Botswana

Places where magic happens often require a real effort to reach. May 8th we left our hotel at 8:30 AM and then took a 90 passenger commuter to Maun. 90 passengers was enough to overwhelm immigration. It was 40 minutes in passport control, then a quick hi from our next pilot and another 20 minutes to get through security, such as it is. Then on to our own private plane and we are off for the 45 minute flight to Chobe airstrip. Gravel airstrip and boom we are on safari.

Most of these bush pilots are young and having the time of their life.

Gary is in first(next to pilot) we are in buisness and Charlene is in steerage.

Our pick up vehicle. First question is whether to hook up with our guide who is already out or go to the camp? Well we didn't come here to freshen up so off we went on to find Brian and Rhonda who will make up our group at Dama Tau. It is fun to be traveling with friends who have dreamed about this trip and see it through their eyes.
 Gary is entranced, for him it is dream come true. Charlene wants more than anything to see an elephant and a giraffe. Although the pick up driver is just ferrying us to a rendezvous point, things happen. Not ten minutes after leaving the airstrip, 30 feet off the side of the road, was a big male elephant. Charlene stopped breathing and clutched my shoulder so hard I may have to have her son, Dr. Michael, give me free treatments when we get home.

Just to top it off we saw about 6 giraffes.
As we neared the stopping point for sundowners we had a magical African moment. We found a herd of red Lechwe, an aquatic deer, prevalent in Botswana. We startled them and they flew across the swamp, their flight creating a watery symphony. Sitting in our vehicle as the sun dropped low in the sky, soaked by the fresh pungent scent of wild sage, watching them dance through the water, listening to the the whosh of all those tiny hooves played with all our senses. That is why we come and see and feel and live in the moment rather than watch the discovery channel. There is no way a picture can do more than kiss the image, it does not convey the fullness of the experience.

A tradition in these camps is sundowners. A break to stretch our legs and have a drink while reveling in the moment. There is never a mundane sunset here. Safari tradition is that the guide finds a safe spot and it is the WC with a view. Here there was a nice private spot about 30 feet from the vehicle around a giant termite mound, with a tree growing through it, close to the water. As Brian pours rich South African reds and ice cubes tinkle in frosty glasses of gin and tonic it is the Shippy's turn to wander around the mound. They have been gone about a minute when the gentle snorts at the waters edge turns into a full fledged hippo roar. Less than ten seconds later Charlene bursts into view, red hair flying, arms waving and knees pumping in full flight. "There is a hippo in that water" turns to a bit of a sheepish grin when she realizes we heard it too. As to what happened behind the mound when the hippo roared, that is best left to the imagination.

Safaris are not for sissies. Falling into bed exhausted we are roused at 5:30 for our morning game drive.

Morning drive day one we hop into our vehicle to find flannel lined ponchos warmed by hot water bottles. It is comfortably cold as we set off bathed in the crimson and gold morning light. 10 minutes later we met our first lion. He not only posed in the precious light he did a full fledged lion roar. It settles in my stomach and makes my toes curl even though I have heard it before. Jon and I get a little extra thrill seeing the look of amazement on Gary and Charlene's faces as he strolls by about 15 feet from us.

The Savute Channel was a dry plain for 28 years and this camp was famous for Cheetah and lions. Then in 2007 the water just started flowing again and with in 3 years the channel was filled with water lilies that had been dormant for 28 years. The miracle of life.

Stars on the water.

Monet's Hippos in the Water Lilies.

The magnificent fish eagle

The evening drive day one was mostly spent chasing the elusive leopard. We saw new things and had a spine tingling view of a young male elephant who walked right past our Land Rover, with in 10 feet. Sundowners always cap the day and tonight was on a beautiful bluff shared with a large troop of baboons who occupied the canopy of trees that sheltered us. With all the peaceful beauty of the sunset they had loud fights, screaming and chasing each other.

Night music starts here with the snorts of the hippos, the chiming of the frogs and night songs of roosting birds. It continues all night as we cuddle into our bed in our screened tent and the hippos get louder, three male lions issue challenges by roaring all night, assorted creatures snort and whine. By early morning the frogs are still going, at the first pale light of dawn the birds begin calling. For some reason it is not annoying but fitting.
Day two at Dama Tau

We are celebrating Rhonda's birthday and Africa throws her a party.

As three vehicles leave camp a small pride of lions, a male and two lioness, are walking down the road. A nice bit of synergy is that the roads the vehicles carve in the Kalahari sand make great routes for the animals. Then the guides read the tracks in the soft sand like a book. Describing who walked here and when. In fact the difficulty of seeing animals in this rough terrain is really reduced by these rudimentary roads. Animals like an easy walk too.

The lions cut off into the bush so we zoom down to the river because the guides know they are coming this way.

Right on cue they emerge right from the bush and walk towards us.

Closer and closer

When those large golden eyes are only a few feet away it is a a shivering sensation.. Guides are all uncanny at positioning the Rover for maximum photos and heart stopping sightings.

The wild dogs are our goal today but after our luck with the leopard no one is sure what will happen. The wild dogs are the second most endangered species in the world with only about 4,000 left. They are graceful and fragile. Only 15 or 20 minutes after leaving the lions one runs in front of us. That moment when everyone in the vehicle spotted her is a huge adrenalin rush. With three vehicles looking they are located with in a few minutes. We are gifted with a sight that few are privileged to see. This pack has 9 adults and 9 young ones. They have just eaten as the fur around their necks is pink with fresh blood. They are full and lazy. It means we spend thirty or forty minutes with them as the rest, sometimes so close could reach down and scratch their ears. That is not allowed if you want all your fingers by the way.

Vultures follow the dogs because they are very efficient hunters so there are usually bits left for them.

Morning tea in this exquisite spot and then a leisurely drive where we stopped to photograph birds or baboons and a dozen tall swaying giraffes plus an elephant. We had already had a wonderful drive in the first hour.

Not to be outdone the camp had a surprise.  Brian drove into a clearing or pan and there was our champagne brunch. This is so cool!

Gary and Mr. B who runs the bar.

Rhonda our birthday girl. She is an attorney and lives in Reston VA. Awesome bright lady. One mets the greatest people when traveling.

A toast to priceless day.

Rhonda with Brian our driver guide and general all around hero.

This blog is getting overloaded with toilet stories but look what was behind this termite mound.

Our group.

Lilac breasted roller with it's neon colors that flash in the sun.

Fish eagle and egret.

Last night game drive at Damu Tau and we are looking for that leopard when we ran into this young male. Brian was concerned that he was too young to be alone, no more than 14. Well he wasn't alone. We were soon surrounded by a breeding herd of nine adults and one small treasure.

For about 45 minutes we trailed along only a few feet behind them. These are lovely animals but they are wild so there is a little knot of anxiety as they could easily do major damage. Especially for Jon and I who have had a close call when we were charged two years ago. This is the matriarch so notice how clawed up and saggy her skin is. She carries her trunk on one tusk as it gets too heavy to hold as she has aged. She is also wearing a tracking collar. Plus she is also clearly in charge.

As the elephants prepare to cross we drive up on the bridge for a fantastic view.

This is the little treasure they were all guarding.

They begin to cross and notice that the baby is hidden between two large females.

The bridge.
We leave them and drive on. Found two sleeping fat sleek lions off by themselves.  The guides felt they would mate. We gave up after 10 minutes but one vehicle waited several hours. The lions didn't, so they left disappointed. The safari guests and the lions both I guess.

Sundowners are fantastic as usual.

A big change!

Morning and there are new sheriffs in town. The night was filled with lions bellowing, hyenas cackling and elephants trumpeting. In the morning we found out who and why. Three large tough males had moved in overnight and they were dirty, battered and bloody. We watched them scent mark all around and that spells bad news for those sleek fat lions we had been seeing.

The camp at Damu Tau

Our tent.

Lounge.

The Fire Pit 

Pudge, the resident bush pig, sees the Shippys off by scaring Charlenewhile washing up in the tent on the last morning.

The Okavanga Delta

We are swiftly transferred off to Little Tubu camp via a little plane with several stops on dirt landing strips. Part of the excitement. With only three tents it is a tiny tree house fantasy. Like a playhouse for grow ups.

The environment is very different here as the Kalahari is soaked in water from the Angola highlands. It runs underground and then emerges through the sands and right now it is just coming in. Filling the dry plain in front of the camp by turning it into a river that soon will spill over to fill the large meadow. For some months it will look like a lake and then the water will sink back into the sands. This is the watery paradise of the Okavango Delta.

The loo (might as well stay with the theme). Open on one side and really lovely.

The tree house bar.

The lounge

Our bathroom and bedroom plus an awesome outdoor shower.  We usually shower after lunch as it is to cold in the morning or evening so we discover that the shower creates dozens of little rainbows all around us in the hot sun.  That is the way to shower.

New sightings include wildebeest and lots of zebra and the tiny Steenbok. Plus the marshy reed covered plains produce fantastic bird life.

Little mongoose

Ayres Eagle

Egret

Stork

Roller

Watery roads are a bit unnerving to Charlene. She does not enjoy driving in a vehicle with a snorkel especially when our guide points out the large croc cruising the water before we head in.

The bow wake in deep water and below proof accidents do happen. Actually some of the young men who work at the camp got this stuck.

More of this lovely bird plus another stunning sunset. Note also the large thorns on the bush. This is what most of the shrub is covered in and the branches snap into the Rover as we lurch by. Keeps everyone on their toes doing duck and cover.

The next day was spent in hard searching for leopard. It was as close to a ho hum drive as we have ever spent on safari. The morning drive starts cool and in the soft light the grasses are burnished to clouds of gold. The smaller residents of the forest show their evidence as silken spider strands lace the slender stalks together. Within a few minutes the vehicle is adorned with silvery banners. Some webs are thrown across the grass tops like a silken veil. Others are dense little white nets. Another is a gossamer glob with little rooms or platforms in it, about the size of a football.  One night we drive by a  trapeze that has a huge resident in the center, lovely but lethal. The variety is fascinating. Even if there is no big game there is something of interest.
We did see giraffe and zebra and wildebeest and kudo and birds but they are run of the mill now. Sundowners were in an exquisite spot but this pond had a resident and he didn't much want us there. He put on a huge threat display much to our photographers delight. This prize photos are Gary's. Looks like his new camera is worth it.

The hippo in golden pond.

After dark we headed back, tails between our legs, another day no leopard. Then as often happens, boom, the day turns on a dime.

There he is! He in his element, the dark. Adrenalin sizzles through our veins. So hard to find and so stunning when seen.

Filled with excitement we head back to find the staff has a boma dinner planned. Candle light, singing and dancing. They select a chief for the night and tell us women have to bow down to show him respect. Ha!   Not a chance of that happening. As you can see our chief was over the moon.

The chief dance.

Breakfast

This giraffe shows off his necklace of ox pecker birds. They eat ticks so it is a win win situation.

This is another old elephant as he is carrying his trunk on his tusk.

Just to show how deep we go when we take the silvery watery highway and we take it a lot. It is the only way to get around.

Go away bird named for it's raucous call that usually gets that rejoinder.

The wildebeest crossing the water and then a huge heard of buffalo. Another big five animal on the list.

The huge 300 year old Boabab tree means we are close to the port and an hour cruise through the reed beds of the delta. A watery land filled with papyrus, bull rushes and star like water lilies. White, pale lavender and a few yellow. We also met our musicians of the night face to face. This is the purest water in the world filtered up through the layers of sand.  The roots of the reeds dye it amber but the sky still turns most of it blue with reflected glory.

Tiny creature on the lily is the frog who sings to us every night along with thousands or millions of his fellows.

Charlene's birthday is today and the curse is broken on leopard.

Note the injury on his leg. Probably an impala horn. Dangerous for them when dinner fights back.

Leopard Facebook. Checking scent markings.

After we leave this pretty male we drive ten minutes and find a wonderful sighting of a mother and her four month old cub. However we find a vehicle in distress that has almost tipped over on top of the leopards. Very very slowly every passenger slips off the side of their Rover and into ours. Never showing the leopard their movements. Gary said watching the guides made him realize that standing up in the Rover is very serious. After that we took the other guests off and cracked out the wine about 5 min away. They were very shaken. The drop into the hole was extremely terrifying as they all were sure they were tipping. Pretty soon we were having a birthday party for Charlene on the road. Then their vehicle drove up and all went off. We went home to a quiet dinner until it was time for birthday cake. Then we had uninvited and dangerous company. A large female hyena attempted the back deck and when we all rushed out to see her she came sneaking in the front. Time to put up the hyena gates.
My guess is Charlene will not have another birthday where she sees a baby leopard, has a street party under the stars in the wilds of Africa, and has a real live hyena crash the cake cutting.

The accident

Our last morning drive in Botswana will be short as we have a plane to catch. So we concentrate on the baby leopard. We circle one clump of bushes time after time. We catch a glimpse of him up a tree but he disappears into the brush. The third time Bee poked the Rover into the bush where their kill lay and turned off the motor we thought he might be too persistent but we all sat obediently scanning everywhere. Minutes passed, we stared silently, then Bee chuckled with relief and admiration for the animal. Mother lay about 10 feet in front of us. There was a large bush between us but really, 14 eyes had scanned that spot dozens of times. There too was baby boy chewing on the fresh kill. We spent over half an hour watching him as he ate and then very graciously trotted out and posed as if to say, "okay take your stupid pictures." Listening to those little teeth crunch away on the impala is a reminder that he will grow up big and dangerous. Right now he is only the size of a large house cat.

This huge eagle landed right above the baby and the party is over as it can easily kill the cub. Mommy calls him back to her side.

Farewell to the wonderland that is the Okavango.

Go to right side of blog and click on Mala Mala. For some reason it isn't coming up in order. There is also more of Africa in the posting titled musings.

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