Sep 10
Last night we fell asleep to the
sounds of the frogs croaking and the bellowing and grunting of the hippos.
(better than any sound machine)
We woke up to no running water this morning. We don’t know if it’s just us or the whole camp. We got ready and left for breakfast. Turns out it’s the whole camp that is out. We were told it would be fixed when we got back from the morning game drive. The running water is just for flushing toilets and showers as brushing teeth, and all the cooking was done with purified water.
Eating breakfast while balancing plates on our laps by the firepit wasn’t easy so we moved to the dining area with tables and chairs.
On the game drive we almost missed seeing the Marsh Mongoose as KB kept saying it was on the right when it was on the left. (then he’d say right and back and forth) We did finally see it.
There were quite a few Vervet Monkeys in the trees, (all far away) a female Cheetah and the water attracted lots of birds and Red Lechwe. One of the highlights was the Owlet we came across. The biggest highlight was a pride of Lions with a young giraffe kill. (Lioness with a young male and three female young) We could see a Giraffe family nearby and they appeared to be mourning one of their young. The “circle of life” can be hard to witness.
We watched them for a long time and then went to a safe place for our morning break with snacks and drinks. We went back afterwards to see their progress. You can see the very full bellies, and they are lounging around like house cats. You can also see the pink tinge in their fur from feeding on the giraffe.
On the drive back to the camp some Baboons and Vervet Monkeys were sounding alarms, and TS knew there was a predator close by. We don’t know how he saw it, but there was a male leopard hiding in the bushes that was very hard to see. It really was just a blob of spots. Again, KB had a hard time positioning us to see it without craning our necks. We finally got him to back up and he was much easier to see.
The rest of the drive back to the camp yielded a lot of birds. These guides weren’t in a hurry to get back for “brunch” compared to the last camp where we were back around 11:00 each morning. We were back by noon. With the morning snack break and a hardier lunch (besides made-to-order omelets) it worked very well.
There still was no running water, and we found out that Big Kwara had broken a water pipe.
After lunch we took some photos of the camp and checked out the pool (there is one for each side of the camp). There also was a small area to get drinks. (beer and wine) The pool didn’t look that inviting, but perhaps we should have taken a dip to clean off. The manager came by and told us that there still wasn't any water, and he would be back in 15 minutes with an update. No update ever came and we left to go to the afternoon tea. There they told us they hoped to have it fixed by that evening. So, no shower today. I guess we should have asked but it would have been nice if they offered to bring some hot water to the tent to wash up during the mid-day break.
After the teatime with really good food, we took off for the afternoon for a game drive and the sunset boat trip. The boat trip was nice, but it was right into the sun. (the morning ones probably were better for avoiding that)
The guide continued to be “annoying”. At one point he said "hippo" and we asked where and the answer was "outside".
He pulled into an alcove and asked me “can you tell me what plant this is? We were surrounded by many different plants and I asked “which plant?”. He answered, “come on Annette, you know which one” Yikes! None of us are mind readers.
He seemed to want us to go upstairs but it was so sunny we resisted until he finally insisted. His plan was to serve the sundowner snacks there as we parked at the Godikwe Rookery. (the rookery was the highlight of the boat trip) We watched Marabou Storks feed their young in the nest, Yello-billed Storks on their nest and on one we could see an egg. They were fun to watch the interaction and all the action in the rookery.
It was time to return, and we had to go back downstairs. We had to wait until TS took all the food and drinks back downstairs before we could get up from our seats to go down. He yelled up at us that we had to come down. Sheesh, if you aren’t going to help, at least give TS time to clean up. It was a beautiful sunset.
The managers explained that the water
still wasn’t fixed. Everything they tried blew out the pipes again. They said
they would deliver extra clean water to the tents later. No plan for having
heated water to maybe at least wash up. Back at the tent we said we should have
grabbed one of the hot water containers they put out for the coffee drinkers to
take back to their tents.
Tomorrow, we will game drive until it's time for the mokoro experience and finish with game drives morning and afternoon. We went to bed hoping the water would be fixed. Really feeling the need to shower and wash my hair....
Photos & videos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Jxe9Qs9coN1KAsaK7
