| Nxai
Pan (southern Kalahari) offered wonderful views
of cheetah – a family of four adults stalked
the pan bed in search of springbok and their young.
They practiced their hunting skills of sharp twists
and turns while chasing a family of ostrich with
six young chicks. With the cool early morning air,
the cheetah was full of energy and seemed to enjoy
the chase more than actually nabbing their prey.
Savuti proved to be the highlight
again with the Setlare pride of lion, pulling down
young elephant one after the other. As darkness
approached, the pride would lie up on the cool white
sand around the waterhole. The gentle old bull elephants
of Savuti would occasionally mock charge and trumpet,
showering the lion with sand. This was more a gesture
of annoyance rather than fear. However, as soon
as the breeding herds arrived – the lions
fanned out in a carefully planned strategy. The
cows would rush them, leaving gaps between themselves
and their babies they were trying so hard to protect.
Inevitably, a baby would be separated in the commotion
and the herd was turned away in the confusion and
trumpeting – leaving the pride of over 24
lions having it all their way. The night air would
be laden with the sounds of death throes as Savuti
once again claimed its ritualistic way of life –
a life of the strong and the weak.
The Tsodilo Hills (claimed as the
Mountains of the Gods) boast over 3500 images of
herder art. of timeless cultural heritage –
so different in style from the Bushman paintings
one sees elsewhere in Southern Africa. It is rich
in archaeological finds, rock shelters and over
twenty specularite mines. Pots, metal spearheads
and stone tools have been uncovered and the little
museum boasts a fine display. Rising from the flat
Kalahari, Tsodilo is Botswana’s highest peak
and a sacred landmark that has attracted people
to live there for thousands of years. The legend
says that the hills were once a family of a father,
mother and children, hence their names of Male,
Female and Child. Even the old ex -wife mountain
hangs back in the distance, off the beaten track.
We made friends with one of the
Tsodilo guides and he took us to a a trail that
is seldom used. It takes one further along Mount
Female to a valley behind. We walked over fresh
leopard tracks in an old rainwater washed rivulet
on our way to a haematite mine. The walls are pock
marked by Stone Age tools used to extricate the
haematite, which was then pulverized and mixed with
fat for a body balm, protecting their skins from
the harsh unforgiving sun.
We visited the little Bushmen settlement
where they trade their necklaces and Bushmen artifacts
of ancient culture. The bead patterns are typical
and the use of local seeds in various shades and
colour create a beautiful necklace. We camped at
one of the designated sites and listened to the
wind change course in the night. It swirled relentlessly
from one angle to the other, forever whispering
the secrets of the hills. Suddenly the wind would
calm to a deathly silence, with not a single leaf
in motion only to begin again with a far rumble
of an approaching gust. The heat thermals of the
day took a long time to die in the cool of the night.
Such is the magic of Tsodilo.
Moremi Game Reserve is the driest
it’s been for years. The hippo pools on the
way to Dead Tree Island are all dry and the hippo
have retreated back to the big Xaxanika Lagoon.
A young female leopard, dainty in her walk to the
river’s edge, turned as she scowled at the
troop of Vervet monkeys that gave away her secret
trail. The beauty of her walking away from us, between
tall columns of green grass, was breathtaking. She
flicked her tail as she sniffed the ground, ever
aware of her surroundings and situation. Dead Tree
Island was dry – with only a few lechwe grazing
on the dew fed grass edges of the dry riverbed.
The Sausage trees, usually apple green at the hint
of spring, stood bare of leaf, desperately waiting
for the ground water table to rise. I never cease
to wonder at the ever changing cycles of Nature,
different with every year, and with much longer
memories than we have.
Our short-lived winter forespells
early rains – or at least that is what the
grey beards are forecasting. I look forward to the
storm build-ups of October, November and December
– the months that most people shy away from
because of the heat. Little do they know that some
of the most beautiful sunsets, landscapes, cloud
formations, birthing of the Impala babies and changes
in vegetation take place. How can we judge an area
if one has not seen it in all its glory of different
seasons.? This for me is one of the never-to-tire
of the joys of a mobile safaris. Listen and smell
the air as creatures walk by unperturbed in the
quiet of the night and we sit mesmerized by the
dying embers of the camp fire. Then collapse into
bug proof tents, using the moonlight to watch what
walks past your window. . to experience nature,
as it really is – so totally different from
our every day way of life. Then you have lived.!!
With love and best wishes,
Lloyd, Grant and Daphne |
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