Magical Termite Mounds, Baobabs and more..

I realise this blog has been rather quiet lately. Last week I was being incredibly (and unusually) disciplined. Thus, sadly, had to prioritise other tasks. But here I am, continuing the tale of the weekend before. Images actually seem more expressive that words in this case, and I hasten to add that all but one of these were taken by Tiennie, not me!

The amazing Planet Baobab orbits peacefully on the edge of Botswana's Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, and marking the turnoff is this superb Anteater - all the better to tackle those giant ants inside the anthills mentioned in last week's post!

Seriously, I should really have named them properly as Termite Mounds, which are fascinating mini-civilisations in their own right. I was also asked about the topic of anthills a few months back, after posting a picture of me sitting on a very differently shaped one, during our most fabulous New Year Break (see older post here).

I have now come across a great website about termite mounds and how we humans could learn from their technology and engineering. It really does make for fascinating reading - have a look here: www.sandkings.co.uk.

Here, the old Planet Baobab (Kalahari Surf Club!) signpost soars atop a tall anthill/termite mound, reminiscent of the planet inhabited by Le Petit Prince.

Here's the new look, new image signpost, which also helpfully includes GPS co-ordinates! It's close to the village of Gweta, for any Google Earth fans.

*Some more useful/useless info here: Gweta is where the Mma Ramotswe Ladies No 1 Detective Agency movie was shot.

We stayed in a traditional Bakalanga Hut, set amongst Terminalia Prunoides trees (purple pod terminalia). You can possibly make out the rich purply-maroon pods on the left.
Or, we could have also stayed in these huts...
This immense, ancient, mysterious, stunning baobab just blew my mind. Apologies for the profusion of adjectives, but it can't be helped! Regular readers of this blog will know that in this photo where I appear merely for a bit of scale - I am, of course, preparing to hug the tree!

A secluded sandy clearing on the left is home to a couple of double-sized hammocks which swing invitingly under the lower branches. I would probably never have left that spot, if we hadn't already paid for some perfectly marvellous accommodation just next door!

Truly an otherworldly experience, to live among the baobabs...
The beautiful fountain and bubbly water at the far end of the pool, under a cool thatched roof...

Same scene, taken from the opposite end of the pool, with gorgeous baobab in the background. The shadowy presence is me on the other side of the fountain, blocking out the sun and enjoying the spray.

In the late evening we ordered sundowners, and retired to this offbeat concrete lounge, complete with elegant painted carpet. Here Tiennie humours me by posing on his comfy concrete sofa!
As the sun dropped and twilight colours softly glowed, we watched from our special sofa as the pool fountain died down, and the night lights winked on. The crescent moon showed its dainty sliver in the sky, and also in the undisturbed surface of the pool below.
Eventually darkness and dinner lured us away from the beautiful concrete lounge suite, until we ended up enjoying a few too many night caps at the bar counter, for just as long as we could stay awake...with its quirky ambience and soulful African music, we found ourselves quite unable to leave!

Here is a photo of the bar counter. The framed art behind the bar features a reflection of the awesome chandelier - made of old green beer bottles.
Well, all journeys must continue, and later next day it was time to head back north to the floods and the elephants, but at the same time feeling rested and calm, having found serenity in this magical place. I have to confess that I am already counting the days till I can somehow get back there...

To the Desert, and back

Back home, after a four day/two thousand kilometre journey - a long road trip out west across the country to wind up at yet another flooded river, followed by a sojourn in the world of pale grasslands, salt pans, baobabs and towering white anthills. A beautiful antidote to our watery shores.

Anthill / Signpost - Planet Baobab

So, it's just a few photos for now, as all the rememberings and impressions swirling around in my mind can't be sorted into any sort of order just yet...

Baobab at sunset with fruit

Baobab & swimming pool reflection

It was definitely a magical, renewing and refreshing journey. As ever, I felt the emptiness and the trees and the wild places working their healing magic...

Sherlock inspects an anthill for clues about the meaning of life?!

Blue skies and blue water everywhere (still)

It certainly seems that our rainy season has finally ended. All the grey clouds have vanished, and without their protective insulation blanketing us from above, temperatures have dropped signficantly.

I really do love this time of year, with the dazzling blue skies and the edgy chill in the morning and night air. Days are still hot, but there is the promise of Winter to come... and then after that we start again with the waiting-for-rain game around October!

Leaving you with one last watery photo for now - we took this from the road on the way to work yesterday. The wide blue river closest to us in the photo is the main channel, which we can see from opposite our office. This is the usual Chobe river, which is currently spilling over its banks. Everything blue going back all the way towards the horizon, is supposed to be a green floodplain, and instead is a sheet of water...

Just for interest, if you feel like scrutinising, otherwise do skip - in the foreground bottom right, you can maybe make out a palm tree. You can see the same palm tree in the Saturday photo just above the hippo pictures, in this earlier post.

We are off on a weekend getaway combined with a little business, but sadly our planned stay at Ngepi Camp in Namibia had to be postponed till later this year, as the lodge is underwater... So, until next week, and early weekend greetings to all reading this!

Sunsets in the Flood

Last night we drove up to a spot on top of a hill, and looked out over the floodplain. As hinted at in my previous post, here are a couple of examples of the sun setting over a reflective, inundated landscape...

I have to just mention right here that we should also spare a thought for those villagers who have had to evacuate their settlements along the Caprivi strip both on the Botswana and Namibian sides of the border, and a couple of people right here whose homes are close to the river, and who have had to take refuge higher up. Some lodges are either already affected, or could be soon...

Let's just hope that the waters start to recede sooner rather than later. I am always in awe of Nature in all her power and beauty, and counted a good few blessings once more, to be lucky enough to be sitting safely on top of a hill just looking on at the sheer masses of water.

This elevated vantage point is almost in the middle of the town, but the road to the top is wild, and criss-crossed with elephant tracks. The scents of elephant dung and crushed wild basil linger in the evening air, and, despite the feeling of remoteness, the streetlights of Kasane are visible down below, and road traffic can be heard passing by. Yet another example of the curious juxtaposition of wilderness and civilisation in this place we call home!

As the sun disappeared, I felt the first sign of an Autumnal chill in the air, despite the still-warm sand under my feet. It seems that our rainy season might have have finally come to an end, and that the seasons are changing at last...

Floodplain views - the rising river

Every day, en route to work, we choose to take the scenic road down the hill and enjoy the view out over the beautiful Chobe river floodplain.

View from the top of the hill, just before descending to river level. Neighbouring country Namibia is on the other side.

I find that a good start and mood for the day is highly encouraged by simply appreciating this beautiful view (and baobab) while driving down to our destination at river bank level.

Right now it's time for our annual floods to arrive, and it seems that exceptionally high levels are expected this year. Huge amounts of water are coming down from Angola, and other catchment areas, as we are part of the great Zambezi river system.

The Chobe river suddenly transforms from a meandering blue ribbon, obediently following its channel through the green floodplain, into massive sheets of water which spread out and cover the flat basin with a shimmering, reflective surface. As one can imagine, this watery sheet has the ability to take on any number of colours and moods, according to the state of the sky above it, and this makes for some incredible sunsets. More on that in future posts, I'm sure!

Last Sunday we took a few photos of the advancing floodwaters entering the floodplain.

Above is last Sunday's photo of the floodplain. Below is today's photo (Saturday) from the same spot.This water seems to have appeared almost overnight, and it is still rising!

On Sunday afternoon, we also took a walk along the river's edge at Chobe Safari Lodge. While marvelling at the high water level, we heard a loud water spraying sound emerging from some partially submerged trees right nearby.

Soon afterwards, a long, dark, submarine-shaped body emerged vertically from the water - followed rapidly not by a periscope, but by a pair of flapping hippo ears! Two hippos were in the area, so we stayed around to take some photos of them - one of which graced my previous blog post.

Hippos are fascinating creatures to watch in the water. One minute a hippo is there, and the next, it's gone. While they are underwater, you are never entirely sure where they are going to surface next, and this can be slightly alarming!

I have the greatest respect for these animals, as they can be extremely dangerous, and I've heard it said that hippos account for more deaths in the African river enviroment than crocodiles. Even though they are vegetarians, their sheer size and power, coupled with the most enormous teeth means that they can cause a lot of damage. Apparently the big hippo "yawn", is actually a sign of aggression! Even though we are surrounded by wildlife here, we never lose sight of the fact that they are completely wild creatures in their natural environment...

Hippo in the very wide, flooded river near submerged trees

Watch this space for more flood images in the not too distant future, and in the meantime, happy weekend greetings from my grey, cloudy, watery world...

Hippo Ivory

I'm afraid I just don't have time to actually write much at the moment, as I'm drowning under a pile of paperwork, once again...

Instead of words, here's an interesting photo taken last Sunday, featuring some ferocious looking teeth in the mouth of a Chobe hippopotamus. NB picture by Tiennie - I can't take any credit for this one!

All in a day's work...

During the week we had to visit Elephant Sands near Nata, to fiddle with one of our satellite internet sites there. Apart from having to go there for work, it's also a top favourite place to visit - natural, unspoilt, good company, and plenty of elephants!

Here's a photographic update on the waterhole, last seen in October, at the height of the dry season (in this previous blog entry). 

This time, I had to wade through a clutching jungle of knee-high plant growth, in order to locate my log for the traditional photo!  As you can see, there is quite a contrast in the level of the waterhole these days - almost at the end of the rainy season.

Although there is still the odd thunderstorm around, there is most definitely an autumnal feel in the air, and leaves are beginning to fall... Here's one of the rain storms we missed, while on the road.

Earlier, while driving in to the lodge,  I'd been anxiously eyeing our progress through impossible drifts of white sand, when, unexpectedly, a TUSK appeared in my peripheral vision! It felt as if it was about to spike me through the open window, but in all reality, I'm sure it wasn't that bad! The poor elephant seemed just as horrified at this close encounter,  and as I let out a yell of surprise,  he was already doing a frantic U-turn, and we just saw his flapping ears, tail and a cloud of dust as he scuttled back into the bush, no doubt deciding to attempt his track crossing much later!

I love the way "Africa-time" unfolds at Elephant Sands... it's just that kind of place.  Nothing is hurried, and an afternoon on the patio overlooking the waterhole progresses lazily, matching the slow, measured pace of the elephantine arrivals and departures in front of us.

After a bush-cuisine dinner laid on by fabulous chef Lazarus, the done thing is to sit around the open fire, where amazing stories are exchanged, and the Southern Cross shines down from a silvery/white milky way.  I found a place to curl up on a cement pillar, and communed with the skies, while sipping Kahlua-laced coffee, and listening to the conversations floating around me...

Next morning we went to do a quick site survey for our next satellite dish installation, at an exploration camp close to the lodge. It's going to be right here, at their future office: another communications miracle in the middle of nowhere!

These odd looking constructions dotted around in the middle of the bush, are apparently going to become signposts. The upright stones have been placed there to stop the elephants from getting up close enough to push the signs over. I'm not so sure how well this is going to work, but I will keep you notified in due course!

As we left, we followed the giant footsteps of a fellow road-user, before reaching  the tar road and setting off back to civilisation...

Elephant footprints at Elephant Sands