4/21/2018 0 Comments Visiting other parts of AfricaOver the Easter holidays and Genocide Memorial Week we decided to take a holiday and visit other places in Africa. We booked a camping safari with Wild Dogs Safari based in Namibia. We had a fantastic time visiting Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. On the first day we were picked up from our hotel in Windhoek by our guide, Willem and we set off for Botswana with the only other guest in the group a young french man called Pierre The first night was spent in the San Lodge campsite - very remote and empty ( we were the only ones there). Paulus, our cook, prepared a delicious meal over a campfire and then we settled back and listened to the local San Bush women who joined us to tell some traditional tales by the fire. There was no light pollution and the stars were amazing. The following morning we were up early to go for a walk through the bush with the San Bushwomen who talked us through all the medicinal qualities of the various plants. Our favourite was the Brandy Bush which just about cures anything and another plant that could be crushed and mixed with goat dung to cure diarrhoea. I always wonder how people find these things out? After our walk through the bush it was back into the bus to head for the Okavango Delta. The journey to the Delta was very long but it was a chance to see the countryside - so flat and different from Rwanda. As we left the San Lodge a giraffe wandered out to say goodbye. Pierre was very happy as he had never seen a giraffe and we saw it just a few minutes after he told Willem he wanted to see a giraffe! We spent two days in the Guma Lagoon Lodge in the fabulous Okavango Delta. It was our favourite campsite (although all of them were very good). The lodge is pretty inaccessible so we had to change vehicle for the last hour of the journey and join Mpo and his wonderful old Landrover. There was a kitchen that Paulus could use to cook and we ate in the beautiful lagoonside sitting area. There was free tea and coffee always available and a bar where we could buy beer and wine! We were up early in the morning for a boat ride across the lagoon to our makoros (dug out canoes) where we spent a few hours with our guide, John, who expertly guided us with only a pole to propel and steer us along the river through the reeds and floating plants to a small island in the delta where we went for a walk. Frogs hopped in and out of the canoe hitching a ride and John had an amazing knowledge of the animals and plants in the area. It would have been very easy to get lost but John had grown up in the delta and knew his way around. The following day we had another long drive through the Caprivi strip in Namibia and did a game drive in Mahango Park before reaching Kwando. We saw lots of animals including hippos and water buffalo. There was a huge Baobab tree that was just calling out to be climbed! We visited the cultural village called Kwando TV (Traditional Village) before heading to the beautiful Camp Kwando. Another fab campsite with a bar and restaurant area overlooking the lake which was filled with the sounds of hippos. We caught the sunset and sunrise before we headed off back into Botswana. The cultural village was interesting. The Kwando Lodge where we were staying had once offered 'cultural' visits to the local village. Tourists having a nose really. I have always been a bit uncomfortable with this - and it seems so were the residents of the village. So they have set up a mock up village where locals will show you around their houses and give you a taste of how life was and in some cases still is in their village. The delightful Hadleigh was our guide. With the help of some of the locals they showed us how to pound the grain, set up traps for mice and bigger animals, we experienced some traditional music and dancing as well as the hippo drum! The dance was led by the medicine man who gave us all a clean bill of health! We left Camp Kwando and Namibia for the final time and returned to Botswana for two days at the Chobe Sfara Lodge at the edge of Chobe National park. We did an early morning game drive and a sunset boat safari along the Chobe river. Chobe is famous for having the most dense population of elephants. It is also great for seeing all animals especially in the dry season when they all come to the river to drink. We were visiting at the end of the rainy season and the vegetation was lush so we were less likely to see the big cats. Our expectations were quite high though as on our drive was an Irish girl who had been the day before and seen two leopards - one in a tree and a pride of lions and a lioness stalking. But the cats did not want to come out to play! But our Irish friend did show us her lovely pictures!! We saw very fresh lion footprints (our guide said we had just missed it) and a tree where a leopard had just left! But it was still all very impressive and we saw plenty of other animals including zebra, birds, giraffe, hippos, various antelope and two jackals that entertained us with their play for a while. An early morning start and off to our final destination - Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Our last camp site at the Explorers' Village Shearwater about a ten minute walk to the Falls. In the afternoon we went to the Falls and several people tried to sell / hire waterproofs. Pah! How wet can you get from a bit of waterfall mist! We could hear the thunder of the falls from our campsite so we should have realised that it was going to be very wet. We got soaked! But what an amazing place! The following day we decided that we couldn't miss the opportunity to see the Falls from the air and we booked a helicopter flight. Not a bad location for my first helicopter ride! What a great trip! A big thankyou to Wild dog safaris and especially Willhem and Paulus for looking after us so well. And of course our friend Pierre for being such fun to be with! Peppa Peppa. We flew back to Rwanda from Vic Fall airport. The leopard is the one Big Five animal that we have yet to see in the wild - who would have believed it - There is one in Victoria Falls airport.
The pilot on our Kenya Airways flight did a few loops around the falls so we had one last chance to see them as the sun was setting!
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December 2018
Preparing to go back to our second home
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