July 2018

Hi Everyone This is it. It’s all over except for one final short game drive tomorrow morning and then three flights home. First let’s go through today and then my recap. Of course our day started before dawn. Was escorted from my hut at 5:30 and sat around the campfire drinking good African coffee. We were broken up into two groups. One group was going on a normal game drive and the other group was visiting a local village after the game drive. Of course, I went with the group that was to visit a local village. The morning game drive was nothing spectacular. Just your normal dull hordes of baboons, elephants, zebras etc. I remember at the start of the trip, in Camp Kalahari, when we were greeted by George the local elephant. We were all so excited by one elephant. How times have changed. After our morning tea and coffee in the Bush, my group drove to a village named “Ngamo”. The village was outside the Park. As we neared the village, we started to see thatched huts and people. The first visit was to the local school. Children greeted us with songs and dancing. How happy they seemed. Like in Cambodia, they loved their picture being taken. Many of them got real thrills over Andy showing the pictures of the animals he has seen around the world. They particularly loved seeing his pictures of walruses. We then went inside the classrooms to visit other grades. I particularly liked taking pictures of the kindergartens students. They were so cute. Some of them told us that they walk to school over five miles each way. The parents have to pay the yearly tuition for their child. Guess how much tuition costs per year per student? Would you believe $30 per student per year? Next time you go out to eat think of that. How lucky we are. We finally left the school and then went to visit the head of the village. He was a man who was probably in his sixties. His wife came into also. We met him in a thatched hut. The walls of the thatched hut were made from termite mounds. The chief or mayor told us that this was his only wife. Most people today in Zimbabwe only have one wife since it is too expensive to have more. He told us each wife comes with a dowery. His wife’s dowery was six heads of cattle. Both he and his wife showed us around the village. The communal kitchen was very basic. Their living quarters seemed comfortable. He told us that he did not sleep in a bed for many years. It was then time to show us some hand made items that we could buy if we liked. Of course I bought some hand made items. What else could I do? I have been to other villages, particularly in Southeast Asia, where I did the same thing. We then left and drove for about thirty minutes to have lunch that was packed for us by the Camp. Got back to the Camp a little after two for a quick shower and shave. We met at three for our afternoon tea and coffee and then it was off for our final afternoon game drive. Our guides are determined to find us a Cheetah. No luck. We only found beautiful elephants, zebras, giraffes and two magnificent male lions. Hope we see the cheetah tomorrow morning. Let’s now summarize this trip. How can I describe what I have done and seen? From the beauty of the Kalahari Desert, the local San people, meerkats and learning about their structured existence, to riding over the Makgadikgadi Pan on quad cycles, to camping out for two nights and three days in the Island of the Baobabs, to sleeping on the ground with the sky as my roof, to taking a Bush shower, flying in small Bush planes, spending five days in the Okavango Delta, seeIng lions with their cubs, seeing the beauty of wild dogs in their environment, watching a pack of hyenas eat a dead zebra, witnessing amazing sunrises and sunsets, to microliter over Victoria Falls, to taking pictures from a helicopter over Victoria Falls, to seeing the magnificent animals in Hwange Zimbabwe. I could go on and on. In my first blog I told everyone that a wanted to see if I could find the beauty of Africa. I most certainly did. It was more than the beauty of Africa I found. I found a serenity and peace that was so beautiful. The African Bush is a special place. You are cutoff from the rest of the world and gradually melt into the fiber and life of nature. The sounds at night are magical. You hear elephants, lions, the howling of wild dogs and hippos. Your soul and spirit become at peace with nature and your accept where you are. Africa has gotten into my soul and spirit like Cambodia has but in a different way. I know that there will come a time in the future when my soul and spirit start to yearn for the peace and serenity that I have found here. I will then have to return to the African Bush. I have tried to describe a very magical place, but the only way to experience something is to do it for yourself. Where is the next adventure and when will it start? On September 5th I am flying to a town named “Yellow Knife”. I suspect Yellow Knife is similar to White Horse. Two Decembers ago I was in White Horse. White Horse is the capital of the Yukon. It was minus 20 in White Horse. The following day, ten of us traveled to a lodge to do dog sledding and snow mobile for eight days. The temperature got as low as minus 40 and daylight was only from 10 AM till 4 PM. Enough on that crazy adventure. Yellow Knife

Hi Everyone Just got escorted back to my hut by a staff member carrying a shot gun. There is a leopard roaming around Camp. We saw him as we came back. The real deal. My day started before the crack of dawn. Woke up at 5:10 by my trusted iPhone and was escorted at 5:30 by a staff member with a shot gun to the campfire where the staff had set up coffee, tea and breakfast. Imagine sipping coffee and eating breakfast in front of a campfire in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe? So peaceful. The only sounds you heard were some hippos and elephants in the distance. At 6:15 we boarded our two vehicles for the morning drive into the Bush. What wonders will nature present to us today? As the sun started to rise, the Bush started to warm up. Don’t forget it is winter here. The first sighting was a jackal in the high grass. Jackals are quite beautiful. We then saw a large tree with a family of baboons in the branches. Leopards will try to capture and eat baboons. Baboons will climb up trees at night. The young ones will go to the highest branches and the older ones will stay in the lower branches to try and protect the family from leopards. The only problem is leopards will climb trees as well. As the sun rose more, the baboons climbed down to warm themselves and start their search for food. Some of them climbed up another tree and I got some interesting pictures of them hanging from some branches. Our driver then received a walkie talkie call that some lion cubs were spotted. Off we went. When we got to the location, there were five or six cubs. They were very scared since there were no adults around protecting them. They ran off into the dense bush before we could get any pictures of them. Now the sun was really warming up. We then drove to a watering hole where there was a herd of African Buffalos drinking and what was one hippo in the water with its eyes and ears sticking out. A baby hippo then emerged from the water to play with the buffalos. While the baby played and grazed the mother was constantly watching it and swam to the pond area that the baby roamed to. Quite an interesting site. It was then onto seeing monkeys. Monkeys are much smaller than baboons when they are fully grown. When you arrive at a sighting you normally park for a while to watch and see what is happening. There are some beautiful birds that live here. I have become quite adept at bird photography. Took one picture of a bird in flight that Andy was jealous of. We then came across white pelicans. I had never seen so many pelicans. There were literally over one hundred of them. White pelicans are larger than the grey ones I have seen in the Caribbean. We finally stopped for tea and coffee overlooking the pelicans. Lunch was a special treat. We were driven out to a remote area and served lunch in the Bush. The Camp had a permanent setup. There was what they call a BOMA. BOMA stands for “British Officers Mess Area” it is a small area that is surrounded by a crude looking fence of natural wood planks to keep the wildlife out. Inside was a small clay oven. The Camp chef was there. He was making chicken and Bush pizza for our lunch. The chicken was awesome. The pizza did not taste like pizza should taste. It was thin crusted without cheese. Just had different kinds of toppings on it. The British were the first people to colonize many of these countries in Africa. Some of their customs and traditions, such as afternoon tea, still survive. It was then back to Camp for a quick hot shower and rest. We met up again at 3 o’clock for our afternoon tea and coffee. By this time, the sun was quite intense. Andy has been giving me electrolytes each day since I told him that the sun had gotten to me around a week ago. There is no humidity and you do not sweat, but the intensity of the sun sneaks up on you. At 3:30 we left for our afternoon drive. The first wildlife we ran into was a large family of baboons. There was the head male baboon sitting on a termite mound observing and protecting his clan. There were many smaller and some infant baboons. The infants clung to the underbelly of their mothers. It was then onto a herd of Sable Antelope. The males have such large and beautiful horns. Andy said he had never seen a herd this large and he has been to Africa over fifteen times. It was now getting towards sunset and the temperature started to drop. The temperature drops very fast here once the sun starts to set. We found another large herd of elephants at a watering hole. The elephants are so beautiful here. There were a few infants. When the vehicles came up close, some of the larger elephants formed a tight knit group with the young ones at their feet. It was amazing how the larger ones did not crush or hurt the babies. Some of the babies were even nursing. I concentrated on taking some pictures of the babies surrounded by the large legs of the adults. Sundown had finally arrived and we drove back to Camp for a great dinner. Barbecued beef and pork with vegetables. We then all sat around the campfire speaking about how we will all find it difficult to readjust as our adventure comes to an end. Another boring day in the Bush. Love Larry

Hi Everyone We are back in the “Bush” I am becoming more convinced that if you want to see the beauty and magnificence of Africa you need to live in a Bush Camp. How did the day start and where are we now? After writing my blog, I was so tired that I just collapsed. Victoria Falls was nice to see and experience. Go there once and then get back into the Bush. The way I saw the Falls was the way everyone should see it. Go on a microliter first, then on a helicopter ride just to take pictures and finally a walk close to the Falls to experience its power and strength. We woke up at 6 AM for breakfast at 6:30. Checked out and then it was onto the Victoria Falls International Airport. When we arrived we were the only ones there. Who cares. We were getting on a ten passenger Bush plane. No security and paper work. Just throw your stuff in the back and take off. The only way to travel. Our flight was about forty five minutes long and under the clouds.  We finally touched down on a dirt runway. No terminal or any of the inconveniences of a civilized airport. You just walk out and your there. We were in Hwange Wilderness National Park. Hwange is located in Zimbabwe. No more passports and visas. Let’s talk a little about Zimbabwe. There is a new President after forty years living under a horrible dictator. There was an attempt to assassinate the new President yesterday. A bomb went off where he was giving a speech. The attempt failed. One local told me that the nickname for the new President is “The Crocodile”. Wonder what he is like? Hwange Wilderness is the setting for lots of wildlife. Elephants are the specialty. We are on the hunt for cheetah. I hope we get some. We arrived at a Bush Camp named “Little Makalolo Camp”. The Camp has room for only fourteen guests There is a watering hole in the front where you can see elephants drinking. All shapes and sizes including babies. There is a hide or dugout set up for us to crawl in a click away. My hut is very nice. My own bathroom, shower and large bed. Of course, no TV, internet, telephone or any of the so called modern connections to the outside world. As I have previously said, I am now convinced that the only way to get the beauty of Africa in your blood, is to spend as many days as you can in the Bush. At night we will be escorted back to our huts and picked up in the morning. Lots of wildlife roaming around. The manager said she was charged by an elephant yesterday in Camp. We are now three less people. Will, Alan and Mike have departed. It’s Andy and four women and two men in the Bush. Priceless. After a great barbecue lunch and lots of coffee, Andy did a critique on five images I took at Victoria Falls. Love these one on ones and always get something out of them. At 3 we all met for afternoon tea and coffee and then got in our vehicles for the afternoon drive. We first went to the watering hole just outside the Camp to shoot a large herd of elephants. The elephants seemed very happy and content. There were lots of babies. One sign that they are happy and content. We watched them roam and go from one watering hole to another. The head male elephant or the bull finally arrived. He did not like our presence much. He charged the other vehicle and was coming towards ours. Our driver quickly put us in gear and we backed out. The driver told us it is best to stand your ground. I don’t know how you can when a huge elephant is charging at you. We finally took off and saw a large herd of African buffalo. They were just grazing across a plain We just stared in awe at the spectacle of this. They finally wandered over to a large pond. In the pond was a large female hippo and her baby. The baby kept on coming out of the water to play with the buffalo as the mother watched the babies every move. We then ran into another large herd of elephants. The animals here appear to be quite numerous and large herds of them seem the norm. These elephants were much more playful. One of them got close to our vehicle and started to throw dirt at us. He then rolled over like a dog and almost put his four huge feet up in the air. The activity that was going on was quite a sight to see. As the sun was setting, we found a spot to take the sun setting behind a huge tree. I have very rarely seen sunrises and sunsets like here in the Bush. No light pollution and the skies in their natural beauty. It was then time for our sunset drink. Every conceivable drink is always served and it is a great way to end the day. Both vehicles pulled over as a herd of elephants walked by us. Dinner was special. We had duck and it was the best duck I ever had. We all then sat around a campfire talking away. The wood they use is teakwood. Teakwood seems to burn longer and the warmth and glow is quite spectacular. Teakwood is not cut down, but the elephants always pull down lots of teakwood as they forage. I was escorted to my hut by a staff worker who was carrying a shot gun. He said he just saw a hyena near my hut. Tomorrow morning we leave at 6:15 for our morning drive. Africa has gotten into my soul. The serenity, calmness, stillness and beauty of the Bush is tranquilizing. You loose track of everything outside and

Hi Everyone What a boring day in Victoria Falls Zimbabwe. What do you mean boring? The day started for me at 6 AM. I woke up and needed to meet my taxi driver at 6:30 for the drive to the border with Zambia. The hotel was nice enough to get me some coffee and my driver was already waiting for me. He drove me to the exit point of Zimbabwe where I passed through immigration. I then left him and was picked up by another driver on the other side of a road barrier. We then drove for about one mile through what is called a dead zone. This is the area between Zimbabwe and when you get to immigration for Zambia. I saw lots of people walking on this very strange road. Most of the women, young and older, carry whatever they are carrying on their heads. We passed over a steel bridge over the Zambezi River that was built by Cecil Rhodes. Most of these countries in this part of Africa used to be part of Rhodesia. We finally arrived at the Zambia immigration post. The driver took my passport, went inside and came out a few minutes later. I was now in Zambia. What am I doing in Zambia? Would you believe I was going to be on a microliter flying over Victoria Falls? The flight is about forty minutes long. The only place you can fly a microliter is on the Zambia side of Victoria Falls. What an experience. To see the beauty of Victoria Falls this way is a memory that will stay with me. You are strapped into the microliter behind the person who drives the contraption. The motor used is similar to a lawn mower engine and the pilot uses wings to fly and navigate. A GoPro is attached to one of the wings for picture taking. Cameras are not allowed and I was glad. In this way I could concentrate and enjoy the beauty and power of what I was seeing. We did figure eights around the Falls and dipped down numerous times. You also wear a helmet with a microphone attached so that you can speak to the pilot. Most of you know that I have been bungy jumping in New Zealand. I would rate this as a little more dangerous. You are much higher up and anything could happen for a much longer period of time. The helmet would not do any good if you crashed. I can now cross off my bucket list seeing Victoria Falls from a microliter. By the way, the GoPro took over two hundred pictures that were given to me on a flash drive. I have already downloaded them into Lightroom for distribution later. By the way, I was the only one in the group who took this crazy ride. Got back to the hotel around 8:30 for breakfast and to tell the rest of the group about my experience. They were all happy that I had survived and fulfilled this wish of mine. What a boring morning in Zimbabwe At 10:30 we all met to go to the helicopter pad for our flights over the Falls to take pictures. The helicopter pad is on the Zimbabwe side. It took about thirty minutes to get there. The helicopters were fitting six people in each one for fifteen minute rides over the Falls. We had three in each helicopter and one of the doors was taken off for a forty minute ride. This setup gave us the best chance to take great pictures. I was in the second helicopter with Kim and Chellie. We took off and immediately went to the Falls. I had two cameras hand held, but only used mostly one. The images I got from a helicopter are truly awesome. A great way to take pictures of the Falls. We then got back to the hotel at around one o’clock for lunch. Had a great small steak. Richard, Kim and myself took a walk a few blocks from the hotel to wander in and out of some shops. As soon as we left the hotel grounds some young locals descended upon us trying to sell us souvenirs. The prices started high, quickly dropped and wound up were they asked us what we would like to pay. I felt sorry for them, but what they were selling did not interest me and I did not want to attract more of them. We wandered in and out of shops. I decided to not buy anything. Kim and Richard bought some local jewelry and crafts. At 3:30 we all met with our cameras for the drive to Victoria Falls and the walk on one side of the Falls. I got up close with the power of the water. Saw lots of rainbows, but the strength of the Falls created lots of mist, rain, and wetness. I was glad I had taken pictures from the helicopter. The scenes were much better and less demanding. We stayed at the Falls until six o’clock. I was exhausted by the walk and soaking wet. Took a nice hot shower and went for dinner at the hotel. Some interesting facts about David Livingstone. He was the first foreigner to see Victoria Falls. He made five trips to Africa when it was hard enough to make just one. Harry Stanley was sent by Randolph Hearst to find him when he was not heard from during his fifth trip. Livingstone was a physician and born in Scotland. He was trying to find the source of the Nile. He died in Africa from malaria. His body is interned in Westminster Abbey. His heart was removed and is buried under a Baobab tree somewhere in Zambia. The exact location has never been found. There is a large statue of him at the base of Victoria Falls. Hope everyone has enjoyed this boring day. Tomorrow it is back into the Bush here in Zimbabwe for

Hi Everyone What a boring day in Victoria Falls Zimbabwe. What do you mean boring? The day started for me at 6 AM. I woke up and needed to meet my taxi driver at 6:30 for the drive to the border with Zambia. The hotel was nice enough to get me some coffee and my driver was already waiting for me. He drove me to the exit point of Zimbabwe where I passed through immigration. I then left him and was picked up by another driver on the other side of a road barrier. We then drove for about one mile through what is called a dead zone. This is the area between Zimbabwe and when you get to immigration for Zambia. I saw lots of people walking on this very strange road. Most of the women, young and older, carry whatever they are carrying on their heads. We passed over a steel bridge over the Zambezi River that was built by Cecil Rhodes. Most of these countries in this part of Africa used to be part of Rhodesia. We finally arrived at the Zambia immigration post. The driver took my passport, went inside and came out a few minutes later. I was now in Zambia. What am I doing in Zambia? Would you believe I was going to be on a microliter flying over Victoria Falls? The flight is about forty minutes long. The only place you can fly a microliter is on the Zambia side of Victoria Falls. What an experience. To see the beauty of Victoria Falls this way is a memory that will stay with me. You are strapped into the microliter behind the person who drives the contraption. The motor used is similar to a lawn mower engine and the pilot uses wings to fly and navigate. A GoPro is attached to one of the wings for picture taking. Cameras are not allowed and I was glad. In this way I could concentrate and enjoy the beauty and power of what I was seeing. We did figure eights around the Falls and dipped down numerous times. You also wear a helmet with a microphone attached so that you can speak to the pilot. Most of you know that I have been bungy jumping in New Zealand. I would rate this as a little more dangerous. You are much higher up and anything could happen for a much longer period of time. The helmet would not do any good if you crashed. I can now cross off my bucket list seeing Victoria Falls from a microliter. By the way, the GoPro took over two hundred pictures that were given to me on a flash drive. I have already downloaded them into Lightroom for distribution later. By the way, I was the only one in the group who took this crazy ride. Got back to the hotel around 8:30 for breakfast and to tell the rest of the group about my experience. They were all happy that I had survived and fulfilled this wish of mine. What a boring morning in Zimbabwe At 10:30 we all met to go to the helicopter pad for our flights over the Falls to take pictures. The helicopter pad is on the Zimbabwe side. It took about thirty minutes to get there. The helicopters were fitting six people in each one for fifteen minute rides over the Falls. We had three in each helicopter and one of the doors was taken off for a forty minute ride. This setup gave us the best chance to take great pictures. I was in the second helicopter with Kim and Chellie. We took off and immediately went to the Falls. I had two cameras hand held, but only used mostly one. The images I got from a helicopter are truly awesome. A great way to take pictures of the Falls. We then got back to the hotel at around one o’clock for lunch. Had a great small steak. Richard, Kim and myself took a walk a few blocks from the hotel to wander in and out of some shops. As soon as we left the hotel grounds some young locals descended upon us trying to sell us souvenirs. The prices started high, quickly dropped and wound up were they asked us what we would like to pay. I felt sorry for them, but what they were selling did not interest me and I did not want to attract more of them. We wandered in and out of shops. I decided to not buy anything. Kim and Richard bought some local jewelry and crafts. At 3:30 we all met with our cameras for the drive to Victoria Falls and the walk on one side of the Falls. I got up close with the power of the water. Saw lots of rainbows, but the strength of the Falls created lots of mist, rain, and wetness. I was glad I had taken pictures from the helicopter. The scenes were much better and less demanding. We stayed at the Falls until six o’clock. I was exhausted by the walk and soaking wet. Took a nice hot shower and went for dinner at the hotel. Some interesting facts about David Livingstone. He was the first foreigner to see Victoria Falls. He made five trips to Africa when it was hard enough to make just one. Harry Stanley was sent by Randolph Hearst to find him when he was not heard from during his fifth trip. Livingstone was a physician and born in Scotland. He was trying to find the source of the Nile. He died in Africa from malaria. His body is interned in Westminster Abbey. His heart was removed and is buried under a Baobab tree somewhere in Zambia. The exact location has never been found. There is a large statue of him at the base of Victoria Falls. Hope everyone has enjoyed this boring day. Tomorrow it is back into the Bush here in Zimbabwe for

Hi Everyone What a boring day in Victoria Falls Zimbabwe. What do you mean boring? The day started for me at 6 AM. I woke up and needed to meet my taxi driver at 6:30 for the drive to the border with Zambia. The hotel was nice enough to get me some coffee and my driver was already waiting for me. He drove me to the exit point of Zimbabwe where I passed through immigration. I then left him and was picked up by another driver on the other side of a road barrier. We then drove for about one mile through what is called a dead zone. This is the area between Zimbabwe and when you get to immigration for Zambia. I saw lots of people walking on this very strange road. Most of the women, young and older, carry whatever they are carrying on their heads. We passed over a steel bridge over the Zambezi River that was built by Cecil Rhodes. Most of these countries in this part of Africa used to be part of Rhodesia. We finally arrived at the Zambia immigration post. The driver took my passport, went inside and came out a few minutes later. I was now in Zambia. What am I doing in Zambia? Would you believe I was going to be on a microliter flying over Victoria Falls? The flight is about forty minutes long. The only place you can fly a microliter is on the Zambia side of Victoria Falls. What an experience. To see the beauty of Victoria Falls this way is a memory that will stay with me. You are strapped into the microliter behind the person who drives the contraption. The motor used is similar to a lawn mower engine and the pilot uses wings to fly and navigate. A GoPro is attached to one of the wings for picture taking. Cameras are not allowed and I was glad. In this way I could concentrate and enjoy the beauty and power of what I was seeing. We did figure eights around the Falls and dipped down numerous times. You also wear a helmet with a microphone attached so that you can speak to the pilot. Most of you know that I have been bungy jumping in New Zealand. I would rate this as a little more dangerous. You are much higher up and anything could happen for a much longer period of time. The helmet would not do any good if you crashed. I can now cross off my bucket list seeing Victoria Falls from a microliter. By the way, the GoPro took over two hundred pictures that were given to me on a flash drive. I have already downloaded them into Lightroom for distribution later. By the way, I was the only one in the group who took this crazy ride. Got back to the hotel around 8:30 for breakfast and to tell the rest of the group about my experience. They were all happy that I had survived and fulfilled this wish of mine. What a boring morning in Zimbabwe At 10:30 we all met to go to the helicopter pad for our flights over the Falls to take pictures. The helicopter pad is on the Zimbabwe side. It took about thirty minutes to get there. The helicopters were fitting six people in each one for fifteen minute rides over the Falls. We had three in each helicopter and one of the doors was taken off for a forty minute ride. This setup gave us the best chance to take great pictures. I was in the second helicopter with Kim and Chellie. We took off and immediately went to the Falls. I had two cameras hand held, but only used mostly one. The images I got from a helicopter are truly awesome. A great way to take pictures of the Falls. We then got back to the hotel at around one o’clock for lunch. Had a great small steak. Richard, Kim and myself took a walk a few blocks from the hotel to wander in and out of some shops. As soon as we left the hotel grounds some young locals descended upon us trying to sell us souvenirs. The prices started high, quickly dropped and wound up were they asked us what we would like to pay. I felt sorry for them, but what they were selling did not interest me and I did not want to attract more of them. We wandered in and out of shops. I decided to not buy anything. Kim and Richard bought some local jewelry and crafts. At 3:30 we all met with our cameras for the drive to Victoria Falls and the walk on one side of the Falls. I got up close with the power of the water. Saw lots of rainbows, but the strength of the Falls created lots of mist, rain, and wetness. I was glad I had taken pictures from the helicopter. The scenes were much better and less demanding. We stayed at the Falls until six o’clock. I was exhausted by the walk and soaking wet. Took a nice hot shower and went for dinner at the hotel. Some interesting facts about David Livingstone. He was the first foreigner to see Victoria Falls. He made five trips to Africa when it was hard enough to make just one. Harry Stanley was sent by Randolph Hearst to find him when he was not heard from during his fifth trip. Livingstone was a physician and born in Scotland. He was trying to find the source of the Nile. He died in Africa from malaria. His body is interned in Westminster Abbey. His heart was removed and is buried under a Baobab tree somewhere in Zambia. The exact location has never been found. There is a large statue of him at the base of Victoria Falls. Hope everyone has enjoyed this boring day. Tomorrow it is back into the Bush here in Zimbabwe for

Hi Everyone How is the connected world? Am in Zimbabwe and the internet is terrible. Great. I have hoped that the internet would be terrible. My wish was granted. What do you expect with the internet in Zimbabwe? Will catch everyone up when I return home. Our final game drive in the Okavango Delta of Botswana started at 6:15 AM. We heard lions all night so we decided to try and find them. We only had until 8:30 since our bush plane was leaving at 11:30 for Victoria Falls Zimbabwe. Our guides tracked the lions for about an hour and they were finally found. This was the same Pride as yesterday. There were two males, two females and four cubs. The guides told us there used to be five cubs, but one was taken away by another male lion and probably killed. We found one of the males and followed him until he sat down. He started to make roaring sounds that were responded to be the other male lion in this Pride. They were protecting and warning any other animals and lions not to harm their cubs. We then found the four cubs. They were playing in the vegetation climbing branches. They then moved past us to a termite mound where they all sat down. Two faced us and the other two faced the opposite direction. This was an unbelievable photo opportunity. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I have said that numerous times before and will probably say it numerous more times in the future. The four cubs all sitting on a termite mound. I wanted to stay there all day. Andy finally had us drive up to a ledge to take pictures of the sunrise. What a sunrise it was. One of my favorites all time. The oranges, reds and yellows seemed to pop out that created a beautiful mosaic of the sky. We then found some hippos in the water and took some great shots of the light appearing over the water and the hippos head and ears. We arrived back at the Camp to pack up and have breakfast. Our luggage was put on a truck and we took two safari vehicles to the dirt airstrip for our flight north to Victoria Falls. I have found the people of Botswana that I met, talked and laughed with to be very friendly and gentle people. They showed me the true beauty of Africa and got Africa back into my blood. For that I will always be thankful to them.Visiting Botswana is all about the animals and the people. Whenever I travel to a country, I always want to meet and experience the people. That is my prime objective wherever I travel. Botswana was different. You also get to know the animals and live in their world for a brief time. As I have previously said, you are the visitor and nature, with the help of the wildlife and people, are your hosts. Now onto the animals. Zoos around the world do not capture wild animals anymore for their zoo. The zoo animals have been and continue to be bred for that purpose. I don’t think I could ever go to a zoo again. How can I see a lion in a cage when I have seen the lions I have in their natural surroundings? The serene and spectacular beauty that I experienced can never be captured with my photography. I have become convinced that the only way you can experience Botswana and the African Bush is to take a chance and live outside your comfort zone. Our bush plane took off at around 11:45 for a one hour flight to Kansane Airport in Botswana. We were then met by a bus and driven to the border with Zimbabwe. We first stopped at the immigration station leaving Botswana to have our passports stamped. We then were further driven to the border. There is a dead zone between the borders of Botswana and Zimbabwe. This is a small stretch of land between the two borders. People were walking and we were being driven between the border posts. What a scene this was. A small building with lots of people. Andy took care of our visas. I needed a dual visa for Zambia and Zimbabwe since I was going microlighting and the microlight starts in Zambia. Our luggage was not checked nor inspected. We crossed the border and was picked up by another bus for the hour ride to Victoria Falls. The drive took an hour. Some baboons and monkeys crossed the road. Let’s talk a little about Zimbabwe. The population is about fourteen million. The leader was a dictator up until four months ago. He ruled for forty years. People pay tuition for their children to go to school from first grade on. The currency is US dollars. Rampant inflation occurred when the local currency was used. When people work, they get paid in US dollars. The problem is that the US dollar is scarce. No ATM machines. People do not get paid what they earn, but less since there are not enough US dollars. They are given a credit card with the remainder of their salary on it that they can use to purchase items of necessity. Practicing a mostly cashless economy. Victoria Falls borders four countries. Angola, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. Their borders all meet here. We finally arrived at our hotel. The hotel is named the “Ilala Lodge” it is decorated as an old style colonial type of place. There are pictures of people taken many years ago. Old maps and sketches adorn the walls. There were antique guns hanging from the wall in back of the reception desk.  I was told to keep my sliding glass door locked since baboons are known to come in and trash the place. At 3:30 we all boarded a bus for a drive to the Zambezi River for an afternoon sunset boat ride. The Zambezi flows into Victoria

Hi Everyone Tomorrow I will finally have internet for two days. Do I care? The answer is NO. In fact I am not looking forward to seeing all the unread emails I have received. Why bother? I feel like deleting all of them without even looking at them. Life will still go on.  Am leaving the Sable Alley Camp and Botswana for Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side, but that’s for tomorrow. Of course, we all met at 5:45 for a quick breakfast and off we went. Last nights blog started off with that there were two lions roaming around Camp. Our guides decided to try and find them this morning. We drove and bounced over mounds and vegetation. The guides kept on stopping and getting out to look at the tracks. We must have drove around until about 7:30 and then we hit pay dirt. The lions were coming towards us, but there were not two lions, but a whole “Pride”. A Pride is the terminology for a group of lions. There were two males, two females and four six to seven month old cubs. There was one male cub and three females. The cubs followed their Moms and the males lagged behind. Lions hunt all night since it is easier to catch prey at night. During the day they are lazy and will sleep most of the day. Don’t forget, the females do all the hunting while the males wait to be served. In the winter here, there are tall grass meadows and the lions like to sleep in them. During the summer, they will group around a tall tree with a shaded area. The light at around 8 to 9 o’clock makes the tall grass look golden as the sun rises to heat the area. The lions roamed into a meadow with tall grass and one of the males walked up to a termite mound to guard and watch over the whole area. The other male went into the tall grass. The females and cubs found a spot in the tall grass to sleep and cuddle up together. We first drove up to the male sitting on the mound observing his world. The light was perfect as I clicked away. He was guarding all that was important to him. I couldn’t believe some of the shots. It was then onto the next male laying in the tall grass with his head up. What a shot. The golden grass was almost a match for the lions colors. We then found the females and cubs. One of the perfect photography opportunities. I could not stop clicking. The cubs started to move around and that created some more images. Finally the four cubs wandered over to the male in the tall grass. It seemed that they wanted to play with him. He did not want to be bothered and started to swat them away. The cubs then wandered to another area with the females following them. I could not believe my eyes as these cubs just sat and looked at us with their Moms in the background. A scene that will be etched in my memory for a long time. After about a thousand pictures of these beautiful creatures, we decided to leave. We stopped near a large pond full of hippos to have our morning tea and coffee. It was then around 11 and time to go looking for more. Next on the agenda were four giraffes. They were running across the plain. What a sight. My fingers are starting to hurt. At about noon, we decided to get lunch. We turned a bend and see Andy waving for us to stop. The Camp had set up a long table and chairs and brought our lunch out to us to serve us a bush lunch. One of my favorite foods was served. Home made pork ribs and fresh vegetables. How can I ask for anything more? A perfect morning of photography taking pictures of probably the most beautiful animals in the Delta and then one of my favorites for lunch. The beauty of Africa was shining through. We then got back to the Camp at around 1 o’clock. The five people who did not go to the elephant dugout yesterday left. The remaining four of us remained behind with Andy. He wanted to see three images from each of us starting at 2 o’clock. I picked out one elephant, one hyena and one lion. He was very impressed. The lion and elephant images and light was so perfect that it is hard to do much editing. As I previously wrote, I very much enjoy these critiques and constantly learn from each of them. At 3:30 we left for a ride on a Mokoro. What is a Mokoro? A Mokoro is a long shallow dug out log that locals use a long pole with to go around the shallow ponds and rivers that flow through the Delta. Myself and Kim got into one with our driver and away we went. It was important to do this while the hippos were in the deeper water since you do not want to run into a hippo in a Mokoro. Don’t forget hippos get out of the water in the evening to graze. We went through tall grasses and lots of water lilies. The guide told us that the locals eat the roots of the water lilies after cooking them for seven hours. He also told us that people used to use the tall grass for the roofs of their homes. We were at eye level with the tall grasses and water lilies. As we were going through the tall grass, the guide pointed out a small creature on one of the stalks. A tiny white frog was glued to the stalk. One ion natures beauties that we would have missed except for the guides keen eyes. It was finally back to the Camp for dinner. Will and Mike are leaving the

I invite you to view my latest photographs from my trip to Africa.  Enjoy! Botswana Zimbabwe Click here to visit my complete photo gallery. To continue reading my Africa blog, please click here.  Thank you! Love, Larry

Hi Everyone Two more days until internet. I have become to not even care about being disconnected from the outside world. My world has become the beauty of what I am seeing and the experience of nature in one of its rawest and primitive forms. You melt into the world around you and only see what nature lets and wants you to see. You are the guest and the wildlife and nature is your host. Your mind starts to see the beauty in all the wonders around you. Even the large and numerous termite mounds become a work of art and beauty. Each one is shaped differently. It is like the termites have carved a sculpture and they are the artists. I now constantly search for small birds and always scan the scenery for any small and beautiful works of nature. You look forward to seeing the wonder of the sunrise and sunset. I think everyone understands that I write my blog at night. It is 9:10 PM in Botswana. We were all just escorted to our huts and told that two lions were roaming around Camp. In front of the Camp is a large pond and during the day you can see hippos with only their eyes and ears sticking out of the water. Hippos come out at night to roam and eat. So besides hippos, we now have to be on alert for two lions. I will not go out of my hut and hopefully will survive the night. As everyone knows by now, my day started at 5 AM. I was escorted to breakfast at 5:30 and then we all left at around 6:15. The mornings and nights are very chilly, but when the sun rises the temperature goes up fast. Our first sighting was a small herd of zebras. They created a stunning image of the sun hitting their manes. We then ran into a single elephant who was eating by itself. Elephants create lots of damage in the vegetation and trees. You can also spot elephants due to their size and large amounts of poop. It is not common to see a single elephant by itself. Our guide decided that we should head towards the dead zebra of last night and see if there has been any activity. While on the way, three wild dogs ran right past the vehicle and we followed them as they ran through the shrub. There are some dirt and sand trails and our vehicle is made to go anywhere. We drive through shrubs and dense vegetation all the time. We finally arrived at the dead zebra and I couldn’t believe the site I was seeing. There was a pack of about a dozen hyenas eating at the carcass. We have a bad understanding of Hyenas. They need a good public relations person. They are beautiful animals. They look like one big muscle and behave similar to dogs. Their jaw bites are the strongest in the animal kingdom and they have almost no predators to worry about. These hyenas were tearing at the remaining carcass. I couldn’t believe how little was left from the full size zebra we saw last night. The beauty and sadness of nature in one scene. A beautiful zebra being eaten viciously by hyenas. Life returning to nature to start the cycle over again. We also saw vultures sitting on trees waiting for the hyenas to finish. We just watched in awe as the eating went on. We must have watched for close to an hour. Our guides told us they had never seen so many hyenas together over one meal. We finally left and all three vehicles met up for our morning tea, coffee and cookies in the open. The conversation was about the hyenas and our picture taking. The light was perfect. When we arrived back at the hotel we were split up into two groups. I was in the first group with Andy, Alan, Amy and Kim. We were leaving at 1 PM for a 90 minute off road drive to an elephant watering hole. The unique thing is that there is something called a Hide or a Dugout built there. So you get down into this dugout and am viewing the elephants from their feet up. The other group was doing their afternoon safari ride and we would switch places tomorrow. We drove out of Camp onto a sand path. The driver told me that 83% of the Okavango Delta is made up of sand from the Kalahari. After about twenty minutes, we saw a full size ostrich crossing the sand path. We then bounced up and down until we made a left hand turn into a wider sand and dirt road. A herd of elephants walked almost in front of us as we stopped to watch them parade by. It was then back onto the small sand road for what seemed like an eternity. I fell asleep in the seat next to the driver. The sun was so warm and comfortable. We then arrived at the watering hole. When I saw the dugout with huge elephants all around it, I wondered to myself how we were going to get out and into the dugout. The Land Cruiser pulled up next to the dugout and the elephants created a path and opening for us. It seemed like they knew we were there and where we should be. The inside of the dugout was very comfortable. There were large chairs set up looking through an opening to the feet of the elephants. I brought two cameras attached to two lenses with me. I was amazed by the whole experience. Started to shoot right away. The lighting and colors were perfect. Some of the elephants were bathing themselves and some others were just drinking. A scene I will always remember. One elephant put his trunk down to almost go inside the dugout. I was in a photography frenzy. My mind was processing the