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Published: December 19th 2007
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We left Savuti around 6AM to make the drive to Serondela…also in Chobe National Park. Along the way we stopped by Morgan’s home village. And in the little village lives less than 10 people! Right now his six year old daughter is staying with his mother. When we arrived I expected her, Game (pronounced Ha-May), to run over and say hi to her father…unfortunately she didn’t even really speak…it was sort of awkward and I’m sure it’s cuz she doesn’t get to see her father that often…she lives with her mother most of the time in Maun. And while life in Botswana is good in comparison to other African countries, it still is not living like we know it in the Western world…I’m sure Morgan works his tail off so he can bring his money back home and provide for his family and when Game gets older hopefully she’ll understand and have an appreciation for her father and what he is trying to do. And to make things even worse, Morgan was informed as we were leaving that his grandmother just passed away…within a few hours of our arrival. SO so sad…she lived an exceptionally long life, by any standards…she was
97 and had a heart attack but was very active and completely “with it” all the way through.
On a happier note, we celebrated Lena’s 60th birthday with a cake and candles…it was really cute how surprised she was that they were able to do this for her especially out in the campsites and away from it all. I also learned that Lena and Gert did have a camera, but it was in the bag with the rest of the stolen personal items! I’m not sure what I would have done…I think I would have postponed the safari if I could.
Our first day in Serondela we had seen other safari vehicles scoping out a leopard in the area…it was kind of fun trying to figure out where the leopard was based on its tracks and the sounds of the alarm calls from the impala and the birds. A full on leopard chase…we finally found it…many props to Morgan for being the first guide to figure it out - shortly thereafter another 4 vehicles showed up. It was amazing that we were all so excited by a dot on the rocks, it was that far away!
A
few different thoughts….Have I mentioned the birds yet? Well they are just incredible. And some of them are so beautiful and colorful its surreal to think they really exist and weren’t just made up. For example Malachite Kingfishers, European Rollers, Lilac-breasted Rollers, and Carmine Bee-eaters. Next, the Baobab trees are also pretty cool…their trunks are extremely wide and said to be some of the oldest trees on earth. And the dung beetles. Literally…they go to piles of elephant shit and gather up a ball and roll it away so they can lay their egg inside of it. Once the egg hatches, the baby dung beetle eats the elephant poo for nutrition until he finds its way out. These things are the most disgusting and makes-your-skin-crawl creatures I have ever seen…they are massive and make the most disturbing sounds as they fly…as much of an impact as nails on a chalkboard. And they fly around the lights and then do this suicide dive down to the ground…its quite bizarre and you definitely don’t want to be in the way of it kamikaze-ing.
Oh and the baboons! They were effing everywhere…they were all along the roads and the campsites…hoards of them
and all of these tiny little young ones!
There were lots more people in Chobe National Park as seen by the number of safari trucks…I think since Kasane is a relatively bigger town and has an airport. Anyway, the area of Serondela seemed more spread out and it was incredible green. At first I wanted to say better weather, but when we went on our cruise down the Chobe River we got slammed with a pretty big thunderstorm…absolutely pouring and soaking wet! Of all the days I chose to wear all white this was probably the worst luck I had! Sheesh!
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