Lower Zambezi and Safari!

Yes, thats right, I can officially say that I have been on safari in Africa! AMAZING! Let me just tell you that that was hands down one of the most amazing experiences of my life!
Firstly the showgrounds with the kids on Friday was really fun!They had lots of animals and the kids were allowed to take my camera and take as many pictures as they could...which resulted in about 500 pictures of pigs, 300 pictures of cows, and about 150 of my butt...there are some things about boys that are universal! I had 5 of the younger boys and we just laughed and had a great time! The only issue we had was that one of the boys who is on a new regiment of Anti retro viral therapy started to feel really sick and we had to figure out how to help with that, but other than that, we had so much fun! I was with Aptekar's son Sam, who is 14 but has an old soul and has proven very easy to be around. The kids love him! By the end of the day we were all so tired that we were ready for bed at 3pm!
So Safari time:
HOLY HELL..I cannot wait to show you all the pictures of my chalet! It was beautiful. I had a balcony that literally was waterfront and opened up to a plethora of hippo and elephant hanging out in the Zambezi. The best part was that I had the whole chalet to my self because the girl that was going to stay with me wanted to be a part of the bigger group, so she bailed...so to explain that a bit more..there were 20 people that wanted to go on safari and there were no lodges that could accommodate all of us, so as fate would have it, I ended up in a smaller group of 8 and was the happiest person alive! My group included Aptekar and his wife Leslie and their son Sam, Wendy from the cohort, the two girls from Salvation Home (Ally and Alicia) and Mama Carol who was Wendy's guest for the weekend. It was really amazingly fun. I really needed a break from the group and it was nice to have a really relaxed group of people to be able to spend time with. We canoed with Hippos and went on game drives! We didnt see much game but we did see a leopard and wort hogs and impala, water buck, kudu, and that might be it...oh and tons and tons of elephant. My favorite moment was when the elephant were hanging out outside my chalet and bumping up against it and eating! It was truly amazing and I really cant wait to share all of my pictures. I do have t say that I was really bummed the first night to not have my partner in crime there with me! Ana was truly missed but she had an amazing weekend and saw even more game on her "cheapie" safari...so everything worked out in the end! I definitely felt like I was having Ana withdraws so today I forced her to have dinner with me and we talked about our weekends and our sites and decompressed a bit about all the stress that this trip has produced! I am so happy to be here but I think that we have both reached our limits and are looking forward to coming home in a matter of days!