From Upheaval to Calm

"CKGR is like no other - one has to be totally self - sufficient in everything and the sense of cosmic openness and unspoilt wilderness will suddenly dawn on you and give you goosebumps . "The area is a gigantic 52 800 sq km and is the largest nature reserve in the world, bigger than Holland. It was declared a reserve by the British in 1961". Camps and roads are mainly concentrated in the extreme north.

"Deception Valley - An ancient riverbed that has dried up in the north of CKGR"

Dried up it sure is but since diamonds have been discovered in the area around Orapa the economy is thriving and 12.2 million carats were mined at the turn of the millennium - that's around 12% of the world's gem-quality diamonds! Now we know why Botswana has been inundated with the Chinese and their greed for gems, rhino horn and minerals in Africa. Another country falls into the capable hands of China!!

Our trip of 5 hours along tarred and then sandy roads came to a grinding holt so we could let our tyre pressures down to 1.4 - not making the same mistake twice! Carol and Peter came bounding up to our car to give us some wonderful news : Catherine, their daughter and husband Erik were expecting their first baby to arrive in April so there was much kissing, hugging and congratulations on this very joyous occasion - not to mention the tears of relief and joy from the Emmanuel's after a few anxious weeks of uncertainty! A very good reason to crack open a bottle of Bubbly that night .

All were in high spirits as we arrived at our GPS co-ordinates at Campsite CKD no 3 and in 35 deg temps we were keen to set up camp quickly and to quench our thirst. 2 hours after a group effort we were settled into our large private campsite for the next 6 days - just a pity about the limited shade which the Camel Thorn trees provide. Carol was surprised to see less trees than their previous visit to this spot at Deception Pan but seeing so many dead trees along our journey, we could relate this to the harsh climate of the Kalahari.

On our second day we eagerly set out for a mid morning game drive and 500 meters around the corner, we just happened to come across a sign attached to a tree saying "CKD no 3" - but how was this possible - weren't we already fully set up in Camp CKD 3?!! On closer inspection and checking out if our GPS's had led us astray, we discovered with dismay that we had set up camp at the wrong site . We were lock, stock and pegged down into CKD no 2 - a site with no number pegged to a tree! Much laughter and banter on how we had missed CK 3 in broad daylight. In hindsight we all had doubts because no one actually saw the CK 3 sign but no one took the initiative to walk around and check that we were 100% correct. So moral of the story is check before you peg!

Realization of dismantling and reassembling our whole camp just around the corner, dawned on us and before long we were all very hot and bothered, trying as hard as we could to maintain our sense of humor. Frantic packing and shoving and trying all the tricks of the trade saw Rod & Irene make a quick exit but they were beaten to the front by Peter and Carol, who for a quick exit and even quicker set up, decided to leave half their tent including their bedroom still intact while negotiating the wag 'n bietjie thorny bushes along the winding narrow track. Not only did Peter and his tent get stuck in the thorny bushes but he also had to extricate himself with blood pouring from his limbs, pruning his escape with secateurs and then caused a traffic jam of note while we howled with laughter as they had to repack their tent in the midday sun! Pictures tell the story of campers on the move!
Terry, finally at his new site, was seen to be banging his car doors as he tried to position the trailer on the exact spot between two trees to optimize shade cover only to find the kitchen was facing the wrong way, meanwhile Lizzie was trying very hard to keep a straight face!

Later as the sun set and the exhausted 6 campers were showered and composed, we had many laughs about this debacle and regained our sense of humor after some very necessary liquid refreshments .

Mampara of the week' goes to Peter for leading the group into the wrong site and then attempting to move camp with a fully erected trailer tent thereby causing a hold up in the middle of nowhere!!

As leaders of the pack on one of our game drives, there was dissension amongst us as to where we should go as the Pan had proved to be game-less on previous visits but it was the ONLY watering hole for miles so Lizzie's choice of Sundays Pan was chosen above Terry's choice of Lekhubu. One is never guaranteed of seeing game in this parched desert environment and it's a bonus when you come to the Pan to discover a family of 11 very healthy Kalahari lions lazing in the shade. We were in our element to share their space while we had lunch about 150 m from them. The Nikon D610 was there to capture this once in a lifetime experience and then on our doorstep arrived the Crimson breasted shrike. Terry captured a stunning pic of this rare sighting ! So while having our picnic of boiled eggs, cold pork sausage, tomatoes and olives finished off with cheese, biscuits and chocolates, we kept vigil on the Male, his 4 wives and 6 Cubs . Who said life in the wild was ordinary?? No one in our group had witnessed such a large pride together under one tree.

It's hard to imagine that 3 decades ago, the population of lions was 68000 now their numbers have dwindled down to 24 000 across the continent.

Evenings around the campfire after great game spotting, is what makes this type of holiday. Wild camping is sitting under a blanket of stars with a bright moon above, listening to the owl calls and discussing the wonderful sightings of the day - be it a rare bird or the magnificent colorings of the Gemsbok or the majestic large male Lion and Cubs. Whether it's Terry's tasty lamb chops and boerewors or the girls' delicious precooked stews, roasts or curries, we certainly had 5 star meals in the bush! Thankfully no hyenas had as yet paid us a visit! Rod was not leaving anything out for them to destroy!

Our early mornings were greeted with the cacophony of bird calls and Terry's adoring but hungry yellow-billed hornbills and bossy red- billed spur fowls were at his feet waiting for their next morsel, not afraid to sit on his lap or head to get the choice bit of rusk! When not on game drives we caught up with reading and discussing the day's activities and what future trips lay in store for the group . Terry's new nickname "the bird whisperer" will remind the group of our special times at Deception Pan and yours truly getting to grips with extricating a tick from a very tricky spot in her groin! Thank goodness he was dislodged intact so let's hope it's the first and last time that I will ever have to pull one off my skin again. Blood sucking parasite! The joys of bush holidays!

Our bush mechanics Peter and Rod were saviors for a Philippino couple who were totally naive in all matters 'wild' and these jolly good fellows were called to help them to resurrect their hired 4x4 vehicle which had clutch problems. Shame on the 4x4 car hire company for not giving them adequate instruction about the car and the intricacies of 'wild' camping in CKGR!

Trailer Water tanks empty and happy to move on to our next destination after 6 nights in CKGR, we left the dusty and dry plains and headed back to our watering / supplies hub of the Maun Lodge and town.

Cheers until we meet our next wifi zone!

Ps : happy to hear our Boks had a better game ! Time to bring in new young blood Mr Coach!!