Kgalagadi avontuur April 2023

Mnr Boucher, ek is so bietjie verward (of dalk het ek nie mooi gelees nie?). Gaan julle twee keer Kgalagadi toe volgende jaar? Daar is eers TR, Mata-Mata en dan weer TR en dan Mata-Mata uit Namibië oppad terug van Henties af?

Dankie, nou verstaan ek ook. Gelukkig is die pad tussen TR en Mata-Mata nie te sleg nie. Dis net die brandstof koste wat my deesdae skugter maak vir ry…

Ek het Vrydag die vouchers van ons besprekings by Polentswa en Rooiputs en die nommers van die staanplekke wat toegeken is ontvang. Dis nie soos ‘n gewone oord waar staanplekke langs mekaar is nie. Hulle is ‘n ent uit mekaar, en by Polentswa is daar net drie. Ongelukkig het ons drie aande by nr 2 by Rooiputs en die laaste aand by nr 3 gekry. As ons nie iets kan uitwerk met die mense wat inkom op nr 2 vir ons vierde aand by Rooiputs nie, sal ons maar skuif na 3 toe en net lig opslaan. Dan is dit minder oppak werk die oggend wat ons die park verlaat. Hier onder is die beskrywings van die staanplekke wat ons gekry het. 
 

So nagtelike ontmoeting met ‘n vuilbaard sal die rioolwerke gou aan die gang kry. Gelukkig het ek mos my kamptoilet wat ek snags gebruik en in die tent ‘n porta vir Salomien en die kinders. 

Ek het die wenke van ‘n ervare besoeker op die 4x4 forum gekry. Gelukkig stort ons in die Kavango. Ons sal net die kinders mooi dophou en hulle snags eerder in die wa hou. Gelukkig gaan slaap hulle nie laat nie. 
 

• Shower in the heat of day when the lions are more visible and often are lying up in shade and less mobile. Here we work in pairs with one on the lookout and the other within the wooden stockade/shower. Just make sure they are not sharing your own shade. Take along your own collapsable "bucket" shower with rope as at times they are broken or missing. A midday shower between game drives is so refreshing. Also best in the cold winters. Try not to leave too much of your draining shower water lying about on the sand and some drainage spade work may be required. Pools of water might attract lions to drink in the arid Kalahari. Also no dripping taps or basins of water "for the birds". Most of the lion visits for water are when darkness approaches and visibility is poorer. The walk in daylight to the nearest ablution facility is usually not too far.
• Never leave out any food for lions or hyenas, even the odour could attract them into camp when your guard is down or visibility poor.
• Braai early in the evening whilst your all-round visibility is good and any predators attracted by the smell can be tracked.
• Pack all camping items into a closed vehicle, especially if they carry a food odour of any sort. No food or cooking utensils to be stored in a ground tent.
• Do not throw any bones or scraps into the surrounding bush.
• Night vision is a very important factor and too much light pollution leads to relative night blindness and could enable a lion to approach closely to you before giving you a nasty fright. In camp we only work with off-and-on headlamps and then have a couple of lamps on the edge of the camp to increase our field of vision and possibly to deter unwelcome visitors.
• Camp setup. We always plan this logically as a routine. The vehicle at our back also screening the most open section of the camp, vehicle seats empty for rapid refuge and vehicle doors unlocked. Fire between the outside bush and where we sit with our backs to the vehicle, close-by. Some use the foldup windscreens on poles as a further barrier to the one side, but with my night vision I prefer a clear field of vision. We have never used electric wires or motion-detecting lights.
• Someone will always be on the lookout, not obsessively but when one is busy with a camp chore the other is better if not too preoccupied. These sort of things become a routine and need not be a paranoid pain in the butt.
• If in a rooftop tent and lions are about and inquisitive, it might be best to lift the vehicle bonnet to make it less attractive for them to climb onto the vehicle and explore. 
• If in a ground tent and lions enter camp, best to remain completely silent, motionless and calm. Best to lie down so that either your silhouttes or yourselves cannot be seen (through the gauze). Always zip up the tent securely before sleeping and leave only as much gauze open as needed for decent ventilation.
• When answering a call of nature in the dark, from a ground or RTT, or a vehicle campervan, this must always be done in pairs with a strong torch. The eyes of cats show up very brightly in the dark. Others may require a She-wee device or in fact a broad-necked screw top bottle such as HTH where the chlorine drowns any odours. Others devise some sort of chamberpot or even a portaloo.
• If lions are spotted in the vicinity, be especially aware as darkness approaches, as many Kalahari lions have become somewhat human habituated and often do an exploratory circuit of campsites before setting off for the night. Be particularly aware if there are subadult lions present, they are particularly mischievous and inquisitive. Never leave out food or water.
• At night cats become far more mobile, inquisitive and predatory. Just observe how the personality of your sleepy domestic cat changes at night to become a fierce hunter.
• Lions are particularly stimulated to hunt by the presence of obviously weak and vulnerable children and even the sounds of ther voices. Next time just notice how caged zoo lions immediately fixate onto children. Thes kids have to be very carefully controlled in lion areas, especially as dark approaches.
• It is a great privilege to "live amongst lions" and those campers behaving unsafely and causing habituation could bring this privilege to an end, or even cause the death of campers.

Wessel

Ek het dit self telkemale ervaar toe ek in toerisme gewerk het. Diere sien selfs ‘n oop wildritvoertuig as ‘n eenheid, nie as ‘n voertuig met 10 mense daarop nie. As daar egter ‘n kind op is en hy/sy praat sal leeus belangstelling toon en selfs hurk asof hulle wil bespring. Dit gesê het ek baie gesinne veilig vergesel op safari​​​​​, en Botswana het nie ‘n ouderdomsbeperking soos SA nie. Dit ten spyte daarvan dat hulle kampe nie omhein is nie. Uiteraard sal ons ekstra versigtig wees met ons spruite by, en hulle ordentlik voorberei. 
 

Tot ‘n mate stem ek saam met Oom Neef. Diere herken egter vir seker die menslike vorm, en natuurlik ruik hulle ons baie maklik. Ons is die top roofdier op aarde, en maak sedert ons begin regop loop het alles dood - selfs mekaar. Diere het daarom ‘n instinktiewe vrees vir mense en vermy kontak met ons as die opsie beskikbaar is. Dit verander natuurlik as mense hulle voer of vir hulle kos laat rondlê, en dit mag tot ‘n mate die geval wees by Rooiputs en Polentswa. 
 

Wat ek weet van interaksie met wilde diere spruit uit my ondervinding met wildritte tydens werk as toer gids in 8 verskillende Afrika lande, 30 drie-dag staptoere wat ek in Botswana gelei het en my verblyf in onomheinde wildernisgebied in dieselfde land van ‘n totaal van drie jaar. Ek was nog nooit ‘n cowboy nie, en gaan vir seker nie kanse vat met my of my gesin en vriende se veiligheid in ‘n onomheinde wildernesgebied nie. Maar nou moet ek eers klaar gaan pak vir môre se toer na die Kruger maktuin toe. Daar is mos heinings om albei kampe waar ons gaan kuier. 

Die vouchers vir ons ses aande se verblyf in Kgalagadi is eergister deur DHL afgelewer tesame met die papierwerk van Botswana Departement of Wildlife and National Parks. 
 

Ek moes ander verblyf soek oppad op, want daar word ‘n reuse sonplaas buite Kenhardt gebou en kontrakteurs het al die verblyf vol bespeek. Ek het die toerprogram aangepas in die beskrywing bo-aan die gesprekslyn.
 

Die eerste dag gaan ‘n lange wees, en die verblyf oppad daarheen en terug gaan duur wees. Ek dink nie ons sal volgende Desember weer kan bekostig om Dwarswegstrand toe te gaan nie…