The second stop on my 3-country safari tour with my parents, between zambia and botswana
We crossed the Victoria Falls border from Zambia to Zimbabwe and immediately headed for Zambezi National Park, across the river from where we were staying in Zambia. We spent two nights "camping" in the park, though this was nothing like the camping I've done.
The first afternoon was spent driving around the park with our guide, Charles, showing us his favorite spots. The highlight was coming across a giant herd of cape buffalo and zebras at sunset. We saw one of the largest bulls that Charles has ever seen, which was only slightly terrifying.
We woke up at 5am the next morning to head out on our "walking safari," Charles' specialty. It was pretty amazing to walk around the park and not see anything but nature. We came across a large field with zebras, giraffes, and even some wildebeests, which are rare in that park. We spotted dozens of vultures swarming an area and went to see what they were eating. Unfortunately, we didn't see a lion chowing down on "a kill" but rather an elephant that had been shot in the head by poachers. It was quite a scene, especially for an elephant lover like myself. Poaching is something that has always been an abstract concept for me, but to see evidence first-hand was very eye-opening. Charles has some theories about why the elephant was poached - possibly for meat, possibly for its tusks. Ironically, the elephant genetically did not have tusks, meaning the poachers may have shot it in the dark without realizing and left it to be eaten by vultures and hyenas once they realized they couldn't take any ivory.
After an afternoon game drive and another night in our "tents," we left the next morning to spend the day in the town of Victoria Falls, the equivalent of Livingstone but on the Zimbabwe side. The change from peaceful national park to bustling tourist town was a bit abrupt. We drove through the park again the next morning to reach the border with Botswana.
The first afternoon was spent driving around the park with our guide, Charles, showing us his favorite spots. The highlight was coming across a giant herd of cape buffalo and zebras at sunset. We saw one of the largest bulls that Charles has ever seen, which was only slightly terrifying.
We woke up at 5am the next morning to head out on our "walking safari," Charles' specialty. It was pretty amazing to walk around the park and not see anything but nature. We came across a large field with zebras, giraffes, and even some wildebeests, which are rare in that park. We spotted dozens of vultures swarming an area and went to see what they were eating. Unfortunately, we didn't see a lion chowing down on "a kill" but rather an elephant that had been shot in the head by poachers. It was quite a scene, especially for an elephant lover like myself. Poaching is something that has always been an abstract concept for me, but to see evidence first-hand was very eye-opening. Charles has some theories about why the elephant was poached - possibly for meat, possibly for its tusks. Ironically, the elephant genetically did not have tusks, meaning the poachers may have shot it in the dark without realizing and left it to be eaten by vultures and hyenas once they realized they couldn't take any ivory.
After an afternoon game drive and another night in our "tents," we left the next morning to spend the day in the town of Victoria Falls, the equivalent of Livingstone but on the Zimbabwe side. The change from peaceful national park to bustling tourist town was a bit abrupt. We drove through the park again the next morning to reach the border with Botswana.