After the alarm went off at 5:30
AM, I was looking forward to a hot shower, but again, it was a cool one. The
tap water is very salty and when you get it on your lips, you know it.
Breakfast was at 6, and we were off by 6:30.
Our destination today was the
Moremi Game Reserve an hour and a half away. Today I sat in the front row of
four on the jeep. That made quite a difference to my back, that and some pain
killers.
Our road was bumpy, and many times
we had to take a short little detour due to trees lying across the road.
Elephants are very messy eaters and quite destructive. We saw the odd giraffe
enroute, and some elephants (we call them ‘ellies’) quite close to the road. We
drove off road so as not to disturb them. When I say ‘road’, I mean a sand
trail. I shot a video of the road through the front windshield and it was
impossible to keep the camera steady.
When we arrived at the park gate,
we used the facilities – much nicer than a rock. We headed off to see what we
could see. The guides had a 2 way radio on and suddenly changed course. We
headed off in a different direction at break-neck speed. We knew there was
something very interesting to see but they wouldn’t tell us what.
Oh my goodness, it was a mother
leopard and her cub feeding on a freshly killed red lechwee!
We got so close,
then parked and watched in fascination for a good long while. The mother had
finished feeding and the cub was digging away. He was having difficulty
attacking the flesh. The female leopard got up, and began tugging at the fur.
She got several mouthfuls, then dropped the hair on the ground. She did this
several times, then went to lie down again.
Again, I could have watched for
much longer.
Then, we came across 2 male lions
resting in the shade after they had had their fill. They had also killed a red
lechwee. We parked extremely close, a little too close for comfort for some of
us. Their breathing was quite fast I thought.
When some vultures flew by, they
lifted their heads and appeared to be ready to defend. There really was no
need. No one argues with the king of the beasts!
We went back to the leopards to
see if she had put her kill in the tree, but they were still feeding. We could
clearly see the blood and watched the female tearing the guts out of her kill.
What incredible luck we have had
on this trip. To see 3 sets of animals feeding on their kills is quite rare. We
headed back to the park gate to have our picnic lunch at 1:00 – salad, quiche,
buns and coleslaw. Yum!
The afternoon was not as eventful
as the morning but we did see various animals – waterbuck, an elephant or two,
some birds and a mongoose.
At 2 PM we headed back to the lodge. It took about
an hour and 45 minutes to return. When we were almost at our place, we came
across a vehicle stuck in the deep sand. It looked like a regular vehicle,
perhaps 4x4, but not the sturdy vehicles we have seen for the past 3 days. Our
guides pulled them out and helped them turn around. Unless you have a heavy
bush vehicle made for this country, it is impossible to navigate the bush
roads. Some of the main ones are easy enough to drive but they don’t get you
everywhere.
I enjoyed an ice cold Coke back at
the camp, followed by a shower, then I lay down to read. While I was reading, I
could hear various bird as well as African squirrels rustling around in the
grass and leaves. Then I heard a noise that couldn’t just be a squirrel so I
got up to investigate. It was an elephant just behind the next tent! I ran
inside to grab my camera and began to take photos and video. I was clad in only
my nightgown as I had changed into that for comfort’s sake. I was sure no one
could see me from the lodge. I was wrong, and was dismayed to find out that not
only had I been seen, but photographed as well. Sheesh!
Supper was another wonderful meal
with delicious Botswana beef as the main course. After our meal, the whole
staff sang for us as we sat around the firepit. It’s been another wonderful
day!
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