September 28, 2025

September 28, 2025

Breakfast this morning was on a wooden deck overlooking our water hole. We don’t see much activity; only a couple Buffalo and some female Kudu. Aimee and I are more fascinated by a colony of Southern Masked Weavers in a Palm Tree below us. We watch them as they bite off frond strands to weave into their nests.

After breakfast, we drive back down to the Zambezi River to visit Victoria Falls National Park, a World Heritage Site. Here the Zambezi River drops into a narrow fault zone spreading out on one side to form the world’s largest sheet of falling water. We hike the Rainforest Trail that faces the falls stopping at many viewpoints. In the trees we spot a Trumpeter Hornbill and a Blue Waxbill. Since we are looking across a narrow gorge it is hard to appreciate the gigantic size of this waterfall. At one point we can see Devil’s Pool, a cauldron on the edge of the waterfall face that the very brave can sit in.

The size of Victoria Falls surges during the rainy season to five times the flow today. We can see that as we near the Zambian side of the falls. Today it is almost completely dry. In the rainy season it must be an incredible (and soaking wet) sight.

We finish with an overlook to the bridge that connects Zimbabwe and Zambia. Built in 1905, it was the brainchild of Cecil Rhodes whose dream was to build a train that ran all the way from Cape Town to Cairo through this spot. It only made it as far as Tanzania.

In the park also is a statue of David Livingstone, the first European to view the falls. He named it after his queen. Livingstone was a famous British missionary and explorer of Africa. It was hard work. He almost died several times from disease and a lion attack.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped to see a 1200-year-old Baobab Tree. It is enormous and can hold incredible amounts of water to sustain itself between long droughts.

Back at the hotel we have a quick lunch in the overlook bar. We finish in time to participate in the resort’s Vulture Culture Experience. In anticipation of the feeding we are seeing hundreds of birds circling overhead with many landing in nearby trees.

At 1PM we are escorted down to a viewing area in the desert. Hooded and White-backed Vultures are floating in by the dozens. It is already an incredible sight. Two rangers bring in a cooler of meat setting off a feeding frenzy. It kicks up a cloud of smelly dust. Oddly there are several five-foot tall Marabou Storks joining in the fun. They grab and swallow the pieces whole. This stork has the nickname of the Undertaker bird and is the last of the Ugly Five of Africa for us to see. Males have a large pink throat sac.

Aimee and I relaxed the rest of the day in our room. We are enjoying the break from non-stop touring. In the evening for dinner we share a Butternut Ravioli in Curry sauce at the hotel.