Kariba Ferry - Zimbabwe

Getting from Vic Falls to Kariba is not easy - now that Air Zimbabwe have stopped flying to Kariba, a three hour drive followed by a 22 hour ferry across the lake is the only way to go!

It does provide a great view of the sunset and sunrise over Lake Kariba though.

 

 With only a few of us on board, we met some new friends and all enjoyed the trip - great food and far exceeded our expectations of what a 22 hour ferry ride would entail!

Victoria Falls Madness

Zimbabwe - infamous for Mugabe and its corrupt political system, land seizures, hyper-inflation, and devastating cholera outbreak. We weren’t sure what to expect when we arrived.

Our first impression, which held true for our entire stay, was that the Zim’s were THE friendliest and most welcoming people we had met in Africa.  It’s almost as if all of the adversity and strife that they have gone through has been transformed into good natured resilience and warmth.

We arrived in Zimbabwe after a quick 2 hour drive from Botswana. Due to some miscommunication about the onward ferry times for Lake Kariba (the June schedule was still the only one posted as of late July, allowing for some confusion!) we had to cut our time in Victoria Falls short by a day.  Needing to make the most of it, as soon as we arrived we dropped our gear at the backpackers and headed into the Victoria Falls National Park to have a look at the seventh Natural Wonder of the World. During the wet season when the falls are really pumping, 1 million liters pours over the lip every SECOND!

Having kept its natural surroundings, the falls were truly spectacular. 

Vic Falls is known as the adrenaline capital of Southern Africa. We scanned the list of options, including bungee jumping, white water rafting, gorge jumping but for the price nothing got us too excited. Luckily, friends of ours who had been here recently told us that if we crossed the border to Zambia, we might be able to find a local ‘guide’ who, for a negotiated price, could take us on foot through the Zambezi River, literally to the lip of the falls.

So, off we set with Pauline and Sebastian, a French couple we met at the hostel, with our passports in tow to see if we could push our limits and do something a little different.   After entering the Zambian side, we first hiked to the bottom of the gorge to get a view up to appreciate the full size of the falls.  Unlike in many places (think Niagara), the Vic Falls are not at the edge of an escarpment, but rather were formed by a change in the composition of the soil allowing for a massive crevice to erode into the landscape.  This means that you can stand level with the top of the falls and look down from most vantage points.  The falls are even more impressive when seen from below.

We then headed back up to meet up with the gatekeeper for the Zambian parks -who knew what we were after and took us a bit off the beaten track to meet Gift, a local guide who would lead us along the edge of the falls and (fingers crossed) keep us from being swept over the precipice!

Walking slowly, hand-in-hand and stepping cautiously on slippery rocks, we made our way across various parts of the fast flowing Zambezi river – finally arriving at a spot on the lip of the falls that provided a stunning and exciting view. If you had vertigo, you would not want to be standing here.

 

Gift then led us across to Angel’s Pool – a deep pool formed by a 10m set of falls just before the main falls.  With the water rushing down into the pool, and then only meters later over the precipice to drop hundreds of meters down to the bottom of the crevice below, the idea of diving in and swimming got the adrenaline pumping!  Mike was the first to go!

After a few jumps, the guides and Mike had a small chat where they suggested he could get right up to the edge of the falls and lean over.  Megan – not knowing what was being said and manning the camera, had a look of sheer panic after Mike dove off the cliff again, but this time swam straight for the falls themselves!  (Sorry for the blurry video quality, but it gives you a sense of the action!)

A small vortex had created a deep well with almost no current through it, which allowed Mike to wedge his legs against the sides and lean out over the falls.  The tourists on the Vic Falls side were snapping away!

We returned from our adventure thrilled and eager for the next part of our Zimbabwe travels – sailing Lake Kariba. 

Although our time in Vic Falls was brief, the warm welcome we received from the Zims and general optimistic attitudes alleviated all our country concerns and provided confidence that we would love our time here. 

Wildlife Bonanza!

Unfortunately we weren’t able to secure a flight to Kasane – the gateway city to Chobe National Park so we decided to go overland on public transport – more adventures!

Our bus from Kasane to Nata was 3hrs and uneventful. We then needed to change buses in Nata, however all buses going to Kasane were full. The only other option was to hitch a ride so we approached a local who had a pick-up truck and agreed to take us. Going 140km in the bed of a pickup truck was not my idea of comfort.  Then, half way along, when the driver started chucking bottles he was finishing out the window, we definitely got a bit nervous … but we arrived safely! (The driver bought another six-pack in Kasane and still had about 180km to go to his destination!)

We arranged a two night camping trip into Chobe with a local Botswanan guide. So far we’ve had amazing wildlife encounters so we were eager to see what Chobe had in store for us. We were not disappointed. After only 30 minutes in the park we were inundated with giraffes, elephants and a pride of lions cooling themselves under a tree.

After watching the lions we decided to head off, but hit a slight snag. The battery in our 4x4 had died!  Fortunately there was another vehicle nearby who offered us a jump start, the catch was that there was a pride of lions only 5 meters away!! We stood watch while Moebi – our brave guide - connected the cables and we were off again! (Mike also had to get out, of course, to get 'The Shot').

Up next was a pair of young, male giraffes who were behaving strangely. Moebi told us that they practice their fighting skills with each other by trying to knock the horns on their heads. It looked to us as though they were doing the one tile dance. We also learned that the colour of the spots on a giraffe provide an indication of age - the darker the older, like sun spots! There were dozens of giraffes everywhere. We lost count after 150!

Again, it was time to head off and the car wouldn’t start!  I stared anxiously at Mike as I was not in the mood to have my Chobe experience ruined by a neglected battery!  Mike later figured out at camp that the battery for the fridge was run in series with the car battery - so the fridge was draining both down completely and had to be disconnected so that we could have a car that worked!  All part of 'going local'.

Chobe– known for its huge population of elephants (the last census in 2005 was 66,000) with herds of 50 or more was a real thrill. They were EVERYHWHERE and not shy about getting close either. Many young ones were still nursing from and fiercely protected by mum.

The northern part of the park is bordered by the Chobe River, which provides a natural area for the animals to congregate. We watched the daily ritual as many animals headed for the river to drink, bathe and graze.

 

 

Finishing the day watching the sunset alongside hippos was truly memorable.

Our campsite, like in the Okavango, was not a ‘fenced’ site – just a spot in the landscape where we decided to stop for the night.  The Botswana government provides many opportunities for locals to compete against foreign tour operators – partly through allocating specific sites that only the local guides are allowed to use.  Megan did find it somewhat disturbing to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night – especially when she spotted eyes in the darkness with her headlamp!  (Thankfully, it was only a honey badger). 

Moebi didn’t believe in sleeping bags, so Megan took advantage of the one good one we’ve carried with us while Mike wrapped up in multiple blankets – the mornings were quite cold.  On our last day, he woke at 5am and, freezing, decided to start the fire again.  Picking some small kindling from the edge of the site, with a fading headlamp, was nerve-wracking with lions calling in the distance.  He was very relieved when fanning the coals finally ignited the timber and he built a solid morning fire!

On our way out of the park that morning, we were treated to our most exciting wildlife encounter so far.  We came across a pack of painted wild dogs down by the river.  These endangered animals are rare to see, and this large pack was nervously drinking from the river while eyeing a crocodile that was only meters away.

We watched these dogs for almost twenty minutes, oblivious – like the dogs were – to a 3-4 year old male lion that was in the bushline just behind us!  Suddenly, he made a run for one of the dogs, which had a limp.  The pack split, and the targeted dog had nowhere to go but into the river.  Clearly panicked, it swam and hopped across the river and managed to make it to the far shore unscathed.  The lion gave chase for only a meter or two into the water, then thought better of it and stared up and down the shore at the two smaller groups of dogs.

 

Finally, he gave up and made his way back to the tree line, where he sniffed through the bones that remained from an impala the dogs had killed the night before.  With nothing left on the bones, he was clearly hungry and, likely, excited from the adrenalin of his first attempt, made an inexperienced decision and tried to have a go at a large old male buffalo only 100m further down the shore.

The gasps of the toursists in the other trucks (who unfortunately blocked our view of the direct encounter) must have alerted the buffalo, who turned and charged the lion, and chased him back into the trees!

 

Knowing he was out-gunned, the lion retreated and cruised along the tree-line looking for other prey – with the baboons overhead shouting out and keeping us appraised of his presence so we were able to follow along and catch glimpses of him through openings in the bush.

What a way to end our time driving in the park!

To close out our Chobe experience we took a river cruise, which was awesome. While we were impressed with the game drives, the activity from the water was intense and we were finally able to get up close and personal with some hippos and crocodiles!

Overall our time in Chobe was sensational and has rivaled our other wildlife experiences. After camping for a few weeks, we both feel ready for more creature comforts, including hot showers and sleep-ins. Tomorrow morning we catch a bus to Zimbabwe for the next leg of our trip!