Chobe and the Delta, Revisited

I was happy to show my visiting friend, Lorraine, some of my favourite parts of Botswana.  This, of course, included the Chobe and Okavango Delta, spots I had visited earlier in the year.  It is a lot drier now, which means there is a greater concentration of wildlife near the riverside.

In Chobe, I was excited to spot my first leopards !  These beautiful cats had eluded me on all my previous safaris.

Our Delta days were hot and lazy, and we enjoyed going on walking safaris and cooling off in the channels' swimming holes.  Fortunately, the crocs and hippos left us alone !  The swimming hole near our campsite was a short walk away.  Directions ?  "Follow this path, and then take a left at the elephant."  Seriously - An elephant was on our path !

On one of our walks, we came across two bull elephants.  We stayed quiet and motionless as the elder statesman approached us to assess whether or not we were a threat.  Fortunately, he decided we were okay.  Our guide explained that he was the father to the adolescent male, and this was his time to teach his son "how to be a man".   I am not quite sure I know what that means, in elephant terms.

I also took Lorraine across to Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls.  With less spray and lower flow than I witnessed in April, I saw more of the expanse of the falls.

Why is it so hard to spot a leopard ?  Because they are already spotted !

This juvenile was waiting for us at the roadside.  It's mother was watching from the bushes, a safe distance away.

We later found this one in a tree.

The elephants did not disappoint !

What a croc !

This bell frog and his friends serenaded us at night.

Water lily.

Lazy Delta days !

Tia hitches a ride !

I found this humerus ! (haha)

I have a bone to pick with you !

Another beautiful Delta sunset !

We took a helicopter flight over Victoria Falls.

Can you see the people swimming on the edge of the falls ?  They are crazy ! (...but it does look like fun, doesn't it ?)

Leopard, frog, and sunset pictures courtesy of LD and her awesome camera.

Easter at Kasane – Part IV: The Smoke That Thunders

Victoria Falls is known in Zimbabwe as 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' - The Smoke That Thunders.

I was baptised by the spray of Victoria Falls on Easter Sunday – enough to resurrect anyone ! Like a child in a rain storm, I tossed my head back and spread my arms, and let the fresh mist shower down on me. I’ve been to other great falls, specifically, Niagara and Iguazu, but was still awed by Victoria's offerings. I’d like to go back when I have visitors to raft the Zambezi -- anyone game ?

I watched a bungee jumper get dipped into a multi-hued rainbow. I am sure her life will be all the more colourful as a result !

Michiko's impression of Victoria Falls.

Tim's Story

Under the orange glow of the full moon, while sipping tea by the campfire, I asked our safari guide, Tim, about his story.  Tim is in his 40’s and is originally from Zimbabwe.   He can trace his family’s roots in Zimbabwe/Rhodesia back about 8 generations.  In the late 1960’s, Tim’s father decided he wanted to become a minister.  He wasn’t able to enter a seminary in the newly independent Rhodesia (I didn’t ask why), so he moved his family to South Africa.  They settled in Cape Town, where Tim’s father studied, and then ministered to the black and colored families in District Six.  If you have heard of District Six, you may know that in the late 1960’s, the South African government  declared the district a whites-only area under an Apartheid policy, with removals starting in 1968.  Some ‘removals’ happened under the cloak of darkness, by bulldozers, as families slept.  You can well imagine that Tim’s father was not too popular with the Apartheid government.  Tim recalls being followed to school  by the secret police, and his family receiving a letter bomb in the mail (that fortunately, did  not detonate).  One day, they were presented with a notice that they had 48 hours to leave the country, or his father would face imprisonment.  Since Tim’s family had been away from Rhodesia for more than 2 years, they had lost their citizenship and could not return.  So, they packed up their car, drove to Botswana, and settled here, in an environment more supportive of racial integration.