The Elephant Camp, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe - Days 9 and 10

Sylvester and the Rescued Elephants

After a nail-biting but incident free border crossing into Zimbabwe we arrived at our fifth and final camp, The Elephant Camp.  Beyond beautiful, the accommodations are out of an Arabian Nights tale.  Again, luxury is the common denominator and the tents are stunning.  The food is great as is the service, but the stars of the show are the elephants and Sylvester the ambassador cheetah.

The views of the Victoria Falls mists off in the distance and of the gorge are awe inspiring and of course the Falls themselves, where Jessica decided to go zip-lining (and we let her!!).

The Elephant Camp is affiliated with an elephant sanctuary and a big part of the experience is to visit the sanctuary, learn about their conservation and rescue efforts, feed the elephants and go for an elephant back ride.  Sylvester is a cheetah that was rescued when he was only two days old; his mother and four siblings had been killed by a lion.  He's a big cat now (five years old and fully grown) but tame enough to pet and walk about with him.  But once he's off the leash it's a different story; watching a cheetah take off after some unseen prey across the plains is an awesome sight.

We went on another walking safari but this time the guards carried rifles; truth be told, it didn't make me feel any safer.  We came ever so close to a cape buffalo, a crazy creature, unpredictable and irritable but he just looked at us and went back to doing whatever crazy cape buffalos do.

This was the end of our adventure, a fantastic 10 day safari focused on Botswana, a land of gentle people who enjoy prosperity and stability in stark contrast with most other African nations.  The Setswana are cultivating a safari culture that successfully maximizes the financial benefits while minimizing the tourist footprint on the environment.  This approach makes safari an expensive proposition with few alternatives for those on a small budget but ensures that Botswana will remain a fantastic and unique safari destination for generations to come.

As for me, counting the days until I can go back...

Ngoma Safari Lodge, Chobe - Days 7 and 8

Nightdrives Rule

Following six glorious days at the Desert & Delta lodges we took it up a notch.  Our last stop in Botswana was the Ngoma Safari Lodge. It is beautiful and utterly luxurious. Our suite had a soaker tub, outdoor shower and plunge pool and we had an uninterrupted panoramic view of the Chobe river and the floodplains.  But for us, greater luxury did not make it better, just a different experience.  After all we were there for the wildlife, not to soak in a bathtub.

Among the many great game drives both on land and on water, the true highlight of our stay at Ngoma was a nightdrive. Although the aim is to see some night-time action and we saw no big predators, we came across a zebra who had just minutes earlier had a foal.  The baby had not yet gotten up and this is the time when it is most vulnerable; several jackals were circling, looking for an opportunity to get to the baby, but the zebra family closed ranks around the baby and protected it until it got up and was ready to move with the rest of the dazzle.  It was dark and we were trying to be as unobtrusive as possible so there are no pictures of this but that wild ride is firmly imprinted as one of the greatest memories of our safari.

Just as the lions rule Savuti, Chobe is the elephant enthusiast's paradise.  The incredible plenty and variety of species in the Chobe is simply amazing, but it is the elephants, numbering in the tens of thousands, who captured my heart; in particular a mother with a baby and two other youngsters and the way the baby was so obviously being shielded and protected from the gawking tourists.  Once they decided that we had "gawked" enough, they turned their backs on us!! served us right.

Sunset at Ngoma

The view opens up as you walk through the doors

From our deck. It`s on those plains that we saw the newborn zebra during the nightdrive

Birds bathing in our plunge pool

View from our suite

After a nice swim

Baobabs and a full moon

Yep, another amazing sunset

Chobe is truly bountiful

Late afternoon on the Chobe plains

No caption necessary

Savute - Days 5 and 6

It's all About the Lions

This would be our last stay at a Desert & Delta camp and Savute Safari Lodge did not disappoint.  Along the Linyanti river which also has a history of drying up for no good reason and resuming its flow without a seeming explanation, this camp is located on the western edge of the Chobe National Park.  The lodge has been recently renovated in a unique style that is traditional and sophisticated at the same time.  We saw an unbelievable number of animals here but the lions reign supreme.  A large, beautiful pride.

The camp's waterholes welcome many animals

Elephant crossing the Savute Channel to go drink at the waterhole

Many beautiful birds hang around

Lilac-breasted roller

Majestic giraffes abound at Savute

Kudu

Another amazing sunset

Lion crossing the plains in search of his pride

A few fresh scars

My favourite shot, we were so close that our image is reflected in his eyes

Pride on the move

Mini straggler

Resting after a big meal, the carcass of a giraffe was just around the bend

Blonde Hyenas

Babba our fabulous guide at Savute

Cape buffalo on the run

Cape buffalo, notorious for their unpredictability and testiness

Impala

Happy warthog

Giraffe looking out for one another

Mock charge

The elusive leopard

It took several drives but we finally found a leopard, quietly stalking a herd of impala.  We watched for a while, waiting for the leopard to make its move when all of a sudden a bull elephant came bouncing along and scattered the impalas, completely unaware -or totally unconcerned- with ruining the leopard's meal.  Spot the annoyed leopard between the elephant's legs below?



View of the waterhole from our deck