Our 2018 trip to Kenya was not a very memorable one, what with a lot of issues with the agent who booked us into the wrong itinerary, last minute issues with a good jeep and incorrect lodges. We wanted to go back to Kenya using the agent's compensation, and chose the same time of the year to see some of the crossings. We also wanted to visit a new country and decided to head to Zimbabwe.
We took a flight out of Dubai and landed early evening in Lusaka, Zambia, then took a bus ride and crossed the border over to Zimbabwe. We spent three nights 528 Victoria Falls which was run by a South African couple who also lived on the property. A green and new home that we really loved. Our first morning was spent flying in a helicopter over the Zambezi River and the gorgeous Victoria Falls. This was followed by a good 2 hour hike on the edge of the Vic Falls on the Zambezi side. We saw a lot of flora and fauna, walked past the bridge that connects Zambia & Zimbabwe which is a popular bungee jumping location.
The next morning, we went on an early safari into the Zambezi National Park that was both on the jeep watching quite a few elephants and antelopes. We also did a 1 hour walking safari with the anti-poaching squad that showed us how snares are put up and how the squad works towards keeping both animal and plant poachers at bay. The same evening was our sunset cruise over the Zambezi river and saw quite a few water birds, and the usual crocs, hippos etc. but the sight of the sun setting in Africa is always a gorgeous one.
On the 4th morning we flew out on a chartered flight to Lake Kariba's Bumi Hills Airstrip. The ranger from the lovely Musango Camp picked us up and took us on a safari through the Matusadona National Park, and when we landed in the camp, we were informed that we had no internet connections and were cut off from the outside world. What a welcome change this was!
We spent 4 days here with the lovely Steve Edwards, the most knowledgeable and kind ornithologist. He challenged himself and took us on several boat trips, and a couple of jeep rides around the Lake Kariba and covered close to 106 different species of birds. We were enthralled and looked forward to every single interaction with him. The Camp itself is thickly wooded and is a welcome home to several species of birds, with an elecric fence around to keep the big game out, we felt safe and special on the island. As part of our outings, we did some unsuccessful fishing, fed the fish eagles and took a trip to the island village nearby.
We flew out of Lake Kariba and landed in Nairobi, Kenya for a night. Our next morning's flight took us to Masai Mara, for the second part of our trip.
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