I started my safari at Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia. In addition to being one of the world’s natural wonders, Victoria Falls is located near the conjunction of four African countries: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana making it a logical place to start or end visits to these nations. We were met at the airport in Zambia by our local guide, who brought us to our hotel in Livingstone to drop off our things ands get ready to visit the falls. The hotel is on the shore of the Zambezi River with a view of Zimbabwe on the other bank. Looking downstream, we could see the mist rising from Victoria Falls a few miles away.
I originally made plans to go on my first African safari in the summer of 2020. I would be traveling with my usual photography companion, Alejandro Velarde, as well as another friend, Marcell Puzsar. They had both been to Africa before and had decided that Botswana was the place we should go. I was fine with that and we made our reservations for a 12 day safari starting at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and ending up at Maun in Botswana. Doing some research, I learned that Botswana has the world’s largest elephant population, healthy populations of lions and leopards, and is home to the Okavango Delta – one of the world’s largest inland deltas and a very biodiverse habitat. Even better, the country is safe, sparsely populated, and doesn’t draw the safari crowds commonly seen in other African nations.
We decided on a camping safari (more on that below) to stay close to the wildlife while also keeping costs down. We booked with Savanna Safaris and Tours who are based in Botswana. Our itinerary included stops at Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park, the Savuti, the Khwai Community area, and the Moremi Game Reserve. Of course 2020 ended up being an interesting year, resulting in several reschedules and a few changes in plans. Our tour company was completely supportive and flexible throughout and we made our trip starting at the end of June in 2022.
