Daybreak on the water
Today we got a much earlier start and everyone was hoping for a lot of buffalo to be waiting for us at our destination. The tiny sliver of yellow moon low on the horizon must have been enough for Nelson to navigate by. Our launch wove its way gracefully through the twists and turns of the Chobe River. So adept was our pilot that the boat seemed as if it was a part of the river itself, flowing as the current took anything that cared to float on its surface. Since the sun was not yet up, any movement along the river bank was concealed in shadows and rendered virtually invisible to our eyes. No matter, as the African sky was putting on a stunning display of its own. I have written elsewhere of the palette available to Mother Nature for the spectacles of dawn and dusk. This mornings was equal to any I have previously been blessed to experience. The light starts trickling over the horizon and pushing the stars out of the way one by one. Next, the yellow of the sun mixes with the black of night revealing the most brilliant shades of purple and blue. I have never been one to sit and stare at any work of art, but I was quite content sitting there with my cup of coffee watching nature’s canvas reveal itself.
Getting up a few minutes after 4:00 had not been early enough. The sun was working its way over the horizon and we still were not yet at our desired location. Everyone was wondering if we were again too late to intercept the buffalo once. A few more minutes would yield the answer. Nature can be a fickle thing. A few moments ago we were enjoying one of the finest sights known to man, only to round a bend in the river and watch two huge Cape buffalo bulls splash into the water, cross in front of us, and make their way up the other side. Nature can be cruel that way sometimes. The morning had started so pleasantly, then a cold slap in the face and “no, no, no”. We had made it just after sunrise. Just as good shooting light was available, the buffalo were already gone. Disheartened but still hopeful, Johann, Byron, Johnas, Tedious, and Elvis headed out to see what they could see. I debated going with them, but the swelling in my broken toes had finally decided to start going down and for the first time in days they weren’t throbbing. I decided that was a good thing and, with that in mind, I elected to stay behind with Vera, Janice, Zoe, and Nelson.
The morning went by uneventfully. Nelson and Zoe had purloined some fishing equipment from camp and spent their time fishing. Nelson even managed to land a nice catfish. Vera and Janice spent the morning talking about things that only women talk about, and I pretended to be on the lookout for crocodiles. In actuality, I probably spent more time daydreaming about man eating crocs as not so much as a ripple appeared on the river.
The guys returned after about 3 ½ hours without seeing anything other than lots and lots of buffalo spoor. We sat down for lunch and came up with a plan. The guys were going to take a banana boat as far as they could and then hike over to a spike camp that Byron had set up to be used later in the season. A banana boat is basically a dugout canoe with an outboard motor on the back. They did not look overly stable to me, but that thought did not seem to have crossed anyone else’s mind. If it did, they were not going to bring it up. By being close, there should be no problem in getting here well before the buffalo decided to head back to Botswana for the day. Being a contact lens wearer and having no way to clean and store them for the night, I was forced to head back with the girls. This was probably a good thing, as the hunters would have to move quickly in the morning and my broken toes would more than likely preclude me from doing so.
We bid our farewells and headed back up river to the lodge. Our plan was to take a drive into Chobe for some picture taking and relaxation at the lodge. The ride back to camp was fantastic as I stretched out on the floor and had one heck of a good nap. The droning of the outboard motor and the rocking of the boat had me sound asleep in nothing flat. The engine noise even drowned out my snoring.
Upon arrival back in camp, there was enough time to catch up on my journal entries and even get a shower while it was still warm out. I normally shower just before bed and even though the water is plenty hot, as soon as it is turned off the ± 45° temperature makes a quick and thorough dry off and a quick dash to a warm bed mandatory. Today, however, I could take my time and just relax. As always, sundowners and dinner were pleasant and the company was good. The girls spent the evening chatting about this and that and trying to engage me in conversation. My thoughts however were with the guys in the spike camp. I could not help but wonder what they were up to and what adventure awaited them tomorrow.
The sun starting to work its magic on the morning sky.
Moments later a little more color. A little more light and the river starts to be visible.
The noise from our outboard disturbs a group of ducks.
A group of waterbuck trying to figure out just exactly what we were.
No matter how early we started the buffalo were already headed across the river.
Nelson and Zoe’s catfish.
