KRS Again

Thursday was Ascension Day and another religious holiday in Botswana! So the kids had Thursday and Friday off from school. We decided to return to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, so that Moses could experience it, and so that we could spend some time in Serowe which we had not done last time. So we left Gabs at about 8 in the morning and followed the same route, arriving at the KRS around noon. This time we found a number of BDF soldiers with horses about to go on a routine patrol (we were told) of the sanctuary. Indeed, I recently met with a visiting scholar from UT Austin, looking at civil military relations in Botswana (and other countries), who told me a couple of interesting things: that Botswana has the best military in Africa (at least in terms of training and resources) but that they spend most of their time controlling poachers (so as to protect the lucrative tourism industry) - and also on peacekeeping forces around the world. In any event, as we approached Serowe it became cloudy and overcast and we could see that people were very warmly dressed. Fortunately, we had packed accordingly.

After registering and hanging out for a bit in and around our Chalet F, we went on game drive. We were delighted to see that our guide was again Vivian. Well, this turned out to be quite a drive! Kuno very diligently took pictures, while Moses made a video. But the most remarkable moments of the drive were at the end. Just as it seemed the drive was winding down, we were driving around a bend in the road and there in front of us was an ENORMOUS white rhino! As Kuno quickly observed, this was the ‘experience of a lifetime.” Of course he quickly moved out of the way and into the bush but we still got some great views of him. We also could see quite clearly his tracks along one side of the sandy road (as well as his and his herd’s droppings). Well, we thought we had really seen something – and of course we had – and then we happened upon a mother rhino and her three week old baby rhino! The baby was about the size and shape of a warthog and was being very well looked after by its mother; sadly, by then it was really too dark to get any good pictures. The afternoon game drives start at about 4 pm and after about an hour and a half we watched as the sun set quickly on the horizon. Indeed, by the second hour of the drive we were very cold, despite our layers and fleeces. Fortunately, there were some blankets that Vivian pulled out to keep us warm for the final exciting moments of the game drive. As always in the southern African winter the best way to get warm is to go outside and find some sun – that is, until it sets.

The black rhinos eluded us this time, just as last. Oh well!