Lindsay and Igor

August 11th, 2016

Day 133: Leshiba Wilderness Lodge – Day 1

Unlike our poor neighbors who were no doubt woken up by our constant nose-blowing and loogie-hacking, we slept wonderfully! Feeling much better (but still not 100%), we got up and made some breakfast sandwiches and fried up our leftover veggies for a perfectly portioned and healthy breakfast. Even if we did get sick, Botswana has been great and we are so sad to be leaving. Even though we like South Africa too, we are so bummed that the journey is coming to an end.

Avocado breakfast sandwiches and instant coffee – yum!

We get our passports stamped at the Botswana border and drive across the dry Limpopo riverbed and into South Africa. We experience a bit of shadiness as the South African police officer at the vehicle checkpoint is being overly thorough in his inspection: popping the hood of the Britz rental car to check the engine, making us unpack our backpacks and asking us how many computers we had with us (Igor insisted that they are tablets, not laptops), and where exactly we were driving to next. Maybe this is legit, but we’ve heard plenty of stories about corrupt South African cops at this point, so we fibbed a bit and said we were driving straight to the airport to return the car. As we drove away, we notice that the powerlines are down lying on the side of the road. We heard rumors that some of the poor villagers would sometimes cut down telephone poles for firewood – perhaps this was the handy work of the cash-strapped locals?

Back in South Africa, where everything is just a little shady.

It was another LONG drive to our next lodge, but like Limpopo, we knew the place had to be spectacular if guests are willing to put up with the steep 15KM mountain road. In fact, the road is so tough, that many visitors leave their cars at the bottom of the mountain and arrange a 4×4 transfer. We, however, were feeling mighty confident in our 2016 Toyota Fortuner, so we powered to the top! Once we reached the top, we discovered there was one vital piece of information missing from our itinerary: the gate was locked to deter poachers from entering the property, and we didn’t have the code for the lock.

We still had our old South African SIM card from the first week of our trip in our bags, so we started digging it out to see if we had any minutes left (or any reception!) – luckily for us, the staff at Leshiba had received a frantic call from Russell that morning alerting them that we were coming, sans code and sans cellphone, so they were driving down to the gate periodically throughout the day to see if we had arrived. We were only waiting about 10min before our hosts arrived to let us in.

It was a long drive up the mountain, via a 4×4-only road. The cheeky signs provided much needed humor and encouragement.

The traditional African huts were so cute! The set-up was meant to mimic a traditional village. It got very cold at night, but the hot water bottles provided during the turn-down service kept us cozy all night

Once we checked-in to our rooms, we discovered that for the first time in ages, we were in a hotel where is was *safe* to take a walk! We have been living such a sedentary lifestyle this past month – driving everywhere, taking tours – that combined with the copious amounts of food everyone keeps feeding us, we were feeling very out of shape. Too bad we were still sick – we didn’t make it a half an hour before we retreated back to the lodge for some soothing cups of tea. The lodge had a guided walking safari scheduled for before breakfast the next day, so we took it easy in order to be recovered enough to participate.

Finally – a chance to walk amongst the animals in Africa! Since there were no lions or cheetahs in the private reserve, they deemed it safe to walk alone.

After 20min of walking we were winded, so we returned to the common area to drink lots of tea, and enjoy the view from above

The food at Leshiba was AMAZING – steak tenderloin perfectly medium-rare – and we had to pair it with WATER. When will this cold end?!?

A cozy end to a lovely South African evening: snuggling by the campfire and a shot of sherry as a knock-out nightcap

Since rhino poaching is serious problem in South Africa (and Leshiba has unfortunately already had poaching incidents on their property, one of which fatally injured one of their animals), Leshiba asks that guest not share the photos of their rhinos online, as broadcasting the quantity and size of the rhino herd could attract more poachers. For that reason, the next post will be set to private, using the same password as our “Where are we now?” section. If you would like access, please email me.

August 10th, 2016

Day 132: Limpopo River

When we woke up in the morning our worst fears were realized: we were sick. Somewhere, some inconsiderate, sniveling tourist (probably French) had infected us with their germs – CURSE THEM!!! We rolled up a heathy supply of toilet paper to use as tissues, and headed out on the road, as we had a long drive to the Southern border of Botswana.

Our accommodation for the night was at the Limpopo River Lodge, which would be our only self-catering hotel in the Green Bushpig itinerary. As delicious as all the food has been in Africa (seriously – we’ve put on *a lot* of weight in the past 6 weeks), we were really excited to cook for ourselves and control our portion sizes. The only complication was finding a supermarket. Our itinerary recommended that we buy supplies in the town of Selebi Phikwe, which was about 2hrs away from the lodge. After a LONG detour around construction in the crime-ridden city of Francistown (well, that’s the reputation anyways), we finally reached Selebi Phikwe, just as Igor’s cell phone died. Our instructions did not specify a grocery store, and as we didn’t have data service in Botswana to Google anything, we decided to just drive down every street in the town until we found a market. After all, it wasn’t that big of a town and we didn’t have a deadline for when we had to reach the lodge. After driving from one end of the town to the other, we finally found a large building that said “Supermarket”. Since we didn’t have an ice cooler anymore, we decided to go vegetarian for dinner & breakfast (plus, the meat counter smelled kinda off). With our food supplies in hand, we were able to get the cell phone charged just long enough to lead us to the highway, where we could then follow Russell’s directions.

It was a long, bumpy, dusty drive off the paved road to the Limpopo River Lodge, but when we finally checked-in to our riverside cabin and soaked in the remote serenity, we decided it was all worth it. We had a low-key and sober night, as we attractively hacked up all our phlegm by the campfire (we felt SO BAD for the poor family in the cabin next door – we totally ruined their night), then fell into bed before 9PM. Hopefully this cold will be short-lived.

The long, bumpy dirt road to the Limpopo River Lodge Reception. Any place that is *this* hard to reach (and is still in business), *must* be good!

We passed a herd of impalas drinking at a waterhole along the way to our cabin

View of the Limpopo River, from our al fresco kitchen

A charming cabin, and outdoor loo (with a view!) at the Limpopo River Lodge

Even if it is just pasta, Lindsay is excited to be cooking again, in an outdoor kitchen no less!

Enjoying a romantic dinner for two by the fire…in between the sniffles and nose-blowing

Enjoying the outdoors as the stars come out

We tried to stay up, but once the fire died down, we took our sickie selves to bed, around 8:30PM.

August 9th, 2016

Day 131: Elephant Sands

We slept so peacefully that night, surrounded by nothing but stars, snug and cozy against the chilly desert air in our swags – it was an unwelcome jolt when our alarm started going off at 5:30AM! Apparently we had accidentally set an early wake-up call from the week before on auto-repeat! We scrambled to find the stupid phone, buried inside our bag, desperate not to wake up our fellow travelers sleeping nearby. When we finally got the alarm shut off, we were too awake to go back to sleep. Plus, others had started to get up as the pre-dawn sky was already starting to lighten up, so we reluctantly crawled out of bed and made our way to the hot water & coffee station set up by the campfire. After an invigorating cup of caffeine and a muffin to tide us over, we started the long drive back to Planet Baobab, where a full hot breakfast awaited.

Waking up in the cold. The swag is so warm and comfy – Lindsay doesn’t want to get up!

Pre-dawn in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pan

Sunrise in our tent-less campsite in the salt pan

The camp is mobile, so it gets broken down every season before the rain floods the pans. The swags get taken back every day to be cleaned – only the drop toilet sticks around for the full season

Hot coffee & tea and a breakfast muffin to warm us up before the long drive back to Planet Baobab

Dropping off the ATVs at the traditional village, where they also have a large herd of cattle

During the safari-car ride back to Planet Baobab, Lindsay does her best imitation of our dog Caesar when he sticks his head out the car window. Once back at camp, we get a full hot breakfast and our very first fat-cake! (looks and tastes like a donut-hole)

While Planet Baobab offered to let us use their campground showers to freshen up, we decided to drive straight to our next location instead. Elephant Sands was only about an hour and a half away, so we decided we’d just shower in our hotel room, rather than a shared bathroom.

Unfortunately, when we checked-in we discovered our cabin was one of the older, run-down units behind the lodge’s campground – it was a huge bummer as the majority of the cabins are surrounding a waterhole frequented by several herds of elephants. The lodge’s Wifi was also “broken” and none of the cabins had outlets to charge cameras/phones/computers (just a shared power strip in the restaurant) – therefore we spent a very miserable afternoon stuck in a room with no view with laptops that quickly died while we tried to write/download photos. And to top it off, Lindsay was feeling sick. At first she thought she just had a sore throat from breathing in so much dust from the ATV & open safari vehicle rides – several of the other guests in our group complained of a sore throat in the morning, too. However, as the night wore on, she and Igor started to feel worse.

But, we made the best of it – after doing some laundry, taking a nap and a hot warm shower, we headed to the lodge to sit by the waterhole and watch the elephants for a few hours. It was like the watching the most high-definition nature channel in the world! Lindsay got a bit freaked out every now and then when an elephant got tired of drinking and turned his (or her) attention to the crowd – two even started to mock-charge us!

ELEPHANTS EVERYWHERE. Look at the huge elephant that just walked in front of our cabin!

We grab a couple for front-row seats at the elephant watering hole where you can literally just sit 10ft away from dozens of elephants

Igor enjoying his “African TV” (better than 4K – LOL)

Lindsay’s getting nervous, are we sure this is safe? Igor assures her it’s fine – telling her to kick up her boots and relax

A huge bull elephant faces the crowd – he looks like he is going to charge! Seriously, can we move?

After the cigarette smoke chased us away from the front row seats around the fire pit, we head back to our cabin to pick up our jackets, when we discover a HUGE elephant walking around our room! We nervously walk from one point of safety (a tree, the next door cabin, our rental car) before finally making it safely to our door. Even though it is a 60sec walk to the lodge, we opt to drive back for dinner, as we don’t want to get caught in the dark by another elephant!

The lodge has a tame bush baby that hangs around the common area at night – this adorable little guy also has a sweet tooth for Coca-Cola, and tried to sneak some of Igor’s drink!

Since the buffet dinner was supposed to start at 7PM, we order some (non-alcoholic) drinks and sat down at our assigned table about 10min early. Half the lodge’s occupants were still sitting by the waterhole, so we were looking forward to eating quickly and going to bed to rest our sickie bodies. As the minutes tick by, more and more guests sit down at their tables, and still the kitchen staff have not finished putting out the food. By 7:20PM, everyone in the lodge is sitting at the tables, eyes glued to the buffet. Lindsay and Igor can sense an impending stampede – we joke that the French family two tables behind us (in typical French fashion) would surely want to be FIRST. We decided to channel our inner Russian and vowed not to let them beat us!

When the manager announced the buffet was open, the French family *literally* RAN to the buffet table. Not kidding – even the table behind us noticed and started laughing at them. But of all their uncouth lack of manners, Lindsay was just a little be closer and a little bit faster – *without running* she was the very first one in line, with Igor close behind her! We ate quickly (allowing Igor time to head back for an unauthorized second piece of bread) and retired to our cabin to try and get some much-needed sleep.

Since we skipped lunch, Lindsay was super excited for dinner…until the buffet was 20min late opening…she gets really grouchy when she’s hungry

The LONG buffet line (everyone in the lodge was hungry by this point) – Lindsay channeled her inner Russian and was first on the line (even beating out the French family who *literally* ran from their table to the line). Igor was super annoyed when the kitchen staff told him he couldn’t have a second piece of bread – so he went back at the end of dinner to take one when no one was looking. Take that, Elephants Sands!

August 8th, 2016

Day 130: Makgadikgadi Salt Pans

According to our itinerary, we had 450KM drive ahead of us, which was supposed to take us 5-6hrs, so we left Chobe right after breakfast, and drove as quickly as possible in order to reach Planet Baobab by the 2PM deadline. It was easy going, as it was a tarred road in good condition, so we made excellent time. Unfortunately, there was one casualty during our drive: for some reason, Hornbills like to fly low over the road and one flew into our windshield. RIP, Hornbill.

The road from Chobe to Nata was mostly clear, except for a stray giraffe and an unfortunate Hornbill L

In an attempt to eradicate “foot & mouth” disease (which kills wildlife & livestock), the border crossings and random check-points along the main road have these disinfection stations where you have to get out of your car and step your shoes into a solution, then drive your car tires through a puddle of supposedly the same stuff.

Once we reached the Planet Baobab Campground, we had 2hrs to have lunch, repack our day bags and chill out before our overnight tour to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. We were part of a group of 10 (a Dutch family of four, and two other couples) – we all boarded an open safari vehicle and started our long drive to the salt pan.

“Turn left at the giant aardvark.” Well, those are driving directions you don’t get every day! And hard to screw up, so needless to say we made it to the Planet Baobab campground

Since we reached Planet Baobab 2hrs. early, we had time for a make-shift lunch in the campground before camping out in the bar

On the way to the salt pan, we had an hour-long stop to see a family of wild meerkats. Now, we had already seen meerkats at the De Zeekoe Guest Farm in South Africa, so we weren’t expecting to be impressed. Holy cow, were we blown away! In South Africa, we had to get up before dawn, and sit still in chairs about 15ft. away from the meerkat holes. In Botswana, we just drive up to the meerkat hole (a ranger still has to do the whole pre-dawn, sunset reconnaissance in order to know where the meerkats will be every day), and walk around while the meerkats run around us! They are so close that we could easily pet them (although that is the ONE rule the ranger had)! The meerkats were totally unafraid of us, and had no problem as we hovered over them while they dug holes searching for bugs to eat. In fact, they were a little curious about us as well – crawling up to our boots and even sniffing our outstretched hands!

Side-stop excursion to visit a meerkat family

These meerkats have no fear of humans at all! We got so close, we could have pet them (but we didn’t)

OMG! This baby meerkat came up to Lindsay and starting playing with her boots!

We could not get enough of these adorable meerkats

While we did not *pet* the meerkats, we did not shoo them away when they came up to us and smelled our hands!

After the meerkat visit, we were ready for the main event: ATV self-drive into the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans to our camp! We geared up with our make-shift facemasks and helmets and drove out into the great nothingness. About halfway to camp we stopped to view the sunset…when all of a sudden we realized the third ATV wasn’t behind us anymore! After waiting for about 15min to see if they would catch up to us, our guide, Robert, told the 8 of us to wait while he went to search for them. We all enjoyed a beautiful sunset and joked that the latecomers must have missed the turn and kept driving across the pans – turns out their engine had died, and Robert had to tow their ATV behind the safari truck.

A traditional village at the edge of the salt pans stores the ATVs for the campground

We were warned that the dust kicked up by the ATVs can be brutal, so we pulled out our bandanas/scarves for protection…and to look badass!

Driving out to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pan on an ATV

The dry, lifeless surface of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pan

Enjoying the sunset with the other tourists as we wait for our guide to find the missing duo

The rest of the evening went off without a hitch – Robert was able to lead us to the camp in the fast growing dark without a problem, where we were all rewarded with a warm campfire and a delicious steak dinner. Lindsay had brought along her latest bottle of Casillero del Diablo, so she and Igor popped it open and took swigs straight from the bottle (CLASSY!!!).

Since we were in the middle of the salt flats, there were no bugs and no animals to worry about, so we all slept in swags, with nothing but the stars overhead. The moon had set around 9PM that night, so by the time we crawled into bed, we had the most spectacular view of the Milky Way we have probably ever seen. Our only regret didn’t do more camping on this trip.

Sitting around the campfire, watching our guide cook up a delicious steak braai

The most remote camp we’ve ever stayed in – no need for tents in the middle of the salt pans as there are no bugs and no animals – so we slept in swags (really heavy sleeping bags with a foam matress inside)

A truly magical evening – the unbelivable beauty of camping in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans

August 7th, 2016

Day 129: Victoria Falls & Chobe National Park

Victoria Falls is a really expensive place to stay, so unfortunately 2 days was the max we could afford to stay, which meant we would have a jam-packed final day. Igor really wanted to fly a microlight aircraft (basically a 2-man kite with a lawn mower engine) over the falls, so we had the Gorges Lodge book the earliest available flight, so that we would have time to visit Victoria Falls (you know, the main reason we are here?).

The only microlight operators are on the Zambian side (along with Devil’s Pool and the helicopter rides that go into the gorge – we discovered that Zambia does all the *dangerous* stuff), which meant we would need to allow time to go through immigration before our flights. We woke up the poor kitchen staff at 5:30AM so that we could be on the road at 6AM, and at the border crossing by 7AM. Surprisingly, we were not the only ones at the border crossing that early in the morning, but luckily the wait wasn’t too long. After shelling out USD $50pp for our single entry visas, we had a new stamp in our passport and we were on our way.

Once we got to the Batoka Sky airstrip and paid for our 15min flights (USD $150pp), we had about an hour long wait while the three aircrafts took up one tourist after another. Their operation was crazy efficient – time is money (at USD $600/hour!!!) and they were not wasting a single second! Lindsay managed to snap a few pics of Igor as he boarded is aircraft before the ground crew told her to put away all her cameras (even the GoPro, as they want you to buy *their* GoPro pics at USD $20pp) so she could get ready for her flight. Was the experience worth it? Yes…but once is enough.

Crossing the bridge into Zambia – it’s a busy international crossing so they *try* to make to process “in & out”

Taking a Microlight Flight was high on Igor’s bucket list for Vic Falls, so we booked the earliest slot available

Igor taking off in a flying lawnmower!

Our first full view of Victoria Falls is in the air! We do a full loop, seeing it from both the Zimbabwe side and the Zambian side before returning to base

Lindsay was right on Igor’s heels, flying over the Falls

Riding the microlight wasn’t enough for Igor – he asked the pilot if he could steer! The pilot gave him the go-ahead to fly them back toward the airstrip, passing a herd of hippo along the way!

Once we crossed back to Zimbabwe, we made a beeline for the Victoria Falls National Park, where we had 2hrs. to walk the trail across the gorge from the falls, taking in the majesty of the 350ft high waterfall. As it was late morning by this time, the trail was quite crowded (hey – there are all the Chinese tourists! We’ve been missing them during our African adventure so far) – the falls are spectacular, don’t get me wrong, but Lindsay at least had a hard time appreciating Victoria Falls as a *wonder of nature* with so many people around. Perhaps the experience would have been better first thing in the morning, or right before it closes?

Last but not least – visiting the Victoria Falls National Park (Zimbabwe) to see the waterfall in all its glory

Gotta say, they aren’t trying too hard to keep people out of the river. I guess the attitude in Africa is, “if you are dumb enough to climb over the fence, you deserve to die”

The Devil’s Cataract

The many faces of Victoria Falls

The Main Falls – ‘nough said

Victoria Falls – (arguably) the biggest waterfall in the world

Igor crossing the limits for a fantastic photo of Vic Falls – luckily Lindsay was there to pull him back from the brink

Once we said, “Good bye!” to Victoria Falls, we had a 2hr. drive to the Kasungula border crossing, where we walked across into Botswana. Our hotel transfer was waiting for us and returned us to the Chobe Safari Lodge (hey – our rental car is still there – yay!). Somehow we arrived ahead of schedule, so we were able to check-in and freshen up before our sunset river cruise. Unlike the Vic Fall cruise the day before, drinks were not included, but at least we didn’t have assigned seating and could move about the boat to view the wildlife (and since we were technically inside the Chobe National Park, there was *a lot* of wildlife).

One rant about this experience – and please, no offense to all of our friends with kids – but WHY would anyone bring a baby and a toddler on a sunset river cruise? (BTW – the lodge offers babysitting service) For over two hours, two children were crying on and off, ruining the peace and tranquility for all the other guests – and it’s not like the parents were having a good time either as they were obviously stressed out trying to calm their kids down. I get that they want to have a family vacation, but why pick a location and activity that is not child-friendly? Given how insanely expensive it is to fly your family to Africa and staying in this resort, it would make more sense to wait until your kids are old enough to behave (and *remember* the experience! You think that toddler is going to remember his family trip to Botswana?! NO!!!). There was another family on the boat with kids that were around 8 & 10 years old – they all looked like they were having a great time! Hey, maybe we’ll be in the same boat (no pun intended) someday, but until we are, we apologize if we are a grumpy childless couple.

The Big Baobab Tree! A quick photo-stop on our fall to the Botswana border

Checking into our nice room in the resort-y Chobe Safari Lodge, before a sundowner cruise through Chobe National Park (no free booze this time)

The warthog – part of the Ugly Five. Look at that face! It’s so ugly it’s cute!

The many birds of Chobe: a Darter, a pair of Fish Eagles and a Marabou Stork

No day in Botswana is complete without elephants!

The number of tourist boats that descended on this herd of elephants was ridiculous! No wonder this guy started swimming away…

Lots of hippos in Chobe – the poor guy on the right looks like he was nursing some injuries from a recent fight with the dominant male in the area

A wily croc – does he really think someone is just going to wander into his open mouth?

Ohhhh, myyyy! This bull elephant has noticed a female in estrus…and it got him very horny

Kinky elephant sex – I guess this guy likes an audience…

So. Many. Boats.

A local fisherman in a traditional mokoro

Ellies in the distance – could this sunset *be* any more Botswanan?

August 6th, 2016

Day 128: Zambezi River

So, while our lodge was super fancy and the food/accommodations/staff were awesome, there was one little problem which was out of their control. Last night we discovered that there is a nightclub at the bottom of the Batoka Gorge, which blared thumping techno music AT NIGHT LONG. Not even exaggerating – it was still going at sunrise. Worse, it was on the Zambian side of the river, so what could the owners do about it? Call a noise complaint with the cops? It’s another friggin’ country! You need a fucking visa just to go over there and complain! Oh well, we’re road-hardy travelers at this point. We popped in our earplugs and slept just fine.

Nightclub on the Zambian side of the river was still thumping techno at sunrise

We didn’t pre-book any of the activities at Victoria Falls, as many of them depend on the height of the river at the time. We really wanted to go swimming at the Devil’s Pool – a natural “infinity pool” at the edge of the waterfall, however, the water level was still too high and the pool wasn’t open yet (we were told we missed it by about 2 weeks). As an alternative, several people we met along our travels had recommended white water rafting. Igor and Lindsay had both been rafting once (Igor in upstate NY during a bachelor party, Lindsay in Montana during her bachelorette party), but neither had tackled Class 5 rapids. But we didn’t tell the tour operator that.

The trip was AWESOME! We went over 19 rapids – five were Class 5, most of the others were Class 3 and 4. The pace was perfect – we had plenty of time in between rapids to catch our breath and prepare for our next brush with Death. Our tour group was divided into two boats – we were paired with a couple of American girls from Las Vegas, both of whom had been rafting before. Our team had a great rapport and at the end of the day we boasted that none of us fell out of the boat. The other raft was made up of an Englishwoman and her daughter, and three Chinese guys. They did not seem to gel as well – when they hit Rapid #13 “The Mother”, three of them went overboard! Everyone was rescued safely, so it was very entertaining for us to watch. J

Getting ready to hit the water! Getting our safety briefing and gear at the top of the gorge

It’s a long, steep walk down the side of the gorge to the river

Below the Victoria Falls Railway Bridge – the border crossing between Zimbabwe and Zambia – about to set foot into the Zambezi River

The water level is low enough that we can start our tour at Rapid #1: The Boiling Pot

Thumbs up – ready to go!

Paddling fiercely toward a Class 5 rapid!

RAPID IMPACT! This photo is intense – let’s break it down, shall we?

Igor’s like, “Whoa!” Lindsay’s like, “Ugh!” Our guide is like, “Meh.”

High fives and thumbs up! Our team is killing it – we didn’t lose anyone to the river that day!

Walking around two rapids (#7 & #9) that are classed 6+ – Lindsay is barefoot, so she has to walk very carefully

A deicious BBQ lunch awaits us at the top of the gorge

AWESOME DAY with Shearwater Rafting! We chucked out the extra USD $50 for their thumb drive with video and photos, and we are so glad we did! Really impressed with the professionalism, quality and plain old fun of this company! Highly recommended.

The endpoint for the rafting tour was conveniently 5min away from the Gorges Lodge, so we got dropped off first and had about an hour to shower and change before hopping in the hotel shuttle to drive to our sundowner cruise at the top of the Victoria Falls. The boat was ridiculously crowded (actually, the whole river was crowded!), and all seating was communal (we were paired up with a very nice, older Australian couple), and while drinks were unlimited, we didn’t feel like chugging cheap wine and giving ourselves a hangover. But we did get a few nice shots of hippos and elephants, a pretty sunset, and some nice conversation, so not a terrible way to spend an afternoon. However, we were extreemly pleased when we returned to the Gorges Lodge and discovered we were the only guests for the night – we had the whole restaurant to ourselves! Feeling very VIP.

The Victoria Falls “Booze Cruise” – a sundowner boat ride at the top of the falls

Lots of hippos at the top of the falls

Look at those fangs! This guy will fucking kill you.

A group of elephants crossing the river in a herd for safety – probably scared of hippo attacks!

After our sunset on the Zambezi, our driver spots a herd of Cape Buffalo on the way back to the lodge!

Another fantastic dinner at Gorges Lodge!

August 5th, 2016

Day 127: Zimbabwe

Today was a LONG travel day. We rolled out of bed at 5AM and hit the road, eating Oreos as our breakfast on the way. It took us 3½ hours to drive down the Caprivi Strip to the Ngoma border crossing into Botswana (during which time, we did not see a *single* elephant or buffalo – kinda disappointed). Leaving Namibia was easy, but as this border crossing was busier than the Mohembo border (which is mostly tourists), it was a LONG wait. It was especially frustrating to see two open counters with border agents *doing nothing* who refused to let us complete our car registration until our passports had been stamped…or, you know, maybe help out the Immigrant agent as she has a line of about 20 people? There was a suggestion box in the office – we considered giving them our advice and entertained ourselves with other outrageous suggestions like a welcome drink – but since we would need to reenter the country one more time, we decided against it.

Once we were in Botswana, we drove a short distance through Chobe National Park to the town of Kasane, where we would be leaving our car while we got a transfer to Zimbabwe (apparently the traffic police in Zimbabwe are *really* corrupt and the hassle of bringing a rental car into the country is just not worth it). We made a quick stop at the Money Exchange office to get rid of all of our Namibian dollars for USD. Why USD? Because that is the *official currency* of Zimbabwe! If you go to any ATM in Zimbabwe, it will give you AMERICAN DOLLARS. How crazy is that? Apparently their inflation rate went so out of control that 350 TRILLION Zimbabwe dollars equals USD $1. We were approached several times by hawkers trying to sell us 3 Trillion Dollar notes as “souvenirs” during our stay.

We arrived at the Chobe Safari Lodge (where we would be parking our car for the next three days) at 12 noon on the dot – perfect timing as our transfer van had also just arrived and was looking for us. We grabbed our bags and locked the car, and finally sat back and let someone else do the driving for a change!

At the Zimbabwe border, we got double entry visas (since we would be visiting the Zambian side of Victoria Falls as well) for USD $45pp, then walked across the border where we switched vehicles. About 2hours later, we were finally dropped off at the Gorges Lodge – a luxurious paradise where we discovered we had another all-inclusive package! All drinks, transportation, and two activities! Yay!

Sunrise on the Caprivi Strip – we’re already 30min into our drive

Two border crossings in one day! Into Botswana, then directly on to Zimbabwe

Welcome drinks and a fantastic view at the Gorges Lodge are welcome luxuries after a LONG travel day

Another ultra-luxury safari tent! Africa is spoiling us! J

We were so comfortable when we arrived, we had a lazy afternoon, enjoying the Wifi *in our tent*. We finally decided we had to do at least one fun thing before the end of the day, so we asked for a ride into town to see the sunset. Since the Gorges Lodge is located a good 40min outside of Victoria Falls proper, our driver told us we didn’t have quite enough time to catch the sunset, but he knew of another hotel nearby that had a bar overlooking a waterhole which would be perfect for sundowners.

Sundowner drinks at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge bar, overlooking the waterhole

It was a stunning sunset, with a large herd of elephants at the waterhole. Once the sky started to darken, a sliver crescent moon appeared

Back at Gorges, and ready for a steak dinner and fine South African wine!

August 4th, 2016

Day 126: The Okavango Delta – Day 3

We jumped out of bed with our second 5AM wake-up call in order to finish packing our bags before our last game drive. The Delta sent us off in style, with another fantastic lion encounter, and plenty of time for a 10:30AM departure back to Jumbo Junction. Our stay at Kadizora Camp in the Okavango Delta has truly been the highlight of our trip so far – a magical experience that we will never forget!

Our final sunrise game drive in the Okavango Delta. It’s chilly, so we get heavy parkas to wear during the drive, although by the time our second breakfast rolls around, it’s warmed up a lot

Our guide, Pat, finds the two lions we heard but couldn’t find the day before!

The male is fully grown – look at that mane! And his lady has a GPS tag! We heard there were some lions tagged as part of a study to see how many lions actually attack the cattle on nearby farms. Hopefully this girl resists the temptation for a beef dinner!

This lovey-dovey pair is a little kinky. After the male shows his interest to *get it on*, the female pees on the ground, and he starts drinking it up!

Yeah, I’d have that face after drinking someone’s pee, too.

It’s hard to top a lion sighting, but we did see many other animals too: head-butting impalas, zebras, and giraffes

Driving through the hippo pool on our boat ride back to the shore

Making our way through the hippo trails – a beautiful farewell to the Okavango Delta

Once we reached land, the serenity of our delta stay broke and the rest of the day descended into chaos. We planned to meet up with Russell from Green Bushpig at 2PM back at Drotsky’s Cabins in order to swap rental cars with him (in an attempt to avoid one-way fees and keep the rental costs down, he would return the CRV to Windhoek, where he would be picking up new clients for another safari, while we would take a Britz SUV back to Johannesburg). However, by the time we got back into our car at Jumbo Junction, it was already 11:30, giving us only three hours to complete a 4hr drive. Igor was positive he could shave some time off our ETA by speeding down dirt roads at 90KMPH – that worked for about 45min until he flew over a pothole and finally popped one of our worn-out tires (honestly, it’s a miracle they lasted this long, with the punishment we’ve been putting them through).

Igor pulled out the jack and tried to make quick work of the tire change, only to find out that the jack we had was too short for the CRV! The tire was still on the ground when the jack was fully extended! We hoped we were just parked on an angle, so we turned the car around and tried again. A local guy sitting in front of his nearby village was watching our struggles and soon walked over carrying a very large rock, which he used to help prop up the jack. Once Igor got all the bolts off the wheel, he tried to pull it off the spoke, but it wouldn’t budge – even with both Igor and our helper guy pulling it! Luckily, one of the cars we had blown past earlier rolled up, and the driver stopped (curious to see what was going on) – turns out he had a tool box on him. He pulled out a rubber mallet and gave the tire one good WHACK!, and the tire fell off!

After the tire was safely changed, and we tipped our Good Samaritan for his help, we drove as quickly as we dared to the Mohembe Ferry. While we were the only car crossing on the way out at 9AM, there was a long, LONG line waiting to return at 1:30PM! The ferry took 10 minutes, each way, and could only carry 3 cars max with each trip – we calculated that we would be waiting at least another hour just to cross! Our SIM card didn’t work in Botswana, so we had so way to call Russell and warn him that we were running late, either.

A flat tire and a ridiculous line at the ferry. What else can go wrong?

We were so relieved when we finally crossed the river at 3PM and saw a white guy standing next to a Britz Fortrunner waiting on the other side – Russell! Clearly, he’s used to the craziness of African travel and realized we must be stuck at the ferry when we were over an hour late. “I was watching you through my binoculars!” he said laughing. We followed him back to Drotsky’s for a late lunch and to wrap up a few loose ends regarding the final leg of our trip. At 5:15PM, we packed up and jumped into our *new* Fortuner and sped down the (tarred) road to the Namibian boarder, as we needed to get across before it closed at 6PM sharp! We all made it through just before sunset, and Lindsay and Igor started their long drive to the next lodge – 3hrs down the Caprivi Strip.

We finally meet Russell in person! While the CRV was a great beater car, we are so psyched to trade her in for a 2016 Toyota Fortuner – it still has new-car smell!

About 15min down the road, a car behind us starts flashing their lights. Annoyed, Igor slows down to let the guy pass – when he does, we are surprised to see Russell! He tells he feels uncomfortable letting us drive 3 hours in the dark in Africa (in the Caprivi Strip no less, which is notorious for elephants and Cape Buffalo crossing the street). He asks us to forgo the next lodging and come back to Nunda Lodge with him instead. We’d have a longer drive the next day, but it would be safer. He insists that he would be able to reuse the voucher for that night with a future client, so we finally agree. Besides, it gave us an excuse to break bread with him and hear crazy stories about his career in the safari biz!

Once we reached the lodge, Igor logged onto their Wifi to warn his mother that there was a change in plans. Good thing he did, as Inna was apparently watching our Spot’s GPS signal in real time, and had already sent a frantic email asking why we had “deviated from the itinerary.” Don’t worry Inna, we’re safe. 🙂

While Igor would have braved the drive in the dark, Lindsay was glad when he agreed to play it safe and spend the night at Nunda Lodge instead. While they were totally booked, Russell generously gave us his bungalow and took a guide room instead. Thank you, Nunda Lodge and Green Bushpig Safaris! You guys may have saved our lives.

August 3rd, 2016

Day 125: The Okavango Delta – Day 2

We had a 5AM wake-up call for our morning game drive. Since it was still dark and we are not allowed to walk from our tent alone, the staff knocked on our doors to wake us up at 5, then returned at 5:30AM to bring us to breakfast. After some yogurt and coffee, we hopped into our private safari vehicle with our guide, Katy, and drove off just before sunrise.

A herd of zebra graze as the sun rises over the Okavango Delta

A herd of giraffes appear in the mist

All the giraffes are at attention! Our guide, Katy, knows this is a sign that a predator is nearby – sure enough, when we follow their eyesight, we spot a mother lion and her two cubs! We start to follow them, until a pair of loud roars in the bushes scares the lions off – apparently this threesome is new to the area, and a male and his mate were warning the newcomers to back off. We searched for the dominant pair, but lost them in the bush.

More animals grazing on the delta grasses – a lone ostrich and a solitary elephant

More lions! This female and her two cubs are regulars in the area. The cubs are about 2 years old – the male is starting to grow a nice mane!

Yawning lions

Brother and sister lion play-bite a little, before settling down together

A family of lions, enjoying the beautiful morning

After viewing 6 lions (and hearing another 2), we already thought the game drive was a smashing success, but Katy wasn’t done yet! He got an alert on the radio that a pair of cheetahs had showed up next to the Kadizora camp! Since we were about 2.5 hours into our game drive, we were not close to camp – Katy apologized in advance, “I don’t usually drive this fast, but we have to catch those cheetahs!” What followed was the craziest, speed-demon drive through the bush we could have imagined! It’s like we got an African rollarcoaster ride as a bonus to our game drive! Katy got us back to camp in under an hour, and we were rewarded with a magnificent view of two cheetahs.

A pair of cheetahs looking out over the plains

This cheetah is still waking up

We could have watched them for ages, but the cats eventually got hungry and got up to start hunting. We would have followed them, but Katy was worried that the safari vehicle would scare off their prey. Since the cheetahs looked like juveniles, he thought it would be better for their wellfare to hunt in peace.

It’s only 10:30AM, and we feel we’re had a very productive day! Time to relax at the Kadizora Camp

After a delicious al fresco lunch, Lindsay decides to catch up on her book and take a dip in the (freezing!) pool

Igor can’t sit still that long, so he and Katy head out to the riverbank to try some fishing. If you ask Katy, a hippo caught the line and dragged the safari vehicle into the mud – that’s how it got stuck and needed to be towed. Oh, and I guess we are supposed to believe a crocodile ate Igor’s fish, too?

For our afternoon activity, we joined two other couples on a motorboat ride along the river for some bird watching. The Okavango Delta is home to 400+ types of birds – a bird watchers paradise! Igor and Lindsay like birds OK, don’t get us wrong, but we couldn’t quite match the enthusiasm of our fellow tourists. Hopefully we weren’t being too rude with our snarky attitude.

Lots of birds. White ones and black ones.

Marabou Stork (part of the “Ugly Five) and Saddle-billed Stork

A regale Fish Eagle, some type of goose, and another stunning Lilac-Breasted Roller

More storks.

CROCODILES! Now *these* are interesting! Especially when the guy in the water snapped at one of the storks.

Lindsay and Igor just can’t get *that* excited about birds – unike the rest of the group. All the birds are just standing there…it would be so much more interesting if something scared them and they all started flying away…gee, what would happen if Lindsay jumped up and suddenly raised her arms?!? Ooops! Did I do that? J

Sundowner drinks on the Okavango Delta

The sun turns the sky red, and slowly sinks behind an acacia tree – breathtaking

Back at camp, Benjamin the elephant wanders by at dusk – yup, we need an escort back to our tent!

Turn-down service, complete with hot-water bottles in our beds! LOVE this camp!

August 2nd, 2016

Day 124: The Okavango Delta – Day 1

We had a bit of an adventure on our journey to the Kadizora Camp in the northern part of the Okavango Delta. We had yet to pick up any Pula (the local currency), so we stopped in the nearest town, Shakawe to hit up the ATM. When we drove by the night before, there was a line of about 50 locals waiting to money, so we were relieved to see that we were the first ones to show up when the bank opened at 8:30AM. Lindsay waited in the car while Igor made his transaction – she started to get worried when 15 minutes went by and he was still in front of the machine. He came back to the car laughing – apparently the ATM was busy installing Windows Updates!

We continued on to the Mohembe Ferry – a tiny, ramshackle hunk of floating metal that somehow supports 2-3 cars at time across the river. Luckily for us, there were no cars waiting when we arrived at 9AM, so we drove directly on board for the 10min ride.

Travel delays: ATM installing Windows updates and 2-car ferries

This ferry is ancient, and operated by two motorboat engines jerry-rigged to the side

View of the Okavango, as it quickly starts to spread across the land, transitioning from a river to a delta

Since our next camp was located on an island within the delta, Russell from Green Bushpig arranged for us to park our rental car at a nearby camp where the Kadizora boat could pick us up. The only problem is, the camp – Jumbo Junction – is not used to self-drive tourists (most guests are part of overlander groups), and there is *no sign* for the turn off to the camp from the gravel road. However, according to Russell’s instructions there was supposed to be a flag on the right hand side of the road indicating the turn-off, “about 30KM outside of Seronga”, the nearest town.

Well, we drove about 35KM outside of Seronga without seeing a flag. We figured we must have missed it, so we backtracked about 10KM – still no flag. We pulled over when we saw some road workers and asked them if they knew where the turn for Jumbo Junction was – everyone always pointed us in the right direction, and estimated the same distance as our original instructions, but STILL NO FLAG. Cursing Russell under our breath, we finally accepted that the flag must have been taken down, so when we saw a trail of tire marks heading off the road in approximately the correct location, we decided to drive down the sandy driveway and see if we were right.

We weren’t. It was just some guy’s farm. And we nearly got stuck trying to turn around! We asked him for directions too, and he shook his head. “You’ll never find it.” Apparently the flag is down, and there were zero landmarks for him to give us directions. However, this guy was super nice and offer to come in the car with us and guide us to the turnoff, as long as we promised to drive him back to his farm. We happily agreed, and even gave him N$100 for his trouble.

When we finally got to the Jumbo Junction Campground, the place was empty, except for the kitchen staff, who clearly weren’t expecting us. Apparently the camp managers were out, picking up an overlander group and would be back in about an hour. Since it was about 12:30PM by this point (we should have been here an hour ago!), we decided to relax in the camp bar and have a little lunch while we waited.

A sausage tree, with seed pods that weight up to 15lbs! Bad luck to anyone standing underneath one when it falls…

Waiting for our boat transfer at the Jumbo Junction Campground, where we discover a small colony of fruit bats sleeping inside the bar’s thatched roof

About an hour later, a huge group of 20-somethings arrived as part of the Nomad overlander group. We waited patiently while the managers introduced them to the camp and served them lunch. About another hour later, we finally reminded the managers about our transfer to Kadizora (apparently they had mistaken us for part of the Nomad group) – it was a long, LONG morning, but finally we were on our way…to paradise!

Our boat has arrived, to take us into the Okavango Delta

Serene and stunning – the Okavango Delta in Botswana

Wildlife sightings on the way to camp: a hippo in the “hippo pool” and a grazing elephant

Disembarking in a community concession in the delta, about 50KM from the next lodge – truly remote!

When we arrived at the Kadizora Camp, our jaws dropped – this was by far and away the most luxurious place we have *ever* stayed. Not just in Africa. Not just on this trip. EVER. It was seriously like being inside a movie-set safari – the camp was made of canvas tents that had gorgeous wood tables and leather sofas inside. On the outside? Elephants. Just wandering through the camp (we were forbidden to walk from our tent to the common area alone at night). Oh, and our stay was ALL INCLUSIVE. All the excursions, all the food, and all the BOOZE was included.

Russell, you did good.