I was awakened at 5:00am by a couple of Vervet Monkeys scurrying about on my roof and deck! They are ridiculous! I didn't mind because I was treated again to a stunning sunrise in the Okavango Delta. I did sit and ponder a bit about not being with my husband and family on this holiday. It did make me sad. Luckily I had this beautiful setting with wonderful people and animals to help take my mind off of it. It did help that it is summer here so it didn't really feel like Christmas so it was easier to separate myself from the winter holidays.
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| Christmas Day Sunrise |
As soon as we left the lodge area we were greeted by a pack of wild baboons. They were everywhere! It was an interesting road block! One of the females had a baby riding piggy back. Adorable!
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| Mother baboon and baby |
We got to the hyena den and unfortunately there was no activity. We could see some leftover clumps of Kudu hair around the den. Obviously they ate it..... It was disappointing not to see the hyenas. Luckily some giraffes came around the bend and we were able to get quite a good look at them. They are awesome. I'm not sure why I just noticed that they have a lateral sequence gait (also called a "pacing" gait) as opposed to a diagonal gait. This means that they walk using both limbs on the same side of the body, then the other side of the body. Check out the video. Notice how close they walked to our vehicle!
Giraffes in the Okavango Delta Video
As we were watching these graceful creatures BT got a call from a safari vehicle from Seba Camp. They located a leopard that just made a kill (an Impala) and the hyenas stole the carcass and were dragging it along the road. We raced over to see the hyenas but missed them. We did however get amazing views of a male leopard!
As we were admiring the male leopard we got another call about a female leopard. We went to see her too! Just beautiful! It is not common to see leopards. They are very elusive and don't like to be followed/disturbed. I was lucky to see so many! We followed her for quite a while. She slinked through the thicket and surprised a Kudu. The Kudu jumped up and ran and started snorting and warning the rest of the herd. The leopard wasn't in a position to try and take down this full size Kudu. She did walk over to a tree and climbed up to survey the land. Maybe to see how many Kudu there were?? It was so cool! Sorry for all the leopard photos but hey, can you have too many??? Check out the video I took of her too!
Female Leopard Video
On the way back to the Camp we took a bridge over the river and saw some hippos in the distance. It is difficult to get close to them. I was able to take some photos with my zoom lens but the quality isn't great. You get the idea though! There is one in the area with a baby we I didn't see it :(
We also ran across a huge herd of wild elephants on their way back from the mud hole! They are freaking awesome! One had a really small baby.
Back at camp I had brunch with JamieRose. Wonderful food and company! Just outstanding! As we were eating some of the other guests got up and they left some breadsticks on their tables. The Vervet Monkeys came into the camp and wreaked havoc! They stole breadsticks off the tables and were just going crazy! They got really close to our table too. They were just watching and waiting to see if we were going to get up and leave some food. Quite the problem children! One did have a really cute baby with her :)
I went back to my room and took a short nap and then I met BT at 4pm so we could take a bush walk. BT was armed with a rifle because we were walking in the bush where we could come face to face with some predators or other large animals that don't want us in their territory. I won't lie - kind of intimidating!
BT pointed out animal tracks, plants and trees and we talked in depth about dung. I know, only me! He loved it because no one wants to talk with him about what an animal's dung can tell you about their digestive system. I was impressed because he knew what ruminants were and hind gut fermenters! Loved it! I refrained from posting pictures of dung. You're welcome!
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| Elephant track |
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| Hyena Track |
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| Leopard Tortoise |
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| Giraffe at dusk |
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| Griaffe and Zebra hanging out |
When we got there we saw a pack of about 20 wild dogs hanging out on the airstrip. It is crazy how they act just like domestic dogs. Their social hierarchy is so interesting. After watching them for about 15 minutes we were told there was a hyena eating a carcass just around the corner at a watering hole. We drove over there and watched her for a minute before she decided she didn't like us. She took off over in the direction of the wild dogs. Bad idea. Not a minute later she was high-tailing it back towards us with the pack of wild dogs making chase! She was running for her life. It was like a National Geographic documentary unfolding before our eyes. The hyena was crying and then all of a sudden one of the wild dogs jumped up and grabbed her in the rump. She yelped very loudly and then ran next to our vehicle and laid down for protection. The wild dogs circled her but didn't do anything more. Ultimately they left her alone. Just insane! I took a video of her next to our vehicle but it was so dark you can't see much. I also took one very dark picture - you get the idea.....
After it was good and dark we headed back to our oasis in the Delta. On the way back we were treated with a superb sunset! They had refills of our drinks and bags of popcorn ready and waiting for us so we could start the movie. I recommend that everyone see this documentary. It is called Paseka the Easter Elephant. I won't ruin the story for you but it is really heartbreaking but does eventually have a happy ending.
Went back to camp after the movie and I was invited to have dinner with some other guests. An American family of four that were from Sacramento. Husband and wife and their two daughters that were both in their early 20's. Lovely people. I was so glad for their company. We traded stories from our day's adventures and talked about what we would be doing the next day. We had champagne and an exquisite Christmas dinner. It was really just a really nice time.
I went back to my room to get packed to leave the next day and what did I find? Christmas presents on my bed courtesy of the staff at Abu Elephant Camp. A beautiful elephant print and a bracelet made by Lianne Landman from Johannesburg in the Abu Camp colors. She makes these bracelets in other colors but only people that have been to Abu Camp have one in these colors. Check out her website (link below). It is really similar to a bracelet I have that I bought in Colorado just before I left. Small world! It was a perfect ending to a perfect day. Tomorrow I go back to Maun and back to reality.....
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| Bracelet in the Abu Camp colors |
Lianne Landman Website
"Whatever's good for your soul....do that."
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