{"id":319,"date":"2020-03-16T15:22:25","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T15:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/?p=319"},"modified":"2020-03-16T15:22:25","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T15:22:25","slug":"botswana-self-guided-safari-victoria-falls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/16\/botswana-self-guided-safari-victoria-falls\/","title":{"rendered":"Botswana &#8211; Self Guided Safari &#038; Victoria Falls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When we were planning our trip we talked with some friends, Brady and Lindsey, who did a similar trip a few years ago. They said their favorite part of their trip was a self-guided safari through Botswana. I had done a safari in South Africa before, but Tom never had, so this seemed like an awesome way to go about it. We\u2019re also no strangers to van life, so we were looking forward to a little familiarity to our van Tony. Tom did a bunch of communication with the company Bushlore on how many days, where to stay, etc. Ultimately we decided on a one-way, 9-day trip from Johannesburg, South Africa to Kasane, Botswana. It was going to be pretty cool to be able to drive through an entire county. The company took care of our entire itinerary, where to go per day, and made reservations for us to camp at each national park\/game reserve. Being in a foreign country, it was nice that we had a secure spot to crash every night. This was our first big YOLO part of the trip as this wasn\u2019t cheap, but it was so worth it! Definitely an experience you can\u2019t\/won\u2019t do all the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1182-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"360\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1182.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_1182\/\" class=\"wp-image-360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1182-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1182-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1182-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1182-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1182.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">dinner time<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9181-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"364\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9181.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_9181\/\" class=\"wp-image-364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9181-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9181-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9181-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9181-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9181-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">sleeping in the tent!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9165-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"376\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9165.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_9165\/\" class=\"wp-image-376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9165-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9165-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9165-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9165-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9165.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">all the organizing cubbies and a toilet!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9164-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"375\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9164.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_9164\/\" class=\"wp-image-375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9164-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9164-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9164-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9164-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9164-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">kitchen set up<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9166-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"374\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9166.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_9166\/\" class=\"wp-image-374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9166-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9166-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9166-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9166-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9166.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">back grill and entry<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Tom decided to get the Toyota Land Cruiser 4&#215;4 that came with a snorkel, plenty of spare tires and a pop-up roof tent that could be accessed from the inside, instead of having to go outside to get in and out of the tent. Being in lion country, that sounded great to me! There was also a toilet inside that came in handy when the sun went down. I had a rule for myself to not leave the back of the truck once the sun went down.. no thank you. This truck was a tank! And that\u2019s what we called him. I had my first real 5-speed driving lesson while driving on the opposite side of the road (and car) but, thankfully it was a diesel so it had plenty of cushion for me learning the clutch and shifting gears.. I didn\u2019t break it!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9176-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"365\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9176.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_9176\/\" class=\"wp-image-365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9176-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9176-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9176-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9176-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9176-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">spikes around the bathroom for predators&#8230;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1185-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"359\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1185.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_1185\/\" class=\"wp-image-359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1185-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1185-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1185-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1185-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1185-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">sunset over the plains<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We took this thing through some crazy terrain! We drove on highways where it struggled a bit, but things got really fun and interesting in the national parks where there were big sand ruts, or no ruts in the sand, huge puddles (lakes, really) to drive through, not knowing how deep or muddy the bottom was and occasionally having to plow over the shrubs a bit. I was so glad Tom opted for the beefier vehicle! But, of course he would. One day we came upon a guy who was stuck in a huge lake with a less rugged truck. We were going to try and get him out with the winch (yes, Tank even came with a winch) but the Game Reserve help had arrived so we didn\u2019t have to. Being on a self-guided safari entails a lot of driving. I\u2019m so glad Tom doesn\u2019t mind driving much, and the off-road terrain added a little more entertainment for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"721\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1226-1024x721.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1226-1024x721.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1226-300x211.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1226-768x540.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1226-1536x1081.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1226-2048x1441.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We didn\u2019t really plan on doing this driving safari during a certain time of year i.e. dry season, wet season, etc. (we\u2019re not quite that good at planning ahead). It just so happened that we did our trip at the tail end of wet season and before everything would get really dry. This played a factor in a number of things. For one, that\u2019s why there were so many lakes to drive through, which made the driving a little more challenging at times. But it helped with the sand, making it a little more wet and grippy than when it\u2019s bone try and you can\u2019t get traction. It also affected where the animals would be. In dry season, there are only a few watering holes that all the animals go to, so if you go to those places, you\u2019re likely to see a lot of animals. In our case, there were so many other places for animals to get water it was a little unpredictable. We lucked out on some of the major watering holes and totally struck out on others. But we were able to see animals all over the place since there were a lot of other places for them to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0838-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"363\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0838.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_0838\/\" class=\"wp-image-363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0838-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0838-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0838-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0838-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0838-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">hippos!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1109-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"357\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1109.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_1109\/\" class=\"wp-image-357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1109-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1109-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1109-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1109-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1109-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"759\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1270-1024x759.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"352\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1270-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_1270\/\" class=\"wp-image-352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1270-1024x759.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1270-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1270-768x569.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1270-1536x1139.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1270-2048x1519.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">lunch with a view&#8230; keeping an eye on these bucks in case a lion comes<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Right off the bat, day one, in a place everyone said wasn\u2019t very exciting, we saw zebras, giraffes and a number of antelope types. We were already so excited! If this was the worst one, what are the others like? They were pretty incredible. We had no shortage of animal sightings every day. It was so crazy driving on a road in the game reserve and to your left or right there\u2019s a giraffe standing there eating! Or a herd of zebras walking to a watering hole.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"712\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_11272-712x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"353\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_11272.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_11272\/\" class=\"wp-image-353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_11272-712x1024.jpg 712w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_11272-209x300.jpg 209w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_11272-768x1104.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_11272-1068x1536.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_11272-1424x2048.jpg 1424w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_11272.jpg 1669w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1215-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"361\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1215.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_1215\/\" class=\"wp-image-361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1215-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1215-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1215-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1215-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1215.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">cheeky monkey stole our snickers!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0754-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"373\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0754.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_0754\/\" class=\"wp-image-373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0754-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0754-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0754-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0754-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0754-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0825-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"372\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0825.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_0825\/\" class=\"wp-image-372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0825-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0825-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0825-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0825-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0825-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A few of my most memorable moments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Tom turned a corner and scared the shit out of a giraffe.. literally!\u00a0<\/li><li>Sitting in one spot for a while, watching the animals do their thing and interacting or ignoring each other. We saw 100 zebras just roam by us and a number of different animals chilling at a watering hole including zebras, elephants, bucks<\/li><li>Taking a corner and to find an angry elephant defending his herd in the middle of the road! He was shaking his head, flapping his ears, yelling, and stomping towards us. All signs that he\u2019s angry and is protecting his young. Tom reversed quickly out of there and my heart was pounding! I learned I\u2019m slightly scared of elephants, especially because I don\u2019t know if there is a baby hiding that\u2019s being protected.\u00a0<\/li><li>The 20 or so hippos hanging out in a pool that we watched for a while. We later found out that they defend their territory by opening their mouths, which looks like yawning. Yes, they were doing this to us and we thought it was funny. I\u2019m glad we weren\u2019t any closer to them. And fun fact: they can\u2019t swim and stay in the water to protect their skin.\u00a0<\/li><li>We didn\u2019t see any lions but one of my all time favorite moments was hearing them roar and groan every night. It was so unreal! They do it to dominate their area and usually right before sunrise. But man, it was unlike anything I\u2019ve ever heard and wasn\u2019t scary at all but, more fascinating.\u00a0<\/li><li>The bridge to one of the camp grounds was broken so Tom walked through the water, discovered it was mid thigh deep and drove Tank through it and the water came up over the hood of the truck! The snorkel was definitely used then.\u00a0<\/li><li>We drove through one super muddy spot on day 3 or so of the trip, neither of us had our seat belts on (we\u2019re driving really slow on dirt, what could happen?) we drove through some mud and water and there was a huge dip and I went flying and almost landed in Tom\u2019s lap! I hit my head on the ceiling and got a little whip lash, but that gave us a good laugh and I wore my seat belt after that.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-8 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1009-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"358\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1009.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_1009\/\" class=\"wp-image-358\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1009-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1009-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1009-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1009-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1009.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">baobab tree<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0902-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"366\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0902.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_0902\/\" class=\"wp-image-366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0902-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0902-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0902-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0902-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_0902-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">watering hole<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-9 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9310-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"367\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9310.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_9310\/\" class=\"wp-image-367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9310-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9310-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9310-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9310-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9310-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">flat tire<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9348-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"362\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9348.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_9348\/\" class=\"wp-image-362\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9348-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9348-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9348-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9348-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9348-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">road crossing!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On day 6 of our trip, after driving through a ton of lakes with water at various heights to the car, the alternator died and therefore the battery was struggling. Thankfully there was a solar panel on top of the truck so we managed to keep the truck battery powered with that. We cut our trip short a day because we decided it was better to return the truck and not get stuck anywhere, even though the solar panel was doing a great job. Later we found out the alternator died because it was full of mud, water and grass\u2026 that sounds pretty accurate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-10 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1426-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"370\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1426.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_1426\/\" class=\"wp-image-370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1426-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1426-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1426-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1426-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_1426-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">water over the falls<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9425-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"369\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9425.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.anniandtom.com\/img_9425\/\" class=\"wp-image-369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9425-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9425-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9425-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9425-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_9425-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">&#8220;Mr. Discount&#8221; market<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After dropping the truck off in Kasane, we made our way across the border into Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls. We ended up staying at a place where we rented a tent instead of a room (it was budget friendly!) and there were cots instead of beds, which were quite comfortable actually. The property lounge and bar was an indoor\/outdoor space that looked onto the really nice pool and gardens, so we spent most of our time there. We weren\u2019t sure how different Victoria Falls would be from Iguazu Falls and we were hearing stories of it drying up. But I can assure it, it is vastly different and is not drying up! There was so much water flowing that you couldn\u2019t see the bottom because of all the mist. There was also so much moisture in the air that it was raining on us as we walking along the top of the falls! In Tom\u2019s words \u201cit was an interactive experience\u201d. It was so bizarre stepping 10 feet one way, getting soaked, and 10 feet another and it was dry. Again, we didn\u2019t look up the best time to go to Victoria Falls, but we happened to catch it a few weeks before busy season, which was fine by us. We saw about 10 other people in the national park that day. We could also see why most people don\u2019t go when they can\u2019t see the falls in it\u2019s entirety, but it was a really cool experience seeing to volume of water falling down.\u00a0<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When we were planning our trip we talked with some friends, Brady and Lindsey, who did a similar trip a few years ago. They said&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[45,46,47,48,49],"class_list":["post-319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-africa","tag-botswana","tag-safari","tag-victoria-falls","tag-waterfalls"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":378,"href":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions\/378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anniandtom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}