On the first day of safari while having lunch next to a pond filled with hippos, it hits me that I am in Africa. Actually, it hits me more that I am on safari and having my first group travel experience. There are eight of us: two guides, two older doctors, a computer scientist, his Science PhD wife, my mom, and me. We are all American except for the two British guides, and I wonder when I will truly feel like I am in Africa.This morning I come close. We begin our Botswanan experience in a basket store. Botswana only has one art-form which is basket-weaving. Johnno, the older Brit guide, tells me this is the closest I'll get to seeing Botswanan culture before heading out to the bush. The store represents a 200 woman basket weaving cooperative and I am excited to see a group of ladies sitting in front of the store. What turns me on most about traveling is social interaction. I love talking to people from different cultures. I love how different people are and how similar we all are at the same time.
We spend about an hour at the basket store. The lady doctor in our group lost her luggage and had to go to town to get some supplies. My mom, myself and the two doctorates are in the basket store killing time. As everyone browses the many designs, I chat it up with the basket lady. I ask her about business and she asks me about the States. She speaks good English and teaches me a little Setswana. After a while, I go outside where the group of women are sitting and one is weaving. "Dumelang bo Mma!" I say greeting them in Setswana. They greet me back and laugh as I try to sound out other phrases. My mom and I are having fun getting our first taste of Botswanan culture.
The lady doctor returns from her shopping spree in town and browses the basket store. I take this opportunity to observe my traveling companions. My mom's laugh rings out as she plays with a baby on a woman's back. The doctorate girl who is not much older than me is silent. They all look uncomfortable and I don't think I have seen one crack a smile yet. Johnno has cracked a few jokes and I think my mom and I will end up in his car for most of the trip. I hear the doctorate girl ask our other guide questions about basket weaving, the huts that surround us and the clothes the women wear. She was just over near the women and I wonder why she doesn't ask them herself. After a couple more minutes, we all load into two cars and we're off to Moremi Reserve to begin the safari.
* * *
We are two days in a mobile camp in the Moremi Reserve. We have a five-star camping experience with a staff of 7 cooking, serving our food, cleaning our tents and filling our bucket showers with hot water. I wasn't expecting to be camping like this and I am happy we are. We can't be any closer to the bush. There are bones in our camp from an ancient kill. At night, the sky is white as complete darkness accentuates billions of stars. We watch zebra graze 100 meters away and fall asleep to the reverberating sound of lion roars.
We wake the next two mornings at 6am to coffee boiling on the campfire. It is still dark and cold, but the excitement of the game drive is warming. We see a lot in Moremi. We see all kinds of antelope, eagles, giraffes, zebra, and hyena. On the way back to camp one afternoon, we spot a tree full of vultures about 200 meters from our tents. Johnno tells us this is quite the find because there is only one reason vultures congregate. We drive toward the tree and find three lions lazily sleeping next to a bush. Tucked neatly under the bush, but not completely out of sight is a half-eaten zebra carcass.
We watch the scene for awhile. A jackal circles at a safe distance. The lions continue to sleep. Suddenly, on the other side of the bush, we see the small head of a mongoose pop over the grass. He has smelled the zebra and moves in silently to steal a few nibbles. When we pulled up to the scene at first, Johnno laid down some rules for riding in his car. We must speak in hushed voices as to not disturb the animals. We can never get out of the vehicle unless we start singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in which case we will be forced to walk back to camp. He strictly prohibits waving good-bye to the animals because they never wave back. He also will not tolerate any Disney-fication of the animals because as he says in a British accent, "It's all rubbish." As the mongoose sneaks a snack of the zebra, however, two of these rules go out the window. He begins to narrate for the mongoose. This will become a habit of Johnno's which just leaves my mom and I doubled over laughing until we cry. Johnno is hilarious and his narration seems to break the Disney rule and definitely causes us to break the quiet rule because we can hardly contain our guffaws.
We wake the next two mornings at 6am to coffee boiling on the campfire. It is still dark and cold, but the excitement of the game drive is warming. We see a lot in Moremi. We see all kinds of antelope, eagles, giraffes, zebra, and hyena. On the way back to camp one afternoon, we spot a tree full of vultures about 200 meters from our tents. Johnno tells us this is quite the find because there is only one reason vultures congregate. We drive toward the tree and find three lions lazily sleeping next to a bush. Tucked neatly under the bush, but not completely out of sight is a half-eaten zebra carcass.
We watch the scene for awhile. A jackal circles at a safe distance. The lions continue to sleep. Suddenly, on the other side of the bush, we see the small head of a mongoose pop over the grass. He has smelled the zebra and moves in silently to steal a few nibbles. When we pulled up to the scene at first, Johnno laid down some rules for riding in his car. We must speak in hushed voices as to not disturb the animals. We can never get out of the vehicle unless we start singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in which case we will be forced to walk back to camp. He strictly prohibits waving good-bye to the animals because they never wave back. He also will not tolerate any Disney-fication of the animals because as he says in a British accent, "It's all rubbish." As the mongoose sneaks a snack of the zebra, however, two of these rules go out the window. He begins to narrate for the mongoose. This will become a habit of Johnno's which just leaves my mom and I doubled over laughing until we cry. Johnno is hilarious and his narration seems to break the Disney rule and definitely causes us to break the quiet rule because we can hardly contain our guffaws.
* * *
After Moremi, we head by boat to Camp Okavango which is a lodge located in the Okavango river delta. Botswana is arid and does not receive much rainfall. The water-ways of the delta are fed by rains falling in the Angolan mountains. It takes six months for the water to reach Botswana and it creates an amazing web of swamps, creeks and islands. This part of the delta is green and beautiful. It boasts the largest number of lions including a pride of 7 male lions which is very rare. We lovingly refer to this pride as the gay pride, but the scientists don't find this funny.
At Camp O we get to go on a walking safari. We take a boat to an island and are very lucky to walk right up to a herd of buffalo being stalked by 4 lions. The lions are only watching the buffalo and we are not lucky enough to witness a kill, but it's cool to see the lions stealthily move closer and closer. Our walking guide Robert leads us away from the lions out into the bush. We see cape buffalo skulls and a hippo skeleton. A family of wart hogs grazes away on bended knees. Robert walks right up to the wart hogs and playfully oinks at them. They hardly pay attention.
A breeding herd of about 30 elephants comes out of the trees in the distance and makes its way toward us. Johnno also leads hunting safaris and knows quite a bit about tracking animals. He says that if he finds a set of elephant tracks that move in a straight line without any signs of stopping to eat, a human has no chance of catching up to it. Elephants hardly change their stride, but steadily move onward. The briskness of an elephant's pace becomes clearer as the herd gains on us. Robert quickly moves us to a cluster of bushes so we do not look threatening to the mama elephants. It's obvious that Robert is being more cautious with these gigantic animals than with the lions. By reputation, elephants are far more aggressive than lions, or better said, they are more easily threatened.
Our time at luxurious Camp O is relaxing. Our tent is a game drive all unto itself. We have 2 sparrows nests, a hornets nest and about 20 bats sleeping in the tree outside our door. At dusk, the bats wake and swoop all around eating bugs. At one point a bat flies too close to the sparrow's nest and is knocked out of the air with a squawk. It falls onto our porch and my mom and I are scared it is injured, but it gets up and flies away. Night falls into a cacophony of lion roars and hippo moos. After 2 days, we are off again by plane to Khwai another game reserve.
At Camp O we get to go on a walking safari. We take a boat to an island and are very lucky to walk right up to a herd of buffalo being stalked by 4 lions. The lions are only watching the buffalo and we are not lucky enough to witness a kill, but it's cool to see the lions stealthily move closer and closer. Our walking guide Robert leads us away from the lions out into the bush. We see cape buffalo skulls and a hippo skeleton. A family of wart hogs grazes away on bended knees. Robert walks right up to the wart hogs and playfully oinks at them. They hardly pay attention.
A breeding herd of about 30 elephants comes out of the trees in the distance and makes its way toward us. Johnno also leads hunting safaris and knows quite a bit about tracking animals. He says that if he finds a set of elephant tracks that move in a straight line without any signs of stopping to eat, a human has no chance of catching up to it. Elephants hardly change their stride, but steadily move onward. The briskness of an elephant's pace becomes clearer as the herd gains on us. Robert quickly moves us to a cluster of bushes so we do not look threatening to the mama elephants. It's obvious that Robert is being more cautious with these gigantic animals than with the lions. By reputation, elephants are far more aggressive than lions, or better said, they are more easily threatened.
Our time at luxurious Camp O is relaxing. Our tent is a game drive all unto itself. We have 2 sparrows nests, a hornets nest and about 20 bats sleeping in the tree outside our door. At dusk, the bats wake and swoop all around eating bugs. At one point a bat flies too close to the sparrow's nest and is knocked out of the air with a squawk. It falls onto our porch and my mom and I are scared it is injured, but it gets up and flies away. Night falls into a cacophony of lion roars and hippo moos. After 2 days, we are off again by plane to Khwai another game reserve.
* * *
The drive from the air-strip to the mobile safari in Khwai is where I get to know more about Johnno and Africa. It is a long drive over dirt roads under a hot sun. Johnno's second passion is history and he satisfies my hunger for cultural knowledge. We get into jovial arguments over how much blame can be laid on the British. Johnno scolds me for my anti-colonial beliefs. "You can't fault the British," he says, "because then you would be blaming the Scots, the Irish and the Welsh and I know you don't think they did anything wrong. It's the English you hate, so get it straight." Johnno is English and throws any wise-cracks I give right back at me.
He teaches me a lot about Botswana. He tells me Botswana is the wealthiest country in Africa. With only 1.7 million people and the size of Texas or France, the money from diamonds go a long way. Botswana also makes quite a bit of money off of safaris and hunting safaris in particular. Hunting permits are expensive and then any animal killed carries a trophy cost, elephants being the most expensive. I came to Africa believing the African elephant was endangered which Johnno quickly corrects. In the 80's, he explains, Kenya had a huge problem with poaching which caused Kenya's elephant population to dwindle. Animals rights groups joined the campaign to stop poaching in Kenya, but Southern African elephant populations have always been strong. The population grows at 3% a year. Evidence of elephants is everywhere. We see groups of elephants everyday, as well as, tracks and the destruction left in the wake of their feedings.
Johnno also schools me in my African history. Studying colonization and African-American history in college, I came to Africa thinking I knew a thing or two about injustice and oppression. Johnno tells me stories, from the English point-of-view, that make me think. The British brought roads, he says and a fairer justice system. He says the Botswana government was modeled after the British one. Botswana was never a colony, only a protectorate for 40 years to protect Botswana from South Africa during the apartheid years. It's one of the reasons Botswana is so wealthy: it has a fairly honest government. Botswana isn't all money and diamonds though. 37% of the population has AIDS and the average life-expectancy is 33. I think about Robert our walking guide and he seems like an anomaly. I think about a conversation I had with Jacob, one of our camp staff, who told me his mother died a week ago and I think that chances are it was AIDS related. I guess money doesn't cure everything.
I don't know if I believe everything that Johnno tells me, but he definitely makes me think. I realize I had come to Africa with a very black vs. white mentality. Johnno reminds me of a truth I believe in. I believe that the majority of people are good people and want to do good things. Johnno reminds me that this also applies retroactively, that while bad people did bad things during colonization, there were also good people doing good things. He asks me why I would think there were less good people living back then than today. He says one of the things he hates most about white people today is their guilt. He says guilt doesn't do anyone any good and that charity only makes beggars out of people. He has seen it in Kenya. The charities give people things for nothing until the people expect to get everything for nothing. He believes the best thing that can happen to Africa is that they get over the past and move on. I don't entirely believe him or agree with him, but I listen. He is expanding my view of the world and I am developing a small crush on him. I start to crush on him despite the fact that the is almost 50 and despite the fact that he is English.
Kwhai isn't all about history though. It is in Khwai that we experience the most amazing of all of our animal sightings. In Kwhai we see two different packs of African wild dogs. The African wild dog is basically the African wolf. It is the rarest of Southern Africa's animals. Only 3000 live on the entire continent and about 750 live in Botswana. Our interaction with packs is quite intimate. The first pack we see in the morning. Chatter about their presence had cackled across the radios in the cars. Johnno, my mom and I are the first car to spot them and have them all to ourselves for at least 10 minutes. They are beautifully speckled animals and totally indifferent to human presence. They walk right up to the car, sniff around and go on their way just as about 8 cars pull up.
The second pack we have entirely to ourselves. Our other guide spots them sleeping under a tree. They lazily get up, walk to the road and lay down in between our 2 cars. They lounge around for a while until the alpha female decides it is time to move. They walk right past our car and one stops to check us out. He sniffs the air and then rolls around on his back before following the pack. We follow them until they stop abruptly in the road. An impala is grazing ahead of us in the bush. The dogs stand silently, waiting. A breeze comes through and the impala perks up. The dogs are ready. In a flash, the impala is spooked and takes off. In the blink of an eye the dogs are gone after the impala. As much as I would like to see a kill in action, this will not be my day. I am satisfied all the same as we pull over. The sun is setting producing yet another spectacular African sunset. Our guides open the bottles of wine and we all marvel at our luck.
He teaches me a lot about Botswana. He tells me Botswana is the wealthiest country in Africa. With only 1.7 million people and the size of Texas or France, the money from diamonds go a long way. Botswana also makes quite a bit of money off of safaris and hunting safaris in particular. Hunting permits are expensive and then any animal killed carries a trophy cost, elephants being the most expensive. I came to Africa believing the African elephant was endangered which Johnno quickly corrects. In the 80's, he explains, Kenya had a huge problem with poaching which caused Kenya's elephant population to dwindle. Animals rights groups joined the campaign to stop poaching in Kenya, but Southern African elephant populations have always been strong. The population grows at 3% a year. Evidence of elephants is everywhere. We see groups of elephants everyday, as well as, tracks and the destruction left in the wake of their feedings.
Johnno also schools me in my African history. Studying colonization and African-American history in college, I came to Africa thinking I knew a thing or two about injustice and oppression. Johnno tells me stories, from the English point-of-view, that make me think. The British brought roads, he says and a fairer justice system. He says the Botswana government was modeled after the British one. Botswana was never a colony, only a protectorate for 40 years to protect Botswana from South Africa during the apartheid years. It's one of the reasons Botswana is so wealthy: it has a fairly honest government. Botswana isn't all money and diamonds though. 37% of the population has AIDS and the average life-expectancy is 33. I think about Robert our walking guide and he seems like an anomaly. I think about a conversation I had with Jacob, one of our camp staff, who told me his mother died a week ago and I think that chances are it was AIDS related. I guess money doesn't cure everything.
I don't know if I believe everything that Johnno tells me, but he definitely makes me think. I realize I had come to Africa with a very black vs. white mentality. Johnno reminds me of a truth I believe in. I believe that the majority of people are good people and want to do good things. Johnno reminds me that this also applies retroactively, that while bad people did bad things during colonization, there were also good people doing good things. He asks me why I would think there were less good people living back then than today. He says one of the things he hates most about white people today is their guilt. He says guilt doesn't do anyone any good and that charity only makes beggars out of people. He has seen it in Kenya. The charities give people things for nothing until the people expect to get everything for nothing. He believes the best thing that can happen to Africa is that they get over the past and move on. I don't entirely believe him or agree with him, but I listen. He is expanding my view of the world and I am developing a small crush on him. I start to crush on him despite the fact that the is almost 50 and despite the fact that he is English.
Kwhai isn't all about history though. It is in Khwai that we experience the most amazing of all of our animal sightings. In Kwhai we see two different packs of African wild dogs. The African wild dog is basically the African wolf. It is the rarest of Southern Africa's animals. Only 3000 live on the entire continent and about 750 live in Botswana. Our interaction with packs is quite intimate. The first pack we see in the morning. Chatter about their presence had cackled across the radios in the cars. Johnno, my mom and I are the first car to spot them and have them all to ourselves for at least 10 minutes. They are beautifully speckled animals and totally indifferent to human presence. They walk right up to the car, sniff around and go on their way just as about 8 cars pull up.
The second pack we have entirely to ourselves. Our other guide spots them sleeping under a tree. They lazily get up, walk to the road and lay down in between our 2 cars. They lounge around for a while until the alpha female decides it is time to move. They walk right past our car and one stops to check us out. He sniffs the air and then rolls around on his back before following the pack. We follow them until they stop abruptly in the road. An impala is grazing ahead of us in the bush. The dogs stand silently, waiting. A breeze comes through and the impala perks up. The dogs are ready. In a flash, the impala is spooked and takes off. In the blink of an eye the dogs are gone after the impala. As much as I would like to see a kill in action, this will not be my day. I am satisfied all the same as we pull over. The sun is setting producing yet another spectacular African sunset. Our guides open the bottles of wine and we all marvel at our luck.
* * *
My mom always said that when people come back from Africa they have a glow about them. She wanted to go to Africa to see what that glow, that eye-twinkling was all about. We both admit that while Africa was amazing, we don't feel changed. Maybe it was the 30 hour trip home, CPT-JNB-IAD-DEN-ABQ that took all our energy from us. Maybe, for me, it's because I have seem too many places to be so easily awed. Maybe it's because I am in love with another country that I am not so easily wooed. I am happy I met Africa though and she deserves a second date, but I don't lust for her. Her animals, her falls, her bush are all intriguing, but next time I want more conversation, more culture, more intimacy.
Africa stays with me though. About a week after coming home, my mom and I are walking her dog through the bosque. We have walked through the bosque a dozen times, but this time it seems so very much alive. We see a shed snake skin, huge crickets and a hawk. I have a deeper appreciation for animals after being to Africa and a handful of new stamps in my passport. I also come home with so many more questions and an even grayer view of the world.
Africa stays with me though. About a week after coming home, my mom and I are walking her dog through the bosque. We have walked through the bosque a dozen times, but this time it seems so very much alive. We see a shed snake skin, huge crickets and a hawk. I have a deeper appreciation for animals after being to Africa and a handful of new stamps in my passport. I also come home with so many more questions and an even grayer view of the world.
