Across the mighty Zambezi,Floating in Hippo Heaven
Trip Start
Dec 17, 2007
1
7
26
Trip End
Jan 19, 2008
Kasane,
Botswana
Thursday, December 27, 2007
... across the mighty Zambezi
Keywords - Crossing the border, four countries touched ... but nobody cares, poor truck drivers, drive, chillin
The next day we rose at 7am and set off in earnest on our adventure ... it is a middling drive distance wise (I think about 400Km) ... but we have to catch a ferry to cross the Zambezi and the border between Botswana and Zambia ... from the ferry port you can see four different countries - Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia ... but to be honest..., who cares? ... the most striking thing about this border (and the one at Zimbabwe) is the port ... there is an unbelievable number of trucks waiting to cross and we hear many horror stories of week long waits and corrupt border officials ..
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. all around us black market money changers are plying their trade and the place is awash with forlorn looking people doing very little... but we are ushered to the front of the queue and on the ferry in no time... and as welcomed by pretty smiling Botswana border official I can't help but wonder how these countries can function if their international trade is so stifled ... nothing seems to be moving across the border but us and 1 truck ... while hundreds wait. We drive for a few more hours before reaching Thebe campsite ... yet another rather nice African camp site with good facilities and clean ... you can even drink the tap water!! ... after setting up camp, Joe cooks another masterpiece and we chill for the rest of the day ...
27th Dec Thebe Campsite, Kasane, Chobe Game Park, Botswana, 17.7857S 25.1822E Alt 939m
Floating along in Hippo Heaven
Keywords - Games drive in a big bus of a thing, lions in the wild, lots of birds, evening Game Drive in a river boat, African Eagles, Hippos, Crocs, birds, sunset, shit loads of elephants, Red light / Red Mud
Game drive days start very early as you rise about 1 hour before first light ... today we are visiting the Chobe Games Park along the banks of the Zambezi ... The game drive vehicle is a bit of a bus ... far too big for its purpose ... but thanks to one of my colleagues I at least get a window seat ..
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. we set off and within 5 minutes encounter our first beastie ... an elephant ... and this before entering the park ... the area is very lush and green with vegetation so viewing may be difficult ... we drive through forestland seeing very little but trees (some of which are a sight to be seen in their own right like the Acacia ... finally we break out to into a wide open space and things improve immensely ... as we skirt along wide expanse of sandy grassland buffers us form the Zambezi ... and it is teeming with life ... Hippos, and immense number of beautiful birds of all shapes and sizes ... Impalas and Puku ... and perhaps more in the long grass ... eventually we are treated to something of an awesome sight ... a lions sits on the road directly in our path ... and in the hot sun he aint budgin! ... As we get closer we see it is in fact an entire pride ... they frolic gleefully apparently incredulous to our presence ... some even get himself stuck in a tree ... it isn't easy to put words to how these beautiful animals inspire a sense of awe ... I've seen many here but they still amaze me with their power and beauty ... In the afternoon we step on board a big flat boat for what was to be one of the highlights of the trip to date ... a sunset cruise on the Chobe river .. we cruise gently along the calm water peacefully viewing incredible wildlife ... a pair of giant African Fish Eagles eye us suspiciously from high in a tree ..
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. we see Kingfishers, Hornbills, Open billed Storks, Jakana, Hammerkop, Snakebirds, Cormorants, Little Egrets, Hawks, Heron, Blacksmith Lapwing, European Be-eater to name but a few ... In the water every 100m or so, Hippo laze around with two bulbous eyes all there is to see of their huge mass .. Impala and Puka graze quietly on land near Hippo whose legs look completely out of proportion with the rest of their bodies (no wonder they spend most of their time in the water... their tiny legs look as if they would collapse under their mass) ... a group of four giant African Elephants wallow playfully in the mud ... Nile Crocodile and tortoise adorn the banks sitting in the evening heat ... as we return the sun sinks behind us treating us to a stunning red, orange and yellow grand finale for a perfect day ... As we return to the campsite the red mud is on fire with this beautiful light in an unexpected encore ... dinner is served by Joe and we are off to bed happy and content to have been a part of this great day ...
