Category: Travel

Planning this adventure, I knew I wanted to photograph animals, learn about Southern Africa’s history and culture, experience natural beauty, and bookend my trip with Cape Town at the start and Victoria Falls at the conclusion.

Every day during this journey I’ve had some wonder to explore – and our final day at Victoria Falls was magnificent.

UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Victoria Falls is a mile-long curtain of water on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Our tour with a local guide began at the 1904 Victoria Bridge which links Zimbabwe and Zambia.

 

During the dry season, no water drops from the right-hand side of the Falls.

 

The left-hand side, though, is amazing!

 

After returning from our tour of the Falls from the Zimbabwe side, seven of the nine of us participated in the Devil’s Pool tour.  We were picked up at our hotel with that driver helping us through passport control to leave Zimbabwe and handing us over to a colleague on the Zambia side of the border who helped us with passport control in Zambia and drove us to the dock.  We then took a speedboat ride on the Zambezi River to Devil’s Pool, a rocky swimming pool at the top of the Falls with a view of the sheer drop off the side of the Falls.  Every five feet or so, a different guide would take our hand and help us over the rocks and in the pool.  Another guide photographed the whole experience.  Then, we had a delicious high tea before reversing the transportation and passport process.

Zambezi River from the speedboat.

 

 

A view of the Falls from the top!

 

Looking down on Zambezi River from the top of the Falls.

 

Climbing into Devil’s Pool.

 

All of us in the pool.

 

That’s a long way down!

 

This photo doesn’t do the experience justice.  Looking down at the power of the waterfall, listening to the sound of the rushing water, and smelling the fresh scents is an experience I will never forget.  I see it in my mind much stronger than is shown in photos.

 

So very very happy I concluded this Southern Africa safari with Victoria Falls and Devil’s Pool!

What an AMAZING final game drive day!

Chobe National Park is simply FABULOUS.

We started with an early morning game drive in a 4WD Jeep so we could see the lions wake up.  And we did!  Plus several other new and exciting animals, such as baboons.

Following the game drive, we returned to our lodge for breakfast and about an hour’s break before our river cruise.  For SEVEN HOURS, we enjoyed a relaxing voyage exploring the wildlife and scenery of the Chobe River.  With a three story boat all to ourselves, complete with lunch and open bar, we experienced the ultimate topper to our game drive adventure.

I have so many photos, I’m going to post them here in snapshot order!

First, from the morning game drive…

Baboons

 

 

Kudu

 

Impalas – and lots of them!

 

Elephant breeding group

 

Lions!  I lost count of how many lions we saw!  (We’re still missing the elusive leopard, though.)

 

 

 

 

Yellow-billed stork

 

African jacana

 

African fish eagle

 

Yellow-billed hornbill

 

Cape buffalo

 

Kudu

 

Giraffe

 

Next, from the river cruise…

Shoreline of the Chobe River

 

Cape buffalo

 

Stork

 

Elephant family drinking water simultaneously

 

Elephant climbing up onto land after swimming across the river

 

Warthogs

 

Crocodile

 

Hippopotami (they climbed out of the river, walked across the land a bit, and went back into the water)

 

View from our boat – three decks, full lunch, open bar – just for the ten of us!

 

Golden hour shoreline scenery

 

Gorgeous sunset on the Chobe River

Leaving the salt pans of Makgadikgadi and heading to the savanna of Chobe, I tried not to set my expectations too high.

After arriving at our lodge, where we’ll be for two nights, we went on an afternoon safari in a 4WD vehicle.

It did NOT disappoint!

WiFi is weak here, so I’m going to try to quickly post my photos.  Twenty this time rather than my usual ten (give or take!).

Steenbok

 

Helmeted Guineafowl

 

African Wild Dogs – rare and endangered!

 

 

Vulture looking for dinner – we saw elephant, giraffe, and baboon carcasses!

 

Warthogs

 

Are you looking at me?!

 

Impala

 

 

We saw THIRTEEN lions!!!  Eleven females…

 

 

…and two males resting together.

 

 

Red-billed Hornbill eating from elephant dung

 

Elephant family going for a stroll

 

Five red-billed ox peckers eating bugs off of a giraffe

 

Cape Buffalo

 

 

Hippopotamus on land

 

Lilac-breasted Roller

 

Kudu

From one UNESCO World Heritage Site to another!

Before entering Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, we had to get out of the Red Elephant, step into some disinfectant, and place our spare shoes in disinfectant, too.

After hopping back into the Red Elephant, we slowly traveled through the park, searching for animals on our way to Nata Lodge.

Although I had seen a warthog at Etosha, I didn’t get a photo.  This one is zoomed in and cropped a lot, but it is a warthog!

 

An ostrich leading MANY baby ostrich chicks!

 

I learned today that a wildebeest is also called a gnu! 🤦‍♀️

 

One from a line of four elephants walking along the road.

 

Using his tusks, this bull elephant pulled the cover off of a drain to drink the water.

 

Several zeals of zebras entertained us.

 

Why did the zebras cross the road?

 

Solo giraffe staring us down.

 

Giraffe family hesitant about us.

 

For sunset we took the Red Elephant to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. At the size of Switzerland, they are one of the biggest salt pans worldwide.

 

The salt pans are rustically beautiful.  Following some rain, flamingos and pelicans hang out.  We saw only gnus and a shrub hare.  With a thunderstorm over nearby Zimbabwe, the sunset over the pans was lovely and a bit eerie.

 

This photo captures the scenery well!

 

Kayla recorded a video of the thunderstorm, hoping for lightening to flash.  It did!  We screenshotted the moment the lightening lit up the sky.

 

Salt pans vamping!  With the heat, we most often wear our hair up, but for this photo we all let it hang loose.

I flew in my first small plane today!

For an hour, five of us joined our pilot (who looks like he’s about 12 years old AND is an amazingly competent pilot!) to view the Okavango from above.

The flight was smooth and easy.

The photography wasn’t.

I tried to capture what I saw which was impossible from the plane’s window and with the plane’s speed.

I know I saw elephants, hippos, cape buffalos, and wildebeests…

After a bit, it was best to put my camera down and just enjoy the scenery and take in the majesty of the Okavango.

 

Ready for takeoff.

 

The neighborhood surrounding the airport.  Some of the homes seem similar in size to sheds back home.

 

Textures, colors, and variety:  mesmerizing landscape.

 

 

 

Hippos?

 

Elephants.

 

One of many herds of Cape Buffalo.

 

Elephants?  Cape Buffalo?  Who knows?!  🤣

 

Safely back on ground.

Today, I explored the Okavango Delta via Mokoro canoe, foot, and boat.  What a fun way to see beautiful water and flora while viewing some new and different animals up close and personal – but with hippos not too close or personal.

In the Mokoro canoe, polers guided us.

 

Beautiful flora and water.

 

 

 

 

 

A baby crocodile.

 

A pod of hippos.

 

 

Hippo skull at our lodge – note the BIG teeth!

 

Locals fishing.

 

Blue Kingfisher.

 

African Eagle.

 

Pied Kingfisher

 

African Data.

 

Squacco Herons in flight.

 

Blacksmith Lepwing.

 

Another gorgeous African Sunset.

 

For the next two days, we get to experience the 1,000th UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Okavango Delta.  The Okavango is a vast and varied ecosystem created as the Okavango River flows into the Kalahari desert in Botswana.  It receives 70% of its water from Angola and 30% from rainfall.

Generally flat, with a height variation of less than two meters across its area, dry land in the Okavango Delta is predominantly comprised of numerous small islands, such as Mokoro Island, formed when vegetation takes root on termite mounds.

To arrive at Guma Lagoon Lodge in the Okavango Delta, we stopped at a “garage” area where we had lunch, chatted with six young boys watching us (I gave them colored pencils I brought with me), and left the Red Elephant behind for a couple of days.  A driver from our lodge with a four-wheeled drive cab pulling a trailer with two long benches took us over sandy delta land to our lodge.  It was a bumpy hour-long ride!

Our ride to the lodge.

 

The kids with their pencils and food we gave them.  After we finish eating, our guides give our leftovers to locals.

 

This old man will keep an eye on the Red Elephant while we’re gone.  I learned that calling someone an “Old Man” or “Old Lady” is respectful as it acknowledges their years of experience and wisdom.

 

Houses along the way.

 

Very sandy.

 

Donkeys provide transportation for people and goods.

 

A monkey peeked out to check on us.  Monkeys tend to eat elephant dung since elephants have poor digestive systems and leave much of the food they consume unchanged.

 

My tent cabin for two nights.  Much more comfortable than the one in Kalahari!

 

Relaxing on my deck.

 

Another beautiful African sunset.

Today, we drove from Windhoek to the border so we could exit Namibia and enter Botswana.  At our lodge, San Bushman demonstrated traditional hunting, gathering, and medicine.

Arriving in Botswana.

 

Our driver had to stop many times to allow goats, donkeys, cows, and horses to cross the road.

 

Donkeys enjoying the shade along the road.

 

Houses along the way.

 

Our lodge – each cabin has an outside bathroom.  Mine was a bit disgusting…and the room was very hot and stuffy.

 

San  Bushman dressed in traditional clothes.

 

Sharing how plants can be used for medicine.

 

Showing how to use soap plants for washing.

 

They created fire from rubbing two sticks together and lighting grass on fire.

 

Sunset from our lodge.

We left Etosha at about 8am and drove…and drove…and drove.  In the heat.  A/C not working.  Windows closed.  Tempers a bit…snippy.

Finally, we arrived in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.  Also arrived?  A bit of a thunderstorm.

Regardless, we got out of the Red Elephant to see…

St. Mary’s Cathedral (closed when we arrived).

 

A view of the cathedral from the top of the Independence Memorial.  Notice our Red Elephant?

 

One of our two guides, Sifiso, and me walking up to Independence Memorial Museum (also closed) with a statue of founding president Sam Nujoma.  (Photo credit:  Carole)

 

Three panels around the base of the memorial depict Namibia’s history.

 

Riding up the elevator with Carole and Kayla to see the view from the Independence Memorial Museum’s rooftop restaurant.

 

A snapshot of the Parliament building from the rooftop.

 

The grounds of Terra Africa Guesthouse are beautiful.

 

Sunset from our guesthouse.

 

For dinner we went to Joe’s Beerhouse, a popular place for tourists.  Most evenings, Sfiso and Sifiso prepare dinner for us.  They’re terrific cooks!

 

Morning wake-up today:  5am!  A quick breakfast followed by sunrise at Etosha to see the animals before their afternoon siesta.

And what a treat it was!  We saw not only three of the Big 5, but we also saw many other amazing animals!

 

Lions!  At the end of the day, we saw two female lions resting in the shade of a tree.

 

Close to the exit of the park on our way out, we found a mama black rhinoceros and her baby!

 

We also saw a giraffe family – mama, baby, and daddy.

 

This baby elephant rests under its mama.

 

A busy waterhole attracted a herd of zebras and a swarm of many other animals!

 

Across from the lions, a huge confusion of wildebeest.  Behind them lies the Etosha Pan, a vast, bare, open expanse of shimmering green and white that covers around 4,800km, almost a quarter of the park.

 

A close-up of a wildebeest.

 

We waited at a waterhole for over an hour watching this male (yes, you can tell by the photo!) elephant lumber across the park to get a refreshing drink.

 

Also at this waterhole, kudus satiated their thirst.

 

A herd of red hartebeests hung out at another waterhole.

Today was our first game drive!  Although it was HOT, I was VERY excited to see some of the animals I’ve been hoping to photograph!

First, though, we had to wake up and leave early so we would have time to explore in Etosha. 

This morning’s early treat was a Yellow-Billed Hornbill greeting us at breakfast.

 

In Etosha, I saw…

Giraffes!

 

 

Elephants!

 

 

 

Zebras!

 

Oryxes

 

Springboks (so many of them – everywhere!)

 

Ostriches

 

Northern Black Korhaans

 

Kori Bustards

 

Waterholes with many terrific animals

 

Starting our drive to Brandberg Mountain up the Skeleton Coast, we viewed one of many wrecked ships.

 

Next up:  interesting, noisy, and STINKY seals at the Cape Cross Seal Reserve.

 

 

At roadside stands, people can purchase salt and pay whatever they feel is appropriate.

 

Arriving at Brandberg Mountain and with temperatures over 105 degrees, five of us and one of our guides hiked the three mile round trip to see the UNESCO World Heritage White Lady cave paintings.  En route, we saw the desiccated remains of a large lizard…

 

…and baboon footprints.

 

Finally, after stopping several times in the shade to rest from the heat and drink a bit of water, we saw the White Lady herself!  Really, she’s a male shaman and painted on the cave about 7,000 years ago.

 

A zebra hangs out near the White Lady.

 

I enjoyed viewing the cave paintings.

 

Very minimal rain has fallen in Damaraland, home of Brandberg Mountain, in the past eight years.  This used to be a waterfall!

Three of us (Kayla and Carole from England and me) decided to visit a township today.  Kayla found a highly recommended tour company, Hata Angu Cultural Tours, in her Lonely Planet book, and our lovely hotel receptionist contacted the company for us.  Two intelligent guides with magnificent English picked us up from our hotel and showed us around Swakopmund on the way to Mondesa, a township just outside this ocean town

During our drive, they shared history of Namibia (colonized by Germany, administered by South Africa, independent since 1990), feelings about Nelson Mandela (a hero in their eyes), economics (50% unemployment), language (four different clicks can completely change the meaning of a word – with those words being unrelated to each other), and ethnic culture (eleven groups with the largest being the Ovambo, second largest is Kavango, followed by Herero and Damara).

We first stopped at a traditional street market with food and clothing vendors.  The bottles are recycled and filled with sauces – not alcohol.

 

In 1948 when South Africa instituted apartheid, blacks were forced from Swakopmund into black-only housing in Mondesa.  Permanent residences with, generally, two bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting area, and a bathroom, house about ten people.  A wooden add-on structure often allows a young person to have a “home.”

At the first stop, we met a wonderful 24-year old Herero woman, dressed in traditional clothing, who runs a daycare in Mondesa.  Working parents can pay for her to watch their children, ages 3 months to 5 years old, until the children are old enough to attend school, which is free and compulsory.  With one or two colleagues, she takes care of up to 15 children.  When she is in town (and not showcasing traditional clothing), she wears modern Western clothes.  In her village, though, she must once again wear traditional clothing and speak softly and modestly.  Herero men are allowed to have up to four wives.  The first wife is selected based on love.  Later, the first wife can pick additional wives if she can no longer bear children.

Our next stop took us to “the Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC), an informal settlement. It was founded in 2001 as a temporary resettlement community for people waiting for subsidized housing in the city and was built mostly of reclaimed garbage from the city landfill. The materials included corrugated metal, wood, canvas and plastic.”

 

In the DRC, we met with an herbalist – a healer and midwife – who shared a variety of dried herbs and how these herbs can heal or help people.  She spoke no English, so our guide interpreted for us.

For our final township stop, we returned to Mondesa proper and a nice home owned by the founder of our tour company.  Here, we ate a traditional Namibian meal (with our hands) and watched a dancing and singing performance by four young people who support themselves from their tips.  The noise makers on their ankles are from dried chrysalises that they fill with dried beans.

 

 

After the tour and a short rest, we rambled around Swakopmund, chatting and processing what we learned in the township.

 

 

 

A sign warns pedestrians and drivers to beware of guineafowl.

I knew this trip would be a bit “rugged.”  The road to Swakopmund was MORE than a BIT rugged!  Bumpity bump bump – and repeat.  I admit it:  I was a bit cranky when we arrived.  Dehydrated, tired, and hungry – not a good formula for positivity!  A little water, a little rest, and a little food – phew!  Much better!

First, at Solitaire for apple pie, which they just ran out of when we arrived!

 

Next, at the Tropic of Capricorn, midway between the equator and the south pole.

 

Then, we viewed Kuiseb Canyon:  “On the Gamsbok Route, west of the Khomas Hochland, the Kuiseb River carves a spectacular feature called The Kuiseb Canyon, and it enters the Namib-Naukluft Park, about 165km from Swakopmund and 230km from Windhoek. It is a wild landscape of badlands, criss-crossed by a maze of dry river courses, which eventually make their way to the Kuiseb River.”

 

 

In Walvis Bay, a flock of flamingos entertained viewers.

 

Public housing units lined the road in Swakopmund.  These two bedroom/one bathroom homes often house up to ten people with the females in one room and the males in the other.  The house is given in the name of the family matriarch.

 

Other housing developments are more for visitors and retirees.