One of my bucket list items is to set foot in every continent. So when my friend Dan asked if we wanted to join him on a trip to Africa, I was all in. We, including our friend Deb and her friend Jeanne, booked a private journey with Wilderness Travel and essentially beta tested a new itinerary for them to Cape Town, Timbavati Private Reserve, Victoria Falls, and Hwange National Park.
After enjoying the captions below, you can view larger versions of the photos by clicking on them. This will open a new tab in Google Photos. Use its menu to start a slideshow, or select a photo and press the Info button to view captions and maps.
If you want to see pictures of me, you can view Dan's photos:
My videos are below. The primary movie is first. To keep the length reasonable, I pulled out a few segments and made them their own movie. They are a bush walk in Timbavati Private Reserve, South Africa, Ngamo school children starting their day near Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, and a joke told somewhere in South Africa.
We got a great rate on Emirates to Cape Town via Dubai. We settled into our 15-hour flight on my first A380 on Teton Sports cushions and are we glad we got these! Great investment!
Dan was able to swing the business class fare, so Emirates picked him up from his house and took him to SFO. They then sent a private limo to take him to his hotel in Dubai, rather than a shared shuttle bus that we took to the Copthorne Airport Hotel.
Dubai is hot. Weather Underground said it was 99, but feels like 130. I started sweating through my shirt in a few minutes just standing there waiting for the shuttle. And it was night.
Dan and Lori went downtown, while I had dinner at the hotel and went to bed.
View from the SFO International Terminal of my first Airbus 380 |
Nice room at the Copthorne Hotel in Dubai compliments of Emirates |
After a relatively short 9-hour flight from Dubai to Cape Town, our guide Edlein Filton, picked us up at the airport and brought us to the Victoria & Alfred Hotel. We had dinner at good South African restaurant nearby called Karibu.
The next morning we departed for our tour of the Cape Peninsula. We stopped at Camps Bay, and drove up to the Table Mountain and Signal Hill overlooks where we saw the first of many Proteas, South Africa's national flower. We visited the Kristenbosch National Botanical Garden and then continued on to Hout Bay. We had lunch at the Two Oceans Restaurant at Cape Point. From there, we took a short hike to the Cape of Good Hope. On the drive back, we visited African penguins at the Boulders Penguin Colony.
We finished up the night with dinner at Mitchell's Ale House.
First view of the Cape Town area |
Sunrise from the Victoria & Alfred Hotel over the waterfront towards Table Mountain |
Camp's Bay |
Edlein (our guide), Jeanne, Lori, and Dan watch the sun rise over Camp's Bay |
Signal Hill |
The view of Cape Town from the base of Table Mountain |
The protea, a common sight in the Cape Town area |
Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned |
Table Mountain is a classic landmark above Cape Town |
Early morning fog |
A stream runs through Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden |
South Africa's national flower, the Fynbos |
Crocosmia |
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Yet another type of Protea |
Helmeted guineafowl were often seen |
The spotted nettle comes with a warning sign |
Lori enjoys the canopy walk |
Fernwood Peak from the canopy walk |
This is a wild almond, and boy is it wild! |
Myrtle-leaf milkwort |
So, this is where the bird of paradise is native! |
Egyptian goose |
A cycad |
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Hout Bay coastline |
Hout Bay, continuing south from Cape Town |
The first of many baboons we'd see this trip |
The New Cape Point Lighthouse is the white speck half-way down the nose of the hill |
View of the southern coastline from the Cape of Good Hope Old Lighthouse |
The path up to the lighthouse from the funicular with the Dias Beach and Cape of Good Hope in the background |
Dan and Lori in the funicular |
Lori and Deb above Dias Beach |
Dias Beach with the old lighthouse (top middle) and new lighthouse (lower right edge of cliff) |
African penguins have taken over this beach |
African penguin |
A young African penguin feeds |
A rock hyrax hangs out with the penguins |
We began the day at the Fairview Wine Farm, where we had wine and cheese. We discovered pinotage, a grape developed in South Africa. Their shiraz and tempranillo varietals were also stand-outs.
Next, we visited the Mullineux & Leeu winery whose syrah was the star for me.
We had an excellent lunch with a superlative view at Le Petite Ferme and stopped in Stellenbosch on the way back to Cape Town.
We had dinner at Villa 47 with an astronomer named Maria with whom I flew aboard SOFIA. She invited a couple of her astronomy friends Lee and Jacinta. Jacinta started a podcast called The Cosmic Savannah. Do check it out.
Lunatic Lori ready to take on Mad Max |
Gift presents the wines from Fairview |
Cheers! |
Fairview Primo Pinotage (and Dan) |
The goathouse, which appears on the vineyard's label |
The goat bridge, the coat of arms, and the neighboring hills |
Mullineux & Leeu winery |
Lori in the Mullineux tasting room |
Our server introduces the wines as well as samples of the soil in which they were grown |
Lunch at the La Petite Ferme (and Dan) |
Lori enjoys the view from La Petite Ferme, and will soon enjoy the wine and food too |
We flew to Hoedspruit Airport, where we saw baboons on the runway. We saw our first animals on the short ride to the Kambaku Lodge.
We settled into our room (Room 5), where everything in the mini bar is included. There aren't any locks on the doors! We later learned that the reason is that one should be able to run into any building if an animal is menacing.
After a light snack, we boarded a Range Rover for our first game drive. Our guide for our stay was Palance and his tracker was named Kenny. We saw the Big 5, including lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo, on this first drive! This was followed by the first of many excellent meals.
We were featured on their Facebook page.
Hoedspruit airport number 1, where we saw baboons along the runway |
The Kambaku reception building where our game drives began |
Our room 5 seemed unassuming from the front |
Our very comfortable room 5 at the Kambaku Lodge |
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I just had to use that tub! (And I did.) |
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Room with a view |
Our first of many elephants |
Kenny, our tracker, seems unconcerned |
The steenbok were always very skittish and required big lenses--which I didn't have--for good photos |
We saw lots of zebras |
Lori, Jeanne, Dan, and Deb set out for the afternoon game drive |
The hyena is a very strange-looking animal |
We saw lots of giraffes as well |
The white rhino, however, was much more rare |
White rhino |
A herd of Cape buffalo |
Cape buffalo |
Lori enjoys the drive |
Impala were also quite common |
Nests of the sociable weaver |
It is true that African sunsets are beautiful |
Same sunset, different tree |
Our first big cat, a female leopard |
Our second big cat, a pair of female lions |
Up early for a game drive. Stopped for tea, then headed back for brunch and a nap. And then we took off for an evening game drive. Stopped for a sundowner, and then headed back for a scrumptious meal.
A nearby lion roared all night.
Getting up early meant we were able to enjoy beautiful African sunrises too |
The red-crested korhaan or bustard |
Blacksmith lapwing |
The multi-colored crested barbet |
Reflections at sunrise |
Lilac-breasted roller is another brilliantly-colored bird |
The gait of the giraffe is so ungainly |
The magpie shrike has a very long tail |
The hippo defecates and stomps the ground to mark its territory |
Crested francolin |
Our first male lion |
And his harem |
Deb enjoys her tea |
Kenny, Palance, and Dan take five |
This southern yellow-billed hornbill attacked its reflection in our window |
The main Kambaku lodge, where we ate on the deck, on the sand (left), and by the fire pit (right) |
Breakfast spread, including cheese and Marmite... |
...salads and quiche... |
...cereals, fruit, and yogurt, and hot breakfast made to order |
We yielded to elephants crossing the road |
Hey, you looking at me? |
Adding a coat of dirt to protect against the sun |
Grey heron |
A hippo yawns |
Nearby, a Nile crocodile basks in the setting sun |
Zebras and the blue wildebeest make good companions |
A pair of common dwarf mongooses |
We yield to the impalas as well |
A pair of small elephants at play |
Apparently, the elephant's mouth has evolved faster than the thorns on this bush |
Loxodonta africana |
Loxodonta africana |
Loxodonta africana |
Loxodonta africana |
The elephant is quite destructive to the plants and trees |
Meal time for baby |
African scops owl or northern white-faced owl shows off its camouflage |
Sundowner time! |
This morning we took a game walk during the morning game drive, where we learned about animal tracks and droppings, as well as a variety of plants that are used as food for elephants as well as used by humans for medicinal purposes.
After brunch, elephants came into the property and we watched them for a spell. Lori said that a few of the elephants drank from the lodge's pool while I was taking a great bath. We again took naps before the evening game drive.
Palance checks for tracks |
Termite mounds are everywhere |
The termite mounds often point to the north for cooling and can get quite large--9 meters! |
It's tea time! |
A male leopard! |
Leopard on the prowl |
Africa's ugliest animal--the warthog |
Elephants came right up to the lodge |
Monkeys outside our window |
One of dozens of photogenic trees |
A pair of hyena pups at home in their termite mound |
More zebras! |
Nice kitty |
A "kitten" plays with mom |
A giraffe family |
My favorite time of day--sundowner time! |
A driver took us to the Hoedspruit Aerodrome, an even smaller airport than the last. We walked through a gate onto the tarmac. No security! Yay. A small single-prop plane landed, and two woman pilots loaded our luggage into the tiny hold. This is why there are luggage restrictions!
They flew us to the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport in Nelspruit where we shortly boarded another plane to Livingstone Airport.
There we were taken to a water taxi (Victoria Falls River Safaris) for a nice ride down the Zambezi River to the Royal Livingstone Hotel. We received a hand massage while we checked in. That's a first. And we had a butler named Betty. Pity we didn't know what to do with a butler, having no experience in this.
We had some time before dinner, so we walked to the Victoria Falls. Very impressive.
While walking to the hotel restaurant, I saw a giraffe and impala outside our room. I then saw a zebra, who then attacked another zebra and then the two ran right by me on the patio, shoes clicking on the pavers. Dinner in the hotel was lovely.
Hoedspruit airport number 2 with a welcome lack of security |
The reservoir above the Injaka Dam |
Our pilots from Hoedspruit to Kruger Mpumalanga Airport |
The Harry Mwanga Nkumbula Airport at Livingstone, near Victoria Falls |
Lori on the water taxi to our hotel |
The pool, bar (left), reception (center), and restaurant (right) at the Royal Livingstone |
Al fresco dining and music above the Zambezi River |
Our simple, but comfortable, room at the Royal Livingstone |
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Map of Victoria Falls |
Upon arrival, we took a quick hike out to the Victoria Falls |
Our first views of the massive Victoria Falls |
The Knife Edge Bridge |
Lori and Dan on the Knife Edge Bridge |
Mist and rainbows everywhere |
Lori nears Danger Point |
Victoria Falls |
Victoria Falls |
Whoa, an impala on the hotel grounds? |
Lori enjoys the sunset at the Royal Livingstone Hotel |
Whoa, a giraffe and impalas outside our room? |
Shortly after this photo was taken, he (or she) and
another zebra ran right by me on the path to the
restaurant, their hooves clip-clopping as they brushed by
me |
Dan explains the subtle complexities of this chenin blanc |
Lori, Dan, and I hiked down to the falls again. I walked down to the Boiling Pot by myself. Lovely spot. Watched bungee jumpers dive from the Victoria Bridge. We then hiked back to the hotel for lunch and ate on the patio by the river.
We then hiked to the Zimbabwe side of the Victoria Falls going through customs on either side of the Victoria bridge. Meanwhile, Deb and Jeanne took a tour to Livingstone Island. We saw some folks precipitously close to the edge and thought they were nuts. We later learned that this was the Devil's Pool, and that Deb and Jeanne also partook. Apparently, no one has died, as long as they are with a legitimate guide. There are a lot of illegitimate guides. Beware!
Dan, Lori, and I start the next day by retracing our steps on the Zambia side of the falls |
Me and Lor |
Lor |
A fisherman above the Victoria Falls |
The Knife Edge Bridge |
I watched bungee jumpers jump from Victoria Falls Bridge, above the Boiling Pot |
A skink basks in the sun with me |
A small creek empties into the Zambezi |
A very cute rock hyrax |
A couple of baboons hang out and fortunately let me pass |
We hiked across the Victoria Falls Bridge and into Zimbabwe for these views |
Tourists enjoy the ever-present rainbows at the Victoria Falls |
This photographer is unaware of the pot of gold just to his right |
We visited during one of the lower-water seasons--imagine when the Victoria Falls are full! |
Victoria Falls |
Deb and Jeanne survive the Devil's Pool, and even more surprising, heard me call across the falls to them |
Victoria Falls Steam Train |
Many of the locals carry their wares on their head |
We were driven across the Victoria Falls Bridge into Zimbabwe and cleared customs like yesterday. A bus driver by the name of Kennedy picked us up for our three hour tour.
We first stopped a moment at the shop where Lori bought her fabrics yesterday.
We then visited a very large baobab tree, maybe 1000 - 1500 years old, and the Victoria Hotel, which was supposed to be our hotel, but it was full. Although the Victoria Hotel is very nice (see the video on the home page, which also shows the falls when they are really flowing), we were so much happier with the location of the Royal Livingstone as we were able to walk to the falls.
We then began our two and half hour drive to the Elephant Express in Dete. During the two hour train ride, we enjoyed lunch, gin and tonics, zebra, giraffe, springbok, warthog, antelope, impala, wildebeest, as well as a lion feasting on a dead elephant.
We finally arrived at the Camelthorne Lodge, named after the camel thorne tree by the lodge. It's relatively rustic. It's powered by generators that go off an hour after dinner. The rooms are heated by fireplace. When we were there, the nights and mornings were bitterly cold. We were glad to have had our wool tights and slippers.
During dinner, our guide Vusa told us stories of the financial woes in Zimbabwe. Inflation is rampant due to government corruption and there is no currency, which is why dollars are accepted although it is illegal to do so. He also spoke of the local animals. It turns out that the lion that the American dentist killed was the local Cecil the Lion.
A very large baobab tree, 23 m high, 18 m around, and estimated to be between 1000 - 1500 years old |
All aboard the Elephant Express in Dete (after a 2 hour drive from Victoria Falls) |
Entering the Hwange National Park |
We enjoyed lunch and gin and tonics aboard this refurbished railcar |
Engineer Dan |
Enjoying a nice lunch in the shade of the camelthorne tree, the lodge's namesake |
Our back porch with upper deck and cold plunge (which would be nice if it were really hot) |
Our comfy room 1 at the Camelthorne, heated only by the fireplace, was quite cold in the morning |
Since the hot water was dodgy in our room, I didn't take a chance with this bath |
This morning, we started with a drive to the Ngamo school and township and market. Vusa's father Johnson Ncube is the headman there. The kids first jumped into the truck on the way to school. In class we interacted with them as the children practiced their English by asking our name, where we were from and what our favorite color and animal and food was. None had heard about NASA. One knew California was in the US.
We were enthusiastically greeted by the schoolchildren of Ngamo |
Dan knows how to work a crowd |
The schoolchildren love Dan's photos |
The library with donated books |
The educational garden behind the school |
The headman (Vusa's dad) discussed the challenges of the village and Zimbabwean politics |
I sorta expected fire to come from the headman wife's fingertips at this point |
The communal kitchen |
The headman's bedroom seems quite cozy |
The headman's living room |
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Lori, Dan, and Deb outside the headman's house |
Donations from our lodge owner (Imvelo) fund this clinic, a work in progress, whose windows reminded me of the Led Zeppelin IV album cover minus the man with sticks |
Baboons on the move |
Vultures attracted by the fresh kill |
Vultures hang out while the blue wildebeest runs across the grassy plain |
This elephant made a few false charges. We backed off. |
Brown snake eagle |
Lilac-breasted roller |
Saddle-billed stork |
A giraffe leaps over the train tracks |
Another lovely sunset |
This was a magic day. The highlight was bunkering down in a hide, which was an old shipping container, and watching elephants come to the water hole located just a couple of meters away.
And if that wasn't enough, we emerged from the hide--while the elephants were still there--to find a table for our lunch set up nearby.
We then had a relatively quiet afternoon drive, enjoyed a campfire, and had dinner with some Aussies that had just arrived.
Sunrise |
A baboon hangs out |
Momma baboon grooms her eldest while the young play in the background |
Blue wildebeest |
We saw several good-sized herds of blue wildebeests |
The southern yellow-billed hornbill under a nearly-full moon |
A black-backed jackal looks for dead stuff |
The roads were more sandy in Hwange than at Timbavati |
Baboons engage in spectator sport |
A Train Runs Through It |
A pair of Southern yellow-billed hornbills |
Another pair of Southern yellow-billed hornbills |
So, this is what teak looks like. This sapling was surrounded by larger teak trees. |
This tree broke into a nice arch over the road |
More nests of the social weaver |
Impalas |
Impalas, a termite mound, and camelthorne trees |
Cape buffalo drink before the elephants chase them away |
Elephants drink about 100 liters, three times a day |
I don't know how these elephants do it; have you ever breathed water up your nose? |
Momma elephant shows junior how to suck the water up her nose |
Vusa serves the wine... |
...for our lunch by the watering hole |
The elephants gather at the watering hole |
Zebras come for a drink |
Loxodonta africana |
Loxodonta africana |
A kudu and a pair of warthogs come to drink as well |
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Loxodonta africana |
The road from the Camelthorne Lodge |
Kudu, warthog, Cape buffalo, camel, impala, and steenbok skulls line the road |
Helmeted guineafowl |
An elephant cools off in front of the hide, which was a retrofitted shipping container (with toilet) |
Vultures and a black-backed jackal share the spoils of the baby elephant, while a pair of baboons just get a drink |
Nature at work: just twenty-four hours later, the elephant carcass is just bones |
Kudu |
The elusive steenbok |
Vusa drove us to the dirt airstrip at Bomani where we watched hippos while we waited.
This time we flew on a--still small--twin engine airplane flown by another woman from Zimbabwe named Lindsey to the Victoria Falls Airport where we caught an Airbus 330 to Johannesburg where we caught an Airbus 380 to Dubai. We then hung out in the Dubai airport for 3 hours. It's getting familiar! We then caught another Airbus 380 to SFO. I watched all four Hunger Games movies during the flight. This was a great way to make the 16 hours go by quickly.
A pair of hippos are our last spotted game on this safari |
Lindsey picks us up from a dirt strip near our lodge (near the hippos) and takes us to the Victoria Falls airport... |
...where we catch a plane to the Johannesburg airport where we catch another A380 to Dubai and then home |
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Copyright © 2019 Bill Wohler Last modified: Mon Nov 11 22:47:49 PST 2019 About photos |
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