Day 12- The big five

It's Sunday today. Just as anywhere else, people go to church. When we leave our hotel after breakfast towards Botswana, we see entire families along the side of the road on their way to their celebration. They are all dressed at their best. Some all in white, others in green. There is a "darkness" of religions in Southern Africa. This of course stems from their colonial past. Every religion you can think of is present, Jehovah's Witnesses and Scientology included. There are even religions that are a mixture of Christian religions mixed with the local traditional beliefs. And what is even more impressive, south of the equator, all these religions have no problem with each other. We can learn a lot from them.

Today we leave Zimbabwe  for our final stop of this trip. Exiting Zimbabwe is much more relaxed than when entering.

Botswana is a country that you know exists but it is never in the news. That's because Botswana is the only truly democratic country in Africa and economically and politically stable. Until its independence in 1966 the country was called Bechuanaland and was a protectorate of the British. This independence happened without any bloodshed. The local government was actually in the hands of the British, but the local chiefs had remained in office. The British insisted on Botswana as a protectorate as a strategic wedge between the Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique, the German colony of Namibia and the Boers in South Africa.

When it no longer appeared to be necessary, the British gave up Bechuanaland. Botswana was born. The president was elected through democratic elections. The young republic Botswana  was in economic distress. The only real economic activity was livestock. In 1967 it became obvious that the British had made a huge mistake in giving up Botswana, when it appeared that the country possessed an enormous diamond stock. That would result in the 70”s and 80”s in the greatest economic growth worldwide and made the country one of the richest in Africa. The country is still floating on the diamond mining. The country tops the list of the largest diamond producers in the world. Botswana has his checkbook in order. It even has a budget surplus. It takes care of its people. We have even seen social housing. This country is not only an example to the rest of Africa, but also to us.

In Botswana, we visit the Chobe National Park. This is about 12,000 km2  and not fenced so that the animals can migrate freely between Chobe and Hwange. Chobe begins where the Kalahari desert ends. All animals found in southern Africa, can be observed here, with the exception of the rhino.

What they do have here is an antelope found nowhere else, the puku. It is in the afternoon sun waiting for us as we begin our safari.

Anyone who makes a safari, is only really happy when they see the Big Five. This name was invented by hunters at the time and indicates the most dangerous animals to hunt on foot.

These are the elephant, lion, rhino, leopard and buffalo. Until now, there are two missing on the list, being the buffalo and leopard. That is our goal of the safari today. On the banks of the Chobe River, a buffalo is  in the water to relax and get rid of the insects. Buffalo, check.

It will not stay with that one buffalo. Because they are massively present. At this time of year the buffalo’s are in Chobe after which they migrate back to Huange in Zimbabwe. On the waterfront there is a crocodile lurking. Two impalas come up walking unsuspectingly. Will we still get to see our kill? Nope. The impala's survive as the crocodile is not really hungry.

A giraffe poses as an accomplished model in front of our lens.

Baboons are also present. They have baby 's which all need to learn by trial and error. Cute to see.

The elephant population has been increased recently. We see a group of very many little ones. Now in Chobe they should not lose any sleep over the elephants, they have here by far the largest population in the world.

To complete our Big Five, we really need a leopard. Our prayers are heard at exactly 5 pm. The Big Five, check.  

On our way out of the park, we see a few male elephants that are arguing. There's one roaring that comes dangerously close to the vehicle. Phew, that is close. I stopped breathing.

We stop on the banks of the Chobe River to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

In the background we hear the 'danger' call of the  impala’s. They do this to warn other impalas of any imminent danger. But even now, a kill stays out ...

We return to the lodge just outside Chobe for our dinner. Tomorrow is the last day of the trip ...