Sunday, June 17

Happy Fathers' Day! We ladies toasted the men at the breakfast table, acknowledging their role in procreation and wishing them well.

More immigration forms, a Zambia visa application and the $50 fee, and passport control. Yet this time when we left, we left Botswana for Zambia via boat. The junction of the Chobe and Zambezi rivers joins the four countries of Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. The crossing (one operational ferry) causes trucks with large cargo to wait, sometimes for a week, before they can cross. But we had a little speedboat waiting for us, and after a 5 min. ride, had zoomed over to Zambia, to a new country, bus, and driver. Just an hour to Livingstone.

Livingstone airport was small, yet we did go through a security of sorts and after an hour boarded our 18-seat twin engine that flew us to a private landing strip in the middle of the bush--the Royal Zambezi Lodge. We buzzed the airstrip once to get any animals off of it before landing.

OMGOMGOMG. I knew something was up the second I saw six uniformed-in-khaki gents waiting to assist us--shorts just below the knee, short-sleeved buttoned shirts with collars, name tags, all exquisitely pristine and pressed. It's the type of place that welcomes royalty, and I could imagine that the prime minister of Australia had, in fact, been here the week before as one person mentioned. Each member of the staff lined up at the door to welcome us, one with a tray of juice in stemmed glasses for each of us as we entered the lodge.

We've been instructed not to move around here at night without an armed guard, since elephant, hippos, buffalo (even cats?) roam freely. During the day--no problem, but after dark, which is 6 pm on, we need to have a guard with us. Feeling a bit like a princess here. Oh my. Could get used to this. There's real coffee here, no need to use the Starbucks Via. And wifi! Supposedly it's available near the bar, so we'll see. I guess it's a new addition to the place.

The lodge had been built by a former president of Zambia and now hosts small groups. I think the 16 of us with the guide James will be the only ones here during our stay. Right now I'm on our private veranda with the Lower Zambezi flowing 20 feet in front of me, the breeze jostling my hair a bit, hippos grazing just down the way and a croc on the sand just across the way. Our private tent/cabin is exquisite and we have everything, everything, everything. Jane says we'll sleep well--like being alone at the lake with just the breeze and the rushing water, although I've heard the hippos honking every now and then (yes, it's really a

honk!).

But it's the natural sounds that seem to massage us, both mentally and physically. That 7th hr. class and the end of the school day could not be further from my mine. The only way I know what day it is, is by reading it on my vitamin pill box I brought with me. Bliss.

The tent/cabin has a solid wooden base it sits on with walls of screen that are rolled up/down as we wish. The bathroom is gorgeous, and an elephant fashioned out of one of the towels awaited us, along with two terry robes.

Our cabin shares a "family area" with another tent, a raised area with chairs, sofa, tables with games, etc. all in the open air under a roof. Now with few bugs, this luxury wraps its arms around us and seems to be rocking us into contentment.

Later: Just returned from an evening river cruise--hippos whose eyes look like submarine periscopes emerged, then submerged, crocs, buffalo, elephants along the opposite coast of Zimbabwe, and again the great saddle-billed stork. Then suddenly we pull onto an island and there the boys are with full bar set up on the shore, appetizers galore. Jane and I can't resist a double gin/tonic. The twilight deepens, and a quick ride home. Disembarking we step up from the dock onto the deck, and there's another guy with a tray of glasses of sherry for us. lah-di-dah! Our escort takes us back to our cabin and we've asked for him (Martin's our "guy") to return at 6:30 to bring us to evening dining on the terrace--open air. Ahhhhhh....