COS trippn' 4th stop: Vic Falls - Elephant riding

They have a ton of activities you can do in Victoria Falls, including riding an elephant.

The elephants are so big that even when they crouch down, you have to use steps to get up.

Our elephant was named Mbanje (meaning marijuana). He was HUGE! But friendly.

I found it terrifying in the back at first, but Coalee was in her element (& laughing hysterically)! Eventually I found a better grip and relaxed. The handler Benny took us on a slow, meandering walk. He even offered Coalee a job!

Afterwards they let us feed him, through his snout which he used to bring food to his mouth.

Pretty adorable, right?

COS trippn' 4th stop: Vic Falls - Hangn' with lions

We went on a "Walking with Lions" tour which supports lion awareness and conservation. We walked with twin 9-month old female cubs names Lala & Lila.

I have to admit, I was a little hesitant already having a healthy fear of cats, but these cats were large and powerful and a bit intimidating...but I still managed to get a few pets in. 

Our guide

Ah... the fake lion... more our speed 😜.

COS trippn' stop 2: Cape Town - Free Walking Tour (2nd): Bo-Kaap

Since we liked the first Free Walking Tour so much, we decided to go on another one through the Muslim district of Bo-Kaap. We even got the same guide, Ken! 😃

The homes in his district are very colorful, giving it a cheerful atmosphere. Ken told us how the colorful homes began. The first home to bring color to the otherwise gray-housed district was the pink and white home shown below. There was a doctor and his wife living there. The doctor gave. his wife money to go to the store to buy paint to pain the house with, but he didn't tell her what color(s) to buy, so she took the liberty of buying the colors she liked: pink and white. The doctor didn't complain and they painted their home in those colors. Since he practiced his career out of his home, it quickly became known throughout the neighborhood that the pink and white house was the doctor's house. So it became a source of good advertisement for the doctor's business. Well, his neighbor, the local tailor, realized how popular the doctor and his business was due to his pink and white house, so he decided to paint his home bright yellow. Sure enough, his business grew also because everyone knew that the tailor was I. the bright yellow house. Soon after, others painted heir homes bright colors as well...not necessarily for business purposes, but it became more of a competition in the neighborhood for who had the most colorful pretty homes. And it remains to this day. 😍

A view of Table Mountain for the colorful neighborhood.

The first mosque in Bo-Kaap.

This is the first hospital in the world to perform a heart transplant!! ❤️

COS trippn' stop 2: Cape Town - VA Waterfront

This area of Cape Town is known as the VA Waterfront. It kind of reminded me of Disneyland without the cartoon characters, because of all the cute buildings and shops.

The VA Waterfront is the gateway to Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Mandela and his fellow anti-apartheid activists were held. We tried to visit it, but the tours were sold out until September. (So if you ever come here to visit, make sure you buy tickets well in advance).

COS trippn' 3rd stop: Namibia - Back to Windhoek

We had to go back to Windhoek to fly to Victoria Falls the next day. We stayed at a different hostel than the first day we stayed. This hostel's name was Chameleon Backpackers & they had 2 dogs!! The one below was just chilln in the doorway to reception. 😄

Being a pet friendly hostel, a family that was also staying there brought their turtle & let it roam around for awhile. 😍

This time we were in the more "touristy" part of Windhoek so we walked around a bit & found some restaurants. We decided to try some native Namibian food...

...mopane worms & peanut soup. Not our faves. The worms (more like caterpillars) would've been better if cooked in a sauce, or at least served with a dip. The peanut soup could've been delicious, but it was too salty for my taste.

COS trippn' 3rd stop: Namibia - Swakopmund Camel Riding

The photos speak for themselves:

COS trippn' 3rd stop: Swakopmund, Namibia - Living Desert Tour

We took a guided tour of the sand dunes outside Swakopmund to learn more about the desert life.

At first glance, it looks barren of all life. But still quite pretty.

These were the bones of horses that were shot and killed out here over a century ago. Some died of a mysterious disease and the rest were killed to prevent the disease spreading. Kind of an ominous start to the tour...

What did we get ourselves into...?

However, our knowledgeable guides were able to show us there was life in the desert after all.

My favorite was the chameleon we saw. Notice the dark color.

Now see the same chameleon change color as it moves. Our guide said they get lighter the happier they are. The reason this one was happy was because our guide was feeding it worms.

Now he's super happy! (Yes, he's a he, our guide told us)

We also saw birds, insects and more reptiles.

Most species get their moisture from their prey. But these plants are a good source of water too.

Some more life in the desert-- we were told they were filming a Mummy movie in the sand dunes this week with Tom Cruise. So when it comes out, look for us in the background. Just kidding!