The 2025 Botswana Journals, Ch. 21: The Night visitors

    The sky is mostly overcast, though the moon peeks through at intervals.   It doesn't do anything to light up the surroundings to allow an early warning of approaching wildlife.  

 

        We wait.   I continue to search for the unknown critter in the water, not even certain that it's a critter, or simply something floating on the water.

        Then, I think my photo shows an eye.

            It does!   There's a terrapin( turtle) in the water.

            At 8 PM, a black-backed jackal appears at the waterside.

           I'm tired.   The adrenaline has worn off, and I have a full tummy.   I realize it was only this morning that we were in Johannesburg, South Africa, flew to Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana, made the long drive to Tuli Lodge, and then back here to the Lala Limpopo hide.   No wonder I'm worn out.

           I lie down in bed, assured that one of the youngsters will let me know if anything appears.

        Someone does.   Shelly shakes me and says there's action on the horizon.  

    My first groggy impression is that this approaching bird is at least three feet tall.   It looks immense, but it isn't heron or a stork, a kori bustard or a Secretary bird.   Instead, it's a spotted thick-knee, a bird less than half the size of the ones  I was guessing.

I decide to try to stay awake for a while and I'm rewarded with wraith-like images on the edge of darkness.

        A small herd of beautiful impalas comes close enough to identify, but never  reach the water.  They stay a long time, nibbling on ground vegetation, then fade away into the night.

A handsome Blacksmith Lapwing joins them.

       

 I go back to bed, and I'm not awakened until 4:30 AM, when a spotted hyena appears.

        Eventually, morning arrives with no more wildlife.   Until the doves and other birds appear, that is.   Aubry sets out breakfast stuff--yoghurt, diced fresh fruit, various cereals, etc.

Red-billed quelea and a couple of other birds.

African mourning dove.   Note the eye color.

A couple UFOs I'm working on having identified.

The beautiful laughing dove.

The striking Namaqua dove

        And that's it. We get our gear together, and soon the guides arrive to pick us up.    We have a few hours for a game drive on the way back to camp.

The wildlife--or lack thereof--is disappointing.   In the months prior to our arrival, Botswana had lots of rain.   The natural watering spots have enough water for the critters so they don't have to travel far away from their natural habitat.

We will have another night in this hide in two days.   Let's hope for the best.

The 2025 Botswana Journals, Ch. 20: The Five Star Overnight Hide

     Armed with toothbrushes and cameras, we climb into the Toyota Land Cruisers for a journey back toward the airstrip where we landed a few hours ago.  No, we aren't leaving Mashatu Game Reserve already.

Alison, left, daughter Erin, and Laura, waiting to start their game drive.   They will be going to the hide tomorrow, as the hide can accommodate only five photographers at a time.

        We are heading to the Lala Limpopo overnight hide at a man-made waterhole.   I've been in an overnight hide before, and while it supplied all our needs for an 18-hour stay, it did not compare in luxurious accommodations to the Lala hide.

    As soon as we pull up, I see this is far beyond anything I envisioned.

The Lala Limpopo hide entrance is down this gently sloping walkway.

    Our host, Aubry, greets us and shows us around.   It's mid-afternoon-ish, so there's plenty of time to get settled and get the cameras set up.

My camera on a beanbag, "locked and loaded."   The mounting foot is turned to the side so the camera will rest lower on the beanbag.

    With the all-important cameras on the firing line and at the ready, we settle into the accommodations for the night.    Behind the cameras are two bedrooms. one on either side of the hide, with two twin beds, a small lamp,  and electric outlets.

Cory and Randy are manning their cameras on the firing line.  One bedroom is seen beyond the screen.   A nice seating area is in the middle of the room, with a fifth bed located at the far right.

The bedroom where Virginia and I stayed.   My bed is at left.  The green lines in the windows appeared during editing and I can't get rid of them.

The dining area is behind overlapping curtains from the photo room.

The other side of the dining/kitchen.   Later, Aubry sets out our dinner supplied by Tuli Lodge.   We eat while he keeps a lookout over the waterhole, to warn us if anything approaches.

The smaller of the two bathrooms.  The larger bathroom has shower facilities.

Outside in the courtyard is a semi-protected coffee spot.

To the left of the table ( above photo) is the exit from the hide.

        And now the wait for wildlife begins.  

The firing line:   Virginia has her camera and a GoPro set up at left.   My chair near the center is empty because I am taking this picture.   Cory and Randy are at the far right.

       

 Our perspective is almost at eye-level to the waterline outside.   Perfect.

African mourning dove.

Laughing dove

Namaqua dove.

Namaqua dove

  

  

    Once again, I can photograph as many doves as I want.   I don't do this on game drives because I get ribbed for wanting to shoot those abundant birds.   We don't really have them in Alaska, so they are equally as fascinating to me as any other birds.  

    So, I take advantage of the opportunity and try to get shots of all the different varieties that appear at the waterhole.

    A  zebra appears stage right, and I hold my breath, hoping he will come to the water and drink.   He watches for a long time, then decides against it.    Lone zebras are very skittish.    

   

        So, it's back to the doves.

I admire the beautiful, pastel colors of the laughing doves.

    Now, it's dusk.   Aubrey goes out to set up the lights that will illuminate any animals that come to the waterhole.

The waterhole at dusk.

    Darkness rises from the earth.   Aubrey checks our camera settings and makes suggestions for optimal exposure.  I take a few practice shots, aiming at a small bush.

    We wait some more.

Heads on swivels, we wait as we look out over the waterhole.

    I strain my eyes looking for something to appear out of the blackness.   

    Wait.   What is that?   Did something move near those little twigs at the edge of the water?   Was that there before?

    I take a couple shots, enlarge the image on the camera's monitor.

        YES!!    It's something, all right, but I can't identify it.

NEXT POST:   The Night Visitors.

All the Joy in Mudville and the Botswana Journals.

With apologies to Babe Ruth and Mudville,  I should call it Iceville, as there is wet ice all around.  Despite yesterday being a completely and utterly awful day with wind and rain, there was a lot to rejoice about in this house.

While doing my daily allotment of housework, I dusted off an electronic photo frame--the kind that displays  photos in rotation--and thought that since I hadn't turned it on in quite a while, I should do so.   I went upstairs to find the USB memory sticks that had photos on them.

While looking for the plastic box that I kept them in, I picked up this little plastic box:

The plastic box where the missing card was.   Can you see the tiny black line at left?   Next to an open, clear SD case?

This is where I keep the memory cards while I'm working with them.   

Incredibly, there was an SD Card alongside an empty case for an SD card.   When I took the card out, I discovered, to my everlasting joy, that it was a memory card from my trip to Botswana.   Not just any card, but the very one I've been trying to find since my return.

I've been heartsick about that missing card and have tried everything I could think of to locate it.   

I've searched every piece of luggage at least six times, emailed the camp where we stayed in case I left it there, asked my roommate to check her cards, and so on.   Even Marg Wood assisted in the search long-distance.

I can only guess at what happened:   Once home, I took the cards one at a time and inserted them into a card reader to make sure they were downloaded into a Botswana catalogue on my computer, then put them in the pink box.   I must have overlooked THE SD CARD that was hidden by the empty card case.

On it are once-in-a-lifetime photos.  I was sick to think they were gone forever.   Close-ups of bat-eared foxes!    Skittish little critters that run when they see you.   These were at their den and allowed us to get close enough for multiple photos with our long lens.

Bat-eared foxes.

Also, and perhaps my most loved photos, were of the rarely-seen African black stork.   Not only the stork, but the stork is actively fishing!   These, too, are skittish critters that leave immediately when they spot humans.   We'd tried earlier in the day, and it disappeared before we could get our 500mm lenses on it.

African black stork!!!

Overjoyed, I should say.   Let it rain and melt our snow.   Icouldn;e care less.   I had the missing SD card.  There were more than 2700 photos on this SD card, and I spent the day looking through them and editing a few.

As for the Botswana Journals, finding the card came at a most propitious time because the card contained photos that will be included in the next couple of posts.

Now, if I can just get my notes straightened out--the notes that tell what we saw on what day.

The pages were in chronological order up until Nov. 8, and then they were scattered throughout the notebook when, in a hurry, I turned to the wrong page and started a new day.   Now, with the missing photos downloaded, I can get the notes in order for more stories.

By the way, does that bat-eared fox remind you of anything?   

Perhaps, something like this?