Victoria Falls

A few weeks ago we took our first trip out of Pretoria.  We chose Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe side) and it was a perfect first adventure for us.  Before the trip that week we welcomed our first shipment- everything we had had in storage in Washington, DC, since we began this crazy life in 2007.

Opening up the shipment.  Who knows what we will find inside.
After 8 years I really did not know what to expect!

Some things I expected to arrive never did (new set of knives, bedside tables, a king sized mattress all disappeared).  Some things I had hoped would have fallen off the boat, such as this old chair of Paolo's, did not.  Sigh.

A day before our trip I took Gio to a trampoline park in Jo'burg.
He was very excited!

Bounce!

Gio's favorite part was the dodgeball area.
He stayed there for most of the hour.

And then we were off!  Zimbabwe, here we come!

Maria spent much of the flight sleeping...and taking selfies.

A view from our balcony at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.  The watering hole in the distance was crowded with elephants, buffalo, monkeys and dozens of varieties of birds at sunrise and sunset. 

Gio loved to watch the animals from the pool.

Our first day we drove to Botswana
 to spend the day seeing animals.  
We started the morning on a river boat safari.

Doing a safari on the river was a great way to see tons of animals with kids.  More freedom to move around, bathroom on board, lots of snacks and drinks and in the dry season, there were LOTS of animals. 

My favorite were the hippos....

...not the crocodiles!

Gio loved the hippos also!

So did Maria!

Yikes.

Checking out things on shore....

...and in the air.

Someone REALLY loves selfies (and blue lollipops)

Girls gone wild....

...very wild!

Hippos on land.

Passed out.

The boat dropped us a lovely hotel where we had lunch while Maria continued her nap.  Gio and Paolo took a swim and then we were off on a truck safari!

Mud bath time.  Did I mention it was HOT?
 It was hard to keep Maria and Gio from joining them!

Elephants as far as the eye could see.  
We saw hundreds today.  
If you want to see elephants Chobe National Park 
in Botswana is the place to go!

An all day safari means a nap on the van ride back to Zimbabwe!

Back to our watering hole!

Even more elephants tonight!

Friday night we headed to the Boma for an amazing dinner 
which included dressing up...

Face paint...

...and a special award for Maria for eating a mopani worm.
 Yes, this child will eat anything. 
 She is a poster child for baby-led weaning!

Saturday we began with a helicopter ride to see Victoria Falls.

Gio was determined to keep his face paint 
on from last night "for as long as possible".
For this kid, who avoids showering, 
it might last until he is back at school on Monday!

A plus of visiting this area at this time of year
 is that the dry season means animals
are easy to see as they stick close to the rivers 
and watering holes.
A downside is that the levels at Victoria Falls are very low.

No water at all in this part!

Still spectacular.

Landing.

Later that day we walked to see the Falls from the ground.

Later that day Gio did a zip line near the Falls.  Yikes.
This kid has no fear (well, except for shots!)

Conked out on the flight home.

Back at home.  
Still time after dinner to jump right 
on top of Papa's tummy.
Parenthood is painful!

Our first African weekend away was a big success.  Our next trip is to Cape Town over the American Thanksgiving Weekend.  Meanwhile, tune in next post for Boo in the Boot, some surgery for Maria and a new member of the Belli family!