This past weekend was spent in the Kalahari. A true desert if I ever saw one. But its not the immense sand dunes you would expect. In fact, it is heavily treed and has many bushes but every one of them is adapted to live in one of the harshest environments in the world. We had a four hour drive in this amazing open-air vehicle. It was SO cold, but really neat! I also caught a cold, I think because of the intense temperature change from Thailand to Africa. I never imagined Africa to be this cold! Especially in a desert!
We headed to the Khutse Reserve but not before stopping off in a research camp right outside. The researcher there told us about how she tracks the lions and leopards within the reserve by collaring them. It was really interesting to learn about. We then headed to camp.
Once we reached our destination, we ate some lunch. It was the first time I had pilchared fish aka sardines in a can. It tasted a bit like tuna fish and I think I could grow to like it if I eat it more. Then we set up our tents. We made some new friends as we worked: the hook bill bird, which is Zazu from the Lion King!
We then went on a game drive where we saw an African Wild Cat, a Jackal, a mongoose, and some Fembock. All were really cool and our guides, Chris and Kenny were great, pointing things out left and right. We got back to camp just as the sun was setting, so we built a fire and waited for our dinner of beef stew and rice to be ready.
After the delicious meal, we sat around the fire and listened to our guides discuss histories of Botswana and South Africa but also other great countries of the world. It was extremely interesting and they were very knowledgeable. We drank hot chocolate as the temperature dropped and soon it was time for bed. When we awoke the next morning, we watched the sunrise and drank hot chocolate again around a small fire. We ate breakfast and broke down our camp. After packing everything away, we began to drive off, looking for game as we rode out. We managed to see some Springbok and ground squirrels. Then we were on our way home. We stopped halfway to eat some lunch (pilchard fish) and then arrived home at about 4:30pm. It was an incredible experience, one of my favorites thus far on the trip. I can't wait to go camping back in the States, its a lot of fun!
We headed to the Khutse Reserve but not before stopping off in a research camp right outside. The researcher there told us about how she tracks the lions and leopards within the reserve by collaring them. It was really interesting to learn about. We then headed to camp.
Once we reached our destination, we ate some lunch. It was the first time I had pilchared fish aka sardines in a can. It tasted a bit like tuna fish and I think I could grow to like it if I eat it more. Then we set up our tents. We made some new friends as we worked: the hook bill bird, which is Zazu from the Lion King!
We then went on a game drive where we saw an African Wild Cat, a Jackal, a mongoose, and some Fembock. All were really cool and our guides, Chris and Kenny were great, pointing things out left and right. We got back to camp just as the sun was setting, so we built a fire and waited for our dinner of beef stew and rice to be ready.
After the delicious meal, we sat around the fire and listened to our guides discuss histories of Botswana and South Africa but also other great countries of the world. It was extremely interesting and they were very knowledgeable. We drank hot chocolate as the temperature dropped and soon it was time for bed. When we awoke the next morning, we watched the sunrise and drank hot chocolate again around a small fire. We ate breakfast and broke down our camp. After packing everything away, we began to drive off, looking for game as we rode out. We managed to see some Springbok and ground squirrels. Then we were on our way home. We stopped halfway to eat some lunch (pilchard fish) and then arrived home at about 4:30pm. It was an incredible experience, one of my favorites thus far on the trip. I can't wait to go camping back in the States, its a lot of fun!
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