 |
| At Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe |
LEON: A lot of days have gone by since our last Overland Safari entry. We finished our safari at Waterfront Camp and Lodge on the Zambezi River in Livingstone, Zambia. Then Barb and I transitioned to a resort camp just outside of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. After three days there, we flew to Johannesburg, commonly known as Jo-Burg, to visit with Cate and Heather, and to begin the next phase of our trip.
After crossing the Zambezi River, and entering Zambia, we drove a short distance to Livingstone, Zb. For the details of that day, see African Border Stories. It was a hoot and a half crossing the border from Botswana to Zambia. Livingstone is an obviously modern town with supermarkets, strip mall shopping centers, and people everywhere. Zambia has a vibrant spirit about it. But its still hot, dusty and dirty. There are churches, and public buildings, and schools, and lots of people. Inflation is a serious issue for the economy. The official exchange rate on the Kwacha is about 5000 ZbK to one USD. Every time you deal with someone on the street, they will try to make some money off of you on the differences. In the hotels and established businesses, they stick very close to the official rate. It is the type of town where you are not sure if anyone has had more than a 3rd grade education, yet in fact most people speak English, the pharmacist we dealt with is obviously educated to international standards, and people seem to be busy. What is also obvious is that there is an underground economy that is a major part of the local culture.
Our campsite is at the Waterfront River Lodge. For once, we pitch our tents on grass. Of course, no one mentioned the monkeys. Barbara is immediately captivated by the oh-aren’t-they-cute horde of monkeys, and becomes unable to perform the Overland Safari Tent Dwellers tribal dance. In other words, she spends the first hour or so taking pictures of the oh-aren’t-they-cute primates while Leon erects the tent. There is a great story with that and I will let her tell it herself.....
The monkey’s antics are obviously just games to them. A tent pitched near us is the basic three-person mountaineering tent with a rainfly over the inner shell. The monkeys love to run under the rainfly, up the inner walls of the tent and slide down the other side. They are so fast it is hard to se them do it, and the way that tent is shaking, it looks like an attack by poltergeists. The antics of the OATC monkeys manage to tick off one of our neighboring campmates. She immediately chases them away while loudly voicing her dissatisfaction with their actions. When she turned back to her tent, the monkey she was chasing turned around quickly and bit her on the ankle. Off to the hospital for the first of her now mandatory Rabies shots. From this I learned that there is a pre-rabies shot one can take that lessens the need for shots after being bitten.
Overlanders are flocking to the pool where the prelude to our own antics begin. This is the last official night of the tour. Many of our companions will begin to depart the following day. Others will stay in the local area for a few days, or begin their travels to other parts of Africa. Jeff and Meghan are off to Zanzibar for their wedding.
 |
| Leon at the bar on the booze cruise. |
Tonight there will be a final animal game cruise on the Zambezi river. It is also traditionally a booze cruise. I wish to go on record that lots of hippos were seen, as well as alligators, buffalo, and other animals. I also wish to say that after a while, very few actually cared. The highlight of that cruise was a birthday cake for Jeff, and his willingness to chug-a-lug a celebratory drink. That night, Old Farhts (doesn’t adding the “h” seem more sophisticated?) like me are getting up for our first relief of the night, as the younger participants are noisily struggling to find their tents. There seem to be a few disagreements about who resides in which tent. Many just give up and go back to the bar to resolve any conflicts in a more diplomatic manner. The monkeys sleep through all of this.
 |
| Hippo on the booze cruise. |
 |
| Leon and his good Navy friend Dan comparing cameras on the booze cruise. |
 |
| You'll need to go around... |
BARB: Leon is so funny, and too macho, to admit that those monkeys were adorable, especially the babies. I have to admit though that it was a little disconcerting to walk from our camp site to the pool and bar as you had to go through a pack of the little darlings. We were told that ‘one eye‘ (he’s partially blind) can be a little mean so I was always on the lookout for him and gave the monkeys the right-of-way on the paths.
One day, I was getting ready to leave our tent so I unzipped it (you have to keep the doors zipped up or you’d have at least five little monkeys jumping on the bed), and put our backpacks just outside the tent door. I was still inside and noticed that there was a group sitting very near so I grabbed my camera, knelt down in the doorway, and started to take some photos and videos. While taking a video, I heard a crackling sound nearby. After wondering what the crackling sound was, I looked down and saw a monkey running away with a bright green packet of hand sanitizing moist wipes - that were in my backpack’s front flap just a moment before. Needless to say, it startled me because he easily could have joined me in the tent since I took my eyes off the now unzipped door. After hollering at him, and Leon retrieving the now dropped wipes, I went back to more important things - continuing with my video of the cute and adorable monkeys.
 |
| Hang on |
Another day, I was walking by the pool and there were lots of adult and baby monkeys so I pulled out my camera (you never walk around Africa without your camera always at the ready) and started to watch them. The parents are very protective of their babies and if one leaves it alone, the other will grab it and hold it close. It was unusual for the babies to play alone but I did catch one sitting on a lawn chair and heard a loud cry when he slipped of and hung by the chair’s edge. There were several adults right there to catch him so he didn’t fall to the ground. I wish that I had my video running for this as the squeal/cry was so cute but did get a photo.
 |
| Momma & Baby on lawn chair by the pool |
 |
| The taste of independence... |
 |
| Help me!!! |
 |
| I'm better now... |
Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and is where our 21 day Overland Safari tour would end, in Livingstone Zambia. But the Falls are also on the border with Zimbabwe in the town of Victoria Falls. Our last tour group outing was to visit the Zambia side of the Falls. We had seen photos of Victoria Falls and expected to see a huge wall of water rushing down the sides of the gorge because it is attributed as the largest sheet of falling water in the world. However, we had been told that it was pretty dry so we might not see much water. It was really dry! People pay money to see this? They come halfway around the world? OMG. Yougottabekiddingme.
 |
| Victoria Falls from Zambia's side. |
When we crossed over the border to Zimbabwe, for our time at The Elephant Camp, we visited the Falls again. This time we were really surprised to see how incredible it was. As we walked the park’s path, the view got better and better, and because it was afternoon, we had a spectacular rainbow, once even a double rainbow. It was a typical very-warm-African-day but because it was in the ‘rain forest’, the Fall’s mist kept us cool and damp. A few times, you might have seen us with our arms open wide doing a little water dance.
 |
| Victoria Falls from Zimbabwe |
The Elephant Camp
Barb and I leave our friends after lunch the next day. For the interesting tour of No Man’s Land, see African Border Crossings. The Victoria Falls hotel is a wonderful old hotel set on lush, immaculately maintained grounds. It has been an oasis for weary travelers for over a hundred years. I highly recommend a visit. But Barb and I are not staying there, although someday we might. We are headed out to a resort lodge, about 10 minutes away. At the Vic Falls hotel, we are met by Jonathan, the incredibly friendly host of
The Elephant Camp. His concern for us allows me to immediately begin to relax. I am exhausted by our border crossing adventure. As we drive out of town, the climate seems to become more arid, and the vegetation reflects that. As we enter the grounds of our lodge, it is once again evident that security is an issue, and that it is well addressed. The lodge sits on a hill overlooking rolling terrain, with some large gorges cut into the earth. The trees are low and green, and the grasses are yellow and brown. The low roar of the falls can be heard in the distance when all else is quiet.
As we drive in, the assistant manager Kim, and one other of the staff are waiting as the car pulls in. As we see them both standing at the entrance to the complex, with our drinks in hand, Barb and I both think of the opening scenes in the TV series Fantasy Island. And we will live our fantasy for the next few days. There will be clean sheets, hot water, incredible food, and a wonderful staff that allows us to completely relax form our Overland experience.
There is one thing that will not change. We have lived and slept in a tent for the last three weeks. Here at Elephant Camp, we will continue to sleep in a tent. But it is not your ordinary tent. Outside, it looks like a small, khaki circus tent. Inside are three large rooms, conventionally and luxuriously furnished like a fine home, complete with chandeliers in each room. There are sliding glass doors to our deck and dipping pool. There is even an outdoor shower should you want to bathe out doors. Transportation is provided to any activity, but Barb and I are there to relax and enjoy all that they have to offer. The main building offers a bar, reading library, and dining room, plus a full sized pool which we will not ever use, because we have our own pool. Jonathan and Kim are the kind of people that you wish you had time to get to know better.
 |
| Our deck with dipping pool. |
 |
| Not a bad view from the bathroom... |
≈One of the highlights of the stay is a pet Cheetah named Sylvester. He comes each day to visit and Barb will pet him. Once I see that his displays of affection to the handlers include cuffing, and biting, I decline. He never seems to hurt anyone, but one can’t be too cautious. Barb of course loves cats and sees that he gets plenty of affection. Wild Cape Buffalo, who have a reputation for being mean, smart, and vicious, roam the unfenced grounds during the nights. Guests are escorted between buildings by the staff. In the morning there is a new bird whose call is some combination of a crow’s cawing, and a dog’s barking. Platoons of baboons will come ambling through, as will other animals. A group of elephants live nearby and come down to the waterhole in the evening.
 |
| Sylvester the Cheetah, in the wild, running to greet us... |
 |
| Sylvester's handler telling us about his life at Elephant Camp. |
Our three days end too quickly. Barb is ready to move in, in spite of the increasing summer heat. I am ready to stay also, but that is because I am too intimidated by the idea of packing our bags again. We manage to get it done though. Somehow, when we left Bainbridge, we had only two large bags and one small one. Now we are using another large duffle which means there are three large bags. But it’s almost not enough.
Barb and I say our good bye’s to Kim and Jonathan. I give Jonathan a hug since Cate had made me promise to do so. Well, he deserves it! It’s a great place. And after all, it’s Cousin Cate’s menu that we have been eating.
 |
| The Elephant Camp offers rides and I fed several after their hard work. |
No comments:
Post a Comment