Elephants – Toad's Wild Ride

It’s still dark, and I am awakened by the loud roar and growl of a large cat, followed by the even louder roar of a larger cat. I push the light on my watch, it’s 5:30am, and a lay there very still for a moment, then drift off back to sleep. Awoken again by the dawn, and the movement of my neighbors from Belgium, who I know are headed off to Naxi pans park today, I peak outside and figure the big cats have gone by now and join my friends for a cup of coffee, before they hit the road. We explore the camp and find large cat paw prints all around the ablution building and our camp site, and rather than being scared, we want to see the cats too. Crazy?

I bid farewell to my friends, and adopt their site, because I like it’s location better, and I’m told no one else is coming to the camp tonight, in fact, everyone is leaving but for me, and one other couple who’s in the camp next to me.

I'm a sucker for monkeys, I just find them amusing to watch, even the word "monkey" is amusing to me. — I’m a sucker for monkeys, I just find them amusing to watch, even the word “monkey” is amusing to me.

The ablution next to my site is being worked on today, so I have to use the one at the other side of the camp, and it’s far enough, I don’t like the idea of walking that far alone. The buildings were built by the Swiss government as part of a fund they established to help Botswana attract more tourism. They are very well made, but rather complicated and as such seem to require a lot of maintenance with the plumbing, and biggest issue is they were designed to be totally “green” so they are 100% solar-powered. Which is great but the pumps for the flush toilets don’t begin working until around 11am, and obviously by then they have been used a lot. Large bottles of water are placed in the buildings for people to fill the tank on the toilet to make them flush, but all too often no one knows how to do this, or the bottles of water are empty, and it gets gross, the toilets clog, and then the pipes clog, and then the whole thing has to be cleaned out.

The water is also heated for the showers by solar, but this wasn’t a problem as I preferred to shower at the end of the day, before getting my fire going and settling in for the night anyways. But, certainly the Swiss could have come up with some other options, like a battery backup maybe?

I take a much longer trek today as it’s been reported there’s a den of lions feeding on a zebra out near the park boundary. After an hour of driving, on a road that’s not so deep with sand (still can’t figure out why my Land Cruiser doesn’t handle the sand that well) I find the zebra, by watching the vultures overhead, or what’s left of it which is a head and a couple of hoofs. I’m reminded of the fragility of life, not just out here but in general. Sadly, no lions.

I discover with Zebra that they will stand and watch you if you keep moving in your vehicle, once you stop they turn and run. So, trick is to photograph them as you are moving, not so easy when you are driving, and you are not exactly on a "road". — I discover with Zebra that they will stand and watch you if you keep moving in your vehicle, once you stop they turn and run. So, trick is to photograph them as you are moving, not so easy when you are driving, and you are not exactly on a “road”.

Zebra Herd

Helmeted Guinea Fowl, I just thought it had interesting coloring. Turns out it's a very popular fowl among hunters. — Helmeted Guinea Fowl, I just thought it had interesting coloring. Turns out it’s a very popular fowl among hunters.

I take a wide path back toward camp, spending the bulk of the day out in the bush, exploring and finding various animals, swamps, termite mounds that are in the process of devouring entire trees. The sun is bright, and intense, but the temperature remains cool enough to enjoy. My journey takes me back to the river, which I begin to follow back toward camp, and am stopped by a dozen elephants bathing and drinking on the other side of the river.

Elephant herd found on river returning back to camp.

I stop to take pictures, and notice on the top of the hill next to me six giraffes and a few dozen zebra…now I’m between elephants and other animals, and just in complete awe.

Giraffes and Zebra on top of the hill. The sun is behind them, so the shot is a mess.

As I wait, I notice the elephants are heading across the river toward me, but at least it also seems the giraffes are leaving too, so I not getting sandwiched, I don’t want to move and interfere with the animal’s movements.

As I wait though, the bull elephant that seems to be the leader of the herd comes across the river and stops right in front of me, and now it’s too late to move, as when I even try to he raises and lowers his foot to indicate to me: stay where you are or I’ll squash you! So, I did!

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Papa bull crossing the river, leading his herd back from the river.

After a half hour all the elephants were out of the river, and on their way up the hill, and big bull papa just headed up the hill behind them, letting me be on my way. None too soon, as the sun would be setting soon, and I wanted to shower, and get a fire going.

After my shower, and walking back to my camp I noticed something hanging near the inside of the right rear tire on my Land Cruiser. Crouching down behind the bumper I see that the leaf springs on the right side have broken, and some are even missing half the spring! What’s dangling is part of one spring that is about to fall out.

Broken right rear springs. This is bad, it’s very bad, there’s only one spring left that is holding up the right side of the vehicle. As a precaution, I drain the water holding tank, and had been using the rearward most fuel tank to empty that as well.

P1000158 P1000162 P1000845

As I’m under the vehicle checking the springs and taking pictures, and here a movement off to side, and I slowly crawl out from under the Land Cruiser, and see an elephant walking right by. At first startled, I get in the truck, and then less afraid, I decide to take a few pictures.

I hadn't even noticed he had wandered into camp. But, when I looked from under the truck and this guy, I was a bit startled. — I hadn’t even noticed he had wandered into camp. But, when I looked from under the truck and this guy was walking by me, I was a bit startled.

After my elephant distraction, I look at the time, and decide I need to call Britz in Johannesburg. When I had taken the vehicle they assured me that in case of break down, they would have a replacement vehicle for me in a day. This wasn’t ideal, but I could stay here another day, and then head up to Moremi reserve a day later, they are both SKL camps so should be able to coordinate that from here.

After a series of phone calls back and forth, which ended up costing me $126 (which has never been reimbursed) Britz would only offer that I take the vehicle to the city of Maun on the way or Moremi, and get the spring replaced. They assure me have made arrangements with the shop for the repair and the expenses. I wasn’t happy to spend any part of my adventure in a tire shop waiting for my vehicle, but couldn’t see much of any way around this.

So, change of plans a bit, I’d get to bed early tonight, and head to Maun at first light in the morning. Get the repair over with as early as I could, and then be on my way to Moremi. So, back to my evening! Time to build that fire.

And a fire did I build, I was alone in my campsite, with only the aloof Germans next door, so I wasn’t taking any chances and built a nice large, smoky fire. Grilled another steak, and wrapped a potato in foil to bake on the coals. I was impressed with the beef in Botswana, high quality and grass-fed, very tender…and cheap. It was a great night, I was getting more comfortable with the idea that I was camping in the bush. I camped a lot as a kid and into my youth, but the only predators we had were occasional bears, wolves and mountain lions/cougars, but having grown up with these I knew their habits, and what to do to minimize the threats. This was a new and different environment and there is a learning process which demands an abundance of caution.

Click! The lights come on with the rising sun. Must be a crossed wire or switch that tells the lights they can work with a solar sensor, problem is the switch is in reverse, so the lights only come on when the sun is up. My new cooker top worked great though, hot coffee is served, as I watch the birds.

New cooker top, and hot coffee! Happy morning to me!

My German friends were up very early, and already on the road. I crawl under the Land Cruiser to inspect the source of the oil leak, and find it’s the drain plug in the oil pan, and it’s not something the rental place didn’t know about, because someone has attempted to seal with silicone smeared around the plug. Fail. That’s not how you fix it folks.

Source of oil leak: And oil drain plug, sealed with silicone. This is not a Toyota approved method of repairing a leaking oil plug.

The engine seems to be holding most the oil in, and it’s only a few tablespoons that drip out over night, I’ll just keep an eye on it, but it bothers me to drip oil in the reserves I’ll be headed to. Tuuthebe camp wasn’t exactly thrilled about the spot on the concrete parking pad either, not that I can blame them.

The concrete pad at the Tuuthebe campsite.

Today’s drive is to go to Kumaga Camp in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park.

Tuuthebe Lodge & Camping, Botswana to Unnamed Road, Xhumaga, Botswana – Google Maps

In the months preceding my visit the government of Botswana was in the middle of transitioning the camps to privatization. SKL Camps are now running some of the sites in the National Parks of Makgadikgadi & Naxi Pans (Kumaga), Moremi Game Reserve (Khwai Campground) and Chobe (Savute and Linyanti Campgrounds).

None of the navigation systems I had were of much help in finding the ferry landing used to cross the river to get to Kumaga (sometimes Khumaga) camp. I was using Google maps offline, as well as Garmin and the Tracks4Africa android app. I’ve attempted to add the destination to Google Maps, but I’m not sure when or if they will ever get around to it. For reference I’ve attached a map with a “star” of where the ferry landing it, once you’ve reached the village of Xhumaga. And there’s a photo below of the ferry landing as well.

The small star indicates where the ferry crossing is to get to the Khumaga Camp.

If you have found your way, the ferry landing will look like this.

Once across the river, you’ll drive up the hill to the entrance station for the National Park, where you’ll fill out a few forms, and pay park fees per person and per vehicle. These fees combined with the SKL camp fees, will end up costing around $70 per night/per person to use a camp site. At the end of my trip I met four young men who were students from Germany studying at Cape Town University, they were just beginning their trip, and had no idea, it was per person, for the four of them each night would be costing $280 a night! You would think they would at least provide firewood for this price, which would be smart for them to do anyways, so people aren’t gathering wood in the preserve (which you are not supposed to do, but it seems most everyone does).

After the official government registrations, you then head a little further up the road, where you will register with the SKL office for the camping site. For safety reasons they tell you not to share sites with someone else, which was another rule I didn’t exactly follow. As this was the first day, and I got here around 11 in the morning, and decided to go exploring, when I was shocked had how poorly the Land Cruiser was handling the sandy tracks within the park, and these weren’t even the worst of the sandy tracks I was told to expect later on in the other parks.

I plodded my way down to the river area, where there’s a small hippo pool, and sure enough there were hippos, quite a few of them! I was amazed! I stopped on a small area, but stayed in my vehicle as I had been instructed to do. After about 20 minutes, a couple in a Toyota HiLux pickup outfitted with a very cool bush camping package, pulled up alongside me, and asked if I was ok. I was so appreciative that people check up on other people out here. When I said, I was just watching the Hippos, they just said oh, ok, and proceeded to get out of their truck. They told me they get out if they are in open space, and can see a good distance around them, no thick brush, etc. COOL! I was more than willing to join them out in the sun feeling the breeze.

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Now you see some of them, but never assume you see them all.

Extra "fluffy" or expecting? — Extra “fluffy” or expecting?

We all gathered a bit of firewood, and they headed their way, and I went further down river, where I thought I saw an elephant. Expressing the thrill of seeing elephants for the first time in your life in the wild isn’t possible in words. I’ve seen them in zoos, and at the circus (now I wish they weren’t in those places at all). I’ve seen them in Thailand, and India, where they are used to give tourists rides…again, now it pains me to think of them kept this way. Though admittedly, I’ve ridden camels in the deserts of the Middle East for week-long Bedouin camps, and road in a dog sled in Sweden, and maybe that’s no different, but for some reason, it seems different to me. These majestic animals, are so powerful, and yet seem so gentle; though they are not, as is evidenced by the destruction of fallen trees they leave in their wake (which also makes it quite easy to find firewood).

It turns out I did see an elephant, in fact two of them.

Wildebeest, not pretty, but pretty cool for sure!

Anyone want to tell him he's missing a horn? — Anyone want to tell him he’s missing a horn?

Noticing the sun beginning to set, I decide to head back to the camp, remembering I need to get a fire going before dark, and I have steak for dinner to cook up.

My first bush camp site, did seem a bit isolated. So I jumped at the opportunity to join a nice couple from Belgium at their site. — My first bush camp site did seem a bit isolated. So I jumped at the opportunity to join a nice couple from Belgium at their site.

Arriving in camp, I see the couple I’d chatted with at the hippo pool, and they invited me to join them in their camp, since this was my first night camping in the bush, I jumped at the invitation. We pooled our food and drink, I had vodka, which Bridgette was craving, and Peter, thought the steak sounded pretty good too. They were from Belgium, and we had a great evening, as we were watching the fire, an elephant came up from the river, and walked right by us! I wasn’t sure what to do, but they just sat still, and watched the elephant walk by. I could sure see why they say not to use the toilets after dark though; you wouldn’t want to be waking from your camp and back, who knows what’s going to show up! Still, we did see three people wander over to the ablution, we just marveled at their carelessness, we were the closest camp to the ablution and there was no way any of us were going, that’s what the empty beer cans were for in my camper, before you say “ugh disgusting” remember this blog is as much about a “how to” as it is a travel blog.

Tag: Elephants

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