May 27 - Chobe River Cruise

We had lunch in a floating restaurant – fresh barbeque for the main course and lots of delicious custard for dessert. They love custard in Africa!

Then we boarded a little boat, not as classy as the one from yesterday, but quite serviceable. For the next two hours, we cruised the Chobe River which separates Botswana from Namibia. A large island is in the middle of the river – it is full of soft, green grass, a delicacy for buffalo and elephants.

We saw several crocodiles lying in the sun with their mouths open – that’s how they cool themselves. If the occasional wayward bug flies in, then that’s a bonus for Mr. Croc.

Then we saw elephants swimming across the river to the island for a feast of fresh grass. The elephants use their trunks like snorkels so they can submerge themselves and cut down on the water resistance.

We saw a rhino with a bird hitchhiking a ride on its back. We saw baboons playing by the river’s edge and looking for little ants and bugs in the wet sand. Then we saw giraffes drinking from the river – that’s a long way down for a giraffe to reach.

We saw lots of bird life – the Chobe River would be a haven for any serious bird watcher.

Lastly, we saw buffalo up on the island. Lions can’t swim, so the island is a safe place for the buffalo.

We had a lovely couple of hours enjoying the sights and sounds of the Chobe River.

I passed back over the border from Botswana into Zimbabwe, paying another $75 US. Johannes drove me back to the hotel, where I was in time to join the other ladies for a barbeque dinner being held out on the back lawn. Featured on the menu was crocodile meat. It’s very tender and delicious. We toasted to a very successful trip and Sandy and I wished Sue and Deb safe travels as they go to Kenya for a few days while Sandy and I head home.

The ladies had some excitement while I was gone. A family of elephants sauntered across the back lawn of the hotel, seemingly oblivious to the many pairs of surprised eyes fixed on them.

Sandy discovered that our British Airways flight from Johannesburg to London had been cancelled. With Colette’s assistance, we got rebooked on KLM to Amsterdam and then on to Toronto.Leggi altro