Mid-Semester Break: Continued! Zimbabwe & Botswana

Following our lovely trip to Kruger National Park and Johannesburg with IES Abroad, I extended my travels and visited Zimbabwe and Botswana. My friends and I planned this trip together, but when my mom’s travel plans changed and she was now only able to visit April 1, we tweaked our plans a bit so that she could be included too. After our visit to the Mandela House (see previous blog), we spent an extra night in Joburg before flying out to Zimbabwe the following morning. 

My mom and I stayed at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge which was so beautiful. The lodge had incredible views and overlooked a watering hole, allowing us to see lots of animals from our room. In addition to this, every afternoon at 1:00 PM they opened the “vulture restaurant.” This was when they would allow guests to spectate the feeding of the vultures while they taught you about the species and their vital importance to the environment. At about 12:30 hundreds of vultures and Maribou stork gathered around the outskirts of the lodge, signaling to guests that the show was about to begin! Prior to this I had no idea how crucial vultures are. We learned about how these birds are considered to be nature’s ultimate clean-up crew. By eating dead animal carcasses, vultures prevent the spread of diseases, water contamination, and save loads of time and money in environmental waste management. 

 On our first evening we went on a sunset dinner cruise along the Zambezi river. Technically speaking, we were in Zambia for this! Though I don’t think it counts enough to check Zambia off my bucket list. While on the boat we even saw some hippos!         

The next day we went to Victoria Falls, the world’s largest natural waterfall. It is 1,700 meters wide and drops over 108 meters into the Zambezi river gorge. The falls are locally known as Mosi-oa-Tunya, which translates to the smoke that thunders. This is because the sounds of the Falls closely resemble thunder, and the massive volume of water falling produces huge clouds of mist resembling smoke. In some areas of the Falls, you can’t even see anything in front of you because of the huge, misty clouds. Also, keep in mind to bring a rain coat and wear water-proof shoes when visiting! You’re going to get absolutely soaked by all of the splashes, it almost feels like it's raining. 

That night, my mom and I went to the Boma Dinner and Drum show, located next to our accommodation. Everyone was given bright, patterned fabrics to wear and a Ngoma drum. There was lots of traditional food, music, and dancing. At the end of the drum show, everyone was invited to play their drums. There was a huge braai buffet for dinner and a “challenge” to eat a mopane worm. As a vegan, I did not participate in that part, but I loved seeing everyone embrace other cultures! The entire experience was so much fun and I loved getting a glimpse into pan-African cultures. 

After this, I went to Botswana to visit Chobe National Park. I got to embark on another safari and see even more animals. Chobe has much more open plains compared to Kruger, which makes spotting animals a bit easier since there’s less bushes to hide behind. Chobe actually has the largest population of elephants on the planet! I even got to see a newborn elephant that the safari ranger believed couldn’t have been more than a couple of days old. Chobe had lots of giraffes, cape buffalo, antelopes, and zebras too. Unfortunately, we did not get the chance to see any big cats that day, likely due to the time of day of our game drive. However, the insane amounts of elephants we saw up-close made up for it. 

All of us flew back to Joburg together and celebrated our friend’s birthday for our last night of the trip. We headed back to Cape Town after this, and although I knew I’d miss these places, I was so excited to show my mom around Cape Town and introduce her to my new city!