Today we flew from Johannesburg to the Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe where we got both of our Zimbabwe entry visas for now and when we return to visit the falls at the end of the safari portion of the trip. We met our trip leader and guide, Arthur, a native Zimbabwean. We then boarded a bus for the drive into Botswana to the first of the four safari camps at which we would spend three days each.
The welcoming committee at the airport in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe...
We lost no time in seeing many of the animals we had expected to see. On the drive to the camp we saw Elephants, Zebra, Giraffe, Baboons, Wart Hogs, and a variety of birds. Also, enroute to camp, we stopped at the outdoor market in the town of Victoria Falls. Arthur gave the women some cash and told them to wander through the market trying to buy chitenge's which we were to learn were pieces of cloth used by women as wrap around skirts and dresses, and also to carry goods and even infants. The men were commissioned to try and buy 'scuds.' After wandering through the market, we made our way to the local 'pub,' where we negotiatied to buy some 'scuds,' which turned out to be containers of local corn brew in containers resembling military 'scud' artillery shells. The pub was a lively place on a Saturday afternoon with blaring music, dancing, men playing a version of checkers on makeshift boards using bottle caps as the 'checkers.'
Then back on the bus to complete our journey to our first safari camp in Chobe National Park, Baobab Lodge, named after the common indigenous tree, the Baobab, which have thick, odd-shaped trunks. We were greeted at the camp with singing by the staff and cold wash cloths to sponge off the dust and sweat from the drive. September here is early Spring, and the relatively cool winter was already giving way to the heat of summer. We had chosen this time of year to visit because it is the end of the dry season... meaning many of the water sources have dried up, causing the animals to congregate around the few remaining water holes... and the grasses are dry and mostly trampled down... all of which facilitates animal sightings.
Some of our group at Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe...
The market in Victoria Falls...
BIG Game right beside the road on our way to Chobe...
The staff welcoming us to Baobab Lodge in Chobe National Park in Botswana...
The classic acacia tree seen in so many photos of the African landscape...
Our photo safari had begun!
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