travelswithalice

On our last full day in camp, I decide to join the afternoon game drive. Stuart shows me on the map the route we are to take. 

Mosah tells me the history of the landscape. Once upon a time, the Okavango delta didn’t exist and the Boteti river fed the saltpans. Over time It has changed course leaving the pans to dry up. The river now comes to a stop in Lake Xau in the south.

The past several months have been very dry and the river on Meno a Kwena has narrowed considerably, retreating miles away from the tree line on either bank.  Further upriver though, on Makgadikgadi Park, the river is fuller and bluer. 

We drive up to the river’s edge and into a magical world, like stepping “through the looking glass”. But the animals here are not make-believe. They are real. They are wild. And they roam free.

This is their land. We are visitors to their kingdom. We must strive to behave as respectful guests.

Towards the end of the game drive, we get to see two lionesses tending to their three-week old cubs. A brilliant finish to an incredible day in the wild.

*****

On our way home, all are quiet in the jeep as the sun sets and the evening star sparkles in the twilight. 

Nirmal breaks the silence, announcing, “I need a bush.”

KB dutifully stops the jeep and steps out with him. Stuart also gets out and heads for a tree.

I’m left in the jeep by myself.

“If all three of you get eaten by lions, what should I do?” I call out to nobody in particular.

“Take pictures,” Stuart replies.

Labels: Africa, Botswana, Meno a Kwena, safari

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones  # June 28, 2018

In the morning, I skip the game drive. I hadn’t slept well. I kept waking up in the night because my face was freezing. I plan to take it easy, maybe catch up on my sleep.

 My breakfast has arrived. I take it out on the deck.

The zebra are now on the right bend of the river. The air fills with cowbells and moos as cattle take over the left side. By noon, they’ve all left the river but I can still hear cowbells....and they’re getting louder. I soon realize they’re actually marching right behind the tent!

After lunch, a family of vervet monkeys drops in, literally, swinging from trees surrounding our outdoor shower, making a racket scrambling all over its canvas half-roof.

Remembering the meal tray I’ve left outside for collection, I quickly lock it up in the tea cabinet away from prying monkey eyes and fingers.

Elephants have now taken over the river.

When a lone elephant comes to join the party, he’s welcomed with an elephant-style beso-beso: trunks linked in a loose coil. So cool.

Soon the zebra come too. I’m supposed to be catching up on my sleep but I’m rushing around chasing animals.

*****

I love the quirky little things about this camp. 

The lounge/library/tea room, not really a room but an open area with a parachute silk top, is clubbily furnished with leather sofas and armchairs, squishy cushions and rugs. 

There’s a toilet beside it that has no door; only a rope hung across the entrance to indicate that it’s occupied. 

Little bead bracelets are wrapped around water taps: red for hot, blue for cold. 

And I have to laugh every time housekeeping comes to our tent. They call out “Knock knock!” and I’m always tempted to answer “Who’s there?”

Labels: Boteti river, Meno a Kwena

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones  # June 27, 2018

We’re in Meno a Kwena, in Botswana. This is where Prince Harry took Meghan Markle for her birthday on their third date. So you can imagine the hype that preceded our first view of camp.

The camp is remarkably basic. Having been to only two other safari camps, I’m a little taken aback by how basic this is. The website does say it’s a no-frills camp but the photos still hadn’t prepared me for the middle of the bush setup.

We are warmly greeted by the five people who run the camp. Matilda, who seems in charge shakes my hand and says rather formally, “Welcome to our paradise!”

That afternoon.

We’ve just come back from afternoon tea. Matilda has made a cake and husband TT took charge of making tea and coffee. Camp owner Hennie Rawlinson and daughter Carla, also staying in camp, came to say hello. 

Fellow Aussie Kimberly, whom we met on the long drive from the airport, works as a vet at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo and lives in Mosman, practically next door to us in Sydney and now stays in the tent next to ours. Well, brave Aussie girl that she is, she announces that she’s going for a swim in the pool. It’s the middle of winter here and the pool looks really cold. 

We escape to the relative warmth of our well-appointed tent.

There’s a private deck outside the tent. We’re on a bluff jutting out to a bend on the Boteti river. We watch a herd, or more precisely, a dazzle of zebra pausing for a drink along its migration trail. They’re barking, hee-hawing, splashing in the water, galloping up and down the dusty slope. 

The river is low, too low to paddle a canoe or do a river cruise. The rains have come to Angola though, and the folks in Meno a Kwena wait eagerly for the floodwaters to come. They’ve already reportedly reached the nearby town of Maun.

There’s a mighty roar from the river to our right. Hippo. Two of them splashing about. 

Stuart rushes down to the floating hide for a closer look. It’s a camouflaged observation post on the edge of the river.

An elephant has arrived as the sun begins to set.

Later, dinner under the stars with everybody in camp. Afterwards, stories by the campfire. I’ve armed myself with mosquito patches but there doesn’t seem much need for them.

Stuart and I sit close to the fire, snuggled under a wool blanket, sipping Amarula on ice.

Labels: Africa, Botswana

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones  # June 26, 2018

Arriving at night in the rain and waiting on the tarmac to get bussed to the terminal wasn’t a good start. We had flown to Johannesburg from Livingstone in the  morning to then fly out again in the evening to Cape Town. It wasn’t the best way to travel but it was a choice between that or flying Kenya Airways.

I peered out the hotel window at what promised to be a great view of Table Mountain, which we hoped to explore the next day. 

In the morning though, Table Mountain had disappeared. It was completely shrouded in thick cloud.

Undeterred by the overcast skies and the cold, Stuart went off on the hotel shuttle, calling later for me to join him at the V&A Waterfront complex. We had a fish lunch and stayed there all afternoon.

I guess the experience of. a new place has a lot to do with the weather. Unfortunately, the weather had put a damper on our experience of Cape Town. Planned outings to Frranschoek and to Stellenbosch for the wines and to Sutherland for the stars didn’t pan out. 

Apart from the one sunny afternoon that allowed us a nice Red Bus tour, today, the day we’re leaving is the only non-rainy day we’re seeing in Cape Town. 

_{Last day, best day}

We’re now at the airport for our eighth flight in three weeks.

SQ Mnl to SIN, SIN to Joburg, FedAir to Mala Mala, SA Airways from Skukuza to Joburg, BA to Livingstone, BA to Joburg, BA to Cape Town, Kulula to Joburg. 

In two days, we fly to Botswana.

Labels: South Africa

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones  # June 17, 2018

I’ve been waiting all morning for the giraffes to come back, so Stuart gets someone to take us to them in the hotel buggy. 

Jeffrey has been with the Royal Livingstone 14 years and always knows where the animals are.

He suggests taking our picture with the giraffes. 

Hmmm...we’re not sure...

“So, what was that you said about Bob again, Jeffrey?”

“Bob used to be the alpha male here but he became violent and started kicking people, so he had to be sent away.”

“Okay, this is close enough. Let’s move along now, please!”

Later, a sunset dinner cruise:

River guide Webster is quick to explain they are cattle tusks, not rhino or elephant.



It must be that time of day...

Webster tells us about the wildlife on the river. He points out birds: white-fronted bee eaters, egyptian geese, herons, ibises, kingfishers. I can’t remember the others. There are also hippos and a giant crocodile.

A golden sunset on the mighty Zambezi.

Labels: giraffes, Royal Livingstone, sunset river cruise, Zambia

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones  # June 15, 2018

Labels: Mosi-o-tunya, Royal Livingstone Hotel, Victoria Falls, Zambezi

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones  # June 14, 2018

On our last evening game drive, I get an unexpected lesson in conservation and survival of species. 

Southern Ground Hornbills,  large black birds with bright red wattles are an imposing sight as they waddle imperiously through the yellow grass. Some cultures revere them as birds from the gods and are believed able to summon the rain.

They can grow up to a meter high and have been known to live up to 60-70 years. There are very few of them left outside conservation areas like the Kruger because of loss of habitat. What’s more, these birds have very complicated breeding habits: they mature only after seven years and breed only every three years, if at all. Only the alpha male and female mate; and they mate for life. All of which can’t help much in the survival stakes.

Sometimes called thunderbirds, they are classified sas Vulnerable by IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) but conservationists of the Kruger consider them Endangered. 

As twilight descends on the veld, we are made acutely aware that this evening‘s Sundowner schedule has been preempted by a sighting of wild dogs.

Two African Wild Dogs are dining on what looks to have been a small nyala. 

Sometimes called “painted wolves” because of the unique patterns and colours of their coats, these hunting dogs have few known predators apart from lions. Considered to be the most efficient hunters in the wild, they chase prey to exhaustion before viciously tearing it apart without bothering to kill it first. 

This last may go a long way to explaining why “human persecution” is a big factor in the decimation of these dogs’ numbers. They are classified as Endangered. I think maybe raising funds dedicated to saving the African wild dog may prove to be especially challenging.

On the drive back to camp, we come across a sorry- looking, battle-weary Spotted Hyena nursing a mangled left ear dripping blood.  Not an inspiring sight.

Totally lacking in charm, behaviour-wise as well as appearance-wise, hyenas nevertheless have better chances of surviving as a species than most.

The IUCN classifies them as of Least Concern.

_______

Back at camp, cocktails as usual at the bar at 7:30. Ever solicitous and warmly hospitable, Trevor always welcomes us into his lair with drinks, pre-dinner nibbles, and a roaring fire. Dinner tonight will be served under the stars in the boma. 

At Mala Mala, this serves as the dinner bell:

The boma is an outside enclosure dominated by a huge campfire. It’s enclosed by a tall reed fence but is open to the sky. And continuing the tradition of African tribal gatherings, the kitchen staff sing and dance for the dinner guests.

In the morning, I bid farewell to Mala Mala. Having missed the last morning drive, I wait for the sun to rise on the deck of our khaya.

I will miss all this. The early morning light, the brisk air, the smell of freshly cut grass, the birdsong, the star-spangled African nights.

I will miss the lovely people of Mala Mala. Liam, Johann, Hannah, Trevor, Bheki...

I will be back. And I won’t wait another 13 years to do it.

Labels: Africa, boma, Endangered species, Rattray’s, safari

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones  # June 10, 2018