Random Side Notes

There are a lot of things that happen over here that I don't always think to include in my regular blog posts. So, I will be doing a little thing where I post random facts and thoughts of mine as they pop into my head every so often. If anyone ever has any questions they would like to ask about their curiosities of Africa feel free and I will do my best to answer them!

The most common vehicle over here is Toyota. There are other brands, but Toyota dominates for the most part and the Toyota models here are very different from the ones we have in the US. Also almost all vehicles here are stick/manual due to the rougher roads and terrain; the locals want as much control over their vehicles as possible. It is very strange for me having the steering wheel on the right side and driving on the left side of the road but I am getting used to it.

It is their winter here and the temperature ranges from about 50 degrees in the morning to about 77 as a high in the afternoon. It gets light at six and dark around 5:30. It is extremely dry and chances of rain and storms are slim to none.

The landscape in the area I am staying isn't what most people would picture Africa to look like. The bush here is very thick and the trees don't reach very great heights. It is relatively flat with tree covered smaller mountains in most directions. The earth here is extremely red and very rocky. There isn't much for water other than a few watering holes and one larger river filled with hippos and crocs (from what I have heard). 

Almost all patches of bush are separately owned and fenced off since each contains many valuable animals.

The bugs here are not bad at all. There are a few flies and spiders, but I have only been bitten by 3 mosquitos. The ticks here are very bad though. I have probably already picked off over 2 dozen. There are regular wood ticks like we have and then there are pepper ticks, which are very small. These guys lucky though only bite once and then hop off leaving many red itchy marks.

The birds here are always out and make a lot of noise as do the squirrels. 

The nights here are very clear and I have learned a few patterns to help me find my direction in case I get lost. The nights are not as noisy as I expected them to be. I thought I'd be hearing a lot of bugs and frogs, but since its their winter there just aren't as many.

Probably my favorite noise here in Africa is the sound of the zebras playing and fighting in the early mornings and late afternoons. It reminds me of the movies based off Africa I watched growing up and just has something magnificent about it in general.

I'm sure many more random things will pop into my head while I'm here, but I'm tired of typing at the moment!