Africa Safari:
Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia Sept 17 to Oct 1, 2022
One of my goals in life was to go on a safari to Africa to see all the animals and country. Two years ago Judy and I were signed up to go to Africa but covid came and the trip was cancelled. This year I signed up to go again and take my son with me. It was a Road Scholar trip and it could not have been better. We had so much fun.
I will go through the trip day by day with some of the highlights. I took lots of pictures of animals and will show only some of the best.
We saw the following mammals. In some cases only once and in others multiple times. Some of the night time animals do not have pictures. Roan and sable antelopes, baboons, honey badger (rare), cape buffalo, bushbaby, bushbuck, civet, elephants, genet, giraffe, hippopotamus, hyena, impala, kudu, lechwe, leopard, mongoose (banded and white stripped), vervet monkey, squirrel, warthog, waterbuck, wild dogs, wildebeest and zebra.
We saw lots of birds too, some of which I did not get names for but I bet my son did. Barbet, bee-eaters, bittern, boubou, red and yellow broadbill, Kori bustard, buzzard, cormorant, crane (blue and grey crowned), several types of doves, fish eagle, great and cattle egrets, francolin, go-away-bird, Egyptian goose, guinea fowl, many different herons,hoopoe, red and yellow hornbill, sacred and hadela ibis, janaca (African and lesser), many different kingfishers, yellow-billed kite, several types of lapwings, two different owls, pearl spotted owlet, red and yellow oxpecker, peafowl, great white pelican, lilac breasted roller, cape shoveler, magpie shrike, African skimmer, white sparrow weaver, spoonbill, black and marabou stork, two different vultures, wagtail, and blue wax bill. The guides were very good at spotting birds and naming them but many flew away before I could write down the names.
If you are not bored yet I will take you on a day by day journey.
Day 1 and 2 Travel days. Saturday Sept 17and Sunday Sept 18
I got up early Saturday the 17 at Molly’s house in Seattle to take me to the airport for a 7:30 am flight to Newark. There I said good bye to Molly and to Judy. I was going to miss Judy for sure. The flight to Newark was uneventful but I would be meeting Daniel my son there to continue our trip.
We met in the restaurant near the boarding area. We took the 11 hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. We got there just in time to go to the tour group orientation dinner at the City Lodge Hotel. The dinner was chicken, spaghetti and meatballs, squash, fruit and wine. At the orientation we were given some idea of the trip and some of the rules we were to follow.
 |
| Me in front of City Lodge Hotel Eastgate |
We met all the other 10 members of our group and Keith our main guide. I was tired. Travel again tomorrow.
Day 3 To Botswana and camp on the Khwai river. Monday.Sept 19
After breakfast of our choice of cereal, eggs to order, waffles, juice, fresh fruit etc. we were to head out to the airport to take small charter plans to an airstrip near Maun, Botswana. My son Daniel decided
to take a covid test he brought and tested positive. According to Road Scholar policy he had to stay at the hotel for five days and until he tested negative. Needless to say he did not catch up to the group until Saturday.
Everyone was sad he had to stay behind. The rest of us went to the airport for our 12 noon flight and went through customs to get our passports stamped.
 |
| Our plane at the dirt landing strip. |
 |
| The 4 wheeled vehicle we traveled in. |
We arrived in Maun and had to go through Botswana customs and immigration. After all that, we boarded small aircraft and flew to a small dirt airstrip where we met our open air 4 x 4 safari vehicles.
On the way to our camp on the Khwai River which was on the eastern edge of the Okavango Delta, we saw the first of our animals. Our first elephants, first lions with two cubs, a giraffe, two wart hogs, herd of zebras with babies, a bunch of baboons, several hippo’s, impalas, some water buck, three crocodiles, and lots of birds. This was all in the first few hours on our way to our camp. What a start to our trip.
 |
| Lechwe antelope |
We got to camp and were greeted by the crew with song.
Dinner was beef cooked over an open fire, veggies, potatoes, wine, and desert. As we were eating a hippo came out of the Khawi river and started eating grass less then 100 feet from where we were eating dinner. He was too busy eating to bother with us and he did this several times.
What a start of our trip. Time for bed. My tent was at the far end of the group. It was required that at night we had to have an escort to our tent in case an animal was too close and we could be in danger. During the night I could hear the hippo eating grass outside my tent. I heard other sounds as well. No flushing toilet and a bucket shower if we wanted.
 |
| My tent. |
Day 4 Khwai Camp Game Drives Tuesday. Sept 20
Our typical day with game drives was like this. Wake up call at 6 am with breakfast at 6:30. The game drive started typically at 7:30 am and we would get back to camp by 11:30. At this camp breakfast was cereal, waffles, fruit, sausage and bacon, juice and coffee. This morning it was cool so most of us wore our fleece.
 |
| In front of the dining room. |
 |
| Watering hole |
Lots of elephants near the camp and a male lion with his pride in the middle of the road. He could care less about the vehicles with all these people watching him. Rule number one while on game drive. No one gets out of the vehicles when we are near animals and for potty breaks unless one of the the guides checks the area to make sure it is safe. Our big hit today was a leopard which we followed for a while while she was stalking a pair of guinea hens. Spectacular but she did not get the birds for dinner. We saw the leopard later in the day licking her paws.
The guide said that indicated she had gotten something to eat. Saw at least five hippo’s in the river. Saw lots of birds. Two cape buffalo were close to the camp when we got back.
 |
| Bushbuck |
After lunch Keith gave a talk on elephants which was very good. When we got ready for the evening game drive, elephants and cape buffalo were close to my tent so I could not go and get my stuff from the tent.
 |
| This guy was just across the river from us. |
 |
| Elephant by my tent. |
 |
| Cape buffalo just across the river from my tent. |
Off we went. Watched crocks feeding on a dead elephant. We were told that hyenas came here at night to feed also.
This old lion was near this carcass for several days when we went by. He was apparently kicked out of the pride and had to be on his own.
Every evening we had what is called a sundowner which means we stopped at a nice place to watch the sun go down and have drinks and cookies. Many beautiful sunsets.
Dinner tonight was chicken with mixed veggies, and chocolate pudding for dessert. Keith showed us the Southern Cross and some of the stars in the sky. What a day.
Day 5 In mobile tented camp on Khwai River Wednesday Sept 20
Early rise again and breakfast of granola topped with fresh fruit, juice and coffee. Some members of the group were asking when Daniel was coming. With no cell phone coverage or wi-fi, Keith nor I had any information or any means to get it. We will have to wait until later to find out Daniel’s status. Off on a game drive by 7:30. Saw a herd of elephants cross the road with babies near the camp. So cute.
We followed a herd of zebra heading to the watering hole and drinking. Amazing to see these animals in the wild with no fences.
Near this watering hole were a male and female lion sleeping in the shade of a bush. They were about 10 feet away. Crazy to be able to get that close.
Quiche, salad and fruit for lunch. It is spring here and some of the trees are beginning to leaf out. Some with flowers. The main rains come in November when all the trees have full leaves. Most of the road we have driven on will be too muddy to drive. Some of the roads have been build up with gravel so they can be used in the rainy season. While we are here, we can see into the bush and see animals. During the rainy season you have to wait until animals come close to the road to see them because there is too much foliage.
After lunch had a talk by Keith about Botswana and its origins. Went on another game drive. Hippo’s, elephants, impalas etc. Near the dirt airstrip we saw three baby lions playing in the tall grass. No good pictures. Three adults sleeping while the babies played.
 |
| Water lily |
 |
| Squirting plant. This lady Fran said come and smell my flower then squeezed the bulb and gave a squirt of water. |
 |
| The group with guides. |
 |
| Lilac breasted roller. Later known as an LBR |
We drove through the town of Khwai, which is inhabited by San people.
 |
| On the bridge over the river Khwai |
They have been in this area of Africa for at least 150,000 years as seen in their cave drawing. When Botswana became a country the San people were given trust land and rights to camping fees in Chobe national park and Moremi game preserve.
 |
| Pied kingfisher |
 | |
| Pearl spotted owlett |
Sundowner to watch the sun set.
Back at camp, dinner of pulled beef, polenta, rice, chicken in curry sauce, spinach cooked with onions. Yummy. Amarular drink similar to Baileys Irish Cream. After dinner the camp crew came and sang four songs for us on our last night in camp. 4 ladies and 6 men. And me having left my camera back in my tent. Packed and ready to leave in the morning.
Day 6 Fly to Kasane and Chobe National Park Thursday Sept 21
After breakfast we all went back to the airstrip and took small charter planes to Kasane, the gateway to Chobe National Park. We got a small bus which took us to a hotel on the Chove river. We took a boat ride on the river with is the border to Namibia to the north. Near this area, four nations come together at one point-Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.
As a aside, Namibia was known before WWI as German East Africa and I think my dad’s father was stationed there in the German army.
In the middle of the Chobe river there is a big island which has lots of animals and birds. Botswana and Namibia almost went to war over ownership and the UN intervened and awarded the island to Botswana. On the island were lots of birds, herds of water buffalo, crocodiles, elephants. We watched a whole group of crocks eating on a dead small elephant.
 |
| Skimmers |
 | |
| Herd of impalas |
 |
| Anhinga |
 |
| Monitor Lizard |
 |
| Crocodile |
 | |
| Hippo's |
We had lunch at the place we took the boat ride. After lunch we bused to the Botswana-Zimbabwe border. Went through customs and immigration at each border. Very time consuming. After crossing into Zimbabwe we drove about 35 km to a lodge on the river. The Tsowa Safari Island. We took a boat from the 4 x4 vehicles to the lodge. Near the lodge a pride of 5 lions greeted us along with 50 plus baboons and 3 sables.
 |
| Getting on boat to go to Twsoa Island camp. |
 |
| Landing site on island. |
Day 7 Zambezi National Park September 23 Friday
Went on a game drive after breakfast. We saw lots of birds, impala, kudu, and baboons
 |
| View of Zambezi River |
 |
| Fish Eagle |
. Out guide took us to one of his favorite spots along the Zambesi river. As we walked down the sand dunes to the river the sand squeaked under our feet. Also, I found a few rocks that looked like jasper and picked up a few. Also one small banded agate.
 |
| Me standing in squeaking sand by the Zambezi R. |
At one spot we stopped near some tall grass which the guide said was elephant grass as it grew the height of elephants. He said it was also called suicide grass since if you walked through it lion might be hiding. Locals can come and it it for roofs. They can pick ten bundles and then give three to the park.
 | |
| Elephant Grass |
 |
| Roan antelope |
 |
| Giant kingfisher |
After dinner we sat around the campfire and talked.
Day 8 At Tsowa Safari Island Saturday September 24
Here are some pictures of our dwelling on Twosa Island.
 |
| View from the outdoor shower |
 |
| Outdoor shower |
 |
| View of the Zambezi River from our deck. |
We went on a short walk on the island with our guide. We saw lion ants, baobob trees, and other plants. It was getting hot walking. The baobob tree is not really a tree but is a succulent and cannot be used like wood trees.
 |
| Baobab tree and me. |
  | |||
| Fruit of baobab tree. The white part can be eaten and the seed requires lots of soaking time to get the nut out. |
 | ||
| Sausage tree. Guide Keith told that as a kid in Rhodesia he and his young friends would climb the tree and pick the very young fruit, bust it open and smear it on his privates. hoping of course for future gains. He said it never worked. |
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inside sausage tree fruit eaten by many animals. |
 | |||||||
| Purple orchid |
We had lunch today with some free time. We were told Daniel would be coming today from Johannesburg but may not make the afternoon game drive. As we were making our way across the river in our boat to get to the 4 x4 vehicles. we could see Daniel on the opposite shore. yeah!!! Everyone on the boat was cheering. As a father is was very good to see the others so excited about having my son join us.
 |
| They brought Daniel some lunch |
We went on a long drive this afternoon. We saw a Kory bustard pointed out by Daniel, 30 plus cape buffalo, herds of zebra and many birds.
 |
| Bee eater |
 |
| Kory Bustard |
 |
| Jackel |
 |
| The other 4x4 got a flat tire. In sand? |
We got back late to a dinner of salad, bream fish, with pears in vanilla sauce.
Daniel got his first taste of camp life and living in a tent.
These tents had running water, electricity, and USB plug ins. Not roughing it too much.
Day 9 Victoria Falls Sunday September 25
After breakfast, packed up our gear, and took the boat back across the Zambezi River for the last time. Got in our 4x4s and drove to the air strip for our flight to Livingstone, Zimbabwe and the Victoria Falls. The falls were spectacular even though it was still the dry season. We were told that at the height of the flow over the falls, the mist is so great that much of the falls is obscured and everyone gets wet.
 |
| Dr Livingstone |
 |
| Grey hornbill |
Outside the falls park were lots of vendors who seemed to have the same stuff. I looked for some African fabric for Judy but nothing
there caught my eye. We were told that if someone decided to open a stall with some new and exciting souvenirs, the rest of the vendors would go beat him up. Apparently no one wanted competition.
More customs and immigration stuff.
We were driven to the River Club, it looked very expensive and we were the only group there. Pictures on the wall indicated that many well known people had stayed there. It was right on the river and Daniel and my cabin was right on the bank. Very pretty view. Very nice dinner outside under the stars.
 |
| Outside lunch |
Day 10 Livingstone Museum, fly to Mfwue and the South Luangwa Valley Monday September 26
After breakfast we heard a lecture about Dr. Livingstone by a local historian. It was Living stone who documented the slave trade in East Africa and got the information to the British who sent a war ship to the area to stop the trade. He his considered a hero locally. Later we went back into town to the Livingstone Museum, There they showed the history of civilization in the area as well as memorabilia from Dr. Livingstone. The museum was very well done.
 |
| Crown of thorns plant? with flowers |
 |
| One of three orphaned giraffes at the hotel grounds |
We transferred to the Livingstone airport and flew to Lusaka and then onto Mfuwe Airport in the south Luangwa Valley. 
We were met there by our guides to took us in the 4 x4’s to the Mfuwe lodge.
 |
| Heading to the lodge from airport. |
The rooms here were of very high quality. All the amenities of home. Daniel and I ended up in the “Lion” cabin.
All the meals here were very nice. One thing that we noticed right away were all the baboons running all over the grounds. There are no fences in the area and all animals are free to roam the grounds and
near the building. We were told that elephants some times walked through the lobby. Other creatures like leopards and hyenas came onto the grounds too at night.
Day 11 Game drives day and night. Tuesday September 27
At this lodge, wake up call was 5:45 am with breakfast at 6:30. I usually had granola with chopped fresh fruit on top with a glass of fresh juice and coffee. Game drive started at 7 am. There were rumors of a pack of wild dogs in the area and we hopped to find them. Most of the drive was along the Luangwa River. We saw a large number of hippo’s and crocks and many birds as well as the usual elephants, kudus, impalas, water buck, and a big herd of cape buffalo. And we did find the pack of wild dogs. There were three adults and nine pups. The pups played like normal dogs while the adults slept. We had so much fun watching them especially since they were twenty feet away.
 |
| wart hogs |
 |
| Crested Francolin |
 |
| Lots of hippo's in the Luangwa River |
 | |
| Red and yellow billed oxpecker on hippo's back. |
 |
| Blue waxbill |
 |
| Fish eagle and heron watching crocks eat on a baby elephant |
This elephant shook the tree to get the fruit out of it.
 | |
| Me and Daniel on the banks of the river. |
 |
| LBR |
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
After lunch we had a talk about the local people and some of their history. Went on our nightly game drive. We saw white tailed mongoose, a civet cat, an elephant shrew and genet. Amazing how the guide could find these animals at night. We would drive down roads with the guide sweeping the road with a huge spotlight. They were very good at spotting.. We got back and had a very delightful tilapia dinner. Again, we could not go back to our room without an escort. Apparently many nights while we were there, leopards, hyenas and other critters came through the camp.
Day 12 Game walk, visit to local school and textile shop. Wednesday September 28
Another early rise and breakfast. We went on a game walk for about an hour. Our guild told us about and showed us various plants and animal tracks. These walks were with armed guards just in case an animal
decided they did not want us there. They did select this area since there would be less likely hood of any dangerous animals.
 |
| Sparrow weaver nest |
 |
| Morning break |
 |
| Entrance to bee's nest |
We got in our vehicles again and drove around looking for critters. We saw on area where all the trees were dead. We were told they were the elephants favorite one so the ate them all. If any new ones start the elephants are there to get them before they can grow up.
We got a surprise of a barbecue lunch cooked over an open fire. Yiummm.
 |
| The cooks. |
After lunch we went into town to visit a school. There was a primary school and a secondary school but we visited the secondary school. The 1000 kids in the secondary school were having their two hour lunch break. All the kids get free lunch which was a big plate of polenta. We were told what they ate was complete nutrition. There was a boarding school for girls and boys who had to pay extra for their morning and evening meals. Some of the kids we were told walk up to two hours to go to school. We talked to some ot the boys who all wanted to be doctors, engineers, etc but were told most would not go on to college but go back to their subsistence living in thir village. So sad.
 |
| Principal of school in skirt |
 |
| My picture taken by the boy in above picture. |
 |
| Line up of kids waiting for lunch |
 |
| Inside the science class room |
We went to a textile factory, which I had hoped made fabric so I could buy some for Judy. Well, they took already made fabric and decorated in and made pillows, place mats,, and similar items. They wet the cotton fabric then drew a design on it with a flower/water mixture. dried it in the sun, then painted in between the lines with acrylic paint. They then cured it at 155 degree C followed by rinsing out the flower. Very clever.
 |
| Inside their store. |
 |
| Drawing on wet cotton fabric with flowere water mixture |
 |
| Outside there were two young men smashing quartz with a hammer and putting the stones on the store's sidewalk. |
Back at the lodge we had afternoon tea, then headed out on our night drive. We saw baby elephants, baby zebras, and baby giraffes.
 |
| Me and Daniel |
 |
| Me along the Luangwa R. |
 |
| Hares |
 |
| Daniel at sunset. |
After it got dark, we saw two mongoose with babies and a honey badger. The guide said that seeing the honey badger was very rare. What a night.
Before dinner, a local dance and performing group put on a play showing the joys of living the the bush rather than living in the big city.
These are just two of the scenes. Too dark for good videos.
Very well done and fun to watch. Roast beef for dinner.
Day 13 More day and night drive. September 29 Thursday
More game drives today. No new animals but the night game drive we were hoping to see a hyena. The guides did their best but could not find one.
 | |
| This guy did not seem to want to move so the driver went around. |
 |
| Leopard waiting for mom and dinner. |
 |
| Red billed hornbill. |
 |
| Me, guide Keith and Daniel |
 |
| Daniel, Ornatius and me. |
 |
| vervet monkey |
 |
| Leopard hiding |
Keith told us during the night he heard the baboons screaming and saw a leopard chasing an impala who ran into the water in front of his cabin and was immediately attacked by the crocks. He said the impala disappeared in about 3 minutes. I never hear anything at night. I guess that is both good and bad. Some people said the listened all night for the sounds of critters. One woman and her daughter were out on their cabin deck in the morning and soon a bunch of baboons jumped onto the deck. Lucky they said they had left the door open and managed to get inside before the baboons were at the sliding door looking in.
I never felt in danger on this trip. I guess I felt the people taking care of us knew what they were doing.
Day 14 and 15 Friday and Saturday Time to head home. September 30, October 1
We got up early and had our normal 7:30 breakfast. We all got our stuff ready to leave the lodge by 10 am. We rode the 4 x 4’s for the last time to the airport. Went through immigration and customs to get our exit visa’s from Zambia. We took charter planes to Johannesburg Airport. Daniel, myself and Keith flew in one small Cessna and the rest of the group flew in a larger small plane. When we arrived in the airport, more customs and immigaration with long lines. It turns out Daniel’s flight to Newark was in a separate terminal so we had to say our goodbyes. I had a 4 hour wait until my 11 hour flight to Frankfort, Germany. Of course another long line to go through baggage check and more passport checks. Whew.
Arrived in Frankfort at 5 am followed by more customs and immigartion with the long lines. And another 4 plus hour weight until my 10:30 flight to Sea-Tac. Finally on my way. I managed to get hold of Judy’s daughter Molly to let her know I would be arriving on time. On arrival, more customs and immigration and lines before escaping to the airport pick up area. A phone call to Molly and she came to pick me up. Judy was there and boy was it great to see her and hug her and give her a big kiss. Missed her a lot.
No comments:
Post a Comment