A sunrise safari requires an early start to the day. While some of our group opted for sleep (a couple of people were experiencing extremely vivid dreams as a side effect of the particular type of anti-malarial medication that most of us were taking), Kurt and I set the alarm early again and then bundled up for another cool morning on the river because this is what we’re here for! How many opportunities do you have to watch the sun rise over the iconic African baobab tree? After daybreak, we saw a pod of hippos heading up the river to their preferred location for sleeping. And, the baboons were up to their usual shenanigans at their riverside village. As we moved further down the river, we noticed several jeeps stopped further inland near the trees – that could only mean one thing. Cats! The big kind! Unfortunately, since we were limited to the river, this was as close as we got to a lion sighting on the trip (the binoculars and telephoto lens came in handy here).
In lieu of a midday safari, our group went to a nearby local village (Kasenu) for a cultural visit instead. Our village guide was actually the sister-in-law to our local river safari guide, Felix. She gave us a tour around her village, and she explained how they construct their homes from mud and sticks (and, in some cases, bricks made out of mud), protect their fruit trees from wildlife, and plant gardens. We also met some of the schoolchildren who were outside learning from their volunteer teacher. Then, the villagers convened to perform for us (some of our group even participated with them). Afterwards, we had the opportunity to view and purchase some of their local, handmade crafts, such as animal wood carvings, jewelry, and textiles.
On the boat ride back to the lodge from the village, we saw a dugout canoe of the type that the locals build and use. However, this particular boat had recently been attacked by a hippo while a local man was fishing on it. The fact that we would be kayaking on the Upper Zambezi River with crocs and hippos in a matter of days was not lost on me after hearing about this.
All of the animals were out and about during our late afternoon river safari. Which one is your favorite?
One of my favorite moments was when a baboon started rummaging through a pile of elephant poop while the elephants looked on in annoyance. At first, it was pretty gross to see the baboon eating from the pile of poop. However, elephants have very ineffective digestive systems ensuring dung that is not very well digested. The dung is still full of nutrients providing sustenance for a host of other animals including warthogs, baboons, monkeys, and birds in the form of seeds and half digested food.
Then, things between the elephants and baboon got heated. Sound on for the video!
Instead of dropping us off at the lodge on the boat dock after our wildlife entertainment, Felix had us walk off the boat in front of the lodge (gingerly walking through the grass keeping an eye out for crocs!). We were surprised by a campfire and bar set up so that we could have sundowners while watching one last sunset over the Chobe.
To top it off, the staff from the lodge came out to sing and dance for us.
Unfortunately, our cocktail hour ended abruptly when the staff ushered us back to the lodge because cape buffalo were starting to approach the area where we were at. Never forget that we are in Africa!
