Rainbows and Rhinos

 August 6

Today was a day in three parts. We returned to Victoria Falls this morning, to take advantage of the morning light angle to see the rainbows created in the mist.  Then we visited a local village to understand their way of life.  It was fascinating to observe their off-the-grid but not primitive methods. Our tour company, Natural Habitat Adventures, has been partnering with this village for many years, particularly supporting their K-9 schools. 

Then in the late afternoon we traveled into the Mosi-o-Tunya (the original name for the falls) National Park. Although this is one of the smallest national parks in Zambia, it is home to all 10 of the country’s white rhinos. The rhinos are protected 24x7 by a team of 15 rangers. We met with one of the rangers who took us walking through the bush to observe 5 of the rhinos grazing and wandering at will. We were able to get quite close to them (perhaps 20-30 feet from them), and then they started walking towards us to make that distance even smaller— needless to say we slowly and calmly backed up! To see these animals at eye level and so close was just amazing.

Tomorrow we will cross into Botswana and begin our trek into the Okavango Delta. 

Pictured: rainbows at Victoria Falls, white rhinos grazing, black-collared barbet