Don't Worry Be Happy

Seeing so many animals on a safari makes you kind of take them for granted but it really is amazing to see something like this herd of impala - probably 200 of them - trying to block the road in front of our truck. From a short distance away they really blend in to the surrounding terrain. It had been raining heavily and if you can see the ruts in the road you'll know why we were happy we weren't driving our own car! Zebras are my favourite animals to photograph - it's like they've been ready all day just waiting to have their picture taken. There was a group of about 50+ marabou and vultures obviously having a feast on something very tasty that we couldn't see. Whatever the lions left them I suppose. Marabou storks are also known as undertaker birds and they look quite pitiful standing around with their black cloaks. Another highly photogenic animal - the majestic giraffe. The 2 male kudus are just play fighting. Elephants and other...

Cape Town is a beautiful city - ocean, mountains, beaches, great restaurants, wineries. And even though this is our 4th time here, there are still several areas we haven't been to. Sam's mom and dad came down from J'burg for a few days and it's been great exploring and visiting with them. On Sunday we took the hop on hop off bus out to a winery, then fish and chips at Hout Bay followed by dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Atlantic. Nice view of Table Mountain from the bus. Monday after breakfast we hopped on a local commuter train for an hour ride out to Simon's Town. The train was covered in graffiti but seemed pretty clean inside. Coming back into the city in the late afternoon it was pretty crowded. The trip had some beautiful scenery by the ocean and included a saxophone player, a couple singing hymns and a group getting escorted off (likely hadn't paid). These are the multicoloured 'change huts' that you sometimes see i...

Driving over the Botswana border in our rental car was a bit of an adventure. First we (and by we I mean Scott) had to go to the police station in Vic Falls with the guy from the car rental company in order to get permission to take the car out of the country. When we got to the border more forms had to be filled out for both us and the car. A fee for driving on the roads needed to be paid and in order to get back into Zimbabwe we had to pay an additional $75 US each (which we'd already paid once at the airport). Apparently Canada charges the Zimbabweans exorbitant Visa fees so they are retaliating! Our lodge was located in the small town of Kasane which is just a short drive from Chobe National Park. The first morning we had scheduled a game drive to start at 6 am. Unfortunately it was pouring rain most of the morning so the animals were not very happy to come out that early! Probably the most exciting part was before we even left the lodge. As with most lodges in tropical clima...

Our helicopter ride over the falls was postponed a few times due to weather but when we finally rose into the skies it was worth the wait. The view of the falls was spectacular of course and we continued down the Zambezi looking for animals. It was like being in a Nature channel movie - several large herds of elephants, zebras and giraffes, a very large herd of buffalo. Quite a different perspective to see them from the air. If you have one, definitely add this adventure to your bucket list. 

Flying in to the Victoria Falls airport it was apparent that this country has not recently been facing drought. Green and lush, the countryside appeared to be doing nicely. As well, from the air you might be able to see small, round buildings known as rondavals. So in order to be that green it must rain a lot which meant our helicopter trip has been postponed indefinitely as it is pouring. Earlier we walked through the park which provides some stunning views. The waterfalls seem to continue forever, almost 2 km in length. The mist was billowing, often making it difficult to see the falls and giving us a bit of a shower. The rain held off until we had finished the hike. Our hotel is gigantic with many water features. We were advised not to leave our balcony doors open as the baboons and monkeys will enter. So far none have come in! But we've seen a few around, on the road, in the park and, according to Scott, running along the roof of the hotel. Still waiting for the h...

Waterfalls are categorized by height, width, and volume of water. Victoria falls doesn't rank at the top based on any of those features but is said to be the 'largest' because of its combined height/width. It lies on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia and is part of the Zambezi river. We arrived in Zimbabwe yesterday, and as Sam mentioned, is the first dictator run country we've been to. Framed photos of Robert Mugabe greeted us at the airport and the hotel and I'm thinking most public places. Lat night we had a very relaxing sunset cruise on the Zambezi - tons of hippos (literally!) and a few crocodiles.  This big guy swam right in front of our boat: The main cultural group in Zimbabwe are the Shona people. We were greeted outside the airport by this group of singers/dancers. Their music is very rhythmic, lots of call/response and multiple harmonies.  Another group of musicians entertained us at the boat dock. The Zimbabweans we have encounte...