Fri. 14th June ‘24
Today we move from Khwai into the Moremi Game Reserve and Okuti Camp where we will be staying for the next two nights. We have such great memories of staying in Moremi (but a different site) 11 years ago and so was very high up our list of priorities when we were putting the itinerary together. Will Moremi live up to our memories? Will Okuti be able to match the fabulous time we have had at Sango? Not the most luxurious of camps, but more than made up for by the friendliness and enthusiasm of the staff. On our last morning, we discovered that we have missed a highlight by not visiting their viewpoint / hide.
We only have 50km to drive today, but the big question is, how long will it take us to drive it? Estimates vary between 2.5hrs (Google) and 5hrs (our itinerary) most people we talk to come up with a number somewhere in between. Our first clue as to how the drive is going to go comes before we get to the gate to enter the game reserve and we have to cross a wooden, single-track bridge. We watch a car coming the other way and, as they make it across without incident, we cross too.
Once inside the park, the terrain is very variable – depressions and deep ruts of dried mud one minute, then flat(ish) clay, then sand. All the while it twists and turns as it winds its way amongst the trees and we’re able to manage an average of maybe 20km/h. Making progress, unless we stop to take pictures of the wildlife, or indeed stop behind another car going our way only to find that there is an elephant stood in the road in front of them. When the elephant turns and decides that it wants to walk down the road in our direction, the only thing to do is put the car in reverse and get out of its way. I don’t think it was cross, or even particularly bothered by us – just that it wanted to walk down the road.
There’s a Hippo Pool marked on our map, just off our route, that is an obvious stopping point, particularly as there is a viewing platform there. We judge it to be safe to get out of the car as there are a couple of other cars there with a few people milling about. There isn’t much hippo action happening, so we chat with the folk there and share game viewing experiences. Everyone has a story to tell – one couple even had lions mating not far from their tent this morning – but I wouldn’t swap any of them for the time we have spent with the leopard over the last couple of days.
We haven’t gone much further when the road ends at a stream. Hmm! The first rule of going through water is “don’t – try and find another way around”. We backtrack a little but there are no alternatives that look any better. We eye up the stream, but it is difficult because the water on the surface is always flat not matter what is happening underneath. We can see that there are tracks that look fresh on the other side, and we’re just building up the confidence to go ahead when we see a car coming the other way. They ford the stream without any problem and, once across, confirm that we are on the right road. Of course Mungo gets through without any problems.
It’s then fairly plain sailing (or sandy driving) to Okuti, where we arrive about 3.5hrs after setting out and in time for lunch. Not bad at all and very encouraging that we had no real problems either with the navigation or with the driving conditions. Over lunch we are introduced to Bonno (pronounced Boono) who will be our guide for the next two days. We agree with him that we’ll do game drives with him this afternoon and both mornings of our stay, but a boat trip tomorrow afternoon.
After a bit of time to chill / write blog, we load up into Bonno’s Land Cruiser safari truck and bump and bounce our way across the tracks of Moremi. We gather that Bonno is a big cat guy, and he has had word of some lions on the move some way away. Sure enough, we catch up with a group of three lionesses who seem to be on a mission. Bonno says that they are sisters and have a clutch of cubs whom they have left behind whilst they go and chase some intruders out of their territory.
As we are not allowed (at least in theory) off the defined tracks, we lose this group in the bush, and so we head off to see if we can find the intruders. One advantage of being on a guided game-drive, is that there is constant chatter on the radio between all of the guides from all of the local lodges and campsites. We’re soon able to track down the intruders to find that they are a group of eight (we think) lions, mostly young and mostly (all?) female. They may or may not have got the message about not being wanted in this part of the park, but they are in no hurry to move to somewhere where there will be a better reception. All the better for us to get some more lion pics.
We’ve just about got all of the shots that we want when the radio bursts to life again and Bonno says that a leopard has been spotted. Even though we’ve been leopard viewing both of the last two days, it’s an easy decision that we want to see another. If we thought Bonno was speeding before, it was nothing compared to his speed now as we raced to what seems to be the other end of (this section of) the park. It isn’t the most comfortable of rides and with the sun setting, the temperature is dropping rapidly too. However, it is all worthwhile when we get a clear view of a leopard perched on the branch of a tree – presumably scanning for dinner tonight. We only just get there in time as shortly after, she climbs down from the tree and moves off into the bush where we only get fleeting glimpses.
Our time is almost up – the sun is about to hit the horizon – and we haven’t yet had our sundowner. At least the drive to a flat, open spot by a lake is rather more genteel than the mad dash to get to the leopard. As we sip our drinks and chat with Bonno about his life and about wildlife in the game reserve, we notice a hippo in the lake. He’s a long way away and the light is very poor, but somehow, when he opens his mouth for a yawn, I’m able to catch him in the act. Not a competition worthy photo, but a great reminder for us.
Over dinner, we talk with other guests about their day. We have had another good day, though it did seem to be one taken at two speeds – leisurely in the morning and then breakneck in the afternoon.