Day 18: Chobe, Sunday, Sept 14

Day 18: Chobe, Sunday, Sept 14

QOTD:

Now sometimes distance brings misunderstanding,

But deep in my heart I'm demanding:

Somebody tell me what's the word?

What’s the word: Johannesburg!

Weather: Warm and somewhat of a warm breeze.

Breakfast postponed until after our game drive this morning, the pickup actually happens before 6am and we’re joined by 4 retired Kiwis. Brits make the usual Commonwealth connections, they probably have cousins in common!

Our guide must be either a newbie, incompetent, or both: struggles with the “truck” (a 10 seater where the seats in back get progressively higher, and are covered), stalling frequently, backing into low concrete wall, and several times almost getting us stuck in the sand (it’s fourwheel drive, too). Plus, DB and D do a better job of spotting the game than he does. If you’re in the back of the truck, you can’t hear his explanations (when THB moved to front, he couldn’t understand the explanations, so no better front or back).

Fires, not clear if intentional or not

We have to clear park entrance registration, and our guide manages to pull up to the front of the line (bypassing other trucks) only to have to reverse to let out early arrivals (they must have been picked up at 5:30!).

Our guide takes the path less traveled and we manage (on the tails of another truck/guide) to spot hyenas off in the distance. D guesses that by coming this way, we get a shot at the hyenas that the others coming the opposite direction (the path more traveled) later in the day won’t see.

Road Kill: chased off a hawk

By halftime, around 7:45 or so, we stop for “coffee” (instant packets) and dried bread (not really biscotti), which one whippersnapper vervet monkey manages to attack when nobody is looking and make off with a couple of pieces...do not think this was intentional by guide.

Right after that, a leopard is spotted and the trucks start gathering around. THB sees it, can’t get the camera reactions fast enough to get a pic. Our guide manages to piss off some other drivers by bypassing them and keeping their clients from seeing the leopard.

Finally, after elephants (a slightly different version than we saw in Addo), giraffes, buffalo, antelopes and deers (they differ by horn growth) of different varieties, various birds and one roadkill rabbit, we make it back after 9am for a fast breakfast and a quick turnaround for a 10:30am private boat ride on the Chobe.

Hippos AND Crocs at same time?

Wow, what a difference: it is just the four of us and the guide, he’s very knowledgeable, and knows how to drive a skiff!!!! Tons of birds (he knows them all), lots of elephants, hippos, a monitor lizard or two, buffalo, antelopes and deer, one or two baboons, and a chance to visit Namibia. Well, not exactly!

The Chobe is the river border between Botswana and Namibia and supposedly the guides aren’t allowed to visit the other side. Our guy clearly goes way over halfway across and thus THB is damn sure we were in Namibian water. It counts!!

It’s lunch time when we get back and we dine on the fringe of the Safari pool overlooking the Chobe. THB has an excellent sea bream (whole fish) and chips with salad and veggies, DB has a chicken sandwich with same accoutrements, M has a ham and cheese panini and D goes light with just a salad; a brewski for D, M and THB have soft drinks, total comes to 300 pulas. What is a pula worth? THB is not sure, because he has to translate the euros he converted into pulas into US dollars. Lunch might have been $50 total, plus or minus $20. {ed note: turns out to be even cheaper than THB thought, it was $22!}

A dip in the pool, some picture management on the camera (they still aren’t going on to the Chromebook, which may have only another week or so of usage unless a fix that works over and over again is found for the camera), a quick shower, and it’s time for our next activity (today is a three-fer, tomorrow is a zero as it is a travel day), a three hour boat cruise.

The cruise is a very leisure affair, with most of the sighting rehash of the morning private cruise except now we see alligators. Still, it is worthwhile and supplements the prior trips. We share a bottle of water, 11 pula. Tomorrow we’ll find out what a pula costs (or not, if we charge in pulas we won’t know for a while).

Dinner at Bush (it is soooooooo much better lit than Safari and THB really likes to see his food when eating): buffet, one bottle of sauvignon blanc, one of water, 200 pulas.

Safari Bush Lodge Review: They’ve now been open a week and a half, and THB is here to give you an update on how it is going.

• Bottom line, it is a pretty nice place! Rooms are spacious, lots of ledges, the pool is cool and clean, the food is decent (better than Kamieskroon), the amentities are nice, the towels are large and fluffy, there are two plugs, the A/C is strong (too strong if you don’t like it blowing on you) and you get access to Safari if there are things you like/want to do over there, the dining room is very well lit, people are friendly (though not SA friendly)...now for the nitpicking:
• Hot water in the sink and tub, not in the shower (very impressive plumbing job!) and the shower overflows if let run enough to get tepid water
• While they boast of having an a la carte menu, that hasn’t started yet
• No way for the bar to make typical cocktails (e.g., like a margarita or mojito), that hasn’t started up yet
• The staff tend to congregate and chat amongst themselves, possibly because they don’t have enough to do though THB thinks this is more the norm here than in SA, the idea of customer service is not fully engrained yet
• They can’t change currency at Bush, you have to go to Safari for that (and they ain’t quite worked it out there either, even breaking pula notes into smaller denominations is practically Zimbabwean border control-ish)
• THB was told (not asked!) to settle his bar tab while sitting in the bar area because the bartender needed it closed; THB refused, he thinks the staff was slightly misguided on the instructions and it was way too early for the bar to be closing (it was before dinner)
• When DB asked for a drink made with the welcome juice (which comes out from behind the reception area) the bartender said he couldn’t get any...really? See comment about staff congregating, that happened in the bar, too
• On day one, no washclothes...GOOD NEWS! they showed up on days 2 and 3
• Laundry was done same day, expertly, first time THB remembers having sent out his laundry from a hotel (emphasis on the word “remembers”...remember, THB is now on anti-malaria pills)
• The room cleaning staff started to fold the towels on the bed just like the steward did for us on the Galapagos cruise