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115 litres of drinking water, 255 litres of petrol, 65 litres of wine, 6 bottles of spirits
8kgs of rice, 5kgs of pasta, 12kgs of potatoes, 45 tins of food
80kgs of frozen meat and fish, 8 litres of long life milk
48 bags of crisps, 12 packets of biscuits & crackers
1 very large tin of Stuart's homemade rusks
12 Xmas puddings (well they were half price after Christmas!)
2 crates of car & trailer spares, 4 bags of charcoal, 4 bags of wood,
2 spare tyres (car), 1 spare tyre (trailer)
4 chairs 2 tables, cameras & binoculars, bird & mammal guides
One rooftop tent, one trailer tent, bedding & clothing
The above list of essential equipment could only mean one thing, Lesley & Bill were coming on holiday with us (again!) In 2008 we took them on a whirlwind tour of South African national and state parks, this time (January/February 2011) we were going to spend the whole time (5weeks) in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
As we sat waiting for them at Upington airport one major worry (apart from whether we were at the right airport) was foremost in my mind, was 65 litres of wine sufficient? There was also the slight problem that the car was full and we hadn't even got them or their luggage in yet!
As if it wasn't going to be tricky enough logistically with 4 adults in a desert, we'd decided to make it even harder. We would be spending 14 days of the holiday in the Botswana side of the park, where the roads were tougher, distances greater, re-fuelling opportunities difficult and water supplies erratic.
In the event things worked out surprisingly well! Despite the onset of record annual rains that produced grass tall enough to hide elephants (we never saw any so it proves the point) we were very lucky with our animal sightings and soon had leopards, cheetahs, lions and many birds of prey on the checklist.
The drive over sand dunes to the remote Mabuasehube part of the park was easier than expected, despite the load (I'll refer to Lesley by name from now on) in the car and trailer. OK so we had a few moments where the car was airborne, with a brief zero gravity sensation, and I did manage to land the whole rig completely off track once (surprisingly difficult to do in deep sand even if trying!)
Mabuasehube is always worth the effort, particularly around Mpayathutlwa Pan, where the resident lion pride of 1 male, 3 lioness and 8 cubs was busy wreaking havoc on our Gaborone friends' Dian & Elzana's campsite when we arrived.
Having chewed their way through chairs, shoes and tent covers (the lions that is, not Dian & Elzana) the pride joined us on our camp late the next day, forcing us to retire to the safety of the car at sundown (there are no fences around the camps in Botswana). The sight of the 3 lionesses charging towards us, captured in the car headlights, was an exhilarating moment for us all, but particularly for Lesley who had her first bowel movement of the holiday!
The weather was no less spectacular than the animals. Whilst we were huddled under the A frame shelter at the appropriately named Lesholoago (Place of Death) Pan campsite, a clap of thunder was so close and loud we all did a spontaneous scream (though Bill and I insisted we were just clearing our throats).
The Pans in Mabuasehube, bone dry during our August 2010 visit, were soon filled with water, an event that the resident wildebeest herds greeted with apparent joy. Incredibly a small flock of ducks put in an appearance the next day, where did they come from?
Fuel reserves became an issue (carrying Lesley around was forcing the V8to drink 30 litres per 100 kilometres) but we were able to buy 40 litres from the rangers, and we also re-filled our 70 litre water tank from the same source.
Sadly the fridge batteries expired on Day 8, so we ended up with warm beer and, I'm ashamed to admit it, no ice for the Gin & Tonics. We could do nothing about the ice but experimented with beer cans wrapped in wet towels and hung up in the breeze, a complete waste of time when the ambient temperature is 36C! After two days of warm Chateau Cardboard (3 litre boxed white wine) we accepted defeat and retreated to the relative civilisation of Nossob camp in the South African side of the park (electricity, showers and a swimming pool no less!)
There we were very grateful for the generous hospitality of Brent Whittington, the Section Ranger, and his wife Madel, bird expert and demon cook. Not only did they provide meals and more rusks, they had let us store our frozen food and a ton of supplies in their house whilst we were in Mabua, possibly the only reason why we were able to get the car and trailer over the dunes.
North of Nossob, whilst visiting Polentswa and Grootkolk wilderness camps, we were lucky enough to witness a very special and rare event, Lesley washing up. No, only joking, we sat and watched huge and very noisy bullfrogs taking advantage of the copious rains to extract themselves from the previously rock hard earth and mate. There was also a fascinating stand off between two youngish lions and 10 hyaenas over a kill that ended when a large mature male lion ran in and took the kill for himself.
OK so there were a few gremlins in the equipment. Politely ignoring a smell of rotten eggs for a week, I finally realised it was not Bill, or even Lesley, but a faulty gas pipe connection in the trailer.
The car electrics got slightly damp thanks to the continuous rains and stretches of deep water on the roads. For some reason applying the brakes resulted in the headlights and hazard warnings flashing in sequence, with the dashboard illumination light joining in.
This was not a major problem except on pre dawn game drives when oncoming vehicles were treated to a spectacular and impromptu "son et lumiere". During moments like that you felt proud to be in a Landrover, how many Toyotas could do that?
Predictably the Landrover cooling system had one of it's half yearly leaks, something that used to freak us out but now nothing that a spare piece of rubber hose, a couple of jubilee clips, some rubber sealant, duct tape and Andre (ace bush mechanic) couldn't sort out.
Besides the animals the human encounters in KTP were also special. We met up again with Erna & Andre from Nelspruit, Ken & Nancy from Cape Town, Sonja & Josef from Switzerland, Jana and Charlie from the Czech Republic and Kathy & Manfred from Cape Town. Isaac and Liesel produced a memorable braai at Rooiputs despite the thunderstorm from hell, a biblical deluge and the close presence of a large and annoyed Cape Cobra. Thanks again Isaac & Liesel, and thanks for all the meat.
We also had pleasure in making new friends, Charlie and Emma (thanks for the meals, the 7 pebbles discussions and unfortunately for you we are bound to visit Ingwelala), Bob & Lee from Idaho via the Cape, Eva & Helmut from Austria, Andy & Bev from Australia (we don't encounter many Aussies, but what a coincidence just after England thrashed them in the Ashes Test series down under!!!), Peter & May, Roger & Julia (please put that leopard/bat eared fox encounter on You Tube) and Alfred the Dutchman.
Despite the equipment failures (oops I promised not to mention Lesley & Bill's sex life, especially not the 5am wake up rummage) the trip went well, if you measure success by the fact that we didn't fall out! My legendary patience and mellow temperament no doubt helped smooth things! Thanks for making it a memorable trip guys. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did, love to do it again but can we skip the 5am wake up calls please. Angela gets very grumpy without a lie-in; come to think of it she gets very grumpy even with a lie-in!
(Just as a postscript never fly with Lesley & Bill. They flew to South Africa and back to the UK with that well known international carrier, Air Afrikiyah, based in…Tripoli and owned by the Libyan government. Fortunately they were one week ahead of the cruise missiles!)
Having spent 5 weeks in the desert there was only one thing to do after dropping Lesley "Lion Whisperer" & Bill "Batman" at the airport, we re-stocked and returned to the park for another month of rain, including floods at Mata Mata, wildlife (the highlight of this time was a close encounter with a honey badger and it's cub) and wilderness (thanks for the Loffies trip Brent & Madel).
Before returning to the park we had to exit South Africa, and during the process were warned that if we attempted to return through that border at any time in the future we would only receive a 7 day visa. This apparently was the rule that should apply at all SA borders after visitors have used up their 3 month visa. So much for a recent speech by President Zuma welcoming long stay tourists to the country because they were good for the economy!
So with South Africa closing the door on us, the only choice was to head for Namibia, not our favourite destination in Africa as we have seen enough gravel roads and sand dunes to last a lifetime, but beggars can't be choosers (and judging by the price of camping in Namibia we would shortly be beggars!)
Next stop, Windhoek to get some fan belt pulleys replaced on the Landrover, then Botswana, and a booking made over a year ago for Xakanaxa camp in the Moremi game reserve next to the Okavango Delta. If we'd known then that the Delta is now experiencing some of the highest water levels of the last one hundred years we wouldn't have made the booking! Oh well, perhaps we can hire a submarine!
If we've forgotten to mention anyone, sorry, but senility is setting in!
- comments
Emma Franklin You guys were great! We really enjoyed your company, and sharing your knowledge and experiences. Got the hyena and the cheetahs after you left! Now planning our next trip. See back in Africa soon I hope.
Charlie Africa misses you...........come back soon! had the closest brush with Breeding Elephants 2 days ago. Lions spooked them on a kill so they made a dash for the nearest exit - and I was in the way....you must have heard the trumpet calls in Windhoek? Hope Moremi works out - some great scuba there these days!!
Ralph & Angela Hi Charlie & Emma Enjoyed your company too. We will certainly be back to Africa, good luck with the re-build and watch out for the elephants!