August 9th, 2016

Day 131: Elephant Sands

We slept so peacefully that night, surrounded by nothing but stars, snug and cozy against the chilly desert air in our swags – it was an unwelcome jolt when our alarm started going off at 5:30AM! Apparently we had accidentally set an early wake-up call from the week before on auto-repeat! We scrambled to find the stupid phone, buried inside our bag, desperate not to wake up our fellow travelers sleeping nearby. When we finally got the alarm shut off, we were too awake to go back to sleep. Plus, others had started to get up as the pre-dawn sky was already starting to lighten up, so we reluctantly crawled out of bed and made our way to the hot water & coffee station set up by the campfire. After an invigorating cup of caffeine and a muffin to tide us over, we started the long drive back to Planet Baobab, where a full hot breakfast awaited.

 

Waking up in the cold. The swag is so warm and comfy – Lindsay doesn’t want to get up!

 

Pre-dawn in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pan

 

Sunrise in our tent-less campsite in the salt pan

 

The camp is mobile, so it gets broken down every season before the rain floods the pans. The swags get taken back every day to be cleaned – only the drop toilet sticks around for the full season

 

Hot coffee & tea and a breakfast muffin to warm us up before the long drive back to Planet Baobab

 

Dropping off the ATVs at the traditional village, where they also have a large herd of cattle

 

During the safari-car ride back to Planet Baobab, Lindsay does her best imitation of our dog Caesar when he sticks his head out the car window. Once back at camp, we get a full hot breakfast and our very first fat-cake! (looks and tastes like a donut-hole)

While Planet Baobab offered to let us use their campground showers to freshen up, we decided to drive straight to our next location instead. Elephant Sands was only about an hour and a half away, so we decided we’d just shower in our hotel room, rather than a shared bathroom.

Unfortunately, when we checked-in we discovered our cabin was one of the older, run-down units behind the lodge’s campground – it was a huge bummer as the majority of the cabins are surrounding a waterhole frequented by several herds of elephants. The lodge’s Wifi was also “broken” and none of the cabins had outlets to charge cameras/phones/computers (just a shared power strip in the restaurant) – therefore we spent a very miserable afternoon stuck in a room with no view with laptops that quickly died while we tried to write/download photos. And to top it off, Lindsay was feeling sick. At first she thought she just had a sore throat from breathing in so much dust from the ATV & open safari vehicle rides – several of the other guests in our group complained of a sore throat in the morning, too. However, as the night wore on, she and Igor started to feel worse.

But, we made the best of it – after doing some laundry, taking a nap and a hot warm shower, we headed to the lodge to sit by the waterhole and watch the elephants for a few hours. It was like the watching the most high-definition nature channel in the world! Lindsay got a bit freaked out every now and then when an elephant got tired of drinking and turned his (or her) attention to the crowd – two even started to mock-charge us!

 

ELEPHANTS EVERYWHERE. Look at the huge elephant that just walked in front of our cabin!

 

We grab a couple for front-row seats at the elephant watering hole where you can literally just sit 10ft away from dozens of elephants

 

Igor enjoying his “African TV” (better than 4K – LOL)

 

Lindsay’s getting nervous, are we sure this is safe? Igor assures her it’s fine – telling her to kick up her boots and relax

 

A huge bull elephant faces the crowd – he looks like he is going to charge! Seriously, can we move?

 

After the cigarette smoke chased us away from the front row seats around the fire pit, we head back to our cabin to pick up our jackets, when we discover a HUGE elephant walking around our room! We nervously walk from one point of safety (a tree, the next door cabin, our rental car) before finally making it safely to our door. Even though it is a 60sec walk to the lodge, we opt to drive back for dinner, as we don’t want to get caught in the dark by another elephant!

 

The lodge has a tame bush baby that hangs around the common area at night – this adorable little guy also has a sweet tooth for Coca-Cola, and tried to sneak some of Igor’s drink!

Since the buffet dinner was supposed to start at 7PM, we order some (non-alcoholic) drinks and sat down at our assigned table about 10min early. Half the lodge’s occupants were still sitting by the waterhole, so we were looking forward to eating quickly and going to bed to rest our sickie bodies. As the minutes tick by, more and more guests sit down at their tables, and still the kitchen staff have not finished putting out the food. By 7:20PM, everyone in the lodge is sitting at the tables, eyes glued to the buffet. Lindsay and Igor can sense an impending stampede – we joke that the French family two tables behind us (in typical French fashion) would surely want to be FIRST. We decided to channel our inner Russian and vowed not to let them beat us!

When the manager announced the buffet was open, the French family *literally* RAN to the buffet table. Not kidding – even the table behind us noticed and started laughing at them. But of all their uncouth lack of manners, Lindsay was just a little be closer and a little bit faster – *without running* she was the very first one in line, with Igor close behind her! We ate quickly (allowing Igor time to head back for an unauthorized second piece of bread) and retired to our cabin to try and get some much-needed sleep.

 

Since we skipped lunch, Lindsay was super excited for dinner…until the buffet was 20min late opening…she gets really grouchy when she’s hungry

 

The LONG buffet line (everyone in the lodge was hungry by this point) – Lindsay channeled her inner Russian and was first on the line (even beating out the French family who *literally* ran from their table to the line). Igor was super annoyed when the kitchen staff told him he couldn’t have a second piece of bread – so he went back at the end of dinner to take one when no one was looking. Take that, Elephants Sands!