Southern Africa 2026

I packed light but brought an extra bag. I’m taking home a few things.  For some reason, I woke up extra early today. I must be anxious and excited about going home. But I didn’t have to rush, because I didn’t need to leave until 10:30. I had breakfast and then packed up. I said my goodbyes to the staff who helped make my stay so extraordinary. Then it was off to the airport. In the shuttle I met a man from South Carolina who had been on a hunting trip in South Africa before Vic Falls. It was a very interesting conversation, but I’ll spare you the details. I didn’t previously mention the nice family from Spain that I met on the Botswana excursion two days ago. Of course, after hearing them speaking Spanish, I had to ask where they were from. We talked a bit during the morning border crossing, and they were so gracious to me. Seeing that I was traveling alone, they invited me to sit with them on the boat and to join them at lunch. Unfortunately, we got split up at the end of the ...

Today I didn’t have anything planned when I woke up, so I took it easy and went down for breakfast around 9 AM. Afterward, I did a little research and found out there were some shopping areas in town I hadn’t known about, off the main drag. So I headed out for a leisurely walk and did some browsing. I’m really glad I went, because I found an actual artisan who carves wood and bone. All the souvenirs I’d bought so far had been basically touristy things. He had made an elephant carving that caught my eye, and I purchased it. Then I walked back to the hotel to drop it off and rest for a bit. I’d also booked an excursion in Zambia for 2:45. So after resting, I set out on foot again to walk to Zambia. The Zimbabwe/Zambia border actually runs right down the middle of the Zambezi River, so walking across the bridge takes you into Zambia. I could’ve taken a taxi, but how often do you get to walk from one country to another? The total walk from the hotel to the Zambian immigration checkpoin...

Max, our game drive ranger.  Today I was up in time to be picked up at 7:30 for a trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana. It’s about an hour’s drive from Vic Falls to the border. Once there, we got off the bus, walked through Zimbabwe Immigration to exit, and then through Botswana Immigration to enter the country. This was all part of an organized tour, so it was fairly simple. On the Botswana side, a partner tour company loaded us up for a 20-minute drive to a game lodge on the Kwando River. First we boarded a riverboat for a two-hour tour. The river forms the border of Chobe National Park in that area, with Namibia on the other side. This area is geopolitically interesting in that the borders of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe all come together within a relatively small area, with Angola not far off. On the cruise we saw lots of hippos and crocs and some elephants, along with a number of birds and water monitors. Afterward we had a buffet lunch. After lunch we headed ...

Better known to much of the world as Victoria Falls, Mosi-oa-Tunya is where I took a guided walk this morning. The Indigenous name means “the smoke that thunders.” When I arrived yesterday and looked at the top of the falls from my hotel, I thought somebody was burning something—it looked like smoke. I hadn’t realized it was actually the mist and spray created by the tremendous churning of the water at the bottom of the falls. So the name makes perfect sense. Among the largest waterfalls in the world, it didn’t disappoint. Our group took a two-mile walk that started above where the falls begin, on the side of the Zambezi River where I took the boat yesterday, and followed the falls along a good portion of the width — the full width of the falls is about one mile. The walk ended at Victoria Falls Bridge, crossing the gorge of the Zambezi River toward Zambia. The water falls from the left side of this picture into a gorge, which is what you see behind me here. It then flows away from ...

Today I woke up, packed up, and had breakfast at 8:00 to depart for the airport at 9:00. The little hotel — the same one I stayed in when I arrived — was convenient. It’s close to the airport and just outside of Jo’burg, calm and quiet. The people who work there are very nice. Tilly, the chef, never disappoints. I had dinner there last night and breakfast this morning — eggs cooked to perfection every time. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m having a good time. And arriving at an airport for travel seems to be a trigger for me. I wish Kristi was with me. I flew Airlink (a South African airline) from O.R. Tambo to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe — a 1 hour 45 minute flight. I lucked out and got a “poor man’s first class seat” — bulkhead and no seat partner. Airlink served a little sandwich, and it was very tasty. When I booked this part of my trip, it was a late booking for this time of year, meaning there weren’t a lot of options available for the dates I needed. Actually, the only opt...