Of black maned lions and rampaging hippos

[bPeteb]

We've arrived at Hakusembe River Lodge HAKUSEMBE RIVER LODGE. It's day nine of our trip and the fifth night of our journey from Victoria Falls to Cape Town. We booked with World Expeditions but the tour is run by Kiboko Kalahari Adventure Tour | SA, Namibia & Zimbabwe Safari | Kiboko Adventures

It has been an amazing five days, truly amazing.

Away we go

 

[bPeteb]

The flight out of Brisbane down to Sydney was an hour late meaning more drinking time in the Briz J lounge.

Love this livery


Y dinner. Actually quite tasty but difficult to eat


Our room at the Novotel Sydney International Hotel

 

[kpc]

We've arrived at Hakusembe River Lodge HAKUSEMBE RIVER LODGE. It's day nine of our trip and the fifth night of our journey from Victoria Falls to Cape Town. We booked with World Expeditions but the tour is run by Kiboko Kalahari Adventure Tour | SA, Namibia & Zimbabwe Safari | Kiboko Adventures

It has been an amazing five days, truly amazing.

Away we go

Our tour is run by Kiboko as well...no wonder we are stayimg at many of the same places...we arrive at the lodge above in 2 days time....currently at Etosha Village for next 2 nights.

Edit: I think our paths WILL CROSS tomorrow, Friday at Etosha Village...might see you at dinner!

 

[bPeteb]

Our tour is run by Kiboko as well...no wonder we are stayimg at many of the same places...we arrive at the lodge above in 2 days time....currently at Etosha Village for next 2 nights.

Edit: I think our paths WILL CROSS tomorrow, Friday at Etosha Village...might see you at dinner!

We’ll be there after a very long drive! Look out for the tired looking guy in green plastic Birkenstocks

 

[bPeteb]

We are day 6 in Namibia- @Ugeb Terrace lodge now...wow.wow!!...absolutely fantastic trip so far....off to Etosha today before moving onto Botswana and then Victoria Falls

Ugab is booked for our dates Instead we're staying at another Gondwana Collection Damara Mopane Lodge

 

[bPeteb]

View from our hotel room



As you all know WP status has some pretty good benefits including priority check-in, and fast track immigration and security screening. We eventually found where to do this and through quickly although Colin got quite the pat down.

Sydney first lounge is so nice. Eggs bene and an omelette with a bloody Mary! Then a bubbles.




Flight two delayed so we had time for another champagne. Sorry, no idea what was being poured.



Our chariot arriving


I'd selected row 59 on the 787. Very last row where on either side it is only a two with a lsrge space between the seat and the wall. The flight was so very glad I was able to select my seat and then bAlt moved beside me.


Lovely crew. Cabin supervisor Tina came and introduced herself to me. No special treatment apart from drinks and a snack before everyone else with first drinks service.

Nothing much to say about the flight. Didn't get far enough south for a glimpse of as Antarctica but heavy for might have stopped that in any case. Meals all really nice.

A very different menu to what we usually see posted on here. Not everyone sits up front

 

[bPeteb]

the rest of the menu


our first drink not that long after take off


Fantastic views of the Oz Alps as we flew south west

 

[bPeteb]

so to our meals. We both thought everything that we ate was good. We're not gourmands and have no expectations of restaurant quality in the air, no matter where we're sitting

I know some of you would choke on this but oh well


pinot grigio with my prwans with garlic cream sauce



bAlt's chicken parmie


icecream for dessert


later on we both had the chicken with roast potatoes


and towards the end of the flight the quite difficult to eat chicken ciabatta


Tina and the very cute flight attendant with kinda of a man bun were both lovely. Nice people all around us. No booze hounds. A bit of turbulence along the way. Descent into JNB slow so bAlt's ears were ok unlike SYD where he had huge pain. Very smoggy/dusty.

 

[RooFlyer]

Instead we're staying at another Gondwana Collection Damara Mopane Lodge

Our tour is staying at Gondwana Collection places along the way, including that one.

 

[craven morehead]

View from our hotel room

View attachment 401379

As you all know WP status has some pretty good benefits including priority check-in, and fast track immigration and security screening. We eventually found where to do this and through quickly although Colin got quite the pat down.

Sydney first lounge is so nice. Eggs bene and an omelette with a bloody Mary! Then a bubbles.

View attachment 401373View attachment 401374
View attachment 401375

Flight two delayed so we had time for another champagne. Sorry, no idea what was being poured.

View attachment 401377

Our chariot arriving
View attachment 401376

I'd selected row 59 on the 787. Very last row where on either side it is only a two with a lsrge space between the seat and the wall. The flight was so very glad I was able to select my seat and then bAlt moved beside me.
View attachment 401378

Lovely crew. Cabin supervisor Tina came and introduced herself to me. No special treatment apart from drinks and a snack before everyone else with first drinks service.

Nothing much to say about the flight. Didn't get far enough south for a glimpse of as Antarctica but heavy for might have stopped that in any case. Meals all really nice.

A very different menu to what we usually see posted on here. Not everyone sits up front
View attachment 401380View attachment 401381View attachment 401382

I was there about 12 or so days ago and they have only one choice of bubbles now. Apparently, they have done a deal with this mob

 

[kpc]

Our tour is run by Kiboko as well...no wonder we are stayimg at many of the same places...we arrive at the lodge above in 2 days time....currently at Etosha Village for next 2 nights.

Edit: I think our paths WILL CROSS tomorrow, Friday at Etosha Village...might see you at dinner!

The first ever AFF meetup in Etosha, Namibia happened this evening when @bPeteb and I caught up at dinner at Etosha Village....we had a lovely conversation along with our partners. Such a small world...

Happy travels @bPeteb !

 

[bPeteb]

The first ever AFF meetup in Etosha, Namibia happened this evening when @bPeteb and I caught up at dinner at Etosha Village....we had a lovely conversation along with our partners. Such a small world... Happy travels @bPeteb !

The first ever AFF meetup in Etosha, Namibia happened this evening when @bPeteb and I caught up at dinner at Etosha Village....we had a lovely conversation along with our partners. Such a small world... Happy travels @bPeteb !

Lovely to meet you kpc and Mrs kpc. Lucky I still look like my photo after a week of way too much food and not enough exercise.

Enjoy where we have been and I’m sure we’ll enjoy where you’ve both travelled through.

And our zebra Bruce, who’s been hanging around outside our room

 

[RooFlyer]

@bPeteb and @kpc - what sort of power points are you finding in Namibia?

World Power Plugs & Sockets: Travel Adapter Needed?

Are you planning to travel abroad? Check if you need a power plug (travel) adapter for the power sockets (outlets) used in that country.

www.power-plugs-sockets.com

It looks like its mainly 'D' and 'M' types, which are unusual. Do the lodges/hotels tend to have, say Euro or US as well?

Namibia - Power Plugs & Sockets: Travel Adapter Needed?

Check your need for a power plug (travel) adapter in Namibia. The power sockets in Namibia are of type D and M. The standard voltage is 220 V at a frequency of 50 Hz.

www.power-plugs-sockets.com

 

[kpc]

@bPeteb and @kpc - what sort of power points are you finding in Namibia?

World Power Plugs & Sockets: Travel Adapter Needed?

Are you planning to travel abroad? Check if you need a power plug (travel) adapter for the power sockets (outlets) used in that country.

www.power-plugs-sockets.com

It looks like its mainly 'D' and 'M' types, which are unusual. Do the lodges/hotels tend to have, say Euro or US as well?

Namibia - Power Plugs & Sockets: Travel Adapter Needed?

Check your need for a power plug (travel) adapter in Namibia. The power sockets in Namibia are of type D and M. The standard voltage is 220 V at a frequency of 50 Hz.

www.power-plugs-sockets.com

Mainly M (M and D look very similar I have to add), the Sth African one with the big fat round 3rd pin; most but not all also have US and Euro ones as well. Occas they may have universal one as well. Buy / bring the Sth African M one and you will be 100% set.

 

[bPeteb]

As kpc has said mainly the SA one. Some English. Lots euro. Can’t remember seeing US but we weren’t looking. We’ve even had universal plugs in most places (bathroom) that needed no adaptors, plus usb-a in some and even usb-c in one.

We have five of these in our bungalow at Etosha

 

[bPeteb]

Last row of a plane means last off. The immigration queue was long and slow, about 40 minutes, and immigration office barely even looked at us before stamping our passports. I checked us in for our flight to Livingstone while we stood in the queue and saved the boarding passes to my phone wallet.

Our bags of course were waiting for us, and together, when we finally got out to the baggage carousels. We knew they had because we'd tracked them with airtags for the first time and knew they'd left Sydney with us.

We had booked a night at City Lodge Hotel. As you walk out of arrivals you can see it on top of the carpark in front of you. It's a really easy well signed undercover <10 minute walk.

The hotel was much nicer than I was expecting. We were allocated an odd but very quiet room.



We went down to the bar/cafe to try and drag the day out. At 6pm it was 2am at home. Our aim was to make it to 10pm. Because we hadn't eaten enough on the plane (not), we had more. Too tired to take pics of yummy vegetarian basket.

Had two beers and a cider each and with food, vat and tip it was ZAR500.

The beer put me to sleep nice and quickly but I was awake at 3.30

Breakfast at the hotel cost - no idea - and it was a huge spread. The staff at teh hotel were all so nice.

Pool deck at the hotel



Huge restaurant

 

[bPeteb]

Our flight was at 11 but we'd read that you need at least two hours to check in at O.R. Tambo and that was definitely correct.. We walked across from the hotel and were immediately accosted by a ‘porter’ who asked where we were flying to and even after we said we already had boarding passes said we needed to print them up. We accepted his advice. Rookie error we won’t make when we come back to JNB in a few weeks.

So we went through the process of getting paper boarding passes via a machine and then he led us around to what he’d said was Airlink bag drop but was actually check-in. We joined the queue and he explained he’d do this and that and then asked for a crisp $20. I knew he meant USD20. I handed him $2, he looked at me, said thanks, and left us.

Check in completed we then walked into the crazy town that was immigration. I had a terrifying moment where I thought my wallet had gone but I’d dropped it into the wrong pocket of my pack. While we were stood in the very slow moving queue they kept calling out for people boarding at this time and that and pullinging them out of the queue.

Boarding for our flight was at 10:45 and we got through with I think 20 minutes to spare.
OR Tambo is huge. Our gate was A26 and it was of course at the very far end of the terminal, down a tremendously long escalator. About five minutes after we got there they announced that our gate had changed to A5, where we’d pretty much come from! Up the steps (the up escalator was broken) and it took not far off the 10 minutes the time said.

Boarding time came and went for our Airlink flight to Livingstone. Eventually the doors opened and boarding started.


I’d paid the huge (not) cost of ZAR70 each, about $6, to select row 3 on the Embraer 190. Fantastic leg room.


Despite boarding about 25 minutes later than expected, we pulled back only 5 minutes late.

It was a great flight. Full service including drinks. Choice of chicken or beef salad, both delicious and a beer.



It was very cloudy or hazy the whole way to Livingstone. We came down through the cloud over the Zambezi well up from the falls.



Greeted at the entry to the terminal buy two ladies with the biggest smiles who gave everyone a press of hand sanitiser. Immigration offered to sell us a KAZA visa that allows multiple entries between Zambia and Zimbabwe but we were only going across to Zimbabwe once.



Both of our bags were scanned on arrival and nothing found we went out to hopefully see a sign with my name on it. And there was. The hotel said it offered a shuttle and I had contacted them to ask about it. They booked a transfer for us instead, USD21 each.

We shared the van with three others, a couple staying at Avani and a single staying with us at the Radisson Blu. Sadly their bags had not arrived with them. All three had flown from the west coast of the US through London to JNB and then on to Livingstone. Their bags just didn’t make it onto the Airlink flight. I saw the lady staying with us the next afternoon and her bag had clearly arrived as she was not wearing the same clothes!

 

[bPeteb]

We drove through sleepy little town of Livingstone on our way to the hotel. We didn’t get a chance to get back to the David Livingstone museum. Next time.

A group of baboons was sitting at the end of the road we turned onto that led to the Radisson Blu Mosi-Oa-Tunya.

https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-resort-mosi-oa-tunya

We arrived well before the 3pm check in time but the lovely Liston said our upgraded room was nearly ready so just to have a wander.



We had asked about the sunset cruise and were told to go to the restaurant to book, which we went and did. 1200K each, about AU$140 total, for two hours with finger food and unlimited premium drinks. She too had what every Zambian we met had - the most gigantic smile.

The smiling porter came and found us and took us up to our beautiful room. We’d booked a room with a terrace that opens out onto the gardens and looked towards the river but were upgraded to a room on the second floor with a large garden terrace and amazing view of the pool and across to the river. It was beautiful.

 

[RooFlyer]

Exactly my experience at arriving JNB last night. Young lady at immigration managed to put my passport on the scanner, type a few things into her keyboard and stamp my passport all the time never looking at me and chatting to the two young guys hanging out at the back of her booth.

 

[bPeteb]

We have just arrived at Kakamas Hotel in, strangely enough, Kakamas. Just six more nights before this amazing adventure comes to and end

Back to Zambia

Time for a quick refresh, shoes off, flip flops on, down to the beautiful river boat for our sunset cruise.



Boarding was at 3:30 and we were on at 3:30. Front row seats up on the covered deck.



Our lovely waiter Agness H explained the drinks - everything is available and drink as much as you want (or can). Started with the local Mosi beer after being told we wouldn’t wake up with a hangover but that was not true. We stayed with it for a while (maybe too long) then some bubbles and maybe a gin or two.



This soon filled up


We saw crocs and some hippos



some bee eater nests in the riverbank


and then elephants (!!) and then as the sun went down the hippos came out of the water, including a baby. It was like a dream.



It was a lovely way to start our African adventure. Dinner was in the main (and only) restauramt. We'd eaten and drunk enough. I vageuly remeber we had something to share and that was the end of night two in southern Africa.