We won't see any bears on our trip but we'll certainly need some bear hugs along the way so I think we can probably take some lessons from these guys. My favourite has to be number 15, and the fact that I don't think all of these actually are hugging - I think some of these might be fighting. Sometime there's fear, real fear. We don't want that so we'll just keep thinking it's hugging.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/summeranne/17-of-the-warmest-sweetest-bear-hugs
Thank you buzz feed.
And at least Monday's almost over!
Monday, 30 April 2012
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Fun Fact Not-quite Friday: Check point 3 - Zambia
This is a little late but, as they say, better late than never. Besides I'd say we're probably going to have to get used to late arrivals having looked at the route and the number of hours we'll spend in the car...not including border crossings...
The third checkpoint is in lovely Zambia, formerly Northern Rodhesia, which has been independent since 1964. Although it was only 1991 which saw the end of one-party rule and 1996 and 2001 elections were riddled with all sorts of problems. 2006 saw Levy Mwanawasa re-elected (after challenges back in 2001) in elections that were deemed free and fair. Mwanawasa died in 2008 and was replaced by his vice-president. The current president is Michael Sata who was elected in 2011.
Big thing in Zambia is copper mining which was privatised in the 90s which saved the government from losses incurred from running the mines as well as improving their output which has meant real GDP growth in 2005-11 of more than 6% per year. Copper prices remain high keeping Zambia fairly safe but as they rely almost entirely on copper a slump in prices would be bad news. Unfortunately even with impressive GDP growth, the high birth rate, relatively high HIV/AIDS burden, and market distorting agricultural policies haven't decreased the high poverty rates.
Total Area: 752,618 sq km (that's slightly larger than Texas) - 39th in the world - made of 743,398 sq km land and water: 9,220 sq km.
Population: 14,309,466 (July 2012 est.) - 69th in the world
Birth rate: 43.51 births/1,000 population - 4th in the world
Life expectancy at birth: 52.57 years 207th in the world
Favourite line from the CIA world factbook about Zambia - contained in transnational issues, the illicit drugs section - "major consumer of cannabis"
And now, Five Fun Facts:
1) Zambia’s name comes from the Zambezi River. Zambezi is from a local word yambezhi “heart of all”
2) Livingstone, which is the 3rd checkpoint used to be the capital. No it's Lusaka.
3) Zambia and Zimbabwe share Victoria Falls which is one of the seven wonders of the world.
4) Not so fun - has been known to suffer from acid rain due to the extensive mining.
5) Transition to independence was peaceful - it was the 60s after all!
The third checkpoint is in lovely Zambia, formerly Northern Rodhesia, which has been independent since 1964. Although it was only 1991 which saw the end of one-party rule and 1996 and 2001 elections were riddled with all sorts of problems. 2006 saw Levy Mwanawasa re-elected (after challenges back in 2001) in elections that were deemed free and fair. Mwanawasa died in 2008 and was replaced by his vice-president. The current president is Michael Sata who was elected in 2011.
Big thing in Zambia is copper mining which was privatised in the 90s which saved the government from losses incurred from running the mines as well as improving their output which has meant real GDP growth in 2005-11 of more than 6% per year. Copper prices remain high keeping Zambia fairly safe but as they rely almost entirely on copper a slump in prices would be bad news. Unfortunately even with impressive GDP growth, the high birth rate, relatively high HIV/AIDS burden, and market distorting agricultural policies haven't decreased the high poverty rates.
Total Area: 752,618 sq km (that's slightly larger than Texas) - 39th in the world - made of 743,398 sq km land and water: 9,220 sq km.
Population: 14,309,466 (July 2012 est.) - 69th in the world
Birth rate: 43.51 births/1,000 population - 4th in the world
Life expectancy at birth: 52.57 years 207th in the world
Favourite line from the CIA world factbook about Zambia - contained in transnational issues, the illicit drugs section - "major consumer of cannabis"
And now, Five Fun Facts:
1) Zambia’s name comes from the Zambezi River. Zambezi is from a local word yambezhi “heart of all”
2) Livingstone, which is the 3rd checkpoint used to be the capital. No it's Lusaka.
3) Zambia and Zimbabwe share Victoria Falls which is one of the seven wonders of the world.
4) Not so fun - has been known to suffer from acid rain due to the extensive mining.
5) Transition to independence was peaceful - it was the 60s after all!
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Top Ten Tuesday - Namibia
So this weekend we had a big planning session and there was much excitement! In preparation for this skype conversation I'd done some research on Namibia and can't deny that I got really really excited about all the epic things to see - giant sand dunes, bones of ships and whales, giant canyons, meteorites, many many animals - but unfortunately it seems we won't get to see all these things...insert sad face....indeed Namibia is a pretty big place and we don't have that many days to see it so we've had to plot a route that includes some of these things, but not them all.
That doesn't mean I don't get to highlight some of the awesome things in Nam (be we going there or not!) as a store for future adventures.
1) Etosha National Park
Totally doing this as it's one of the Checkpoints - and we've scheduled in a day of driving through so we can see some of the awesomeness. Apparently this is one of the best places to see black rhinos and while it's not the size it was when first created (biggest game reserve in the world back in 1907 - those who've been reading the blog will already know that...) it's still pretty big with a 850 km boundary fence. Dominated by a salt pan desert I'm really looking forward to seeing this having never seen such a thing...I think.
2) Fish River Canyon
Given that we start in Johannesburg and our car is only a 1300 power little lady without four wheel drive we want to stick to the big roads as much as possible so we've decided to cut through Botswana in an effort to get to the Namibian checkpoint rather than looping up and around to Etosha. This does mean though that we'll miss Fish River Canyon which is a shame because it is the biggest canyon in Africa and the second biggest in the world! It's 550 metres deep in places and is 160 kms long and 27 kms wide in places. Interestingly 90kms of the canyon are privately owned so the public view points are near Hobas, camp site 70km north of Ai-Ais. I wish I owned part of the biggest canyon in Africa....
3) Skeleton Coast
Another one we'll have to skip (boo) and perhaps my top pick for Namibia (so we'll just have to go back!) is Skeleton Coast originally know as "The Land God Made in Anger" by Bushmen of the Namibian interior and "The Gates of Hell" by Portuguese sailors. How awesome does that sound! The cold Bengula current hits the coast causing really dense fog which, back when boats were a more regular form of transport and people didn't know better about this area, lead to many shipwrecks - the skeletal remains of more than a thousand of which still litter the coast. Whale and seal skeletons from when whaling was still active also cover the beach so basically it's just all about the bones! I have a macarbe sense of what is awesome.
4) Hoba meteorite
The way our route is currently planned we will get to see this which is going to be grand as it is FROM SPACE! It is the largest known meteorite (as a single piece) known on the earth. How cool is that?! Smart science people estimate that it fell less than 80 000 years ago and as it remains in tact it must have slowed to terminal velocity (I had to look this up but it means that the downward pull of gravity and the upward force of drag were equal leading to net force on the object as zero meaning it had an acceleration rate of zero and could therefore remain in tact...). It's flat on both major surfaces so it might have skipped along the top of the atmosphere like a skipping stone, effectively slowing down along the way. It's discovery was just by chance way back in the early 1900s when a farmer was tilling his land and hit this lump of rock and metal. Pretty cool!
5) Waterberg National Park
The Waterberg Plateau is largely inaccessbile and so in the early 1970s lots of endangered species were moved here to protect them from poachers and allow them to breed. It now supplies many other parks with these rare animals - which is pretty cool. It has over 200 different species of bird so it's a bird watchers paradise! Other than the wildlife interest geological this plateau is very interesting as the rock strata is over 850 million years old and dinosaur tracks were left there 200 million years ago!
6) Namib Desert
The Namib Desert covers a long stretch with the Skeleton Coast along the North and the extensive Namib Sea Sand along the central coast. The Sea Sand boasts the largest sand dunes in the world which would be really really cool to see! Due to erosion that happens in the Orange River Valley and further south lots of sand gets dumped into the Atlantic along this central coast and then is washed back up on shore thanks to the currents. The prevailing South West wind then picks this sand up into the massive dunes. Some well travelled sand basically.
7) Caprivi Strip
We definitely get to go through here which is cool. It's the little outcrop off the North East of Namibia named after Leo von Caprivi who succeeded Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor of Germany in March 1890. This section of Namibia is really interesting as it is wettest region of Namibia and very tropical with lots of rivers and swampy areas. Beyond being a lovely place to see it has had a fascinating (and somewhat chequered histroy). Initially it was known as Itenge and under the rule of the Lozi kings. Then in the late 19th century the strip of land was administered as part of the British protectorate of Bechuanaland (Botswana). Then in 1890 the Germans wanted British Zanzibar and the Berlin Conference settled that Zanzibar could be British and the Germans could have Caprivi - hence its name as Caprivi organised the annexing of it to Nambia (at the time German South-West Africa). During World War I, the Caprivi Strip again came under British rule and was governed as part of Bechuanaland but it received little attention and became known as a lawless frontier. It's not that anymore (thankfully) but it has a certain ring to it....
8) Popa Falls
We intend to stop at these. They aren't really falls, but a series of rapids in the Okavango River, caused by a rocky ledge. They are most impressive in the rainy season when they drop three metres but otherwise they are just rather pretty and apparently, the place we have in mind has a cage for river swimming. Yes indeed, river swimming in the Okavango. EPIC!
9) Kalahari Desert
The Kalahari stretches through Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. Its huge size means it has really arid parts and really rather more lush parts. The more lush parts, are the parts we've seen as they encompass the Karoo - apparently known as the Succulent Karoo which has 5,000 species of plants, nearly half of them endemic - in fact, one third of the world’s succulents are found in the Karoo.
10) Cities
We're going to miss the big three cities - Windhoek, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund - I suppose we should try and see these sometime but on this our African adventure we probably don't need to see another city. This being said - Swakopmund has an interesting museam and Walvis Bay has all sorts of adventure activity options and Windhoek is the main city, it must be interesting right? If I'm really honest though I'd say these are number 10 for a reason, probably a should-see even though I'm not that bothered that we're missing them. Apologies to everyone that lives in these cities!
As always the great wise wiki has given me much of this information. Blame him if it's wrong.
That doesn't mean I don't get to highlight some of the awesome things in Nam (be we going there or not!) as a store for future adventures.
1) Etosha National Park
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| Ariel view from Wiki - look at that salt pan! |
2) Fish River Canyon
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| Also from wiki. |
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| Lots more awesome pictures where this one came from. |
Another one we'll have to skip (boo) and perhaps my top pick for Namibia (so we'll just have to go back!) is Skeleton Coast originally know as "The Land God Made in Anger" by Bushmen of the Namibian interior and "The Gates of Hell" by Portuguese sailors. How awesome does that sound! The cold Bengula current hits the coast causing really dense fog which, back when boats were a more regular form of transport and people didn't know better about this area, lead to many shipwrecks - the skeletal remains of more than a thousand of which still litter the coast. Whale and seal skeletons from when whaling was still active also cover the beach so basically it's just all about the bones! I have a macarbe sense of what is awesome.
 |
| Wiki showing us the tourists that visit the meteorite. |
The way our route is currently planned we will get to see this which is going to be grand as it is FROM SPACE! It is the largest known meteorite (as a single piece) known on the earth. How cool is that?! Smart science people estimate that it fell less than 80 000 years ago and as it remains in tact it must have slowed to terminal velocity (I had to look this up but it means that the downward pull of gravity and the upward force of drag were equal leading to net force on the object as zero meaning it had an acceleration rate of zero and could therefore remain in tact...). It's flat on both major surfaces so it might have skipped along the top of the atmosphere like a skipping stone, effectively slowing down along the way. It's discovery was just by chance way back in the early 1900s when a farmer was tilling his land and hit this lump of rock and metal. Pretty cool!
 |
| Top of the plateau. Wiki once more. |
The Waterberg Plateau is largely inaccessbile and so in the early 1970s lots of endangered species were moved here to protect them from poachers and allow them to breed. It now supplies many other parks with these rare animals - which is pretty cool. It has over 200 different species of bird so it's a bird watchers paradise! Other than the wildlife interest geological this plateau is very interesting as the rock strata is over 850 million years old and dinosaur tracks were left there 200 million years ago!
 |
| Look at all those sand dunes! |
The Namib Desert covers a long stretch with the Skeleton Coast along the North and the extensive Namib Sea Sand along the central coast. The Sea Sand boasts the largest sand dunes in the world which would be really really cool to see! Due to erosion that happens in the Orange River Valley and further south lots of sand gets dumped into the Atlantic along this central coast and then is washed back up on shore thanks to the currents. The prevailing South West wind then picks this sand up into the massive dunes. Some well travelled sand basically.
 |
| This awesome image is from here. |
We definitely get to go through here which is cool. It's the little outcrop off the North East of Namibia named after Leo von Caprivi who succeeded Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor of Germany in March 1890. This section of Namibia is really interesting as it is wettest region of Namibia and very tropical with lots of rivers and swampy areas. Beyond being a lovely place to see it has had a fascinating (and somewhat chequered histroy). Initially it was known as Itenge and under the rule of the Lozi kings. Then in the late 19th century the strip of land was administered as part of the British protectorate of Bechuanaland (Botswana). Then in 1890 the Germans wanted British Zanzibar and the Berlin Conference settled that Zanzibar could be British and the Germans could have Caprivi - hence its name as Caprivi organised the annexing of it to Nambia (at the time German South-West Africa). During World War I, the Caprivi Strip again came under British rule and was governed as part of Bechuanaland but it received little attention and became known as a lawless frontier. It's not that anymore (thankfully) but it has a certain ring to it....
 |
| Image from here. |
We intend to stop at these. They aren't really falls, but a series of rapids in the Okavango River, caused by a rocky ledge. They are most impressive in the rainy season when they drop three metres but otherwise they are just rather pretty and apparently, the place we have in mind has a cage for river swimming. Yes indeed, river swimming in the Okavango. EPIC!
 |
| This is the part we haven't seen I'd say.... |
The Kalahari stretches through Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. Its huge size means it has really arid parts and really rather more lush parts. The more lush parts, are the parts we've seen as they encompass the Karoo - apparently known as the Succulent Karoo which has 5,000 species of plants, nearly half of them endemic - in fact, one third of the world’s succulents are found in the Karoo.
10) Cities
We're going to miss the big three cities - Windhoek, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund - I suppose we should try and see these sometime but on this our African adventure we probably don't need to see another city. This being said - Swakopmund has an interesting museam and Walvis Bay has all sorts of adventure activity options and Windhoek is the main city, it must be interesting right? If I'm really honest though I'd say these are number 10 for a reason, probably a should-see even though I'm not that bothered that we're missing them. Apologies to everyone that lives in these cities!
As always the great wise wiki has given me much of this information. Blame him if it's wrong.
Monday, 23 April 2012
Mammal Monday: Speed of the cheetah, cheetah, cheetah....
As Namibia has the largest population of cheetahs not contained in National Parks in Southern Africa I thought it was only right that we focus on these lovely kitties this week.
The best thing about cheetahs is how fast they move. They can reach the fastest land speed of any living any living animal - between 112 and 120 km/h in short bursts covering distances up to 500 m. Its paws are also pretty cool, it is one of the only felids with semi-retractable claws (the other three in the cat species are: the fishing cat, the flat-headed cat and the Iriomote cat), and with pads that, by their scope, disallow gripping. Unfortunately this means they can't climb trees but when you move as fast as them, does that really matter?
Along with the semi-retracable claws, other adaptations that allow it to reach such speeds include large nostrils that allow for increased oxygen intake, and an enlarged heart and lungs that work together to circulate oxygen efficiently. During a typical chase, its respiratory rate increases from 60 to 150 breaths per minute. Cheetahs also use their tail as a rudder-like means of steering to allow it to make sharp turns, necessary to outflank prey animals that often make such turns to escape.
All in all, cheetahs are awesome. And unlike other big cats they purr!
They've also been extinct in India since the 1940s but there are all sorts of plans afoot to export (is that the right word) African cheetahs out to India. For some reason I find this bizarre...maybe because I always thought cheetahs were only African things. You learn something new every day. Thanks wiki!
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| Image from here |
The best thing about cheetahs is how fast they move. They can reach the fastest land speed of any living any living animal - between 112 and 120 km/h in short bursts covering distances up to 500 m. Its paws are also pretty cool, it is one of the only felids with semi-retractable claws (the other three in the cat species are: the fishing cat, the flat-headed cat and the Iriomote cat), and with pads that, by their scope, disallow gripping. Unfortunately this means they can't climb trees but when you move as fast as them, does that really matter?
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| Image from here. Taken from a story in the Telegraph about a cheetah escaping a Zoo in New Zealand. |
Along with the semi-retracable claws, other adaptations that allow it to reach such speeds include large nostrils that allow for increased oxygen intake, and an enlarged heart and lungs that work together to circulate oxygen efficiently. During a typical chase, its respiratory rate increases from 60 to 150 breaths per minute. Cheetahs also use their tail as a rudder-like means of steering to allow it to make sharp turns, necessary to outflank prey animals that often make such turns to escape.
All in all, cheetahs are awesome. And unlike other big cats they purr!
They've also been extinct in India since the 1940s but there are all sorts of plans afoot to export (is that the right word) African cheetahs out to India. For some reason I find this bizarre...maybe because I always thought cheetahs were only African things. You learn something new every day. Thanks wiki!
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| Image from wiki. No lie. |
Friday, 20 April 2012
Fun Fact Friday: Namibia
Country two of our adventures is Namibia where we get to stay in ETOSHA a national park which, when first established in 1907, was the largest game park in the world. Due to political changes however it's now slightly less than a quarter it's original size but still awesome.
Before we get there though a basic background in Namibia in general. Thanks again CIA World Factbook.
President = President Hifikepunye Pohamba
Government Type = Republic, with 13 regions.
Total Area = 824,292 sq km, making it 34th in the world; it's sightly more than half the size of Alaska. It borders Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa 967 km and Zambia 233 km and has 1,572 km of coastline.Only 0.99% of the land is arable and 14% is protected (almost the entire Namib desert coastal strip). Interestingly, Namibia was the first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution.
Population = 2,165,828 (July 2012 est.), 143 in the world.
Population growth rate = 0.817%, 133 in the world.
Only 38% of the population lives in urban areas, although there also only seems to be one major city, Windhoek. After that is Swakopmund with some of the best-preserved colonial buildings in Africa. The two thirds of the population that live in the rural areas rely on subsistance farming to survive while 61% of people work in services. Interestingly mining accounts for 8% of GDP, but provides more than 50% of foreign exchange earnings. Namibia has diamonds but is also the fourth largest producer of uranium.
Life expectancy = 52 which is 210 in the world
In 2007 they had 4700 Angolan refugees.
And now for fun facts!
1. By the early 2000s, Namibia had Africa’s fourth highest proportion of women in its National Parliament, behind Mozambique, South Africa and Rwanda. 25% of the seats in the National Assembly were occupied by women (compared with 14% in the United States).
2. The tallest Miss Universe (from 1952 to 2009) is Namibia’s Michelle McLean, who is 1m 83. McLean is Africa’s second MU since 1952.
3. Continuing the theme - in 1995 Namibia hosted Miss Universe - the first time in Miss Universe history that the competition was hosted in Africa.
4. Dragon's Breath Lake, in the Otavi Mountains in north east Namibia, is the world's largest underground lake. Its surface area is about two hectares.
5. Namibia is home to the Hoba Meteorite, the world's largest complete meteorite. It weighs over 50 tons. It fell to earth about eighty thousand years ago, and is on display near Grootfontein. The meteorite was discovered in 1920, and is estimated to be about three hundred million years old. I hope we get to drive past it!
Fun facts from here http://safariwise.com.na/archives/fun-facts-about-namibia and http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Namibia---a-fascinating-country-176637.html.
Before we get there though a basic background in Namibia in general. Thanks again CIA World Factbook.
President = President Hifikepunye Pohamba
Government Type = Republic, with 13 regions.
Total Area = 824,292 sq km, making it 34th in the world; it's sightly more than half the size of Alaska. It borders Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa 967 km and Zambia 233 km and has 1,572 km of coastline.Only 0.99% of the land is arable and 14% is protected (almost the entire Namib desert coastal strip). Interestingly, Namibia was the first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution.
Population = 2,165,828 (July 2012 est.), 143 in the world.
Population growth rate = 0.817%, 133 in the world.
Only 38% of the population lives in urban areas, although there also only seems to be one major city, Windhoek. After that is Swakopmund with some of the best-preserved colonial buildings in Africa. The two thirds of the population that live in the rural areas rely on subsistance farming to survive while 61% of people work in services. Interestingly mining accounts for 8% of GDP, but provides more than 50% of foreign exchange earnings. Namibia has diamonds but is also the fourth largest producer of uranium.
Life expectancy = 52 which is 210 in the world
In 2007 they had 4700 Angolan refugees.
And now for fun facts!
1. By the early 2000s, Namibia had Africa’s fourth highest proportion of women in its National Parliament, behind Mozambique, South Africa and Rwanda. 25% of the seats in the National Assembly were occupied by women (compared with 14% in the United States).
2. The tallest Miss Universe (from 1952 to 2009) is Namibia’s Michelle McLean, who is 1m 83. McLean is Africa’s second MU since 1952.
3. Continuing the theme - in 1995 Namibia hosted Miss Universe - the first time in Miss Universe history that the competition was hosted in Africa.
4. Dragon's Breath Lake, in the Otavi Mountains in north east Namibia, is the world's largest underground lake. Its surface area is about two hectares.
5. Namibia is home to the Hoba Meteorite, the world's largest complete meteorite. It weighs over 50 tons. It fell to earth about eighty thousand years ago, and is on display near Grootfontein. The meteorite was discovered in 1920, and is estimated to be about three hundred million years old. I hope we get to drive past it!
Fun facts from here http://safariwise.com.na/archives/fun-facts-about-namibia and http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Namibia---a-fascinating-country-176637.html.
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Proudly SAfrican
Car flags and mirror covers are SO 2010 - if we’re going to use lovely Constance the Conquest to show off our national pride we’d like something a bit more like this.. Possibly with a Zimbabwe bird somewhere to keep Norms happy.
And so the quest for an epic branding company begins..
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| Piccie from here |
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Top Ten Tuesday - Gumboot Dance
I have decided that we are going to learn to gumboot dance. I just think it will be so fun - perhaps clips of us gumbooting our way across Southern Africa will go viral and we'll become millionaires? Either that or we'll have some pretty cool clips to show people...
The gumboot dance originated among South African miners (probably gold mines) as an alternative to drumming, which was restricted by the authorities. Apparetly the steps and moves were in parody of the guards/officials that ran the mine. In honour of top ten tuesday here are my ten favourite clips of people doing the gum boot dance.
Number 1 being these awesome guys in Camps Bay:
2) Look how happy these guys are - and so colourful.
3) There's even a gumboot musical and here's the whole story.
4) Drakensburg Boys Choir does the gum boot dance!
5) These guys are just really good.
6) This one is a bit more arty...and involves an accordian...?
7) Mostly the middle guy's dungarees make this one worth watching.
8) Zebra-style anyone? And then bum-bumps, awesome!
9) People looking confused is my favourite part of this one.
10) Loads of people, like a rainbow of gum boot dancing!
The gumboot dance originated among South African miners (probably gold mines) as an alternative to drumming, which was restricted by the authorities. Apparetly the steps and moves were in parody of the guards/officials that ran the mine. In honour of top ten tuesday here are my ten favourite clips of people doing the gum boot dance.
Number 1 being these awesome guys in Camps Bay:
2) Look how happy these guys are - and so colourful.
3) There's even a gumboot musical and here's the whole story.
4) Drakensburg Boys Choir does the gum boot dance!
5) These guys are just really good.
6) This one is a bit more arty...and involves an accordian...?
7) Mostly the middle guy's dungarees make this one worth watching.
8) Zebra-style anyone? And then bum-bumps, awesome!
9) People looking confused is my favourite part of this one.
10) Loads of people, like a rainbow of gum boot dancing!
Monday, 16 April 2012
Mammal Monday - We've a spring in our step
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| Image from here. |
These little mammals, for anyone that's been to Africa, are pretty common to garden and it wasn't unusual for me growing up with the similar (but not quite the same) beasts - the impala - to mutter about how very dull they are. This being said Springboks have a pretty cool little habit called "pronking" (which comes from the Afrikaans for showing off) where they jump repeatedly 4 metres into the air, stiff legged, with their backs bowed.
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| Image from here. |
No one is quite sure why they do this but they seem to do it when nervous or over-excited so it could be:
1) indicate to predators they've been spotted and in doing so, show off their own strength and agility thus encouraging the wicked carnivores to look at less impressive jumpers
2) spraying scent from a gland near their ankle
3) I would argue mating, these things always have something to do with mating.
An interesting little fun fact: During the Second Boer War, a Boer force attempting to sneak up on the Royal Canadian Dragoons was defeated after their movements startled the nearby springbok, thus alerting the Canadian sentries, which is why the Dragoons have the springbok as their cap badge and as their mascot.
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| Image from here. |
Ah wiki, what would I do without you....
Friday, 13 April 2012
Fun Fact Friday: Checkpoint 1 - South Africa
Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. With time ticking away a-pace we better get our heads around where exactly it is we're going to. With two South Africans and a Zimbabwean (who has lived in South Africa) starting with South Africa may well be a tiny cheat but it is the starting point of the rally so there isn't really any other way to begin.
General Facts - as taken from the CIA World Factbook and some of my very own personal general knowledge (I know, you all want me on your next pub quiz team...)
President = Jacob Zuma
Governement Type = Republic, with administrative capital in Pretoria and 9 provinces.
National Symbol = Springbok
Total Area = 1,219,090 sq km - making it the 25th largest country in the world and it's slightly less than twice the size of Texas. It has 2,798 km of coastline and borders Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km. We will get to see 4 of these in our rally. Bazinga.
Population = 48,810,427 (July 2012 est.) - making it the 26th most populated country in the world.
Median Age = 25
Life expectancy at birth = 49
Interestingly the birth rate is negative at = -0.412% (2012 est.), making it 217th in the world.
We start the rally in Johannesburg which has the largest city population in SA of 3.607 million although interesting in 2010 it was estimated that 62% of the population lived in an urban area. This explains why the majority of the 17.67 million economically active people in the country work in services - 65% in fact. And at 173rd in the world unemplyoment is at 23.9%.
Now for fun facts! 1st contact news has some awesome unusual facts so here are a few of my favourites:
1. South Africa is now the only country in the world to have hosted the Soccer, Cricket and Rugby World Cup
2.What about beer? South African brewery SABMiller ranks – by volume – as the largest brewing company in the world. SABMiller supplies up to 50% of China’s beer.
3. South Africa is the only country in the entire world that has voluntarily abandoned its nuclear weapons programme.
4. There are more than 2000 shipwrecks off the South African coast, most dating back at least 500 years.
5. The Cape Floral Kingdom is one of the world’s six floral kingdoms – and the only one which is wholly contained within a single country.
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| Yes it's the SA Flag |
General Facts - as taken from the CIA World Factbook and some of my very own personal general knowledge (I know, you all want me on your next pub quiz team...)
President = Jacob Zuma
Governement Type = Republic, with administrative capital in Pretoria and 9 provinces.
National Symbol = Springbok
Total Area = 1,219,090 sq km - making it the 25th largest country in the world and it's slightly less than twice the size of Texas. It has 2,798 km of coastline and borders Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km. We will get to see 4 of these in our rally. Bazinga.
Population = 48,810,427 (July 2012 est.) - making it the 26th most populated country in the world.
Median Age = 25
Life expectancy at birth = 49
Interestingly the birth rate is negative at = -0.412% (2012 est.), making it 217th in the world.
We start the rally in Johannesburg which has the largest city population in SA of 3.607 million although interesting in 2010 it was estimated that 62% of the population lived in an urban area. This explains why the majority of the 17.67 million economically active people in the country work in services - 65% in fact. And at 173rd in the world unemplyoment is at 23.9%.
Now for fun facts! 1st contact news has some awesome unusual facts so here are a few of my favourites:
1. South Africa is now the only country in the world to have hosted the Soccer, Cricket and Rugby World Cup2.What about beer? South African brewery SABMiller ranks – by volume – as the largest brewing company in the world. SABMiller supplies up to 50% of China’s beer.
3. South Africa is the only country in the entire world that has voluntarily abandoned its nuclear weapons programme.
4. There are more than 2000 shipwrecks off the South African coast, most dating back at least 500 years.
5. The Cape Floral Kingdom is one of the world’s six floral kingdoms – and the only one which is wholly contained within a single country.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Top Ten Tuesday: Camping don’ts
I went on a camping trip this weekend and it reminded me of a few important things we’ll need to keep in mind whilst on the Put foot rally.
- Don’t pack a wet tent away. Rocking-the-daisies dew has turned my once spotless mobile home into a black mouldy mess.
- Don’t forget chairs. It works to have one chair that is superior to the others – whoever wins the day gets to have king chair and lord it over the peasants.
- Don’t skimp on mattress – We might be bad-ass, but old bones and hard ground do not a happy camper make.
- Location location location. Don’t camp too far from the ablutions, and don’t camp too close. A view is 20 points and shade is 10, a built-in braai is 5 and a slope is minus 5.
Don’t forget to check for all the poles before you head off. You can fashion a pole out of a branch but it’s not pretty - and you’ll lose the respect of fellow campers who you might need to borrow a corkscrew from at a later stage.Image from her - Don’t forget a corkscrew.
- Don’t underestimate the sun. It’s bright, and it rises earlier than you think. A well placed tree can do wonders and get you an invaluable extra hour of sleep.
- Everybody needs good neighbours. Don’t camp too close to the ones with children, or the ones who look like they might feel the need to jol UB40 at 4am. Future neighbours beware: we fall with the latter.
- Don’t go in there. Death Valley is not the hottest place on earth - black mould tent at midday can easily top 50 degrees. Enter at your own peril.
- Don’t forget your sense of humour. Things are going to go wrong, your tent will blow over and your sleeping bag will be filled with sand from day 2. Mother nature will get under your fingernails and in your ears – if we wanted sterile we’d be going on a package tour instead of the put foot rally!!
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| Thanks Cyanide & Happiness |
Monday, 9 April 2012
Mammal Monday: Venom, Eggs and Mammalianess
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| Image: http://australian-animals.net/plat.htm |
Firstly, they lay eggs - interestingly, they are in uetro for 28 days and only spend ten days incubating externally. Chickens on the other hand have their eggs on the inside for only one day and they are on the outside for 21 so technically platypuses keep their babies inside for a pretty long time considering.
Another fascinating baby-related tidbit is that mum platypuses have mammary glands but no teats so they excrete milk through their pores (bleurgh) and there are grooves on their abdomen to catch the milk in so that the babies can subsequently lap it up.
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| Image: http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?p=1287 |
Another interesting non-mammal feature that platypuses have is that they use electroreception - this means that they can locate their prey (in part) by detecting electric fields generated by muscular contractions. They are the only mammal to do this.
All in all, these little guys really are cool. Unusual yes, but who said normal was anything special.
As always, thanks wiki.
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Fursday Thursday - Insider Tips Anyone?
Now that I've realised we actually need to start thinking seriously about the rally and what we need I've started thinking about Constance and how to make her habitable for the course of 17 days! She not being very big, us not being very good at packing light we're going to have to plan how we pack our car with military precision and if Pimp My Ride can deck out cars to be entertainment systems and party vans with margarita makers, TV screens, garbage disposal units and mood lighting then I think with a few minor adjustments we could make Connie a real home-away-from-home, for the duration of the rally at least.
Basic must haves that I can think of so far are...(this list is far from exhaustive - any ideas anyone?):
1) Collection of plastic bags for rubbish. Luckily, I can fold plastic bags into neat little triangles so we can have loads of these.
2) Cooler box spot. I think this is integral to a pleasant journey in general. If we can make the cooler box part of the decor then I think we'll have not only a source for our treats (read gin) but potentially also, a table, head rest, seat for George Monkey, deadly weapon....
3) Map Spot. We need to make a little home for the map which is nice and easily accesible. Being lost is stressful, being lost and not able to find the map because someone's sitting on it or thrown out is the stuff of angry words, and no one wants that.
4) Home for loo roll. In an earlier post I made mention of peeing in the wild and how, to add a modicum of decency to an otherwise fairly distressing endeavour, a little bit of loo roll goes a long way. If we can create some sort of structure, perhaps connected to the cooler box, which would hold our loo roll out of the way but within reach at all times we'll be both happier and less likely to discover we've stood on our last bit of loo roll and there's another 10 hours to civilisation. Perhaps this structure might also be able to support other things. If we're really clever we could attach a line to it and create some sort of washing line perhapsd, or a pulley system for moving our sweets from driver to back seat without any over-arm stretching...or am I going too far now.
5) Actually, maybe this is too far, although how awesome would this be:
Any other top tips anyone?
Basic must haves that I can think of so far are...(this list is far from exhaustive - any ideas anyone?):
1) Collection of plastic bags for rubbish. Luckily, I can fold plastic bags into neat little triangles so we can have loads of these.
2) Cooler box spot. I think this is integral to a pleasant journey in general. If we can make the cooler box part of the decor then I think we'll have not only a source for our treats (read gin) but potentially also, a table, head rest, seat for George Monkey, deadly weapon....
3) Map Spot. We need to make a little home for the map which is nice and easily accesible. Being lost is stressful, being lost and not able to find the map because someone's sitting on it or thrown out is the stuff of angry words, and no one wants that.
4) Home for loo roll. In an earlier post I made mention of peeing in the wild and how, to add a modicum of decency to an otherwise fairly distressing endeavour, a little bit of loo roll goes a long way. If we can create some sort of structure, perhaps connected to the cooler box, which would hold our loo roll out of the way but within reach at all times we'll be both happier and less likely to discover we've stood on our last bit of loo roll and there's another 10 hours to civilisation. Perhaps this structure might also be able to support other things. If we're really clever we could attach a line to it and create some sort of washing line perhapsd, or a pulley system for moving our sweets from driver to back seat without any over-arm stretching...or am I going too far now.
5) Actually, maybe this is too far, although how awesome would this be:
Any other top tips anyone?
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Top Ten Tuesday - Things We HAVE to do
With less than 80 days till we hit the road we've realised that the time for endearing photos of kittens has passed and we really need to get our thinking caps on. So, our top ten list of things we have to do before we get on the road:
1) Figure out what visas we need - Laura, having a different passport to Lyn and Robs, must take special heed of this one.
2) Get our jabs and certificates of aforementioned jabs. Apparently we need a yellow fever injection and apparently this is sore. Someone should have told me before I paid my deposit.
3) Settle the map versus GPS debate and buy whichever is agreed upon.
4) Plot a route and decide where needs to be booked in advance.
5) Agree to allowed baggage amounts and sort out roof rack
6) Do inventory of camping gear and buy anything we're missing.
7) Get international driver's licenses.
8) Figure out how best to carry money, what form the money should take and how much.
9) Have car serviced and find relevant papers.
10) FUND RAISE!
Usually I find list writing soothing. Today I have found it overwhelming so to cheer us all up (and me in particular) I give you:
That is all.
1) Figure out what visas we need - Laura, having a different passport to Lyn and Robs, must take special heed of this one.
2) Get our jabs and certificates of aforementioned jabs. Apparently we need a yellow fever injection and apparently this is sore. Someone should have told me before I paid my deposit.
3) Settle the map versus GPS debate and buy whichever is agreed upon.
4) Plot a route and decide where needs to be booked in advance.
5) Agree to allowed baggage amounts and sort out roof rack
6) Do inventory of camping gear and buy anything we're missing.
7) Get international driver's licenses.
8) Figure out how best to carry money, what form the money should take and how much.
9) Have car serviced and find relevant papers.
10) FUND RAISE!
Usually I find list writing soothing. Today I have found it overwhelming so to cheer us all up (and me in particular) I give you:
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