Go quietly, In Chobe DAY 25

Shortest drive yet today. We crossed the boarder into Botswana today, all our shoes were required for treatment to prevent the spread of foot in mouth disease. Good for those who have only 2 pairs, I was pushing it with 4 pairs. One girl on tour had 9! 2 of which were heels... In Africa !

We weren't setting up camp today as tonight is our overnight camp inside the Chobe national park, known to be home for hundreds of elephants. We set off after a few hours by the pool at about 3 o'clock for an afternoon game drive on-route to camp. The park absolutely lived up to its reputation we counted about 40-50 herds of elephants, huge families ranging between a few months old to 40+ aged elephants. The babies were adorable, running to keep up with mum and dad with the ears flapping and trunks pointing forward as though they were trying to win a race and a nose ahead of the others.

We continued driving through the endless Elephants and spotted a few Greater Kudu and a few hundred baboons, vervet and blue ball monkeys. As the sun began to set,it was one of our clearest & driest days yet and the sun turned bright orange and then fire red as it disappeared beyond the horizon. It happened in a few quick seconds but the colour remained for at least an hour in the scorched sky.

When it finally went dark and the game viewing became merely impossible, we arrived at camp to another already set up camp ground with all out tents arranged in a semi circle wall as a barrier to some what keep us safe from the wildlife around us.

We had our first campfire tonight and a full circle of chairs around it. It was a really great setup. Long drop toilets in tall tents within a few metres from us, as walking to the toilet was not safe in the night as we found this out in a safety briefing. Dinner was lamb chop and veggies. Desert was marshmallows on sticks over the fire while we learnt from our guide about the safety of moving around the camp. You were told to pee on your tent when you needed to go for number 1 as so to mark your territory and number two's in the long drop and take a friend with you.

Lions and other cats eyes in the night appear orange or red, if you see them you are to keep you eyes on them flashlight forward back up not look away and step slowly back to your tent and stay there. If by chance you are taken or attacked by an animal. You are to 'go quietly', we clarified what was meant by this and it was made clear to say your likely going to die and do it quietly so not to disturb the camp. I was like, HUH! If I'm going to be eaten by a cat, I'm going to make as much noise as I can and claw its bloody eyes out, I will not go quietly and I will disturb camp. It was hilarious but also very serious.

It left us all fairly quiet staring into the fire either mesmerised by the fire or terrified to go poop in the bush. We had a fairly long day and retired early for our morning game drive back to Kasane for our border crossing into Zimbabwe. We arrived once again quite early into camp and I can totally get used to that. 3 nights in Vic falls. So much to do and such little time, we upgraded for $11pp per night in a two bedroom lodge with the Canadians on tour and it was going to be a great couple of days.

We have 3 days of activities now, time to wash our clothes, eat some restaurant food and plenty of relaxing and swimming. -End