Kalahari Desert Day 2

Early the next day, we set off in one car for a morning game drive, seeing some lovely springboks at the waterhole.

We were also very lucky to spot a pride of lions lounging under some trees. There were about ten in total, including two large males and quite a few females.

Of the latter, one of the younger ones decided to hone its hunting skills by sneaking up on a honey badger that was trotting through the grass. The encounter that followed was unexpected, hilarious and informative. Safe to say that a new rule to add to the Dummies Guide to Wild Animals is that no one messes with the badger. This particular one was probably known as Santoro by his friends and foes alike, and would have made Joe Pesci proud.

Upon our return from the drive, we cleared up our camp, had breakfast and packed up the tents. This was also unfortunately the moment that a bee decided to get trapped in Christel's shirt, become claustrophobic and sting its way out, resulting in a rather nasty looking double sting that even the strongest vinegar and anti-histamine tablet could remedy. Nonetheless, Christel once again took to the wheel of the Hilux as we looped our way through the northern half of CKGR, taking in the breathtaking scenery, shrubbery and sand of the Kalahari. We managed to get stuck in some quite deep sand, but with a little quick thinking and one big push were on our way again.

We made our way further south to an area called Piper's Pan, where the views were even more stunning than before. As we approached our campsite, herds of wildebeest trampled their way through the yellow grass. The site was simple, a fire pit, ablution block and some trees, with not a single other human being in a 150km radius.

Maina and Dia prepared the food whilst Leo, Christel and I set up the tents, lit a fire, poured the wine and cracked open the beers. After a delicious serving of pasta, courgettes and salad, Christel played another couple of songs whilst the fire lit up the surrounding bushes and trees.

As we got ready for bed, another fire lit up the sky, as about 50km south of us, a bush fire was giving up a red and orange glow. With a northerly wind, this meant that we woke up a couple of times in the night to make sure it wasn't getting too close. Luckily it never did, and we rose at dawn to make coffee, have a bite to eat and once again go on a short game drive. Lions were again the principal attraction, including one male lion that was literally walking away from our camp site as we drove off. We're not quite sure how close he had gotten previously, but were glad that no one had gone to the toilet in the middle of the night. This also increased Christel's appreciation of roof tents.

After the game drive, we headed in a southwesterly direction to get to one of the gates of CKGR. The tracks were sandy and required constant concentration of the drivers, but after a couple of hours of intense driving through the sand, we got to the gate and headed towards Ghanzi.