Well the trip stared out like a normal "African Safari Camping Trip." We made it to Gaborone Botswana in 9 hours and slept overnight in a nice hotel. The following morning we made the next 8 hours without incident. Four of those hours we on a sand track road without another vehicle in sight. We arrived at the front gate about 3 PM and checked in.
Two older guys were checking out and they told us of a campsite that was under siege by a pride of 11 lions. The campers were terrified and hiding in their tent while the lions were chewing in the tent, chairs, coffee pots, fry pan and everything else that was left out. They heard the commotion and drove their vehicle over to the family's tent and rescued them from their attackers.
Pepi and I glanced at each other. This had all the ear marks of a great trip.
We left the front gate and headed out to the most remote part of the reserve, Bosobogolo 20 KM from the nearest camp site. We set up our tent. No toilets, no shower facilities, nothing but an A frame building for whatever the purpose was suppose to be. I haven't figured it out yet.
Our tent is a raised tent on an off road trailer. Very comfortable and offers a beautiful view of the stars and the pan through screened windows , top, side, front and back.
Do to the fact we had no shower facilities we showered from that bag hanging from the A frame. I have a pair of rubber scandals that I use to keep my feet from get covered with dirt and sand.
We decide to lure some animals into our camp site at night. We put out a dish washing basin and some table scraps from our dinner. We then sat quietly in the car with the windows down and cameras at the ready. It didn't take long. The first to show up was a Brown Hyena.
He drank from the water basin and then munched the table scraps. I couldn't help but feel he must have really appreciated the treats due to the fact the next water hole was 20 KM away. It made me feel good. He wandered over to the shower. Picked up one of my sandals, placed it on the other, scooped up the pair and trotted off to the bush. I said Pepi, Did you see that? She was laughing hysterically. It was the highlight of her trip. I couldn't believe it.
Later that night I placed the water basin near the tent. About midnight I head the Hyena vocalizing . I put the light on the basin and there was a leopard drinking from the basin while the Hyena was trying to scare him off.
The same thing happened for two more nights. We broke camp and drove 35Km to Khiding Pan. We had three nights there. Same deal. Water and food went out at night. This time I put my Reconyx camera on a small tripod just before dark. I'll take some sneaky night photos of this Hyena and he would never know what happened. I hid the camera behind a tree close to the ground and in a very inconspicuous place. He will never even know it's there.
Yeah right! As I was walking away Pepi shouts, There he is! He walked up to the camera, grabbed it and started to run off! I chased him shouting at the top of my lungs. He dropped the camera and took off. What the hell. Wild animals are suppose to be afraid of human sent. Later that night I placed the water and food scraps out again. The Hyena came by, drank the water and then took off with the wash basin. I chased him through the bush but it was dark. This is lion country and I realized that basin probably wasn't worth it. I returned to camp. I had been victimized three times in as many days. I was starting to feel like a little boy just getting home form one of Michael Jackson's pajama parties.
The following morning I took off for the bush to retrieve my belongings. I wasn't the only one victimized by this Hyena. There were yogurt containers, a cast iron cooking pot, socks, and my wash basin, chewed up and rendered useless. Oh well!
The sunsets here are beautiful. Just before the sun sets the animals go through a routine of socializing, grooming and getting that last bit of warmth before the cold desert night takes over.
The birds look for that last snack for the day. Some of them are really beautiful.
Here are some more Hyena photographs I took before we left. I hope you enjoy them.
Four hours on this sand track road makes you feel there are still some wilderness left somewhere. I just wonder for how much longer!
We are still waiting for our visas to Namibia. As soon as they get confirmed we will be off again. I hope you enjoyed the photos. Take care and have a great day.
