thunders

It has been said that the Smoke that Thunders can be seen for 30 km on land and for 40 km from the air. One can only imagine the reaction and astonishment of those who stumbled upon this amazing mass of water which sprays up into the air as it falls down below.

What a beautiful site greeted us!

Dr David Livingstone, Scottish missionary and explorer, was the first European who came across it in 1855 and named it Victoria Falls, in honor of the then British monarch, Queen Victoria.

The amazing Victoria Falls

I may step on some toes here, but the name which the indigenous people have called it for centuries, Mosi-oa-Tunya – The Smoke that Thunders – is much more apt and descriptive. It was my first trip to the Falls and although the country is presently experiencing serious drought, it is a wondrous site that meets the eye and the ‘smoke’ could be seen from far away.

Words can't describe it.

To complement this visit, we took a 15-minute helicopter ride over the Falls and later yet, a safari boat on the Zambezi river. Although going close to the Falls was out of bounds, our two guides, Prof and Kennedy, did an awesome job to show us around. We saw birds that we do not see in South Africa, was privy to a large crocodile and an elephant, which they assured us was on Zambian soil and was treated to a delicious ‘Out of Africa’ lunch on a small island. These two young men have a passion for nature and willingly shared their knowledge of the area with us.

A crocodile we passed in the little boat

Zambia certainly does not have a shortage of water. Although probably best known for the Victoria Falls, situated on the Zambezi River on the border with Zimbabwe, the country has six basins and river systems, namely the Zambezi Main, Kafue, Luangwa, Chambeshi and Luapula rivers respectively, as well as the Lake Tanganyika basin. Wetlands cover for instance more than 20% of Zambia’s total area and government is committed to conserving the wetlands as it acknowledges that it preserves natural water storage. Victoria Falls is by no means their only falls, but it is recognized as one of the Seven  Natural Wonders of the World.

Wikipedia states that although it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is the largest, based on its width of 1,708 m and its height of 108 m and is therefore classified as the world’s largest sheet of water. Zambia is the source of the Zambezi which is the 4^th largest river in Africa. It flows through Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe, before running into the Indian Ocean.

Livingstone, a typical tourist town, is situated in the southern province and a real gem to visit.

The Lord is my Shepherd Hardware

Driving through Zambia we smiled as we noticed the different shops, most with Christian names such as, "The Lord is my Shepherd Hardware," but that is not all that made us smile on our journey: Zambia is a relatively poor country that has gone through hardships the last years. Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Personal Purchasing Power (PPP) don't rank in the top half of the countries on the charts showing progress on the African continent. Yet, our spirits lifted as we proceeded with our journey, because we saw people literally picking themselves up by their bootstraps in order to survive, eat well and receive an education.

The Lord is my Shepherd Hardware Store

Zambia's economy is booming at this point in time, unlike our country's slow growth. Zambia is a peaceful country with contented people, unlike South Africa, where crime, labor unrest and service delivery issues highlight the news daily. Why is that?

We met friendly, courteous people. It was suggested that a huge contributing factor could be the country's homogeneous Christian nature, but in general these simple people have a respect and tolerance for their fellow human being, which we have not seen elsewhere. There was no aggression and race was not an issue.

It was my first trip to Zambia; Garry on the other hand had visited this country about fifteen years ago and could not believe the progress he was seeing. Our journey took us through Livingstone, Lusaka, to Kapiri Mposhi, after which we branched out towards the right of the country, up north to Lake Bangweulu. As far as we traveled we saw people at work - no one was loitering around. People were selling vegetables along the side of the road - beautiful, red tomatoes; cassava; sweet potatoes; onions and oranges.

Bags of charcoal everywhere

We noticed the honey project, and bought some of the wild, raw acacia-tasting honey. We noticed charcoal for sale, trucks transporting charcoal, young men cycling with two to three bags of charcoal on the back of their bicycles. These people are slim and trim; they appear healthy and laziness can definitely not be ascribed to the Zambians. Although automobiles are the mode of transport in the cities, in the rural areas is is bicycles. These get used to transport anything and everything. We even saw young men with pigs and chickens on their carriers. We saw people making their own bricks - either from cement or clay - and they build their own houses. There is no such thing as waiting for government to do it for you. As we traveled we noticed schools every few kilometers apart. Our observations were later confirmed by locals.

A friendly Zambian stopped cycling and posed for me

Boyd, the manager at Lake Bengweulu, was previously a teacher. He explained that it is government policy to have a primary school every six kilometers. However, if there are not sufficient numbers or interest in a school, government would contribute 75% of the cost once the residents commit to 25% - either in money or kind. 

Brighton, one of our guides, explained that he is from the local village and said that school up to grade 6 is compulsory, but because there is not always a high school in very village, students are selected on achievement to further their studies. He said that it means you work hard to earn the opportunity to receive a high school education, which entails a government-funded boarding school. He elaborated that he went through the school system and worked extremely hard as it is a privilege to go to high school in the rural areas. It is all based on hard work and commitment.

One thing we have noticed in the rural areas is that villages are spotless. Chris, the manager at Kasanka Trust clarified it by explaining that most of the rural areas are under tribal authority. However, the chiefs are usually adamant that villages be kept clean and they fine their subjects for littering. Chris told of some chiefs that he is aware of who insist on their subject building their own toilets as the environment should be preserved.  

Noticing all the bags of grain and even some charcoal being collected at the side of the national road, Boyd, who also participates in this scheme, explained that government makes seed available. They will then purchase the grain that a village has in excess of their own use. Incidentally, Zambia had a record 3.2-million ton crop in 2014 and Business Day of 23 March 2015 reported that Zambia planned to sell at least a third of its record maize crop to neighboring countries where drought and floods have destroyed its grain which served as staple food.  

Robert Guest, who wrote in the Shackled Continent (2005:p194) how the then Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa rejected American food aid during the famine in 2002, because the shipment of maize and soya that was sent was genetically modified and he refused to give his people 'poison.' Those of us who follow debates on healthy foods, will know about the controversy surrounding America's Monsanto, the world's largest suppliers of seed and the way they control the world through their genetically modified approach. Garry and I honor a president who holds the health of his nation as a priority, even in the time of drought.

Beautiful sunrises and sunsets

Our trip was regarded as highly successful, as I saw my son who works in Lusaka and Garry saw a Shoebill, an endangered bird species of which there are only about 500 in the world. The Zambians hold this endangered bird in high regards as extensive research is conducted to learn about its habitat and behavior. We saw bird species we haven't seen before and the Bengweulu is also home to the Lechwe (a buck species) of which 75 000 are living on the plains around this 15,000 square kilometer wetland. Poaching is not tolerated in Zambia and Brighton explained that they have a program where poachers serving jail time are educated about the value of the environment in an attempt to change their behavior and to get them to understand why they are being punished.  

Dinner in Lusaka

The beautiful Shoebill

 It is often said that Africa is a continent of bribery and corruption. That may be true, but then bribery is not only limited to Africa, but is found in many other parts of the world. Speedy services may become speedier with a monetary reward, but in general Zambia enforces its laws. We saw that with the police presence on the national roads - not to trap people or extract bribes, but to calm the traffic in an attempt to lower the accident rate, considering this country's position as the through road that links all parts of Africa. So much traffic...huge trucks...but it showed us that Africa is hard at work.  It was a worthwhile holiday, one without the stress of theft, being harassed by beggars or encountering violence as this kind of behavior is not commonly part of the Zambian nation. We trust and pray that all the development and progress in Zambia will not change the essence of this nation, and that money and greed will not become their god as we have seen elsewhere on our beloved continent.

Lechwe in abundance