I have only a short time on line before we head off again, so I will have to cut and paste from my journal. No time to edit, I'm sorry if it's full of boring details.
Botswana. 30 Dec 2010
Early breakfast in Joburg, sitting on the deck in already hot sun with lots of amazing fruit, and the always charming (if glacially slow) service. It remains so old world here. So gracious, loosely formal and almost overly polite. The lilting speech of the blacks (for that is what they are called here: blacks, whites, colored and Indian) is occasionally hard to understand, but downright musical. Linens are crisp, silver is polished, glasses are spotless.
To the airport, stored the big bags and then off to Maun, Botswana. Met by our next pilot and off to a Cesna 206 for a 40 minute flight to our first camp, Savuti.
Not 5 minutes driving from the airstrip, we saw an elephant and her wee calf. The calf very shy and immediately into the bush before I had my camera out. More elephants seen before we hit camp 25 minutes away. A little time to settle in our tent, a quick rinse off, covered myself in bug spray, a bit of a snack and off for our evening game drive. We were joined by an American family of mom and 2 university-aged daughters.
Not a whole ton of game in the first couple of hours, but still great to be out. The smells are amazing. Generally the air is soft and sweet, but you often smell hippos and elephants before you see them, and we got a good whiff of Formic acid from a recently disturbed termite mound (?aardvark). The sky is very big, like home, but ever changing. Threatening and lightening on one side and completely different in the other direction. So many colours in the clouds! Awe inspiring!
Later, ran into a large pod of hippos waking up and getting ready to start their day. Yawn after gaping yawn! Soon everyone in the jeep was taking turns yawning. It was pretty funny. Sadly, a bit too far away for photos.
As we returned to camp, we found a large herd of elephants. The women in our group had been charged the day before, and so were understandably a bit wary. Our driver/guide, Goodman, is very experienced and is able to read the animals expertly, but it was still a bit unnerving when we became surrounded by them on three sides. Times like that you wish you were in an Italian tank. Some showing off by junior males, a little trumpeting, watched the kids play, then we backed out and headed home for a good meal.
31 Dec '10
Not a great sleep, as the antimalarials are doing their technocolour/borderline psychosis dream magic. ( Note to self: drink more wine tonight!) Up at 05:00 for a light breakfast @ 05:30 and out in the bush before the sun is fully up at 6.
Again, not the crazy big game you get up in Kenya, but several pods of hippos, a few giraffe sitings, a solitary wildebeest (not generally found here this time of year), hanging out w his 7 zebra friends and a wonderful collection of birds, including, but not limited to:
-Fisher Eagle (that does)
-Whistling Ducks (that do)
-Lilac-breasted Roller (that is)
-and a merry escort of Carmine Bee-eaters
Some of these Bee-eaters are red, but others orange (gender) and the juveniles are brown. They (15-20 of them), surrounded our jeep, diving and swooping like dolphins playing in the wake of a boat. They were gobbling up the dragonflies, grasshoppers and everything else the jeep stirred up. They stayed w us for a full 10 minutes while we crossed an open stretch, leaving us only as we re-entered the denser bush. It was great fun!
Also sat for awhile in the middle of a group of Vervet monkeys. Not frightened by the truck, but blessedly, neither have they been fed by wrong thinking humans, as they are quick to become beggars and thieves. One interesting thing about Vervets is that you can identify the alpha male easily, as he has a bright robin's egg blue scrotum. He is the only male in the troupe that has breeding access, so it's ironic that he is the one w blue balls.
Home by 10:30, already a long day, for an 11:00 brunch with plenty of choice, and afternoon at leisure. That's journalling and a good nap today.
A quiet and fairly short evening drive, just Gus and I. We were enjoying our sunset drink when we suddenly heard what sounded like rushing water. Downed our beer, hopped in the jeep, and burned around to the river in time to see a herd of elephants finish crossing. There was a young calf so small, he had to snorkel his way thru the deepest part with his mom nosing him along. It sounded like a waterfall and then as the last one stepped out- silence again. Soon back towards camp, and this time cleaned up and changed for a special New Year's dinner. (In Marj's dress) We ate out under the stars and the entire staff did a bit of tribal singing and dancing, including our driver, donning a loin-cloth for his bit. It was actually very enjoyable and did not go on over long. Dinner was good also. Stayed up to see midnight, visiting w other guests and staff. To bed for 00:30, as 05:00 comes awfully early!
New Year's Day. 01 Jan 2011
On the road again before 06:00, this time joined by a Belgian family of Mom, son and daughter. Had a little commune w elephants and then moved on to the Lanyati river. Goodman took us to a hippo carcass that he had seen lions eating from 4 days earlier. Not much left at this point! The vultures had been, and the combined smell of hippo rot and vulture leavings is one I won't soon forget. Puke! Apparently the hyenas will be along soon to crunch up the bones. In the end only small traces of the skull will be left. This is all around 08:00, before those of you in Calgary and Phoenix had even rung in the new year. (9 hrs)
Other sightings: Warthogs families, hundreds of impala in various locations and a large troupe of baboons.
Saw some leopard tracks, and then we were on a mission! Some serious off-roading as we tried to track it, and we had given up for awhile, until we spotted fresh tracks. We did eventually find her, helped by baboons in a tree giving an alarm call. She was on the move. Leopards are notoriously solitary and have a huge range, so can be one of the toughest cats to find. To see one at all is fortunate, and that is often sleeping up in a tree. It was wonderful to watch that sleek cat pad along, her shoulders moving piston-like, completely indifferent to our being there! After about 10 mins, we watched her choose a tree, circle it while marking it and then about 4m straight up a branchless trunk to find a place to clean herself then snooze. Spectacular.
We left her then, and not 2 mins on, came upon another herd of elephants, this bunch about to bathe and play in the river. We enjoyed their antics for a while, including two cows very firmly pushing their calves into the water.
Wow! What a great morning! Now over-due for lunch we headed back home, only to have a flat. (See "serious off-roading"). The jack didn't work, so we radioed for help, which came in no time.
Late lunch, nap, coffee and away we go again.
A quiet drive in the evening, perfect weather. The highlights being seeing two giraffes running and a magnificent sunset.
Had one heckuva rainstorm that night, the thunder woke us a couple of times.
02 Jan 2011
Had a monkey breakfast (grab and go), and on the road while still dark, so that we could cross the bridge and see some different terrain. We had to drape rain ponchos over one side of ourselves as the bush was still wet from the night's rain. Made it across the bridge to watch a beautiful sunrise and then I was able to see my first kill! Sadly, just a stork stabbing a frog into lifeless submission, but he did swallow it whole! Drove a bit further on, and then we were radioed that wild dogs had been spotted very near camp, so we turned around and flew back home.
We successfully tracked the dogs and followed them for a while, while they marked territory, played a bit and covered surprising amounts of ground in a short period of time.
Had to hustle back to camp, pack, eat and drive to the airstrip for our flight to our next camp. The airstrip was super busy, as no one had switched camps on New Year's day, so we saw three planes land and were the third of four to take off in the 10 mins or so we were there. Thirty minute flight back in the direction of Maun. Once again, I should have pulled out my camera as soon as we got in the jeep, as we were immediately seeing zebra, kudus and most impressive, two giraffes drinking. Again, couldn't get my camera out fast enough. The air here smells heavily of wild sage.