THE CHIEF OF BOTSWANA, PART III
Part III of my travels through Botswana with Chief. For the finale, I have a lot of great stories and pictures from two camps to share with you as we closed out 2017 in (more) style.
Welcome to the third and final excerpt about my adventures through Botswana. I’m really excited to share the last part of the story with you. Aside from more amazing wildlife encounters, we were at a lodge for the last couple of nights to welcome in the year 2018. It was nothing short of magical. Honestly, I should use a thesaurus for new adjectives but what’s the point? I’ll tell it like it was.
MOREMI
The last destination for the camping part of the trip was a site called Moremi. We arrived later in the afternoon after a long day on the road through the jungle and savannah to get to our camp. We took a couple of hours to rest, recuperate, and of course, eat. Guests of &beyond have nicknamed their tours “The Food Safari” because you spend just as much time looking at food as you do the animals. This is another reason to stay in the vehicles while you’re on a game drive: you’re just a bigger snack.
Our afternoon game drive brought us close to a large male lion, with a gorgeous mane. It was hot out, so he was taking advantage of the shade and I was able to get some great pics and video, even one of him coughing up a hairball! I’ve been close to many lions, but I cannot recall (and I did look through old photos) seeing a lion with what I’d call the stereotypical hairstyle. I have always wondered at their “King of the Jungle” designation, as they don’t live in jungles at all. Sorry for just blowing your mind.
The following morning we came across a pretty incredible sight. The carcass of an impala was found, and circling high overhead were many vultures. There weren’t many other scavengers around at this time, so the vultures were able to get some choice fill while the area was clear. It was the first time I had ever really seen this many vultures before, and especially around a carcass, and I was able to get some pretty interesting shots. A kill isn’t easy to come by when you’re on safari, so having this much activity surrounding this one was a real treat.
We returned to the site of the kill later that day to see a lot more animal activity. There were hyenas, lions and a leopard, all waiting to see if there would be anything left, or if perhaps they could find a fresh meal while they waited. The afternoon game drive ended with a pack of wild dogs emerging from the trees on the hunt. Chief became (more) animated, and we started the hunt ourselves. It was nearing 7pm and we had to be out of the park and within the confines of our camp shortly. Chief did all he could to keep us following the dogs, pushing our adventure to the very brink of time before we had to bust-ass and head back to camp. It was so exciting, but at the same time, a little disappointing as we weren’t able to see it through. Rules are rules, right?
That would all change the following morning.
We woke up and packed all our gear into the Land Cruiser, as our morning game drive would be taking us to an airstrip to our absolute final destination, Xudum (Ku-doom), in the Okavango Delta. Throughout the night, other rangers had kept an eye on the wild dogs, and because Chief knew these animals were at the top of our list, it was a race to see them before we had to be at the airstrip. When the trip first began back in Kasane, Chief asked us which animals we’d like to see, and after mentioning ALL of them, of course, we (maybe I specifically?) expressed interest in seeing wild dogs. Chief was bound to make that happen.
When we encountered the dogs they were still on the hunt. For 11 hours these dogs were stalking and prowling. With two other vehicles, we were able to work together to find the best vantage points to watch the hunt. We spent the morning observing the dogs, watching them attempt kill after unsuccessful kill. Then, the luck of the dogs changed, which made for our good fortune as well. The dogs had made a kill, and while we didn’t see it, we were able to observe the pack eating together. The power of their jaws is incredible. In one of the videos, you can hear as they crush the bones of their prey while eating.
We were again pushing our luck with time, as the plane would be arriving soon and we had to be at the landing strip. The excitement of potentially missing our plane but not wanting to miss out on these animals was full-tilt. As I write this now, I think it was probably a pretty well-orchestrated rouse to amp up the level of excitement, and I’m not complaining! I was so excited yet genuinely concerned and it made this event so much more memorable. Realistically, we were paying a lot of money to be on that plane, and I don’t think a “set schedule” exists when you’re on a safari.
Well played, Chief.
THE OKAVANGO DELTA
We arrived at the landing strip and boarded our Land Cruiser to take us to one of &beyond’s most prestigious camps at Xudum. We would be here for a couple of nights, culminating in another New Years’ Eve in the most amazing of places with my favourite people. I’ve been so very fortunate in my life for many things, but one of the greatest has been the travels I’ve had with my family. Our family traveled a lot when Sarah and I were younger, and although I do have distinct memories of those trips, the most vivid experiences have been while my parents lived overseas. A lot of those memories are aided by the fact that I had a camera and was developing my photography skills (pun intended?) and documented so much during these adventures. With the prospect of my parents returning to Canada sometime in the near future, this last stop would be the last of the big adventures for now, and I wanted to capture it more in my heart than on a memory card. Oh, I took a lot of pictures, but I put my camera down more than I have before.
XUDUM
After camping in what I’ll admit was complete luxury, we ended our stay in Botswana at Xudum. This was &beyond at their finest. Being the solo-traveler in the family as of late, I’ve gotten my own accommodations as a result. If there was one room on any of the trips that I wanted to myself, it was this one, comparable to my room in Virunga years before. Ah. That’s BS. They’ve all been awesome. I had a little private pool, a swanky bathroom with a nice tub, and a bedroom with a view of the savannah. Pure bliss.
Our first game drive at Xudum was on New Year’s Eve of 2017. As we were on the drive, we came to a little surprise that &beyond had set out for the guests. It was a little bar in the middle of the savannah where we would have our last sundown for the year. Going through my photos for this blog, I’m ashamed to say I don’t have any photos of it, which I find surprising. I’m going to attribute it to one of those “saved it for the memory” moments. After we finished here, we headed back to the lodge for another fantastic meal before heading off to sleep.
For such a short turnaround in the sleep department, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to start the new year off on a good note. It would have been hard not to. We left early for our morning game drive, which started with a beautiful sunrise and a chance to watch one of my favourite animals, the rhinoceros, which had recently been introduced into Botswana. Rhinos have been extirpated in Botswana due to heavy poaching. In an attempt to reintroduce the rhino to Botswana, a herd had been brought up from South Africa. They are heavily tracked, with two anklets keeping tabs on their whereabouts. A cattle egret seemed to have taken a shine to the rhino and was constantly at the heels of the big animal. The rhino attracts a lot of flies, and the bird gets to eat. Everyone needs a friend!
Over the last seven days, we saw so much diversity in wildlife, topography, and weather. On this, our final night on safari, we welcomed the first day of 2018 with one of the most intense and awesome displays of a lightning storm that I had ever seen. While it was still very sunny, a huge cloud front had started to move in from the south. We were observing some vultures when it started to rain lightly, and then the lightning started. We had to head back to camp as we did not want to get caught in a flash flood or get struck by lightning ourselves. I tried to take some video and photos but they didn’t turn out that great until I got back to the lodge and I was able to take some pretty cool shots of the lightning. I still haven’t seen anything like it. I stayed up late that night taking selfies in the tub, watching the storm subside.
Our last morning didn’t have us getting up too early, which was a nice change of pace. We were going to cruise through some of the area of Xudum in a mokoro, which is a canoe used by the people of the Delta as a source of travel. It was so nice to just sit back and take it all in at a slow pace. As much as I love game drives, bouncing around in a Land Cruiser does take its toll on the body, and I wasn’t complaining.
We left Xudum to head to the airstrip, where we would be flown back to Maun and overnight there before heading out the following day back to Swakopmund. Our time in Botswana had come to an end, but they are memories I will take with me for the rest of my life.
Our family owes a lot to the staff at &beyond for how above (dare I say it?) and beyond they do go to make sure their guests have the best experience possible. Our family owes it all to Chief, the ranger who was with us from the start. The man who seems to know everyone in Botswana. The man who endured us and brought us all so much closer with the shared experience we were a part of. I’ll never forget Chief, and I hope that he reads this one day to know just how much an impact he had.
Thank you to everyone who made it this far, I know this was a long part, but it was so much fun to write and revisit these images.
THE CHIEF OF BOTSWANA, PART II
Part II of my adventures through Botswana.
SAVUTI
On December 27th, we left Chobe in the Land Cruiser, with Chief at the helm, for a roughly four-hour drive to Savuti, where our next camp would be located. We cruised over a highway of sand, with not much to look at except to dodge the trees and bushes waiting to slap you in the face as the Cruiser went by. I took this opportunity to get a bit of sleep, minus a roadside encounter with a pack of wild dogs, it was an uneventful journey. We pulled into camp around 3pm, giving us enough time to have a quick shower (yes, a jungle shower) and a snack and coffee before heading back out on another game drive in a new part of Botswana. Now, each camp we went to had different things that I liked the most, but it was our time in Savuti that was a personal favourite for me. The reason it was my favourite is that this was the “least busy” of our camps, as we had arrived early in the day, and I was actually able to feel a little more settled and take in a little more. This isn’t to say that the wildlife encounters were any less exciting. Plus, there was a buffalo skull at our camp that I made a lot of use of.
On our first night out, we encountered a lioness with her two cubs, who were so small and embarrassingly cute. They would fight with each other, play "king of the castle" and practice their pouncing skills. They would run to the cover of their mother when one would cross the line of fair-play. All the while, the lioness was calling out to the rest of the pride, to find their location and let them know where she was. We were hoping for the alpha male to come to the call, but we weren't able to wait long enough to find out. That's the thing about the wild. Things don't happen as fast as we'd think. I know when I watch episodes of Planet Earth, I see things happening fast. There's that sense that things do happen fast in the wild, and if you've never experienced it, how would you know? Even though I know those photographers waited days, weeks, and longer to capture their footage, there still is that desire to see nature happen NOW. So many times I've been reminded that it doesn't work that way.
The next morning we headed out to explore more of the Savuti camp and came across all sorts of wildlife including hyenas, cheetahs, lions, and many birds. The real treat was on the afternoon game drive, as we had heard reports from other rangers about a leopard in the area.
Leopards are some of the most elusive animals to sight when on safari. They could be hiding in the trees above as you drive by and you might never know. It’s kinda how I feel about walking in the forests here in BC, with cougars possibly surrounding me and I’d never know until it was too late. We tracked this leopard for a while, and she was constantly on the move, which meant that we were constantly chasing. I can’t speak for how other safari operators run their operations, but with &beyond, the main goal is to observe the animals without causing them any stress or hindering them in any way. So while I use the word “chase",” it wasn’t like the leopard was frantically trying to get away and we wouldn’t let it. Just wanted to throw that out there.
Once we found her, we observed her for over an hour. She even crossed the path of our vehicle a few times, allowing us that rare chance of eye contact and connection that stops your heart. I would sleep well this night, having exhausted my adrenalin reserves with this wildlife encounter.
The next morning we were off to a new camp and more crazy adventures and a very near miss!
THE CHIEF OF BOTSWANA
Meet Chief. Yes. That's his real name. When he first told it to me, I admit that I might have had a chuckle to myself. That's a bold statement to make anywhere. I wondered if Chief would live up to his namesake. As I write this, I feel humility in the fact that a man with a name like that would have caused me any concern. If this man's name was anything else, I don't think saying goodbye at the end of our safari would have been so difficult. He lived up to his name every waking moment. Before I start the journey through Botswana, I need to tell you about the guide we had. It will make every wildlife encounter, every quiet moment, every endorphin-releasing adventure have meaning for you.
Hello everyone, and welcome to 2021!
In the last two years, I’ve barely touched my camera. I don’t have a real solid reason other than pure apathy, which I suppose is a strong enough reason on its own. As part of my “resolution” for 2021, I’m wanting to recapture the passion that I once had for photography and get back to doing what has always (usually?) made me happy.
So let’s get this year started off with a long-overdue blog post about my adventures in Botswana from a few years back. I apologize for any vertical video, I was recording stories for Instagram and wanted to use some of the clips. Please don’t hold it against me. Aside from being long-overdue, when I wrote this initially, I had planned to release it as one post, but it’s just too much for one read. I think it would be a nice way to start off blogging for the year with a three-part series I’ll release over the next few weeks.
Let’s begin.
Meet Chief. Yes. That's his real name. When he first told it to me, I admit that I might have had a chuckle to myself. That's a bold name anywhere. I wondered if Chief would live up to his namesake. As I write this, I feel humility in the fact that a man with a name like that would have caused me any concern. If this man's name was anything else, I don't think saying goodbye at the end of our safari would have been so difficult. He lived up to his name every waking moment. Before I start the journey through Botswana, I need to tell you about the guide we had. It will make every wildlife encounter, every quiet moment, every endorphin-releasing adventure have meaning for you.
When Chief was 11 years old, he left his family to live with the Kalahari Bushmen. One night, Chief and two other young boys were out hunting. They managed to kill a buffalo and corral the carcass to an area that was guarded by a huge acacia tree. They set up three fire positions, extending from the protection of the large tree, which they kept burning so as to keep any potential conflict at bay. During the night, a pride of lions took wind of the buffalo carcass and approached the campsite where Chief and his two friends were resting. One of the boys was acting sentry and quickly woke the two others. Three small fires were all that kept the three boys, guarding a buffalo carcass, away from a hungry pride. Acting on instinct, the three boys rallied together, collecting leaves and sticks to stoke the fires hotter and reaching higher. They took long sticks, lighting the ends on fire and throwing them towards the ravenous lions who were waiting for their chance to strike. The lions eventually retreated, and the boys collapsed together, staying awake in case the fires should abate over the night. In the morning, elders from the village found the boys and their kill. Although it was considered foolhardy, the fact that the boys had managed to kill and secure such a formidable foe hadn't gone unnoticed. The boys found later on that the pride of lions was only mere one-hundred yards away.
When I found out we were doing the camping expedition with &beyond I was beyond excited. I have done many, many safaris with this company, and they have always been nothing short of life-changing experiences. Usually, we'd spend two nights on safari at one of the lodges. You'd get to know your ranger, but then you'd be saying goodbye before you really get to know a person. This trip would be different. For the next eight days, we'd be traveling through Botswana, an area I've longed to be in, with one of the most knowledgeable and charismatic rangers I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. On that note, welcome to Botswana...
THE ROAD TO MAUN
We drove from Swakopmund to Maun. That's an eight-hour drive plus a border crossing. Now, I love my family, and any disparaging comment henceforth is said with love. Really. Eight-hours in a car with two people is enough to make you crazy. We had five. Five people. Five family members. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have changed this for the world, but awesome ideas have their moments, too. But I digress. We made it to Maun, and the next day we were on a flight to Chobe National Park. This is where we would be starting our eight-day camping safari. Should I just call it "glamping" and get that part over with?
CHOBE NATIONAL PARK
We flew into Kasane, a town in which there are no fences, where wildlife crosses the street and can end up on your doorstep when you least expect it. We were picked up at the airport by Chief, who was to be our guide for the next eight days. We loaded up into our Land Cruiser and were taken right to a boat launch for a cruise on the Chobe River.
While so many parts of Africa suffer water shortages, drought, and access to clean drinking water, I'm still amazed at the actual amount of water that does exist on this continent. I don't want that to sound like a Westernized view of Africa, I just know that a lot of places in Africa have very little water. Botswana has such an abundance of water that so many different species congregate and cohabitate within the country. If you've ever been to a waterhole in Africa, you'll know there is an almost unspoken truce that takes place between predator and prey. Lions and gazelle will drink alongside each other. Well, maybe as socially-distanced as possible. Even the large predators know that taking the drink is sometimes the better choice than attempting to outrun and overpower a potential meal.
We cruised the Chobe River for a few hours, encountering elephants, hippos, spoonbills, and springbok. We also enjoyed some Christmas Day treats and the obligatory family photo. It really was a Christmas Day for the books. After the boat cruise was done, we headed back to camp which was in Chobe Park. Part of the stipulation for certain safari companies to camp in the park requires that all vehicles be parked and free of passengers at 7 pm. This isn't such a big deal now, but it comes into play later. I digress. We rolled into camp shortly before seven, where we were greeted by the staff who would be taking care of us for the next two days and nights. As I said before, this was glamping at its best. All the tented sites we stayed at were virtually identical in set-up, so I'll just share the photos of one camp here so you get the idea. A flush toilet in the jungle? Don't mind if I doo-doo! We were treated to an amazing dinner before heading off to bed. We had an early start the next day.
Over the next day and a half, we toured the Chobe Park in our Land Cruiser, the most common and awesome safari vehicle. We tracked lions, had a close encounter with a young elephant in muste (heat), as he came charging towards our vehicle out of the thick brush. This all happened while we were tracking a lion pride of over 15 lions, which is a very large number for a pride. But alas, we weren't able to track the big pride, but the unknown part of what you might see in the search is what I live for. You’re always at the peak of adrenalin and excitement and sometimes it pays off in a big way. Our adventure here even brought us to a battle of ants versus termites, with the smaller ants showcasing their superiority over the termites. I was watching a live version of "A Bug's Life" minus the grasshoppers.
We came across a lioness by herself one morning. We stopped to observe and take photos of the beautiful scene before us. It’s hard to write this and not think of “basic” words to describe a scene such as this. But that’s what it was. Simply beautiful. The lioness was a perfect model, and I made sure to take a few shots and observe her with my own eyes to record the moment. The hardest part of a safari, in my experience, is putting the camera down. “What if I miss THE National Geographic shot of the year?” I’ve asked myself many times. And the answer is that I already have many many times. And I don’t want that to sound defeatist, but I’d rather know I got a shot or two I liked and can put the camera down and just witness with my own eyes. It’s not the same through a lens. It can never be. My eyes are more HD than that TV I paid a bunch for!
That finishes up the first part of my three-part series, “The Chief of Botswana.” I hope you enjoyed all the pictures, videos and stories. Part II will be out next Sunday. Have a great week everyone!