Savanna Dry

We'd converted our money from Rands into Pula, the currency in Botswana. The first night was spent in a dirt camp ground where it promptly rained after we pitched our tents. And by rain, I mean pelting monsoon rain. But it wasn't all a wash. We huddled under the tin roof of the outdoor kitchen with a fabulous bottle of Tall Horse while Jess cooked up bangers and mash. While we made coleslaw, which the wind blew over. And then we remade it. Then finally after a couple of hours and an incredible dinner, the storm blew over. And it left a mud puddle shaped like the continent of Africa.

Here Sky and Ember are showing you our coordinates on the map. Ok, so they're not. Cause they're in the Congo on the map. Unless that's Cameroon. All they knew is they were playing in mud and no one was stopping them.



In the morning it was time to pack it all up and head to a campsite further north which would hopefully be drier. See, this was actually the second night of rain in a row and we were feeling a bit soggy. Ok, completely waterlogged.

When we pulled into Elephant Sands, the skies were sunny. And right in front of us was an elephant in the campsite. What are the chances right? Well, actually in Botswana they're pretty good. Because there are over 100,000 elephants in the country. And the campground didn't have any gates to keep the wild life out like the other places we had stayed. But I didn't actually think about that until later. Much later.

See the elephant behind Grandma Barb and Grandpa Dale? That's where we ended up pitching our tents.



It was one of the hottest days of the safari. It was like Africa hot. And savanna dry. Perfect for drying out. Except that after we set up the tents in the mid-day sun, we were marinating in our own sweat. Would our smell attract or repel the wild animals? I'm not sure. But they had a pool where we could cool down. Which is right next to a watering hole that the elephants frequent. So what the the odds that there's one there drinking there when we go?

Apparently, pretty good.



Mark caught this thirsty elephant on film. Now that's my kind of Elephant Bar.



That afternoon we went on a game drive just down the road in these cool open air jeeps.



Awwww. Slow down. Elephant crossing. Isn't that cute?



Check out the serene giraffe. This is awesome!



Oh my god! Is that a leopard? Amazing!

Wait a minute, we're right near our campsite that has no gate. And so is he. Wait just a second. Just a day or so ago we discovered that the Boomslang is an indigenous and very poisonous tree dwelling snake. Which made all of us crack up. (You may want to refer to my post Space for what boomslang is slang for.) But right now, that's not really funny. Ok, it's still totally funny.



So this is the point of the game drive when we stop and get out of the jeep to have a a cold drink brought along by our guide. And perhaps you're thinking, whhhaaaaaaaatttt? Just like I was. There's crocs, leopards, black mambas and boomslangs out here. Thank god he packed Savanna Dry. Which looks like a beer, but it's a hard cider.

And it took the edge off and I relaxed a bit.



So then I was totally fine with Craig posing for a picture at the edge of crocodile infested waters. Why not?



And so what if Jade is standing on a termite hill which would only make her presence more aparent to predators especially while wearing my very noticeable red t-shirt because we fit in the same clothes now?



And psheeeesh, we probably won't get stuck when we drive through the croc infested waters. Right?



And I'm pretty sure it's fine that River stands up in a moving vehicle driving over rough terrain loaded with wild animals without even so much as a car door to keep him from falling out. After all he doesn't have enough meat on him for any animal to be interested in eating him, even though he is conveniently snack size.



And hey? Why don't we stop again and all get out and pose for pictures by this tree like we're in Disney's Animal Kingdom? Except that I'm sure Disney would have charged me at least $10 for that Savanna Dry.



But that wasn't the case.
Cause this is Africa!
Tsamina mina eh, eh
Waka waka eh, eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa...



We made it back to camp unscathed before dusk. We had dinner with a bunch of suicidal moths who kept throwing themselves into our drinks and then my mouth. Yeah, even the moths are hard-core in Africa. I contemplated showering off my stank until I saw the huge African spider that must have been contemplating the same thing in the bathroom. So I headed to bed, stink and all. It was quiet and peaceful. At least it was for an hour or so.

Until, Craig heard a noise and got up and looked outside the tent. And there 25 feet from our tent was an elephant outlined by the light from the stars which were amazing that night. We watched him until he sauntered in the direction of the watering hole. We drifted off until about an hour later. That was when we heard the roar of the lion. And we didn't open the tent to see how close it was. Cause right then, I didn't want to find out the answer to whether lions are attracted to human b.o. or not.

NEXT UP: Zambia