Africa: Day 3 (Kasane + Nata, Botswana)

I’m currently laying in bed in a fancy unlocked tent, steps from 30+ elephants drinking at the camp watering hole. They’ve become much more pushy as the evening has gone on and their calls have grown even louder.

…but let’s start at the beginning of the day.

5AM came early, not to mention dark, as the lodge had several power outages overnight (expected), but we couldn’t have been more ready for our morning safari. We were split up into two open-air LandRovers - ours driven by Captain Jack. Captain Jack is from the area and has been driving for this safari group for over 15 years. Quite literally, he has watched some of the animals grow up and his experience was apparent in the way he spoke about the drama between herds of lions, sightings of the spotted leopards, etc.

Our safari took place in the Chobe National Park. 11,700 sq km, this is an unfenced park and animals are free to roam in and out as they please. Home to over 85,000 elephants and every other animal you can imagine, it was the perfect place to spend the morning. Throughout the 4 hour adventure, we came nose to nose with impalas, giraffes and elephants, saw fox, antelope, monkeys, leopards…but the most heart-pounding experience? The three sisters. Split from the lion herd a few years ago, the three sisters have continued prowling the lands together despite two brothers that joined and ultimately left to rejoin the original herd. We had the opportunity to watch them stalk their prey out in the distance to start the trek and ended with them taking a mid-morning nap right by the road.

What struck me most was how unfazed all of the animals were by the trucks coming through the park. While we kept our voices low and our colors neutral, the engines are quite loud and the animals seemed absolutely unbothered that we were sitting feet away from them while they ate and slept the day away. From what our guide told us, they see the truck as a singular object, one they’re familiar with, and they won’t run scared…or charge…unless someone were to get out. Needless to say, we stayed put.

Arrived back to camp at 10 to breakfast, a quick pack and a departure for Elephant Sands about 3 hours south from where we were in Botswana. We made another stop as we crossed from the ‘red zone’ to the ‘green zone’ to sanitize our shoes at the ‘foot and mouth control center.’ Apparently, this disease is carried by the buffalo in northern Botswana and while they are seemingly unaffected by the disease, that’s not the case for other species. Therefore, giant fences have been set all along the horizontal split of the country and they do their best to ensure that the trucks…and human shoes…coming in are not bringing it with us either.

Made it to Elephant Sands for the night. A campsite with full room/bathroom sized tents, dining hall, bar and swimming pool encircles a huge watering hole for elephants. We had the afternoon to relax…aka sit and watch these majestic creatures do their thing…followed by the most incredible meal we’ve had yet by the candlelight and soundtrack of nature. Melt in your mouth steak, local to Botswana, fresh vegetables, butternut squash, breads, hand whipped butter…even a dessert of an African-style bread pudding.