We packed up the tent early to see the Victoria Falls. The sky was cloudy as we started. So we decided to spend some time outside the national park and go inside once the sky cleared. We went in search of a lookout point which was marked in the map of my travel guide, about 8 kms away from the Falls in the direction Bulawayo. But our search didn’t yield anything. We drove around 10 kms in the road leading to Bulawayo and decided to turn back once we came across a police check point. After the mess yesterday at the border I was in no mood to any kind of contact with bureaucratic nonsenses
We rode back towards the Falls and drove around the Victoria Falls park where one could see the approach of the Zambezi river towards the Falls and also a giant Baobab tree (named ‘The Big Tree’) which is supposed to be around 15000 years old. Afterwards we went inside the park where one could see the mighty Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwean side. Though one can also view it from the Zambian side, this side is said to be more beautiful.
It was indeed an amazing view. The walkway for the view itself was about a km long. It is one of the most beautiful views I ever had in my life. At some places the mist from the falls fell upon us like a continuous rainfall – not good for taking photos. I could just stand there for hours and enjoy the beauty of it. Though it is the beginning of the rainy season the volume of water in the falls was less. They say the water flowing from Angola will reach the Falls around July when the water level in the Falls is at its peak. It should be an incredible view then.
At some point I felt like holding the hand of the Lady and kissing her. But I was scared. Scared of spoiling the friendship and losing a friend. One of the few friends I have. When we were driving along the Caprivi through the rains I remember holding her hands once. But when I did that again some other time she protested in a joking manner. After that I never repeated that though I felt like it many time afterwards. When I told her about it later in the evening she said its good that I didn’t try to kiss her as it will be weird! Because we are ‘just friends’! I was confused. Just friends? May be! Probably more, I don’t know for sure. All I am sure about is that I did feel like kissing her there. And it was not planned. It was natural. It may sound weird, but I didn’t feel sorry for that.
After coming out of the park we took a walk towards the Zambian border through a bridge across the Zambezi river. Luckily there were no visa issues. The bridge is kind of a buffer zone, where people also do Bungee jumping. One can get a slip from the Zimbabwe border to walk across the bridge and give it back at the border post when you come back. The funny thing is that there is even a café in the buffer zone after the bridge and before the Zambian border post. It was nice to walk around.
In the afternoon we drove back to Botswana border towards the Ihaha Rest Camp inside the Chobe National Park. Once we were in Kasane in Botswana we filled up the fuel tanks and supplies. The Ihaha camp is in the middle of the Chobe NP around 33 kms from the park gate. It’s a 4x4 track, but the track was not difficult. The rains have made the sand tracks a bit more firm making the drive easier. On the way to the camp we came across a dead Hippo, a lioness, leopard and an ellie. Not bad to be lucky enough to see all of them at the beginning of the adventure.
The camp was really basic. The ablution block was supposed to have hot water and there were no lights at night. But was a really amazing was the location of the camp. Right on the banks of the Chobe river which marks the boundry between Namibia and north Botswana. There is no fencing around the camps. That means you are more or less camping wild in the midst of all wildlife. What more can one ask for?
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