Spectacular African Safari
October 10th, 2022 (G) - Arrival and Greetings
So, let’s rewind for just a minute, we arrived in Zimbabwe on the evening of October 10th. We were aware that we would have to acquire visas upon arrival, fortunately, this is not typically an issue for US passport holders though it will cost around $50.00 USD per person. This covered multiple entries which were required for our border crossings between Zimbabwe and Zambia for the Devil’s pool (see previous blog entry). Fortunately, the border control representatives were very helpful and made acquiring the correct visa a breeze.
Upon leaving the secured area we were met by our guide Cosmas. We had arranged for our safari through Africa Zim, a local company, and it was booked as a private tour which meant that for the next week it would primarily be just Cosmas, T, and me. A self-proclaimed village boy, Cosmas was fantastic. He had excellent knowledge of the natural surroundings, the true local culture, and customs, and did his very best to ensure that we were always well-informed and comfortable with the daily schedule.
Greeted by his warm smile, we were soon in the car driving to our lodge. Upon arrival at the lodge we checked in and Cosmas made certain everything was as it should be for our stay before bidding us goodnight.
October 11th, 2022 (G) - Dr. Livingstone, Victoria Falls & Devil’s Pool
Victoria Falls and the Devil’s Pool! Since much of this day was fully covered in our previous blog entry, I will hit just one point of interest that was not included in the previous post. Upon walking around Victoria Falls, we came across the statue of a rather intrepid-looking character. Upon reading the placks below we learned this character was none other than Dr. David Livingstone, which you may recollect from the now famously quoted line, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume. “ Unlike many other explorers, the legacy of Dr. Livingstone and his impact upon the indigenous people is a tale of love, honor, respect, and toward the conclusion of his life a ceaseless effort to end slavery in the area.
He and his work for the people were so revered, that upon his death, his heart was taken and buried in Zambia since it was believed that his heart should always remain in the place he loved so well, while the rest of his body was physically carried the 1,500 km (930 miles) to the coast so that it could be returned to be buried in the explorer’s corner of Westminister Abbey in London.
The experience was moving.
With that covered, we’ll hop over the rest of the day’s activities and proceed from the following morning. Please read our previous entry for more information, it was an epic day.
https://www.gtglobaltrek.com/blog-3/the-devils-pool-is-hella-awesome
October 12th, 2022 (G) - Sunset Cruise and Boma Dinner
We enjoyed a very slow morning at the lodge barring one event. We found a rather large huntsman spider about 7 cm (2.5 inches) in diameter. The good news is that this particular spider is not dangerous to humans (causing only irritation if bitten, though such occurrences are rare) and it even hunts mosquitos. Really, this spider was a good fellow to have around, but even though we had a quality mosquito net surrounding our bed, T preferred our new eight-legged pal be transferred back to the great outdoors. The trouble is, they are wicked fast. After a great deal of effort, we managed to get him to exit our room to the great outdoors where I have no doubt he is still happily hunting mosquitos.
Aside from the spider, we relaxed in our room, worked on previous blog entries some, and later sat by the pool and garden area until it was time for our Zambezi River Sunset Cruise.
It was late afternoon when a young man arrived with a small bus. We had been informed by Cosmas who to expect so after being greeted, we hopped into the bus. We stopped at a few other locations for other passengers and eventually proceeded to one of the Zimbabwe National Parks. We were soon onboard a pontoon boat and cruising upstream toward the sun that was beginning its daily descent to the horizon. It is important here that I include the color of the sun in Zimbabwe. It is unlike anywhere else I have ever seen. Most likely due to the dust arising from the Kalahari to the west during the dry season, the sun took on the deepest red color I have ever seen appear. I wished with all my might that I could capture it with a photo but, it was not possible to capture this coloring accurately.
As the sun fell into deeper hues of scarlet, we were lucky enough to spot crocodiles, a few elephants, giraffes, and a couple of hippos all while enjoying a gorgeous sunset and light meal.
With the last rays of light, we returned to our dock. The baboons, which had quickly taken an interest in our bus upon arrival, had fortunately moved off so we had no trouble returning to the bus. The driver had accompanied us on the cruise and now took us to enjoy a traditional-style Boma dinner.
Having been dressed in a few pieces of traditional African fabrics and faces painted with a few red marks, we sat down at our table. The evening included a bit of dancing for me, though T opted not to join in, an inclusive drumming session, a fantastic array of traditional African dishes including the local delicacy known as Mopane-worms (these are actually the caterpillar form of the emperor moth, when cooked they are slightly crunchy with a very pleasant savory aftertaste), but our favorite event of the night was the celebration of an 87-year-old Zimbabwe granny. Certainly, they sang to her and provided a small cake for her, but she was really the one who stole the show. When the dancing and music first began, of her own accord she picked up her cane and took to the dance floor. While she may have moved a bit slow getting there, cane in hand but not in use, she spent two full songs on the dance floor, swaying to the drums, kicking her feet, and bobbing to the rhythm.
After dancing to her heart’s content, she then returned to be enveloped by her children and grandchildren who had come from near and far to be with her on her special day. It was beautiful to see firsthand her strength, vitality, and the passionate love she held for and was returned by her family. Something we can all aspire to, I think.
With the sound of drums still in our ears, we returned to our lodge with Cosmas, bid him goodnight, and slept well beneath the mosquito nets that enveloped our bed.
October 13th, 2022 (G) - Entering Chobe & Evening Drive
The time had come for us to move on from our lodge in Victoria Falls. Onward to Botswana and Chobe National Park! Driving through the bushland, we gained an appreciation for the scale and size of Africa. The bushland is immense. For early explorers, it must have understandably seemed an impassable area, easy to become lost in and filled with mystery. Fortunately, modern roads and cars eased the journey and we soon arrived happily at Chobe Lodge.
The lodge had a grand scale and much exceeded my personal expectations. When first planning to go on safari, I was prepared to endure primitive camping conditions, being a fan of camping and the outdoors I would have been happy enough with a cot, mosquito net, tarp, and something to keep the predators out. Truly I had set my hopes on little more than that until we received the correspondence from Africa Zim regarding our accommodations. In their email, pictures of the accommodation were provided and I realized that we would have rather nice hotel-style rooms for most of the journey. Even so, the Chobe Safari Lodge was spectacular. Set directly on the Chobe river, we had our own bungalow with all the amenities one could ask for.
After checking in and getting ourselves settled. We departed immediately for our first 4x4 drive through the park. It was a few hours before sunset which is one of the best times to catch the wildlife either emerging from or heading to the water. We lucked out and spotted hundreds of elephants, a pride of lions, kudus, giraffes, zebras, hippos, impalas, and various other antelopes and birds during our drive.
After returning to the lodge we enjoyed a large supper with Cosmas and called it an early night since we would be going on a dawn drive the very next morning. Wake-up time would be somewhere around 5 am.
October 14th, 2022 (G) - Morning Drive & Evening Cruise
After a quick wink, we found ourselves shambling in the predawn light toward the 4x4s. Soon we were rumbling down the dusty roads toward the park entrance still half asleep. Once we entered the park, we soon perked up. There were only a few elephants around this early in the morning, but the entire pride of lions we had spotted the night before had moved out from under the trees and were now in full view, some laying across the “road” and others sprawling on the grass closer to the water. We stopped and watched them for a little while until they moved one by one back to the shade of the trees, some coming within arm's length of us as they walked through the 4x4s. This would have been less unnerving had one of the nearby trucks not broken down and gotten stuck…right there…in front of the pride of watching lions.
Speaking softly with the other drivers, the driver of the truck in question arranged to have the other drivers surround and block his truck from the view of the lions which allowed the driver to get out of the truck open the hood and make whatever mercifully quick repair was needed. Our driver seemed to be the most willing to help, and she hopped out of our truck as well to assist with the inspection. Still, the lions were visibly intrigued by this change in the regular routine of the trucks. Their eyes were locked on the group of us, moving their heads side to side as though looking for an opening to pay the lone driver an unwanted visit. We all gave a sigh of collective relief when he returned to his truck and the engine fired over. Now, there was the simple problem of getting the truck out of the sandy area it was stuck in. Mercifully, this was quickly accomplished by our driver, she simply squared up with the front of the stuck truck and gently rammed it until free. Seeing the beleaguered truck freed, the lions lost interest and returned to dozing in the shade of the trees.
We set off again and drove up to a high area, spotting some vultures, on the way. The hill was far from the water and the lions so we felt at ease hopping out of the 4x4 to stretch our legs. We spotted a red billed hornbill (Zazu, for those Lion King lovers out there) while we sipped coffee or tea and munched on small cookies on the hilltop.
As we were finishing up, our driver received a call from a fellow driver stating that a leopard had been spotted! This was a rare occurrence, in the 9 years our guide had been working and doing these trips, this would if we could make it in time, be only the 3rd time he had a chance to see one. Knowing that leopards were particularly elusive and quick to disappear from spectators, our driver hurried us back into the truck and set off with land speed-breaking records with the goal of delivering us a fine view of a wild leopard. Her efforts were well rewarded when we arrived to spot the leopard still lounging on a tree branch, his face hidden from view by an off-shooting limb. We watched in silent wonder as after a few minutes the leopard lifted his head into full view and then set it down looking directly at us. A flurry of camera clicks broke the silence, ours included, while we remained in awe of this elusive member of the big cat family.
A few minutes more, and we moved off to allow newcomers their turn to snap a photo and share this special experience. We saw a few other animals, a giraffe, a few kudu, on the drive back to the lodge, but nothing more spectacular than the leopard.
After returning to the lodge, we had breakfast and then took an afternoon nap before returning to a muster point in the main lodge area. We gathered this time for another sunset river cruise. The Chobe River, divides Namibia and Botswana and is positively teeming with wildlife on both sides. We saw elephants playing in the river, the young ones in particular seemed to enjoy spraying water everywhere but on themselves while a couple of the adults swam across the river to an island to browse or perhaps just to get away from the young ones. Crocodiles lay out in the sun with their mouths agape to aid in cooling themselves, big smiles all around from them. Some hippos and herds of African Buffalo also inhabited the islands. The cruise ended by spotting the tiny but colorful kingfisher bird and another magnificent red sunset.
October 15th, 2022 (G) - Entering the Kalahari
After a quick breakfast, we set out to enter the Kalahari. This would be a longer drive. We were headed south and as we drove on we passed through impressive flat spaces used for agriculture before entering the khaki-colored grass and sands on the northeastern edge of the Kalahari. The trees here during the dry season are little more than dark shrubs that add a harsh beauty to the landscape. We could occasionally spot the massive termite mounds which stretched up to match the height of the trees. The desert itself is massive, stretching across most of southern Botswana, into northern South Africa, and Eastern Namibia. We were able to cross just a small amount of the northeastern portion of the desert on this day. The following day we would cross through the center of it to reach the Okavango Delta, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
During the remainder of the drive Cosmas told us about many of the local tribal customs, everything from their healing practices, to marriage customs, and even funeral ceremonies. He answered any question we came up with, explaining in great detail the reasons for the beliefs and how they had changed through the years. He also told us about growing up in the village and how it differed greatly between the wet and dry season. The wet season was a time of great activity and hard work. It was filled with early mornings and late nights working the fields while the dry season was laidback and the time he enjoyed most as a child.
With his stories having kept us occupied, it seemed in no time, we arrived in our front wheel drive car along an excessively windy and sandy road, which we would later learn several 4x4 trucks had recently gotten stuck on, to our camp. As previously mentioned I was prepared for camping, but this, this was glamping, baby. Any British campaign member would have happily thrown down their hat here. We lacked nothing in the heavy canvas tent. Bunks, bathroom, shower, sink, comfortable wicker chairs, even a vanity desk for T (not that she needs or uses one) were all present. The front of the tent was closed off with a clean glass wall, while screened window slots around the sides of the tent allowed for a nice cross breeze while keeping bugs at bay. The cross breeze was sufficient to ease the sweltering heat of the desert to a tolerable degree. Fortunately, dry heat is always more bearable than the humid, suffocating heat of the jungle so T and I were both rather pleased by the dry wind. The tents were placed around an elephant waterhole, with the front of the tent facing the elephants that gathered there. Elephant Sands truly is where elephants rule.
Given that we were in the desert during dry season there were always several elephants coming and going often right by our tent to reach the waterhole. Possibly one of the most interesting and slightly frightening things about elephants is just how quietly they walk. For an animal of such massive size, you would never know they were approaching until they are next to you, unless they run or trumpet (yes it’s actually referred to as trumpet). The only thing we could sometimes hear when they passed our tent by a meter or so, would be their breathing. Still, they were very aware of our tent and kept a respectful distance.
So, with the heat of the late afternoon upon us, after dropping our packs, and observing that our tent would not be trampled, we decided to sleep through the remaining heat of the day.
After our nap, occasionally disturbed by an elephant trumpet, we rose and sat in front of our tent as the sun fell and the air cooled. Eventually, we moved from our tent to the nearby lodge where we enjoyed watching the elephants. As the light fell to twilight, we each enjoyed a South African produced cider and watched as a pair of banded mongoose kept by the owners to kill snakes prowled around the dining area of the lodge. Having a personal aversion to snakes or nope ropes of nearly any variety, I was grateful for their presence.
A small fire was lit as darkness fell, we enjoyed its warmth and sat very close to the elephants with Cosmas. All was well until a pair of male elephants had some sort of disagreement. A few loud trumpets, the thunder of a true elephant charge and we realized in horror that one of the very large males was being forced back by another towards us. In the blink of an eye T and I retreated away from the small wooded fence that separated us from the elephants. I have no doubt that the elephants would not intend to have crushed us, but seeing an elephant nearly fall (fortunately this one did not) it is easy to understand just how quickly a person could be squashed. The pair of males seemed to have settled whatever their crisis had been and returned peacefully together to finish taking long drinks from the watering hole.
After our moment of excitement, we returned to the fire, though not quite as close this time. Eventually, dinner was prepared and we enjoyed an excellent meal before calling it a night. The stars and moon shone brightly that night. Bright enough for us to notice the huge silhouettes that passed silently past our windows until we drifted off to sleep.
October 16th, 2022 (G) - Crossing the Kalahari
Needing only two hours of sleep per night, elephants never ceased coming and going through the night. Occasionally we would awake to their noises, but quickly became acclimated to them and enjoyed a mostly restful night’s sleep. When morning came, we were surprised to see none remained at the water hole. As we ate breakfast, the number increased. The first to appear was a young male, that approached slowly at first. Followed closely by two other small males, he seemed to realize he would be the first to arrive at the water hole and broke into a triumphant little run. With a short trumpet and ears fully opened he ran happily down the little hill to claim his prize, the first drink of the day’s fresh water. Soon after the others joined him. Then a baby elephant and its mother we had spotted the night before returned for another drink and several other individuals reappeared to enjoy the cool mud and water.
After finishing breakfast, we set off once more. With deft hands, Cosmas drove us back out the sandy winding road. We passed a deeply stuck 4x4 truck that had attempted to depart earlier that morning along the way. Back out to the main highway, we pushed deeper into the Kalahari. The landscape changed some, showing less grass and more sand with fewer trees. Along the highway there were still large green trees owing partly to a waterline that ran next to it that was intended to provide villages with fresh water. The elephants had discovered this waterline in some places and used their immense strength to move the massive concrete access panels so they could enjoy the fresh water.
A portion of the highway was designated as an emergency airstrip after this portion, the highway became much rougher, though not much if any rougher than some of the US highways (looking at you, Indianapolis). It was just after this rough portion of highway that we spotted a large 4x4 truck overturned on its side across the road. A woman sat on the ground clutching her left arm with a bloody rag and another lay very still face down on the pavement to the side of the road. Others people had already stopped and seemed to be checking on them. Uncertain what to expect Cosmas pulled the car past the overturned truck. Skid marks could clearly be seen on the pavement, with the situation unclear Cosmas parked the car and told us he was going to go check on the situation.
We kept watch as he walked toward the group, spoke with them briefly and returned. He informed us that both people were still alive though injured and emergency response had already been notified, but they were now just arguing over who was at fault. With nothing we could do further to assist, we drove on and soon spotted an ambulance headed in the direction of the wreck. We were collectively rather quiet for much of the rest of the drive. It was still several hours before we arrived in Maun but elephants or ostriches here or there broke the silence.
Maun is built near the southeastern edge of the Okavango Delta. During the rainy season the waters of the delta rise and various islands or roads disappear beneath it. It was an intriguing landscape, a mix between the familiar grasses and small dark trees of the desert and lush green swaths of waterlily laden pools or streams. Our accommodation for this final stretch of our safari was a large and beautifully built hotel, that looked out across one of the stretches of lush green reeds. As we entered we could spot some locals pulling their Mokoro Canoes from the water. These are flat-bottomed, traditionally wood (though increasingly they are being made of fiberglass to reduce damage to the local environment) dugout canoes.
After finding our room we had dinner with Cosmas and then went to bed feeling quite prepared for whatever the Okavango Delta might have in store for us the following day…what fools we were.
October 17th, 2022 (T) - The Okavango Delta and Its Angry Hippos
We’ve had some frightening moments while traveling. A few that come to mind are night hiking in The Amazon, hiking on very narrow paths with certain death below if you tripped, or waiting for a ride at 2AM in Rio. We were not expecting today to far surpass those other experiences and become the scariest day we’ve had while traveling so far.
We woke up early, ate breakfast, and waited in the lobby for our ride. We met our friendly driver on time and climbed into the 4x4 to head out to the delta. During the ~hour and a half drive we drove through neighborhoods, highways, then the bush where we passed by some villages. Many children were on their way to school and excitedly waved at us as we drove by. We smiled and waved in return which were met with large grins. Eventually, we arrived at the village situated at the shoreline of The Okavango Delta where we would begin our journey in a mokoro (long, narrow, short-sided, flat-bottomed canoes. Traditionally, they are carved out of wood but now the majority of them are made of fiberglass to save the trees).
Our guide grew up in the village and knew the delta well, which meant he was highly skilled at reading and responding to hippo and crocodile behavior. We knew hippos or crocodiles could be in the water, and we were a bit nervous about it, but we had confidence in the locals’ capabilities to keep us safe. After all, they did grow up and still live on the banks of the delta and are familiar with tracking hippos and know how to give them space so they don’t feel threatened. Our confidence was shaken rather quickly into our boat ride.
It's the dry season, so the water level is low and there are less places for hippos to go during the heat of the day. They usually graze in the morning and night when they aren't at risk for sunburn (they get sunburned too!), so during the day they hang out in shallow water (they can't swim). The crocodiles migrate to areas of the delta where there’s more water.
Literally, as soon as we were poled out we saw a hippo. We gave him space and all was fine. Our guide kept us toward the shore as we continued out. Hippos are fiercely territorial and if they feel like you're trespassing, they will charge you, but they won't eat you, they're vegetarians. The mean kind. They’re the deadliest land animal in the world, killing 500+ people in Africa every year. Not even a minute later we saw another hippo, eyes locked, about 50 feet/17 meters away. He was tracking us. Another THREE hippos surfaced and followed his lead.
My heart was racing and G and I asked what we should do if they attacked. Do we run? Yes, but hippos are FAST on land and in water. But to freeze would be to die in a hippo attack. Ok, so, run, but you physically cannot outrun a hippo. Their disadvantage is their short stumpy legs, so if you can, run in a zigzag. Better yet, if there's a fallen tree or some type of obstacle you can jump over, do that, because hippos can't jump and that will buy you time. G also thought to throw our hats if we needed to, so the hippos would maybe go after them and buy us a few more seconds to flee. At least we had a plan.
My mind was racing as well - we're in the water which would slow us down significantly trying to run. Sure it's less than a foot deep but that's deep enough to make a difference. I don't see any fallen trees or rocks or obstacles to jump over. There are some trees way off in the distance I could run behind, if I make it to them. That hat idea was a good one. Touché, G.
As I was playing out our deaths or brushes with death, I hear a loud snort. The hippos were not amused we were taking too long to get out of their territory and began snorting at us, a warning to GTFO. They started slowly moving towards us. I thought I was panicking before but now I actually was. My heart was racing and pounding. I could intensely feel every heartbeat from my stomach to my head. I felt like I was about to throw up and pass out. G and I could tell our guide was nervous as well, though he was trying to play it cool. Another 30 seconds or so went by and we slowly kept moving away from them and stayed quiet.
Fortunately, we got off their lawn fast enough and they didn't shoot. The anxiety was far from over. Don’t ask me why I thought this was a good idea, but I decided this was the perfect time to ask our guide if he had ever been attacked by a hippo. Why, yes, he had! Never with clients though, and he’s been doing this for 5 years. He was out in a mokoro with his girlfriend during the wet season when hippos have more room to roam and can be harder to spot and they didn’t see the hippo nearby. The hippo charged, they blasted out of the canoe and were able to swim and then run to safety.
With that in mind, we pressed on for another 50 minutes toward an island where we were going to hike. The delta truly is a natural beauty, we were surrounded by reeds, lilies, little yellow water flowers you can use as squirt guns, and African landscape on both sides, fields of grass with scarce trees and various birds and animals going about their day.
Just when we were starting to relax some, as we had not seen another hippo since the mighty 4, our guide informs us the delta is at the lowest it's been all year. It's so low that if it doesn't rain soon, within a couple of days he'll need to use different trails for the mokoros. Trails? Oh... These are HIPPO trails. My stomach knotted up again. Not much to do about it now. We had to go back the way we came and we were almost to the island.
When we arrived at the island, the three of us got out of the boat and started on our hike. Our guide had a stick, no gun and no machete. Immediately, our guide points out some poo and says that's hippo poo used to mark their territory. Greeeat. It didn’t look that old to me, but I’m no hippo expert so I’m not sure.
Up until now, our main fear was the hippos. However, our guide informed us lions are frequently spotted on this island. He nonchalantly stated lions usually run away from humans. If they don't, and they're interested in you, don't run, because that triggers their prey response. I thought to myself, what if we see a lion and a hippo at the same time? (Run? Don't run? Jump?) I was ready to teleport back. Instead, I asked if there were snakes in the area. Sigh. Yes, there are cobras, mambas, vipers, and pythons, but they don't stay in this area during the dry season. Finally, some good news!
At this point, G and I walked a bit behind our guide and discussed returning early. The weather was cloudy and much cooler than usual. What if the hippos want an afternoon snack? What if they can smell their territory on us and take offense? We'd rather not find out. We let our guide know we only wanted to walk for about 30 minutes and then go back. He was surprised and tried to convince us to stay on the island longer but we weren't afraid to say we were afraid and would rather return early so we could avoid any hippo or lion confrontations.
We were relieved to only see birds and cows up close and elephants in the distance on our hike. Our guide taught us about some of the local plants, a poison apple, and wild sage.
After the brief hike, we returned to the boat and began making our way back by the same hippo trails. G and I vigilantly watched for hippos. Another mokoro with a guide and tourists passed us. Their guide told our guide they were afraid as well. Glad we weren't alone. We did not see any hippos until we were almost back, then spotted a few where we had seen them before, perhaps the same ones. I played the escape plan over and over as we gave a wide berth and slowly passed. They were less interested this time. Phew! I couldn't get out of the boat fast enough when we pulled up to the shore.
We apologized to our guide for wanting to dip out of the tour early and he reassured us it wasn’t a problem. We thanked him and then climbed back into the 4x4 where we made our trip back to the hotel.
It was only about 2:00PM when we returned. The adrenaline spikes had been much too high to allow for a nap, so we just vegged out until dinner with Cosmas when we told him all about our perceived near-death ordeal. When he heard we had been canoeing through hippo trails he said even he would say no to that and he understood our fear.
G and I are cautious to share our travel plans with most people we meet while traveling but we felt comfortable sharing with Cosmas the night before. He was so excited to hear about our trek. We spent a lot of time during our last dinner talking about where we had been and what our upcoming itinerary entailed. We still check in with each other from time to time.
October 18, 2022 - Goodbye, Mainland Africa. And Goodbye, Scissors. (T)
The only thing on the agenda today was to go to the airport and fly to our next destination, Reunion Island. After we ate breakfast, Cosmas drove us to the airport. We had an unforgettable time in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana and would recommend Africa Zim Travel and Tours to anyone looking to go on a safari or to see Victoria Falls (and ask for Cosmas if he’s available!) https://africazim-travel.com/
As we were heading toward the security checks in the Maun Airport, we saw the sign for departures “Ba Ba Bololang”, and I thought that was such a fun word to say (sounds like it looks, we asked).
We had managed to carry the same pair of small scissors for cutting hair since 2020 until our layover in Johanessburg where they were confiscated. Good thing we had recently done haircuts.