Day 15: Saturday, August 21st
This morning we drove out to the Kalahari Desert. But instead of riding in the safari jeeps like we had been, we now got to ride in a multi-passenger van with air conditioning and seatbelts. Nice. We stopped in D'Kar (about a 3 hour drive) for the Kuru Dance Festival. This is a once-yearly event where dance groups from all over Botswana (and even some neighboring countries like Namibia) come to perform their traditional regional dances and compete for prizes. Their ages ranged from preschoolers (who were absolutely adorable) to 70 year-olds. It was amazing to watch and listen to their performances (they usually sing or chant while they are dancing). You had to pay 1000 pula to take pictures at this event, so we all pooled our money together for 1 photo pass. One of the Spaniards is a photo journalist, so he took all the pictures and will send it to us on a CD. (He has sent it to my mom, who says the pictures are amazing. I will try to post some of them if/when I get a hold of them) There were also arts and crafts for sale, like ostrich-egg jewelry and red sand art.
After we'd had our fill, we drove to our lodge in Ghanzi (Tautona Lodge). Disney would have a hayday seeing their logo, because it looks an awful lot like Mufasa. This lodge has what they call a farm - lots of animals they've caught from the wild and have caged for their guests to see. So we finally got to see some wild dogs (although we're calling them "wild" dogs) and more lions up close. It was actually pretty sad seeing them caged up. They looked like they just wanted to run free!
They also claim to have 5 cheetahs, but we never saw them. We think they're pulling our legs. We had a big buffet of traditional food at the lodge - our last dinner together as a safari group. Another night spent in a comfy bed and a shower with running water. What a treat!
Day 16: Sunday, August 22nd
After our last breakfast together as a group and saying our good-byes to all the Spaniards, we did another game drive around the Tautona Lodge property. They are all going different ways while we have another day and a half with Lucky in the Kalahari. We were on the hunt for some of the bigger antelope that were supposedly on the property/farm. Well, truth be told, it was a big dud. We saw a couple ostrich, vultures, cranes and impala. That's it. Then as we pulled back in by the rooms, we saw an eland (exactly what we'd been looking for) chomping on the grass by the pool. Go figure!
We ordered lunch, which took 2 1/2 hours to come (no joke!) and then took a quick driving tour of Ghanzi. This didn't exactly take long, as most of the town was closed because it's Sunday.
In the evening, we went on a walk with 4 bushmen (2 men and 2 women). They showed us how they get water (eating tubers that they dig up, which taste like radishes), the different uses for various plants and roots (pain relief, energy, contraception, etc.), and how they make fire out of twigs and grass. It was very neat to see and share their culture, something they are trying to preserve for future generations. We had our last dinner of safari at the lodge (another 2-hour meal), some some clothes washed, and got ready to head back to Maun in the morning.
Day 17: Monday, August 23rd
Today we headed back to Maun. Lucky brought us blankets to help keep us warm since we left in the morning and are now back in the safari open-air vehicle. We stopped in D'Kar at the San Art Center. It is a whole gallery and center where the local bushmen (often called the San people/group) come and make various arts and crafts to sell to make a living. It's pretty cool seeing all their work.
As we kept driving toward Maun, we saw people along the side of the road driving donkey-drawn carts, many of which are driven by young kids. We had one last lunch with Lucky in Maun before our safari officially ended. It was sad saying good-bye, but he had another safari to start up and we had our adventure to continue. Thanks for the awesome memories Lucky!
We are staying at Audi Camp, which offers various levels of camping...from campsites where you provide your own tent to en-suite cabins. We stayed in tents up on concrete slabs with beds and electricity. We used the communal bathrooms that were actually very clean and nice. It felt good to shower and relax by the pool. There's a little craft shop here are the campsite with art made from soda cans. There's a cute elephant sculpture made from coke cans - a perfect melding of me and Jeff! I don't think he'd make it home OK though. And there's only so much room in the suitcase! :)
We enjoyed another delicious dinner (I think I'm gaining pounds by the meal), even though the power kept cutting in and out. Again, another normal occurrence here. We're resting up for another exciting day...tomorrow we head to Zimbabwe!