In part one, I shared some of the human elements of risk that we encountered while neglecting some of wildlife related adventures on our honeymoon trip. I thought I would share a couple of the animal based stories to balance things out.

People who've never been to Africa often assume that there are wild animals everywhere. The reality is that in most parts of Africa, the animal populations have been diminished to such a point that they exist just in national parks. A few countries have abundant wildlife, but even those are suffering from deforestation and diminished habitat; the result of human encroachment. The days of 'Out of Africa' type safari situations are rare if not altogether non-existent. Fortunately, East and Southern Africa hold much of Africa's remaining wildlife resources. They make great destinations for photographic safaris.

In Kenya, there are a number of good national parks, but they are visited by a lot of travelers so you rarely feel alone. It is still magical to watch lions, elephants, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, wildebeast and zebras in the wild, but less so when you have to share that space with other land rovers hovering nearby for their perfect snapshot so they can tick it off the list. One of the more elusive animals that people want to see is the cheetah for their exotic look and speed. We spent a several days driving throughout Maasai Mara scouting for a cheetah. It became a contest for everyone in our group to be the first one to locate one. They blend very well into the long tan grasses of the Serengeti plains and their numbers are diminishing. We had located all the other major animals and were restless to find one. Late in the afternoon of our third and final day, Mrs. Zimba finally spotted one at great distance as we were leaving the park area. Thanks to her sighting at that time of the day, we were able to view the cheetah for a while without any other vehicles disturbing that magical moment. It was definitely a highlight and point of pride for her to have been the one.

The second story I wanted to share was our journey down the Zambezi river in Zimbabwe. While driving in land rovers on safari is very enjoyable, it can be at times like watching TV out your square windows in the safety of your vehicle. On the other hand, canoeing down a treacherous river is very much more a perilous feeling. There is no noise, but the river, and little to protect you or to escape to. The river itself isn't filled with a lot of white water rapids in this stretch we traveled, but the wildlife risks are everywhere.

The sense of vulnerability is quite palpable. You are instructed to regularly tap your canoe with your paddle to send sound vibrations into the water to alert nearby hippos. They are everywhere as you paddle downstream. In Africa, hippos cause the most human deaths, and when you are around them you sense why. They prefer staying in groups in the water throughout the day and coming out at night to feed. They will submerge and re-emerge unexpectedly. They are so enormous that they would toss you into the river with ease if they came up underneath you. Once in the river you are easy pickings for their massive canines. One bite is all it takes to severely injure you. Our group of canoes zigzagged our way down the river with regularity to keep a safe distance from most pods of hippo. There were some unexpected close calls regardless.

Another animal to be wary of were the crocodiles. They were less populous than hippos, but more menacing in their look. They could often be seen sunning themselves on rocks or the river shore only to disappear into the nearby water as we approached. Due to their presence, we weren't allowed to swim in the main river at all. A couple shallow clear water sandy sections were the only exceptions along our several day journey.

In the late afternoons, we would search for an island to camp on. The Zambezi river is the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. I had asked at one point why we always searched for an island in the middle to camp, thinking it might have to do with borders and permission. They said it was done as a precaution because last year a lion had hauled away and killed someone from their tent on another canoe companies trip. Yikes.

The second night, we set up camp on a big flat sandy island. We set up mosquito nets over a basic frame for our individual sleeping areas. No tents were needed as it didn't rain that time of year. As the fire was dying down after our cookout meal and people drifted off to bed, we heard the sounds of a lion. This unnerved some of our group. We were told their calls carry over great distances and this was why we stayed on these islands for safety. Because there is no pollution or competing light for hundreds of miles, the stars were incredibly clear as you looked up through your mosquito netting. We drifted off to sleep, exhausted from many miles covered paddling down the Zambezi, to the sound of the lions calling to one another. When we awoke in the morning and one of the two leaders came back from a 'loo' run, they informed us sheepishly that they spotted fresh lion tracks not 20 meters from our campsite. A lion had indeed crossed the channel to check us out that night, but may have been kept at bay by the fire or some other fortunate deterrent.

Relieved to be back on the river for out last day, and tired from the long journey, we made our way to the exit point where we would be met by the lorry to return us to Lake Kariba. We arrived ahead of schedule so there wasn't vehicle to meet us, so we decided to take shade under some Ilala palm trees. Bad idea. Those trees are popular with a number of animals for their palm kernels and within a few minutes we were quickly fleeing to avoid the two elephants who came to feed on those particular palms. We moved our packs and canoes further inland and watched from a safe distance.

Both our Kenyan and Zimbabwean wildlife adventures were amazing with memories to last a lifetime. Seeing animals in their natural habitat is incredible. With increased development and population growth, it will be interesting to see how long African wildlife can hang on. I hope to take my kids in the coming years so they can experience it for themselves.