Zambia

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park- covers just a small tract of 25 miles from the Songwe Gorge below the falls in a north-west arc along about 12 miles of the Zambian river bank.

This land is like nothing Ive ever seen. It is beautiful and unforgiving, dry and hot do not describe this place well enough. The park is home to assorted wildlife and Victoria Falls but for this post we will cover Toka Leya Camp.

Even without the animals and waterfalls, this park could stand alone as national park worthy.

Toka Leya Camp

If you venture further up the Zambezi River , away from the falls, you reach the Toka Leya Camp and things get real.

There is a small wooden sign in the middle of the bush marking its location. You arrive at the gate and they speak in a language you can’t understand. They are dressed in full military camo and carry machine guns. You hand them the entrance fee money and park the car. You are taken out to a remote location and they say here, get out, we walk now.

The national park rangers here are not so much rangers but soldiers in the Zimbabwe Army. We walked in the bush for some time and our guide did not say a word, we just moving in complete silence for over an hour as his ak-47 slung over his shoulder. From time to time he would freeze and listen. A warthog or rustling would catch his attention but onward we went. I was certain at some point this would turn into a death march. They would make quick work of me and Caiti would have a much worse fate.

After some time we approached a large mound and he said, “here, up on this mound. We go……quietly.” When we reached to top I couldn’t believe it, a small herd of black rhinos!

The Black Rhino

Black rhinos are the smaller of the two African rhino species. The most notable difference between white and black rhinos are their hooked upper lip. This distinguishes them from the white rhino, which has a square lip. Black rhinos are browsers rather than grazers, and their pointed lip helps them feed on leaves from bushes and trees.

They have two horns, and occasionally a third, small posterior horn.

This proud momma is communicating with her calf and papa is steps behind her. They watch the young rhinos every move even within the group.

If you got too close to baby and somehow didn’t see the parents behind the bushes….you’d have some serious problems on your hands.

STATUS-Critically Endangered. POPULATION-Around 5,500

HEIGHT-5.2 feet WEIGHT-1,760 -3,080 pounds

Rhinos are one of the oldest groups of mammals, virtually living fossils.

In 1995 the black rhino population was at 2200 and they were expected to be extinct by the turn of the century.

Black rhinos remain critically endangered because of rising demand for rhino horn, from some Asian consumers, particularly from China. The Chinese believe the folk lore that if you consume the horns your penis will get larger.

Feeling Foolish

At the end of this little adventure I was on a real high. I got to do something amazing and I got to see one of the rarest creatures on earth. We met up with 10 other soldiers at the river and our soldier, that led us on the march, grabbed a large bucket and opened it. It was fresh cake his wife had made that morning and ice cold Coca Colas. We sat there and enjoyed the moment. I felt like a fool for two reasons; one for not taking a group photo and two for thinking this guy was “gonna get me”. All he wanted was to show me what his life work is, protecting the rhinos and teaching others about them.

This picture below, on the banks of crocodile and hippo infested Zambezi River, is where we ate our cake.

Map of Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park

Map of Zambia