We are at Savuti, at the Chobe National Park in Botswana, this morning we woke up at 5.00 am at our mobile safari tent; outside it is still dark and the air is cold.

We get dressed and we go out to have breakfast while there starts being a bit of light.

By the time we finish eating the sun is about to rise and we get in the car ready to go, today we will explore the Savuti area and try to discover its wonders.

We leave and the cold morning air makes itself felt, thank goodness we have heavy clothing, that is essential for taking a safarion an open car like the one we are using during this trip on mobile safari.

First we go to the waterhole where last night we saw the Marsh Pride, usually the lions move during the night but, since this herd has several cubs, it is likely that some members stayed where we left them yesterday to look after the puppies, while the others went hunting.

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In fact, as soon as we arrive, we see a lioness, a male lion, the mythical Sekekama, and all the cubs, it’s missing some lionesses and the other male, that probably joined the rest of the pack and god knows where they went.

We take some photos, they look like the happy little family with puppies that drink milk from the lioness lying in the grass and Sekekama watching the scene.

We observe them for a while and then we decide to continue our safari and explore the Southern part of Savuti reaching the waterhole where yesterday were the elephants; today, the elephants are not seen in return, there are many kudus and impalas.

We take a tour all around the pond to see the scene from different angles and then we stop at an arid and open area that is not far from the pond; there are other cars here as this is the perfect place to have a coffee break.

We get out of the car and while we prepare coffee we have fun taking pictures and taking selfies while we laugh and joke.

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After the coffee our safari continues and we find other lions, but they are hidden behind the bushes so it is practically impossible to take good photographs.

We also go where there are some granite hillssimilar to the one where our camp is located, the Gubatsaa Hills; here, drawn on some rocks, there are several rock engravings that mostly depict animals that live in the surrounding area, they are very simple but very beautiful drawings.

These rock engravings were discovered only at the end of the 1960s by a park guard, they are dating back to different periods and it is believed that the last design was made in 1810; they are attributed to the San, or Bushmen, but it may be that other populations have experimented with drawing, a bit like what happened at the Tsodilo Hills, that are as well found in Botswana.

Some of us, practically all the men, climb the hill to see the carvings up close but the road to climb is a bit imperviousbecause we have to climb on the rocks, so the women have preferred to stay at the base of the hill.

Once the visit is over we go back to the car and proceed with our safari.

Not far from the hill we see what remains of an elephant's skeleton, some bones, such as the femur and skull, they are really impressive as they are large and heavy.

We move around until lunchtime when we return to our camp, today we don't have lunch around but are comfortable here at the camp; it's a hot day, thank goodness the table has a canvass cover, so it protects us from the sun and keeps us cool.

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We have lunch, we drink and we laugh for almost all the time, we have too much fun, we are really a nice group, we have to admit it.

After lunch we stay here at the camp until around 4.00 pm, some go to rest, others stay here at the table to chat and I take this opportunity to download the pictures taken so far; it's always better to have a backup you never know, I actually do even more than one: usually I keep all the cards and copy all the photos downloaded on two different hard drives, this should minimize the risk of losing the photos.

At 4.00 pm we are ready to leave, we decide to change areas to try to find the North Pride that, unlike the Marsh Pride, is much more shy and is more difficult to find; in fact we turn a lot, we also go where the carcass of an elephant is to see if there is any predator that is eating, but it is completely abandoned.

We pass by an area where there are some baobabs, they are not as majestic as those of the Makgadikdadi Pans Complex but they are still very beautiful and with the light of the afternoon they are very photogenic; on one of these baobabs there are some signs that look like a face with a strange grin, it seems almost engraved by a man so well done, but our guide claims that it is natural.

When the light starts to run low we finally sight a solitary lioness that is heading to the waterhole, we wait to see it go to drink and in the meanwhile we  position ourselves well with the car to be able to see it frontally.

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Probably the photos will not have a great quality but the scene is spectacular: all around there is sand and the ground is dry, the waterhole is the only water source in the area, as if it were a small oasis in this drought period.

We return to the camp by 6.30 pm, even today is about to end and we are very satisfied; we comment on the sightings around the fire and then we have dinner eating the delicacies cooked by our excellent cook Titti.

After dinner we return around the fire to chat and laugh, thanks to the inevitable Amarula

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Data di inserimento: 
Monday, November 18, 2019