2019 Tauck Africa Botswana Zambia South Africa Sept 4-Sept 19

We booked this trip through CruiseOne in Otober 2017. Cost of the tour $29,178. We booked our air in October 2018 for premium economy on American and British air at a cost of $3908.46.

Because we are a Tauck repeat customer, we were given a free night pre tour at the royal Livingstone in Zambia.

We began our journey at 10 am Wednesday September 4. We drove to the airport and checked in. Our bags were not overweight, we were able to check the bags all the way through and we went to the admiral’s club. We were able to watch the last flight of an MD80 take off for retirement.
We boarded the flight for Chicago. The flight leaving Chicago was our first time on a 787. It left two hours late. We arrived in London and sat in the admiral’s club for the next 10 hours. We took a shower to freshen up a bit. The showers were very nice. We boarded the flight for Johannesburg south Africa on British Airways. To date…this 11-hour flight was our longest and by the time we got to Africa we were exhausted. We arrived in Johannesburg and walked around looking at different shops. We decide to use our priority pass card and went to a quaint little lounge… Mashonzha lounge upstairs. I had water and steve had coffee. It was very nice. We were leaving out of gate B19. We were taken to the plane by a bus. We boarded the next flight for Livingstone. The flight took 1 hour 25 minutes. We got off the plane and went into immigration. There were 3 different lines and of course the line for the KAZA visa was HUGE. We waited well over an hour…we finally got our visa, paid $100 cash and went outside to find the TAUCK representative. He was there but informed us the other TAUCK customers had already left and he would call another van to come and get us. We waited about 15 minutes. The van arrived loaded our things and we started the drive to the royal Livingstone. We were terribly disappointed that we were not transported to the resort by boat. It was one of the things we had looked so forward too. We did get to see the city of Livingstone and we passed a herd of elephants standing beneath shade trees.

We arrived at the resort, were given fresh cool towels and a lovely drink. We checked in and were taken to room 5058. The room is nice…we have a king bed, a lovely bathroom with a tub and shower and a balcony. The view is pretty good... the river is a bit obstructed but nice none the less. I unpacked and separated the items that go into the duffel bags. We got cleaned up and were going to walk around taking photos… and as we came down the stairs, we were greeted by a small herd of zebras…one was a baby. That certainly brought a smile to our tired faces.

We then went to the Kubu bar overlooking the Zambezi river. We had some wonderful South African wine, watched the hippos’ surface, had a gorgeous sunset, ate crocodile spring rolls, and watched the mist of Victoria falls. We took a few photos, came back to the room and crashed…. tired but happy.

Saturday sept 7, We had booked an animal encounter online prior to our trip. At 6:30 we were picked up and taken to the Mukuni big 5. We checked in and paid…. $540 for the three encounters and $65 for the video. We first went to visit the Cheetahs. There were two…Lily and MacGyver. They had on harnesses and were very well behaved. We pet them and then got to walk with them. Next we went to ride the elephants. We rode Bonny then afterwards we fed the elephants. Then we went to visit the lions…there were 4 of them 3 girls and a boy named Eric. We pet them and then we walked with them. We bought the video and the trainers were very good to take our photos with our camera.

We came back to the royal Livingstone and then walked to Zimbabwe. A young man named John, offered his services as a guide and we took him up on it. Somehow, we felt safer with him in charge. We went through immigration then crossed the bridge. We saw all kinds of baboons. We paid John $5. We came back to the royal Livingstone shared a cheeseburger for lunch. At 3:00, we met our fellow Tauck travelers. Chris Mancini, our guide gave us instructions. Then we rode a bus to the 1920’s train and rode the train back to Zimbabwe and to Victoria falls. Unfortunately, it has been a very dry year and the falls were almost dry. We got back on board the train and had a 5-course dinner. We got back to the hotel about 9:30. We had a very full but fun day.

Sunday September 8, we had breakfast at 6:30 then we boarded a bus to go on a tour of Victoria Falls. Along the way we saw mongoose, baboons, monkeys, zebra and giraffes. The Falls were very disappointing. The lack of rain and the use of the falls for electricity left them a trickle. We boarded the bus to go on a walking safari in the rhino sanctuary. We saw 10 Rhino including a baby. Then we went on a driving safari. We saw impalas, kudu, waterbucks, wildebeest, giraffes, zebra, and warthogs. We drove to the David Livingston resort where we boarded the lady Livingston boat and we had a lunch cruise on the Zambezi river. We saw elephants, hippos, warthogs and crocodiles. We came back to the Livingstone resort and had dinner at 6:30. It was another busy yet wonderful day. Every trip we take…I have a cry day…days of complete and utter astonishment and joy that I am here. Today was that day…but I have a feeling there will be more days like today.

Monday sept 9, we got up this morning and had breakfast then boarded the bus for the border to Botswana. We took a ferry across the Zambezi river, then got onto buses that took us to a motorboat on the Chobe river. They also served lunch. This cruise was even better than the one the day before. Then we took the bus to the Kasane airport. We were greeted by Giraffes as we drove into the Belmond Khwai River lodge. We checked in and were assigned room 14. Our room is magnificent…the view is incredible. Our driver Mr. T took us on a game drive, and we saw hyenas, elephants, giraffes, zebra…so many! and then we had dinner back at the lodge.

Tuesday sept 10, We got up this morning at 5:30 to go on a safari at 6:30. Today we saw wild dogs and lions and a leopard. There are so many amazing animals! We stopped for a coffee break in the bush next to hippos! We went back to the lodge for lunch and went on an afternoon safari. We stopped for sundowners, then we had dinner at a BOMA.

Wednesday September 11, we got up at 5:30 and went on a 6:30 safari. We saw 5 hyenas with babies and 2 leopards. We then had lunch. We flew to our next camp…Belmond eagle island lodge. We were assigned room 4. The room is simply amazing. As we were sitting on the deck looking at the view, an elephant decided to eat the palm tree next to the deck. I could have touched him!!! We went on a mokoro ride on the little pond. We had sundowners then dinner and retired to our rooms…. another day of amazing sights.

Thursday September 12, today we had breakfast then went on safari. We saw a male and female lion together, a herd of elephants with 4 babies, a mom and baby giraffe, wild dogs with puppies…so many amazing creatures. I lost my safari book and was heartbroken. I told our driver Kenny that I thought I lost it by the herd of elephants. We took a helicopter ride over the Kalahari and saw herds of hippos and elephants and giraffes. Later we took a walking safari with Kenny...who found my book and returned it to me. I cried. We had sundowners and watched a beautiful sunset. We watched a movie about the Kalahari, had dinner and went to bed.

Friday September 13, today we had breakfast then went to Kenny’s village. We got to meet his wife and his youngest daughter Sandra. I bought some carved animals from the vendors. Then we flew to our next camp …Camp Kalahari in the Makgadikgadi pans. We were assigned tent 10. We went for a walk with the zu/hoasi bushman. We had sundowners then dinner.

Saturday Sept 14, we got up at 5:30 and went to visit the meerkats. I was disappointed that none of them sat on anyone’s head. We left the meerkats and did a driving safari. We came back to camp for lunch and took a nap. About 4:00, we left to go ride the ATV’s. We had sundowners and dinner on the pans. Steve and I chose to stay and spend the night in the pans under the stars.

Sunday sept 15, we had breakfast then flew 40 minutes to Maun. We then flew 3 hours to Cape Town South Africa. We checked into the one and only hotel. We have room 312. We were so tired, we ordered room service then went to bed.

Monday Sept 16, we had breakfast at Rueben’s and then did a city tour. We went to the District Six museum and the city gardens. Then we drove to the Bo-Kaap neighborhood to see the brightly colored houses. Then we had lunch on the waterfront at Ginjas. We bought some souvenirs. We went to a braai at the home of Brett Nussy then returned to the one and only and went to bed.

Tuesday sept 17, we had breakfast at Rueben’s then we boarded the bus for a trip to Cape of good hope, the most southwestern point of the African Continent. We rode a funicular to the lighthouse. We walked back down and did some shopping. We had lunch at two oceans restaurant. We went on the shark explorer boat and saw penguins, seals and whales. We came back to the one and only and had our farewell cocktail hour at Nobu then had our farewell dinner at Reubens. We retired for the evening and packed for the trip home.

Wednesday sept 18 we had breakfast at Reubens, then went to the aquarium next door to the one and only. We also rode the Cape wheel and had a drink at Perrymans. We had lunch on the one and only patio…. fish and chips and wine. I did some shopping at the airport…but did not find what I was looking for. I wished I had purchased those things in cape town. There is an out of Africa store at the airport, but it has limited items.
We flew from 11 hours from Cape town to London with no issues. Then we flew 6 hours from London to Chicago then 1 hour from Chicago to STL. Rachel picked us up at the airport and brought us home.

This was indeed a trip of a lifetime. We saw everything I had hoped to see. We do not travel to make new friends…we travel to experience other cultures…to learn about others and to broaden our horizons. I never expected to fall in love with the African people….to see their passion for their animals, their families, their country. This trip was made more special by our tour director Chris Mancini…who loves what he does, by our guide Kenny at eagle island….to meet his family and see his home, and to experience the knowledge of Livius at camp Kalahari. Many people made this trip special…but these three men will forever be in my heart. We had so many favorite moments, the animal encounters at the Makuni Big 5 was certainly a highlight, the meals we shared with each other….the first night at the Livingstone, the room service dinner, lunch on the waterfront at Ginja and our last lunch at the one and only patio were all very special moments, and of course seeing the animals up close in their natural environments. This trip was simply amazing.