Safari Send-Off

On our last morning safari, it was definitely hotter than earlier days. But we enjoyed our time together as we saw more animals! We saw this Speke’s hinged tortoise on the road:



And several elephants - this elephant was resting its leg on the log!



A pretty flower:



And enjoyed the landscape:



Awed at this very large kudu male:



Braked for the mongoose on the road:



But we got to observe a pack of baboons for awhile. One of the large males was scratched and Will thinks it’s because he may have been fighting with another male to fight for the alpha male position:



We saw several baby baboons being carried by their mamas and were jumping around:





There was another large baboon sitting on the hill - we joked he must be meditating!



But then he started mating with a baboon nearby…so definitely not meditating:



Will got excited to see a Verreaux's eagle-owl flying and then saw another as they nest in pairs. We tried to look for them in the tall tree and when Will couldn’t find them, I thought I’d got it. I showed him this picture and he told me it’s just a branch…I tried:



We saw more helmeted guineafowl:



A baby impala:



A large, but aged African Cape buffalo:



But the highlight of the morning is when the Brazilian girls presented their thank you notes to Lucky and Will. I had seen a draft last night and it just makes your heart explode. On Lucky’s note was a drawing of a fish and Will’s had a leopard face.





We learned so much on our 8 safaris. I learned the difference between the cheetah and leopard and that the honey badger is the toughest animal. Will said he really loved our group and Renata declared us the best group of the year! I joked it’s still the first week and we all laughed. But it was such a wonderful experience! I had remarked to Amanda if we should have opted for an adults-only lodge earlier in the week, but we really enjoyed our safari time with the family. Also, as Amanda aptly pointed out, we would have been miserable with all honeymooners.

As we packed up and checked out, some final photos of the interior design at the lodge - a rhino, zebra, and giraffe - oh my!







As we waited for our transfers, we sat with Fernando and Renata in the lobby and then took this ladies only selfie:



Will saw us off and he had his books in tow as he is studying for his level 2 ranger exam. He has to learn so many species! It was impressive how he could navigate the roads, while helping Lucky with the tracks, keeping an eye out for wildlife, and identifying small animals with one glance or one call. This is on top of all our questions! The sensory overload to perform the ranger duties is quite impressive and exceptional. We are so grateful for such an amazing experience. Here’s a view of the empty truck bays with our truck prepared to take us to the airport:



Gladstone was our transit guide and on the way we saw this lion couple by the road! I remarked to Amanda that we’ve seen a bachelor, a pride, and now a mating couple! They were digesting from having eaten and might have just mated, per Gladstone, before the male rolled over (like a dog):







As we approached the airport that was protected by a fence, we saw our last kudu - look at the cool ears!



We returned to Skukuza airport which was super busy with recent arrivals and as mentioned, we had gotten a preview on Wednesday. In front was this rhino statue and the terminal feels glampy (best public WiFi yet though):





We briefly saw the Brazilian family and confirmed they saw the lion couple too! So glad that they got to see a male lion.

We took our 1 hour flight to Johannesburg with a 1 hour transfer to a 2 hour flight to Port Elizabeth on the southern coast. Here’s a picture of me before we enjoyed “the freedom of the South African skies”!



At Port Elizabeth, we successfully picked up our rental car which is a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and drove west 2 hours to Stormsrivier. I booked us at “At the Woods” Guesthouse. There are only independent hotels in the area and many lovely things to see on our next part of our South African adventure!

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Side

Despite feeling exhausted and going to bed at a normal time to get adjusted to the jet lag, Amanda and I woke up around 3 am. After chatting for a few hours, we headed down for the breakfast buffet where I enjoyed the local South African porridge, omelette, and this ombré latte:



Conveniently, the airport shuttle took us back and we managed to log lots of steps as we had to go back and forth through the terminal for check in, security and customs, and then to our terminal. I also managed to make the check-in agent giggle as I said he had a nice laugh which immediately made him snort laugh. While waiting in the airport bus that took us to our Fastjet plane, I took a photo of our airport hotel:



On the plane, we were treated to a snack box which has a helpful map for all you blog fans as we will fly up to Victoria Falls and back down to Kruger airport on Monday:



In just less than 2 hours and a disinfectant spray later, we could see the mist from a distance as we arrived at Victoria Falls airport in Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls, also known as Mosi-oa-Tunya means "Thundering Smoke” is a waterfall on the Zambezi River. You can really see the “smoke”!



Upon arrival, we had to pay for our visa in USD and in cash and opted for the double entry priced at $45 as we’ll have to return to Zimbabwe when flying back to South Africa. In this area of Zimbabwe, the US dollar is heavily used versus the local currency.

We met Shamiso, our guide arranged by our hotel who drove us about 20 minutes to the national park where we were greeted by a few monkeys. At the park, we had to pay $50 each as we were non-African foreigners to enjoy the “Zim” side. A photo of the monkeys:



Like the other major waterfalls, it traverses borders - here we’re at the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia; Iguazú crosses Argentina and Brazil; and Niagara has the US and Canadian sides. By visiting here, I have completed the trifecta. Here’s a sign comparing the three largest waterfalls. We learned that Victoria Falls is the tallest, Iguazú is the widest, and Niagara has the most volume of water…



The Scottish missionary, David Livingstone identified the falls in 1855 and gave it its colonial name after British Queen Victoria. A sculpture of Livingstone at viewing point #1:



There are 16 viewing points and what’s incredible, we’re here during low season. So the water is least voluminous in November and builds back up again for the peak season which runs from May to October. Apparently December is most popular with the locals as we saw many Zimbabwean families. At its peak, it’s also difficult to see the falls because of the intensity of the mist, so Shamiso said it’s best to take a helicopter then. Plus, it’s so wet that not all the viewing points are reachable on the stone pathways.





Here’s us at stop #2 where you walk down 38 steps and arrive at a viewing platform:





The skies were crisp and the falls beautiful as the sprays created rainbows galore!





















The last stop views the bridge crossing between Zimbabwe and Zambia and handles foot, vehicle, and train traffic as you can see this train:



Shamiso was impressed and surprised how expedient we were and as we left the park, she took a photo of us at the entrance with the Zimbabwe flag on the left:



She then drove us to the border crossing where we exited the car to obtain our exit stamp, and passed us on to Robert, who was going to transport us to our hotel on the Zambia side. It doesn’t make sense for her to deal with the hassle of exit and re-entry. Robert navigated us through trucks across the bridge, then we obtained our entry stamp where Zambia does not require a visa. A photo of the parked cars and trucks as we learned many choose to also walk over and take a taxi as vehicle entry is more expensive:



Robert drove us about 10 minutes north to the Protea Livingstone which is in Zambia’s former capital of Livingstone named after the missionary. We settled in, confirmed our activities, and rested.

We then headed to dinner at the hotel for a buffet dinner that included a super tender goat curry that paired marvelously with the local Mosi beer which shows the thunder!



What a long day as we slogged through on little rest. But I was hyped up as I have played several times Shakira’s World Cup song from 2010, “Waka Waka, This Time for Africa”. Unbelievably, we were in three African countries today!