Into The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, Kalahari Desert
Tuesday 14 June - the Kalahari Desert Awaits
This morning, still in the Okavango Delta, I was up early for a last game drive before coming back to Splash Camp to collect my bags ahead of the 40 minute drive to the Kwara Airstrip, or as Godfrey refers to it: “Kwara International Airport”. We were due to fly to San Camp in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans of the Kalahari Desert. At least it was supposed to be “we”. Nick woke with a rather nasty gastro bug and decided to stay for an extra night, while I flew on ahead. Thanks to Stephen G, our link with Netcare ensured that he was well looked after, and was able to fly in the following day.
The drive to the airstrip was the only one without a stop for a photo. So we arrived well ahead of the incoming aircraft, and were able to complete one very important task: we drove the length of the airstrip to ensure that no animals were snoozing on the dirt. There was no snoozing happening, just a bunch of baboons playing at one end. Having successfully driven them well away, the little Cessna 165 was able to land safely, and since I was the only passenger, I was in the co-pilot’s seat for the flight back to Maun – what a treat this was. And I promise that the only controls I touched were on my iPhone.
After a short layover, the flight from Maun to the Tsigaro airstrip was a 1.5 hour flight in a very comfortable Cessna Caravan. The further south we went, the more the vegetation become sparse, and large and small salt pans became more visible. The airstrip at Tsigaro was essentially salt, hard clumps of it that really must reduce the lifespan of aircraft tyres.
This is the stepping off point for three different camps: San Camp, Jack’s Camp (the original in this area), and Camp Kalahari. A UK couple on the flight, Beth & Jack, just married on Saturday, were also coming to San Camp. We identified our luggage, it was tossed into the back of the 4WD, and we were now on our way to our new home for the next 3 nights. Of course we watched for animals along the way, and Beth soon spotted a jackal eating the remains of a black mamba – ughh, I couldn’t even look!
Off in the distance we could see the large white tents that are San Camp. On arrival there, we were greeted with cold towels that were very refreshing after the dusty ride, and after a briefing in the “tea tent”, a shoes-off space where we would catch up at the end of each day before dinner, we were taken to our tents and shown around.
Our tents were amazing: large, white canvas that zipped like a regular tent with mesh that kept the bugs out. There was a beautiful sitting area on the veranda that I used one afternoon, and inside were two Queen-sized beds, and beautiful timber furniture. The bathroom was at the back, and included a timber “throne” as well as a very nice shower. Each tent has its own solar power for the two lights and to heat the water. And each morning at 6:30am, one of the wonderful staff brought a pot of tea & two homemade cookies to my tent, balancing the tray on her head. Remarkable - they also moved luggage around the same way.
Our guide was Desmond – and wow, what eyes he has. He could spot a bird and name the type before we could even see it. Before our first dinner this evening, he took us to see some hyena pups living in the desert in a nice hiding place. Driving across the salt lake to see them was like being on the moon – deserted other than odd shrubs that grow where wildebeest that eat grasses and seeds, have deposited their droppings.
With folks from the other two Camps in their 4WDs, we watched the young hyenas as they waited patiently for mum to return with some food. The sun was setting to our left and the sky started changing colour to various shades of orange. I looked to my right – the full moon was rising. What a treat!
After driving away from the hyenas (hopefully their mother wasn’t too far away), Desmond stopped the 4WD for sundowners. He also pulled a large flat map from the 4WD, put it onto the sand, holding it down with cans from the sundowner “pack” we were enjoying, and not only showed us where we were, he also explained how the Okavango Delta and Kalahari Desert have developed over the eons. Fascinating information. However it was quite dark now and we had a long, cold drive back to camp in time for dinner.
Asleep in my bed overlooking the desert, with two “Bush Babies” keeping me warm, I was occasionally woken through the night by snuffling sounds, animals rubbing against the tent, and the odd grunting from some other wild critter. At around 4am the wind came up, and then became louder and louder. The large canvas walls were flapping on their stays, and the noise seemed to be increasing in ferociousness. I started to wonder if this was going to be a Wizard of Oz replay?
Then it stopped as quickly as it had arrived – perhaps what we call a “willy-willy” had passed through from the desert? Fortunately there was no repeat while I was there.
Wednesday, 15 June
Breakfast was packed into the 4WD – we would be eating out on the salt pans this morning. Desmond had seen a large herd of wildebeest grazing on grasses off in the distance. We headed off-road to take photos of them with the moon slowly setting in the background. Not only were there wildebeest, there were also herds of springbok running and pronking.
As we approached we saw a large wildebeest, probably the alpha male, push one of the smaller males away. The smaller one tried to come back – the larger one basically said “no way” and chased it well away from the herd. The smaller one wandered off looking sad as only a wildebeest can. One day it would be his turn to find some females to create his own herd, but for now, he was alone in the wilderness.
After seeing this happen, it was amazing to see how many single males are out there, each banished from their herd.
We drove off the grasses onto the edge of a salt pan, the intention being that we’d follow the edges until we were well away from the Camp.
Desmond spotted two female lions (a mother and her 2 year old cub) with a dead wildebeest – he thought that it was a fairly recent kill, possibly during the night. The mother, clearly pregnant, was doing a great job of pulling and grabbing meat from nooks and crannies while her cub looked on before joining in to help herself to other parts. After a while, the mother wandered off into the distance, leaving the cub to feed on her own. Desmond wondered whether this was the moment that the mother was leaving the cub to fend for herself.
We moved along, driving around the edges of the salt pan, then crossing on a “path” that’s used by the 4WDs. Birds were everywhere, trees and wildebeest off in the distance, often with zebra amongst them. We stopped on the edge of a salt pan and enjoyed our teas, coffees, delicious home-made muesli and fresh muffins. It was a wonderful start to the day.
On the way back to San Camp we saw herds of zebra, ostrich and many types of small animals including ground squirrels and mongoose. But now it was time for lunch and an afternoon “siesta”, and for me, a catch-up on photos and blog posts.
This afternoon we met the “Bushmen of the Kalahari” - they are part of the Khoisan group and are related to the Khoikhoi, a tribe of women and men who are keeping their traditional hunting, cooking, teaching and health practices alive. Five men, four women and a young boy arrived at San Camp in their traditional clothing. They spoke to us in their native language, a complex one that uses unusual clicks and guttural tones – although they all speak English, for this demonstration, only two of the men translated to English while the others provided information in their language.
We learned how they use the berries from a particular tree to extract a poison that they put on arrows when they’re hunting. This apparently causes blood clots, killing the animal relatively quickly. They know how to circumvent being poisoned themselves by leaving the animal for a period of time so that the poison is broken down.
[I thought that if we don’t know about this substance already, perhaps there’s an opportunity to produce an effective anticlotting drug from this poison].
They showed us how they track animals, and how they start a fire using the grass-rich dung from zebras. It was an amazing few hours as we followed them around the bush near San Camp.
This evening’s dinner was very special. It was my birthday, and once main course plates were cleared, all the staff from San Camp came into the dining area with a special cake. They sang our “usual” happy birthday song, and then moved to another area where they sang in their own language, their beautiful voices in perfect harmony. Then it was time to dance as well, and yes, I had to join in. It was a wonderfully touching evening, and a birthday I’ll never forget.
The cake, shared with all guests, was delicious – and I have video of them singing!
Thursday 16 June
This morning was “meet the meerkats”, and “breakfast in the bush”. We arrived in the area where the meerkats had been seen the evening before by two of the four people who watch over them and keep them habituated to humans. We were just in time to see them come out of their burrow, standing still facing the sun, warming themselves before they set out to hunt. They are from the mongoose family, not rodents as I’d thought.
We took turns sitting on a mound of dirt, and they came up close, two sitting very close to my left leg with one almost leaning on me. I could hear them chatting to each other – very quiet (to us) squeaks. The temptation to touch them was strong – their fur looks so soft – but we had to resist since, although habituated to humans, they are still wild animals.
Watching them dig for their food was amazing. They sniff around the dirt, find a spot that smells good and then use their front paws to furiously dig, the dirt spurting out behind them. See photos on my photo website.
Two of us wandered back to the 4WD to just enjoy being out in the desert, while others continued to watch the meerkats. We heard one of the other guides on the radio saying that he’d found a lion kill with a mother and 3 small cubs. We waved down Desmond and soon we were driving across roads and off-road to find the lions.
This time we went into the National Park, passing a waterhole that had masses of wildebeest, zebra & two ostrich. Further along Desmond spotted jackals and vultures sitting high in trees indicating that we were heading to the right place. Soon after, there they were!
The big male lion had dragged the kill (a wildebeest) into a nice hiding place, where he could see anything approach. He was clearly guarding his kill. The female and her three cubs were about 3 meters away watching us watch them. We stopped to take photos in their great hiding place – it provided challenging photography, but it was fascinating to see how they hid and blended into the bush.
Later we drove to other waterholes, hoping to spot an elephant. On the way we saw an injured wildebeest limping, and also a zebra with a significant injury to one leg. As hard as it is to watch these animals, there is nothing we could do, and lack of human intervention is important in these wild environments.
Elephants! Two elephants – both big males. One was apparently new to the area, and since Desmond wasn’t sure whether or not he’d react to us, he was very cautious and we were very quiet. The elephant showed us his huge ears, a potential danger sign. We moved on!
Tonight was our last evening at San Camp. We had been so well looked after in this wonderful part of the world. The temperature was dropping and I was soon in bed with my two “bush babies” keeping me warm. Reading on my iPad only lasted about 10 minutes, if that! I woke around 1:30am to grunting noises outside my tent, some snoring, and definitely something rubbing against the canvas. Desmond thought it was probably wildebeest that had wandered into the camp through the night.
Following breakfast, and all too soon, we were back in the 4WD and driving towards the airstrip. Our Major Blue GA8 Airvan landed on time, and we were soon airborne, and on our way to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
What an extraordinary place Botswana is. The significant contrasts between the Delta and the Kalahari Desert, and the associated adaptations of animals and humans, add to the wonder of this place. I look forward to coming back to spend more time here.
Thank you for your kind messages that make their way to my inbox via the wonders of email. I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying reading my blog.
Update re photos. I’ll be adding photos to https://www.elanezphotography.com/ in the next couple of days, and will include a link on the front page to “Botswana”.
Short break in blog posts: from Tuesday 21 June, there’ll be “radio-silence” for about 10 days while we’re in the South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. I look forward to resuming the posts with tales from Zambia.
Location on Map: LINK