Part 2 of this article found here
I�ve often wondered how Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner managed to beat their way through the African bush in the old Hollywood classic �Mogambo� without ever breaking out into a sweat. And (in Ava�s case, at least) in high heeled mules to boot!
I�ve just been on safari and I �perspired� considerably, but then I left the old stilettos at home (tottering can be tiresome).
Safari. It�s a wonderful word, evoking images of colonial sorts striding out into the wilds of Africa in very inappropriate clothing, sleeping in scorpion-infested tents and drinking copious amounts of gin and tonic to fend off malaria, old chap.
A lot has changed, thankfully, but the modern equivalent still offers a chance to get up close and personal with the spirit of mother Africa.
Under the cloak of the �Five Rivers Safari� you can choose between areas as diverse as the Okavango Delta, Central Kalahari, Caprivi Strip and the Upper Zambezi basin.
Safaris these days require you to pack light (sorry, Ava) with a maximum of 12kgs in a soft bag and the usual hand baggage. This is because transfers between camps are in small five or six-seater Cessnas, so bags have to be squished into tight spaces, as do passengers. Basically, if you�re not a contortionist when you leave, you sure as hell are when you return!
In my case the squishing began in Maun with vacationtechnician Air, one of several charter companies working out of the northern Botswana town. A 25-minute flight north in the blistering heat of midday with the charming Faris at the controls brought us to the first port of call - Xakanaxa Camp.
The name requires some bushman-like clicking to produce it properly, but most non-clickers like me pronounce it Kaka-naka. Run by Bob and Flo Flaxman, the camp is located on the Khwai River in an area of seasonal swamp in the Moremi Game Reserve. It�s undeniably one of the prettiest spots around, shaded by jackalberries, morulas and knob-thorns and overlooking vast expanses of reeds, which are occupied by a veritable cornucopia of birdlife.
Xakanaxa has its own resident crocodile; a small family of bushbuck and a hippo nicknamed Pavarotti which is prone to midnight strolls around camp.
The camp consists of a large reception area and small curio shop, 12 twin-bedded tents, with a communal lounge area, dining room and boma-style fireplace where guests gather after dinner to exchange stories of the day�s adventures. There is also a plunge pool set in a small pool deck with a separate lapa-cum-sala providing much-needed shade in the heat of the day.
A short walk from the main camp is Pandani�s, a satellite camp of four tents with their own lounge and dining area and separate plunge pool overlooking a small lagoon on the Khwai.
Pandani�s can be booked out in its entirety by small groups of up to eight people through vacationtechnician.com.
The tents themselves are a marvelous illustration of how camping need not mean roughing it. High twin beds swathed in percale cotton linen with log-hewn furniture offering space to unpack clothes and store essentials. Rugs on the floor lead footfalls to the en-suite bathroom. Surrounded by wooden fencing to fend off prying eyes both human and animal, the toilet, basin and shower offer the chance for guests to commune with nature.
Hot and cold running water and an inexhaustible supply of Doom, Tabard and Peaceful Sleep mean that you stay clean while bugs (and there are plenty of them) are for the most part kept at bay.
At this juncture it is probably best that I mention something which may seem obvious. Bush camps are not for those who scream at every little creepy crawly or worry about wild Africa coming too close for comfort. After dark you do not wander around � you are escorted to and from your humble abode to and from the dining room and lounge areas. There are no fences to keep small hairy things and larger, furry things out. There is only your tent canvas or lodge wall to keep you in.
Animals and goggas wander in, and out of camp with impunity. And by animals I mean everything from water monitors, snakes, monkeys and hippos to hyenas, lions, leopards and elephants.
After dark there is generally no power, meaning that light is provided by storm lamps, oil lanterns and candles. Mosquito coils keep the little biters away and the only way to keep a good flow of air through your abode is to keep flaps down or windows open. Malaria is a very real and ever-present problem and anti-malarial measures are a must, whether it be medication or spraying thoroughly each night.
Indeed, a healthy respect for and interest in bugs is probably an advantage while on safari. In the rainy season especially the lights around the dinner table at night can attract a huge range of bugs, from cicadas (press them gently and they buzz obligingly) and grasshoppers to long-horned beetles and several kinds of mantis.
At Xakanaxa the Flaxmans do everything they can to make your stay the most enjoyable it can be, and you soon settle into a nice routine. Early-morning wake-ups begin each day, with coffee, tea and biscuits and cereals at the lounge before heading off with your guide on a three-hour game drive.
The guides are all very experienced and knowledgeable about the area and its diversities. Some, like Metsi, named after the water, have had some very close encounters with the Moremi�s four-legged inhabitants.
Back at Xakanaxa generally by 10 o clock, Flo and Bob greet you and escort you to the dining room for a lavish and exceedingly filling brunch, after which the rest of the morning and early afternoon are yours to relax, catch up on some snoozing and cool off in the plunge pool. Then it�s tea-time with cakes and snacks and off on a late afternoon drive, stopping for sundowners at a suitable spot en route before returning to camp for dinner and drinks around the fire.
The meals are wonderful, with home-cooked fare lovingly prepared and presented. The wine flows and after-dinner Amarulas are the perfect way to wind down for bedtime in Utopia.
Guests have the option of taking game drives in the Moremi or boat trips into the swamps, with short forays into the reed-lined channels on the traditional mokoros. These days the mokoros are fibre-glass as opposed to hollowed out trees in an effort to protect the woodlands around the swamps.
The Moremi Game Reserve has everything but rhino. Consistent poaching has all but decimated Botswana�s rhino population and attempt to reintroduce both black and white rhino have been largely unsuccessful, except for in small pockets in the Chiefs Island area of the Mombo concession within the Moremi.
It means you don�t get to see the Big Five, but certainly the remaining four are available in abundance. In addition, sightings like red lechwe, the rare sitatunga and tsessebe more than make up for the absence of rhino.
And the birdlife is out of this world, with carmine bee-eaters, pied kingfishers, rufus-bellied herons and African fish eagles as common as mossies.
After the lush wetlands of the Delta, the 55-minute transfer from Xakanaxa via vacationtechnician air to Deception Valley Lodge in the central Kalahari area brought with it a huge contrast.
Where there had been river channels and swamp there was now an unending wilderness of parched land with its own, peculiar brand of stark beauty. Where there had been a hot, but moist climate there was now the blistering heat of an almost desert environment. The thermometer hit 42 degrees C as we landed at the Deception Valley airstrip.
Deception Valley Lodge is located on a 15,000-hectare private farm adjacent to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in central Botswana. It�s a 20-minute flight from Maun.
The lodge is owned and run by Braam and Susanne Badenhorst and is managed by Bruce and Arenell Robinson with the help of Johnny and Jackie Minaar.
This is San country and members of the local bushman tribe, the Basarawa work at Deception Valley Lodge as trackers and bush educationists, taking guests on walks into the bush and giving them a glimpse of the San way of life, using Bruce and Johnny, who act as guides, as intermediaries.
The lodge consists of five twin chalets with comfortable sitting rooms with cozy couch, coffee table and mini-bar and spacious bedrooms cooled by ceiling fans. The bathrooms have large Victorian-style baths and outdoor showers.
Connected to the main lodge building by a series of wooden walkways, the facilities are all open to the bush, again with nothing to keep the wilds of the Kalahari at bay.
At the main lodge is an open-plan dining area with a huge, sleeper wood table. Here a range of marvelous, home-cooked meals are served by Arenell and Jackie which are guaranteed to satisfy even the most grumbly tummy. There�s a cosy bar and comfortable lounge area with a selection of reference books available for guest use and outside is a braai area and fireplace where guests congregate for drinks. Upstairs is a small curio shop selling bushman artifacts and items of interest. There is also a nice pool deck with a decent-sized plunge pool, loungers and umbrellas to fend off the scorching sun.
A family of porcupines is in residence at the main lodge. Spike, Lucy and their daughter Cheeky put in nightly appearances for the guests� and guides benefit alike and the chance to get close to these strange but fascinating creatures is a highlight. But without a shadow of doubt the chance to trek into the bush with the San Bushmen is the main draw card at Deception Valley Lodge.
Two tribesmen, Xhasi and Sthibo, worked with Bruce to educate me in the ways of the Basarawa, digging up bi � a huge juicy tuber � and showing me how they scrape and gouge it, and finally crush the scrapings to drink the precious liquid it unlocks. It�s bitter to the taste but certainly life sustaining in such a harsh environment.
They also showed me the kan-nie-dood bush from which they harvest their fire sticks. These they rub together to make campfires.
The kan-nie-dood also offers up a curious poisonous grub which lives in its root system. This grub, when squashed and squeezed over arrow tips, becomes a deadly poison, helping the Bushmen to bring down steenbok and kudu.
I was also shown the San hardware shop, which comes in the form of the brandy bush. The wood of this bush becomes pliable when heated in fire and is harvested to make throwing sticks, bows, spears, digging sticks and walking sticks. Kudu sinews are used to make bowstrings. All of the above are packed into a soft skin bag and provide the San with everything they need to survive in the Kalahari.
A bit of target practice with a bushman bow soon elevated me to the ranks of honorary San as I discovered a natural ability as an archer. The few short hours spent in the bush with these incredible people was an experience I�ll never forget, and one which has shown me just how resilient the human spirit is.
Life at Deception Valley Lodge runs on the same timeframe as Xakanaxa, with early wake-up calls, morning game drives or bush walks, brunch, siesta or swim, afternoon snacks, afternoon-evening game drive and sundowners and a hearty dinner and drinks. The difference is the environment and the type of game in the area.
Aardvark, pangolin, springhares, brown hyena and huge Kalahari lions make the place truly special, as do the sightings of leopard and honey badger. Then there�s the smaller, more unusual inhabitants such as the lethal black hairy thick-tailed scorpion, huge baboon spiders and a variety of snakes and lizards.
During my stay there was a huge rainstorm, which afforded me the chance to see long-dormant bullfrogs digging their way out of hibernation and frolicking in fleeting desert puddles.
Deception Valley Lodge�s brand of home-from-home hospitality and the down-to-earth approach to life in the bush is a breath of fresh air compared to the stresses and strains of urban living, and is the perfect partner to Xakanaxa and the Okavango Delta. It�s a definite not-to-be-missed experience.
ENDNOTE:
Next article experiences lion infanticide at Kwando Kwara Camp in the northern Okavango Delta and the magic of wild dogs at Kwando Lebala Camp in the Linyanti area close to the Caprivi Strip.
About the areas:
Botswana is roughly the size of France or Texas but with population of only 1,7-million. More than 40% of the land is reserved for conservation and wilderness.
The topography of the Okavango was formed through process of erosion and deposition. Two things influence the topography � first is the flatness of the area which makes termite mounds the highest landforms. The land slopes very gradually � 1km for every 4km - to the southeast. Secondly there are very few rocks or stones.
The Okavango Delta lies within the Kalahari basin � a depression of wind-blown sands which extends from the northeastern corner of South Africa to just south of the equator in the DRC.
The underlying bedrock is volcanic sedimentary rock and the entire area is seismically active and prone to quakes.
Historically, it is thought the Okavango river extended to the sea but there are different schools of thought as to which sea it flowed into � some believed it joined the Limpopo and flowed into the Indian Ocean, others that it met the Orange River.
Flow movement was arrested due to tectonic movement which caused a series of parallel faults and a section of the earth�s crust to collapse, leading to the formation of the inland delta, as we now know it. Geographically it is known as an alluvial fan.
The Okavango River enters Botswana at Mohembo after traveling 1000km from its source. It�s channeled through what is known as the panhandle � a 15km wide swathe between two of the geological faults. There is a 6000 sq km area of permanent swamp, beyond which is a 12000 sq km area of seasonal swamp, fed by an infinite number of small channels. This becomes open grassland when floodwaters recede in the dry season.
Four rivers influence Botswana today � the Upper Zambezi, Kwando, Okavango and Limpopo.
The Central Kalahari, as its name suggests, is located roughly in the middle of the Kalahari basin. Water is scarce here, a fact learnt through hard experience by the Dorsland Trekkers in the late 1800s.
The trek party of roughly 300 boere families and their agricultural retinue reached the area hoping to find water. A mirage fooled them into thinking they had found the precious fluid and the deceit gave Deception Valley its name. Approximately half of the families perished. The descendants of the survivors still farm around the Ghanzi area.
The local inhabitants of this stretch of the Kalahari are San Bushmen of the Basarawa tribe.
Part 2 of this article found here
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