Wow – what a way to start the day! After packing up our gear and getting ready for breakfast we realized there was a bunch of elephants surrounding our cabin – at least 20 and quite a few mothers with babies. We weren’t going anywhere for a while, but it made for great theater!
They moved off after an hour or so and we made a mad dash to the common area. Don’t think the staff was too impressed with our bravery!
We bade our farewells to the camp staff. The drive to the air strip didn’t disappoint as encountered a large herd of grazing Roan Antelope. Adios Livingstone!
We’re on a Mack Air flight again, this time on a larger plane with a few more fellow passengers. Our destination was Victoria Falls airport. Mack runs a collection flight with stops at many of the camps in the region to gather up folks for trips to Zmbabwe’s most popular attraction. We stayed at Victoria Falls city for a few nights before heading to our final safari in South Africa’s Kruger NP.
Our driver met us at Victoria Falls Airport. It wasn’t a long drive from the airport to our lodging – a little less than an hour. It was a very sobering drive through a clearly third world environment. Subsistence living. We weren’t sure what to expect with Victoria Falls city. Part seedy, part touristy. Clearly a place of have and have nots.
Our lodging was at the Palm River Hotel which is a short distance north of Victoria Falls city and right on the banks of the Zambezi River. We took a shuttle into town for snacks at the ‘River Brewery’ and drinks at the iconic Ilala Hotel. There was some cool street art in the tourist area.
Back at the Palm we found some seats on the lawn overlooking the Zambezi River. Wildlife everywhere with Warthogs & Elephants wandering the grounds. They seemed pretty oblivious to humans. Warthogs actually kneel on their front knees to feed because the have short necks and relatively long legs. They’ve adapted by developing special kneepads. Strange stuff!
For dinner we had a great table in the hotel dining room overlooking the grounds and river. The food was excellent, the service less so. It felt strange being around so many people after a few weeks in the bush!