My husband takes me to the greatest places! This October we visited Zambia. It was amazing. The safari camp we stayed at is located on the Southern Luanga River, home to the greatest population of Hippo in the world. We saw more than 500 Hippo every day. Along with a massive population of huge Crocodiles. 

It’s hard to describe the allure of Africa. This is my 6th trip and I am addicted. We hope to go every year until we are physically unable. 

We usually start the day with a 4am breakfast at camp and then head out in search of adventure. Dawn is 5am so we begin our drive in the dark. Every morning on the road we ‘bump’ hippo right outside of camp. They are surprisingly quick on their feet. As we continue our drive we turn parallel to the river and there we see hundreds of hippo in many, many groupings. They are all surrounded by crocs. On this trip we saw many dead hippo (about 4 a day). This was due to over-population. The crocs are  very happy as they just wait for a hippo to float up to them for a gigantic feast. The bloated hippos remind me of the Macy’s gigantic balloons-they are just floating along the river til the crocs jump them. Nature is cruel. 

As the light lifts we begin to see all the animals on the plains.

Zebra, elephant, giraffe, hundreds of baboon, big and small game, and fantastic colorful birds I don’t think I would ever run out of reference material here. 

We spent 14 days and it was not enough. Temperatures ranged daily from 80-103°. Tracking through the bush in these temperatures is HOT!! 

Our hut in the camp is made from straw and the windows are chicken wire screen. At night in our room the animals walk through camp and we hear them as they walk by. One night I HEARD  a hippo breathing right outside our door. I woke John up and we placed a chair to jam the door (trust me, this would not stop a hippo). We were warned to never leave our hut at night. This really is a dangerous game area. during our stay a local villager was killed on the road at night by a buffalo. Death is easily accepted here. Villagers regularly die by hippo, elephant, and buffalo. To a lesser extent crocs. But now that they have pumps for water at their villages they no longer need to go to the river every day for water, so crocs are no longer as much of an issue as they used to be.

Every trip to Africa I am fascinated by everything we learn and see. On every trip my biggest takeaway is how lucky we were to be born in America. Where we have fresh water, food, education, and health. Every day is a gift.