Welcome to Victoria Falls Sept 12 Friday

Today we left Santawani camp and flew back to Kasane Airport in Botswana on our last bush plane ride. The camp is only about a 10 min drive from the air strip, but on the way we finally saw all three leopards together. Mama was out hunting with her twins. Leopards and cheetahs hunt in the morning as opposed to lions who hunt at night. We didn’t have enough time to watch them, as our planes had just come in and we needed to get going. We had such a great time with our knowledgeable guides Ona and Fannah. They will be missed.

Saying goodbye to the bush and Ona and Fannah

When we arrived back at Kasane Airport, we took a bus to the Zimbabwe border, then switched buses for the drive to Victoria Falls. We are staying at the Shearwater Explorers Village. It’s a beautiful hotel and we are happy to have AC again!!! We are within walking distance to lots of dining and shopping, and we can hear Vic Falls right next to our hotel. It sounds like constant thunder, which is, in fact, the Lozi tribal name for the falls: Mosi-oa-Tunya, meaning Thundering Smoke/Smoke that Rises.

We had lunch when we arrived, and some free time to shop before our Home Hosted Dinner. OAT does a home hosted dinner once per trip. We were divided up into groups of five and had dinner with a local family. Our family was Gordon and Memory, their 12 yo daughter Michelle, a grown son who was chef, and a son who was away at a boarding school for his “futbol” talent. She and her children each spoke four languages. Memory’s sister was also there to pick up her son after work, and her sister in law ate diner with us also, and had provided the chicken from her farm, where she kept 150 chickens to sell the eggs and meat. Memory worked in the reservation department at a local hotel, and Gordon worked as river rafting guide and drove for a transfer service. Memory’s sister works for the airline that we had been flying in the bush, and had made all our reservations.

Shearwater Explorers Village

Our host Memory in her beautiful kitchen

Memory and Gordon lived in a new home in a new neighborhood in Vic Falls that had been a bush area. The population of VF is growing so they are expanding into the bush surrounding the city. They had recently built their home by saving money for each portion of the build process. First they saved and purchased the lot from the government, then saved for the foundation, then saved for the walls, etc. When they were ready for the roof, they sold their smaller house, rented it from the buyers, had the roof put on, then moved in and finished it while living there. They had a beautiful garden, and fruit tress that the elephants enjoyed. Turning the bush into neighborhoods has its own set of challenges. They often see the elephants walking down the street.

We had a traditional dinner of chicken, vegetable stew, white rice, peanut butter rice, polenta, and kale. Before dinner, Memory knelt down on her knees, and washed all our hands using a kettle of warm water and a basin to catch it. This is common in the villages, where we had experienced it previously, as well as in the cites. Steve was the only male in our small group, so she did his hands first and served him first, as per tradition. I asked her if this tradition was changing with the times, and she said definitely not. Respect for men and elders is taught to all generations, and it is expected and practiced. Don’t get me wrong, the women are also very respected, and young men are taught to respect women. There are consequences doled out by the families when respect is not practiced.

We were encouraged to eat with our hands, so I asked for a lesson this time. You break off a piece of the polenta, roll it into a ball, make a dent in the middle, and use that for a scooper. The idea is not to keep your fingers clean, but to actually dip your fingers in the food to load it onto the polenta. I definitely did not master it, but it was much better this time. We all shared a few things abut our lives and homes, and learned a lot about their culture and way of life. The home hosted dinner is a truly enjoyable part of OAT trips.