Today we start our second trip to Africa - we really enjoyed our self drive through Namibia and South Africa last time and decided to try a couple different countries this time, Botswana and Zimbabwe each with its own challenges. Botswana at least in the area we intend to travel is a wilderness 4x4 area with no developed roads, villages, shops or gas stations. Zimbabwe is different - there will be more cities but we have heard stories how the police is setting many roadblocks and checking your car just to find something wrong and fine you which sounds quite annoying. In order to avoid any issues we have long discussions with the agency from which we rent the car to ensure that it will meet any Zimbabwe requirements and also that it can make it through the Botswana sands. They also handle the Botswana part of the camping and hotel accomodations and a couple of Zimbabwe ones while we book everything else online.
The trip starts with a 2 day flight however this time we avoid London which we have flown too many times through and fly directly from the US via New York to Johannesburg and then onwards to Maun. Finding this flight was quite difficult as we wanted to book everything with only one airline to ensure we are covered in case of delays or other issues. JFK airport is surprisingly difficult to navigate as we have to exit through security and then reenter at a different terminal again through security - happily we ensured we have enough time to do the change. In Johannesburg we have again enough time - we have been here before and have an idea how long it takes but there were quite a few desperate people trying to go through passport control faster so they can reach their flight. After security we have a lot of time actually to visit all the stores, eat all provisions and check our email before taking the shuttle bus to our plane.
Johannesburg Airport Shop
Airline food on short flight
The flight to Maun is a 2 hr flight which serves food (so glad to be out of the US in this case) and we have our first glimpses of the Kalahari desert and a few rivers that were passing through the desert - likely already part of the Okavango Delta. Maun is a small but busy airport which unfortunately for us has only one passport control line open and it takes a long time to process both planes that came in at the same time. Before exiting we also exchange some money to Botswana pula and this is lucky as it is the last currency exchange place we see in Botswana.
At the exit we are awaited with a sign by our car rental company that takes us to our car. The car, better said the truck, we get, a Toyota Landcruiser, looks exactly like we imagined from the outside and the handover is a long 1 hour walk through of all the features. It has dual battery with the second one powering a small refrigerator, cutlery and of course a tent on the top. We are planning to camp a few nights and are looking forward to camping in the wilderness on top of our car but are a bit spooked and how many steps that involves. The car has also a lot of safety equipment but not the one we requested specifically, a satellite phone. We were assured we can get one when we arrive however here we are told this is impossible and it has to come from Kasane which can't happen till at least 2 days later when we start our trip into the wilderness. This is a big issue for us as we were counting on it as backup if something happens on the way that we can't handle and they propose that we buy a Botswana SIM card for our phone which will not really help as there are no towers in the wilderness but we decide to do it anyway just in case.
We are led to a nearby shop where no SIM cards are sold and then they decide to go and buy one for us and while they do that we fill our spare gas canisters with diesel for safety (no gas for the next 600 km) and then pay for the SIM card and finally are on our way to the hotel as we are quite tired after the flight.
Botswana from above
Waterhole in the desert
Arriving in Maun
Our car - impressive
Still we have to be quite careful as we are driving on the other side of the road a manual transmission truck with no visibility in the back mirror at all and there are goats, cows and people crossing the street randomly as we pass slowly through Maun and exit towards Thamalakane Lodge which is about 30 km from Maun.
Well paved road...
...with lots of animals on the side
Checking in is easy and we are shown to our cottage which is nice but doesn't really have a lot of light inside which is quite typical for hotels in this area it seems. The roof is made of straw which we wonder how well it holds during the summer rains but now there is no issue. The bath is weirder with the shower more or less in the middle of the bathroom which a circular curtain around it. Also there are a few mosquitoes so we let the mosquito nets down before going towards the main building for dinner.
Our cottage
View from the cabin
Our room
Weird shower
On the way we enjoy the views of the river and the many birds that are flitting around and we are wondering what they eat.
Interesting bird
Another bird on the lodging boat
WE find out soon enough - mosquitoes - there are lots of them at the outdoor dinner table. And birds and bats eating them all around us which is nice but we feel like there is no way to eat outside safely while the other dinners do not really seem to be bothered. Then we remember - there is anti mosquito cream in the cottage courtesy of the lodging so we run back apply some and suddenly the mosquitoes (or vast majority of them) ignore us - very effective. The food that we order a la carte is ok, the steak is overcooked and a bit hard but the local shredded beef is good even though a bit more spice wouldn't have hurt. However the sunset over the river is quite special and we enjoy it while writing emails home (only place with Wifi) before returning to the room. We plug all our electronics to recharge and then decide to put the new SIM in our phone before going to sleep. And then we discover that they bought us the wrong type and we cut it and try to fit it in our phone and somehow it works in the end and then tired we fall asleep.
Our alarm clock awakes us today in time to make the early breakfast that is taken in the same spot as the dinner before. It is quite cold in the morning so we are happy that we have brought jackets and some warmer clothes with us. In the morning we order from a set list of options and the breakfast is quite good. Our initial idea was to take a full day mokoro trip today but we are too tired and need to buy some provisions for the next days so we decide to ask about the 2 hour sunset cruise instead. At the reception to our surprise they are quite unsure whether it is offered but in the end accepts our reservation before we drive back to Maun to visit the local Spar supermarket.
English breakfast
The drive is uneventful as we can avoid all the donkeys, cows and other animals safely - a bigger problem is parking in the small parking lot with our huge truck and avoiding all the parking souvenir sellers. The supermarket is relatively small but we find everything we need including water and bread the staples for our dining plans the next days.
Driving to town
One of the many animal roadblocks
Returning we try to get in touch with our car rental company for the satellite phone and with the help of the hotel reception we get a commitment that they will call back to tell us what is happening. And in the end they do and talk to the reception - now they can bring it in 2 days only and it is too late so it looks we will not have any satellite phone during our trip. We have a few hours before our boat trip so we explore a bit the area around the cottage. We finally have time to take a look at our pool and even use for a short dip of our feet. We are visited during this time by quite a few squirrels and a few are not really happy that we are outside chattering loudly at us.
Trail between cabins
Our outside pool
Visitor at the pool
Resting while eating
For the boat trip we are requested to arrive half hour early in order meet the guide but really it is for them to push us to buy drinks for the boat. But they agree that water is enough and we have more than enough water so as we wait for the guide we explore a bit more the area seeing cows as they lazily cross the water and lots of hornbills on the lawn between the river and the cottages.
Outside area
Cabins view from river
Aquatic cow
One of the many hornbills
Our guide appears at the arranged time and there is also another South African family on the tour with us. There are two boats but happily we take the larger one even though the entrance is weirdly through the window in the back followed by a steep climb on a narrow stair to the deck on top of the boat.
Boat entrance - through window
Luckily not our boat
Ours even has a grill
Leaving the dock
As we start on the river we find out that the water actually appeared less than a week ago before it was dry and that is why the receptionist was not sure that the tour is possible. There are cows on the river edge that likely are a bit surprised at the new waterway blocking their way to the pasture. The cows are followed by small children who are happily waving towards the boat and watching us as we pass carefully avoiding the trees and fence posts in the water.
Looking at us
And guarding cattle
Cattle can swim quite well
Fence post near the water
There are lots of birds including quite a few fish eagle (the name oof our cottage) and a few kingfisher. But more interesting is the conversation with the older South African passenger questioning the guide about where he is coming from and what he is doing at the hotel and we find out quite a few interesting things including the fact that they go out at night to take out the fence poles so they can go with the boat on the channels which otherwise would be dangerous.
Lots of palms along the edge
Bird resting
Grackle on a pole
Fish eagle
We can understand that as even now it looks dangerous and we even hit (at low speed) one of the poles which are starting to be difficult to observe in the falling darkness.
Thamalakane River
You have to be careful on it
Moon over the water
Close up of moon
The sunset (it is a sunset cruise after all) is beautiful and we enjoy as the sun falls below the horizon before returning quite carefully to the dock. It is quite cold and there are mosquitoes of course so we are happy when we arrive and are able to go to our room and put some mosquito cream on us.
Sunset over the river
Last glow from the sun
Sunset view of submerged fence
Getting dark
After this we go to dinner where we test the eland meat which was recommended on the boat and is quite good while a different grill as the day before is also overcooked as the day before (the definition of insanity: doing the same thing and expecting a different result). After that it is time to go to sleep as we are still jetlagged and tomorrow is the first day of real driving in Botswana.
Today we wake up early from the cold and go to eat breakfast which is very similar to the day before. After that we start on our adventure - today we plan to drive 120 km (75 mi) which given the state of the roads we estimate will take about 4 hours to our campsite at Xakanaxa. We are wildly optimistic on this by the way as we soon find out.
Eggs - made a different way
Another omelette
The road starts out paved with basically no other traffic until Shorobe the last major village. After this the road is dirt and extra wide until we turn left towards the South Gate of Moremi Game Preserve and the road becomes much more narrow and rutted and we slow down to a crawl.
Bird in the morning
Cows on the road
Start of the dirt road - quite large
Elephant highway
This of course helps us a lot in noticing the animals in the bush to the left and right. Even though we are not yet in the national park the land around us is community owned and quite game rich as we start seeing impalas everywhere. There are also a few zebras and quite a lot of giraffes that even decide to cross in front of us. The slower pace also helps us to get used to the truck and its capabilities - we are still in 2WD as the road is not yet that bad but there are still a few potholes to maneuver through and around.
Typical landscape
Can you see the giraffe?
Here it should be easier
Ok..time to brake
Impala on the side of the road
First zebra for the trip
After about 3 hours and about 90 km we arrive at South Gate which is unexpectedly magnificent in the middle of wilderness. Here we have to check in and pay the park fees. Or at least we hope so as we have read contradictory things with some books saying that you have to pay in Maun and you cannot pay for entrance at the gate. Fortunately they are wrong and after entering ourselves into the registry, paying, getting multiple receipts and asking about the road status to Xakanaxa we are ready to enter Moremi Game Reserve, one of the most famous wildlife reserves in Botswana which protects part of the Okawango Delta an Unesco World Heritage Site.
Moremi Game Reserve rules
Typical entrance gate - impressive
Our car in front of the gate
No human ones - happy :)
There are two roads that go from South Gate to Xakanaxa - one is relatively easy, shorter and less scenic and the second one is more winding, difficult especially if there is water and much more scenic. Guess which one we chose? Of course the scenic one especially given that we have 4-5 hours till sunset still and we have only about 40km left - how bad can it really be? And it isn't that bad at least in the beginning, it is a one car road to be sure but there are no sandy spots, water or anything that challenging.
Typical roadsigns in the park
Road is less wide
Sometimes it splits to avoid bad areas
Elephant signs are everywhere
But this soon changes as the road becomes more and more sandy and soon we are stuck in one lengthy sand spot. Getting into 4WD and a bit of wiggling breaks us out but we do not learn as we try to save fuel and move back to 2WD and soon are stuck enough. Breaking free is a bit more difficult this time and from here on it is 4WD all the way to Xakanaxa. But this is not the only challenge because after about an hour we arrive at the first bridge - we know there are four of them but this one gives us a good idea (we think of what to expect). First it is a bit of a stretch to call a row of logs a bridge but it serves the purpose and so we push over it without stopping and without falling into the dry riverbed below. One down three more to go. Second one is also easy enough and we think we are getting the hang of this as we pull into the Third Bridge gate and camping area where we rest and use the toilets before continuing to the nearby Third Bridge. Third Bridge is a completely different animal though with a river flowing before the bridge while the bridge is spanning a dry river bed - go figure. We decide to go through the water without thinking too much as we might get too scared and while it is deeper than we expected the truck has no issues with the crossing and we easily get and climb on the bridge after which it is an easy cross.
One of the many warthogs
Another impala by the side of the road
Crossing first bridge
Third bridge entrance gate
The area before Third Bridge and the island between Third Bridge and Fourth Bridge are full of animals and we stop for every new one to take pictures (from the car as you are not allowed outside the car). We see our first elephants, a lot of gnu and a few ostriches besides the omnipresent impalas.
Marshland around third bridge
Elephants in the distance
Wildebeest (gnu) in the distance
Gnu resting
Ostrich resting - everyone is resting
This bird was not resting
The island between the Third and the Fourth Bridge is deep sand and we are careful not to lose momentum so even though we take a few wrong turns we don't stop and use the next track to get closer to the Bridge. Finally around 4 pm we arrive at the Fourth and last bridge which is by far the longest but otherwise the easiest as it is well constructed and we can just go slowly over it and even stop in the middle to take a look at the view.
Turning towards Fourth bridge
This is a long one
The road continues to be heavy sand till Xakanaxa but it is well defined with less tracks that go off into the wilderness and besides passing a couple cars that come from the opposite direction (which can be difficult in sand on a narrow track) there are no challenges and after another hour we arrive at the Xakanaxa gate where we check in for our campground before driving the remaining 5 km to the camp. The camps here are different from Namibia with no fencing so the animals can walk through the camp unchallenged so we plan to be settled in our tent before nightfall. Overall it is a nice campsite next to the marsh with nice views and the ablution block (toilets+showers) is clean. The campground also is not as busy as we expected (we were not able to get a second night here) with only three places occupied out of ten. Soon we start setting up the tent which takes a lot of climbing on the car but otherwise is uneventful.
Entering Xakanaxa
The camping bathroom
Ready for the night
Our kitchen
After setting the tent we prepare the dinner for which we take out the table and the chairs and sit below a tree while eating some canned food and enjoy the sunset over the marsh and the moon rise from the other side. There are also lots of noises in the marsh so we pack everything back in the car and climb into the tent for the night. It is our first night in a rooftop tent and it is quite comfortable with a mattress, pillows and sleeping bags provided by the car rental company. We wake up multiple times in the night as we hear sounds near the car and we peak outside to determine if it isn't an elephant (the only really scary animal for us this high up) but they are always "only" hippos that came in from the marsh to eat the sausage fruits below the trees next to us so we go back to sleep until we wake up early in the morning when the birds start a ruckus as the sun starts to rise.
We awake early in the morning to the sound of birds and soon we are in the process of preparing breakfast as we have supposedly to exit before 11 AM out of the park to avoid paying for an additional day. As we explore the campsite we find the sausage fruit that was eaten by the hippo during the night and are quite impressed how cleanly it was cut - their teeth are not to be messed with.
Waking in the morning - view through tent entrance
Before putting everything back inside
Our place - chairs placed for breakfast
Aftermath of hippo eating the sausage fruits
Before leaving we go back to the marsh viewpoint in the neighboring campsite that we have seen the day before for another look of the marsh but still no visible hippos. So we pack our tent (with quite some difficulty) and then pass again through Xakanaxa gate and soon turn towards our only planned stop - the Paradise Pools.
Walking to the marsh viewpoint
Marsh view - no hippos in view
Xakanaxa Gate - exiting campground
Getting close to Paradise Pools
The Paradise Pools are quite close to Xakanaxa and consist of a few driving loops (no exiting out of cars in parks) through a marshland area. Luckily our GPS maps are quite good and cover the many tracks here so we follow a few in search of wildlife. Soon we find quite a few animals starting with the impalas on the main road to zebras and red lechwes (water antelopes) closer to the marshland.
Impala in the bush
And running like crazy
One of the many zebras
First red lechwe:)
We cannot spend as much time as we would have liked due to our exit time constraint so we return towards the main road however we have to stop quite often to avoid impalas or just to admire the many birds like hoopoes and lapwings.
African Hoopoe
Blacksmith lapwing
Lots of impalas
We have to be quite careful
We make good time on the main road but all chances of getting on time are ended when we meet a large group of elephants crossing the road. We wait a bit and when they seem to be finished we start on the road and promptly are stuck in the middle of the herd as there were quite a few more elephants hidden in the trees on our right. So we wait patiently until all cross (there are also young ones and we don't want to scare them) and then continue on a more leisurely pace - we know we will be late so it shouldn't matter how late really. We see a few more elephants in the distance, lots of impalas close and many francolins as we make our way to the North Gate.
Guess we will wait
And wait even more - don't want to rush them
Francolin on the side of the road
Beautiful male impala
At the gate they ask us why we were late exiting and we explain the elephants and they agree with us and do not charge us with an additional day - very nice from their part. After this we have to cross the Bridge over River Khwai (Botswana River Khwai not Thailand) which is very impressive as it crosses the wetlands and soon we are at our accomodation, Sango Safari Camp.
Bridge over River Khwai - really
View from the bridge
We are welcomed with a lunch which is quite good and then we go to our room to take an outdoor shower and relax a bit before the afternoon+night safari that starts around 3:30PM. We have to be in the common area by 3 though in order to eat again (tea break) and order drinks for the safari break before leaving on the safari.
Our welcome lunch
Our cabin - last one in the row
Huge bed
The bathroom (with an outdoor shower)
This is our first organized land safari in Botswana ad while it starts on the main road we soon turn off towards the Khwai river. We have to stay on one side which is the community side while on the other side is the national park that we just exited earlier in the day. Soon we see our first animals and birds including a nice saddle billed stork.
Starting the guided safari - the local village
Driving close to the river
Saddle billed stork
Huge crocodile nearby
However the highlight of the beginning of the safari are the hippopotamuses that are both on land and in water and that we stop for some time to study. The ones on land saunter lazily towards the water while being cleaned by oxpeckers while the water ones are just sitting there showing us their impressive teeth from time to time in an intimidation display.
Entering the water
Oxpecker cleaning hippo
So tranquil
Ok..maybe not really
There are also lots of crocodiles that are quite adept at camouflaging themselves as well as multiple colorful birds like bee-eaters and lilac breasted rollers which are both very beautiful and we study them for some time before moving on.
There is a crocodile here somewhere
Close up of crocodile
Lilac breasted roller
Little bee eater - posing for us
Being Botswana besides mongooses, red lechwes and impalas you are almost guaranteed an elephant sighting and soon we see our first of the safari wandering in the distance.
Getting inland and there is a mongoose here...somewhere
Slender mongoose eating a lizard
Lonely bull elephant
Male red lechwe relaxing
While he is the first he is not the only one of course. Soon we find a full herd drinking and enjoying the water at a shallow water hole. THe whole family is quite boisterous with the kids especially being kids while trying to learn how to drink most efficiently.
Another two elephants - one eating
Coming towards us
Waterholes are popular in the evening
There is even a little one
There are lots of different antelopes around with the tsessebe and the kudu being the most interesting for us between the many impalas and lechwes. With all the sightings we (including the guide) lose sense of time and suddenly we are in a hurry to find a place for our sunset stop. We are, it seems, the last car to arrive in the chosen area which is quite beautiful with a great sunset that we enjoy with our drinks before starting our night drive.
Tsessebe in the distance
Kudu at sunset
Sunset over the marshlands
Beautiful sunset
The night drive part is much shorter however it is also quite interesting. Almost as soon as we leave the sunset spot we see quite a few animals including a couple badgers who deftly avoid the light beam and most of our pictures and some small antelopes called dik dik. By far the most interesting sighting however is that of a hyena near one of their dens where we stop for some time to study it. It really does not seem bothered by the lights and the guide tells as that they den here already for quite some time and are really used to people which is certainly true as soon she even goes and takes a few of the pups from the den to play with them and feed them. The night ends with a couple more interesting sightings, a verreaux eagle owl and a wild cat that is much too fast for us to take a picture off.
We arrive tired back at the accomodations but it is dinner time which uses a ritual that we haven't seen before but seems to be used by all the lodges here. The manager introduces the team that will serve us then the cook tells us what he has prepared and then we go and get served and the dinner bar. Here we have an interesting discussion with some fellow travellers from France who are doing travel research of the different lodges and that tell us how difficult the road to Savuti is that we are going to tackle the next day. However their guide is offering to help us a bit with a quick course on what to use and we accept that for next day mostly because our car is stuck in 4WD and we do not know how to take it out of it. After dinner we go back to our room and are soon asleep even though the temperatures are quite cold at night (it is winter in Botswana). What helps here and in almost all our future lodge accomodations at night is the hot water bottle provided for the legs - this is the first time we have seen and used them but now we are sold on them as they were really useful.
Today we have a 100km drive ahead of us through what we understand is harsh terrain to Savuti in the middle of Chobe National Park. However before leaving we still intend to do one more safari drive with our lodge in the morning. This is possible as the morning drives are always starting at about 6:30AM with sunrise and end about 10-11 so we think we will have enough time to drive to Savuti afterwards. We receive a wake up call at 6AM and walk to the common area where the breakfast is served rustically directly for a central fire. We eat a few blackened slices of bread with salami and cheese and drink our hot tea/coffeee before everyone decides that it is time to go on the safari.
Our cottage in the morning
It is morning so we are allowed to walk
Breakfast in the morning before the safari
Heating the water for the tea
This drive starts with a highlight as we turn off the main road to a wild dog den complete with multiple wild dogs some of which just returned from a kill and are bloody. As usual in this area they are not scared of the cars and we can easily observe for some time before moving on.
There is a wild dog den here
Walking purposefully
Watching carefully - but not us
Resting a bit
Next we continue into the larger area we visited the day before and soon we observe one of the big five - the buffalo. There is an entire herd which is quite circumspect with us with multiple young bulls watching us carefully.
Buffalo herd
Quite defensive
That doesn't stop them from eating
They even have young ones
Much more friendly or at least not really interested in us are the warthogs which play and run around but mostly just kneel as they try to get to the ground grasses and then walk on their knees which is quite funny to observe for some time.
Warthog family
Coming in - impressive tusks
Praying in a row:)
So difficult to eat
Soon we see our first elephant for the day but there are fewer than in the evening as they are more spread out usually not close to waterholes. What our guide is looking for on all the side roads and elephants paths is some lions. But they are quite evasive today and even though we see interesting birds and quite a few animals the lions are nowhere to be found.
Elephant drinking in the morning - not that usual
African Openbill
Following elephant trails in search of lions
More open area
What we see is a lot of vegetation destruction caused likely by elephants which are quite common here and can be quite destructive as they forage through the sparse vegetation. But the more open areas of course are used a lot by the antelopes so here we see quite a few kudus besides the usual impalas which really are everywhere.
Lots of destruction mainly from elephants
Impalas like the open areas
Lost kudu
Very attentive
AS the time passses our guide is more and more desperate but suddenly he gets a radio message that a lion has been sighted and the chase is on. He passes through a river goes off track in the desert drives back and forth but still no lions. Just as he gets discouraged again suddenly something crosses the road and there it is - our first lion in the wild. There are actually three lions two female and one younger male who limps on one of the legs.
Where are the lions?
Yay - found one
Or maybe three
Getting closer
Our safari vehicle follows the lions who saunter lazily for some time before trying a halfhearted hunt of impalas which ends before it really begins as they are spotted.
Young male lion - lame on one foot
One of the two females
On the move - stalking impalas
Taking an interest in us
The lions pass quite close to us multiple times but usually they do not even glance at us but just continue on their way - very likely to a quieter lounging spot. Or at least I would like a quieter spot in their place as now there are almost five safari vehicles following them through the bush and so our guide and us decide we had enough and move on.
No zoom needed
Walking right past our car
Rush hour in the bush = rare sighting
You can get even closer
We stop a bit farther for a tea break and then it is time to return to the lodge. On the way we see a colony of mongooses leaving in a termite mound and an injured snake on the road likely driven over by another vehicle but it is difficult to top the experience of seeing the lions and soon we are back at the lodge.
Dwarf mongoose colony home
Injured snake on the road
Another one of the typical bridges
And a typical house
At the lodge we meet with the private driver/guide of the French couple we have spoken the previous day at dinner and he shows us how move the car from 4WD to 2WD and also gives us some road condition information for our drive to Savuti. There are two possible routes - the Sandridge route which is more sandy and the Marsh Road which is more bumpy. He recommends the Sandridge route but given our previous experience with sand somehow we feel more comfortable with the Marsh route so we delay the decision until we get to the park gate. And then it is time to leave this nice lodge for our adventure drive to Savuti - first through the small village and then on a large dirt road that leads almost to the gate.
Last look at cottages before leaving
Set lunch table - no time for us though
Termite hill near homes..
....used for bricks it seeems
We are sure we know the way but obviously we don't as we get lost right after exiting the village and wander on small track trying to find the main road between the many roads depicted on our GPS before finally stumbling on the desired road. The large, dusty and relatively new bypass road is surprisingly good also for animal viewing given that it is not near water as the initial road was. We see both giraffes and zebras besides the usual impalas and a nice korhan that even stops to let us take a photo which is quite rare as they usually just jump in the bushes before we take our camera out.
Red crested korhaan on the road
And zebras are crossing also
Not really interested in us
Finally a sign of interest
Herd of giraffes
Eating peacefully
Close to Chobe National Park we veer off the large road and start on the one lane sandy track leading into the park. After a few minutes we arrive at what it seems is the usual impressive entrance gate where we pay our fees and ask again about the state of the Sandridge and Marsh Roads. The ranger really has no preference - both of them are in a good state (for our car he adds) so we decide to go the less sandy one, the Marsh Road. The road is very scenic with us passing basically through dry marshland with reeds on the side on our one car wide track. In fact our biggest problem is quite at the start when a car in stopped in the track in front of us and there is no obvious way to pass. We stop and find out it is a ranger car that ran out of gas. He motions we should overtake him which means we have to enter with our car through the reeds that grow on the side of the road - lots of fun in our truck :). The road goes by fast with quite a few animals along the way, zebras, giraffes, wildbeests and a few elephants.
Mababe Gate - Chobe National Park
Road is quite good
Umbrella acacia (with elephant)
Zebras in Chobe
Too tall for the vegetation
Alert wildebeest/gnu
As we approach Savuti we find our first stretch area - a place where you can exit the car which is prohibited otherwise. There is nothing distinguishing this place though compared to all the other places where you could have exited the car - there is no fence or any developed facility. There are even a few elephants that appear suddenly relatively close - even now we are surprised how well they can hide and how silently they move. So we leave but before Savuti we still intend to see one more attraction - the Bushman paintings on some nearby rocks.
Stretch area
With quite a few elephants
Open road
Giraffes are quite common
Ostriches surprisingly less so
Very common hornbill
Before the rock art we stop at another stretch point, this one near a massive baobab which is quite enjoyable until the organized tours show up and it becomes quite crowded and we move on to the nearby rock art. There is no one here so we start the short climb down the rocky incline to the rock face while keeping a lookout for leopards who might be using the same rocks as far as we know. When we arrive we cannot find the rock art for quite some time and only after a lot of climbing and looking around we find the small area of rock art.
Lonely baobab
Close up of baobab
Rock paintings - you can go if you dare
We did and survived:)
From here we intend to drive directly to the entrance gate as it is getting late however soon we have to stop again as we notice a big bird walking in the tall grass. We don't know what it is and can snap only a few pictures before it disappears so we are happy that at the main gate there is a big poster with a kori bustard that we immediately recognize as our bird. We check in at the main gate with no problems afterwards and then proceed on the sandy roads to our campsite.
Our first kori bustard
A closer look
The campsite is not as nice as the one in Xakanaxa with deep sand and less privacy but as it is quite large we find a spot to park our car for the night and set our tent up. We also have to go to the ablution block before sunset as it is forbidden afterward without a car which we cannot do of course. After that we set up our dinner using the provisions that we bought from Maun while keeping a lookout for baboons which are supposedly quite aggresive here but we never see any.
Entrance into camping plot
Quite a sandy site
Ablution block
Ready for dinner
What we see are elephants in the neighboring campsite however they do not cross over to us and also a nice sunset while we enjoy our dinner. After that we pack everything up safely and climb into the safety of our car top tent for the night.
The night is less eventful than the last time we have slept in the roof top tent - there are no hippos or other large animals near our car during the night and the only interesting sound we hear is the roar of lions at night. Also it is less cold than when we slept in the lodge tent the previous night which we find quite interesting. We wake up as last time quite early due to the early morning noise of birds that are everywhere in the trees around us. First trip is to the bathroom and we notice that elephants actually past through the campground just not close to us. Returning we prepare breakfast under the watchful eyes of the hornbill and spurfowl and eat leisurely. The reason that we are not in a hurry is that our next accomodations is Savuti Camp, the lodge which is located right in the campground. The reason behind this is that Savuti is quite a busy area and we didn't find a spot in the campground for 2 nights and therefore had to find something else and this was the least expensive lodging. In fact Botswana especially in the parks can be very expensive with campground spots costing like a hotel room back home and lodgings going sometimes for exorbitant prices.
Morning after another camping night
We had elephant visitors nearby
Hornbill watching our breakfast from above
Red billed spurfowl from below
Finally after packing the tent and the car we decide that it is late enough in the morning to check in around 10AM and walk to the check in counter to their total surprise - "How did you arrive here?", "By car", "Where is the car?","In our camping spot" - but after understanding the situation they tell us to bring the car in so we can check in. We do that and almost get stuck in the deep sand inside the lodge parking lot which is the deepest sand we have seen during our trip. In fact even the guide in one of the days barely made it out so it isn't only our inexperience which is causing problems. We go then to the common area and find out that we are the only guests for the night with the previous ones leaving in the afternoon via a plane. We complete all the different paperwork and then go to see our tent.
Circular road around camping
Entrance to the tented camp
Main area of tented camp with safari vehicle
View from veranda
The tent is quite large and is more a cabin with tent like walls. It also has an annex with the bathroom and the tub and also an outdoor shower. We take a bath before resting a bit as we expect soon to be called for lunch and then to leave on the organized safari at around 2 PM.
Our "tent"
Quite luxurious inside
Ensuite toilet
And even a whirlpool
The lunch is buffet style and with only us eating it is quite fast as we can choose what we want under the watchful eyes of the servers. The food as usual is quite good and we are soon ready for the safari. However just as we are ready to leave we find out that we are leaving 1/2h later and that we are going to lose part of the safari as our guide (not a different car as initially promised) will take the other tourists to the airport to their plane.
Lunch table for all guests = us
Buffet type lunch
The road to the airport is the one we are going to use the next day as we leave towards Kasane and it is quite sandy - we even see a trailer abandoned in the sand. There are lots of animals however we don't really stop as this is not a safari drive and we have to get to the airport - in our opinion we could have left earlier and stopped a few times along the way but it was not structured this way unfortunately. At the airport we race along the side of the airport to scare any stray animals and birds that might impact the small airplane as it descends to leave and take tourists that are not self driving.
Driving to the airport
Not everyone makes it out of the snd
Another kori bustard
And a giraffe on the way
The plane that we are waiting for
Lonely bull elephant
After the airport the pace is less hectic and the guide does his best to find animals in the relatively few hours left. First we find some of the ubiquitous elephants that cross with purpose on a trail in front of our road. One that feels our guide has gotten a bit too close makes his displeasure known with a small mock charge and the guide moves to car back a bit for safety.
Looks like an army on the march
They are crossing the road decisevely
Does not like how close we are
Straggler baby
Other animals like giraffes are also keenly aware of us but much less threating. Mostly they are concerned by eating and taking care of their young charge which seems almost covered in oxpeckers. Nearby a pack of jackals is playing around but given that they are no danger they are completely ignored by the giraffes.
The twin towers
Young giraffe full of oxpeckers
Really really full
Jackals in the distance
As our guide is looking for both leopards and lions what we find at the waterholes are mostly elephants and lots of them just enjoying the late afternoon while taking over the waterholes almost completely.
Evening gathering at the waterhole
Lots of scrambling for position
As our guide is driving towards the rock art we have visited the day before we see that multiple safari cars are stopped in one place which usually means one thing - there is a rare animal around. Our guide maneuvers the best he can and even though we can see the rock ledge that everyone is looking at we do not see what they are looking at. The guide spots the leopard first and then he helps us notice it and then after further maneuvering we get close enough to see the leopard cub hanging around in wait of his mother. He is quite cute and we spend some time here before moving on the give a chance also for other safari groups.
There is a leopard on that rock
There he is
Getting bored of all this photo taking
Let me hide my head at least
We are happy to see even one leopard but to our surprise quite soon we see another group of cars stopped and they are looking at another leopard, this one in the grass and quite more difficult to see than the one on the rocks.
Another barely visible leopard
Close up of leopard
Afterwards we return and stop at the baobab tree where we stopped also the day before for a great view of the sunset (and drinks). We talk with the guide a bit about the economic situation in Botswana and he complains about the draught that has hit the region this year (and this is a common complaint both here and in Zimbabwe) and also a bit about our countries in general before starting the drive back to the lodge.
Sunset stop
Very beautiful
On the short way back the guide points out in a tree the hide of a impala that was carried there by a leopard which we think is quite interesting and a fitting end of a safari with this many leopard sightings. At the lodge we rest a bit before the guide comes to take us to dinner which is quite good before we retire for the night to our cold beds and hot waterbottles.
We wake up very early in the morning as it is usual in the organized safari lodges, around 6 AM in the cold (it is still bitterly cold at night with no heating) before sunrise. We finish packing as we have to leave right after we return from the safari drive, in fact we request to return a bit early so we can make it to the exit park gate in time at 11 (same problem as before) and given that we are the only people in the camp we are sure that this won't be a problem and they already confirmed they can do it. However at breakfast we find out that they will add 2 more people from the campsite to the safari tour but they confirm again there is no problem to return us one hour before the safari end to the lodge. The start of the safari is quite cold as we drive in an open car at relatively high speeds to pick up the other two people before starting the actual safari. We see the sun rise beautifully over the savannah as the guide starts to search for the animals that are not really cooperating this early in the morning in the cold.
Breakfast buffet
Waking before sunrise - not unusual for us here
Sunrise on safari
Sun is up - still very very cold
In fact this whole morning safari is particularly unproductive regarding animals besides a few elephants and some birds we cannot find anything even though the guide does a valiant effort. We see a few landscape features including the famous Savuti channel which is not flowing at the moment and a whole field of elephant holes done while they clean themselves in the mud (with no elephants nearby).
Elephant holes in the pans
The Savuti Channel - dry this time
Pack of guinea fowl
Parrot type bird
Elephant working at a tree
Not happy to see us
We check out fast and then we have our stressful moment for the day - we have to take our car out of the deep sand in the parking lot and onto the better main track outside. We decide to go in low 4WD and luckily the truck pushes through but it struggles a bit especially as we have to go backwards first to exit the parking lot and then forward toward the main road. We also receive some food for the road that we eat at the next stretch area surrounded by multiple impalas which do not seem that scared by us. The road is quite sandy in the beginning but then for stretches is wide or packed dirt which is even worse somehow as it is very bumpy.
Impala herd passing by us
One of the stragglers
Road is quite sandy in the beginning
But then it becomes better
Quite large at some points
Baobab forest - first time we see one
Around 11 and a bit we arrive at the huge Ghoha gate and after checking out we have to choose between the more direct and more sandy road and the more circuitous and less sandy road. We decide to go the less sandy route also on the recommendation of the park ranger which is a good choice as in the end we arrive at the paved road before a group of cars that started on the more sandy road. This part of the drive is a bit more unusual as we are not in a national park anymore and are allowed to get out of the car which we do twice even though we do not stray far from the car. In fact once we stop only for a few minutes to examine an abandoned grader next to our sandy track which is a reminder that everything can get stuck here under the right conditions.
Ghoha gate
Go left or forward - we chose left
Really sandy road
Abandoned grader
Ar about 1 pm we arrive finally in Kachikau, the first major village after a few days in the wilderness, and the point from where the pavement starts again. It feels really weird to suddenly drive at high speeds on the pavement but we still have to be careful as the road is clearly used also by elephants due to the dung that we see along the way. Around halfway to Kasane, the major city in the area and our destination, we have to decide whether we want to go the riverfront route which is sandy but passes next to the river to see lots of wildlife or go the paved inland route and try to reach our accomodation early enough that we can catch a boat and do the river area from the water. We decide that we had enough of sand for a time so we speed toward Kasane so we can hopefully catch the boat tour.
Pavement - after so many days of dirt roads
View of Okawango Delta from paved road
We arrive about 10 minutes before 3 pm and find out that the boat leaves at 3 pm so we check in in a hurry go to the room to leave our stuff and then we check in into the boat tour at the restaurant where as usual we can order drinks and as usual we don't:).
Our room in Kasane
Nice painting
Soon we are led to the pontoon and we are on our way - this time the boat is full and is quite small and feels really tiny on the huge Chobe River and compared to some of the other boats that we see around. However that also works in our favor as it is more maneuverable and also can reach places that deeper boats cannot reach. We are passing Kasane relatively fast with a few birds here and there and soon we are at the water entrance to the Chobe National Park - quite an interesting and unexpected setup as we didn't expect any checks while on the river.
Chobe River - quite large
Leaving Kasane
Cormorant relaxing before next catch
River entrance station for Chobe National Park
While we wait for our guide to handle the formalities we can enjoy the wildlife including one of Kasane's famous warhogs that roam the town streets but is here in a more natural habitat and a couple fish eagles. In fact fish eagles are very common as we notice as soon as we enter the national park and quite soon we see also our first elephants in the distance enjoying the abundant grass.
Warthog near the entrance station
Fish eagles surveying the area
Elephants in the distance
Cleaning the grass before eating
We are of course not the only boat on the river but the most interesting one is a boat full of long range photographers that always stops in weird places but is good to follow as they are also interested in animals and birds it seems. They once lead us to an iridiscent lizard which is quite huge while sitting on a tree limb on the edge of the water. There are of course many birds also on the waters edge with the kingfishers being the most interesting ones besides the lapwings. There are also of course crocodiles but they usually just sit motionless without caring much about us (it seems that way at least).
Looking at something
It is a lizard
Pied kingfisher
White crowned lapwing
Beautiful marshland
Crcodile on the river edge
Soon afterwards we notice a procession of kudus down the riverbank and we follow them as they come near the water to lick salt from the pans and then to the water's edge to drink some water very cautiously.
Kudu coming to drink
Eating salt near the river's edge
Master of his domain
Drinking some water
As we continue down the river the next stop is for a lone buffalo that has a wound that our guide says was likely done by lions. However he survived and doesn't seem to be in good spirits so we give him a good berth - buffalo can be very very dangerous especially older bulls.
Lonely buffalo near the river
He is hurt likely from a lion
Hippo in the distance
Also a healthy buffalo
There are quite a few hippopotami in the area that really enjoy the water and are eating all around our boat after we enter a marshy area and we stand still trying to capture the perfect photo. They really do not care at all about the boat but an egret passing nearby gets the full attention of the whole pod which is quite funny.
Looking at us
Eating all the time
Yawning as an aggression display
How does it dare to fly next to me?
As we continue down the river there is a bonanza of birds and the boat stops quite frequently so we can enjoy them. We see almost every water bird we can think off from egrets to ducks to storks to herons.
Careful ibis
Good reason to be careful
Egyptian goose
Heron with Namibia in the background
But the biggest spectacle of the evening are the elephants, they are everywhere in the area. Especially interesting is a group of three young bull elephants that come near the water and hesitate for some time before entering it.
Elephants quite far away
The three musketeers
Walking on the water's edge
Finally in the water
They not only enter it but after a few minutes of playing around in the water they take an interest in the boats looking at them especially ours. They come quite close to examine them which makes for a lot of good pictures but also a bit of stress - the elephants are quite huge after all.
Taking an interest in us
Getting closer
Way to close
This is how close they are getting to the boats
They get bored quickly of investigating the boats and go back to sparring between them and so our guide decides it is time for our drinks break and we stop for a few minutes until everyone has a chance to drink their wine/beer.
Ready?
Friendly tussle
Everyone is stopping for a break
Our "bar"
While everyone is drinking suddenly the elephants decide it is time to cross over to the island in the middle (which was part of a border dispute between Botswana and Namibia for years). We are surprised how good of a swimmers the elephants are they play around even in deep water and if serious they really look like submarine with only the periscope (trunk) over the water.
Starting the crossing
Uh oh is he ok?
You can barely see them
Similar to whales it seems
They cannot stop fighting even in the water
Winning and hopefully not drowning the other one
After reaching the island they go inland and we lose track of them as we go around the island and start returning towards Kasane. However to our surprise we find them on the other side of the island playing around in the mud which is quite cute and makes for some great pictures.
Finishing the crossing of the island
Another battle
They seem dead
Nah...just very relaxed
It even seems that they like to make poses for the cameras but as it gets later and later they decide that it is time to go and after a finishing dirt shower they go back inland for the night.
Such a weird pose
Enjoying the mud
Looks like a little thundercloud
Dust against the parasites
As the sun sets our boat speeds back towards Kasane as it needs to exit the national park before sunset. We barely make it and then continue at a slower pace back to the dock after three hours on the water. In the evening we decide to eat from our provisions as we are not sure what we can take over the border the next day - yes it is time for our entry into Zimbabwe after some beautiful days in Botswana.
After a good night sleep we are awaken by the nearby onsite restaurant that starts to serve breakfast quite early. Soon we are also outside to eat and then it is time to leave Kasane and Botswana as today we are going to cross over into Zimbabwe and drive to Hwange National Park. Before leaving the hotel though we splurge a part of our pula on some souvenirs.
Our room - noisy when restaurant is open
The pool - that we didn't use
Typical full English breakfast
And a more simplistic one
The rest of the pula we spend at the pump - it is time to fill up our car before another long drive without gas. We still have a little below 1/4 of the tank full so overall we were never really in any big danger of being out of gas but still the two full cans gave us more confidence that we can make it. And then we are out of the bustling city of Kasane and into the wilderness as we drive towards the Pandamatenga border post passing monkeys and antelopes at 100 km/h which given the braking distance of our car is a bit stressful.
Kasane downtown
Baboons on the road - you have to be careful
We are going towards Pandamatenga Border Post a really small border post as the major ones are clogged and it also leads more or less directly into Hwange without any paved roads and roadblocks that we plan to avoid as much as possible. The border crossing takes 10 minutes on the Botswana side and 1:30h on the Zimbabwe side with a lot of formalities (including asking us how much our rental car sells for ?!) that luckily are completed correctly as we have no issue with the car import papers on the subsequent roadblocks. In fact we lost a lot of time waiting for the customs guy who never came and in the end someone else looked in our car and let us in. The road is empty, in fact we looked in the border post ledger and we were the first car of the day and the day before no cars have passed through! Given this the dirt road is well maintained and except a few vultures also surprisingly game free.
Road after Zimbabwe border
Glad it is not our bridge
Road kill near the road
Vulture waiting patiently for us to pass
For a while we travel toward the National Park on the dusty bumpy road where with our luck we are stuck behind the only car in the area. In fact that car is rented by the same company as our car and arrived at the border in Pandamatenga a bit after us but was processed a bit faster and exited with us so we left it in front and now we regret it. We talked a bit with the German couple while we were doing the paperwork and we know that they are going to go camping which we decided not to do in this park but rather stay at lodges.
At the entrance in the National Park in Nantwich the person is quite happy to see a car and wants to talk extensively but we don't have that much time and have to leave soon after signing in the car. The payment for the entrance is at the next major government campsite close by, Robins Camp. Here we encounter our first stress of the Zimbabwe part of the trip - even though it is 1 PM and it takes about 2 hours to arrive at our lodging she says that she is not supposed to let us drive farther as it is too late already (we are not supposed to be outside after sunset). But she soon relents as long as we drive straight through - this makes the next part of the trip a bit stressful unncessarily so as at the lodge nobody hurt about this rule.
Open road and quite bumpy
The only other car on the road - and it is in front of us
Entering Hwange National Park
Typical sign - which way
Even with this in mind we have to stop at Masuma Dam on the way - it is right next to the road and we need to use the facilities. As we are outside the car anyway we go to the observation deck which overlooks a nice waterhole and search for animals for a short while - there are both hippos and a few birds but nothing really outside of the ordinary.
Entering Masuma Dam picnic site
Masuma Dam observation deck
The artificial waterhole - enjoyed by hippos
Close up of the hippos
From here we mostly sightsee from the road with zebras and kudus being the most common of the animals we see. We also pass Shumba Hide where we see lots of elephants in the distance and which we were looking forward to as from here supposedly the road turn to tar from dirt. And it does but unfortunately it is worse as the pavement is pretty much gone in places with lots of potholes and the paved strip is very narrow with no way to pass the bad spots. We also have a fun encounter with an elephant on the road that we approach slowly until he moves away and after that the only thing remaining is the turnoff towards our lodge which we find relatively easy and soon we are there as the only tourists seemingly for the night.
Elephants far in the bush
And many closer up near a waterhole
Zebra going to water
Lost kudu
Paved road - really?
Barely paved - quite bad really
We are welcomed warmly with a late lunch which is very welcome as we explore the very nicely decorated communal area and bar and talk with our hosts for a while regarding our experiences in Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Welcome butter at Nehimba
Late lunch
Common area with elephants in front
Nook in common area
However the most impressive thing are the elephants that come to the nearby waterhole and then start drinking from the pool right next to the communal area. You can get quite close to them and we do for a few photos and it is quite a scary and exhilarating thing before we retreat to the relative safety of the lodge.
Elephants at the pool
Getting closer
There is an order to the drinking
He won
Because of the elephants we are led by the guide to our cabin which is the closest to the communal area and get a short tour of the different facilities including the call button for the guides to pick us and a Nespresso machine. Most impressive however is the veranda with a nice view of the waterhole and the animals that are coming to drink from it.
Our bed - quite luxurious
The bathroom
Our veranda - very nice
View from veranda
Zebra at waterhole
And a few kudus
We still plan to do something in the evening and finally convince the guide to take us on a guided walking tour around the lodge. He is well prepared and obviously knowledgeable as we start to walk towards another nearby waterhole. He lets us know what hand signals he will use if he sees elephants and what to do and it is quite nice to finally be walking again instead of being cooped up in the car.
Starting on the evening walk
The waterhole along the walk
Should we feel safe?
Watching the elephants
The hand signals are quite handy:) as we arrive at the waterhole and we see both elephants already drinking and some coming in. The guide is quite careful to keep us upwind and we move back and forth accordingly - it is thrilling to be so close to an elephant on foot and you get a better appreciation how big and impressive they are.
Common sign of elephants
Elephants in the distance
Passing near us - exciting
Don't really care about us
However it is getting late and soon we have to return and we even get a ride back to the camp from the guide's wife who arrives with the car just as we start our walk back after enjoying the beautiful sunset.
Sunset - time to return
Sunset in Hwange
In the evening we eat dinner and as one of us has a breakfast we even have a surprise birthday cake - very nice of them! The food is good and we enjoy our time with the hosts and one additional tourist family that arrived via transfer from another lodge after us.
Dinner - looks good
Birthday celebration
Again even in the darkness the elephants are coming to the waterhole quite often and we stay a while enjoying their antics before retiring for the night.
Today unfortunately we have to move on - we would have liked an additional day here but it is what it is so we wake up early in the morning as we have arranged a morning walk before breakfast and our leaving the lodge. We spend the time before walk on the veranda enjoying the animals and birds that are coming and going at the waterhole.
Impala in the distance
Teals on the waterhole
Go away bird
Lilac breasted roller
Given that there are no elephants nearby we are allowed to walk outside to the main common area which we do in order to wait for the guide to start the walk. As the day before it is a private walk as the other tourists don't like walking (or don't like walking in a park with active lions who knows :)).
Our cabin from the outside
There is a distance between cabins
Path to common area
Not yet time for breakfast - first a walk
Today we start in a different direction on the elephants paths that come towards the waterhole. They start quite large with lots of turds that we have to avoid but then peter out as we get farther and farther out. As our guide explains this is due to the fact that all elephants come from different directions where they feed and then congregate at the waterhole. He points to us different plants and features one of the most interesting being the devil's thorn a plant that can attach itself to larger animals including elephants in order to catch a ride to a different location.
Leaving the civilized area behind
Passing near an empty waterhole
Starting on an elephant trail
Lots of these to avoid
Elephant antiparasite station
Devil's thorn - very devilish:)
Given the multitude of elephants we are not that surprised to also find some skeletons - the first we find is a skull that is quite heavy even though the guide insists it is light (might be for him:)). We are surprised at the missing tusks and ask whether it was poaching and we find out that all tusks are actually sawed off by the National Park in order to deter poachers which is why no elephant skeletons have tusks. We also do a little stalking of a zebra but we are very poor stalkers and she soon notices us and bounds away.
Find on the way
The tusks are collected by the park
Can you spot the zebra?
Closest we got
The guide is looking everywhere for interesting things to see however unfortunately it is a quiet morning and the most interesting thing he can find is a pair of impala horns from an impala that was eaten by a leopard some time ago. It is quite scenic though and it is great to be able to walk a bit through the savannah without the sound of the car overshadowing everything.
Guide searching for interesting things
This looks interesting - impala horns
Smaller elephant trail
No trail
Some areas are very scenic
Where is the guide? We are doomed...
As we return we find an even bigger cache of elephant bones which are quite impressive - it is difficult to get an impression how big an elephant is but just seeing that the a leg bone is as big as yourself drives that point home quite effectively. As we get closer to the waterhole the guide even finds a few shards of ivory left from the elephant bulls fighting close to the water, it really doesn't look that impressive from close up.
Lots of bones - must be an elephant
The skull is farther in the distance
Ivory near the trail
Another small piece of ivory
The deserted waterhole looks otherworldly with the tracks of the elephants seemingly tracks from dinosaurs from another time. We spend a short while here before returning to the common area for breakfast and then it is time to go back to pack and leave.
Arriving back at camp
Elephant tracks into the waterhole
Breakfast one way
And a different way
Before leaving we enjoy another short stay on the veranda seeing a few more impalas and even more interesting birds before being ready to leave towards the Hide which is also in Hwange but on the other end of the park.
One last time on the veranda
A few impalas
Beautiful bird
Another very colorful bird
We return to the paved road and today we have time to stop at all waterholes that are signposted on the road. The first one has a good dirt road up to it and the water pump seems to be working but there are no animals which is a bit surprising.
Back to the paved road
Side trip to a waterhole
Waterhole with no wildlife
Solar pump for the artificial waterhole
The second one has a much worse road to it but there are at least a few impalas and warthogs as well as a birds including an eagle that is eyeing as suspiciously. We stay here a while before returning to the main road to continue to the next waterhole which is more interesting as it supposedly has even a platform to watch for wildlife.
Road to another waterhole - quite bad
Glad there are no other cars around
Waterhole with limited water
Eagle waiting for prey
Alert warthog
We are in this direction - we are the danger:)
The platform is still there and stable and while the restrooms don't have doors they are still functional and with no one around are basically usable if you ignore the lizards and the ants:). We climb up the stairs to the platform where we are happy to observe that someone even put a few benches so we sit down and take in the view.
Guavalala platform and pan
Not very private restroom
Visiting the restroom
On the way up
The first thing we observe are the hippos sleeping at the side of the waterhole. First we think that they might be sick or dead even but as we watch they wake up and enter into the water one by one so definitely they are alive:).
View from above - a few hippos
Our car from the top
Maybe we should move
Into the water
There are also zebras in the distance which are quite calm and do not care about us so we observe them for a while before returning to the car and moving on towards the next waterhole.
Animals in the distance
Zebras actually
One is alert
This one is calm
Between the two waterholes we see more animals as we have seen until now with impalas being the majority of them and a few ostriches and other birds also thrown in.
Many impalas in the shade
Again not interested in us
A rare ostrich
Grackle looking at us
The next waterhole Nyamandlovu is in better shape than the previous one and here we are not alone, there is a car with the wild dog foundation in the parking lot looking for wild dogs (they haven't seen any for some time). However while the platform is in better shape the waterhole does not have more animals than the previous one - there are a few warthogs, birds and a crocodile but not even an elephant or a hippo and soon we leave as we try to reach The Hide safely before sunset.
Restroom at Nyamandlovu platform
Gnu in the distance
Warthogs coming in
Finally water...they seem happy
Fish eagle near waterhole
He has to be careful
The road passes through scenic savannah area and sometimes is quite narrow and sometimes it is wide and we enjoy driving it with no other cars around. Especially attractive are the umbrella acacias - they are iconic in our mind for Africa and it is great to see so many of them here.
Road can be quite narrow
But has sections where it is quite large
Umbrella acacia
One of the many termite mounds
The last stop is Makwa Pan which is very scenic with guinea fowl drinking from the water but no other animals on the shore. Still afterwards as we approach the lodge there are more and more including some giraffes and waterbucks - it is the first time we see a waterbuck.
Makwa Pan
Guinea fowl at the water
Waterbuck looking foe water
These birds are everywhere
It is good to be a giraffe
Wildlife at the waterhole right in front of the lodge
We arrive at the Hide just as the afternoon drives are leaving which is fine with us as we already saw lots of animals on the way and want to relax. However we are quite surprised when the hosts are shocked that we arrived so late in their opinion and then tell us that our travel agency told them we will arrive the previous day and they though we are lost and contacted them and they still didn't correct it. We show them our voucher with the correct dates and they are very accomodating but we are lucky that they have an extra free day available for our room as to our surprise this lodge is quite full. The room is very nice with an indoor shower and an outdoor tub where we take our bath as curious antelopes are looking at us - very rustic.
Our cabin
Inside the tent
Outdoor bath
With this view
Of course we also get a tour of the lodge which has many interesting areas including an underground tunnel to "The Hide" which is an underground observation hide of the waterhole - quite cool. The drinks from the minibar are also free and we use this facility extensively.
Main lodge from above
Tunnel to the Hide
Dinner area
Self serve drinking area
We eat dinner which is a very boisterous affair due to a large group of Americans and Australians on safari which exchange very loud and fun stories between them. They are almost at the end of their journey through Zimbabwe and tell horror stories of the road blocks which we will encounter lately while for us that is still in the future and seems scarier by the minute almost. The food is good still served buffet style which takes a long time with this many people. Afterwards we decide to take the night drive - as usual it is quite cold but we see a few monkeys up a radio tower and quite a few spring hares which we never saw during the day and even a few dik diks and an impala so it was an ok experience. After that we are tired and cold so we are grateful for our hot water bottles as we go to bed as tomorrow is a full organized safari day.
Today we have a full day of organized safaris - one in the morning and one in the afternoon with the hope of seeing lions and maybe some cheetahs that have been seen in the area previously. First we eat a good breakfast and then we move on on a full safari vehicle for a change. There are many birds this early morning including a kori bustard and there is even a very placid waterbuck that watches us pass by without even trying to pretend that it cares.
Hornbill resting
Lilac breasted roller
Waterbuck
Kori bustard
Continuing we stop to enjoy a few magpies at the side of the road which are quite vocal and different from the usual magpies we have seen in Europe as well as a few glistening starlings which play around on a termite hill. However more interesting just from a social standpoint is the troop of baboons that we track for a while as they guard the area, feed and take care of their babies - it is quite fun observing them from the distance (and being observed in turn of course).
Magpies
Starlings resting
Baboon troop
This is sooooo boring
we continue to see large birds almost everywhere including an ostrich and a few secretary birds that are a first for us. The driver follows them for a while as they stalk through the bush trying to find lizards and snakes but having no luck during our time observing them. After them we stop at the Kennedy waterhole which is quite deserted except for one lonely elephant bull who seems to enjoy drinking for once in peace.
Ostrich in the distance
Secretary birds hunting
Alone at the waterhole
Seems quite content
Soon afterwards we meet what likely is the rest of the herd (loosely male congregation more likely) - they eat right next to the road and then pass in front of the car. One is even posturing towards the car a bit before calming and moving on but that certainly was an adrenaline rush for us.
Attention of an elephant - not what we wanted
Passing placidly in front of the car
Another one crossing the road
Looking from the other side
There are of course areas with no animals as we move from waterhole to waterhole but even so we enjoy the savannah surrounding us and the late fall colors on the trees - there are some areas where it seems we are going through a forest in the middle of fall in Europe and not in Africa.
Road through the colorful underbrush
It is winter here
Umbrella acacias
The wild dog project car - they had no luck either
But of course we are here to see animals so we are happy to see a few more as we approach the midway point of our drive. There are impalas and another kori bustard which seems to be more common than we expected. Soon we arrive at the Ngweshla Picnic Site which is the point where we take a short restroom break before moving on a bit farther away to have our mid-morning tea.
Lots of impalas
Another kori bustard
Ngweshla Picnic Site
Is it really safe to enter here?
The place chosen is quite wildlife rich and we especially enjoy the hijinks of the zebras that run and play around like they are crazy.
The usual drinks and cookes stop
Gnus close by
Zebras - looking very uninterested
And then they do this
And this
Synchronized jumping
Returning we stop at the same waterhole we stopped before and now there are more elephants here and more fighting but one thing seems certain - they want to also keep the baboons away from the water at least for some time and the baboons cannot really argue with this.
Return road
So nice to see some color in the trees
Elephants at waterhole
And baboons at a safe distance
Back at the lodge we eat a burger and rest a short while before our afternoon drive starts. It starts again with a few interesting birds and then we find another group of elephants that this time even have a little baby that we see for a little while as it tries to run away from us protected by its mother and all its relatives.
Another lilac breasted roller
Beautiful red bird
Baby elephant in the bush
And a giraffe
The guide is really interested to show us a lion especially given that he hasn't seen one for almost a week but he hears them every night but again it doesn't appear to be a good day as we can't find one no matter how hard he tries and no matter how bad of a road he takes. In the end he gives up and we stop for our afternoon tea near a pond with herons and even a few vultures in the distance. As we talk about the lions in the area and especially Cecil the lion which was killed close by by a dentist from the US we suddenly hear a lion roar and our guide suddenly springs into action - he doesn't want to lose this chance to find the lion.
Sandier road
Really sandy road
Savannah with a hidden waterhole
Resident heron
Ducks on artificial waterhole
Something is not like the others
The guide drives like crazy towards the roar but he still can't find the lion and it seems that we are doomed to not find him and just when he tells us that if the lion only would call once more he would find him he roars close by and the guide goes off road directly to him and then we see him. As we find out he is actually Jericho the pride brother of Cecil. After Cecil was killed Jericho was forced to move to a worse area but he is still looking quite well and doesn't seem to be stressed at all by the many people taking pictures of him one after the other.
First lion in Zimbabwe (and last)
Looks a bit bored
Ok maybe he is not - oh he is just yawning?
Lion is Jericho - the pride "brother" of the killed Cecil
He is really really bored of us
Waiting for us to leave to restart his activities (sleeping)
After it gets dark we leave the lion in peace and return to the lodge for dinner which is a more quiet affair than the previous day as we have a private table and then we retire for the night as we are quite tired.
As usual here we wake up early in the morning and enjoy the veranda a bit before breakfast while packing. There are lots of birds early in the morning and even a few giraffes are at the waterhole so we sit a bit outside until we hear the drum call for breakfast.
Our veranda
Veranda view
Huge giraffe at waterhole
Really small bird in bush
Reddish bird hidden in the bush
Go away bird sits proudly on top
Again we have a private breakfast table this time with a view of the waterhole which is great and the food is quite good and we enjoy our last meal here. After that we get the directions to a secret exit from Hwange which will take a lot of time from our drive to Bulawayo get help to put the bags into the newly washed car (thanks to whoever did this from the lodge:)) and are back on our way.
Breakfast table
And the breakfast - no eggs?
Here are the eggs
The food drum
Cabins are scattered at the edge of the waterhole
Gave us a scare
Today we have a long drive ahead of us and it starts with a deserted drive on the secret road into Hwange. The road exits Hwange almost immediately and drives through the forest where Cecil was killed past a few hunting lodges and then a new Chinese solar panel compound before arriving back to a village and to civilization.
Leaving The Hide - are we really going the right way?
This looks more reasonable
Stopped to take a few photos
Not a very popular route
From here we start our long drive to Bulawayo which includes around 10 road blocks in an about 150 km drive. At the road blocks there are two ways they can treat you - either they let you pass or they inspect you hard trying to find any fault with your car. On top of that there are many speed traps and even though we do not speed they try to find something else just to give you a ticket. We escape most of the traps including a long discussion with a speed trap police group that saw us stopping besides a bus that was pulled on the side to let a few people pass towards the bus and not hit them by mistake. They try to convince us that we stopped dangerously in the middle of the road while we try to convince them that otherwise we would have killed a few people which seems rather more dangerous. Finally they let us leave without a ticket but in the end we cannot escape completely scot-free from this gauntlet with the last (of course) roadblock finally finding something that we were not prepared for. They look around the car and finally decide that our fire extinguisher is not of the required size - they show us the book and it seems they are correct as it is supposed to be 0.75 kg but it is only 0.6 kg. Why it would matter we have no idea but we cannot wiggle out and finally pay the $10 fine while he tells us that we should just look at the law to see that he did all is on the up and up.
Bridge to civilization
When there are no roadblocks it is a nice road
This bus almost led to a fine
More dangerous than anything else on the road
The roadblocks end right after entering Bulawayo and if there was a place in need of a police presence or road blocks on our way it is actually Bulawayo. The lights are not working in most cases and if they are working you have to be very careful as the fines are exorbitant, the people are crossing the street everywhere and overall we feel like a big target with our huge SUV so we are happy when we arrive at our accomodation for the day.
It is quite a big mansion used as a B&B and besides us seems to be quite empty for the day. We are happy that at least here our travel agency booked the correct dates at this accomodation as the lady that takes care of the accomodation lets us in and shows us around to our room. Unfortunately there is a blackout so there is no electricity and we discover that for a short while at least not even the water is running in the bathroom but that is fixed fast. It is a roomy room so we stay a bit to relax - we have no plans for the reminder of the day except to catch up with the news and rest a bit. We even have time to research our fine and find out that we were tricked (of course), the regulation that the policeman was referring to does not apply to foreign registered cars like ours. At least after learning this we use this tidbit of information at other checkpoints the following days and we get out of any additional fines for this fabricated reason.
Parking lot at our B&B/hotel in Bulawayo
Front of the mansion
Our room
Nice place to sit at the window
We also explore the building a bit - it feels like we are in an old palace with many mementos lying around including a few ivory carvings. What we find weird is that the top floor where we stay can be locked from the stairs so nobody can come (or exit?) which is unusual in our opinion.
Our hallway is quite protected - not sure why
The bar
This looks real
Nice collection
We also wander around a bit in the garden which is surronded by a big fence and was likely quite beautiful in its heyday but now it is a bit less maintained. Still it is a fun place with a couple dogs of the owner just running around and enjoying the free air. We also talk a bit with the owner which shows us his collection of baby turtles that he buys from street vendors in order to save them from being eaten by the Chinese workers who consider them a delicacy. After that we eat dinner from our provisions before watching TV (the electricity is back on as it gets dark) and then going to sleep.
We wake up relatively early in the morning to go to breakfast - it smells great from downstairs and the kitchen is quite busy so after giving our orders we walk a bit more around the mansion admiring the different collections. We are the only paying guests (the owner has some family over also as guests) and as such eat in the dining room alone which is nice. The food is served quite promptly and is quite good and after that we are ready to start the day.
Today we have a big decision to make - in the morning we will visit the Natural History Museum in Bulawayo but then we have 2 choices. We can continue on to Great Zimbabwe Ruins about 300 km away, sleep there and then return to Matobo in the Bulawayo area which was our original plan or go directly to Matobo which is close to Bulawayo and save us 600 km of driving through roadblocks. After talking in through we decide we had enough of roadblocks and decide to change our plan and extend our stay in Matobo by one day which they confirm is posible.
Breakfast table
Impressive ceramics collection
Sunny side up eggs
And an omelette
With that sorted out we take a short walk from the accomodation to the museum which is about 500m away (about 3 street blocks). The street is lined with old grand mansions likely owned by rich white people before Zimbabwe's revolution and many of them are not that well maintained since then. There are few passerbys in this area which is good because we are it feels the only white tourists in town which can be a bit intimidating.
The Natural History Museum is Zimbabwe's largest and for some reason doesn't allow any photos so we didn't take any during our visit. It is a circular museum spread over two floors with the lower floor habing a large exhibit showing different minerals from Zimbabwe including the recreation of a mine that you walk through and in the center a few live reptiles and spiders. On the upper level there is section tracing the history of Zimbabwe that hasn't been really retouched since the revolution and another section showing the mammals and birds of Zimbabwe. We spend about two hours in the museum before returning to the accomodation where we face another problem created by our travel agency.
This time it seems they forgot to pay - the hotel tells us that nothing was payed and even though it was one of the cheaper ones it still makes us a bit mad as the voucher says everything is paid in full. We call the agency and they tell us that they didn't know how to pay(?!?) but in our opinion they should have let us know if that was the case and not tell us everything was paid in full. In the end we pay the bill and get later refunded by the agency - still it doesn't feel that this is something that should be expected given how much money the whole trip cost. And then after another look at the large saved turtles in the garden we are off towards Khami Ruins nearby.
Bulawayo walking
Sidewalk and bicycle lane - quite developed
Small turtle in garden
And a bigger one on the grass
Today we are more prepared regarding how to pass through Bulawayo and we make good time (even with the three roadblocks over the 20 km distance) through the suburbs and then over a dam towards Khami Ruins. The road, well paved in the beginning, decays to single lane and then dirt as we enter the side road towards the ruins but of course it is no problem for our car.
Bulawayo industrial area
Open road - finally
Crossing a dam
View from dam
Khami Ruins National Park is like Great Zimbabwe an Unesco World Heritage Site but it is smaller and less visited which suits as quite well. In fact the people at the reception are quite happy that someone came to visit them - looking at the entry logs it seems they get 2-3 visitor groups per day which is a shame in our opinion as it is worth a visit. it is also very well signposted throughout which is a welcome surprise. After paying the entry fee we visit the small museum before starting on the trail.
Entering Khami Ruins - a World Heritage Site
Livestock is everywhere
Exhibit in small museum
Very useful map
And the trail goes up and up on some stairs which we cannot decide if they are old or relatively recent. Soon we arrive at the first short detour to a granary bin on a small outcrop before continuing on.
Lots of stairs to the fortress
Tree in middle of ruins
There is good signage throughout the site
Grain bin
Just as we are asking ourselves where the ruins are we arrive at the entrance to the main complex which looks more impressive. There is a low wall with intricate brickwork from which a relatively narrow stairway ascends towards the top of the hill which of course we decide to follow.
Impressive wall with boulder
Detail on wall
Entrance - well defended
It is a bit of a climb - but the end is in sight
At the top is a doorway that likely was blocking the access to the king's area in the times past. You can still see the door hinges and there are other interesting stone artifacts in the area that are not explained but possibly are grain processing areas.
Interesting doorway
Door hinge
View back through door
Mysterious stone circle
We are now on top where the king lived and we can see why he liked it here with some great views over the surrounding area. The dam that we passed is also visible as well as a few local houses nearby but otherwise it likely looks as wild as 500 years ago.
View from top
Dam in the distance
We climbed a lot
King's Seat at the top of hill
As we descend a different way we come to another view of the main complex which is quite impressive, it looks like a fairytale castle. It reminds us of the fact that when Europeans discovered these ruins they didn't believe that the locals could have built them (this seems to be quite a common mistake when Europeans discovered remains from older civilizations) and they assumed that it was built by Arabs or Semites or Phoenicians or anyone else but not the natives.
Not that impressive from here
Much more impressive from here
Close up of the wall
Construction detail
There are some clearly more modern creations in the ruins like that of a cross which seems a bit out of place and for whatever reason it actually is covered in small change - it is a bit weird. After that we descend on a slightly different route to a different complex which is also interesting but not as impressive as the main complex.
What is that on the rocks?
This is newer
Smaller ruin
Less detailed wall
On the return hike we stop again at the main complex for a few more pictures before descending towards the picnic area which is occupied by a few monkeys which are completely not interested in us and then we return to the car so we can get to Matobo. During our entire visit there were no other tourists in the ruins which is a shame - hope the tourist industry recovers soon as the area deserves it in our opinion (if they would just take out those damn roadblocks).
Back to the main ruin - impressive
Another view of the detail
What is that in the picnic area?
Relaxed monkey
To reach Matobo National Park we have to drive back through Bulawayo, this time there are less roadblocks for some reason than when we went towards Khami (only 1 that waves as through) and then we have one more on the exit towards Matobo that tries to take money for our "not up to standards" fire extinguisher but this time we are prepared and escape easily and then soon we are at the entrance gate to the National Park.
Road near Khami
Divided highway near Bulawayo
Here we pay our fees and they even apologize for the road blocks (ultimately they suffer much more than we that are here just for a few days). One woman asks us if we want to see the souvenir shop and we do and stay for some time buying quite a few souvenirs for $50. To our surprise the woman starts crying and blessing us and telling us how much the money will help the community - the shop basically sells things created by all the people in one village that was relocated when the National Park opened. Afterwards we continue on to our accomodation which is inside the park on private land and can be accessed on an interesting 6 km side road from the main narrow paved road. The side road is dirt and can be a bit bumpy but it is ok and even passes near some rock art - not something special but still fun to see.
Stopping at a souvenir shop
Inside the shop
Road is very narrow
Rock art on the way
We arrive late in the afternoon at our accomodation and after a lengthy check in where we find out that we do not have Wifi for the majority of our stay (they are over their data plan and have to wait for the new month to start) which is unfortunate as we want to stay in contact with our family we are shown to our cabin. The location is quite spectacular with great view of the nearby hills that are illuminated during the evening which is cool. The room itself is roomy and even has a bathtub but it looks just a bit tired. There are also a couple lizards in the house which is fun for us but might scare other visitors:).
Our room
Sitting area with included lizard
Nice closet
Bathroom
Soon it is time for dinner which is self serve buffet again. This time while the soup is good the main course is not as well done as in other locations but it is edible:) which is the important part. We also talk a bit with the accomodation guide who tries to convince us to take a guided tour but in the end we decide that the next day we will self drive and maybe the following day we will use his services to find more difficult rock art if needed. After that we enjoy the campfire a bit before returning to the room for the night.
As usual we wake up relatively early and walk around through the grounds a bit before arriving at the outdoor breakfast area. The breakfast food is simple but good and it helps us fortify for the long day ahead.
Walking to the common area
Expansive views
Breakfast area
Not yet set up
We start today with one of three trails laid out by the lodge. We choose the one going to an ancient grain bin which starts well marked until at an intersection the sign for our trail is on the ground and we have to guess which way the trail is going. We guess wrong first but then we guess right and continue climbing slowly through the nice forest (with antelopes that we see in the distance) until suddenly the trail points without a doubt up a steep smooth stone incline.
Starting on one of the trails set up by the lodge
Well marked in the beginning
Oops - which way did ours point?
Really? That way?
We discuss for a bit and decide to continue and the climb is not that bad with the reward being a great view of the area including the lodge far below us. Soon after arriving at the top we also find the grain bin in a cave and besides it there are many pottery shards with some being unexpectedly huge - it is a fun and out of the way location and it is great that the lodge took the time to mark the trail to it.We take another look at the view around us before descending back towards the lodge.
The lodge from the top
Getting close to our goal
Old granary
Huge pot shard
Taking a break and enjoying the view
Great (late) fall colors
Before leaving on our more intensive tour of the area with our car we decide to finally fill it up with our back up fuel cans as we don't foresee an issue with fuel the following days and we have to burn them before returning the car. Also this way we won't be as stressed about someone stealing the fuel as we pass through Bulawayo and the other cities. However the process is quite difficult as getting the cans loose and then down the side of the car takes a lot of time and then filling is out very tiring given how heavy the cans are. All the while we are watched by monkeys who wander around us and seem to come closer and closer with each pass - it almost feels like a horror movie for a second but in the end they start fighting each other and the we are spared:). We also make acquintance with the other permanent resident of the lodge - a warthog that was born on the lawn here and since then returns almost daily to eat and relax.
Filling our car - exhausting
While being stalked by monkeys
Returning for a short break to our cabin
Guardian of the area
And then it is time for us to venture into the Matobo National Park proper. It is a bit different from the other national parks here because it has no dangerous animals at least in this section and therefore the local people are allowed to come and collect hay and likely other natural goods too. We have to be very careful on the narrow and winding road so we don't hit someone as the women are always close to the side of the road when cutting and building the hay bales. The finished product looks almost like artwork and we stop a few times to try to take pictures of the stacks of hay.
Closed traditional village on the way
Hay collected by the road
Our first stop is at World's View which is a Unesco World Heritage Site - the whole park actually is one protecting the cave paintings and World's View. Given its history and what it represents we werre ambivalent regarding our to visit it but how many times will we be in the area in the next year:)? And besides the historical significance it also is supposedly a great nature area which we enjoy to visit. This area also requires an additional entrance fee which is a bit unusual but after we pay we stop at the small museum and the start up the trail to the monuments and enjoy the nice views along the way.
Just as a background why this is a slightly controversial site - it is the place where Cecil Rhodes is buried, the man who took over the area that is now Zimbabwe from the local chiefs through war and subterfuge. He has a long and colorful history and is most likely known by most Westerners from the prestigious Rhodes scholarships which created from an establishment left over by Rhodes. So big was his influence that the country was named Rhodesia for a long time until independence when it changed the name to Zimbabwe. When he died he asked to be buried here on the sacred lands of the Matabele people - and here he was buried with great pomp and given a royal salute.
World's View - Unesco Heritage Site
There are still some Rhodesia signs
First view from the short trail
So many boulders
Trail - we have to get to the top
Looking down from top
At the top of the hill are a few impressive boulders covered by colorful lichens which look impressive however our eyes are drawn to a monument in the distance and we start towards it. It is surprising that throughout our visit here we are alone even though this is a major tourist attraction - it seems that Zimbabwe simply is not on tourist itineraries much at this moment.
Getting close
Random huge boulders on top
Detail on the boulder
Colorful lichen
As we get closer we identify the monument as the Shangani Patrol Memorial - a memorial for a column of South Africans invading the Matabeland that were ambushed and killed nearby. As they died during a heroic final battle they were immortalized here at Cecil Rhodes request (after being first interred in Great Zimbabwe of all places). After that we continue searching for Cecil Rhodes grave and find it between the boulders on top - it is a very simple grave with just the name on it, we are not sure if it is by design or done later after independence.
Shangani Memorial in the distance
Close up of the memorial
View from top
Back between the boulders
Rhodes grave
Visitor at grave
After descending and meeting the only other tourists of the day we take the car and drive to Pomongwe one of the protected caves that can be visited - there are supposedly many caves with paintings but only a handful can be visited and we plan to visit a few of them at least as they are the major reason Matobo is a World Heritage Site. Pomongwe actually even has a small museum with a very enthusiastic attendant who describes to us the museum in great detail. The most interesting part are the reproduction of the paintings - some of them are of better quality than the originals which are weathered as we soon learn.
Pomongwe Cave Museum
Reproductions of pictographs in the park caves
Some are quite interesting
And some are clearer than in reality
From the museum it is a small walk to the cave which had a lot of paintings but few are left and even those are quite washed out and difficult to see even in photos. The reason of them being washed out is that they tried a new way to preserve it way back and instead of trying it out on a small part they tried it on the whole cave and...it didn't work out so well. We see a few giraffes, cows, human figures but nothing that exceptional yet.
Time for the cave
This is Pomongwe Cave
Giraffes on the wall cave
Alien type pictograph
Antelope painting
Most paintings here are fainted
Next we drive towards Nswatugi Cave which the guide says it is difficult to get to. In preparation we got directions from the museum attendant at Pomongwe and with our GPS we have no problem following the road near the park headquarters and then dovwn and up (steeply) over a dam and then on the other side on the dirt road to the parking lot. There are quite a few antelopes on the way especially near the dam where there is water and also a camping area that nobody is using.
Can you see the animals?
Here is one:)
Road to Nswatugi
Parking lot for the cave
We are the only car in the dirt parking lot which is not unusual here and after looking around and finding the trail we soon are on our way towards the cave. The trail this time is more strenous with a climb up to a ridge where we find the old road to Nswatugi Cave which is not functional anymore according to our research but there is to our surprise a newly built kiosk with some information regarding the park and the cave that we study before continuing the last few 100 meters to the cave.
Parked and ready
Arrow pointing the way
Cactus on the way
Still a bit to go but on the right track
Explanatory panel
This is the park - eagle shaped
The last part of the trail is quite steep with stairs going up through a small canyon to the cave which is quite impressive even from a distance but from close up it is something else. It is basically a whirlwind of paintings one over the other - everywhere we look there is something interesting painted with the giraffes and the long snakes(?) supporting kudus and many many other animals mixed in.
Nswatugi Cave entrance
Impressive wall of pictographs
Getting closer - sooo many
Lots of antelopes
There are also many human figures but they are more like stick figures while the animals seem much better represented. There are really no birds painted which is a bit weird and also no animals or other large animals. While reading the info about the cave we also find out that the oldest human skeleton in Zimbabwe was discovered right here...who knew?
Detail with humans hunting
Beautiful antelope
Giraffes in a different style
Only the heads remain here
Before returning to the car we walk a bit off trail for some great views of the surrounding area - it is surprising how much we climbed during our hike to the cave.
View from Nswatugi Cave
Our car is down there somewhere
Now we have to return back towards the central area of the park passing again over the dam - here we are happy that the traffic is nonexistent as the road down over and up is quite narrow especially with our large truck.
Short paved stretch down towards the dam
This is the dam
The artificial lake
Downstream
On the way to the next attraction, the White Rhino Shelter, we stop a few times for animals on the road or close to it, mostly cows but also a few antelopes. And again we have to be careful about the hay-collecting women that are ubiquitous on this narrow road.
Animals by the lake
More usual animals
View of narrow road
Nicely ordered hay bales next to road
Soon we pull in the empty parking lot (there is a thread here:)) and start on the trail which starts easy through a wash but then as usual climbs vigurously towards the shelter with great views after we reach the plateau the cave is on.
Last cave for the day - White Rhino Shelter
Nice trail through wash in the beginning
Getting high again - nice view
On the plateau
The cave is the only one protected by a chain link fence due to vandalism and with the sun in a bad position it is difficult to see the paintings. What we want to see is the rhino paintings that inspired the government to reintroduce the rhino into the area - they won't reintroduce an animal unless there is proof it existed here during historical times.
Only fenced cave in the park
Good pictographs but tough to see
What is that animal?
Not a rhino - I think
The paintings we see are quite good - supposedly they are the best line drawings in the country including one of a kudu and finally we also spot the rhino which is also well done in our opinion. After exploring the small shelter end to end and enjoying the solitude we return to the car for the short drive back to the accomodation as it is already sunset.
UFO abduction?!
Can you see the famous white rhino?
Hunting party
Close up of the hunt
At the accomodation we are welcomed by the warthog who doesn't seem to have moved from his spot, a new antelope near our cabin and our in house lizards. We take a bath making sure to avoid scaring the lizards into the water and to their death and then it is already time for dinner.
Entering the lodge area
Local warthog still eating in the garden
Antelope watching us from outside
Lizard watching from inside
Dinner as during the previous day is not that well prepared but we are hungry and eat it anyway before going to sleep as tomorrow we have another long day planned.
Today is our last full day in Matobo and our plan is to visit the Whovi Wilderness area inside Matobo and to look for rhinos for some time and hopefully even see a few and then go to see one of the best caves in the area, Silozwane Cave. At breakfast the guide gives us some directions to Whovi so we try a different route and we follow a dirt road that is a shortcut to the pavement. It is marked as a scenic route and is no not in great shape however on it we find a much less well known monument from the fights between the settlers and the natives which in this case celebrates the locals attacking the invaders while they were eating breakfast.
Scenic route - wonder how it looks like?
This is scenic
A stone with a plaque - have to investigate
For once a monument for the underdog
The scenic route brings us back to the paved road and again we follow the route over the dam and then deviate towards Whovi. Immediately after the intersection we have to stop as a group of cows has taken over the road and has no intention of moving. We try to push them with the car - gently - but really they are not interested and it takes a long time and prodding until they finally move to the side looking very unhappy. Afterwards there are no more surprises until we arrive at the Matobo exit gate which in this direction is completely abandoned. For the Whovi Wilderness Area even though it is part of Matobo we have again to pay extra. Weirdly you cannot pay at the gate and you have to go to a different location and as we search for it we are asked by a big truck to lend them our jack as they have a flat. However given that their truck is much bigger we are afraid to lend them ours (also it would take quite some time and we are in a hurry) so we tell them that we are going to ask the office to send someone to help.
We finally find the office pay our fees and then ask them to send someone to help and they ask us why we didn't do it? It is a bit weird as they have huge trucks and can help really easily but we laugh and move on to the actual entrance gate. Here we have a surprise as the girl at the gate tells us to back out of the gate and we do not understand why until she points out that we should use a sideroad that she unlocks to go round the gate because our car is too tall for the gate:).
Dik dik at the dam
Lazy cows on the road
The other entrance gate
Entrance station of Whavi Wilderness Area
We asked at the office where we should try for rhinos and were directed to an overlook so we drive towards it without stopping much - as there are predators here supposedly you are not allowed to be outside the car in most places even though again we see hay gatherers everywhere inside the park. We pass one of the big waterholes/lakes on the way, it is large enough to support hippos but there are no rhinos as far as we can see. At the overlook you are allowed to exit and go up the stairs to a nice hide with a good view but again no luck with the rhinos.
Whavi Road
Typical view - but no rhinos
Overlook - we have to walk to it
View from overlook - again no rhinos sadly
We continue on afterwards to the only other place where we can exit the car - the picnic area. Here we actually decide to have a "picnic" basically eat everything that is left in our car except a little bit for the road for the next day and throw away anything left in the rare trashcans placed here. The view of the lake is good and they even have a restroom (not functioning well really but still a restroom).
Entering the picnic area
Our table
Standing near the lake
View of lake
There are also a few hippos here but far in distance and a quite a few birds fly over or just land on the water for some time and look for food. We watch them while we eat and try to capture their antics but it is quite difficult as they are really fast both in the air and on the ground.
Hippos on land
And in water
Calm bird
And not so calm
Kingfisher flying
And a heron
After finishing with our picnic we try to go round the lake with no luck as the road decays really fast so we stop at a viewpoint and take pictures before turning around and trying different roads through the wilderness in the hopes of finding the elusive rhinos. We don't find them but find a group of rangers that direct us to a different loop and we go that way hoping for more luck. To our surprise on a narrow part of the road we meet multiple school buses with children going the other way towards our picnic area.
What is that in the distance?
Dead tree
The other loops that we try have antelopes but unfortunately there are no rhinos the best we can find is a possible rhino turd on the road:). There are sone interesting rock formations on the way however and a lot of hay collecting people which means in our mind that the rhinos cannot be closeby as they would have warned the people to stay away. In the end we decide to do one more tour of the overlook and the picnic area but we can't - a school bus has broken down on the only bridge towards that area and even turning around is a bit hair-rising.
The road - a bit scary
Only sign of rhino that we have found
Interesting rock formation
Full formation - cool
With our quest to finish our big 5 list thwarted we return to the main part of the park and then go towards Silozwane where we hope to be able to find the road to the cave which is supposedly quite difficult. But before the cave we have to pass through the whole Silozwane village which is larger than we expected. We get stuck behind a bus for a while which is a bit dusty - it is a typical African bus with people on the top of the bus with luggages, quite different from the ones on the main road. The shopping area in the middle of Silozwane is mobbed by people but afterwards as we exit and the road decays there are fewer and fewer people. We still drive very carefully as there are lots of domestic animals and the people and children also like to walk unexpectedly in the middle of the road.
Going to Silazwane Cave behind a bus
Downtown area
Nice road
Scary road
Right after a big hole in the road that we barely pass and makes us consider that the road might not be the correct one we find the well parked parking lot for the cave - again and this time not unexpectedly we are the only car in the parking lot. The trail is well marked and soon goes as usual up a steep stony slope, we have to stop often to catch our breath and of course enjoy the view.
Parking area - only car
Start of trail
Well marked
First view of the area
This time however the trail goes beyond the usual climb we go higher and higher and higher. It switches ridges and finally it seems to level out on a slope with some beautiful views of Silozwane and surrounding area.
Always up and up
Even higher
We came from down below
Some of the houses we passed with the car
We like the lichens in this area a lot - similarly to World's View they are colorful and very picturesque. They also almost make us miss the cave as we are more focused on them than on finding the entrance. Like last time we can see the paintings from far away and they are quite good - the best or second best in the park according to our guidebooks.
Rocks are colorful
Silozwane cave - one of the best in Matobo
Very busy cave
Lots of human figures - this is rare
It is difficult to even decide what to focus on as there is sooo much going on - there are serpents carrying people, people making fire, antelopes running, giraffes, lions basically whatever they saw was painted on the cave walls and we stay here for a while to take in all the details before deciding to descend as we have to get back before sunset.
Large snake
Closer view of snake and surrounding animals and humans
Giraffe with 2 extra legs - look carefully:)
Beautifully done giraffe
Rare lions
And their prey
As we descend we are surprised to hear voices and discover that near our car now there is suddenly an impromptu souvenir market with five women setting their stands nearby and looking at us expectantly. We wander around and even buy a few of them before taking the same interesting road back to our accomodation.
Souvenirs we bought
Beautiful and cheap (for us)
This is our last dinner here and the first one when we are alone at the dinner table but the food quality has not improved versus the previous days. However being alone it goes much faster and soon we are back in our room packing and then finally going to sleep.
This is the day we have dreading for some time - we have to drive to Victoria Falls which is about 300 km away on the main road and we expect lots of roadblocks and the usual hassle surrounding them. The start through Matobo is a piece of cake as there are no road blocks and we enjoy our last look at the area including stopping at the MOTH shrine (whatever the acronym actually means:)).
Matobo one lane road
Shrine on the way
We have to pass again through Bulawayo and we use this chance to fill up the gas once more - we have to give back the car with only 1/4 in the tank so we hope we did our calculations well. Instead of passing through the downtown area we decide to go towards Khami and catch the ring road from there as it appeared that there are fewer people and roadblocks that way. We encounter only 2 until the exit from Bulawayo where we got our initial ticket but now we are waved through and we are on the open road.
Entering Bulawayo
Stores on the way
Exiting via the industrial side
Lots of people on the side of the road
The first thing we notice is that there are fewer roadblocks - there are some but they let us pass much easier it seems. The traffic is as light as it was last time but we keep the speed limit strictly just in case. Even with the better roadblock situation we still get in a situation at (again) the last roadblock before Victoria Falls. Here they want to give us a ticket because the GWU (weight of the car) is not written on the side of the truck and only in front. This was not a problem at the 30 roadblacks before but it is a problem now still after a lot of haggling (we are foreigners, it is a foreign car and so on) we escape the ticket and finally enter Victoria Falls.
On the open road to Victoria Falls
Always scary - what is on the other side?
Useful distance indicators
Glad that isn't our bridge
WE decided to stay at a more luxurious hotel at the end of our trip and arriving in Victoria Falls we are happy we splurged a bit at the end. However we are surprised at how big the hotel is, we are going seemingly for miles before reaching our "private" check in counter that upgrades our room to a balcony room - cool. We also have free use of the minibar and a TV - only the second time during our trip. THe Wifi is also blazing fast after a few days without stable internet and the bathroom is also very well appointed so we are very happy with the room and the amenities. We also have a few extras including a complimentary pre dinner champagne hour - very "high end". We decide to take advantage of it today and catch up on the news - there are printed news in multiple languages on the table.
Looks luxurious - our splurge at the end of the trip
Free minibar inside - cool
Champagne and wine reception - complimentary
Drinking our wine
After that we go to dinner to one of the hotel restaurants that offers a buffet dinner with live entertainment. We are quite hungry so we arrive just as they open and see how they set the buffet up and are first to order at a few of the stations even though the ones that we want are not open yet (crocodile steak for example). As time passes more and more stations open and we eat sparingly as we await for the entertainment.
Dinner buffet - so many options
What to choose?
Mixed plate
And another one
The entertainment starts about an hour later and it starts slow with some rhytmic music but soon the dancers appear and things start to be more interesting - seeing Santa Claus dancing in rhythm is quite fun.
Start of the entertainment program
Singing for the dancers to come
Dancers in the distance
Santa Claus dancing - quite fun
And then it goes into overdrive with costumes from cows to spirits to ostriches to people on stilts while the music is actually quite engaging so we have a lot of fun for the half hour it lasts and after that it is back to our room to retire for the night after the long drive.
Today is, sadly, our last full day in Africa and what better way to finish this great trip than with the one of the major attractions - the Victoria Falls. We missed it last time when we travelled through Namibia and South Africa but this time we planned around including it in our trip at the end. But before going to the falls it is time for breakfast which is included in our rate. It is served in the same open air restaurant that we were in for dinner so we know where to go and we decide to take a different route through the hotel grounds and the hotel itself.
Victoria Falls Hotel
Inside our wing
Part of hotel garden
Hunting trophies
We didn't see this the day before (actually we assumed it is smoke from a wildfire) but you can actually see the mist from the waterfall from the hotel and even feel the humidity a bit which gives us an impression regarding how big it is if it can be seen and felt from this distance. After the viewpoint we pass through a highly expensive sculpture garden (compared to what we have seen on the way) and arrive at the restaurant - it s about 20 min walk from our room to the restaurant.
View from hotel towards falls
The falls in the distance - our goal for today
Sculpture garden -- there were expensive
Fun birds
The buffet breakfast is very varied and we especially like the bakery products done - they are shaped to look like crocodiles and snakes. Everyone is afraid of cutting them so we surreptitiously cut the head of the snake while no one is looking to bring it to our table - next time the whole snake is gone, the people just needed a little push:).
Breakfast area
Mats on the table are interesting
Snake, crocodile - what to choose?
Cutting the head off the snake
Before leaving we go also to the hotel souvenir shop to buy some postcards and to the activity desk to see how much a helicopter tour costs - just in case it is needed. We also go to clean our car a bit and to take a few photos of our famous car fire extinguisher that gave us so much trouble.
Souvenir shop and adventure desk in the hotel
Our extinguisher that gave us so much trouble
And then it is on to the falls. One of the reasons we chose this hotel is that it has a direct "private" walking path towards the falls. It is private of course up to a point only and after that it is public and we heard a lot of shooting in that area in the morning so we are a bit apprehensive regarding what happened. Now we find out that the shots were to scare any elephants near the trail - we can see their extra large fresh turds along the way. The trail then passes over the renowned rail line that passes over the Victoria Falls on the Victoria Falls bridge. This was hoped by Rhodes to be part of a Cape to Pyramids railway but it wasn't to be. Then the trail passes through a souvenir shops area with aggressive vendors and then arrives at the entrance gate to Victoria Falls National Park where for the first time since we are in Africa we encounter a long queue. We wait in line patiently for 1/2h until we get to the cashier and then we are finally in.
"Private" trail to falls - that is luxury
Elephants were here recently
Crossing the famous railway line
Entrance to Victoria Falls and Zimbabwe
This is what we came to see
And a lot of others - only place with lots of tourists
We are actually prepared for the famous Victoria Falls mist with ponchos but there is no need yet - in the beginning the trail leads through the forest towards the edge to our first overlook of the Falls and the mist in minimal here. The view is spectacular and what is even more impressive is that we see the falls continuing even farther into the distance without an end in sight. We continue on to another overlook, this time above the falls which is even more popular.
Trail to the waterfall
First view in the distance
Is this all?
Ok this is quite impressive
Above the falls
The water volume on this small section is impressive
Besides the view a lot of people come to this overlook to take pictures with the famous statue of Livingstone erected here. Livingstone was a famous explorer that searched for the source of the Nile (unsuccessfully) and discovered Victoria Falls for the white people:) successfully which is why we there is statue of him here. When he disappeared for six years from all communications with the rest of world a newspaper sent a reporter to Africa to find him, Henry Stanley who after searching for him for quite a while found him near Lake Tanganyika and greeted him with the famous words "Dr Livingstone I presume?" (which was funny I guess because there was no other white person for hundreds and hundreds of miles). After this we walk upriver a bit more until the end of the Park - no one comes here so it is a bit of quiet time before returning to the thunder of the falls and the gaggle of people. If you look at the water you cannot believe that in just a few meters it becomes one the biggest waterfalls in the world.
What is everyone looking at?
Doctor Livingstone I presume?
Quiet trail above the falls
End of trail
Looks so quiet
And then this
We return on a slightly different trail through the rainforest towards the overlook and find a beautiful rainbow on the way and even a monkey eating calmly from a trash bin while no other tourist notices it given that they are so absorbed by the Livingstone statue.
Very humid close to the falls
Probably permanent rainbow
All those people miss something behind them
Yep - a monkey
Now we continue in the other direction parallel to the chasm of Victoria Falls and the sound is starting to become overwhelming. Taking pictures is also difficult with the mist now becoming similar to light rain and we finally decide to put on our ponchos to protect ourselves a bit at least. The views are also the best on this stretch because we can see more of the falls than in the beginning and the mist is not yet overwhelming and it is quite fun to sit in the light mist.
This is where we have been
This is where we are going
Well marked
Even this is only a small part of the span
Last place with a good view of waterfall
Close up of waterfall
From here on while we forge on ahead through what amounts to heavy rain many people decide to return to the entrance and we are for long stretches the only people on the trail. Unfortunately with the heavy mist the next viewpoints are really like viewpoints into dense fog - at least with the roar of water we know that the falls are close:).
Only from here can we see the waterfall
Close up is like this
Trail through rain(fall)forest
Lush vegetation
Towards the end of the trail on the Zimbabwe side we reach a great overlook that is a bit further from the falls and therefore it is less affected by the mist and we can see the full power of the falls and how they extend even from here far into the mist on the Zambia side. We enjoy this spot a lot especially given that it has a place where we can spot a rare double rainbow.
Another attempt to see the waterfall
Finally a reasonably good spot
View of the waterfall as it extends towards Zambia
Double rainbow
From here the trail continues even a bit further and suddenly there is no mist anymore and even more surprising we meet a lot of dry tourists again at the next viewpoint which for a change is not for waterfall viewing but to view the bridge over the Zambezi that links Zimbabwe and Zambia. We can even see the middle point where many people go on foot and then return. We solve the mystery of the dry tourists as we find a hidden trail going more inland back to the entrance and we use that one as we hope that our drenched clothes will dry till the next day when we have to take the plane back to the US.
Famous bridge between Zimbabwe and Zambia
The border
Returning drenched to the visitor center
So dry here - almost unreal
On the way back to the hotel we take a side trip to a cafe with a great view of the gorge and of the brave souls that zipline over and bungee jump into the gorge - it seems quite scary. We descend a bit on a trail but the views are not much better than from the top so we return back to the top and return to the hotel while avoiding the very insistent trailside vendors.
Viewpoint below the waterfall
Close up of river bend
Trail going deeper in the canyon
The views are not that impressive
In our hotel room We change into dry clothing first before going to the activity desk as we have decided to take a helicopter ride over the Falls to also see them from above. It is soon booked and now we have about an hour time before they come to pick us up. We spend the hour relaxing and enjoying our balcony with a nice view of the warthogs battling and eating in front of our window.
What can we see from our balcony?
Warthogs having a friendly(?) battle
We are picked up at the appointed time and taken to the helicopter company however there it is a bit uncomfortable as they try to upsell us to a different tour, sell us a video of the flight and so on even though given how much it costs it should feel more upscale. We also get a safety briefing and route information and then we are up in the air with the first part flying over the placid river before it reaches the waterfalls
Time for a helicopter ride
Not ours
That is where we are going
Start above the falls
However soon the falls come into view and it makes the hassle worthwhile as the view is exceptional, this is true especially as we approach the falls and start to rotate around them and we can see the crack in the earth in which the huge volume of water flows creating the falls.
Getting close to the falls
Very impressive from above
A rift in the earth
We go around it
We hover around for a few minutes viewing the falls from every possible angle. The most beautiful is from up front seeing the water fall under the bridge which seems so precarious even though it stood for more than 100 years.
Impressive from the front
And from the side
After that we start the return trip to the helicopter pad however this time we pass closer to the river and even see a few elephants enjoying the river which is fun besides the unending line of cruising ships that are out in the afternoon.
There are some animals down there
Elephants - cool
The many cruises on the river
Returning to the base
Descending from the helicopter we are forced to watch a 15 min video of our trip which we have no intention of buying before we are taken by car back to our hotel, it feels unprofessional but there is nothing we can do about it.
Descending from the helicopter
This was our helicopter
We relax after this a bit more in the hotel room where to our surprise most clothes have dried after the drenching from the falls and we decide to visit today the town in the evening and eat at an outside restaurant.
View from balcony
Quite roomy balcony
Walking out of the hotel we pass the train station on one side and quite a few warthogs and mongooses on the hotel side. Surprsingly there are very few tourists in town and there are lots of hawkers and many stores are closed or empty. We enter a few and buy some souvenirs before finding an open restaurant and sitting down for dinner.
Passing the train station
Warthogs near the sidewalk - better cross?
Entrance to hotel...
.....with mongooses
The food actually is quite good and varied with lots of game related meat and filled we return to our hotel to pack and prepare for our trip home.
Today is our last day in Africa in this trip and we are a bit sad to leave these beautiful countries after a very eventful trip. But before leaving it is time for breakfast - it is the same buffet type arrangement as the day before and again we have to cut the head of the snake - who can resist to that?
Last breakfast in Zimbabwe
Couldn't resist
Checking out is fast outside of the fun part that they cannot believe we self drove and insist quite a few times to order us a taxi because they think we misunderstood what they are offering. Finally we only get help to take the luggage to the parking lot which is a bit far away and then we are on our way. The streets of Victoria Falls are busy this morning quite different from the previous evening and we have to be careful not to enter into an accident in our last day here. But after a bit we exit Victoria Falls and are on the open road. We are betting between us whether there is a roadblock checking point until the airport and there isn't - therefore many tourists who come just for Victoria Falls never see any of them.
Leaving the hotel
Lots of traffic in town
Exiting town
Airport is at about 30 km distance
The airport has a new international terminal which looks..modern. There are almost no cars in the parking lot and after some searching we do not find anyone from our company to return the car to - this is a first in our travels. This is even though we called in advance as we were instructed and reminded them we are going to be at the airport at a certain hour. In the end we return the car to a different rental agency which graciously signs off on all papers and then we check in and after a bit of standing around we decide to pass through security. That goes well and then as we stand in line at the border control kiosk we hear our names announced over the loudspeakers and that we should come to the information desk. We do that and we meet the guy who we should have returned the car to. He found the car from the other rental agency but preferred the handoff to happen in person and he apologizes profusely that he was delayed - he was actually coming from Botswana and hitchhiking(!!) and he had trouble at the Botswana/Zimbabwe border and in the end came through Zambia. Even worse the agency gave him the wrong day when we are returning the car - the previous day and he actually made the trip also the day before and he has the visas to prove it. Again this doesn't inspire that much confidence in the company but we are at the end so we do the handoff and then again through security and border control we enter the secure area. THere are only few stores here and because Zimbabwe uses US dollars there is no need for us to use our last local curremcy but we still buy a few things before boarding the plane to Johannesburg.
New airport terminal
Relatively empty parking lot
Inside the airport
Our plane
It is always surprising to us when we get outside of the US that even short haul flights have food and usually good one. So we arrive full at Johannesburg where we have a few hours to spend before taking the plane to New York.
Airline food
This is how you treat airplane customers even on short flights
As last time we enjoy the many stores in the airport and especially those with typical African art - it allows you to waste the few hours between the flights better than other airports it seems. Time flies by and soon our flight is called and we are on our way back to US and finally have time to catch our breath and remember the many beautiful things we have seen and experienced during this trip. Overall it was another beautiful trip and we enjoyed it immensely even with the few roadblocks (actual and figurative) that we encountered.
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