Safari Summary

 Friday=Saturday, March 17-18, 2023

Our South African Safari comes to a close today as we pack up to head home.  We left Indianapolis 36 days ago for our first trip overseas, not knowing what to expect.  Well, it's been an amazing adventure!

Leaving Victoria Falls, we had to go through the immigration process once again, through Zambia to Zimbabwe, and through the disinfection machine.  

We boarded a plane to return to Johannesburg one more time. 

Our group retrieved luggage from the hotel and repacked and changed from shorts to long pants, as many are headed home to colder climates.  Some are staying a few more days, others a few weeks!

The goodbyes and hugs began--we've made a lot of good friends after being together for the past 33 days.  These three guys, John, Bill and Karl lasted 33 days without shaving! I wish I had a before and after pic.  The beards don't look too bad! 

 It has been another trip of a lifetime!  We survived a UV index of 12!  The sun is so intense in Africa, we have tan lines from our watches, just from our arms hanging out in the safari vehicles!  (In comparison, I checked the UV index in Arizona and it is 6.)

We have traveled 18,243 air miles, and driven about 4500 kilometers on the wrong side of the road, (fuel cost about $450).

We've been to 6 different countries and have had a real education on border crossing and the immigration process. 

We have seen everything from cosmopolitan Cape Town to the poor Mukuni Village.  We've been to the southernmost point of Africa, and stepped in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.  We've learned about aparthied, and how politics have affected the countries. We have learned a lot about not only geography but the culture of different people and different countries. And we've seen one of the 7 natural Wonders of the World!  We've sampled African cuisine, most of it really good.  We tried crocodile, Kudu, Ostrich, Pap, Malve Pudding, Biltong (jerky), but didn't elect to try termites or worms.

We have been through 8 national parks, and visited 6 private game reserves.  And we've seen the animals...so many animals.  Seeing them up close in their natural habitat has been exciting, eye-opening, and quite a privlege.  It gives a real appreciation for conservation and protection of their species and their space.  When we asked a guide at one of the reserves about releasing animals to the wild, he remarked "Where is the Wild?   There really is no wild left today!"

We arrived home 33 hours after leaving Victoria Falls.  My pillminders and toothpaste tubes are empty, and my suitcases are full (mostly dirty laundry and shopping treasures) but most importantly, we are filled with wonderful memories of a wonderful trip.

Our daughter and 2 grandkids met us at the airport with hugs and happy faces and dinner...who could ask for a better homecoming?  So long Safari...It's good to be back home.

Wonderstruck!

 Thursday, March 16, 2023

Victoria Falls is the largest curtain of falling water in the world, and is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World!  It is also a National Heritage Site. We were showered with awe (and lots of water) as we walked along the edge of the falls with the mist and spray following us.  The first picture is before we got wet!

The spray from the water caught the sun and formed a perfect rainbow over the gorge.  The bridge in the background is the Victoria Bridge that connects Zimbabwe and Zambia.  It was built in 1905.  

The falls are more than 5000 ft wide and drop 354 ft, twice as high as Niagra Falls!  It is truly a magnificent sight.   The cascade of water is created by the Zambezi river as it falls into the gorge between Zambia and Zimbabwe.  You can hear the thunder of the water as it rushes over the rocky cliffs.

The falls were first viewed by David Livingstone in 1855, and the town on the Zambia side is named Linvingstone for him.  He named the falls Victoria Falls after Queen Victoria.  

You could never quite see the entire width of the falls because of the enormous amount of spray and mist coming off the water.   It was like walking through a rainstorm, and we all were soaking wet, down to the underwear, despite rain gear. 

Several from our group took a helicopter ride over the falls and into the gorge and shared this photo from the air.  It is a great view and also shows how close our hotel is to the falls.

After seeing this wonderful place, you can appreciate it being named as a natural Wonder of the World!

The falls are just a short walk from our hotel, and we all went back to change into dry clothes for our visit to Mukuni Village.  It is a village close to Livingstone that is home to 7,000 people, who live in huts with straw roofs.  We were given a tour of part of the village to get an idea of how people live in this area.  It was quite an education.  

This lady was preparing dinner for her family of six children.

The kids were all curious about the white people walking through their village, but all seemed very happy.  They loved to have their picture taken and then see it on the phone.

The villagers support themselves by selling their crafts.  Tourism is their "industry".

Village offenders must spend itme in the local prison.  One of the offenses is foul language--yikes!

This tour certainly gave us more insight into life in a third world country.  These people are happy, but have nothing. It is humbling as we think about everything we have done in the past month.

We returned to the hotel which is truly a resort.  In addition to the pool and outside bar, there are animals all over the grounds and a special full-time security guard with a slingshot in case the animals get too close!  (The baboons are the worst offenders.)

A baboon got into the room of one of our friends and stole sugar from the sugar bowl just as Suzanne shooed him away.  I screamed when I saw a baboon on our balcony, checking out Jim's shorts that were laying on the rail to dry from our trip to the Falls.  Now I understand the slingshots! 

We closed out the evening with our Farewell Dinner, complete with local dancers that guided us down the garden path to a dinner of South African fare.  I didn't try the worms.

Some of our group joined in the dancing.

Everyone shared favorite memories and feelings about the trip.  What a wonderful finale to a wonderful trip. We have just one more day together.....

Angry Elephant

 Wednesday, March 15, 2023

What a full day of adventure today!  We started with breakfast at 6am, then loaded the bus for a trip to Chobe National Park in Botswanna.  Just getting there was quite an adventure!

We crossed the Kazungula bridge which connects Zambia and Botswana, over the Zambezi River.  The bridge is a road and rail bridge that was recently built (completed in 2021) and replaced a ferry that would transport trucks across the river. 

Trucks would often had to wait 2 weeks to get across the river!  There is a point in the river where the Zambezi and Chobe rivers meet called the Quadripoint, where four countries meet...Zambia, Botswanna, Namibia and Zimbabwe. (sounds like 4 corners in New Mexico!)  I'm learning a lot about geography on this trip.

Along the way we  saw several groups of kids on their way to school  looking spiffy in their uniforms.  Our driver explained that schools are free for grades 1-12, but students must buy their books and uniforms.  I don't think there are school buses...everyone walks here.

Because we were leaving Zambia and entering Botswanna, we had to go through several checkpoints once again.  The first stop was a stop to "clean" our shoes.  The bus drove over some cleaning bumps with disinfectant to clean the tires.  Then, everyone had to get off the bus and step into a pan with a sponge-like thing soaked in disinfectant.  This is to prevent people bringing in hoof and mouth disease and contaminating the animals...kind of weird.  I hope the soles of our shoes don't deteriorate! 

We all got back on the bus, and travelled a short distance to the health checkpoint to show our covid vaccination cards. Apparently in the past there was also a temperature check, but not this year.

Back on the bus again, then off to immigration.  At least this time it was in one building; one side was clearance to exit Zambia and the other side to enter Botswanna.  More stamps on the passport! Once we all made it through, we loaded up on safari vehicles for a safari drive through Chobe National Park.

Chobe was the first national park in Botswanna.  It was originally created as a game reserve in 1960 and then declared a national park in 1967 when Botswanna became independent and the land was transferred to the government.  

Our guide Marcus treated us to coffee and tea before we entered the park. 

Chobe is very different from the other national parks we've seen here.  It is very rugged, with no paved roads.  

It is also a park with free movement...there are no fences around the park like there are in other parks, so the animals can wander into the town, or across the river to another country!

Chobe is known for a large elephant population and we saw a bunch of them up close and personal.  There were lots of little ones (but I don't think any elephant is little).

Jim taking a picture--it shows how close they were!

A variety of animals came out to greet us, even though it was a hot day.

The Chobe River creates a riverfront area, with sandy beach that attracts the wildlife, and provided some great viewing opportunities for us as we drove along the river.  The animals come to the river for water.

We saw lots of hippos--some snoozing in the river, others eating and others just wandering about.

The birds were plentiful; I stopped trying to remember what they are.

 The highlight of the day was a true safari experience.  As we came around a bend, there was a huge bull elephant in the middle of the road.

  There were several females around, and some smaller elephants too.  The big guy was obviously agitated,   Our guide explained that he was in musth (in heat).   Signs of this biological condition are irregular behavior and aggression, secretion around the face (we could see white gook) and constant urination or seminal secretion. (we could see that too!)   We could also smell a unique odor. (wonder how that's how men's scent "Musk" came about?) The elephant was standing in the middle of the road, and as we inched forward to try to pass, he began to come directly toward us like he was going to charge.  I was a bit scared--this guy was enormous, and obviously not very happy!  

Our vehicle backed up, and he continued toward us. Another vehicle (others from our group) lined up right beside us, revved the engines, and both vehicles inched forward together, creating a standoff with the elephant. The two vehicles advancing together looked threatening coming toward him. 

The females and young elephants ran off, and the  big elephant began backing off.  He finally retreated, but cursed at us with a big trumpet call, and ran off.  

It was really unbelievable to see this unfold.  Our guides were so cool about it, and handled it professionally.  I do have to say it was scary, but an experience I'll never forget and gave us all something to talk about for the rest of the day.  Hope that bull elephant gets what he's after!

After the safari drive, we had lunch on a boat that cruised around the Chobe River. Our guide Marcus from the game drive earlier in the day was also the captain of the boat and pointed out animals and sights along the way.

Check out the crocodile hanging with the elephants.

This huge croc was waiting for the Kudu, and we thought we were going to see some action, but the Kudu saw him before it was too late.

After the elephant charge I think we saw enough wildlife action for one day!

Here's an elephant cooling off in the late afternoon.

There are so many more pictures to share.  Words can't explain how amazing it is to see all of these animals.  

After returning to the hotel, we all met in the bar and we were able to facetime with our Tennessee friends who had to leave the trip early.   It was good to see Chris smiling, and Ken ended up buying everyone a drink!  How special that we were all able to see each other one more time before the trip ends.