Savuti
Trip Start
May 31, 1999
1
38
42
Trip End
Aug 16, 1999
Savuti, Botswana
Wednesday, August 11, 1999
We stopped for tea at the watering hole, where we could watch elephants suck the water straight out of the pump before it could reach the actual water hole. Blue wildebeest and doves hovered on the outskirts drinking, not daring to get too close to the elephants.
Background on Savuti - Until 1984, the Savuti Channel was wet and there a Lake called Mababe. At that time, for unknown reasons - perhaps an earthquake, or just a diminishing quantity of rain - it just dried up. The lake became known as the Mababe Depression and the channel has been dry ever since.
After tea we visited the Savuti Elephant Camp Lodge, where we saw what the luxury camps were like. A nice Scottish woman showed us the grounds (and her gift shop!), complete with a grass fringed pool and a watering hole below the balconies to attract wildlife. After leaving the lodge we heading back to camp for lunch.
On our afternoon drive we finally got a good shot of male kudu and another two steenbok. We also saw the usual - giraffe and elephants. We visited one of the rocky hills and climbed up to the bushmen drawings. They mix willow root and impala blood to make a paint to draw the animals that used to live in Savuti before it was dry. There were giraffe, elephant, sable antelope, eland, hippo, and crocodile. Half the group climbed the rest of the way to the top, but I came back down to inspect the rocks. They were the only ones I had seen in Botswana.
We stopped at a baobab tree for the sunset and took group pictures. We also met a man from Barcelona who is in the clothing business (those shirts with the alligators on them).
When we got back to camp, admiring the beautiful semi-circle of chairs by the campfire, we noticed that there was a very large elephant drinking from the tap on the water truck. The flash from our cameras scared him off - at first. Fortunately, dad had charged his camera battery at the lodge during our afternoon game drive. At first the elephant backed off. But as soon as Andy and Joe turned their backs, it charged. Andy grabbed a chair to shake at it (circus style) and Joe started banging and throwing sticks. That drove it off for a while. Long enough for us to gather and watch it from what we thought was a safe distance. The elephant slowly began to retake ground, sneaking closer by "hiding" itself behind tree and bushes. And then it charged. Everyone backed up and ran, except me, who was following the advice we'd been given and stood my ground. And Steph says that she was right behind me. And then I screamed, which managed to bring the elephant to a halt all of ten feet in front of me, giving me a chance to back off.
At that point the elephant reached around the tank with his trunk, searching for the valve to turn the water back on. Even though it couldn't see it was successful. This time Andy got into the truck to chase him off, with Joe running behind throwing sticks. Finally, Andy and Joe managed to chase him off for good, and we were able to enjoy our dinner of macaroni and cream sauce. We were all eager to feed ourselves after the nerves in our stomachs calmed down.
After dinner, we pulled our chairs in close around the fire, Joe turned out the lights and went to bed, and we waited for the hyenas to come into camp. It didn't take long. Before we knew it, there were glowing yellow eyes in the bush to the left of Renata's tent. We spent around 15 minutes waiting for it to come closer and then shining the torch on it. Like most of the rest of the trip, it was both exciting and scary. Besides, Steph and I both swore that we heard a second one near our tents. We turned in around 9.
