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Doing the Safari Thing....Aug 30, 2007
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Felix & Conisius
Leopard in Tree
Lion Style....
| Imagine this..... The sun has gone down and there is a distinct chill in the air in the Khwai Community, located just outside Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana. We are driving down a dusty road with our lights off, listening only to the sounds of the bush. Dave astutely notices a pride of four lionesses hunting close to where we are. With our lights off, we listen as the dominant female leads the pride in a kill, narrowly missing an impala (small antelope). Soon after all the commotion, we are joined by an entourage of vehicles eager to see the lionesses in action. Unfortunately, they shine their spotlights on the pride and force them away from the road to continue hunting for their dinner. Disappointed, the other landcruisers disperse, thinking the lions have gone for good... Dave's eyes light up on the other hand because now we are in darkness again and alone. We move down the road and spend the next hour and a half waiting by the rivers edge hoping that the lionesses will return in search of thirsty prey. The French clients (and maybe even us) are hungry and tired, wanting to return to camp for dinner. However, Dave persists, repeating "only another ten minutes" for the next hour. About to give up, we catch the shine of a predatory eye in the moonlight only ten meters from our vehicle. Our spirits immediately lift in an air of extreme excitement as we realize we are right in the middle of the hunt of some nearby waterbuck. With only the moonlight and our ears we watch as the hunt unfolds... one of the lionesses sneaks around behind the group of waterbuck and chases them right into the awaiting jaws of the others. With a loud whimper, the waterbuck is no more. We quickly moved in to watch as they finish strangling the animal, and begin their feast. Gruesome, but an incredible first hand glimpse into the African circle of life. Wow, what an incredible experience working for Dave's mobile safari company has been!!! To begin with, we took a private charter flight in a four seater plane from Livingstone in Zambia to Maun in Botswana! What an experience to be in such a small plane! We spent two weeks in total out in the Botswanan bush visiting three areas (Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta, Khwai Community and Chobe National Park). For the first safari we were general laborers, helping set up camp, prepping food, gathering firewood & water etc, alongside Dave's usual staff Conisious (the cook) and Felix.... Getting up at 5 am and doing hard physical labour on and off until 10 pm, was definitely not easy. However, all you had to do was stop and look around to remember why it was worth it. Also, since we were additional staff we were able to get out on several game drives with Dave and the four French clients. We learned so much from Dave about the animals and the land. We were very fortunate to be out with him especially since he is regarded as one of the best and were able to experience his animal tracking abilities first hand! On the second safari, we were the official cooks. Since the safaris were semi luxury, we prepared meals that included starters (soup) & fresh baked bread, main course (usually 3-4 dishes) and a dessert. For instance, to give you an idea, one night our menu was: a tomato and onion soup with croutons, pot roast, cheesy potato bake, patty pans, & broccoli. For dessert an oozy chocolate pudding in individual ramekins. All this was done on a simple wood fire with a metal cooking grid. We learned from the master (Conisious) how to bake bread, quiches, chicken pies, and desserts inside a large cast iron pot by strategically placing coals beneath the pot and on top of the lid. Challenging, but very rewarding and luckily we were only cooking for 5! At the end of this safari Dave flew with the clients to Zimbabwe to continue the safari there, and left us to drive the landcruiser & trailer 160 km back to Maun. Sounds easy, but imagine driving through the Kalahari Desert with deep soft sand on bumpy unmaintained roads and you can see why it took us almost 5 hours. Now we are in the incredible Namibia!!!! We will be sure to post an update within the next couple days regarding our time so far here. Take care everyone until next time. Meredith & Trevor |
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