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17 July

Got up and away from home on time and hit the airport 15 minutes before the check in desk opened. We were told at the time the flight had been delayed 45 minutes and would now depart at 10.45am. Had a leisurely breakfast and wander around the terminal and headed for the gate, only to be told that the plane hadn’t left Brisbane yet and then had to be cleaned etc and the new departure time was 1.40pm.

Finally left the ground at 2:30pm. Whilst Sydney airport is a lovely vibrant airport, we would have rather had a nice sleep in at home than to waste several hours at the airport. Not much we can do about it and it doesn’t affect any connections so it’s a case of kick back and relax and wait. The flight itself was uneventful and quite surprising in that we headed south from Sydney and over Tasmania and skirted the edge of Antarctica before heading north again to South Africa. Landed in Johannesburg around 8.30pm local time and by the time we got to our accommodation it was 10pm. We are staying at the Oxwagon Lodge and actually sleeping in over 100 year old covered wagons. Very comfy and warm.

18 July

We were awake early as we are still on Sydney time. After a nice leisurely breakfast , we were picked up and taken to The Lion Park. It was fantastic as we got to interact with 6 lion cubs aged from 3 to 4.5 months old. We also got up close and personal with a lovely giraffe and then did a drive through the park to see zebra, cheetahs, lions and more. It was a great experience for our first day in Africa. Fran was savagely attacked by a ferocious lion…….well ok the lion was only 3 months old and Fran was kneeling down, but if the lion was a bit older she would have been is serious trouble. Makes you realize that even in play they have some natural instincts. We also had our first view of a shanty town and it really does show the difference between rich and poor in this country. This evening we are having a Braai which is a South African BBQ.

19 July

An early start today and within half an hour we were at an Elephant Sanctuary where they rehabilitate elephants to be able to be put back in the wild. We were introduced to 3 elephants and started out giving them a good brush down. We then walked the elephants with them holding our hands with their trunks. Jess and I had a ride on two of the elephants and then we were able to touch and stroke the elephants all over. We then each got a lovely slobbery muddy kiss on the check which almost sucked your face off. We finished off our visit by hand feeding all three elephants. We then had a lot of ground to cover, almost 350kms and so we spent the rest of the day in the car, mostly on the main highway but towards the end it got more hilly and twisty. We finally made it to our overnight stay, Hannah Lodge which is a very luxurious private game lodge where we will stay for two nights. The 6km driveway from the main road to the Lodge provided us with a sneek peek of what we can expect … we spotted wart hogs, ostrich, 3 flavours of antelope, vultures, and fresh rhino poo!! There is a rhino on the property but is very rarely seen, so from what we saw I doubt he was very far away.

20 July

Today was a leisurely start, due to depart at 9.30am so we could have a sleep in. That is if we could sleep in. We were all awake by 5am again.
After the late start we did the scenic route today and went via Pilgrims Rest, Lisbon Falls, Gods Window, The Blyde River Canyon, which is the largest green canyon in the world, and Bourke’s Luck Potholes.
We encountered small monkeys and baboons, usually in car parks stealing rubbish from the bins.
There were also stalls selling trinkets not only at each location, but at intersections as well.
Beautiful views throughout the day and breathtaking scenery. Our guide, Chris even did a sit on a rock ledge for a great photo. Looks really impressive,but there was no way that any member of this family was going out on that ledge.
Today’s animals included monkeys, baboons, ostriches, kudu, warthog, a huge variety of antelopes and some birds.

21 July

Today we left the luxurious surrounds of the four star Hannah Lodge. Fran had spoken to the manager and he was telling her that it wouldn’t take much to lift it to five stars. It would include upgrading the bed linen and installing bar fridges and LCD tv’s in all the rooms. Sort of detracts from the purpose of being there if there are all the usual conveniences.

We headed off to Hoedspruitt Endangered Species Centre and had a drive through what was originally a Cheetah Sanctuary but now has Wild Dog’s and also some lions. They also had a vulture pit where they spread out all the carcasses’ that they don’t use into a big pit and the vultures come from miles around to eat there. Once the vultures have finished the now clean bones are sold to go into making gelatin.

Very slick and professional centre and very informative, but still wasn’t quite the real deal as there were mesh fences between you and the animals.

Once we left Hoedspruitt the excitement started to increase the closer we got to Timbavati Game Reserve and finally we headed into the park and there were no more fences. Any animals we saw for the next three days would be the real deal. And it didn’t take long with Fran spotting a giraffe close to the side of the road.

We arrived at Umlani Lodge around 1.30pm. We had a tour of the lodge and then had lunch. The lodge is classed as three star and doesn’t have power. At night it is lit using paraffin lanterns. The huts are mud sides and thatch roof, wooden doors and the windows are rolled down at night. The bathroom is outside and the shower has no roof, so you are open to the elements.

After a brief talk by our Guide and driver Moses, and our tracker Shaddy, we headed off on our first ever game drive through the African bush and within 25 minutes were sitting watching the “Timbavati Boy’s” enjoying a lunch on a giraffe. Apparently a group of 8 lioness’s had downed the giraffe earlier in the day and then the “Timbavati Boys”, two lion brothers had come along and chased the ladies away as it was on their turf. Ton’s of vultures filled the nearby tree’s waiting for an opportunity to get into the kill. Whilst it was disappointing to see a sizeable giraffe being eaten, it is part of nature after all.

Shortly after we moved on Moses had slowed down to tell us about the Franklins bird that runs around in front of the truck when Jess said to me “I think I saw a Leopard”. I called out to Moses to stop the truck and we looked around to see the leopard moving off through the bush. Moses was quickly on the case and we bush bashed for about 45 minutes keeping the leopard in sight the whole way. Jess did a really good job of spotting the Leopard.

The animals don’t really react to the sound or sight of a truck full of people. They just continue to do what they normally do. Moses told us that some animals are more relaxed than others but generally don’t mind the vehicles as they don’t see them as a threat. A single human standing on the ground however does have an affect.

Just as the sun went down we stopped for a drink and Jess and Peter had a softy and Fran had a vodka and tonic. It was a pretty special feeling here we were in the African bush at sunset having a drink.

We saw a large number of animals on this first drive including a lot of bird life and zebra’s, impala, buffalo, porcupine, mongoose, ostrich’s, warthogs, giraffe, cevit  and of course the lions and leopard.

We got back to camp about 7.30pm and beautiful dinner was served by lantern light. Afterwards we sat around the fire and Jess roasted some marshmallows over the open fire.

22 July

A knock on the door at 5.30am to get us up (although we had been awake since 5am) and there was the opportunity of a coffee before we jumped on to the truck and were off at 6.30am. It was a bit windy and overcast today and the boys told us it could be a bit quiet as the animals generally keep a low profile on days like this. We went straight over to see the lions at the giraffe and the boys were still there eating and protecting their food. It was interesting watching the lions eat as he was pushing his head way into the insides of the giraffe and pushing like crazy to get in for the good meat. At one stage he had had enough and moved right towards where Peter was sitting in the truck and then laid down less than 2 metres away. Frans tummy did a flip when he moved towards us because it is at times like these that you remember that there is no fence. It wasn’t like he was threatening us in any way, but even so it still gives you a thrill.

We moved off and saw lots of impala, another giraffe, some zebra and buffalo, a hippo in a water hole and lots of birds.

Moses is promising Jess that she will see Rhino and we went into an area that they usually frequent. Shaddy got off and went for a walk into a bit of a gully whilst we drove around, as he was trying to find them quietly and then guide us in. Unfortunately this morning just wasn’t the time.

It was bit nippy outside and so whilst travelling in the truck we were all wrapped up in the blankets that are provided.

Got back to camp at about 9am and then we had breakfast. Not much to do until 2pm when lunch is served so it’s a little bit of a room tidy, a shower and fire up the laptop to update the diary out on the balcony overlooking a dry river bed and a waterhole, keeping the binoculars and camera handy of course.

The afternoon drive started at 3.30pm and of course the orders went to Moses our driver, we wanted to see a long tailed shrike, a rhino and some elephant, please driver. No worries he says and off we go. We went and checked on the Timbavati Boys again and there wasn’t much change, they were still eating and still chasing off any other animal that got too close. Shortly after leaving them we saw the long tailed shrike, tick that one off the list. Moses then heard over the radio of some rhino and told us where they were but we needed to get up the main road about 10km’s away. Just as we turned right onto the main road we saw a herd of elephants to the left so we threw a u-turn and headed down for a quick look. There were 10 – 12 elephants in the group including a baby and some juveniles. We couldn’t stay long as we had to see the rhino before the sun went down so we charged up the highway at the maximum road speed of 50kph.

Got up there and saw 4 rhino’s together. They looked really good and we bush bashed for a short time to keep following them. We only stayed about 20 minutes as trucks from all over the area were trying to get in for a look and the policy is only two vehicles at a time.

Just as we were leaving another radio call had us shooting further out again by about 5km to see another leopard. This one was an older female and she was really relaxed around the trucks. We followed her for a while until she settled down for a rest.

It was now dark so we checked out “the boys” on our way back to camp. We had actually had the great experience of this drive of seeing “The Big Five” of Africa’s animals on the one drive. Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and we saw two Buffalo on the way home. We’ve been told that seeing all five on the one drive is very rare, so we feel quite honored that it happened to us.

After dinner we packed up some gear and were driven out to a tree house overlooking a waterhole where we spent the night. We had beds set up for us and a spotlight and a radio. What more could you ask for. Well probably some animals would have been nice. We did see the resident crocodile have a fish meal and watched two different sets of eyes in the dark by spotlight but we couldn’t work out what they were. At about 5.45am the hippo who lived in the waterhole came home from his night of eating grass and he slipped very quietly back into the water where he will sleep all day.

23 July

We were picked up from the tree house at 6.30am and set off on the morning game drive. We headed over to see how the Timbavati Boys were getting on and found a group of about 6 Hyena’s sitting about 150m away waiting for their chance to get in for a meal. They didn’t dare get any closer as the lions would quite easily kill them.

It was another overcast day so there were few sightings other than the normal impala Kudu and various birds.

On the way back in we stopped about 2km’s from camp and Shaddy drove the truck back whilst Moses walked us in and showed us various plants, tracks and dung of the different animals.

We had a quiet day before heading off again in the afternoon with two more guests who had arrived. As per usual we checked the Timbavati Boys and only one was at the kill. The other was having a snooze 200m away. The one at the kill obviously wanted tio go  have a drink and a rest and was looking around for his brother but couldn’t see him so he finally walked off in the direction of the waterhole. The vultures realized this was their opportunity swooped down on the now unprotected carcass and started a feeding frenzy of the like we hadn’t seen before. Very shortly though the brother who had been resting came racing out of the bush and chased them away.

After moving on ourselves we headed off to see a herd of buffalo. Now we thought of a herd of buffalo as you would a herd of cows but as we sat on the edge of the herd and they slowly moved around the car we realized that we had buffalo for 360 degree’s. Some of them got quite close to the car as well and it makes you realize the size of these things.

We then tried to track down a Rhino, but weren’t able to find him before we headed back in to camp for another fantastic meal.

24 July

A sad day as it was  our last at Umlani. We were up and out at 6.30am and off to see the boys. They were still there with no change. The Hyena’s and vultures were still sitting and waiting their turn. We drove around a bit and let Shaddy off the truck to follow some Rhino tracks. We drove on and then herd of some lioness’s who were following the buffalo herd from yesterday, so we raced over and sure enough we found three girls resting and doing a bit of tidy up before then moving on. When they stood up to leave one of them walked straight for where Jess was sitting in the truck and passed her less than a metre away. She took a long look at Jess as she passed by. I’m pretty sure Jess stopped breathing for a few seconds at that moment.

Then it was back to camp for breakfast and a quick pack and after a sad farewell to all the staff we headed off for the 5 or 6 hour drive back to Johannesberg.

25 July
We got up early again and caught the 7am shuttle to the airport and got checked in. Had a wander around the shops and experienced the J’berg customer service or lack thereof, again. There are plenty of staff and when they do finally get around to serving you they are quite friendly and helpful. The problem is they seem reluctant to stop what they are doing to serve a customer. Our only real complaint about J’berg.
The flight was good and only 1.5 hours. Don’t know what happened but we ended up in the comfy seats up the pointy end of the plane, which was very nice.
Landed at Livingston in Zambia. This is definitely a developing nation as the facilities are fairly basic. We got through immigration after being photo’ed and finger printed, and were met outside by Marvin our driver who gave us an overview of Livingston on our way to our lodge, The Bushfront.  After the accommodation we have had in South Africa this is quite a bit more basic. Very nice and comfortable but basic.
Livingston is renowned for the mosquito’s and of course malaria, and we have all been taking our pills although it is a song and a dance to get Jess to swallow them,  We now break the pill up and dissolve it in water and then use a syringe to squirt it down her throat. I must admit they do taste really bad but I guess it’s better than getting sick. We have all quickly covered up and applied the repellant.
In the afternoon we did a sunset cruise on the Zambesi River and we set off about 4pm. We saw a few hippo’s lazy around in the water and a crocodile. We saw a few birds as well. It was a younger crowd on the cruise whose main aim seemed to be to drink as much as possible.
We came back to the Lodge and had a late snack.

26 July
We all had a nice sleep in and leisurely breakfast before being picked up by Emerson, our driver, at 8.20am for a tour of Victoria Falls. They were very impressive and even though the water levels were down as it was winter, there was a lot of water going over. We did a walk around the various vantage points and took numerous photos.
Back to our Lodge for a bit of a tidy up and some showers. We also did some clothes washing in the bath tub as after 8 days of travelling we have run out of clothes. Most places don’t offer laundry services because they have to do it by hand, so we did it ourselves and put it out to dry.
Fran has been teaching Jess some card games and this afternoon she was sitting in the sun outside the bar drinking sprite and playing blackjack for matches. She’s a real card shark!
In the afternoon we did a 30 minute helicopter flight over Victoria Falls and surrounds. It was absolutely fantastic. We also zoomed through the canyons on the lower side of the falls and had a great time. After leaving the falls we flew over the national park and saw elephants, buffalo, impala and a giraffe from the air. A fantastic experience. They had little GoPro camera’s mounted in and on the helicopter and so we bought a great video of our flight.

27 July

After a nice sleep in to 7.30am we got up and did a bit of a pack before a nice leisurely breakfast. At 9.30am our ride arrived and we headed off to Chobe in Botswana. Before leaving Livingston we stopped and bought some of the Zimbabwean currency which included several billion dollar notes and the biggy, a ten trillion note. If only they were worth something.

We reached the Zambian boarder and had our passports stamped, then we walked down the ramp to the river and climber about a runabout for the short trip across the Zambezi River and then stepped onto Botswana’s shore. Some quick immigration duties and we were in the third country in as many days. A short trip up the road and we pulled into the Chobe Safari Lodge, a very nice 4 star hotel.

We were too early for our room so we had a bit of lunch and updated the web.

At 3pm we were ready for our first game drive in Chobe National Park. We had some reservations after Umlani with the amount and variety of animals we had seen there but Chobe was different and didn’t disappoint.

The amount of elephants in the one place is amazing and we saw well over a hundred of them throughout the drive. Saw numerous giraffes, the usual warthogs, kudu and impala. Spotted two Black Sable (antelopes) zebra and also a small pride of lions who were doing what Lions do best, nothing. We also saw some hippo’s and croc’s from a distance but we should see more tomorrow when we do a river cruise.

This area is quite a bit different to Umlani and is more open bush and very sandy ground. The elephants have done a lot of damage to the tree’s and with so many it is only a matter of time before there isn’t enough tree’s to support them.

We returned home for a quick change before sampling roast Warthog and Impala for dinner. Jess couldn’t eat such lovely animals, so she settled for the chicken.

28 July

Up and out by 5.40am to get on to the truck for our last game drive. It was pretty cold as well as we headed up the road to Chobe National Park. We had only just entered the park when we got a call of a leopard in a tree so we raced over in that direction but she was gone by the time we got there. About 10 other trucks all converged on the same sighting.

We carried on with our drive and saw a huge herd of about 3 or 4 hundred buffalo on the plains. We then saw a large family of baboons sunning themselves in the early morning sun. Saw the usual impala, kudu and giraffes as well.

We were heading out of the park when we got another call about a leopard and we spun around and when we got there it was a female with her cub walking along the river bank. We watched them for about 20 minutes and got a number of great photo’s.

During the day Jess and Fran braved the pool, which was pretty cool considering the day time temps are in the mid to high 20’s.

They also played with a large group of Mongeese (or is that Mongooses?) and also a large group or vervet monkeys who were really quite cheeky.

In the afternoon we did a game drive on the river in a boat checking out the hippo’s and elephants. At first we seemed to stop for every type of feathered friend but after a while the croc’s, elephants and hippo’s came into view. Watched a large bull elephant swim across the river, and watched another one who had a huge limp which Fran said Peter used to walk like. Also saw some baby elephants with the herd as well having a play in the mud. Another great day and some great photo’s added to the collection.

29 July

A lazy start to the day with breakfast and pack and out the front at 9.30am. We were there on time but our bus driver didn’t pick us up because we weren’t on his list! Normally it wouldn’t be an issue but we not only had to get through exit procedures with the Botswana side but also get through no man’s land, get on a runabout dinghy and cross the Zambezi River and go through Zambian immigration. Whilst I’m sure we could have managed it’s so much easier with a guide who speaks the language.

Anyway a few calls by reception saw another driver turn up and chased down the bus at the river and all was well.

We made it back to Livingstone and signed in to The Waterfront Lodge on the edge of the Zambezi and made arrangements to go jet boating.

We were picked up and the drive was about 35 minutes on a sometimes very rough dirt road. We went through three native villages and one of them was where the King of this area lives. All the huts were made of brush and mud and there were little kids playing outside who all waved as we drove past.

We got to the staging area on the top of a ridge and we got into a cable car for the journey down the hill into the canyon. The car went down to a certain point and then dropped vertically from the the wire like a lift. Very exciting.

Then it was onto the jet boat itself. The driver, Tony, took it easy to start with and then threw a fast turn and wicked it up a notch. We went up the river to start with and managed to stay reasonably dry but as soon as we turned around and hit the first rapids downhill, we got hit with the first of many huge waves that came over the front of the boat. We were soaked through but having the time of our lives. All too soon it was over and it was back into the cable car and the drive back.

We spent a relaxing evening in the outdoor restaurant looking over the Zambezi and reminisced over our trip to Africa as tomorrow we start the long trip home with a flight from Livingstone to Johannesberg (2 hours), then a 3 hour layover t Johannesberg before the 12 hour flight home.

I hope you guy’s have enjoyed reading about our adventures as we have had having them.