Reptile rescue

Chobe National park in northern Botswana is probably best known for its number of elephants and large herds. Viewing these large animals calmly feeding on the river banks, as we slowly passed them on a river boat was fantastic.

We also went out on three drives in the park and thereby managed to see four of the big five, but who's counting, right ;-)

Even though I was glad that the guests got to experience the big game on this trip, I think the most photographed creature of our Chobe experience was probably of the smaller variety... at the lodge! Around lunch time one of the days, there was a huge commotion down by the water. Of course one of my guests came running, as they had noticed my fascination with the slithering sort.

This poor dude was just chilling out, hiding amongst the dry leaves on the river bank. But of course someone had spotted the puffadder, as it made the mistake of actually shifting position slightly. As always when a snake is discovered I get a bit nervous that it won't end well. Soon quite an audience had assembled and not only the human kind...

The vervet monkeys at Chobe River lodge are extremely cheeky and also rather aggressive. As I tried to chase one of them away from the lunch table one day, it made a couple of mock charges... but I could see in his eyes that the third time would most probably be very real and I gave up the chase, although standing my ground to defend my food, of course. Eventually it decided to raid another table a bit further away. They don't have much respect for females, no matter how confident you initially feel...

 

The lodge staff had fortunately called the nearby reptile centre and to everyone's delight, they showed up about an hour later.

The puffadder was quickly secured by the reptile guy and and he received quite a round of applause and some cheers. I guess we were all happy to see the snake safely removed by his hands, instead of a shovel...

...Well, maybe the other primates in the audience weren't as appreciative ;-)

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Delta danger II

Before heading off to Namibia I had bought myself a so-called black light, an ultraviolet torch. This is used by weirdos to look for scorpions in the dark of night, so I of course had to get one! Namibia is absolutely crawling with these arachnids in some places, but to my disappointment I didn't find any in the desert, as I had expected. But, as usual, when you stop looking for something – you find it... and not always where you expect.

I was going to bed the second night at Guma lodge in Botswana, on the western outskirts of Okavango, and was conducting my usual bed time routine of getting all the delta's mosquitoes and other bugs out from underneath my mosquito net. I couldn't believe my eyes when I found the smallest scorpion I've ever seen, on the inside of the mosquito net! This creature wasn't more than 2.5 cm long, but had a proportionally large tail and small pincers... and we all know what that means; danger!

I didn't waste any time, but jumped out of bed as if it was on fire and rushed into the bathroom, grabbing a glass and leaping back into bed again. Carefully scooping it into the one glass and covering it with another, I was satisfied to have caught it and thoroughly enjoyed my new toy (the torch) for quite a while, before falling to sleep with my temporary pet in a glass next to my bed.

The tiny creature was passed around the dinner table next evening, before we went out in the dark so that I could show off my black light and explain about the fluorescent chemicals in the exoskeleton, etc. I realize I should have taken a photograph or two, but for once in my life, I was too fascinated to think of it, so I'm borrowing a picture, to give an idea of what they look like in ultraviolet light; awesome!

Me and two of the rangers spent over two hours each, trying to identify the creature, but didn't get any the wiser. We finally agreed it was probably a Deathstalker, or a relative thereof. Could there be a better name for a scorpion?! Of course I released this little guy, sneaking away to do so, in case someone hadn't bonded with him and wanted him gone.

Some guests were a bit confused as to why a person walks around with an ultraviolet torch... Me? I'm just questioning the fact that I didn't buy one ages ago.

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Delta danger I

Mokoros these days are made out of fibreglass, but look real enough not to irritate the crocodiles too much. Apparently crocs aren't keen on modern looking canoes and sometimes attack them!

Each Mokoro was to be whisked through the papyrus jungle by a poler. When this word was first used, I immediately had a couple of worrisome associations...

The trip started with an adrenaline kick, as we set out in a small speedboat and quite soon came to a halt when the shallow canal we were travelling on was found to be blocked by dead reeds and papyrus. The captain didn't say that we were going to go through, he said we would attempt to; probably just a trick to make it more exciting... but it worked!

As we flew over the obstacle and then continued speeding through thick vegetation, I half expected to find myself being chased by a villain from a James Bond movie, surreal.

I've dreamt of going into the Okavango delta for many years and once there, it actually felt rather dreamlike. Quietly we were poled through the fairytale beauty of the canals covered in water lilies. Bee eaters, comorants and Jacanas were everywhere with Fish eagles over-looking our progress.

The morning in the delta was awesome, with a light breeze keeping the mosquitoes at bay. Once in a while tiny lime green frogs hitched a ride, but jumped off just before I had a chance to get a great picture. The spotted one was a bit more co-operative and hung around until I promtly evicted him.

When the breeze subsided a few hours later, both the heat and the mosquitoes started to become a bit of a nuisance. Fortunately one of these could easily be partly relieved, as I had brought an umbrella... I did feel rather colonial though.

The miniature vampires of the delta had a splendid day. That evening I'm not sure if I gained or lost nutrients and calories by going to dinner, as I apparently have the sweetest blood on the Swedish buffet. I didn't know it at the time, but the irritating little buggers had also left me a present...

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Dusty in the desert

The main reasons I fell in love Namibia is its eerie beauty. This vast and sparsely populated country really grabs hold of me; I was hooked even before I first visited fifteen years ago! Maybe it is a bit weird having a favourite type of landscape, but I kind of like a setting that punches you in the face with its presence.

As we left Windhoek behind and travelled south, the more desert-like our surroundings grew and reminded me of how it felt the first time I was here. Once again the condition of the roads impressed me, just as the German straightness of them... not too sure that the group shared my point of view though.

One thing that most aren't prepared for is the absolute vastness of this country, twice the size of Sweden, with only about 20% of its population; road trips here entail many hours in a vehicle. Our trusted Dusty, a rattling and uncomfortable old truck, pushed on, deeper into the hot embrace of the Namib Naukluft.

Two nights here is not enough, but if you're on a tight schedual, I guess it'll have to do. In the evening I decided to give my new toy, a black light (torch with ultraviolet light), a go... disappointment! I didn't find even one scorpion and gave up after overturning stones like mad for half an hour. If any of my guests saw me, they were probably contemplating calling for medical help.

 

We set out before daybreak the first morning, to be able to watch the sunrise at Dune 45, as you're supposed to... and as most people who come here do.

Climbing the 170 metre high dune though is breathtaking in more than one way and is definitely not for everyone, as I soon discovered. Maybe not the sort of activity you normally think of when conducting tours for 60+ groups! Some did however surprise, showing off antelope-like leaps up the entire height of the sand mountain.

The desert of the Namib Naukluft Park is a photographers dream, with its contrasts between the deep blue sky and the reddish dunes. One should probably stay from sunrise to sunset to make the most of it and capture the scenery in different lighting, but this trip didn't make laziness like that possible, onwards!

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God's Window

If anyone has ever wondered what a view worthy of God looks like, the South Africans have actually got it right. God's Window on the Escarpment is truly breathtaking!

Watching the scenery almost brings tears to my eyes, but the true magic of the place can't be made justice in a single photo... or even two. It is surely something that ought not to be experienced on your own, rather with someone's arms around you.

Luckily, when I went there last week, it wasn't my first time... but still!

 

“But still!” has of late become my favourite argument, it works in every situation!... Dare I say, I picked it up from a very determined five year old on one of my tours, she was awesome.

 

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Stuck

Even the most experienced guides make mistakes, and if you're lucky, they do it at the right place and time...

On our first day in Edeni game reserve, Limpopo, we heard on the radio that a couple of lions had been spotted with a kill. Of course we went in search of them and found them in the thickets, exhausted from their first sitting. As we approached they lifted their heads and studied us carefully. After a while they got up to continue their meal. The flies and the stench were almost unbearable, but the lioness couldn't care less as she dug into her waterbuck prey.

There's a common misconception that lions don't like waterbuck because of the oily secretion that protects the skin of this antelope, but this is of course utter nonsense... meat is meat, whatever the flavour. These guys aren't fussy, they can eat rotten meat and will certainly not discard a meal because of unfortunate seasoning.

While watching the lions the guide had the brilliant idea of driving out into an open area, as they probably would make their way past us down to a dam after dinner... and we got desperately stuck! This was not good. Not only were the lions busy feeding 30 m away, but also, in this macho business you don't want to loose face. The guide and tracker tried everything, piling stones under the car, etc, etc... but finally had to admit defeat and radio for help.

Help arrived shortly after... and also got stuck!!! The trackers and drivers now combined their forces but the harder they tried, the more stuck we got and it wasn't until the third car arrived that we saw any real progress. After snapping at least two towing ropes the six experienced men eventually did what some people had suggested from start... and simply pushed the car with combined effort.

This evening a total of five cars got stuck in basically the same place, but what better place to get stuck? The sun was setting and the lions watched us curiously from a short distance, probably a bit amused by the funny two-legged creatures and their inability to move gracefully through the bush.

-So what, that dinner was late that night!?

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Lightning crashes

This summer in South Africa I've found myself caught up in a couple of earth-moving thunderstorms that really rocked my world. When your skin is tingling, the hair all over your body stands on end and you can actually feel the electricity in the air, you're either in love... or lightening just struck dangerously close!

All alone in a tent in the African bush, you realize how tiny you are, as the forces of nature thrashes wildly around you. Storms I've previously experienced pales in comparison, I promise I'm not exaggerating!
 

It started out with wonderful flashes in the distance and the whole group couldn't help but wearily admire its beauty. As night closed in though, the electrical storm came ever closer. For a while I was sure there'd be a bush fire as lightening struck all around in the bush... but then came the rain! A miniature river formed across the wooden floor of my safari tent and I saved most of my things by moving them onto higher ground (the cupboard).

In awe I listened to the thunder, counted the seconds and waited for the inevitable... Four times lightening struck close enough to effect me (as well as the generator) physically and afterwards it was like having a presence hovering in the room. I don't know how I managed, but I actually fell asleep in between the worst strikes, in spite of the severe tension! An hour and a half later, the storm finally passed... and I basically passed out, exhausted and a bit nauseous.

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