It's an almost unimaginable sight - three elephants climbing out of the Chobe River in Botswana after swimming and walking across it.
And that's why we should go to places like Africa, where such sightings are possible if not plentiful. Many of us have seen some animals in zoos and similar facilities over the years. But seeing them in person, at close range, in their native habitats, isn't just a thrill. It's a privilege.
A trip to Southern Africa offers many such opportunities. We came across all sorts of animals in a two-week stay (the photos came fast and furiously - all amazing, with the photographer receiving little credit), and learned much along the way. We also had a first-hand if slightly superficial look at the host countries. This part of the world is a bit out of the norm for many, requiring a little patience at times, but creature comforts are available to human visitors.
Entries in this blog usually center on attractions, often historical in nature. In this case, the "critters" are the stars, and they'll get the most attention here. If you get the idea that we need to protect these places with as much energy as possible, then maybe the trip will done its job.
The Road to Africa
Simply getting to this part of the world is something of an adventure. What's the shortest distance between Buffalo and Cape Town? In our case it was through Detroit ... and Amsterdam. After a trans-Atlantic, overnight flight between those two cities, we had a short layover and flew south for 12 hours to get to Cape Town. You can see on the map that we took planes and buses to travel around the region.
To get home, we were out the door in Botswana at 8 a.m. on a Wednesday, took a bus to Victoria Falls, a plane to Johannesburg, a plane to Atlanta (a mere 16 hours away), and a plane to Buffalo - arriving at our home around 3:15 p.m. on Thursday.
"How we traveled" is the easy part. "Where we went" is a little tougher. I had never even heard of Eswatini until planning for this trip. It used to be known as Swaziland, and is the second-smallest country in Africa.
But then it gets tricky to identify where we were. The area between Zimbabwe and Botswana also is very close to land that belongs to Zambia and Namibia. At two different points in the Chobe River, three countries actually touch in different combinations. (The locals call the area Kazungula, which is a tree that grows in the area.)
Here's the good part. At one point on a river cruise, we were technically between the land of Zambia and an island owned by Zambia. Therefore, we technically were in Zambian territory if we didn't set foot in it. At another spot, we probably were closer to Namibia than to Botswana.
I'm not sure if the Verizon phone company's word means much on determining whether an actual visit to a country had taken place in order to add it to our personal list of countries visited, but I received phone messages welcoming me to both countries. Is that good enough? This matter might have to go to a higher authority to determine how many countries were on the itinerary.
* Speaking of international travel, it's worth a moment to describe the process of going from Zimbabwe to Botswana. First off, all shoes must come out of suitcases and be carried by hand through customs. Botswana is worried about hoof-and-mouth disease, and this is a way to halt its spread. (Old-timers, make your own joke about Imelda Marcos and her shoe collection.)
Travelers get their passport stamped before exiting Zimbabwe. Then they must walk across the border (only a couple of minutes away), since some buses aren't allowed to operate in both Zimbabwe and Botswana. The new bus gets a tire cleaning, our shoes that we were wearing were cleaned, visitors were given a quick body temperature check, hands were sanitized, passports were stamped again, and extra shoes were dipped in some sort of cleaning fluid. After all that, we were free to enter Botswana.
Obligatory Wildlife Photo No. 1: Lion
Lions had been elusive during the first part of the trip. We had seen a couple from a distance at Kruger National Park in South Africa, but it wasn't exactly a memorable encounter.
On the last full day of vacation, we ran into a large group of them in Botswana. They were, of course, magnificent. They are known to be strong and big in that part of the world, sometimes feasting on buffalo.
They also are good swimmers, which builds up strength and endurance. The "king of the jungle" reputation apparently isn't simply good public relations.
The Elephant in the Room
Poverty is not going to be mentioned in the travel brochures about this part of the world, but it doesn't take long to figure out that times are tough here for many. All that's needed is a look from the road.
You'll notice the fences in the region soon enough during a visit. They surround anything of value. That includes almost all homes and some businesses. The crime and unemployment rates vary greatly from country to country, but quite clearly anyone who has something to lose is doing whatever is needed to protect it. The big cities of South Africa have tin shacks grouped together, complete with satellite dishes that aren't attached to anything. Yet the rural poverty might be even worse. We drove through Eswatini (with unemployment at a reported continent-high 35 percent), and it took a couple of hours of driving to find an area that looked like it had something of a middle-class population.
Upon returning, someone asked me how South Africa was doing in a port-apartheid world. Well ... sections of that country are obviously thriving. We came into Johannesburg on a major highway that was surrounded by a variety of successful businesses, to the point where we could have been driving on an Interstate in New Jersey. There are signs of obvious progress, such as the time our group of Americans had dinner together at a nice restaurant in a downtown Johannesburg hotel ... and were the only white people in the place.
But progress is slow, even if some of the barriers for economic equality came down in the early 1990s. In that sense, the comparison to the United States' status as Jim Crow laws came down isn't a bad one. But South Africa started from a much lower financial level than America did, and it's going to take a longer period of time for Ronald Reagan's rhetorical rising tide to lift all boats. South Africa joins its neighbors in having shacks host really small businesses on the side of main roads (some in Botswana are shown above) in an attempt by locals to squeeze out a living.
The desperation comes up in different ways. In South Africa, where unemployment is at 32 percent, crime is a problem. The State Department has a series of warnings posted about Americans traveling in the big cities there. To personalize the situation, I noticed that whenever someone wandered more than a couple of steps away from the front door of a hotel, a security guard asked if you needed assistance.
In Zimbabwe, the official unemployment rate is about nine percent - but it's fair to say "under-employment" is much higher. About 80 percent of the population is working informally in places like the shacks pictured a the top of this section. Crime is high in the biggest cities but not too bad elsewhere. However, vendors who work the tourist trade are incredibly aggressive in trying to generate business. (Note the wide variety of items in one stall of a market in Victoria Falls - including an unexpected Oregon t-shirt.)
A trip to Southern Africa drives home an important point about world affairs these days. If you were born on the wrong side of the economic divide, you would do almost anything - take a leaky boat from Morocco to Spain, hike the Rio Grande on foot by night - for a chance at an even slightly better life. Any reasonable discussion about immigration policy starts right there.
Obligatory Wildlife Photo No. 2: Giraffe
A story from the trip: We passed some giraffes during a safari, and someone asked if the story was true that the animal had a blue tongue ... and if so, why. There were some guesses in our jeep, but no one was too confident about the science involved (which actually has something to do with a dark tongue serving as a sunscreen because of their constant eating.)
Someone clearly needed to change the discussion. I said confidently, "I'm sorry, but you're all wrong. The reason behind the blue tongue is popsicles. Giraffes love popsicles." I had remembered the joy of kids after eating a blueberry popsicle and displaying a blue tongue. It got a big laugh.
We all love giraffes, mostly attracted by the huge neck and the unusually shape of their heads. It's fun simply to watch them walk around on legs that seem ill-equipped for the assignment. But it's even better to see them from a distance of 15 feet or so, looking down on visitors with disinterest if not disdain.
The population of giraffes in Southern Africa has grown reasonably well in recent years, as they are considered merely vulnerable. That means we have to keep track of the numbers, but at least these creatures are surviving with some help from us.
A unique tourist stop
The Matsamo Cultural Village is located by on the border between South Africa and Eswatini. It has been described as a unique look at the Swati culture, and that's fair. Visitors have the chance to see how they live - and in many ways it's a throwback to a much different time.
The issue that no doubt raises some eyebrows is polygamy, something that has been practiced within the group for many generations and is legal in South Africa. Marriage is part financial transaction, as the new wife's family receives cattle or some other gift in compensation for losing a daughter. Each wife has her own small hut to take care of her family. The husband has his own centrally located hut as a base, but rotates from hut to hut at night on a regular schedule. There's less jealousy that way.
Polygamy might have made sense in this situation many years ago. Wars with rival tribes probably reduced the male population greatly, so it could have been necessary to have the remaining men create as many people as possible to keep the group viable. It did strike us that it might not be necessary to practice polygamy now, although tradition is important to these people.
In the meantime, visitors see what daily life is like in the village. The community tends to crops and livestock, manufactures crafts for sales to the outside world, operates a restaurant of traditional food, and hosts overnight visitors. Guided tours include stops in huts and demonstrations of their cultural activities. Here's a clip of one such performance.
Yes, recordings are for sale in Matsamo's gift shop.
Obligatory Wildlife Photo No. 3: Elephants
Sometimes a moment comes along in the wild that is simply unexpected ... and shows that what we might call humanity is a quality that spreads across the animal kingdom.
A group of elephants were strolling along the waterfront of the Chobe River. The destination was to cool off a bit in the water as the sun started to set. The little guy shown here fell behind a little bit, and started to trot to get back with the pack. But his inexperience in moving quickly showed, and he took a tumble on to the sand.
Quickly, about three of the adults turned and did the elephant equivalent of running to check on the youngster. They were eventually satisfied that the tyke was fine, and helped him up. The image will stay with the members of our group for quite a while.
Other moments along the way
Visitors never know when they'll come across something that will stick in the memory book. Here are a few more of them:
* We were touring Nelson Mandela's former home in Soweto - now a museum - when one of the exhibits proved to be startling. An official proclamation of support for Mandela and his anti-apartheid efforts was posted on the wall. The catch was that it came from the State of New York. Even better, one of the co-authors of the resolution was Tony Masiello, who later became Mayor of Buffalo and is a friend now.
A few of the other representatives from Western New York were on the document as well. Such resolutions may come off as a waste of time to outsiders, but this one seems to have been appreciated.
And excuse the reflection of me on the glass as I took the photo.
* Call this story "Grand Theft French Fry."
We were having lunch outside of Victoria Falls National Park in a hotel. That can add a little drama to the trip, since the animals don't really know about property lines. (It was a similar situation to the hotel by Kruger National Park, where a couple of monkeys got into an unlocked room of one of the members of our tour group and did some good-sized trashing of the place.
The damage here was much less valuable but more personal. Four of us were enjoying the lunch and the view when suddenly I noticed a hairy hand on the side of the plate. A monkey grabbed a French Fry and then took off for another part of the patio with remarkable quickness.
I recovered quickly enough to grab a camera and take a photo of the suspect as he taunted us from a nearby railing. If it were up to me, his photo would be in every post office in Zimbabwe.
* Speaking of Victoria Falls, an interesting ritual takes place at 1 p.m. every day at the Safari Lodge. The vulture population in the area has been declining lately for a variety of reasons, and that's not good. The birds intercept diseases that otherwise might be transmitted to other types of organisms - like us - and thus perform a valuable service.
The hotel is trying to help. Every day, some leftover meat is packed up in to a box of sorts and carted down the hill from the hotel to something of an open space. At one o'clock in the afternoon, the feeding session begins - and some of the birds have been waiting for two hours for this chance. Once dinner is served, the result is close to joyful chaos. (This looks great on a full screen.)
* I had an unexpectedly nice moment during a visit to an elementary school in South Africa. Rural doesn't do the place justice. The Vulamehlo Primary School is near Pongola, serving 647 students with 17 administrators. It draws students from a radius of at least 20 kilometers, and quite a few of the youngsters have to walk. (There are a few vehicles that are available for transportation, but not many.) Gate One, our tour company, has donated money to the school for such items as toilets, and we all brought school supplies during our visit. As you could imagine, the staff comes off as heroes for their work under difficult conditions.
We received an introductory song from the kids and a state of the school from an administrator upon arrival. Then we took something of a tour of the school. Obviously, it's not every day that a bunch of old white folks drop in on this facility, and the classes - particularly the youngsters' room - were a bit distracted. Many left their desks to see what was going on.
I stuck my head into one of the doors and saw this crowd in front of me. I made a silly face of astonishment, watched the kids react, and took a photo. Ever seen a happier bunch?
Then I put out an outreached palm toward someone in the front. He paused for a moment ... and did the same. I gave him a "high five." The others quickly followed, to the point where boys were falling over each other to greet this tall stranger in this athletic tradition.
Obligatory Wildlife Photo No. 4: Cheetah
Good fortune smiled on us during a safari in Chobe National Park. We had an encounter with some cheetahs.
That's pretty rare as these things go. There aren't many in the park. Cheetahs tend not to like the waterfront because of the crowds of other animals. They'll head for some open spaces that are dry. Bumping into a few of them was a treat that even left our guide impressed. We saw them first thing in the morning, shortly after sunrise, during our safari. They were in no hurry to get anywhere.
Cheetahs are the fastest animals on earth, as they are built for speed. They can do 60 mph when necessary, which helps with hunting. And as a baseball fan, I did wonder if any of them had the nickname of Derek Cheetah. (Sorry, Yankee fans.)
Random Notes
* Getting ready for a trip requires some medical research. As in, "What do I need to do to not bring back some diseases?" In our case, we were advised to visit a local travel clinic to find out what was necessary. We met with a medical professional, and his first words after hearing our schedule was that the trip probably would be cancelled because of the Ebola virus. We pointed out that outbreak was nowhere near our destination.
After putting down small countries in general, he went on to list all of the diseases that could - not would, but could - be a problem. He seemed much more interested in selling us vaccinations than having us return home healthy.
We did some research, and decided that a dose of Hepatitis A vaccine and some malaria pills would work fine. Mosquitos and the like didn't figure to be a major problem in the dead of the South African winter. But we didn't take any chances, and even slept behind a curtain in our last two lodges. The photo shows the room in its pre-bedtime setting; it's easier to get to the bathroom that way.
* If you are wondering about the weather in that part of the world, it was the middle of winter during our visit in late July and early August. However, it might be a surprise to learn about the geography of the area. For example, let's take the city of Cape Town. Go due south, and you'll end up in Antarctica. But Cape Town is about as far from the equator as Lubbock, Texas is. In other words, a snow storm was very unlikely. Temperatures mostly were in the 60s and 70s during the afternoons in the trip, although some mornings were in the 40s.
* Currency was often on the mind of our traveling group. South Africa's money was relatively straight-forward. About 16 Rands were the equivalent to a dollar, so a price of 160 Rands for a dinner in a restaurant translated rather easily. Generally, prices were cheaper there than they are in America.
In other countries, , it's a different story. Zimbabwe went through a period of hyper-inflation almost 20 years ago that made its currency close to worthless. The old bills like this pictured note were worth about $7 each at the time, although the value seemed to change by the hour. At one point, Zimbabwe was using the American dollar as its currency, but there weren't enough dollars to go around. Now, there is an official currency from Zimbabwe ... but no one uses it. The ATMs go unused. The dollar is the best substitute, but you can probably find someone who will take Euros or pounds or almost anything else in a pinch.
* This was clearly not the place to watch television, and one of the hotels didn't even have a set in the room. Those who wanted to keep up with say, the winning ways of the Boston Red Sox had to rely on their phone. But almost half of the available stations seemed to have sports programming.
A quick channel surf turned up one sport I'd never seen before. Two teams were playing in the Commonwealth Games. It looked like sort of like basketball, but there was no backboard. The game featured a pole with a net on top. It's called Netball, dribbling isn't allowed (you must pass in three seconds), and only two designated players are allowed to score. As you can guess, you'd better be able to make swishes on your shots.
* If you want to say "thank you" in South Africa without using English, try "buy a donkey." It works. The phrase actually is spelled "baie dankie." Even tourists could remember it.
Obligatory Wildlife Photo No. 5: Vervet Monkey
Sometimes in Africa, you don't have to go very far to see wildlife. In fact, you don't even have to leave your hotel room.
When we checked in to our place in Kesane, Botswana, we only had to look out on to the porch to see vervet monkeys and banded mongooses investigating everything in sight. Their play area essentially took up the entire grounds of the hotel.
During a lunch break from sight-seeing, I took a walk around the grounds. Photos were simply begging to be taken, although this one seemed particularly good. I also have a shot of one monkey laying on the ground, while the other was cleaning him off. The species reportedly likes leaves and fruit to eat, although I didn't give one the French Fry test.
Vervets are a valuable tool for science researchers. They have been known to suffer from high blood pressure and alcohol abuse. Nice to see we aren't the only ones.
The Last Word
Sunset on the Chobe River on August 3, 2026.
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