Safari: Pom Pom Day 3 and Nxai Pan Day 1
Not much to say about our last morning at Pom Pom because we opted to skip out on the morning drive. We were still exhausted (and not too fond of our truck-mates at this camp), so we relaxed in the lodge, watched the elephants in the lagoon, and waited in the peace and quiet until it was time to meet our plane.
I took the camera with me again on the flight.
And was rewarded with a giraffe greeting at the Nxai Pan airstrip – our next destination.
After our customary house drink and safety briefing, we were shown to our accommodations – this time a huge cottage.
After freshening up and taking a rest, we joined the other guests at the lodge for afternoon tea before heading off on our evening drive.
And before long, we were off again in a safari truck. This area is a salt pan, with lots of open space and trees in the middle and on the edges of the pan.
We saw lots of baobab trees dotted around the landscape. These beautiful trees take hundreds or thousands of years to grow to the heights we saw. However, the elephants can take them down. The damage at the bottom of the tree below is from elephants trying to get at the liquid inside.
We also spied a kori bustard walking around. These are the national bird of Botswana. It was chosen as such in 2014 because of its association with royalty – it was reserved for their consumption and it was believed that if eaten by others, they would become mentally ill.
We saw plenty of antelope – herds of springbok this time.
From there, we drove to where our guide knew a pair of male lions had been hanging out. The problem? They were hanging out not far from an elephant carcass, and we had to drive past the carcass to get to the lions. No problem, you say? Well, then you’ve never smelled a days-old dead elephant.
However, this was our pay-off.
Then we returned to the main path around the park (yes, past the elephant carcass again), and found a safe spot for our sundowner.
On our way back to the lodge, we spied a group of bachelor elephants in the dusk light.
Two of the elephants, though, were fighting. The guide wondered if there was a female in the area. We could see their outline as they approached one another, and we could hear the crack of their tusks as they made contact. The sight and sound was one of the most impressive things I’ve experienced. I can still feel it in my chest.