As our time in Jo-burg was short, and as it isn't the safest city in the country, we stayed at the Intercontintental at the airport, which is practically in the airport. They gave us the wrong room to check into and someone was in it already. For that inconvenience, they apologized approximately 10 times and sent us each a glass of wine. I hope they sent the woman who was in the room we were trying to get into a whole bottle, as I think we scared her.
Our flight to Botswana, or Kasane, was late morning. There was a group of 21 Americans with a tour called Vanguard (we knew this from the lanyards around their neck) and their guide, Chris, on the airport bus with us. They were all a twitter as someone named Joan lost her boarding card (someone else had it) and because some of them were going to have to stay in tents instead of a lodge. You would think they'd been told they had to pitch the tests themselves. Joan was also concerned because she had to gate check her bag (it was relatively big and had wheels). Joan and her crew are why we don't travel in groups and why we say we generally don't like people.
The flight to Kasane was a bit interesting as about 15 minutes in, the pilot announced that we would have to turn around and go back to Jo'Burg due to a technical difficulty. We turned and then about 5 minutes later, the pilot came in and said that whatever the issue was, it was okay to fly to Kasane and they would fix it, that if we landed we would be stuck for a few hours. It wasn't a safety issue so we were cleared (Moira thinks it was the left hand bllinker) Ok then. Whatever the issue was most have magically fixed itself as Moira saw the plane leave again while we were aboard our charter- # 2 of 3 total planes for takeoff.
Our charter on Mack Air was like our flights within Namibia. Small plane that seats 6 so or is kind of crowded (there were two others besides us and the pilot). Kind of hot. Bush pilot named Dusty. Our flight time to Liyanti was about an hour. An open safari jeep was waiting for us with a guide/driver Bait and a spotter named TeTe who sits on a seat in the front of a jeep. There was also another couple who had just arrived before us - Anna and Andrew (more about them later). The terrain reminded us of Namibia which isn't surprising as we are in the far north of Botswana and we border Namibia. We drove straight to the camp, Kwando Lebada. There was a group to greet us with cold drinks (which was good as it is hot here), lemonade with ginger and a cold towel. The group consisted of the camp manager Opie (a woman) and another guide who told Moira his name was Size Ten Shoes but to call him Shoes.
After orientation and check in, it was time for tea. And by tea I mean a variety of sweet and savory snacks with tea. One does not go hungry on these trips. We met our additional camp mates - Terry and Diane from central England and Paul and Veronica from Germany. We also learned that Anna is from England and Andrew is originally from Columbus, Ohio but they met in Toyko, lived in London, got married two weeks ago in Portugal and are moving to Dubai. They are a living version of a route in The Amazing Race. Paul and Veronica had been here a few days already so they opted not to go for the afternoon ride and relax instead. The other six of us headed out with Bait and Te Te.
I won't describe the game drive in detail as two and a half hours of that could be boring. I will say that the highlights here are that there are really amazing and Te Te is really good at spotting them from a fat distance without binoculars. Terry was a wee bit annoying as he kept saying things like "Bait, is that the Ground Hornbill?" Kind of like a know it all. Andrew later asked him if he was a bird expert. And the answer was no, but that he and his wife have been coming to Africa every year for about the past 20 years so he just remembers and recognizes them. We actually did see a bird called the Ground Hornbill which has an orange bill and is endangered. We also saw this beautiful, colorful small bird which has 7 colors, the most of any bird. We saw Egyptian geese which are always in pairs. An elephant. Giraffe. Owls. Zebra (the birds on them are called red billed ox pickers and they eat parasites). Sadly, we also sad an impala by herself which is rare. Bait said that typically only happens if the impala is hurt or about to give birth. When we got near it, she got up and we could see that her hind area looked injured with blood on it. Bait said she must have given birth and her baby died. Now she was injured and likely wouldn't make it too much longer as she was too slow and other predators would be able to smell her. Sad. One other thing...occasionally Te Te had to get out of the car to move big branches or trees. He called them elephant gates.
We had a sundowner but as we started out a bit late, we really watched the sunset in the car and then stopped after for our drinks. As is our routine in a new country, we asked for the local beer...which turned out to be Windhoek which we had in Namibia. It was still good. Terry told us at dinner the one thing he wanted to see was a pangolin. Most of us hadn't heard of it. It is an animal in the armadillo family and very rare. Bait had only seen four. Some guides never see it. File this away for future reference.
By the time we got back to camp, it was dinner time. This is a camp with communal dining which is something we tend to enjoy. The whole group was there, including Paul, Veronica and the guides. After dinner, we sat around the fireplace (aka a fire pit) with Andrew and Anna and the guides. They enjoy travel like us so it was fun to talk about where we should all go next. But perhaps the most interesting part of the night was when we heard rustling in the grass near us. Duff shined his flashlight there to reveal an elephant, probably about 20 feet away from us. A bit later Moira noticed something moving in the grass near the dining room across from us (direct quote was something like: "um why is that giant bush moving?!). After another shine of the flashlight, we saw the biggest porcupine you could ever imagine. This was no small rodent by the side of the road. It was like a medium sized dog, mostly because of the huge spikes. You won't find that on your DVR at night.
We went to bed around 11 which wouldn't be a big deal except wake up call was at 530. And both of us woke up around 2 and had trouble getting back to sleep. It was a combination of jet lag and animal noises that we aren't used to. Give us a car alarm over a grunting hippo any day.
The camp serves a light breakfast at 6 AM...what we would call our normal breakfast - cereal, muffins, porridge, coffee. The first game drive starts at 630 and lasts about 4 hours. We started out with long pants and fleece and ended up in shorts and t shirts. It gets progressively hotter, which shouldn't be a surprise. The first thing we saw were elephants, and quite a lot of them. Bait told us that this area is idea for elephants, with its good vegetation and wet areas. Botswana also has a strict no poaching policy which is enforced by the military. They will shoot poachers on sight. I would say that is a deterrent. Thanks to Moira's notes, here is what else we saw besides the elephants, zebra, impala, gnus, warthogs and giraffe...skip this if you don't want to read mostly about birds:
- African jicana bird, also known as the Jesus bird because it walks on water
- Goliath heron (the biggest heron) flying across the water
- African darter bird (long necked bird in the tree)
- Open billed stork (stork with an open bill...duh)
- Red lechra impala
- Tony eagle
- Pearl spotted owlet (very tiny...saw him in tree)
- Side striped jackals (another one always in pairs)
- Kudu
- Honey badger (the animal, not the football player...it is kind of like a skunk)
It was pretty darn hot - I would say in the 90s - when we got back to camp. They serve a brunch upon arrival and then we are free until tea time (everything revolves around food) until 4 for siesta and relaxation. Both of us tried siesta and maybe napped a bit, but it was really too hot, even in our nice shaded tent with the fan on. Everyone else said the same at tea, even Bait. That it was too hot to sleep. Anna said the beds felt like they were heated when she laid down. That was a perfect description.
The afternoon game drive started out slow. But then we saw hippos! We haven't seen those since Kenya, 12 years ago. Then we saw lions! No matter how many times you see a lion it is fantastic. We saw paw prints yesterday and Bait told us that they came from two young males. Turns out they have kind of been terrorizing the 'hood. No one knows where they came from, as they can travel really far. Bait thinks they got kicked out of their own pride as they were a threat to the main male. Now they are on the prowl, looking for their own mate. They are about 4-5 years old. Bait and Te Te call them Old Gun and Scorecard. When we approached the lion, Te Te jumped in the jeep. Which was good because Old Gun got up and walked right next to the jeep, on my side.
A new couple joined us this afternoon from Melbourne, although they were in a different jeep. Michael and Lee Ann. She was nice. He was kind of pompous. Dinner was traditional African which meant men went first. Michael liked that. We also learned that Terry made his living in toilets and toilet seats. His business got bought out and he did quite well for himself which makes you question your choices.
Our final game drive (Tuesday morning) at Kwando Lebala started out like the others. Elephants. Giraffes. Lots of birds. A vulture. But then Bait got a call over the radio. Someone from the camp had spotted a pangolin crossing the road! Te Te jumped in the jeep and Bait told us he was going to hightail it over there. He wasn't kidding. The best way to describe it would be to say that we hauled ass across the reserve. We were going 55-60 km/hr (no idea mph equivalent...see posts from previous years regarding my frustration at the US adaption or lack thereof of the metric system) for a good 15-20 minutes which isn't easy over bumpy sand roads. Moira deemed it speed safari. Look there are impalas! Look there are elephants! We all bounced around like crazy but it paid off as we pulled up to the spot to see about 3/4 of the pangolin exposed while it hid its head in a hole. It isn't a dangerous animal so we were allowed to get out of the car to see it closer and even touch its scaly skin. Terry was in heaven. Te Te and Bait prodded and pulled it a bit (it was quite heavy) and eventually we saw its pointy little head. It then curled up in a ball as we took pictures. Terry was as happy as a kid on Christmas morning. The Australians arrived and Michael was a bit condescending about all the pictures we were taking. Moira made sure to tell him how rare it was and how Terry had waited 20 trips to see this. And with that, she decided to name the pangolin Terry. After we got in the jeep, Terry the pangolin hustled away.
On the way back to camp, Andrew spotted something in the tree. It was a velvet monkey which is the only type they have in Botswana. Given my aversion to monkeys, I could have done without that. We also had a bit of a travel mishap on our way back to the camp. The jeep got stuck in the sand and Bait and Te Te had to get a jack to get us out. I am not sure why we have issues like this when we travel but we do. I should also mention that we saw, in our time here, two big skulls. One was an elephant that had pretty much been picked over. Bait thought it died of natural causes (whatever that means our here). The other was a hippo. They tend to die by other hippo attacks. Nice.
Nothing could really beat the pangolin although we still haven't seen a cheetah or leopard) so it was a good way to end our stay here. On to the next camp!
Total flights so far: 4
Total game drives: 4
1 comment:
Thanks for this!
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