Alex Is On The Hunt!

Yes, that’s my wife Alex with two Kalahari Desert Bushmen, who are about to take us on a fascinating adventure walk in Botswana!

After our incredible adventure at Singita Boulders in South Africa, Alex and I headed north into Botswana, where we visited the incredible Kalahari Desert!

For those who have never been, here is some video of us driving through the Kalahari:

The Kalahari Desert is a semi-arid, sandy savanna in the middle of Botswana…..yes, you are walking and driving on sand, but as you saw in the video, there is a lot of wild brush as well.

We were in Botswana, staying at the terrific Ker & Downey Dinaka lodge…a beautiful lodge in the middle of the desert:

There is a natural watering hole right out front – with tons of animals like these Zebra that took over one day!

That was so cool to see! The Zebra literally took over the pond! It makes sense as there is little to no water in this area, so this pond attracts a lot of animals!

While the Kalahari is referred to as a “desert,” much of it is not a true desert in the strictest sense due to the amount of rainfall it receives, which supports expansive grasslands, shrubs, and a rich diversity of wildlife like this guy watching us go by.

We saw many wild animals as we drove to our tour…where our two Kalahari Bushmen were waiting.

The San Bushmen are indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of Southern Africa, primarily in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, with a lineage dating back at least 150,000 years. We met two of them, who scoped out the wild animal tracks before we began – because we were, after all, walking!

The Bushmen are known for their unique click languages, deep knowledge of the natural environment, and traditional hunting and gathering lifestyle…lodges like Dinaka help support their traditional lifestyles through desert walks like this one…and remember, there can be wild animals anywhere around us, so they are vigilant.

We were going to walk into the Kalahari desert and see how they have lived and survived here since the dawn of time…

During this guided walk, we learned about traditional survival skills, such as finding water in the middle of a completely dry desert!

Which led us to this massive root, buried in the sandy dirt…which as you are about to see, is a vital water source!

First, they dig it up:

Then they shave it, and you can see it glisten…watch what happens next:

Of course, Alex had to do it as well!

Here she is perfecting the process as well! Note how she tilts her thumb down so the water runs off it into her mouth!

Alex said it tasted like lotus root, and it was thirst-quenching indeed!

We also learned hunting techniques, which are passed down through generations of San Bushmen guides. They showed us how they use small handmade ropes to build a trap for birds and small animals – watch as he gives a demonstration:

The animal goes after the food in the middle and the rope captures them…a extremely valuable survival skill in the desert!

They also showed us how they use leaves and plants as medicine.

We ended up at their base camp, where they showed us how they live in their village: thatched huts made by hand!

Then it was time for the big and fiery finale: making fire!

The finale involves making a fire out of brush – no matches of course, just patience and lots and lots of this!

Yes, it’s an old Scout trick and it works: rub two sticks together for a long long time until they get hot enough to create a spark!

I couldn’t believe how much work went into getting a spark from rubbing the sticks over and over again….and then gently blowing on the heated twigs:

It all paid off however when the patience and focus paid off in a big, fiery way – a cause for celebration and dancing!

After that, it was time for some celebratory photos!

After our great walk, we gathered around for a celebration with food and drink!

We were joined on the tour by Sam and his friend and we ended the tour with a “sundowner!”

Oh, and after we got back to the lodge, we saw the Milky Way – visible to the naked eye!

Thanks so much to the Bushmen for their incredibly educational and fascinating tour….it’s just one of the many incredible adventures we had in Botswana!

I shared this story of a Lion feeding frenzy here in the Kalahari…a dozen Lions feeding on a Kudu….here is the entire video but note it gets a bit graphic – although the Kudu is note alive at all…

You can also see the entire story with shorter videos that are less graphic here:

We also had different type of Lion adventure in the Okavango Delta…plus wild dogs too! See it all here:

After that close up Lion encounter, we watched as one annoying Baboon ruined their day!

See that story here!

Oh, and our safari adventure was just getting started:

The Okavango Delta marches were also a great hangout for Hippos as well!

Yep, this Hippo was excited to see us! Click here for our cool Hippo encounter:

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Categories: Africa, Exotic Travel, Memoirs, nature, safari, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir

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