zimbabwe and botswana 2001

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week 2 botswana to victoria falls

The Okavango Delta is in north-west Botswana and was the highlight of the trip, despite the heat! We were transported to our mokoro canoes, by 4x4 which took an hour or so. This was followed by a leisurely trip through the reed beds and river system to our campsite for the next few days. The heat was stiffling, even our acclimatised Zimbabwean cook, Kingston, found it hot (see below). We camped out on one of the larger islands in the delta. You could spend a bit more money and be flown further into the Delta by plane, where there'd probably be even more wildlife. The thunderstorms during the night were amazing, lightening strikes all around, with the occasional burst of rain - unforgettable! Early the next day we went the first of many foot safaris with local guides followed, for some of the group, by a helicopter flight over the delta. Then me, Angela, Nadine and Jonathan (see below) escaped the rest of the group and went for a dip in the delta, at the height of the mid-day sun. No crocodiles, hippos or insects, just the slow moving current of the delta to cool us down.

From left: Mokoro trip, the Delta from the air, Victoria Falls and Jonathan, Angela and Nadine in the Delta.

It was then onto Chobe, where we camped down by the river, listening to the hippos and watching the sun go down (right), as crocodiles slept below the veranda. We later discovered that a tourist had been eaten by a croc at this very spot a year or so earlier, ugh. After an early start we headed off for a very disappointing game drive in Chobe National Park, instead of the expected herds of elephants, all we spotted was a few antelope and a group of rather tired looking lions. This was no doubt down to the time of year, the animals don't always stick to the same country, let alone a specific park. So back to the river, where we took a river cruise with swimming elephants, hippos and crocs, before making our way back into Zimbabwe to the tourist capital of southern africa, Victoria Falls.

We all then got very drunk on a riverboat cruise and ended up in the guest house pool. Some of us fully-clothed, one with their camera and passport too! A good night was had by all and it was early morning when we all set off, the worse for wear to the white-water rafting. I'm not sure all of us knew what we were letting ourselves in for, but the Zambezi possibly isn't the place to try white-water rafting for the first time (or with a hangover). One of group, Sue, dislocated her arm and several people found the whole experience very frightening (and I broke my thumb, ouch). Although not as dangerous as say the Colorado or Nile, in Uganda, the rapids do get to grade 5, which is the toughest attempted commercially. I enjoyed the experience being the only person, apart from the oarsmen, not to fall in the river - shear luck rather than skill! The next couple of days were spent loafing around or doing more stupid stuff like bungy jumping - Ron from our truck is the oldest person ever to do the bungy at Vic Falls, at 73 years old, what a nutter (see above). I also went gorge swinging and abseiling which is just as daft. To see a clip of how daft it was, click here to download an mpeg video of our day (warning 1MB in size). We also had an elephant join us for dinner, honest! After short flight to Harare those of us with some energy left, went for a meal in town, which cost next to nothing due to Mugabe's destruction of the economy. Then some fond farewells as this trip of lifetime came to an end. Like many holidays, I've gradually lost touch with the rest of the group, the very important exception being Angela (that's us below right). Lucky me!

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