Sylvester is a very famous Cheetah, he even has his own Facebook Page. The non profit organization associated with Elephant Camp acquired Sylvester from the Zimbabwe Nation Park Service via a tender process. They won that tender because their proposal was to have Sylvester join an education program that already included the camp elephant families. The good news for us was that, as guests of the camp, we got to spend some time with him.

Before breakfast this morning a group of us accompanied Sylvester on his morning walk. For most of the walk Sylvester did his own thing, chased a few birds, took a rest, marked some territory. But there was an opportunity for the guests to get some up-close time, though the guides and handlers were careful in what they allowed us to do. They explained to us that "Sylvester likes to play, but he plays a bit rough". We did not need a second warning, one look at the size of his paws and claws was enough to make everyone cautious.

Around 11:00 we said our farewells to Elephant camp and the friendly staff. A great and comfortable place, the best food of the trip and a wonderful opportunity to get close to some of Africa's iconic wildlife.

A quick transfer to the old colonial Victoria Falls Hotel and then a bus took us to the Zimbabwe/Botswana border. Exiting Zimbabwe was quick and simple and the entry into Botswana not much more complicated though we did have to answer a long Ebola screening questionnaire. Then after a short drive we were at a hotel on the banks of the Chobe River, in the town of Kasane being greeted by a representative of the Zambezi Queen, a house or river boat on which we would spend the next three nights.

The next step in the days journey was a bit of a surprise. Not the transfer by small flat bottomed aluminum boat to the Zambezi Queen but the fact that this little boat had to first take us to Botswana Immigration for exit processing (after all we had only just arrived) and then to Namibian Immigration for entry processing. We enquired as to why this was required and discovered that the Zambezi Queen is Namibian registered and hence technically Namibian soil.

The other interesting thing (if that is the right word) about this border hopping was the challenge it posed for some of our fellow passengers. Most (though not all) of the other guests on this cruise are a good deal older than Nina and I, definitely a good deal better fed, and vastly less mobile. Hence when we "docked" at the Namibian entry port and found, no mooring just a rough "beach", and a 300 meter uphill walk on a road that would have presented a respectable off-road challenge to a US Army Hummer there were a some mumbles of concern from the guests.

However, we eventually overcame all the little trials associated with the transfer process and climbed onto the 3 story Zambezi Queen to find quite a comfortable vessel, a light lunch ready for us to consume and a well stocked bar to which we had free access (other than spirits and bubbly).

Once underway on our cruise we discovered that only about 22 miles of the Chobe River is navigable so the next 2-3 days will be spent going up and down those 22 miles. On hearing this we joked a bit about being fish in a bowl and needing to have only a 2 hour memory.

On the Botswana side of the river there is a National Park which had very large herds of Elephants, Impalas, many Hippos and Buffalo, a number of giraffe and assorted other animals. We spent the afternoon watching the animals and relaxing on the common deck or in our cabin.

At our 6:30 briefing from the boss, Wayne, we got a run down on the rules and regulations of the vessel and discovered that at night the vessel would tie up to a mooring as no traffic was allowed to move on this section of the river after dark in order to restrict poaching in the National Park. We were also told that foot or vehicle traffic is prohibited in the National Park after dark as armed rangers patrol the park and operate on a "shoot first" basis. Wayne seemed pleased to tell us that in the past 10 years the national Park had not lost a single elephant to poachers, but more than a few would-be poachers had met the "shoot first" ranger patrols. We were told of on combined Botswana-Namibian ranger operation that killed 23 poachers in one evening.