Day Trip to Moremi Game Reserve

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Up at 4:30 am for a 5 am start. It is a 2-hour drive to the South Entrance from Maun. It was very cold in the open safari vehicle on the highway out of Maun, even with lots of clothes on and a blanket provided by our driver. As we approached Moremi, the sun rose, lighting up the few clouds on the horizon with a gold colour.

After a quick stop for a breakfast snack, we start a much slower game drive. The sun quickly warms up and we shed layers. Right away we notice how dry everything is, and although we see animals and birds, they are much fewer than when we were there 3 years ago. Lots of impala and elephants. Some hippos crowded into a very small pool. A small herd of red lechwe near the hippo pools. Mostly, we just enjoy the day.

At our lunch stop, we just got started eating when we spy a large bull elephant ambling our way. As he gets closer, still not noticing us, we get more and more alarmed. After hastily packing up, we get out the cameras, hoping to get some nice images of this magnificent bull. Still, he approaches. At the last minute, when he notices us and starts kicking up dust and flapping his ears, we jump into the vehicle, and our driver guns the engines out of there. Whew! This could have been much more serious.

Back to the Maun Lodge in the dark after a long ride back. We don't recommend just a day trip into Moremi because you really can only scratch the surface, but for us this was a bonus day before joining up with Penduka Safaris for the 8-day trip into the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. And we have done a mobile safari into Moremi on a previous trip.

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