The Weeklong Wedding

you have probably been wondering why, after writing in my blog religiously for several weeks, I have not written an entry in a full week. The answer is simple: I went to a wedding. A wedding that lasted a week!
My boss’ brother got married on the farm. My boss has been planning the wedding for quite some time and has been fairly frantic since my arrival (often accounting for the fact that she is slow to address my requests). This was to be a huge wedding, requiring transport, food, and lodging on the farm for several hundred guests, as well as preparations to the unfinished future home of my boss. Lots to do!
The festivities began on Friday with a black tie event in Harare at another brother’s castle-like home. Thank goodness I had packed a black cocktail dress! The evening was filled with champagne, Irish jam session, and dj flown in from Austria. At first I felt a bit uncomfortable because the atmosphere was unlike anything I had ever been part of, but as I met people, both young and nice, I started to enjoy myself. We were back on the farm at 2am.
The next afternoon was the wedding itself. It was the first time i had visited the new house and it is spectacular. James Bond meets Africa. Seated on the edge of a cliff overlooking a dam, with a view of the entire farm, untrained-modern design and stunning cliffside pool, it was the perfect location for a wedding. The ceremony was held just before sunset and then there was a music performance, pictures, sunset champagne, buffet dinner, and speeches. After that, the Austrian DJ started playing and the house became a dance floor. People danced and drank until the sun came up!
The next morning was a picnic brunch in a forested area of the farm. The brunch was followed by an evening barbecue (or bry, as they call it here). Another full day of champagne drinking for most, though you can imagine the mood was a bit more subdued.
Monday morning 40 of the wedding guests departed for Antelope Park, a zoo-like game retreat in the north of the country. I say zoo-like because it was essentially a fenced-in artificial game park with animals scattered throughout, elephant and horse riding, and caged lions for viewing. I am not painting a very good picture here, and admittedly my first impression wasn’t stellar, but I did have fun. Here are a few things I did:
– morning game drive: We were in an open-backed truck off-roading through the bush, looking at antelope, giraffes and zebra. It was a lovely, cool morning and I enjoyed the rugged scenery and the wind in my hair. This was, however, not a “real” game drive. There was no chance of seeing hippos, hyenas, lions, etc… And it was quite a bit later than the 5am game drives that are usual.
– lion feeding: This was probably the highlight of my time at Antelope Park. First we learned about the rehabilitation project. Lions are endangered in the African wild and this park is trying to reverse that through a 4-stage process. In stage one,lions are placed in captivity and taken out periodically at night for game hunting in order for them to perfect their natural hunting skills. In stage two, lions are placed in a 500 acre area of land and left to their own devices. However, because there are no predators the lions can survive. In stage three, the land is increased to 10,000 acres and other predators (though no other lion prides) are present. Stage four is the wild. It is a nice idea and a good project, but so far their lions have only made it to stage 2. Some stage 2 lions are ready to move to the next phase but this requires money they don’t have. They are in negotiations with other parks and big companies to try to advance their project, but in the meantime their lions are getting back-logged. The only real success they have had is that the first cubs have been born in stage 2 and because these cubs have never interacted with people, could conceivable make it to stage 4.
Anyway, the lion feeding was sooooooo cool! I arrived to a gigantic pile of raw meet – chickens, piglets, intestines, hide, etc. Such a gross site! The lions are released into the feeding area and we watch them run toward the food (which is right beside the fence where we are standing). It is such a rush to see them racing toward us, growling and fighting. The lions who are competing for dominance lay down on top of the meat and try to intimidate each other. This goes on for a long time, until one lion steps down. The remaining lion is the dominant male. When we watched, three lions laid on the pile. One had been dominant before but he was more on the side of the pile eating a chicken. The other two left him alone because he wasn’t challenging them for the best meat. The current dominant male was sat on the left and the male who has been challenging him for months was in the center. The other four were sat around patiently waiting for the first ones to be finished. I didn’t witness any deposition but it was fascinating to watch the politics at play. Humans are certainly not the most political animals!
Later than night, I decided to watch the other half of stage 1 rehabilitation – the nighttime lion hunt. I piled into an open-backed truck and followed three lions as they hunted in the bush. It was such a rush to be in that truck as the lions were released from their cage – they could have easily jumped up and mauled my head off. But because they interact with humans, they don’t see us as food and were more interested in getting their hunt on! For three hours we followed them as they walked, sniffed, and stalked impala. I witnessed there chases, and each time our truck jetted forward at full speed to follow the action, shining an unobtrusive infra-red light at the action. I didn’t see any kills (thankfully) but I did see two close calls. What I realized is, firstly that impala can really fend for themselves. The impala knew the lions were there and were aware of them approaching and for whatever reason they would only dart off at the last moment (as the lion switched from stalk to chase mode) and they always easily escaped. The other thing is that lions are really lazy – at least these were. They mostly walked, laid down once for a rest, and they gave up the chases incredibly quickly. I wonder if their half-heartedness is due to the fact that they know they will get a meal at home even if they don’t catch something. Anyway, it was sooooooo cool!
– elephant riding: I have already risen an elephant in Nepal and that experience was nicer because we walked through the bush for a couple of hours. But what was neat about this was that I got to interact with the elephants. I got to feed them ( their trunks are really wet and have the sucking power of a strong vacuum), pet them ( they are prickly with hair), and sit on them barebacked. I like hands-on experiences!
– walking with the lions: What?!? Yes, I walked with two lion cubs (12 and 10 months). We walked in the bush together, me holding their tails, and they laid down and let me pet them on their backed. We watched them kiss each other and play and they reminded me of Sammy and Monk. So cute!
Overall, Antelope Park was an educational, hands-on experience. The wedding was full of people, conversation, fun, and champagne. I am glad it is over though – I am ready to go “home”, cuddle with my cats, and sleep in my bed.
I will post the pics soon