July 16, 2022
Kasane day II - an impromptu safari
An adventure with Mercedes
I. Can't. Even.
I had the breakfast buffet at the hotel and was just sitting relaxing. Coincidentally, in comes Mercedes (Jamie Lee Curtis' twin) who I met a few days ago at another lodge a few days ago. I was thinking about going to another campsite she was going to as well as it being recommended by another cyclist. She said one road in was really sandy (not bikeable) so we'd go check out the other road, plus I wanted to see the campsite to see if I felt safe enough. Rumor has it, animals can wander through. Gulp.
Nothing quite went as planned (the campsite owners wouldn't let us in to see the place). That was crazy as Mercedes was coming for three nights and explained the situation. Poor customer service, but it worked out better in the end. We got an unexpected safari experience. Mercedes went to drive around the back side of the property and we saw one lone elephant in the distance. And then it just kept getting better and better. We saw warthogs, kudus, amazing closeups of giraffes and ELEPHANTS - up close and personal!
We met a couple who owned a lodge and they said I definitely shouldn't bike down here anyways because there are lions. I had already vetoed camping based on the ladies demeanor. When we had come in on the main road, which is the one most cyclists take through Botswana, I thought, "That doesn't look too bad." Ha. Things changed on the way back. We saw three groups of elephants close to the road. Nope, not for me. But here's the absolute best part. Driving up the deep sand 4x4 route and all of sudden I see elephants not 20 feet from us. I was so shocked I could only exclaim, "Oh oh ooooooohhhhh." Apparently, I lose my words in moments of shock and awe. They were right next to us and appeared out of nowhere. Mercedes immediately stopped and turned off the engine. What an incredible experience and there was even a tiny baby too. Cuteness overload! Oh, and you know the raptor scenes in Jurassic Park where you only see the bushes moving? Ya, it felt like that as we watched the bushes moving before an elephant would appear.
We stopped at the lodge of the couple we ran into on the way back just to check it out. Very peaceful and serene. We enjoyed a drink while watching some cute little banded mongooses. Do you say mongooses or are they mongeese? Ha ha. What a fun day and so thankful I ran into Mercedes and we had our little adventure.
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