Safari Day 37 - Kasane, Botswana

Made it to Botswana.  Stayed at a campsite outside Kasane, the entrance to Chobe National Park,   This campsite was next to the Chobe River and elephants would come by the camp to drink at night.  This is our jump off point to Chobe National Park.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasane

Walking with the Lions

I got to walk with the lions today.  I met the guide last night at a BBQ in the townships with some of the locals.  He recognized me right away and gave me the VIP treatment.  He took a ton of pictures for me and I got to spend quite a bit of time with the lions.    The program that puts this together is called ALERT.  They are Africa's first genuine program to ethically re-introduce the offspring of rehabilitated captive-bred African lion back into the wild.  There are 4 stages to the program.  The walk with the lions are with lions in the first stage.  The money produced supports the rest of the program.  Stage 4 is actual reintroduction into the wild which has been unsuccessful so far.  They tried it once, but the males ended up killing each other.

The first walk was with two cubs who were 6 months old.  They were fairly timid, but a lot of fun.  They give you a stick used to grab their attention in case they try to nibble on you.  :)  The second walk was with an older male and female who were 18 months.  The male was somewhat aggressive, so we had to keep our distance.  All in all I would highly recommend this walk, how often to get this close to lions and interact with them.  At a $125, it is a bit expensive, but the money is going to a great cause.

Victoria Falls - The Smoke that Thunders

Spectacular!!!!  One of the seven natural wonders of the world.  It was wet season, so it was flowing at a very high volume.  Had to don my rain gear to take photos even though it was a clear day.  The wind picks up the water coming over the falls and drenches you.  Had to do a bit of maneuvering with an umbrella to snap these shots.  Even so, the mist blurs the falls for the most part and you have to be patient to get a decent shot.

Victoria Falls lodge

Ate here today.  A great place to stay if you have some money.  I would definitely consider it next time  http://www.wildhorizons.co.za/

Safari Day 33-36 - Livingstone/Vic Falls

Made it to Victoria Falls, Zambezi.  Victoria Falls is a neat little town.  Our campsite is somewhat modest, a ways back from the falls.  You can just hear them.  Staying in a tent, the cabins were somewhat lame.  Was able to get laundry done, which I needed to do badly.  Many options here, the falls of course, bungie jumping, micro glider flight, etc.  Unfortunately, the Zambezi river was too high to do the white water rafting.  I chose to do the walk with the lions.  It was amazing and I highly recommend it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Falls,_Zimbabwe

http://www.lionencounter.com

Safari Day 32 - Lusaka

Stayed on the Zambia side of Vic Falls upstream above the falls.  The camp here was veery nice, cool bar dining area.  Huge stopover point for trucks, lots of people.  Got caught up on the some internet stuff and enjoyed a nice meal and some cocktails. There was a sunset booze tour on the river which I elected not to do.  I needed a little space from the folks on my truck.  Tomorrow - the falls!

Safari Day 31 - Another stopover campsite

Crossed over into Zambia today.  Another stamp in the passport.  They are beginning to pile up.  Did some shopping in Blantyre on the way to Zambia.   Picked up some snacks.  The campsite was alright, once again fairly spartan accomodations.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blantyre