Our day started with an early breakfast so that we could see Victoria Falls before it got too hot and crowded – breakfast was at the Jungle Junction restaurant, and the view on our walk over was quite pleasant. You can even see the mist from Victoria Falls on the left side of the picture.

After a short bus ride to the Falls car park, we walked the paved trail on the Zimbabwe side of the falls. The views were incredible.

There was a rainbow visible across the canyon – I took many photos and this one seemed the most interesting.

Our fearless leader Dave Natale offered to take our photo – little did I know it’d be a three-person selfie!

We continued down the trail, enjoying the Falls from different vistas.

The Falls presented us with a much more vivid rainbow here.

The trail took us away from the Falls and into the rain forest for a short time.

We logged another new species, the bushbuck.

And then it was back to enjoying the water.

The trail ended at an overlook near the Victoria Falls Bridge; there were pedestrians, cars, a train, and even a few monkeys crossing.

We returned to the hotel to cool off; the hotel had followed up on my problem yesterday and the safe was now securely bolted down. I feel happier, even though I know that a hotel safe, no matter where you are, is mostly there for reassurance.

Once we’d recovered a bit, we took off for Elephant Walk shopping center. Diane saw a small shoulder bag at one store, but wished it had a zipper – ten minutes later, it did, thanks to Joyce, the owner’s mother and an excellent seamstress!

If you’re ever in Victoria Falls, check out the Elephant Walk center and look for this store (it has no sign, but it’s number 25 on the map, Spokang Trading Sewing and Upholstery).

We had High Tea on Stanley’s Terrace at the hotel; this afternoon, the group has a sundowner cruise (drinks and appetizers included), and then tonight, there will be dinner and a show back at the Jungle Junction. Dinner may be unnecessary, and I am expecting my lethargy level to be high, so I’ll post now.

We said goodbye to the Zambezi Queen this morning after one last cruise along the Chobe River. We were busily packing and eating, but here’s a hippo for the road.

Our trip to Victoria Falls took us through Namibia, Botswana, and into Zimbabwe, with passport stamps and various forms every step of the way. Once we were in Zimbabwe, it was about a one hour journey to the Victoria Falls Hotel, a true classic. We had lunch on Stanley’s Terrace before getting our room key to a very nice room in the Stables Wing.

There was a problem with that room, though – it had twin beds. We got moved to another room; this one is in a different part of the hotel and has been modernized.

And then it was off for our afternoon activity – an excursion on the Royal Livingstone Express, a vintage steam train, which would deliver us to the Victoria Falls Bridge at sundown. We hopped on a bus to take us to Zambia to board the train – more borders, passport stamps, and forms! We did get a nice view of the Falls along the way.

We reached the depot and boarded the train.

They served drinks and appetizers throughout the trip, making dinner unnecessary. We reached the bridge a few minutes before sunset, stopping just short of the border (whew!) and got out to enjoy the view.

They encouraged us to climb into the engine car and look around – they even let us blow the train whistle.

The Falls are beautiful.

Sundown was on the side of the bridge opposite the Falls.

And then it was back on the train, enjoying the scenery in the dimming light.

We returned to the hotel and unpacked. I put some of our belongings in the room safe and noticed a small problem – the safe wasn’t attached to anything!

The hotel says it’ll be fixed tomorrow. Delia, our trip director (who has lived in South Africa her entire life) had warned us at the start of the trip: “This is Africa; things don’t always run smoothly.”

At least we have Internet again!

We aren’t crossing any international borders today, but our passports are. Delia, our tour guide, took them to the Zimbabwe border to get our visas processed to reduce the time we’ll have to spend in line tomorrow – or at least that’s the theory.

We started the morning bright and early (6:30am, before sunrise) with a birding expedition by boat. We returned in time to have breakfast before leaving to visit Kasenu, a nearby Namibian village, where we were given a tour, a show, and a shopping opportunity (which we were happy to use).

After the visit, we had another boat safari on our way back to the ship and lunch – this time, we saw two elephant herds crossing the Chobe River. We followed them across; then Gibson took us up close and personal to a couple of Cape buffalo – close enough to see an oxpicker at work. It takes parasites off the buffalo and eats them – both parties profit.

We have another boat safari this afternoon, and then an African-themed farewell dinner, followed by packing, so I’m posting now while I have time and a modicum of connectivity.

We spent most of today in Chobe National Park (in Botswana). We saw many beautiful birds, which I hope to post some other time – and we bagged a lion (photographically), giving us three of the Big Five (we still need to find a leopard and a rhinoceros).

Connectivity is still very limited, so here are a few big animal photos.

You can’t get any bigger (or taller) than a giraffe. We saw quite a few today, some almost close enough to touch.

The lion was far away from us and was resting; we came back a few hours later, and she was still in the same spot.

Elephants…well, there are too many to count!

Including some babies!

We were on our way to the park exit when our friend David spotted these zebra – the hippo was a bonus.

And then it was back to the ship. There are worse ways to spend a Wednesday!

We had our first boat safari on one of the ship’s tenders this morning. I took almost 300 photos!

Lunch was served as soon as we got back (which was delayed by having to rescue the passengers on one of the tenders after it had engine trouble!).

I intended to get my computer and edit photos in the lounge between the safaris, but there was heavy traffic on the Chobe and it required my attention (thanks, Desi, for not letting me miss the elephants in the room…err, river).