Due to intermittent Internet and a lack of time on our overland tour, I've got a bit of a blogging backlog, so I'm going to group several of the places we stopped into a few posts in an attempt to avoid spamming y'all. As a result, those few posts may be TLDR, but oh well. This post covers our post-Victoria Falls stops in Zimbabwe and Botswana. In Zimbabwe, we visited Hwange and Matobo national parks, then we spent one night in Botswana near the Nata salt pans. We stopped at a few other places along the way, including short visits to Bulewayo, Zimbabwe, and Francistown, Botswana, but frankly I found them pretty boring in comparison to the parks.
Our campsite outside Hwange, the Ivory Lodge, is situated right next to a watering hole where tons of elephants come to visit. As we pulled in, we saw them from a distance, and after we arrived, we could visit a small viewing hut to see them up close -- literally only a few feet away. We sat and observed them for not nearly enough time, but even during that relatively short period, several elephant groups arrived, bathed in the watering hole and showered themselves with dirt (to protect against the heat, which was pretty intense), then moved on when another group arrived. The continuous stream of elephants was really magical, but we had to leave to go on our game drive through the park itself.
On the game drive, I learned to recognize new forms of antelope: not springbok and oryx like I'd seen in Namibia, but impala, kudu, and steenbok, the smallest antelope. We also saw zebras, giraffes, warthogs, crododiles, more elephants, a hornbill, and -- most excitingly -- a pride of about 6 lions, albeit from a pretty long distance. There were apparently hippos in the watering hole we stopped at too, but I didn't realize that's what they were so I suppose it doesn't count. All told, our first game drive was pretty successful.
The next day, we moved on to the Matobo hills, where our campsite was called "Big Cave," and a few of us went on an expedition to find the eponymous cave. Although I didn't think the cave itself warranted its adjective, the view of the hills was gorgeous. The hills are dotted with bizarre rock formations caused by a combination of gradual erosion and lightning strikes; they basically look like enormous versions of the rock cairns people make to mark hiking trails.
Our full day in the Matobo park began with "rhino tracking," though we were lucky and had far more rhino than tracking. Right near the entrance to the park we saw a group of white rhinos and, slightly further away from the group, we were able to come unbelievably close to a mother and her calf. Apparently, a mother takes her baby further away from the rest of the herd to avoid any accidents while the baby is still vulnerable. Their horns were cut off in an attempt to dissuade poaching, but unfortunately it doesn't work because there's still a little stump left inside the skin (their horns are basically like fingernails). Indeed, at the end of our visit, the guide heard that one of the park rhinos had been killed that day. :(
The Matobo hills are believed to be the longest continuously populated (by humans) area in the world, as evidenced by the bushmen paintings at Nswatugi, our next stop. The current theory is that the artists would make paint by using not only plant materials but also by mixing in the urine and bile of animals. Because of the acid in those substances, if you look closely at the paintings, you can see where the figure has actually been etched into the rock. Their spiritual beliefs were such that they made a new painting every time they stayed in the cave, so the wide stripe of solid paint at the bottom of the painting is actually several drawings layered one on top of the other over thousands of years.
Our final stop of the day was at Cecil John Rhodes' grave, at the "Top of the World" location with an incredible 360-degree view of the hills. Rhodes (of Rhodesia, DeBeers, and scholarship fame) died in Cape Town, the richest man in the world at that time, but requested that he be buried at this location. Because the hill is sacred to the local tribe, the Matabeles, he had to be granted permission to be buried there. Interestingly, permission was granted because of the role Rhodes played in bringing about peace between the British and the Matabeles, deals that he largely brokered by coming by himself out into these hills to meet in person with Matabele leaders. I'd known before coming that Rhodes was/is a complicated and controversial figure, but that particular facet of his life was new to me and really interesting.
It is difficult to imagine a sharper contrast with the Matobo hills than the Nata salt pan in Botswana, where we spent the following afternoon and early evening. It is flat, flat, flat, but also beautiful in its own way. Although animals were not abundant, we did see a jackal, several ostriches, pelicans, and flamingos, as well as a hole dug by an ant bear (a form of anteater). The major draw, though, was the sunset over the reflective water.
Incidents of Note:
(1) I had a few issues with our tent. Not with its level of comfort, or with putting it up or taking it down -- to be honest, Eileen and I were pretty good at those processes by the end of the trip. No, my major issue was making a successful exit through its door. One time, I managed to get my hair caught in the zipper and, unable to untangle myself, had to ask Eileen to help me out, but she had a hard time doing so while she was doubled over laughing. I also often failed to raise my feet high enough to actually make it out; most of the time, I managed to catch myself, but once I took a tumble and, unfortunately, the loud profanity that exploded from me as I fell alerted the rest of the group to what had occurred.
(2) Eileen experienced a few bathroom issues, though (luckily) not of the kind that travel doctors warn you about. The power was out at one of our campsites (apparently a pretty common occurrence in Zimbabwe, which -- according to our local guide -- prefers to export its electricity), so we had to use our headlamps in the bathrooms. Attracted by the light, a couple moths converged on Eileen's headlamp as she was wearing it, causing her to fend off the vicious creatures (I'm sure they were African killer moths) by chucking her headlamp across the room. Another time, after preparing for bed and taking her contacts out, she was unable to find her way back to the campsite and instead circled through a different campsite multiple times, doubtless causing its residents to wonder whether she was casing the joint for a future heist. Then, she saw someone she (mistakenly) thought she recognized and followed him, causing him to nervously speed up, but this only landed her back at the bathroom. Eventually -- probably a solid twenty minutes later -- she made her way back by walking all the way out to the main road and then coming back in.
(3) Our expedition to the cave involved a bit of rock scrambling (fun!). As I was wearing my tennis shoes rather than my hiking boots, when we were coming down I often opted to slide on my posterior rather than risk trying to walk with limited traction. My strategy was generally successful, except one rock had a sharp bit in an otherwise smooth section that ripped a hole in my pants. Ordinarily I wouldn't care all that much, but I only brought two (non-jeans non-ski) pairs, and the hole was in the (::ahem::) seat. Luckily, one of the group had a needle and thread so I was able to sew it up right away.
All of which is to say that I think we really impressed the (Aussie/Kiwi/Irish/Swiss) group with our Seattleite outdoorswoman skills.
PS: GO HAWKS!
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