A bittersweet parting: Goodbye Africa
In just a few short days, I’ll be leaving Africa to head to Central Asia. It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve spent a little over two months in Africa - some days it feels like I’ve been living here for six months and other days it feels like it was only yesterday that I arrived.
Africa has been on my bucket list for a long time, and I’m so grateful for the time I’ve spent exploring southern and eastern Africa, expanding my worldview and curbing my ignorance about this massive continent. I learned that while we in the West might delineate southern and eastern Africa by its international borders (Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia…), most Africans identify themselves by their tribes and the borders are merely just arbitrary lines. In fact, many people in southern and eastern Africa descend from the Bantu and thus share many similarities in their languages and customs. This is not to say that this region of Africa is solely comprised of Bantu-speaking people - there are thousands of tribes, all with unique cultures and histories, which is why I find this land to be a fascinating place to explore and learn.
I’ve learned so much from my time here - about the history, the people, the culture, and myself. I’ve seen the most beautiful landscapes that I’ve only dreamed (or Google-d) about, encountered majestic wild animals up close, and witnessed countless sunrises, sunsets, and glittering night skies. I’ve embraced African food and have had countless meals where I desperately wish I had a second stomach so I could eat more. I’ve absorbed so many facts about flora and fauna, learned about the many tribes and the impacts of colonization, and chatted with locals as they showed me around their villages. I’ve surprised myself by making genuine long-lasting friendships (I’ll be spending Christmas in Sydney!), being strangely flexible with unpredictable travel mishaps, and questioning some long-held beliefs about how the world works.
My time in Africa has been joyful, satisfying, incredible and yet sometimes frustrating. I’ve often been the only East Asian-presenting person wherever I’m traveling, which means I’m often at the receiving end of a random string of words that are supposed to “represent” what an Asian language sounds like. I’m often questioned about where I’m from, no - where I’m actually from, and if I’m sure I’m not from [insert some Asian country that’s not my own]. It’s mentally exhausting but I try to just smile and wade through it because it’s likely not coming from a place of malicious intent and for personal safety reasons. It’s been an interesting experience and one that contributes to my internal musings of what is identity.
It’s been a while since I’ve updated the blog thanks to a combination of poor (or lack of) internet, food poisoning, and minor travel snafus - so what have I been up to over the past month?
Some highlights - and memorable moments - include:
Summiting Kilimanjaro - just happened!
Marveling at the abundance of wildlife and sharing that joy with friends
Getting my shirt stolen by a monkey
The monkey also made off with a pair of boxer briefs that were also hanging on our laundry line, so somewhere in Zambia a monkey is looking quite dapper
Literally walking with rhinos - blog post in the works
Sleeping in a hotel after 40 days of living in a tent
Getting food poisoning but luckily camping near a very nice toilet
Dancing with the locals in the Usambara Mountains
Watching a lioness and her cubs feast on a wildebeest in the Serengeti - blog post in the works
Having our 4x4 vehicle break down in the middle of a safari game drive… at night - blog post in the works
Being invited to a local’s home for dinner in Malawi
Feeling exhilarated and terrified getting up close and personal with lions - blog post in the works
More to (slowly) come - I’ll update this page with links as more content gets published. As the locals would say in Swahili, “pole pole”, which means “slowly, slowly”. Jotting down my thoughts on this blog has been a helpful exercise in reflecting on my time in Africa, and I hope it’s inspired you to come visit.
Kilimanjaro: If you can’t climb it, drink it!
Well I didn’t drink it, but I did climb it!
“If you can’t climb it, drink it” is the local motto for Kilimanjaro beer. I still have yet to have a sip of this lager, but I’ve heard it’s not bad to drink after a long day of hiking!
On the top of Africa!
Earlier this week I summited Kilimanjaro! Honestly it was one of the toughest things I’ve done on this trip and 9/10 would not summit a mountain that high again. While the hiking itself wasn’t challenging, I learned that high altitude and May do not go very well together. Thankfully with medicine (Diamox + Ibuprofen = love), I was able to address altitude sickness symptoms and successfully make it to the top. While it doesn’t make the list of most scenic hikes I’ve done, I’m still proud to have made it.
Some interesting facts about Kilimanjaro:Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters or19,340 feet) is actually slightly higher than Everest Base Camp (5,364 meters or 17,598 feet).
Kilimanjaro as we know it isn’t actually Kilimanjaro! The mountain that we commonly refer to as “Kilimanjaro” is actually Mt. Kibo (Uhuru Peak is the highest point at 5,895 meters). However I’m still referring to it as Mount Kilimanjaro because that the name we use colloquially.
Mount Kilimanjaro is technically a dormant volcano with three volcanic formations (scientifically known as volcanic cones): Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. While the latter two are extinct volcanos, Kibo is dormant - scientists estimate that it last erupted 360,000 years ago.
The iconic snow-capped Kilimanjaro peak you see in photos and on the beer bottles no longer exists. Because of global warming, the glaciers are rapidly melting and the mountain no longer looks like what it once did. Scientists predict that the glaciers and snow will disappear within the next twenty years.
The way upThere are several routes up Kilimanjaro, and I chose to take the Lemosho route over the course of seven days. This route starts from the west side of the mountain, then takes a southernly loop around the mountain and approaches the summit from the southeast. In my research I found that Lemosho was commonly referred to as the most scenic route. In addition, I wanted to make sure that I actually made it to the top so I chose a trip that allowed more time to acclimatize to the high altitude.
You are required to hike with a guide, so after conducting some research I booked my trip with Monkey Adventures, a local travel operator. They are definitely more of a budget-friendly company and that’s reflected in the overall experience, but the guide and crew were professional and respectful. It’s incredible how much work goes into supporting a Kilimanjaro summit. For just one client, there was a team of six supporting in the background: one senior guide, one cook, and four porters.
I ended up being the only traveler in my trip which had its pros and cons. It was great to have my own tent and I prefer to hike solo without worrying about keeping to others’ paces. However, there isn’t the same type of camaraderie among hikers in the evenings at each campsite as there has been on other treks I’ve done (Tour du Mont Blanc, W trek) so it was easy to feel lonely.
Look Dad, I’m flying above the clouds!
The ConditionsAfter camping in tents in a different location almost every day for over a month, I wasn’t shying away from living in a tent again (the only exception is the Marangu Route, which offers dormitory-style huts). This time it was a wee bit different though:
There is no electricity aka no outlets to charge your phone/camera/head torch/gadget so you best bring your power bank. Oh and this also means no lights which means great star gazing but you best be bringing your head torch to the toilet so you can see where you’re aiming.
There is no running water. There are glacial rivers where your porters will fill up your water each day (recommended 3L/day) or they will boil water the night before to ensure you stay hydrated. No running water also means no flush toilets, no showers and no water for brushing your teeth or washing your hands. I ended up using my water bottle for my teeth, bringing a LOT of hand sanitizer with me, and an entire pack of baby wipes to freshen up each night. The crew does bring you a bowl of hot water each evening to wash your face which is thoughtful (all tour companies do this, not just Monkey Adventures), but sometimes I found it cumbersome to do inside my tent. Which leads me to…
You do everything in your tent. Meals, meetings, and face washing are done in your tent. The cook would cook in a separate tent and a porter would bring your food to you directly in your tent. There were main reasons for this were so that you could stay warm while eating (no shared common room facilities at the campsites) and so they could minimize the amount of equipment the porters carry (an extra chair and table is a lot of extra weight!). However, I noticed that the more luxurious tour operators had a dining table set up and tents that divided up into a sleeping and eating section.
Dinner time!
The bathrooms are NOT designed for women in mind. As I mentioned, there’s no running water on the mountain so all the toilets are squat toilets, a concept I’m quite familiar with. However the toilets were more like holes in the ground with two platforms to place your feet rather than the porcelain squat toilets that are more common in the city. I normally wouldn’t mind this except for the fact that the holes for the toilets were tiny! Likely this size of an iPad. Now if you’re a man this probably doesn’t matter because you can aim, but it’s a bit harder if you’re a woman. It takes a lot of careful maneuvering to make sure your aim and the ricochet doesn’t get on your pants, shoes, or potentially your face. Hopefully you’re sitting at your computer or scrolling on your phone laughing out loud right now. I mean, it is funny in retrospect but not when it’s dark and you only have your head torch to help you see.
Your crew carries everything for you except for your day bag. This is truly impressive and also really freaking hard work. Think about it - this means carrying food (raw ingredients, spices, oil for seven days worth of meals), supplies (tents, plates/cutlery, water jugs, emergency oxygen), their gear (sleeping bags, clothes), and your gear for seven days, taking the same path you’re taking up and down the mountain. They don’t go up with you on summit day but it doesn’t make what they do any less impressive. Something I read and 1000% agree with is that you shouldn’t trek Kilimanjaro if you’re not willing to tip the crew well. They work incredibly hard to support you in hiking and summiting and rely on tips.
The weather is unpredictable. It can rain at any moment! It can be bitterly cold at night yet you can easily get sunburned during the day. You’re hiking above the clouds for most of the time which makes for incredible views but also means you’re more prone to the sun’s rays. Don’t worry Mom, I put on sunblock every day! Luckily it only rained while I was hiking on my first day and the rest of the time it rained, I was already tucked away in my tent. However I did learn that no tent is 100% waterproof, even with a waterproof covering. So when the corners of my tent started to seep from the torrential downpour, I got creative with a “band-aid” solution to soak up the water. Ladies - you’ll get it!
“Bandaid” at work making sure the rain doesn’t leak towards my sleeping bag.
Carefree - want to sponsor me?!
Everything you carry in, you carry out. There are no trash cans in the park, so it’s a carry in, carry out policy. No littering please!
The hikeI didn’t take many photos as I was saving my phone battery for summit day, but my guide Jonas did kindly take some photos of me while we were hiking. They were sent to me over WhatsApp so the image quality isn’t great, but here’s a look at the (some) scenery on Kilimanjaro!
To be honest, I wasn’t particularly enamored by the landscape. It was cool to hike through all five climate zones of Kilimanjaro (Cultivation zone, aka farmland and villages; Rainforest; Heather and Moorland; Alpine; and Arctic), but I kind of found the scenery to be just okay - I’m probably in the minority here on that!
The Summit (Day 6 of the hike)Summit day began at 1am when Jonas, my guide, and I left our tents and began the long trek up to Mount Uhuru. I was warmly dressed and resembled the Michelin Man. On top I had a long sleeve base layer, my beloved croissant sweatshirt, a light puffy down jacket, and a ski jacket, while on the bottom I wore warm leggings and thick ski pants. Let it be known to that this was what I normally went to sleep in each night - it literally gets freezing (below freezing) cold.
I didn’t find the actual hike up to Uhuru peak (5,895 meters) to be too physically challenging for me, but the altitude did wreck havoc on my fitness. We started at Barafu Base camp at 4,670 meters and after an hour of hiking I felt light-headed, weak, and nauseous. I had to sit down several times, take a deep breath, and fight the urge not to vomit on the path. It didn’t help that it was still dark out (2am!) and things always feel scarier in the dark. These symptoms felt similar to having low blood sugar levels, but my guide recognized that these were symptoms of altitude sickness so I took ibuprofen and Diamox (altitude sickness medication). He offered to carry my bag for me and helped me back to my feet where we continued slowly, one step at a time, up the mountain. Encouraging myself to have enough grit and determination to move one foot in front of the other, when there was still at least five hours to the top and was one of the hardest things I’ve done. Every left foot was “I can” and every right foot was “I will”.
The Diamox and Ibuprofen worked its magic and while I still didn’t feel 100%, I was no longer nauseous. The moment we reached Stella Point (5,756 meters, the biggest milestone until the peak) I almost cried with relief. It would only be a “short” 30 - 45min hike to the Uhuru Peak.
Stella Point on the descent. When I first saw this sign on the way up, I almost cried tears of joy.
As I hiked closer to the peak, the sun rose behind me, casting the surrounding glaciers, clouds, and mountains in a warm, glowing light. That moment felt magical - here I was after overcoming a bout of altitude sickness, on my way to summiting the highest mountain in Africa. My timing was perfect. We reached the iconic Uhuru Peak sign as the sun finished rising, and I felt exhilarated.
From the summit you can see the last remaining glaciers of Kilimanjaro as well as other mountain ranges in the distance.
The way down the mountain was a lot easier, and I cheered people on as the made their way up. When I got back to base camp, I was surprised by the crew who sang the Kilimanjaro song, showered me with congratulations, and celebrated my success. I couldn’t have done it without them and all of their support.
It took another day to hike down to the park entrance where we were picked up by a bus to take us back to Moshi, the primary base for Kilimanjaro travelers, and I was happy to be back in my altitude range again!
Feeling accomplished. You can’t really tell by the last sign of the hike says “Congratulations”
As I reflect on my hike up Kilimanjaro, I feel proud of my perseverance and of believing in myself that I could and would make it to the top of Africa. Someone else carried my day bag for me on summit day, but that doesn’t diminish my accomplishment. And in that moment where I felt like quitting and heading back down to base camp, I knew that even if I didn’t make it up the mountain, I’d still be successful for trying in the first place.
Zanzibar: a photo itinerary
I’ll be honest. I did not take many photos while in Zanzibar. This was 99% due to me spending most of my time laying out on the beach (don’t worry Mom, I used sunblock!) or taking advantage of a heavenly hotel bed (much needed after 30 days of living in a tent).
My romantic hotel room, just for me.
After living in a tent and snoozing in a sleeping bag, it was absolutely heavenly to sprawl across a queen sized bed and have the space to put my stuff all over the hotel room!
Where and what is Zanzibar?Zanzibar is an island off the east coast of Tanzania and is 50% of the reason why the country is called Tanzania. Tanzania is a combination of “Tanganyika” and “Zanzibar” both in terms of etymology (origin of the word “Tanzania”) and in terms of the country itself. The country we know today as Tanzania came into being after mainland Tanzania, Tanganyika, and the island nation of Zanzibar merged together into one united republic in 1964, after both countries gained their independence from Britain (Tanganyika was colonized by the Germans then the British. Zanzibar gained its independence after overthrowing the last reigning Sultan of Zanzibar, who ruled Zanibar as a constitutional monarchy within the British Commonwealth).
ItineraryZanzibar is known for Stone Town, its historic city center and UNESCO Heritage Site, and its pristine white beaches where travelers go to take a break from or prepare for a safari. We spent three days in Zanzibar - one day in Stone Town, southern part of the island, then drove north to Nungwi Beach, where we spent two days relaxing on the beach. To get to Zanzibar, we took the ferry from Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania and a major port.
Dar es Salaam
Stone Town
Spice & Tea Plantation Visit
Nungwi Beach
Happy to be swimming in a warm ocean!
Postcards: Doors of Stone Town
Doors of Stone Town, Zanzibar
Doors are fascinating. They represent portals to literal and metaphorical places. They can also serve as guards, keeping things out and protecting what lies within. They often are first impressions to whatever, or whomever, lies behind entrance.
Stown Town is the “old town” of Zanzibar City in the island of Zanzibar, which is situated off the east coast of Tanzania. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its historical architecture that reflects the diversity of its history and inhabitants - a mixture of Arab, European, and Indian elements. These elements were reflected in the doors of Stone Town - each door had its own story hidden away in intricate carvings that told the history of the family who used to cross over its entryway. Click on each photo to learn a bit more about some of the doors of Zanzibar and the history of Stone Town.
Doors of Zanzibar
Zanzibar and Nungwi Beaches
Bon voyage to 30!
I’m not so secretly in love with my birthday - I love having a day whose sole purpose is to celebrate my very being, yet I also occasionally dread birthdays because I fear that no one will show up to celebrate me with me. I wasn’t sure what my birthday would be like while traveling in Africa - who’d know?
Well it turns out that the Intrepid crew does know if you’re going to be celebrating an upcoming birthday but will try to get a feel from you just in case you are one of those people who are adamantly against celebrating birthdays. A special shoutout to the Intrepid crew and my fellow travelers for making my birthday a memorable one!
First day of 30!
We were traveling in Zimbabwe at the time and passed through the capital of Harare. I’d read in my (very outdated) copy of Lonely Planet that there was a Thai restaurant in the city and had fixated on having something familiar and comforting. Because my guidebook was outdated, it didn’t mention that this restaurant had moved locations and was now a 15 minute taxi ride outside of the main part of the city. Luckily our group of four was game to take a little trip to Chang Thai (haha, how coincidental) to celebrate with me, so off we went! It was quite interesting to explore Harare in a taxi and see the city “behind the scenes” and bits and pieces that we normally wouldn’t be able to by truck.
I was so happy to be eating noodles and rice - one of the things I’ve missed most about home is Asian food, so having Thai food was such a treat.
I should’ve brought my Chang Thai beer shirt to match the restaurant!
As you can see, I’m ecstatic to be having comfort food.
In the evening, after we had dinner and set up camp, the group surprised me with a birthday “punch” filled with lots of fruit and, well, lots of other beverages. They even got me a cake! And we all know how much I love my desserts.
Yes, all of these ingredients went into the punch (except for the cake of course!).
The punch and cake was absolutely delicious and we spent the rest of the night finishing the punch bowl, swapping stories, and laughing our butts off. Thank you Victor, Ben, Nicko, Zoe, Joe, and Jenny for making my thirtieth one to remember and a memory I’ll treasure.
With Ben, Nicko, and Victor (the Intrepid crew) who organized the surprise celebration.
Chobe National Park
I loved Chobe National Park in Botswana. Part of this may be attributed to the fact that we had really nice campground facilities at Chobe River Lodge (a four star luxury resort) which added to the serenity of Chobe.
A family of elephants at sunset
I’d love to come back to Botswana and spend more time here. Even though the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park are only two small pieces of Botswana, they are firmly lodged in my heart and I can’t wait to come back and explore more of this beautiful country.
So utterly content during golden hour on the Chobe River
Here are the highlights of my time in Chobe
MORNING SAFARI GAME DRIVE
Highly recommend clicking on each photo to enlarge it and learn more about each animal..
Early morning start with our guide Webby, who grew up near Chobe. It was quite chilly in the morning with the extra breeze provided by the moving 4x4, so Webby gave us blankets to wrap ourselves in.
The game drive started out with tracking leopards who had left clear paw prints in the sandy road. We didn’t end up spotting them but it was cool to follow the leopards’ tracks around the park - I felt like a real safari explorer!
We saw a pride of lions! The excitement was tampered a bit by my first experience with the realities of tourism - once the lions were spotted, ALL the 4x4s came barreling to that spot jostling for the best view.
Webby had an incredible amount of knowledge about the biology of every animal. Some of the most interesting facts:
Impalas (a type of antelope) can hold off on giving birth if the conditions aren’t right or even self-abort if they think there won’t be enough food to help their child survive. They can control their gland that releases oxytocin, which induces labor.
When female baboons are ready to mate, their bums became red and enlarged, signaling to males that they are ready.
Certain hawks don’t fly until the weather gets hotter so that they can ride the thermal winds and save their energy for a hunt
Warthogs have callouses on their front knees so they can kneel on their front legs to better access food on the ground
My favorite animal might be the “Chobe chicken” which is actually called the guinea fowl. They are quite funny to watch and stand out with their blue heads.
AFTERNOON RIVER BOAT CRUISE
Highly recommend clicking on each photo to see the animals up close
In the afternoon I embarked on a river boat cruise on the Chobe River, and it was magical. The highlight was seeing elephants playing in the water and viewing this scene up close
Other animals spotted included crocodiles, hippos, cranes, and birds.
Watch until the end - moments like these were magical and filled me with wonder at how precious and beautiful Mother Nature is
I ended my day in Chobe not just with a beautiful sunset, but also with the moon rise! It was magical to have the sun setting on one side, and the full moon rising on the other, colored in pinks and reds from the sunset.
The smoke that thunders - Victoria Falls
It’s crazy to think that I started my Southern Africa trip with Intrepid three weeks ago and that we’ve already arrived at Victoria Falls. It feels simultaneously like we’ve been traveling for a long time and not at all, as if we just left Cape Town yesterday.
I’m currently in Mosi-oa-Tunya (the local indigenous name for Victoria Falls) which means “the smoke that thunders” because you can see the smoke (precipitation/mist) and hear the roar that the powerful waterfall generates.
The smoke and the thunder!
Most of the world knows the falls as Victoria Falls because of David Livingston, who was the first European to see the falls and named it after Queen Victoria, the British monarch at the time.
I entered the park early in the morning and was able to catch the ending of sunrise. It was lovely to see different views of the waterfalls as the sun changed its position in the sky.
Some fun tidbits:
Victoria Falls falls (hehe) in the Kaza TFCA region, which is a transfrontier conservation area whose members include Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
The world’s only quadripoint is in Africa! This is where four countries meet at one point, aka the “four corners of Africa” (Dad - I bet this is where you’ll want to visit next!). Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe meet on the Zambezi River near Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls is famous for having an ever present rainbow (sun + water = magic!) and it is one of the few places in the world that is also home to the lunar rainbow. This means you can see the rainbow over the falls at night when there is a full moon as the moon acts as the light to activate the rainbow. I was excited to see this but upon learning that the entrance fee to this was $100 (on top of the $50 for a day entry park ticket) I decided to pass
The falls are split between Zimbabwe and Zambia, with ~80% in Zimbabwe and ~20% in Zambia. I stayed on the Zimbabwean side but there was a person in my group who also ventured to the Zambian side. It’s a bit tricky because to get to the Zambian side you need to go through a border crossing and have a multi-entry visa to Zimbabwe (currently no visa is required for Zambia, although that may change - TIA!) and you need to pay the Zambian park entrance fee of $35.
A couple in my Intrepid group took a helicopter ride and the photos were stunning! They had an aerial view of the falls and could see the “smoke” from the falls all the way from above. Apparently you can see the spray from the falls up to 40km away! If I come back to Victoria Falls I’ll be sure to take this option as viewing the Falls from ground level means that the precipitation mostly blocks your view of the falls
The precipitation made it hard to view the falls sometimes
You get WET! I thought visiting would mean that there would be light misting so I’d get damp, but you actually get very very wet. Even though you’re viewing the Falls from a bit away, going to some viewpoints means that you experience a torrential downpour! This level of rain contributes to the Victoria Falls rainforest where you can see plants that are endemic to rainforests rather than the local climate
Victoria Falls is considered to be the largest waterfall in the world*. (*with some interesting calculations in place)
Calculation of “largest” factors in height, width, and flow rate.
Height: Victoria Falls wins (108m as compared with 51m at Niagara Falls and 82m at Iguazu Falls)
Width: 1708m at Vic Falls, 1203m at Niagara, and 2700m at Iguazu
Mean annual flow rate: Vic Falls has the least with 1088m3/s (2406m3/s at Niagara Falls and 1745m3/s at Iguazu Falls)
If you do a Google search, there are different definitions on what constitutes the “largest” waterfall in the world, but at least in Zimbabwe Victoria Falls is #1
There’s not much to do in Victoria Falls outside of adventure activities (did not partake) and small craft shops, but I did visit the small local Jafuta Foundation cultural center to learn more about some of Zimbabwe’s indigenous tribes.
Guess who else visited the Jafuta Cultural Center?
Found UNC Kenan Flagler in the guest book from 2019! Looks like the MBA program conducted a visit as part of a Global Immersion Elective.
I also ran into a troop of vervet monkeys outside the entrance to Victoria Falls National Park. These monkeys are quite playful and mischievous. I saw one sneaking into our campsite to steal some nuts and a fellow traveler saw one open a Coke bottle!
Playtime! Young monkeys monkeying around
A self-care day and time to groom
Otherwise it’s been a couple of chill days conducting personal admin (laundry! Pay the bills!) and wrangling the WiFi. Internet speeds can be slow, which means some difficulty in uploading photos here, but I’ll continue to do my best!
Chilling at a local cafe
Look at this beautiful presentation of my cappuccino! Best part was the accompanying biscuit (behind the cup) and a shot of amarula, a sweet cream liqueur (17% alcohol) - it’s party time!
Peace and serenity in Botswana’s Okavango Delta
Known as the Kavango in Namibia and the Kwango in Angola, the Okavango River is the fourth longest river in Africa and ends in the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
The Okavango Delta was one of my “must-see’s” when creating my Africa itinerary. The landscape is beautiful - stunning blue waters and skies, acres of reeds and papyrus that sway and rustle gently with the breeze, and yellow, purple, and white water lilies that dot the river’s surface.
I spent one night actually camping in the Delta which meant true camping in the bush! Oh boy the mosquitos were EVERYWHERE. They ot me through my pants on my bum and all over my legs but the views and 氣 were (almost barely) worth it.
The Okavango Delta is one of those places that just brings about a feeling of peace and serenity and pureness. I hope you enjoy the view!
Etosha National Park
The animal post you’ve been waiting for! A dazzle of zebras, a tower of giraffes, a herd of impala (antelope), a crash of rhinos, a coalition of male lions. I had a bit of trouble with the Wi-Fi here so there are lots of photos but little text (not that you need it anyways as the photos speak for themselves! Be sure to click on the photo to enlarge it for a better viewing experience.)
Below are animals stopping by the watering hole during the evening of our first night in Etosha National Park in Namibia. The watering hole was right next to our campsite and it was amazing. We were lucky enough to see black rhinos, which are an endangered species.
One of the highlights during our day game drive was seeing all kinds of animals mingle together at the local watering hole (there’s a theme here). During the day animals will amble over to the watering hole to cool off in the hot weather. I loved watching the giraffes steadily walk over and then awkwardly bend down to drink.
One of the best experiences in Etosha was the night game drive. Our guide was such a badass! She had a keen eye and was able to spot animals in the dark. It was quite impressive how she could simultaneously drive (manual/stick, with one hand!) and search for animals with a red flashlight in her other hand.
The use of red light at night is preferred since it’s less harsh, but it does impact the photos - you’ll see some red animals! . We stumbled upon a coalition of male lions, which was amazing!
