November 21, 2022 – Cruising the World

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Chobe Game Lodge, Botswana

November 21, 2022

Breakfast at 6:30 am today and bus to the falls at 7:30.

The Victoria Falls were close and we were there quickly. The early start time was due to the heat expected later in the day.

We given a short orientation at the falls and then proceeded to 16 different lookouts along the falls.

After the falls, we made our way back to the busses. Some baboons we near the entrance of the parking lot.

We boarded the bus and started on our way to Botswana. A herd of elephants crossed the road in front of us and then we went to see the big tree. Not sure if its near the big ball of twine.

The ride to the border of Zimbabwe and Botswana was about an hour. Along they way, we heard people discussing the Botswana “shoe sterilization”.

Back on the ship, HAL officials notified us that our shoes would need to be sterilized when we get to Botswana and to carry shoes in a separate bag. In the back of my mind, I thought “another assault by a government program”. I didn’t bring any extra shoes. I’m not sure what other shoes I could even bring on a safari.

Back on the bus, we saw passengers with bags of shoes with them. Maybe different safari outfits called for different shoes. I’ll never figure this kind of thing out.

The bus took us as far as the border and we had to exit the bus and go up to the customs office. Before we could approach the office, we had to put our feet on what looked like a cookie sheet full of filthy water. Let’s see, foot on a dirt road, cookie sheet for shoes, feet back on dirt road. Makes sense. Terri had other shoes and they were in her suitcase where they belonged. Other passengers stood at the cookie sheet and dipped each shoe in. We could barely contain our laughter. One thing we learned years ago. Never ask a government official anything. Just proceed like you own the place. You will be ignored.

The official at the custom house after the cookie sheet looked at your passport and then put another slash in a column on a scrap of paper. This were her job. Nothing else to do here. It was an easy job but not as easy as the custom official we passed earlier. He was sprawled out on the ground. Asleep.

It was now time to walk 200yds to the official custom station. It was here that another official took the passport, opened to a blank visa page, gave the official stamp and handed the passport back to you. This was all done without actually looking at the photo page or looking at you. I expected to hear something like “have you put your shoes on the official cookie sheet”? I heard no such question or any question. No one spoke. I thought maybe the visa page would at least have a picture of the official shoe cookie sheet. No such luck.

A man helps his wife step on the official Botswana cookie sheet.

Some countries use a mask mandate. Others a cookie sheet. I’m amazed by different cultures and am more amazed by the similarity in the people that govern them. Lot’s of citizen head shaking concerning governance around the world.

We all felt better that we participated in the official cookie sheet process. No one mentioned, however, what the process was actually for. The dirt on both sides of the cookie sheet seemed to be the same. I guess the dirt on the Botswana side could be cleaner dirt.

On the Botswana side we boarded 4×4 pickup trucks outfitted to hold about 12 passengers. Only a few miles to the lodge but very rough terrain.

Giraffe showed on the way in.

The resort looked fantastic. The Chobe Game Lodge is in the Chobe National Park. This park was created to preserve the area and wildlife in the 1960s. The lodge is right on the Chobe River. This is the same as the Zambezi River which we were on in Victoria Falls. The park is 11,000 square km. There are no fences. Animals go where they please.