Packed up and moved out of our beautiful chalet. The drive to Main Camp was incredibly disappointing from a game point of view. Hwange is supposed to be Africa's most densely populated park, yet we saw very little. A couple elephants some distance away, and the beautiful Crowned Cranes were the highlights. To make things worse, as we got to paved roads (the Southern bit of the park is paved) we started running into crowds - on the roads and on the viewing platforms. I'm a bit worried about other tourists on the east coast - I've gotten very spoiled.
At Main Camp we were told we'd have to wait until 5:30 to find out if there were any accommodations available. Since it was less than an hour we sat down and had a few cold beers. As we were hanging out an older couple drove up and asked if we had a tow rope they could borrow - of course we did. The scary bit was that they had asked every vehicle and been denied - without doubt every safari vehicle out there would have had one - so much for human kindness. Just after getting our "lodge" they drove up and returned the rope and we arranged to meet them later.
The cottage ("lodge") we rented this time was the top of the line luxury version (it cost us US$1.50 each) - it's huge, two large bedrooms, a bath and shower (in separate rooms), a toilet, a comfortable sitting room, a kitchen, a dining room, and two porches - not as nice of a view though. After diner we met the older couple and they bought us all a drink. They were from Wales, but had lived in Zimbabwe for 27 years.
