Khutse again (J1)

We headed for yet another weekend into Khutse last weekend. Alan's first weekend in the bush, and it was as great as always. We stayed at 'campsite' no14 this time, about an hour further into the park compared the the last times. This also meant that there was absolutely no-one around. It is always amazing to only be able to hear the sound of crickets, and a roar from a lion or hyena, but no other noise at all. And the skyline is only lit up by stars and the moon, no other light at all.
As mentioned in the previous blog, we did pick up a nice roof tent, which worked perfectly. Below a picture in the folded position, and when put up (takes less then 1 minute)


There is no shop anywhere near the place, the nearest (very basic) shop and petrol station is approximately 150km from the campsite, so the car was packed with supplies and extra diesel to keep us going all weekend. Having the tent free up some space in the back (which would have been taken by our tent, air mattress, bedding) was a welcome bonus. Cooking on the fire is always fun, Jill makes the best stew with kudu, wildebeast and oxtail in a potjie (cast iron three legged pot). She is also very good for cooking breakfast:
I usually do a braai (barbeque) with wors (sausage), lamb chops and corn on the cob. The cooking keeps us occupied for a good part of the camping, but collection of the fire wood for probably just as long..... It is very dry in Botswana at the moment. Rain season does not start until October / November, and the last rain was in April. The tracks had gotten very heavy and sandy, and the car was put to a real test. Especially on our way back when we found 2 cars stuck in the sand. One had sunk away into the sand, and the other managed to get itself stuck trying the pull the first one out. It is very important to keep driving in these sandy spots, and we were reluctant to try and pull them out, with danger of also getting stuck ourselves. But leaving them there would be cruel, so we did give it a careful try, and managed to pull both of them loose.

We did not spot any of the cats such as lion, hyena, cheetah or leopard. But we did see plenty of wildlife again:

Giraffe

Beautiful bird, I have not identified this one yet

Gemsbok

Ostrich

Hartebeest

Unfortunately we are back in the office now, buried into the work. But weekends in Khutse definitely make up for all that.

J1