My Thoughts From The Deep End : Baobab

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Jacana Adventures

I'm finally getting back to sharing stories and photos from our recent trip to Botswana. While at Jacana Camp, we didn't see any lions or leopards. It wasn't for lack of trying. Bee took us on several land safaris where we searched and searched for a leopard and her cubs but the brush was very thick and we never saw her. Although I bet she was eyeing us the whole time.

Here's some of what we did see during our water and land safaris.

In addition to riding around in the safari vehicle and cruising on the boat we took part in a few other activities. Mr. Deep was keen (by the way keen is a great word that I am going to work into my vocabulary) to go fishing. Specifically he wanted to try to catch a tiger fish, a predatory fish best known for its large teeth. Geoff told him that there didn't seem to be as many tiger fish in the area as in year's past and that maybe people were fishing with nets further upstream but Mr. Deep wanted to give it a try anyway. He and Bee tried for several hours and although there were a few bites no tiger fish were caught. I tried fishing for a while too but then I got bored with it and instead focused on practicing my photography skills.

We also went out in the mokoros, African canoes. Mr. Deep and I rode in a canoe with a guide named Joshua while Bee piloted his own and kept a lookout for wildlife. The guides stand up and they steer and propel the mokoros using a huge pole. Mr. Deep sat in the front of the mokoro and I sat behind him. I was loving the ride. It was very peaceful and I enjoyed gliding through the reeds and hearing the sound of the water lapping on the side of the boat. But I noticed that Mr. Deep was fidgeting which was messing with my zen so finally I asked him what was going on. Apparently the person sitting in front of the mokoro acts as a human windscreen/net collecting every bug as the boat moves along. Mr. Deep said at one point he actually watched a spider begin to spin a web between his two boots. I felt badly that he wasn't enjoying the experience so I offered to switch spots with him. He assured me that I "didn't want any part of" what was happening in the front of the boat and so I remained in the back. Sometimes it's good to be the wife.