BOTSWANA: Chobe Cruise and Moremi Game Reserve in Okavanga Delta

Our duffel bags are packed as we say goodbye to our "real luggage."  We will be wearing safari clothes for our 9 day adventure in the bush.  After a coach ride to the border of Zambia and Botswana, we took a ferry ride across the Zambezi River and later transferred to a motorboat for a safari on the Chobe River.  

Water buffalo grazing beside the Chobe River

After a ferry ride followed by plane ride, followed by motorboat safari, we arrived at our lodgings in the first safari camp. KHWAI RIVER LODGE!  Rustic yet elegant, this place afforded us with a panoramic view of the elephants, rhinos, and hippos in the water!

Our camp in Khwai River Lodge

Our view of the buffalo, elephants, and hippos from our camp porch\

a village dwelling near our safari camp

 After the boat safari, we took a short jeep safari and were well rewarded with the sighting of lions and leopards as well as a family of hyenas.  This time of year (early spring) by North American terms, is the season of births. 

Moewmi Game Reserve Map

Brother leopards heading to the water for a drink at dusk

Ibex

hyena family

Yellow billed stork

warthogs

Southern Ground Hornbill

male elephants

Mother and newborn giraffe

zebras gathering

We drove into the sunset 

 

The Southern White-faced Scops owl on our night drive safari

VICTORIA FALLS, RHINO WALK, AND CRUISE ABOARD THE LADY LIVINGSTONE ALONG THE ZAMBEZI

Today we headed for a walking tour of Victoria Falls aka Mos-oa-Tunya which translates into English as (The Smoke that Thunders).  David Livingston, a British missionary and explorer, gave the falls its English name for Queen Victoria.  The site where the mile wide Zambezi River plunges into a chasm 350 feet below is awe inspiring.

The Smoke that Thunders, Victoria Falls/ Deafening waterfall

On a sunny day, a rainbow will often appear in the spray of this great waterfall

 After the hike to Victoria Falls, we took a walking safari to view the white rhinos.  These rhinos had been relocated to Zambia from South Africa to create a new population on the north side of the Zambezi River.  Most of the white rhino population in Zambia had been poached.  Rhinos are very dangerous, in fact they have killed more humans that any other animal species in Africa.  These photos were taken with a powerful zoom lens so we could keep our distance.

Next we boarded the boat called, not surprisingly, The Lady Livingstone, for a cruise down the Zambezi River as we ate lunch.  We saw many species of colorful birds, but the highlight was watching the female elephants crossing the river with their babies in single file formation.  The babies were placed between grownups and had been trained to wrap their trunks around the tail of the grownup elephant in front of them.  If the baby began to sink, the elephant behind would bolster its head above water with her trunk.  Amazing and beautiful to observe. The male elephants stay separate from the females and babies, often as loners in the vast landscape.

Mother and baby elephants crossing the Zambezi

 

 

rhino and stork companions

ZAMBIA (LIVINGSTONE)

Imagine a trip back to the time of the British, French, Dutch, and Belgium colonization of parts of Africa.  And yes, it was a dual path that led the continent of Africa down the road to modernization and perdition.  Indeed the continent of Africa was sliced and diced like a freshly slaughtered cow among the European powers.  Zambia was colonized by the British under the auspices of the British South Africa Company which showed little interest in the province beyond a source of labor.  Our first night in the country of Zambia was spent in the Royal Livingstone Hotel located in the heart of Mosi-os-Tunya National Park and a stone's throw from the famous Victoria Falls of the Zambezi River.

The Royal Livingstone Hotel

The Royal Livingstone was built in the style of the British colonial southern Africa, complete with whirring ceiling fans, tile floors, English antiques, and English gardens.  It was a beautiful place, but the highlight of our first day/night in Zambia proved to be the luxurious, vintage ride on the 1920's steam train called, not surprisingly, The Royal Livingstone!  The train, like the hotel was named for the famous British missionary with the British Missionary Society,  Dr. David Livingstone who was also an explorer of Africa.

The elegant dining cars complete with crystal and China

 Our 16 mile journey took place at sunset and took us through the bushveld as we ate a five course dinner and met some really wonderful people who would be joining us on this safari of a lifetime.  The train stopped as it was passing over a trestle above the Zambezi River just as the sun was setting.

Sunset over the Zambezi River

Stork in silhouette of sunset on the Zambezi

BOTSWANA: MAKAGADIKGADI PANS NATIONAL PARK, CAMP KALAHARI, WALKING SAFARI WITH THE SAN BUSHMEN

common area of the camp

After a short flight in a bush plane to Makagadikgadi Pans National Park, we drove to Camp Kalahari, and what was to be my favorite part of our African adventure.  The camp boasts no electricity, although they did install solar batteries to recharge our cameras (and one gentleman's hearing aids).  Our tent, and it was a tree house tent, rested about 15 feet above the dry ground and afforded a vast view of the surrounding brush and desert.  At night we raised the flaps and had a gentle breeze as we slept amid the night noises of elephants foraging through the brush.  The entire camp felt like a voyage back to a much simpler time in Africa.  The soft glow from kerosene lanterns lent an air of mystery and "real camping."

Lunch at camp

double sinks in a tent bathroom?

This guy was our dinner guest at each meal

old fashioned iron bed with mosquito canopy in a tent?

The amazing dinners at this very primitive camp

Our receiving line when being introduced to the San Bushmen

Tribal woman digging for herbs

Note that the children are dressed in western garb while parents wear traditional clothes

Making a fire by rubbing sticks together

I will always remember the very strange and uncomfortable mood among the Americans on our trip as we were introduced to the indigenous tribe of the area.  Several of the women were bare breasted and I'm sure that was the first encounter most of us had had with being introduced to topless strangers who were merely wearing their native dress.  Hilarious to watch the men among us.

placing a scorpion in his mouth