Victoria Falls
The first stop on my Southern Africa adventure is Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe / Zambia border. The Victoria Falls Hotel, on the Zimbabwe side, is the oldest in the area. The hotel was built in 1904 to house workers building the Victoria Falls Bridge and the Cape-to-Cairo railway. 1917 saw the construction of a new, much grander, hotel with further expansions and renovations throughout the years. It boasts a rich history of hosting royalty and celebrities, and is my home for 3 nights. Read more – Victoria Falls
Pangolin Better Wildlife Photography – Chobe River
The next stop was Kasane, Botswana for the 5 day/4 night Better Wildlife Photography course with Pangolin Photo Safaris. Our group of 8 had 9 outings on their custom built photo boat and 1 game drive, all within the Chobe National Park. The park sits in the north of Botswana and at 4,500 square miles it is surprisingly only the 3rd largest in the country. The Chobe river is in the northeast corner of the park and provides a natural border between Botswana and Namibia. Read more – Pangolin Better Wildlife Photography Course
Earth Ark Mobile Tented Safari
Savuti, Botswana
The next part of the trip was a 9 night/10 day mobile tented safari in Northern Botswana. A short charter flight from the surprisingly modern and nice airport in Kasane to an airstrip in Savuti. Read more – Mobile Safari, Savuti
Khwai, Botswana – Part 1 of 2
Moving day was a little different than other days. Still up well before dawn, but we’d have to pack up before leaving; with our bags loaded on top of the vehicle we’d head out for the morning game drive. Once TT, Patrick & Bonnie had the camp packed up, we’d start making our way to the new location, always behind them. Bonnie would pack us a picnic lunch and we’d stop somewhere along the way to enjoy it. After lunch, we’d do a game drive at the new location, staying out until we got the word that camp was set up and ready for us. Read more – Khwai Conservancy – Part 1 of 2
Khwai, Botswana – Part 2 of 2
African wild dogs are highly social pack animals. They are an endangered species; partly because only the dominant male and female in the pack breed and also because of humans and disease, such as rabies. On this morning, we found a female that had killed an impala overnight. When we arrived, only the impala was there. We thought the dog had gone for the pack, but she returned alone and ate some more. While the big cats are very clean eaters, the wild dogs certainly are not. Read more – Khwai Conservancy – Part 2 of 2
Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta, Botswana
The Okavango Delta is one of the world’s largest inland deltas and an important ecosystem in Botswana. With approximately 600,000 hectares of “permanent” swampland, along with over a million hectares of seasonally flooded grasslands, it has no outlet to the sea – the waters nourish the plant life and ultimately evaporate. On the eastern side of the Delta is Moremi Game Reserve, our location for the third and final mobile camp site. Read more – Moremi & the Okavango Delta
Cape Town, South Africa
Kirstenbosch & the Bo-Kaap
Cape Town which sits on South Africa’s western coast, at the top of the Cape Peninsula and in the shadow of Table Mountain, was the last leg of the trip. The first stop was the renowned Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, nestled against the eastern side of Table Mountain. Read more – Kirstenbosch & the Bo-Kaap
Muizenberg Beach, Kalk Bay & Boulders Beach
The next morning we had planned to go to the top of Table Mountain, but the cable car was closed due to high winds & low visibility. It was a dreary, drizzley kind of morning; not the best for photography, but we weren’t about to let that stop us. Muizenberg is a seaside suburb of Cape Town; it’s beach is home to colourful beach huts. These huts are no longer in use, and early in August this year the city of Cape Town decided they should be taken down; the first step was to remove all of the doors. A public outry resulted, and, as of September, they were still there. Read more – Muizenberg, Kalk Bay & Boulders Beach
Betty’s Bay and Stellenbosch
On our last day with Liza we had planned to go to Table Mountain, do the Chapman’s Peak drive and visit a vineyard (which they call a wine farm). Unfortunately, Table Mountain and Chapman’s Peak were closed due to high winds. Needing something else to do, we decided to go to Betty’s Bay, home of the other penguin colony. Read more – Betty’s Bay and Stellenbosch
Table Mountain, Blaubergstrand & Woodstock
My last day in Cape Town and, finally, blue skies and minimal wind. Table Mountain was open! The Table Mountain Cable Car has 2 cars that rotate 360° so that on the way up (or down) you get to see all of the spectacular view. Read more – Table Mountain, Blaubergstrand & Woodstock