Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Brief Return to South Africa

We're now back in South Africa for a night. Tomorrow we fly out to Zimbabwe, to Victoria Falls. We have a couple of nights at the historic Victoria Falls Hotel and then transfer to the Chobe River Game Lodge.

The trip has been eye-opening. It will be hard to visit a zoo after seeing the many animals in their natural habitats. Moreover, it was a surprise as to how close the game vehicles can get to the animals without causing alarm. Yesterday, we were parked almost underneath a leopard sitting in a tree after it had eaten a young steinbock. Also under the tree, sat a hyaena waiting for fallen tidbits. Similarly, we have quietly watched while a lioness and her cubs were about 15-20 feet away from us.

The Land Rovers and Toyota Land Cruiser game vehicles can travel just about anywhere. We have often traveled cross country in pursuit of game viewing. The trips have led us through wet and dry creek beds and thick bush. The reserves we've been visiting are so large that it has been impossible for us to figure out where we are in respect to our trip start. While this may seem extreme, I will acknowledge that the rangers stop mid-game drive in the morning for coffee and at sundown for wine and beer. Returning to the lodge, we quickly shower and then meet for dinner buffet, served around a campfire in 'boma' style.

We continue to have limited Internet availability, so the posting of photos will have to wait. Moreover, I now have over 32GB of photos from which to select. 

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