We had an ultimate African moment last night. Elephants were chomping grass, bumping our tent, and making their presence known as we were going to bed. Just after we turned off the light a strong smell filled our tent, and we knew they were still there, digesting their food. Jeanne woke me a little after midnight because she didn’t want me to miss the up-close and personal view of our elephant. He was huge (his head was higher than the top of our tent) and just inches from our bathroom screen, pulling off tree limbs and eating the leaves.

Not sure how long he stayed, but when we left our tent in the morning, leaves were everywhere and his calling card filled the walkway.

Phanuel asked us if we had read our newspaper this morning when we walked in for breakfast, and we had a great time sharing elephant stories.

Today was an all-day safari. In addition to the elephants, impalas and giraffes that we are almost starting to take for granted, we saw some new animals as well. We had seen a lone cape buffalo earlier, but today we saw a huge bellow, more than a thousand, of cape buffalo. Knowing they are part of the Big Five because they can be so dangerous, I felt on edge as we drove through them. Often we were just feet away from the closest ones. Some looked at us, but most ignored us. Males can be identified by the little cap, called a boss, between their horns.

We saw a warthog earlier, but he was moving too quickly to get a picture. Today one posed for us.

New sightings were a mongoose and a sable antelope.

Our guides set up a beautiful picnic lunch for us in the park. After lunch, Six, one of our guides, talked with us about Botswana. Mining of diamonds is the number one industry and tourism is the second.

Even though I already had taken tons of pictures of elephants and giraffes, I couldn’t stop taking more when I saw them.

Relaxing on the deck of our tent before dinner, we were delighted to watch an elephant stroll by and stop for a snack.

And then the elephants did a repeat of last night, but this time it was in the daylight and we could see what they were doing. It started with a parade of elephants along the flood plain below our tent.

Then once again our tent was surrounded by elephants. It was exciting to watch the biggest elephant come up the hill beside our tent, push the sidewalk rope down with his trunk, and walk along the sidewalk and up the hill on the other side, pulling branches off trees and eating leaves.

Our elephant visitor mesmerized us for at least an hour as we watched him outside our tent and ran inside when he got closer.

We ended our evening with a farewell dinner and cultural exchange. As we sat around the fire in the Boma, an African gathering space, the staff sang a lovely farewell song.

Baobab Camp has been especially fun because the camp overlooks the Chobe River flood plain. Animals frequently walk by our camp to and from the river. Sometimes it seems like the animals could overwhelm the people. I have so enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded by and peacefully co-existing with the animals. And the intriguing baobab tree, is part of our lovely view.

This morning was the chilliest so far. We all bundled up and headed out with Moses, our guide, to look for new animals.

Less than thirty minutes out, another guide alerted Moses to a clan of spotted hyenas. The guides share information with each other on vehicle radios. Lucky for us the hyenas were still there when we arrived, and Moses told us it was uncommon to see seven in one place.

We saw more lions, giraffes, kudus, and impalas. The most beautiful bird we saw was the Lilac-breasted Roller.

We encountered an African mystery. Baby frogs were hopping in a line along a sandy road. Moses said it was perplexing to see them there because there was no water nearby and the river they were moving toward was too far for them to reach before the sun killed them. Even though their journey seemed doomed to fail, Moses drove on the side of the road to avoid running over them.  As we got closer to the river the road became strewn with dead baby frogs.

After our tea break, Moses and Phanuel had an explanation for the frog mystery. They showed us a water hole that could have been where the frogs started. They thought the frogs knew the waterhole would soon dry up and set off for the river.

Sadly, the frogs had no chance of reaching their destination. However, in the bush nothing goes to waste, and we soon saw Southern Ground Hornbills eating the dead frogs.

After lunch we went on a backyard safari to learn how the camp functioned. Everything here is done by hand-no washing machines, dryers or dishwashers. The staff wash clothes for us each day, hang them to dry and iron them. “No sun, no dry” and we were fortunate to always have sunny days and find our clothes neatly folded on our beds in the evening.

Villagers from nearby Mabele gave us a basket weaving demonstration in the afternoon, and we all had a chance to try this intricate craft. I have a new appreciation for how much time it takes to make one small basket.

On our afternoon safari, Moses showed us an elephant skull and told us that elephants get six sets of molars during their lifetime. The elephants are very careful to preserve their last set of molars because they know they can not survive without them.

We were rewarded with another beautiful sunset when we returned to camp.

Elephant in the camp! As we were leaving camp this morning, the guides cautioned us to quietly walk to the safari vehicles because an elephant was in the road-right by our tent, as a matter of fact. Two vehicles full of people did not disturb the elephant or cause him to move, so we had to take an alternative road to the airstrip.    We flew small planes to Livingstone, Zambia and then boarded a van to cross into Botswana. Long lines of semis were waiting to take the ferry from Zambia to Botswana. Phanuel told us the trucks could wait in line for up to a week.

Copper is the number one industry in Zambia. Many of us wanted to buy Zambian copper bracelets as souvenirs before we left the country. As our van pulled up to immigration, we were surrounded by young men selling copper bracelets and carved animals. We weren’t able to get off the van right away, so we opened the windows and bargained for our bracelets through the window.

We took a small boat across the Zambezi river and boarded a different van in Botswana. On the way to our next safari camp, we stopped to visit a woman who lived in a small homestead. She had watched our van drive by, so our driver asked her if she would talk with us about how she lived. She greeted each of us and invited us into her home. One of her young sons was home while we were there. Her very limited power comes from a small solar panel and her water comes from a nearby stream. Her family has only enough food for one meal a day which they eat at about 3:00. I was so impressed with how this woman who had so little could smile and laugh and so graciously share her life with us.

Mid afternoon we arrived at Baobob Wilderness Camp, our home in Botswana for the next three days. Located on the Chobe river, the camp sits above a flood plain that is a favorite place for wildlife to make their way to the river. The deck outside our tent gave us a perfect view of the animals coming to and from the river.

There is so much wildlife in the area that we were told to pause and listen before leaving our tents to make sure no animals were nearby. We were also told if animals were in the path to stay in our tent and one of the staff would come and get us.

After high tea we went on the best safari so far. We saw a young male lion who had just eaten so we were able to safely get close to him. We could get close to many of the animals because they see the safari vehicle as one familiar object, not individual people.

Then we hit the elephant jackpot. Hundreds of elephants were in route to the river to drink, play and roll in the mud to remove some of the bugs on their hides.

A congress of baboons entertained us.

We had our first sighting of  giraffes who were grazing and drinking behind the elephants. We were not able to get as close to them because they run away if people get too close.

We also had our first cape buffalo sighting. They are one of the “Big Five” animals because they are among the five most difficult and dangerous African animals to hunt on foot. Hard to believe they reportedly kill more hunters than any other African animal because they look a lot like black cows with curved horns.

A beautiful sunset graced our evening “sundowner.”

Another amazing day in Africa! We went on a boat safari on the Lufupa and Kafue rivers which converge in front of our camp. In the morning we went left down the Lufupa river and in the afternoon we went right down the Kafue river.

Hippos were feeding in the river and must have had babies nearby because they did not want us to get too close. They followed our boat and made leaping moves in the water a few times. Boyd, our guide, made sure we stayed comfortably in front of the hippos.

We also saw crocodiles, impalas, pukus and beautiful birds of all colors, including African fish eagles, Zambia’s National bird, and saddle beak cranes.

We saw an amazing web made by the tent spiders.

When we stopped for tea and cookies in the bush, Boyd went around the area clapping his hands to make sure there were no animal surprises in the grass before we got off the boat.

About ten minutes before we expected to return to camp for lunch, Phanuel appeared and waved us to shore. He told us we were going on a little hike and led us to lunch in the bush. A beautiful table, bar, buffet and omelet station made me feel like a character in Out of Africa.

Most days we are busy from dawn to dinner, but yesterday and today we had a little afternoon break. It was magical to sit on our tent front porch and feel surrounded by the sounds of life on the river.

Before our afternoon boat ride, Lydia gave a cultural presentation about Zambian life in the villages. She showed us how the villagers use a big mortar and pestle to make peanut butter, an important protein source.

She also taught us how to wrap our chitenge into skirts and baby carriers.

After a sunset boat safari, dinner and a beautiful farewell song from our Zambian staff, we returned to our tents for our last night in Zambia.

Today was another great day of seeing new animals and learning more about life in Africa. It seemed like the graceful impalas were everywhere. Impalas in shows like Wild Kingdom always seemed to be leaping along, but today they stood still for us.

We came upon a tree full of vervet monkeys playing and grooming each other. The more we looked, the more monkeys we saw.

This is tsetse fly territory. The good news is they aren’t transmitting disease right now. The bad news is their bite hurts and itches for days afterwards. I had an up-close view of one when it landed on the black (an appealing color to tsetse flies) hood liner on the woman sitting right in front of me.

The Zambians have an ingenious way to repel tsetse flies-they burn elephant dung and the smoke drives them away. A little can of burning dung hung on the back of our vehicle and really did seem to keep the flies away.

Halfway through our morning safari we stopped in the bush for tea and cookies.

While we were having tea in the bush Phanuel told us us the story of Cecile the collared lion who had been shot by an American hunter. Earlier we had passed the guide’s reserve. The guide had used a dead impala to lure Cecile out of the park where it would have been illegal to hunt for lions. The story was big news in both the US and Africa.

We learned about some of the trees and bushes that are used for medicinal purposes. People in the villages rely on these natural remedies more than drugs and clinics.

After lunch Phanuel gave a talk about HIV/aids in Africa. It was so encouraging to hear that attitudes were changing and treatment was more available.

After a little afternoon break, we learned more about Zambia and then went for a late afternoon safari. I got a better view of the zebras and saw many colorful birds.

Our “sundowner” (African happy hour) was in the bush. It truly was another “African moment”, drinking wine in the middle of the bush with a beautiful sunset in the west and a full moon rising in the east.

Driving back in the dark, we were close to seeing a leopard. The signs were all there- a group of impalas gathered in a circle standing guard, leopard tracks heading toward the impalas and fresh leopard dung near them. Although our guide was pretty certain the leopard was close, we never saw him.

This morning we left the wonderful staff at Kashawe Camp in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe and traveled by safari vehicle, van and small plane to the Lufupa Camp in the Kafue National Park (which is the size of New Jersey), Zambia. A brief sighting of a leopard as we left Hwange was a wonderful good-bye. The van drove us to the Zimbabwe/Zambia border and we exited the van and walked across the bridge over the Zambezi river into Zambia. The bridge crosses the magnificent Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall in the world

We re-boarded the van and drove through the town of Livingstone, Zambia. We stopped at a market and Phanuel gave all the women two dollars to buy two meters of chitange, the multi-purpose, colorful batik cloth Zambian women use as wrap-skirts, baby carriers, and padding for carrying items on their heads. We will learn more about chitange when we get to our camp in Zambia.

At the Livingstone airport we boarded a small plane and flew about an hour to a landing strip in the middle of the bush.

Safari vehicles were waiting on the side of the airstrip to take us to camp. Once again the staff greeted us with song and a yummy fruit drink.

After a lovely appetizer, camp staff escorted us to our tent.  All the tents are right on the Lufupa river, and the sound of hippos just off the shore greeted us.

After moving into our tents, we went on an evening safari to see nocturnal animals. The highlight was seeing a serval, a member of the big cat family, that is very shy and seldom seen. Amazingly, he seemed unfazed by the spotlight from our safari vehicle and all of the people taking pictures. Phanuel called the sighting “an African moment.”

As we cuddled in our beds with mosquito netting all around us we could hear the hippos coming out of the river to feed-another wonderful  “African moment.”

Pinch me – I’m in Africa seeing the animals I dreamed about!

After our six AM “wakey-wakey” greeting from Phanuel and a quick breakfast, we embarked on a ten-hour safari. We saw more animals then we had seen the day before-elephants, impalas and wart hogs. But most exciting of all were seeing the animals we hadn’t seen yet – hippos, giraffes, lions, crocodiles, zebras, baby hyrax, and kudu.

Yesterday and today we saw so many elephants that we almost developed “just another elephant” syndrome. We even had another elephant charge the back of our Jeep. Phanuel told us the elephant was a young bull who was just playing with us. He knew because his ears were out and his trunk was down.

Albert, our guide gave us a lesson about elephant nutrition and digestion by breaking open a large hunk of elephant poop and showing us what was inside.

We saw an elephant drinking and refreshing himself at one of the watering holes.

We stopped at one of the largest lakes in the park for tea. While watching a crocodile swimming in the lake, I noticed black blobs popping up and down. Phanuel told us they were hippos.

Right below where we had our tea was a den of adorable baby hyrax.

After more game viewing we stopped at the Masuma watering hole for lunch. Our guides set out a lovely lunch for us.

It was an animal bonanza with hippos, crocodiles, lions and beautiful birds.

On the ride back to camp, we saw four zebras. I hope to get a better zebra picture before I leave.

For our final night in Camp Kashawe , the staff performed a thank you song and their beautiful national anthem. They invited us to join them in some African dancing around the fire. I was so very touched by their beautiful words and the warm atmosphere they created for us. It was a beautiful way to end a perfect three-day stay.

Today we had the privilege of meeting the residents of an African village and learning about their daily lives. Francisca and Phillip, the owners of the homestead (villages are composed of family homesteads) we visited, welcomed us to their home and showed us how they lived.

Francisca, her friends and the children sang a welcoming song for us.

We went in to their kitchen which is a small building with their dishes and an open fire for cooking.

Residents at a neighboring homestead were preparing to build a new hut.

A very special part of the day was sharing tea and butter and jam sandwiches the villagers prepared for us. Francisca had invited some of her neighbors to join us for the day and during tea they introduced themselves and told us about their families. Then we did the same. After introductions, we asked each other questions about women’s lives.

Before going to their homestead, we went to a market with a list of food items to take as gifts. The list was in Shona, one of the languages of the area, so we had to get help to know what to buy. People in the market were helpful, and everyone laughed as we figured out what to get. I took a picture of three of the girls who helped us. They didn’t like how their picture looked and wanted to pose for another one.

One of the most interesting items on our list was a long bar of soap. The villagers wash their clothes by hand using a slice of the soap to rub on their clothes.

The Zimbabwe economy is in bad shape right now; they have no cash. The ATM machines are empty most of the time,and the banks often do not have any cash. People line up in front of the banks early each morning in the hopes of being able to get cash. We gave our cash for the groceries to Phanuel who charged the groceries and took the cash back to the camp staff. Most transactions are conducted via a cell phone app and no cash changes hands.

On the way to the village we stopped to talk with some women who had been occupying a tent for the last year to protest their husbands not being paid. The men, who worked in a government-run coal mine, had not been paid in five years.

I had an almost close call this morning when I ran back to my tent to get my water bottle before we left. I made a wrong turn and rather than heading to my tent, I was heading out of the camp. Lucky for me, two of the staff were walking down the road and showed me the right way to go. They also pointed out the tracks of the lions who had been on the road the evening before.

We went on a short safari before dinner. After about an hour we had only seen two impalas and a few birds and I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t see many animals. Suddenly Godfrey, our safari guide, stopped the safari vehicle and quietly said, “elephant to the right.” We were thrilled to see an elephant not too far off the road. And then we saw two elephants. One of the elephants came closer to our safari vehicle. It was so exciting. Suddenly he was only about two feet from me. Just when I was starting to feel he might be a little too close, Godfrey stepped on the gas and took off. The elephant charged after us.

Farther along we hit an elephant bonanza-at least ten elephants were walking through a field.

We spent so much time looking at the elephants that it was dark before we headed back to camp. On the way back we heard an elephant roar close to our safari vehicle and an elephant came charging out of the trees. It was all pretty exciting.

Today we flew from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls and boarded a van for Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, the largest game reserve in Zimbabwe. Phanuel, our OAT trip guide, met us at the airport and pointed out sights along the two-hour drive to the park. At the entrance to the park, we boarded safari vehicles for a one-hour game drive to our camp.

Camp staff welcomed us with music and special drinks.

The main area is open air, and we each have our own individual tent cabins. Once it is dark, we must be escorted to our cabins by a staff member armed with a rifle.

Our cabin is really a tent with canvas sides and screen doors, but it has electricity and a bathroom with solar-powered hot water. It is totally charming.

After dinner, Phanuel imitated the animal sounds we might hear at night and reminded us not to leave our cabin unescorted. As I lay in bed listening to all the animal sounds, I heard an elephant and at least two other animals I couldn’t identify.

After an incredibly enlightening but very sobering visit to Soweto and Johannesburg yesterday, today we enjoyed an uplifting and joyous visit to Lesedi Cultural Village. Victor, our wise and knowledgeable tour guide, provided amazing insight and information about African history and culture on the three-hour round-trip ride to and from the village. We felt so fortunate to be able to talk with him about his experiences growing up in South Africa.

Located in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, the Lesedi Cultural Village is composed of traditional homesteads inhabited by the Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Basotho and Ndebele tribes who live according to tribal folklore and the traditions of their ancestors. Nelson Mandela was a member of the Xhosa tribe. Young men in tribal dress greeted us with song and music as we entered the village.

Before going to the villages, our Zulu guide gave us a brief African tribal language lesson and history of the tribes. Zulu and Xhosa languages incorporate a clicking sound which made it a bit challenging to repeat the words he taught us.

The Zulu village was our first stop. The Zulu are the largest ethnic group in Southern Africa and were known as a powerful people. Our Zulu guide demonstrated how visitors would safely enter a Zulu village. After we received permission to enter, the gates were opened and we went in and toured the village.

In each village, tribal members in native dress demonstrated daily activities like weaving straw mats, grinding corn and carrying water in head-top containers.

In one of the villages, we went inside the one of the dwellings.

A traditional African dance show was a powerful ending to our delightful visit.