Share this:

Here are photos from my latest trip. My very good friend Alex went with me and we had the THE best time. We stayed safe, happy and healthy the entire three and a half weeks we were gone. The photos below are highlights from the trip but clearly not everything. If you want to see more of something, leave a comment and I’ll do my best. Enjoy!

This photo was taken in the sandy flood plain of the Selinda Spillway. More on Selinda towards the bottom of this post. (Photo by Alex)

ZAMBIA

This was Lindsay’s second trip to Kitwe, Zambia – Alex’s first. We stayed for five days on the grounds of the Chande Project, an orphanage and school founded by Rev. Patrick Chanda. During the week we were there, we taught a photography workshop and shot photos for a personal project that you will hear more about later. This part of the trip was WAY too short, but jammed with amazingly powerful, and new, experiences for us both.

I remembered this beautiful little girl, Agness, from my last trip.  (Photo by Lindsay)

Part of our time at Chande was spent working on a school project that is a collaboration with a school in Virginia. It’s called the ‘I am’ Project. I was writing on the board in one of the classrooms before showing the photography and writing work from the students’ classmates. I introduced a new (English) word: Unique. Most, if not all, could not tell me the meaning of the word. They understood the meaning, in theory, but in a place where methods and assimilation are one of the few ways to succeed, uniqueness is a distant concept. (Photo by Alex)

Here is I am showing the photo slideshow Alex and I created with the photographs taken by Emmanuel and Sophie, classmates of these sixth and seventh graders. Sophie and Emmanuel made amazing photographs in a very short amount of time. From Emmanuel: “I am a peaceful child. When I grow up, I want to be a peaceful man.” (Photo by Alex)

One of the great things about this visit was the chance to stay out of downtown. The Project has set up an apartment for volunteers with a fully functioning kitchen. It was nice to cook on our own time and not burden our hosts and friends with preparing meals for us. Here is my fairly successful attempt at cooking a whole chicken. I do this regularly at home, and this version wasn’t too far off from what I expected. It’s dressed with lemons and onions, and we ate it will nshima, the local staple that’s very similar to polenta. (Photo by Alex)

Like the sunburn? Washing dishes was best done outside for two reasons: it was blazing hot inside and the sink was too small. It was nice to know that a full sink of dishes really can be cleaned with about 2 gallons of water. (Photo by Alex)

After 4pm, we were behind the gate of the Chande Project compound – just us and a guard. What else would you expect us to do with great light outside? (Photo by Lindsay)

This is Fanny with her two kids – Andrew and Agnes. Fanny is a good friend of mine. She and I met last time when I was Zambia and it was wonderful to catch up with her, hear her sing and visit with her family. (Photo by Lindsay)

This is Willson Banda. He is an orphan and currently supported and educated by the Chande Project. We photographed his life. Those photographs will be on display soon, accommpanied by a presentation and fundraising campaign for Chande. Details to come. (Photo by Lindsay)

Almost every night in Kitwe this is what we looked like. Tucked in for the night in our twin beds under mosquito nets. (Photo by Lindsay)

CAPE TOWN

This part of the trip lasted 3 days. We flew from Kitwe through Johannesburg and into Cape Town in one day. About five hours of flying, with some airport time in the middle. We spent the first day at one of the most beautiful beaches we’ve ever seen, had one of the top three dinners we’ve ever had in our lives, acted like tourists when we drove down the coast to see penguins, oceans joining and quaint towns, and went to the top of Table Mountain. This was vacation at it’s best.

Our hotel room in Cape Town. We stayed in Mouille Point, within walking distance of the V&A Waterfront. Laundry and breakfast happening on our first morning in Cape Town. Breakfast pizza! (Photo by Lindsay)

Here we are on our way home after a day at Camps Bay, a beach district just outside the city. The water was very cold, about 65F – but that didn’t stop us, or the surfers. (Photo by Lindsay)

We hired a driver for the day to take us down the coast of the cape peninsula. First stop was Muizenberg and the Indian Ocean. Here’s Alex shooting video of the flat beach and surfers enjoying the beautiful day. (Photo by Lindsay)

Cape Town was Alex’s idea from the start, but she didn’t have to twist my arm. As for the activities, my only requirement was to put my feet in the Indian Ocean. Regrettably, we didn’t plan for swimming this day, but I still accommplished my goal. The water was significantly warmer than Atlantic the day before. (Photo by Alex)

Snails slip across the beach at Muizenberg. (Photo by Lindsay)

I like snails – but really anything that lives in shell. This little guy did not like having his photo taken. (Photo by Alex)

Bathhouses available for rent at Muizenberg beach on the eastern coast of the cape peninsula. (Photo by Lindsay)

An African Penguin at Boulders, South Africa – about 3,000 live in this colony. When the Dutch settled in South Africa in the 1600s the meat from the adults was part of the settlers’ diets and penguin eggs were considered a delicacy until the 20th century until numbers began to decline. Numbering a tenth of their originally documented size, the birds are now protected. (Photo by Lindsay)

The Atlantic Ocean crashes into the peninsula rocks at Cape Point. (Photo by Lindsay)

Alex shoots the junction of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans at Cape Point, 12,451 km (7,793miles) from New York City. (Photo by Lindsay)

We stayed out at the point for about 45 minutes – shooting photos and enjoying the beautiful weather. (Photo by Lindsay)

The worst part of going up Table Mountain is getting there. You have to take the cableway all the way to the top. The car holds 65 people and has open windows – oh, yeah – and the floor turns providing a 360 degree for all the riders. Terrifying for Lindsay because she is afraid of heights. Terrifying for Alex because of the clastrophobia. We can’t believe we paid money for that! (Photo by Lindsay)

From the top of table mountain, with Cape Town in the distance below. What a view! (Photo by Lindsay)

If this overlook existed in the U.S., there would be a railing. (Photo by kind stranger)

BOTSWANA

And here’s the real work part. We traveled into a remote area of Botswana to a plush reserve called Selinda to work for 10 days with local kids teaching photography and love for the environment. That’s right – I said work! The most difficult part of this portion of the trip was the small plane and sand landing strip. The best part was making amazing news friends and working with cheerful and talented kids.

Here I am listening to the pilot of our mosquito-sized plane that I chartered for us into and out of the reserve. We’re meeting him and he’s telling us about the flight, what to expect, emergency procedures, blah blah… I follow up with, “How many hours of flight time have you logged?” He said some number that I can’t remember and then he said, “Does that make you feel better?” “No,” I replied, probably with the same face shown here. (Photo by Lynn)

Our team for camp – Susan, Lindsay, Alex, Brian, Lynn and Karine. (Photo by Humphrey Gumpo)

First day at Selinda. I really wasn’t trying to pose, but it makes a nice photo. Gotta love camera people, always taking photos of each other.  (Photo by Lynn)

Our accommodations were luxurious. You might be able to infer from the light that there is also no roof over her head. (Photo by Lindsay)

Here’s Pierce (our team named him that because of the hole in his ear). He’s a 30 year old elephant that liked to hang around our camp. He’s on his own for a while, until he gets up the guts to challenge a bigger guy. He also seemed attracted to the vegetation around the tents that Alex and I slept in. Nice.(Photo by Alex)

Each night the staff would make their way back to our camp area through the bush. We were always looking for animals. (Photo by Lindsay)

The goal for our first day at camp was to establish a consistent power supply. We were successful, but sorting out a generator and transformers in the dark by candlelight and small floods is not easy. (Photo by Alex)

Here I am in the classroom at camp, talking to the kids about self portraits. Those photos are usually my favorite of all the images they make. (Photo by Lynn Johnson)

Two boys from the yellow team, Keso and Pinox. They were always laughing and having a great time together. They’re also really great photographers. (Photo by Lindsay)

The feet of the yellow team – the kids and Alex – as they look through their edit on a laptop. (Photo by Lindsay)

This is Yellow Hornbill (Zazoo from the Lion King). These birds make a lot of noise and they were always lurking around camp. (Photo by Lindsay)

This little guy was hangin’ out on a tree near the camp. I used my friend, and colleague, Helena’s macro lens. He’s about the size of a quarter. (Photo by Lindsay)

This is ‘Mama Kea’ – she is the manager for the camp that we lived in called Lechwe. She’s worked at Selinda for over 20 years. She’s an incredible host and manager… we miss her. (Photo by Lindsay)

It rained for 5 days straight but we were all smiles… most of the time. (Photo by Lynn)

—————————————–

I wrote this to my parents when I was traveling home – “It is the most amazing feeling to live in these weeks that feel like a micro-lifetime. Then walking away from it because I have to go home, back to my life. I’ve been trying to digest what I am supposed to be learning from this part of my life. I think it’s that powerful and thoughtful relationships can be made in seconds, and that they can be strong enough to carry you through life. And walking away is just a way of looking at my entire life. That feelings and emotions and people will come and go, and it’s not bad, and it’s not over. Just a wonderful exercise in treating every moment as precious and fleeting.”

Advertisement