We four had always planned that our time on the Zambezi Queen would be a time to relax and catch up on sleep after the rigors of our various safaris and so it turned out. Three nights and two and a bit days of sun, water and nothing to do except relax, sleep and casually watch the many animals on the banks and in the waters of the Chobi River. Of course there was one challenge facing us in these days, the challenge of not drinking and eating too much. We probably all scored a B on that subject.

There were a number of excursions each day that other guests participated in, things like fishing, driving safaris through Chobi National Park but we generally partook only sparingly of these. Nina and Lee went on a tour of a local village (named Injambwe) and were entertained by the village women, met the previous village chief who now (sadly) has leprosy and had an opportunity to look over the craft items the village offers tourists.

On Saturday Night dinner was on shore. The crew set up a temporary dining area around a camp fire and served us a hearty meal of chicken, lamb and assorted veggies before entertaining us with dance and song. Some of us more exhibitionist guests joined in the dancing but really did not add to the skill level or artistry of the crew.

Sunday afternoon the four of us joined an excursion by small boat to the Botswana side of the river for a spot of animal watching, lots of hippos, elephants, monkeys and many crocs. This is certainly not a place to take a swim.

On Sunday night before our final dinner our South African host, Wayne, gave a short talk on the history and geography of the area as well as some insight into the current state of poaching and animal conservation in Southern Africa. Generally the poaching picture (particularly of Rhinos) seems to be grim. But on the other hand the Botswana "shoot on sight" policy seems to be succeeding in protecting Elephants in Chobi National Park as the population is now in the order of 80,000 - unfortunately way too many for the land to support. On our afternoon excursion we saw ample evidence of the effect of the elephants on the local forests. What a dilemma.