Zimbabwe and neighboring Zambia used to be Rhodesia. After independence, Northern Rhodesia became Zambia and Southern Rhodesia became Zimbabwe.
We started off taking a 2 hour hike along the Falls. The gorge is fairly narrow and when we were standing in Zimbabwe looking at the Falls we were looking at Zambia. This is the dry season so there are great expanses of this vast gorge that have no water. Yet, there is still so much water plummeting over a large portion of the gorge that you cannot imagine what it would be like in the rainy season. They say that there is so much water coming over the Falls in the high season that there are sections of the walking path where you cannot walk and in the sections where you can walk you need a raincoat because of the spray. In the area covered with the mist from the falls everything is shrouded and it is very difficult to see the gorge. The spray from the Falls actually creates a miniature rain forest due to all the water. Approaching the Falls, everything was brown yet close to the gorge, the landscape was lush with ferns and everything is green and dense even though it is the dry season.
The amount of water that comes over the Falls in rainy season in 5 minutes is more than the water that could be used by all of Johannesburg (7.8 million people) for one year!
Towards the end of the walk we encountered a small vervet monkey nursing its offspring and were amazed that she allowed us to get so close. These monkeys were everywhere, were peaceful and for the most part ignored us and continued with their search for food.
Our next stop was an elephant sanctuary which is home to elephant babies abandoned by their mothers because they were sick and could not keep up with the herd, or elephants saved from culling in nearby wildlife reserves (because there are so many). They are brought to this sanctuary for adoption. They have 19 elephants ranging in age from 9 months to 32 years old.
Before we saw the elephants we were treated to a great surprise. We were shown a beautiful cheetah. His name is Sylvester and was found by a ranger when he was just a baby. His mother and brother had been killed by a lion. Sylvester was so young when he was adopted that he grew up not knowing he was a cheetah. He never learned to kill. Cheetahs are partly from the dog family and part from the cat family. Most "cats" suffocate their kill. He chases wild animals but does not know what to do with them when he catches them. He obeys some commands (like "sit") and the Rangers had him on a leash and let us pet him. But there were lots of rules - approach from the back, be very careful not to step on this tail, if he gets irritated and does not want to be petted, STOP! What a thrilling experience to interact with a cheetah, an animal that can reach a speed of 60 miles an hour in 3 seconds.
The cheetah's unique anatomy is what allows it to run so fast:
- head is small for aerodynamics
- tail is used for balance like a stabilizer or rudder
- enlarged nostrils, lungs and heart for air intake and creation of energy
- flexible spine for maximum stride
- heavier hindquarters (unlike other cats with heavier front paws) for contact with the ground and greater push off
An amazing and beautiful animal!
Then we got to interact with the elephants. They brought them up to the deck where we were standing and let us pet them. Several adjectives come to mind: huge, scaly, thick, dry, tough, strong. Yet you look at their eyes with eyelashes that are 3-4 inches long and see gentleness. These elephants in the sanctuary are accustomed to people because of the daily interaction and were very gentle. Yet, these animals are the kings of the forest. From our observations in the wild, all animals just give way when the elephants meander through the forest. And here we were being able to touch them. Wow!
We were also able to feed them some treats by grabbing two handfuls of pellets made of corn and molasses. We would call the elephant by name, tell them "trunk up", move in under their upraised trunk (a trunk that could easily toss you ten feet in the air) and throw the food in their mouth. We were told not to toss it from afar because most of it would land on the ground and it would be like teasing the elephants. For an animal the size of an elephant, a few handfuls of pellets is a very small portion. What a thrill!
We arrived back at the hotel filthy - cleaned up - and went to a wonderful farewell dinner with our group at the hotel. Tomorrow we start the long journey home and the end of this fabulous trip to our 7th continent..
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