It was Saturday and we were riding down the Zimbabwean highway in an open jeep, heading for the Zimbabwe-Botswana border. Our destination? The Chobe Game Lodge located inside the Chobe game reserve in Botswana. That's right, another stamp in our passports as we continue our search for wonderful African game. Chobe was to be our last safari experience and it was special, although because the rainy season had come to Botswana, the animals were more scarce and much harder to spot.
We had heard that Chobe was home to more elephants than any other reserve in Africa and we did see lots of elephants in our three game drives. I joked as we scanned the teak trees and grasses for my favorite animals, that my goal is to take 10,000 elephant photos. I have posted lots of tusker pictures, so I will just offer this feisty young male side-stepping beside our jeep; he was a character.
And this dear little one sheltering from the rain under his mother.
Chobe River proved a wonderful place to see hippos. See the little one cuddling up to mama? Hippos come out of the water to graze, most often at night, so it was a treat to see them while there was plenty of light for photos.
We were quite delighted by the spectacular bird life in the reserve. I'm not sure if I can properly identify the species I was able to capture, but you will likely agree they are wonderful. (Leave a comment if you can help to more accurately identify these birds.)
Little Egret
Our guide kept calling this large-billed bird the "Chili pepper bird"
Snake bird
African Fish Eagle
As our last game drive came to a close, we had one more delightful surprise -- five lion cubs waiting in the long grass for their lionesses to bring home supper.
Our last evening in the lodge was relaxing and fun. We shared stories with other travelers and enjoyed the excellent food -- perhaps the best fare we've had anywhere in Africa. Then it was another wake-up call, the reverse truck ride and border-crossing into Zimbabwe, a flight to Johannesburg. I am writing this post on our last night in Africa. Tomorrow we fly to Madagascar; so stay tuned for further adventures.
Wonderful, just fabulous. I think this leg of your adventure exceeded your visions of what you thought it might be!
ReplyDeleteSplendid! Thank you so much for taking the time to post and to share your adventures with us.
ReplyDeleteCath