We left Khwai early in the morning to arrive at Savuti before the worst heat set in ..... that was the plan anyway, but, like most plans it got adjusted.  The lead vehicle, which was towing an off-road trailer, got stuck in the very soft sand a few miles after leaving Moremi, and then the pace that was possible for it, towing the trailer slowed us down somewhat, so we made the best of it and stopped for lunch along the way.  But more of that in a minute.

Just after leaving Moremi we came across Hippo, Baboons and this herd of Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) who although relaxed at first, soon got 'the wind up' and proceeded to charge across the road in front of us, leaving nothing but dust in their wake.



This Buffalo cow eyed us with great misapprehension before leading the stampeed.  They were all outside Moremi and thus not under the protection of a Game reserve, so their disquiet was understandable.



As you can see from this shot, the sand was extremely thick, and the central ridge though reasonably high, became much worse as the sand heated up and became softer.  Fortunately we only had the one incident of getting stuck, and by midday we were all ravenous.



The freedom of being able to stop and make a meal anywhere cannot be described.  Steve, although he and his family had joined our safari late, took over the camp chef role with alacrity and great style !  He promptly raised the standard of bush cuisine considerably with his excellent bread baked in a hot-coal filled hole (amongst other delicacies).



Soon after lunch we entered Chobe Game reserve and headed towards Savuti camp.  Now we began to see Elephant (Loxodonta africana) with the same sort of regularity that we had been used to seeing Impala.  Chobe reputedly has 60000 elephant, and from the condition of the vegetation and amount of dung, I would believe that number could be realistic.







This lone Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) gave some inkling as to why the early visitors to Africa called it just that .... a 'Wild' beast indeed, looking at those eyes.



Finally we arrived at Savuti, with enough time for an afternoon game drive before setting up camp, and in time to catch this Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), complete with ox-peckers, having a drink.



The campsite at Savuti was remarkable in itself, but more on that tomorrow.



[Complete Safari and wildlife photo index]
<< Previous | Home | Next >>

Permalink | Posted by: Ian at Wednesday, September 15th, 2004 23:45:00 | Location: Savuti, Botswana | Category:  Botswana Safari 

Search