Pic of the week 1

A PLACE WHERE THE ELLIES DONT STOP TO STARE

On a drive into Saviti National park Botswana- I realize that we have a new campsite booked- one that I have never been to. It is HATAB # 20 but none of the wildlife wardens or the locals in Savuti know where it is. The only information we have is that firstly we are the only people to go there this year and they weren’t sure if anyone had been there last year… they also tell us that it is quite hard to find… so we set off, City and I along with three super clients who have no idea where we were going…yet.

We arrive at the road and look onto a track that is just visible because of the absence of trees in a straight line in the direction that we need to go. After about an hour and what seems like a hundred km’s later we have to stop the truck to move a scattered elephant carcass- or what was left of it other than bones. About twenty minutes after that we entered a clearing with a few Leadwood trees scattered here and there, and after a quick spot we see the small sign saying HATAB 20- but still no road to get to the sign…

This road was one of the most enjoyable, not only because the heat of the afternoon was showing my clients that Africa was no walk in the park as most of them think but because we also saw one big male Roan Antelope, one male Leopard about 100 ellies and a Caracal. No small tally for some phantom road leading into the middle of nowhere.

The only peculiar ting about this place is that the ellies don’t stop to stare as you drive past. The only visible sight is of a six ton backside running away with an awkward sprint. The ellies here are definitely not used to seeing a big green Land Cruiser or our pretty white faces.

Exploring Africa - Northern Botswana

Exploring Africa is not an easy task, most think that a simple safari is all that it takes… well think again. On my last visit to the wonderful majestic national parks of Botswana I found out the hard way that just too much confidence can be the end to a perfect day. I had planned everything down to the tee- diesel, food, camping equipment, unbreakable truck, parks guide- who we call city, huge amounts of enthusiasm and of course four super excited super ready tourists…

So on we go, as deep into the park that will allow for the first day and what a day, everywhere you looked there stood an animal- from Buffalo to thousands of elephant amazing eagles and birds and the plains game that you would only expect to see in the Serengeti. I could not have dreamed of the better start to the tour- must be every guides dream, I know that its mine. Oh… and we saw lion in the first afternoon, need I say more?
The scenes on the Chobe waterfront that day must have been some of the best game viewing that I have seen to date in any reserve, national or private. You sometimes hear that touring in the peak of the rainy season is never the best idea as you ‘wont see too much game and the bush is too thick’, well I have heard it often and believed it until that day. The weather was perfect and everything just seemed so right- I thought that the river must have something to do with it but it has been raining so much the last month or so that the entire bush is full of water everywhere you go. So why are all of the animals in this place at the same time it could be that they are all ‘bouncing’ off of the river and decided to linger longer??

Well we arrived at the camp after seven and set up camp in the dark… not a good idea for a couple of ‘normal’ tourists who can’t stop asking questions, thank goodness City is with me to take the brunt for a few days. So the tents are up and the complaints start pulling in about the bugs and mosquito’s, a few of the clients are already setting up mosquito ‘bombs’, I think they actually tried to kill every living mosquito in a ten km radius. Now after the tenth day of this I had expected them to relax and to live with them- completely the opposite… it only got worse! The typical client would get used to it and move on and accept the bugs but still the complaints move in about all of the added extras to the tour that they should have known about, i.e. the bugs.

After an early morning start we move into a long game drive safari in the Chobe national Park for. This was definitely not on the same par as the previous day as we saw close on nothing… City and I decide to move on and explore the deeper and more intimate Savuti National park, otherwise known as the Savuti Marsh. On the way between the two parks, there are a couple of very interesting villages where you can find anything from tinned pilchards and pap to a market goat or bull. This road is paradise for a 4wd lover as the sand can be as deep as the tires and the heat and roads are some of the most unforgiving that I know of so be sure to be ready for this one if you are planning a journey through here. The golden rule is though… this is the one that I forgot with all of my confidence is that there is no recovery service and only perhaps three cars per day in the quiet season!

So don’t brake down… just as I did about half way between the last town and the Savuti main gate. The clients thought I was playing a joke on them when I said that the truck wouldn’t start and had to start walking back towards the village probably about 20km away- ok it wasn’t as far as I first said. The truck had a loose connection between the alternator and the starter and the battery, which in turn managed to run both batteries flat and deemed the starter motor useless. What an exciting afternoon- long walk ahead of me, pissed off clients, probably 40 degrees centigrade, haven’t eaten and much more…. But this is just some of the reasons why I love my job and think that it is the most awesome thing ever. Who else will be able to do this and love it other than someone that has needed to do this for his whole life…? Well I think that it will be a story that can be told with a huge smile on my face. To cut a long story short we managed to fix it all and got to Savuti in the late afternoon for the last game drive of the day- other than birds we saw nothing!!! Pressure starting to build.....

One Night in Paradise

It’s just before 23h00 and its raining… sitting here in my very little tent (enough to sleep one) as close to the campfire as the nylon tent will allow. It’s not the rain and the small tent that is bothering me, no it’s the herd of elephants moving almost directly through the camp. Their shadows are easily seen with the firelight and the rumbling almost sends tremors through the ground. This is a first for me as I never sleep on the ground and my tent is all camo, so who knows what could happen- obviously you think of the worst.
Perhaps: They will walk too close to the tent?
Not sure if I could handle a 6ton footstep…
Or they will get startled by something and run through the camp as an escape
route.
‘”Must stop thinking like that- you will drive yourself insane.” A few of them are walking in the river about 30m away- the camp is directly on the waterfront in Chobe.
I truly hope that this bunch of tourists know what they are getting, they should be made to pay more… kidding of course.
I wonder if they will ever end, sounds like thousands have moved through- stopped raining now can hear everything from the first grunt to the last turd hitting the ground with an awesome thud. And the dam mozzies of course – they are worse than the ellies.
Just heard the ‘innocent’ yelp of a hyaena in the background and all I know is that if I don’t sleep now I will be up the whole night. Just imagine what the tourists must be thinking if I am the one who is supposed to be used to this. I hope they make it through the night without shitting in their pants, too afraid to use Douglas… the spade.

THE FORGOTTEN LAND

Only a few days ago, I drove a tour through Zimbabwe- the land that everybody is terrified to even talk about. We spent a total of four nights and five days in what I believe to still be the most beautiful and friendly country in Southern Africa. Even with all of the political and socio-economic drama that has hit the country over the last decade, the people of Zimbabwe are still the most welcoming and well mannered of all of the African people that I have met to date.

Now why has the country been able to get this bad? Is it because the people of Zimbabwe don't want another war or is it the fact that the people of Zim are of such humbled nature that they don't mind waiting through the struggle... all I know is that there is a time bomb waiting to explode!! The hardest thing is being able to do nothing about it - no way of helping those people - no way of being able to bring some joy to their lives.

We all need to remember what we take for granted in our day to day lives and try and reflect this in how we live our every moment.

REMEMBER......WE DON'T HAVE TO PAY 7 TRILLION FOR A LOAF OF BREAD!!

African Story

Africa.... The hot dry and seemingly wild part of this planet is the proud owner of my office. Well the big green truck to be more precise. Through Drifters adventours I travel all over Southern Africa exploring and showing some crazy tourists just how we do it over here. Hard rough and tough, the harder and rougher the better just to make sure that everybody gets their moneys worth.
This is the first entry so be sure to keep up with me as I show you the real deal of africa- ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU DONT SEE ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC!!!