Following an easy and relaxed morning breakfast, with three young willing chefs, we pack up ready to head out to Mashi River Camp, off the Caprivi Strip on the banks of the Okovanga Delta. Before we leave an English couple wander over from one of the other pitches, to say hello. They are the 'Birds', Neil and Julie Bird and have a web site 'OverlandBirds.com'. They have an 18 year old Land Rover, complete with bed in the back, set above all their storage ...... no place for 'claustrophobics!' ........ but a great set up and have driven from England right down through Africa!! They have already been away for 12 months and hope to be travelling for a total of 2 to 3 years! ....... makes our trip feel like a weekend picnic!
We eventually get underway, heading out along the deep sand track, winding our way passed the now abandoned, old South African Military Base, last used during the Angolan War. We stop for a moment to admire the view from the remains of the rear steps of the old Generals' Residence. It really is a stunning view, however, past atrocities carried out here during the war are unlikely to resurrect it to its former glory.
Back on the main road we head to Kongola where we pick up supplies and re-fuel, successfully getting through an unscheduled Police check on the way! ....... Elephants, Hippos and Police checks are probably the three most unpredictable things in Botswana and its only the last one where you have to run through the routine of "hats off, sunglasses off and everybody smile!"................. Perhaps we should have tried that on the Elephants and Hippos!! I think the children definately help our cause at the police checks and after the routine conversation of "passports, names, nationality, where we have been and where we are going to" our freindly officer states in an almost dissapointed voice "You are a very innocent man today, Mr John" !! Feeling very relieved at that statement and wondering what he would have said had we not had the children on board, we go on our merry way, secure in the knowledge that our 16 kilos of the 'white stuff' is safely tucked away in 14 tins of 'john west tuna chunks"in the food store!! .............. well I am sure it would have been planted there if we not had the children!
We eventually turn off the main road and head south towards the Mashi River Safari camp. This whole stretch of road is being upgraded, surprisingly, or not as the case may be, at the expense of the Chinese Government!! ......... who are clearly being paid in some economically viable way, that gives China what it needs in terms of natural resources! ...... as why else would they prevail their generosity! ............... although I am not sure 'generosity' was quite the right choice of words! It is quite amazing to see that not only are the Chinese Government funding this project, but they have shipped over a huge chinese workforce to undertake the construction! ....... I suspect another way of attempting to slow down their huge populations drain on their own natural resources, by shipping large Chinese workforces to every third world country in every corner of the world, in the hope that they might stay there and multiply ......... until we all become Chinese! Ok! ........ I think the Chinese conspiracy theory has gone far enough! ................ and you have to admit they are a very tenacious bunch of humans.
The road is bulldozing through local villages, with very little regard for the indigenous population, should they happen to be in the way, but apparently they are being compulsorily compensated to the tune of 'fifty quid' to go and build a new hut somewhere else!! ............. it's that word 'generosity' again!
I decide to pull the Land Rover up in the middle of this dirt road, to fix Imogen's seat belt, accidentally blocking both lanes, but as there are no other normal vehicles around for miles, to worry about (giant construction lorries have their own road!) I didn't think it would be a problem, but taking a little longer than I anticipated to repair the belt, Jo suddenly informs me that there is a white truck coming towards us and I need to move over. I quickly start the Land Rover and pull out of his way, but the pick up truck stops and the driver winds down the window. "YOU MUST BE THE BELL FAMILY" the Driver remarks, in a northern english accent. ......................... Following a moment of stunned silence as we looked at each other all thinking the same question! ....... I didn't know what to say!! ........... "Yes ..... we are the Bell family?!" ......... It was a Victor Meldrew moment! ........ I mean we are in the middle of bloody nowhere, on the back dirt roads of Namibia's Pan Handle, surrounded by mud huts and a chinese construction company and this chap, that has just pulled up, knows my name!! ............ After we had all stopped laughing, at this rather surreal moment, the driver introduced himself as 'Dan Stephens' from Mashi River Safaris ...... "I've been wondering where you were, I expected you a few hours ago!" ............ perhaps it emphasis the remoteness of the region, where somebody you have never met before can recognise a european traveller from 100 metres! ............ or it could have been the giant air balloon with 'we are the Bell Family' painted across the middle, in huge 4m letters, that I had been clearly towing around for the last 200km!!
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| Our new home. |
We slowly wound our way along the sandy bush track and eventually reached the campsite which had only two pitches. It was very nice, indeed a touch of luxury compared to some of our previous sites. The tent pitch, comprising a cleared area of sand, sat directly on the banks of the Mashi river, where the constant song of grunting hippos could be heard from a short distance away and no doubt we would be formerly introduced at breakfast with, hopefully the 'not so hungry' crocodiles! that lived within this amazing area of wetlands. There were two small rondavills, one for the shower and toilet, the other for the kitchen, fully stocked, plus a separate cabin with a table and chairs and outside braai, where we could eat and catch up with diaries.
Dan is 36 and an engineer from Midllesborough, a great sociable chap with an appetite for adventure. He decided that a career in engineering back in his home town was not for him and seeking a new challenge, he gave up the day job and followed his passion to become a game ranger. .......... as you do! After a few years of unrivalled hardship, determined perseverance and indespensible experience he fulfilled his dream and now heads up and runs the Mashi River Community Camp. This brings to mind that wonderful saying "what would you do if you knew you could never fail": a phrase that we would all secretly wish to live our lives by, but Dan has certainly proved those words of wisdom, that failure is never an option in success. Within the Mashi River Camp, Dan has set it out and built everything himself and still lives in a tent on site, whilst the camp becomes established.
After a satisfying supper with the children and Dan, around the warmth of a camp fire, beneath the stars of the African night sky and in ear shot of the dulcet tones of grunting Hippos splashing in the river awaiting their midnight graze, the children retire to bed and we relax around the fire, with the help of a good bottle of wine and several bottles of local beer until midnight. Dan, is a great story teller and with the assistance of a good drink, his Middlesborough accent shines through and with the descriptive assistance of the odd expletive, he tells us tales of the local life and how witchcraft is a huge problem in Caprivi. It seems that nobody ever dies a natural death here, somebody must have 'witched' them. He tells of good workers that come to work for him but a week later they leave because of fear of being witched. "You know those elephants that came to your camp last night" an old man said to one of the young workers. "I sent them as a warning" ....... "If you don't leave the camp I will 'witch' you ..... and the next time they will kill you". The young man never came back to work. .......... Dan has a very good local, older worker who has been with him from the begining and helped him build the kitchens. Dan asked why he did not build himself a kitchen at home ....... "Not possible, ......... if I am seen to be doing better than other people in the village ......... I will be witched" .... Came back the reply. .......... Well at least there is no problem with 'having to keep up with the Jones's!' ........ But improving the situation they are in is clearly a big problem. Apparently one way of becoming a legendary statesman of the village is to spread a rumour that you have survived a "witching". This catapults you into a god like status and quite recently a very large man who drove around in large cars and wearing wide suits, succesfully created this 'comic book' status, allowing him to do as he wanted, take whatever women he wanted and generally adopt the status of 'The Boss Man' .......... That was until more recently when he died in a car crash ............... Apparently the victim of another "witching"?! ....... Local Village life eh!? .......... You just can't get away from it ............. Maybe when I get back it will have caught on in a few English villages!!
Anyway, as night draws in with a few more beers around the warmth of the fire and beneath the myriad of stars under an African sky, Dan recounts his Middlesborough days, and recalls the constant worry of his mother when thinking about his 'most dangerous lifestyle' amongst all of those wild animals. However, as Dan reminds her of his most recent visist back to Middlesborough when he visited his local pub, his father reminding him that "its a bit rough down there these days son" .......... "Dad, I live with wild animals in Africa! ...... Don't be silly" .................. So when returning home at 2.00am with a broken nose and two black eyes, he realised that perhaps the wild animals of Africa were slightly more tame than those in the back streets of Middlesborough!!! .............
Following a good nights sleep and an early rise from the children, excited at the thought of the days' adventures ahead and to the sound of yet more grunting hippos, or perhaps that was just Fred! .... we start with a good breakfast after which Dan prepares his boat for a Delta Safari, complete with tents and food supplies as he was treating us to a night on a remote island in the delta ......... as in ..... very remote!
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| Imogen at the helm with Dan and Clement |
With the boat packed we set off for our trip with Dan at the helm and Clement in charge of supplies. We made our way quietly down the Mashi River, which is also called the Chobe River further downstream once it reaches Botswana, which is part of a huge delta with many small tributaries and plenty of wildlife ........... including our three on board! We see kingfishers, coucals and purple heron as well as getting up close and personal with Elephant, Hippo and Buffalo. It was great to be relaxing on the calm waters of the river, as opposed to the dusty corrugated dirt roads in the Landrover and after a leisurely couple of hours we stopped at a small island to stretch our legs on land where we came across a heard of elephants, silently moving through the thick bush, grazing along the way. We got as close as we dare to watch them as they fed but gave ourselves enough room to make a quick exit with three children, if we needed to.
Back on the boat we slipped our way gently through the tranquil waters, but suddenly heard a lot of crashing about amongst the reeds. Expecting hippo, we were very surprised when we came across a large elephant wading up to its neck, munching its way through the reeds. It was an amazing sight watching this huge animal feeling quite at home so deep in the water and very close to the boat. It soon became clear that there was more than one elephant in the water feasting on the reeds, but it was also comforting that they appeared far more approachable in the water than on land as they were slightly outside their comfort zone so less aggressive to our approaching boat.
After watching them for a while we moved off and came across another heard of elephants, this time on land and much more confident with their assertive warning signs, as we had a late lunch in front of them. Further down the river we came across a large hippo ................ mind you I have never seen a skinny one! ..... close up, the closest we had been, but it didn't show much interest in us, thankfully. We then saw an amazing site a huge heard of grazing buffalo, covering the river bank like a moving black cloak within a mist of dust. There must have been some three hundred buffalo as we slowly drifted towards them. This was the beauty of being on a boat, it was possible to get so much closer to wildlife in the water than on land, without the imminent fear of being challenged or trampled to death. The water gave you an element of security as the land based animals knew it would be foolish and hopeless to charge a potential threat through water. .............. just keep your eye on the hippos! However, being so close did still release a certain amount of adrenalin, especially within the children, as your mind toiled with the un-natural reality of being this close to three hundred Buffalo, as on land Buffalo will charge with no warning from a distance much further away than 20 meters! ................ What appeared to be the head of the heard was directly on the river bank standing his ground with a raised head, sniffing our scent in the air and snorting with sense of great disagreement, that we dare to enter his territory. The others in front showed similar reactions before turning and setting the whole heard off in a charge of retreat, with the sound of thundering hooves and the black cloak disappearing very quickly into a storm of dust.
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| Buffalo on the river bank |
We watched in awe from the boat and followed the river round to where we could see them re-settled in the distance and Dan steered towards the bank where he pulled up leaving the engine running. 'Everyone stay on the boat, your dad and I are just going to go for a little walk," he said in a 'matter of fact' Middlesborough accent, both to my surprise and excitement. We walked off into the bush to track the Buffalo heard and could soon see an enormous black line in the distance, that seemed to go on for ever! and following Dan we quietly moved closer and closer until we got to a distance where I was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable! ........... OK ... what I am trying to say is that the smell from my backside was about to give the game away!! We could see a small number of them looking towards us, clearly catching our scent in the wind, ..... well .... certainly mine anyway! but unable to see exactly what was out there. Buffalo, can charge on a whim and it only takes one to decide to charge for the rest to follow. The thought of three hundred Buffalo suddenly heading my way was not something I wanted to think about until, half crawling amongst the bushes, Dan made several calm hand gestures towards a couple of small trees that he was indicating we should climb if they charge!! ............... I think Dan could see the look on my face of total bemusement that he was seriously considering the two of us hot footing it up two ....... what appeared to be .... very small trees, whilst three hundred buffalo ran beneath us! .............. it was almost another Victor Meldrew moment ....... 'What do you mean .......... you expect me to climb a bloody bush whilst three hundred buffalo rampage beneath me ................ are you completely bloody mad!!"
We didn't move any closer, but knelt down watching them for a while and as more of them appeared to sense our presence, we decided it would be a far safer and less comical option, to slowly retreat back to the boat. It was quite an exhilerating moment stalking such a large heard of these beautiful but quiet dangerous and unpredictable creatures and one that I will never forget!
Back on the boat we continued on our journey and the children, now great wildlife spotters, point out hippos, tsessebe; related to the topi and one of the fastest antelope in the bushveld, lechwe; which have the most beautiful set of horns and sitatunga; semi aquatic antelope sometimes known as marsh buck.We eventually made it to our small island and unpacked the boat, setting up the tents, collecting wood and getting the fire going as soon as we could. This island in the delta was truly remote and the familiar sound of grunting hippos could be heard in the distance as Dan prepared our chicken curry supper over the fire.
We all ate well; Harry, Freddie and Imogen, now accustomed to eat practically anything that was put in front of them, the curry washed down with a good red wine and we all listened to Dan's captivating stories of the wild. We were lucky enough to witness a most beautiful sun set over the calm and quiet waters of the Mashi River .............. another stunning African sunset and Dan took the boys to the other side of the island to watch as this blazing red ball slowly disappear from view.
It was a full moon tonight and after the fill of supper at about 10.00pm, the children still awake, Dan took us out on the boat on a night safari. No lights on the boat were allowed so we could only travel by the light of the moon. Dan was aware of a large elephant carcus on one of the other islands, it had been badly injured and put out of its misery by park officials, the smell of which had now travelled some distance and was awakening the senses of hyenas on the mainland, who's familiar haunting cries could be heard in the distance. Dan's girlfriend was studying hyena behaviour and it was apparently very unusual for any hyena to swim across a river for food, so Dan wanted to check for the presence of hyena and tonight we witnessed a unique occurrence. As we shone our torches towards the body of the dead elephant, we noticed that two hyena had made the long and dangerous swim across several stretches of river to feast on the rotting flesh of the elephant carcus, clearly the pangs of hunger having allayed their fear of the water.
We all slept well that night, especially the children, in the safety of our tents surrounded by ............. who knows what when you are asleep!
Back at camp the next day Harry catches up on his diary before we all go fishing to catch lunch although we notice a very camouflaged crocodile basking in the sun along the way!
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| Harry catching up on his diary |
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| Not something you want to trip over! |
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