Moving on......
We had a very relaxing start to our day (the best kind). We had time to take in the last breathtaking views of the lodge overlooking the river. We were treated to several wart hogs grazing right in front of us.
At 10:00 we said goodbye to the A’Zambezi River Lodge, headed for Hwange, Zimbabwe.
We had a 2.5 hour drive to our next hotel. We travelled on a pretty good paved road that had some large potholes due to heavy truck traffic. It was a very interesting drive. People walk everywhere and there were dirt trails on each side of the highway with people walking on them. Our bus driver, Arthur, was fantastic because he spoke to us almost the entire way, telling us all about the schools, the politics and life in Zimbabwe. Things are very difficult for the people of Zimbabwe due to the dictatorship under Robert Magabe for 38 years. Now that Magabe is gone things haven’t really improved. 65% of the people still live in villages that don’t have electricity or water. Many of these villages were located among the trees that lined the highway. We saw lots of people along the road, trying to sell their produce from farming. It was especially cute to see the kids selling things. It is Saturday today so they weren’t in school.
As we were approaching the Hwange park we lucked into seeing several elephants alongside the road. It made for an exciting start.
We arrived at our lodge at 1:00 and went straight for lunch. Our lunch was outside on beautiful tables set up among the trees. It was such a gorgeous setting!
We has just enough time after lunch to check in to our rooms and get things prepared for our first game drive. We set off at 4:00 in 3 safari jeeps, each holding 8 people and a driver/guide. We headed into the national park to begin our safari. We saw numerous types of birds, some of them are huge and some of them are very colourful. We saw some hippos in a pond but they were “laying low”. We also saw some greater judo, impalas, wildebeests, a jackal and a crocodile. We stopped at a watering hole for a “sundowner”. The guides set up snacks and drinks for us. We aren’t actually there for the sunset because we have to be out of the park before sunset.
As we were arriving back at the lodge, our drivers drove past the lodge and continued out behind. There was a herd of zebras and impalas but our attention was on a very large male elephant. One of our jeeps was right up beside it and he started to trumpet and go towards them but he stopped before reaching their Jeep. Then our driver decide to get in closer and he turned around so that the elephant was on my side of the Jeep. Again, the elephant made a loud noise and came toward us but stopped. So, needless to say, we were a “bit” nervous! 😬😬😬
Finally it was too dark so we headed back to the lodge (we were feeling ready to go). We went straight to dinner, which was set up outside in an area fenced off among the trees. The pathway was lit up and the tables each had an oil on it. It was a spectacular setting. We had a lovely buffet dinner and then called it a night. We have an early morning and a full day game drive tomorrow!
I am having trouble with the internet so can’t post pictures tonight. I will get them up as soon as possible! Goodnight!
At 10:00 we said goodbye to the A’Zambezi River Lodge, headed for Hwange, Zimbabwe.
We had a 2.5 hour drive to our next hotel. We travelled on a pretty good paved road that had some large potholes due to heavy truck traffic. It was a very interesting drive. People walk everywhere and there were dirt trails on each side of the highway with people walking on them. Our bus driver, Arthur, was fantastic because he spoke to us almost the entire way, telling us all about the schools, the politics and life in Zimbabwe. Things are very difficult for the people of Zimbabwe due to the dictatorship under Robert Magabe for 38 years. Now that Magabe is gone things haven’t really improved. 65% of the people still live in villages that don’t have electricity or water. Many of these villages were located among the trees that lined the highway. We saw lots of people along the road, trying to sell their produce from farming. It was especially cute to see the kids selling things. It is Saturday today so they weren’t in school.
As we were approaching the Hwange park we lucked into seeing several elephants alongside the road. It made for an exciting start.
We arrived at our lodge at 1:00 and went straight for lunch. Our lunch was outside on beautiful tables set up among the trees. It was such a gorgeous setting!
We has just enough time after lunch to check in to our rooms and get things prepared for our first game drive. We set off at 4:00 in 3 safari jeeps, each holding 8 people and a driver/guide. We headed into the national park to begin our safari. We saw numerous types of birds, some of them are huge and some of them are very colourful. We saw some hippos in a pond but they were “laying low”. We also saw some greater judo, impalas, wildebeests, a jackal and a crocodile. We stopped at a watering hole for a “sundowner”. The guides set up snacks and drinks for us. We aren’t actually there for the sunset because we have to be out of the park before sunset.
As we were arriving back at the lodge, our drivers drove past the lodge and continued out behind. There was a herd of zebras and impalas but our attention was on a very large male elephant. One of our jeeps was right up beside it and he started to trumpet and go towards them but he stopped before reaching their Jeep. Then our driver decide to get in closer and he turned around so that the elephant was on my side of the Jeep. Again, the elephant made a loud noise and came toward us but stopped. So, needless to say, we were a “bit” nervous! 😬😬😬
Finally it was too dark so we headed back to the lodge (we were feeling ready to go). We went straight to dinner, which was set up outside in an area fenced off among the trees. The pathway was lit up and the tables each had an oil on it. It was a spectacular setting. We had a lovely buffet dinner and then called it a night. We have an early morning and a full day game drive tomorrow!
I am having trouble with the internet so can’t post pictures tonight. I will get them up as soon as possible! Goodnight!
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