Meerkats, Salt Pans and San Bushmen – Jack’s Camp

Days 29 – 32   17^th – 20^th October

Jack’s Camp is in the middle of nowhere, in the semi-arid desert of the Makgadikgadi Pans in the Kalahari Desert.  The website describes it perfectly as ‘The savage beauty of a forgotten Africa’ and ‘One of the only places in the world where the silence is so complete you can hear the blood circulating through your ears.’  It is situated on the edge of a salt pan that just goes on and on as far as the eye can see, and further still. 

The camp is unique, with large tents lined with deep coloured draperies, antiques galore and lit only by paraffin lamps – no wifi or phone signal here!  The dining area and library tent is actually one of Botswana’s acknowledged museums with wonderful old paintings, skulls and memorabilia of a bygone age. 

The beds are high four-posters with steps to assist you to get one them and the floors are covered in Persian rugs.  Thankfully though, the tents do have a wonderful ‘throne room’ as opposed to a china chamberpot below the bed!

It was extremely hot during the day – in the 40’s – but thankfully cooled off at night.  The atmosphere is dry,dry and the moisture is sucked out of one’s body – I don’t think we have ever drunk so much water and delicious homemade lemonade!   And there – in the middle of the desert – is one of the coldest swimming pools I have ever been in!  Talk about being able to chill to the very core!  Jeremy just about managed feet, ankles and wrists, but Sherry took the plunge several times…

We have had 3 wonderful nights in this amazing place, straight out of ‘Arabian Nights’.  We chose it originally because it offered an opportunity to fulfil an important item on Sherry’s bucket list – to intermingle with wild meerkats – and it did not disappoint, but it was so much more.

Game drives provided enchanting sights of large herds of wildebeest and zebra drinking at the waterhole in a landscape that was stark and powerful and quite overwhelming.  We saw a couple of huge bull elephants, two lionesses with a cub, sweet little steenboks and we had two fabulous viewings of brown hyena, which we had never seen before – stunning animal!

We spent a morning and an afternoon with the wild meerkats – what a truly wonderful experience, just sitting watching them and their dear little 3-week-old babies running around, digging up insects and occasionally climbing up onto our shoulders and heads, being the highest point close to hand and therefore a useful lookout!

On our second evening we walked into the bush to meet with the San bushpeople.  If any of you have seen the movie ‘The Gods must be crazy’, you will know who the San are.  These were not actors set up as a tourist attraction, they were genuine San.  With the aid of one of their tribe who spoke some English, they described the way they lived before hunting was banned in Botswana, showing us their bows and arrows, including the poisoned ones and telling how they hunted, and how the skins make the clothes they wear.

They dug up a bulbous root or tuber and showed how they shaved the flesh and then squeezed it, allowing the juice to flow down their thumb and into their mouth.  Then they demonstrated they way to make a fire with a stick and they sat in a circle and played a game amidst much hilarity (and completely oblivious of us) which seemed to be similar to ‘rock, paper, scissors’.

Then an old man called Cobra, a San from a different tribe and much taller, dug up a scorpion to show us, holding it in his hand with its sting firmly clasped, and then putting it in his mouth and sucking it to clean its eyes so we could see them!

It was a brief but truly memorable glimpse into the lives of these simple, friendly people sadly now being disrupted by the noise and chaos we call civilization.

Nights were silent apart from the rustle of palms around our tent (and one very noisy porcupine) and as there was no light pollution, the stars were incredible.  We had views of both Large and Small Magellanic clouds – the Large Magellanic Cloud is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way at a distance of 163,000 light years, whilst the Small Magellanic Cloud is a dwarf galaxy near the Milky Way, 7000 light years away and contains several hundred million stars with a total mass of approximately 7 billion times the mass of the Sun.

On our final evening we wrapped kikois around our heads in Arab fashion and drove quad bikes across the endless salt pan until the orange ball of a sun dipped below the horizon, and we arrived at a table in the middle of nowhere for sundowners followed by a delicious bush dinner.  We were totally unaware of any of this, just expecting a fun quad ride, and the big secret that followed blew our minds.  Alone in the vastness under a canopy of stars the size of light bulbs in total silence was an extraordinary, mystical, unforgettable experience.

Next – the Chobe River

Two more days in the Okavango Delta...Chiefs Camp

Day 26 – 28                14th^th – 16^th October

A short 20-minute flight and we arrived at Piajio Airstrip to meet the vehicle from Chiefs Camp.  Whilst also in the Delta, this area was a lot drier than Stanleys – no ‘road-rivers’! 
The lodge itself is quite stunning – the rooms incredibly luxurious, with even a private (VERY cold) plunge pool on the deck.

After our final game drive, around 7.30 pm, we found a bubble bath waiting for us and this on the bed!!

On our first evening game drive we sat and enjoyed a pride of 12 lions – 3 adult females and 9 cubs of varying ages, all tumbling and playing and suckling – magical!

The following morning we drove across wide plains with occasional date palms and elephants and not a lot else, but then we found a recently killed impala with kites and vultures enjoying the feast.  As we looked for the predator that had killed it, there was a loud belly rumble and crackling of the bushes and we were afforded one of Africa’s classic sights – a large herd of ellies walking in a purposeful line across the savannah towards a water hole.

Next day we were heading back to the airstrip when we heard a leopard had been seen nearby, so we did a little diversion and were treated to a beautiful lady with a very full belly coming down off her tree and heading to the swamp for a pee and a drink, leaving her kill safely in the branches.  It was a gorgeous cool morning with the early sunlight lighting the grass and a herd of elephants in the backgound.

As we returned to the airstrip, we stopped for a few minutes to watch the large pride of lions with cubs that we saw previously, who were now resting in the shade approximately 100 metres from the plane.

One of the delights of this area has been the lack of ‘traffic’ – only one of two vehicles at any sighting – and another has been making new friends – I think we may be getting a few visitors to Uganda in the next few years!

Next stop – Jack’s Camp 

Botswana here we come…

Day 21 – 25  9^th – 13^th October

We had a lovely tail wind on our way back to Maun, so the journey took us only 3 hours instead of 3 ½.  We then spent the next two nights at the delightful home of Keren & Duncan Rowles, although they were unable to be there.  Lovely sunsets, chilling out, watching zebra in the garden!

Then it was just a short 15 minute flight to Stanleys in the Okavango Delta.  The drive from the airstrip to the camp was a real eye-opener – we had no idea that the ‘roads’ would be partly ‘rivers’.   And this is dry season!  In the very wet season, clients are collected from the airstrip by boat!

As we drove to the camp we were immediately greeted by a lovely group of ellies, and then found a very handsome male lion with 4 females, so we stopped and admired them for a little while.  The camp was lovely, looking out over a plain. 

Our evening game drive was interrupted by a call for assistance from another vehicle, that had slipped into deeper water whilst crossing one of the wet areas and got stuck.  We found them with water up to the seats, so we came alongside (hoping we would not suffer the same fate!) and the clients had to then clamber across the gap into our vehicle – exciting stuff!  We then went back again for the sundowner coolbox!!  Here is a short snippet:

Sundowner time was spent with the other clients (who were badly in need of a drink!) whilst watching the tractor rescue the stranded vehicle, then we all went back to the camp for dinner.

The following morning, we found a lioness and her adult cub and followed them for a couple of hours at a suitable distance as they searched for their breakfast, whilst occasionally stopping to play.  At one point we were driving along a river bit with the lions on the bank beside us!

Eventually, after tippy-toeing through some water, they reached the airstrip where a herd of wildebeest had settled in for a nap, where they patiently settled down behind a bush hoping they might move in closer, as they were just too far in the open to hunt.  We so enjoyed watching the eager cub trying to show off her rather inept stalking skills, whilst her mum watched indulgently from behind an anthill!

A violent migraine (probably due to 38-40 degrees temp) curtailed the rest of the day for Sherry.

On our third day, we were joined by a delightful couple from Hampshire, who were fairly new to safariing.  Having started the morning fairly uneventfully, our guide suddenly spied some leopard tracks and we were off. 

We found her up a tree having a doze, but a little later she got up, stretched and headed down the tree and off over the swamp, giving us a wonderful viewing. 

We were joined by another vehicle from the camp which tried to follow a bit further and – you’ve guessed it – got stuck!  This time we were able to drag it out, whereupon they ventured forth once more, and got stuck once more!!  Same again!  Meanwhile, the leopard had long gone…

Another highlight from our game drives, was a beautiful pair of Bataleurs and also two Verreaux Eagle Owls – an adult and sub-adult, along with wonderful ellys, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, impala, kudu, steenbok, etc.  Oh, and an old termite mound housing dozens of cute little banded mongooses who kept popping out one after another!

We wound up our stay with our new friends on a sundowner trip in two mokoros – a fibreglass version of a dugout canoe, being poled through the channels with tall reeds either side, watching a wonderful sunset.

Next:  Chiefs Camp

Balloons & Dunes

Day 19 & 20          7^th and 8^th October

The wind had dropped yesterday morning, so, much to our delight, we were able to do the Balloon Safari, with two balloons setting off at 6.15 am, with the sun rising just after we took off. 

Floating over the desert, hills and dunes – magical sights, never to be forgotten.  

Awesome champagne breakfast when we landed, but OJ for us as we were flying shortly after!

We flew back to Windhoek around lunchtime and were able to join up with friends Judith Goddard and Ann Nicholls and some of Ann’s family for dinner at ‘Joe’s’.  A fun evening and plenty of stories to share, as Judith and Ann have driven to Namibia from Jo’burg, camping all the way – if our trip is adventurous, then theirs is completely wild!!

Spending today sorting out in Windhoek, then it’s on to Botswana!