Southern Africa Safari

August-September, 2015

Phinda Game Reserve Victoria Falls

Kwando Lagoon Chitabe Lediba Duba Plains

Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe

As amazing as our 2013 Tanzania safari was, there were several species of animal that we didn't get to see, two in particular. Both of these animals are endangered, so to see them was a priority for us in this second safari. Rhinoceros and wild dogs are basically polar opposites. Rhinos are very large, mostly solitary animals, where wild dogs are small, highly social pack animals. We were very fortunate to see both, and in large numbers.

We also wanted to see the famous Victoria Falls, located on the Zambia/Zimbabwe border. It’s a major feature of the mighty Zambezi River, and even in the dry season when we would be seeing it, has a significant water flow over the precipice. At the height of the wet season, the flow is so great that the spray reaches several hundred feet into the air, and is so thick that it’s difficult to actually see the falls itself.

The third thing we wanted to experience was the amazing Okavango Delta in northern Botswana. It’s a unique ecosystem that creates a massive wetland area in the north of the Kalahari Desert. A product of the Okavango River that flows south from Angola, it forms each year when the river floods from the seasonal rains hundreds of miles inside of Angola. It’s an expensive location to visit because of Botswana’s policy of low volume, high priced tourism. But it offers some of the best game viewing in Africa, and a landscape that’s unmatched anywhere else.