A van drove us from Victoria Falls to Kasane airport in Botswana, about a 1-1/2 hour drive. One interesting thing was that, the moment we crossed from Zimbabwe into Botswana, we began seeing large farms. A fellow had told us that many of the white farmers who were forced out of Zimbabwe had been invited to Botswana by the government. As soon as we crossed the border, we believed him – we went from being surrounded by desolate landscape (Zimbabwe) to being surrounded by large, successful farms (Botswana).
Anyhow, from the Kasane airport, we flew on a tiny 6-seater bush plane to Mombo Camp in the Okavango Delta. Unfortunately, it was a very bumpy 1-1/2 hour flight. Anyone who knows me well knows what happened! Let’s just say that you could call me Ralph.
The Botswana government has limited safaris to small environmentally-friendly camps. In Botswana, you do not find huge safari lodges or lots of people. The result is spectacular game viewing.
Mombo Camp sits in the trees, on the edge of an open plain that is grassy in the dry season (when we were there) and that floods in the rainy season. You can sit on the deck in camp and see impala, red lechwe (a small antelope), zebra, wildebeest, cape buffalo, giraffe, elephant, and sometimes lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena, as well as the ever-present monkeys and baboon. You can experience an entire safari sitting on the deck in camp!
The camp has raised platforms that connect the main lodge area to the tents (which are also built on raised platforms). The raised walkways allow animals to wander through camp, under the walkways. In fact, the day we arrived, an elephant had walked through the raised walkway, tearing it down. We later learned this happens a couple of times a month. Elephants apparently just don’t care about the maintenance and repair budget!
a view of Mombo camp from the air:
Mombo camp:
We arrived at camp, marveled at the view, and then went to our respective "tents" – a large tented bedroom, sitting area and bathroom (probably 1,000 square feet total), on raised platforms, with a large outdoor deck, shower and a giant covered bed for lounging. The tents are have views of the grassy plains so you could just sit back and watch the animals.
Our room:
the bathroom:
each room has an outside bed as well: 
When Roger and I walked up to our tent, a very large elephant was standing right next to the walkway, munching on the tree next to our front door. That was quite the welcoming committee!
We spent the next few days taking game drives in the early morning, relaxing in the afternoon, and taking games drives again in the evening. We saw even more animals in Botswana than we had seen in SA – including a cheetah and her 3 cubs, a pride of 18 lion, and a gorgeous bull rhino (can you call a rhino gorgeous? maybe "impressive" is a better word), plus all the "usual" animals like zebra, giraffe, hippo, elephant, cape buffalo, baboon, monkey, etc.
the cheetah and one of her cubs:
look at that tummy!
mama stopped and posed for us...
each evening, we stopped for sundowners...
the bull rhino:
his left back leg is hurt -- he was beaten up by two other lion...
sunset on the Okavango Delta, Botswana:
Incidentally, one of the Mombo camp managers was from Zimbabwe. He said his father, who still lives in Zimbabwe, had done everything you are supposed to do – he worked hard all of his life, saved, invested, and retired. Now, because of inflation, his father cannot support himself and his kids have to support him. Imagine having $1,000,000 in a retirement account one year, and it being worth only about $100,000 the next year, then only $10,000 the next year! That is what his farther has experienced – a lifetime of work with virtually nothing to show for it.
Anyhow, we had a wonderful time and left understanding why Mombo Camp is one of the top camps in one of the top safari destinations in the world – it was truly amazing!
From Mombo, we flew back to Jo’burg (thankfully, on a larger plane this time) and said goodbye to mom and dad, who headed to Madrid, and then home. Roger and I spent the night in Jo’burg and then caught our flight to Mozambique for some R&R.
here are some of the animals we saw...
...monkeys...
...Cape Buffalo...
...zebra...
...elephant...
...hyena...
...hippo...
...wart hog...
...wildebeest...
...and a pride of 18 lion!
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