My Educational adventure began in early December – where I got to go to Livingstone, Chobe, and Victoria Falls! I looked at 30 properties, crossed the borders 5 times in 5 days, went on an Elephant-back Safari, enjoyed a sunset cruise and more…
Thursday, 06 Dec 07: Bernelle and I departed Cape Town on the evening of 6th Dec for Johannesburg, where we spent the night at the Airport Game Lodge, which is the departure point for our World in One Country Safari. We found the accommodation to be basic, but very clean and comfortable.
Friday, 07 Dec 07: Early the next morning we headed back for OR Tambo International Airport to meet up with Hilka (Another Jenman African Safaris staff member), and caught our flight to the Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe. On arrival we were met by our crew and taken to the Zambezi Waterfront on the Zambian side. The afternoon was spent doing site inspections of various lodges in the area, giving us insight into what there is on offer from backpacker accommodation to the most luxurious lodges known in the book! Afterwards we met up with some of the Jenman guides, who had just completed their trips, at the Waterfront and enjoyed a relaxing sundowner together. The Zambezi Waterfront has a wonderful main building with a huge wooden deck, which is great to admire the African sunset.
Saturday, 08 Dec 07: The next morning we headed towards the Kazangula border, doing some more site inspections en-route. Once we arrived at the Kazangula ferry we were absolutely amazed. For 2km before the actual ferry crossing there are trucks are lined up waiting and it can take them anything between 2-4 days to cross the border! Thank goodness, for smaller vehicles like the ones we operate our tours in, the ferry crossing is much quicker and can take up to 3-4 hours. We were fortunate, as we crossed the river only as passengers without a vehicle. The entire process took about 45 minutes.
Once we had boarded the ferry, it took no more than 2 mins to cross the river. On arrival on the Botswana side, we were met by our guide from Elephant Valley Lodge, where we spent the night. Once we had settled in, we were taken into Kasane to have a look at some other accommodation options in the area. We headed back to camp just in time for the afternoon activity. Hilka decided to join the afternoon game drive, but Bernelle and I opted for the more relaxing boat cruise on the Chobe river, which is an experience of a lifetime! You get the opportunity to watch hippos and crocodiles in the water and also watch massive herds of elephants, as the come to drink at the river at sunset. The cruise and game drive usually take 2 hours, but could be longer, depending on what sightings you have. Once back at the lodge, Hilka had shared her experiences with us – big buffalo and elephant herds, as well as hyenas. After we freshened up, it was dinner time. Elephant Valley Lodges serves a marvellous 3-course dinner. The evening we were there it was buffet-style, but meals do get rotated every night between buffets, set menus and barbeque’s in the tradional African bomas’. There is a floodlit waterhole at the front of the lodge. After dinner guests can retire to the lounge and watch the animals at the waterhole.
Sunday, 09 Dec 07: The next morning we were taken to the Zimbabwe border, where we were met by our crew, who took us on site visits around Victoria Falls. There are a lot of hotels, lodges and guest houses to choose from to suit every clients need and budget. Although, the feedback on Zimbabwe is not great at the moment, we did not feel threatened or scared for one minute. I actually thought that the locals in Vic Falls were the friendliest bunch of people I had ever met. In the afternoon, we took some time out and went for a walk along the path parallel to the falls.
This was probably the highlight of this trip for me, as I have only ever seen the Victoria Falls from the Zambian side. Not that the viewing from the Zambian side is bad, but the falls stretch along 1.3km on the Zimbabwean side and only along 400m on the Zambian side, making the viewing, especially in the dry months (September – January), on the Zimbabwean side way better. After that we saw our last two accommodation establishments of the day before heading to “the Boma” for dinner. The Boma is a traditional African “place of eating”, situated just outside of Vic Falls town near the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. They serve traditional African beers on arrival, which, in my opinion, did not taste great at all. At least I can say that I have tasted it now. The experience is quite interesting as guests get involved in interactive drumming- and dancing sessions. We spent the night at Masuwe Lodge, where the lion encounters and elephant back safaris are operated from.
Monday, 10 Dec 07: This was our last day of the educational… We had to get up early to meet our guides at 06h30, as we were offered to take part in an elephant back safari. Hilka and Bernelle absolutely loved it. I had done an elephant back safari before close to Kruger National Park and have to be honest, that it’s not quite my cup of tea, but I have heard from many clients and colleagues that it is definitely a highlight. After breakfast, which is included in the price of your elephant back safari, we were taken to the Zambian border to get taken back to the Zambezi Waterfront, where we had an afternoon of activities and leisure planned. Once we had checked into our rooms and relaxed on the deck for a while, we boarded the MV Makumbi for a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River. This was the perfect way to end off our educational!
Tuesday, 12 Dec 07: After breakfast at the Waterfront we were taken to Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe and boarded our homebound flight to Cape Town via Johannesburg. Having looked at over 30 properties, crossing borders 5 times in 5 days and amazing experiences and memories, we arrived back home in the late afternoon.
