Oh, the places I'll go! A journey to Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique.

Flying over the Falls. I thought they were joking when they asked me if I could be a Copilot. "Haha", I said, "I can do that". The helicopter takes off and I find myself seated next to the pilot with a transparent bottom beneath me. My legs start shaking so bad, I almost miss the spectacular sight. Lesson learned "The hard way". When I finally dare to open my eyes, flying above the raging Zambezi waters is something quite unforgettable.

On our short drive crossing the border towards Africa's 'Four Corners' where  Zimbabwe,  Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia meet, we strike up a conversation with our friendly Zimbabwean driver who slowly drifts into politics and Robert Mugabe. In my straightforward manner, I suggest that Mugabe, the first prime minister after the Rhodesian colonial government collapsed, ended up being one of the most corrupt dictators in modern times. Our driver is smiling politely but somewhat taking offense with my remark. He replies that Mugabe was a revolutionary hero, who fought racial oppression, stood up to Western imperialism and ended doing what he did, because he was a good student of what he saw others in the Western world were doing. Two sides of the same coin? As a wise man once said: " It is all in the eyes of the beholder"

Botswana.

Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. The real Garden Of Eden has been traced to the African nation of Botswana according to a major study of DNA. Scientists believe our ancestral homeland is south of the Zambezi River in the country's north.

The Okavango Delta is one of a few major interior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean, its waters drain instead into the desert sands of the Kalahari Basin. The Okavango river sprawls over the dry sand of the Kalahari desert with countless meandering waterways and lagoons with some of the most plentiful wildlife on the African continent. Giraffes, wildebeests, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs.

"Pula!" cheers. or in Setswana language "Let there be rain". We raise our glasses one time after another, sitting around a long table, family style, guests and crew alike. We share life stories, wisdom we learned, animals we cherish. Strangers form a bond, embracing each other's cultural diversity, curious minds, compelling stories - and the living is easy. This is Camp Okavango, an eco-sensitive water-based lodge, on the remote Nxaragha Island in the largest inland delta in the world. There are no cars on this island and game-drive activities, are impossible- you better like being on a boat or walking. Sometime in the middle of the night, I wake to heavy noise outside of my tent.  I try to wake up Jason but my efforts go unnoticed-he is dead asleep. I convince myself that this is my imagination, I had too much wine and I fall back to sleep. The next morning, I mention it to one of the guards and he says; "Oh yes, it was probably Jeremiah".  "Who?” I ask. "Jeremiah, the hippo, the camp pet, he likes hanging out around the camp". Later in the morning on our outing with the boat, something blocks our way out. Jeremiah wants to show us who is boss.

In a traditional Mokoro, a dugout canoe poled by a young local guide, we tour the Okavango delta, brushing through a narrow tunnel with carpets of lilies and papyrus all around. Maybe a croc is around the corner? A few hippos are peeking out the water, a lazy elephant comes for a drink and a shower. Much like in the early explorers' days, we follow our guide Gee on our bush walk, spotting tracks on the ground and looking up in trees. The road leads us to areas with dead trees-a result of flooding that come all the way from Angola. There are so many bird species: the African Fish Eagles, the vibrant Lilac-Breasted Rollers, Herons and Egrets. At water's edge, we stop to look at a crocodile resting in the sun. It looks innocent and harmless, but is it secretly planning something we should be aware of? "When the crocodile smiles, be extra careful" I remember the saying. It half opens its eyes to check us out and immediately falls back to sleep as we watch another golden sunset over the savanna.

A wake up knock on our door at five in the morning. A full English breakfast at five thirty, who can eat at this hour? At six, we are speeding in the dark for a chance to see the lions while they are still active before dawn. I feel like I am back to my army service days. Botswana. Camp Okuti in the famous Moremi Game reserve. The road is bumpy, we are rattling back and forth in the car or as they call it here: “Getting an African massage”. We cross a small river or a leg of the delta, the jeep is three feet underwater - our legs are up in the air. Still half asleep, I can swear I see fish swimming in the bottom of the vehicle. A dream or reality? We spot tracks of a leopard but they lead us nowhere. The sun is slowly rising over the horizon in a red ball of fire. The temperature is still cold. We are covered with a blanket and a warm rubber water bottle under our butts, a welcome addition. We pass by wildebeest, warthogs, elephants, giraffes, tons of impalas, kudus and lechwes but we don’t pay much attention. They lost their novelty awhile ago - we’ve seen so many in the past few days. And.... We are standing three meters away from a beautiful male lion, the king, guarding his kill - the unfortunate buffalo. The Vultures are flying around and the jackals are circling. They smell food. They wait their turn, the scavengers - the circle of life. My heart is pumping, adrenaline kicks in, I’ve never been so close to a lion before. The lion doesn’t seem to mind us being there. Actually, he turns around on his back and goes to sleep, belly up. He takes respite in the shade, belly bulging and and panting from exertion. He is tired, he worked so hard all night fighting off the jackals and the hyenas from sneaking in on his food and now it’s time for a little siesta.

The days weave into one another. Everyday brings another thrill, another understanding of the nature around us, but the big prize, the one I am waiting for, Africa’s big cat, the leopard, is elusive and hard to find. Countless times, we find tracks on the ground but they lead nowhere, we look up on top of every tree, but they are not to be found. Everybody we meet just saw it, yesterday, early this morning, a few minutes ago, but we lack this little bit of luck. Finally, our patience prevails and our tracker points out into the yellow Savanna grass where a leopard emerges and stops for a break on top of a termite mound. A female leopard with a beautiful rosette patterned coat. Solitary. Stealthy and with a muscular graceful walk, which I know can instantaneously change to a quick sprint. What - a - beauty!  Our guide, Oni, keeps warning me to stay down in the jeep, but I can't help it, I get up to snap this masterpiece photo. She is seemingly unconcerned by our presence, she comes so close, touching our vehicle then climbs up a tree, stretches out lazily and looks at us quite peaceful until the day goes dark.

The grand finale - or two? On our way to the airstrip to catch our flight back to the mainland, we say our goodbyes to the herds of elephant grazing under a canopy of green, the vast number of antelopes, Impalas, kudus and waterbucks. All of a sudden, our guide says: "I don’t believe my eyes". And just like in the movies, four Cheetahs appear, slender, long legs, small heads and catlike. A female cheetah with her three juvenile cubs, teaching them how to hunt. This is an unexpected surprise. Cheetahs are known to avoid areas frequented by lions as they cannot fight larger predators and we're in lion territory. As we breathlessly watch, the adult female spots a warthog in the distance and at a blisteringly fast speed, she storms. Cheetahs, the fastest land animal in the world are capable of running up to 70 km/h. I can barely see her movement, all I can see is the air above moving so fast and... she misses - one lucky warthog survived another day. If you find yourself in the bush wondering if you are looking at a leopard or a cheetah, first make sure you hide and then, look to see if it has black lines running from the inner corner of their eyes to their mouth. Those are cheetahs "facial Tear Streaks", they reduce the glare of the sun from the eyes. That same strategy is used by football players who put black smudges under their eyes. As we made use of every minute available to us, we rushe to the airstrip afraid to miss our flight. On our way, we encounter a pride of nine lions on the prowl, playing, hunting, walking just by our vehicle. What a joy! What an epic ending!

Mozanbique

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever" Jacques Cousteau.

I am excited to hear the sound of the waves as the Indian ocean reveals itself before our eyes. We are flying in a helicopter from Vilanculos in mainland Mozambique towards the idyllic islands of the Bazaruto Archipelago. From a bird's view point, we detect a patchwork of islands scattered around the sea and hints of sand dunes dancing beneath the water's surface. We long to swim in coral reefs, in the company of fish and underwater life. Our destination is Two Mile barrier reef, protecting a narrow channel between Bazaruto Island and the north point of Benguerra Island. It is not on the tourists trail and the lack of commercial fishing in this area, has kept the reefs intact, making it one of the few places in the world where one can simply glide into the warm waters and watch the sea creatures close to the surface. As we descend, sailboats look like lego pieces drifting in the shallow water and pristine, unspoiled white beaches are calling our names.

After a welcome introduction of songs and dance by local villagers we hop aboard a traditional dhow for a sunset sail. These slender vessels that used to be the backbone of a medieval trading system stretching the length of Africa’s east coast, are still in use by the Island fishermen. We are in old Portugal territory and almost everyone here speaks Portuguese. When Vasco Da Gama reached the coast of Mozambique in 1498, he marked the arrival of the Portuguese who began a gradual process of colonialism. After over four centuries of Portuguese control and civil war, Mozambique gained independence in 1975. Accompanied by the quiet swoosh of the dhow’s sail, coupled with uninterrupted sandy beaches lined with giant, green palm trees in the distance, I raise a glass of wine to marvel at the illuminated water, dancing shimmering before me, as it welcomes the sun’s descent beneath the distant horizon.

At low tide, the shallow ocean recedes, revealing landscape of intermittent submerged white sand dunes. Determined by the timing of the ocean, we take off our shoes and lift our clothes to our waist, as we walk in early morning, half in water until we finally reach our boat. Captain Fernando (most names on the Island are Portuguese) is waiting to shepherd us to our snorkeling extravaganza in Two Mile Reef. It is a bumpy ride as the outgoing and incoming tides converge in the channel between Bazaruto and Benguerra Island. There is nothing like the sensation of putting your snorkel and fins on and getting into this pristine water - bathing in the entire spectrum of blue - from deep midnight to aqua turquoise. I snorkel around the protected side of the reef and I relish a showcase of a large number of reef fish (Surgeon, Moorish Idols, Parrot, Angel and Butterfly fish) of all different colors and shapes. And if this is not enough, along come two sweet turtles, effortlessly gliding around with their wise eyes and I follow right behind - A coral garden paradise!

Bazaruto’s isolation and protection have also guarded one of the world’s last populations of dugongs, also known as sea cows, the giant underwater grazers on the verge of extinction. We spared no effort looking for them but as hard as we tried, sadly, we could not find them.