So I thought our river lodge on the Chobe River was in Botswana, it is actually in Namibia. On our trip here, I've never gone through so many border crossings in one day. It was definitely a new experience for mum too. Since we had to leave Nairobi early to get to the airport we ordered room service for breakfast at 5.30am but we couldn't do it justice at that time of the morning - luckily it was included and we didn't have to pay for it.

The flight back to Johannesburg was fine, we were just glad to get out of Nairobi airport because there was no air conditioning and it was so hot. We arrived in Joburg and got the free shuttle to the hotel but our room wasn't ready so we went and had lunch and then decided to get the train out to Sandton Shopping Centre as mum wanted to try and buy a couple of lighter shirts as not thinking, she bought mainly black ones and they are a bit too hot for her. I don't think we saw all of the shopping centre, it was so huge but better than hanging out in the hotel room. They had a magnificent statue of Nelson Mandela in the courtyard where all the restaurants were located.

Next morning, back out to the airport for our flight to Livingstone, Zambia where we were collected and started our drive to the river lodge. We drove for about 45mins to the Zambia / Botswana border which was on either side of a river. You don't understand how many trucks were lined up along the road on the Zambian side. Our driver told us they could wait 9 days or more to be processed before they could cross the river and then the ferry only really takes one truck at a time. We exited Zambia and then transferred from the van to a boat, were taken across the river and someone else met us and then drove us up the road to the Botswana border where we signed in. We then drove for about 30mins to Kasane, the town nearest Chobe National Park and went to their immigration office where we exited out of Botswana. Another transfer to a boat and across the river to Impalala Island where we were told to get off the boat, walk up the dirt road, wash your shoes (had to stand on a wet mat for Foot & Mouth Disease control) and then walk further up the track, turn left at the Baobab tree where you will see the immigration office to officially enter Namibia. After that, we walked back to the boat and a further 5mins down the river we arrived at the lodge.

A welcome drink, some info about the lodge, quickly shown to our tent to get refreshed and then we were back in the boat to head back up the river to do our first game viewing . The boats are little tenders and it was just us two and our guide Raphael. So many birds along the banks and flying around and Raph knew all of them. We saw hippos, crocodiles, baboons, warthogs, impalas and mum was very excited to see her first herd of approx 45 elephants. They were everywhere. It was magic.

Back to the lodge and a shower before meeting in the main area for dinner which is an open area and luckily mosquitoes weren't too bad. It was like the Giraffe Manor here where everyone sits together for dinner. There are only 8 tents here and they are great. There is a small deck out the front and the main part of the tent has our beds and desk and then there is a back door which leads to the bathroom. Perfect really for our needs. The food was delicious, bread baked daily and the dessert is to die for.

This morning mum arranged to go fishing so I hung out on the lounge and read, relaxed and watched the birds. It was a very relaxing morning which is the first for this trip. Mum came back very happy as she had caught a 2kg tiger fish which are not easy to catch. Apparently they fight a lot when they are on the line and they say for every 20 strikes, you only catch one. After lunch, we arranged to head out at 2.30pm to go game viewing again. It's so nice on the river, the only bad thing is when all the boats turn up to a viewing site. We had to rescue one boat out of the mud because they got too close to the shore. It can be quite shallow. It turned out one of the guys on the boat lived around the corner from us. It is a small world!! We had great fun watching all the baby elephants; they are so tiny, especially compared to their mums. We saw one elephant crossing the river. Down towards Sunset Bay to watch the sun slowly set and in the distance you could see a herd of giraffes. They looked amazing with the sun setting behind them.

Back to the lodge and a hot shower and met the new guests. One couple Sally & George arrived the day before us and are also moving to the houseboat with us tomorrow. Two girls from South Africa arrived and they are moving to the houseboat in two days. The owner's daughter also arrived. Very much a family business and they eat with us at dinner. I can't highly recommend this place enough. They are so friendly and helpful it has been great although looking forward to heading to the boat tomorrow.