Arno Watson, our lovely reservations assistant shares his story in an amazing 2 part feature about his adventure and educational tour he did with Acacia Africa. This is his story…
After many months in the waiting it was finally my time to hop on the plane and discover Botswana on an Acacia Africa educational. I was ready, packed and excited for the adventure. You see; working in the reservations department certainly does have its perks and educational tours are one of them. Here is my story of my adventure on the Best of Botswana – BOB7 tour! Read more…
It was the beginning of November and the start of the rainy season. The weather was extremely hot and humid when I arrived into Victoria Falls Airport. After clearing customs, I exited out of the main foyer doors – to be greeted with a live musical performance by one of the local tribes and a smile from Sam our trusted Zimbabwean Tour leader who was waiting with my transfer to Victoria falls town and our accommodation for the evening.
After checking in at the Adventure Lodge (Acacia’s pre/post tour accommodation option)and a quick refreshing swim, I made my way to the curio market (15 minutes by foot) to do some much needed shopping. After a meander around the markets I returned back to the lodge to meet my transfer for the elephant back safari I had booked earlier. The experience of riding an elephant was indescribable and completely amazing. You can see that they are well looked after and the guides have a fantastic relationship with each elephant. After an eventful day, I succumbed to an early night, ready for our departure in the morning and the beginning of our amazing tour into Botswana.
On day 1 of our tour, Sam, our trusted Tour Leader met us at our lodge after breakfast. We loaded our bags and made our way to the Botswana border 80 km away (1hour drive). With only five people booked on this tour, it was easy to have our own “meet & greet” in the vehicle on the way to the border. Unlike myself, an Acacia reservations consultant, the other four were doctors from Australia and the USA – I have never felt safer on any tour before. Once we arrived at the border we changed vehicles and met our Botswana guides (Nelson our experienced tour leader and Morgan our fantastic safari cook) for our adventure into Botswana’s famous National Parks, Reserves and the stunning Okavango Delta.
Our first stop was Kasane, a quant town situated on the edge of the Chobe National Park and only a short 15 minutes from the border post. We stopped for supplies, exchanging money into the local currency ‘Pula’ and a supply of water, as this will be the only stop for the next four days. In the whole process, while waiting for the others to return from the shop, we were lucky enough to have had our first taste of safari life when two warthogs made their appearance in the parking lot.
After a quick lunch stop we entered the Chobe National Park for the first game drive of our safari. Even though I have been on safari many times, I was really excited; so I could only imagine what the rest of the group was feeling fresh in Africa. Just as I gathered my thoughts, the first large herd of elephants crossed in front of us making their way to the water’s edge. With a population of approx 50,000 residing elephants, you are bound to see a few on-route. As I turned around, I could see the faces of the rest of the group. The excitement sprawled across their faces in total amazement as they clicked away on their cameras.
After watching hippo’s wallowing in the shallow waters of the Chobe River, and spotting numerous antelopes like Lechwe and Impala, Buffalo, Giraffe, waterbuck, hyena, hundreds of species of birds and, of course, herds of elephant, it was time to move to our bush campsite located in the park. As we neared (maximum 10 minutes from camp) we passed 2 male lions.
The campsite was not fenced and obviously everyone was thinking about the lions that were walking distance from our tents and the walk to the mobile shower and toilet during the night. After another afternoon game drive and dinner at camp most of us went to bed early – what a fantastic first day on safari.
Stay tuned for the second section of Beautiful Botswana part 2 and find out about Arno’s adventure through Moremi, Savuti Okavango Delta and Makgadikgadi Pans. See what he has seen and discovered on route.
Written by Arno Watson – Acacia Reservations