Bokspring to Moremi

Buckle up and hold on to your hat – we were in for one hell of a bumpy ride. These roads made the Namibian roads feel like the Autobahn by comparison.

We were up before dawn to make the most of our short stay in Moremi. At the first glimmer of light, we set out. The fronds of the grass looked golden in the early morning light, and the vegetation was lush and fresh in the morning dew. I opened my window and breathed in the wild smell of the bush. Compared to South African game parks, Moremi is quite undeveloped. On the one hand, the lack of maps and road signs make navigation frustrating; on the other, though, it has something pure and unsullied by human intervention about it.

The first clue that we were going to see something special was a little jackal that trotted past, licking his chops and looking quite pleased with life. Above us, vultures were wheeling. And then, a few metres ahead of us, we a saw a yellow mane and what looked like a buffalo’s horn: lions were feeding. Never mind the vultures wheeling, I was reeling…from the schtunk. Pheeew! It was rank. As we sipped our morning coffee (with the window closed), we watched the sun rise on a magnificent bush scenario. In the distance was the aggrieved huu -hu-hu-hu of a hippo and the cries of fish eagles; right in front of us, lions tore away at a buffalo carcass while the vultures, aging and stooped, their bald pates darkened, patiently waited their turn.

A Mokoro trip at sunset was the perfect way to end the day. The silent, gliding motion of the mokoro through the water lilies, with the cool evening air on our skins, was a panacea for our jolt-and-bump-weary bodies.