This is our guide Sam. That’s his jeep we rode around in all day.
Just so you know, this post details our third day on Queen, but we barely got on before dinner on day one, so I am counting yesterday as Day 1 and today as Day 2.
Day two is all about Chobe National Park in Botswana, where we would spend the day in the back of a jeep (on decent seats) being bounced all over the place while seeing some amazing animals, then stopping for a nice picnic lunch before heading back to the Zambezi Queen for dinner.
Our day started like any other day leaving the Queen to go someplace. Even though we could see the park in Botswana from the Zambezi Queen, we had to go up river, get out of the boats, walk up the half mile to the border crossing, check out of Namibia, then get back in the boats, head back down river, pass the Queen to the Botswana border crossing where we waited in line again to check in to Botswana. From there, we were picked up by our guides. Kathleen had decided to stay aboard today, so I was on my own with just my camera. And five of us got really lucky and got Sam as our driver. That’s him in the photo—a truly great guy.
He picked us up at the border crossing, and we headed about three miles down the highway to the entrance to Chobe National Park. We stopped to use the facilities (which were easily the most disgusting of the trip—go before you leave the Queen or there is a fairly clean restroom behind the border station coming into Botswana. Just ask for directions.) and then it was on into the park.
Chobe is renowned for having the highest concentration of elephants in Africa, and we quickly discovered this when we found ourselves in the middle of a herd, with one of the elephants coming right up to our jeep. That got a bit scary, but he backed off and went around us. I think that was as close as I got to a wild animal on the entire trip (so far). Maybe six feet away. He did not have a happy look on his face. But I think you should judge for yourself. So here’s the first batch of pictures (all the way up to lunch) from the park. Enjoy. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
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- This is the big guy who came right up to our jeep.
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- I did not zoom my camera.
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- He just kept coming.
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- And then another one started coming towards us.
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- She didn’t look very happy either.
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- But she finally moved on.
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- We sat in the middle of that herd for quite a few minutes,..
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- Where I got lots of great closeups.
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- Of all parts of an elephant.
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- And then this guy showed up. YIKES!
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- These banded mongooses (yes, I checked and that is the plural of mongoose).
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- Did you know that hippos have pink skin? And the gray is a sunburn—Yikes!
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- Giraffes
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- Lots of them.
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- Bunches
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- And friendly.
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- This guy was released after years working as the Toys R Us mascot.
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- Chobe chickens
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- Baboons
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- Salad bar for the impalas
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- And now we have LIONS!
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- We came around the corner and there was an entire pride under a tree. No male that we could see.
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- And more elephants.
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- Since we were on land this time, we got to see the other side of the elephant.
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- A black faced impala
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- According to Google, this is a lilac crested roller
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- This one as well.
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- This is a southern, red-billed hornbill. You might remember him from his role as Zazu in The Lion King.
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- Another lilac-breasted roller
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- Punba! The only warthogs we saw all day. Akuna Matata!
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- Cape Buffalo skeleton
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- Out in the bush. This pic just says Africa to me.
Lunchtime
AmaWaterways has been great with arrangements on this entire trip. The biggest reason for this is the amazing Delia. For today, she had completely organized a picnic lunch in the middle of a national park where thousands of wild animals surrounded us. And there was even a restroom…with about the same level of disgusting as the one at the entrance to the park, but not quite as bad. I finished my lunch while others were still eating, and my yearbook mode kicked in, so I started taking candid photos of my fellow travelers. I have some fans of my people shots (hi Kay), so here they are if you are interested. Otherwis,e scroll on down for more animals.
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- Our picnic site
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- And some people photos
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- My new friend AJ taking a bite of banana while one of my favorite people on the trip, Lorraine, looks on.
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- I think she wanted that banana ?
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- One of the “two Marinas” with us on our trip. Marina 2 (above) was traveling with her Mom, (Marina 1) from Puerto Rico. Marina 1 is a retired teacher, Marina 2 an art teacher. She very much reminded us of our niece Cassie.
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- James from Langley, BC
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- The two Marinas
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- Sometimes I just can’t remember their names. This gentleman was traveling in a group of four from Indiana
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- This is his wife.
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- James watches Nancy from California/Tennessee finish her lunch.
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- Another person whose name escapes me right now.
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- You know how some people are just FUN? This is Betty from Tampa and she is a hoot!
After lunch, more jeep riding
Once lunch was over, it was back in the jeep with Sam and off to see more animals. I will let you follow along with the photos.
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- This is a greater kudu. If the Impalas are the size of our deer then greater kudus are the size of an elk with really cool antlers.
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- And more giraffes
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- Lots more. We were really close.
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- And more elephants.
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- So many elephants
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- And as many elephants as there were, there were ALWAYS more impalas.
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- Cute elephants too.
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- Not so close this time.
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- Another greater kudu
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- Looking back at the park.
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- This greater kudu really captured my attention.
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- He just kept posing for me.
That was about it for animals. Just some final notes to let you know where we are now and what’s coming in posts.
Today is Monday, July 14. It is our full day in Johannesburg. The photos on this page were taken on Wednesday the 9th. In the interim we had one more day on the Zambezi Queen and then we transitioned to Victoria Falls for two nights. I have a lot more videos, but uploading them takes a while and uses up a lot of bandwidth.
Stop the presses! We are just back from our visit to the Soweto Township. What a kick in the teeth. In the USA, I always feel guilty for being a white male, now I feel bad for being a white, male, financially successful, American. More about that in a few days. Suffice it to say, today’s trip was beyond eye-opening.
Of course, no post from Africa should be without either a sunrise or a sunset. Enjoy!
I was a child among the lions. Now I want to be one of those lions. —Charles Oliveira
We lived in Kenya for 2 years and South Africa for 3.5 years. While in Kenya we realized that the folks who worked at our house- gardener, cook and nanny had never been to a game park so we facilitated a visit. So close but so far. Financially out of reach and not a priority when you are struggling to survive financially. So those of us who can afford it spend lots of money to enjoy the sights of amazing wildlife while most of the population can’t.
What an adventure you’ve written about including your amazing photos and captions to go with them. I’ve heard from others the jeep rides are very bouncy.
A lot of that depends on two things. The driver and the vehicle. We saw some pretty rickety pickup trucks with people sitting in the back on a 2×12 bolted to the sides. Ours were really nice seats with lots of room. I never felt really bounced around.
Great.. carry on. We need to talk about the elephants when you get home. ?
Love your photos of all the animals of Africa. So much better than the zoo!!! For us, and them!!! It is truly beautiful… Thank you so much for sharing your adventures in words and pictures.
Stunning!!!