Hello everyone or should I now say dumela. I have arrived safely in the Okavango Delta Botswana and cant believe some of the things I have already experiened. When I came to camp I was greeted by a herd of elephants that were surrounding my tent and luckily overstayed their welcome throughout the night. I lied awake in bed, clutching my sheets as I listened to the sound of trees being pushed over and hungry bellies rumbling right next to my head. I knew that the only barrier between me and the elephants was about an inch of tent canvas. As much as I wanted to toss and turn from side to side, I kept still like a log since I knew my bed was a bit squeaky. I was warned that my new home would be unfenced, but I never really understood the meaning of that word until now. The next day Mphoeng and I decided to head off early to the neighboring camp to collect dung samples from the captive elephants. All of these elephants and their handlers known as mahouts were getting ready for the day behind their fence. One of the younger females Paseka, was free to roam outside the fence and walked straight up to greet us or more importantly search for a snack. Mphoeng had to surrender his apple which he forgot was sitting in his sweatshirt pocket. Unfortunately that was his only breakfast for the day, but how could he resist such a cute face? Later that evening I had a delicious meal of fish and chips and was driven to my tent where we accidentally turned the corner and disturbed a herd of elephants who were eating around my tent. They started to scream and came running after our vehicle. Luckily they stopped and I made it to my tent safely. When I went inside I took a nice boiling hot shower and could not help but notice the large elephant on the other side of my tent wall who was disturbed by the sound of the water or by the smell of the soap and decided to run away. half way in the night I was awoken by the sound of elephants coming crashing around my tent eating everything in sight followed by a hungry hippo who munched on the grass around my tent ( who needs a lawnmower?) The next morning as I was walking to my tent from breakfast, I noticed a long pair of legs standing in front of my tent which belonged to a giraffe. The closer I came to her , the more surprised I became that she did not get scared and run away. Unsure if she saw me I gave a small click sound which did nothing, so I then said in a soft calm voice “hello girl” in which she jumped right out of her skin and took off running through the bush , destroying everything in her path. I felt bad that I had disturbed her and kept on to my tent where I was then greeted by a very skittish troop of baboobs who screamed at the first sight of me and ran away. I have not yet worked up enough courage to walk to and from my tent at night and am not sure if I ever will. Safety first!
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