the hungry expats

    This is a trip that we had planned to take in late November 2024, coinciding with turtle nesting season in KwaZulu-Natal, the Indian ocean coastal region of South Africa. But due to a pet health emergency (one of our dogs was diagnosed with GME following a seizure that happened a couple of days before we were due to leave), we had to reschedule it to May 2025. Too late in the year to watch turtles nesting on the shores of Sodwana Bay unfortunately, but a great time weather-wise in the Fall season of the Southern hemisphere.    Located on a former pineapple plantation, Phinda is a private game reserve that successfully reintroduced wildlife in the 1990s. Spread over  29 866 hectares (73 800 acres), it boasts a variety of landscapes (marshland, lakes, grassland and forest) housing not only the Big Five (elephant, rhinoceros, leopard, lion and buffalo) but also an array of smaller mammals and birds. We stayed at the Mountain Lodge, one of six lodges locate...

 Considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Victoria Falls are one of the largest waterfalls on the planet, spanning over 1700 meters, with a height of 108 meters. Located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, their indigenous name in Lozi, "Mosi-oa-Tunya", means "Thundering Smoke/Smoke that Rises", which is the first impression we had from the sky, shortly before landing at Livingstone airport.      Our flight to Livingstone with Airlink only took 1 hour and 45 minutes from Johannesburg's OR Tambo airport. One word of advice: even though toy drones  do not require registration by the Zambian CAA (Civil Aviation Authority), an application must be submitted approximately 30 days before arrival and a fee paid for custom clearance (ZMW 1260.00 at the time I'm writing this, which equals about $45). More information is available online. I learned this the hard way by getting my non-professional drone confiscated by the customs upon arrival...