Baobab Camp, Botswana

Yesterday was a traveling day. We left for our 11:30 AM flight at 8:30 AM, arriving in Zimbabwe about 1:30 PM. It took about another hour to get our visas. There we met our tour leader, Sanction, who seems to be a good natured, humoristic fellow. They had just opened a new International Terminal in Victoria Falls and we were greeted by an acapella group as we left the airport. It took about 3 hours to drive to Baobob Camp, passing through border security for Botswana about half way. We were the only group crossing at that time, so things went swiftly. The camp staff greeted us with singing when we reached the camp. (This would be true for all four camps). We’re in Baobob One camp which has stone buildings with tent tops with a great view of the Chobe river. (We stayed at Baobob Two last time we were here.) As part of the orientation at each of our camps, we're warned about not leaving our tents after dark, animals run freely through the camp, and keeping our candies, gum and food locked up (usually in the reception area) to avoid hungry visitors in our tents. 

Zambezi River from Baobob Camp

During the night, we heard a lion passing through camp, really close. Quickly demonstrating the warning about leaving your tent at night.  We started our morning game drive by trying to locate the lion near the camp. Our driver/guides at Baobob are Timmy and Emax. We never found it, so we headed to Chobe Park. Our first discovery was Kudu, the male Kudu add a twist to their horns every two years. Then we spotted Plains Zebra with their shadow stripe (the emblem of Botswana). Finally we entered the 11000 sq. km. Chobe National Park and quickly encountered Southern Ground Hornbills, followed by a Honey Badger scampering across the road. We saw lots of impalas. (If you don’t see an impala, it isn’t a game drive.) There numbers are huge because they have synchronized breeding, all their young drop at the beginning of the rainy season. This allows the herd to better protect all the young. As we headed to the river, we saw all kinds of birds: Green Wood Hoopoe, White Backed Vulture, Cape Starling, Tawny Eagle, African Openbill, Black-Winged Stilt, African Fish Eagle, Red-billed Hornbill (these would be almost as common as the African Dove on our trip) and our favorite the Lilac Breasted Roller. As we drove along the water, we encountered Waterbucks, a Nile Crocodile, Black-Backed Jackal and Southern Giraffe.

Lilac Breasted Roller

In the afternoon, we set off to the village of Mabele. We visited a well-off grandmother who has a nice home with electricity and water. Her sons and grandchildren live in an adjacent building. She proudly showed us her garden and summer kitchen. Then we went to a small cultural center in the village to admire the baskets the women made there. Meanwhile the kids were having a great time.

Kids having fun

Brief History of Botswana

Botswana is about the size of Texas with only 2.2 million people. During colonial times, it was the left-overs of Southern Africa, totally land-locked, it had no know exploitable resources. The first whites in the country were British missionaries. Dutch slavery practices in South Africa forced other tribes into southern Botswana. The Dutch were eventually defeated by three major tribes with the help of the missionaries. The chiefs of these tribes asked for British protection from the Dutch, making Botswana a British protectorate, but not a colony. Beef production became the major industry. Meanwhile Cecil Rhodes discovered copper in eastern Botswana. Part of his grand scheme for Africa was a railroad from Cape Town to Cairo to move goods. The tribal chief in the east petitioned the Queen of England worried that Rhodes was going to take their land as part of his grand scheme. This chief eventually became the first prime minister of Botswana. In 1966, Botswana gained its independence just before diamonds were discovered. Today, Botswana has a stable economy based on diamonds, tourism, and beef. A large part of the country is preserved as National Parks.