africa

We stayed at Rhino Lodge (photos 1&2) in Matusodona. It is a charming place with open air lodging built on stilts. We overlooked a watering hole and when we weren't out hiking we watched the animals cool off from our balcony. Jenny the owner was delightful company and meals were wonderful. The area is rich with wildlife and geological history. Matsusodona is a site to find the endangered black rhino. The rhinos eluded us but we found plenty of evidence of their presence. We spotted several lions while we were hiking. An old or sick lioness was separated from her pride. Doug said she was very dangerous because desperate animals will attack people. We gave her a really wide berth. While hiking we found a petrified forest and an area littered with early human relics. We left Matusadona by Cessna and arrived in the Mana Pools.

Our first camp site was Vundu and this is were we started our canoeing safari. A very naughty monkey raided the sugar bowl at camp. If you look closely at the photo you can see his lips are covered in sugar! Each morning we broke camp and spent the full day canoeing the Zambezi river. Because the canoes are so quiet we were able to drift very close to the wildlife. We had plenty of surprises. Sometimes elephants were startled and gave us a mock charge. The ever present hippos seem to form blockades and force us to follow an obstacle course to keep a safe distance. Occasionally they felt we were too close and gave us a charge. They were easily stopped by the wave of a hat or paddle but it is amazing how much water they displace. The river is infested with giant crocodiles and going overboard was not an option. Each night we pulled ashore to our new camp at sundown, stopping for some fishing along the way. The best most exciting day of the trip is when we had a very very close encounter with a 1 ton bull elephant. Check out the photos.