Pacific Northwesterners Invade on Botswana Day

Even though I would be flying to another camp today it would still be a full day of safari, just no nap time today. Because the animals are right in the camp they give you an air horn in case the animals are also right in your “tent”.


The red-beak, black-wing African crane. OK, I made that up, I have no idea what kind of bird this is.


As the sun came up we found all the usual suspects, elephants and giraffes.












We then finally found a hippo that was out of the water.




But that did not last long.








A few more warthogs.




We headed back to camp and I packed before enjoying a South African beer, Castle Larger.


I watched the local baboons wonder around the camp before heading to the airstrip to fly out to Lebala Camp in the Linyanti area.


















We got to the airstrip and waited for my ride to arrive.


I said goodbye to Tom and Gums before boarding the plane.


I also said goodbye to the Delta and thought how funny life is. When I was young I was in to collecting things, now days things don’t matter, I’m in to collecting experiences. And this trip was providing lots of them, but nothing could prepare me for what still was ahead.


My plane was a little late getting in so we just had enough time to go back to camp and drop off my bag before heading out on safari.


Yup, they have elephants here as well.


Yup, they have giraffes here as well.


Yup, they have a hippo here as well, but it’s very very old.


I was in a vehicle with a very nice couple from the U.K. who had just finished driving around Namibia and were a great source of information for the 3rd leg of my journey. We then found some hyenas.






We heard over the radio that a leopard just killed a baboon, I had not yet seen a leopard and we headed to get there while there was still daylight. It was incredibly bumpy and I was airborne most of the way sitting in the back seat, and once we arrived I was two inches shorter. But we made it and sure enough there he was up in the tree with what was left of the baboon. Oh, cute little hand.








It was getting dark so we headed back to camp. Before dinner we were hanging out having happy hour and I was talking with some of the other guests. There was a group of six people who I really hit it off with, we had a lot of the same travel destinations, shared a lot of the same views, and kind of even dressed alike. As we were sharing stories I said something that prompted Janet to ask where I’m from. When I told them Seattle, Washington it became clear why we were connecting so well. They were fellow Pacific Northwesterners from Portland, Oregon. And if that was not crazy enough, one of them, Dave, grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. It’s so strange how the universe works. We continued talking through dinner and they graciously adopted me in to their tribe, even asking the camp guides if I could switch vehicles to be with them. While Lebala camp was incredible, getting to share the experience with the Portland tribe really took it to the next level. Thanks to Jim, Janet, Dave, Liz, Ken, and Steph, I had a great time hanging out with you!

After dinner we would find out that today was Botswana’s Independence Day as they left the commonwealth on this day back in 1966. The staff came out and sang various songs which I believe were celebrating their independence. I could not understand the words but felt their meaning and was overcome with emotion. I might sound like a broken record at this point but I again thought how lucky am I to get to have all these amazing experiences, I love Botswana and its people. Things made sense here.




VIDEO: Botswana - Day 11 - Lebala Camp