To get to our houseboat from Victoria Falls we had a 1 hour bus ride to the Botswana Border; then another 15 minute bus ride to a small outboard boat that took us to Namibia Immigration; then back on the boat which took us to the houseboat. Nice boat. We would be pleased to live on it for a while. But we only had 2 nights.
During our stay we had 4 game drives on a small outboard boat.
One of the first things we saw was a couple of Hippos fighting. One of them drove the other one out of the water. Then they both grazed for a while before they continued their fight on land. Then the dominant one drove the other one back into the water and chased him in the water. It is hard to believe how large their mouths are - and how their teeth are configured. These guys eat grass for nourishment. They apparently only have the big mouths for fighting and defense.
First Hippo conflict
Good candidate for orthodontia
Second Hippo conflict a couple of miles upriver
They can be aggressive. At the second location where we also saw a couple of Hippos fighting - a different one chased our boat. He certainly had the ability to sink our boat if he could have caught us.
As we headed up the river we saw lots of birds including several kinds of Storks, Eagles, and Herons including the Goliath Heron. There were lots of Impalas, some Kudu, Giraffes, and Zebras along the way.
Fish Eagles
Grey Heron
Pied Kingfisher
And Elephants and Baboons. Besides the Hippos the main attraction for the evening was a herd of Elephants. We got to them just before the sun set. Most of them had finished their baths before we arrived. There were probably more than 100.
During our outings the following day we saw most of those same animals again. And we also saw 11 Lions on a large plain where there were a lot of animals grazing. Most of the Lions were probably full grown cubs. None of them had manes yet, but it was clear that some of them were male. They all came to the water near where we were floating and they had a drink.
Then they started out in various directions toward where the grazers were. Our assumption was that they were ready for a meal and were hunting. Since Diane and the others did not want to see the Lions kill one of the grazers we left and headed back to the houseboat. According to people who stayed a while longer the big male showed up a short while later. When we visited that plain the following morning there was no indication that their hunt had been successful. The herd of Buffalo was on the move to leave the area though. We encountered them a few miles up the river.
As we went up the river we saw Vervet Monkeys, Monitor lizards (one was about 5 feet long), Crocodiles and more birds - large and small. The Bee-eaters (birds) were particularly colorful. There were also Darters and Cormorants.
During our second night we had quite an intense Lightning show with accompanying rain and wind. Our final morning was clear, the air was calm, and the river was smooth. I went on another "drive" on our last morning. We did not see anything that we had not seen already.
It is hard to believe that the river and land can support so many elephants and Buffalo as well as all of the other animals that are there. In spite of it being the end of the dry season there was still plenty of grass to feed the animals.
The reason for the large Elephant population is that the efforts by the Botswana government to stop the poaching of Elephants have been very successful.
I noticed that I have not included Giraffe photos in previous posts. This one was within a few hundred yards of the Lions when the Lions were still by the bushes.
For a video of what we saw during our stay on the Chobe Princess click on the following video:
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