BOTSWANA, SOUTH AFRICA - Polokwane Game Reserve

A whole day travelling through Botswana is just an average day of travel, but the African bush scenery and animal spotting made it pretty enjoyable. In total we travelled over 600km south in more than 11 hours to reach our destination in the north of South Africa, the Game Reserve in Polokwane, formerly known as Pietersburg. We poked our heads out of the tent this morning at 4:15am just to make sure Johannes wasn’t joking about the 5am departure. He still wasn’t kidding around. The group were quiet packers and some already had their bags outside ready to go in the truck. We quickly threw our things together then helped others also pull their tents down. As quiet as we were, the camp next door who noisily arrived late last night, curiously shone torches our way but we continued just the same. As we packed we were still silenced in amazement at how clear and bright the stars were in the dark morning sky.

Botswana Drive

5am had arrived and we were off again. Before we could hit the open road we still had to manoeuvre through the sandy entrance path. Johannes was determined not to get bogged this time. Going as fast as he could, everyone hung on for dear life as we bumped and banged our way through the driveway with Johannes letting out a loud ‘Yahoo!’ once we were free. Everyone on the bus cheered and applauded his skillful driving. We slept on the 16 seater bus for about 2 hours and then pulled up on the side of the highway 20 minutes outside of Francistown and had a quiet breakfast of cereal, fruit, bread rolls and coffee. The brisk morning air was clean smelling and very fresh. To warm up, some of the group went for a 25 metre run up and back from the breakfast area. We stood behind the truck to escape the cold wind and were pleased to get back on the bus and move forward.

As we rolled into Francistown we had another 20 minute stop. Time enough for a quick stroll and toilet break. Again we searched high and low but were no closer to finding our elusive Botswana magnet. Time was running out. As we searched for a bathroom we passed one of the local fast food restaurants. It was funny because just outside of the store there was a sign that read ‘Seating For Wimpy Customers Only’. The restaurant was called Wimpy's. We couldn’t find a bathroom so we crossed the road to the petrol station and struck gold, an unlocked bathroom, with toilet paper! We grabbed some water from the store and got back on the truck.

Francistown Football Stadium

Back on the truck we passed a group of donkeys grazing in the fields. We also drove by the Francistown Football Stadium which looked huge compared to the few tall buildings and dusty countryside. Some of the group had bought the local paper and we read a few of the headlines that caught our eye. One of the articles that unsettled us a little read ‘167 Roadside Incidents Recorded By Police Due To Livestock Conditions This Month Alone’, it didn’t give us a lot of confidence that we would get through this drive unscathed. Ironically, yesterday while driving, Johannes struck or was struck by a suicidal bird head on. It made a loud thump and startled a few of the group. On our journey so far today we have stopped or slowed down for dogs, goats and cattle to cross.

It was a long drive but thankfully we were able to sleep the majority of the way because the scenery outside wasn’t all that inspiring. A few minutes before we reached the Botswana/South Africa border, we stopped at a roadhouse and grabbed some postcards and some lunch. We had burgers at a fast food restaurant named, Steers. It was pretty good. We passed through the South African checkpoint and headed towards the Mokopane Mall to drop off some of the group whose tour was coming to end. We got a security guard to take a group photo and farewelled Don and Beatrix, Peter and Di and Kasumi. We then went inside the mall to stock up on some alcohol for the campfire later tonight. There was a small bottle shop which at the end of the store sold pre-mix drinks very cheap. Dan bought a 4 pack of Captain Morgan and Cola bottles for R35 which equates to about 6AUD. Ev bought a 6 pack of Pina Colada’s for the same price. Unfortunately Dan miscalculated the price on a bottle of Jim Beam and thought R179 was $18 when it was in fact about $28. Oh well. Dan needed it.

We've arrived after 11hrs of driving!!!

Polokwane Game Reserve Camp

We arrived at the Polokwane Game Reserve at about 5pm and took photos of the Pietersburg Football Stadium again, which was used during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, located just outside of the game reserve. We set up camp in the caravan area, which is basically just outside the fence of the game reserve, and pretty much had the site to ourselves except for one caravan. It was getting very cold so we started a campfire as soon as we got there. As we erected our tents, Johannes and Shawn got started on dinner. Tonight we were having chilli beans, mince, potato, rice and bread. There were also a couple of power outlets around the grounds so we were also able to charge the laptop and iPhone.

Dinner again was beautiful and we helped with the dishes. The tea towels weren’t dry so we resorted to ‘flapping’ cups and bowls as if they were wings to get them dry. We then both had a couple of drinks with the group and had a chat around the fire. After dinner, Johannes asked if anyone would like to volunteer to make dinner for tomorrow night. We stuck our hand up straight away as we hadn’t really had the chance to contribute so far on tour. Johannes said he would take us shopping in the morning for supplies for dinner.

Greg and Katie had bought a bag of marshmallows so we roasted a few of those as the night wore on. Russell was sick of drinking beer and was onto the ‘sissy drinks’ or ‘lolly waters’. They were very pretty. Unfortunately it was quite a windy night and no matter where we sat the wind would follow and blow smoke into our eyes, so we took it as a sign to go to bed. It was only 9pm but we were getting up at 5:30am for a 6am game drive in the reserve.

It was a fairly uneventful day today but we’re very much looking forward to seeing the animals in the morning and the drive to Kruger National Park later in the afternoon.

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Livingstone & Elephant Sands

We both awoke to a freezing Livingstone morning at around 7:15am. The shower situation was at an all-time low as there was now no water at all. We used Ev’s facial wipes to try and bathe with. It didn’t work too well. We packed our bags, rolled up our beds and sleeping bags and loaded them onto the truck. We had a lovely campsite brekkie this morning made by our Tour Leaders, Johannes and Shawn, which consisted of bread, scrambled eggs, chilli baked beans and sausage. It really hit the spot. This was also the first time we met Jo and Amanda who were teachers from England and were travelling together. Amanda was actually Canadian. As we ate we took photos of the monkeys around the site and had to chase a few away trying to get into our belongings. After breakfast we packed up our tents and loaded all of the gear onto the truck in preparation for our first trip of the tour. Dan also got mobile reception for the first time since we had been in Zimbabwe/Zambia and quickly called Citibank to make sure he was able to use his credit card worldwide in case of emergencies.

Monkeys playing in the campsite

Botswana Visas

We hopped onto the truck and were away. In total we drove about 300-400km. After about an hour of driving we reached the Zambia/Botswana border. We reached customs and filled out our paperwork. Johannes warned us not to take any photos in and around the customs area on the Zambian side of the Zambezi River otherwise we could risk being shot. We would have to wait until we were on the ferry before we were allowed to do so. While we were waiting outside for the rest of the group to clear customs, we were harassed by a very persistent vendor selling magnetic copper bracelets which are meant to help with arthritis. No amount of "No thank you's" would make him leave. Finally he conceded that none of us were interested.

After clearing customs the group walked to the ferry to cross the Zambezi River into Botswana. The truck was on a separate barge. The ferry ride itself took about 5 minutes and whilst on board we took the opening to take some photos without fear of being gunned down. We then walked to the Botswana immigration office to get a 5 day Visa. As we waited for the truck we saw some goats trying to climb a 6 foot high fence to grass on the other side. Bit weird but they looked pretty hungry.

To prevent/control Foot and Mouth Disease in Botswana, we had to disinfect the shoes we wore in Zambia, including our spare shoes. We stood onto a pad with a chemical agent through it which would kill off any parasites and hosts of the disease. As well as shoes, all vehicles were also required to drive through a ditch about half a wheel deep with the same solution and purpose.

Truck Pest Control Point

Now that we were safely in Botswana, we again boarded the truck and drove towards the town of Chobe, for lunch. Just before we got there we were stopped by a brand new (and the only) set of traffic lights. Despite there being no traffic or pedestrians, we waited a good couple of minutes for the lights to change. (and we thought the traffic lights back home were bad!) We got into Chobe at 11:40am and were given until 1pm to grab lunch and roam the town. We withdrew 200 Pula, which is about $30USD then headed to a takeaway shop and bought some delicious chicken and beef pastries for 21 Pula ($3USD). We then headed to the local supermarket called SPAR, found all over southern Africa, to find a magnet and to get some supplies. You know the essentials: oreos, peanuts, chips etc. Ev even bought some booze. A Pina Colada pre mixed drink and a small bottle of Rose. We were unable to find a magnet from SPAR but bought some postcards from the post office and used the internet, briefly. Poor old Russell wasn’t able to get much done in his lunch hour as he was stuck in line at the currency exchange office and then the bank.

Lunch was over and we were back on the truck on the way to Elephant Sands. Ironically, we saw a herd of elephants on the side of the road and took some photos. We saw another heard walking in single file about 500m away from us and saw a male Kudu. We also took photos of some giraffes feeding on trees on the side of the road. We stopped for another checkpoint for Foot and Mouth disease.

Kudu

Giraffe

Botswana itself seemed to be a little more affluent by central African standards compared to Zambia. In Chobe, which is a very small town, they had a supermarket, brand name clothing stores like Reebok and Nike and an internet cafe. That may be a bit harsh because we’ve only seen one town in Zambia but the difference between the two was obvious.



Elephant Sands

As the name would suggest, Elephant Sands is a large camping/caravan resort area covered completed by white sand, trees, bushland and inhabited by elephants. The place was wonderful. The road into Elephant Sands though wasn’t so great. The sandy road was incredibly bumpy and the many ditches tested the trucks suspension. We were flung around the truck as we had no choice but to go as fast as possible to avoid getting bogged. Unfortunately the sand won and we were forced to get out and push. We were bogged a second time but thankfully the sites rescue trucks were on the scene and when we made it to the camping area we set up our tents for the evening and unloaded our gear from the truck. There was a bar/restaurant, pool and an open air outdoor toilet/shower complex with bamboo walls which used bore water.

Elephant Sands Kitchen

We headed towards the bar area and thankfully a power board was available so we could charge the computer, video camera and phone. Access to mains power was becoming increasingly difficult to come by. Russell and Dan decided to go for a swim but unfortunately found it full of dirt with dead insects floating by. We had a footbath instead. We chatted with Russ for about an hour by the pool as the sun set. The campfire nearby looked very inviting and warm. Just as the sun slipped past the horizon, a herd of female kudu came to the waterhole about 50 metres away. It was another great photo opportunity.

Kudu

On that note, we felt it was time for a few sundowners. Ev drank her Rose and Dan started a tab at the bar and actually drank beer. He had a couple of Castle Lagers, which actually tasted quite nice. The mood of the evening helped them go down easier. Russell joined us at the table shortly after and we started talking about our trip and the trips to South America he had been on.


Elephant Visit by the Pool

Shortly after dark at 7pm the conversation turned to our elephant ride the day before and Dan glanced to his left and to his astonishment saw a family of 3 elephants, Father, Mother and Baby, enjoying a refreshing drink out of the pool less than 20 metres away from where we were sitting. It was an incredibly surreal experience. Unfortunately it was too dark to get any photos as we were told not use a flash as it would scare them off, but Dan did manage to get a bit of audio from his iPhone in a vein attempt to capture the moment on film. Everyone in the bar/restaurant watched in quiet awe as the family of elephants drank from the pool for about 3-4 minutes (now we knew why the pool wasn’t kept clean). The baby hung around a little longer for an extended drink whilst the parents watched and waited. The baby pulled its trunk from the water and flung its body around towards its parents then ran off the cement to the dirt then together they walked back into the bushland. It felt like a privilege to be a witness.


Dinner

Shortly after, the dinner bell rang and we moved towards the dining hall. We were having a buffet dinner and on the menu there was pat (a flour and water mix that looks like potato), beans, rice, veggies, bread rolls and the main course, Impala Stew. The Impala was very tender and very tasty. Dessert was fruit salad, jelly and custard. While we ate, we got to know our tour leaders, Shawn and Johannes a little better. They are great guys. We spoke with them about life in Africa and they were also keen to learn more about Australian culture. Just before we headed off to bed, Johannes told the group we were leaving at 5am. It started to get a bit chilly, so we went back to the tents to get our jackets when Dan saw Johannes at the truck unrolling his bed. Dan asked if was serious about leaving at 5am. He was. We have about a 10-11 hour drive to reach the Polokwane Game Reserve in South Africa tomorrow. It was time for bed at 8:20pm.

Realising that we wouldn’t have time for a shower in the morning, we decided to have one before bed. The idea of an open shower under the stars on a beautifully clear night sounded very romantic. Unfortunately the chill had set in and the showers used bore water which was very salty. Any ideas of a long, warm, enjoyable shower together were quickly dashed. Ev was out in about 2 minutes, shivering cold and with sore eyes. Dan lasted maybe another 2 minutes. It sounded cool anyway.

As we headed back to the tent we couldn’t help but stop and stare at the night sky. We have never seen so many stars before and the Milky Way was clearly visible overhead. It was a perfect way to end an awesome evening.


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Vic Falls & Elephants

Evelyn woke this morning at 5am and took photos of the sun rising of the beautiful Sunday morning in Livingstone, Zambia. Dan got up at around 7:15am.

We both headed for the showers but unfortunately the hot water had run out and we had to suffer through cold showers on a fairly brisk morning. We mentioned to Johannes earlier that we would like to visit the falls this morning. We thought he was in a bit of a hurry so we cancelled plans for the buffet breakfast and had leftover pizza from the night before to get us going. We hopped on to the 16 seater truck for the first time and headed for the magnificent Victoria Falls. As we rolled toward the entrance gate there were baboons scattered everywhere scavenging for food and scraps, and being a major tourist destination, the road leading to the entrance was lined with gift and souvenir markets.



Victoria Falls

Our group visited the Falls the day before as it was part of the included itinerary so we got in for free. As we walked in we stopped at a stall selling raincoats and ponchos starting from $1USD each. We only had $20 notes in US currency but the vendor didn’t have any change. Dan jokingly offered to pay with my 100 Trillion dollar Zimbabwean note and he just laughed. We ended up paying with the Kwacha and gave him a K5000 note which was only enough for one poncho. At the time we were happy to share but thankfully he was very generous in giving us a second one for free because we really needed it.

It didn’t take us long to witness one of Earth's great wonders, Victoria Falls. It was absolutely breathtaking. We took our time as we meandered along the edge of the falls, happily taking photos and videos. We had a little plastic bag for Ev’s camera but it got a little wet.

After about an hour of awe inspiring views we headed back to the truck. Along the way we picked up a Victoria Falls fridge magnet and Dan bought a really cool Zambia hat. Johannes drove us back to the campsite and we found out the reason he was in a hurry was so he could have breakfast before the buffet closes to 10am. He says he is unable to eat early in the mornings anyway. We also got our Tour shirts when we got back.

We didn’t have anything else planned for the day so we decided to head to the computer room and upload our photo’s and check our emails. As we were on the internet we were deciding whether or not we should do the sunset river cruise when Johannes came in and said there were two spots that had opened up for the Elephant ride. Johannes asked if we would like to go but we felt a bit guilty saying yes because people drew names out of a hat yesterday to ride the Elephants. Anyway, there was no one else around, except for Tracey who declined, and we thought if we don’t get them now they may be gone in 5 minutes, so we did. Dan immediately paid for the ride which cost $300USD for the two of us, and we were just thrilled to have the opportunity to ride the elephants. Shortly after, we headed downstairs for lunch and ate our burgers as we watched out over the Zambezi River. We felt pretty good.

After lunch we headed back to the campsite to charge the laptop and video camera and also update our journal. Ev discovered that her camera wasn’t working from the water that got in from Victoria Falls. We pulled the camera apart and let it dry out hoping it would come back to life. Just before we left for the elephant ride, we tried the camera again and it worked for about 20 seconds then died again so she pulled it apart and let it dry out while we were gone.



Elephant Rides

As we waited for our bus to arrive we met a nice Austrian lady from Vienna who told us about her trip and was heading home the next day. She was going to the Lion Encounter we went to yesterday. We told her about our experience and she told us about her time on the Elephant Ride. The bus took about 30 minutes to get to the 1600 hectare reserve where the elephants were kept. We met with our tour guide, at the same place we were for the Lion Encounter, and they explained how the afternoon would pan out. After the briefing we were guided to the herd of 8 elephants including 2 babies. We chose our elephant and climbed the stairs of the platform to hop on. Our elephants name was Liwa who was 27 years old and also the mother of one the babies, Sequinta. Liwa was such a beautiful natured animal. The biggest and oldest elephant was a bull named Bop. He was massive and was about 60 years old.

We both climbed onto the back of Liwa from the platform and met her handler/driver, Roy. Roy was amazing and told us everything we needed to know about Liwa and the elephants in general. Roy was Zambian and lives in nearby Livingstone. He has worked at the reserve as an Elephant Handler since it opened in 2003. Roy told us that most elephants live to be about 70-75 years of age and die due to starvation. An elephant will have 6 sets of teeth throughout its lifetime and after the 6th set of teeth fall out they can no longer eat.

During the ride Liwa kept asking for pellets by placing her trunk back over her head toward Roy and would then grunt. We got to a shallow part of the Zambezi River which gave the elephants some needed temperature relief and also gave us some nice photo opportunities. The tour had our video camera and Dan's iPhone and took some great photos of us on the elephant standing in the water.

Liwa asking for pellets

On the bank of the Zimbabwe River

"Please Sir, Can I have some more?"

While Liwa was stopped it also gave us a chance to feed her some pellets into her trunk and also touch her ears and thick layer of skin. It was strange touching an elephant for the first time. The outside of her ears was like sandpaper from the dried water and the underside skin was quite smooth, very soft and furry. During the walk back to the reception area we heard ‘thump, thump, thump’. Dan turned around and saw that Liwa had left multiple lovely deposits on the path behind us. We also felt her vibrate as her stomach rumbled.

An hour had passed and the ride was nearly over as we saw a crash of White Rhino and a herd of Impala just as we were about to finish up. We got off the elephant at the platform and thanked Roy. Liwa then knelt down and Ev sat on her front knee and fed her pellets in her trunk and mouth.

Dan was then given a bag of pellets which prompted Liwa to rise to her feet as she opened her mouth up wide, waiting to be fed. Dan threw the pellets into her mouth and accidentally punched her in the mouth a couple of times. She didn’t seem to feel a thing though. Dan then said to Liwa "trunk down" and she closed her mouth and began to sniff out the food so Dan put pellets in her trunk and she held it there until she felt she had enough to swallow. It was time to say goodbye to the elephants and they waved goodbye to us with their trunks and raised their front right foot. We said goodbye to Liwa and Roy and headed back to the reception area.

After cleaning ourselves up we were served some food and drink and chatted with our group about our honeymoon. In the meantime the DVD of the afternoon was complete. It was really well produced and we ended up buying this one as well. We thanked the crew at the reserve and boarded the bus back to the Waterfront Campsite. We arrived back at 7pm just in time for our group meeting about our upcoming trip through Botswana, Polokwane National Park and Kruger National Park in South Africa.

We grabbed dinner from the buffet at the restaurant and reflected on our wonderful day as we again ate over the Zambezi River with the night sky littered with beautiful constellations. What was going to be a pretty uneventful day turned out to be another fantastic day in wonderful Africa and a day we will never forget.

P.S. The camera now works, too!

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Vic Falls & Lion Walk

Ok. Let’s get this out of the way early. What an incredible day! We took a helicopter flight over Victoria Falls, walked with the Lions and capped the day off by a herd of Elephants crossing the road at night on our way back from dinner. Where else in the world can you do and see these things!?!

We woke up this morning at 7:15am as we needed to be at the bank by about 8:00am. We had showers (Ev had no cold water), then we headed to the Barclays Bank in town to withdraw $200USD and R300. We told our cabbie we’d give him $20USD (a return trip into town would normally cost $10USD) to hang around while we were in there. The queuing ticket said ‘0 Persons ahead’, we waited 20 minutes to be served and were told they didn’t have enough USD to give us so we would need to come back later around 10:00am. That was a waste of time, but we still had our helicopter flight to go to at 9:00am, so with excitement, we raced back to the car and our cabbie took us back to the campsite to scoff down breakfast at 8:45am and were ready for another driver to pick us up at 9am. He arrived at 9:15am. We’re slowly beginning to realise that Africans work on their time: later than expected. This is similar to what Dan likes to call MST or Moody Standard Time. We arrived at the Helicopter ride at 9:20am and it went for 15 minutes.

As we arrived at the site we would be taking off from, there was a local playing a wooden instrument like a marimba and groups of people waiting to for their turn to ride on the helicopters. We entered the reception area and were greeted by the manager who took our reservation slip and booked us onto a flight. We were still a bit worried about time at this stage because we had to get back to the bank before it closed at 11am. We thought it may take a while because there was at least one large group of Spanish people (12 people) ahead of us. Thankfully though, we were able to skip ahead because one of the smaller helicopters that seats 3 people, had become available. Our every move was being captured as one of the ground crew was filming us as we boarded with a German woman who sat in the front as we had the back seat to ourselves. We were too excited to realise we had never flown in a helicopter and before we knew it we were airborne. The view from the air was amazing. On the way to the falls we flew over a herd of elephants that were sleeping and from a distance we could see the spray from the water of the falls. It was magnificent to see multiple rainbows through the mist. The water stretched for kilometres eventually plummeting.

Victoria Falls Flight

We circled a herd of hippos lazing on the banks of the Zambezi River shortly after takeoff.

Hippo Heard from Helicopter Flight

15 minutes later the flight was over and in all honesty we thought it was just about long enough. We landed back at the helipad and were led towards one of the staff who prepares the DVD’s. We were shown the footage of us entering, well as being in the helicopter, plus footage of the Falls. We couldn’t resist and ended up buying a copy for $30USD. We were dropped back into town to Barclays Bank at around 10:20am and finally were able to withdraw cash. They didn’t have Rand so we just withdrew USD and finally could buy sunscreen and insect repellent. For just these two items the chemist charged us $40USD!! But we’d prefer to have them than be without.

Back at camp we met our Tour Leader Johannes and the rest of the group already with their tents assembled. We were then all told to meet in the auditorium to check out what activities were available. The activities video was inspiring. There are so many things to do at Livingstone: game drives, helicopter and micro light flights, jet boat rides, white water rafting, bungy jumping, abseiling, ride the elephants, lion encounters, 4 wheeler bike rides and more. Dan really wanted to go white water rafting or do the bridge swing diving (like bungy jumping but it drops then you swing from a rope), but Ev didn’t want to do either of those. Piker! Instead we booked ourselves in for the Lion Encounter for later that afternoon and considered doing the sunset cruise the following night. We also haven’t seen the falls up close yet so we’ll need to make time for that. Everyone wanted to do the Elephant ride so we withdrew our position and let the others take it. It will give us a chance to catch up on emails. During the meeting we were getting the feeling that the majority of the people here already knew each other and it began to dawn on us that these guys were halfway through their trip. We felt like the new kids at school today. We initially thought the guy telling us about the activities was part of the tour as well but he was from the Hotel's Tourism department.

After the meeting we had lunch down at the restaurant with the group and were invited to join them all for dinner. We were becoming more comfortable with the group. Lunch was ordered and we met Don and Beatrix from New Zealand and Stefan and Susan from Tweed Heads and Peter and Di from the Sunshine Coast. We spoke about our honeymoon and also about their adventures up to this point. Don also confirmed that the tour indeed was halfway through. Lunch took a little bit longer than expected, but finally our burgers and chips came and we hurridly ate as we were told the bus to take us to the Lion walk had arrived. On the bus we met and chatted with Russell from Sydney, Greg and Katie from South Australia, Tracey also from Sydney and Deb from New Jersey, USA. The bus ride took about 30mins.



Lion Walk

As we got off the bus we were greeted by our guide, Abel. The crew served cold juice as we sat in preparation for our safety briefing. It was funny but also a bit unsettling to hear Abel joke about the lions and strawberry jam coming out of us if they bit us. The sticks we held on to were our only defense against the lions in case they got a bit rowdy or playful. Abel told us if they approach us, not to run and to point the stick at them and say ‘No’. Seemed simple enough, but we weren’t convinced though. After the briefing was over we were split up into two groups and led away by our respective guides. Abel told us we would be walking with 16 month cubs, two girls and a boy. The lions were adorable. It was quite hot and they were very lazy under the trees at the beginning of our walk but after a bit of encouragement they eventually were up and about. They were so beautiful.

Lion Encounter with 16 month Cubs

Alert is the program that the company have established for reintroducing lions back into the wild. It’s a 4 stage breeding program that hand raises cubs to be self sufficient lions who will then teach their cubs how to survive in the wild. For now though, the lions we walked will be too reliant on humans so they will live in the 1600 hectare reserve with other wild animals for the rest of their lives. It’s a lot of effort for a few cubs but the African Lion is on the verge of being labelled extinct so the handlers are passionate about what they do. The company relies on volunteers and visitors like us to help walk the lions, everyday for exercise. We walked three sibling cubs 16 months old, but there were also two smaller cubs the other group walked. Our three, were tired and a bit hot, but towards sunset they were more actively playing by biting and clawing each other and flopping down on each other. The guides shared a lot of information about the program and the lions and how they interact with them on a daily basis. It was a fantastic experience to pat them and Ev said she would love to volunteer here over a 4 week period.

Sleepy kitty

After the walk was over, we followed Abel back to the reception area and we were given food and drink. Our afternoon was recorded onto DVD and we spent the next 10-15 minutes reliving some of the more enjoyable moments of the walk. We again purchased the DVD of our afternoon encounter then headed back to the campsite. It was late in the afternoon and we found the rest of our group ready to head out to dinner. We raced back to our tent to put our camera back and get a quick change of clothes then headed back to reception and chatted with Mark from Brisbane while we waited for a taxi.

Dinner at Olga’s was very nice. It was an Italian restaurant and we also met a couple more members of the group, Kasumi from Japan and Johan and Regula from Switzerland and spoke about our trips. We both had a pizza each and they were the fluffiest, tastiest we’ve had. We were excited to hear more about some of the group’s travels. Some had been travelling from other continents prior to this Intrepid tour and we’ve learnt a lot about our next leg in Egypt. We felt very welcomed by our group and they are all very friendly. The group farewelled a member of the group we didn’t actually meet; Peter from the U.K. After returning from dinner we headed up to the computers to type our blog and use the internet, but they were closed, instead we found Johannes having a good time watching the sport on TV. Time for bed.


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ZAMBIA - Cape Town to Livingstone / Vic Falls

Today was a sad day for us. We were leaving Cape Town. We were only there for three days but we grew to love the city very quickly. The people are very friendly and warm and the city itself is beautiful with a fantastic blend of old and new. We both would love to come back again soon.

Our flight to Joburg was for 7:30am and we were up around 4:30am to pack and organise ourselves for the busy day ahead. We headed down to reception to check out, hand the key back and to fix up any outstanding payments. The concierge handed us the itimised bill and we nearly fainted. R730 which was roughly $110AUD. It turns out the washing we requested to have done was a little more expensive than we first thought, R480 or about $75AUD. We should have asked first. We'll be hand washing from now on! We cleared the bill and grabbed our paper bagged breakfast and boarded the airport shuttle. As we drive around the base of the mountain, or Lion’s Head, we took one last look over Cape Town as morning broke to a brand new day.

Cape Town Airport

We got to the airport and checked in our luggage to be sent directly through to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We then headed towards the security terminal and unloaded our belongings into the tray provided, including a room key for the Ritz Hotel. Dan forgot to hand it back in and the airport shuttle was long gone. There was no post office in the terminal so we'll post it back when we get a chance. Unfortunately our sunscreen and insect repellent was confiscated at the security checkpoint because it was over 100ml. It’s strange how we’ve been able to take it this far through other checkpoints, but when we actually need it the most in Africa, we don’t have it. We will need to get some as soon as possible in Zimbabwe or Zambia even. We both had our bagged hotel breakfast while we waited for our flight to be called and were served another breakfast again (Dan was still hungry) and basically slept the entire way.

Joburg Airport

We arrived in Johannesburg at around 9:30am and wanted to check the internet. The terminal had free wi-fi but couldn’t have made it any more difficult to get access. After 40 minutes of stuffing around and not connecting, we decided to head towards our departure gate. The gate, we thought was due to close at 10:40am and it was only 10:30am. As we walked towards the gate, Dan glanced at the departures board and noticed ‘Flight BA### Victoria Falls 1040 CLOSED’. He freaked out and broke into a sweat as well as a slow job and was thinking ‘this is impossible!!’ He was preparing himself for what we would say to fight to get aboard. As he looked up at another board he saw the same notice, but this time 'Gate Number A24'. We remembered we were heading for A27 so Danial stopped in his tracks and briefly thought the gate had changed when he realised he had checked the wrong gate. He searched for A27 and found ‘Flight BA### Victoria Falls 1125 OPEN'. Turns out there is more than one flight going to Victoria Falls. Who woulda thunk it? :P Relief washed over him like cold water on a hot day. We were ok.

We waited in the departure lounge until we were ready to board, finally able to laugh about Danial’s little mix-up. We caught the bus from the terminal to the plane and boarded. Danial sat down and noticed a young kid about 10 years old and though immediately, ‘this won’t end well!’ He said to Ev as she took her seat “I bet this kid starts kicking my chair any minute” and he did. It didn’t last long thankfully but Dan was still a little bit edgy. Hey, I like kids and all, but there are some you just want to say, “Brother, shut the @#!? up!!!” He was one of those kids. He would not shut up. Thankfully we had earplugs and the kid calmed down a bit.

The flight was fairly smooth up until we started our descent into Zimbabwe. There was a lot of turbulence and the pilot was banking sharply from left to right to line up his landing. Don’t know what it is, but trying to land a plane in the middle of nowhere freaked Danial out a bit. The pilot made one last bank to the right and we could see the runway about two kilometres ahead. It seemed we were only about 100 metres off the ground at this stage but the plane was still trying to fight against itself. Ev was fine, but Dan wasn’t the only one struggling at this stage. The kid behind started talking about turbulence and then yelled; “Oh God, please let this plane land!” This was followed by a power spew into the sick bag, not once but twice. Mmm...Smells like spew! This drew a laugh from some of the passengers. Dan almost felt sorry for him for a second. The ground was getting closer and closer but we couldn’t see any runway until about two seconds before we landed then the runway slid underneath the plane and we had reached terra firma safely.



Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) Airport

This was just the beginning of our Zimbabwe/Zambia experience. We exited the plane and headed towards the small terminal. There were very little instructions given by airport staff inside but we were divided into two lines for some reason and a third line was formed from out of nowhere and they were getting processed much quicker than the rest of us. We assumed it was for African passport holders as we were surrounded by Spaniards and British and the only South Africans we knew of (including the vomit kid) were in that line. As mentioned there was no real direction given to anybody and we were split into two separate lines. The line we were in had a sign above that read ‘Visa Payment’ and the other line had a sign saying ‘Non-Visa Requirement’. This is why we couldn’t work out what the third line was for. Ev ended up asking one of the airport officials which line we should be in and was told it didn’t matter. Alrighty, one problem solved. We were overtaken in the queue by a pushy Spanish group and were no closer in discovering the Visa mystery as we filled in an immigration form on the way. We weren’t sure if we needed to pay anything because we were actually staying in Zambia. We only had about R150 or $25USD on us. We only realised we did have to pay when the couple in front of us gave the immigration official US dollars. Thankfully our bags were all laid out on the floor just beyond the Immigration desk and Dan was able to aid his bag quickly which had $570USD. Dan got to his bag and found that his lock had been busted and was missing and his bag was slightly open. In a panic he searched for his wallet and the money which was stashed in a secret compartment. Thankfully they were both there. We won't be doing that again. He got back to the Immigration desk as Ev was being served and handed over $60USD for our Visas. We were finally through. Ev wanted to check the busted bag to make sure everything was there, and nothing had been added, but Dan just wanted to get outta there!

As we headed past customs we found a guy holding a sign with ‘GARRETT x2’. Thankfully our transfer had waited the hour for us to get through Immigration. Our drivers name was Tsolo and he would drive us to the checkpoint between Zimbabwe and Zambia. We had a nice chat with Tsolo and he decided to take us on a scenic route to show us some massive trees called Baobab. The trees weren’t overly tall but they were incredibly thick at the base of the trunk. Just as we were about to head off again we spotted a large male elephant cross the dirt road we were driving on. It was amazing. It wasn’t a nature reserve or a zoo, it was a wild elephant just doing its thing. Ev was able to get some pictures just as it crossed into the bushes. Our African adventure had begun!!

Elephant crossing our road

Zimbabwe & Zambia Checkpoints

Tsolo eventually got us to the check point and as we parted ways we were greeted by our new driver, Figo, who would take us to the Zimbabwe/Zambian boarder to get our Visas and also take us to our third driver who would take us to the campsite. Figo got us to the Immigration office where we got our Visas and passports stamped and found there were semi-trailers and people everywhere waiting to get clearance to or from Zimbabwe, Zambia or the Democratic Republic of Congo. Inside the Immigration office we filled out some more papers as Figo waited with us. The Visas were $50USD which were valid for 10 days in Zambia.

We got back in the minivan with Figo and waited for our new driver. We looked around and tried to take in as much as possible as it was a bit of a culture shock but also surreal as we couldn’t believe we were here. After 5 minutes or so our new driver arrived. We grabbed our bags and introduced ourselves to Kelly. We all chatted as we walked towards the car and completely forgot we had walked through the checkpoint when we heard “Hey!!” We turned around startled as Kelly walked towards the angry seated soldier with the very real machine gun. He looked offended and Kelly was very apologetic. After presenting our documentation we were finally allowed through. Dan decided not to make light of the situation because he wasn’t sure if his sense of humour would translate all that well with this type of culture.

As we walked towards Kelly’s Hilux, we passed some baboons strolling on the stress and were amazed. No one else cared. After dropping Ev’s brand new 70-300mm lens on the road, yes he dropped it, we were approached by a guy selling One Hundred Trillion Dollar notes. Zimbabwe dollar is worth nothing due to political turmoil in the country so they now use the US dollar. Either way we had to buy one for $5USD’s just to say we’re Trillionaires. Boom!!


We had to pick up two other people on the way and drop them off at a nearby lodge. They took about 20 minutes. Finally a young Mexican male and his grandfather emerged from the hotel they were staying at. As we left the complex Dan noticed a swamp to the left near the entrance with a sign that read ‘Beware of Crocodiles’. No fence, no net, just a swamp inside the hotel grounds with a croc! We asked Kelly if there were really crocodiles in there and he said, ‘Yeah, but they are not very big ones’. We felt so much better :P We dropped the Mexican gents off at the lodge and headed towards our campsite which was next door. On the way Dan asked Kelly, “Those crocs, how big is not very big?”. He gestured with his hands that the last time he saw them they were about 40cm long but they’d be about a metre now. He said once they get too big they are transported to the Zambezi River. Amazing!



Setting up Camp

We arrived at our Waterfront Hotel campsite shortly after and checked in then were shown to our tent. On the way we passed a group of monkeys playing on the ground near our tent. It was very cool but still a bit foreign to us. We stood our bags inside the tent and headed back to reception to withdraw cash not thinking we’d need any local currency called Kuacha. We still had enough for the kitty for our safari and general supplies. Unfortunately the Barclays Bank back in town was the only place that could withdraw and exchange cash and it was closed for the day. We will have to go in the morning. The shop onsite also didn’t have any sunscreen or insect repellent so that too is on the shopping list.

Camp Site Reception

We did manage to book a helicopter flight over Victoria Falls for tomorrow morning using our Visa card so we can’t wait for that. Ev took some wonderful shots of the beautiful sunset over the Zambezi River from the restaurant. We bought some potato chips and water for dinner and hit the sack early after a pretty interesting day.

Zambezi River Sunset

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