Chobe/ Moremi

Wild week 

Well, we went from “warm up week” in Maun, Nata sanctuary, Nxai Pans where we had amazing experiences, but in smaller 2-3 day blocks, to Wild Week – 6 days through Moremi and Chobe National Parks, ending yesterday with our arrival at Chobe safari lodge.

Non-stop, full on heat (we hit 50 degrees Celsius on Doug’s car thermometer in the afternoon on day five), hard driving (mud, deep sand and big holes), and wildlife everywhere.

Our daily routine was up at about 5:20am, everything packed and driving away at 545-6:00, out wildlife spotting while it is cool in the morning, breakfast prepared on the bonnet and served on the roof racks out in the middle of the pans, usually positioned to watch a herd of zebra, wildebeest, giraffe etc.

Some days we then had to move on to our next camp, but a couple of times we stayed in the same spot two nights in a row. Afternoons were for finding the deepest shade possible, doing jobs and reading. There is a quality to shade that you only appreciate when it’s 50 degrees in the direct sun. The difference between a big mature tree, and some dappled light coming through a reasonable bush is about 4 degrees.  We had plenty of water, and the water chilling system was our most important process. We also routinely soaked our shirts, or lived under soaked kikoi to get through the afternoons. 

Late mornings were often either baking or washing clothes. Clothes washing is mostly about knuckle scrubbing with a bar of Sunlight Soap, then the incredible power of that sunshine. 

Baking was two loaves at a time. One garlic herb and salt with Parmesan cheese sprinkled in it. And one sweet, usually made with a tin of peaches and some cinnamon. Both on the embers of the fire in Matt’s cast iron loaf tins lugged all the way from New Zealand.

About 3pm we stirred and headed out to drive around as it started to cool down and the animals stirred again. About 6pm, I’d start to get the questions from various daughters about ‘how long until the sun goes down’ and we’d head back to camp so we could get dinner cooked in the fading light. Louis and Emma have taken over cooking duties, and their Basil pesto pasta with fresh tomatoes, sometimes avocado, topped with cracked pepper and Parmesan cheese is the perfect way to end a day!

Varying appetites for sitting around the fire in the dark started with just Matt, became a Matt and Louis thing, then when we failed to be eaten by hyenas – a Matt, Louis, Doug and Emma close to the day.

Every night had two features- temperature and noise. Temperature was predictable – you start off on top of your sheet trying to keep distance from your sweaty tent mate; progress to inside your sheet, then at about 4am reach for the shared blanket to take the chill off. Noise was semi predictable- we ended up having lions roaring nearby every night, plus hyenas and jackal making a racket. The variable was how close they were.

Obviously the whole reason for being out there is the wildlife and the beauty, and we had mind blowing views of both.

I’d told the kids seeing one lion was about a 90% chance if we worked hard at the driving and spotting. Instead we saw different groups of lions every day. Big males in pairs out hunting, prides of females with cubs active in the morning. And one face to face encounter with a big lioness for Leanne coming out of the toilet block at Kwai that sent her back in with Fenn. Eventually they called out for help and Matt and Doug came in the Ute to get them.

We were surrounded by zebra, impala, springbok, wildebeest, warthogs, giraffe, sometimes buffalo, in most of our camps. They were appreciated more than the troop of baboons that Leanne accidentally led a troop of Prichard and Cameron children into the middle of, which is still causing trauma!

As we got further north to the rivers and delta we dealt with hippos and crocs, in and out of the water – including one hippo we didn’t tell Doug about before he followed us through a ‘bonnet-deep’ river channel we had to drive through.

And as we reached the Chobe riverfront, we had literally a thousand elephants around the place, playing in the mud and rejoicing in coming down to the river.

But we’ve also had amazing experiences with the smaller creatures. We stopped for 20 mins to watch dung beetles doing their thing with a steaming pile of elephant dung. We had a colony of dwarf mongeese under our kitchen bench for two days in Savuti, Emma and Pam have nearly had hornbills taking crackers out of their hands. We’ve found three tortoise, lumbering at snails pace across the plains- including one heading for the river 100m away that Leanne and Fenn decide to feed our precious water out of a breakfast bowl instead, saving him about two hours round trip (I wonder how many tourists he’s tried that act on?). And we sat and watched a big monitor lizard dig a hole to lay her eggs.

We made it to kasane yesterday afternoon, and enjoyed a swim in the pool and a good meal. Doug and Emma have the world’s greatest Chobe riverfront campsite, with resident monkeys, warthog babies, and beautiful bushbuck. And the Prichards are in a couple of rooms enjoying aircon.

We’re here for a couple of days R&R before we cross the Zambezi at Kazangula and head to spend a few days on Bovu island with Brett and his team. Jamie, I’ll apologize again to Mr Moffat when I see him!

Will write again soon.