Travel

(a.k.a. Yes, I Actually Did That) Before we dive into South Africa, a small (but actually not small) preface. During COVID — when the rest of the planet was perfecting sourdough — I enrolled in the Certified Introductory level with the Court of Master …

Kruger is why I’m behind. Yesterday (Day 1 here), I was up until nearly 10 p.m. editing photos — and we had to be “at the gate to Kruger” at 5:00 this morning. Guides get priority entry into the park for the first half hour. Yesterday we did not. Today …

We didn’t have to get up too early — bags outside the door, breakfast, and off we went. The drive to the airport wasn’t long, though it was punctuated by an elephant calmly blocking the street. As one does. Lynn had taken my shaving kit into her checke …

Today was our Zambia day — passports in hand, dual-entry visas at the ready. No issues heading into Zambia (aside from the ever-present copper bracelet hustlers). Coming back into Zimbabwe was more dramatic: about half our crew had visa issues, while t …

Today we visited a homestead near Chidobe and met the headman and his family, had a snack there, and then went on to the Chidobe School, which Overseas Adventure Travel’s charitable arm supports. OAT builds a few core elements into every trip — not jus …

Slideshow of Victoria Falls/Zambia portion HERE. Today started with a walk down to Victoria Falls, and wow was it wet! I chose not to wear the provided rain poncho but instead slung it over the camera bag to save the most expensive part (ha ha). So by …

This morning began, as so many of our mornings do, with the ANEW buffet. I continue to believe this buffet is… trying its best. Breakfast was serviceable, but not exactly the breakfasting at the buffet-a of our dreams. Lynn, poor thing, had slept terri …

Slideshow of entire Entabeni portion HERE. Day 6 was fairly short — and we got to sleep in (yay!). We headed out in misty-to-rainy weather for a bush walk. We drove out to the main grassland at the foot of the big butte and spent the morning learning t …

This afternoon we drove to the Rhino Orphanage, where we learned a great deal about South Africa’s long and heartbreaking history with poaching. Through the 1960s, the numbers were going down, down, down — to roughly 370 rhinos killed in a year. But th …

Up again at 5:00 a.m. For some reason my alarm didn’t go off — but thank goodness this lodge operates on the very practical system of knocking firmly on your door until you rejoin the living. I was especially tired today. I haven’t been sleeping partic …