It is impossible to spend time here and not be provoked to deep thought by the history of the 4 countries countries whose corners meet at these rivers. Zimbabwe, Zambia, formerly Southern and Northern Rhodesia, Botswana and Namibia. Each has a completely different post-WWII history and current situation, driven by the politics of colonialism, racism, and the degree and form of self-determination the population of each nation was able to wrest from UK. In each case, it was heavily influenced by party politics in Britain and international pressure from South Africa, as well as the personalities of the individuals involved. An amazing book by Susan Williams, Color Bar, is billed as a love story, but is actually an amazing account of British colonial history in Africa. The account illuminates so many shameful lessons that can be useful today, especially as to how people suffer when governments just get it dead wrong, and do it for a hundred wrong reasons, knowing it all the while. What is interesting is everywhere one travels and talks politics here, be it with South Africans, Zimbabweans, Zambians, both white and black, the refrain is simply, “Khama is good. He is just good.” The Botswana president, like his father before him and before him, is revered as Chief and President of a peaceful and successful nation. So we left Zimbabwe for Botswana, by truck, through a very typical African land border….calm and orderly, with lots of unidentifiable uniforms and people milling about for no apparent reason.
After about an hour by truck, we had a great safari in Chobe National Park. We saw all of the animals we had seen in Kruger, but found a lioness in a small thicket. We sat just a few feet away in our open vehicle for the longest time, just watching. One wonders what makes them so amazing to behold. Is it the knowledge that, if she really wanted, she could have anyone out of the truck before anyone else could move? Is it knowing what a rare honor it is to be able to even see her in the wild like this? They are magnificent. She made our hearts pound. It is hard to understand how anyone could take a creature like this for a living room wall. Pointless. After lunch, we hit the Chobe River in a small boat, about 8 of us. It was the highlight of the trip….yes we saw loads of croc’s and hippos and impala and the like, but what was amazing is watching hundreds of elephants playing in the wide shallow river. They play fight, throw themselves into each other and under water, and are clearly having a blast. Gives one a whole new perspective on the “head butt.” Parents keep newborns between them and protected from predators, both land and water, but everyone else (I mean the elephants) are just having a blast. After the massive herd had moved up the bank and toward the jungle, two stragglers who were still rolling around and playing in the water decided to inspect our boat which was on the shoreline. The boat driver instructed everyone to stay motionless as the massive creatures strode up and perused us from 2 feet away (an easy trunk swat). Believe me, no one was even breathing! To be trunk to nose with a wild elephant! I cannot explain the sheer childish joy we all felt on this river trip. Botswana is the home to approximately 120,000 elephants!