Come safari with us!

2023-07-20

Highlights from three weeks in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia

We once worried that a second African safari would be redundant, even disappointing.

HA.

When it comes to close encounters with wildlife, we've discovered that, in fact, every outing is different and special, especially if you give yourself time to immerse in the moment.

Our first two visits were to Tanzania, the heart of the great migration, perfect for first-timers. We got hooked. In 2019, we made two trips, one to South Africa, and one to three countries: Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Those were true safaris, where you are on the hunt, often the only vehicle around, making discoveries every day.

In May of 2023, having been delayed by Covid, we booked 19 safari nights in four countries. Is that too much? I asked my daughter as we planned. HA, she said. HA HA HA.

Yeah, it was pretty great. Three camps in three countries, followed by a road trip in Namibia (our first time): Jburg (1N), Khwai Leadwood, Botswana (4N), Somalisa, Zimbabwe (4), Sausage Camp, Zambia (4), Windhoek, Namibia (1), Okonjima, Namibia (2), Ongava, Namibia (2), Sossusvlei Desert Lodge Namibia (3), Windhoek again and home.

I had become comfortable enough to book all this independently for us and our safari companions, who I first took to Africa in 2017. "If I see just one elephant, I will be happy," Mary had said. I keep overdelivering, happily.

The only tricky part to self-planning was deciding which camps to stay at, then figuring out logistics as flights don't fly every day or at the right time to the right place. We had gotten excellent rates partly because we first booked in 2021 and partly because May is a shoulder month. We found great game in the Okavango Delta (as we did our first time in July 2019) but did not have as good viewing elsewhere as the animals aren't as concentrated yet. We wouldn't do that time frame again.

Come ride along on our top highlights:

Cheetahs crossing the river

We tracked a cheetah mom and her young son (Junior) for 2 ½ hours our last morning at Khwai Leadwood. Our great guide, Banda, had been circling the area around the cheetah tracks he spotted the night before. Suddenly he says, there’s a cheetah. Where? Where??? He’s looking at a termite mound we can barely see more than a half mile away!

Yes, there was a cheetah--actually two! We enjoyed a failed lechwe chase, hearing Junior mewing for mom when he got separated, and watching Mom cautiously study the river situation for 45 minutes before she finally crossed over. Banda said he had never cheetahs in the water before.

Wild dogs galore

At Sausage Camp one morning, we came across a pack snoozing in the shade in bundles of fur and ears and tails. There are less than 7,000 of these endangered creatures in Africa, so we were thrilled to hang out with 29 of them, even if they were just loafing.

We returned in the late afternoon and, after seven hours of resting, the alpha male finally got up, rousing the pack. The painted dogs frolicked around us like, well, dogs, mostly doing what I called the three “p’s”: pooping, peeing and puking.

Finally, they were off to find supper, following the leader in near single file. All too soon, we lost them in the brush and dusk and they were not sighted again during our stay.

Artemis the pangolin

We added Okonjima to our trip mostly because they advertised "pangolin walks." If you're asking, what's that, you aren't alone. Sort of a cross between anteater, lobster and armadillo, the threatened species is the only mammal with scales. We first heard of them on safari and have been on the hunt ever since.

We started our evening, hopefully, around 6 p.m. and were ready to give up at 8:15 when guides reported that Artemis was out of her burrow. Headlamps were provided for a short walk into the brush where we met our first pangolin ! Artemis was maybe 4-5 feet, covered with large scales made of keratin, prized by poachers, along with their meat. We watched her walking, foraging, nibbling ants and termites and hiding (by tucking her head underneath, like a ball) for about 25 minutes.

Two members of our party of who pooh poohed the actual existence of pangolins had to eat their words.

Feasting predators

We still haven’t seen a kill but did see three significant dining experiences, all at Khwai: Lions at a huge water buffalo, which was very stinky; three wild dogs with a young kudu; and a large herd that had just gotten sated by a dead elephant.

Young lions at play

At Khwai, we peered through a thicket where mom had deposited two cubs about 10 days old! We never saw them emerge but caught their precious little faces and blue eyes. We also saw young cubs following mom, climbing on her, tussling with each other and mewing at her for some milk. At Ongava, we parked about 10 feet from a tree where four lion cubs were playing king of the branch--this was the closest we've ever been to active young cubs.

Ellies galore

At every stop before Namibia, but especially at Somalisa, we joined many elephant herds as they drank, had mud baths and dirt showers, played, blared, and lumbered along. We loved the little ellies, still figuring out their trunks, boldly confronting us humans. Of note: a little ellie was stuck in a hole for 46 seconds, frantically trying to wrap his trunk around mom’s to get out; another was completely submerged in water like a submarine, then rared on his hind legs like a dog; and the wounded ellie with no tail and a limp leg broke our hearts.

Rhinos galore

We’ve never seen so many rhinos together as in Namibia, both black and white. There was a number at Okonjima, including crossing the road as we left; and a whole bunch at Ongava, where they had been relocated from Etosha Park. It's the first time we saw one practically jogging, and heard a mom blaring at male who was too close to her cub; he backed away as she advanced.

Night tracking

As the sun sets, spotlights are used on night drives, helping catch glimpses of activity. Aside from the pangolin and rhinos:

• At Sausage Camp, on our last night, we followed a group of lions who were stalking stealthily, ready to hunt. But they also wanted to mate, so they called out to announce themselves to lionesses. Then they wondered why no prey came around their hideout. At evening's end, we heard them roaring, one after another, in a thrilling cacophony.
• At Somalisa, we tracked a young leopard at dusk as he meandered down the road, marking his territory left and right.
• At Ongava, we saw rhinos and lions in the evening from a viewing hide near the watering hole. Then around 4:55 a.m., my daughter awakened me when she spotted lions and lion cubs at the watering hole, which we could just make out from our bathroom window.
• At Okonjima, we were excited to see two porcupines and a hyena at our front lawn at night…until we learned the staff threw out slop to attract them!

Walvis Bay seals

Our day tour with Mola Mola Tours started out gray and very cold: we were in a small ship filled with too many passengers. But then we got to Pelican Point and delighted in the antics of the 50,000-80,000 Cape fur seals, barking and shuffling and swimming and leaping as opportunistic jackals hovered.

Oldest desert in the world

In Namibia, Namib-Naukluft National Park comprises the oldest desert in the world at 55 million-80 million plus years. It's also the largest national park in Africa. We immersed ourselves in its golden red otherworld beauty from Walvis Bay in the north and from Sossusvlei near the southern end.

From Walvis Bay, we took a jouncy 4x4 tour that snaked between the sparkling dunes and the Atlantic ocean to arrive at gorgeous Sandwich Harbour, which was once a settlement. From the amazing Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, we took a helicopter tour over Namib’s fascinating undulating red dunes and white salt flats. Finally, we drove through the park to admire the dunes up close, including hiking up one of the tallest in the world: Big Daddy, at 1,000 feet. It was our first real desert experience and we were mesmerized by the colors, scope and timelessness.

Aerial views

We had three helicopter rides, including over Namib, providing wonderful new perspectives.

Bonus highlight: Flat tires

Namibia has many gravel roads and we learned flat tires are not only common but inevitable: the first thing the Hertz rental guy did was attempt to show us how to change a tire using a metal stick and a tiny cone, aka jack. We had two flat tires over 1,000 miles. We were pretty nervous at first, being in the middle of nowhere without cell coverage. By the second flat, my very capable daughter was confident she could have managed.

The first time, it took 30 minutes to figure out how to lower the spare (hung by a chain under the trunk). We were slowly working on the flat when three cars stopped, filled with locals. One had a family of strapping young boys who took over under their mom's direction. We were on the road in 50 minutes. The second time, Regan released the spare in five minutes! A goatherd stopped to help and 30 minutes later, we were off to our next adventure.

We hope you enjoyed your comfortable, air-conditioned safari with us.

HEY. What about birds, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, hyenas, warthogs, hippos, monkeys, and stuff like that, you ask? Check out our highlights photo album.