Bwanji!
16 June 2007
Pictures
Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that if you want to see the pictures I took, just go to this Picasa site. They didn't get posted in the order that I wanted them to so they are a little jumbled. More will be coming up soon and probably some videos as well.
Zikomo,
Allan
11 June 2007
"Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity, Jig."
Wow.
Back...
These last couple of days back in Marquette has given me a time to re-cap on this amazing adventure that 13 students and 2 professors took to Zambia and called it a class. I don't think that I will ever take a trip quite like this ever again. The people in our group that I traveled with each brought something unique to the table that made the trip that much more interesting and better. I must say that the diversity of animals, plant life, and bugs and birds is quiet extraordinary. This trip so far has helped me become a better researcher in the field and open up my eyes to a new style that we like to call "Africa Time". Over all this trip has been a complete success and I can't wait till the Zamposium to see everyone again and share what we learned. Thank you to everyone you have made this trip better then expected.
Out of Africa
I'd like to thank everyone who helped not only me, but all the Zambassadors, in our travel to Zambia, and everyone who has been reading this blog and showing interest in our journey.
So until we can meet in Zambia again, Zikomo!
09 June 2007
Hey everyone,
Although its good to be home I am already missing Zambia, I had an amazing time expecially at Flatdogs camp which is where I found the most reptiles including the one and only snake I saw on the trip, a Black-necked Spitting Cobra. This was the same one that almost made Chanda run for his life from the land cruiser.
I have decided to change my study from snakes to include reptiles in general, the other two very common reptiles that I saw every where were skinks and geckos.
This is a Striped skink from South Luwanga.
And the most common day gecko was the Cape Dwarf Gecko.
Well thats all I've got for for now.
-Darren
Jessica and Katie here. On Thursday we made it safely to Rickmansworth where we are staying. The next day we slept in and moved slowly to get ready. We went shopping for some regular clothes so that we didn't have to wear our safari gear while visiting this trendy city. We were recommended to shop at Primark for its cheap prices. The clothes are bright and funky at 6 to 8 pounds. Amazing! We both found things, and Katie shopped as she usually does. Today we went to a neat market called Portobello Market where they had everything you can imagine for sale and it went on for a couple miles. We found some good food, jewelry, and interesting clothes. This evening we'll probably go back out into the town. Plans for tomorrow include going on the Darwin Tour at the British Museum of Natural History. Kew Gardens is also on the agenda, as well as getting up in the wee hours of the morning probably on Monday to get cheap Wicked tickets. We miss all the other Zambassadors very much and hope you all are having a great time back at home with family and friends!
-Jess and Katie
Back in Marquette!
The rest of us stayed at a hotel near Gatwick in London, fairly weary of flying. The change from the dusty aridity of Zambia to the muggy cloudscape of London was somewhat startling, but we were a bit too glossy-eyed to notice it much.
And then yesterday we got loaded onto our Northwest flight back to the states (I think we all agree that British Airways is luxuriant in comparison!), navigated immigration and customs in Detroit and actually made it back to KI Sawyer airport in Marquette - not a bag was lost, not a student arrested - success in my book.
Now we recouperate, readjust to lush green-leafed forests and blue-water lakes, start to prepare our data analyses and plan our "Zamposium" slated for early Fall semester of this year.
Thanks to all who made comments on these posts - the students (and I) loved reading them. It was a nice way to stay connected.
Cheers
Leaving too soon!
We made it back to
This being the case, the Zambassadors decided to all pitch in and pay for their meals and safaris. So Chanda and Kelvin (pictured in the safari vehicle with their guide, scout and Darren and Jake) got to see their first live lions, elephants up close, zebras feeding and all kinds of other animals that they too had only ever heard of. One of the more interesting things to occur was that the vehicle with Chanda and Kelvin also came upon a cobra out in the bush which was clearly terrifying for Kelvin and Chanda. We asked them later about it, and they distinctly believe that snakes can bite them because they are black, but snakes could not bite us because we were white. This belief seems to be quite pervasive – very interesting.
Zikomo kwambiri,
02 June 2007
Life at Flatdogs...
Having fun in the sun!!!!
Hello Morgan, See you all back home!!!!
South Luangwa
Hello to all back in the states:
Wells TWP. School:
Jess and I got to ride on the same safari trip and saw all sorts of animals. There was a pride of lions laying in the sun, we think some were pregnant. There were a lot of impala and puku. There are lots of pretty birds here. There are bee-eaters, lilac breasted rollers, and love birds.
That night we went out on safari again and we saw a Leopard, a whole lot of Cape Buffalo, an elephant shrew, and a genet.
We are both having an amazing time in the bush!
Miss you all lots.
Be good, and study hard.
Annie and Jessica
Hippos, lions and flatdogs
Enough about the mishaps. Since leaving Livingstone and Victoria Falls, we have traveled back to Lusaka, up to Kasanka, back to Lusaka and then up to South Luangwa National Park, where we now reside in camp. Here is a brief account of those experiences – the students will undoubtedly add their thoughts with a bit less excessive verbiage.
While in Lusaka (both times) we stayed at Eureka campground – which is about 10km outside the city proper. A great location close enough to the city that we could drive in for supplies, yet be camped in a wildlife park that had giraffes, zebra, impala, bushbuck and many species of birds. People got their first looks at a bushbaby on a brief night walk into the bush and were able to return to their tents and head off to the ablutions for a shower (“ablutions” is a new term for some here).
We then drove 600km up the Great North Road toward Kasanka National Park, but on the way we took a small diversion to the palace of Chief Chitumbo. Dr. Bird and I went and talked to the chief, to request he guide us to the Livingstone monument located at the site where Livingstone died and his heart was buried (that's the students and the chief in the picture). We gave the chief some small gifts and then he came out and met all the students. He asked for a picture, which we took with him, then loaded him into our vehicles and headed off on the 25km trek through his chiefdom to the monument site. On the way, we asked him lots of questions about his people, his role as chief and the general state of affairs for his villages in modern Zambia. It was an eye-opening experience for all – he has 300,000 people in his chiefdom, he spends three months a year checking each village (traveling by bicycle on dirt roads with his entourage of bodyguards and advisors), he holds court every Friday (almost exclusively to try and to punish people accused of witchcraft) and he has traveled to England to see Livingstone’s gravesite in Westminster Abbey (same as we did!).
After that we set up camp in Kasanka and took some nice driving safari’s of the park. This park is much more remote and undeveloped, so we had the run of the campsite for the most part. Although in a rugged setting, there were local Bemba men hired to look after us – starting fires for us in the morning, gathering wood, boiling large amounts of water for us to use in a makeshift reed-walled shower. The ungulate, bird and insect life was well accounted by students on their studies, and we left with good feelings of success.
On the way to South Luangwa, we ended up staying one night in Lusaka (Eureka campground again) and then one night on the road in Chipata at Mama Rula’s campground. The bus ride was hot and the road (the Great East Road) was really rough and it was clear that despite everyone’s best intentions, the levels of gumption were running a bit low. As if this were not enough, the final 120km from Chipata to S. Luangwa is a rough dirt thing, full of rocks, ruts, washouts and lots of dust. It took us four hours to ride that road, but at the end was Flatdogs!
And so here we now reside, in Flatdogs Camp (link at the right) which sits right on the banks of the Luangwa. As we stepped off the bus, vervet monkeys scattered into the trees and hippos gave their deep rumbles from the river. The cool shade of the mahogany trees was welcome respite for setting up tents, and within minutes people had their swimsuits on and were cooling off in their (chlorinated!) pool. By the evening, everyone was adjusting to the pleasant change of environs, sitting along the Flatdog’s bank, watching the full moon rise while hippos, elephants, impala, baboons and puku began heading down to the river in the dark. Everyone agreed it was a perfect place to settle in for the next four days.
After a few hours off in the afternoon for swims and naps, last night closed with a night safari into the park, where we saw many of the same suspects as earlier in the day. But we also got to see a leopard (fairly rare to see - shown at left in a blurry night photo) on a stalk for some puku and some geese (the stalk was unsuccessful). Perhaps even more dramatic were the two male lions we happened upon on the drive out! Each male (one is pictured at left licking himself) was on either side of the dirt road, and as we sat and spotlighted the guys, they began to exchange 30 seconds of dramatic roars! It was phenomenal, and many of us caught the whole exchange on video. The night lighting pictures don’t look so great, but in person the whole thing was truly dramatic and remarkable.
We finished with a nice dinner at the restaurant (a welcome change from days and days of beans and rice, peppered with peanut butter and jelly) and turned in for the night. Oh, there were some other remarkable finds in the night by our bug crew who set up a black-light – a giant cricket (shown at right - the largest in the world, whose chirps can be heard up to 1.5km away!) and a giant assassin bug (the red-spotted bugger whose bite can deliver a painful wallop that lasts for days).
Today is a day without safari and students are busily observing bee-eaters, geckos, monkey behavior, etc. for the final bits of data collection on this trip. We have another day of safari tomorrow and then we begin odyssey of a trip home - the drive back to Lusaka (ouch) and the flights to London and Marquette. Hard to believe it is nearly over, and I am not sure any of us are ready for it to end just yet.
Cheers
I'm Still Alive!!!!
kala
Amazing.
I changed my study from studying hyraxes to looking at tsetse flies to see if they contain the trypanosomes that cause African sleeping sickness. This will take many hours in the lab at home. (but I am excited)
Bwino Bwanji!
Well, finally getting internet service we can post on the blog again.
The past week has been amazing; especially the time in South Luangwa thus far. Last night, on a safari, we saw a leopard, tons of game, and were caught in the middle of two male lions in a roaring match. It was pretty amazing.
Jessica and I are also finding tons of cool insects. Giant crickets (supposedly the biggest in the world), giant assassin bugs (with a bite that lasts for days according to the text), and tons of beautiful smaller insects. The coolest things are the giant versions of insects we're familiar with.
Flatdogs (the camp at South Luangwa) is a great place. There's hippos and elephants in our camp every night, and we can watch them cross the river from the National Park at dusk.
I realize this doesn't sound too amazing, seeing as we've been in Africa for 2 weeks now, but it's just a tidbit to start your imaginations. There will be plenty of stories when we get back home. Until then, I'll have to say Zikomo!
01 June 2007
South Luangwa!
Jess
24 May 2007
To Wells Township School:
Arrived at about 11:00.
I helped Anne Scott observe grooming behavior in a troop of Erythrocebus patas.
We also saw many Papio cynocephalus.
We met back at the bus to leave at around 16:00
Yesterday I bought 6 items at the curio shop for 100,000 kwacha.
Tomorrow we travel back to the Capitol of Zambia.
If you aren't sure of any of this info, I suggest you look it up ;D
Be good and study hard!
Annie (and Jessica)
Adventures in Africa
As for today, I was able to begin my research project related to the grooming habits of vervet monkey. Along with the help of Annie Bruce, I gathered some valuable information about the vervets that live near the Zambezi River in Livingstone. I look forward to collecting more information in South Luangwa, where the vervets are supposedly plentiful.
I can't wait to see what else Zambia has in store for the Zambassadors!
Victoria Falls & Research Projects
When looking for scat we also encountered a cobra, which I will not lie got the heart racing but I was able to get close enough to take pictures.
The sites are just amazing here and this have been such a great experience, I even ate a caterpillar at dinner it kind of tasted like a fried mushroom. Until next time with more interesting stories.
ZAMBIA!
Well we're in Zambia! It's quite an experience, traveling and such with 15 people, but it's been fun. London was excellent, although expensive. Saw some great sites at the museums, and had some fun at the pubs.
But zambia, now this has been awesome. The whole experience has been mind blowing, and although I had quite a bit of culture shock for about 24 hours, it wore off and now I'm having a blast with the locals. The markets/curious shops are interesting. The merchants at Victoria falls are extremely intense and will not back down. But I've learned some tricks for getting around with merchants, and have found some cool souvenirs.
Today it was hot, hot, hot. But still fun. We all started some projects at the falls, and although personally I didn't find to many insects, many of my peers got a great start. I found a few species of tree crickets, a few interesting beetles, one cool scorpion and a few other interesting specimens. We found a caterpillar that looks exactly a piece of Lichen! The forests are full of life, and it's incredible to see what we find.
Well, soon I may be able to post some pictures of the bugs we've been finding, but until then, I'll say pitani bwino, and zikomo!
Victoria Falls, cont.
Also today we encountered a cobra. He was wary of us, but he didn't look inclined to attack, and posed for us to snap some great photos. I'm sure we'll upload them when we have more time, but right now it's dinner time!
Victoria Falls National Park
Yesterday was an adventure down to Mosi-Oa-Tunya (the local
Cheers