VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe – Are that big-mouthed, loud-larynxed hippo’s tonsils pink? Or is it just the setting sun reflecting off the water into its face? We are not going to get close enough to find out. Sure, this is one of those creatures that seemed so lovable as portrayed in Walt Disney’s “Fantasia,” decked out in tutus and gavotting sweetly to the “Waltz of the … [Read more...] about WATCH FOR HIPPOS, CROCODILES; AT LEAST THE HIPPOS ALONG THE ZAMBESI RIVER ARE VEGETARIANS
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WAKE UP, IT’S WILD OUT THERE! SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO GET UP EARLY TO SEE AFRICAN ANIMALS
WEIGA, KENYA - Brrriiinnnggg! Wha? Huh? . . . My head bobs from the pillow, gonging like a belfry. Where’s the fire? Brrr-iiinnnggg! There it goes again: the alarm bell. My watch says 3 a.m. A groggy rendition of an ancient lyric – “It’s 3 o’clock in the morning . . . we’ve danced the whole night through” – fox-trots across my neural mush. No, no, no. No more … [Read more...] about WAKE UP, IT’S WILD OUT THERE! SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO GET UP EARLY TO SEE AFRICAN ANIMALS
RAKITA: A MAN YOU CAN RELY UPON
ALONG THE MARA RIVER, KENYA – Going . . . going . . . however, not quite gone are Rakita and his kind. Downsized, to use a word he would not recognize, but, thankfully, not yet down and out is this good-humored, fearless little guy’s self-reliant way of making a living: hunting and gathering. As an H & G specialist of the dwindling Ndorobo tribe, he may not know he’s on … [Read more...] about RAKITA: A MAN YOU CAN RELY UPON
CURING MILLENNIUM MALAISE
AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Is there a pill, a vaccine, an anti-inflammatory to ward off or relieve the dreaded plague called Millennium Malaise? Here it is only April, and the toll is horrific. Millions, maybe billions, infected – sick of thinking, planning, contemplating, wondering how and where to deal with distant Dec. 31. Could anyone imagine that Millennium Malaise would … [Read more...] about CURING MILLENNIUM MALAISE
POIROT WOULD LOVE THIS TRAIN!
CAIRNS, Queensland, Australia – Is that Hercule Poirot, the debonair detective, seated on the observation platform, mulling over clues and sipping booze – champagne, of course – as endless green waves of sugar cane are parted by the train’s engine? “Should be drinking rum, my dear,” he mutters to his stunning companion, who resembles Agatha Christie. “Bundaberg Rum. Superb … [Read more...] about POIROT WOULD LOVE THIS TRAIN!