Hi Liselle,
The trip was fantastic. The weather was great. Cold in the mornings- one morning with frost but toasty by mid-day. I wore layers and two scarves. I was happy to be ther in the cooler season.
All transfers went like clockwork. The river crossing from Botswana to Zambia was interesting. Because it was early in the season, I was the only guest at Meno for two nights and the only guest at Oddballs all three nights. I loved the different environment of the camps! Every day was something new or something in a new way.
The food was extrordinary but it was interesting that a common dessert was some kind of baked fruit with a custard sauce. I liked trying kudo at Sango and kudo and impala at Chobe. All was imported from game farms in S. Africa. S. Africa also provided most of the fruits and vegetables. I loved looking down at the Boteti, crossing the Okavango River by makuro, dining while gazing at the Chobe River, and being in a tent on stilts over the Zambezi.
Meno– loved the ambiance of the decor and lay out. Max made sure we were eating lunch by the Boteti River as the zebra migration came to drink all around us. Good conversation around the campfire with before dinner drinks and after dinner.
Oddballs– The smell of the air and the beauty of the clear water was wonderful. Lots of vultures and red leche, baboons and a lone wildebeast.
Sango– Great fun splashing through wet areas. Lioness with 2 cubs and hyena cubs. Hippo calls and birds, water antelope and monkeys as well as community built spider webs. I did a makuro trip but the water was murky so not as nice as Oddballs.
Chobe– The elephants, buffalo, giraffe, hippo, warthogs, mongoose, baboons, kudo, sables, and the male lions- from a distance. Loved seeing the animals from the water and land. Glad the lodge hires only female guides and encourages testing and treatment for HIV/Aids.
Chundukwa– Loved being on the Zambezi. Went with the guide Livey to his village and to the Tongobezi Trust School. (Cost $45 and donated to the school). One of the nearby lodges sponsors the school which is in its fifteenth year and hopes to add grades 9-12 over the next couple years. All private donations.
I did spend extra money to do the helicopter tour of Victoria Falls ($295) and to have breakfast and sit on the lip of the falls on Livingstone Island ($65). I also did the Walk with Lions ($150). The lodge cost included transport to Livingstone for one day so I did all the above in one day. On the way to the airport, I went to the museum. So you can see I supported the Zambian economy quite nicely!!! I learned they have a walking safari to see the 2 white rhino in the game park by Livingstone. There is a charge. Did you know they had three but one was poached so now each rhino has a 24/7 bodyguard!!
Thanks for making the safaris so worth it and fun and exciting and so interesting in so many ways!!
I am thinking about returning to Africa on another safari in 4 years.
Lynn
Guest stayed at : Meno A Kwena, Oddballs Enclave, Sango Safari Camp, Chobe Game Lodge & Chundukwa River Lodge
