Indiana Jones and the African wild dogs

We're already on safari at 6am hoping to beat the vehicles from the lodges to any cheetahs or leopards that may be around.    Despite driving around for a long time we don't find any felines but we do see our first Roan Antelope and then drive out to a vast open Savannah where there are herds of  many different animals, including,  elephants, giraffe, wildebeest, impala and water buck, with jackals, warthogs and the occasional steenbock.  It is spectacular and wonderful.

 When we stop in the middle of the Savannah to get out of the truck and stretch our legs we are entertained by five ostriches chasing each other backwards and forwards across the plain.  Ostrich can reach speeds of 60 kilometres an hour and these five are certainly sprinting.  It is quite comical.  Ike tells us that when he was training to be a safari guide he would be dropped off in the middle of the game reserve and left alone for up to ten hours a day for two weeks.  He had to learn by observing the animals and birds, getting to identify them and learning their habits.  It sounds like a formidable and dangerous training to us but it has certainly paid off for Ike who has a deep and respectful knowledge of the wild life. 

We get back to camp at 10.45 and I wash some clothes in a tiny bowl of swamp water.  All my clothes are filthy so even rinsing them in dirty water is better than nothing. It is too hot in the tent, 39 degrees, so we are lounging around camp trying to get into tiny bits of mottled shade for relief.  Mfana bakes a delicious cheese and onion bread in  the fire and we munch happily on that, coleslaw and sausages for lunch. 



 The superb and wonderful D Team are on kitchen duty today, yes, you guessed, it's my team consisting of yours truly, Trevor and Lawrence, both fine men and good company who make doing chores fun.  It is now early afternoon and there is great excitement...we have an elephant in camp. Shivers of fear and delight run up our spines  as the elephant weaves around the camp and lumbers past us but the elephant seems more interested in eating than attacking us.  We watch transfixed as he roots up grass with his trunk, shakes it a number of times to get rid of the dirt and seeds and then stuffs it in his mouth. 

 Ike tells us that elephants have very poor eye sight and that since we are down wind of  him  he cannot smell us

                                                                                             



 At 3.30 we head out on a mission to find the African Wild Dog.  One of our group, Murray, is particularly keen to see this fearsome animal and Ike is very keen to ensure he does.  We drive a long way out into the game reserve but with nothing much happening we are becoming a bit restless when suddenly everything begins to happen.


  A ranger tells Ike where he has spotted a cheetah so we race off to find it.  Sure enough, it is resting under a tree about 3 metres from us, a beautiful animal, not bothered at all by our presence. We watch it for a while and then drive across an area of the plain where there are numerous deep holes dug into the ground.  Ike explains that they have been dug by elephants  burrowing down to extract the minerals lacking in their diet. We meet a safari guide who informs us he has spotted some wild dogs resting at a water hole some distance away. Ike sets off at a hair raising speed to get there before the dogs head off hunting for the evening but before we get there we come across an incredibly large herd of elephants, literally hundreds of them making an awesome sight as they swirl up red dust against the setting sun.  Ike is a keen and very good photographer and has enjoyed using Gary's camera so we pull up and watch the elephants while Ike takes numerous photos of them and of an equally large herd of cape buffalo.  He gets a bit carried away taking photos, losing  track of time until he suddenly realises we could miss seeing the wild dogs, if we don't hurry, so away we go again at  great speed.



 


  Luckily, the dogs are still by the water hole.  They are  frightening and hideous creatures with mottled coats who walk with their heads low and thrust forward.  I almost feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck when I see them.  The African Wild Dog is a specific species and another of the "ugly five" of Africa.  They are the most endangered animal of Africa and therefore very hard to find, so we are lucky. Vicious animals, they hunt in packs and can tear a lion limb from limb. When we arrive they are lying in the mud and largely ignore us but after a while they get up and start pacing around.  I am beside the open side of the truck and feel very nervous.      



  We watch them for about a quarter of an hour and then Ike realises we are in danger of being still in the park after  curfew.  If he is caught  on safari after curfew he would face a large fine so...here we go again, hurtling through the park to get back to camp before closing time.  The sand roads are deeply rutted and Ike throws the truck from side to side, screaming around corners and crashing into trees which whack the truck from all directions.  He is our real life Indiana Jones and we are all hanging on for dear life ducking and diving to avoid the trees, absolutely thrilled and terrified in equal parts. We get to the park gate with 5 minutes to spare but still have to ford a river filled with crocodiles.  We cross our fingers, pray and reach the other side safely all whooping and shouting with delight...what a spectacular day!! 


To round things off perfectly, Raewyn, our leader, had lost her photo card with all her photos of the trip on it and it turns up amongst the drink bottles at the back of the truck.  She had been deeply upset by the loss and we all felt for her, so there is great rejoicing at the find. Hils Gary and I celebrate by sharing one tiny bottle of rum and peach nectar.  We have a traditional Botswana dinner of maize pap, mashed beef, pumpkin and gravy with peaches and cream to follow.  Trevor, Lawrence and I do the dishes in the dark.  It is very hard to see what we are doing but we enjoy laughing and joking together, nevertheless.   Everyone sits around the camp fire reliving our day, chatting, watching the stars, feeling contented and happy.  Ike is on a high after his Indiana Jones performance and laps up being the centre of attention.  He talks of his dream  to be a professional photographer.  Mfana sits beside me and tells me he would like to travel overseas and maybe live somewhere else in about 5 years time, perhaps New Zealand.  I ask him about Botswana and he tells me the population is only 1.6 million.  This surprises me as it is a vast country, albeit largely desert.  Then Ike tells us there is a leopard nearby which may come into camp tonight....eek!  I am not too keen to go down to the toilet but needs must!  We are safely in our tents by 10pm. 



Photos: (1) Ostriches sprinting across the plains, (2) Hilary and I attempt to wash some clothes in a tiny bowl of water, (3) The superb D Team, Trevor, Miriam and Lawrence make doing chores fun, (4) There's an elephant in camp!!...my tent to the left...there are crocodiles in the river, too,  (5) The gorgeous cheetah, my favourite animal, (6) Cape Buffalo at sunset, (7) African Wild Dogs...vicious killing machines......, (8)...and this one looks me  in the eye, (9) Ike, our very own Indiana Jones, (10) Fording a crocodile infested river