It is with great pleasure to publish this wonderful article, written by one of our guests, Daphne Gernetzky, who was on a Fish Eagle Safari in August this year. Our Fish Eagle Adventure Camping Safari is the perfect way to experience the very best wildlife areas Botswana has to offer. Starting in Maun, the first stop is the North-Western side of the Delta, with 2 nights camping on a remote island. This safari will then explore the World renowned Moremi Game Reserve, the famous Savuti Area, the beautiful Chobe Riverfront Area and end with a night at a comfortable Lodge in Livingston and the possibility to visit the mighty Victoria Falls.
We are deeply thankful for this very inspiring article and are more than happy to hear that Daphne has enjoyed her Safari.
We hope that we will be able to welcome Daphne to Botswana in the near future again and to read many more wonderful articles about her experiences.
I lie in my tent listening to sounds infinitely less threatening than the unexpected screech of breaks and burglar alarms in the suburb.
I hear elephant rumbling , hippo roaring , lion close to the camp. A hyena visits, finding a plastic water bottle, crunching it between it’s powerful jaws, before romping on the trailer roof.
We have been warned not to leave our tents during the night– we are safe there – the animals see the tents as solid objects.
The sounds of the camp waking: I hear the fire crackle. Hot coffee and fresh toast, made from bread baked the previous evening on the coals while watching “fire TV” and swapping travel tales.
We learn of the comprehensive training undertaken by the professional guide in Botswana.
Spencer can identify every bird call, every track left in the sand by the residents of the bush veld.
He knows the scientific name, common name and medicinal use of every tree we ask about.
We cross rickety bridges, deflate the tires to cope with the soft sand and ford the rivers – the vehicle and the driver in tune with the demands made by the terrain.
“Never use old wood if you get stuck in the sand – it damages the tires – a sure recipe for a puncture!”
“Watch the giraffe – they are pointing” Spencer says. Sure enough, we find lion in the long grass.
“Hear the francolin– that is an alarm call – we will find something” A leopard and her cub hiding in the bush, waiting for their evening meal.
“The stance of the elephant tells you if he is relaxed or not: see – he has crossed his back legs – he is aware of us but not threatened by us.”
We find a herd of buffalo, stretching as far as the eye can see, covered in red billed ox peckers. They mingle freely with a smorgarsboard of birds and animals on the banks of the Chobe River, our final destination in Botswana.
This trip began in the Delta with the quiet of the poled mokoro as it makes it way through the papyrus, water glistening.
Then the red sand of the Savuti with elephant skeletons littering the landscape finally the fertile Chobe Park.
A constant companion – the call of the fish eagle – will underscore this realisation of a dream – my “bucket list” destination.
Daphne Gernetzky
