Botswana the beautiful - days 1 & 2

I promised I'd add more on Botswana at some time and now that I have more photos it seems as good a time as any. I've covered the main details of the trip so I'll use this as an opportunity to add photos so you can see what we saw - in a small way.


Lonni looks pretty cheerful while we're still on the ground as Dan (the pilot) gets organised - a slightly different story in the air although she appeared outwardly calm, if not exactly loving it

Botswana is a land of vast open spaces and large tracts of unspoiled wilderness. Four fifths of the country is covered by the Kalahari Desert and on our trip we skirted it constantly. Our trip however began at Maun, known as the gateway to the Okavango Delta. We flew in a light aircraft to Xakanaxa with Lonni slightly apprehensive and Jeremy in the back just about ill. However, as we weren't very high the flight gave us an excellent bird's-eye view of the delta formation. Dan explained that it was rather like a hand with fingers extended. The land surrounding the channels is very dry at this time of the year as October is the hottest month for the region. So sandy, hot, windy sometimes and very dry, some areas with grass and some just bare sand without a blade of grass to be seen between the low trees. And it was very exciting as we were coming in to land at Xakanaxa to see elephants in the shade of the trees, just near the airstrip.


Part of the delta as we fly over

Our first two days were spent in the Delta, but also in the Moremi Game Reserve. We saw plenty of game - even on the drive from the airstrip we saw quite a few animals and birds, the first being the ubiquitous impala - fast food as Kaiser calls them, for the Big M (like the golden arches) on their bums.


The ladies delicately cross our path


A clear view of the Big M

Game abounds in Moremi - birds of all sorts, including lots of water birds, elephant, lion, red letchwe, waterbuck, lion, wild dog, hippos, cocodiles, zebra, giraffe, hyena, warthog, baboons and so on and so on. We found quite a few different species on our first afternoon game drive, including lions.


Can you see the lion just a few scant metres away in the shadow of the truck?


Maybe now?

Of course the first night in camp we had the adventure of the lions very close by. Shelley told us she was so scared that she held her gum in her hand for two hours because she was afraid to even chew!

The camp awaits us for breakfast

On day 2 it wasn't long before we saw our first elephant ambling quietly from the bush and across the grass just in front of us. This lone bull really didn't pay us any attention at all although later in the trip we would definitely experience a couple of close encounters of the elephant kind.

Out for a leisurely stroll



Storks hunt for small fish and frogs in the delta waters

These baby francolin were right on the sandy track - it's a good thing that Kaiser has such sharp eyes

Mum, or maybe Dad, kept a close eye on us and called the chicks to order

On day 2 we also took a boat ride down the river. We saw very little game on this outing, but there was the great experience of seeing two elephants in the water having a playful little struggle. Of course there were lots of birds. And we had the unforgettable experience of taking a swim at the "safe swimming spot", which actually meant that it was shallow enough to see the hippos or crocs coming, not that they weren't there! The water was surprisingly cold but very refreshing in the heat of the day.

Reeds, grasses and papyrus line all the channels

Once the elephants had finished with each other one of them thought that we were getting a little too close

Taking a threatening stand

There was plenty more of course - Moremi is 18,000 sq. km. and covers the tribal lands of the Batawana people - the landscape has not only the waterways but also reed beds and mopane and knob thorn forests. I hope to be able to go back and see it after the rains when it is green and lush, but it is really worth seeing at time.

I'll put up more photos when I can - tomorrow is an early start to catch my flight to Addis Ababa - I have to be up around 4.15 am so I should finish packing and get to bed. Today has been a quiet day getting sorted out and ready to head for Addis tomorrow.

Thinking of you all

lots of love

Lyndall

The bums of Africa

I swore that we saw so many animal bums when on safari (despite the best intentions of all of our guides) that a series should be published. It's quite a unique look at African wildlife.

There goes a wildebeest

A delicate and feminine female kudu takes a backwards look at us

Mama Ostrich takes off - females are brown, males are black

We saw lots of elephant bums - but then you can hardly miss them!

The maribou stork nesting deep in the waterways


Taking a relaxed stance in the mud pool

The Great Rift Valley

On Saturday night Alfred and I arranged that the next day I'd have a day with Steve (the guide who collected me from the airport) in the Rift Valley, visiting Lake Nakuru and the flamingos. Steve duly collected me on Sunday morning and we set out on our drive of around 160 kms to the northwest of Nairobi, past Lake Naivasha and the other one (the name of which I told Steve I'd never remember) and on to Lake Nakuru.


I have to say that the drive itself is definitely an experience. For those of you who have visited China, just imagine that China with even more chaos and worse roads and less patience! Except for Steve of course, who kept me perfectly safe and seemed to keep his head when all around us everyone was losing theirs... A massive amount of roadworks (a major initiative of the government) - and I mean miles and miles and miles at a stretch - and everything all two way with heaps of trucks, buses and crazy matatus (vans that carry around 12 passengers and are a cross between a taxi and a bus, well known for their crazy and reckless driving) all made it something very different to sit back and enjoy...



Matatus pass a truck on both sides in the thick dust - and yes, the road is two-way! At least the roadworks keep the speed down.


You are out of Nairobi very quickly - Steve tells me that if from the centre you drive in any direction for around 20-25 minutes you will be out of the city - a very concentrated city of an estimated 4 million. The trip down the escarpment gives you a brilliant view of the valley itself and we made a stop part-way down at a viewpoint for me to take some photos. The areas for snapping the view are all filled with small shops and businesses and the walkways built to stand on might not quite meet our idea of building regulations.



The viewing platform...


But the people are friendly and informative and all trying to survive however they can (there's no welfare in Kenya) - it all adds to the experience.



This is Patrick who was selling fruit at the view stop and who told me lots about the area and insisted that we have our photo taken together.


After a long and winding road we arrived at the spectacular Lake Nakuru and its surrounding national park. The sight of the flamingos is just awesome - maybe a million, who could possibly count? And pelicans - the large white pelican, very lovely - gulls, Egyptian geese, cormorants, all sorts of water birds. As you drive down to the lake edge you might pass zebras, buffalo, monkeys - lots of game, quite a bit of which has been introduced but is very much at home here.



The flamingos with buffalo in the background... and without buffalo...



Splish splash I was taking a bath....


After I had my fill of the flamingo experience (the sound and the sight are really very spectacular and it was hard to tear myself away) we went on a game drive and I saw some new species including some white rhino. Then came an exciting radio call to say that a LEOPARD had been spotted so we raced across a fair distance and joined all those who had heard the word. By the time we arrived the TWO leopards had come down from the tree and were in the grass but it was still an amazing thrill to see them and they are truly magnificent. Steve tells me I am a very lucky lady, it is rare to see one leopard and extremely rare to see a mating pair like this as they are not at all social.




A very tasty late lunch at the Sarova lodge in the park and then a sighting of a rare (and endangered) Rothschild's giraffe and we were back over the roadworks and headed for Lake Naivasha on the road home. We were able to take a boat trip there and we spent about an hour out on the water with birds and hippos and watching the animals on the island in the lake (the place where the movie Out of Africa was filmed). Steve only told me after we got back on land that he's "water phobic" so he was very brave to come at my invitation.






I guess that when I asked Steve to come with me on the boat trip and he said "that would be lovely" it was something in the way of the guide being very polite to the client....



The African buffalo and the white rhino...



After the boat trip we headed back up the escarpment and home. It was a wonderful day and only helped by my guide - Steve is one of the most interesting and knowledgeable people I've met anywhere and is excellent company. His company, Kenya Wildlife Tours, are lucky to have him and I'd happily recommend him to anyone who is thinking of visiting Kenya as a guide.

Better go, it's getting late and I've another big day tomorrow



lotsa love to all



Lyndall



PS - I spent Monday getting photographs copied and sorted and bought myself another laptop - the prices are good here and I couldn't get any other sort of storage device so I bit the bullet. I had another wonderful young Kenyan man help me out - thanks Kiprono - and also thanks to Dennis who loaded the software. It's easy to make friends in Africa. I'll tell you more about Tuesday's fascinating day (mostly spent with Steve again) later - tomorrow I head northeast out of the city about 165 km to visit my World Vision child Kathele and his community which will be another day to remember I'm sure.

PPS - I'm going to add two postings that I will update on a regular basis, one about the people that Lonni and I met, and that I meet and enjoy, and another about incidents and images that could only happen in Africa. I'll update them fairly regularly so keep and eye on them...