We're on the road! I biked 70 miles today (further than I have ever ridden!) through Zambia and we crossed the international border into Botswana at the Zambezi River. The passport office was very confusing, but I was really excited to photograph all the people waiting for the ferry. A bridge is under construction so someday the ferry will be gone. Tonight we are camping alongside the Chobe National Park. This is one of the richest parks for protected wildlife in the region, and the only place in the world where four countries come together. Can you figure out which ones?
We took a boat safari on the Chobe and saw the animals! That's really why we are all here, to feel small in the big African wilderness and to see all the wild beauty. We saw massive cape buffalo, rainbow-colored kingfishers with their spiky beaks, kudu with their beautiful horns and shy impala (sometimes called the, "fast food of the bush"). There were also sightings of majestic African fish eagles, enormous crocodiles sunning themselves and hippo families in the shallow waters.
Our boat went by the hippo families very carefully because hippos are known to sink boats and are very dangerous. However, they are used to safari boats staying a respectful distance in the Chobe and don't get territorial.
