Chobe-Savute-Maun

We are in Maun, regrouping after an amazing, exhausting, exhilarating run down the Chobe River and through Savute. We have spent our days watching extraordinary animals living out their days in the unspoilt wilds, where they always have lived. What amazes me is the improbability of their bodies (giraffe, hippos, elephants), the delicate beauty of their markings (zebra, Chobe bushbuck and even the ubiquitous impala) and the ever watchfulness of those who are on the dinner menu of larger creatures.

We drove down impossible seeming roads, got incredibly filthy with dust forming drifts inside our vehicle as we drove. We pulled ourselves out of bed before dawn each morning to get on the road to see game and search for elusive cats. (We were rewarded both by a pride of 7  young lion playing in the first rays of sunlight, as well a very close encounter a lioness and her 3 cubs.) By the end, we were dust colored from head to toe and needed a breather as much as a shower.

The Island Safari Lodge in Maun is just the kind of place for breathers. Our laundry is now done, our bodies are clean, our groceries restocked and our water and diesel tanks filled back up again.

We had a slow day today, with time for dragonfly catching and a breakfast involving all sorts of things not served on our safari (blame the tour operator - oh yes, that would be me!). The 8 year old's tooth that fell out somewhere in Savute, but it wasn't left out for the tooth mouse/fairy for fear it would get lost in the endless fine sand that was our home. He is currently awaiting a visit from whomever does the job in Botswana. (We have decided it might be a tooth spring hare due to their ridiculous cuteness.) 

We are readying ourselves for our most remote and extreme camping of this adventure, we left it for last in the hopes that our greater experience would keep us safe and happy in a place not highly recommended for solo travel. We will be very remote, with no water for 4 days, few people and minimal roads, we leave at dawn tomorrow. I can't wait to get out of my comfy(ish) bed and back in to the Landrover, it is starting to feel like home.