Victoria Falls

Here in Zimbabwe is the 3rd overall largest falls in the world, Victoria Falls. Coming out of the Zambezi river, this falls is a sight to behold. It marks the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia so I took a day trip into Zambia to see it from one side, then came back into Zimbabwe to see it from the other.

The pictures you see aren't the best views I had. The truly great views were so wet and misty that I couldn't bring my camera out.





















I look photoshopped

We came out both sides drenched and soaked to the bone but happy! :)


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Sunset Cruise

Now in Zimbabwe, we did a sunset cruise along the Chobe River.




We got so close to elephants








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Okavango Delta

We finally crossed into a new country- Botswana!

And for three days I was in the Okavango Delta. Some of us left the truck, took a mokoro (canoe) and went into the Delta. Each mokoro had two people plus a poler in back.




Getting things ready




Jenny. And we're off!




Me and Morgan, our poler




Captain Morgan (bah dum chssssh!)

We floated through the delta for a few hours and got to an island were we set up camp.

For three days we swam in the delta, went on nature walks, sat by the camp fire and roasted marshmallow (and ate a ridiculously huge meaty meal), and the last night the polers showed us some of their traditional dances and songs. Then, after they were done, they said "your turn!". So 18 of us overlanders did the hokey pokey. And I led everyone in the 'Boom chicka boom' song from when I was a camp counselor. Everyone loved it!




Watching game





Sun set walk





Sun set feet



The group :)




Cook group's (Kris, Simone, and Ben) leftovers




Shake your booty!

I also tried poling:



No more university for me! New career path: poling.

The delta was so clean that we could drink the water. It was a bit green but perfectly safe:






On the way back from an amazing time.

After we got back to camp we did an scenic flight over the delta and saw just how big it was.




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Baobab

These trees always remind me of 'The Little Prince'.







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Floodlit Watering Hole

As we press into East Africa, we are seeing more and more animals. Monkeys playing in the trees, warthogs and antelope crossing the roads, chameleons on our driver...




Still in Namibia, we went to Etosha National Park.








That night was one of the cooler things I've ever done. The campsite we stayed at had a floodlit watering hole. I brought my sleeping bag and a camera and stayed up all night watching animals come to the water. I saw elephants, rhinos, a leopard, hyena, a warthog...




A leopard



An elephant family that had three adults, one teenager, and two babies.




Baby!


Rhino!

It was crazy being 20 feet from these animals!


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Namibia- Round Two

After a drive day from Stellenbosch to our campsite in Felix Unite, we spent awhile more in Namibia.

We visited Fish River Canyon:







The 2nd largest canyon in the world (after the grand canyon).

The Sossusvlei sand dunes and dune 45:



Can you see the grass growing on the dune? It's not normal. The desert has actually gotten too much rain in the last years, disrupting the natural ecosystem of the Namib Desert.


And in Swakopmund, again, I went skydiving, again! Erin and Kate went as well. Erin for her first time and Kate for her 11th! I asked if I could do more tricks in the air this time and we spun and flipped and tumbled! Weeeeeeee :D


Erin and I after falling 10,000 feet.



Kate ready for her dive

Jenny, Rowdy and I also did a surfing lesson. We had dolphins and seals swim close!

After Swakopmund, we went to the Spitzkoppe Rock formations. As I was walking to the top of one I passed a baboon. We were close to each other and we both watched each other watching each other. I slowly passed him and climbed up to the top of the rock formation. Then he started peeing. Then he just sat there as the sun went down and we both watched the sun set together :



Baboon peeing



Sunset hitting the rocks and my feet. I've found that most sunsets aren't that amazing but the way the light hits the scenery is spectacular.


The next day we went to the Cape Cross Seal Colony. The seals were adorable but, boy, did they stink!:



Awwww...


Epic!



Lots and lots and lots and lots of seals

The next morning, we took a drive in the back of a truck to seek out wild cheetahs and then pet tame ones!





Standing in the back of the truck like cattle for our early morning cheetah search.



And we saw cheetahs (and they saw us)!





After our drive, we were able to pet tame cheetahs. Or, at least, as tame as they get. One the the cheetahs name meant 'naughty'.




They purr!



'Naughty' head butted me just like my cats do back home. She was so cute :)






Meow!

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South Africa

On our way to Cape Town we explored a bit of South Africa including the Garden Route.

I went to the Cango Caves, a huge series of senic caves:




And I went zip lining for a canopy tour in the Tsitsikamma Forest:








We got into Cape Town and the fun began! We stayed near the center of town, long street, and the waterfront.

I did some pretty cool and amazing things. Included was the Two Oceans Aquarium,


Duh NUH duh NUH



Sharlene and I

And we had a great view of Table Mountain:




AND I went shark cage diving! I saw great whites break the surface of the water, saw them pass me underwater, and seals on the way home.







Duh NUH duh NUH!!!




I'm in the bottom right corner.

We also said goodbye to Jakob and Toni who ended their trip here. We'll miss you! We left Cape Town with 8 new people, Simone, Sabrina, Drew, Jeremy, Hailey, Beth, Lucy, and Erin, joining the trip and Kate, our new tour leader.

Our next town was Stellenbosch for a wine tour of four different wineries:










Conclusion: White wine= yum, red wine= blech



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