Maholoholo Camp

On the way to Kruger National Park, we stopped at an wildlife rehabilitation center called Moholoholo Camp.  A country with that many animals, there's bound to be some that were injured by traps, accidents, etc.  This camp treats and rehabilitate those animals, which are not always returned to the wild.  Some of them have been there for many years.  They can't go back to the wild because they don't know how to live as wild animals anymore.  Here are some pictures of some of those animals at the camp.

Our guide

Cheetah

Eagle

Trap used for animals

Vulture

Lion

Wild Dog, becoming extinct

Honey Badger, a very aggressive animal

Chobe National Park, Botswana - Days 5 and 6

The last part of our Chobe and Victoria Falls trip is to the Chobe National Park in Botswana.  Not many people mention Botswana when it comes to safaris but Botswana has some excellent places to see animals.  The most well-known area is the Okovango Delta, which has been featured in many wildlife shows.  After heavy rainfall in Angola, the water flows south and flood this delta.  Vegetation grows, which then attracts all kinds of wildlife.  Chobe is connected to the Okovango Delta so animals go back and forth between the two areas.  We drove along the Chobe river, where a variety of animals were seen there.

You need to sanitize your shoes when you cross the order into Botswana for fear of foot and mouth disease

A shopping center in one of the small towns

Our guide at Chobe

Information on the park

Two young elephants playing

Hippos are usually submerged in water.  They are very dangerous

Crocodiles by the river

Lots of baboons doing monkey business

Water Buck

This is how the giraffe gets low enough to eat - watch the front legs

Impalas are beautiful and graceful animals

 On the last day (day 7), it was driving back to Johannesburg to drop everyone off.  On the way, we saw a herd of elephants crossing the road.  They are so common here, it's not a big deal.

Elephants are so common we saw a herd of them crossing the road

A little more about Botswana.  The citizens here called themselves Batswana.  70% of the slightly-over 2 million population claimed themselves to be Christians.  The country is dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which consists of about 70% of its land.  The economy is mainly dependent on mining and tourism.  Like many African countries, it has also been devastated by the HIV/AIDS virus.  Its capital city is called Gaborone, in the southeastern part of the country, not far from the South African border.

Zimbabwe - Days 3 and 4

If you know a little bit of history about Africa, there used to be a country called Rhodesia.  Like South Africa, it was run by whites, who are the minority.  Following years of sanctions and being a country in limbo for many years, it finally gained independence from the British in 1980.  Since then it has been run by Robert Mugabe, an authoritarian figure with a poor human rights record.  Mostly, he has been blamed for the steep economic decline of the country.  He is famous for confiscating lands from white farmers to give to his associates or other black farmers.  The latter were not equipped or capable of farming cash crops, thus the country has been going on a decline economically since.  Mugabe continues to hold on to power despite a lot of discontent in the country.  Once we crossed the border to Zimbabwe, we could tell the difference between Botswana and Zimbabwe.  Conditions are so poor there that many have fled to South Africa.  They live illegally and in slums on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

Warthogs welcoming us into Zimbabwe

Boabab Tree, common in Africa

Entrance to Victoria Falls

One of the 7 natural wonders of the world

David Livingston, who "discovered" Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls

Bridge over the Zambesi River, connecting Zimbabwe to Zambia

Bungee jumping over the Zambesi River

There is a nice crafts market in town that sells a lot of handmade handicrafts.  They are all beautifully done and inexpensive. However, because I am traveling with a backpack, it's not logical for me to buy this handicrafts.

Crafts Market

Chinese restaurant in Vic Falls? Wok n Roll

We stayed at a campsite/lodge just about 2 blocks from town.  As soon as we walk outside the area, we are harassed by vendors trying to sell us things.  One of the things that is popularly sold is old Zimbabwe currency, up to as high as twenty trillion dollars.  Yes, trillion!  Apparently, the economy has gotten so bad that its currency is not even worth the paper it's on.

I am a billionaire!

Botswana - Days 1 and 2

It's about 5 pm on Thursday, February 20th, in Johannesburg (JNB).  We've just returned from the 4-day safari in Kruger National Park and I am back at Bob's Bunkhouse for the night.  I've been out of touch with the digital world since there is no internet connection in the Park.  I have a lot of catching up to do to update this blog.  It will be at least 3 or 4 posts before I am caught up.  I am going to start with the trip to Botswana and Zimbabwe, the so-called Chobe National Park (Botswana) and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) Tour.  I'm dividing this tour into 3 posts:  1.  Days 1 and 2 - Botswana (Khama Rhino Sanctuary and Elephant Sands Park)   2.  Days 3 and 4 - Victoria Falls in Zimbawe   4.  Days 5 and 6 - Chobe National Park.  After that I am going to write about my wonderful experience at Kruger.

We started early in the morning of Monday, February 10th, picking up the group around JNB.  Two travelers were not at their hostel and we wasted a good 45 minutes waiting for them.  By then the traffic in the city was very bad and we were late leaving JNB.  We stopped in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa (RSA), about 50 km away, to pick up a couple of more travelers.  There were 6 of us in a mini-bus that sits 13 so we had plenty of room to stretch out.  There were 2 Americans, including myself, 1 Australian, 1 Canadian, 1 Dutch and 1 German.  Our driver/guide was David, a black South African, who speaks 11 RSA languages.  Everyone seems to get along fine except the Canadian, who is a smartass and loud-mouth and have a little bit of anti-Americanism in him.  Nevertheless, it was a good group and I avoided having any kind of argument with him.

I knew we were going to Botswana but I didn't know I know some little about the country.  Surprisingly, it is one of the wealthiest countries in Africa, with a GDP per capita of about $14,000 a year.  That puts it at the same standard of living as Mexico and Turkey.  It is a big country, slightly smaller than the state of Texas.  It took us 2 days to travel from south to north.  We entered Botswana from the south-eastern part of the country (that borders South Africa) and headed north towards the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, where we spent the night and take a game drive through the sanctuary in the morning.  This sanctuary was established to protect rhinos from endangerment due to poaching.  It is named after the current president, Ian Khama.  There are no lodges at the sanctuary so we camped there.  In fact, we camped every night.  I chose to upgrade to a lodge a couple of nights just so I can get a good night's rest.  However, I slept very well on most nights in the tents.

Dinner on the first night.  David (guide) is at the end of the table

Steak and Pap (a kind of mashed maize) with peri sauce

"Don't get too near...."

Checking to see who's there

Mother and kid rhino?

Zebras are there as well

Lots of impalas running around

I am handsome!

After the Rhino Sanctuary, we drove north to an elephant park called Elephant Sands.  There are no rhinos here, mostly elephants.  By the time you read the next 3 or 4 blogs, you are going to be tired of seeing pictures of elephants.  However, they are such intelligent animals; almost like humans that watching them behave in their natural habitat just makes you smile.  It is such a far cry from seeing elephants in the zoo or circus.
I was told by the guides that because we are in a vehicle they think we are just another animal.  They have very poor vision, depending on smell and vibrations of the ground.  Sometimes we were just a few feet away from them and they behave just like kids.  Below are some of the pictures.

Elephant Strutting

Drinking from a pond

Beautiful Sunset at Elephant Sands

Travelers with our tour mini-bus

Some Safari Pictures

I am stopping in Johannesburg for the night before going on the second safari at Kruger National Park.  I don't have time to write about my time in Botswana and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, right now but I thought I'll share some of the pictures that I have taken so far.