I just have to say that as I write this, I hear a hippo grunting outside our tented cabin, probably not more than 30 feet away.
So anyway…we were sorry to say goodbye to our friends at Kashawe Camp, but it was time to set out on our next adventure. We took the “chicken bus” (which needs its own story) to the town of Victoria Falls, where we stopped to hear a public and a private school teacher talk about the crisis the education system is currently in, due to an unquestionably corrupt government. The situation is enraging and heartbreaking. This deserves its own post, as well.
We crossed the border into Zambia via the bridge across the falls, then reboarded the bus for the short drive to the Livingstone airport. The 14 of us got into two tiny airplanes for the hour and half flight to Lufupa River Camp in Kafue National Park in Zambia.
Jeeps were at the field to meet us to take us to the camp, where we were greeted with snacks and a gorgeous view of the Kafue River. After settling into our rooms, we went out for an evening jeep ride to see if we could spot some nocturnal animals (it gets dark here at 6:30).
After driving in the bush and spotting a scrub hare, a porcupine (the African ones are huge), and a bush bok, we were about to call it a night and go eat dinner when we spotted a beautiful, large male leopard walking down the road toward us. Our guide, Brian, radioed the other guide, Akim, so that their jeep could come see, too. We managed to get about 20 minutes of up-close gazing at him. He was probably relieved when we finally rolled out of there.
When we were about a quarter mile from camp, we came upon two enormous hippos in the field on our left. We didn’t hang around too long to see what they thought of us.
It’s been another full day here in Southern Africa.
My Corner of the Village 