Day 7 :: Ngepi to Livingstone, Zambia.

Another cold night in the tents, probably not as cold as other places because we were beside the river. However it seems to get very cold around 4am although this might just be when we were woken by the hippos who we know are very close after last nights cruise. One camper even saw one in the reeds on the bank only meters from the tents.
Another stunning sunrise and it is time to pack up. We are getting better at this now and Bruce is an absolute trouper getting up on top to pack the roof rack in these cold mornings.

One last trip to the toilets which all have a theme. We all had a turn in the garden of Eden toilet. Each shower and toilet has an eclectic angle. In fact the whole camp is an eclectic mix of artifacts and humorous anecdotes.

Shelley's rusks and tea for breakfast went down a treat with both ourselves and Team Maverick this morning as we strive to get away early. These guys are legends, we nickname them our support crew as they are always ready to help when we arrive in camp so late or book places ahead for us.

Once we were on the road we crossed the Okovango river, this put us into the game reserve or what they call a shared use road. The Caprivi highway is several continuous game reserves or national parks. We saw herds of elephant, a herd of sable, lots of cattle and goats and villagers, proof that people can coexist with wildlife. A great model for Zululand?

The border crossing went very well for a third world country. We seemed to have to pay everyone. Insurance, visa, customs, carbon tax, vehicle fees...... This took about an hour but went surprisingly well. Straight after the border we crossed the mighty Zambezi, arguably the most important river in Africa. This is the upper Zambezi as Victoria Falls separates this from the lower Zambezi. This river eventually flows out into the Zambezi delta in Mozambique.

Traveling through this next section we experienced the worst pot holes we had seen so far, this really slowed us down. Some of them would do you serious damage if we hit them at speed. We did spot Ground Hornbills at one stage and they weren't in a park or reserve at all which was probably as special as the sable earlier. Some Zambian kids will be writing with their new pens tomorrow as well.

Arriving into Livingstone at night we battled to find our camp at first. Eventually we made our way to the camp which is on the banks of the river about 3 km above the falls. Our excitement wasn't over yet as we jostled with Elephants getting in the gate. We don't appear to be in a game park so it seems Elephants just roam wild here. How exciting.

Once again Team Maverick has our back. They manage to travel at about twice our speed so get there ahead of the main pack and reserve a spot as well as cook us a stunning Braai.