16 June 2015

Yesterday we arrived at Thebe, a cabin/campsite based beside the Chobe River.

Much like Elephant Sands, this too felt like a place of discovery, my first being the local’s lager!

Then got my Western on

I had opted to camp here, not only to save money but also because it’s something I’ve not experienced before, so after lunch I got straight on with pitching my tent:

Not bad!

After that, it was pretty much just a chill out day, so after a bit of shopping on the local markets (where I bought an excellent spoon for making Nshema, as advised by Berri) we all went to dinner

And then got a reasonably early night in anticipation of this morning’s Dawn Drive through Chobe National Park!

The Dawn Drive was impressive, and I did get the chance to see a few things I haven’t seen before, but the driver ticked me off a bit. In spite of collecting us at 5:45am, the driver had no blankets on this freezing cold Botswana morning, and didn’t help the chill by driving 60-70kph the entire time! He also had pink eyes and quite slurred speech which didn’t help matters, however what did help was he’d just received a tip from his fellow Game Drivers that a pack of Lions had just made a kill! So off we went…

Also skulking in the area were Hyenas

and Vultures

All waiting for the lions to get complacent about their kill!

Drive done, we returned to Thebe where I had a little sleep and then went for a more traditional Botswana lunch

That’s rice (I needed a break from Papa), Seswaa (a reduced beefy broth, a lot like super-flavoursome pulled beef), and Morogo. Very tasty, especially the Seswaa!

After lunch, we went a brand new, exciting experience…

A River Safari!

Three hours whipping and bobbing alone the Chobe seeing the wildlife that surrounds it. This included

Warthog

Crocodiles

Oodles of Elephants

A couple of silly Buffalos…

And, of course, a LOT of Hippos!

Don’t be alarmed, this guy is only yawning. But one look at that insanely size jaw is enough to remind you not to mess with these overly-territorial creatures! There was one moment when it seemed we got a little too close to another, and he dipped under the water only for us to see a Hippo-Sized ripple shoot from where he was towards the boat! Thank goodness the man behind the help was a quick thinker! We got away and didn’t look back.

We were even privileged enough to see a family being started!

I very much admired their commitment- they were floating all over the place, but they still kept at it.

And finally, to top the whole thing off, this wonderful experience concluded with a beautiful sunset.

Now I’m back at camp, preparing for another early start tomorrow as I leave Botswana and make my way to Thailand!

Bring it on.