Day 140 - 141 Border ferries and guns.

Day 140-141
Zambia to Botswana - Thaka

This morning we leave the comfort of Waterbury Lodge and I am trying to finish the Blog but having trouble loading photos.  Internet and Africa do not exactly go together.  Its midday by the time I finish and Kevin the Manager kindly gives me a new memory card as mine are full and there is nowhere to buy a new one close by. They kindly supply us with bread and sandwich filling and we are on our way to the Border at Kazangula, where we are to catch the ferry, crossing the Zambezi to Botswana.

We were hoping it might be a little easier leaving the country than it was getting in and we soon arrived at the border gate, parked up and immediately became swarmed by the usual collection of touts, who we did our best to ignore.  We decide to spare the children from the decidedly relaxed pace of the immigration officials so left them in the car to deal with the touts while we headed to immigration.  The queuing system seemed a little haphazard as we fought to get attention and once through immigration we were ushered to Customs for more form filling, then to the Police to pay the Council Tax and finally we were able to buy the ferry ticket. Recently Zambia had introduced new regulations about accepting US Dollars which gave us a bit of an issue as we then had to trade S.A. Rand for local currency with one of the many touts, following a firm bartering session over the exchange rate.  Having concluded successful negotiation, with ferry tickets in hand we headed back to the Land Rover, hoping the two boys hadn't decided to trade their sister for American Dollars, or a goat.

Back in the Landy, after checking the goat isn't on board, we drive with purpose, through the border gate with an odd sense of freedom and head down to the waters edge towards the chain link ferry, which will take us across the fast flowing waters of the mighty Zambezi River. There, we are informed by a semi official looking local, that steps of, what appears to be the 'Zambia' ferry, that OUR ferry, the 'Botswana' ferry, is the one parked up, where the driver has now taken his lunch break and we are to park up and wait! How long is a Zambian 'lunch break'?   This was very soon followed by an angry looking official heading huridely down from the border gate, waving his arms and pointing towards us, in a way that gave us a clue that we had, or had not, done something that we were supposed to have done! With various local expletives reverberating from his mouth, we eventually realised that we were suppose to have stopped at the border gate and handed in our TIP Transit Permit, instead of which we had 'run' the border gate without stopping, just like in the movies! only our escape plan didn't involve a fast boat waiting to escape across the Zambezi, but a stationary chain-link vehicle ferry with a driver on his lunch break!  Life is never quite like the movies!

It took some time to apologise convincingly enough to prove we were not criminals .......... having young children certainly helped and eventually he ordered us back to the border gate where we drove back through turned around back to the gate, stopped and submitted our paperwork. His colleague in the hut, who was clearly the mans superior and the one who had ordered that he run after us, was definitely trying to find fault with the paperwork but luckily everything was in place and he finally let us through.      

We drive back through the gate and head back to the parking spot we were in before, waiting for our Botswana ferry driver to finish his lunch. Within seconds we are surrounded by local sellers pestering us to buy local trinkets, whilst we attempt to make some sandwiches for our own lunch. We eventually resign ourselves to the fact that we will have to purchase something to keep the locals happy and hopefully leave us in peace,  so a couple of small wooden carved bowls and a hippo are duly negotiated at a price we are sure is significantly higher than we should be paying, but the haggling can sometimes be quite intense and we just want a bit of peace and quiet.

Our ferry man finishes his lunch and we drive on to the chain ferry where we appear to be accompanied by an armed soldier in camouflage uniform with an automatic rifle and bayonet over his shoulder. He seems happy enough and the children grab a photograph with him as the ferry completes its short journey to the Botswana border on the bank of the Zambezi River.

More paperwork at the Botswana Immigration Building and more money to pay for insurance and tax.  We believe we should be getting a TIP for the car, but customs assure us we do not need one so we cautiously take their word for it and begin the next leg of our journey, heading to Kasane, which is the nearest riverside town where we can stock up with supplies.  On our way we pas a new trendy development of riverside apartments, available as a time share for the price of £5,000 for a week!.  www.buybridgetown.com;  -  sounds very expensive.

We make Kasane and fill up with supplies, although the time is now getting on and we need to make it to Chobe National Park (Sidudu Gate). Unfortunately from the entrance to the Park, we still have 34km to get to our campsite for the night and handing over our permits and signing the indemnity waivers, all takes time the we don't have. it is a great time to start seeing animals coming out at dusk as we head for Ihaha campsite, which will be our home for the next two nights. We start off on the deep sand track that runs alongside the Chobe River, which establishes the border between Namibia and Botswana, sometimes following slightly more stable stretches on the river bank where we soon come across elephants and hippo who are getting quite excitable in front of several safari boats.  As we need to get to camp quickly before dark, we head off the river track, back to the main track, which is quite busy with safari vehicles heading back to Kasane and we don't reach Ihaha camp until 6.00pm.  The office is already closed but luckily we know we have pitch number 4, which we search for in the dark.  We find it and realise it directly overlooks a water inlet with a large plain in front.  There are no fences so it looks as though we will be sharing our pitch with the hippos and crocodiles and anything else that might wish to join us for supper!  As the evening draws in we rush to get our tents up and the fire alight so that we can eat as quickly as possible and get the children into bed on top of the Land Rover, before too many unwanted guests start turning up.  You certainly get the feeling that if you are not quick at this time in the evening  ...............  you might well become supper!

We cook the Tiger fish that the children were so proud to catch and prepare the evening before, but are warned that they are quite a bony fish.  We start eating the fish but the bones end up getting the better of us and as it is now pretty dark, we quickly dispose of the uneaten elements in a bin at the next door pitch which is vacant, infact they are all vacant except us!.  Hopefully this will divert any hungry guests that will smell the fish from some way off, to the next door pitch and not our own, well ........ that was wishful thinking.  ........... it was certainly a night we won't forget in a hurry.

Another beautiful sunset viewed from our tent across the plains in front of us
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As soon as we settled down in our sleeping bags the distant and now familiar sound of hyenas could be heard at what seemed about half a mile away. It is a wonderful sound and one that you never forget, but as the night drew in the sound certainly was getting a lot closer.  Clearly the smell of cooked fish was an attractive draw.  We had become quite used to the noises outside our very thin canvas tent and had become accustomed to sleeping through most of them, but it was always the initial settling down, when the torch was out that your senses became aware of every noise and movement and there were plenty to think about, but you soon drifted off.
At about 3.00am, in the pitch black, I suddenly felt something very close by to my left ear and woke immediately.  It was the low grumble and panting breath of what must have been a Lion, trying to smell through the canvas, .................. but it was literally some 10 inches from my left ear, with approximately 3mm of canvas between us.   It was very unnerving and without making any sudden moves, I gently elbowed Jo in the side, whispering with some in-trepidation in her ear,  'IT'S A LION' .......................  it was extremely haunting for the few seconds it was there and then became strangely silent.

We drifted in and out of sleep but at some stage during the night we both remember hearing the frenzied noise of a pack of hyenas, very close by, who must have been feeding on a recent kill and also searching for the remnants of some expertly cooked fish for supper.

The next morning we awoke and peered outside of the tent, me checking for fresh animal tracks, as I always did, to see who had visited in the night and this morning I was not disappointed.  There were Hyena tracks all around the tent and Lion tracks.  I had never seen so many hyena tracks that close to the tent before.  It must have been the pack we had heard during the night and looking across the wetlands in front of the tent, I could see what appeared to be a fresh kill from the nights activity, now the offerings for the Vulture Cafe, the larger carnivores having taken their fill during the night.  It is amazing what goes on when you are asleep!

I climbed the ladder to check the children who lay asleep in the tent on top of the Land Rover, oblivious to the nights activity and once up, they were very excited to see so many animal tracks around the camp from last night.

After cooked breakfast over the fire, we completed a short game drive before returning to our pitch for lunch and a few unwanted guests decided to join us.  Vervet Monkeys, a whole family of Vervet Monkeys.  They were very smart at taking food from right underneath your nose, working in a group to distract you when they could. They managed to steel red peppers from the bag and get inside the back of the Land Rover to steel our Coconut Tart, that we were looking forward to eating for lunch.  They were so quick!  The children ran after them to try to rescue it, but they were far too quick to catch.

We head off for another game drive in the afternoon towards Ihaha Camp and catch an amazing situation.  We sit and watch a huge heard of some 2,000 buffalo crossing the river and heading out to the grasslands beyond, shortly to be joined by a large number of elephants. However, higher up on the bank above us, I spot a single Lioness, watching the same Buffalos as they cross the river, but it is clear that she is distracted by something on the Bank and she starts to adopt a stalking position. Another Lioness comes into view.  Harry, Freddie and Imogen watch in amazement as the two lionesses appear to be stalking something, working together as a team.


     A wonderful sight during the afternoon drive and perhaps a close friend from the previous night!

After a while they disappear further into the bush and we continue on our drive but come back around after about 30 minutes and a South African man on a game drive, who we had spoken to earlier, waives us into the bush.  Once off the the track we drive cross country in between the bushes and come across our two Lionesses. They have found two young buffalo, who have become separated from the heard and did clearly not make it across the River. The buffalo are lying on the ground snorting and clearly distraught, but unwilling to make a move or run.  The lioness toys with the young buffalo and cautiously creeps closer, only to be bravely challenged by the very young male, every now and again and the Lioness retreats with haste, but quickly returns.  It is not long before the young Buffalo are worn down and one Lioness is lying with the calf, her huge paws across its back, almost playing with it.  The Buffalo calves are aware of their fate and do little to move, calling out loudly in the vain hope that the family might hear and come to the rescue, but they are now a long way from the calves.  The Lioness is now relaxed and licking the buffalo hair on the calves back. the second calf lies paralysed with fear on its own some meters away, unable to move. The other lioness is no where to be seen but we believe is very close by. We quietly egg the calf on to just get up and run, but it is almost as if it has accepted its fate and is waiting to die.

(Unfortunately the Camera memory card that Kevin had given me was faulty and we had lost most of the photos of the two Lionesses).

The evening is drawing in and we have to head back to Ihaha Camp but on the way we come across another 3 lionesses wandering slowly back along the river bank followed by a large male Lion. we watch and follow for some time but they are heading the opposite way to Ihaha Camp. It is almost 7.00pm by the time we get back to Camp and we are supposed to be in the Camp by 6.30pm, but not to worry, an amazing afternoon safari.

Back in camp having cooked our supper over the fire with the children now gazing out of their tent above the Land Rover, recounting the stories of the day.  We all contemplate the amazing events of the day and Jo and I sit around the fire with a glass if wine watching another glorious African Sunset .....................  and perhaps hoping for a slightly less eventful night than last night! ........................  perhaps I will have another glass!