Sunset III - Khama Rhino Sanctuary
You could tour all of England and still only see the equivalent of 1/3 of Queensland. Similarly you can’t tour the 2nd largest chunk of land on the planet without expecting to spend vast amounts of time, and distances, behind the wheel of some vehicle. Today our overland journey began and we’d be travelling from Joburg into Botswana as per the cartoonish map buried within the travel brochure scanned months before when booking this trip. On paper it didn’t really seem that daunting but by the days end we all came to know the journey would be 900km and take over 10hr.
The formalities started at the ungodly hour of 4:30am in the hotel foyer with bags packed and essentials at hand. Johannesburg was chilli that time of day and in sleep deprived silence we loaded the bus with the aforementioned bags then ourselves to begin our Okavango Delta Experience.
Our little group comprised 15 adventurers and 3 staff to make the journey seamless. Richard was our guide and leader, King Richard he would quickly ascent to with his sidekick, Mr B, our driver extraordinaire and jack of all trades ensuring we always stayed upwardly mobile. The apex of this African triangle, and according to her the most important component, was Nola our tour chef who was larger than life and as dictatorial as Idi Amin when it came to her kitchen. During the miles of bitumen passing beneath us, she did little and remained essentially unseen, however by late afternoon or whenever the cooking modules were unloaded it was best to just steer clear and button your lip.
Intrepid are an Australian based travel company operational in over 100 countries around the world. Built on an ethos of taking little and returning more to the destinations they visit, they have earned a reputation for ethical tourism and ground roots travel experiences. We would be travelling in a custom built 24 seater overland bus featuring large viewing windows, personal lockers and African A/C for the next 10 days and it all started in the alien green glow of the Holiday Inn Johannesburg.
Out of town and still shaded in darkness, the bus windows started to condensate as the ominous glow of the eastern sun took the horizon through a kaleidoscopic journey of nautical twilight blue to predawn deep red then the burnt orange of daybreak. That drew audible gasps from all 6 rows of the bus alone telling Fatpap and Lyndall that our companions would be similarly minded when it came to nature and its raw beauty.
We had a Sydney based paediatrician and his midwife wife making a journey they were almost bullied into by their kids, and chick housemates and best friends from Brisbane who were as goofy as us both. Another husband and wife team from Melbourne rounded out the east coast Cap City representation with our last Australian being a self confessed nomad travelling solo now for almost 15 years. From England there were 2 beautiful ladies, one tending to her “fuckit” list after the recent passing of her husband, the other a true friend accompanying her on that quest, and another solo woman based just out London who was on a pilgrimage of sorts of her own. The youngest of our group was a gorgeous Welsh girl (actually living in England) who remained quiet at first but gradually unveiled her beautiful colours, and it only took a few beers. The last was a young couple out of Canada almost perfect in the sense they were 1) Canadian, 2) a bridge between all age groups, and 3) basically just really lovely people to hang with.
Fatpap of course was the squeaky cog in this multifarious people machine but by the end of the day last nights prediction gained affirmation with each passing kilometre….all 900 of the bastards.
Without lying it was a tough day of travel made just that little bit tougher by the lack of information passed down from the three in the front seat. We weren’t kept in the dark by any stretch but more detailed, “non African” timelines and information would have helped us better gauge what was expected of our increasingly sore arses, twisted backs and swelling bladders. After a few days we all understood the guarded approach taken as we had massive distances to cover and a limited time in which to cover them.
However, we did arrive to our camp on time having entered another country and braving the individualistic border crossing procedures of Botswana. Our camp tonight would be at the community based Khama Rhino Sanctuary located about 25km outside of Serowe. Established in 1992 to help save the vanishing rhinoceros and restore historic wildlife populations, it also helps develop the surrounding community through tourism and the breeding and sale of animals to other farms when capacity is exceeded on the property. Covering approximately 21,500 acres of Kalahari sandveld, it is home to white and black rhinos as well as over 30 other mammal and 230 bird species.
So on a bed of fine Kalahari sand we pitched our tents and established camp for our first night in the wilderness. No power tonight, no lights and no luxuries. A toilet block was a brave walk away and showers too which Fatpap will attest to being nothing more than cold water through a pipe. But this was Africa and exactly what we’d signed up for when undertaking this amazing journey to the delta.
With everyone settled an open side safari vehicle appeared out of nowhere and like kids on a year end excursion we excitedly clambered in for our first safari on tour. With the sun methodically setting to finish another daily arc, its golden hour hue cut its way transcendently into the grasses and tress as deftly as our driver found the wildlife now openly crossing the savannah in the cooling part of day. We saw rhino as expected, zebra, wildebeest and impala, but the biggest gasps were saved for the giraffes who are, in all honestly, really the most majestic creatures to walk Africa and possibly the world. Like Slovenian super models sauntering down a catwalk, their elongated legs and necks swayed in perfect unison with their nonchalant head turns nothing short of Zoolander’s Blue Steel. Add their individualised and colour changing patterns of their hides and these marvels of nature are arguably the finest animals to ever grace the planet.
It would prove in time to be but an entree to our safari experiences, but for now, on this day, our first outside the cities, this was magical and something none of us will ever forget. The sun disappeared as its want and we drove back to camp in near darkness comparing images and marvelling at animals until now only seen in zoos.
By our return Nola was in full swing and the camp kitchen, essentially boxes hinged from the side of the bus may well have been a Parisian Michelin starred establishment such was the care, devotion and pride exhibited by Nola in it. Our hands were to be unquestionably washed for like Capt. James Cook and his fight against scurvy, Nola’s commitment to cleanliness made perfect sense given our environment and the fact it was shared serving and communal eating. There were no tables, only the stability of joined knees balancing a warm plate of hot food and a mug of your desired vice making repeated patterns in the thinly grained sand of natures floor. Rickety camp chairs in the middle of a rhino statuary delivered exactly per the brochure putting us all in the most dreamlike state. We have no recollection of what was on the menu tonight save the fact it was absolutely delicious and on the right side of wholesome given the day we had experienced. The troop was split into 5 equal groups based on immediate seating arrangements for washing up detail that would rotate though the course of our journey and soon after some rum, and even darker liquids, were retrieved from the bottom of our bags for appropriate airing.
That first night under African skies the stars took on an un-recalled brilliance as did the 18 travellers in getting to know one another and sharing stories of our life’s journey thus far.
