Chobe posts: limited WiFi so these three posted the same time

This morning we left at 6:00 AM for a half-day game drive. This would let us venture further from the lodge than on our previous drives. The target for today: Lions. We drove over new territory with Neo on the lookout for lion paw prints. We scouted through the Capriva Strip, a long peninsula of land between the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers, that floods for several months of the year. We saw the usual zebra, giraffe, elephant and a huge breeding herd of Cape buffalo that must have numbered 1000 individuals. Then in the distance we saw a group of Land Cruisers and private SUVs: the telltale sign of lions. Sure enough, we came upon a single male and a pride of three lionesses. It was late enough and warm enough that the females only looked wistfully upon a small group of zebra a few hundred yards away while the male lion sleepily and indifferently looked around at the cars and the cameras clicking away. We took our photos and moved on.

We stopped at a campground (yes, people camping in tents near where we just saw a small pride of lions) and enjoyed a boxed breakfast of meats, cheeses and a muffin. We continued on and saw some new animals: a striped polecat (skunk but at a distance luckily), black backed jackal, and a red lechwe (an antelope similar but a bit smaller than an impala). We drove back by the lions who had moved a few hundred feet to relax for the rest of the day in the shade of a large tree. We traveled up a hillside above the river for the first time and encountered a bull elephant in must (the male version of in heat). Neo warned us that he might be aggressive but we passed him without incident. At the remote waterhole hoping to find eland or sable we only found more elephants. These elephants seemed less habituated to humans and as we approached they backed away, flapped their enormous ears in warning to us and surrounded their young ones. They are always delightful to watch especially the young as they played in the water. Back to the lodge for lunch and a relaxing afternoon.

(Photos from this post with the earlier one; photos for the earlier one with this one. Let's see who notices!)

Hitching a ride

Cape Buffalo carcass not found by hyena

Chobe has LOTS of animals

Our private pool on our private balcony

The balcony off our suite

Relaxing

Sibblings

Kathy ready for a game drive

Warthogs, elephant, giraffe and impala

Startled while drinking

Kudu

With Neo our guide

The Honeymooners

Dinner on the balcony

Chobe game drive and second river cruise

Up at 5 AM this morning for our first Chobe game drive. Game drives in the national parks are different than in the private game reserves like Sabi Sand. Here the Land Cruiser must stay on the road (no going cross-country deep into the bush in order to follow a leopard following an aardvark) and there are no trackers. There are lots more Land Cruisers full of tourists as well. So this morning we drove along the river and saw the typical giraffes, zebra, baboons, impala, Cape buffalo and a nice assortment of birds including a close look at an immature Martial eagle. The difference is that at Chobe there are so many more of each species. We saw thousands of impala, hundreds of Cape buffalo and baboons, and dozens of giraffe and zebra. It was really fun to watch up close the baboons as it was a bit chilly this morning and the youngest babies hung under their mothers and then moved to her back as they got older. We watched them groom each other (eating a tick is a treat so it helps out both the groomer and groomed.) We parked in the middle of a large troop of baboons and they just ignored us as they spent a typically social morning.

We saw lion prints from last night so are hopeful to sight some on a game drive. Our guide, Neo, is knowledgeable and friendly, but lacks Liam’s passion and enthusiasm and she seems to just be going through the motions rather than the sense we had with Liam that he was exploring alongside us.

Upon returning to the lodge we enjoyed an omelet for breakfast then headed out on the river again for our second river game cruise. We saw several larger crocodiles as well as a few new species of birds. On the river bank we saw a delightful herd of elephants and a couple of youngsters playing in a mud hole carefully watched by their mothers, sisters, aunts and cousins. We covered the same stretch of river as the first river cruise and except for seeing more crocodiles and fewer hippos, the two trips were pretty much the same.

In the afternoon we drove the same ground as in the morning and saw kudu, elephants, giraffe, zebra, impala, hippos, etc. The amazing thing about Chobe is the vast numbers. We don’t just see one small herd of a dozen or so elephant; instead, we see lots of larger herds. Around almost every bend are a hundred or so impala; so many unless something is unusual we don’t even notice them. Then we came upon a small group of Roan antelope. Neo said it was the first she had seen since she started working at Chobe 8 months ago. A great thing to see.

When we arrived back at the lodge we were surprised with a private dinner on our private deck. Leena, our server for our stay, waited on us while we enjoyed chicken kebab appetizers, vegetables and duck for our entrees, and a selection of apple strudel, date and walnut “pudding” (British style, what we would call a light cake), and pear and almond tart.

Lionesses eyeing some zebra

Just relaxing

Posing for the photographers

Bush breakfast

For Lewis: a male and female giraffe

We both like the large mammals, I also like the birds but Kathy likes the trees!

The only baby zebra we saw

Cute family

Oxpeckers cleaning an impala

Vultures over the dead elephant

Chobe: Limited WiFi

Since there was no game drive for us on Saturday morning we slept in (each morning game drive starts with a 5:00 AM wake-up call to be ready to board the Land Cruiser at 6:00 AM). After breakfast we walked over the curios market in Victoria Falls. We bought a nice little sculpture, some old Zimbabwe currency and dealt with the pushy street vendors. At 11:30 we were off in a mini-bus full of tourists towards Botswana and Chobe National Park. The border crossing went smoothly and we boarded an open-air game drive style Land Cruiser for the drive to Chobe Game Lodge, the only lodge inside Chobe National Park. The highway portion of the drive was ok, but once we entered the park it was like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disneyland: our driver was running late and had another commitment he was eager to get to. As we raced over bumpy roads we caught glimpses of giraffe, elephant, impala, zebra and even a sable antelope. After about 45 minutes we arrived at the lodge.

Chobe Game Lodge is a beautiful facility with architecture and interior design in a Moroccan-style. The lobby/common area has built in couches with cushions and wonderful decorations. We were given one of the four suites in the property with our own sitting room, private deck with infinity plunge pool and views of the Chobe River and Capriva Strip; perhaps the nicest room I have ever stayed in. Our first activity was a three-hour sunset boat cruise along the Chobe River. We saw incredible numbers of crocodiles, hippos, elephants, Cape buffalo, baboons and impala along the bank. There were a number of different species of shore birds including the very interesting African Spoonbill and the delightful Pied Kingfisher.

We did see a small herd of elephants, including a small baby, attempt to swim over to an island. What a sight to see these large land animals swimming, using their trunks as snorkels and the babies hanging onto their mothers’ tails. A number of times they tried to cross the river but instead returned to the bank. They must have found the right spot to cross later on because on our return down river they were enjoying the green grass on the island. We also saw a dead elephant on the bank and our guide speculated that it might have died from anthrax. Not taking any chances with spreading the disease, the park rangers will burn the carcass to prevent any predators from eating it.

Back at the lodge we enjoyed dinner at the restaurant overlooking the river. One interesting trivia item: Chobe Game Lodge is where Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were married for the second time.

Hippos headed into the Chobe River

Ahhh!

Impala bucks practicing

Heading in to try to cross to the island

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

We left Johannesburg behind and flew this morning to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We are staying at the Illala Lodge, a ten-minute walk to the falls. We settled in and made our way there. Victoria Falls is interesting because unlike most waterfalls, you can both look at them from the side as well as from across the gorge into which the Zambezi River falls. We walked along the edge of the gorge and got wet at times from the mist rising up from the river below the falls. The angle of the sun provided a constant rainbow that accompanied us on our walk that added to the stunning, breath-taking beauty of this unique place.

Kurt waiting in line for immigration

VFA arrivals

Looking down the length of the 1 mile wide falls

Rainbow over the Main Falls

Looking across at the falls through the forrest on the opposite side

Half-eaten warthog

For our 5 month-iversary we had dinner at the Palm Restaurant at the hotel. Kathy enjoyed Crocodile Frikadelle while I had the Warthog. Both were surprisingly good.