Arriving at Potato Bush Camp

The sunrise over the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe was beautiful with the sliver of a moon above the horizon. We dressed and started packing for our flight to Potato Bush Camp. We needed to have our bags outside by 10 am to depart at 10:20. We sorted out tips for our guide, Phixon, our valet, Memory, and the staff as a whole.

Hippo pod in the Zambezi River

We met Mark and Cindy for breakfast at 7 am. Mark and Cindy had eggs Benedict while Mary and I had ham, cheese and mushroom omelets. As usual, there was a nice selection of breads, cheeses and fruits. We saw the two campers from France leaving for their morning activity as we went to breakfast. We were happy to learn that the security alert that came through from Chase Bank last night was fraudulent but needed no action. Cindy called Chase directly and was told that they would take care of the issue.

Nile monitor

We had almost two hours after we finished breakfast to do our language lessons, shower and get our bags out for collection. The outdoor shower is very nice. It is brisk early in the day but is a nice wake-up. The valet, Memory, was available to draw a bath for us but we had neither the time nor inclination for a bath while we were here. Mary and I took a walk around the island to see the other “chalets” as the tents were called. We saw several Nile monitors basking in the morning sun. The 3-4-foot-long lizards slid into the water as we approached.

Steve sleeping in the co-pilot's seat

As with the other camps we visited, we enjoyed the time at Sindabeze Island Lodge. The staff was very friendly and eager to help. It is a much smaller camp accommodating less than half the guests than any of the other camps. We liked that the activities were selected by us and that we had the activity exclusively to ourselves. We had excellent travel mates at the other camps, but the smaller, more intimate nature of Sindabezi was nice. We also liked that we could choose mealtimes as well as the menu. With some exception, meals were plated three course meals prepared by an expert chef.

Cindy is not happy about the small aircraft

At 10:20 we met at the dock to make our way to the airport at Livingstone. The staff of Sindabeze Island Lodge gathered to see us off. After the short boat ride to cross the Zambezi River, Phixon drove us to the airport where were were ushered through security by Green Safaris personnel. After a short wait, we were escorted out to our plane, a small Beechcraft airplane with three seats, not counting the pilot and copilot. Cindy was very apprehensive about the flight but took a seat in the rear near the luggage. Mark and Mary were in the center, and I was in the copilot’s seat. The pilot, a Green Safaris employee, was very friendly and gave us a smooth 90 minute flight to Jeki airstrip on the lower Zambezi. Like many of the airstrips in Botswana, this was a small unpaved bush airstrip, but it does have a small unstaffed terminal building.

Pod of hippos crossing the Zambezi River

Green Safaris staff loaded our bags into a Safari truck, and Lazarus drove us to the boat dock on the Zambezi River. Along the way, he pointed out interesting plants, animals and cultural features. Lazarus loaded us and our bags into a small boat and took us upstream to the Potato Bush Camp. Along the way we saw hundreds of hippos in the water as well as some Cape buffalo and impalas. We knew that this would be the place to see hippos.

Our tent at Potato Bush Camp

When we arrived at Potato Bush Camp, we were greeted by the staff and given an orientation. The procedures are much the same as Sindabezi since they are both owned by Green Safaris. This camp has only four tents including ours which is a double tent with a large sitting area between the two bedrooms. We unpacked and went to the lodge at 4:30 for a sunset river cruise. There was a large male elephant in the area outside of our tent. The animal seemed pretty docile, but we gave him a wide berth.

Bee-eater

Lazarus took us upstream on the Zambezi River where we saw dozens of hippo pods, each with up to 25 hippos. On a small island there was a Cape buffalo and several warthogs. Mark and Cindy spotted several interesting birds along the riverbank. We stopped at a spot in the river with a good view of the sunset. We had a gin and tonic as we watched the sun go down. We have really come to enjoy the local African gins like the Iconic African Gin mixed with Fitch and Leedes Indian Tonic.

When we returned from the cruise, we sat by the fire with a couple from Australia, a couple from Ottawa and a man from Santa Fe. We chatted about prior travel as well as planned future travel. When we were ready for dinner, the elephant was blocking our way from the fire pit to the dining area. After about 30 minutes, the elephant moved away, and we made it across to get to dinner.

Elephant walking through camp

The entrée was a choice of lamb shank, soup or salmon. Mine was baked salmon which was very good. Most people’s choice of dessert was chocolate pie, but I went for the cheese tray which was very good.

It was after 9 pm when we finished dinner, so we were escorted back to our tent. We would be awakened at 5:30 am tomorrow for our first game drive in Zambia.