SAFARI. SAFARI. SAFARI.
This weekend, Adrienne and I treated ourselves to a weekend (one night) at the Tau Game Lodge at Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa. It was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I loved every aspect of our trip. We hired a local driver, Dimpho (pronounced Dim-po, the "ph" doesn't make an "f" sound), who got us through the South African border smoothly. The border is only about 30 minutes away. Wild. As soon as we got to South Africa, we turned off onto a dirt road and drove another 20 km to the gate of the reserve. We showed our passports again along with lodge confirmation, and drove into the park. On our way to the lodge, we passed elephants and 2 ostriches; we knew we were in for a wild ride. The lodge was incredibly nice. We had a ranger, Stuart, assigned to us for our stay, along with 3 other guests who were working in Gaborone for just a week, one of whom had a sweet camera and promised to send us her pictures. This was a luxury lodge. We lucked out in booking it because they had a huge group renting the place out Friday night, leaving Saturday bookings open, and they have last-minute deals for booking within 14 days of your stay. Sa-weet.
The lodge is situated on a natural waterhole, and within 20 minutes of arriving and watching from an upper deck, we saw zebra, impala, waterbuck (a different type of antelope), a crocodile, and a group of 15 elephants!! I was so happy, I almost cried.
We checked into our chalet, an adorable room with a walled-off outdoor shower and a deck looking out onto the waterhole. They fed us delicious lunch, including ice cream dessert. We relaxed by the pool for an hour, and soon enough, it was time for high tea (i.e. gathering up guests) and our first game drive! We left a little before 4:30 p.m. and got home around 7:30 p.m. It was so nice, just Stuart and 5 guests, ourselves included. We all had plenty of space to take pictures. Stuart drove us in a Land Rover with 9 seats hooked up onto the bed and a canopy over the top. There were blankets for when it got cold at night. All of the rangers from the different lodges in the area coordinate when they find something great. Stuart obviously knew what he was looking for right away, but he kept us in suspense of the evening's greatest find. We saw loads of impala, springbok, zebras, warthogs, a few elephants, and a giraffe. He also pointed out smaller animals, including some of his favorite birds and an African wildcat, which he says are fairly tough to spot; he's only seen 10 in his life.
Then, over the radio signals, we were on standby. For what, we were not sure, but he had us wait and chat for a little while until another car came our direction. We took off on an old bush road, approached one other truck departing, and then we saw it: a spotted cat lying in clearing through a bush. It was a cheetah! Two! Stuart told us, "I didn't come all this way to see a cheetah through a bush." Ha! He took his landrover and did a bit of "bundubashing," aka bushwacking, and knocked down a couple small thorny acacia trees with the car, sending leaves spraying all over us. It was worth it: perfect view of two male cheetahs. There are only 5 cheetahs in the whole reserve; they are the highest level of endangered. I never in my wildest dreams thought we'd see wild cheetahs. Stuart then let another truck in, and we went to a clearing and got off for a drinks and snacks while we watched the sun set over the bush. After that, we headed back to the lodge in the dark!
In the evening, we all had dinner together, our whole car. Stuart told us answered our questions about about how he got into the business (always loved animals, uncle was a ranger), the training (3-month intensive bush instruction), and his favorite stories. All of this over fabulous dinner. I had antelope! Stuart said it was his favorite, so I trusted him, and it was great. In going to bed, I was so excited about our day and what we might find the next day that it was hard to sleep, ha. Like a little kid before Christmas.
We woke up early the next morning at 5:30. We had tea and muffins at 5:45, then hit the road at 6. Apparently, while we were on our drive with our awesome cheetah sighting, there had been another incredible sight back at the lodge waterhole: two female lions and cubs attacked an impala, killed it, then a male lion came along, took the impala, and headed into the bush with it! So, Stuart was determined the next morning, and we tried tracking the male lion, unsuccessfully. "Let's have a bash at it, shall we?" Yes, please. We went as far as the back roads in that direction would take us, no luck. So, we headed in another direction. Apparently, later that morning, that male lion we were trying to find headed back to the waterhole for a drink! Ha. Elusive. Instead, we came across another lodge's truck, and the two rangers chatted. They speak in some code about where animals are so that it remains a surprise for the guests as to what animal we find! So much fun. We found... a different male lion! The oldest in the park. There were other trucks when we arrived, but Stuart thought it might get up and walk or call, so we waited, the only truck, and he did just that. After letting us get quite close (!), we tracked him for a while as he moved across the bush before settling in a new spot.
Next, we set off and found rhinos! A mom and a baby, we saw first, then another mother-child pair. There is a huge poaching problem across Southern Africa, Madikwe included, especially when it comes to rhinos. Even with anti-poaching teams, they have lost 10 so far this year. If things keep up at this rate, we may not have any rhinos left in 15-20 years. They are poached for their horns, which are ground up and put into herbal medicines, none of which work, because the horns are just keratin, the same stuff our hair and fingernails are made of. So ridiculous. Stuart said there is debate among the rangers in the reserve as to whether or not to cut off the horns of the rhinos at Madikwe so they won't get poached. The problem is then they couldn't defend themselves against lions, and the males couldn't fight with one another for mates, an important part in establishing their hierarchies. It will be a tough decision.
Our final amazing find was a huge group of elephants around a watering hole. Juvenile males were fighting each other, though not causing any damage. A couple of elephants went for a swim in the water. There was a group of females and babies across the waterhole from us, too. It was amazing. They have such fascinating social interactions. One elephant literally pushed another one into the water, then didn't go in himself! Ha. Another one shook his ears at us. Other than that, they weren't too bothered by us at all. We set up a final tea and snack break a little ways away. One male elephant, a young adult who Stuart described as a teenager, seemed annoyed at our choice of spot. Stuart stood his ground and told him to go away until he settled on grabbing some vegetation then walking along. Haha. We were so ridiculously happy with this drive! What amazing sights!
Adrienne and I are now addicted to safaris. We cannot WAIT for our next safaris in northern Botswana when we are on vacation starting Saturday.
P.S. The end of The Great Banana Caper! (continuation from Botswana 7 post)
While we were at the reserve, our housemate, Teju, was relaxing at home in Gabs this weekend (she went to Madikwe last week with another group). She was working on a presentation at home this morning, and all of a sudden, around noon, she noticed something moving out the corner of her eye: it was a vervet monkey making its way down the stairs! They saw each other, and both got scared! The monkey raced back upstairs and into one of the bedrooms! Teju shut the bedroom door, thinking she had trapped it. Then she panicked again; what do you do with a trapped monkey?? She called the global health fellow who lives a couple townhomes down. He and his wife came over with brooms and a plan; scare the monkey out the front door. But, by the time they checked the room, the monkey was gone! One window was slightly ajar, a window Teju had opened two weeks ago, then shut, but did not 100% completely fasten the window (the latches can be tough). The monkey(s?) had been using its tricky little fingers to open the window and close it behind itself! After the bananas were missing and we suspected monkeys on Friday, I checked every room and every window, and they were all closed! I didn't check every latch, though, and I guess that was my mistake in investigation. Adrienne and I remembered back the past couple weeks and remembered that another bunch of bananas and a loaf of bread that were out on the corner had also gone missing, but it was on days that the housekeeper was here, and we assumed the bananas had gone bad (as they were nearing that point) and the bread had gotten moldy (happened once before), so our housekeeper must have thrown them out. Not so! That stinkin' monkey probably stole that food, too! Honestly, I was happy to have confirmation of our suspicions that a monkey was behind The Great Banana Caper, haha, but I'm also happy that we have our windows properly latched now. No more monkeys in the house!
This weekend, Adrienne and I treated ourselves to a weekend (one night) at the Tau Game Lodge at Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa. It was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I loved every aspect of our trip. We hired a local driver, Dimpho (pronounced Dim-po, the "ph" doesn't make an "f" sound), who got us through the South African border smoothly. The border is only about 30 minutes away. Wild. As soon as we got to South Africa, we turned off onto a dirt road and drove another 20 km to the gate of the reserve. We showed our passports again along with lodge confirmation, and drove into the park. On our way to the lodge, we passed elephants and 2 ostriches; we knew we were in for a wild ride. The lodge was incredibly nice. We had a ranger, Stuart, assigned to us for our stay, along with 3 other guests who were working in Gaborone for just a week, one of whom had a sweet camera and promised to send us her pictures. This was a luxury lodge. We lucked out in booking it because they had a huge group renting the place out Friday night, leaving Saturday bookings open, and they have last-minute deals for booking within 14 days of your stay. Sa-weet.
The lodge is situated on a natural waterhole, and within 20 minutes of arriving and watching from an upper deck, we saw zebra, impala, waterbuck (a different type of antelope), a crocodile, and a group of 15 elephants!! I was so happy, I almost cried.
Herd of elephants!!! Adults and youngsters included
We checked into our chalet, an adorable room with a walled-off outdoor shower and a deck looking out onto the waterhole. They fed us delicious lunch, including ice cream dessert. We relaxed by the pool for an hour, and soon enough, it was time for high tea (i.e. gathering up guests) and our first game drive! We left a little before 4:30 p.m. and got home around 7:30 p.m. It was so nice, just Stuart and 5 guests, ourselves included. We all had plenty of space to take pictures. Stuart drove us in a Land Rover with 9 seats hooked up onto the bed and a canopy over the top. There were blankets for when it got cold at night. All of the rangers from the different lodges in the area coordinate when they find something great. Stuart obviously knew what he was looking for right away, but he kept us in suspense of the evening's greatest find. We saw loads of impala, springbok, zebras, warthogs, a few elephants, and a giraffe. He also pointed out smaller animals, including some of his favorite birds and an African wildcat, which he says are fairly tough to spot; he's only seen 10 in his life.
This zebra has a huge gash on his left bum from a lion attack. Also, notice the different colors of stripes! Black and grays. No zebra has the exact same stripes.
Zebras!
Trusty Land Rover
Then, over the radio signals, we were on standby. For what, we were not sure, but he had us wait and chat for a little while until another car came our direction. We took off on an old bush road, approached one other truck departing, and then we saw it: a spotted cat lying in clearing through a bush. It was a cheetah! Two! Stuart told us, "I didn't come all this way to see a cheetah through a bush." Ha! He took his landrover and did a bit of "bundubashing," aka bushwacking, and knocked down a couple small thorny acacia trees with the car, sending leaves spraying all over us. It was worth it: perfect view of two male cheetahs. There are only 5 cheetahs in the whole reserve; they are the highest level of endangered. I never in my wildest dreams thought we'd see wild cheetahs. Stuart then let another truck in, and we went to a clearing and got off for a drinks and snacks while we watched the sun set over the bush. After that, we headed back to the lodge in the dark!
Two male cheetahs, resting up between sprints
In the evening, we all had dinner together, our whole car. Stuart told us answered our questions about about how he got into the business (always loved animals, uncle was a ranger), the training (3-month intensive bush instruction), and his favorite stories. All of this over fabulous dinner. I had antelope! Stuart said it was his favorite, so I trusted him, and it was great. In going to bed, I was so excited about our day and what we might find the next day that it was hard to sleep, ha. Like a little kid before Christmas.
We woke up early the next morning at 5:30. We had tea and muffins at 5:45, then hit the road at 6. Apparently, while we were on our drive with our awesome cheetah sighting, there had been another incredible sight back at the lodge waterhole: two female lions and cubs attacked an impala, killed it, then a male lion came along, took the impala, and headed into the bush with it! So, Stuart was determined the next morning, and we tried tracking the male lion, unsuccessfully. "Let's have a bash at it, shall we?" Yes, please. We went as far as the back roads in that direction would take us, no luck. So, we headed in another direction. Apparently, later that morning, that male lion we were trying to find headed back to the waterhole for a drink! Ha. Elusive. Instead, we came across another lodge's truck, and the two rangers chatted. They speak in some code about where animals are so that it remains a surprise for the guests as to what animal we find! So much fun. We found... a different male lion! The oldest in the park. There were other trucks when we arrived, but Stuart thought it might get up and walk or call, so we waited, the only truck, and he did just that. After letting us get quite close (!), we tracked him for a while as he moved across the bush before settling in a new spot.
ZOMG Lion!
Mufasa! Beautiful animal
Next, we set off and found rhinos! A mom and a baby, we saw first, then another mother-child pair. There is a huge poaching problem across Southern Africa, Madikwe included, especially when it comes to rhinos. Even with anti-poaching teams, they have lost 10 so far this year. If things keep up at this rate, we may not have any rhinos left in 15-20 years. They are poached for their horns, which are ground up and put into herbal medicines, none of which work, because the horns are just keratin, the same stuff our hair and fingernails are made of. So ridiculous. Stuart said there is debate among the rangers in the reserve as to whether or not to cut off the horns of the rhinos at Madikwe so they won't get poached. The problem is then they couldn't defend themselves against lions, and the males couldn't fight with one another for mates, an important part in establishing their hierarchies. It will be a tough decision.
Mom and baby rhinos
Heyyyyy rhinos!
Our final amazing find was a huge group of elephants around a watering hole. Juvenile males were fighting each other, though not causing any damage. A couple of elephants went for a swim in the water. There was a group of females and babies across the waterhole from us, too. It was amazing. They have such fascinating social interactions. One elephant literally pushed another one into the water, then didn't go in himself! Ha. Another one shook his ears at us. Other than that, they weren't too bothered by us at all. We set up a final tea and snack break a little ways away. One male elephant, a young adult who Stuart described as a teenager, seemed annoyed at our choice of spot. Stuart stood his ground and told him to go away until he settled on grabbing some vegetation then walking along. Haha. We were so ridiculously happy with this drive! What amazing sights!
YOU go in the water! Hurry up!
Ranger Stuart telling the male elephant to move along
With our elephant friend
Adrienne and I are now addicted to safaris. We cannot WAIT for our next safaris in northern Botswana when we are on vacation starting Saturday.
P.S. The end of The Great Banana Caper! (continuation from Botswana 7 post)
While we were at the reserve, our housemate, Teju, was relaxing at home in Gabs this weekend (she went to Madikwe last week with another group). She was working on a presentation at home this morning, and all of a sudden, around noon, she noticed something moving out the corner of her eye: it was a vervet monkey making its way down the stairs! They saw each other, and both got scared! The monkey raced back upstairs and into one of the bedrooms! Teju shut the bedroom door, thinking she had trapped it. Then she panicked again; what do you do with a trapped monkey?? She called the global health fellow who lives a couple townhomes down. He and his wife came over with brooms and a plan; scare the monkey out the front door. But, by the time they checked the room, the monkey was gone! One window was slightly ajar, a window Teju had opened two weeks ago, then shut, but did not 100% completely fasten the window (the latches can be tough). The monkey(s?) had been using its tricky little fingers to open the window and close it behind itself! After the bananas were missing and we suspected monkeys on Friday, I checked every room and every window, and they were all closed! I didn't check every latch, though, and I guess that was my mistake in investigation. Adrienne and I remembered back the past couple weeks and remembered that another bunch of bananas and a loaf of bread that were out on the corner had also gone missing, but it was on days that the housekeeper was here, and we assumed the bananas had gone bad (as they were nearing that point) and the bread had gotten moldy (happened once before), so our housekeeper must have thrown them out. Not so! That stinkin' monkey probably stole that food, too! Honestly, I was happy to have confirmation of our suspicions that a monkey was behind The Great Banana Caper, haha, but I'm also happy that we have our windows properly latched now. No more monkeys in the house!
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