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BOTSWANA AND ZIMBABWE SAFARI 1997
15th November 1997 Victoria Falls
Arrived at Victoria Falls airport from Johannesburg. Hot and sunny better buy a big hat! My transport was waiting and took me to Victoria Falls town. The trees are greener and fuller than I expected, and there are people selling curios all the way to town. The town itself looks a bit mankey with one street and one side-street. Looks like there are beggars everywhere don’t feel too safe.
Checked into the Makasa Sun hotel, looks OK. There’s a sign on my bedroom window saying not to open or the baboons will come in and wreck it suppose I’m in Africa now!
Walked to Victoria Falls, took 5 minutes from the hotel. I was warned that its now summer and so the falls are more of a dribble than a waterfall but there was lots of water! Saw the Livingstone Statue (sign said Living Stonestatue!) and walked further along the falls. This is where they dried up into the Victoria Cliffs when the Zambezi is in full flood these falls must be spectacular I was disappointed I’d have to come back in June one day.
I went to look at the Friendship Bridge I’m supposed to jump off of it tomorrow. I swa a guy jump off looked a tad scary. Everyone around me gasped and said they’d never do anything so stupid, I kept quite and moved on.
Saw a dear on the way out of the park. Bought a Safari Suit in the town (why?) and watched the sunset from the top of the hotel.
16th November 1997 Victoria Falls
The air-conditioner kept me awake all night. At breakfast the sign said ‘eat as much as you can’ so I did! I ambled across the Zambian border to the bridge. Its pretty high! The bungy jump is run by well-tanned Yanks they try to crack jokes and fail abysmally.
‘5-4-3-2-1 Jump’ they yell and I do and I think ‘You Prat’! Not a pleasant experience.
I go back to the hotel to get ready for the canoe trip I hope to see lots of hippos. It looks like rain, but a waiter at the Hotel says that it will pass on by. My truck comes eventually and takes me upstream on the river. The river is wide and fast flowing but its warm. Just as we leave the shore it starts to rain, it hard and horizontal (just like Manchester). Zimnan, my canoer, tells me about the river, the rapids and everything elese he knows. We see a waterbuck and then it starts raining again and does not stop its heavier and harder than I’ve ever seen before. We have to give up. Zimnan says it will rain for 6 days and to plan my trip accordingly just my luck this is the first day its rained for months.
17th November 1997 Victoria Falls
Up at 6am and packed ready for rafting. I chose not to paddle as these seems the easiest option (I’m on holiday), I’ll go in an oar boat instead. The walk down to the gorge is pretty slippery with metal ladders in some places as its so steep I wouldn’t like to carry a raft down here.
My captain is Tektrix. He’s a nutter. First couple of rapids are easy, but we see a couple of oar boats flip and rescue the swimmers. The rapids have colourful names like ‘Gullivers Travels’, ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and ‘Devils Toilet’. We have lunch at a beach and vote to continue in the oar boat as the paddlers don’t seem to be having much fun!
After Rapid 19, everyone else climbs out of the gorge, but I continue with Zemen to Rapids 20n and 21. It’s a little disappointing as I’m the only person staying there. I just drink loads of beers and go to bed quite early as everyone else does. It gets dark by 7pm and the frogs and crickets make more noise than the rapids. My chalet is simply a concrete floor with a thatched roof. While we are eating a hurricane lamp in the sand is surrounded by millions of creepy-crawlies. There are ants which are 1-1.5 inches long. Apparently, the insects have started to come out because of the rain.
In bed I surround myself with the mosi-net suspended from the roof. Early in the morning a small snake about 6” long has crawled up the net, I give it a good thwack and it gets catapulted into the bush. Glad I used the mosi-net.
18th November 1997 Chobe
We get up at about 7am and have breakfast and to walk out of the gorge. The walk out is steep, but I manage to keep up with the black guys even though they’re carrying all the gear. I order some photos from Shearwater of the rafting and by chance meet up with some of the guys on my raft. I wait for the pickup for my safari and realise that my knees are very sunburnt and its very painful in the sun.
Jaco from the safari company picks me up for my Safari into Botswana. I’m really pleased that I’m the only person on the safari and its camping in the tent on the back of the truck. Jaco is really excited he knows what he’s talking about and is looking forward to the adventure we are about to have. I feel this is going to be a great couple of days. We shop for drinks a couple of crates and head for Botswana.
Jaco points out the elephant dung on the road, he knows the names of the trees, the plants , the crops and everything about Botswana very impressive. We stop at the lodge at Kasane, this is where we’ll spend the last night, there is an ingenious flush toilets and showers. I have a quick dip in the pool before we enter Chobe.
Jaco asks what I’d like to see most. I reply elephants and hippos as these are my favourite animals. Jaco hopes we’ll see lions, as this is the start of the wet season the impalas are just giving birth, this brings out the predators.
We stop next to a family of hippos which look like submerged rocks. Jaco points out the ancient elephant trails down from the bush to the river. Just then we spot an elephant passing down the trail immediately behind us and head down to the river next to the hippos. This is an embarrassment of riches. The baby elephants and hippos play or argue and the herd is split into two. Jaco says were lucky to see a large herd this time of year.
On the way to camp we see impala (or ‘moneyback’ as if you don’t see impala you get your money back!) and several other kinds of gazelle and antelope. Leopard tortoises, warthogs, monitor lizard and crocodiles. We set-up camp and the tent, there is no fence around the campsite which is next to the river. The sleeping bags are impressive with built in mattresses. The tent has a sewn in mosi-net so we should be safe from the creepy crawlies tonight.
We go for an evening game drive hoping to find lions near Puka Flats which we were told about in Kasane. We find them just as the sun goes down so cant take pictures as its too dark. There are two lionesses one goes behind a bush and comes out with a baby impala in its mouth. We head back to camp happy we saw the lions but I was disappointed we couldn’t take pictures.
In camp it is dark and the electric light attracts hundreds of bugs I can’t complain as its Africa and I wanted to go camping. Spaghetti Bolognaise is for dinner, which tastes better than I do it, even though there are some crunchy bits in the sauce extra vitamins as Jaco calls them lucky its dark.
Quite a while after its dark, the sounds of the animals can really be heard well we could smell elephants, we could hear their stomachs rumble, hear their droppings hit the ground and even hear them fart! The elephants are restless, they trumpet, the impalas warning can be heard and then the breathing of the lions. The two lions we saw earlier were only 2km away which is not too far for a lion to walk.
We can hear the elephants and in torchlight see two herds with babies crossing the opening in front of our camp. They are less than 50m away from our tent.
During the night we hear more elephants and lions, then a horrible noise. I look out of the window and see two hyeana run past the tent 3m away from me.
I don’t sleep too well!
19th November 1997 Chobe
5:15 am. It is light, we get up and get ready for the morning game drive. Jaco calls me to the road, there are lion tracks from last night. A lion laid on the road and stretched you can event see its claw marks. This is 25m from our tent it looks like lions walked down the road right past our tent.
We leave for the drive at 5:30. We see elephant tracks in the road and then about 5:31 we see two lions one each side of the road. The sign isn’t quite high enough to take good pictures of them. These are in sight of out tent! The lions move into the bush in front of our tent but we lose them. We drive through the main camp and see more lion tracks, other campers are up and wave do they know lions passed their tents last night and are still only a couple of hundred meters away?
We drive on and see more impala and then something running across the plain Jaco is suspicious and then he spots a lion, and the another. Next to the road we find a large lion. Two big females (one with a collar transmitter) and two adolescents the join and great him this is just a couple of meters from the truck we don’t need zoom cameras. We saw the end of a failed hunt.
The lions climb from the plain into the bush and we drive to a higher road and see them there. We see a waterbuck and so do they. We watch them hunt they must be hungry as they look tired and its getting hot. Their prey sees the adolescents and the hunt is aborted - with a look of disgust on the mothers face. They then head down to the plain and we intercept them again. They walk straight past the truck. Jaco is too keen and the adolescent male goes for him he gets a sore head jumping back into his seat.
We follow the lions and watch them track impala. A sophisticated pincer movement between the two females and male fails around us. It is tough being a lion they head to the bush but we do not follow. I must have shot a roll and half of film in the 1-2 hours we followed them. 7 lions before 9am isn’t too bad!
On the way back to camp we pass a couple of elephants in the plain and watch several others disappear into the bush. Jaco is surprised we haven’t seen more elephants or hippos but that is the luck of it.
Back at camp we watch the birds whilst having brunch Jaco can cook better with an open fire than I can with a microwave. Have a siesta until it cools, there are no clouds and it is extremely hot.
On the afternoon drive, I first try to take pictures of the cute banded mongoose but they all run away too fast. Then just out of camp we run into a herd of elephants playing in the river. After seeing a herd of buffalo, we run into an elephant playing in a mud pool. It mock-charges us several times and throws mud all over itself. Hopefully we have good pictures of this. AT dusk we spot some hyeana as well as a pair of lionesses even though Jaco thought they were Impala at a distance.
For the evening we join Leon’s group. Leon has malaria and so Jaco is worried about him. During the evening we hear elephants trumpeting and lions roaring. On the way back to our tent Jaco spots a lot of elephant tracks next to our tent it would have been interesting if we stayed there for dinner.
Slept like a log.
20th November 2000 Chobe
Woke with the alarm at 5:30. We get up straight away. I spot5 several elephant footprints whilst Jaco spots lion. The lion paw marks are on the road heading straight for our tent. There are two sets from our two lionesses. Jaco says he hasn’t seen lion tracks so close to a tent heading in its direction before. Lucky I slept well!
During the drive we smell the worst stink imaginable. Jaco says another guide saw a dead elephant so we head towards the vultures in the trees. There is a dead elephant being eaten by a lioness. The carcass is decomposing and is covered in maggots and flies.
We move down to the river and watch the hippos. We head into the bush and run into a huge herd of elephants perhaps over 100. They are split on both sides of the road and have tiny babies with them. Two big cows charge a truck that gets between them and a young one. On the way back we try the dead elephant again and see a large male lion standing guard total lions so far is now 13. We also see a dung beetle pushing its large ball of dung, which it uses to lay eggs in down the road.
After lunch and breaking camp, we head out of the park. On the way we pass the dead elephant, there are no vultures so the lions must be close by but we cant see them. Later down the road we meet a lot of elephants playing in a mud pool in the road. We are tremendously close, one young male mock-charges us up to the bull-guard on the truck, then gets even closer and comes right up to my door. He is so close I could reach out and touch him. A young elephant chases Kudu down the road, a large (very, very large) male passes behind us an enormous elephant. The herd drifts off and we carefully pass, but the young playful one chases us just to show off to his mum.
Whilst passing the river we see hippo yawning and then a herd of elephants scares them away and play in the water. Later we see hippo out of the water for the first time. They look like fat cows really.
At Kasane I join the Sunset Cruise down the Chobe River. We see lots of different birds and then disturb some hippo. They yawn a lot and make loud, deep, laughing noises it is funny! Towards the end we take pictures of elephants at the riverbank and of a hippo with a baby a week old. A wonderful sunset finishes the cruise and Jaco takes me to the Kasane camp.
Chobe was a good place. I said I wanted to see elephants and hippos and I did. I like them, even more than I did previously. The huge herds, and close mock-charges by the elephants and the babies (elephants and hippo) and the laughing hippos are the most memorable moments.
Camping among these animals was a great experience. Scary, yet peaceful. It gives you more respect for them especially the lions!
21st November 1997 Sizinda
Had a lay-in until 9am. Leon phoned Jaco to say he’s in Maun, and being flown to Johannesburg. As we were leaving Kasane, we give a lift to another of Jaco’s friends, he thinks he has Malaria also, we drop him at the local clinic a mud hut.
After crossing the border back into Zimbabwe, an elephant crosses the road in front of us. I picked up my rafting photos and video and say farewell to Jaco. Kayle from Sizinda picks me up and takes me there.
Sizinda is a nice place with a view of a watering hole. After lunch, Kayle and Pricilla (the manageress) take me on a night drive. There are a lot of bugs attracted by the light but we see zebra, impala, giraffe, wildebeest, kudu, buffalo and bush-babies. We also see some hunting dogs. Earlier in the day I saw an impala being chased by a cheetah or lion but we see no sign of it.
It is really hot here. There is a thunderstorm over Hwange that looks quite impressive as the lightening illuminates the sky and thunderclouds.
22nd November 1997 Sizinda
Up at 5am for game walk. We find a buffalo herd, but the two orphaned elephants smell us and run off causing the buffalo to stampede. We also see a herd of wildebeest, a few zebra, the giraffes fleetingly and a couple of warthogs. The most interesting thing I saw was two small towers built by termites into the road to allow the winged ones to fly away without being attacked by ants.
I have a siesta at lunchtime and am woken by thunder. A short rainstorm cools everything down and I watch the waterhole where there are zebra, wildebeest, impala and waterbuck.
In the late afternoon, go on a game drive. The bush is quite thick and so is difficult to see any animals.
23rd November 1997 Sizinda
Up at 5am to look for hippos around the Matetzi River. Don’t see much, and no hippos.
After brunch, have a siesta and watch the waterhole. In the late afternoon, there’s a terrific thunderstorm. It lasts about an hour, but we lose all electricity for the night.
24th November 1997 Hwange
Lay-in until 8am, picked up for trip to Hwange. Cross many rivers which are dry. Pass may lay-bys selling curios.
Hwange Safari Lodge looks good with a swimming pool overlooking a waterhole. Afternoon game drive saw zebra, giraffe, and jackal. Also saw a couple of elephants outside the park at a waterhole.
In the evening go for a bush meal. The impala casserole was excellent.
25th November 1997 Hwange
Went for the ‘Dawn Patrol’ game drive. Saw a dung beetle, giraffe, zebra, elephant as well as lots of birds but no cats.
After breakfast walked around the aviary and then siesta. At the waterhole there were impala and kudu. Saw a skink on the fence.
During night game drive look for leopard and hippo, but only see bush babies and spring hares loads of them. It’s a shame that the game drives are not longer as I’m sure there’s much more interesting stuff to see. The honey badgers which I’ve been told are very vicious have still alluded me.
26th November 1997 Victoria Falls
Up at 4:45 for Dawn Patrol through thicker vegetation so more difficult to see animals. But we do see a large male Sable, then a few warthogs, zebra and impala.
At breakfast I’m swooped by an eagle (a Red Kite?) whose after my sausage and bacon but misses. But he doesn’t miss a French Girl a bit later! I notice some dung beetles and follow them rolling their dung balls. He digs a hole and buries his ball, but only after a fight with another beetle. At the waterhole, seven elephants in a bachelor herd appear. Two fight each other in the bushes whilst three others get close to me and mock-charge.
On the way back to Victoria Falls pass through Wankie Colliery town where there’s a steam engine. I also notice a shop sign ‘Wankie Meat Supplies’.
The helicopter flight over the falls was great. There was a rainbow in the spray and could imagine how wide the falls are in flood. What really surprised me was how deep the gorges are and how much the switched back and forth way into the distance. The game flight was a bit of a washout saw only a herd of buffalo and some elephants around a waterhole.
Had Kudu for dinner. Stayed at the A’Zambezi River Lodge just outside Victoria Falls town.
27th November 1997 Johannesburg
Lie in until 7:30. Went around town. There was a Zambian steam engine at the railway station for the Victoria Falls Express.
Went to the Big Tree. It’s a fat Baobab surrounded by a fence to keep the elephants out. Went to the Crocodile Farm, feeding time was a bit sad a lump of meat on a fishing line. There was a leopard and some cute baby lions.
Sat next to a gorgeous double-breasted shrike on the plane to Johannesburg and my adventure was over.
Animals seen on Safari
Lions13 Hyeana4 Jackal2 Hunting DogsPack
Highlights
§Victoria Falls §Zambezi White Water Rafting §Watching the Elephants and Hippos §Boat Trip §Sunsets §Noises at Night §Lots of Lions §Dung Beatles
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