Royal Zambezi Lodge

We are now staying in the Royal Zambezi Lodge in Zambia. This is a fly-in only resort owned by a copper mining billionaire who now lives in Australia. The resort has its own airport and planes. The resort holds about 40 guests in individual "tents" (see below).

Riding back up the runway in a jeep after landing in the company plane.

The camp as viewed from the river.

Cindy entering the tent after removing the baboon lock from the door.

The main room is basically a giant bed with mosquito netting and spectacular views all around.

Sunrise this morning. We get up early (5:30) to take advantage of the cooler temps in the morning.

Photos of Big Five

I have been successful in taking a photo (or hundreds) of the animals designated as the African Big Five. As I described in an earlier post, these were the five most difficult animals to hunt on foot, but the selection has become a goal for photographers visiting the area.

Black Rhino

Cape Buffalo

Elephant

Leopard

Lion

Chobe River Elephants

We leave our Chobe River headquarters in the morning. We were told the Internet connectivity where we are going next is not very good so I thought I better get this post completed because I may be offline for several days.

We have had the opportunity to see hundreds of elephants in Chobe National Park from the very young to an old elephant splayed out on the road unable to get up dying. There is the majesty of these very large animals which from a jeep you may find yourself 1o yards away, but watching them en masse as they paraded down to the river for water was even more amazing. I have some video of this procession and I will try to add once I get home.

We have viewed these animals in two ways - from our safari jeeps and from a riverboat. After some long outings in a jeep, the river approach was interesting. The river is not that deep this time of year so these are not that large. They are similar to what I would call a pontoon with a roof - narrower with two rows of seats. You do see some different animals this way - hippos and crocodiles - and you are sometimes closer because the jeep drivers are required to stick to the established trails and cannot always approach the animals that are spotted.

Big Five

The Big Five refers to five African animals that guides used to rate as the most difficult for hunters to bag while hunting on foot. The tourism companies have adapted the phrase to suggest that tourists could see and photograph these animals. The list consists of the elephant. rhino, cape buffalo, leopard, and lion. So far I have photos of all but a lion. The leopard and black rhino are more difficult to see, but we have been lucky.

This is one image I took of a leopard we located eating a Cape Buffalo. It did not bring this animal down itself, but found it dead and it is now consuming and guarding its prize until the lions show up to eat. If it was a smaller animal, the leopard would drag it up a tree and leave it in a crook to consume at will. 

The buffalo probably died of natural causes - old age, disease, poor nutrition, or some combination of the above. The animal is simply too large and agressive for a leopard to kill.

If you had the time, a blind, and a nice telephoto lens, you could stake out this site and wait for the lions to show.

As explained in my last post, I am not out and about today. I intended to visit a village rather than participate in another jeep outing, but there is always that FOMO (fear of missing out) concern. Our next location is supposed to be a primo lion opportunity so I am still optimistic. Things should not be too easy or it would be like visiting a zoo.

Mark and his buff

I will try to generate a couple of posts this morning. I skipped the morning outing to deal with a digestive track issue. A little Imodium should fix it. No, I did not use tap water when I brushed my teeth. Part of the morning outing involved a hike into the bush to visit a village so this seemed a little risky for my condition.

One of the items you need when riding a Jeep through the parks is called a buff. It is a versatile item of clothing men use pulled up over your mouth and nose as shown in the picture below. Some women wear it a little differently to cover their hair. It resembles the bandanas I see the ATVers wearing on the trails near our Wisconsin cabin. Same principle - don’t breath the dirt.

I became a believer after our first outing. It did not seem dusty, but I later developed a nasty burning sensation in my sinuses and ended expelling this bloody stuff from my nose. Since that excursion, I have buffed up.

I apologize for my capacity to describe events in graphic detail.

I may appear to you as very tired in this photo. I did take it at 4:00 in the morning, but my body no longer has any idea what time it is so early morning hours don't really mean anything. It is also possible that I always look like this and others have grown accustomed to my look. When I see myself, I am always a little disappointed.