North to Kasane
We have a 250km drive north to the four corners area and the town of Kasane. The four corners is the point where Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe more or less meet at the confluence of the Chobe and Zambesi rivers. The Caprivi Strip region of Namibia runs right along the northern border of Botswana to give access to the Zambesi. Kasane is surrounded by the river to the north and the massive Chobe National Park (more than 10,000 sq. km.) to the south and west. The park is not fenced and the wildlife is free to roam from country to country at will.
The drive north was fairly uneventful. We saw a few elephants on the road, but otherwise it was a busy and well maintained stretch of tarmac. As we neared town, we met more trucks heading south and the area near to the Zimbabwe border is like one giant truck stop. With a bit of a u-turn we found our home for the next three nights at Waterlily Lodge and settled down to plan the next couple of days.
To make things simpler, we decided to go to Victoria Falls the next morning and then keep New Year’s Eve free for a game drive and a boat trip on the river. As evening fell, the clouds built up and the thunder duly arrived, fortunately over again before we went to dinner.
Zimbabwe & Victoria Falls
We hadn’t really decided how to get to the falls before we arrived at Kasane, we just knew that I wanted to go there and we always planned to see what option worked best. As it turned out, the simplest way to make the trip is with the lodge. They had space on their minibus and went through the border regularly. This was much easier than us driving ourselves, as we would have had to get special insurance for our vehicle whilst in Zimbabwe and do all sorts of paperwork.
We were all up bright and early, armed with our passports and a plentiful supply of US dollars to pay for our visas. Our driver for the day was a pleasant and experienced lady who had done the trip many times and took us through the formalities at the borders with a minimum of fuss and only a small amount of time waiting in the queues. Once across the border, our road has a few more potholes, but it is reasonably good tarmac and has very little traffic.
The journey to the falls takes about 45 minutes and we soon arrive in a bustling tourist town. The entrance to the falls is very unassuming, but they do take credit cards for the fees and within a couple of minutes we are inside the Victoria Falls National Park. The water level is quite low, but frankly if it had been much higher I wouldn’t have been able to take any photos at all. As it was, there was quite a lot of spray at several of the lookouts and I was glad that the camera was weather-sealed. I was travelling light, but the shorter of my zooms is the more versatile and I shot panorama sequences when I wanted the bigger picture. As always, I was happy to stand right on the edges to get a good view.
If I had any complaint about the morning at the falls, it would be that the people on the other side were a real nuisance. There were a number of people on Livingstone Island and swimming in the “Devil’s Pool”. Sadly, they spoil the view of what is otherwise a magnificent natural spectacle and will have to be photoshopped out in post-production.
It’s really hard to say what I thought about the falls. I had been looking forward to the visit and really enjoyed it, but perhaps it’s all just a bit too commercial. I can only imagine what the scene must be like when the Zambesi is in full flood, but as I said above, photos would be all but impossible in these conditions. As for Zimbabwe, it’s just another African country with the same highs and lows.
Chobe National Park – Rules and Delights
Any anticipation I might have had for Chobe National Park must be tempered by the season and the rains. When the land is dry, the elephants are found near the river in great numbers, but after rain they tend to migrate inland and leave the park relatively empty. Having said that, an elephant crossed the main road as we were heading to the gate, so we were still hopeful.
The other problems stem from the number of visitors to the park. The Kasane entrance has to run a quota system and routes and length of stay are allocated when you enter the park. This meant that, as we were going in at six in the morning, we would have to be back at the gate for around nine. We were allocated the river route, along with 30 other vehicles and set off quickly down to the river to get started.
Traffic jams in National Parks are not something that any of us like, but here they were almost guaranteed by the system. We managed as best we could and our driver was good at his job, able to find us a view amongst other vehicles. Sadly, for the first hour or more as we drove out along the river, there really wasn’t that much to see. We saw hundreds of Impala, with many youngsters, and could get a glimpse of Hippo and Buffalo in the distance. As we neared the end of the outward leg, our luck changed dramatically and in a very unexpected way.
Several vehicles up ahead were clearly stopped for something important and as we neared them we were delighted and shocked to see that it was a pack of Wild Dogs on their kill. I had been extremely lucky to see these wonderful creatures once before, in Kenya. On that occasion, the light had been bad, my lens had been short and the three of them had been on the move, staying in sight for only a minute or two. Still I had been lucky to see them as they are so rare and wide-ranging.
This time, the pack must have been around 20 in number and they were finishing the Impala that they had just run down. The sun was shining, the grass was green and I had my trusty 50-500mm zoom on the camera. Five minutes before I had been wishing the morning was over, but now I didn’t want it to ever come to an end. Our driver recognises the importance of the event and suggests that we forego the rest stop to have a few more minutes on site before we must race back to the gate.
I still don’t think that people recognise the importance of some animal sightings. We had many vehicles around us, but some stayed for only a couple of minutes before moving on – presumably in search of lions. One driver nearby was clearly heard to say to his clients “Take it all in, you may never see this again in your lifetime.” To see Wild Dogs is luck, you can’t make it happen and it will always be unexpected. My advice if it happens to you is simple. Fill your memory card and empty your battery because it may well never happen again. We also had a local couple on the vehicle with us and they were far more interested in taking background-less selfies than in any of the wildlife.
The rapid drive back to the gate is an adventure, we don’t have time to stop for anything and flash past Giraffe, Warthogs, a Slender Mongoose and a herd of Elephants in our rush to not be late. This is a disappointment, but a result of the system and the crowding of the park. Back at the lodge, the agreement to tip the driver is unanimous, as that was priceless!
I head straight to the computer, as I need to see the photos right away. We have a few hours free before our boat trip at 3:30, so we all just relax and I catch up on writing this and do some photo processing.
We are all ready for the boat on time, and are joined by the same couple who were on our vehicle that morning and also another local couple. Our driver gives us the quick introduction to the Chobe River and we head off around the island and into the park. I have to admit that I can see only one use for a selfie-stick, but I fear that it would be very uncomfortable for the recipient. Fred appears to be of a similar opinion and has to warn them to avoid his eye-line or loose the device forever.
In many ways, sharing a safari with local Africans can be very disheartening. Both the couples on our boat-ride seemed to be more interested in the cost of staying at the various lodges that we passed than in any of the wildlife. It was almost as if they just wanted to see how the other half – the white half – lived and what they had.
Sadly, after such an eventful morning, the afternoon was relatively quiet. I did manage to get some great photos of Buffalo and Hippo thought. They are really nice things to photograph when they are above your eye line and they always seem fairly disinterested in the boat. We also suffered from the same issues with traffic that we had had during the drive that morning. It even started to rain as we headed back to the lodge for dinner.