We headed out Wednesday around noon for our longest camping trip of the time spent in Africa. For some reason, some one had the bright idea that we should have some lectures before leaving – thus, we did not head out until around noon for a campsite about three hours away – no big deal except that we weren’t exactly sure where we were going and if it is one thing I have learned on this trip then it is you should leave early in the morning no matter where you are going b/c you never know what might happen.

So, off we went in four vehicles – I was riding with Bill, Graham, and Brian in Graham’s own truck. The first part of the trip went well – we were even thinking we’d get in early enough to set up camp and do a practice transect before dark. At one point in the drive, I glanced out the side window and started spazzing – I was banging the window and yelling stop, stop, stop – near a pan (small body of water) there was a pack of wild dogs – this is something not often seen so was quite cool to take in – I couldn’t get it out of my mouth as to whether it was wild dog, jackal, or hyena. Anyway, we watched them for a bit (lazy and content under a set of trees) and then headed on. We passed the bridge (the bridge consisted of wooden logs set horizontally and vertically atop one another that creaked and bounced under the weight of vehicles) that would take us to the campsite…however, before heading that way, we first needed permission from the game warden. We continued up the sandy road (condition of the roads alternated between hard packed sand and completely not hard packed sand – as in Florida panhandle sand although different colors). We were in some of the really soft sand cruising along in second or third gear when WOMPH – we hit something hard and the back left side dropped and we were stuck. We got out and looked back to see the back left tire rolling down the road in the opposite direction – the whole entire wheel had come off the truck. Needless to say, this set us back a bit – the truck ahead of us had continued to drive down the road (the one who had the only person in the group who knew where we were camping for the night). We sent another vehicle after that truck while people worked on the wheel. I went off with another student (Bill) into the Mopani woodland to check things out and take a training sample (information to trace back to the satellite). Anyway, we finally got sorted out (with the wheel – quite an effort) and got back on the road. The whole ordeal cost us about an hour/hour and a half. We then drove around looking for the lead car – finally met up and headed to camp…got to the campsite in the pitch black but managed to get settled and fed and happy.

The next day we got up fairly early to head out to do some training samples. Logistics – no matter where we are – tend to be hazy and confusing which causes set backs on a regular basis. Despite this we manage to get some field work done and get a look at some vegetation change going on in the game reserve (this area has been a game reserve since 1962). Afterwards we did a game count in which we went off in our trucks to count as many animals as we could find…this effectively ended when we rounded the corner and found two lazy lions sprawled across the sandy road – this was the first time any of us had seen lion on the trip so everyone was very excited. We sat there watching the lions sleep, occasionally twitching and snorting due to the flies that surrounded them. One of the lions was sprawled on his back with legs splayed in the air…amusing. It was really something and kept us thoroughly entertained for a good half an hour. We finally headed back to camp – again arriving in the dark…this is something not highly recommended in the bush and yet we seem to do it on a regular basis. Go figure.

We woke up again decently early and headed out for more transects. We are driving along the road and low and behold, we round a bend to see five lions strolling down the road – quite remarkable and very cool…if anyone wasn’t awake by then this surely did it for them. The lions strolled right by our trucks and continued on their merry way and we continued along ours. The rest of the day was really good – doing multiple transects in the field has been extremely helpful in identifying different types of vegetation (I am fixated on a tree with the common name Kalahari Apple Leaf). We got done early enough to take a boat ride along the river which was extremely relaxing although not much in terms of wild life – however, no one need fear…we got back in the trucks to head back to camp and again saw the lions strolling along the road (the place where we kept seeing the lions takes you straight into our camp – which is where the lions headed). I only got one decent picture at night but uploaded the others b/c it catches the lions playing with each in the road…we eventually split off from the track they were taking and quickly made a fire at camp to keep them anywhere but with us for the night. Nighttime in the bush is something special – you get a fire going and sitting around listening to the sounds…a couple times jumping up to try to train the spotlight on the curious hyenas that were after our food (some issue during the day except with baboons – who, by and by, actually did make off with some food and get into a tent one day) and other times tilting your head back to find the Southern Cross and other constellations (some that people know…others that people swear exist…the more wine you drink, though, the more you can completely see where the other person is coming from in identification of the imaginary constellations).  The best part of the mornings is waking up to Rusks and tea – Rusks is a type of baked bread I have discovered that is an essential in the morning – great for dipping in hot tea.

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