This is it. Our final week of vacation and your final account of our adventures. I know you feel the same sadness as we at the prospect of our vacation ending. But life isn’t one big vacation, you know.
Tuesday morning we went to the bus terminal so that seven of us could board a bus down to Livingstone. Because the family was flying out of Livingstone, it didn’t make sense to drive two vehicles, so half went in the MCC truck and the other half in the bus. We chose one of the better bus operations but still, it was crowded. Three seats on one side, two on the other and a narrow aisle in between. Kevin had the misfortune of sitting next to a “traditionally built” Zambian who took up her whole seat as well as half of Kevin’s. It is possible to maintain one cheek off and one on for a little while, but not seven hours. Peter met the bus at a bathroom break, and after three or so hours of being uncomfortable, Kevin joined the others in the truck.
I think that was a good choice because the last 60 km on the way to Livingstone takes two hours to drive. The road is so full of potholes that traffic proceeds on the dirt shoulder as opposed to weaving around the massive and constant potholes. Apparently, rules of who belongs on which side are overlooked and vehicles choose what they consider to be the best surface, regardless if they are going against traffic. The shoulder is often quite slanted and at one point Brendan looked at me on the bus and said, “This is a very tall bus. We could easily tip over.” It felt like that was a constant threat but we survived.
We arrived in Livingstone and went directly to Kays Guesthouse with whom I had made a reservation and deposit. Unfortuately, they still weren’t expecting us and so there was a bit of confusion and much shifting around. We ended up with larger rooms in the end and our own little self-catering building, but electricity was sporadic and hot water in short supply. Again, it was remarkable how flexible our group was and we all made the best of it. In addition to grocery shopping, trying to find diesel for the truck during a diesel shortage, finding a restaurant that could accommodate our large group, and visiting the Livingstone Museum, there were two major events during this time: a visit to Victoria Falls, and a safari in Botswana.
On the way to Victoria Falls, our taxi driver took us an alternative route to an old baobab tree that has a lookout platform. From there we could see the Zambezi River heading toward the falls. We could not see the falls but could see the clouds of spray rising from it. We proceeded to the curio markets and small museum outside the entrance where we had a picnic lunch. Dad hesitated a bit too long on whether he could stomach another peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a vervet monkey stole it from the table. This was entertaining for all of us except for Jason who was distraught at the monkey’s less-than-moral behavior.
Victoria Falls is beautiful. I believe they are the longest falls in the world, nearly 1700m wide. There are eight gorges leading up to the falls, each the former location of the falls. In several thousand more years, the falls will shift again and then there will be nine gorges. If we would have come in April or May, after the rainy season, we wouldn’t have been able to see the falls for all the spray. There was still a lot of spray but it was also a sunny day so we dried off quickly. We walked along paths directly across from the falls on the cliff opposite to them. At times, this was a bit scary as the paths were slippery, there were few guardrails and the dropoff of just over 100m was very close to the path. But we were all careful and each child was paired with an adult which eased our anxiety. In the mist of the falls there was a double rainbow that was beautiful.
We walked upriver a bit and put our feet in the water above the falls, carefully avoiding the baboons with whom we shared the path. At MEF, there is a small dam with a waterfall that is about 2 feet high. When Jason first saw Victoria Falls he commented to Peter, “It’s a bit bigger than the waterfall at MEF.” Either he has a knack for understatement or he just had no idea what to expect!
It was time to leave Zambia for a bit and journey into Botswana. We had heard good things about safaris in Chobe National Park but we set our expectations low so we wouldn’t be disappointed. I am happy to say the safari far surpassed our expectations and was well worth the handsome sum we paid for it!
We crossed the croc-infested Zambezi River in a small motorboat that didn’t have a lifevest in sight. We were then greeted in Botswana by a guide from the Chobezi Safari outfit. They took us through customs and then drove us to a luxury hotel, the likes of which I will never be able to afford. We could have stayed for hours in the bathroom, it was so beautiful. But we resisted that urge and boarded a big boat that had an upper and lower deck. There were about thirty of us all going with the same company but we had no idea how much we would be together or separate for the rest of the trip. We cruised down the river for several hours seeing lots of hippo, crocodiles, Cape buffalo, and elephants. Once on dry land again, we were met by our guide, Mish, and a safari vehicle large enough to seat all 12 of us comfortably.
Mish drove us to our private campsite where we had lunch and a rest. It was nice that our family could experience this all together without having to incorporate strangers. In the hours before sundown, we went on a game drive and saw many beautiful animals and birds. I was struck again and again with how well-suited the animals are to their environment. Their camouflage is amazing. There are dead tree branches that stick out at the exact same angle as a giraffe’s neck. The coloring on so many animals like the lion, antelopes, baboons and hyenas match the browns of the sand and brush. The darker animals like elephants and Cape buffalo are hard to spot in the shade of the trees.
Just before sunset, Mish spotted several giraffe who were very alert and all looking in the same direction. He knew there must be a predator around and sure enough, there was a male and female lion lying in the grass. Our guide, Mish, was so knowledgeable about animal behavior and could identify birds by their call and was so pleasant and friendly. We really couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful guide. Anyway, Mish told us that the male lion will take a female lion away from the pride and for two weeks, they will mate away from the others. During that time, he is only interested in one thing and will not kill. That explained why the giraffe didn’t run away but remained alert. We had the good fortune of seeing lions mate in close proximity. Brendan called out, “Hey, look at the male wiggling his hips!” Yeah, that’s what he was doing. We left it at that.
We moved on to the river to watch the beautiful sunset. On the way back to the campsite, we passed the lions again and they were “busy” once again. But then they got up and walked right behind our safari vehicle. We were glad that they only had one thing on the brain at that moment because they were very close and very big. Because Chobe is a national park and not a game park, everyone must be back at their campgrounds by sundown. This allows the game wardens to be on the lookout for poachers. So we hightailed it back to our campsite where we enjoyed our dinner. After dinner, we relaxed around the campfire and enjoyed talking to Mish and one of the cooks. The night sky, filled with stars, was breathtaking. Mom was saying something about shooting stars and at that same moment, Peter and I saw one. Peter actually thinks it was an asteroid because it streaked across the sky for a long time. I have nothing to compare it to since that was the first shooting star I had ever seen. I’ve lived 37 years with people saying, “Oh, there is a shooting star” and missing it every time. Well, no longer! We retired to our tents with the warning from Mish that if we had to pee in the middle of the night, we had to shine our flashlight all around first to see if any eyeballs were reflected back at us. And we were advised to only go in pairs (I guess so if one was eaten by a predator, the other would be able to tell the story?). We were still surrounded by all the animals that we had observed during the day. I was not very wise and drank a cup of tea before going to bed. All night I desperately had to pee but I was not about to have an animal encounter in the middle of the night and I didn’t want to wake up Mom, with whom I was sharing a tent. All my dreams were about toilets. I was greatly relieved when morning came. Jason came bounding out of his tent where he had slept with Peter and exclaimed, “I had the best sleep of my entire life!” Glad one of us did.
After a quick breakfast around 6 a.m., we were ready to go on an early morning game drive. Apparently different animals are out at different times so we wanted to hit the road right away. Peter noticed that one of the tires was flat on the safari vehicle, but Mish had it changed in no time flat and then we were off. It was decided that we would go in search of zebras and travel roads we hadn’t yet gone on, but that would probably mean we wouldn’t see a leopard. We were a bit disappointed about that but trusted Mish and what he thought best. We came across a dead baby elephant, which was very sad for certain members of our family. The carcass was surrounded by vultures and marabou storks. We saw jackals hanging around the periphery but then a hyena came and showed the vultures who was boss.
We drove a bit further and spotted a herd of zebras on the open floodplains. They were grazing along with the impala and baboons. We weren’t the only ones watching these animals. We then spotted four wild dogs, which Mish says haven’t been spotted for many months. We followed these dogs as they moved toward the river and where the animals were grazing. And then the baboons took off running, followed by the impala and zebra. The wild dogs were on the hunt and therefore, so were we!
Mish sped along the same bumpy roads we had wandered earlier that morning, keeping the wild dogs in sight. As Jason put it, “We are going speed fast!” The adrenaline was pumping through our veins and we were holding on for dear life. We were all excitedly looking at each other and beaming from ear to ear! We lost sight of the wild dogs as they spread out for the kill so we circled back around, hoping to find them again. We found three but not the fourth. They were calling to each other to regroup and then the fourth came out of the bushes. They started yipping and jumping and nipping at each other. Mish had kept saying that wild dogs are the very successful hunters and at this point, Mish declared, “They got a kill.” They were celebrating and preparing to feast. We inched forward and watched them go between two shrubs and there lay an impala. They proceeded to work together in ripping off portions for each to eat. That too was a bit sad for some but it was also fascinating. In the four years that Mish has been a guide, this is only the second time he has ever witnessed this. It was really amazing.
Due to our adventure, we were late returning back to our campsite for brunch. We kept hearing a funny sound on our vehicle all morning but on the way back to the campsite, the crank shaft broke. Our very capable guide figured out a way to temporarily fix it using a seatbelt strap he cut from the back seat. Because the sand was so deep in place and we no longer had four wheel drive, we had to be towed the last bit to our campsite. While we ate breakfast, another vehicle was brought to us so we could safely get to the boat for our return journey. We continued to see a plethora of animals on our way out and it was fun to hear the kids being able to identify different kinds of antelope: eland, impala, bushbuck. We were almost to the boat and teasing Mish that he had shown us everything except a leopard. But then Mish looked back as we passed a tall tree and he slammed on his brakes and said, “Leopard.” Sure enough, up in the tree was a leopard along with his breakfast. He had killed an impala (poor guys, they sure get eaten a lot) and dragged it up the tree where he was now feasting. We were all in awe, both at the leopard and at Mish who found it. Even though it was against the rules, Mish did a bit of off-roading so that we could get around the tree and see the leopard’s face. So cool! I’m telling you, Mish was the best!
By the time we reached the boat, we were all pretty much done in. Too much excitement over two days. We went back to the same gorgeous lodge and marveled at the pristine bathrooms once again. Then back to our guesthouse in Livingstone where we crashed, happy yet exhausted. Really, we got to have it all on this safari: sex, violence, death, mechanical failures, alongside observing a variety of animals in their natural habitat and family bonding to boot. What more could you ask for?
Well, OK. I could ask for a bit more time with my family. The next day it was already time for them to leave. We had a bit of time in the morning to process, reflect and bless each other. But then we realized the time and that we had to get lunch and make our way to the airport. When the first group got to the airport, they discovered that they plane was already boarding, way before the time that we were told they were going to board. So it was a bit rushed as they hurried to catch their flight. We got all our hugs and kisses in, and hopefully it will last us for the next two years until we see them all again. But we also have a ton of pictures (almost double the amount that I have taken the entire year!) and wonderful memories. I’ve got a really good family. I’m thankful for that.
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