It’s incredible to start the day with a sunrise cruise on the Chobe River (Botswana) and end it with a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River (Zimbabwe)!
Sunrise Cruise on the Chobe River
Since it was our last day in Chobe, instead of a morning game drive we went on a sunrise river cruise. It was beautiful to watch the yellow glow fill the sky while listening to birds singing.
Chacma Baboons
The chacma baboons were waking up and moving in the trees along the river – all except this little one who wanted a few more minutes of sleep.
Nile Crocodiles
Nile crocodiles were half-submerged in water and relaxing on the shore.
Pied Kingfishers
Since we were visiting during green season, it was breeding season for the birds. We spied two pied kingfishers on a submerged log along the river. It was also great they were so near the water because we were able to view them up close. We had seen pied kingfishers on other days but always in the distance.
Cape Buffalo
Then we circled to return to the dock and spotted a Cape buffalo hidden in tall grass.
Nile Monitor Lizards
As we arrived back to the open ravine area, there were two Nile monitor lizards soaking up the sun on the rocks. One’s pose didn’t look comfortable to me at all!
Chacma Baboons
Chacma baboons had taken over the ravine. Adults were fighting and chasing each other around. One lone baboon crouched to take a sip of water.
After the cruise we had our final buffet breakfast at the Chobe Game Lodge before checking out.
Best of Chobe Game Lodge Package
2020 Price: R59,852 (approx. $4,144) for 4 nights
Transfer to Zimbabwe
I had previously set up our transfer to our Zimbabwe hotel through the Chobe Game Lodge. We climbed into a game truck which drove us 45 minutes to the Zimbabwe border. The drive took us past villages we hadn’t seen before.
Transfer to Victoria Falls
2020 Price: $74 per person
Visas
At the border, we filled out our forms and waited for our turn at the window. We decided to obtain a KAZA UNIVISA rather than just a Zimbabwean tourist visa since our plan was to take a day trip into Zambia as well. KAZA stands for the Kavango-Zambezi area where Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe meet.
The KAZA UNIVISA is like two visas in one – it allows you to cross the borders between Zimbabwe and Zambia multiple times in a 30-day period. Otherwise we would have had to get a multi-entry Zimbabwean visa and a separate Zambian visa. The KAZA UNIVISA was $50 each while a multi-entry Zimbabwean visa would have been around $45 each. Zambian single-entry visas would have been $50 each.
KAZA UNIVISA
2020 Price: $50 per person
While we were waiting for the visas to be finalized, our driver from Chobe was moving our bags from the game truck to a bus on the Zimbabwean side that was going to take us the rest of the way.
I found out it really helps to have a local with you at the border. Our transfer group had a man who basically took over for us after we paid. He told us to sit down and he would deal with talking to the border agents.
With our new visas in hand, we crossed into Zimbabwe for our one-hour drive to the town of Victoria Falls.
Zimbabwe Accommodation
The bus dropped us off at our hotel, the A’Zambezi River Lodge. The lodge is right on the river and has its own docks. I found it online and at first thought it would cost too much after what we’d spent on the game lodges in Botswana and South Africa. Then I found it for at least a third less on Expedia – booked it!
A’Zambezi River Lodge
2020 Price: $772 for 3 nights
We were early for check-in so we took that time to schedule activities with Wild Horizons for our stay. This was the first time in a while that our days weren’t planned and included in our room costs. Since it was a nice day, we signed up for the sundowner cruise on the Zambezi River that night.
Sunset Cruise
2020 Price: $40 per person + $10 park fee per person
Sunset Cruise on the Zambezi
We walked to the boat and settled in first as around 30 other people joined us. We sat at the front right table since I knew people would be crowding around at some point for better views.
Zambezi River
The Zambezi River is the 4th longest river in Africa after the Nile, Congo, and Niger. It starts in Zambia, flows into Angola, creates Zambia’s border with Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, then travels through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean.
Elephants
Our first major sighting was a herd of elephants on Kalunda Island in the middle of the river. They were pretty playful and gave us a lot of fun moments to watch.
Hippos
After Kalunda, we cruised along a much larger island – Lwando Island (also called Long Island). At its tip we came upon a large pod of hippos with several calves.
Birds and Nile Crocodile
We noticed an African openbill stork standing on a branch behind a giant kingfisher just waiting to be photographed. Below them, nestled in the grass, lay a small Nile crocodile.
Elephants
There was a commotion from the boats behind us. The elephants we’d seen on Kalunda were crossing the Zambezi to reach the Zimbabwean banks. It was a phenomenal sight to watch them slowly make their way through the water.
Sunset
Our boat made the turn to cruise along Lwando toward Victoria Falls. The sun began to set, painting pastels on the horizon. Right before circling to head back, our captain pointed out the mist from Victoria Falls in the distance.
By then, bright oranges and yellows from the sunset saturated the sky.
As we docked, the glowing moon rose above the tree line and cast light on the river.
Since it was dark and wild animals roamed the area, vans picked everyone up at the dock and dropped us all off at our hotels. Dinner was a la carte. I had a delicious Chicken Kiev.
Steph- I just wanted to say I love reading the blogs and imagining we will all be traveling again one day soon. So glad you have had so many wonderful experiences you can share with us.
Hope you are staying safe.
Hey Dawn! So glad you’re enjoying the blogs. I miss seeing everyone. Hope you and Cayce are doing well!
It’s me again Ms. Steph, beautiful photography. This adventure in Africa recited by you entices me ever more to give it a try.
Thank you so much for all your kind words Liz! Southern Africa has a special place in my heart.
It must have been incredible to watch the herd of elephants swimming from one country to the other. What a trip! Looks like you chose the perfect night for a sunset cruise with such a large, full moon. Keep sharing!
It was incredible! We were all transfixed watching them move through the water 🙂