Day 58: Mvuu Lodge Campsite: Excursion to the Lower Zambezi National Park

The alarm goes off at a quarter to six (phew!), and we're ready to go shortly after six (super fast!). It's 17 kilometers to the gate, and we have to cross the Chongwe River. It's barely watery, and the ford, perhaps 10 meters wide, is only about 20 cm deep – all good. Nevertheless, it takes 45 minutes, and we arrive at the gate at 7:00.

And since we have to work off 75 US dollars (2 x 30 entrance fees plus 15 for Becky), we drive back and forth for eight hours. We only see a small part of the park – you can probably only experience more by staying in the park.

Some people do that for up to 1,000 US dollars per person, and we also read that most tourists fly in. Not the worst option considering the arduous journey there and back :-)

The park is very scenic, with lots of great trees, eroded areas, grasslands, bushland, riverside meadows, and the mountains in the distance. On both the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides.

We see many, very shy antelopes (impala, kudu, waterbuck), a few buffalo, a few crocodiles, and many equally shy birds.

We encounter plenty of elephants, and it's always great to have the leisure to simply watch them for a while. Whether drinking or bathing, or crossing water in a tributary. We watch an elephant working on a branch: lying crosswise on its tusks, pressing down hard with its trunk, and cracking the wood. This way, a large branch is broken down into several individual pieces, from which the tastiest leaves are picked and the rest left.

What we don't see are cats, and what we don't see are red bee eaters.

After leaving the park, we make a detour to the Royal Water Hole. The whole thing turns out to be a good hour of driving and searching for trails because the circular route we were shown doesn't exist.

And just as we're getting a bit annoyed that we have to drive a long way back, we encounter a pack of wild dogs. Over twenty animals run toward our car, smell us, and disappear back into the bushes. Wow! These animals are much more exciting to observe than we thought.

And finally, a few bush pigs show up – they stink like hell.

All in all, a great day! It's rounded off with a delicious dinner at the lodge. Chocolate mousse for dessert! A jug of bottled water! Simply something a bit more sophisticated than our camping kitchen :-)