A taste of heaven on earth- Rhino safari camp - to end off our Kariba adventure.

Our hearts were heavy as we watched the sun set on our time in Kariba. The hard thing about falling in love is that it usually means heart ache somewhere down the line. It doesn't mean it isn't worth it though.

We certainly didn't feel ready to say goodbye to this special place or its special people. We had a lovely little farewell with Becky and Rowey at Caribbea bay waterslides, and then a little birthday party for Lils with her little group of friends at the Tamarind waterslides. 

Terry and Nelson invited us to spend our last weekend at Rhino Safari camp which is in the stunningly preserved Matusadona national park (across the lake). It started to sound more and more appealing the more friends we mentioned it to. The first person I spoke to was Antonette, and she immediately offered for us to leave our kids with them because it is so wild there. 

We heard stories of a leopard eating its kill in a tree above the dinner table, and of lions walking through camp. We were intrigued and felt that we couldn't leave without experiencing the true Zimbabwean wilderness. I mean it is wild enough in Kariba town so how incredible must the bush be!?

We left on friday afternoon and LJ decided that he would rather spend 2 nights with his friends (Johan and Lauren), than have to be quiet, obedient and not fight with his sister all weekend. We dropped them off and headed for Marineland harbour, where the boat transfer was waiting for us. It was an hour long boat ride and an awesomely strange feeling for me to not have the kids to worry about.

It really did feel like the closest thing to heaven on earth. Untouched beauty like I have never experienced. Rhino has been built in such a way that you just co-exist with the wildlife. It is magical. The paths we used to walk to our rooms were made by (and still frequented by) elephants and hippos. The rooms are built on stilts and made out of mopani wood and thatch with reed grass walls. It was pretty much like "glamping" in a tree lodge. It did cross my mind that a lion could easily just hop up if it wanted to.

The bush was beautiful and green but that meant it was thick- not the best for spotting game! We went for a guided walk and saw elephants, it was terrifying and awesome at the same time. We also saw lion prints but they were a day old already...phew.

Our guide took us to an area where there were dinosaur fossils and that was pretty cool to see. The bones are a blueish colour and you can differentiate between a stone and a bone by licking it. The fossils are porous and stick to your tongue... watch the video below if you don't believe me:

We went on a couple of game drives and had a couple of naps, absolute blissful relaxation. Both sunsets were breathtakingly beautiful and photos don't do them justice. 

"A picture says a thousand words." This was the perfect ending to our time in Kariba and definitely ranks as one of the top 10 best days of my life!