I’ve often wondered how Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner managed to beat their way through the African bush in the old Hollywood classic Mogambo without ever breaking into a sweat. And (in Ava’s case, at least) in high heeled mules to boot!
I’ve just been on safari and I “perspired” considerably, but then I left the old stilettos at home (tottering can be tiresome).
Safari is a wonderful word, evoking images of colonial sorts striding into the wilds of Africa in inappropriate clothing, sleeping in scorpion-infested tents and drinking copious amounts of gin and tonic “to fend off malaria, old chap”.
A lot has changed, but the modern equivalent still offers a chance to get up close and personal with untamed Africa without travelling too far from home.
South Africans can put together their own safari from a range of bush camps and lodges in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia, thanks to Welcome Tourism Services’s Safari Plans and a handful of companies that have joined forces to introduce a special with across the board rates for accommodation and transfers.
Under the cloak of Five Rivers Safari you can choose between areas as diverse as the Okavango Delta, Central Kalahari, Caprivi Strip and the upper Zambezi basin.
Safaris these days require you to pack light (sorry, Ava) with a maximum of 12kg in a soft bag and the usual hand baggage. This is because transfers between camps are in small five- or six-seater Cessnas, so bags — and passengers — have to be squished into tight spaces.
In my case the squishing began in Maun with Mack Air, one of several charter companies working from the northern Botswana town. A 25-minute flight in the blistering midday heat brought us to the first port of call — Xakanaxa Camp.
The name requires some bushman-like clicking to say it properly, but most non-clickers like me pronounce it Kaka-naka. Run by Bob and Flo Flaxman, the camp is located on the Khwai river in an area of seasonal swamp in the Moremi Game Reserve. It is undeniably one of the prettiest spots around, shaded by jackalberries, marulas and knobthorns and overlooking vast expanses of reeds that are occupied by a veritable cornucopia of bird life.
Xakanaxa has a resident crocodile, a small family of bushbuck and a hippo nicknamed Pavarotti,that is prone to midnight strolls around camp.
The camp consists of a large reception area and small curio shop, seven twin-bedded tents, a communal lounge, dining room and boma-style fireplace where guests gather after dinner to exchange stories. There is also a plunge pool set in a small deck with a separate lapa-cum-sala providing much-needed shade.
A short walk from the main camp is Pandani’s, a satellite camp of four additional tents with their own lounge and dining area and separate plunge pool overlooking a small lagoon on the Khwai. Pandani’s can be booked out in its entirety by groups of up to eight people.
The tents are a marvellous example of how camping need not mean roughing it. High twin beds swathed in percale cotton linen and log-hewn furniture offer space to relax and unpack. The bathroom, which is outside, is surrounded by wooden fencing to prevent prying eyes while the toilet, basin and shower offer guests the chance to commune with nature.
Hot and cold running water and an inexhaustible supply of insect spray mean that you can stay clean and bugs (and there are plenty of them) are, for the most part, kept at bay.
At this juncture it is probably best that I mention the obvious. Bush camps are not for those who scream at every creepy-crawly or worry about wild Africa coming too close for comfort. After dark you do not wander around, but are escorted to and from the dining room and lounge areas. There are no fences to keep small hairy things and larger, furry things out. There is only your tent canvas or lodge wall to keep you in.
Animals and goggas wander in, and out of camp with impunity. And by this I mean everything from water monitors, snakes, monkeys and hippos to hyenas, lions, leopards and elephants.
After dark there is generally no power and light is provided by storm lamps, oil lanterns and candles. Mosquito coils keep the little biters away and the only way to enjoy good air flow is to keep flaps down or windows open.
Malaria is a real and ever-present problem and anti-malarial measures are a must. Indeed, an interest in bugs is probably an advantage while on safari. In the rainy season especially the lights around the dinner table can attract a huge range of bugs, from cicadas (press them gently and they buzz obligingly) and grasshoppers to long-horned beetles and several kinds of mantis.
At Xakanaxa the Flaxmans do everything they can to make your stay enjoyable. Early morning wake-ups are accompanied by coffee, tea and biscuits and there is cereal available in the lounge before heading off with your guide on a three-hour game drive. The guides are all very knowledgeable about the area and its diversities.
You are usually back at Xakanaxa by 10am, just in time for a lavish brunch, after which the rest of the morning and early afternoon are yours to relax, catch up on some snoozing and cool off in the plunge pool.
Then it’s tea time with cakes and snacks before heading off on a late afternoon drive. There is a stop for sundowners en route before returning to camp for dinner and drinks around the fire.
The meals are wonderful, with home-cooked fare lovingly prepared and presented. The wine flows and after-dinner Amarulas are the perfect way to wind down for bedtime in Utopia.
Guests have the option of taking game drives in the Moremi Game Reserve or boat trips into the swamps, with short forays into the reed-lined channels on the traditional mokoros. These days the mokoros are made of fibreglass as opposed to hollowed out tree trunks in an effort to protect the woodlands around the swamps.
The reserve has an abundance of four of the Big Five, but consistent poaching has all but decimated Botswana’s rhino population. Attempts to reintroduce both black and white rhino have been largely unsuccessful, except for in small pockets in the Chiefs Island area of the Mombo concession within the Moremi.
Sightings of red lechwe, the rare sitatunga and tsessebe more than make up for the absence of rhino, however. The birdlife is also out of this world, with carmine bee-eaters, pied kingfishers, rufus-bellied herons and African fish eagles common.
After the lush wetlands of the Delta, the 55-minute transfer from Xakanaxa via Mack Air to Deception Valley Lodge in the central Kalahari area is a huge contrast.
River channels and swamp are replaced with an unending wilderness of parched land with its own brand of stark beauty. Where there had been a hot, but moist, climate there was now the blistering heat of an almost desert environment. The thermometer hit 42°C as we landed at the Deception Valley airstrip.
Deception Valley Lodge is located on a 15 000ha of private farm adjacent to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in central Botswana. It is a 20-minute flight from Maun. The lodge is owned and run by Braam and Susanne Badenhorst and is managed by Bruce and Arenell Robinson with the help of Johnny and Jackie Minaar.
This is San country and members of the local bushman tribe, the Basarawa, work at Deception Valley Lodge as trackers and bush educators, taking guests on walks and giving them a glimpse of the San way of life.
The lodge consists of five twin chalets with comfortable sitting rooms with a cosy couch, coffee table and minibar. The spacious bedrooms are cooled by ceiling fans. The bathrooms have large Victorian-style baths and outdoor showers.
The facilities are connected by wooden walkways and are open to the bush, again with nothing to keep the wilds of the Kalahari at bay.
An open-plan dining area with a huge, sleeper-wood table is situated at the main lodge. Here a range of marvellous, home-cooked meals are served, guaranteeing satisfaction to even the most grumbly tummy.
There is a cosy bar and comfortable lounge area with a selection of reference books available for guests to use and an outside braai area and fireplace where guests congregate for drinks.
Upstairs is a small curio shop selling bushman artefacts and items of interest. There is also a nice pool deck with a decent-sized plunge pool, loungers and umbrellas to fend off the scorching sun.
A family of porcupines is in residence at the main lodge. Spike, Lucy and their daughter Cheeky put in nightly appearances for the guests’ and guides’ entertainment and the chance to get close to these strange but fascinating creatures is a highlight.
But without a shadow of doubt the chance to trek into the bush with the San guides is the main drawcard at Deception Valley Lodge.
Two tribesmen, Xhasi and Sthibo, worked with Bruce Robinson to educate me in the ways of the Basarawa, They dug up bi — a huge juicy tuber — and showed me how they scrape and gouge it, and finally crush the scrapings to drink the precious liquid it unlocks. It is bitter to the taste, but certainly life-sustaining in such a harsh environment.
They also showed me the kan-nie-dood bush from which they harvest fire sticks. These they rub together to make camp fires.
The bush offers up a curious poisonous grub that lives in its root system. This grub, when squashed and squeezed over arrow tips, becomes a deadly poison, helping the bushmen to bring down steenbok and kudu.
I was also shown the San hardware shop, which comes in the form of the brandy bush. The wood of this bush becomes pliable when heated and is harvested to make throwing sticks, bows, spears, digging sticks and walking sticks. Kudu sinews are used to make bow strings. All of the above are packed into a soft skin bag and provide the San with everything they need to survive in the Kalahari.
A bit of target practice with a bushman bow soon elevated me to the ranks of honorary San as I discovered a natural ability as an archer.
The few short hours spent in the bush with these incredible people was an experience I will never forget, and one that has shown me just how resilient the human spirit is.
Life at Deception Valley Lodge runs on the same time frame as Xakanaxa, with early wake-up calls, morning game drives or bush walks, brunch, siesta or swim, afternoon snacks, afternoon-evening game drive and sundowners and a hearty dinner and drinks. The difference is the environment and the type of game in the area.
Aardvark, pangolin, spring hares, brown hyena and huge Kalahari lions make the place truly special, as do the sightings of leopard and honey badger. Then there are the smaller, more unusual inhabitants such as the lethal, black, hairy, thick-tailed scorpion, huge baboon spiders and a variety of snakes and lizards.
During my stay there was a rain storm that afforded me the chance to see long-dormant bullfrogs digging their way out of hibernation and frolicking in fleeting desert puddles.
Deception Valley Lodge’s brand of home-from-home hospitality and the down-to-earth approach to life in the bush is a breath of fresh air compared to the stresses and strains of urban living and is the perfect partner to Xakanaxa and the Okavango Delta. It is a definite not-to-be-missed experience.
Next week Sharon van Wyk experiences lion infanticide at Kwando Kwara Camp in the northern Okavango Delta and the magic of wild dogs at Kwando Lebala Camp in the Linyanti area close to the Caprivi Strip
The lowdown
Through Safari Plans, a branch of Welcome Tourism Services, South Africans can choose from nine camps on the Five Rivers Safari and assemble a trip to suit interest and budget.
These specials are valid until March 31 2004, except from December 20 to January 2. For example, a three-day fly-in package to Xakanaxa Camp from Maun is currently available for R3 765 a person, sharing, and a three-day package to Deception Valley is available for R4 198 a person, sharing.
The rates include return flights from Maun, transfers between the airstrip and camp or lodge, game viewing activities, meals and drinks (excluding premium brands) and accommodation. Scheduled flights to Maun are not included, but can be arranged on request. Air Botswana runs scheduled flights from Johannesburg International airport to Maun, or there’s the option of an overland drive to Maun with secure parking available at Maun airport. Contact Safari Plans on (011) 328 8140 for more details or to make a reservation or visit www.safariplans.co.za
About the area
Botswana is roughly the size of France or Texas but with a population of only 1,7-million. More than 40% of the land is reserved for conservation and wilderness.
The topography of the Okavango was formed through a process of erosion and deposition. Two things influence the topography — first is the flatness of the area that makes termite mounds the highest landforms. The land slopes very gradually — 1km for every 4km — to the south east. Secondly there are very few rocks or stones.
The Okavango Delta lies within the Kalahari basin — a depression of wind-blown sands that extends from the north-eastern corner of South Africa to just south of the equator in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The underlying bedrock is volcanic sedimentary rock and the entire area is seismically active and prone to earthquakes.
Historically it is thought the Okavango river extended to the sea, but there are different schools of thought as to which sea it flowed into — some believed it joined the Limpopo and flowed into the Indian Ocean, others that it met the Orange river.
Flow was arrested due to tectonic movement that caused a series of parallel faults and a section of the Earth’s crust to collapse, leading to the formation of the inland delta as we now know it. Geographically it is known as an alluvial fan.
The Okavango river enters Botswana at Mohembo after travelling 1 000km from its source. It is channelled through what is known as the pan-handle — a 15km wide swathe between two of the geological faults. There is a 6 000km2 area of permanent swamp beyond which is a 12 000km2 area of seasonal swamp, fed by an infinite number of small channels. This becomes open grassland when floodwaters recede in the dry season.
Four rivers influence Botswana today — the upper Zambezi, Kwando, Okavango and Limpopo.
The Central Kalahari, as its name suggests, is located roughly in the middle of the Kalahari basin. Water is scarce here, a fact learnt through hard experience by the Dorsland Trekkers in the late 1800s.
The trek party of roughly 300 Boer families and their agricultural retinue reached the area hoping to find water. A mirage fooled them into thinking they had found the precious fluid and the deceit gave Deception Valley its name. Approximately half of the families perished. The decendants of the survivors still farm around the Ghanzi area.