Namibia, Botswana, Vic Falls
It has been two amazing weeks since out last post. Internet is pretty rare in rural Africa and when it is available loading even a simple website can be extremely slow - but who needs internet while traveling to such amazing places?
So since we left the dunes of Namibia we made our way through northern Namibia, Bostwana and up to Victoria Falls (on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe). Since it would take forever to go through every day of our exciting trip - I will just say something about a few of the highlights.
In Namibia we spent 2 nights camping and 1 full day of game driving through Etosha National Park. Etosha is a massive game reserve known for is large Pan that floods in the rainy season. We saw plenty of Rhinos, Elephants, Wild Beasts, Impalas, Springbok, Kudu, Giraffe (it is so cool watching them drink from a waterhole), Jackals. We were also lucky enough to find an Earth Wolf, a Hyena, a poisonous black mambo snake, 2 female lions (including one that was eating a dead Rhino) and rarest of all a leapard.
In Botswana we spent 3 days in the Okavango Delta which is one of my favorite places I have ever been . The river spreads out into a massive delta of small streams, marsh and islands. It reminded me somewhat of the everglades, but much more beautiful. We enjoyed relaxing Mokoro rides (dug out canoes that are pushed with a pole rather than paddles) and spent a night camping on a Island hidden away in the middle of the Delta. The Okavango may just be the most peaceful and relaxing place in the world - I only wish I could have stayed for longer.
While in Botswana we also went to Chobe National Park, we we stay more animals than I could have ever imagined in one place. There were giraffe, impala, kudu, wart hogs, wild beast, buffalo (which rounded out our search for the big 5 - Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Leapoard and Buffalo) and of course hundreds of elephants. We even got charged by a baby elephant and had a massive male come within 5 feet of our truck. We also so hippos, crocodiles, monitor lizards, sable antelope, a hyena and the infamous African python. It was really an incredible game experience.
After Botwana we went up to Victoria Falls, which is even far more beautiful that I had ever expected. The width of the falls and sheer volume of water is incredible - I had no idea how wimpy Niagra Falls really is by comparison. It is amazing the amount of mist that rises from the falls. There are some places were you can't see 10 feet in front of you because there is so much water! I can't wait until I have a better high speed internet connection (in Cape Town) so that I can post some pictures.
The next day we decided to get a first hand enjoyment of the mighty Zambezi River so we went white water rafting down the rapids below the falls. It really amazing and since the water was so high the rapids felt like we were floating over massive ocean waves. It was such a blast - definitely worth the 18.6 Million Zimbabwe dollars!
After Vic, we went back to Joburg with our Nomad Tour and then spent the night on a farm in Benoni outside of the city. Then we rented a car and made out way east to the Drakensburg mountains. We spent yesterday hiking to the top of Sentinel Peak and to Tegeula Falls (the second highest only to Angel Falls) which has a vertical drop of more that 900 meters. It was really impressive even though it was mostly frozen over. Well we are still here for a couple more days before we head to Lesotho. Can't wait to tell you more about the trip.
So since we left the dunes of Namibia we made our way through northern Namibia, Bostwana and up to Victoria Falls (on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe). Since it would take forever to go through every day of our exciting trip - I will just say something about a few of the highlights.
In Namibia we spent 2 nights camping and 1 full day of game driving through Etosha National Park. Etosha is a massive game reserve known for is large Pan that floods in the rainy season. We saw plenty of Rhinos, Elephants, Wild Beasts, Impalas, Springbok, Kudu, Giraffe (it is so cool watching them drink from a waterhole), Jackals. We were also lucky enough to find an Earth Wolf, a Hyena, a poisonous black mambo snake, 2 female lions (including one that was eating a dead Rhino) and rarest of all a leapard.
In Botswana we spent 3 days in the Okavango Delta which is one of my favorite places I have ever been . The river spreads out into a massive delta of small streams, marsh and islands. It reminded me somewhat of the everglades, but much more beautiful. We enjoyed relaxing Mokoro rides (dug out canoes that are pushed with a pole rather than paddles) and spent a night camping on a Island hidden away in the middle of the Delta. The Okavango may just be the most peaceful and relaxing place in the world - I only wish I could have stayed for longer.
While in Botswana we also went to Chobe National Park, we we stay more animals than I could have ever imagined in one place. There were giraffe, impala, kudu, wart hogs, wild beast, buffalo (which rounded out our search for the big 5 - Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Leapoard and Buffalo) and of course hundreds of elephants. We even got charged by a baby elephant and had a massive male come within 5 feet of our truck. We also so hippos, crocodiles, monitor lizards, sable antelope, a hyena and the infamous African python. It was really an incredible game experience.
After Botwana we went up to Victoria Falls, which is even far more beautiful that I had ever expected. The width of the falls and sheer volume of water is incredible - I had no idea how wimpy Niagra Falls really is by comparison. It is amazing the amount of mist that rises from the falls. There are some places were you can't see 10 feet in front of you because there is so much water! I can't wait until I have a better high speed internet connection (in Cape Town) so that I can post some pictures.
The next day we decided to get a first hand enjoyment of the mighty Zambezi River so we went white water rafting down the rapids below the falls. It really amazing and since the water was so high the rapids felt like we were floating over massive ocean waves. It was such a blast - definitely worth the 18.6 Million Zimbabwe dollars!
After Vic, we went back to Joburg with our Nomad Tour and then spent the night on a farm in Benoni outside of the city. Then we rented a car and made out way east to the Drakensburg mountains. We spent yesterday hiking to the top of Sentinel Peak and to Tegeula Falls (the second highest only to Angel Falls) which has a vertical drop of more that 900 meters. It was really impressive even though it was mostly frozen over. Well we are still here for a couple more days before we head to Lesotho. Can't wait to tell you more about the trip.
posted by David at 8:54 AM
1 Comments:
Hi Amy & David!
I tried leaving comments before, but I seem to run into trouble when I'm done writing. This is my first time on a blog, so I must be doing something not quite right. There may be others like me out there that are reading and commenting but never seem to get it to stick. Hopefully, this time it will work.
All of your descriptions are awsome! I feel like I'm there when I read it. I wanted to try to comment again, because I want to encourage you to keep on writing! I already visualize myself swimming with the rhinos when I finish grad school.
Thanks for inspiriing all of us.
Stay healthy!
Love, Kim Stasny
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