The next day (18 June) we flew commercially from Johannesburg to Maun, the capital of Botswana where we were met by porters who took us to a small 12-passenger plane operated by Wilderness Air that would fly us to our first bush camp – Khwai Leadwood. Arriving at the small airstrip near the camp, we were met by our two guides Bando and Chief. It was about a three-hour drive to the camp, but a lot of it was through a game preserve so we got our first taste of game viewing.
Khwai Leadwood (Botswana) is located in the Khwai community private concession in the corner of the Okavango Delta, an alluvial fan that covers 2316 square miles of Kalahari Desert in northern Botswana. Situated on a lagoon at the edge of the Khwai River, the camp borders the Moremi Game Reserve and consists of a main lodge building and seven tents for guests. In addition to some wonderful game viewing, a fantastic 30-minute helicopter ride over the Okavango Delta, and beautiful sunsets and sunrises, we had the dubious distinction of being in a game vehicle that got stuck in the mud in the middle of a large pool of water. One of the other game vehicles had to come along side us so we could climb out of our vehicle into the new one. It took the guides 3 hours, 3 vehicles, a tractor, a wench, and some logs to pull the vehicle out of the mud. At each of our camps, except Thorntree, we had two game drives per day – one in the early morning with a stop for tea, coffee or hot chocolate about midway through and the second in the late afternoon with a stop at sunset for a Sundowner which included drinks and small snacks. Below are some of the pictures from our 3 days at Khwai.
Our next bush camp, again reached by a small Wilderness Air flight, was Linyanti Ebony (Botswana), located between the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park. The camp sits on the edge of the Linyanti Marshes, a diverse ecosystem that is rich in wildlife. It is situated in a private reserve that borders the western boundary of the Chobe National Park. The camp has only 4 tents, with one being a family tent with 2 bedrooms, and a main lodge. Our two game guides were Chester and Esse. We also had another 30 minute helicopter ride over the Okavango Delta. The views from the helicopters were amazing -- you get to see the wide expanse of land interspersed with streams, ponds and marshes that make up the Delta. Below are pictures of our game drives on the 3 days at Linyanti.
Our next small plane ride took us to Kasane, Botswana where we were met and transported to Zambia As we were entering a new country we had to go through Immigrations and Customs after we crossed over the bridge from Botswana. Our van then continued to the Thorntree River Lodge in Zambia. The Lodge is located on the shore of the mighty Zambezi River in the Mosi-Oa-Turya National Park. It is about 5.5 miles from the city of Livingston where Victoria Falls “Mosi oa Turya” or “the smoke that thunders” is located. The Falls are more than a mile wide with an average of 1.4 billion gallons of water flowing over the edge into the Zambezi River every minute during peak flood times. Unlike our bush camps in Botswana, Thorntree is a complete resort, with 10 suites, a spa, library, lounge, dining area, bar, and a swimming pool. The lodge is home to many Vervet monkeys, baboons, hippos that wander up from the river, and warthogs that roam the grounds at will. While game viewing is not as exciting as the other camps, we did get our first look at the endangered White Rhinos, and of course, the stay included a trip to Victoria Falls with our guide and driver Phillip. Our stay also included a surprise picnic on one of the islands in the middle of the Zambezi River. Enjoy the pictures from our stay in Zambia.
We left Livingston on a commercial flight to the Kruger National Park airport. Our last bush camp was Dulini Leadwood, a luxurious lodge in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve (South Africa) which is located on the southwest corner of Kruger National Park. Consisting of only four suites plus the lodge, it sits on the bank of the Sand River. This is one of the few preserves where, with luck, you can see all the Big Five animals – lion, leopard, elephant, cape buffalo, and rhino. Although Bill and I were unable to go on the last game drive (we had an early flight to Cape Town on the day we all left Dulini), the rest of the group did see all the Big Five on that early morning game drive. We only had one full day at Dulini, but it was packed with excitement. During our 2 game drives we saw a total of 4 leopards, one of which was in a tree eating and guarding the impala he had killed two days before. And 6 of us (John, Elisha, Caitlyn, Doug, Brynn, and I) also went on a bush walk in the afternoon where we saw a herd of wildebeests. Unfortunately Brooklyn was too young for this activity so she kept Grandpop company.
This was the end of our safari. While Bill and I flew on to Cape Town for a week (see my just recently posted blog on that trip), the rest of the family flew back home. It was an amazing trip – one that we all will remember the rest of our lives. The animals we saw were incredible, especially the leopard in the tree, the camps and staff were outstanding and so very friendly and helpful. And the food was delicious. Although this was our second safari, the game drives never got old and were just as exciting as the first ones were. An African Safari should be on everyone’s bucket list – you will not regret it!
