Another Amazing Game Drive

I just realized that I have a disturbing number of pictures
of Anne looking terrified near animals.
(Note: there are TWO elephants looming behind her.)


We came across three lionesses with cubs. They were so cute, I forgot they could kill me.

See?

But, awwww.

Then, KB got excited.
We were about to see something really cool.

A herd of Red Lechwe (antelope)
galloping across the water. Unbelievable.

This is a panoramic shot.

These letchwe were very close to the lioness and her cubs. BT and KB said that they could
coexist like this because the lions didn't have the element of surprise in their favor.
So, they won't bother trying to attack the letchwe. Lucky them.

The Elephant Whisperer

The excitement never stops! When Anne and I left the chalet to meet the group for our evening game drive, this is what we saw:

Yup. An elephant on the path. Actually, there were 4 or 5 of them. It was scary, but kind of cool.

We did a little stealth operation to get around them. Kind of a rush!

Floating

I woke up before the alarm and the beating drum of our wake up visit. I slept really well considering how nervous I was the night before.

It was cold in the chalet, no heater, but it's not nearly as cold in Botswana as it was in South Africa so it's not as bad as it could have been. Anne was still not happy, but I was feeling OK. I decided that I was going to just let myself enjoy the experience. Whatever. It's only 3 days. The place is gorgeous. It's not like being in the peace corps.

After a quick nosh, we headed out for the morning activity. Instead of the usual game drive, we were going out on a slow moving riverboat called "Lily" to check out the channels of the Santanadibe River and the flora and fauna.

Don't laugh. Those are my travellin' pants.

We didn't see any animals during the cruise, but it was a really relaxing way to spend the morning. The British family are shaping up to be good travel buddies; our ranger BT and tracker KB are really sweet.

Travellers

We had a little lesson about the various tribe of the Okavango. BT (short for Batsholelwang, whew) is part of the Hambukushu tribe which is known for cattle farming. KB is from the Bayei tribe, historically fishermen.

Anne and the boys

The only snag we hit was due to some industrious elephants who had trampled their way across the channel leaving tremendous stalks of papyrus in their wake. Our boat was in the weeds. BT and KB had some hard work ahead of them. We munched happily on dried fruit and biscuits while they freed us from the muck.

Traffic jam

Drinking the Night Away

After dark, they came to get us for dinner. We told the porter that an elephant had very recently been near the chalet; he assured us the beast had moved on and out of camp.

Wrong.

As we started on the path to the main lodge, he quickly realized that the elephant(s) was still nearby. It was pitch black dark so we couldn't see him, but he was around. The porter hurried us through the path making hand signals and looking a little nervous. I was so scared that I grabbed Anne's hand and made her hold on unti we were safely at the lodge.

We made a solemn vow to drink ourselves silly. (Which, for the record, I followed through on - Anne wimped out.)

When we got to the lodge, they had a fire going and cocktails were on hand. The lodge managers and other staff chatted with us as the other guests started arriving from their evening game drive. There was a brother and sister act from LA, there with their mother (a judge!). A lovely gay couple from London. And our dinner companions, a British family of four (American mom, Dad, Oxford-student son, and Rachel McAdams lookalike daughter).

We met our ranger (BT) and tracker (KB) briefly before the evening's entertainment started. The ladies of the camp came out and began to sing; their lilting voices blending with natural harmonies. They looked like they were having a ball. I was really enjoying it. The other people in the room were watching them passively as if this is something you see every day. Anne looked horrified. She repeated the phrase that we'd been saying for hours: "Three nights!?!?"

Of course, the singers chose that moment to grab Anne's hand and drag her up for a dance. I was the next victim and before long everyone was up, dancing, laughing, slightly embarrassed, but giving it up as a lost cause to fun. It worked. The ice was broken.

After dinner in the Boma, we were schlepped back to the chalet. On the bed, there was a lovely note from the lodge manager welcoming us to Sandibe, along with a book with stunning photos and information about their other lodges. Nice.

Also nice: hot water bottles for the bed. We were both worried that we wouldn't sleep.

Next thing I knew it was morning.

Laundry

One of the things that Anne and I had been eagerly awaiting was Sandibe's promise of free laundry service. We'd tried to pack light and as a result were pretty much wearing the same stuff over and over. Also, inexplicably, neither of us thought socks would be important. In Africa. In Winter. So. That was a problem.

But never fear, Botswana to the rescue. As promised, there was a laundry bag in the room waiting to be filled with our dainties. I took a minute to read the instructions for the laundry:

-Please leave your completed list together with your laundry on your bed.
-Laundry will be collected at 8am for same day service.
-All laundry, unless specified, is machine washed.
-Should the weather be inclement, all laundry will be tumble dried.
-Water is pumped from a borehole.
-Occasionally hyena and baboons raid the laundry yard.

The lodge accepts no responsibility whatsoever for guest clothing damaged during cleaning

Crap.

Elephant Crossing

Admittedly we were both a little shaken up by the Great Sandwich Caper of 2007 and we just wanted to go back to our chalet and take a load off. As we started down the path towards the chalet, the lodge manager called softly to us to stop and walk back toward him. We soon saw what he saw: 4 fully grown ellies out for their afternoon stroll and mid-day snack.

The manager just made us wait a few minutes until they had veered enough off the path that we could scamper away to our chalet.

We got back to our chalet to relax (read: freak out over our anxiety at almost being trampled by an elephant. We're nothing if not overdramatic) and wait for dinner. Since dinner is served after dark, they'd be sending a porter to collect us.

There we were, minding our own business, when we heard the know familiar cracking and crunching that signified an elephant with a sweet tooth. This time, though, we could feel it, too. The chalet seemed to be vibrating. It was a little too Jurassic Park for my tastes. We turned off the lights. It was dark outside now and I thought we'd be able to see better. I didn't count on the fact that there is no light outside either, not even the moon. The cracking and crunching was getting so loud. I briefly held the flashlight to the window. There was a tusk the size of my arm just a few inches from that nanometer-thick screen separating Us from Them. There was an ellie right outside chowing down on a tree.

Turns out, these ellies have a schedule. They rarely deviate from it. And if that schedule includes high tea in front our our chalet, so be it.

A Monkey Eats Anne’s Lunch. Literally.

We had already been warned several times already on the trip to be wary of the monkeys. Actually, what they normally said was something along the lines of “We’ve a bit of a monkey problem. So, just keep an eye out for them.”

Of course, we barely even saw a monkey up to this point. We’d heard a story of monkeys slipping into the chalet of two women at our first lodge (housekeeping was a little careless about keeping the doors closed as they straightened up the rooms). Several of the creatures got in and tore through the mini bar (read: small tray with some teabags, sugar, and a few cookies) and made off with a packet of Dairy Milk. No harm though, except that one pooped on the bed.

We’d soon find out that Botswana doesn’t do anything half-assed. The lodge manager offered to get us a late lunch before we rested up for dinner. I was wandering around the main lodge snapping pix while Anne was doing deep breathing and contemplating the relative benefits of benzos versus SSRIs in these situations. A few words on the lodge itself- just gorgeous, decorated in a colonial style with big leather sofas, cushy pillows, tons of old books and almanacs to peruse and a huge fireplace that would keep the place cozy at night. This too was wide open to the elements and the animals with nary a screen in sight.

When they brought our food, the monkeys started to take a much keener interest in these weary travelers. And before long, we were completely surrounded. Once again, too dumb to be afraid, I held my camera up to take a snap of a particularly brazen article who had made his way to the table next to ours. It was a rookie mistake, letting that little rat get so close. Before we knew it, the rascal had jumped right over Anne’s shoulder, grabbed half of her sandwich and retreated to a not-so-safe distance about 3 feet away.




Anne was shrieking. I was screeching a blue streak of curses that would make a sailor blush. The monkey was twitchy, but otherwise unconcerned. The staff came running. The lodge manager was wielding a gun. It was all very exciting. Even though the gun was a paint pellet shooter and the manager was a lousy shot, the monkeys hit the bricks and we made the manager stay with us until we were ready to go back to our chalet.

The Sandibe Experience

The drive from Chitabe airstrip to Sandibe took 45 minutes; most of that time was spent driving through water. Botswana is already noticeably different from South Africa. It’s marshy and wet with unexpected sections of dry savannahs. The ride in the open Rover was bumpy, but we’re used to it by now and the weather was gorgeous. We sat in the back and tried to catch the last rays of the day.

We thought we were going straight to the lodge, but the driver had another plan. He pulled up and parked under a tree by the river (Anne immediately worried that we were going to be sold into white slavery or fed to a croc). They assumed we’d want to join the evening game drive, already in progress. Wrong. We were exhausted, hungry, and inappropriately dressed. So we headed back into the bush again, this time toward the lodge.

When we arrived at Sandibe, it was immediately clear that this was going to be a completely different experience than what we had in South Africa. For one thing, the lodge is fully open. There were vervet monkeys everywhere staring at us with their big old googly eyes.

Vervets. The bastards.

The main lodge

The lodge is situated right on the Santantadibe River – the view of the water is interrupted only by great clusters of tall grasses.

Private deck outside our chalet.

The grounds are not at all like the Earth Lodge or Simbambili – those lodges had manicured grounds with well-defined paths and electric lighting. Hah- not so our Sandibe. This was real safari – overgrown paths littered with fallen tree branches and elephant dung. Compared with where we’d been, this was like Girl Scout Camp with cocktails (and thank god for the booze).

Outside ouf our chalet.
The smaller round structure is the shower.

Of course, this is 4-star “camping” complete with butler service, laundry, fresh linens, comfy beds – who can complain?



But here’s the thing: the walls of our chalet? Not walls – screens. As in microthin layers of metal mesh as the only thing between Us and Them. You know who I’m talking about. Suddenly I realized, We’re the ones in the cages while They roam free.

Did I mention the outdoor shower?

And the “no electricity at night” rule?

Well – let me remedy that: the shower is outside. Where the animals and birds and rain are. And the cold, because, you see, its WINTER. The chalet, in spite of its charms was also lacking two other seemingly standard items: a phone and heat. A phone just in case we are set upon by a pride of lions. And heat, because, you see, it’s WINTER.

When we inquired about the phone, the porter produced an airhorn and told us that if we needed someone to come we should just use that.

While Anne fretted over the distinct possibility that she might suffer a myocardial infarction in the middle of the night and require emergency airlifting, I eyed the decanter of complimentary port and wondered if it was 5 o’clock yet.

Tight security is a major benefit of staying in the bush.

No one's gettin' in here!

He's Just My Bill

I interrupt this blog to bring the link to Bill on TDS:

Modern Girl's Guide to Travel (Part 3)

12 August (maybe)

Even though we know exciting things are still ahead, it's difficult to leave Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge and Sabi Sands Game Reserve. Especially because we know that we'll spend almost the entire day trying to get to our next destination.

I am on and off planes so often for work, that it barely registers as anything more than a bus ride. But this itinerary was a little ridiculous.

Sabi Sands to Johannesburg
We were picked up mid-safari to get shuttled to the airstrip to start our trip toward Botswana. The great thing about this was that a tracker called Crimson was our driver so we had a mini-safari on the way there We encountered fresh hyena dung (score!), male kudu, a warthog (our first) barreling hell for leather out of a termite mound, and a herd of rhino. Finally on arriving at the airstrip:

Look closely. Yes, those are elephants. On the runway.

In other "how did we get here?" news: the airstrip had a departures lounge. The pictures make it look like a cave and really don't do it justice. It was an oasis in the middle of the bush. Plus, more biltong!

Just about the last thing we expected to see.
A definite step up from the American Airlines Admiral's Club.

Relaxing in the cave/lounge.

Jetting off to Jo-Burg

Johannesburg to Maun
Johannesburg was chaotic, as expected. We didn't get shanghaied this time and we finally found clean socks (with giraffes on them!)

Our flight to Maun was on Air Botswana, which Anne affectionately dubbed "Air Souvlaki" as a throwback to a vacation through Greece where puddle-jumpers were the norm. I would have welcomed a bit of souvlaki to be honest. The food was vile.

On the flight, I noticed a family (mom, dad, 2 boys) who were just too funny. They were very preppy-oozing Lacoste and Todd's. The boys were carbon copies of their dad. I was eavesdropping on them and could hear that although the boys had proper English prep-school accents, mom and dad sounded like they were fresh from the Vineyard.

Jo-burg to Maun, Botswana.
At least this one had real flight attendants.

Maun Airport is, according to some reports, the second-largest airport in Botswana. Scary.

Maun to Moremi Airstrip
After braving the immigration process into Botswana (one person for about 200 people, and three count 'em three forms), we were met by a representative from CC Africa who was delivering us to the flight that would take us to Moremi Game Reserve.

Coincidentally, the Prep Squad was already there, waiting to board the 8-seater flight with us. Not only did they end up being super nice (making me burn with shame for having mocked them for wearing penny loafers and canvas belts), but in one of those mind-blowing small world situations, I discovered that they live ON MY STREET in London.

Hi, Neighbor!

Don't know if you can tell from this picture-
but check out the father-sons matching outfits.

Anne and I did not have matching outfits,
but we did have matching luggage!

Our first glimpse of the Okavango Delta

Disembarking in style

Moremi Airstrip to Sandibe
Once we landed at Moremi Airstrip, we still had a 45-minute drive ahead to get to the Sandibe game lodge. The ride was long, but beautiful. The sun was strong, we were in an open-air rover and I could feel the stale air of the last 2 flights being blown off of me as we cruised along. It's warmer here in Botswana and the mosquitoes buzz along. But thoughts of bug bites, malarial infection, and animal attacks were far from my mind as the rover charged into the water, wheel-high. It's different out here. And that is a very good thing.

Our chariot awaits

The sun in my face, the wind in my hair.

Driving through water

Safari Lodge of the Rich and Famous

On the morning of our last day at Earth Lodge, we had time to do part of the morning game drive, so Ranger Chris set up an "RV" (ranger code for "rendez-vous" ooh lala) which meant that when we pulled over for morning coffee, Stephan-the-Hot came to pick us up and take us to the airstrip.

On the drive, StheH told us about some of the famous people who have recently stayed at Earth Lodge: Anna Kournikova, Wesley Snipes, the King of Spain! Most recently, Ryan Reynolds (sans Alanis, avec screenwiter. hmmm - curious) and Don Cheadle (who surprised them all by booking under a false name).

His favorite was Holly Hunter. As with most celebs, her people had requested that she and her family have totally private game drives, meals, etc. Part of the culture of these places is mixing with new people. When H2 and her group saw how much fun the others were having, they promptly decided to skip the exclusive drives and join some random group. See? Celebrities are just like us!

Dinner in the Boma

Dinner is a big affair at these lodges. You can come in casual dress, but this one night, when we got back from our evening game drive, one of the lodge employees was taking advantage of the mild weather. She was wearing a pair of cute strappy sandals.

I was grungy, unbathed, and on day 4 of the same socks. I'd had it. I decided to break out the one thing that I had frivolously packed: my cute gold wedges. Take that strappy sandals girl!

We made our entrance into the Boma, which is an outdoor area that was historically used to trap animals (I guess in a sense it still is). They had it beautifully lit with fire pits and torches. The food was very good and the wine was even better.

Unlike our first lodge, the Rangers here stay with you through dinner acting as host. Chris was a good dinner companion for us. Anne and I were joking with him about his schedule: 40 days straight of work, then 10 days off. Later, we considered that this might be the perfect job - doing what you love to do every single day, then getting a couple of weeks off every month or so. But then Anne shone the harsh light of reality on the issue: "Yeah, but it's 40 nights in a row of client dinners." Yeah. Strike that idea.

Matching jackets. Awwww.

Too bad you can't see my shoes. They are fab.

Bush Walks and Nosy Elephants

The Earth Lodge offers guided bush walks in addition to the drives. After the morning drive, I was the only one interested in the bush walk, so Ranger Chris, his rifle, and I set off for a one-hour trek. After a mildly worrying "safety review" (including "Stay behind the rifle, so if I have to shoot something I won't accidentally shoot you." eek!), Chris asked me what I was interested in seeing during the walk. These walks normally focus on flora and fauna vs big game, especially since you don't really want to meet any big game while you're on foot. So, only hesitating a moment, I told him what I really wanted to look at: dung.

I know. I know it's gross. But I can't help it. It's so fascinating. I was worried that Chris would be horrified by my interest in all things scatological. But I needn't have worried. In fact, I think he too has a love of animal poo. Off we went, Chris pointing out all kinds of interesting things but also not neglecting "two-sie" specimens where appropriate (elephants, hyena, wildebeests, oh my!).

At one point we saw an elephant in the near-ish distance. I asked Chris if the ellie knew we were around. He thought that he could probably hear us, but since we're downwind he wouldn't be able to pick up our scent.

We also investigated a huge termite mound (abandoned, of course). The termites build them over the course of years. It's amazing how large they get. But eventually, they abandon the mound and something else moves in, usually a warthog.

Speaking of warthogs, Chris was full of useful tips on not getting killed by one. They apparently can charge right through you (literally, breaking you in half) if they are spooked. So, don't spook a warthog, folks. It's just not safe.

Later

On another game drive, we had yet another close encounter of the wild kind. This elephant surprised us by coming closer rather than lumbering off as they usually do.

I didn't use the zoom on this one!

It's OK, Anne. As long as he's got a tree to chomp, he won't bother with you.