I slept somewhat fitfully, but I woke up feeling completely rested, if a bit stiff from lying in the same position all night. I have concluded that being here and waking up at 6:15 every morning has definitely destroyed my natural sleep rhythms – I woke up, and I could tell it was getting light outside, so I tried to very quietly stick my head of the tent to get one last look at the incredible stars. Instead, the sky was already light at the horizon, though the moon was still out, and Julia heard me moving and asked if I was going to the bathroom. We both crept out into the freezing cold, and admired the sunrise. Becca woke up just a little afterwards, and we started poking around Tim’s various boxes, looking for a way to restart the fire. We were unsuccessful in that endeavor, but we made enough noise that Tim woke up and started the fire for us. Yay!
Had some tea and rusks when everyone was awake – rusks are basically like the British version of biscotti I guess, though not quite as sweet, but definitely delicious (especially dipped in tea). Then we bundled into the car for a morning game drive. Again, I was dragging my feet at the thought of looking at more antelope, but I was happy once we got out there and saw some giraffes. They’re so dignified and peaceful looking. Also, I did not adequately explain the phenomenon that is the Kalahari desert in my last post, and many of you are probably looking at my pictures of lions and ending up quite stumped by all the grass. So the Khutse/Central Kalahari Game Reserve is, as the name suggests, in the Kalahari desert – it’s just now what we traditionally think of as a desert. It looks kind of like a grassland, with lots of scrubby, thorny bushes, some white/tan sand/fine brown dirt, and a tree here and there. According to wikipedia, it "supports more wildlife than a typical desert." Go here if you want to learn more :)
Came back, and had breakfast of yogurt and granola (basically what I have for breakfast every day). A few of the more adventurous among us had some leftover sheppard’s pie and chocolate mousse (gross). Then it was time for dishes and packing up the tents. I now officially know how to set up and take down a tent – be proud. Also, folding up the tents got us all moving, so by the time we were done I was quite toasty, and able to remove some layers. It was kind of amazing to get back down to two shirts. I felt like I’d lost 20 pounds.
Once everything was loaded, we piled back into the car. We stopped at the research center again on our way out, to give them our pictures and tell them about where we’d seen the lions. We ended up staying to chat for quite a while, because they gave us tea, and the guy who helps them catch the cats was there (he’d been napping the day before). He was American, and a very super cool cowboy type. We learned a lot about the differences between cheetahs, leopards, and lions. Other fun fact: pumas, cougars, and panthers are apparently all the same thing.
When we finally managed to tear ourselves away, we settled back in for the 4-hour drive back to Gabs. For whatever reason, Tim decided to take back roads back most of the way, so instead of spending just an hour or two bumping around on the dusty dirt donkey lanes, we spent closer to three. We also had to pee in the bushes, and cut our quiche (aka lunch) with a porcupine quill because all of our utensils were packed up. Very classy.
Made it back to Gabs after what seemed like an eternity, where Olivia, Lina and MK were waiting for us with a bottle of wine and 90s music. The only thing to put a damper on this outstanding reception was the fact that the water had apparently been off most of the day, and was freezing cold now that it was back on. Julia and I had both been looking forward to hot showers – apparently, we brought the desert cold home with us. Awesome. Still, we enjoyed telling stories from the weekend, and relaxed the rest of the evening, in our clothes that still reeked of campfire.
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