Day 3 – Botswana Style

Up early and out. Game drive – giraffes and warthogs mostly. On our way to Khwai we stopped at some Rock art by the side of the road. This is artwork made by san people and it’s thought that the art work is over 1000 years old. To create the colours, they iron oxide mixed with animal fats and blood to create the ink that has lasted so long and doesn’t get washed off by the rain.

We arrived into the campsite that seemed to be a lot more populated than the last sites we had used. While sitting up camp we noticed two elephants wondering around the campsite. All of a a sudden we heard a elephant trumpet sound and turned around to see it charge at Joe who was digging the hole for our toilet at the time. Joe made a quick dash for a tree to hide behind until the elephant backed away. Gift drummed on the table to help the elephant decide to leave. Scary stuff! Nobody wants to be squashed by an elephant!

Lunch consisted of chicken drumsticks and potato salad. How do they make this stuff in the middle of nowhere?!

Once camp was set up and lunch had been scoffed, it was time for a shower bush style. The second encounter for most of us. Ali even decided to try and wash her hair. Not sure how much water was left afterwards!

As the day cooled off a little, we headed out on another game drive. We saw two leopards, mother and child, guarded their antelope catch. We watched them for ages as they stretched, groomed, slept and played. Our guide positioned vehicle so that we had an excellent view at all times, but without blocking anyone else. Quite a skill! We then went to a wide patch of water, around which sat over fifty hippos. They were resting in the sun and as we watched and the temperature cooled, they started to wake and move around. Suddenly the guide seemed to gain a sense of urgency. We weren’t sure what happening at first. Lots of conversations were had with other guides and it transpired that there was a pack of wild dogs, which a very rare, moving along the road. We rushed to catch up with them. It was quite a sight – twenty wild dogs moving as a pack down the middle of the road, as the sun set. The dust from the cars on the road made it seem even more eerie. We followed the dogs for a while before returning to camp.

Beef stroganoff for dinner, mmm. Then an early night beer another early start!

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