Page 118 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL WINTER 2024 SCOTLAND
P. 118
When the elephants were done at the and made hand gestures every time I
waterhole, they walked right by our vehi‐ pointed my camera in their direction.
cle. They were only about 20 feet away After another early-morning game
from us as they passed by, but they paid drive, our group took two small private
us no mind. This was their home, and we planes to the Okavango Delta. Our plane
were the visitors they ignored. landed first at an air strip that had no
Our next stop was Chobe National building or facilities. The guide told us to
Park in Botswana, where we took a boat wait in the lounge – which turned out to
ride to view the range of wildlife living on be a sofa under a tree with a wooden sign
the islands. A group of hippos was little that read “Xaxaba Transit Lounge.”
more than large gray rocks until they be‐ Instead of the resort accommodations
gan swimming away. Crocodiles sunned we had previously, we were now staying in
themselves at the water’s edge, and ele‐ tent cabins. Our rooms had beds, and a
phants walked through the shallow water, toilet and shower, but the sides were tent
passing by the countless boats nearby. canvas and the rooms were unheated,
As a break from seeing all the wildlife, which led to especially chilly mornings.
we visited a tiny village in Namibia. A An African safari is a reminder of the
group of women in bright blue dresses brutal necessities for survival for all ani‐
with petticoats underneath performed a mals. On our morning game drive, we
song accompanied only by their clapping. came across a painted dog who had just
The town was designed for tourists, and killed an impala. He feasted on the ani‐
lines of vendors offered their wares to the mal’s innards even as it was still twitching
visitors. I thought the children would be in its final moments of life. When the dog
shy when I tried to photograph them, but had had his fill, he ran off to communi‐
they loved having their pictures taken, cate with the rest of its pack. A few min‐
118 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE WINTER 2025
