Elephant Beach

I must admit, I was a little concerned today was going to be a dud. But the giraffe and elephants came to my rescue.

We had a full day game drive. The drum started beating at 5 AM, Breakfast was at 5:30. And we were in Land Rovers at 6.

Yesterday, we explored Chobe's west side, near our camp. Today, we explored the east side. The goal was to add more species to our collection of memories. That's not to say we didn't want to see the impala, but we didn't stop for every herd we encountered.

The first highlight was a group of vultures finishing up the carcass of a baby elephant. I know a few of you just got sad at hearing of the elephant's death. We like elephants. But the carnivores do need to eat. We don't know if the elephant was taken down by simba or the hyena, but we did see tracks from both in the area.

The drive went on, without seeing much. Our last visit to Africa was during the great migration, when you can't swing a warthog without seeing something. Today, we had to look harder. Two leopard tortoises were found, and Onks said he spotted a mongoose.

Finally, something spectacular, two male giraffe sparing. They swung their great necks using their heads as hammers on each other. It was at this point that my camera couldn't take the excitement, and started acting up. I hope I have those shots.

At a rest stop, I saw that my camera was crashing. It has done this before, including during our adventures in Costa Rica. When it happens, the data card has become corrupt, and you can't use it anymore. When I get home, I'll pull off the pictures and re-format the card. I think it's time to replace the camera body.

We were promised peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But the guides were pulling a fast one, and served up a very nice lunch of chicken, fruit, salad, and cheese. They often under promise and over deliver. It's a great way to make people happy.

With a fresh battery and data card in my camera, we were off, and found the highlight of the day. Elephant, cape buffalo, and baboons were coming down to the river to cool off. We found several dozen elephant bathing. We were very close, but it was safe to photograph them, as they were wearing their trunks.

The baboon didn't swim as we had found them yesterday. They appeared to know there are crocodiles in the river. They drank, and ate the vegetation on the shoreline. One elephant became annoyed with them and started splashing the baboon away.

We also observed the baboon licking a calcium formation, presumably to keep their bones strong.

We have not yet seen simba. Tomorrow, we fly to Botswana's Okavango Delta. Perhaps we'll find her there.

Tonight, we had a little cultural exchange. The staff sang and danced for us, and we were expected to sing something American in return. Home on the Range was selected. I wonder if the Botswanans will think it's about cooking.