By Jain
What a night. We both are wide awake up at 3 a.m. (jet lag). It looked like it was going to be long sleepless night. But after waking up looking out the apartment window and seeing no wild animals were sitting on our porch we managed to fall back to sleep. We slept until 8:30 a.m. which is unheard of for us… we usually wake up at least by 6 a.m.
Jay makes coffee and I sit on the deck. At 9 am sharp our chamber maid wants to clean our room, fine with me. Actually my pet peeve is having my room cleaned late in the day so this was a blessing. So Jay and I sit on our porch soaking in some African sunshine having coffee while she proceeded to clean our room for an hour. Now since we have only been here a half of day it can't be that dirty, but she busys herself mopping everything in sight. One thing I have noticed in Africa, somebody is always mopping something whether in the airport, grocery store in restaurants. I have seen people just carrying a mop down the road, just in case the urge strikes them I guess.
This morning is a great time to do chores meaning washing our clothes we have worn for the past two days, and making arrangements for our first safari. We decided on a boat safari going down the Chobe River. This safari departs from a prestigious hotel, the Chobe Safari Lodge. It leaves in the early afternoon and returns after sunset. It starts in Kasane and enters Chobe National Park, where the boat stops and pays a fee for each passenger complete with passport numbers. The procedure is very exacting but the old worn out toll booth on the makeshift pier seems an unlikely place to deposit money.
Our newly acclaimed favorite Kasane taxi driver, Joseph takes us the short 3 kilometers down the road to the fancy upscale resort the Chobe Safari Lodge to catch our boat. Joseph, or Joey as he is called by some, is young, funny, and eager to please. A new father he has lived in the village all his life, knows everybody and is well liked. His old worn down beater of a car has seen better days and if washed would probably just crumble to the ground. Inside is well worn but clean (his wife probably mops it). Jay said he tried to wind the window down but it got stuck half way down and he couldn't get it back up either. I hope it doesn't rain.
As he putts down the road he proudly points out the Kasane sites; notably the police station, water treatment plant, social center and hospital. All these buildings are built out of basolite construction and without a sign with their name on the outside they all look alike. Actually the water treatment plant is the nicest building of the bunch. God help you if you had to go to the building that said, "Hospital".
When we arrive at Chobe Safari Lodge we both gave each other a look that said, "Wow! So this is how the rich people live. Rooms here must cost a fortune. This resort is huge, lovely gardens (complete with roaming warthogs), a pool, bar and dining areas and a nice view of the Chobe river. Our self catering apt probably costs a fraction of what these guys are paying but peering in some of rooms decided we liked our apartment better.
Our safari boat is fairly large and since we are first on board we get great seats. Most of our fellow passengers speak German and have cameras the size of machine guns. At times I feel like telling people just put down your camera and just take a look.The Skipper promises we will see animals but how many and what varieties depends on pure luck. He said everyday is different. He goes over the rules; no swimming or diving please (that's obviously a joke), and arms, legs and hands stay inside the boat. That is obviously not meant to be a joke since crocodiles and Hippos abound.
On safari boat trip goes down the Chobe river where it intersects with Zimbabwe River. The views are breathtaking. Most of the trip, Namibia is on one side while Botswana is on the other side. In the middle of the two are various islands and marshland. We see more animals than we have ever dreamed of. Herds of elephants, with baby elephants in tow, feasting on the marsh grasses and swimming across the river to feast then again on tree leaves on river banks.
On the trip we are just yards away from crocodiles just lazing in the sun (some with their mouth open, looking for a handout). In addition there are hippos, water buffalo, antelope, springbok and baboons everywhere. All and all we are very delighted to see so many animals up close. We both thought this boat cruise was even better than our previous jeep safaris.
At the end of the cruise we witness the most spectacular sunset I have even seen, anywhere. Truly an ah ah moment. Nothing can describe the beauty of this country at sunset.
At the end of our trip Joseph is waiting to take us back to our apartment. We ask if he could drop us off at the Hunters Pub for dinner. He actually walks us in, finds us a table and tells us if we need a ride home to call him. Our home is about a block away and we politely say no we will be okay and we can walk, barring of course there are no Hippos or warthogs out and about.
What a night. We both are wide awake up at 3 a.m. (jet lag). It looked like it was going to be long sleepless night. But after waking up looking out the apartment window and seeing no wild animals were sitting on our porch we managed to fall back to sleep. We slept until 8:30 a.m. which is unheard of for us… we usually wake up at least by 6 a.m.
Jay makes coffee and I sit on the deck. At 9 am sharp our chamber maid wants to clean our room, fine with me. Actually my pet peeve is having my room cleaned late in the day so this was a blessing. So Jay and I sit on our porch soaking in some African sunshine having coffee while she proceeded to clean our room for an hour. Now since we have only been here a half of day it can't be that dirty, but she busys herself mopping everything in sight. One thing I have noticed in Africa, somebody is always mopping something whether in the airport, grocery store in restaurants. I have seen people just carrying a mop down the road, just in case the urge strikes them I guess.
This morning is a great time to do chores meaning washing our clothes we have worn for the past two days, and making arrangements for our first safari. We decided on a boat safari going down the Chobe River. This safari departs from a prestigious hotel, the Chobe Safari Lodge. It leaves in the early afternoon and returns after sunset. It starts in Kasane and enters Chobe National Park, where the boat stops and pays a fee for each passenger complete with passport numbers. The procedure is very exacting but the old worn out toll booth on the makeshift pier seems an unlikely place to deposit money.
Our newly acclaimed favorite Kasane taxi driver, Joseph takes us the short 3 kilometers down the road to the fancy upscale resort the Chobe Safari Lodge to catch our boat. Joseph, or Joey as he is called by some, is young, funny, and eager to please. A new father he has lived in the village all his life, knows everybody and is well liked. His old worn down beater of a car has seen better days and if washed would probably just crumble to the ground. Inside is well worn but clean (his wife probably mops it). Jay said he tried to wind the window down but it got stuck half way down and he couldn't get it back up either. I hope it doesn't rain.
As he putts down the road he proudly points out the Kasane sites; notably the police station, water treatment plant, social center and hospital. All these buildings are built out of basolite construction and without a sign with their name on the outside they all look alike. Actually the water treatment plant is the nicest building of the bunch. God help you if you had to go to the building that said, "Hospital".
When we arrive at Chobe Safari Lodge we both gave each other a look that said, "Wow! So this is how the rich people live. Rooms here must cost a fortune. This resort is huge, lovely gardens (complete with roaming warthogs), a pool, bar and dining areas and a nice view of the Chobe river. Our self catering apt probably costs a fraction of what these guys are paying but peering in some of rooms decided we liked our apartment better.
Our safari boat is fairly large and since we are first on board we get great seats. Most of our fellow passengers speak German and have cameras the size of machine guns. At times I feel like telling people just put down your camera and just take a look.The Skipper promises we will see animals but how many and what varieties depends on pure luck. He said everyday is different. He goes over the rules; no swimming or diving please (that's obviously a joke), and arms, legs and hands stay inside the boat. That is obviously not meant to be a joke since crocodiles and Hippos abound.
On safari boat trip goes down the Chobe river where it intersects with Zimbabwe River. The views are breathtaking. Most of the trip, Namibia is on one side while Botswana is on the other side. In the middle of the two are various islands and marshland. We see more animals than we have ever dreamed of. Herds of elephants, with baby elephants in tow, feasting on the marsh grasses and swimming across the river to feast then again on tree leaves on river banks.
On the trip we are just yards away from crocodiles just lazing in the sun (some with their mouth open, looking for a handout). In addition there are hippos, water buffalo, antelope, springbok and baboons everywhere. All and all we are very delighted to see so many animals up close. We both thought this boat cruise was even better than our previous jeep safaris.
At the end of the cruise we witness the most spectacular sunset I have even seen, anywhere. Truly an ah ah moment. Nothing can describe the beauty of this country at sunset.
At the end of our trip Joseph is waiting to take us back to our apartment. We ask if he could drop us off at the Hunters Pub for dinner. He actually walks us in, finds us a table and tells us if we need a ride home to call him. Our home is about a block away and we politely say no we will be okay and we can walk, barring of course there are no Hippos or warthogs out and about.
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