The darkness has fallen rapidly in Botswana’s Chobe National Park and our Land Cruiser is racing toward the exit gates. We are bouncing up and down the bumpy dirt road, yet no one is complaining – our mission is to leave the huge park within the next 15 minutes, otherwise our driver and his vehicle will be banned from entering the Park in the future.
It was our fault for running late, but we just had to track a lioness and her two cubs as they were getting ready to hunt a group of antelope. In fact, the fearsome trio had already crossed the road twice a few feet from our truck, not paying any attention to the clicking of our cameras and the loud sighs as the setting sun was lighting up their faces and smooth bodies.
But the sun was dropping too quickly behind the enormous acacia trees and the hunt was still in its early stages. We had to clear out and start driving toward the distant exit gates in almost complete darkness.
It was an exciting game drive. Soon after entering the park our Land Cruiser stopped on a sandy cliff overlooking the magnificent river valley with thousands of animals grazing along the grassy river banks and dozens of emerald islands. The elephants, giraffes, hippo’s, antelopes, wildebeests, and warthogs did not mind each other’s company, while hundreds of birds were circling above and even riding some of the animals on the ground.
The nearby trees were hiding a large female leopard, who was apparently guarding her cubs tucked away from our sight. Not too far a female baboon was nursing her newborn and didn’t mind posing for our cameras.
What makes the adult humans react so childishly and so happy at a sight of a wild animal sitting just a few feet away from them? Everyone in the Land Cruiser was peacefully smiling as our driver turned off the engine right in front of the baboon mother and her child. The animals were free to go, but they didn’t want to. They were quietly studying us, just as we were studying them.
We had made it to the exit gate in time to save our driver’s career, but it was really difficult to leave the park and its amazing animals. In fact, it was really hard to leave Africa and to return to our busy commotion also known as the “civilized world”. The good thing is that Africa is not too far away, relatively speaking, and I will be back soon enough.
Click here to see the photo album from Botswana.
Keep on traveling,
Lenka info@lenkatraveler.com