The 5:30 wake up happened without too much fuss. We packed our tents and had breakfast before packing the van and setting off, all before 7am! We went back to see where the lions had been making short work of the dead buffalo the night before and sure enough, it had largely gone! They were still there making sure they had eaten every last bit. We then set off for a different part of Chobe, stopping along the way to view any animals that we came across. The most impressive was a huge herd of wildebeest spread on both sides of the road.
The road started out smooth and tarmacked. The 120km seemed like it would be easy! Only when the road turned abruptly to sand did we realise why the journey would take longer! We stopped to let some air out of the tyres and had a cup of coffee. It’s difficult to describe just how bumpy the road was and how fast our guide was capably driving along it! Despite the car having 3 sets of gears, 4 wheel drive and a differential lock, we did get stuck in deep sand once. The resolution to this seemed to be to remove the trailer and reattach it using a tow rope, which gave the car a long enough period of time with reduced weight to get it out of the sand. I suspect that it isn’t the first time the guides have been stuck in the sand!
By lunchtime, we had reached our campsite in Savuti. We set up camp and had lunch. Mmm pasta salad! Then came the next adventure – the outside shower! Showering in the bush involved hanging a cone shaped bucket from a tree and standing inside the cuboid tent. The tap on the bucket can be used to let just enough water out for you to shower. It works surprisingly well and being clean, if only temporarily, was a lovely feeling.
At 4pm, we set out on a game drive. At first, it was still to warm and most of the animals were still sleeping in the shade. Slowly though, more animals came into view. Jackals antelopes and the cory-bastard bird first. Then the highlight of the evening; a leopard. Sat on a rock as if posing for photos. He got down and sloped off to another rock, posing again. He must have sat on every high point in the area, and with our guide’s capable manoeuvring, we had an excellent view of the action. The leopard finally sloped off, and as the sun set, we headed back towards the camp, stopping for sunset photographs on the way.
Dinner was an amazing chicken stir fry with noodles, followed by baked apples stuffed with honey and muesli. We were totally spoilt! Accompanied by a glass of wine and lots of conversations about governments, elections, travelling and general chit chat, the evening was excellent. We even discovered that our guide could make bread on an open fire – definitely trying that with the guides when we get home. As the temperature dropped, we had an early night before another 5:30 start.
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