On tour with the Hobbos

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No superlatives can really capture Africa. It's vast, rich, fantastic, hot, remote, amazing and so much more.

I'm writing this at our camp during our hot lunchtime siesta. It won't be posted for another week because there is no internet in this remote place. I'm quite happy about that. It serves to remind me what life was like just 15 or so years ago when we didn't carry smart phones as an extension of our arms!!

Our all Aussie tour group comprises eight people, five of whom are part of the Hobson family, hence the name of this post. Siblings Peter, Ian and Carol are travelling with Peter's wife Vicky and Carol's partner Brian. Ian and Carol are twins and are undertaking the trip to celebrate their 60th birthdays. The eighth member of the group is Aussie Kiwi Campbell, called Cam for short. He's travelling on his own, his first trip alone since his wife was diagnosed with dementia. We're all getting on famously. There's plenty of joking around and we're thoroughly enjoying sharing the African experience with each other.

Our tour guide KK whose real name is Keokeditswe is a native Botswanie who is proud of his nation's transformation from poverty ridden to prosperity thanks to the mining, tourism and beef. We're enjoying his stories about all the wonderful animals and his country's history and culture. His knowledge of Botswana and it's animals is amazing. His passion for his country is contagious. Botswana will soon celebrate 51 years of independence and it's hard not to be impressed by the two national parks we visited. Both were created to preserve the wild animals and in turn provide an amazing tourism destination. It is truly amazing to be able to drive around and see wild animals in their natural habitat. It's nothing like a zoo. Just extraordinary.

As well as the commentary there are plenty of other great things about this tour. The camp equipment, vehicle, food and drinks are all great. Fairly basic but with fabulous helpers who set up the camp, fill up the camp showers, cook and keep the beer cold. What more could a bunch of Aussies on tour need.

Our tour is eight nights of camping and one in a lodge in Livingstone in Zambia. The first four nights are in the Moremi Game Reserve at Xakanaxa and Khwai River respectively, and then four in the Chobe National Park at Savuti and then Serondella. It's hot dry country with lots of vegetation that looks like it's dead. Plenty of camouflage for the animals.

On our second night we literally had a large herd of elephants walk through our campsite shortly after retiring. My mum always used the saying 'you kids sound like a herd of elephants' and she'd be surprised to know that despite their sheer size, they are actually fairly quiet as they walk. However, they make loud deep gurgling sounds and pull branches off trees that come crashing down. KK assured us that wild animals view our tents as solid impenetrable objects so we're completely safe. Over night we heard a variety of animals including lions, hyenas, hippos, wild dogs and more.

I won't list all the animals we've seen because it's such an exhaustive list, but on day three the trip had already surpassed my expectations in terms of animal sightings and general enjoyment. It's addictive driving around for hours looking for animals. You just want more and more no matter how many you encounter.

The highlight of animal encounters was an evening safari in Savuti where we visited a waterhole. On one side of the waterhole was a heard of elephants complete with babies, on the other side were two lions keeping watch. The waterhole was fairly small and it was fascinating to watch the interaction between them. The bull elephant chased one of the lions away by stamping his feet and acting really aggressive. It was like watching a wildlife documentary right in front of you. There was plenty of pictures and videos recorded but it was also great to just sit and watch and take it all in.

KK has a great laconic sense of humour and after listening to our banter about the Big Five, he told us about the Ugly Five which comprises Warthog, Hyena, Wildebeest, Vulture and Maribou Stork. But I'm not keen on ugliness so I've created my own two lists which will be the subject of another two posts - the Cute Five (think baby animals and monkeys) and the Magnificent Seven.

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Photos

Pic 1
Savuti campsite

Pic 2
The group with our guide KK

Pic 3
Waterhole

Pic 4
Lilac-breasted roller in action

Pic 4
Freeloaders

Comments

[Liz]

On Tour with the Hobbos
We are so envious - definitely on my next to do list after Patagonia and the Antartica