out and about around town

It certainly has been a busy winter with fairly regular safaris and lots of time out in the bush. And while I’ve managed to find some time to prepare for my fall classes, it never seems like enough. When you add to this the ever rising flood waters and the extended power outages, it has been a wild winter here in Maun. As my study away students say “TIA” – This is Africa! We’ve just got to “make a plan” in order to deal with what we have in front of us.

Our road home, now a lake.

First, the flood waters. You may recall that last year there was a lot of buzz in town about the rising flood waters when rivers, that had not had water in them for decades, filled. But this year, fascination has turned into frustration as the water has continued to spread and cover roads and wreak havoc on our everyday travels. At first we were simply re-routed from one sand track to another as the water spread but when we returned from our most recent overnight trip to Savuti, the road we had come out on the day before was now a lake when we returned! Yikes – how to get home? At this point I can honestly say I’m not sure I could find my way from the tarmac road to our house. Troubling. 

We have had at least three meetings of other residents living out in the Boro area (a group now calling themselves “BEG – Boro Emergency Group”). At each meeting, around 20-30 people have shown up to debate the best course of action. In the middle of all this is a school run by a church called “Love Botswana” – which was, unfortunately built in a flood plain during a dry period. In their attempts to save their school they first dug a trench around their compound (and I do mean “compound” it is fenced and then ringed with razor wire – as I jokingly say, “if you can trust in God, trust in razor wire”???). The trench caused the waters that were over our main road to be diverted around the school to now block our secondary road (thanks for that!). They have now built a road over that trench which they are threatening to charge each vehicle 1,000 Pula (~$150 USD) to get a sticker in order to use the bridge should they put a gate and guard on each end. Nice!

And if the flood water challenge is not enough, last week we had a multi-day power outage (unrelated to the water) which really put a crimp in our productivity. It seems some sort of transformer blew and it took several days to repair it so we were literally, in the dark. All of northern Botswana was without power for several days. I did get a lot of reading done and fortunately, we are pretty well “kitted out” for camping so we had enough camp lights, etc. to allow us to function at night.

Yard Birds

The slow starvation of the ostriches on the farm continues and we are resisting the best we can by buying large bags of poultry feed (over 100 pound bags) to try to save them. Our landlords, who live in Gabarone, for some reason have these ostriches (not for food or breeding) but they fail to provide the Zimbabwean workers on the farm with enough food to sustain them. There were approximately 30 at the start of the year and now we are down to 10 (although I only saw 8 this morning). The Zimbabweans in an attempt to save them have let them out from behind the fenced area (which they have grazed to nothingness) to our side. This means we regularly have “yard birds” out in front of the house. We have one favorite one we call Olivia, which seems to have a bit of a crush on Paul, and she was even supervising his work out the other morning.

Paul's workout coach, Olivia.

Me on top of the vehicle, getting a better view.

Last weekend was a holiday weekend (President’s Day) so we took the opportunity to go up to Savuti for one night of camping to celebrate our anniversary. At the campsite there was a bit of drama when a large bull male elephant attacked a vehicle looking for some food. It seems the owners had left the back window cracked a bit and the elephant could smell some peppers and onions and pulled out the window to try to get them. They were pretty shook up but no one was hurt and the camp managers successfully chased him off (although I admit that I slept with one ear open that night listening for his return!).

Savuti is a beautiful area that has also been affected by the rising flood waters. It is very popular with tourists and the volume of people was a bit striking in contrast to our more recent safaris in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (which is more remote and less populated). For example, we had a nice look (and disgusting smell) of a leopard on a kudu kill along with about a half dozen other tourist vehicles. We arrived after the kill but had the opportunity to watch him with the spoils of his hunt. It was quite shocking to imagine how he might have killed such a large male kudu (which is probably four times his size!).

Large Male Kudu (not the actual victim)

 In addition to dramatic events like kudu kills, rising flood waters and power outages, we experience the more mundane things of living in Maun, like trying to find things at the local hardware store and coming across some unidentifiable items. What the heck is this anyway?

What is this?

 We also enjoyed a rare treat of smores when we camped as my sweet friend Kathy sent along Hershey chocolate bars, graham crackers and marshmallows among the many other treats in my birthday care package. Thanks Kathy!

Care Package for My Birthday from Kathy

 Well, I’d write more but we are heading off to pack the vehicles this morning for two back-to-back safaris. One a group of Americans who read my article in Furman Magazine and the second a group of Spaniards for a trans-Kalahari safari. By the time we return on August 10, it will almost be time for me to head back to the States (on the 15^th).

Will write more when I return.

Kristy

PS: You'll be happy to know that the street lights that have been installed since I returned in May, still do not work. Tragically a couple of them have already been hit and are lying on the ground like tipped over giraffes. Their lives were cut short before they even had light. Sad. Perhaps they'll be working when I return at Christmas!

In remembrance...

People come to Africa for a variety of reasons. For some it is a once in a lifetime trip that they’ve dreamed of for years. For others, it is a destination to tick off on a rather long list of places in the world they want to visit. On our recent safari, the motivation for coming to Botswana, specifically the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), was quite unique and touching. Our guest was coming on the one year anniversary of his wife’s death. The couple had traveled to Africa on several occasions over the past two decades. They had, in fact, had a trip planned for July 2009 when his wife fell ill. Since they had already paid for trip, Paul gave them a “rain check” so that they could return when she was feeling better. Unfortunately that day would not come.

So, on this first anniversary of her death, he wanted to return to the Kalahari, with a traveling companion, to spread some of his wife’s ashes at Tau Pan. Our guest, a sweet older man in his early 70s, describes his love for the Kalahari like the selection a wife…”you will visit many places in your life that will capture your attention, but there’s only one that you select to commit yourself to”…he speaks about the Kalahari like a soul mate. He loves the wide open spaces. The uninterrupted views of the horizon. The yellow flowing grasses of winter. Paul and I were unaware of his motivation for the trip and only came to understand when he asked if we could be on Tau Pan on the first of July, the actual anniversary of her death. We now understood why he had specifically requested that Paul be the guide on his trip, and not one of our other guides. Paul had taken him on a previous trip and knew the couple well.

Tau Pan is one of my favorite places in the Kalahari. It was the place that Paul took me on my first trip into the CKGR in December 2007.  It was the place where I saw my first cheetah (while doing my morning ablutions).  In my opinion, it was the best campsite in the Kalahari…located on the edge of the pan under the shelter of trees. I say “was” because it is one of the two locations in the CKGR that has been allowed to build a lodge. With the lodge up and running they have, sadly, closed down the campsite. 

The silence and serenity of the place is calming. We arrived mid-morning at the old campsite. The sun warmed us as we were greeted by a cool winter breeze blowing across the pan. Springbok, gemsbok and wildebeest mill around. Yellow horn bills and starlings pick in the dirt for bugs. Parking the vehicle, our guest grabs a small parcel and heads off towards a patch of trees out in the pan by himself. 

We don’t know quite what to do. He crouches among the trees for several minutes. We give him space as he returns part of his wife to one of her favorite places. When he returned to the group, Paul comforted him by saying he hoped I might do the same for him when he passed away. I struggled to fight back tears. While I did not know his wife, I know that someone knew her well and loved her deeply. We can’t ask for too much more in this life, can we? To be known and loved...

I write this in remembrance of his wife and in commemoration or our third year wedding anniversary coming up on July 18. I feel lucky to be known and loved.

worth getting up for

Me on the way to the Central Kalahari

Those of you that know me, know that I am not exactly a morning person. And while Paul exaggerates the severity of the situation (suggesting that I am not unlike a ground squirrel which are notorious for staying in their warrens (little holes in the ground) until things warm up sufficiently), I’m really not that bad. On your average weekday I’m up by 6:30 or 7 AM and, if I’m lucky, I’m in bed until 8 AM on the weekend (a far cry from my college days where I fondly remember sleeping sometimes until 10 or 11 AM … now granted, late nights might have found me out well after midnight eating French fries and gravy in Burlington, Vermont – ahhh…those were the good old days!).

Ostriches in a Kalahari Sunrise

On safari in the Kalahari we are often up by six and there are certainly many things worth getting up for even though it is still dark and quite cold this time of year. 

Leaving behind the warmth of the many layers of covers in the bedroll is difficult but I soon forget  the separation anxiety when I am confronted with the amazing pink, yellow and orange of the rising sun. With 360 degree views of an open horizon, a Kalahari sunrise (or sunset for that matter) is breath taking.

With coffee in our systems we head off on a morning game drive not quite sure what we may see along the way. You might find a guinea fowl surveying the land on top of a termite mound. 

Or a springy young springbok “pronking” to show his virility (now that’s a picture that’s hard to catch. They do a stiff-legged back bending "pronk" straight up into the air). 

Or a pride of lions warming themselves in the road.  

We spend some time watching this pride – a mom and her off spring of varying ages. There was one particularly curious cat (you know what they say about curiosity and cats??) who watched us ever so intently coming right up to the vehicle. It is always such a relief to see lions on a safari as it is certainly something all clients want to see. We were lucky enough to see this group on day two, exhaling a sigh of relief that we had such a cooperative group of cats for such a nice encounter. They were pretty relaxed and stretched and yawned and lazed around like house cats for some time. Truly amazing!

But we didn’t just see lions in the “cat category” we also saw three cheetahs (too far off in the distance for my tiny camera to get any good footage) and a leopard. I can count the number of leopard sightings I’ve had in five years on one hand so this was a real treat. On our fourth day we were headed off to Tau Pan and along the way I spotted a leopard (my primary job on these safaris are bird identification and cat spotting!). He crossed the road and went around the back of the vehicle. We quickly turned the vehicle around and followed him back down the road until he slinked off into the field to walk more closely to the tree line. 

At one point he stopped. Frozen in space as if he was playing a childhood game of “red light, green light” and someone had just called “red.” Seeming to lower his body about six inches in one silent move, he crouched. I tried to see what he had spotted with my binoculars but could only see birds. Perhaps he was planning on having one for breakfast. He took one slow motion step forward, keeping his body low and perfectly parallel to the ground. His eyes were fixed on something. Ears down. Tail out. And then, in one swift move…he pounced. Dust went flying. Fur went flying. I caught the glimpse of a furry tail.  The sounds of a blood curdling cry of a bat ear fox rang out. Changing to an octave higher within seconds before there was absolute silence…interrupted only by Paul’s announcing to the other passengers in the vehicle that I was crying. How could I not cry? 

Cute (and vulnerable) Bat Eared Fox (not the actual victim)

Poor thing was probably just out eating some bugs for breakfast. Large ears pointing down to the ground listening for bug activity. Minding his own business and then… WHAP! A leopard pounces on him from behind and ends his life in seconds (painful terrifying seconds from his perspective, I’m sure). I’ll never forget the sound. It was soul wrenching. Now… I know, I know…it’s the laws of nature. If the leopard didn’t have fox for breakfast, he might starve. But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad for the fox. Cute little thing with his little raccoon mask on (if I think about this too much, I know I’ll become a vegetarian so…we’d better move on).

Paul noted that in his 37 years in Botswana he had never seen a leopard make a kill, so it is quite rare to actually see. What I’ll remember most, however, is not the seeing but the hearing. Clearly it was worth our getting up early in the morning. I’m not sure I can say the same for the bat eared fox!