Our weekend in Nazinga. A memoir.

We went to Nazinga last weekend. Nazinga is a game ranch on the southern border of Burkina Faso just about five miles from the Ghana border. We went with a big ole group of dear friends that we have come to know and love since moving here. We piled into two cars and headed south to spend the weekend gazing at incredible creation and just enjoying time outside the city.

But seen as how this is Africa ( I'm learning there is a reason why people say that expression so much)...our weekend wouldn't be complete without some unexpected adventure rolled in. I'm figuring out, that try as you may, you can just never fully prepare for life here. You can do your best to be prepared, but you always have to leave a little wiggle room, because something is almost certainly bound to happen that you did not prepare for....and such was the case this weekend.....

After everyone arrived at our house on Friday mid morning we loaded up and strapped down all of our luggage and pulled out of town. From the capital city of Ouagadougou where we live it is about 100 miles to Nazinga, which should take less than 2 hours of driving time. But here in Burkina, where most of the roads are dirt and filled with potholes that will swallow up your car...it took us 5 hours. Five hours to drive 100 miles. The roads are that bad. When you can only drive five to ten miles an hour, it takes a really really long time to get any where.

We set out at 10:30am and knowing we wouldn't arrive till late afternoon we stopped off on the side of the bush for some lunch.

I cooked a mammoth turkey before we left for everyone to eat during our trip (first time making a turkey, and it was pretty tasty from what I hear! Go me!!) so everyone chowed down on turkey sandwiches and Lays chips, French style. :~)

I kept having those moments this weekend where all of a sudden I'd be struck with the fact that I am. in fact. in Africa. While sitting on the mat eating, I just looked around and thought, "I'm eating lunch on the side of the bush in Africa!!!" Still cool. 

Culture lesson #279- there's no "rest stops" or McDonalds to pull over in to pee at... here, nature is your bathroom, so if you gotta go while driving you make like the locals and pee in the bush, ladies included. You just need to take extra precaution for any snakes or scorpions before you squat.

After lunch we continued on our journey and finally made it to the ranch entrance. From there it only took a little over an hour to arrive at camp. But it was an hour well spent....

...in no time at all we spotted our first elephant. But he started charging us, so we left.

Not too long after that, we spotted this group of elephants even closer to us on our left. I didn't realize till after I took the picture that there was a little baby elephant between them. Isn't he cute all tucked in between his family?!

As soon as we stopped to take pictures the elephant on the right (this guy right here) started charging us and ramming the trees and branches in front of him to display his dominance. So...we left. We figured it best not to stay and get bulldozered :~) Plus the girls were totally freaked out by their eyes. But it was SO COOL!! Elephants in their element!!! These guys are not docile like at the circus!

We continued, and after a long and very bumpy ride, we arrived at home for the next two nights. Never having been to Nazinga, I didn't know what to expect. Everyone kept calling the accommodations on the ranch site a hotel. So naturally I envisioned a cracked out ghetto style Motel 6 type accommodations. But then they would say that we needed to bring camping chairs to sit on? Why would we need camping chairs and a propane stove if we're staying in a hotel?? That's what you bring when you're going camping......ummm....is that a hut?

Oh. my. gosh. we're. camping.

Do not let the facade of the hut deceive you...that is nothing more than a tent with a toilet. 

God help me. I don't do camping. No no. Not me. Nay nay I say. Not anymore. I have camped, many times in high school and once with Isaak in the twelve years we've been married. But I permanently concluded about 11 years ago that camping was not for me. You see there are two kinds of people in this world....those who are deranged and enjoy camping. And the rest of us saner folk. I would much rather be holed up in a Hilton thank you very much than cookin' weenies over a camp fire.

God knows this.

But yet there I was....camping. (I mean, as close to camping as I've gotten in over a decade)

Apparently hut and hotel are interchangeable here. Now I know.

They did say that it was rustic, which I was expecting. I was prepared for rustic. But everything is rustic here. Even the real hotels. There is no five star anything in Burkina like in the States. There is not even a two star. How about we just chuck the whole "Star-ing" system out the window, mkay? There system here consists of whether or not you have electricity and running water and for how long.

Our huts did not have electricity....

...but they did have a bathroom with a working toilet! Holla!! Hooray for running water! 

...and we were told that the beds did not come with bedding so to bring your own. Again, rustic. But these actually came with bedding. Granted the pillows were black (b-lack!) with years worth of dirt, dust and bugs, but it was bedding nonetheless. Ah, what a perspective shift in the past six months! Oh, the nerve we used to feel if our hotels had a stray hair on the pillows, the rooms smelled musty or the carpet had a stain on it, now we are grateful for simply having a dirty flushable toilet. Only God can take credit for transforming the snobbed out entitled girl I used to be (true, she hasn't been fully excavated out of me yet but she's on her way) and turning me into someone who is wholeheartedly grateful for running water and dirty pillows.

The last hotel we stayed at in Bobo (that really was a hotel by the way) did not have any running water the whole weekend. The staff brought us buckets of pool water to flush the toilets, unsuccessfully, and we just had to make due with being dirty. So the fact that we had running water was a gift. A huge gift that we would be exceedingly grateful for as the hours ticked by.....

...especially since there was no electricity and the temperature was creeping towards 110 degrees. That gift of running water turned into our only way to find relief from the heat.

We passed our first evening setting up camp. We had the four huts closest to the watering hold and outlook and the huts were situated in kind of a cross shape. So we had this whole area to ourselves which was great with a fairly large common area for a camp fire and playing in the middle.

We played botche ball, the kids did a variety of crafts and games that Nathanja brought, and we just sat around snacking and talking.

The kids had the greatest time!

Every now and then someone would get up and walk into their hut and come out a few minutes later with wet hair. When the heat would get unbearable people would just retreat to the shower to cool off under the water real quick and then come back.

Our huts were literally a 30 second walk to the watering hole. So we would take walks down there and sit on the benches overlooking the water and let the breeze wash over us. The water was teeming with alligators and along the banks would pop up deer, warthogs and monkeys. I am a water girl. I could have sat there all day long just looking out over the water at nature letting the wind carry me away. While we sat we noticed that big stormy looking clouds were gathering in the sky off in the distance. But alas, this is dry season. It doesn't rain this time of year. We have a couple more months before we can expect clouds like that to pour out water again.

But later that evening as we were having dinner in the restaurant, it started lighting. I was satisfied with the lighting, not expecting more than that. But Matt, who lives out in the bush for two weeks of every month drilling wells, knows African nature better than the rest of us, and he quietly mentioned in passing that it was going to rain. He spoke it with such certainty. Years worth of experience living on the land. And I knew he was right...I just didn't think it would rain here, where we were, I just figured it would rain off in the distance somewhere. But as we walked out of the cave-like viewing area near the watering hole after dinner, flash lights in hand as darkness had settled over us, we heard a noise.

Rain was falling through the trees and pounding down onto the dry cracked ground.

It was raining.

I can not fully describe what it feels like to stand in the rain and let is wash over you when you have gone without it for so long. I don't think I will ever look the same at rain again. And boy did it rain. It wasn't just a sprinkle either, but a full blown outpouring. And I stood in that rain until every last drop had finished falling to earth over me. We danced and screamed and hooped and hollered and jumped for the joy of God's goodness to gift us with such a treat as rain in dry season. I will never forget that moment, and the rain that fell that night. It was the sweetest gift.

That night the staff turned on their generator and we actually did have elecricity for four hours. Two of those hours was spent at the restaurant eating and when we came back and got the kids ready for bed there was but one hour of fan time (no a.c., just a ceiling fan) left before it turned back off.

I have never in my life felt heat like that. I have never in my life been so uncomfortable in my own skin. The girls finally fell asleep after a few hours of tossing and turning. We damped some wash clothes and put them on their foreheads to help with the heat and that helped lull them to sleep. Me and Isaak just lay there, counting down the minutes until morning. There was not even a faint breeze that blew in through the screens. The breeze must have moved on with the rain, because in its wake was the most lifeless suffocating air. I found myself imagining that the wind would rustle in through the window, trying to trick myself, but it didn't work. There was nothing to do but endure it. At some point I did fall asleep, around three in the morning. Isaak retreated somewhere around 1am and slept outside not able to stay inside the stifling hut any longer.

But alas, morning came. We woke early at 6am to get ready for our morning safari. The morning air outside the huts felt so good!

We got dressed (Isaak was very spiffy in his shorts and knee high socks...remind me to never let him pack himself again!!), we had coffee, dry cereal and bread and then we set off into the savannah!

Climbing up to the roof of the van!

Here we all are (minus Isaak, Fred and Rhyan who rode inside) piled onto the top of the van bright and early in the morning for our safari! Don't try this in the U.S....you'll get arrested for for child endangerment!

Off we went.....we had to make sure to hold on pretty good because as bumpy as it is driving on these dirt paths buckled into a car...it is even bumpier when you are sitting on the roof. There were also some close calls with trees and tree branches wanting to decapitate us. But we came up with a good ducking system to make sure we kept all our limbs in tact!

We traveled onward, deeper and deeper into the wilderness....we saw a couple baboons and some antelope like looking animals. We saw hornbills (Zazu from Lion King) flying all about. We were having a great time. It was an incredible feeling sitting on top of the van, with the savannah spread out before me, gazing into a world most people never see. I just kept screaming to myself, "you're on a safari in Africa!!!!" So surreal.

And then came that moment. You know that moment in Mamma Mia where Meryl is on the yacht lounging in her silk dress being fed grapes having her Titanic I'm king of the world moment, and then next thing she knows reality comes calling and her far away fantasy evaporates in a smokey mist and she's got all these Greeks all up in her face needing money for bills she can't pay. That was this moment. One minute I'm gazing out into the land, ahhh, this is great, look how beautiful....

And the very next minute Africa came calling....she wanted reality back.
Our van drove down a little blip in the path, just a blip, and KABOOM!!!!!
It sounded like something exploded, followed by a sizzling sound, followed by smoke. I'm no car expert...but I'd say that's not a good sign. I'm also no African expert, but I'd say breaking down in the middle of the wilderness is also not a good sign.

We all just kind of sat there for a minute. Not sure what to do. Rhyan tried gunning the gas to climb out of the little pit, and then in reverse to get out. But to no avail. The van was stuck. Then reality sunk in that we were in fact really broken down. And the next thing I know Isaak and our guide get out of the van and take off into the bush to start making their way back to camp to retrieve our Jeep. No time to hug him once last time and offer advice on how to escape an approaching attack by a pact of hyenas.  Uhhh, bye honey! Good luck with that!

We slowly start climbing down off the roof and as we crowd around the busted van we see this....

 ...purple radiator fluid seeping into the dirt. The guys get down and start poking and prodding and before long they are holding and inspecting a big ole piece of car that got ripped off the bottom. I'm gonna venture to say in my limited car knowledge that radiator fluid leaking out and parts falling off the car is not a good thing.

So there we were. Stuck. In the middle of the great big African plain. Nothing around. Just us and the animals and the sun.

Now, some people caught in this situation might have a tendency to get alarmed. To worry. They're the ones that are creepily eyein' you and subtly circling around and you just know they're about to get all Lord of the Flies on you. Thank goodness not this group! Deep down I was shouting...."Our car broke down in the middle of the African savannah!!!!! Wha hoo!!!!!" Sometimes you just have to embrace the adventure. :~)

While the men were busy actually doing something useful like trying to fix the car...we ladies thought it was a good time to reenact Jurassic Park...."and she reached into the dinosaur's poo and pulled it close to her face to inspect the feces. What has she been eating?" And of course we were already scouting out ways to make a bow and arrow, deciding on the best trees to climb to hunt, feeling the urge to get our inner Katniss on.

After a while Isaak and our guide returned with our Jeep. Hooray! They weren't attacked by wild animals along the way! And then all the men pitched in to push with every last morsel of their might to get the van out of that divet and turned around to tow. Then eleven of us piled into the rear of our tiny Jeep and rode back to camp with Isaak driving like he was on some Top Gear episode and our poor guide hanging on from the roof rack, legs dangling and swinging back and forth the entire way.

 Never a dull moment here.


Isaak dropped us off at camp and drove back to the bush to tow the van. Ironically, even though our safari was cut short, as soon as we returned to camp there was a group of elephants at the watering hole!

So incredible to see wild animals interact in their natural environment.

Magnificent creatures.

After hanging out watching the elephants for a while Isaak, Rhyan and Matt had to go into town, two hours each way, to buy parts for the van in hopes of being able to drive it home on Sunday. As they drove off with the AC blasting in our car, we were left to endure another long hot day. Another 108 degrees with no relief. Being outside in heat like that for over fifteen hours has a way of making an alligator infested watering hole look inviting. For reals. You're so hot all you can do is sit there like a blob of slowly melting flesh.

So, instead of tempting fate with the alligators I opted to make a homemade swimming pool of our own. Nicole happen to have an extra tub so we stuffed it in my shower and filled it up for the kids to play in. Thanks to Sydaleigh's preparedness she "just in case" packed a swim suit for her and Marvi and they were all able to play in some water and splash each other to beat the heat.

And then wouldn't ya know...some elephants just so happen to come walking through the trees right next to our camp on their way to the watering hole!!

Seriously, that is the top of the blue chair I was sitting in next to the "pool" the kids were playing in. We are right in the middle of nature here.

(*photo credit to Joanna for snapping this shot of me and Nathanja with an elephant strolling some thirty feet behind us!*)

Just an African elephant walking along.....oh my gosh, pinch me that was SO AWESOME!!!

That night we enjoyed dinner together at the restaurant again and ended the evening with smores over a fire....

... and one last trip down to the watering hole at night. The first night we went down there with our flash lights and shined them across the water to see if any eyes would glow back at us in the darkness.

Sure enough...the banks were alive with eyes. Kind of unsettling to know that there are unseen animals moving about all around you and you can't see them. But we couldn't make out what was at the water as the flash lights weren't strong enough to light the land. So this was all we saw, just pairs of red and green eyes scattered all around us. I was determined to figure out what was out there though. I didn't have my tripod so I balanced my camera on the viewing areas brick ledge and used my remote to take some long exposures. With it being pitch black all around and only a small flash light to dimly light the area directly across from us, and the animals moving back and forth, this was the best shot I got.....

From what I can tell those appear to be either some kind of deer, or a type of hyena. Or both. Or neither. That is definitely an alligator walking into the water.

It was an eventful day to say the least. And despite the fact that it was hot, the girls fell asleep quickly. It helped that we soaked one of my scarves in water and laid it on them to help keep them cool. But with all the excitement they wore themselves out and slept pretty soundly.

On Sunday morning as we were packing up the cars to head home, someone noticed a money in the trees above our car.  No doubt scouting out prospective goods. After a few minutes he jumped down as many more of his companions joined him. So Nathanja grabbed a banana and threw one onto the road and another onto the watering hole path. This little guy was brave to venture out close enough to grab the banana! He's so cute! And probably totally viscous!

Before we left I walked back to the watering hole one last time to revel in the beauty of my surroundings and reflect on the last two days....

It was a very humbling weekend in every aspect....

....just seeing animals in this state filled me with so much awe. It was glorious. And humbling. God is so creative. I would just look at the elephants and think, "What an amazing creature. Look at those eyes and massive ears! What is up with the weird trunk?! What a creative God I serve!" I mean, all the different species of animals and reptiles and birds gathered in one place....it was a constant "wow" moment. Constantly filled with awe. Constantly standing in amazement for the creative mind behind their Maker.

And the accommodations. Speaking with Rhyan who has been on safaris in other African countries I inquired if this was typical living conditions in his experience. The short answer, no. This is Burkina's conditions. When he traveled to Namibia he stayed in a beautiful resort and was greeted with champagne. Not the case in Burkina. This country is poor in every physical way. Even at one of the top tourist destinations in the country, the reality of this land stricken with poverty is there to greet you.

And then the heat. Maybe one of the most humbling aspects of this weekend. The fact that I live in a home provided and paid for by the Embassy with a generator and ac units in every room is not lost on me. We have a pool in our back yard to jump into. I know what we have. I do not take it lightly. I know that it's a gift. And I know that most of the people in my life here do not have the luxury of having a working generator when the power gets cut and they must endure the oppressive heat for hours on end in a home with no a.c. or fans. I know what God has blessed us with here. And when I was laying in bed that first night, staring up at the ceiling in the dark room, so hot, no relief in site, the Lord just spoke so much truth and encouragement to me in those hours. Because the reality is that there was relief in site. Come Sunday I would be traveling back to my a.c. filled home. But the other 99% of people in this country have no such reality. They live day in and day out expected to suffer through the heat. They live in huts or little brick homes with no electricity. No running water. Most people have to walk quite far each and every day, in the heat, to bring back water. They don't have a shower to turn on to stick their hair in to cool off. I see them working outside. I see them standing by the road for hours on end selling brochettes and phone cards. I see them pumping water. I see them walking. I see them peddling on a bike with kids fastened to their backs. I see them huddled under trees with the shade being their only form of relief. And for two days and two nights....I felt the weight of what that feels like. And it's not easy.

It's actually really hard. But I was grateful for it. To be stripped down once again and be given a taste of life here for most of the people in this country was a really good humbling. Which, after living in a constant state of humility since moving here I'm finding I don't mind so much. I'm finding that it's good for the soul to be taken low. And I've been taken lower than I ever have been since moving here.

It was an incredible weekend. Just incredible. I feel so blessed to have made so many memories. To have enjoyed so much. To have seen so much. Blessed for the time to experience the up close, unhindered, in your face, life in the wild with my family. For the relationships my girls are making with new friends. For the magazines I brought that Bekah sent me in the mail. For the monster marshmallows that Aunt Lisa sent that we were able to use to roast on the fire. For the memory of the unexpected animal we spotted in the brush at night and thought was a raccoon until it stood up and walked away and we ran back yelling because raccoons don't get that big and hairy. For the opportunity to bring Chloe here before she returned to England. Getting stranded in the bush. Seeing God's provision to help to bring the busted car home. For the games played. For all the hilarious conversations around the campfire. For the laughter. The food. The rain.

But mostly just feeling blessed beyond words to have gotten to spend it with these amazing people.....

 (Megan and Matt, Isaak, Fred and Nathanja with Jake and Jonah, Sydaleigh, Rhyan and Nicole with Gannon and Harrison, Marvelly, Chloe, Joanna, and me- March 3rd, 2013, Nazinga.)