The dip in the pool did not happen. When I got there it was off and the sediment in the bottom was unappetizing. The next day I learned they only ran it in the morning. So much for a dip in a small pool.

We set out for two cruises on boats on the Kafue and Lufupa rivers. We saw many birds along the water’s edge on the first cruise. That cruise was cut short while we heading back when a member of our group passed out. Fortunately another member who was on the boat is a nurse anesthetist.

She jumped in and got everything under control while we headed for camp. The good news is the incident was a passing thing, from heat, dehydration aggravating a known issue. Everyone is well and attending all events. Our second cruise was cut short for some of us when word of a lion on the camp road was passed and most of us agreed that chasing a lion seemed more interesting then drifting around looking at birds, crocodiles and hippos. Contrary to our guide, BK’s, promise the lion did not wait for us along the road and we never did see one in Lafupa Camp, or any other cat in the Kafue Reserve.

By a variety of buses and safari cars we made our way over the border from Zambia to Zimbabwe walking over the “historic” Victoria Falls Bridge. It is not only historic but also old and does not seem likely to last much longer without significant upgrades. Only one truck at a time is allowed over it and it sways badly when they cross. At the center, right on the Zambia/Zimbabwe border is a bungee jumping platform. It may be the only place where you can swing between two countries while bungee jumping. No one in our group thought this was a good idea. We completed our walk across the bridge to rejoin our Zimbabwean bus for the ride to Hwange National Park and Kashawe Tent Camp. The tent accommodation is lovely. It is set in the park so there are no fences and animals are free to roam. I awoke this morning to a herd of Bushbucks grazing just feet from our front porch. Our game drives have been interesting but with no cat sightings.

We saw lots of elephants. This park was once home to 1 or 2 thousand elephants. Today on any given day the elephant population ranges up to 48,000. There is a major source of water at watering holes and it is safe from hunters. Along the Zambezi River which is the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, hunting is permitted. Apparently the elephants have figured out that they are safe in the park. The result is utter devastation to the trees and plant life in the park. Vast acreage has been denuded and with continuing drought it is unclear how the elephants and other herbivores will survive long term. As the elephants range out to find food they will ultimately start eating the farmers fields and the conflict will be serious for both sides. We have seen the devastation elephants can cause in other parks as well. They are deforesters and reforesters wherever they live, but when they are in overpopulated areas there is not enough time for the reforestation to happen.

As if this is not enough environmental devastation the road from Victoria Falls to the park passes through the Hwange Coal Mine. It literally runs around the rim of the open pit mine. Huge Chinese built earth movers are ripping the coal from the earth and transporting it to a major electrical generating plant. Driving though leaves one coated with coal dust. The terrain looks like the outtakes from a bad SciFi movie.

As I write we have one more High Tea and one more game drive planned before we move on to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe for the last two nights of the base Ultimate Africa trip. We will then move on to Cape Town.

In Victoria Falls Airport departing for Cape Town:

We were so active in Victoria Falls that I never got to write or post. Still uploading pictures too.

During our first day tour we stopped at Rainbow Restaurant for lunch before walking out to view the falls. We had several up close and personal adventures with Vervet Monkeys that considered any food left unattended (turn your head away) as theirs. Bared teeth from a disappointed Vervet are not my favorite view of monkeys.
Resuming writing in Rochester: For all our friends who have spent hours at Niagara Falls these are even wider and at low water seem to pass as much water as Niagara at peak daytime flow. I cannot begin to imagine them at high water. We made it back from the walk to Danger Point in time to get the bus back to the hotel so we could prepare for our dinner cruise on the Zambezi above the falls. We wrapped up our time in Zimbabwe with one last game drive to see Black Rhino. These are more scarce than the White Rhino and are only living on protected game reserves as their horns are worth as much as $2,000,000 in illegal world trade. We found the alfa male patrolling around the site where his 4 year old son in penned in a boomah for his protection. Papa won’t permit ANY male to survive in his territory and has already killed a five year old son.