Because this was our morning of departure, we were given an extra half hour of sleep. Up at 6:30 AM, packed and to breakfast by 7 AM, then out to the runway by 7:30 AM. On the way to the runway, we were alerted by Lincoln via radio that the other jeep discovered the 5 lions we saw stalking the buffalo the day before. So, since major animal sightings take precedence over flight times, off we went to grab some last minute photos.
Getting kind of bored and sleepy.
Getting kind of grumpy and hungry.
Wishing, hoping, waiting for dinner.
After about 10 minutes of lingering with the lions, Captain Jack Sparrow, who went ahead of us with the jeep containing our duffel bags, spotted the elusive leopard (the only one of the big 5 that has managed to elude Iris and me for almost 2 years) lying next to a termite mound just off the runway. Off we went, at a dangerous speed, holding onto the roll bars of the jeep for dear life, zigzagging through the deep Kalahari sand, bouncing off the seats, getting a major African massage and hoping we weren't going to die or get stuck before we reached the leopard. Fortunately we arrived in time, almost being right on top of the leopard before we even spotted it - it was camouflaged so well. What an awesome creature! Well worth the wait, and definitely the highlight of the trip. We followed it for a short time so the guides would have a general idea of where it might be for the next tour group. While we were tracking the leopard, we were laughing about Mozilla's off-road driving. He was mowing over shrubs, small trees and just about anything that got in our way because we were on a mission.
Finally, after 2 safaris, Iris and I see our leopard...
...and it was well worth the wait!
Eventually we made our way back to the runway, where we waited for our 12-seater plane to take us to Kasane. This was our first leg of today's journey to Zambia. By the time we reach our next camp, we will have taken 3 short flights. I am really enjoying the opportunity to fly so many legs in these small planes (allows me to catch up on my journaling).
The airport "terminal".
Only one plane fits under the awning at the hangar.
It was our turn (Iris, Shelly, Pam, me and Don) to go up in the 4-seater with Stefan. I happened to be standing first in line when he asked who wanted to be the co-pilot (talk about being in the right place at the right time), so I jumped at the opportunity. Stefan took a photo of me at the controls, but the rest of the group warned me not to touch anything - boy, no support:) Just before we left the ground, Stefan offered to swing by Victoria Falls so we could get some aerial photos before landing at Livingstone Airport. Of course we agreed. It was simply stunning. I used my wide-angle lens, which I brought specifically to take photos of the Falls. I haven't downloaded my photos yet, but I'm really hoping I caught one of the rainbows we saw.
My new career as a co-pilot.
Stefan gives me the thumbs-up as we prepare for take-off.
Victoria Falls, one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.
Into Livingston Airport before the rest of the group, who had 2 split up between 2 different planes to reach us. We went through customs and waited for them in Immigration - a few of us needing some carbonation to settle our stomachs after an adventurous landing. I told Pam I was starting to taste those peanut M & Ms she gave me just before we departed. I think she, Shelly and I were getting close to the edge of leaving a souvenir in the barf bags, but peer pressure prevailed and there were too many cameras handy to document the damage.
So why am I now riding in an even smaller plane with Iris and Dick for the 3rd and final leg of the journey??? Because life is an adventure to be lived fully, and who knows when I'll get another chance to do some of these things again? (another more challenging adventure is planned for about 5 days from now, but the author does not wish to share this with her readers in case she backs out).
Almost 10 hours after leaving Okavango Delta, we finally arrived at Lufupa Camp in Zambia. Our first briefing with Cynthia was interrupted by another leopard sighting - our 2nd in 2 days! Here it took us over 2 years to finally spot one, and now we end up seeing 2 in the same day! We scrambled aboard our 2 jeeps and headed out as quickly as possible. Not only did we see the leopard, but we were able to spot 3 more lions as well. It was almost as if they were stalking each other around a large shrub. Pretty exciting stuff, except that darkness was falling quickly, making photography a real challenge. In addition to the leopard and lions, we spotted 2 trees containing about 7 nasty looking vultures - patiently waiting to see how things down below them played out.
Incredible! Two leopards in 2 different camps
on one stellar day!
Definitely not to be messed with!
Back to camp for dinner around 7 PM. Had a couple of glasses of red wine called Bonne EsperanceLufupa River.
A definite negative about this camp is that we do not have adapter outlets in our tents to recharge our camera batteries and netbooks. Cynthia told us there was an adapter in the office - you could feel the looks of panic we all felt as we wondered how in the hell 14 of us would be able to recharge our batteries, computers, kindles and iPads with one lousy adapter plug. Turns out thankfully that she had a power strip that could handle what we needed, but it was still a major pain to have to continually give her our batteries or equipment and then ask for them back again.
No comments:
Post a Comment