Tree Hugging in the Middle of Nowhere

Bush Camp Baobab

Last weekend, although we were supposed to have been confined to base, we actually went out to our friends' bush camp (known in this blog as The Middle of Nowhere - mentioned here and here). 

It was kind of a hard week and escaping from (relative) civillisation was just what the doctor ordered - so we set off after work on Saturday on the transit road through the National Park, stopping only for a herd of very shiny, well-fed looking buffalo to cross over.  

Hot, blue and sunny weather was a welcome break from the recent gloomy raininess, and naturally called for a quick stop in Mabele village to purchase ice cold Hansa beers at the lovely Kanini Kanini General Dealer &  High Life Bar. The general weirdness of this transaction brought back memories of a Botswana we used to know about 20 years back!

We found that great progress had been made out at the camp, and enjoyed staying in one of the newly established future guest tents. Very romantic design, set upon teak decking, in amongst the natural indigenous trees.  A piece of heaven...

Tent hiding amongst the trees

We enjoyed an evening round the fire, gazing up at the Milky Way and the dazzling Stars, liberated from the cloudiness by the clear weather... 

Waking up the next morning to the birdsong surrounding the tent, I opened my sleepy eyes - straight into sensory overload! An astounding, wild, red sunrise was busy going on, as viewed through the huge, uncurtained mesh windows! Alas, being half asleep at the time, the colours had rapidly faded into tameness by the time I could get to a camera to capture it...

As ever, I just revelled in being in the bush. And indulged my delight in hugging, and if possible curling up in, great big, warm, earthy baobab trees!

On the way back, we stopped numerous times - to just enjoy the pure silence, the sheer seasonal abundance of the trees and undergrowth, and also to pick some Sausage Tree fruit for medicinal purposes...

Sausage Tree, (Kigelia Africana) with fruit

Looking up through the stunning vegetation

Oh, and what would a trip through the lush vegetation be without frantic reversing and climbing inside a thorny acacia tree, to capture a rambling, creeping, Flame Lily in full flower. This is a slightly different colour scheme to the others featured in earlier blog posts - but still a delight to behold in the wild!

Searching for Flame Lilies

The sun emerged from behind the clouds on Christmas Day, and we decided to go looking for Flame Lilies in the Forest Reserve, just behind where we live. Usually around this time of year (we can never seem to agree on exactly when...) the stunning red/orange lilies flower wildly and randomly in the bush, and we love to go on a lily hunt, to photograph and just enjoy/celebrate them!

The Flame Lily, otherwise known as Gloriosa superba  is quite meaningful to anybody who grew up over the border in Zim (or the then Rhodesia) as it was/is the national flower. I seem to think it is still a protected plant over there, but would have to check my facts on that one... The botanical name is apt, as it's an outrageously hued, delicate and exquisite flower - both glorious and superb!

We packed cooler box and snacks, Southern African style, and set off in our eccentric red 4x4 truck, "Blink Stefaans". It soon became clear that our motivational goal of "an ice cold beer to the first one to spot a flame lily" was going to cause a very thirsty trip for us, as not a single lily was to be seen, after much searching!  

Tiennie and his eccentric truck!

Despite the lily-less-ness, we immersed ourselves in the beauty of the natural teak forest, with the purple teak blossoms studding the dense greenery, and tiny white and pink wildflowers peeping out of the grassy verges. 

The beautiful purple blossoms on the Zambezi Teak trees.

Shy waterbuck hid themselves behind the trees, in the more open areas, and the constant sound of bird calls was underscored by the heavy droning of gigantic black dung beetles in full flight.  A dung beetle in full flight is a sight to behold, and to be dodged at all costs! Sometimes they remind me of the golden snitches in Harry Potter's quidditch matches...

We lazily took another random turn in the bush track, and suddenly - I saw it! A tiny, fleeting, distinctive red/orange flash in the undergrowth... Yell of triumph, urgent reversing back down the track, and voila - One lonesome, semi unfurled Flame Lily bud!    

Obviously we were a bit early so will be revisiting the forest reserve after new year to seek the unfurled lilies.  This is how the track looks at this abundant time of year. It is such a unbelievable contrast to the dry season - do watch this space for more updates on flowers and bush tracks!

Satellite Magic in the Middle of Nowhere

Back at the bush camp in the absolute middle of nowhere – our mission, to install a Vsat internet system. So…a friendly chat via satellite BGan & Skype with the techie lads in Cape Town at the other end of the continent, swing the big satellite dish around, wave around a high tech instrument that aligns perfectly to the improbable and mysterious satellite orbiting kilometres above us in outer space – fiddle with a few settings and voila, permanent internet floating all around us and the bush camp is Online! This always feels like a small piece of magic to me…

Being the go-between - chatting to Cape Town

Having sorted out the communications - solar power and inverters quietly keeping everything going, it was a delight to take some time out and enjoy spending time with our friends in their unspoilt corner of the world, complete with a mini “baobab island”.

I enjoyed some alone time for reading and contemplation. For me, there’s something magically soothing and restoring about the African bush. The silence, broken only by insect and bird sounds; the blanketing humidity and greenery of this time of year; the sudden flares of sunshine/blue sky, competing with the brooding build-up of dark grey afternoon storm clouds.

Later in the afternoon, we escorted the tribe of dogs to a nearby water-filled pan where they splashed, wallowed, galloped and leaped to their hearts’ content! The arrival of the rain could not ruin their sheer joy in their watery adventure. Back at camp, nothing better than standing wetly next to the fire, feeling your clothes drying on you within seconds, whilst enjoying an ice cold bush sundowner!

Our sunset was absurdly colourful and changeable… from salmon and pale blue, to crimson, then purple and gold - finally fading to royal blue. Perhaps Tiennie’s photo can do it justice…

Eventually it was time to meander back home through the grasslands and palm treeseventually emerging on the fringes of the floodplain once more, ready to follow the river home to Kasane. There we found and photographed a profusion of wild red pincushiony lilies.

and of course had to stop in to buy some cokes at the wonderful “Kanini Kanini General Dealer and High Life Bar”before heading back to our comparatively civillised real world, for another working week!

Middle of Nowhere

Alas, I seem to have run out of writing time, dealing with month-end at work, while enjoying a most welcome and enjoyable visit from my dad, and also preparing to go away for a week... so I decided to just post a couple of photos from last weekend.

Just looking at this bush track and its surroundings makes me long to evacuate my desk in this crazy/busy town centre, and just hit the road...
NB If anybody feels like looking on Google Earth: this is vaguely in the area of Satau, Botswana, in the Chobe Enclave. It is a beautiful unspoilt area and we went there during the weekend to visit our friends Phil and Gabi at their bush camp. Out there the lifestyle is so simple, and reminded us of how we too once lived in a small caravan, and happily made do with very little...

These Baobabs are probably a well known and much photographed sight for any Botswana off- road traveller, being at the entrance to Kavimba village. I just love them...