On Safari

After four planes and 36 hours of flight I found myself in the middle of the Botswana bush. Throwing my backpack in the land rover, off we went and after barely having time to catch my breath, peel off a few layers of clothes and get my camera out we came face to face with giraffes, zebras, ellies and antelope...WOW. What a start to what was an amazing adventure that had us speechlees, awestruck, in hysterics, frightened, in panic mode, hyperventilating, swearing profusivley, elated, at peace and the list goes on. The welcome mat was out in full force at Chitabi when we drove up and were met with Dumalang! After a quick freshen up, some tea and the best Lemon Meringue Pie, we were off on our first game drive of many. The highlight was sundowners at the hippo pool, much activity as the sun set, pretty amazing and so the journey began...We spent 8 days flying to 3 remote camps boasting different habitats and terrain. From wetlands to grasslands and Mopane bush, the game was diverse and plentiful. Tracked a leopard, improved my bird identification, saw survival of the fittest in it's pure form and met some amazing people along the way. The apparent ease with which these luxury camps operate is astounding as the logistics I am sure are emmense. The camp staff went out of their way to make each of us feel like we were the only ones there and made our stay a very special and unique experience. The camps are small, from 10 to 20 people at any given time. Days were spent on game drives with siesta time in between, evenings were spent at the dining table with the camp hosts, as guests regaled each other with their game spotting adventures from the day. Early to bed and early to rise.

Flying between camps was it's own treat as we flew low over water holes with herds of elephants and zebras. This also gives you an amazing perspective of the vastness and uniqueness of the Okavango Delta. As the camps are on private concessions they allow only 3 vehicles at a sighting at one time and rarely did we experience this. So no chance of being part of 20 land rovers all staring at one sleeping lion! You also truly felt you were in the bush as all animals have the right of way in camp! Which we found out as we were charged and chased on more than one occasion by elephants and baboons. We even had to send an SOS with our flashlight through the bush to get help! I could go on and on with stories but I won't. Going on safari in Botswana is truly a unique experience and a trip of a lifetime.. stay tuned for canoeing with hippos!