As always this time of year we head to the magical Nambwa Lodge & Campsite joined by Linda and her kiddies, my parents and Dieter & Chariz.
We look forward to having a week of having to do absolutely nothing but spend time in the park, on the river and by the pool.
Our first night is at Hakusembe River Lodge, the rooms are nice, kids love the pool and the air conditioning is welcome, unfortunately only breakfast is included and we're billed with a whopping N$330 per person for dinner, nothing special but an ordinary buffet and a pancake for dessert, I'm disappointed that we didn't go the self-catering route.
Next day we head for Nambwa, after packing in a proper (included) breakfast, we spot our first elephant breeding herd crossing the road not far east of the Divundu border. It's a quick sighting but gets the spirit going.
At Nambwa we are greeted with a welcoming citronella infused wet facecloth, the same welcome cloth we get after every activity and to which my dad now refers to as the cooling pancakes as he reckons that's how they roll
The next morning we head out on the boat with our guide Martin, Martin is an intern guide trained by The Nature College in RSA and knowing quite a bit of guiding and especially client care myself I have to admit I admire his passion for the surroundings, the dedication towards his clients and the knowledge he accumulated in the area over the past 6 months of his internship, he packed us some fishing rods and we try our luck Tiger Fishing. I cast for Alex from the top deck of the boat, he sits for a while with the rod and seems bored, I remind him that if a Tiger takes the rod he will know it and if he is not prepared he'll lose the rod, about 2 secs after this he jumps and I grab the rod, I realize this is no small tiger and subtly ask him if oupa should reel it in, this fish fights! Oupa takes the rod and fights it to the surface, we realise we're not really prepared for this expedition and Ian and Martin looks at each other on the lower deck wondering who will take it out of the water, they pull a team effort with a T-Shirt, the fish is in the boat and longer than Dieter's two size 10 shoes lined up, we calculate it should be around 7-8kg's easily, this thing is massive, Alex is beaming and the kids are all chanting Alex the Tiger King, Alex the Tiger King!
We spend the following days on game-drives and boat cruises, we see a pack of wild dogs en-route to horseshoe on an early morning drive, we spot the most majestic fish-eagles, we crack jokes, we read, we laugh, we swim.
The last night of our week in heaven we decide to go spend it at horseshoe, we sit in wait with a G&T and Martin's bush popped popcorn when the first elephant heard approaches, they seem jittery but soon relax, next in is a bachelor herd and the young bulls mock fight and mount each other in the water, I creep closer and position myself behind a fallen tree, Linda and Chariz soon follows, we sit in silence, all you hear is the occasional click of our cameras. The kids are behind us in a hippo path building a shongololo farm, I notice movement in the bushes to my right and see it is Martin walking the perimeter around us, again I am impressed. My mom and dad is sitting on the game viewer and getting nervous about an approaching bull, after the 3rd call of "poppetjie hy kom nader" I reluctantly get up from my spot, gather the kids in the vehicle and take position next to them, Ian has moved in on the other side of the vehicle and so has Linda so we create a barrier around the kids, there's absolute silence, Martin crouches down infront of the vehicle positioning himself between the bull and his clients and again I sigh with relief of another trained guide present, there is absolute silence on the gameviewer and then it happens....Alex farts....not a subtle fart, more like a nervous explosion but everyone is so scared by this bull passing not even a giggle slips. The bull is warning us that he is passing but I can see in his demeanor he is unsure what we are and his only objective is to pass, he's a safe distance from us now, nervous giggles erupts, first because everyone is in awe and secondly because Alex says "mom I was so scared that I farted" I check his pants to make sure he didn't shit himself.
Martin looks back at his guests and gives me the guiding sign for that was aaaaawesoooome, it's subtle so the guests don't notice but I get it! I see the satisfaction on his face for giving his clients this experience and my heart yearns for one more day in the bush.
We have to pack the next morning, everyone is short tempered and miserable. The vervet monkeys managed to get into Linda's tent and is now throwing her with her own dried pears from the trees. Management is freaking out at the monkeys and worried that Linda will be upset unbeknown to them this is the highlight of Linda's week and if she could have her way she would most propably cuddle them.
We exit the park and my heart longs to stay or join Dieter & Chariz to Botswana but maybe next time....
We're back at Hakusembe tonight but this time brought rolls & cold meats, sitting on the stoep in what feels like 80% humidity and there is no where else I would like to be right now than right here in the Caprivi, the gift that keeps on giving.
