Africa - Part 5 (Victoria Falls)

The plan was to get up early and head to the border between Botswana and Zimbabwe, as I read online that it can take a while crossing the border. The reality was we didn’t get up all that early, and we had a nice, leisurely breakfast. We also took an abbreviated stroll through the lodge’s natural trail that is on their property, starting around 7:30. We thought it was entirely fenced in, and it is, except where the fence has been breached! The elephant droppings we came upon kind of gave us the hint. We became separated as I stopped to take some shots and they kept moving forward. I ended-up back at the lodge, but they were not. I checked the reception, our cabin, and restaurant. I checked with Barbara, who said she hadn’t seen them but they would be okay out there. Finally they returned after perhaps 30 minutes. Muffin-stealing monkeys at breakfast were also a distraction that ate up our morning time. So we didn’t depart from Kubu Lodge when I thought we would or what we all agreed to on the previous evening. We would be back to Kasane in time to do a river cruise in the afternoon, as we didn’t expect it to take a long time to get what we wanted out of the visit to Victoria Falls. That was the plan…

Jen offered to drive the ninety minutes each way, so I became a passenger for the day. She was a little shaky at first, what with the steering wheel being on the right side of the car, but got somewhat more comfortable over time. It was helpful that the CRV was automatic.

The border was very close to Kubu Lodge, as we mistakenly ended up there the night we came in to Kasane. The process takes a little time, as you first visit the immigration window and then customs window. Several different fees have to be paid and information provided. They wanted to know the size of the engine in our CRV for instance, along with some other off-the-wall details regarding the vehicle. I had no idea, said I had no idea, and just threw out some numbers. The guy would say “55?” and I would say “Yep. That’s it!” Passports were stamped and we finally moved on. In-between my periods of usefulness, I covertly made some waist-level images, as I felt they wouldn’t be too happy if I lifted the viewfinder to my eye. Visually, it was a very interesting place, and I wanted to give it a shot at trying to capture what was going on there. I like the results.

We drove into Zimbabwe, luckily using a paved road all the way into Livingstone, which is the area and town around Victoria Falls. It’s funny – you are driving past literally nothing, and then within a few meters these tourist shops and this quasi-civilized area erupts from nowhere. Capitalism is alive and well at Victoria Falls! We follow signs and pull into a small parking area across the street from the entrance area to the falls. A polite man in uniform confirms we can park there. We walk across, pay our entry fee, and study the map displayed on a big wooden board. There are only 2 main paths that make a long loop along the rim of the falls and then back to the entrance gate, so we begin our walk.

It’s a short distance to the first place to stop to view the edge of the falls, so I stop and put my rain sleeves on my cameras and shower caps over my lens. This works well here at the side of the falls. It’s fairly easy to keep droplets off the lens, and the sleeves I’ve been using for a couple of years now to keep the camera bodies dry. As we move around to the front side of the falls, the mist becomes heavier. The bodies aren’t a concern, but keeping the water off the lenses will be tricky. I mean I have to remove the shower caps to make exposures, so timing will be required. The mist isn’t constant here. The air can be calm and dry, providing a pretty clear view of the falls. But then there’s a shift, and rain actually falls UP in front of you – mist being pushed up the side of the cliff from the floor below and then it falls onto you on the other side. It’s a weird sight and sensation to see rain going up in front of you! I was moderately successful keeping the lens dry at the sides, but as I got closer to the middle it was a losing battle. In no time I was soaked through, a spot or two (or 3 or 4) would land onto the glass, but the cameras remained dry. It was constantly “raining” in certain areas. This was the dry season! We were told the falls were at their weakest this time of year, and we may get slightly damp. If that’s their weakest, I can’t image the power, the roar, and the soaking of being where we were when the summer rains swell the river and flow of the falls. It’s got to be incredible! Images capturing the size and depth of the area were impossible to make as mist created a veil that covered much of the falls. I read online that seeing the falls from both sides (Zambia being the other) was ideal, but also read the best view is from Zimbabwe. I also read crime against tourists was common in the area. Given more time and better conditions, I still wouldn’t be too interested in seeing what else was available in the area, as it looked fairly straight forward. Anyway, we reached the apex of the loop, and watched some bungee jumping over the river gorge before heading back on the trail to the entrance. It didn’t take as long to get back as we didn’t stop along the lookout points. We were back at the parking lot and were headed back to the border, having spent a little over two hours at the falls. Of course after the 90-minute drive and dealing with the border, which wasn’t as tedious as traveling in the other direction, we still got back too late in the day for a river cruise due to our late start. So, we decided to just go back into Chobe to see what we could see for the remaining two hours of the day before the park closed around 6pm. The players were pretty much the same, although Radhika spied a Giraffe in the distance that I didn’t get a chance to see before it disappeared into the trees. We went back to our Lodge a few minutes before closing, and prepared for dinner. This was our 3rd and last night at Kubu Lodge, and it was most definitely the nicest place we would stay at during our trip to Botswana. In the morning we would be hitting the road back to Maun to stay two nights at Kaziikini Camp, which is the closest camp to the south gate outside of Moremi Wildlife Preserve. This would require another early departure in the morning. So we did our packing and showering that night before and after dinner.

The next morning we awake at a good time and go for a walk on the nature trail for pre-breakfast exercise around 7:15. We walk the entire trail, something I haven’t done but Jen and Radhika did the morning prior. It takes us about 40 minutes. Breakfast runs us another hour so, as we all become involved with a Yellowbellied Greenbul that's inching it's way to my scrambeld eggs, and it’s now about 9:30. If a bird eats egg, is it a form of cannibalism? It’s after 10am before we are checking out, the CRV is loaded, and two members of the party are jibber jabbering in the reception with Barbara and generally loitering around. It’s pushing 10:30 now, and I say we REALLY have to go. Several times already we found ourselves driving late in the afternoon, trying to reach our destination before sundown. Our next destination is a remote camp, no doubt with very little artificial lighting. I didn’t want to get there after dark (which happens about 6pm or so)! So, we’re on the road back to Nata and then west to Maun. Our schedule looks pretty good in terms of providing us with time, so we decide to drop in on Budget to complain about the CRV not being what we had contracted for, and demand a true 4X4 to be able to navigate the abysmal road/trail conditions of Moremi. We also have to get a pass into the park for the next day, money from the ATM, and some food and water for the next two days as I read online that there was none to be had at the camp. The vehicle exchange took less than an hour I would say, with us getting a Toyota Hilux 4X4. We worked well as a team, splitting up the duties between us to cut the amount of time required to accomplish everything. Even so, with the best-laid plans we had delays. The ATM’s were not cooperating, the grocery shopping was tedious, and the takeout chicken dinner was anything but expedient! But we muddled through and got everything done and had about an hour to drive up Shorobe Road towards Moremi’s south gate where Kaziikini would be found. It’s about 48 kilometers total distance, and at the halfway point there’s a veterinary fence that you have to gain access through and the road turns from paved to dirt. So the last 24 kilometers is slower going. Fortunately for us the road signs provided were good, as nightfall once again provided a little tension as our journey concluded. We arrived at the camp in darkness, using the truck lights in an attempt to discover where we should go. We went along the sandy trail that took us by campsites with names and small huts, but we found no reception or check-in area or building. We returned to the area where we first came in from, and two young gentlemen met us. They said it was late (uh-huh) and reception was closed. Hmmm…it was barely 6:30, and my interpretation of what they were saying was “You can’t stay here”, so I gave my name and said we were staying here over the next two nights, and we had a guide in the morning. They disappeared down a road that had a “Staff Only” sign at the entrance way, and came back with keys to two huts and we followed them down the same dirt road we took earlier as they walked us to our huts as we drove behind them. Small, made of a reed/bamboo type vegetation, they were just enough for us, and our backpacks. Thirty seconds away were the showers and toilets, nice and clean enough as we checked them out after dumping our stuff after eating our chicken dinners that were bought in Maun. We kept the rest of the food locked up in the cab so as not to draw the interest of animals. The night skies were clear finally, after not being able to see the stars due to light pollution or clouds, and it was a tremendous sight! This was my first time seeing the southern hemisphere’s constellations, and what an incredible moment it was for me. I was in total awe – we all were. I can’t express how absolutely plain the night skies in the northern hemisphere are in comparison! The number of stars must be at least two-fold, and the arm of our Milky Way galaxy stretches from horizon to horizon! As chilly as the night was, I decided to take a shower that evening under the stars. The water was lukewarm, at best, but the show above kept my mind off the air temperature and any goose bumps I had could have easily been from the sight above than from the cool water hitting my warm skin. I will NEVER forget the sky on that first night.

The album for this post can be found at:
http://www.photoshop.com/user/johndp/?trackingid=BTAGC&rlang=en_US&galleryid=598aa22ec09946aab1631c5dfd155751&wf=sharegrid