Simwanza Valley

Back to Ihaha for a night, where we enjoyed a beautiful drive back up and were lucky enough to see an elephant crossing the very deep river. So fun to watch that versatile trunk become a snorkel. Fun times. We will miss this park, but aren’t sure if we’ll be back. Not sure why it is that when something becomes more crowded, it somehow takes away from the feeling of authenticity and the excitement of discovering and sighting animals on your own. We hope Zambia is as wild as we remember it, we’ll keep you posted.
One last thing to report with rather mixed feelings. While having breakfast on our last morning and enjoying the sun coming up over the Chobe river, a baboon we'd seen on previous occasions came into camp and tried to grab breakfast. John was behind the truck because he'd seen this guy earlier up the hill (recognizable by a withered arm). The baboon had snuck around a nearby bush and rushed straight for Christy at the front of the truck. Christy threw her yogurt bowl --then a spoon -- when he kept coming at her with teeth bared being very aggressive and scary. John managed to grab our pepper spray and get some in his face - but he also got plenty in his own face, too! The baboon took off, but obviously had lost fear of humans. On the way out, Christy spoke to one of the rangers, who said "I'm going to go see about him" as he pulled out a rifle and started loading what looked to be real bullets. Of course, we feel sad and responsible on the one hand knowing that we signed that creature's death sentence. Yet on the other hand, the baboon had become a serious danger (he'd also been aggressive with other campers that morning as we heard screams and also shared stories at the abolition block). Definitely people's fault (making food too accessible/possibly feeding them), not the baboon's, that he'd become this way. Sad.Read more