Another long day of traveling via plane and bus to our next lodge. While stopping at both the Zambia and Zimbabwe borders for immigration and visa stamping, we were highly entertained by the baboons. At the Zambia crossing, a baboon ran into the guard house, snagged someone's lunch, reconnoitered to a safe distance away, and tore into the plastic bag. Looked like he managed to score some kind of sub sandwich, but it didn't look like he enjoyed the bun that much. (Someone is going to be very surprised and disappointed when noon comes around).
Doesn't it always taste better when someone else makes it?
The baboon at the Zimbabwe border was even more entertaining. There were white plastic, burlap sacks containing large amounts of produce and staples like rice, potatoes, etc. stacked just outside the entrance to immigration. Perched atop the pile was a woman's purse. One baboon scurried over, tore frantically at one of the bags until he opened a big enough hole to steal some of the sweet potatoes inside, stuffed one in his mouth and held one in each hand, then ran for freedom. The purse was never disturbed. There was a phenomenal photo opportunity before he took off, but we were told they did not allow any photography at the crossing.
On the way to the camp through Hwange National Park, a deranged bird attacked on my side of the jeep. I managed to duck in time, but Don, who was seated higher in the seat behind me, was left with a souvenir on his left cheek. (Unfortunately his wife, Georgia, wiped it off before I could snap a photo).
By the time we arrived at the camp and checked out our tents, it was 3 PM. We are truly out in the middle of nowhere, ground level, quite a walk to the lodge, and our boardwalk is only about a foot off the ground. Everard, one of the staff who escorted us to our room, warned us to be alert for lions! (Talk about feeling vulnerable). Very funny Everard! Well, he must have been serious because here you are escorted by armed staff in the evening. I'll admit I was intimidated by the rifle I saw leaning against the small sofa in the lounge area.
Our lion-surrounded digs.
Comfy beds with hot water bottles at night.
Our outdoor shower. Don't know how many animals were watching us,
but I did kill several bees.
At 5:10 PM, a large herd of elephants came down to the camp watering hole and graciously provided us with several Kodak moments. Lighting was a little tricky, but hopefully Photoshop will help with that.
Out for an evening safari where we spotted roan antelope (for the first time), a black-breasted snake eater, bradfield hornbill, black-backed jackals, baboons and more elephants. Tried the Zambezi lager when we stopped for cocktails - again, another tasty choice.
Roan antelope.
Black-chested Snake-Eagle
Two baboons have a private moment with one voyeur looking on.
Another excellent dinner followed. During almost every meal, we had some staff members join us at the table. This allowed for some very interesting cultural exchanges. This particular evening, Victor, our guide for the evening safari, to mention at one point in the conversation, that in his next life, he would like to come back as an American dog. (ouch!)
Then Vitalis reviewed the next day's schedule of participating in an optional walk as opposed to a jeep safari. I did not take advantage of this opportunity because the walk would have been 2 miles and one would need to be able to run to safety when alerted by the guide (who was carrying a rifle). OK, that was a bit too much reality for me. One of the group asked Vitalis what sort of things they might focus on during the walk and Vitalis explained they would learn about the animal tracks - which animal left them, even which sex the animal was. Then someone interjected, "you mean you can tell if they had sex?"
Off to bed we marched, escorted by armed staff, with only a cheapie flashlight available as a weapon. It was pitch black and the star-filled sky was breathtaking.
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