On March 25, 2014, Mom and I flew up to Livingston, Zambia and then took a small boat across the Zambezi River to Botswana. Pictured here are Gus and Becky Hoffman and Mom boarding the boat. Botswana is on the far river bank.

Immigration building in Kazungula, Botswana.

Sister Hoffman going through the mandatory disinfectant pool. Everyone coming into Botswana has to step into the disinfectant pool. We could have been carrying bugs.

The Fish Eagle is the national bird of Botswana. As you can see it's a relative of the American Bald Eagle.

Rather than take a ride to view the game, we took a small boat up the Chobe River. Lots of elephants getting their fill of water.  The Zambezi and Chobe Rivers are in flood right now.

You never want to get too close to the hippos if you're in a small boat. They have a reputation for being the meanest animals in the water. This small herd of hippos had both adults and newborns in it.  The adults were very watchful as our boat approached. The hippo on the right was just yawning. Our boat was the same size as the one you can see across the river.

This is the Chobe Safari Lodge where we stayed.

Where the Zambezi and Chobe Rivers meet (just up stream from Victoria Falls) four countries come together: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and, by way of the Caprivi Strip, Namibia.

When you're in a small boat, these guys look really big!

Plus you have the African Crocodiles looking for a little nibble.

Africa has some beautiful birds. I think this is a relative of the Kingfisher.

This big bull elephant was eating reeds that grow in the river.

Fortunately he was knee deep in the mud and water, eating to his heart's content. He didn't pay us much attention.

There are over 2 million Impalas in Southern Africa. This is a male Impala.You can tell because he has horns.

The Cape Buffalo is one of the Big 5.  Also known as "black death" and the "widow maker," the Cape Buffalo is one very dangerous animal. The horns of the Cape Buffalo are fused together at their base, presenting a bone shield to his head. Even a bullet would find it difficult to get through that horn. We passed this guy on the Chobe River bank. He gave me the stink eye as you can see.

This crocodile came into the river to get a closer look at our little boat.

This was close enough for me.

Some of the 2 million Impala in Southern Africa. These are all females. No horns!

Can you say Hakuna Matata?  Very ugly Wart Hogs.

A rather large hippo looking our direction.

These elephants heard and saw us coming so they slowly walked back into the bush. 

This guy stayed and even got a little aggressive.

Head down, ears out--he's thinking about charging.

I guess he was just thirsty.

Some locals from Namibia heading home up river.

Sunday, March 16th Mom and I attended a Stake Conference in Antananarivo. The meeting was held at the local Antananarivo University auditorium.  This is picture of the Saints arriving. Most walked.

Serving in the Madagascar Mission is another Elder and Sister Shupe. She is a nurse and is responsible for missionary health. Elder Shupe is the Mission mechanic. That means he does it all.  Whatever needs to be taken care of, he does it. From housing to car repairs, he has it all covered. We have a common ancestor: James Wright Shupe (of Company C of the Mormon Battalion) was our great-great grandfather.  Somehow, it appears that all the height in the family went his direction.

Part of the large congregation for Stake Conference.

A happy Malagasy girl.  Amazingly, she's still smiling after a 2 hour meeting.

Lots of young people were in attendance.

This guy wasn't too sure about me. Many of the young boys wear straw hats.

This little fellow was even less sure about me and my camera. What do you think, would Sennet or George like a small straw hat from Madagascar?

This LDS chapel in Antananarivo also houses the Mission office and the Mission President's Home.

Sunday evening we had dinner in the Mission President's home. Starting on left is Area 70 Colin Bricknell, Sister Adams and President Adams, Madagascar Mission President. Nearly hidden is Elder Dale Renlund, Africa Southeast Area President. At back on right is Elder and Sister Cloward from Provo, Utah.  

President and Sister Adams. Their son married Ally Passmore, David's daughter.

Lots of wagons being pulled by men in Madagascar. With traffic being as bad as it is in Antananarivo, these guys run nearly as fast as most cars.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Malagasy language.

Monday after some legal work, Mom, Jeff Clayton and I went out to a Lemur reserve.

Lemurs are only found in Madagascar. They're a primate and reminded me of monkeys but with a rat face.  There are many different varieties of Lemurs. This is a brown lemur.

Mom got pretty close to these guys.  They were pretty friendly but it was amazing how fast they could move.

Unlike a monkey, a lemur's tail is not used for gripping or hanging. 

Cute little fellow.

We also ran across this turtle at the reserve.

This is the ring-tail lemur. Disney with the movie Madagascar, made him very popular. There are always 14 black strips and 14 white stripes on the ring-tail lemur's tail.

Very inquisitive.

These guys came down from the trees to pay us a visit.

I'm not sure what we have here, but this vendor is selling some meat. Note the cow feet hanging in upper left of photo. Lots of good things to eat at this shop. I passed!

You see this often. A heavy load on someone's head.

Photo looking back into town from the Queen's Palace. The large building on left is the Carlton Hotel.

This is the King's Palace in Antananarivo. It was never completed and is basically a shell today.

We visited an amazing little factory where they build to scale, wooden boats. This lady is doing the rigging. 

A close up of the workmanship. Note the cannons and windows.

Some of the finished products.