Africa

Once we were picked up at the hotel, we made the short drive to the Nairobi Wilson Airport. This is a tiny, regional airport for small charter flights. You have a couple choices when getting to and from the different animal reserves. Our first stay was at Governors’ Camp, which is about 170 miles west of Nairobi. We didn’t want to spend hours and hours in a vehicle driving out to this camp, so we chose to take a charter flight. These are very small planes, the ones we flew on only seated 12 passengers. This is a much different experience if you’ve never flown on a small plane before. It is very loud with a bumpy take off and landing. On this flight we went through a patch of clouds that resulted in a complete whiteout for 3-4 minutes. It was a bit freaky. It was at that moment that I really thought about how much pilots rely on technology and radar. I was glad when we came out of it and I could see everything around us.

On these short hopper flights, you may make a couple stops before you get to your destination. On our way out, we flew for about 30 minutes, dropped off and picked up a few passengers and then flew for another 20 minutes. It’s pretty crazy to land on a dirt strip out in the middle of a wide open savannah. The jeep was waiting there for us when we arrived. They grabbed our bags and we were on our way. Speaking of bags, most charter flights will only transport soft luggage, no hard case rolling bags. They usually have a weight restriction too, so make sure you keep that in mind. We had big roller bags that we left back at our hotel in Nairobi. In a small, soft duffel bag we brought only what we’d need for our stay in the Masai Mara at Governors’ Camp.

It was just a short ten minute drive to camp from the landing strip. It’s important to let you know what it’s like to drive around in those jeeps. The roads in this area are rough. They’d had a lot of rain recently, so the roads were very pitted. We sort of expected this but there were times bouncing around that were downright painful. I say this as someone who has had back problems for the past twenty years. There were times that I couldn’t wait to get out of the jeep. Just want you to know that the roads aren’t smooth and you shouldn’t expect a super comfortable ride. It was bothersome at times but not enough to put a damper on the entire experience.

Our location, Governors’ Camp is historic, being the very first permanent luxury tented camp in Africa that dates back to 1972. It was very nice and very laid back. There are all sorts of places you can choose from. I’d say this was on the mid-high range from the places we looked at. You can stay in regular lodging, rooms, etc., solo, no kidding tents or a hybrid. We stayed in what I would call “Glamping”. Our suite was a large canvas tent but it had a hard floor and a fully functional bathroom. It was a nice combo of outdoorsy but comfortable. The camp isn’t overcrowded, there are just 24 “tents” on site. There is also a large bar, dining and spa “tent”. The Mara River encircles the camp which ensures lots of wildlife close by. 

Things run pretty much like clockwork when you’re on safari at a basecamp. Typically, you get up early in the morning, grab a quick cup of coffee and a pastry and head out on your first drive of the day. You stay out for 2-3 hours then come back for a hearty breakfast. You’ll then have a couple hours of free time, which you can spend in your tent, at the spa or gym or you can ask for a bush walk if you like. We learned that those hours to recharge were pretty precious. Getting up at 5am, riding in a bumpy jeep for 3-6 hours during the day and possibly not sleeping well at night really wore us out. I say not sleeping well at night because its like being on another planet. The noises from the animals was super cool but also a little scary. We could hear the hippos from our tent with absolute clarity. I barely slept the first night because it literally sounded like a hippo was right outside our tent. The second night I slept great thanks to my earplugs and being totally exhausted.

After a couple hours you’ll want to refuel again with a good lunch and then you head back out at around 3pm for another animal drive. We’d stay out on these until it got dark, usually 3-4 hours. This somewhat grueling schedule is the precise reason our travel consultant recommended we safari for 2-3 nights at a time. It really depends on what you’re up for. For those who choose a driving safari, you could spend an entire day driving from one camp or park to another. There are some people who go on “Safari” for a week or more and they spend most of the time driving. The breakdown we did worked out perfectly for us. After three days on the savannah, we headed on to a different country where we weren’t on safari. After your second drive of the day you come back to camp for a yummy dinner and an early bedtime before you do it all again. Also keep in mind that you don’t have to do both drives, it’s totally up to you but if you want to see the maximum amount of animals you’ll want to go at the different times of day.

My husband was slightly worried about us not seeing a lot of animals. His concern was valid, as there is no guarantee that you will see anything on safari. This isn’t a zoo, the animals aren’t fenced in and controlled. His fears were immediately put to rest within five minutes of us going out on our first afternoon after we arrived. Our guide immediately spotted elephants as we drove away from camp. Before we even got to the elephants we discovered a large troop of baboons. They were so fun to watch. The babies were so adorable and moved around in a cautious and uncoordinated way. The juveniles were very entertaining. They love to play and are very rowdy. The large adult males are a little scary. There’s something about their eyes and the giant, razor-sharp canines that have always made me uneasy. We watched them and they watched us but there was never even the tiniest act of aggression. The animals in reserves have grown accustomed to large vehicles driving and stopping nearby. We learned that most mammals see fewer colors than humans/primates do. So when driving around on safari, you are told to stay seated at all times. This helps people blend in with the jeep they’re riding in. You definitely don’t want to stand out as prey when there are possible predators nearby.

We continued on the narrow trail which led us to a mama elephant and her baby. The guides get to know the animals that tend to stay near the camp. This little baby was just a month old. I can’t explain how exciting it was to see a herd of 20+ elephants for the first time. It was just incredible. You get used to seeing a handful of animals when you visit a zoo. Seeing them in the wild is just so special. Watching this pair eating, drinking and cooling themselves in a pond was so much fun. An older calf joined them when they got to the pond. The giant bulls are very solitary. They only join the herd to mate and when there are signs of danger. They become protectors of all when predatory animals threaten the herd. This was just the first encounter of several with the lovely elephants.

There’s no way I can name all the different hoofed animals that we saw, there are more than 70 species of antelope in Africa. They’re so graceful and fast. The heights that they can jump is mind blowing. The impala are the most common and we saw herds of 100+ of these small animals. Just a few of the species we saw were impalas, gazelles, waterbucks, cape buffalo, topis and eland.

After the elephants and baboons, we continued our drive away from the camp and finally came upon a massive pod of hippos in a river. It was so loud and almost musical in a way. The hippos weren’t vocally boisterous in this instance, it was all the tail swishing. It was almost comical watching and listening to them. It was such an impressive sight. I never imagined we would get to see this many hippos together in one spot. I just loved it.

Our last stop of the evening was tracking down a pair of mating lions. We heard them long before we saw them. It was a little creepy hearing all these growls and roars but not seeing the animals they belonged to. We finally came around the bend of the river and there were two beautiful adult lions. They were just stunning to look at. After watching them for just a couple minutes it was easy to compare them to housecats. They were just sprawled out, occasionally rolling around into a different position. It was funny. We also saw how dramatic they are. We learned that lions will leave their prides when it is time to mate. They will find a private place and mate all day and all night for however many days it takes for the female to become pregnant. Her urine will give off a certain scent when she becomes pregnant and at that point they will return to their pride. I’m calling this the honeymoon. I’m not kidding when I say they mate over and over again. We were there for about an hour and we saw them do it five times. I’ve got to hand it to that lion, he had some impressive stamina to go that many times. 

 There was a definite pattern to this baby making scenario. The lioness would get up, walk a few steps and lay down. A moment later, the male would get up and come over to her. If she didn’t move again, he’d sniff around a bit them come up behind her. He’d get straight to business and then right before he climbed off of her, he would bite at the back of her head and they’d both growl at each other. That was it. The whole exchange lasted about twenty seconds. The best part of the whole thing was how dramatically they would both flop to the ground afterwards. It was hilarious.

Our guide, Isaac, gave us a whole breakdown on lion mating. It was both interesting and disturbing. We found out why the lioness growls and acts slightly pissed off at the male. Turns out lions have barbs on their penis. I’m not going to post a picture here, it’s pretty gross and explicit. I encourage you to Google it though. I’d be pretty angry if I had that sort of thing thrust inside me too. It helps soften the uterus for implantation but it looks a bit like some sort of torture device to me. All in all, it was a miraculous thing to see in person. As it started to get dark we made our way back to camp, bouncing in our seats the entire way.

The meals at Governor’s Camp were delicious and plentiful. We typically had our choice from three different entrees at lunch and dinner, and it also included and appetizer or salad and a dessert. I really enjoyed the local specialties. They were hearty and quite tasty. I love trying new cuisines and experiencing how the locals eat. We’d eat breakfast and lunch out on the lawn under the trees, then we’d move under the tent for dinner. Here is their local goat curry, a fresh salad from veggies grown in their garden and then a plate of local favorites from our Masai Mara evening. The tray of coffee and biscuits was delivered to our tent early in the morning before our animal drive. You can see what the menu looked like in the evening for dinner, and how the open tent was laid out.

After a good nights sleep we were back on the road again the following morning. We had a mission, we were determined to find a cheetah. The cheetah is a solitary animal, and one of the hardest to find in the Masai. When spotted, it is often very far from camp. We did the most driving that day, staying out nearly four hours before returning for breakfast. We started the morning off by coming across an amazing herd of zebra. It was massive. Fun fact, a large group of zebra is called a dazzle. Isn’t that just adorable? This comes from the optical illusion created by their collective movement. When a group of zebras run together, their flashing black and white stripes blend into a confusing blur. This effect, known as motion dazzle, makes it incredibly difficult for predators to pick out a single target to hunt. Isn’t that just so fascinating? The zebra were so beautiful and their stripes so distinct. The babies and females have more brown stripes than black. Every zebra has unique stripes, no two are alike. It was quite mesmerizing watching this dazzle.

After enjoying the zebra, we drove just a bit further and came across a lioness and her two cubs. They were so much fun to watch. The cubs were so playful and blissfully unaware they were being watched. They just wanted to wrestle and jump. The mama tolerated their play and kept a very watchful eye over them. Daddy was off aways but he slowly followed them when they moved from place to place. I am so grateful that we got to see so many different groups and ages of lions. It was so interesting to watch their different interactions and standings amongst their prides.

After the lions we continued south, resuming our search for the cheetah. About an hour later, we finally found him. He was so delicate and lovely. The black tear like streaks down his cheeks serve a very functional purpose. They reflect light, allowing him to look directly into the sun. I never realized how small the cheetah is when compared to the other great cats of Africa. They’re definitely made for speed. It would have been spectacular to see him chase some prey, but alas, he was stalking and casing a herd of gazelle when we were watching him. He kept changing his position, staying down wind from the herd, carefully plotting the hunt. You could spend all day watching a cheetah, and it might take the entire time for them to make a single strike for their next meal. We came upon a second cheetah that was enjoying its kill tucked inside some shrubbery. Every once in a while you would see a flash of red, but they were keeping it hidden as to not draw the attention of bigger predators who might steal the meal away from it. 

After a very successful morning, we returned to camp for breakfast and a nice break. Funny thing happened on our way back to our tent. We came around a bend, and there in the middle of the path was a giant warthog. He didn’t have a care in the world. He was just chowing down on the grass. We slowly backed away and went the long route. Although the many warthogs around camp were quite friendly, you don’t want to come between a wild animal and their food. One morning as we were leaving breakfast, we saw the adorable way that the warthogs nap together. This was literally right next to our breakfast tables. It’s also so interesting how they go down on their front knees when they graze.

Later that afternoon we went out for our final drive. Surprisingly, it can be quite difficult to find giraffes. They are masters at blending in with the trees. Finally found this big guy near a small clump of trees. He was hanging out with a couple of elephants and several birds. We saw a herd of different giraffes earlier in the day but couldn’t get close to them as they were down in the wetlands. We also saw tons of unique and colorful birds on our drives. The craziest looking one was the Southern Ground Hornbill. It looked like something straight out of Jurassic Park. 

There were so many beautiful vistas to take in as we drove across the savannah. It was especially beautiful when they sun started to go down. This area of Africa is flat and wide open. You can see for miles in any direction. The skies liked to put on an amazing show for us as it ushered in the evening. Speaking of the nighttime, it’s important to note that as soon as the sun went down, we had to be escorted by a tracker within the camp. Many predators sleep during the day and become active at night. There were no fences around the camp, so animals constantly walked through it. We saw this one evening while eating dinner. A massive hippo walked right in front of the dining tent.

Our time in the Masai Mara was truly magical. We arrived hoping we’d be able to see many animals and we were handsomely rewarded. We saw much more than we had ever hoped for. Our guide Isaac was incredible. He was so knowledgeable and patient with us and all our questions and requests. He was a true professional and we were so lucky to have him on all our explorations. On our last morning, as if on cue, a group of Vervet Monkeys finally made themselves visible. They hide in the trees and like to sneak into the camp kitchen and steal food. You can hear them jumping and swinging in the trees but they’re really hard to spot. I like to think that they came to wish us farewell!

Zimbabwe

Our charter flight back to Wilson Airport was a straight shot and took 45 minutes. We went back to the Crowne Plaza for another night. Depending on where you go next, you might have to do this if there aren’t a lot of flights. This gave us a chance to relax, watch some tennis and get our luggage repacked and situated. We had an early flight the next morning to Zimbabwe. This was a regular flight and took about 3 hours. Upon arriving in Zimbabwe, we had to immediately show our Yellow Fever Vaccine Certificate. This is mandatory for entry into some countries in Africa. Your travel consultant will also tell you to get Malaria medication before you travel too. These were additional expenses that we didn’t initially think about. The malaria pills aren’t very expensive but the Yellow Fever Vaccine can cost you $200-300, and you need to get it ahead of your travels. I had the misfortune of slightly tweaking my back that morning as I lifted my suitcase off the belt. Thankfully the pain subsided in a couple days but it was a good reminder to bend your knees and engage your core anytime you life something heavy. It’s so much fun getting older!

We absolutely loved our stay at 528 Victoria Falls. It is the most adorable boutique hotel. They upgraded us to the new bungalow and it was perfection. The made to order breakfast in the morning was just what we needed. This portion of the trip was all about Victoria Falls. I think it was a great idea to break up our animal reserve visits with something different in between. We didn’t have any early morning activities, so our four days in Zimbabwe were very relaxing.

Later that afternoon we went on our first outing, a helicopter tour of Victoria Falls. Twelve minutes in a helicopter might not sound like very long, but it was the perfect amount to see the falls. Learning that Victoria Falls has the largest sheet of falling water in the world was pretty exciting. I’ve seen a lot of waterfalls over the years but this one put the others to shame. It was just so massive and the amount of water flowing was just incredible. Seeing it from above gives you a much better idea of how its sourced and what the spread looks like. We really enjoyed the ride and would recommend it if you’re able.

Later that evening after relaxing a bit, we went on a river cruise. Another shuttle van picked us up and we headed to the docks on the Zambezi River. The Zambezi flows through six countries before emptying into the Indian Ocean. We really enjoyed meeting and getting to know a lovely couple from Madrid. They served a bunch of nice snacks and beverages aboard the boat. It was pretty hot for the first hour or so. It felt much better as the sun started to set. We even crossed over into Zambia at one point. Our captain would occasionally spot animals on the shoreline. You should have seen how excited people got. After our experience in Kenya, it just made us smile. People had no idea the possibilities. While our focus in Zimbabwe was Victoria Falls, there are lots of animals there. Our shuttle driver pointed out all the fences in the residential areas that have been knocked down by elephants trying to get to their fruit trees.

The following day after enjoying breakfast, we were picked up and transported to Victoria Falls National Park. Upon arrival, our tour guide got our tickets and full length ponchos for each of us. It seemed like the massive ponchos were a little unnecessary at first but you’ll definitely need them as you get further into the park. The trail is paved and easily walkable, no big climbs or anything like that. It’s around two miles and you can take as long as you want. It’s really cool to see the falls from this vantage point after seeing it from above in the helicopter. The route we took slowly eased us into the storm. You will be, no kidding, soaking wet from head to toe by the end. This waterfall generates so much mist that at some points you feel like you’re caught in a torrential downpour. We loved it. I highly recommend you wear sandals that are meant to get wet, don’t wear sneakers. Wearing a wide brimmed hat also helped keep the water from running down my neck.

On our last night in Zimbabwe, we had the pleasure of attending a Boma Dinner at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. This is a traditional night of food, music and dancing. The buffet was enormous, with so many choices of food. There were some unusual options that I made sure to try. I especially liked the crocodile curry, antelope steak and butter bread cake with custard sauce. We learned that the drumming and the dancing is something that a lot of families do when they get together. They handed out drums to everyone in attendance and led us through a bunch of songs while they danced. I was tired just watching how much energy they put into their performance. Vic really got into the drumming and we ended the night with everyone on the dance floor. 

The following morning we slept in and had a leisurely breakfast before the shuttle picked us up for the short drive to the airport. It wasn’t a long visit but we really enjoyed our stay. It was a nice break from the grind of being on safari and it let us rest up before we headed back out into the wild in South Africa. It was just a two hour flight to Kruger Mpumalanga Airport. Our driver picked us up and we started the long four hour drive to Simbavati River Lodge. I’ll be honest, a four hour drive is like a form of slow torture to me. I’m not a person who loves long drives. It was unavoidable since there are so few places that flights from Victoria Falls that go to  South Africa. Thankfully, when we left the reserve we only had to drive 30 minutes to a small airport that took us to Johannesburg.

SOUTH AFRICA

Simbavati sits on the banks of the Nhlaralumi River in the heart of the world famous Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. Timbavati is adjacent to Kruger National Park. We arrived around 8 pm, and based on the amount of security, you’d have thought we were entering a Top Secret military installation. This reserve is highly protected and there is a strict 50 km speed limit inside it to protect the animals from being injured or killed. Our driver got lost somewhere along the way and we had to ask someone for directions. It’s not that surprising since there are tons of tiny roads and barely and signage. Needless to say, I was so ready to get out of the vehicle by then.  

Simbavati was even more luxurious than Governors’. Our “tent” was really nice. We had our own private plunge pool with an outdoor shower. Here you can see that the wildlife enjoyed coming by to say hi. This elephant came right up to our deck for his afternoon snack. Everything was just lovely and all the people there really went out of their way to be so friendly and helpful. The meals were on par with a fine dining restaurant and we had our own butler, Bishop, who was with us at every meal. He was such a wonderful man. He was so kind and we even got to see him show off some great dance moves on his birthday. They all really went above and beyond to make our stay so special. We had our first dinner, got settled into our tent and called it a night. We had an animal drive at 6am the next morning. We quickly discovered that we had a whole new set of nightly noises. It wasn’t hippos, this time it was lions. It was pretty scary at first. They sounded so close. You could hear their growls and strange moaning sounds across the entire camp.

At Simbavati they had a small coffee and pastry bar set up in the morning if you wanted to grab something before the drive. Same as Governors’, you had to be escorted by a tracker whenever it was dark out. We met our guide Happy and our tracker Humphrey that morning. We quickly discovered that finding animals on Timbavati is much more challenging than it was in Kenya. This animal preserve is considered a bushveld ecosystem and was much different than the open plains in Kenya. Here there was dense bush and a lot of trees. The tracker sat in a seat mounted to the very front of the jeep. He literally looked for animal tracks to help us find wildlife. They were both really amazing. Happy, who was always smiling, was so knowledgeable and friendly. He taught us so much. Timbavati is known as a Big Five (lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffalo) reserve. We got to see everything, including the very elusive leopard. 

I was overjoyed that first morning when Humphrey spotted some rhinoceros tracks that led us to a small crash of rhino. This term originated from the thunderous noise and immense momentum these massive animals create when moving or charging through dense brush. We didn’t see any rhino in Kenya as the population was decimated across eastern Africa in the 70s & 80s due to poachers. It made my heart so happy to see these huge creatures roaming about right in front of us. Happy told us that the small one was three years old, still a toddler.

After this glorious sighting, we headed back to camp for some breakfast. Vic was over the moon when he discovered that they offered Eggs Benedict on their breakfast menu. This is his absolute favorite breakfast and he’d not had it all so far on this trip. It was absolutely delicious. Even more incredible, we got a full show during breakfast that first morning. The restaurant sat right at rivers edge, not surprisingly, a favorite place for animals. A giant herd of elephants came over the rise and formed there. They drank to their hearts content and then in unison, crossed the river. It was so cool to watch. They just kept coming and coming. There must have been around 30 animals by the time they crossed the river. 

Our afternoon drive was all about the cats. We came upon a pride with lots of juvenile lions. It was really interesting to see this big group after seeing the couple and small family of lions in Kenya. We learned that at around 2 to 4 years old, male adolescents are chased away from the pride by dominant males. They enter a nomadic phase, often forming coalitions with brothers to survive. Females generally stay with their birth pride for life. By 4 years old, lions are considered fully mature adults. Males will aggressively compete to take over prides, while females begin having cubs of their own. This pride was mostly relaxing until they caught a whiff of a hyena that was lurking about. They instantly became alert and the females formed a pack that chased him away. It was also strange to see one lion climbing the tree, he seemed a little lost.

This photo of a lioness is my favorite photo from the entire trip. She looked at me with such curiosity. I wonder if she was trying to figure out what I was or what I might taste like. Either way, I found her to be so captivatingly beautiful.

You can probably imagine my excitement when Happy announced that there had been a spotting of a leopard far south of the camp. We had just one last drive before we were set to leave Africa. My hopes soared. This was the last animal on my list that I’d hoped to be able to see. Much like the cheetah, leopards are solitary creatures that spend most of their lives in seclusion or on the hunt. They’re just so beautiful with such captivating eyes and markings. My hopes came true that afternoon and we found a gorgeous leopard. We got to watch him patiently stalking his prey, waiting for the opportune time to strike. 

We were totally surprised in the most wonderful way when our drive was almost over, another leopard was spotted in a very surprising place. When you look at the photo below you may not notice anything other than an old dam, but look a little closer. The trackers are amazing at spotting animals in the most unlikely places. This majestic creature sat atop, looking down on us like his royal followers. Seeing two leopards in one day was more than I could have hoped for.

We We were lucky enough to see a bunch of unique and interesting birds in Timbavati. My favorite was the Lilac-Breasted Roller. They have eight different colors on them and were so fun to watch. I also really liked the Southern-yellow-billed-hornbill, also lovingly known as the Flying Banana due to its massive yellow beak. The Grey-Go-Away is aptly named as its call sounds just like it’s saying “Go Away”.