We are staying here tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow we take a boat cruise down the Chobe River.
29 Sept. 2002
Slept all night last night. Got up and took a drive to the river. We saw Baboons, and a crocodile right where we stood yesterday!! So much for no crocs being in the water where the rapids are, as the South African guy siad yesterday.
At breakfast a Vervet monkey came right down to the table next to us, snatched the jam off the table and took it up the tree. He ate it and threw down the package.
Going on a boat ride in an hour...
The boat ride was very nice. We saw a lot of game. Elephants, Hippos, Crocodiles, Water Monitors, Water Buffalo, Impala, and other deer type animals, plus a lot of other different species of birds. We were on a pontoon boat. We got very close to the elephants in the water. At one point the whole herd swan under water with only their trunks sticking out like a snorkel. We got a lot of nice pictures.
I just came back from the pool and talking to the owner of the lodge, and her sister, who just arrived from Switzerland. She has a Weimereiner whose name is Solar (Solah). Funny, I couldn't tell you the ladies name...only the dogs. She has lost several dogs to crocodiles.
I am waiting for Doug to come back to the rondavel. He borrowed a fishing pole from a man who works here. He caught a Tigerfish earlier, and hasn't caught anymore since before I left. I am hoping a crocodile or hippo doesn't come after him, as they have signs posted saying "Beware of Hippos and Crocodiles!"
Well, he made it back. We just returned from dinner. We had snails in garlic butter (yummy) and Ostrich Fillet. The Ostrich was very nice!
In the morning we are leaving here for camping in Chobe National Park at Ihaha Campsite.
I am here in Zimbabwe listening to "The Smoke That Thunders" Victoria Falls. We are here in a rest camp. The last two nights we were in Chobe camping at Ihaha. This morning was terrible. We saw an elephant up ahead by itself lying down. I knew something had to be wrong for him to be alone and lying down. When we got closer, we saw he had a wire snare around his back leg. He couldn't get up at all, and was trying to get up with all his might. We turned around and went back to Ihaha to get help, and no one was there. We left a note with a detailed map on the desk saying where he was, and to send help. We stopped at several different times to tell wildlife officers about the elephant, so that they would help him. We even stopped at the main wildlife offices and told them on the way out of the park. Apparently the snares are set by poachers to catch smaller animals. That poor elephant was so helpless; we didn't even gop back, as it was too hard to see him! I wanted to just get out and help him, but there is nothing I could have done.
