THE LODGE
Victoria Falls
Sekuti's Drift is a replica of a
turn-of-the-century lodge, built an a hill top, and accurate down to the
wrap-around verandahs with their red-painted concrete floors. This was
more traditional accommodation, not open sided like the game park lodges,
yet we found more "wildlife" at our doorstep and inside our room
than anywhere else. Sometimes the wildlife was a breath-taking diversion,
as when the two bull elephants arrived and drank from the water hole one
night, illuminated only by spotlight. Other wildlife was less welcome.
Beetles were everywhere: rhino beetles, dung beetles, blister beetles, and
a myriad of smaller and more benign varieties.
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Sekuti's Drift
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| Above, one of the guides, Eddie, joins Keith and I for rock
shandies on the verandah at the main lodge building. |
Another verandah at the lodge.
Keith was sick with the flu for this part of the trip, so we spent many
leisurely moments relaxing and resting here.
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| This is the verandah outside our room, the honeymoon suite
(another benefit of off-season travel). |
Here Keith spots a herd of kudu in
the hills outside our bungalow. |
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| Another use for binoculars: after the mosquito
netting crashed down on us at 3 a.m., Keith checks to make sure it has
been securely refastened to the ceiling. |
Thomas guided us on our only walking safari, in Chamabonda
National Park, just down the hill from the lodge. Fortunately, he did not
need to use his rifle on this outing. |
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Bug Night was the occasion of the hatching of the flying termite
larvae, right outside our bungalow door. They covered the ground and
filled the air. This event also attracted many other insects looking for a
good meal. I don't know if we'll ever forget running the gauntlet through
the hatching and flying insects, the rhino and dung beetles battling in
the corner near the door, the blister beetles and others creeping under
the door and into the room.
We hear that there are fewer insects in the dry
season, from May to October.
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