sunrises and sunsets.
We rode south through war torn
Mozambique, thankfully a country on
the road to recovery, and into Zimba-
bwe. One of the most frustrating ele-
ments we encountered was the con-
stant police checks at approximately
every 10 kilometres. The economic
outlook for Zimbabwe ensures that
this practice will continue for some
time yet!
Harare was another chance to do
some maintenance and clean up our
camping gear, all on the grounds of
our palatial hotel where the president
of the DRC was also staying. From
Harare we travelled to The Great Zim-
babwe Ruins, a UNESCO listed 11th
century city, then on to Gweru and
the African Lion and Environmental
Research Trust (ALERT). This amaz-
ing private game reserve allowed us a
truly “once in a lifetime” experience
where we had the opportunity to
walk alongside some large lion cubs.
A daunting yet unforgettable experi-
ence.
Awe inspiring! That is Victoria
Falls. The roar of falling water can
be heard as you walk along the track
leading to falls. Spray blasting into
the sky. Standing on the edge, look-
ing down, is a sight to behold. Some
of the group went that little further
and tried out the bungy jumping and
white-water rafting. A sunset cruise
TRAVERSE
37
offered us a remarkable opportuni-
ty to see elephants drinking by the
riverbank and hippos in the swirling
pools, while enjoying a beverage or
two ourselves.
We crossed into Botswana and the
legendary Chobe National Park with
its 20,000-strong herd of elephants.
An evening was spent on a game
cruise on the mighty Zambezi River
getting up close and personal with
the elephants, crocodiles, buffalo and
hippos.
As we continued we rode across
the beautiful open expanse of Bot-
swana to spend a night at the wonder-
ful Planet Baobab. Camping amongst
the giant Baobab trees was a great ex-