A wild experience – Safari in Botswana
One of the scariest experiences you can imagine is waking up to the sound of elephant footsteps right outside your tent. This was my wake up call on my first Botswana safari expedition.
During the fall month of April, my close friend Michelle and I went on our usual annual getaway. We were like two girls looking for a little adventure, camping in the heart of the Botswana desert. We stayed at jungle camps in the Moremi Wildlife Reserve in the Okavango Delta. A place full of promise of adventure, but I don’t think elephants wreaking havoc on our camp was something any of us expected.
big thugs
It was a cool and windy morning. The signs that winter was approaching were becoming clear. Michelle woke me up. Alarmed, we sat in our safari tent listening to the sound of something approaching. It wasn’t long before we realized it was a small group of elephants approaching our camp. The little group turned out to be two young bulls traveling together in search of an easy meal.
We lowered our window shutter as gently and openly as we dared, because it is a common occurrence that young bulls, like these two, can display quite aggressive behavior. We sat there for what seemed like forever watching them sniff and poke and poke around the camp. I can tell you that luck was on our side that morning, because they never showed any real interest in our stores. Luckily our safari tents are also situated on raised teak platforms, which also provides a kind of secure feeling. I breathed a sigh of relief as the two continued on their merry way.
The Moremi Wildlife Reserve
As soon as our two uninvited guests left, everyone came out of their tents, adrenaline pumping; the atmosphere was filled with emotion. Over our hearty breakfast, our guides informed us that this was not unusual. After all, we were now in their territory. This was just the beginning of five days filled with Africa’s wildlife in what is undoubtedly nature at its most beautiful.
The reserve is located in the northeast corner of the Okavango Delta and has an impressive and varied landscape. I can’t remember on any of my previous safaris seeing this amount of wildlife in such a short amount of time. As usual, there were the big five: elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and hippos. But we also had the privilege of seeing the unique sitatunga antelope.
Game to drive a little
We had a game drive every morning and evening in the back of an open 4×4 Land Rover. On one of our night tours we found gold! A pride of lions was hunting and their victim was a feisty zebra. Although most people see this as horrible and cruel, the fact is that it is still amazing to see nature in action. It took two lionesses to pin the zebra to the ground for what seemed like seconds. The power that lions possess is exhilarating. With grace they won the most difficult battle. I felt sadness for the zebra, but this is the circle of life, although it is so cruel.
I think I will never tire of being up close and personal with the wildlife of Africa. I’ve had the privilege of going on a couple of safaris, but this being my first safari in Botswana, I really couldn’t understand why I hadn’t traveled there before.
going back to camp
After our safari, we return to the camp. The guides built a fire and Michelle and I soon joined the rest of the tourists around the fire. Discussions involved the day’s sightseeing and mainly lion hunting tactics. I think it would take some of the tourists a long time to get over the initial shock of seeing something like that, as most of them found the experience simply horrible. The one thing everyone could agree on was how beautiful Botswana was and specifically the Moremi Wildlife Reserve.
After dinner and a relaxing drink, everyone headed to their tents with our armed guards for what would be our last night of our safari. I think this trip was more than Michelle and I could have hoped for and it definitely raised our expectations for our next wildlife adventure.