Note: This entry is for Saturday, May 27, being posted late (Africa time) on Monday, May 29.

I was up late Friday night getting the blog up because it might’ve been the last time I had decent WiFi for a while, it was a big blog day, and we had an early start the following day. We slept in until 7am which is unusual for both of us and were supposed to meet some of our group at 7:30am to do the official tour of Victoria Falls. We chugged a cup of instant coffee in the room and met up with our group.

Ash and Sheryl practically dressed alike – similar color top, similar sandals.

This is the entrance to Victoria Falls National Park. We were driven here in the same van that brought us from the airport. There’s an outdoor marketplace across the street where we were provided with raincoats. Ruh-roh. That tells you something, don’t it?

The guide took us to point 13 first, walked to the end, then worked our way backwards. Two reasons for this strategy: going against the crowds, and saving the best for last.

In the beginning it was just like a walk through the woods.

Our first glimpse of the Falls through the forest.

This path took you pretty close to the Falls and was the reason you needed raincoats. There was So Much mist from the falls that it felt just like walking in the rain. And not a drizzle, a good solid rain. So much that I didn’t want to take my phone out and try to get a photo of it. You’ll just have to trust me :)

Ash and I split off from the group here because we wanted to go at a faster pace, and walk back to get more steps in.

The first of several shots throughout the day noting terrain changes: from woods to rainforest.

The views keep getting better as we make our way to the beginning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From here on out, if there’s a video, just watch it. I won’t always have anything to say about it because it speaks for itself.

Requisite selfie; I really like this one!

This is the very beginning of the Falls, called Devil’s cataract. It’s the lowest part of the Zambezi River at this point so the water is flowing the fastest. Niagra Falls has more annual volume, Iguazu Falls in Argentina is the widest, but Victoria Falls is the highest at 108 meters or 354 feet high.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was my favorite view until the next stop.

I stood here for a few minutes and just stared. Video below shows why.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A young church choir singing around the statue of David Livingstone, as in “Dr. Livingston, I presume?” He was a physician and explorer who discovered the falls in 1855 and named them for Victoria, the British Queen at the time.

Since we had ditched our ride we walked back but made it by about 9:15am, plenty of time to have a leisurely breakfast before we were leaving at 10:30. We both had Spanish omelets. It was served with potatoes, sausage, bacon.

At 10:30 we all got in the same van, along with Gail, there in the green shirt in front, our CEO: Chief Experience Officer. She’s our lead from National Geographic for the entire trip. What a job!

Above and below: more shots showing terrain changes. And it’s definitely Fall here.

We stopped for lunch around 12:30pm at the first sign of civilation we’d seen since we left Victoria Falls, and it was just gas and this: Chicken, Pizza or Ice Cream. Not a bad business model.

We opted for a pepperoni pizza, which we agreed was very good. I also got a nutty chocolate dipped vanilla ice cream cone, below. Total for lunch: $10.50. Zimbabwe is weird; they’ll take anything – dollar, rand (South Africa), euros – but really prefer dollars. So that’s how everything reads – in dollars.

Gail snapped this at lunch; that’s Sheryl again on the end with Jim.

Shortly after lunch we encountered our first elephant, just casually crossing the road as they do here.

Terrain change again. Kinda woodsy.

Here’s how this works here: the government has leased large swaths of land to tourist lodges to protect as part of conservation efforts. The land these lodges control butt up against Hwange National Park, which is over 5600 square miles – larger than the state of Connecticut. So combined it’s a bunch of open space, and the animals can roam between both without barriers. All that to say, at this stage of the drive we were already off road and on the private property held by these lodges – several of them owned and operated by one company, Amalinda. We weren’t even at our lodge yet and the show had already started. We stopped to watch this elephant and her baby make their way.

This was the scene behind me: Impala and baboons hanging out under trees.

Those same elephants making their way past the other vehicle in our party. We’d stopped at a Painted Dog Conservatory, but it was unexpectedly closed; however, the lodge guys were there in these vehicles, so all bags and people moved from one van with a trailer to 2 of these big land cruisers. The bags went ahead of us in a third one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First video of the safari. It shows what I love so much about some scenes, where different kinds of animals are just hanging out together. Here we have elephants, impala, and baboons.

The main lodge where we hang out, have meals, etc.

The view out from the other side of the lodge. This was my view while writing most of this entry for Saturday, on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. Buffalo, wildebeest and elephants, among other things, show up in herds to that watering hole.

We were greeted with an iced tea and a damp cool towel. That towel thing happened every time we returned from a safari drive – sometime cool, sometimes warm, depending on the weather. And I can add since I’m writing this Monday evening, the next place – Chobe Safari Lodge – does the towel thing, too.

This was our room – all of them were separate bungalows (we couldn’t decide on the word – hut or cottage don’t seem right!).

What a dump! When Gail kept referring to “camp” I was getting nervous. We are in fact in the middle of nowhere Zimbabwe. But the bungalow next to us has a plaque indicating that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip stayed there. If it’s good enough for them, that tells you a bit about the quality here. We were pretty impressed. As in the place at Victoria Falls, turn down service was provided and included bringing the mosquito net down.

Nice bathroom. Our only complaint was no door.

And it has a pool, although they kept us so busy I don’t think anyone ever used it.

The lodge has an observation deck, above, and a hide, below, where you can go and relax and see what you can see.

The hide is pretty decked out too, with drinks in the fridge and a notebook for you to record what you took – and your room number of course – on the honor system. Below is the other side.

You waste no time here. They gave us just enough time to drop our things off and get ready for the next thing: our first safari drive. This was one of the first pics I took on that drive, which just so happened to look back at the lodge. That dark strip in the center is the hide, the observation deck to the right, and the main lodge to the left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took this video from the hide. Turn your volume all the way up. The point of this? How quiet it is.

The first zebra of the trip.

The first of MANY (I can say 3 days later) buffalo we will see. Males are distinguished by the crown on the head between the horns.

Notice how many vehicles are out. This became a familiar sight. Bottom right is our field guide, Rodwell. We had him for all of Saturday evening through Monday morning. He was excellent – superb knowledge of animal behavior and why they do what they do, able to identify countless birds, etc., etc. We would literally be lost without them. We were split up into two vehicles, and the other one had Munya, who was just as good. It was comforting to be in the hands of experts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This elephant shaking her head at us to warn us about her child behind her, then steps in front to protect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of adorable babies in this one. This was taken at the same stop as the elephant above it.

Then it was time for our first “sundowner” – the safari version of Happy Hour. Our field guides brought out drinks and snacks. It’s an easy group of people to be with, thankfully, since we’re spending A LOT of time together.

Veggie fritters, beef jerky – much better than you’re used to – and nuts.

And you hang out until sunset, hence “sundowner.” Notice Venus out top right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This video cracks me up: there’s this casual conversation happening with elephants not that far away. The main voice you hear is Gail; she’s from South Africa which is the slight British accent you’re hearing. Chit chat, then Ash saying “nuh uh, they’re gonna steer clear of us” and Debby saying, “what’s coming running towards us” and then the video ends. Like the opening of some horror flick.

When we got back to camp we noticed there were elephants out by the hide so went to watch for a bit before dinner…until we scared them away….

A beautiful table was set for a buffet dinner.

The buffet line to the right of the prior photo.

Beef stroganoff and Portuguese chicken, both excellent, with potatoes, vegetable, bread. There was a dessert, but I don’t remember what it was.

The elephants were back by the hide after dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An amazing way to end an absolutely incredible day.

We didn’t have great Wi-Fi at Sable Lodge. As I type it is now Monday night, May 29, 9pm. We’re at Chobe Safari Lodge in Botswana and will be here for 2 nights. The Wi-Fi is much better so maybe I’ll get caught up.