Stef one of our German guides wrote the below blog about her experiences on the Botswana Wild Side BT14. I have done this tour a couple of times now and each time, I come out of the bush in Kasane, Botswana with a couple hundred of photos, amazing memories and a very happy group of people. To any and every person that is willing to experience an adventure and the very best of wildlife, I will recommend this tour, the Botswana Wildside camping tour. No other tour brings you closer to the bush and its wildlife, no other tour allows you the amount of time on game drive, no other tour offers better opportunities to experience the raw nature of the African Bush here, in Southern Africa.

Six people joined me on this trip, starting in Johannesburg and ending in Livingstone. It took less than a day for the group to be a close knit family. I was having a feeling that this was going to be a fantastic tour, albeit cold at night due to the season. The trees have started to drop their leaves and most of them stand bare and allow for an added distance view into the bush. Except for the mopani bushveld. They just block the view and it is not rare to come across an elelphant munching behind such bushes and then trumpeting at the vehicle because we drove past him without seeing him and thus were too close for his comfort!

It is no surprise that most blog entries are about this very tour. There is always something to talk about that happens on this tour! Always … And while I could write pages about that last one I did, let me shorten it to a few stories, some tales of the Botswana Bush …

Of mice and owls
Setting up camp at Moremi, my collegue Jame made sure to dig a super deep latrine for the bushy bushy. It felt like we could almost see through the earth to the other side it was so deep. Every time we set up camp, the bushy bushy needs to be dug anew and it is of advantage if it is deep enough as to not have to dig another hole while we are still at the same campsite. Once everything was set up, lunch was enjoyed and a bit of siesta was had, we went for our first game drive in Moremi. It was a lovely afternoon game drive and we enjoyed watching an elephant bull digging for some soil as he was going for the minerals in it. A very big herd of lechwe was surrounding us on the open plains and sheltering a very small fawn, probably not more than a few weeks old. Everyone made use of the golden hour, the descending sun shining on the yellow grass really adding a special hue to every picture. The temperatures dropped immediately and the woolly blankets came in handy. Back at our camp, the first thing to do was to grab a torch as we were just about running out of day light. I was busy cooking dinner when I saw two clients busy at the bushy bushy but not using the bushy bushy. They were digging? Or what was going on there? “There are mice in our hole, a mama and her two babies! We are trying to save them … “ Ah you just never know what’s going to happen on this job. Saving mice out of the bushy bushy hole, I am sure there are more pleasant things to do at that time of the hour like enjoying a drink around campfire but the girls were very focussed on the task. The mice needed to be saved. And they managed!! I wasn’t there to witness the successful recovery of these rodents but it was documented for friends and family at home. After all, who would believe that kind of story … Not long after the mice were set free, I see my clients shining their torches toward the camel thorn acacia surrounding our camp. There, just above our tents really, sat a beautiful Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, the biggest owl we have here in Southern Africa. She is massive and absolutely gorgeous (I couldn’t hide my love for these birds) and on her menu are birds, reptiles and rodents! Oh dear, those rescued mice might face a really tough night. The owl was keeping us company throughout the night, swooping from tree to the ground and back up into another tree. Even after we went to bed she was there as I could hear her calling all night. Another one even joined the call and only in the morning when it was time to get up did they disappear. I wonder if the mouse family survived the night? Well later that day there were mice AGAIN in that bloody hole and it seems like Jame managed to dig the hole past a mouse channel and they just dropped in. No wonder the owl liked our ‘company’, we trapped dinner for her! And released it right into her talons …

Descending vultures and what to find there
Vultures are fascinating. I love these huge birds and I know that not many people really like them as they are considered ugly and dirty. But they are facing a tough future, all species being at least listened as near-threatened and numbers are going down daily due to poisoning, electrocution, habitat loss. These birds are heavy and rely on thermal winds to help them rise high up into the skies from where their excellent sight is helping them find a carcass. If you find them in large numbers, all descending during the day at a certain place, you can be sure to find something dead. So when we came across this sight of a large numbers of vultures already sitting in various trees and on top of termite mounds, many more still landing in the area, we went to have a glimpse. I was thinking lions with a kill but we just couldn’t see well. The vultures were all over so we didn’t really know where to look. I was scanning the bushes with my binocs when one of my clients said “hyena”! I got excited, something was definitely dead if hyenas were around. But no, it wasn’t a hyena at all, it was a wild dog!! How very lucky we were as it was around noon and the bush can be very quiet during that time of the day. It wasn’t just one dog though, it was two that we could see of which one was eating on a freshly killed male lechwe. The other one was guarding. I couldn’t believe our luck! African Wild Dogs are highly threatened and facing extinction. They are rare to see and if one is lucky to find them, they often are quite fast to disappear and don’t allow for many pictures. We heard the bones breaking and saw at which speed the second dog was gobbling down the meat. It isn’t surprising that a pack of dogs can finish an antelope within 15 minutes, leaving only scraps for the vultures. And the vultures are clever! When they spot the wild dogs, they will follow them as they are the most successful hunters in the African bush and chances of them making a kill are very high. We changed the position of the vehicle only to see two more dogs, making it a pack of four! Unbelievable … I definitely didn’t expect to find these beautiful animals when we started following the vultures. But you never know what to expect in the bush!!!

Hottest time of the day
After our amazing wild dog sighting it was time to head back for brunch, which now would be late lunch. But no one complained, the day just was too fantastic. Apples, bananas and crackers kept everyone happy and fed until we reached camp … “Stop! Leopard!!!” Wait, what?? We were leisurely driving towards our campsite, it was around 13:00 and I thought people were sleeping in the back. I was having an intense chat with my colleague and did not expect to hear that word. Jame put on the brakes and reversed. There, right next to the base of a massive tree which we just passed sat a beautiful slender leopard. Not very big so I assumed a female. Absolutely gorgeous animal, I can’t believe we almost drove past her!! But she was hidden from us behind that tree base and only because one of our client saw the tail move, she turned around to see the leopard. How blessed we were that day, I cannot put in words. She started walking into the bush and while the sighting was short, it was nevertheless an amazing sighting of the most elusive of cats. Everyone got a picture at least before she disappeared right in front of our eyes, showing us just how difficult they are to spot in this golden grass. We were all awake and ecstatic ! What an amazing morning … Don’t believe the saying that cats aren’t active during the hottest time of the day. The bush knows no rules, nor do the animals read the many books on animal behaviour. Expect the unexpected and don’t go into the bush with high expectations. You will be rewarded …

Happy Fathers Day *growl*
Savuti is known for its high lion population. I would never guarantee a lion sighting but chances in Savuti are quite good that you will come across these big cats or at least one of them. We heard them roaring all night and in the morning there was this excitement in the air, something was waiting for us. After a small breakfast and big cup of coffee/tea, we headed out to the dry Savuti marsh, a big open plain area. A congestion of cars usually points to cats and so it happened that we came across a pride of lions that consisted of 4 females, one big male and 5 cubs of naughty age. The sun rising provided for perfect light onto these felines and again, the cameras were snapping away. It was the cubs that provided for endless entertainment. Poor dad had to put up with them and it was just hilarious to watch the little ones nagging on this huge male lion, going for his tail or his feet, practicing their stealth and attack skills. Papa was clearly annoyed and let out many roars, albeit not to fearful ones. The ones that told the kids to just bloody “leave me be”. Since when are kids listening to their parents? … haaa, while at the beginning only two cubs were brave enough to face dad, it now attracted all five to join the game. Even relocating 3 meters didn’t help. The fur balls followed suit. Dad showed us his nice teeth but it seemed that only us felt a sense of respect for this huge animal, the cubs just wanted to play! But playtime was over when the rest of the pride including a young, about 2 year old male arrived and dad showed everyone who is boss, running after the young male and growling for real this time.

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there! We know how much you all have to put up with and while we might not always show it, we love you!