Visit to Victoria Falls

Have spent the past few days in Victoria Falls, taking advantage of staying in one place for 3 full days.  We got up before sunrise on the first day to catch the Falls before the hordes of crowds arrived and were lucky enough to see several rainbows from the mist.  Next, I scared myself silly and did the zipline canopy tour over the canyon, then ended the stay with a walk to the famous Victoria Falls Hotel.  

Chobe Sunrise Drive

Even for a morning person like myself, getting up at 4:45 am for a game drive can be a tough alarm to set.  But get up we did and it was well worth it.  We took an open-air jeep into Chobe National Park and our amazing driver, Robert, managed to perfectly place us for every wildlife sighting we could have dreamed of in the span of three hours.  (With the exception of a male lion - Carmen, you'll have to put your request in sooner next time!)

The highlights included:  A momma leopard caring for her two cubs in a tree.  Then a wildly bumpy and dusty ride down a sandy road to chase down a pack of wild dogs who our guide hadn't even seen in 2-3 months.  They walked right behind our jeep with their pups.  Next up was a lioness, hanging out by herself in a bush next to the side of the road (maybe 10-15 feet away?) and just up the dusty trail from there, we caught another leopard walking down from her tree branch perch.  Finally, we saw an entire pride of lions walking across the grassy meadows, with 3-4 moms and 7-8 cubs.  Apparently she was none too pleased and I managed to capture her snarling at our jeeps.  And as with all the wildlife drives, we saw plenty of elephants, warthogs, birds, jackals, and giraffes too...

Chobe River Sunset Cruise

Still in Botswana and we took a 3 hour sunset river cruise into Chobe National Park tonight.  Spectacular wildlife sightings in every direction.  There are over 120,000 elephants in the park, so they were plentiful.  We also saw crocs, hippos, impalas (the deer looking animals below with horns), and a hiding kudu.  Here are some of the highlights and tomorrow, we head back into the park at 5:45 am to catch the animals as they end their evenings...

Makgadikgadi Salt Pan drive in Nata

We got picked up at our campsite in Nata and were driven out in open air safari jeeps to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.  At first sight, it looks like an uninhabitable moonscape and yet the wildlife manages to find a way to survive.  We got lucky and saw pink flamingos, pelicans and wildebeest.  Eventually after driving for miles, you arrive at a gigantic lake, which has waves like the ocean...

Mokoro Ride in the Okavango Delta

Just got back from three days bush camping in the Okavango Delta, outside Maun, Botswana.  It was a 2-hour mokoro ride (a low canoe) through tall grasses and side streams to a small island for two nights.  No electricity, we had to pack in all of our water and it was a "bush" toilet.  (Linds - that picture is for you!)

We did walking safari tours each day, seeing zebras, impalas, red bucks (very large deer), warthogs and even a few elephants.  The first morning walk, we stumbled right into an elephant family and managed to royally upset a momma elephant who fake charged us.  Fortunately, we had a great guide who told us to just stand still and then we slowly walked backwards.  (Vedo and Kerry, remind you of our trip in Kruger much??  Except this time, no car!)

Our last afternoon, we took a 6-seat airplane and flew over the Delta to get a bird's eye view of where we had been - Amazing!

Becoming a Traveler...

Right before I left town, an old friend (John) talked to me about his years spent in Japan and how he eventually transitioned from a tourist to a traveler.  I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I arrived here in Africa.  I already feel like I've been on the road for weeks and I've actually only been here in southern Africa for three days.  :)

Yesterday and today, we traveled from Johannesburg to Moan, Botswana.  We are "luxury" camping each night and I had forgotten how much I loved sleeping outside since I never went camping while living in LA the past two years.  And it's unbelievably hot and dusty here - Hotter than any place I've ever visited...

Here are just some of the cool animals we saw last night on our first safari drive.  Tomorrow we leave super early for "bush" camping where we hike in for a few days and sleep next to the animals (no fence!)  Here's hoping we don't get any night time visitors of elephants or hyenas...  :)

Let the Wild Rumpus Start!

Excited and nervous for my 6-month trip to begin today.  First stop?  Johannesburg, South Africa to kick off a 2-month camping safari through 10 countries in Africa...