Camp Vine, Day 3

Well, we had been asking to see a leopard, so I guess we shouldn't have been surprised. Last night, about two in the morning, there was a very loud sound from a leopard just behind the camp. It came several times, over about ten minutes, then seemed to move off. I was glad we have a toilet attached to our tents, 'cause I wasn't going outside at all.

Some lion sounds, as well as the hippos as usual. I finally was able to get back to sleep after the excitement of the calls. We were woken again at five- thirty, and got onto the trail shortly after six. We walked a long time, when Bono said: "there!", and there was a leopard in a low branch above the ground. They are very shy, so it jumped down immediately, with a growl. I saw it's body and tail, Charlie saw the paws. We looked for it among the low bushes for a while, the gave up and walked back home. Overall, we were gone about three hours, and came back in rapidly heating up sunlight, to get some breakfast, and now to lie down.

It's strange to think that this trip is almost over. I think I was a bit scared at first, quite unsure of what I would find here, and nervous that I would not like it at all. And I did not handle myself well at the airport in Lusaka: forgot to do things, didn't have the right money with me, and so on. And Lusaka is what you'd guess a third world city would be like, with too many people all scratching out a living, many by trying to seek things to you while you drive slowly down the busy streets. Even the downtown is a bit bleak and makes you nervous in it's busy-ness and disrepair. And the trip to Kariba reinforces your concerns with the stops for police checks, the border guards who seem to be on the take, and lots of things happening in a language you don't understand.

But the time in Zimbabwe (which I thought might be the scariest, what with Mugabe and all) has turned out to be quite wonderful. The canoe trip was hard at times, scary at times, but got us into the rhythm of the country. And the folks we have been with all this time (Bono, Champion, previously Scumbuzo, now Take, Sebastien, Nelson) have all been delightful, and open about their concerns and hopes for the country they live in. Their obvious determination to make this place work, and not give up on it, is remarkable and heartening. We have learned so much from them, and it is not all about the plants and animals of this National Park (as amazing and exciting as that has been). I would come back to Zimbabwe, and would do this again, or something like it. And I will come back to Africa, now with the knowledge I have garnered from this trip.

This afternoon, after our now-usual nap and lunch, we walked a ways into the bush, and then were met by the car to bring us back. On this encounter, we met a sole male elephant, who came towards us in a mock charge.

I got some pictures, and it was kind of frightening at the time. As we were driving back, there were also elephants by the road, who came quite close. As well, the impalas, baboons, a few kudus, some verbet monkeys, and a number of storks and hornbills.

All in all, a good day.
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Location:Zambesi River