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| Alas, we arrived at the magical splendor of Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| Kudus is stopping by for a bit of breakfast. |
Gosh, it’s hard to believe it was a year ago that we left South Africa for Zambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe for sightseeing and a possible visa extension. To get a visa extension, travelers must depart to a country that isn’t bordering South Africa at any point.
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| In the shallow area of Victoria Falls, we were gifted with a rainbow, but this was the first of many we saw throughout the day. |
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| I was happy to see Tom safely return from climbing to the top of the wet slippery bridge he tackled without me. I’m not reasonably as surefooted as he is. It was slick, the visibility was poor, and I wouldn’t have been able to take photos in the heavy mist, so I stayed behind with Alec while we awaited his return. I was getting worried when he’d been gone a long time. Seeing him in his yellow poncho made me sigh with relief. |
Also, we’d heard so much about Chobe National Park and the Chobe River. For years, I’d longed to do a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River, and as it turned it, we did it all, thrilled we had an opportunity to see so much.
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| The sights and sounds of Victoria Falls from both the Zambia and Zimbabwe sides were unlike anything we’ve seen in the past. |
We spent a week on these trips, details and more of which may be found in the archives beginning on May 12, 2018, and continuing for several days. Please check out the links for more exciting photos and adventures during this fantastic trip.
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| After this elephant dug a decent-sized mud hole, he decided to try to lay on his side. Digging the hole must have been exhausting for this big fellow in the heat of the sun. Please click here and scroll down to the videos for four stunning videos of him swimming in the Chobe River. |
As it turned out, once again, we needed a visa extension, and we returned in August for more exciting tours. More on this later. In any case, it was fun to see other African countries. To date, we’ve been to nine countries on the African continent, which is nothing compared to its total of 54.
There are no less than a dozen countries in Africa it’s unlikely we’ll ever visit, which present enormous risks for tourists. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed being in Africa but don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.
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We’re often asked if we’ll return to Africa, and that’s definitely on our itinerary, especially when we’ve booked a cruise to Cape Town in two years. However, what will transpire at immigration in Johannesburg will determine when we’ll be allowed to re-enter the country. We’ll see how that goes and report back during our upcoming lengthy travel day.
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As for posting on our upcoming long travel day, Saturday, May 11th, we will upload a post in the morning before we depart for Nelspruit airport. We’ll arrive in Connemara on Sunday afternoon, and if time allows, we’ll upload a short post indicating we’ve arrived.
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| Sunset on the Zambezi River. |
If you don’t see a post on Sunday, it will be due to an arrival later than we’d expected, and we’ll wait until the following day. At that point, we’ll have been traveling for 24 hours or more and maybe too tired to do so.
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| Riding the ferry is free for people but not for vehicles between Zambia and Botswana but, to disembark requires removing one’s shoes and walking in the water. |
I’m going from recuperating in a mostly lying-down position to a 24-hour travel day. I have no idea how well I’ll feel when we arrive. But, please rest assured that after some rest and one night’s sleep, we’ll be right back here writing to all of you.
Of course, I’d be lying if I said I was totally at ease in anticipation of this long travel day. My number one objective will be to walk every hour on the various flights except when fully reclined in my business class seat in the middle of the night.
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| Albert, our guide, prepared “tea time” before we entered the Chobe National Park. |
Ah, let’s hope it all goes smoothly. There’s only a 90-minute layover in Johannesburg, and that’s where we’ll have to deal with immigration. If the process is lengthy, we could miss the flight. My being in a wheelchair will hopefully speed up the waiting time in the lines at immigration.
That’s it for today, folks. We’re hoping you all have a peaceful and stress-free day!
Note: Due to a WiFi signal issue this morning, the line and paragraph spacing are “off,” preventing me from correcting the situation.
Photo from one year ago today, May 9, 2018:
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| An elephant taking a drink from the river. For more photos, please click here. |
