The Wild Safari

What it’s all about…

Why pay the price of admission? For the actual experience in the Bush; their environment….raw nature. This is how we learn about the circle of life. It is not for the faint at heart and really hard for someone who is used to jumping in with both feet to save an animal in distress. The experiences that you will visualize are, to say the least, extraordinary. 

To look into the eyes of the animals and feel what they are experiencing…to be aware of your situational awareness for every minute of every day of your life. The wild never sleeps in peace. They are using all their senses to stay alive. They all have essential roles in the circle in which they live. 

Botswana has more than 17% game reserves and National Parks; they have an unspoken shoot-on-sight for poaching and only issue a limited amount of hunting licenses for thinning the herds. They have the largest elephant population in the world. We chose September, the dry season. Cool at night and hot during the day. Like a good Spring day in the South of the USA. It is the dry season, and what that means for the experience is essential. All the animals must find watering holes that can sustain their needs. It sounds simple enough….except they all need to find water without predators. Some can gather without incident, and then there are the ones that are always looking for an easy meal. Some roam at night and some during the day, which is why it’s certainly not an easy or restful life. 

We booked our trip through an agent. I never use someone to plan our holidays, but Africa is different in many ways. I used an agency mainly because we wanted the best animal sighting experience. They are the experts in this area. Botswana is wild with animals, and the indigenous people respect this. There is a strong respect for the resources and to allow nature to happen as it will. The National Parks, with all their rules, is a safe and great place to start the experience. The game reserves, land the government leases to companies to operate safari camps, are much more the actual experience. They are not as regulated on where and when you may go in the National Parks. Transportation around Botswana, ground, and air, is not easily planned, and most camps don’t book with individuals. Then the most critical piece for us was to have knowledgeable and capable trackers! Those are the reasons we booked with an agent. We did plan all aspects of the trip, and they made seamless bookings. 

I absolutely LOVE the planning piece of any holiday. The next step after when and where is the packing list. What do you really need? I am a minimalist when it comes to packing. So you need equipment and clothing. These things will vary according to what you want to spend and experience. Luggage has specific specifications if you are doing a fly-in and out camp. That is, you’re flying on a little tiny plane. Wheels are useless in the dirt, so backpacks are easiest, and they usually need to be soft-sided. 

We were fortunate with our camp choices as we got into camps with the best trackers at a fraction of the price. We booked last minute with them, and only on a few nights did we see anyone else in camp. One good to come of covid times. We had our own private trackers and didn’t pay for the luxury. We got to have the entire experience on our own time schedule. Not to mention, the camps took Glamping to a new level.

Let the adventure begin……We started in Chobe National Park, where there is an abundance of non-predatory animals at the Chobe River. You can’t believe what you’re looking at when you come over the small hill and see the river with ALL the animals. Hundreds of Ellies (we are on a first-name basis now), Giraffes, Hippos, Zebra, and Baboons, to name a few. All frolicking together in the marsh of the river for so many different reasons. 

Ellies are in the water to cool down and then go for the mud holes to cover themselves with the mud. The mud is sunscreen because they burn. Who knew! They are safe from the crocodiles because they are too big for a crock to take down. They walk the same path to the watering hole daily and then back into the bush for the evening. The walk provides the substance for the 14 hours a day they eat. 

Hippos live in the water and come out to feed and warm up. The most common view of these massive short-legged animals is just the ears, eyes, and nostrils sticking out of the water. They are very vocal and can be very aggressive. Hippos are the second most killer of ingenious people behind the mosquito. 

Baboons are there to pick through the Ellie dung and get the undigested seeds and fruit. Ellie’s poop doesn’t stink because they are herbivores. Justifying for the little poop eaters! There is no shortage of Ellie poop around the river. 

We were at a camp close to Chobe national park for 3 nights. We went for 2 game drives a day. Early morning and then late afternoon. On these drives, we have to stay on the designated dirt roads. No off-roading in the national parks. That means you will only see what you can from the road. If you follow and they disappear into the bush, they are just gone. Wonder how the 4x4s can get so close to the predators….it’s because they are used to seeing the vehicles and have learned that they pose no threat. They know the vehicle as one entity, so it’s essential to not move around much in the vehicle when they are close. No need to confuse them! This camp is fenced, so the animals can’t come by for a nightcap. 

Then we were flown on the tiny plane (6 passengers, including 2 pilots) to the next camp. This camp was on the game reserve of Kwando in the Linyanti region for two nights. This is where accurate tracking comes into play. No fences and off-road permitted! This is the real deal….looking for the prints in the sand (have I mentioned, it’s all sand there…no rocks) and following the poop. Yes, we did buy books on how to tell whose prints and what their poop looks like. We stayed here for two nights. 

We tracked and found everything we wanted here except the leopard and cheetah. We even saw the endangered African Wild Dogs! It was a pack of three dads, a mom, and a teen. They are at the bottom of the food chain, so little ones often don’t survive the predators. This family likely had 7-10 pups, with only one surviving. They can have up to 19 pups, and they are still endangered. 

We saw our only Hyaena here. A spotted hyaena hanging under the shade of a tree. They are cuter than your vision of the monster-like animals you have. They have white poop because they have the most powerful jaws that can chew bones. They scavage other kills and eat what is left. They have a whooo-hoop cry and laughter that you can hear all night. 

There was a dead Ellie that we found but didn’t examine it too much because it had been there for a few days and well…. Next to him was a male lion that would not make it through the night. There must have been a turf war, and he was not the winner. He was moaning and appeared to not be able to move much. Poor thing was covered in flies where his injuries were. It took every fiber to not haul him into the 4×4 and rush him to the vet; that doesn’t exist in the bush! 

Lions, lions, and more lions! We saw them first in Chobe national park. They are just amazing to sit and watch if you like cats. We spent a lot of time with them. They appear lazy animals, but this is far from the truth. We see them during the day after they have been up all night. They patrol their territory, hunt, mate, and do some resting. They can go for 3 days without a meal and then gorge themselves. Taking down a meal is no easy task for them. They can only sprint for a short distance, so they must be patient enough to let the meal come within that space. Everything is working against them from wind direction, birds alerting, and the meal being the wiser. We saw two failed attempts at a meal. Ever seen lions mating? Just wow! They mate every 15 minutes for an average of two weeks. No wonder they sleep so much! It’s quick but often. 

We then transferred by 4×4 to the next camp. This camp is also in the Linyanti region. This is the camp that made the safari a REAL safari. We would set out early in the morning and let our trackers, Postarico and James, know what we wanted to see, and that’s what we tracked. When I say tracked, I mean we drove through the sand looking for fresh footprints. They can tell if they are days, hours, or minutes old. Then we follow them. Just like that! We are also looking for fresh poops. So we picked Leopards. They are not easily found because they are shy. They like to be in the trees, camouflaged in the branches and leaves. Of course, we found TWO each on a different day. They are funny felines! They are fast and robust. When they get a kill, they drag it into a tree so the lions and hyaenas can’t steal it. They will stay with the kill until they are done eating, up to three days. 

Pumbaa (warthog)!! The ugliest, cutest little animal you’ll see. They are always on a mission to be somewhere…who knows where, but always in a hurry. They put their tails straight up in the air for the others to follow in single file behind. They are very suspicious and not easily fooled. Though small on the food chain, apparently very tasty.

Then there is the Impala which NEVER disappoints. They are always around and willing to put on a little peek-a-boo show and catch me if you can. They are very good at alerting all to any danger in the area. If there was ever a don’t be the slowest runner, this is it. To name a few, lions, leopards, and cheetahs will hunt them. 

Between all the animal experiences, we were experiencing food at its best in unique places. On a drive to our second camp, lunch was served under a tree in the middle of nowhere. Sundowners every night out in the bush. Coffee and tea hours into our game drive in the middle of the bush. This is clearly not the first time these camps have put out a spread. The only food complaint is how it affects the waistline. 

Our experience with the animals was hours of watching how they survive in the harshest environment that we have experienced. We were able to look them in the eye while we photographed and tried to understand their lives. People watching is interesting, but animal watching is AMAZING!