A leopard in the pool! My trip in Botswana

 

Victoria Falls

Here I am, despite being past the time to recount my trip to a "corner" much of Africa including: Botswana.
A country rich in landscapes as varied as who has the desire to preserve their land by the 'attack' of a mass tourism that would lead to ruin. Botswana has been in the past a British protectorate, and had the good fortune to discover the diamond fields one year after the declaration of independence could thus use these rich natural resources for their own benefit, instead of being exploited. But they are still many problems to solve, primarily health care: this is one of the countries with the highest spread of AIDS and there are still many problems related to childhood diseases and proper disinfection of water.
In Botswana there are several national parks (the Chobe, the Okavango Delta, the Kalahari ,...), but in reality the whole country is a park: There are few private reserves, compared to other African countries, such as near South Africa, and thanks to that, the animals are free to move continuously by following their traditional routes.
Our journey has tried to see at least 4 completely different landscape: the Chobe River, the desert, the swampy delta dell'Okavango, and the savanna.
My husband and I left Milan on 12 August 2003 via Johannesburg and we have reached the Victoria Falls, the first half of our trip: The waterfalls are truly majestic and open suddenly announced only by a huge cloud of steam raised by the the fall of water and a myriad of rainbows.
Even the Zambezi, the river that creates, is a very special river. After a night rest and we have a whole day, so we prefer to spend it, instead of at the poolside of our hotel but very special, making an excursion on the river rafting.
We start to board a bus through several villages that brings us to the shore where our tour begins, the bank is very steep, like a canyon and descends to the river on the ladder constructed of branches of plants intertwined in some way: this was definitely the most dangerous of movement, given that it fell on my shoulder with all equipment: life jacket vest, helmet and paddle!
Arrived at last to go up on the shore gommone where our leaders give us the simple instructions that we should follow every time we make a rapid approximate. Entirely clear, it is a pity that the first real rapid lose half of the crew, consisting of some French guys. We may not have understood where we are, but the Zambezi is not just like the Sesia is nice finish in water, were it not that the river is definitely infested by crocodiles! Immediately spotted one, the governing board to change significantly, and our movements become completely synchronized and determined!
Upon arrival, about 3 hours and 20 rapids later, we are exhausted by the effort. We are in for a snack rich but .... on top of the canyon! Thus began the arduous ascent, again on poles linked together to form rudimentary scale, but at least we do not have the weight of the equipment.
Un'escursione very tiring but a very beautiful landscape.
To return to our hotel, the Royal Livingstone, finally giving us a couple of hours relaxing by the pool and then witnessing a spectacular sunset on the veranda of which overlooks the waterfalls. The hotel has an enviable location and the service is impeccable, the only thing that left us a little '... not disappointed, but bitter, is the excess of the colonial style that requires the staff of the absurd divided by late XIX.

Chobe River

After a morning of relaxation starting with a bus and then by boat to our next destination: the Chobe River.
The area of the Chobe Park in fact is in Namibian territory is north of Botswana is the Caprivi Strip, a thin strip of land that belongs to Namibia. Given that Victoria Falls is situated in Zambia, within 10 km of our passports are filled with stamps of different customs. Arrived at the Chobe River boat change to arrive at our lodge, the Chobe Savanna, built on an island in the middle of the river! Here the welcome is very warm, nothing to do with the formalism of the Royal Livingstone: The lodge is operated by a pair of South Africa and is a dream! Each bungalow is furnished with natural materials and so wonderful, and the central room where the meals are held (on a long table at which all guests are seated and all the guides, as in a farm) is beautiful and well stocked book of photographs reportage and travel the area and then spend our lunch after reading the documents and reports of the guests on the guest book. In the afternoon we leave for our first safari, in a boat, to observe the rich fauna of the river, hippos, storks, crocodiles, buffaloes, baboons, but especially elephants, elephants, elephants! We observe for about an hour a group of these incredible pachyderms declined to drink on the banks of the river: there are many children who are spraying water at each other, trying to imitate the great and treated to a view from females and seems to be in a National Geographic documentary. Throughout the organization of the safari and bays of our tour group are in the & Delta Safaris, the best if you are traveling to Botswana.
Upon our return to the lodge we are told that at night you can not venture in the well-kept garden, because, although there is a ring of electrified, the animals still manage to come from a few weeks, un'ippopotama uses lie in one of flowerbeds and spend the night there! Dinner and then we are back in the room.
But during the night .... we are awakened by the noisy arrival of a huge herd of buffalo, who swam across the river, were permanently settled on a few dozen meters from the walls of the lodge. The operator tells us how the buffalo are among the most unpredictable animals, if indeed with all other animals need to stay property to be "saved" with the buffalo you must run (!) Because it attacks unexpectedly.

Savute

The following day we leave to explore other points of the river throughout the morning and after lunch we move: we return to the shore and from there to the airport to catch our flight to Savute. At the airport there is a strange ferment police everywhere, journalists with cameras. We are moving towards the runway where it is placed on our small plane.
Suddenly a police cordon there blocks: the president is coming. Instinctively, together with other local passengers, we put ourselves to applaud and ... President stops to make everyone (and repeat for each) to us the hand, before continuing his journey! As there will also be explained, reports here are all geared all'informalità and is not so strange that a president is still a healthy citizens and tourists!
Savute to fly, where the territory is decidedly desert. We recover the track (a strip of land and enough!) An off-road .. go! for the first safari in 4x4 after about 20 minutes we are still consuming a roll: in front of us was killed by an elephant some lionesses. I did not believe that they had so much strength, and was not a copy or old, or sick, explains our guide, was simply lagging behind compared to the group! Well, around there will be at least 15 lionesses, 2 males (beautiful) and a large litter and buffissima!
As well as jackals, hyenas, vultures, a real full of animals, a real windfall for us lovers of photography.
We reach the lodge situated around an artificial pool of water to which flock animals, simply remain seated on the terrace was built specially to see lots of passing.
Dinner and, since it is very cold (we are in winter and at night the temperature drops almost to zero), we withhold a chat with the guides around the fire, sipping some coffee.
Slowly many of the guests go to sleep accompanied by guides up to their rooms. We four, with a guide. Suddenly, with the tail of the eye, I run a black silhouette in the garden. "Attention, there is a lioness!" view all. We are real estate, petrified by the cold and fear, waiting for the black shadow that I saw the light exiting the lamp.
At about 5 meters from us there is the swimming pool of the lodge, lighted by a pair of lampioncini. The wait is nerve-wracking, the absolute silence, broken only by the rhythmic beat of the teeth of all four (the guide is not included!) And I do not think the cold! The shadow comes out into the open: it is a lioness, a leopard that beautiful movements slow and circumspect approaches the edge of the pool and ... began to drink with his pink tongue! The leopard cat is that perhaps more resembles our "kitty", with dimensions not just contained but not impressive. E 'bellissimo, and the clear reflection of the lanterns of the hair and mustache are almost silver. Our guide will remain property of whispers and quiet, no problem, we are already petrified of ours!
The leopard is a cat who does not like to be seen, is guarding, and the first noise that comes from the fact lodge run! We finally started to breathe and we relax a little 'but after an emotion like no one wants to go to sleep! Oblige us to do so, because tomorrow will be a busy day, having withdrawn our fellowship hot!
The next morning we spend the stories of what the other guests. Leaving for a safari in this beautiful area: we can see many elephants and the devastation they cause everywhere destroying everything they encounter on their journey. We remain impressed by how elephants are able to eat the baobab these huge trees are writers gnaw bark for their refreshing and rich in chlorophyll, until slaughter.
We meet a pair of cheetahs that relax us crossing the road and then lie down sonnecchianti the sun. We see many buffissimi warthog and many, many special birds. In the afternoon another safari.

Okawango Delta

The next morning fly to Camp Okavango, situated on the delta of the river that is not never met the sea. " This creates a huge Okavango delta that goes off in the Kalahari desert and forms a huge marsh rich in wildlife.
Our camp is not aimed just as he imagined: I was expecting something crude, hand in our tent of 30 square meters there are mahogany furniture, silver candelabras and Persian rugs! At least in the shower there is a nest of swallows! That a reproach arrabbiatissime out whenever we open the water!
Even here we are warned not to go out at night in our tent, danger iene (which caused some died in the past). Our first safari takes place in the afternoon, on board the mokoro, a typical local canoe flat bottom, the delta can sometimes be profound, sometimes very low with this canoe you can reach everywhere. Our safari is mainly dedicated to bird watching: we "armiamo" telescope and then tele-objective. At our arrival a surprise: there are rolling pants, street shoes and into the water! The appetizer is served on a small table placed in the middle of the water. None of us think about the various crocodiles seen up to a moment ago or the possibility of some disease! But who cares if it! Here is everything: the sunset (spectacular), the guide (very nice), flowers, animals and the gin and tonic! Do not miss anything!
Next day: safari on foot. Imagine the color of grass dry yellow. Imagine you walk in the middle, with a herb at least 1metro and a half. When you see the color of grass is exactly equal to that of the fur of a lion and the height of grass, which prevents to see if it is now in front of you .... understand how the spirit of addressing a "walking safari". To all this add the fact that in Botswana, by law, is prohibited circular tanks, including rangers, and then start praying to reckon that, in the long Serpentona single file that creates your group, the lion .... save you! Joking aside, our walking safari went well and I must say I walk away and stop to observe the animals without the encumbrance of the jeep was beautiful: elephants, giraffes, zebra, warthog, I have seen many. No meeting with the lion, but I must say .... better this way!

Sandibe

The next day we take a aereoplanino that as the journey goes on is getting smaller, and fly to Sandibe, a great lodge of the Conservation Corporation Africa (www.ccafrica.com). Here there are no protections, there is no electricity to keep the elephants away, and there are even no doors or windows to bungalow but only mosquito nets. The Lodge is fully immersed in the bush, completely camouflaged in it, without any barrier. E 'the maximum for those who want to stay in close contact with wild nature. Result: I have not closed eyes all night. The animals at night it is definitely trigger a continuous noise! At a certain point of the night feel of the shots and we wake up to soprassalto: "But it was not forbidden to carry arms ?!?". In fact, the day after we ask explanations and we are told that what we believed the shots were simply "taps" that elephants were the palm trees to drop their fruit in which they golosissimi. The problem is that when the fruits do not fall over themselves the elephant gets tired and does nothing but bring down the palm to see if there have been attacked!
The safaris take place here in 4x4 and our guide, Tsavo, has a contagious laugh at Eddie Murphy and makes us a lot of fun. Together with him, which is at the wheel, there is also a sighting boscimano, a lynx because he saw the animals at distances acknowledging crazy when we struggled with our powerful binoculars! Here we also did a night safari, with regard to the cats at night to go hunting, but unfortunately we have not seen anyone in action. Rather the second day we have witnessed an extraordinary sight for this area: a pair of rhinos blacks, very rare in these parts. Even the guides were armed with cameras to immortalize the event.
And here in Sandibe ends our tour, but the adventures since the flight back to Maun we did it on a tiny Cessna that flew 30 meters from the ground to the wind and driven by a guy the size of Bud Spencer. There seemed to be a box of meat for the lions ready to open!
The tour was beautiful and full of emotions, nature watching a show, domestic flights, for those who, like me, do not particularly like the plane (but are not conditioned by this, heroically!) Are not the maximum, given the small size of the aircraft.
If you choose Botswana as a destination to remember to go with a lighter bag for two reasons: the aircraft does not allow you to upload if it exceeds certain size (Remember the Samsonite, soft luggage only) and a certain weight, and all lodge laundry service is flawless, fast, but above all free.