This leg of the trip was all about water.

From Namibia I flew to the Victoria Falls region.

The falls lie on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.

I started in the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and then stayed in Livingstone on the Zambia side.

Then a hop into Botswana to Chobe National Park.

That little skinny arm on the left is actually Namibia.

The name ‘Victoria Falls’ was given by Dr. Livingstone, the first European to see the falls in 1855.

Mosi-oa-Tunya, or “The Smoke That Thunders”, is the traditional name.

The spray does look like smoke rising into the air, and the water definitely thunders!

But the smoke and thunder are definitely less right now at the end of the dry season.

There may be less water but also less spray which can obscure seeing the falls at all.

Victoria Falls usually has the longest continuous sheet of water of 107 m.

This is a picture of high water.

But now, at the end of the dry season, there are definite gaps outside the main falls.

In comparison, Iguazu Falls is the largest series of 275 drops with the highest being 82 m.

The Zambezi River on the Zambia side before it falls.

Knife Edge Bridge

The bridge separating Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The Main Street in Victoria Falls.

The only wild animals I saw in town were baboons. Waaayyy too many for my liking.

And at souvenir shops. I love the beaded animals.

It varies by country, but I know in Namibia they didn’t allow petting. Their rationale was that cheetahs were cats, and can ‘swat’. And they don’t have retractable claws.

Places I stayed had nice sitting areas.

The ‘Big Tree’ was an African Baobob that is recognized one of the oldest and largest in the world. It continually grows new intertwined stems, but the oldest are 1200 years old (carbon-dated in 2021)

A Catholic Church in Livingstone.

River cruise launch.

Afternoon storm brewing. The rainy season is starting here.

Pizza at my lodge.

Then on to Botswana. Just as going from Zimbabwe to Zambia, I needed to go through Border Control Immigration. The drivers I hired were excellent, guiding me through the various buildings and handing me off to another driver across the border.

I only needed a special Kaza visa that covered Zimbabwe and Zambia. US$75 cash at the airport.

It seems very green and humid. And lots of different bugs. I killed a raisin (didn’t have my glasses on) .

It’s a major truck route with big stations and small shops.

The Zambezi River is the border.

The Botswana water I was looking for was the Chobe River in Chobe National Park.

The boat took us around a flat island that is popular with animals.

The afternoon rain was heavy but only lasted about 30 minutes. They provided good raincoats!

The advantage of the rain was it cooled off the air so the hippos were happy to come out of the water.

Lots of crocodiles, so we were careful not to fall out of the boat!

Cape buffalo attack first and then ask questions.

A herd of elephants came down to drink and frolic in the water.

A mom and nursing baby that the guide estimated was only a week old.

Yellow billed stork

Everyone heading back to the shore before dusk.

One night dinner in the lounge was traditional Botswana food.

Top left – seswaa – pounded slow cooked beef

Top right – madombi – steamed dumpling

Below beef – samp (crushed dried corn cooked until creamy) with beans

Beef stew, salad, chakalaka vegetables

A walk into the mall that is beside a big truck stop.

It’s been a whirlwind of different currencies, charging adapters and surprises if my global eSIM worked (only Botswana).

The big Type M on the right for South Africa, Namibia and Zambia. In my whole drawer of adapters, I didn’t have one. Type G on the left is common (UK, Botswana)

Fortunately everyone speaks English! With dozens of different languages in each country, they use English as their universal language.

They also all have a smile and way of making me feel very welcome. Lovely, lovely people.

But now it’s time for Tanzania!