Part 10 - Babs & Andy get up close and personal with the wildlife (22nd & 23rd August 2018)

Victoria Falls. Well, what can I say. It's worth it for the scenery, but not so much for the money and the crowds. Even though the Falls are truly impressive, it's questionable to pay nearly 100 Euros for a day trip. It's fascinating to watch the gigantic water masses and their spray over 1.7 kilometers - walking under the sun, mist, rain, and humidity. The Vic Falls - at least for me - fall into the category: been there, done that. Considering the expensive costs (entrance fee, visa, transportation) and the crowds on site, I don't need to do it again.

To reach these waters, one must cross the border into Zimbabwe. It would have been totally unspectacular if it hadn't been for that one attentive border officer who FIRST slammed the Zimbabwe visa sticker into our dear Andy's passport and THEN checked the Botswana exit stamp. Result: Command reversed. For the responsible stamp lady on the Botswana side, 07:30 in the morning was apparently too early for our departure... to our delight, she had printed an entry stamp with the wrong date in our passports (and the passports of half the group we were crammed into the bus with). We stood before her again, smiling politely,... asking for the correct stamp: Departure, 22nd August 2018. 'No problem and I am sorry,' came from the face behind the dirty glass pane. She reached for a stamp, tested it on scrap paper, grabbed my passport, and before I could shout 'That's wrong again', it made a thump! and the red splotch was in. All in all, I received 3 entry confirmations and 1 exit confirmation in one day. A new record.

The one-day game drive (9 hours of animal watching) was truly unique for us. No matter how many times you go on safari, you always experience something new in the animal kingdom. Away from the usual animal sightings, things got a bit bloodthirsty. A jackal proudly walked past us with the head of an impala and brought its prey to safety. A dead elephant by the roadside, killed by two lions - the two were lying super chilled in the shade, waiting for the big feast. 8 hours later, we passed by again: lions gone, hundreds of vultures there - on the trees, around the trees, and sometimes in the carcass, in the air... simply everywhere. A spectacle, a screech, an extraordinary fight. Speaking of fights: We also witnessed two giraffes who were not having their best day. They fought each other with their necks. I had only seen these fights on TV, but to be there live... sensational.

We survived the morning snack despite the monkey invasion - box open, peanuts gone. In such situations, you become a very fast eater, otherwise you won't have anything from the break. At least it wasn't a baboon attack like back in Tanzania.

The safari vehicle ride through the park shook us up quite a bit. So much so that Andy's spinal discs magically returned to the right position. While her body benefited from these shakes, they meant the end for her camera. Zap, boom, broken. A piece of plastic simply moved down in the lens without the camera ever hitting anything. Now we need a plan B on how to replace or repair the camera. The nearest suitable city for such unnecessary matters is the super close Windhoek.

Now we are contemplating our next steps to the sound of the techno bird (we called it that because it always produces a monotonous, equally shrill, equally long sound at regular intervals). Today, border crossing, and then we'll see.

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