It's been a wild day

  Chobe National Park, Botswana
November 07, 2011We were up at 5:00 for tea & muffins, then departed a 6:00 with Bee, Penny, Mark, Bob & Barb. We have a Japanese couple joining us too, so the seating is not as comfortable as last night.

The first thing that we spotted was impalas, of course. We saw a new animal, a banded mongoose.

We went to see the wild dogs again. They were in the same spot as last night. It was a bit cooler, so more of them were laying outside, even some of the youngsters. They were all napping until the dog guarding (each pack has a dominant female too) growled. Instantly the entire pack was on their feet & seemingly went to pre-determined positions, scanning the area for danger or prey & waited for another command Elephant. A short while later it was decided that it was a false alarm & everyone laid back down. Here are wild dog fun facts - they spread out when they are hunting & run their prey, then they begin taking bites & eating while still chasing their prey, each dog has a job - guard duty, hunter, watching the pups & so on, they all work together as a family unit which is why they are Matthew's favourite animal.

We watched some elephants who had just arrived from Namibia on the other side of the Chobe River, climb up the bank, up to our vehicle & cross over to start feeding & dusting themselves with sand.

From there we went down by the river bed to see if we could find the lions. We saw a lot of the usual suspects, but no lions!

After a huge brunch we went down to the river for the boat cruise with Connie & 11 other passengers On Alert.

We were able to watch a herd of elephants swim across the Chobe River with their trunks up like periscopes so they could breath. Even the babies can swim with help from their mothers.

We saw a huge herd of buffalo, normally we only see the generals. The group took several guesses as to how many were there. The numbers that were proposed ranged from 100 - 500. Bill I both estimated around 250-275. Among the buffalo were storks, herons, impalas, crocs & lapwings. The croc was hanging nearby the shore, keeping a close eye on everything, hoping for opportunity for an easy meal, but no luck while we were there. Near the area where we turned around to head back we saw a new animal, a vervet monkey. He was running along the bank & jumping from limb to limb & tree to tree.

During the cruise Bill & I both tried to take photos of the swallows, but mostly took photos of the water! Right near the dock we spotted a huge croc in the water Resting. He must have been at least 2.5 meters. It was impressive. Then, we also spotted another new creature, a water monitor lizard. It was a fraction of the size of the one in Bangkok, but pretty neat still. One neat little bird is a jacana. I remember the name by saying Jack Hanna. This bird is also known as the Jesus bird because he walks on water due to his great balance and large feet.

We disembarked at the hotel & were met by Ishmael. He introduced us to James Wilson, the International Travel Trade & Branding Development Manager for the lodge. James took us to the bar for a Rock Shanty, then took Bill on a tour of the facility while I went back to the room to load photos onto the MacBook. On my way back to the room I saw 3 adult wart hogs (warty) and 1 baby warty. He was so tiny & sweet. He nuzzled his Mom, then decided to have some lunch from her.

Bill joined me in the room & we went down to the restaurant for lunch Baby. While there we saw a new animal that was grazing along the edge of the property, a bushbuck. He reminds me a lot of the deer that we would see in Ontario. We were entertained by some locals with traditional song & dance. It was a really good show!

After lunch Bill had a nap while I worked on the blog.

Around 3:30 we went down for some tea, then boarded the vehicle for our evening drive with our gang & Bee.

It was a fun drive tonight. We spent a lot of time looking at a lot of giraffes, more than 20. Here are some giraffe fun facts - they are the animals with the highest blood pressure to get blood to their brains, & the colour of their spots may be darker when they are younger, but it really does not differentiate anything else. We saw one giraffe cross the road, he stopped and looked both ways before crossing the road The other Locals.

We did not take a lot of photos because we drove through desolate areas looking for the lions. We did not find them! Then we went down by the river & it was like an African experience that you would envision. Over a vast open floodplain we saw zebras, giraffes, impalas, then a herd of buffalos that was even larger than the one from the cruise.

It was starting to get late, so we headed up for our sundowner. Bill took a really neat photo of Mark & Penny - their refection in the side mirror. They said that this photo will go up with all of their other arty photos. Bee was trying to speed us along because she had not given up hope on seeing the lions. We reluctantly put down our drinks & climbed back up into the vehicle.

Then when it was almost completely dark, Bill said "stop I see a lion!" Another Baby. I said something that cannot be repeated on the blog, essentially I thought he was joking at first. But he was not! We saw a HUGE male we stopped and soon we saw several females & their kittens too. It was so beautiful! It was too dark & they were too far away for photos, but we really enjoyed watching them through the binoculars. Bee called her fellow guides & they joined us for the show.

We overstayed our welcome, not for the lions, but for our guides because it is the park rules that we are in the lodge grounds by 7:00, so all vehicles took off like a bat outta Hell! We had some great fun jockeying for position & with some encouragement from us & some wise road selections, Bee was the victor & brought us back to the lodge in the #1 position!! The Americans were pissed. LOL!

Bill & I cleaned up & headed to the restaurant for dinner Elephants Swimming. Along the way we could hear some drumming, so we followed the candle lit path & the sound down to the Boma by the river. A Boma is a traditional BBQ. The staff outdid themselves & prepared a fantastic feast of chicken kabobs, tuna kabobs, pulled beef, steak, impala, crocodile, & so much more. One thing that we really enjoyed was a dough that one of the chefs was forming into oval, then grilling it. I don't recall the name, but it is a Botswana speciality. It reminds me of the pitas that they serve at Mazzar in Windsor. During dinner we were entertained with music, singing & dancing. At the end of dinner the staff brought out a cake & sang Happy Anniversary to Bob & Barb for their 47th.

After dinner we looked a photos & worked on the blog until most people had returned to their rooms. We headed up to the bar & used the wifi for 30 minutes, Bill could not resist having another Talisker before calling it a (late) night once again.


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