Okavango Delta to Rainbow Camp, Namibia Leaving the Swamp Stop at the civilized hour of 7:30, we stopped at Choppies for groceries at Shakawe, crossed the border at Mohembo out of Botswana for the last time, and drove the short distance in Namibia to Rainbow Camp, near Popa Falls. This camp is located on the Okavango River and we camped on the river bank, right next to a sign that said 'Danger Crocodiles'. Shortly after erecting our tents, we are given the 'safety talk' and told the story of how the owners lost their dog to a crocodile not too long ago. OK, we get the warning. We did some more hand washing and Kayla had a shower. About camp showers in Africa: they are usually outdoors, with some sort of reed enclosure with a thatch ... read more

Okavango - day 2 We are happy to start our days before sunrise, in order to enjoy the delta before the heat of the day, as it is very hot. At one point, Richard's little pack thermometer was near the top at a whopping 45 c (115 f) in the sun! And at this point we were on a very slow motor boat on the way to our houseboat, so we had an hour's ride in that heat with no protection from the sun. Whew! Back to early morning. After a lovely mokoro ride through papyrus and reeds, we arrived at Gau island, where our guides took us on a 2-hour walk. Our leader was very careful to say we might not see any game at all. Ha! There were elephants all over the place, so ... read more

Kasane - Day 2 We were up at 4:45 this morning for an early game drive. The safari vehicles took us back into Chobe Park, first along the Chobe River again, and then further into the park than the night before. No lion this morning, but lots of birds, which are interesting to both of us, but not the rest of the group. Wart hogs digging in the dirt for who knows what, giraffe, zebra, impala - too many to count, tssebe. After the game drive, we drove into Kasane to stock up on water and supplies for the trip into the Okavango Delta over the next three days. Then back to camp for a bit of relaxing during the heat of the day.  At 3:00 we drove a short distance to a dock on the ... read more

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe - 4 days Just one story from Lusaka before the events of Victoria Falls. Zambia has copper resource and earns foreign exchange from export so Lusaka (the capital) is very different from Nairobi or Dar es Salaam. Lusaka has malls with parking lots and concrete sidewalks and 4 lane divided roads with no pot holes. Boulevards lined with jacaranda trees, all in full bloom, covered with pale purple blooms. Outside Lusaka were large wheat and corn fields that must be managed by machine. There was even a John Deere dealer. Up to now, we have seen only human power cultivating the fields. What a contrast!  Now to Vic Falls, Zimbabwe. Lots to do: bungee jumping, zip wire, class 5 rafting, canoe the upper Zambezi along side the hippos - none of which we ... read more

A 3-hour drive in the morning took us from Mama Rula's campground on a dry, dusty, 'back massage' bumpy road to the border of South Luangwa where we camped at a lovely grassy campground (again!) right on the South Luangwa River. It was called Croc Valley Camp - need we say more? Just entering the campground was a treat and we were greeted by a giraffe and several elephants grazing. We were immediately drawn to the river bank, where down river we saw several pods of hippos. No crocs yet, although we were told that there are many in this river. The owner gave us a safety talk, saying not to leave the camp, and not to leave our tents at night. There is a lion pride nearby, a leopard, many elephants and some hyenas. We lounge ... read more