Just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for joining us on our safari.  We do hope that many of you will be encouraged to make the journey yourself in the coming years.  You’ll be rewarded if you do.

Meanwhile, Tim has had the chance to go through his 1,500+ photos and select some of his favorites.  He put together a slide show/video that incorporates some of the best along with a smattering of video shot at various times during the trip.  Throughout the trip Tim always had the music from Paul Simon’s Graceland album running in his head so we’ve included some of that here.  12 days condensed to 8 minutes, enjoy and thanks again.

Today was a rest and recovery day before meeting up with the remainder of our Tauck tour for an evening dinner at the hotel.  Ellen and Tim took a walk to the Falls for a pre-scout while Rhonda focused on the “recovery” portion of the day.  Tomorrow is our “official” Victoria Falls visit and first safari.

a view of the lobby

Breakfast on the veranda and these two showed up…

Then it was off on our walk to scout out Victoria Falls, along the way, monkeys everywhere.

Off to the Falls.  We took the upper trail (about a 4k walk round trip) so we are only seeing a tiny portion of the Falls from here.  The whole of Victoria Falls is a mile across and 350+ feet high.  Mostly from the hotel we just see the mist rising above the falls edge.  We will be seeing it up close tomorrow on our tour.  Here is a boat below navigating one of the rapids on the way to the falls, it was running at full power to barely hover in place.  This picture is a little grainy…

Because this is the actual view (boat lower middle)

We got to the completion of this particular trail which ends at the bridge over the Zambezi River between Zimbabwe & Zambia which we crossed yesterday.  A friendly native at the trail head asked if we wanted to bungee jump off of it and we said “another time.”

On the way back we passed MANY monkeys and then these two crossed our path

A game warden who was following asked if we’d like to have a picture at a feeding area so we followed along…Bawana Tim

Then back to our room, along the way we passed a beautiful pond with many water birds but we decided not to swim,,,

Here’s a family monkeying around…

Then back to the room for a Coke on our veranda overlooking the Zambezi

Tomorrow, a rhino safari in the AM and the Falls and a boat trip in the afternoon.

Well today got off to a rough start as Rhonda was still under the weather so we had to leave her back at the hotel.  Good news is she is doing better this evening and should be good to go tomorrow 🤞

Today we took a coach to Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park where we boarded trucks with benches to go in search of rhinos.Our guide Kapoco (sounds like Acapulco without the “Aca”).  Kapooco enlightened us on the many uses of elephant dung (they give it to newborns boiled in water among other things).  Of course our trackers were successful and soon we met up this this mom and her calf

Time is running short and an early call tomorrow so here are three albums to enjoy.

More Rhinos and Wildlife…

Our boat trip down the Zambezi

My favorite part Victoria Falls!

Tomorrow is a travel day but we do have a late afternoon safari scheduled so stay tuned.

Today we left Royal Livingstone and boarded a coach to the Botswana boarder, about an hour drive.  Once across the boarder we boarded a boat for a lunch and a tour of the Chobe National park on the Chobe River.  Sighted elephants, water buffalo,crocs and more…

From there we boarded 9 passenger Cessnas and flew to the beautiful.                                                                      Eagle Island Camp on the Okavango Delta.  As soon as the plane touched down we were whisked to an area the guides had spotted before we landed and we got to see a leopard, a relatively rare site…

She was napping on the low branch to the right in the photo above, here’s the close up…

From there we drove in land rovers to the actual “camp” where were greeted by the staff singing welcome to this amazing resort.

Our personal lodge…

A couple of shots of the suite

Then it was off for cocktails, sunset and viewing the amazing stars and Milky Way

Tomorrow we have a 5:30 wake up call for a sunrise safari followed by a helicopter ride over the Delta.  Whew!

 

Tim opted to stay snuggled in bed this morning and rest rather than going on the early drive but Rhonda was up at 5:15 and off on a Safari drive by 6:30.  A chilly start with a temperature of 41 but well worth it as the animals were fantastic. First photo is a very pregnant hyena who dug the hole where she’ll deliver her cub. Dazzles of zebras, herds of wildebeest, impala, antelope, water buffalo and elephants were all making their way to the stream for their morning drink.  The warthogs and their young were fun to watch as were the baboons. Giraffes are a bit more elusive but plentiful, however, they are rather shy so we can’t get too close.

But the real experience of the day was encountering a pride of mostly juvenile male lions with a couple females on the move. The young males have the beginning of their mane coming in and they stayed in close proximity to their “mamas.” This finished off the Big 5 – elephant, rhinoceros, water buffalo, leopard, lion! Never expected to see so many animals so close in the most beautiful surroundings within just a few days. We are in open jeeps, 6 to a car with a guide. Though we are very close to the animals, it has never felt frightening. If you follow safari etiquette, you will remain safe. At least that’s what the guide says. 

Then it was back to the lodge for lunch and an amazing helicopter ride over the delta with breathtaking views of herds of water buffalo, elephants, bloats of hippos, dazzles of zebras and towers of giraffes.

After a brief respite, we returned to the beautiful Eagles Nest where we were given a ride in a traditional mokoro boat to see the Okavango Delta close up.  Then back for a bush walk with our guide Kops, note the “walking stick” he carries, just in case.  Finally drinks and another beautiful sunset at the Eagles Nest bar, mentioned in the New York Times as one of the most beautiful bars in the world to watch the sun set.  We’d have to agree.

Today was another FULL day with a 7:00 AM trip to a near-by village where we were warmly greeted by the local residents. Today’s post may not come out until tomorrow and our current accommodations, while luxurious (more about that later) has limited satellite based internet capabilities. Actually, considering we are in the middle of Africa it is amazing we can post at all!

They had a small market pavilion where we were able to purchase baskets, carvings and the like.

Then they bid us Farewell with a beautiful song. It was great fun watching their children learning the song and dance moves

 

On the way back to our hotel the Quine’s veered as they spotted an impala carcus up in a tree. That means only one thing – Leopards. As we came around the base of the tree we spotted the momma up in the tree…

Then, there at the base of the tree was her cub…

 

https://youtu.be/ykC8dzUL-9o

We left the village and started back to catch our plane to our next Safari location, the exquisite Sanctuary Chief’s camp.

Sanctuary Chief’s Camp

We could easily fill a separate blog with photos and details about this amazing location. For those of you interested in more details, here’s a link to their website: https://sanctuaryretreats.com/safaris/botswana/sanctuary-chiefs-camp/

As we entered the compound we were once again greeted with a singing staff and this view:

Rhonda took a few photos of our room

The hour is getting late here and we have ANOTHER 6:00 AM call so I will leave you with a photo of the rare and endangered Painted Wild Dogs. I may supplement this post in the morning with some terrific video clips I captured, we’ll see if they can upload to YouTube over night. Enjoy!

Day 7 started with annother EARLY Safari drive in chilly temperatures (up at 6:00, out by 7:00.). A lone large male lion had been spotted in the area and we were rewarded with a great sighting.

Of course there were many elephants (“Ellie’s” in the local vernacular) including this mother protecting her baby.  The babies nurse for up to 2 years and of course the mothers are very protective.

Giraffes were always present

As well as many beautiful birds

Here is a Great Eagle Owl, the largest Owl in Africa (go Owls!)

And here’s a eagle we spotted

As per out typical day in the bush we returned to our camp for a wonderful lunch served outside and then a brief “siesta” before the evening’s drive.  Then it was back into the Land Cruisers for more animal spotting

Here is a mother baboon with her baby.  Then babies can hold on while the mother’s travel at high speed.  Surprisingly, baboons are the main predators of leopards as they will attack a leopard in a pack.  Subsequently leopards are always on the lookout for baboons or their calls.  But of course, leopards will pounce on single small baboons so turnabout is fair play.

A steenbok – a fairly uncommon sight in the bush..

Secretary Bird

One of the most feared animals in Africa, the water buffalo

and of course, many Zebras

Tessebe

We did go out spotting for hippos but the sun was behind them all so the photos were all black silhouettes.  That wouldn’t do so our driver struck out to drive to the other side of the waters.  The Okovongo Delta is constantly changing this time of year as more and more water flows into Botswana.  Consequently, the driving fluctuate and in our case, a little too much as our Land Cruiser became stuck in the water we were trying to traverse.  Fortunately our companion travelers got the call and came to pull us out of the muck, but not before snapping some picsEveryone had a good laugh and then it was off for our normal late day sundowner and another glorious sunset in the delta

 

Up early (again) for a ride into the bush and first thin out we spotted another LARGE male lion who the guides believe was just passing through the area

Then off intro the bush trying to find some cheetah (we didn’t) but we did spot these two baby giraffe just having fun

We decided to return to an area we spotted the day before where a leopard and stashed a small baboon in a tree to eat later.  Only the arms were left in the tree and then we spotted the beautiful female leopard who posed for a number of photos.  At one point Rhonda was so close she could have given it a pet

We continued in search of Cheetahs (still no luck) but our guide spotted a large male leopard up in a tree so we went in for a closer look. I wish I had a video of this pursuit and our guide Sky driving through thickets i would not have attempted with Mini Cooper let alone a 6,000+ pound Land Cruiser. Not only incredible driving skills but he kept going until the light was just right on the animals – amazing skill resulting in spectacular photos…

Then it was back to Chief’s Camp for lunch and to await our bluish flight to the Kalahari Desert

The flight from Chief’s camp to Camp Kalahari took about 90 minutes by bush plane.  At arrival we were greeted warmest staff yet.  After a brief orientation we were escorted to our tents.  These were true tents, no solid walls although they did have a shower inside.

After a brief stop to freshen up we were ready for a walk in the bush with real bushmen or, what the locals referred to as San Bushmen.  Actually, this group was paid by the government to preserve their native culture and language to share it with other groups.  From our talks we determined that all people of our parents age/generation (basically someone born in the 20s/30s) was born and raised in the desert.  Those our age were mixed having been likely raised with the desert culture but exposed to western culture.  Those our children’s age (30s/40’s) were taught english in schools.  Several tribe members which their children & grand children came along for our walk.

These people speak in the “click’ language, punctuating all of their words and phrases with a variety of clicking sounds.  Below is a video of their spokesperson educating us in the language and culture:

During our walk they stopped to dig up a scorpion.  The children use these as playthings, they do not eat them

Then it was off to the vast salt pans where another sundowner/ camp fire awaited us.  The showed us how they built fires by hand using Zebra dung and two sticks

Then the demonstrated a clapping/slapping game that resembled rock/[paper/scissors with music.  Another beautiful day..

I didn’t have the time/facilities to edit this video down so enjoy as much or little as you like.

0

Our first night in our tents on the Kalahari was FRIGID and WINDY!  Remember, although very nice, we were still sleeping in tents and the outside temp was in the low 40’s with winds gusting 20 – 30 mph.  But comfort was our hosts’ primary concern so every bed had 4 “bush babies” under the covers (that’s what the locals call their fabric covered hot water bottles).

Every morning we started with a bush baby tucked on each seat of our Land Cruisers. This morning we were up before dawn to catch the meerkats, the highlight of the trip for our friend Ellen.  Only this morning the winds were blowing and the temperature was hovering around 40.  The goal is to find the meerkats and be in place when they first wake up to catch the morning sun, because soon after they start foraging for food.

On the way we still managed to spot an elephant and ostrich “proud.”

The camp pays a guide to stay with the meerkats each and every night so they can be located in the morning.  If they didn’t the meerkats could up and leave their current burrows at anytime and relocate for new foraging grounds which would be difficult to relocate.  So…we arrived as dawn was breaking and after a while the first meerkat sentry popped up his head…

Soon after, a 2nd joined to consult

Meerkats, being smarter than we were, quickly determined it was too friggin’ cold to come out and promptly disappeared back into their burrows to wait for the sun to warm things up.  Unknown to us, meerkats do not dig their own burrows, they use burrows dug by ground squirrels or mongoose in the area.  Meerkats only eat bugs & grubs while the squirrels eat tubers & plants and the mongoose famously eat snakes so they don’t compete for food and have a symbiotic relation as they are all on the lookout for eagles and other predators.

Our guides determined they were not coming out any time soon so they were off to prepare our breakfast while we waited.

After breakfast it was back to the meerkats to see if they would come out, and they did!  We could post about 100 photo of meerkats but below are some of our favorites.  Once the meerkats wake up they all leave the borrows and begin foraging for food, digging as they go.  Meerkats can range over several kilometers a day in their search for ants, bugs, scorpions and grubs.  We followed along for 100 yards as they started their search, eating as they went and at least one sentry always on the lookout.  They constantly chirped to each other in a very low tone as if to say, “here’s some lovely bugs.”

Then it was back to camp, spotting along the way…

The hornbills were very active

Then it was back to camp for a HOT shower (thank goodness) !

That evening we were off again to the salt pans. Along the way we spotted wildebeest and springbok

Then we arrived at the salt pan, a vast area covering over 6,200 square killometers.  We boarded ATVs and headed out to explore this alien landscape.

We drove for about 10 miles and stopped for some fun photos…

Tim jumped for joy as the sun was setting (actually I think I cleared 10”)

Then it was back on the ATVs for a chilly ride in the dark  back to our starting point to meet our Land Cruisers for the final ride back to camp.  On the walk back, Tim stopped for a photo of the stars, amazing what the iPhone can do.  That fuzzy cloud you see is the Milky Way

A beautiful way to end a beautiful (but cold) day.  Back to our beds and our warm bush babies.

Now, where was I…

For our intrepid readers wondering what happened to days 7, 8 & 9, fear not – you didn’t miss them yet.  Internet service at our last two camps was either limited or non-existent so  we have not posted those days yet.

Today we took a bush plane from our tents at Camp Kalahari to Muan, Botswana, about a 1:10 minute flight in a Cessna.  More on our adventures in the Kalahari in an upcoming post.  There we caught a jet to Cape Town, South Africa where we checked into the beautiful “One and Only” hotel, a 5 star international chain.  We’ll post some pics in our Day 11 post.

We settled in to our HEATED room, a big deal for us after the last 6 days in the bush.  Now we’ll have some luxurious showers and enjoy a good night’s sleep.

More to come.