The Rhino Africa adventure for the month was to visit 5 countries in 4 days. And you thought that could only happen in Europe! Our journey began with the early morning flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg and then on to Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Our passports are testimony to the fact that we hopped across borders in a game of country hopscotch!

It must be said that we relied on transport companies to take us everywhere and they were excellent. Their communication network with the various lodges and tourist attractions was superb and we travelled in safe, air-conditioned vehicles with punctual, knowledgeable and ever friendly drivers. So if, like us, you are wanting to get around Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe without your own vehicle, you can rest assured that it is not only possible but pleasant and efficient!

Only one of our travel group had been to the Chobe National Park so we were all filled with much excitement. Our experience at Chobe surpassed our expectations and the lasting images of big herds of elephants playing in the water were a definite highlight. We arrived at Chobe Game Lodge in time for some afternoon tea and cake before we went on our game "drive" which in this part of the world means a cruise down the vast and wide Chobe River, glass of wine in hand and sights and sounds that most people only dream of experiencing.

With the highest concentration of elephants in the whole of Africa, it's not surprising that our time here was dominated by watching these majestic giants wallow and drink at the rivers edge. There are over 120 000 elephants within the 11,700km² of the Chobe Park reserve.

The next day we visited the town of Kasane and several lovely lodges lining the River. We then zig-zagged across the Chobe River via some interesting interpretations of border posts! Our destination was the Chobe Savanna Lodge which is just across the river from the Chobe National Park but is situated in Namibia’s Caprivi Strip. Chobe Savanna Lodge was a totally different experience - not only because we had the honour of visiting one of the rural, local villages but because it is a place where you can really absorb the quiet calm of unspoiled wilderness.

Sometimes Safari goers are so focused on the animals they see that they forget to take a deep breath and observe the natural splendour of the backdrop to their wildlife experience. Chobe Savanna is only accessible by boat and because we were there at the beginning of the flood season, the small island that the lodge is on was almost surrounded by water. The views of the river and the floodplains with elephant and buffalo herds in the distance were spectacular.

The next day it was an adventure of another kind. We found ourselves in Zimbabwe at the one of the seven wonders of the world, the Victoria Falls. Known by westerners as the "Vic Falls", the locals call them Mosi-oa-Tunya, which is a far more apt name meaning "Smoke that Thunders". This is a name which you cannot completely understand until you have stood before one of the planet's most powerful masses of water.

The Victoria Falls are the largest single sheet of water in the world, are over 100 metres tall and approximately 1.7km wide. The sheer power, the rainbows in the misty spray, the constant "rain" from the falls, the size and the magnificent beauty of the Vic Falls is breathtaking and something you just have to see for yourself!

Read our detailed itinerary...