Well, lions and tigers definitely, but not bears were spotted on Walter and Carol Roth’s recent African safari that included 3 countries: Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. Replace bears with elephants, throw in an animal cracker box menagerie of other species, and you get a better picture of their adventure.
(Photos provided)
After a 17-hour flight, their tour began in Johannesburg South Africa and proceeded to the Chobe Nation Park game preserve in Botswana. Tent camping was provided upon arrival, well, definitely not your typical campground, but deluxe camping: wood platform, king size bed, combined with bath and lounge facilities. My tent doesn’t have all of that! Even the main lodge was tented, complete with a large lounge and dining facilities.
Completing the deluxe camping picture was the food, the majority excellent American fare with an occasional African delicacy. Dried worms proved to be quite crunchy! And went quite well with the dried fungus – yum!
Passenger jeeps open on all sides provided transportation within the park. Even when their presence was challenged by bull elephants, Walter and Carol never felt afraid, nor when impalas hurtled their jeep, nor when female lions appeared in the tall grass near their vehicle.
Watering holes may give rise to a bobbing hippo or more, the most dangerous animals in Africa, but their biggest threat was mosquitoes. Fortunately the guides had discovered an ingenious way to ward them off: burn elephant dung. It works, and fortunately they never had to worry about running out of fuel. Chobe is estimated to have the largest elephant population in Africa, so they constantly encountered the largest land mammal.
After four days, they flew, via a small plane, to the next park, Kafue National Park in Zambia, extending their safari adventure. This is the second largest wildlife park in Africa, covering over 8,000 square miles, approximately the size of Massachusetts.
The wild kingdom was alive with giraffes, warthogs, baboons, and greater Kudu. Their last stop was at Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, another large game preservation approximately the size of Connecticut.
The park has implemented a National Leopard project to protect the indigenous leopard population, animals Walter and Carol were able to observe in their wild habitat.
This safari allowed them to view a complete alphabet soup of animals, from alligator to zebra with others: hyenas, Cape buffalo, meerkats, ibex, and gnu thrown in. There were also birds of many species and colors: eagles, vultures, exquisite nests by weaver birds, and many more.
If you ever plan on going, April proved to be an excellent time to visit south of the equator. Weather conditions were ideal: cool 50 degree mornings and warm 80 degree afternoons, with very little rain. So if you’re looking for a little more of an adventure beyond Brookfield Zoo, an African safari is definitely the right spot for you.
