’11 Jul: Botswana

A Kudu with an oxpecker, one of the birds that picks gnats and such off the bodies of mammals.

We did the through-the-river thing a bunch of times occasionally flooding water into the truck but we always made it out with much reving of the engine and the moral support of the riders.

The local guides and lodge employees playing soccer on the air field.

Brigitta writing her journal and Santiago waiting for the campfire crowd to gather.

The nightly ritual of Angelika and Pierre going through their pictures deleting the duplicates and the ‘not so greats’.

These guys were so nice and so helpful. Everyone was nice and helpful actually. It was kind of amazing how the whole everything would come together so easily every day little as I did to contribute.

Day 12 Moremi campsite 7

It was just dawn and the last stages of packing-up where some of the guys pitch in to help Allen load the trailer. The tents are hugely heavy. Someone always helped me carry mine. So they have to load up about 10-12 tents, all the luggage, sleeping bags, mats, the whole deal.

And while this is going on Alaoa calls out ‘Wild Dogs!’.

And there they were in our camp. Wild Dogs. Wow. The group on the right is hovering around what used to be our toilet but was now filled in with dirt and ash from the fire.

Oh yes indeed-y they were most interested in what was That.

On our way out of Moremi on the way to Chobe we stopped at the park entrance to load up with water and eat our fruit and use the bathroom.

In the literal blink of an eye this monkey had leapt from a tree onto the trailer and stolen an apple. In the blink of an eye.

I was in the bathroom so I didn’t see the apple thief and…

…I didn’t see that guy on the right that jumped into the truck, OPENED my blue net bag and pulled out a small package of nuts and raisins and ran up that tree.

The other guy is eating something he didn’t steal but I’ll bet he’s not enjoying it as much.

Awww, baby elephant walk.

We hear on the wire that there’s a leopard kill nearby. But what’s this?! Yes, leopards! There are two trucks from a different company but those guys standing are a Bushways group. It is forbidden to stand to watch predators.

You can stand for all the prey but predators they say get spooked and we must sit. OT was very strict. Well, except for maybe that one time.

Yup, Leopard kill. OT said Mama took that impala down herself and dragged it under the tree, then went to get her two cubs.

Usually leopards take their kill up into trees to save the leftovers from scavengers and to eat there for a few days but OT thinks the cubs are not yet able to eat in trees so that’s why Mama left the impala on the ground.

“I told you, stop playing with your food. It’s dead already, so eat it.”

Little brother comes around maybe looking for a share.

Big brother is all like “no way” and mom is all like “what ehves.”

Lechwe.

Vultures tree! OT told us with great certainty that when you see vultures circling they are still looking. They do not circle a kill. When they find something they immediately land in a tree or on the ground.

All these vultures in a tree – definitely a kill. We had been on our way to the ‘hippo pool’ but got word to take a different fork in the road because there was something big and dead.

It was this hippo that was dead for some time, probably from natural causes or illness, and man-o-man did that thing stink. PHWWW. STINKeeee.

This ratty old lion was having a snack and keeping the vultures away.

And then on the scene comes this female, sleek, well muscled, and hungry. OT thinks the male had had enough and didn’t feel the need to fight over a stinky old hippo.

On the scene and ready. I saw him around a few times. There was a gyro-stabilizer on that set-up and he must have got some amazing shots.

Which brings me to my camera. Oh how I longed for a newer camera and a longer lens!

We then made our way to the hippo pool where this viewing station was available…

…and lookie here. Hippos at play.

More elephants. Check out the big elephant on the right and the little baby between her legs. Many many more elephants yet to come.

Day 13 Chobe campsite 8

Good morning! This was the day where we changed camps today and we’re changing camps tomorrow.

Tonight’s campsite was my least favorite so fortunately we were there for just the one night. The whole place was a pile of dirt and dust a foot thick, or actually I don’t know how thick because we never exactly found any ground.

Warthogs are cute. Really, I think so, when they are trotting off in a line with their tail-flags all a-flutter. I never got a shot of a whole family with the babies and their tails, so cute.

He got close.

He’s a he because females have thinner horns and still have lots of tuft on top. Males lose the tuft in fights. Males also die much younger because of the fights they’re always having with their easily broken necks.

I used one of these guys before but wow they are so colorful. And apparently they hold still since two of them were in focus.

Lunch. Nice.

I didn’t do the afternoon game drive but my camera did! I left it in the truck. Bummer. We had a spectacular elephant sighting and I’ll be getting some pictures from Angelika and Tineke soon as they stayed behind too.

Day 14 Chobe campsite 9

We left the trailer this morning for a couple hours while we made the journey to look at these rock paintings.

From what I remember they were meant to be from the early 1800s made by the San people in the blood of animals as a means of communication. Remember that crocodile and that hippopotamus in Okavango? Well I have my doubts about these rock paintings too. Too easy to get to with too many tourists climbing up there. Still, it was an entertaining outing, and I could be wrong again!

Going back to get the trailer and lurching out way out of the sandy dirt pit that was our campsite.

But then, uh oh. A sandy dirt pit road, and, 1) we’re stuck. OK, 2) everyone out of the truck and let’s push it backward. 3) No joy. OK, 4) let’s unhook the trailer and push the truck forward.

Success!

The Dutch ladies Ellie and Tineke on Kitchen Duty doing the dishes. Everyone pitched it with all the chores. It was a thing of beauty how easily everything got done.

I say that, and I’m pretty sure I contributed the least. By the time I was looking around for something to do all that was left was to put away the chairs.

I think we left the National Park system for a few minutes and stopped at this establishment. It came as a bit of a shock after all that camping with nothing but what we had brought.

Cute Konrad doing his journal. He had a new camera and a 300mm lens and was getting really great shots. I look forward to seeing them.

We’ve arrived in our last campsite and everyone was SO happy. We were right on the river and wow all what happened right in front of us was So Cool.

Cape Buffalo.

A baby giraffe and a baby zebra.

I know I had a good baby giraffe with his family so I’m going to have to go back and look. Later.

More and more elephants. I have 50 pictures of elephants crossing the river. Check out their trunks. Periscope Up!

And nightfall on the river.

Day 15 Chobe campsite 9

Morning toast and coffee…

…by the river. Ahhh.

It was so quiet with just the birds announcing the day and then in the distance we started to hear a low constantly building thunder and then out of the horizon…

…a thundering herd of zebras. Thousands of them, heading for the river.

The line stretched across the whole field of view and as they approached the river some would pick up speed, running…

…and others would slow the pace and enjoy a more leisurely crossing.

Soo many and soo cool.

A fish eagle. We saw dozens of them and I took ten pictures every time. That’s approximately/at least 120 pictures. Finally, one that’s not terrible.

Coming across the field, a hyena, my first! I did really want to see a hyena and so since none of the pictures are good, I’m using four. Make it up on volume we used to say.

He was leaving the very last remains of a baby buffalo…

…to the vultures.

OT thought it was a baby buffalo but…

…awww, a baby buffalo that’s alive! And his horns don’t look like the ones the vultures are pecking at.

So many elephants, here crossing for a drink. They are coming from Namibia. The river is the boundary between countries and to hear OT tell the tale those Namibians will do anything and are usually up to no good.

Last good night from a TENT!

More because I can’t stop.

Day 16 Livingstone (Victoria Falls!) Zambia

This day will see us transfer out of Botswana and end the day in Livingstone, Zambia, home of the magnificent Victoria Falls. Bushways has put us up in a nicely posh hotel by the riverfront where Mindy is going to meet me.

My hope is to Catch Up in the next few days with the week that I’ve already been in Zambia. Hope might be the word as internet connectivity seems random, but mostly ‘out’.

The last packing up.

And on the way out, what is that we see in the near-by bush? Lions, and plenty of them!

We watched a literal parade of lions pass in front of the truck. There must have been at least 20 of them. What a perfect farewell to the National Parks of Botswana and Bushways Safari.

Here we are getting on the barge that will float us across the river from Botswana to Zambia.

Landing in Zambia we take an hour or two with the formalities of visa etc. and end our day at the Zambezi Riverfront Hotel and since they must have run out of single rooms I get a suite!

Yes, a pano from Victoria Falls that of course doesn’t do it justice. More Victoria Falls coming in the Zambia chapter.

FOLLOWING ARE PICTURES I GOT FROM OTHER PEOPLE

from Lynda and Alaoa.

Just there, behind MY tent, an elephant. I’m 5’2″ and I could barely stand in the tent, to give you some idea of the size of that big guy.

My camera was in the tent.

from Lynda and Alaoa.

I had two mishaps with the camera both entirely my bad fault. On one afternoon drive I forgot to bring my backup battery. Rookie mistake! And I missed taking pictures of the best lion encounter of the trip.

This is a ‘mating pair’. He won’t let her out of his sight for a week and they go at it as many times as she’ll let him. No hunting, no eating, nothing but coochie-coo time for these two lions.

from Lynda and Alaoa.

Where was I when this was happening?! Maybe it’s one of those super-telephotos that I couldn’t get anyway. They are Great!

from Tineke.

Tineke sent me many many pictures of myself. .cool.

From Angelika and Pierre.

It’s the time I didn’t go on the afternnoon game drive but my camera did. This is from where I was without a camera. Baby Elephants AWWW.

From Angelika and Pierre.

It’s the lion mating pair from the time I forgot my backup battery. WOW.

From Angelika and Pierre.

Some scenes from around. The group at the rock painting, me with bed head and morning coffee, the time the elephants came into camp, fooling around with our roasting marshmallow sticks.