Karina: Wild on Safari

Karina has the fortune of visiting one of the top 10 lodges in the world and arguably the finest game reserve on earth. The Malilangwe Trust has the largest population of Black rhinos and has the most ecosystems in any reserve (38). Ably guided by the showman, Craig, the 1st mission is to track the highly temperamental Black rhino. As they come across a black rhino, true to form, the short man syndrome kicks in and the rhino rams a few bushes in frustration! This encounter is far too close and Karina wisely takes refuge behind a tree. Karina and Craig are treated to mating lions (5 meters away). Craig explains the process and Karina is speechless as the scene unfolds!

Craig takes Karina to a mud wallow where huge bull elephants are putting on a show. Craig tries to convince Karina that the best view would be climbing up a tree. Karina is hesitant but makes a deal.... If Karina climbs the tree, Craig must have a mud wallow and finish off with a dust bath! Craig and Karina make good use of the helicopter as they use it to take a trip to the spectacular Chilojo cliffs in the Gonarezhou national park.

The Royal Zambezi is located on the banks of the Zambezi River and is well renowned for fantastic Tiger fishing. Karina has never fished before, and while guided by Tony, becomes overwhelmed at the powerful strength of a 10 pound and 9 pound Tiger fish. Karina experienced a picturesque canoeing trip along one of the Zambezi's channels. She was then treated to a very unusual scene.... whilst watching a mating pair of lions on a river bank, a large female herd of elephants entered the river on the opposite side and navigated through a pod of hippos towards them.

Karina's next destination is Victoria Falls where she is teamed up with Craig Van Zyl again (professional guide). The immediate attraction here is to experience the mighty Victoria Falls and enjoy the cooling spray. Not content to simply watch from the conventional side, Craig entices Karina to approach the top of the falls by boat and experience them like no other (possibly only about 5 people have ever done this before!) After standing on top of the falls and having a mini heart attack, costumes go on and they have a dip. This must rank as the best Jacuzzi on earth! Karina visits an elephant orphanage where she feeds them and enjoys a ride. After spending time with an animated troop of baboons, Craig walks with Karina in the shallows of the Zambezi River and demonstrates the fishing prowess of a Fish eagle as it scoops 2 tiger fish meters from where they are wading. Just when Karina thought her heart couldn't beat faster, she experiences a hair-raising white-water rafting excursion. One of her greatest fears is tipping over and of course that does happen.... Twice! With 23 rapids to run, this is considered to be the best whitewater rafting on earth.

Antelope park has the only successful lion program that introduce captive breeding lions back to the wild. Within this program, visitors to the park are able to walk with the lions from the ages of 3 months to 2 years. Karina is speechless as she joins 2 year old lions on a morning walk. The lions actively play, climb trees and stalk each other. Karina also cuddles and walks with two 6 month old cubs. One of Karina's highlights is game viewing while riding an elephant and they also enjoy an animated swim in one of the dams. One of Antelope Park's world exclusives is the "EVENING ENCOUNTER" whereby a visitor can see 1st hand how the lions hunt while following in a game viewing vehicle. The lions have a 40% strike rate and Karina is fortunately treated to seeing 3 lions hunt and kill an antelope called an impala.

Karina flies to Bumi Hills on the banks of massive Lake Kariba. Craig takes Karina fishing on a boat to attempt to catch tasty bream for breakfast. The deal is: the loser must cook for the winner on an island with natural resources. After much banter and taunting, Karina is declared the winner and Craig begins to cook the bream in a fascinating way...baked in mud. With elephants on the island looking on, Craig covers the fish in mud and bakes them on top of burning coals. The fish is delectable and Karina is very impressed. Because their last Black rhino encounter was a fleeting glimpse and fairly terrifying, Craig is determined to have a better encounter and boats Karina to the Matusadonna national park. Here, through great tracking skills on Craig's part, they manage to get within 3 meters of an unaware mother and baby. Again, a fairly terrifying experience but visually very rewarding for Karina.

The Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe has wonderful mountains, waterfalls and stunning views. Karina begins her stay by driving through the game reserve and climbing up one of the huge granite domes with Spencer. Karina is guided on horseback as she gets within 5 meters of giraffe, eland (the largest antelope on earth) and the rare sable antelope. Paul teaches Karina the fine art of trout fishing and lady luck is on her side as she hauls in a fair sized trout. Karina has the unique opportunity to drive a 4x4 to a couple of waterfalls. Mtarazi falls is the 3rd highest in the world and the backdrops are spectacular. Karina was also given the challenge of orienteering, armed with a compass and a map. Her mission was to locate a secret waterfall (which was touch and go).