In the Bush

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Well, Thus far I have not been doing so well at the keeping the blog updated ordeal.

In my defense, in order to update a blog, one must have proper internet access, which I have not.

Where do I even begin!

Our journey began in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana in a small eco camp operated by Wilderness Safaris. In order to Get there, we flew Air Botswana commercially from Johannesburg to Maun, Botswana. After that we took a small single engine Cessna charter flight to the Kalahari Desert. From there we met our guide, Willy, and drove back to the camp, where we were greeted by a singing crowd. It was such a friendly atmosphere to be greeted with. The managers, Olivia from Ireland and Peter from Australia, were equally as charming.

Our rooms were simple. Small. Eco-Friendly. The entire camp was solar powered and the water was saline. It didnt bother me one bit, except for when the Kalahari heat hit. And man, when that happened, it was hot as hell.

Our safari drives were long and hot. Our days would begin at our 4:30 AM wakeup knock! knock!, then breakfast, and in the Land Rover by 5:30ish. We would try to shoot for 5:15, but trying to get our family out the door is like trying to get a herd of feral cats into a wagon. From there we would drive about 2 hours to Deception Valley, and from there the game viewing would begin.

Our faithful companions of the trip were the Oryks, the Springbok, and the Giraffe. we have established that the giraffe is the family totem, because apparently they are a very lucky sighting in the Kalahari, but we saw them everyday. We also made friends with the meerkats, the wildebeasts, the bat-eared fox, the jackals, the ostrich, even some cats. We saw a few cheetah and a few lions.

In the Kalahari, it wasn't necessarily about seeing as many animals as we could because, obviously, it is a desert, and less water means less animals. It was about the hunt. We would spend 8 or 9 hour days sitting in that Land Rover searching, scouting the area looking for our ultimate find, the cats. throughout the whole time, we would all have our binoculars at our eyes, cameras at the ready just in case, and the repetitive shouting (usually from Shannon) of "OHHH ITS A LION! No wait.... its a termite mound." When we finally did find what we were looking for, it was all about the satisfaction of finding what we had just spent so long looking for.

I will add photos as soon as I get internet that is better than what I am currently using.

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