Botswana Safari Part I

We began our safari trip in Land Rovers on the way to the airport at 5:45 in the morning, cramped between all our bags. The Etihad flights turned out to be really good, exceptional in fact, the food was exquisite, the entertainment allowed me to catch up on loads of missed films, you know Valentine's Day etc however waking up in Jo’burg airport with a dead hand, thinking I was drowning with ear plugs and eye mufflers on was a very odd experience. Livingstone airport turned out to be tiny and we got fantastic views of the Makgadikgadi salt pans and the Zambezi as we banked over Vic Falls.

 On our first full day we took the early bus to Vic Falls and after having been offered plenty of trillion Zimbabwean dollars we managed to get our first glimpse of these impressive waterfalls. The volume of water pouring over the mile long stretch of the waterfalls was phenomenal. We got charmed by two students who ended up robbing us in the sense that they took mums money and threw two copper bracelets at me and Rob. 

With excited trepidation we woke early on Monday morning to set off on the 45 min journey to where our rafting expedition would begin. Kevias our guide was the epitome of happiness and laughed all the way down as we got soaked, sunk, capsized and spun down the immense Zambezi river. This 110m gorge quickly became my favourite river in the world and the Grade 5 rapid No. 12 dubbed the “Three Sisters” my favourite rapids. The photos show the sheer scale of the water and it is easy enough to believe that 6 elephant and 4 hippo got washed down the year before. Following a comfortable cable car journey up the steep hillside, Kirst, myself and Botts sat on the top of the truck as we sidled our way back to Livingstone. Joe gave a running commentary of the villages and tales of the areas that we passed. Having survived not being knocked off by baobab tree branches Kirst, Mum and me wandered in the markets to pick up a few presents. It was at this moment that I realised how much of a hard barginer Mum is as she began bargaining down a Zambian single mum with no shoes. 

Chris our friendly taxi driver picked us up from Fawlty Towers early on Tuesday morning and took us through the only place in the world where four countries converge to meet John, Nancy and co in Kasane. In our last meal out for a while we munched our way through a herd of kudu. Having stocked up on supplies, fuel and water we set off into the wilderness.