Kwara Camp (Okavango Delta, Botswana)

May 9^th, 2011 (February 2011) – We rose early and made our way to the Namibia/Botswana border. The security situation at the borders is a bit lax, so much so that it is entirely possible we could have driven through both checkpoints undetected. This probably explained why an immigration official on the Botswana side was a bit ticked off when I drove past the office to park the car. Apparently, I could have just kept going with little threat of being stopped. Oops

While waiting for our paperwork an elderly gentleman returning to Botswana asked us for a ride. Actually, it was more like pantomiming as he spoke nary a word of English. We wanted to assist him but we did not think we had enough space in the Spark for another person, at least not without jettisoning some of our junk. He was having none of it. After we left the office he followed us to the car and awaited his chariot. I am sure he could have hitched with the next vehicle to cross but this man was impossible to deny. Age had chiseled this kind soul into a work of art and only the hardest of hearts would have been capable of saying no. 

Lucky for him I'm not  complete prick. So I managed to rearrange just enough space for Mr. Bots and his luggage.....barely. At that moment I felt a little ashamed to have ever said no in the first place. Not far into Botswana he gave us the signal and we pulled off the road to let him out. He was incredibly grateful. However, nothing in life is free. We forced him to pose for a picture.

Nine Lions & A Snack (Okavango Delta, Botswana)

May 11^th, 2011 (February 2011) - Few experiences in my life have been more stirring than my night with nine members of Panthra leo. On our second evening in the Okavango Delta our gamble on a discounted off-season visit paid off…..big time! While we were enjoying sunset tea (How bourgeois!) a call came in over the radio: Lions had been spotted. My response was basically, ‘F the tea and crumpets! Let’s haul ass!’ And so we did.

Background: The sun had just set and prior to our arrival a pride of nine lions had recently ‘murdered’ a fledgling zebra (awwwwwww!).  Although bachelor males do indeed hunt once they become part of a pride with their own family it is more often than not the women that do the heavy lifting when it comes to food. This instance had been no exception. Evidently, the three lionesses of the clan were in the process of feeding themselves and their cubs when the lone male in the group asserted his patriarchal authority and purloined the recently departed.

This is when we arrived. Another vehicle, using its headlights as a spotlight, was focused on the ‘thief’ while the females and their brood (five in total) were about a hundred feet away looking on, totally dejected, as the husband/daddy selfishly enjoyed the fruits of their labor. Just like a man. Bastard. One lioness still had a bloody chin. We then pulled up in front of the male and watched the cruelty unfold.

Yippee-ki-yay!!! (Okavango Delta, Botswana)

May 14^th, 2011 (February 2011) – We were not finished with Simba's crew. Although still sleepy from the previous evening we managed to drag our cabooses out of bed for the morning game drive the following day.  The guide drove us to the scene of the crime (i.e. the baby zebra slaying) to see if our new pals were still around.  Thankfully, they were indeed close by. Although nowhere near as thrilling as the night before the chance to see the family with the lights on was well worth our time. And it appeared that all had been forgiven as mother and child spent time kanoodling with dear old dad. Hopefully, he made it up to them but I wouldn’t bet the game farm on it.

There was a tense moment when I crouched as far down in the vehicle as I could in order to get a ground shot of an approaching kitty cat. For some reason my stealthy perch attracted her attention and for a couple of heart-pounding seconds she stared directly at me as she advanced ever closer. I nearly pooped a little. Note to self: Playing hide and seek with a mother lion is a terrible, terrible idea.

After saying farewell to the Furball Gang we spent the rest of the morning drifting around the Delta grasslands with no particular aim in mind. We felt we had been given an incredible gift the previous evening and merely sat back and basked in the warmth of the experience’s afterglow. We did pause for our tea interval and shared the morning with an elephant that had come to a nearby pool to have a drink. And then it was back to camp.

Medical Tourism (Istanbul, Turkey)

March 2011 - After Victoria Falls it all started to wind down. We returned to Kasane in Botswana to purchase a return flight to Maun where we would once again hop into Sparky and make our way back to Johannesburg. We loitered a couple extra nights in Kasane so we could relax in the lap of luxury at an upmarket hotel for a spell. It was swell.

Once back in Johannesburg we procured lodging close to the airport for the sake of expediency. We spent a few days tying up some loose ends to include giving Sparky a bath and purchasing airfare. While waiting at the car wash for our car to be cleaned the owner struck up a conversation dripping with racism. The country is overrun with them. We used to play in the streets as kids until they took over. You can't trust any of them. In lieu of getting murdered she and her family are headed to Botswana. Alrighty. We just met this woman. I cannot quite explain why she felt so comfortable bearing her soul to complete strangers. This was not the first instance of such behavior. I guess people have no problem sharing as we are all clearly on the same 'team'.

We left most of our gear at the bed & breakfast in hopes that someone would find a use for our stuff (dinnerware, cooler, gas stove, etc.). Someone was either really excited or really irritated by the yard sale we left behind. We packed up Sparky for the last time and headed to the Avis airport office for what we thought might be a struggle of epic proportions. Over the course of two months we'd involved three separate Avis offices in our shenanigans and switched vehicles in the process. Too much paperwork. Too many employees involved. Too much confusion. And since we'd exceeded our allowable kilometers we were prepared to take it right in the stinker. Much to our surprise the return went smoothly and although we did have some overage payments in the end the representative with which we dealt was courteous, competent, and reasonable. She even waived a few of the charges in light of our constant struggle with Avis over the course of our journey. Ahhhh....refreshing.