A Botswanan Adventure.

[drron]

.

African sunsets were marvellous but this one on the water was special-

.

.

.

.

.

as the sun was going down hippopotamii were coming out of the reeds to prepare for their nocturnal rambling.We came around a bend and came across these four.They were upset and started heading for the boat so we accelerated past.They can be very dangerous and there are more human deaths from them than lions.

.

 

[drron]

I couldn't help myself at sunset.And beware there are another 8 to go after this one!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

This brought us to one of the highlights of our days in Botswana-The sundowner.drinks with snacks that included biltong,dried fruits,biscuits or muffins and nuts.

All of course whist watching the sunsets-

.

And now mrsdrron's pictures-

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

Back to the camp and as always you are offered a drink.The fire was roaring-

.

The moon was up and we enjoyed the last of the sunset-

.

After finishing our drink-vodka and kahlua-we went back to our room to freshen up for dinner.on the verandah were two old hip baths with bubbles,candles and a bottle of champagne on ice.

How decadent!So off to dinner shared with a couple from Melbourne just off the QM2.Really nice with local bream as mains.But the surprises were not yet over.Taken back to our room and now the baths had gone and now our bed was out on the verandah-

.

What a view to wake up to.Unfortunately this was our last day at Baines camp.enjoyed the view for the last time at breakfast-

And mrsdrron took shots of one of her favourites-water lillies.

.

 

[drron]

So back to our room to pack.Some of the birds came to say goodbye-

.

This is the little bee eater.Four of them came and sat outside for some time-

.

.

Then it was off to the airstrip.time to take a photo of the old Baobab with a nice escape for smaller animals-

.

when we got to the strip a family of warhogs were eating beside it.They have caused considerable damage in the past as they are likely to run in front of a plane.Our job was to scare them off for our incoming flight-

.

The plane brought in some replacement staff-

Sad to leave.The staff were fantastic.July we realised later was a really professional guide.
But on to Cheif's camp.

 

[drron]

First before we take off for Cheif's camp are my nocturnal stories from Baine's camp.We were told that at 6am we would have someone come and knock at the door to make sure we were awake.On the night I heard a knocking noise so got out of bed waking mrsdrron.She said "what are you doing".I replied I had heard the knock on our door.She looked at her watch and said"Fool.It's only 2.15"
I could still hear a noise but she was definite she couldn't.At breakfast a little later the other guide in camp said-"did anyone hear the Elephant go through camp just after 2am".Yesssss.
Second night we had got into our bed on the verandah and we both went straight to sleep.Fifteen minutes I woke to the sound of timber cracking.There was an elephant standing right besides our balcony on mrsdrron's side.He proceeded to strip bark from a tree,step on dead branches breaking them and then going into the water to eat the reeds noisily.Then at about 5am I am awoken by a hippo going back into the water walking right past mrsdrron.She heard nothing all night.

So now off to Cheif's camp.On the way to the strip we had seen a water snake at one of the water crossings but also impala,warthogs,wildebeast,baboons.The flight was about 25 minutes in a Cessna 206 piloted by Ryan.We only flew at 500 feet so good views.I did see some hippo in a lagoon but didn't realise what I was looking at.Now mrsdrron taking up her position as co-pilot-

The delta from the air-

.

.

.

The other Sanctuary camp in the area-Stanleys-

Then Baine's camp from the air-

.

And the route of our boat cruise-

.

Then over another camp I think operated by Wilderness lodges-

 

[drron]

Then our first view of the Cheifs airstrip-

The country looked different with a lot affected by fire-

.

Then we were there saying goodbye to Ryan-

On the way to camp was a troop of monkeys-

.

.

.

We also saw the usual impala,warthogs and elephant.Another friendly welcome at Chief's with cold towels and a nice cold drink.

 

[Welsh-Kiwi]

Great trip report.

W-K

 

[drron]

So our accommodation at Cheifs-

.

.

There was an outdoor as well as an indoor shower-

.

Our own personal termite nest-

.

.

It seemed even a little bee eater had followed us-

It was then off to lunch.I had the curried fish and mrsdrron the make your own pizza-you choose everything you want on the pizza and the cook does all the rest.

.

From where we were sitting a large group of elephants could be seen in the distance.Closer in were warthogs and baboons.You should always keep your camera with you.Too often I forgot this advice.

 

[drron]

Looking at my food photos reminded me I forgot to do this for Baine's camp.On the first night there was a BBQ and all the staff came out and put on a show.They really do have rhythm.

.

.

.

My plate-

So there is Kudu wurst,impala,crocodile tail and chicken.You had to make sure bugs didn't get into your drinks.Which is maybe why I looked pensive-

.

And my main course on night two-local bream-

 

[drron]

After lunch it was of course time for an afternoon nap and then out on a game drive with Ishmael our guide for Cheif's camp.Now Ishmael was a lot younger than July and that did show in subsequent days.This afternoon though we hadn't got far when we came across a small group of male elephants.They provided some great entertainment.First a fellow with really long tusks-

.

.

He showed us how they get bark from trees before trotting off-

.

.

.

Then the old male leader of the group came up and demonstrated that he is in charge-

.

.

You could even see his tonsils-

 

[drron]

He then stayed right by the car so we got a great view of his eating style-

.

.

.

.

He then backed off a little-

.

.

Mrsdrron noticed this fellow crossing the road-

But we all went back to watching the old male until we heard loud noises behind us.This fellow was now eating about 3 metres from the car-

.

 

[drron]

We all turned around making some noise so he straightened up to give us the once over-

.

.

Mrsdrron wanted a photo of me and the elephant-

If you look closely you can notice my eyes are not looking at the camera.This is because I hit my leg on the door turning making more noise.The elephant came at the car.Fortunately stopped a metre from my face and then backed off.I did feel an adrenaline rush.

We were told a funny story later about a woman who drives around Maun with a large dent in the side of her 4WD with a comment written on the side-my husband said this was a mock charge.
The rest of the drive was a bit of an anticlimax.Here are a few of the animals-

.

And our first zebras-

.

.

 

[drron]

So some more of the zebras.These small herds are in the Delta all year round.others migrate in when the water arrives.

.

.

.

A little later and we pulled up for our sundowner drinks-

.

.

And naturally i took the odd shot or two of the sunset-

.

.

.

 

[drron]

Now mrsdrron's sunset shots-

.

.

.

.

.

And the last of mine-

.

.

.

I never got sick of the African sunsets.The colours are just magic.
As we left the water hole a crocodile slithered into the water.Wonder how long he had been watching us.

 

[zig]

I never got sick of the African sunsets.The colours are just magic.

Agree absolutely with this - and I am enjoying your's and mrsdrron's photos greatly - thanks so much for posting. I am enjoying your trip, and making notes for when I return to Botswana/

 

[drron]

Tuesday and a really eventful day.Started off at breakfast.Two leopards walked across the grasslands though about 70 metres away.I told myself I should always have my camera with me but this was not the last time I missed opportunities.
So off we went on our game drive.Saw the usual suspects-sqirrel,mongoose,warthogs,impala,giraffes,kudu.A slow morning.Now our guide as I said was young.He normally works in Chobe where there are rules such as not going off road.Now here there are no such rules so he went off road at the drop of a hat.Now the roads are rough enough but with the amount of off roading we did I needed a panadol and brufen coughtail when I got back to camp.
It was looking like a very quiet morning and then we came across these fellows which I was not expecting but hoping to see-

.

Yes a pack of wild dogs.The activity that you see in the second photo is the reaction to a few impala going by.The dogs gave chase and Ishmael took us off after them.I have to admit this was exciting.For us though it ended in anticlimax.The dogs were obviously well fed so gave up the chase and returned to rest on the road.They really do have a lot in common with domestic dogs-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

We continued on down the road and happenned upon the end of a hyena fight.A solitary male had wandered into the territory of another clan.He was attacked by 5-6 other males.Maybe our arrival stopped the fight but he was in a bad way and obviously very groggy as it took him awhile to get up.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

If you look carefully at the close up of the leg you can see the bone.Odds are that he would not survive too much longer.
Our morning though wasn't finished yet.

 

[drron]

Ishmael was then obviously in a hurry.There had been a lot of chatter on his radio but in the local language so we were in the dark.We still managed to see more animals and birds on the way-

.

it included three bird species in one shot-a stork,ibis and a fish eagle which is what I concentrated on-

.

.

Then some more animals and finally the colourful roller-

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

But finally we arrived at the meeting point for all three cars from Cheifs.An old male lion.What a magnificent beast-

.

.

.

.

.

He got tired of all the attention so got up and slowly walked away-

.

.

A lot more of the lion to come.