Leaving Botswana brought a tear to Jutta’s eye……..a very special place…….great people……fantastic wildlife……….we will be going back. However, it’s off to the airstrip for another in our series of bush flights. We have lost count of how many small planes we have been on so far, but we know that this one, with a couple of stops and one plane change will get us to Livingstone in Zambia. When you actually get to an airport, we can’t believe how deserted they are……..landing at Kasane in northern Botswana we are two of maybe 30 people in the whole airport, and the guy handling our baggage says there is your pilot over there…….he has flown us somewhere before and recognizes us when we go over to say hello. We are his only passengers and he suggests we leave early…….a quick phone call, and we are walking to the plane and on our way in minutes. If we thought Kasane was quiet, I swear the two of us were the only passengers in the entire airport at Livingstone. The pilot almost had to wake up the customs folks to get them out to stamp our passports.
Our driver is there to meet us for a ride to Tongabezi Lodge…….it was a toss up deciding between the lodge, and the old Victoria Falls Hotel across the border in Zimbabwe……….the lodge won as it looked very relaxing, and we are due for a little down time. Tongabezi consists of 5 suites and 6 houses, all right on the banks of the Zambezi River…….somehow we are in a house and it is fantastico……it comes with a 24hr concierge…..Evans is his name…….and he is permanently assigned to Dog House………if this is the dog house I could live with being in trouble forever. Others are named Tree House, Bird House, Animal House, Nut House………can’t remember the last one but have some ideas!!!!!!………get your minds out of the gutter………
Three separate buildings at Dog House
The water level in the Zambezi River is probably as low as it gets all year, and we are surprised that at its highest, the water would be lapping up under the deck of Dog House. We have scheduled a river cruise for tomorrow morning to take a closer look, and will also visit a school on the property that was originally built for the children of staff members, but over the years has expanded to include underprivileged children from the surrounding area.
Coffee and cookies on the Zambezi
The school…….we were lucky enough to see part of the dress rehearsal for the year end school play…….Aladin…….really great.
The next day we will leave for Zimbabwe early, view Victoria Falls from that side, tour around a bit, then get to the airport for our flight to Nairobi, Kenya, and yet another adventure. The border is an absolute zoo, and it appears to be a case of who you know that gets you through the process quickly………our driver knows his way around and we are into Zimbabwe and passed over to another driver in pretty good time. We are off to view the falls, and although the water level is very low, it does allow for a great view of the canyon……..apparently in high season when water is flowing over the entire ridge, you end up with a lot of pictures of just mist.
We opt for lunch at Lookout Cafe and watch bungee jumpers and zip liners as we have lunch and a couple of beers..Zambezi Lager……..good stuff. Now it’s off to the Victoria Falls Hotel……a huge throwback to British Colonialism, but an absolutely great place.
Victoria Falls Hotel…….the traffic jam outside the hotel is a lineup for gasoline………2-3km long……..crazy…….some people sleep in their cars so they won’t loose their place in line. 75% unemployment in Zimbabwe……..
An email arrives that tells us our flight to Nairobi will be delayed, but we must still check in on the original schedule, so looks like we will be camped at the airport for a while……..a three hour delay will mean arriving at our next stop, Giraffe Manor, at around 3am………yikes.
HUGEBLOGSITE 