Chapter Two:Our AdVenture Begins南非之行(二)――开启冒险之旅(上)

南非之行第二站，Brad一行来到了非洲南部的津巴布韦。这里的万基国家公园有90多种动物，413种特殊鸟类和大约1000余种树木和灌木，是津巴布韦最大的野生动物园。在这里会有什么奇遇呢？下面就随本刊专栏作者Brad一起去看看吧。

Buying Souvenirs

购买纪念品

We were off to Johannesburg airport and we had little time to shop and I enjoyed browsing at the Out of Africa Shop to see what I could bring back as gifts for friends.It is quite the art form to paint on ostrich eggs but of course I could only photograph them.

Another craft was most unusual.As butterflies only live forty-eight hours，many are collected for use in a mosaic form art.I bought one for granddaughter Kassandra，as I remem-bered a number of years ago a photo she took of a beautiful green moth and thought that she find this butterfly craft in-teresting as she is also a very good artist.We soon boarded British Airways to Victoria Falls.

Tip：接下来我们就要离开约翰内斯堡，搭乘英国航空奔赴下一个旅游景点――维多利亚瀑布。我们到达约翰内斯堡机场后，登机前还有点购物时间。我想给朋友们捎点方便携带的小礼物。鸵鸟蛋艺术画很特别，但由于是易碎品，我只拍了照片。还有一件由蝴蝶制成的艺术品最特别，蝴蝶只能存活48小时，因此许多蝴蝶就被用于镶嵌艺术形式，比如这种用蝴蝶拼贴而成的艺术画，我给孙女买了一幅。

Arriving at Zimbabwe

到达津巴布韦

Arriving at our destination，Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe，all passengers had quite a long wait as our passports were care-fully scrutinizedl to make sure that none of us were arriving from Western Africa with its Ebola crisis.On exiting，our guide found us and off we drove.We were surprised when a whole troop of baboons darted across the highway.A Brahma bull stood alongside the travelled road.

From my cruise around Australia，I instantly recognised the Boabab tree.ItS unusual bottle shape is so distinctive.We passed a number of thatched tiny homes and interesting trees with yellow flowers.The trees that appeared to have pom-poms on the branches，we later learned that these were the nests of the weaver bird.

Miombo Safari Camp located near Hwange National Park is about a two-hour drive from the airport.We were shown around and then escorted2 to our"tent"which cer-tainly wasn't anything like our Canadian tents.Everything about it was massive.

In the evening，the Ingonyama Dance and Drama Group of nine entertained us.The performers took the name Ingon-yama which meant King of the Beasts.Besides singing and dancing，they imitated a number of animals.I particularly like the elephant.

Everyone is escorted back to their tents when it's dark as there are no fences and wild animals can come into the camp.By the time you are showered and ready to walk to the dining area，the sky is light enough.After breakfast we started out.

Tip：当我们乘坐英国航空到达位于津巴布韦的维多利亚瀑布后，为确保没有从西非来的埃博拉病毒携带者，花了很长时间一一检查每个乘客的护照。当导游开车，载着我们在路上行驶时，我们惊讶地发现有一整群狒狒飞快地穿过高速公路。除了猴面包树，我还看到一种有趣的树，它开着黄花，树枝上挂着啦啦球状的物体，后来才知道那是织巢鸟的巢穴。从机场驱车大约两小时，我们到达了位于津巴布韦万基国家公园附近的某狩猎营地。有人带领我们参观，并护送我们到达住宿的“帐篷”。晚上，我们观看了当地的艺术表演，演员们表演了一种意为野兽之王的舞蹈，还模仿了很多动物的叫声，我尤其喜欢大象。

Our First Venture into the Wild

我们的首次野外探险

Before we even got to the Reserve，we spotted four giraffes and three"Velvet"monkeys close to the narrow paved road.

Notice how well her legs are camouflaged by the leaves on the bush.

One of the most recognisable birds，the Hornbill of which there are seven varieties.Most are omnivores feeding on berries，figs and insects.This Southern Yellow-Billed is known as the"flying banana".We enjoyed seeing a herd of Impala which we call the McDonald snack of Africa due to their large"M"marking on the behind.The Park's logo is the Impala.Gate raised， we enter the large park for our first venture into the wild.

We notice a group of warthogs grazing.We keep driving past golden grasses contrasting with beautiful green Acacias.Soon we come upon a number of ele-phants.How spectacular to be so close to them.They are not at all perturbed by our safari jeep.The frontal view photo：he is not charging us，simply on one foot to dig up something tasty.Elephants push over trees to get at the topmost leaves.It is also beneficial to shorter animals as they feed on anything the elephant does not eat.

Tip：在到达自然保护区之前，我们就发现距离狭窄的道路不远处，有四只长颈鹿和三只绒猴，长颈鹿很巧妙地利用灌木的树叶遮住了自己的腿。犀鸟是最容易辨认的鸟类之一，其中的南黄弯嘴犀鸟有“飞翔香蕉”之称。我们很喜欢见到的一群黑斑羚，它们的臀部两侧有像麦当劳标志的“M”形黑色斑纹，万基国家公园的标志就是黑斑羚。当我们到达万基国家公园后，不一会儿就遇到了一群大象，它们完全不理会我们的吉普车。照片上的这只大象好像发现了什么美味，正专注地用一只脚挖掘。如此近距离地跟大象接触，这种感觉太不可思议了！

下期，我们继续跟随弗兰克林夫妇一同体验遭遇象群的壮观刺激，尽享观鸟的乐趣，领略赞比西河河畔的秀丽风光。