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| Me hiking in Moremi Gorge |
My husband sees
the world as full of possibilities. A former safari client once captured this well
by saying “or, or, or” to describe Paul’s recognition of endless possible
scenarios or plans. And, while this is a beautiful thing (in some ways), it
sometimes prevents any plans from being made until one runs out of time and the
future jumps up to smack you in the face! This is what happened with our
vacation plans this year.
For the last
couple of summer/winter breaks we’ve managed to take a two week overland trip somewhere interesting (2015 – Fish River Canyon in Namibia; 2014 – Malawi
via Zimbabwe and Mozambique) and while I was hoping to do the same this year, I
let the “or, or, or” go on a bit too long (we were first considering Zimbabwe
(but worried a bit about the rioting taking place), then Zambia (but it’s quite
expensive to drive in for a short visit – insurance, road tax, visas), then
Northern Namibia) and so… we ultimately delayed so long we somewhat ran out of
time and ended up doing a “staycation” instead.
If you are
unfamiliar with the term a “staycation” it is when you spend a holiday in your
home country rather than abroad (or at home and take day trips to local
attractions). We had talked about returning to Moremi Gorge (in the
Southeastern part of the country) after seeing the new chalets they built a few
years back. The 2009 Furman Study Away group may remember the gorge as we hiked
it during our time together in Botswana.
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| Crevice and Black pool |
To be honest with
you, I don’t remember much of the 2009 hike besides the terrifying initial
stage of the hike. Very shortly after entering the trail, one must choose between
swimming across an ice cold black pool and scrambling up a waterfall or
scurrying up a rock face, laying on one’s stomach and slithering like a snake
about 50-60 yards in a crevice which looked much too tight for human passage! I
panicked. Not only was I overwhelmed by the fears of legal liability (what
would Furman do if I lost a student off the side of a mountain? AND…what was
Paul thinking bringing us here?!) but I don't exactly love heights or small spaces (and I loathe cold water)!
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| The expanse of the crevice I slithered through |
All the young enthusiastic students went
through quite quickly and… I froze! This felt like Sophie’s Choice…impossible…which
did I have a better chance of surviving? Ultimately I chose
the rock slither but only with Paul talking me through the whole way and my
holding onto his ankle with a death grip as he slithered in front of me (I have
mostly forgiven him for bringing us there). After that, I don’t remember much of the rest of the hike.
So…for our “staycation”
I decide we should go back there. [My secret plan is to park myself at the base
of the rock face/black pool and wait for him to return if they haven’t made a
better way across. I’m hopeful that they must have done something if they
bothered to build the chalets (I am terrified that they have not until we hike
on the first day and arrive at the dreaded location)].
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| One bedroom chalet |
The chalets are
affordable and comfortable. They are self-catering so we need to bring all
our food and supplies. There’s a beautiful outdoor shower run on solar power, a lovely porch for sundowners and a grill for food prep. At night, breath-taking views of the Milky Way greet us overhead and the mountain range
surrounding the gorge looks like an ominous black wall of darkness. One night
is so windy I am sure our thatch roofed chalet will take flight. The winds are
so strong it sends our seat cushions and place mats into the thorny brush around
us and carries one of the chairs on the porch down the side of the chalet and
into the dirt!
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| Outdoor Shower |
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| Kitchenette |
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| Porch for sundowners |
Our first full
morning we sleep in (another thing about Paul is that he often underestimates
how long it takes to get from point A to point B so what we thought would be a 5 hour
drive was more like…8). By late morning we’re up and moving and decide to drive
around the area a bit and get the lie of the land. We arrive at the trail head and are greeted by Zuma, a guide from the local community. He says he can take us
for a brief walk to see some of the waterfalls but if we want to see the Cape
vulture nesting spot, we’ll have to start out earlier the next day.
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| A bridge! Yippee! |
Moremi Gorge is
unlike any other place in Botswana. The permanent river keeps the area lush and
green and Paul and Zuma spend much time discussing the scientific names of plants and trees (but I'm a sociologist, dammit!). When Paul
asks about one Zuma doesn’t know he states that he is "still researching that
one.” Paul likes this game and a walk that should take an hour and a half,
takes…three. My heart palpitates in anticipation of having to make “Sophie’s Choice” again until we get to the spot and I see…a new bridge! A small climb up
and down some rocks (holding on to cables in spots) and across the bridge gets us around the formerly risky
spot (exhale!).
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| Waterfall in Moremi Gorge |
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| Our Guide, Zuma, and I at Waterfall |
On our longer hike
the next day we make our way all the way to the vulture nesting spot. And,
while on the 2009 trip, we had to scale a tall and treacherous rock face to get
to the top of a mountain to look down into the nests (once I get past the
post-crevice trauma I start to remember more), we are told by Zuma that they no longer allow people to do that because of
the risk (Paul is deeply disappointed; I am deeply relieved!).
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| Cape Vultures Coming Off Their Nests |
At the end of the
gorge we get to the vulture nesting spot and look up to see many vultures
flying overhead. Staring at the rock face across from us what looks like
simply rocks at first reveals itself to be peppered with vultures sitting on
nests. Our guide informs us that researchers came last year and
counted 200 vultures on nests alone (not counting the ones soaring above). We
look for a long time, like an adult game of “Where’s Waldo?” They are everywhere.
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| Cape Vulture Soaring Overhead |
While the biggest
fear triggers from last time are gone, the hike still involves some scurrying
up rocks and crossing the small stream on multiple occasions but it is well
worth the effort.
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| On the edge of a rock face with cables to help |
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| Making our way up to a viewing spot |
There are also the dreaded mountain "stinging nettles" to beware of. Grab one of these by accident and you will remember it all night. Ouch!
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| Mountain stinging nettles - do not touch! |
We are encouraged by a local birder in Maun before we leave
to, in addition to seeing the Cape vulture nesting spot and the black eagles in
the area, try to spot the mountain wagtail. We tell Zuma this and he does
not disappoint. We spend some time at the second waterfall watching this beautiful
bird wag his tail up and down as we searches for his lunch.
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| Mountain wagtail |
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| Mountain wagtail |
On our way back
from Moremi Gorge we decide to divert and follow a sign for “Kaitshe Escarpment”.
Throughout Botswana there are a series of signs with orange arrows that point
you in a direction, off the beaten path, to find important historic/geologic
sites. This sign brings us to the top of an escarpment (it is so exciting to
see views from a point of elevation given that much of Botswana is F-L-A-T).
When we finally get there we see stunning views of Sowa Pan and learn that a
village was located at the top of this escarpment around 1000 AD. A large stone
wall demarcates the edge the village. It takes us so long to get to the
top of the escarpment that we decide to camp there for the night.
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| Sowa Pan from Kaitshe Escarpment |
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| Stone Wall from Former Village (1000 AD) |
We are all alone.
At one point I hear something walking in the woods and explore to find a single
white horse making its way along a well-worn cattle path (where is he going?). We
have our sundowners overlooking the pan. Paul takes the opportunity to do some
night photography and catches a breath-taking glimpse of the crescent moon (at
a slightly different angle than we see in the Northern hemisphere). It is quiet
and peaceful (except for the niggling feeling in the back of my brain most
likely prompted by seeing the movie “Deliverance” – which, given that we camp in
the middle of nowhere fairly often, I wish I had never seen!).
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| Crescent Moon |
Our drive back to
Maun the following day takes us through Makgadikgadi Pans with a stop for lunch
at Kubu Island (a camping spot in the middle of the pans loaded with Baobab
trees). And so ends our mini-staycation and my last outing in Botswana before I
return to the States for the start of the fall semester!
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| Giant Baobab Tree (that's me at the base) |
