Lions, Hippos, and Elephants...Oh My!

We had an incredible time in Zambia! First we went to Victoria Falls, one of the world's largest waterfalls, where I spent my birthday and went....BUNGEE JUMPING! Everyone in my family went except my mom and it was very scary. It was fun to do once but I don't think I would ever do it again. That was definitely and very memorable birthday.

Then we spent the next 11 days on safari in three different places: South Luangwa, Chongwe River, and Lower Zambezi River. We did a lot of different kinds of safari. In South Luangwa we rode in a jeep with no roof and we were really lucky. We got to see tons of different animals and many of them up close. We usually did one safari ride in the morning from 6:00-10:30 and another in the evening from 4:00-7:00. That's when the animals are most active because it gets really hot in the middle of the day. Some animals we saw there were: zebra, giraffes, warthogs, impala, tons of cool birds, herds of elephants, lions, hyenas, leopards, and hippos. We really got to see everything it seemed like! One of my favorite days there we got to follow a momma lionness and her 3 cubs for about an hour. That's really unusual. Usually people see lions but only while they're lying around. So it was cool to watch them play together and the cubs were super cute. At one point then came across an elephant who charged them and made a huge sound to warn them off! That was crazy. Then they joined up with another female lionness. We were about 6 feet away from them much of the time and you have to be really quiet and still so they don't notice the people in the jeep. It was amazing.

This lion is resting after having a big meal of buffalo.  He gets to eat all he wants first and then the rest of the lions in his group can share it.

This is a mom and her 2 daughters in the village

Also, we got to visit a school and village. That was really different! When we went to the school we saw the classrooms which were nice but very simple. We met the teachers and students because they were having an end of term assembly. The kids all had to stand quietly for about 2 hours. I was thinking about how hard that would be for most of Miller--both students and teachers! The top students in each grade received presents for their hard work. The got pencils, crayons, a journal to write in, rulers, or erasers and they were really excited about these. They shook every teacher's hand and even ours. The kids loved being around us, too, and to be in our pictures. They were a ton of fun. Then we also went and visited some of the homes in the village. People usually don't have electricity and none had running water in their homes. It was really interesting to visit them and see how they live.

In our second camp we mostly did walking safaris. We didn't see as many animals but when we did see them it was a little bit scarier since we weren't in a car. When we saw elephants we had to be really careful to not make any noises or let them smell us on the wind because they can be really dangerous. One cool part about our second camp was that we got to swim in the river. It was shallow enough that we didn't have to worry about hippos or crocs. That was fun and we played frisbee with the staff in the water. The people in Zambia are incredibly friendly and happy and everyone we met was wonderful. Whenever we had to say goodbye we felt like crying, even after only a few days of knowing them.

Our third camp was on the mighty Zambezi River. We did driving and walking safaris plus two new kinds: going on a motorboat and canoeing. This let us get really close to hippos and crocs and other animals on the banks of the river. Almost too close, sometimes! It's scary to be in a canoe and know that you're paddling over the bodies of huge hippos that could pop up at any moment. But the guides know what they're doing and we always felt safe. We saw a lot of the same animals in this park but in different ways. We saw a male lion with an HUGE head on one of our boat trips. Also, we spooked a buffalo who charged us on one of our drives. At our safari house the elephants came right onto our lawn and even our patio to eat the tree pods that fell! So we got to watch wildlife right from our living room, bedrooms, and pool. That was really neat. They came right up to the house and sometimes were about 6 feet from where we were sitting. That's when you really don't want them to notice you!

Overall, this was definitely the trip of a lifetime and I'm so happy to have these memories for the rest of my life. It was so special to spend this time with my family and to see the things we did. Now I just have to get ready for our next big trip! We are moving out of our condo in a week so there's a lot to do.