Celebrating Ruminant Pink Friday in the Kgalagadi
Aweh dearly beloved fellow ruminants & groupies on day 135 of no lockdown.
Period as an ivory tower academic 140 days
Forgive me dear readers it has been three weeks since my last blog. I have been on a wilderness trip to Botswana to Mabuasehube in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier park. In 2011 my friend, Barry van Huysteen, organised a trip to Botswana as a dad’s and lads’ expedition. On that first trip, I took my father’s four-wheel drive bakkie (truck) which was kitted out by my father. These expeditions involve going into remote wilderness areas which have virtually no amenities. You need to take everything you need including food and water. I am a very disorganised person and for these trips, you need to be organised. Oliver came with me, and a fair degree of chaos ensued, but we survived. Barry on the other hand is highly organised and we had to scrounge off him at times.
Although the trip was chaotic, I reflected at the end of 2011 on what an amazing trip it was. That year we also acquired Nerine’s Toyota Prado which is perfectly suited for road trip expeditions in the wilderness. Every year after that Barry put huge effort into organising an expedition and we tagged along. Of course, Covid interrupted our trips and there were no expeditions in 2020 and 2021. In 2011 Nerine and I decided that Connor, our younger son, who was 7 at the time was too young to come on the trip. Connor saw all the preparations and the stories and photos when we returned. He then took me aside and said, “Dad don’t you ever go to Botswana without me again!”. From then on it was the three of us.
During these annual road trips, we have travelled the length and breadth of both Botswana and Zimbabwe, and I have developed a particular affinity for Botswana. Botswana is a vast country about half the area of South Africa but with a small population of only 2.35 million people. There are vast wilderness areas that are virtually untouched by humanity. Although there are lovely game parks in South Africa you have a much more managed and curated experience. Camps tend to be fenced to keep dangerous animals out. No such thing in the Botswana wilderness. There we have had elephants, lions, hyenas, hippos, honey badgers and many other animals walk right through our camp. Hyenas lurk behind the evening campfire waiting for you to go to bed so that they can try and scavenge any food they can find. Although hyenas are wary of adult humans, they are extremely dangerous when small children are involved.
It is hard to describe just how beautiful the varied wilderness areas in Botswana are. Moremi is like Jurassic Park and is teeming with wildlife and predators. The Okavango swamps deserve to be on the bucket list of anyone who enjoys the wilderness. It is that spectacular. The central Kalahari is one of the most remote places on the planet. On an 11-day trip to this area, we only saw one other person. Connor, Oliver, and I survived for 11 days with 90 litres of water.
Connor and Oliver are now at different Universities with demanding schedules which dont coincide with school holidays. Neither of them was able to join me so, for the first time, I went on my own. Although our expedition consisted of four vehicles, I was alone in mine. You need to travel in convoy on these expeditions to get help when things go wrong, which they will. With Connor and Oliver starting to forge their own lives it is difficult to know if we will do another expedition together.
Over the years I have acquired all the necessary camping kit and I have perfected the routine of getting the Prado ready. It takes a lot of work installing roof racks, rooftop tent, drawers, extra fuel tanks, and fridge sliders and getting organised. It takes days of work.
I am following in the footsteps of my father who preceding my trips into the wilderness discovered Botswana in the nineties and did many trips, most of them with my mother, but then on his own when my mother grew tired of the hardships involved with the trips. My father can no longer drive and is not capable of going to Botswana anymore. His Botswana trip days are over.
In the featured image you will see a bush kettle in the foreground. It was my father’s, and it has been on dozens of trips and forged in many campfires. It is dented and scuffed, and my father fashioned a make-do nut and bolt arrangement on the lid when the handle broke. The kettle is much admired by my fellow campers because it has got serious “houding”. Houding is a wonderful Afrikaans word that can be loosely translated as attitude. The kettle has got attitude.
Nerine’s Prado is 11 years old, and it is a serious gas guzzler. There was no change from R10 000 ($600) for the petrol for this trip. I have probably committed a climate crime. How much longer will it last? A few more years? I’m not sure I am going to have the appetite to kit out a new vehicle. You can hire fully kitted-out vehicles and perhaps I’ll consider that.
How many more trips are there for me? I do not find preparing for them easy. I have decided that the time has come to pass the kettle on to Oliver or Connor. It has outlived my father; it will outlast me, and it will outlast my sons. Perhaps I can borrow it from them for my few remaining trips.
I thank Barry for organising all these trips and allowing me to tag along and ensuring that we are ok. It has been epic.
There are those who say that age is but a number. They are wrong. Ageing is inevitable and relentless. It is true that medical science has made tremendous progress and improved lifespans and quality of life, but it has solved the easy problems. When it comes to the tough problems of ageing such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and various cancers amongst others progress is slow to non-existent. I am not immune.
I am wracked with uncertainty regarding what I should do with my remaining time. I have become very busy with my academic job, community involvement, and my family. Writing this blog also takes work. Is busyness a virtue? Am I enjoying this busyness? Why am I doing this? Is it making me grumpy? I’m not sure.
What do you think dearly beloved readers?
Thank you for all the ideas and comments. I really appreciate them and please keep them coming.
Regards
Bruce
Ruminant Pink Friday 