10 Days in Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (post 4): Animals

Above: This old elephant was just chilling by the side of the road somewhere in the middle of Botswana, seen as we drove the two-day trek from Johannesburg to the Okavango Delta.

We enjoyed an evening cruise on the Chobe River, with animals in every direction. It was amazing to see them chilling out in their natural habitat…makes a zoo feel like something less than the real thing. Foreground: mama hippo with her young; background: cape buffalo, cattle egrets, and a young hippo (can you spot him?).

We sighted this croc along the banks of the Chobe River. He’s hanging out on Namibian soil while we floated in no-man’s land between that country and Botswana.

One of the many activities available during our 3-day stay in Livingstone at the conclusion of the trip, some of us elected to ‘walk with the lions’. What I expected to be a tourist-y get-up - baby lions in a small pen – turned out to be a genuine programme designed to raise young lions then introduce them into the wild. We ‘walked’ with a 10-month old brother and sister. The furry duo appeared to be cool with it, as up until now they still acknowledged their handlers to be the alpha males of the ‘pack’, and we were considered of that status, too!

10 Days in Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (post 3): Okavango Delta

Lauren, Kirsti, Kerry, and Mandi settling in for the 1.5 hour ride to our camp in the Delta..

What an experience: the beauty of this massive expanse of water, the warm morning sun, the clear air, all the while gliding through the reeds in a dug-out canoe known as a mokora. That’s T.D., my mokora poler. (Behind me you can see breakfast for the next few days: Bokomo brand Bran Flakes, granola, and rusks, amongst other foodstuffs.)

We went on a couple of game walks while in the Delta. This is me standing next to a giant termite hill, many of which dotted the landscape.

The three team leaders: Ruth, Jess, and me, with two of our mokora polers/guides: Obi and K.T.

There indeed is something special about an African sunset!