Chobe National Park, Botswana & Victoria Falls, Zambia

Our journey back to the bush began early morning on August 14th with a flight from Johannesburg to Livingstone, Zambia. Upon arrival, we were picked up and transported via “party bus” (Pa brought along some beers for the ride) an hour to the Chobe River and the border between Zambia and Botswana. The border crossing was very basic without computers and also very “African” with people on foot pushing tires and carrying goods on their heads. After exiting Zambian borders, we boarded a boat for the quick cross-over to the Botswana border on the Chobe River. This is the only spot in the world where four countries meet and can be seen in different directions – Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia. On the banks of the Botswana border, we were escorted to another van and accompanied through border control again (including walking across water to clean our shoes for foot and mouth disease) before being taken on to our home for the next few days, the Chobe Marina Lodge. Our beautiful and high end 3-bedroom chalet was situated on the Chobe River and right outside the Chobe National Park. We spent our first day enjoying the hotel grounds, getting settled and relaxing. Once evening arrived, we took in the breathtaking sunset while listening to tribal dancers singing and dancing. After a dinner at the restaurant, we were off to bed for our early morning game drive through the park the next day.











Our pick up was at 6am for the 3-hour sunrise game drive (the best chance to see the animals). We boarded the open air vehicle and set off into the wild for our next opportunity to spot the wild life. Of course, we were on the hunt for the cat family. We enjoyed a gorgeous sunrise and also had close encounters with elephants, buffalo and baboons but the cats continued to stay away. We ended our drive and came back to the hotel for a breakfast before our afternoon naps and evening river game cruise. Since Ma & Pa were regulars, the hotel arranged for a private speed boat cruise along the river for our game viewing experience, however, the boat broke down and we ended up taking a private pontoon boat, which was just as good for us and now half the price! We took a jam packed beer cooler on board and cruised down the river in search of game. The animals were out in abundance on the banks getting their afternoon drink of water. We were able to get close to elephants, hippos and even startled a large crocodile back into the water. We relaxed and took in another glorious African sunset from the river and didn’t want the cruise to end.



























Jacques and I took our chances on another game drive the following morning in search of the ever-elusive cats but Ma and Pa decided they had their fill. We rose before the sun again and climbed into another chilly open air vehicle for the drive. Our drive began nearly 30 minutes late due to a hotel issue so it didn’t get off to a good start. Our first sighting of the day, however, was a hippo sleeping directly next to the road. Hippopotamus are known to be very dangerous so it was quite lucky to view him up close. We drove through the park and were only looking for one thing – lions and leopards! We had become greedy with our game viewing. Of course, we enjoyed all the views of the day, but we didn’t see nearly the amount of game we had in previous drives. Back at the hotel, we were disappointed without the cat sighting but so thankful for all the previous game views we had. Due to our issue in the morning and Jacques speaking to the manager, I was rewarded with a free afternoon massage which happened to coincide with a big rugby game. So, the rest of the day was spent relaxing. We enjoyed our final night in Botswana with a beautiful sunset from the porch followed by a huge buffet dinner.











We were picked up from the hotel on Sunday, August 17th to be taken back to Zambia and the Victoria Falls. We took the exact route back, across the river, through two border controls and another long bus ride to the Zambezi Sun situated as close as you can get to the stunning falls. Immediately upon arrival, Jacques and I made the trek down to the Vic Falls to enjoy all their glory. Victoria Falls is shared between Zambia and Zimbabwe and we were originally told the Zambia side was dry, which was far from true. The river was running a bit lower, but this allowed us to take in the falls without all the spray and see several points of water cascading down to the banks below. We hiked the paths as far as we could to enjoy the views from several different angles. We hiked back to meet Ma & Pa before our evening sunset cruise up the Upper Zambezi River for another spectacular sunset. Aboard the African Queen, we sat upper deck for drinks and snacks while slowly cruising the river. We saw hippos, elephants and buffalo from the boat (at this point a common sighting for us). After the cruise, we of course ate a huge meal before calling it a night.





















Jacques and I rose early the following morning for our full day white water rafting experience on the mighty Zambezi River, the most intense rapids in the world. After hiking down into the gorge for 200 meters, we climbed into our raft directly after rapid 1 at the Victoria Falls entry point to the Lower Zambezi. The first 10 rapids were the most intense, consisting of 4 out of the 6 Class 5 rapids we would face during the day. We had a good team and didn’t lose anyone until rapid 8 when our team opted to take the more intense way and we flipped completely over. This was exciting but also extremely scary as I was initially caught under the boat as we made our way through the rest of the class 5 rapid. Jacques found me and helped me to cling to the side before our guide pulled both of us up on to the bottom side of the boat. After making it through the intense rapids, we had to upright our boat which meant jumping off as we pulled the boat over our heads once again, a truly frightening experience being trapped under the raft and have to make way out from under in rushing water. Once we made it through this experience though, the rest of the day seemed easy as we conquered a total of 21 rapids on the Zambezi (rapid 9 is a class 6 and must be walked around). We took a pit stop after the first 10 rapids, then climbed aboard again for another 13. It was great fun and a lot of exercise! At the end of the trip, we had to hike back out of the river valley up another 220 meters (770 feet) straight up through rocks and at times a tree branch (bush) ladder to reach the top. We were exhausted by the end of the day! After a shower and good meal, we took at a taxi to downtown Livingstone to meet up with our fellow raft mates and guides, Potato and K to view the pictures and videos from the day. It was so wonderful to share the experience with Ma & Pa who spent the day touring the rare islands for a better view of the falls. *FYI, Jacques is wearing the blue helmet in the pictures below.

















After a big breakfast and attempt to work it off by another quick hike and last peak at the stunning Victoria Falls, we departed for the airport and our flight back to Johannesburg. Unfortunately, Ma’s heart problems were giving her problems the entire trip and as soon as we landed, we took her to the hospital for an overnight visit and treatment. We are praying all will be well with her and the four of us can continue the African experience and on to our next part of the trip in Cape Town.