Continued
One of our support boys originated
from the San bushmen tribe, one of their traditions was
the ability to light fire without matches and he was
very keen to show us. It was here one afternoon he was
able to demonstrate his skill, it took so long to light
it was quite obvious his skill had not been practiced
for some time, the other boys teased him greatly but we
all enjoyed the banter.
The Savuti Marsh is famous for its
large pride of elephant eating lions which I thought
seeing this spectacle would be one off the highlights of
the trip, to our disappointment the only lions we saw
was a male, his two female companions plus a trio of
cubs about 3 months old. Apparently this event now
happens in Linyanti, its a bit like the tale of the Wild
Dogs, when youre there specially to find them they seem
to have moved off somewhere else for the time being.
This sort of disappointment is never mentioned in the
brochures.
Our best experience in this area
was on the last night when we arrived at one of the main
watering holes in the early evening, we found many huge
bull elephants interacting with each other (as elephants
do). We spent some time adjacent to this waterhole with
these massive creatures wandering all around and doing
their thing. These beasts were sometimes very close to
our vehicle which made for a tense atmosphere, its
difficult to explain the experience, only those who have
had something similar could understand the thrill of it
all.
During our second night here in
camp my wife was awoken during the early hours of the
morning by an animal drinking from my wash bowl adjacent
to our tent, the lapping of water was so loud the fellow
traveller in the tents across the way away was also
awoken. Sadly I slept through this although it could
have only been feet from my head, the census of opinion
it was a Kudu.
Summary of game in Savuti
Like the other reserves the game
appeared to be few and far from one another and never
together in large numbers when sighted. We did come
across a few groups of wildebeest on the open plains
together with a few zebra scattered amongst them, as
normal the Impala were the species we saw on a regular
basis and a few giraffe here and there but they were not
as common as in Moremi. Kudu were seen on occasions.
Some parts of the Savuti Marsh felt like a leopard would
pop out from around every corner but the only predators
we saw was the group of lions previously mentioned and
one lone Hyena out on the plains.
The main thing I remember most was
the size of the bull elephants that gathered around the
waterhole in the evening. We must have been hitting a
real low with sightings as our guide got overwhelmed
with excitement when we came across a small albino
Francolin, we spent a lot of time viewing this bird far
too long for the interest it warranted.
Onwards
We spent three nights in Savuit and
again we set off north after breakfast on route this
time for the Chode river area which marks the boundary
of Botswana in the north, the journey was quite
uneventful and with some game appearing now and again.
As we moved north the land became more civilised and
small towns appeared from time to time as we viewed the
river in the distance we came across our first bit of
tarmac since leaving Maun. We travelled to Kasane and
filled up with fuel for the first time since leaving
Maun as we were running extremely low. We entered the
Chobe National Park from the northern gate and travelled
westwards along the river bank for about two hours
arriving at our camp as the sun was setting.
The camp was set overlooking the
marsh land with the Chobe river about half a mile away
and the sun set over the river, this was by far the best
camp setting, so much so it would have been good to sit
there and ponder all day. The park appeared very dry and
arid, it was the busiest park we had visited especially
around the gate nearest Kasane, the reason was the
amount of day trippers venturing out from the Hotels in
the town. Away from this area it became a lot quieter it
terms of vehicles travelling around the various
circuits. The water bird life in this area was amazing
and I saw many I had not previously seen. The animals
appear to follow a set pattern and ventured to the river
edge to drink of an evening but returned back to the
bush overnight, so morning games drives were a little
sparse but the afternoon was more plentiful with game.
We spent one game drive in a boat which set out from
Kasane in the afternoon, this gave us a different aspect
on game viewing and I think this activity is a must for
anyone who comes to this part of Botswana.
On returning back to the camp on
our last evening it was getting dark. Near the camp we
came across a very large family herd of elephants all
trumpeting for some reason in excitement, so that
evening we sat down to dinner with this noisy herd not
too far away. This herd was gone in the morning but were
replaced by a herd of braying zebra just outside our
camp on the marsh in front of the tents.
Summary of game in Chobe
Without any doubt the number of
elephants in the park was astounding equal to those I
had seen previously in Amboseli. The excited elephants
would run down to the river each evening sometimes in
family groups of twenty or more and it was really good
to see these activities from the boat. To watch their
antics is always something to be enjoyed. If it had not
of been for the elephants the park would have appeared
quite empty.
As with the other reserves we had
visited the other animals were not so plentiful, Impala
were there in abundance with a few Buffalo here and
there, a few Zebra groups could be seen in the west end
of the park near our camp, we had the odd sightings of
Kudu in any part of the park. Apart from that the game
was hard to come across although we did see another
leopard on our last morning. Water bird life was in
abundance and for twitchers Im sure it would be a good
place to visit.
Onwards
The last part of our journey was to
cross the Chobe river into Zambia. So on the last
morning in Botswana after breakfast we bid goodbye to
the boys who had looked after us so well and headed east
on our last safari. We travelled through the Chobe
National Park towards Kasane and then on to the ferry
and crossed into Zambia, then travelled north towards to
the town of Livingstone where our journey ended.
At the point of leaving the Chobe
National Park we thought of those Italians whom we met
at the entrance to the Moremi Game Reserve at the
beginning of our adventure. We felt tired, dirty and
dishevelled and nothing felt more appealing than a hot
shower and some clean clothes. The bucket showers had
served us well, the water was always hot from the camp
fire but when you arrive back at camp in the evening a
bit late and the chill of the night had set in, the
outside shower was not quite so appealing. Sometimes it
was just a quick PTA and save the shower for the times
during the day when we were not travelling (which turned
out to be not so many). So by the end of the trip habits
of a lifetime were becoming a little lax.
Accommodation
The camping accommodation was very
basic and consisted of two cot beds, one on either side
of the 3mt dome tent with several blankets and a cosy
quilt on each. There was a wobbly small table at the end
one bed which was supposed to have an electric lantern
on it but turned out to be a weenie torch light.
Dressing in the dark became a challenge with one small
light between two. We soon learnt to sort out the next
days clothes whilst we had daylight! Outside the tent at
the back was a screened off area for a toilet, this
consisted of a plastic drum with a toilet seat on the
top, this was mounted over the hole dug into the ground
with a toilet role placed conveniently on the ground. Of
course there was no flush, you just covered up with dirt
after! This may sound a bit crude but it worked very
well. Outside the front of the tent was a porch type
leanto made of canvas and sited under this were two
canvas wash basins which were always filled with hot
water at first light., and again when we returned from
game drives during the day. We all shared the open sided
dining tent for our meals which had tables and chairs
set out underneath. The boys always took a pride in
putting a decorative centre piece on the table at each
camp.
The shower consisted of a bucket
with a spray head mounted underneath, this bucket was
then hoisted over a branch and a square canvas enclosure
was setup underneath. On the floor was a square of
tarpaulin to protect your feet. Each time someone
required a shower the boys would fill the bucket with
hot water and hoist it up in the tree, the trick was not
to use too much water and ensure it did not run out half
way through. Most of the equipment was worn and well
used and some bits could do with replacement but it
wasnt that bad to spoil our enjoyment.
Food
Considering all food was prepared
at camp and then cooked over an open fire, the quality
and variety presented to us at meal times was something
even Gordon Ramsey would be proud of. Not only did our
cook prepare excellent home made soup, main courses
which would then be followed up by a range of most
acceptable sweets. Bread was always baked fresh and was
various in style whilst the packed lunches sometimes
included home made cakes. My wife still amazes at what
our cook was able to produce with the limited resources
to hand. One day we even had a home made Victoria
sponge!All the time we were in camp there was always
coffee, tea or cold drinks on offer, you just had to
help yourself and of course during the meals there was
something a bit more alcoholic.
Camp Staff
We had three young boys to service
the camp including the camp cook, who each completed
every task with so much enthusiasm, we soon discovered
this was their first safari trip and their inexperience
was quite apparent in some of the things they did. Sami
our guide was more experienced and somewhat older was
always there to give them his advice, their keenness to
please usually outweighed any failing.
Summary
Having experienced a number of
different types of safari and standards of accommodation
I can say without any doubt for me this is the best way
to experience the real Africa Now I have been in the
Bush I would be reluctant to stay in a typical Tourist
lodge found in certain parts of Africa. There is nothing
to beat dining under the stars with the sound of the
African night all around. The standard of the camping
was quite basic although comfortable, but once I was
accustomed to what was on offer it became more enjoyable
as the journey progressed.
I was disappointed by the quantity
of game in some places, my main reason for visiting
Botswana was photography and fewer animals for me means
fewer photo opportunities. The reason for the
disappointment is based on some experience and having
researched thoroughly into the location beforehand and
the timing of our visit to these places should have been
a good time for seeing game. But sadly this was not the
case! Having said this, we thoroughly enjoyed the trip
and would like one day to return to the bush, this time
I would be extremely choosy of the timing and the
selection of places I wanted to go. In summing up I
think that if this had been our very first safari we
would not have been disappointed with sightings, but
with each safari you do, your expectations increase but
it is always good to have something to take you back!
Wild Dogs here we come!
