Into the Wilds of Africa

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It was a beautiful African morning. I was standing on the dusty riverbank soaking up the warm sun and watching an amazingly long line of ancient trucks and busses and a few private vehicles wait their turn for a spot on one of the two tiny river boats that were ferrying the vehicles back and forth across the river. I had already passed through Zambia’s border post and from where I stood I could see three other countries - Zimbabwe was off to my left, across the river, Botswana was next to it to the right and, off to my right, a small point of grassy land formed Namibia’s tiny portion of the rare four country border. I was headed across the river to Botswana and, as luck would have it, I didn’t need to wait for my place on the ferry - I was going across on a private power boat. There were a few others with me from the hostel and we were all anxious to get across and start our short, overnight safari. We had been waiting for about half an hour when we spotted a small white launch come out from behind a bend in the river and approach us. The boat nosed up to a muddy bank near where we were standing and waved us over. We said farewell to the man from the hostel that had driven us to the border and we climbed aboard the boat. A few moments later we were speeding past the ancient ferry with the wind in our faces and the far shore rapidly approaching. An open safari vehicle collected us on Botswana’s equally busy river bank and we were off. Our guide helped us quickly get through customs and then we loaded back into the truck and headed off into Botswana.

We slowly drove through a small, typically African border town and then we turned towards the Chobe River at an intersection guarded over by three large elephants that were at work stripping a tree of its vegetation - Our guide was not at all surprised to see them there, but he didn’t slow to allow the people who had never seen an elephant some time with them. We came to a stop at a very nice resort-like hotel in a lush green area on the bank of the river where we met the rest of our group and took care of all of the remaining paperwork. One of the couples we were waiting for was running a bit late, so our guide decided to go ahead and start our safari and return for them later. We walked down to the river and boarded a small, white pontoon boat that was tied up beside several other similar crafts. We carried a cooler and a thermos, which a man on the dock had given us, across the plank and then we shoved off into the Chobe River. Our aquatic adventure started with a stop at a tiny, but colorful ranger station built on the end of a floating dock a short distance upriver, right at the boundary of the Chobe National Park. We never even saw a guard, but our guide told us he needed to file some permits before we could legally continue upriver. With our permits in hand, we backed away from the lonely dock and pointed our bow into the wilds of the Chobe River - Our river adventure had begun.

The Chobe River was my third safari experience in Africa. I had heard and read many amazing things about the abundant wildlife and the pristine wilderness that lined the river and flowed inland from its banks. I had also heard many good things about the particular trip I was on, which was organized by the hostel in Livingstone, so it was safe to say that I had high expectations for what was to come - What I didn’t know as we motored upriver into the wilderness was that even my wildest hopes and expectations didn’t come close to the adventure was in store for us! So it was that in the last few days of my four month journey through Southern Africa I finally found the wilderness I was hoping to find, the wilds of Hemmingway’s Africa, a stunning wilderness land with no boundaries and no fences and it was amazing!

Our river cruise started out slowly. We were motoring our way towards a large island in the middle of a large channel of brown, slow-moving water. The island’s flat desolation was broken by a few lovely trees that seemed out of place in the monotonous sea of grass. The southern bank of the river rose in a gentle, forested slope off to our left and we could see a few antelope milling about near the water’s edge. Off to our right we could just make out the brown, forested slopes of the northern bank of the river, but it was too far away to extract any details from the landscape. Between the two sloping banks a sweeping expanse of flat grasslands filled in the spaces between the twists and turns of the large river’s many channels. There were islands and peninsulas and swampy, grass-filled bays, all formed as the river constantly adjusted its circuitous path through the grass. The huge, azure, African sky filled in the spaces above us and reflected its magnificence in the surface of the brown water, which completed the stunning natural masterpiece. Along the shore of the island we spotted several huge water monitor lizards, with their beautiful, alternating black and yellow banded skin, and we found several lovely cormorants posing with their wings outstretched for the cameras. As we worked our way around the island we came across a small group of hippopotamuses submerged in the murky water with just their heads exposed. Much like the hippos I had the privilege of meeting in Kruger, they slowly approached the boat to say hello - Our guide did not welcome their inquisitive behavior, so he put the boat in reverse and slowly backed away, clearly a bit cautious around them. As we cruised along the grassy shore of the many islands and channels of the river we spotted many more amazing animals. There were several more encounters with the water monitor lizards - They seemed to be the most common animal in the area - and countless lovely birds, including a stunningly bright, blue and orange malachite king fisher. We constantly found hippos basking in the cool water and, around one bend we found a huge herd of buffalo munching on the swampy grass near the river bank. The sheer quantity of wildlife and the ease of finding them began to give our cruise the feel of an amusement park ride, only the animals were not animatronics, but living, breathing and very wild beasts! We worked our way to the south bank of the river and we were motoring along, stopping from time to time to watch a herd of kudu or some baboons at the river’s edge. We spotted our first crocodile, a juvenile Nile croc, basking in the sun and then, a short distance away, we found a large group of huge ground hornbills walking along the shore near a few warthogs. We were watching a water monitor lizard inspect a crocodile on the shore, wondering if we were going to see the circle of life played out in front of us, when one of the ground hornbills walked up to them to see what was going on - We were all surprised to note that the crocodile wasn’t at all interested in either animal. We backed away from the shore a little ways to where another boat had just come to a stop. After a few brief greetings between our guide and the one on the other boat, we pulled alongside and took on two more passengers - Our group was complete and we would not have to return to the dock to pick them up. We cruised over to an island where a massive hippo was completely out of the water munching on the long grass. We came to a stop about ten feet away from the giant beast and we watched in amazement while we ate a late breakfast and enjoyed some hot coffee under the warm, late morning sun.

After our brief snack, we said farewell to the giant hippo and we pulled back out into the channel where we found a large group of partially submerged hippos. We stopped a respectable distance away from them and we watched as they too approached us. From time to time a large explosion of bubbles would rise from the depths and another hippo would appear in the churning water. We had been watching the group for a few minutes when one of the explosions of bubbles erupted just behind our boat. Our guide acted quickly and we were already in motion when a massive hippo, clearly the group’s dominant male, exploded out of the water just behind us and aggressively propelled itself towards us. We were moving fairly quickly, so the hippo missed us and disappeared beneath the surface again. A moment later the same hippo launched itself out of the water a second time, much like a dolphin, nearly hitting us. We were all amazed at how quickly the hippo had closed the distance between us and how aggressive it had been. It was clear to everyone on board that, had the hippo caught us, it would have been bad. Our guide kept his composure, but he had one of those broad smiles on his face that are only possible when you have emerged safely on the other side of a potentially dangerous and unexpected situation - I suppose the title of ‘Africa’s most dangerous animal’ is fitting for the mighty hippopotamus. It had been an exciting experience. All of the old African adventure stories speak of aggressive hippos attacking boats and most of the exciting Hollywood movies about Africa have had their own ‘attack of the hippo’ sequence in them to the point that the hippo attack has become fairly cliché, much like the giant anacondas and ravenous piranhas of Amazonian lore - Now my story has its very own hippo attack!

Over the next hour we had several more amazing animal encounters. There were massive herds of buffalo, large adult crocodiles, huge herds of grazing hippos, a distant herd of roan antelope and lots of beautiful birdlife - The quantity of life along the river was truly mindboggling. During our voyage we spotted several African fish eagles. Most of the time they were perched up in the distant branches of a tree, or flying quickly by, but we were lucky to have one very close encounter with one of the most magnificent of the birds of prey. The eagle was sitting on a log in the distance and we had stopped to observe it when it took flight. Instead of flying away from us as they usually did, the giant eagle flew towards us and landed in a large, dead tree less than twenty feet away. It then decided to pose for us and it stretched its wings out and turned its head towards us and smiled - It was a special moment for me because I had been trying in vain to get close to a fish eagle ever since I was in Kruger. Near the end of our river journey we came around a bend and found a large herd of elephants at the water’s edge drinking. They allowed us to approach within twenty feet of them and they put on a great show. For many of the people on the boat, it was their first encounter with an elephant herd in Africa - There were gasps of joy ringing through the boat due to the antics of some of the playful youngsters, or to the sheer magnificence of some of the adults. We watched the animals for a while, but we were due to meet our rides on the river bank and we had to move on. A few minutes further up river we spotted two open safari vehicles parked next to each other on the south bank of the river. We pulled up to the shore, scanned the area for crocodiles and stepped off of the bow onto the muddy bank - Our amazing river journey had come to an end, but the fun would continue.

We drove for a short while on the bank of the river. We spotted a large martial eagle sitting in a tree nearby and another flying high overhead. There were more elephants and hippos and, in the distance, another large herd of buffalo - The life along the river was plentiful! We turned onto a heavily rutted track that led up from the wide bank into the scrubby, dry forest. The dirt road swept towards the west and continued into the wilderness. The river was off to our right just out of view behind the trees. I was riding in the second safari truck. The plume of brown dust from the lead vehicle engulfed us in an orange haze and blotted out the scenery. Our driver slowed and let the dust settle. The wilderness emerged around us. There were huge stands of short, brownish trees and dense brush. At fairly regular intervals, large grassy clearings broke up the monotony of the dry forest. It was in those clearings that we spotted most of the wildlife. It took us a while to get accustomed to searching for animals in the tangle of brush surrounding us - After the simplicity and abundance of wildlife spotting along the river it seemed like the forest was completely devoid of life.

Our first sightings were completely by surprise. Our driver, of course, saw the giant giraffes as they ambled up towards the road in front of us, but the rest of us were not looking to the front. We came to a stop and several beautifully awkward beasts materialized right next to us. Their bodies were hidden from view behind the trees, but they stood much taller than most of the surrounding vegetation and their necks towered high in the air like beacons. They stopped munching on the leaves for a moment and turned their gazes towards us. We were very close to them and the excitement flowing through the vehicle was contagious - It was the first giraffe sighting for the majority of my companions as well. We waited for the cloud of dust from the lead vehicle to settle and then we said farewell to the giraffes and moved on. Our next stop was due to another large group of elephants, but they didn’t stick around too long. We stopped at a picnic area for a quick bathroom break. There were no fences and animal tracks were all around in the dusty soil. I found a long line of fairly large pug marks that bisected the picnic area and lead into the bushes and I followed them for a while, more to see if our guide was going to reel me back in than to find the cat, which was most likely a leopard. I reached the edge of the open area and stepped into the bushes. There wasn’t a word of protest from my guide - In fact, he walked over to me and said something along the lines of, “Wow, you found a special set of footprints!” and then we walked a little further into the brush. There were no gun-toting rangers, no warnings of impending doom, no sanitized ‘viewing areas’, just the wild African bush - I was in heaven.

We drove deeper into the wilderness. The river was constantly off to our right, though we could no longer see it. We found a large group of vultures on the ground to the left of the road, so we stopped. A closer inspection revealed a large giraffe carcass and several large birds enjoying their carrion feast. A little further down the track we found a pair of male sable antelopes fighting over some hidden group of females and then a little further down the way we found a very large group of sables hidden in the brush right next to the road. The sable and roan antelope had been the only Southern African antelopes that I hadn’t seen prior to visiting Chobe. In Hemmingway’s ‘Green Hills of Africa’ I had first been introduced to the sable antelope with its stunning, back-sweeping horns - His poignant descriptions of the magnificent sables were dead on and I enjoyed reliving the scene in his book through my own eyes, only, I changed the ending to be a bit more to my liking - The shot I took at the sable was with a Nikon D80 instead of a Mannlicher rifle.

We turned off of the relatively open area surrounding the dusty road and entered into a lush, dark forest of tall trees. The road was narrow and we constantly had to dodge the low branches of the trees as they tried to leave their mark on our faces as we passed them. We came to a stop in a large shady opening beneath the canopy of the forest. There was a ring of green dome tents surrounding a fire and in the center of the area was a massive tree that acted like a support column for the lofty roof of the grand forest hall that would be our home for the evening. Next to the tree was a long aluminum table with a white table cloth and a place set for each of us - It was a welcome sight and we couldn’t have expected to find a finer dining room anywhere. We each claimed a tent and then met back at the table, which was then heavily laden with a simple, but delicious traditional lunch. It was early afternoon. We were told to take our time with our meal and then to relax around camp. We would wait until later for our next game drive. We talked for a long while as we devoured our meal. There were many nations represented at the table, so there were many great stories floating around on the air - It was an enjoyable meal. After lunch a few people retired to their tents for a mid-afternoon nap. Others continued the conversations around the fire or settled in with a good book. I had another plan. I asked our guide if I could go for a short walk. A surprising, “Absolutely, just don’t go too far away, because you could easily get lost out here”, was the answer and then he followed with, “If you get into trouble just yell and we will come running!”

I was excited. The Africa I had dreamed about all of my live was surrounding me and there wasn’t a fence in sight. I walked to the tent and gathered my gear. I walked around the tent and into the brush a short distance where I found the latrine. I picked a line and I started off into the wilderness, more or less in the direction of the river. I slowly put one foot in front of the other, looking all around me for signs of life and listening carefully for any sign of impending danger. At first the camp remained in sight behind me, but eventually even it disappeared. I had decided to stay close enough to hear the activity around camp, but far enough away to stay out of sight - I wanted to at least have the feeling of being alone in the forest. All around me there were unmistakable signs of life. Cavernous burrows in the ground spoke of large nocturnal animals, possibly a pangolin or an aardvark, and the sandy, gray soil was littered with animal droppings and well defined footprints. Behind me laughter erupted from some humorous story being shared around the fire. In front of me the sounds were of a more mysterious, primeval origin - I could hear large branches snapping, occasionally an unrecognizable snort and once or twice the frantic crashing of some startled animal leading rapidly away from me into the dark depths of the forest. The plentiful footprints and the warm mountains of grassy dung told me that there was a large group of elephants in the vicinity, undoubtedly the ones responsible for most of the more pronounced noises. I really wanted to come across a large group of elephants on foot, but at the same time I knew that, alone, that could be a fatal mistake. Instead of following the noise into the shadows I decided to be safe and I turned and started blazing a path that would lead me around to the other side of camp. The rest of my walk was as amazing as the first part was. I never actually saw an animal, but that is generally the way it happens in a forest and one of the reasons I love walking through the woods - In the forest every sound incites a mystery, every step reveals a new, previously unknown world and every now and then, when you least expect it, the forest may decide to reveal a few of her secrets to you, sometimes in a grand way and other times it comes in the form of an imperceptible detail that only the most attentive of explorers will see. My walk through the woods came to an end when I reached the dirt track that we had followed to get to camp. I followed the tire tracks, which already had a few animal tracks on top of them, back to my forest home and the rest of my companions - My walk was over.

Our afternoon game drive started shortly after I returned to the camp. The sun was getting low in the sky to the west and its warm rays shed an orange light across the land. We first drove towards the southeast away from the river. The thick brush made spotting the animals difficult, but we still managed to find a large group of zebra and a few buffalo. The thrill of the search made our drive amazing despite the lack of animals - I don’t really think the guides expected to find anything at the beginning of the drive anyway. We eventually found our way back to the dead giraffe, where we found a few spotted hyenas waiting for their turn at the buffett. We sat and watched as the hyenas slowly made their way towards the feast only to be run off by the main bird in charge - It was funny to watch. The shadows were getting very long when we pulled back out onto the river bank. We followed the wide, savanna-like river valley towards the setting sun. The track we were on was nothing more than two sandy tire-tracks in a sea of short grass. The life was even more abundant then than it had been that morning. Huge herds of elephants and buffalo dotted the landscape, giraffes moved in slow-motion in the distance and hippopotamuses basked in the last warming rays of the sun as they prepared for their evening of foraging. Huge herds of unidentifiable antelope filled in all of the gaps. We stopped several times to take in the scene. At one point a line of elephants was crossing the river. As they emerged they had a uniform, two-tone coloring scheme - Light and dry on top and dark and wet on bottom with a crisp line between them that was uniform on all of the animals in the group. We stopped again to watch the huge, fiery orb of the sun dip below the distant horizon. It was one of the most memorable sunsets I have seen because the final orange rays of the sun passed through and surrounded the large groups of animals and then sunk below the distant forest and disappeared - It would be the last time I watched the sun set over the wilds of Africa, for now at least!

After the sun set we were granted a hysterical, twilight show by the huge troupe of baboons that were in the trees directly above us. Apparently the dominant male in the group got mad at all of the playful antics of the youngsters, because he went on a rampage, darting through the limbs of the trees chasing the young ones. His roars were startlingly ferocious and the screams of the fleeing baboons told us that they felt the same way. From time to time he would catch one of them and toss them from the trees and at other times the fleeing youngsters would toss themselves from the trees to escape his wrath. Needless to say, the small baboons raining from the branches above us prompted our driver to move the vehicle out of the path of the storm. We continued watching for a few more minutes and then the large male calmed down. It didn’t appear that there were any injuries and it almost seemed like the whole scene could be a form of nightly recreation that the young baboons enjoy - Regardless it was a lively show. Our drive back to camp was fairly uneventful and when we got back dinner was ready. We ate another amazing meal beneath the leafy canopy lost in the shadows above us and then we sat around the fire for hours. On a walk out to the latrine I found that the entire forest floor was moving. Closer inspection revealed a blanked of huge termites. I also discovered that they were flowing from a large hole in the ground near the base of my tent! I called the group over and we gawked at them for a few minutes and then we returned to the fire.

As we were going to bed our guides placed a ring of fiery beacons around the camp to deter any of the local predators from getting a closer look and then said, “Good night!” The forest was alive with a cacophony of mysterious sounds. I slowly drifted off to sleep - It was not destined to be a restful night, but not in a bad way! I woke up several times to rustling outside of my tent, but I never figured out what animal was making the noise. At one point, at around two in the morning, I got up to go to the latrine. I knew that there were animals about and that many of them could be dangerous, so I cautiously zipped open the tent and stepped out. I shined the flashlight in every direction - There were no glowing eyes staring back at me, so I began walking towards the latrine about thirty feet behind my tent. I walked past the dying flames in the beacon and then, just as I reached my destination, my flashlight set four or five sets of green eyes aglow. The animals were less than fifty feet away and I could tell they were large, though their bodies were still hidden in the shadows. The spacing of their large eyes was too far apart to be the eyes of an antelope and the fact that they didn’t even try to run confirmed that they were of a more bold nature. At first the eyes were all very close to the ground, which made me think they were lions, but then one set of eyes raised up to about the height of my chest. I did my business and then walked back to my tent, never breaking eye contact with the mysterious green eyes that were staring back at me. I will never know what the animals were, but after talking it over with my guide in the morning and looking at the ground where they had been, the general consensus was that they were likely buffalo, but that possibly my first guess was correct - Next time I will take a better flashlight!

My experience was not the only one of note during the night. The camp was a stir with excited conversation when I stepped out of my tent around six. It was still fairly dark and most people were still asleep, but the fire was roaring and the hot chocolate was ready. One of the older gentlemen in our group was talking to our guide off to the side and he was animatedly pointing towards the latrine and my tent. Another man walked up and asked me if I had seen the leopard that was next to my tent a few hours before! I sat and sipped my hot chocolate as I listened to the man explain how he had gotten out of bed to go to the latrine. He did as I had done, looking in all direction with his flashlight, only, when his beam hit the leafy patch beside my tent a large leopard was crouched a bit as it looked towards him. The cat was only about twenty feet away from the man, so he dove back into his tent as quickly as he could and the cat disappeared. At first I thought they were just trying to pull an elaborate joke on me, because they all knew how excited I was to be a part of the wilderness. All of my doubts were washed away when I walked over and found a set of large pug marks next to my tent where the man had indicated. The guide and several of the other men joined me and we followed the tracks, first in the direction the cat had come from, and then in the direction he had fled the camp in. The leopard had apparently walked past a few of the tents, examined one of the extinguished beacons and then fled west from where it was crouched beside my tent. I didn’t get to see the leopard, but at least I now know what some of those mysterious animal sounds just outside of my tent were!

We ate our breakfast, packed up our things, said a fond farewell to our forest hall and then we hit the road. We were leaving the park and going back to Zambia. Our drive was fairly quick, but we still managed to have several great wildlife sightings. The most memorable of the animal encounters happened when a huge herd of buffalo crossed the road in front of us. The sun was in our faces and its intense rays set the cloud of dust that the buffalo were kicking up aglow with a thousand shades of orange. We could hardly see a thing, but the faint shadows of the buffalo were occasionally visible through the haze, which imparted an amazingly artistic feel to the encounter. We stopped at the park’s main and very deserted gate and then we drove back to the river-side border post. While we waited for the boat to show up I ran into my guide from the Northern Namibia tour I had been on. We were both surprised to see each other, but we shared our different stories of the month or so since we had parted ways - He congratulated me on finally finding the wilderness I had been looking for and then my boat arrived and we said farewell again. We landed on the Zambian bank of the four country border and then, with a few stamps more in the passports, we were on our way back to Livingstone.

My flight to Johannesburg was in two days, so I got everything packed up, I purchased some last minute souvenirs and I took in the grand vista of Victoria Falls one last time from inside the park. I also spent a lot of time guzzling orange juice, because at some point I acquired a nasty cold. On the morning of my last day in Zambia I got up early and set off on one last adventure. I arrived at a small dirt airstrip near the river, put on a flight suit and waited my turn for my micro-light flight over the falls. Everyone I had talked to said the flight was an amazing time, well worth the high price tag. In an email my mom had called it a motorized kite and didn’t hide the fact that she was a little less than thrilled that I was doing it, but, when my time came, I donned the helmet and took my seat. A few moments later my Australian pilot, John, and I were soaring into the air. As the ground fell away an intense feeling of freedom filled my mind. I had never flown through the air in anything with an open cockpit, so feeling the cool air and the wind around me was amazing - It was a similar feeling to skydiving, only I was going up instead of down. The mist was rising up ahead of us as we approached the falls. From the ground the falling water and the roaring thunder were the highlights for me, but from the air the noise was silenced by the drone of the motor and the actual lay of the land became the highlight - Only from above it can you really perceive the magnitude of the falls and the impossibly narrow chasm that the entire Zambezi River disappears into. We circled the falls two times as John snapped several photos from the wing mounted camera. When we faced the east the glare from the morning sun obliterated the view, but, even then, it was spectacular from above. At the end of the flight we did a short airborne river safari and we managed to spot several tiny elephants and hippos and then the airstrip materialized in front of us. With a slight jolt we had returned to the earth, but it had been worth every second and every penny.

The following morning I shared a taxi to the airport. I had some more entertaining border formalities, but nothing like the spear controversy (though the spear was still with me), and then I boarded the plane bound for Johannesburg, bringing to an end my continuous overland (and sea) route that I had started in Buenos Aires nearly eight months before. I found a place to stay at the Shoestrings Airport Hostel in Jo’burg, which was a great place. I met a few Americans there who had run into one of my motorcycle riding friends from Jollyboys the day before. Early the next morning I was at the airport again. My destination was on another continent, the last of the seven for me. I had a frustrating time passing through the security checkpoint thanks to a power-hungry woman who must not have paid attention in English class. She would not let me take my plastic bottle through even though there was not a drop of water in it (I had put pencils in it) - She said that it was my country’s fault and pointed to the new regulations and I read it back to her politely emphasizing, “No containers CONTAINING liquid larger than 1 oz (or whatever the number is) would be permitted past security…” I then explained to her the meaning of ‘Containing’, but she was not in the mood for English lessons - I would have won in court, but, there, she was judge, jury and executioner. I left and went back to the airline counter and told them what had happened. They confirmed that my understanding of the rule (and the English language) was correct and they told me that they would report the incident, not that it would do me any good. I begrudgingly tied my little nametag to the lid of my water bottle and then I checked it to London - Much to my surprise, it made it without a problem. I purchased one last souvenir, an ironwood hippo, and a bottle of water. I had a while before my flight took off, so I sat down to have one last meal in Africa and I reflected on my time in Southern Africa. I thought of all of the great friends I made and the many amazing experiences and fulfilled dreams. I also thought of the inconceivable problems that plague Sub-Saharan Africa. I left the region with an overwhelming feeling that all of the well intentioned aid that is pouring into the region from around the world is actually making things worse for the average person. I talked to many people affiliated with the aid organizations that had the same feelings. They told me that many of them come and do jobs that the locals could easily do, that instead of teaching the locals how to grow their own food many of the organizations just feed them. It would seem that the aid as currently organized gives the people just enough to accept status quo while allowing the corrupt government officials to live lavish lives at the expense of the people they rule. It is hard to look at the mindboggling HIV/Aids numbers and the horrifying poverty that plague the region and have a positive outlook for the future, but then I think about the forward thinking students I met at the ‘Spoken Word’ gathering in Windhoek, Namibia and elsewhere - They are the leaders of the future and if they don’t get caught up in the same power games that have ruined many of their current leaders then I think there is a chance for Southern Africa to rejoin the rest of the world.

My flight was announced and I boarded the plane. I got one last glimpse of the African landscape through the windows of the jet and then darkness set in - When the sun rose again I was over a new land, a new continent and a new adventure began…

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Photos

Elephants on the Shore
This was the first group of elephants we found in the park.

An Orange Haze
The buffalo were churning up a lot of dust as they crossed the road in front of us.

Smiling for the Camera 1
This is the large fish eagle that came to pose for the camera.

Over Victoria Falls 1
From above, the falls take on a new feel.

Reflections
This is the ranger station we had to stop at prior to heading up the Chobe River.

A Big Stretch
I think this is a cormorant, but I found a few other similar birds in the book (darter) that it could be.

A Water Monitor Lizard
This was possibly the most common animal on the river.

Two Trees
Scenes along the Chobe River.

A Malachite King Fisher
The picture is a little blurry, but I liked it anyway.

Posing for the Camera
This kingfisher was not getting ready to fly away, he was just posing.

Lilly Pads
On the Chobe.

Hippos All in a Row
This was the first group of hippos we came across on our adventure.

Soaring
The fish eagles were all over the place and they were magnificent.

Ground Hornbills and Warthogs
One of the many lovely scenes along the river.

Cousins?
The monitor lizard wasn't at all worried about the crocodile.

One Brave Bird
Perhapse this is why they are endangered, but the croc wasn't at all interested.

A Big Eater
This hippo enjoyed a coffee break with us.

Hippo Attack!
The experience happened too quickly to get a picture, so I had to sketch it.

My, What Big Teeth You Have!
He was smiling for the camera.

Basking in the Sun
These were the largest Nile crocodiles we saw on the river - The one I petted was much larger.

A Yellowbilled Stork
These lovely birds were all over the place.

A Herd of Hippos
Scenes like this were common along the Chobe River.

Chacma Baboons
These two guys were looking for food along the water's edge.

Kudu on the Shore
There were a lot of female kudu lining the river. The males seemed to always be hiding.

Another Fish Eagle
I love these birds, so I included several pictures of them.

The Birds!
This is my mom's favorite picture - She loves birds!

More Kudu
The kudu were all over the place.

Pearlescent Plumage
Here is another yellowbilled stork. Note the lovely plumage.

Smiling for the Camera 2
I know, too many pictures of fish eagles.

Buffalo
Do you see the elephant in the back?

Run!
The warthog wasn't too happy about the approaching herd.

Elephants
A portrait...

A Martial Eagle
We found this lovely bird at the end of the river journey.

A Male Kudu!
I knew there had to be one around somewhere.

A Carrion Buffett
This giraffe is being enjoyed by all.

Sleeping
The question of how a giraffe sleeps is finally answered!

They Come in Different Sizes
Look at the baby giraffes. They were one of the highlights of the first drive.

The Sable Antelope
We saw several of these guys along the road.

Almost a Good Picture!
The squirrel was posing on the stump and looking pretty, that is, until I got the camera pointing towards him.

A Double-Banded Sandgrouse
I think that is what this bird is called - It was a lovely bird regardless.

A Marabou Stork
This is the second of these birds I saw. The first had its goofy looking head shoved deep inside of the giraffe.

Two-toned Elephants
I just liked this picture.

Comments

[Saurav]

Lovely Post!
Hi Kieth, For a person sitting in India, this article of yours and the wonderful photographs almost took me there...thank you... cheers Saurav www.terraunspottin.blogspot.com

[kate]

wonderful as always
following you each step of the way. k x