Page 16 - AAA Central Penn – AAA Now! – September/October 2016

AAA
South Africa, Victoria Falls & Botswana
An Incredible Journey with Wildlife Safaris in Southern Africa
TM
By Craig Haberle, CTC
Listen to lions roar in the wild at night; feel the sun’s warmth on a morning safari drive. Gaze at
the mighty cascades and deep gorges of Victoria Falls. Taste the fine wines of South Africa; smell the fresh sea air at the Cape of Good Hope. All your senses are surprised and rewarded on an adventure vacation in southern Africa.
At each turn of the trail on safari, you find something new to see or do; and it’s all so extraordinary and wonderful in the wild. By using tips learned from your safari guide, you soon discover which big cat left those tracks. You train your eyes to catch camouflaged rhinos browsing
in the thicket, spot distant giraffes grazing among tall trees, watch semi-submerged hippos yawn, and then, sit silently still when a cheetah leaps on the hood of your safari vehicle.
Tamer times can enhance your vacation in southern Africa. While in the country of South Africa, be sure to visit popular Cape Town. Take
a cable car ride to the top of Table Mountain for panoramic views across this cosmopolitan city, its harbors and beaches. The nearby Cape Winelands region, with vineyards on rolling hills and in verdant valleys, invites you to winery tastings. Travel south from the city along the Cape Peninsula to Boulders Beach to watch African penguins parade the sands within their chosen colony, while an assortment
of seabirds soar overhead. This entire peninsula is home to many unique plants and flowers known as fynbos vegetation growing naturally nowhere else on earth, yet found in abundance here in a small region with amazing biodiversity. Continue all the way south to behold the rocky headlands at the Cape of Good Hope.
Head for wilder adventures in northern South Africa in the Entabeni Conservancy located within
a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Ranger-trackers lead your search for wild animals on twice-daily safari drives surrounded by the bushveld, open grasslands, sandy wetlands, and sinuous streams that attract lions, elephants, Cape Buffalos, leopards and rhinos – known as the Big Five – and many other species you are likely to see within this private reserve. These guided drives are conducted in early morning and late afternoon when the animals are more active and the light is dramatic for photos. Entabeni,
which means “place of the mountain,” is home
also to giraffes, cheetahs and antelope, along with warthogs, hyenas and hippos. Have your binoculars close at hand to get an identifying look at an exotic array of birds, both resident and migratory, from yellow-streaked greenbuls to chorister robin-chats!
Cross the Tropic of Capricorn to reach a true wonder of the natural world – Victoria Falls. Where the Zambezi River is at its widest, a major fracture in the earth’s surface created an immense chasm into which Victoria Falls’ cascades plummet more than twice the height of Niagara Falls. From the mist- shrouded bottom of the falls, the river continues
its spectacular passage, creating whirlpools and turbulence throughout a zig-zagging series of five deep gorges. Known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders,” Victoria Falls straddles the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. Adjacent to these astounding falls is Zambezi National Park where you can comfortably relax at a lodge sited near a watering hole to observe animals, large and small, gathering to quench their thirst just after dawn
and just before sunset. Be on the lookout for the park’s roaming herds of zebra, giraffe, elephant
and buffalo, and the solitary leopards. After dark, listen for the not-too-distant roar of that principal
predator – the lion.
Nearby, Botswana beckons you to its Chobe
National Park, whose river of the same name
attracts large herds of elephants and buffalo along with legendary lion prides. Raptors nest near the Chobe River, whose surrounding floodplains and marshes are an attractive habitat for water birds and a resting place for migrating birds. Quietly cruise aboard a guided riverboat for several hours of a fresh perspective that reveals hippos swimming, spoonbills wading, kingfishers diving, and crocodiles basking. The safari boat gains you a floating vantage point for superb views of animals drinking, bathing and playing in the river and along its banks. Guided safari drives explore other areas of this park where you may meet monkeys, baboons, zebras, and some unusual members of the antelope family.
When on safari in southern Africa, the first time you see your favorite predator or prey, you definitely know why you traveled this far!
16
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
Now!