109/137 Days; 28 days remaining
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (Formerly Rhodesia)
Today is a full day. 05:45 game drive. 10:00 hot stone massages. 12:30 Elephant interaction experience. 15:45 Zambezi River Explorer Cruise. So, the day starts early. Sunrise is still another forty-five or so minutes away when we arrive at the pick-up point. There are only going to be two of us today. Our driver and guide, Ben, pulls up in one of the ubiquitous four-wheel drive open air vehicles. There are four rows of seat, one a little higher than the one in front of it. They are three seats across. This particular one seems fairly new and it comfortable.
We are going to the Zambezi National Park. We will be in the Chamabondo Section of the park which has several water points for the wild animals and actually has several “hides” at least one of which you can spend the night in – if you should so want to. It isn’t very far from Elephant Camp, and we should get there by sunrise. The best time to see wild animals is sunrise and sunset. After and before they have had dinner, and while it isn’t too hot.
Ben is quick to point out that Zimbabwe are entering a drought year. The rainy season has just ended the quantity of raid was very low. No or little rain translates into little or no growth in the plants and grasses, which means food is scarce for herbivores, which means for the carnivores their food source is skinny, and in addition there isn’t much water.
We barely pull past the park entrance when we observe our first wild animals, a troop of Baboons. The first wild animal of the safari, and it isn’t on the “Big 5” list.
In Africa, the Big five game animals are the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and African Buffalo. The term was coined by big-game hunters to refer to the five most official animals in Africa to hunt on foot. Now it is used by tourists and safari operators. There is also another five list – Africa’s ugly five. These are the ugliest animals Africa has to offer – the warthog (no not hogswort), lappet-face vulture, wildebeest, marabou stork and the hyena.
So far, no hits on either list. The next visitor is a large adult male giraffe. A magnificent animal. Spotted by Enrico! But alas, no hit. We finally have a hit with the warthog! They are a couple hundred meters away in a large field but unmistakably warthogs. An hour into the drive and we find a family, actually two families Ben says, of zebras. A half hour later we see a mother hyena brining the head of a warthog to her brood for breakfast. Two on the ugly list.
It gets to be 08:00 when we spot an African Buffalo. It is their backside, but Ben assures us they are African Buffalo. One hit on the big five list and two on the ugly list. Time for coffee. Following a good safari tradition, we find a spot in park and Ben pulls out a camp table and offered us chairs, which we kindly refuse, standing after a couple hours riding in the back of a converted Nissan pick-up, getting an African massage, is preferred to sitting. We have some coffee, fold up the camp table and head back to the lodge for 10:00 spa treatments.
A quick shower and it is off to the treatment rooms. Lovely spa here. We spend the next seventy-five minutes being pampered. The treatments are less than a third of the cost on ship, and they are equally good. Maybe a little napping may have occurred during the treatments, but that is ok.
After treatments it is back to the tent cabin and change into the clothing for the next activity – Elephant Interaction. We are on our way to the Elephant Sanctuary and Orphanage, the focus of which is to protect both orphaned elephants and those in the wild. The Wild Horizons Elephant Sanctuary and Orphanage has been a safe haven to a mirage of orphaned and injured elephants since its inception. They strongly believe ultimately the best environment for all elephant is in the wild and here they strive to ensure as many animals as possible return to a wild environment. Rescue – rehabilitate – release, is their motto. Their work to preserve and protect elephant in the wild through collaboration with the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust. The Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust is based adjacent to The Elephant Camp and within the Victoria Falls National Park.
Here we meet Jock, Jack, Jumbo and Mia Ellie who were orphaned in a culling operating in Hwange National Park in 1980. They found their home here in 1992. Jake, Emily, Janet, Michael and Damiano came from the Zambezi valley cull. The boys arrived here in mid-1999, and the two girls followed in 2000. We got to get up close to them. We had an opportunity the pet them and later feed them.
These are wild animals, but they are in a park, so not completely sure this counts towards ticking them off the Big five list. On the way back to camp we did see several more giraffes along the way. Beautiful animals.
Our next adventure, three in one day, is the Zambezi Explorer Cruise. We were missing the water anyway. We were picked up at the hotel just before it had gone 16:00. This is a sunset cruise, and sunset is at 18:00. The mighty Zambezi River is the fourth-longest river in Africa. It’s most notable feature are the Victoria Falls. Tonight, we are dropped off dockside in Victoria Falls.
Debi booked us on the Zambezi Explorer which isn’t one of Wild Horizon’s adventures. They seemed a little disappointed that we didn’t take one of their’s. There were two other couples going on sunset river cruises tonight, but they were going on Wild Horizon’s cruises. Anyway the Zambezi Explorer is a beautiful craft. It has three decks and we are on the signature deck. On top with the best views.
The Zambezi is the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. We pay a fee to both countries to sail on the river. We sail around Siloka Island, which is in Zambia. We are now actually in the Mosi-ao-Tanya National Park in Zambia when we spot a pod of Hippos in the water. It is a lot like doing the Jungle Safari in Disneyland in 1965. Perhaps not quite as racist.
There are crocodiles, lots of different birds and the sunset to enjoy while we sip Prosecco and eat canopies. There are only seven us on this deck, which could probably hold fifty. Lots of comfortable chairs with comfy cushions. Very nice cruise. It was only two and a half hours from the hotel back to the hotel.
Back at the hotel was had dinner and then went down to the fire pit and sat out looking at the stars and having a cigar. By 21:00 we were in bed calling it a night. We have an all-day Chobe National Park Safari tomorrow leaving here at 07:00.
Buonanotte e Ciao, Enrico e Maria.
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