As we approached the end of our trip, misfortune found a way to catch up with us, leaving us without our luggage when we arrived at Livingstone. Luckily, we had our most valuable and vital possessions on us, including a 20 lbs wooden hippo. The modern airport terminal and colorful welcome at Zambezi Sun reminded us that we were back in tourist country. Although the hotel was packed with conference attendees, we were pleased with the easy access to nearby Victoria Falls. After enjoying high tea at the fancier sister hotel next door, we took the photographic trail for our first view of the falls, known to locals as Mosi-oa-Tunya or “the smoke that thunders.” We returned later that evening to see the lunar rainbow that is created by the light of a full moon – a phenomenon rarely seen elsewhere on the planet. On Tuesday, we were relieved to find our luggage back in our possession – kudos to Proflight who handled the whole debacle with grace and efficiency. We returned to Victoria Falls the next day to explore the other hiking trails, then blew the remainder of our cash on a variety of souvenirs. We left ourselves just enough kwachas for a cab into town for goat and beef stews and peri peri croc bites at Cafe Zambezi. By the time we returned to the hotel, the evening entertainment was kicking as we sat by the pool with zebras grazing next to us – an interesting last night in Africa. Our return flight included a layover in Jo’burg, where we watched episodes of Nikita over chips and malva pudding. Back in San Francisco, we were relieved that our car did not get towed, and celebrated with dim sum on the way home. For me, our 3 week adventure in Africa was a much-needed break to celebrate graduation from fellowship, passing my boards, and most importantly, being back with my wife again. And while we were sad to say goodbye to Africa, it was a great feeling not having to say goodbye to each other.

One of the attractions of Zambia is the relative absence of other tourists here. Unfortunately, that also translates to a dearth of direct flights, requiring an overnight layover in the capital city of Lusaka. We had little time to explore the city, and were content with staying in for dinner at the hotel. Upon arriving at Jeki, we immediately noticed the change in the terrain, with its tall forests and river channels. We noticed more waterbucks than bushbucks, more irritable elephants, and many more insects. Fortunately, our high-end chalet at the Anabezi camp had plenty of “Doom” and “Peaceful Sleep” bug spray to complement our over-sized mosquito net. The outdoor private dipping pool was too cold for our use, but the temperature didn’t bother the baboons drinking from it. Annoyingly, the camp did not accept credit cards or personal checks. We had to waste valuable animal-watching time to coordinate a bank transfer from home using their shoddy WiFi connection at the gift shop. We did get frequent visits from a pachyderm we dubbed “LT” for Left Tusk, who thought nothing of snacking on the camp’s winterthorn saplings only 10 feet from us. Most unique to the Lower Zambezi experience were the water activities. We began Saturday morning with a river cruise where we could feel the constant stare of hippos mimicking navy SEALs. In the afternoon, we took a canoe trip with our guide Patrick, whom we later learned is the survivor of the sole Zambian hippo attack on his canoe earlier this year. At night, Melody awoke to the sound of a leopard growling, but could only see LT scratching his back on our deck. We sought to locate the leopard the next day, but instead encountered a massive herd of several hundred glowering buffalo. That did not deter us from following three young male lions stalking a pair of elderly buffalo, but they were chased off by the irritable bovines. On the way back, we witnessed two honey badgers battling a civet for a bee hive, demonstrating that even after a week-long safari, the drama never becomes dreary. We returned to the air strip on Monday morning, ready for the last stop of our trip.

Flying from South Africa to Zambia required progressively smaller airports and progressively smaller airplanes. By the time we arrived at Mfuwe, there was only one other family with us. The sounds of honking hippos and the dusty dirt roads reminded us how different this part of Africa was from Cape Town. An open-air safari vehicle took us to Mfuwe Lodge, located inside the South Luanga National Park. After checking into our chalet and enjoying a short night drive, we were treated to a local theater production called “The Bush” followed by a buffet of roast meats and nshima. The safari lodge schedule had us waking up the next day at 5:30am for the morning game drive, with a reminder to lock our doors against cheeky baboons. Our guide Francis opened our eyes to the wealth of Zambian wildlife, including impalas, warthogs, elephants, zebras, giraffes, and the colorful lilac-breasted roller. Big cats were rare sightings, but our well-connected guide got wind of a male lion on the radio, and we soon joined 3 other jeeps to take photos of the drowsy feline. Morning tea by the river was spent under the suspicious observation of hippos and crocodiles, and the lunch site was near a baboon colony with fighting baby baboons. Nearly comatose from the feasting, we returned to our hut for siesta time, only to find a gang of bachelor elephants dust bathing near our balcony. We spent the evening drive tracking a pair of elusive leopard cubs with our binoculars. On Monday, we set out for Chamilandu Bush Camp, passing by ultra-rare wild dogs and an impressive battle between hyenas and vultures over a hippo carcass, with a lion watching in the distance. The bush camp experience offered a very private and intimate look at the local wildlife. Our guide Manda impressively mimicked the call of an injured impala on the first night, which lured a hyena to our jeep. On our walking tour next morning, we learned how to use sounds to track a pride of lions, and how to examine civet droppings for clues about their meals. An armed scout was always present to lead us across the savanna, but his rifle was never needed. The closest animals we encountered were a tower of giraffes that quickly took off upon seeing us. In the evening, we watched a parade of elephants cross the Luanga River, and kept very still when two young bulls broke out in a fight just steps away from where we stood. Our following morning was lucky for us – the other couple at the camp wanted to sleep in, so we took another private walking tour, followed by a relaxing afternoon at the bushcamp hide overlooking a popular water hole. Our evening drive gave us a chance to capture some yawning hippos and a quick peek of a porcupine and her pup before they scuttled away. Although bouts of diarrhea and vomiting kept Melody from enjoying our final morning, it did not detract from our amazing first safari experience.

We awoke at 5am to reach Gansbaai in time for our shark cage diving tour with Marine Dynamics. We prepared for our adventure with an instructional video over a hot breakfast, followed by a lengthy disclaimer against accidental death and dismemberment which kept the room very silent. By the time we were on the water, our worries were blown away by the cool ocean breeze. We watched seagulls circle us as the crew spewed chum from the back of the boat while spotters cast fish heads and a penguin-shaped lure on the starboard side. The tight wet suit and pungent smells made Melody empty her GI tract just before we jumped into the cage ourselves. We resisted the chilly waters and knocked against the steel bars to attract the great whites, which swam by so close that we were enticed to reach out and touch them (but didn’t). Our old camera did not survive, but saved us a few memorable videos before its demise. After some warm soup, we drove back to our B&B in Hermanus where Melody crashed into bed while Glenn tested his superzoom lens on the breaching whales from the hotel balcony. The town is well-known for its shore-based whale-watching, which we got to experience before dinner at Burgundy where we dined on delicious peri peri calamari and an overly sweetened bobotie. On Friday, Melody popped some dramamine tablets at breakfast to prepare for our whale-watching cruise with Southern Right Charters. The abundant whale sightings were unlike any we’ve ever seen in New England, and kept my camera finger busy until we returned to shore. For lunch, we shared a seafood platter from Ocean Basket to keep us full for the drive back to Cape Town, where the rush hour traffic made us forgo visiting Hout Bay. Eager for more curry, we followed online suggestions for nearby Kombuis, but did not account for the steep incline of the hike. We arrived an hour early, but the owners took pity and let us in early for the buffet of traditional Malay cuisine and an awesome view of the evening skyline – the perfect conclusion to our adventures in South Africa.