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A Baobab
Just as the sun is setting we stop to take a few shots...we were a little late leaving the park. Well after arriving back in Windhoek after our last little adventure around Namibia, Charlie, Jas and I began looking into taking the train up to Livingstone, Zambia to see the falls and go our separate ways. That morning, rather than take the train we decided to rent a car with Rob (a Kiwi) and Sophie (English) to cruise around northern Namibia, making a true commonwealth experience. We were off on another four day little safari in another little white opel...this time with 5 people and all of our luggage and food. Needless to say it was a tight fit, but a hell of a lot cheaper.
First Stop:
We left the first day at about noon and drove some 900 plus kilometers to the Ngepi Lodge situated on the Okavango river. It was an awesome little campsite right on the river...there were warning signs about crocs and Hippos that were just on the other side. Thus, we were only allowed to swim in a little caged off pool that was in the river. I did not feel safe at all though after I saw a deathadder swimming in the river the next day.
Mahango Game reserve:
We
The Elephant
Just coming to take a closer look. Luckily we had front row seats... spent two full days in this little park. Due to the fact that we only had a two-wheel drive, we were limited to what paths we could take. The first day, though proved to be awesome. Elephants, Roan, Sable, Hippos (including one coming out of the water), warthogs procreating my first herd of African Buffalo, and a couply of snakes including a python that ol Chucky chased down and kept on the road for us to photograph. Unfortunately the second day did not prove to be as eventful adn so we had to occupy our time by freaking out German tourists. Still a lot of fun though.
Chobe National Park:
After three nights at our lovely campsite we decided, out of about a thousand different options to head to Chobe national park and the Chobe safari lodge in Botswana. Once there, Rob tracked down a private safari vehicle:
Anyone heading there, go to Chobe Safari Lodge and ask for Joe the Taxi cab driver. It is 200 Pula + park entry fee. But with 2 - 4 people it is well worth it considering how much freedom that we had. We basically told Richard (Joe's brother) that
The Elephant
A close look. I am not sure if this was scarier than in the car or not. we did not want to stop for Impala and other little animals like all the other groups were doing....just take us to Hippos, elephants, lions or anything eating another animal. Unfortunately we did not get to see that, but we did see over a hundred elephant including a herd in the marshes with the sun setting and a male bull touching the car with his trunk, and a few babies. We also saw a few hippos out of the water, about 30 in the water and over 40 giraffe, some within about 10 meters. Needless to say I was quite impressed with our drive in the park even though we did not get to see any cats. In fact I doubt I could get tired of going into parks and if I had a 4x4 I probably would have stayed to explore the park a little more...simply amazing.
Zambia and Vic Falls:
The following day we were up once again as the sun was rising and although it was warmer this time I still could not find a way to sleep comfortably in the car. Rob and Sophie dropped Jas, Charlie and I at the Botswana/Zambian boarder where
Sunset
Sunset over the Chobe River...Again, to make the best of our money we were out just as they were locking the gates.. we hopped on a 'free' fairy over to Zambia. While we had booked ahead and knew Jolly Boys would be picking us up from the Zambian side to get to Livingstone, once over the ferry we were approached by about 10 different bus or taxi drivers wanting to take us in to town and all saying that Jolly Boys had already come and gone. It reminded me of the good ol days in Central America with everyone hassling you constantly. Ol Chucky had quite the fit before we decided that we would just pay the 3 American for the 100km ride into town.
Anyway, our hostel is sweet. A huge grass open area with an awesome pool, bar, pool table and table tennis. And there is a view from the top of the hostel where you can see the mist from the falls. The falls themselves were pretty amazing even though we did not get to see much at all. Unfortunately, because the rainy season just ended there is so much water that the water from the falls shoots up the othe side creating a huge cloud of mist, almost blocking the falls themselves completely. So while they were
Vic Falls.
Got pretty wet crossing the bridge. Tons to do here but expensive... more impressive than Iguazu just in size, Iguazu offered much better viewpoints.
Not sure where to from here....we really want to get to Mozambique but are unsure of what the best way will be. It could be through Zimbabwe where we have heard that you need duffle bags to carry around all the money because inflation is so bad. Internet is expensive...but we are managing to stay on budget somehow. Stay tuned.....
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