Sunday August 21st continued
We got to Cape Town Airport and checked in for our flight, we were asked to show proof of vaccination but they didn't look at it to closely. We then headed through security and immigration and spent around an hour in the Priority Pass lounge which was pretty good. The flight was around 45 minutes delayed but was surprisingly great, the seats in economy were in a 2-2 configuration and the kosher meal (a pulled beef sandwich) which was from one of the fleshig restaurants in Cape Town was delicious and fresh. We landed in Livingstone and were met at the plane by our driver Evesta who was AMAZING! He hustled us through the covid checkpoint and immigration were we purchased the KAZA visa for 50 USD cash, this visa allows 2 entries into both Zambia and Zimbabwe and a day trip to Botswana. The customs official wanted to open our boxes but Evesta spoke to him and we were sent through without any issues. We spent the night in the Ngoma Zanga Lodge which was cheap but I probably wouldn't stay there again.
Monday August 22nd
We were picked up at 7am by Evesta (he was waiting at 6) to be taken to the launch site for Devils Pool, this was an amazing experience!!! They first take you by boat to an island right by the falls there you change and are led over sharp rocks and through parts of the river till you reach the pool. We took a group picture sitting in the pool and then one by one we leaned over the falls with one of the guides holding our legs, there is no way to really describe the feeling of looking straight into the falling water while knowing that the only thing keeping you alive is someone holding your feet. You then head back to the island were they clean your feet with hot water and offer breakfast. As they knew we were kosher eaters they brought us a variety of fruits. We got back to the mainland at around 9:15. We had booked a day trip to Chobe in Botswana with Dawn from Afro Safaris so we were meet by the launch site by a taxi driver who drove us the 10 minute drive to the Zimbabwe-Zambia border, we first went into a building to get stamped out of Zambia then entered the no mans land, were we were meet by Dawn who took us into a building to get stamped into Zimbabwe (we were not asked for Covid papers by this crossing) We then got into another van to be driven around an hour to the Zimbabwe-Botswana border, we got stamped out of Zimbabwe then meet another driver who took us through the Botswana Covid paper check and Botswana immigration and drove us to a dock were we got onto a boat for a 3 hour safari on the Chobe river. This was really amazing as on the river we saw tons of crocodiles, buffalo, giraffes and elephants swimming in the water. We returned to the dock and met another driver who took us on a 3 hour game drive in Chobe which was also really nice and we got to get like 4 feet from a lion. After this we were driven back to the border to cross back into Zimbabwe this time our covid papers were checked. We then headed to our Airbnb which for 160$ was surprisingly amazing and I highly recommend.
Tuesday August 23rd
we were picked up early by Pride our third tour guide to be taken to the falls, we davened Shacris there and spent around an hour exploring the falls from different viewpoints, we then went back to our Airbnb, picked up our luggage, and then went to a tribal village, contrary to what I read online this was a crazy experience, seeing how little these people have and how they make do with nothing and are still happy really allows you to appreciate how blessed we are and how much we have, we gave out some extra clothes we had and some snacks and then went to the airport. The computer system was down so they hand wrote our boarding passes until Addis Ababa and said we will get new ones there for our second flight to Cairo. We went through security and visted every one of the 3 priority pass lounges, they are all the same, a room with chairs and bottled water. We boarded our flight which already was around half full with people coming from Addis heading to Botswana, we took off and landed in Gaborone Botswana around an hour later, around 3 quarters of the plane exited and we were told to remain in our seats as cleaners boarded to clean the plane and then start boarding for the people joining for the flight from Botswana to Addis. Pretty much it felt like a bus. The flight was uneventful and we were served Stogel meatballs which expired in the end of 2024, they were ok. We landed on time and were meet at the plane by a bus to take us to our next flight as our connection time was 25 minutes. They picked us up from our plane and drove us directly to the next plane which was pretty much done boarding, total connection time around 7 minutes. The flight to Cairo was fine with another serving of Stogel meatballs, we landed around 1 am and first we went through a health screening for yellow fever vaccines which we didn't have, after a little begging they allowed us through, we then purchased entry visas for 25$ and walked through the airport to the Le Meridian which is attached to the airport for a few hours of sleep.
Wednesday August 24th
We were picked up at 730 by our guide Walled for a tour of Cairo, we first went to the main market and tourist area which was very cool to see, he also took us to a famous Arabic coffee shop, we were in this area for around an hour and a half and then drove 45 minutes to the pyramids, we viewed the pyramids, went inside the main one , took a camel ride around the area, and viewed the sphinx, at this point we were exhausted so instead of the other activities that were included in our tour we decided to head back to our hotel were we showered, changed, and crossed the street to the airport. Check in was a zoo and you must check in with an agent to receive an Egypt exit form to fill out. We cleared immigration, visited the priority pass lounge and hung around for a few hours as our flight was delayed. We finally took off and landed back in Israel around a hour and a half later.
