Kruger and Southern Africa

[Jacques Vert]

Our stopover number 4 is over and we pick up our Classic Award itinerary on BA6274, operated by Comair. It's a 734 and looking a little tired as you would expect.

There are 5 of us in J and for some reason "the system" has seated us all in row 2; rows 1 & 3 are vacant

The CSM soon recognises the folly and moves us to row 1. I find the beef very tender but the dessert, although quite nice, is way too sweet, even when washed down with copious quantities of shiraz.

We arrive in JNB about 30mins early and walk across the road to the IC, O. R. Tambo.

We are given an upgrade (as an Ambassador) but are told there is no lounge here (they didn't mention this on our last visit). Also the "gift" has changed. A month ago they delivered a complimentary drink each and snacks to our room; now we find we are entitled to ONE glass of wine (+1 will have to buy her own) OR 1,000 points.

We had dinner at the restaurant at the IC. Mine was fine; +1's Caesar salad is not to her liking. She is not one to complain but when the waitress asks why she didn't finish her meal ("too much?") she says that it wasn't that nice. Our waitress calls the Maitre D who arrives at our table all apologetic and wanting to know why she didn't like it. +1 explains and the Maitre D (black) heads off to the kitchen and returns with the Chef (white) who asks for her feedback. He appears somewhat embarrassed.

Wow...how things have changed. I can't imagine that a generation ago there would have been a black Maitre D telling a white chef that he had stuffed up.:shock:

All for the better in my opinion.

 

[Jacques Vert]

WOW....I just noticed that this thread has passed 4,000 views; amazing.

It's so nice to see that you guys are actually reading this; makes it all seem worthwhile.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Next morning, it's back across the road to the airport for our next flight: BA6291, JNB-LVI.

But first, it's breakfast in the SLOW lounge:







Just love the automatic wine pouring machine; every home should have one





There are only two people in the J cabin, +1 & I; service was good

As we descend into Livingstone we get a good view of the mighty Zambezi:




and the smoke that thunders:

 

[Gem56]

During our travels in Nimibia we saw these amazing birds nests. Some are in areas where there appears to be absolutely no water and hence no other growth other than a few scattered trees. I guess there are things to eat somewhere, just can't imagine where. Apparently these nests accommodate up to 1,000 birds, each having their own little nest inside, a bit like a block of flats! When it rains torrentially, the nest becomes sodden and drops to the ground and these little birds start building a new nest all over again.

 

[Gem56]

Special Weaver bird









These nests are predominantly found in the Camelthorn trees - pretty safe there I reckon! And we thought the bougainvilleas were nasty, they have nothing on the Camelthorn trees.

 

[Jacques Vert]

There's a banking hall at LVI airport just off the main foyer with a couple of ATMs and some local bank branches. The first ATM I try doesn't like my CitiPlus card but the second (Finance Bank from memory) allows me to make a withdrawal for no fee. Got to love this card.

To get to our hotel we decide to just take a taxi; we normally look at the various options (shuttle, taxi, metro where they exist, etc.) but after > 4 weeks of travelling we are a little tired and it's very hot; even the locals are saying that it is hot today. We are quoted $US25 to take us to the hotel. Seems a little expensive to us but Steve our driver is very informative, and the vehicle is new and clean. When we arrive at the hotel I ask one of the check-in guys what it will cost us for a taxi to the airport when we leave and he says the standard price is $US20 so I guess we have paid a surcharge for the convenience.

 

[jxv]

I hope you are planning a helicopter ride over the falls. We found that they are very impressive from the ground, but unlike Niagara or Iguasu, you can't really get an overview of the whole spectacle. We flew with United Air Charter in 2009. It seemed to be a well organised crowd with reasonable prices. www.uaczam.com

 

[Jacques Vert]

I hope you are planning a helicopter ride over the falls. We found that they are very impressive from the ground, but unlike Niagara or Iguasu, you can't really get an overview of the whole spectacle. We flew with United Air Charter in 2009. It seemed to be a well organised crowd with reasonable prices. www.uaczam.com

Indeed we are.

 

[LadyC]

Did you see the crazy ant hills in Namibia also? Some we saw were 6 feet tall!

 

[Jacques Vert]

Did you see the crazy ant hills in Namibia also? Some we saw were 6 feet tall!

We did see some termite mounds in Namibia but I'm not sure we saw any that were 6 feet tall.

OTOH I was doing most of the driving while +1 takes the photos. It's possible that she saw them but I missed them.

 

[Jacques Vert]

When putting this trip together more than a year ago I looked at staying at the Victoria Falls Hotel on the Zim side but that was way above our budget level. Thanks to all the wonderful TR's on here we were then pointed towards the Royal Livingstone and the Avani (formerly the Livingstone Sun). The Royal was also out of our price range so I booked the Avani. As a Rydges Black member I think I have status here and may receive a local experience so I sent the hotel an email to check. NO, I do get early/late check-in & out and maybe an upgraded room but I am advised that only Discovery Black members get the full benefits.

I then discovered that I have done my calculations on the wrong exchange rate and the fare at the Avani is not as reasonable as I originally thought. So we rebooked at the Protea for 2 nights and will then move to the Avani for the following 2 nights. As we got the Protea on Points + Pay we are only paying $A69 per night, so that will balance out the higher cost at the Avani.

Our room at the Protea is quite reasonable:








That evening we head off for a sunset cruise on the Zambezi:




And we are greeted by the band...

 

[Jacques Vert]

We head off...





As do various other vessels of different styles...

 

[Jacques Vert]

We see Hippos,






Crocs,




and birds,





but the weather is closing in; there will be no sunset tonight:

 

[love_the_life]

We stayed at the Avani (when it was the Sun). It was pleasant enough and the food was OK. A few nights there would be enough I would think. The best thing was the direct walk to the falls. Oh, and the zebra and elephants in the grounds. They were pretty neat, but then again we went to the falls before the safari lodges so there were lots more animals to come.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Unlike many of the boats, ours has a band and an Indian tour group.

So when the rain sets in and the band starts up on the way back to the jetty, the front of the boat resembles a dance scene out of a Bollywood movie; great entertainment. At one stage one of the Indian guys joined the band and played one of the big drums and he was pretty good as well. So the band leader decided to join in the dancing.

All good fun and we captured some of it on video but unfortunately I haven't, as yet, figured out how to attach a video.

 

[LadyC]

Whoops, I meant termite mounds. We saw some up near Etosha that were very tall.

Unfortunately we didn't make it to Victoria Falls - definitely on the list though. It seems like you have given yourselves a lot of time for quality touring.

 

[Jacques Vert]

When we arrived back at the Protea the heavens opened and there was a short uncovered walk between the Bar/restaurant and our room, so we decided to go to bed early; plus we were off to Chobe early next morning.

First it's a 50 minute drive west to Kazungula; this is the point where Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia all meet. There are three ferries here to transport vehicles and passengers across the Zambezi to Botswana.




Each ferry can only take one truck/B-double at a time and so there is a long line of trucks waiting to cross.







Add to this the need to be weighed, complete customs and immigration paperwork, etc., and our driver tells us that in busy times it can take up to a week for a heavy vehicle to cross over to the other side.

How inefficient; the lack of, or poor, infrastructure is one of the factors holding back these third world economies. Fortunately there is a new bridge under construction which will allow the process to improve, provided the two governments are also able to streamline and simplify the required paperwork.




To bypass this bottleneck and speed up the process, our little tour group is transported across the river in an overgrown tinnie. Having spent the last 20+ years of my working life in boating safety regulation, I am dismayed to see that there is not one lifejacket, or any other piece of safety equipment, anywhere on board. This transfer system would not be allowed anywhere in Australia or NZ.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Of course, before getting in the tinnie, we have to pass through immigration and have our passports stamped that we are leaving Zambia; once we arrive on the other side we have to pass through the Botswana immigration post and be granted permission to enter Botswana. I guess it all keeps someone in a job

Then it's a short drive to where we have morning tea before boarding our ship for a cruise on the Chobe River...




We don't go very far before we have to stop to pay the National Park entry fees:





One of the two guides on board who are very knowledgeable and do an excellent job spotting wildlife.

 

[Jacques Vert]

We see some Water Monitor Lizards:




A big nasty lizard:




Impala:




An African Fish Eagle:




and Water Buffalo:

 

[Jacques Vert]

And lots of Hippos:




including this family group:




And lots of birds.




and we pass by the Chobe Water Villas