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Published: August 19th 2006
After an amazing experience in the Okavango Delta, we made our way into the Caprivi Strip. Originally, Namibia had no access to the Zambezi River, which was a major trade route. When the British still had control of Botswana, they were able to negotiate for a plot of land near the river, which today is called the Caprivi Strip. The Caprivi Strip is a long strip of land surrounded by water (from the Kavango River to the Zambezi River) and ends at the four corners of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. That night, we stayed at Martin's Drift, which was in Katima Mulilo on the Zambezi River.
The next afternoon, we were picked up in a larger safari 4x4 and headed off into Chobe National Park. Chobe, which is located in Botswana, had much different terrain than our previous safari experience in Etosha. From the moment we entered, we were going up and down hills and the bush was a lot thicker than in Etosha. After not spotting too many animals in the dense bush, we headed to the marshy river area. As soon as we spotted the water, we discovered a mother hippo and her baby walking along the
shore of the water. Laying like grey stones in the water, there were about 15 other hippos right behind them. Not far from the hippos, crocodiles were sunbathing on the riverbanks. A bit further down the road, we saw a ton of Vervet Monkeys. We even watched as a baby monkey rode on the underbelly of it's mom while she walked. It was so cute. It was amazing to see such an assortment of animals all in such close proximity to eachother. After our safari, we went to the Chobe River for a sunset cruise. As we were cruising near the river edge, we saw tons of blue monkeys along the banks of the river. As we approached a little, marshy island, we were amazed to see a dozen elephants, buffalo, and eagles all grazing in the same spot. It was breathtaking. Just on the other side of the island there were dozens of hippos. Just before the sun went down, we saw 5 water monitors (lizards) sunbathing against the rocks. We then watched another beautiful sunset over the Chobe River. We arrived back at our campsite after sunset and had a great last campfire dinner with our group.
On the 20th day (the last day for most people in our group) we headed to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We arrived in the early afternoon to the Savannah Lodge in Victoria Falls and we were free to do what we pleased. Mike and I realized that we needed some money, so we headed to the local ATM and withdrew $16 million dollars. We felt like rich kids with stacks of money, but in all reality the Zimbabwean dollar is worthless ($1 US = $250,000 Zim). The worst part about it was that the maximum one can withdraw at a time is $4million, but that is only $16 US, so we got charged $5 US by our bank to get $16 US. It was ridiculous; not to mention that we had huge wads of cash on us. After the successful attempt of obtaining money, we walked over to the main attraction, Victoria Falls. Before we even entered the grounds, we could see the massive spray, high in the air. Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The falls are situated on the Zambezi River, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and are roughly 1 mile
wide and 420 feet high. An average of 550,000 cubic meters of water plummet over the falls every minute. You can view the Falls from either the Zimbabwean side or the Zambian side. We chose the Zimbabwean side, which provides a more panoramic and frontal view than the Zambian side. There are multiple openings on the edge of cliffs in which you can view the falls. You are basically right on the cliffs' edge and you get wet from the spray. The sounds and the views were absolutely incredible. While we were taking pictures from one of the ledges, we spotted several African boys on the Zambian side fishing at the falls edge. We thought they were crazy and sure they would get sucked into the rapid; but sure enough, they didn't. After exhaustively viewing the spectacular waterfalls, we went out to dinner with our group. The restaurant that we chose wasn't the most spectacular of all places, but we did get to try a few new types of food. We tried impala, crocodile (Meghan had already had crocodile), and Mopani worms. Yes, we ate worms, and they were just as one would imagine a worm tasting like (dirt). After
dinner, we went out for a few drinks, but had an early night in preparation for a big day.
Pumped up and energized, we woke up the next morning ready to go white water rafting down the mighty Zambezi River. We were so amped to do this and the anticipation was killing us. It seemed to (and realistically did) take forever to get to the rapids. We weren't quite expecting the descent down to the falls that lay ahead of us. Basically, we got our protective gear and paddles and walked to the steep edge of the gorge. There was a rickety staircase (if you could call it that) that made it's way, almost vertically, down the side of the gorge. After a slow hike down the gorge, we found ourselves standing at the base of Victoria Falls. It put all waterfalls to shame. We were close enough to feel its' fury, but far enough to be safe. Our guides pumped up our rafts on a ledge of rocks and then we lowered them into the water and jumped in. We paddled upstream for a few minutes practicing and learning some basic techniques. There were 6 of us in
our boat, plus Chris our raft guide. Mike and one of our New Zealand friends (Ed) were leading us at the front of the boat. Meghan and a Korean girl brought up the rear. After our short orientation, we were ready to hit our first rapid. We went down it with exhilarating ease and watched as a boat of young English schoolboys flipped. And then we were off... there were 11 rapids on the half day trip that we went on. Of these, three were class 5 rapids and one was a class 6. We were unable to go down the class 6 rapid due to the fact that it is basically suicidal (it's name is 'Commercial Suicide'). So instead we walked around it. When we came upon the 8th rapid, our guide asked us if we wanted to go down the hard way or the easy way. The hard way, as he informed us, ensured a 70% chance of flipping in a class 5 rapid. But taking our chances, we charged the mostrous rapid at full speed. Our initial entrance into the rapid began with a 10-15 foot drop followed by massive waves. When we hit the first waves,
our boat almost flipped, but rather folded in half. Mike and Ed were hanging onto the safety line for dear life as they dangled from the air. In the meantime, Meghan and the back of the boat were submerged under the whitewater. Somehow, we made it over the top of the wave and as our boat unfolded, Mike was almost propelled over the front from the momentum, but was caught by Ed. A second after he was back in the boat, we hit several more waves and then emerged out of the rapid as victors. We had conquered the mighty Zambezi River without flipping, not even once. We were the only boat (out of about 10) that didn't flip the entire time on the river. The rush of white water rafting the Zambezi River was incredible and something that neither one of us will ever forget. After the 11th rapid, we docked our rafts at a still area along the river and ate lunch that was provided for us. Due to the fact that we only signed up for a half day, it was our time to leave. We were pretty exhausted from the strenuous paddleing over the past two
hours and were not expecting the climb back up. This was definitely the hardest part of our day. For all intensive purposes, we were rock climbing. We crawled on all fours for a good deal of the way. When we finally made it to the top, worn and weak, there were ice cold beers awaiting us. A great way to end a great day, and a horrible climb! But our day wasn't over. We arrived back to our lodge at 3pm and changed clothes and were off to our next adventure: the lion encounter.
We arrived at Masuwe lodge at 5pm and met the head vet/lion caregiver. He explained to us how Masuwe is a recovery program that is attempting to increase the endangered lion population in Africa. There are 4 stages in this recovery/rehabilitation program. The first stage was a bit vague on how the infant lions are acquired. However, cubs are brought in from the wild after they are abandoned by their mothers, who often times feel some of their offspring are unfit (or sick) for the wild and are then left behind. The humans, in the first stage, act as the mothers to the cubs. They
remain in the first stage for about six months. In the second stage, they begin preparation for reintroduction into the wild. They are taken out into plots of land and are able to come across other animals and make their own kills. The young lions are in this stage until about 2 years old, or until ready. The lions in this stage are the ones that we would encounter. Once a lion has made several kills and seem to be adapting to the wild, they are put into a private game park. Here they can be monitored and fed if they do not succeed in providing for themselves. When the lions prove that they can survive on their own, several females and one male will be released into a National Game Park (like Etosha or Chobe). They are introduced into the wild as a family so that when a truly wild male comes to claim his territory, the rehabilitated male will often fight the other and get killed. It's a sacrifice, but in the end, more are saved. The dominant male then mates with the rehabilitated females and the cubs that are produced will live as truly wild animals. So
after we learned all of that, we grabbed a 2 foot long twig for protection, and went to go meet the lions. There were three lions, 2 males and 1 females. They were all about 17 months old. They were a lot bigger than we were anticipating, not the small cubs we were expecting. When we first approached them, the largest male attacked (what we later learned was a playful gesture) our guide. At this point we were a bit intimidated and were pondering our decision. After the guide removed the lion's claw from his leg, he informed us that the lion was just testing him, since he is the "father figure/rule enforcer." A bit more at ease, we were told to go and pet the lions...uhhh...you sure about that. First up was Meghan, and Mike had no qualms about that. As she went behind the lion and was petting it, the guide told her to wrap her arms around it's neck and give it a kiss. She reluctantly did it and the guide kept insisting that she look at the camera, not the lion. This was easier said than done. Then it was the two of us with a
male and female. The male began to chew on Mike's protective stick, and the two foot twig became a lot shorter when Mike began playing tug-o-war with it. In the meantime, the female lion in front of Meghan was getting a bit fiesty and too close for comfort. After some great photos, we got up and started walking alongside the lions. We held their tails, petted them as they walked and watched in amazement as they playfully roamed through thier territory. Due to the fact that it was almost sunset and a cool evening, the lions were a little less predictable and a bit more active than usual. We came upon a tree and one of the males was quick to run up it. The other two weren't far behind. At this point, the guide told us to stand under the tree for a good photo. We both stood there for a second thinking "are you for real." We then scurried under the unsteady branch that was now holding three playful lions. We thought for sure that at any moment they would fall on top of us or start pawing at our heads. Meghan was glad that Mike was the
taller one at this point. A bit after the sun went down, more great photos were taken and we walked with the lions until it was time to go our separate ways. As we departed from the lions, another guide came, rifle in hand, to protect us now that it was dark. We walked for about five minutes when our head guide got a radio alert that the 3 lions had run off and were missing. So the guide with the gun went to go help the others find the loose lions. We found this quite amusing and at the same time frightening. Needless to say, we made it back safely. After our amazing and adventurous day, we met up with a few of our remaining friends and went out to a fabulous African dinner. It was a great way to say goodbye to the people that we hung out with the most.
The next two days were spent driving back to Johannesburg, South Africa, in a new, smaller bus. We did however, manage to get another flat tire, keeping up with our flat tire a week average. But by this time, we were pros at changing the tire.
We arrived in Johannesburg the night before we met our new crew and before the last part of our tour began.
We met our 10 new travelmates the next morning and left en route to Kruger National Park. On our way there, we drove a bit through the Panoramic Route, a lush mountainous region. That night we stayed at the Timbavati Lodge, just outside Kruger. The Timbavati region used to be well known for their white lions (timbavati in African). However, they are an endangered species and hence, we didn't see any.
The 25th day, we departed early from our lodge and went to a private game park in the Timbavati region for a game walk. Our guide greeted us with his rifle in hand and began leading us around the park. He pointed out animal footprints and dung. At this point, we were pretty well schooled in the art of animal tracks. We were trying to track a rhino most of the walk, but we never seemed to find him. We did however, see zebra, warthogs, impala, giraffes (very close), and carcasses. We came upon the carcass of an enormous Elan (largest antelope species) and it had
the most rancid smell. Basically all that was left was it's bones, skull, and hooved feet. After escaping the putrid smell, we began following the tracks of buffalo. Buffalo are one of the most dangerous animals because they are very unpredictable and will charge at humans without any warning. We came across about 15 or 20 buffalo and watched them from about 50 feet. When they are grazing, they constantly keep a few guys on the look out. As we walked around them, some of them took notice to us and began to follow us and get closer. At this point, our guide cocked his rifle and told us that if they got any closer, that we should run. Well sure enough, they kept coming for us. "Run, run, faster, faster" our guide yelled as the buffalo were rapidly approaching. Luckily, the buffalo became disinterested and stopped in their pursuit. Needless to say, we were happy that the buffalo didn't take one of us out, but we did enjoy the rush of running from the animals. It was our African version of running with the bulls. We made it back safely to our truck and departed towards Kruger National Park.
We went on two game drives before calling it a night and retiring to our campsite. We saw more of the same animals that we had been seeing for the past month (hippos, giraffe, elephants, monkeys, impala...). When we got to our campsite, we were pleased to find out that our guide had booked us an upgraded accommodation in a bungalow, courtesy of Nomad (our tour company). Nomad apparently books extra upgraded accommodations months in advance for Kruger since it's constantly booked. Therefore, if no one wants to upgrade, the bungalows are empty. Due to the fact that we had been with our guide for the past 24 days, he decided to let us enjoy this amenity. This was extremely appreciated because we were going to be there for two nights and especially because Meghan was sick (bronchitis as we would later find out). The following morning, our group went on a game drive, but Meghan was still feeling ill and we opted to stay behind and sleep to rehabilitate her, along with doing some much needed laundry. To our delight, the group didn't see anything out of the ordinary (no lions or leopards). That night, as Meghan was feeling
a bit better, we went on a night game drive. We thought that we were going to see a ton of animals due to the fact that it was a full moon. However, to our dismay, we were told that the night hunters don't come out since they are spotted easier by their prey. It was also really windy; animals tend to stay laying in the wind, for their smells are picked up by predators a lot easier. We saw a chameleon (amazingly spotted by our driver), a ton of impalas, kudu, a really small antelope (can't remember the name), and a few spotted hyenas. Unfortunately, we never saw a leopard. The only Big 5 to never cross our path.
We did an early game drive out of Kruger and headed towards the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center, home of many cheetahs. Hoedspruit was founded by a South African woman named Lente Roodes after her father had purchased the land in 1950. As a little girl, she found an abandoned cheetah cub on the land and decided she wanted to help it. As she grew older, her love for the animal blossomed and she decided to dedicate her life towards
Baby Cheetah
The odd looking extra hair on top is part of a disguise to increase their survival. This hair actually mimics a Honey Badger one of the most feared smaller mammals.helping these magnificent animals, as well as many others. Today, the Center has established itself as one of the leading private research and breeding facilities for endangered species in the country. After a quick orientation, we hopped on a truck and began driving around the 13,000 hectare (2.5 acres per hectare) land. We began by briefly seeing some sick lions. Then we moved on to the cheetahs. The cheetahs were beautiful animals and it was amazing to see them. However, most of them were in cages, so it took away from the impact of seeing them in the wild. The males and females are separated during the breeding process. The males are in a cage that has access to all of the females. They will be in this open area for several days, in which they can get to know the females. The breeders will then look for a male and female pair that are laying next to each other on either side of the fences. This indicates that the two animals like each other and then they will breed them. We then went and saw some African spotted wild dogs. Our guide warned us that most of the time
you don't get to see the wild dogs very closely. But we were lucky and happened to come at feeding time. Basically, the workers dumped out a huge pile of beef (at least 50 lbs.) and we were able to watch them go to town from 5 feet away. It was an awesome sight. It was only a few minutes before nearly 100 vultures were flying over our heads. Vultures have amazing eyesight; they can see a dead carcass from 4 miles away! Soon enough, the vultures were fighting with the wild dogs over the food. After watching this spectacular event, we moved on and went to see some African cats. These cats basically look like your typical domestic house cat, except they have large pointy ears. We then saw the cutest cheetah cubs in the world. They were only 7 weeks old. Meghan wanted to play with them, but she wasn't allowed.
After Hoedspruit, we drove back towards Johannesburg via the Panoramic Route. We stopped at Bourke's Luck Potholes. This natural water feature marks the beginning of the Blyde River Canyon. The potholes were formed by swirling whirlpools which occured as the Treur River collides with the Blyde
River, causing waterborne sand and rock to grind huge, cylindrical potholes into the bedrock of the river. There were some nice waterfalls. Next, we went to God's Window, which is a lookout point over Blyde River Canyon. It was a beautiful sight. And that was basically the end of our tour. We arrived back into Johannesburg later that night and said goodbye to our guides and travelmates.
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emily smithson
non-member comment
WOAH!
those lions look scary! looks like you guys are having fun! be safe...miss ya both! xo