To the Okavango and Beyond
Chobe National Park
A young man collects me from my lodgings soon after dawn. A friendly smile lights up his dark face as he introduces himself. His name's Sam. He works in the booking office in Victoria Falls, and he'll be joining us for the trip. It's off-season, and only three clients are booked on the tour, so it's a good opportunity for Sam to gain first-hand experience.He'll be driving me in a minibus to Kasane, just across the Botswana border, where we'll pick up the other two clients. They're flying in after a trip to Namibia. It's about an hour's drive to the border post at Kazungula, and it passes quickly, because Sam has an excellent sense of humour and he's easy to chat to.
At Kazungula we meet Rex, who will be our guide for the trip, and KB, the cook. Rex is a sturdy, capable-looking character with armbands and medallions. He gives me a friendly welcome. KB has a shy smile showing lots of teeth, and thoughtful eyes. The border post involves the usual officialdom and hanging about, but Rex deals with everything, and the four of us set off on the short drive to Kasane. While we're waiting for the other two clients, we shop for supplies in a modern supermarket with excellent prices. I'm introduced to our vehicle for the trip, a Land Cruiser fitted with raised game-viewing seats in the back. Rex and KB go to the airport to meet the others, leaving Sam and I at a motel. It's a long wait, because their plane is late. Sam and I slob out on the lawn, dozing, chatting and watching the antics of a ground hornbill.
At last they arrive, and with them, a heavy rainstorm. I meet Lene and Erik, a Danish couple, as we scrabble to lower the plastic sides around the back of the vehicle. Lene and Erik take it all in good part, even though they end up a bit damp, and I think I'm going to like them.
The rain clears up as we reach the entrance to the Chobe National Park. Botswana has an aggressive anti-poaching policy, and it's obviously working well. The animals are plentiful, and they have no fear of humans, unlike the game in some of the less-strictly-protected parks I've visited. Elephants, giraffe, antelope and zebra regard us placidly, perhaps seeing us as odd many-headed creatures on wheels that pass often through their territory but never do any harm.
There's no need for a telephoto lens to get fantastic elephant pictures. They stand close to the road, calmly using their trunks to load their mouths with the huge daily quota of grass and tree branches they need to maintain their enormous bodies. A half-grown bull calf, however, decides to assert his masculinity. With much trunk-waving and swaying from foot to foot, he challenges our right to exist. He gets no response from us beyond, "Yeah, right, Kiddo," so after a while he gives up and goes off to complain to Mum. It's an amazing experience watching elephants who have never been given any reason to hate humans. A stone signpost marks the routes as the road branches, and the elephants have adopted it as their scratching post. We watch in amusement as they take it in turns to relieve itchy bums and bellies on its convenient surface.
Impalas, so graceful in flight, don't bother to flee. We have to shoo them off the road to get past. In one place we make a detour into the bush to bypass a cud-chewing doe lying in the middle of the track, watching us with big brown eyes. Tall giraffe and fat zebra browse and graze near waterholes, which are home to a variety of waterbirds. Herons wait expectantly, hoping for some unwary small reptile to cross their path. Overhead, Rex points out the exquisite Lilac-Breasted Roller - Botswana's national bird. We see lots of them, with their flashing blue-green wings, dark-tipped, and the lilac-coloured underside that gives them their name.
A herd of buffalo lurks a little distance from the road, heads held low. Maybe they're weighed down by their massive horns. Could this be why their tempers are so uncertain? These ones display only curious eyes and cud-munching mouths. It feels as if we've strayed into the Garden of Eden, before the animal kingdom learned to despise mankind.
Our route follows the Chobe river. At this season, it's wide and green-flanked, overhung by a canopy of trees with dark leaves and curved branches. In places, it spreads out into a wide flood plain, perfect grazing grounds for a variety of animals. In the distance, we see several sable antelope, their rich dark colouring contrasting with the green, and their graceful curved horns rising above the tall grass. Occasionally, hippos appear on the banks, braving the sunlight to snatch an afternoon snack. They can't stay out too long - they get sunburnt - but today's cool and cloudy.
We choose a place where spreading branches frame the silver river to stop for a picnic tea. A big male baboon watches us from above. I try to photograph him, but he hurls abuse at me and moves out of sight. He has no patience with the paparazzi.
Back on the road, we make a wish list. I want to see a cheetah, Lene wants a leopard and Erik doesn't commit himself. Lene and I may be disappointed. Cheetahs aren't common. Also, they tend to stay clear of humans, as well as being superbly camouflaged. Leopards are plentiful, but seldom seen, and this is not the best countryside for them. They like big trees with branches where they can stretch out comfortably, or rocky hills where it's easy to hide. We're passing through flattish, grassy country, other than the line of trees on the riverbank.
A little further on we see lions. They're quite far from the road, and mostly hidden in tall grass, so we can't be sure how many are in the pride. They're relaxing, occasionally having a kitten-like rough and tumble, sometimes lifting their heads to see what we're up to. An impala stands a little distance from them, head high and nostrils testing the wind. It doesn't seem aware of the nearby menace. After a while, it breaks and runs, superbly graceful in its leaping flight. A few minutes later, another lion joins the group from the same direction. The impala lives to dance another day.
The country becomes more wooded, and around sunset we reach a clearing where we make camp. Since it's a budget tour, we came prepared to help with the camp chores. These prove unexpectedly light. With only three clients, Rex and KB, ably assisted by Sam, make setting up a comforatable camp look easy. They unload the trailer in record time, with Erik, Lene and my efforts hardly noticeable alongside their swift efficiency. Rex shows me how to pitch my tent, a sturdy dome-shaped affair. KB digs a metre-deep hole for our toilet, adds an upside-down bucket with a hole in it for a seat and puts up a canvas screen. Another screen gives us privacy for a washhouse. The toilet will be filled in again when we go, and KB leaves a pile of sand and a spade next to it - we're expected to throw in a shovel full of sand every time we use it.
KB sets to work in his mobile kitchen, which consists of the lowered side of the trailer and a folding table. We chop some veggies and set out plates. Spicy aromas fill the air as we arrange our bedding and have a wash, and by the time we've finished, KB has prepared a delicious spaghetti bolognaise with all the trimmings. We're not surprised to learn that he used to work as a chef for a safari lodge, and we smugly contemplate all the good food no doubt coming our way. Rex started life as a dishwasher in the same lodge.
We sit around the campfire with drinks in hand. Crickets chirp, and the wind rustles the branches. Rex warns us to wear closed shoes and keep our tents tightly zipped at all times in case of scorpions, snakes, centipedes and other undesirables.Then he entertains us with knowledgeable stories of wildlife and his experiences as a guide. Sam, a natural comedian, has us laughing a lot. KB says little and smiles. Somewhere in the distance, a series of rasping grunts remind us that this is lion country.
It's been a long day and we have an early start in the morning, so we regretfully head for bed. Rex leaves us with a parting piece of wisdom: if we need the loo in the night, we should stop by the tent door and shine a torch around in all directions searching for eyes before we decide whether we REALLY need to make the trip.