2023-07 Botswana by David Pitts
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  2. 2023-07 Botswana2023-07 Botswana

Wendy and David go to Botswana!

This was a trip organized by Backcountry Journeys and Grant Ordelheide was our photography guide. I worked with Grant previously when I did Canyons of Utah in the Winter so I knew this was going to be good!

It takes a while to get there. Flight to Newark, NJ. 7 hour layover. Flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, delayed 2 hours. 15 hours on the plane. Get through customs, overnight at the airport hotel. Flight to Polokwane, South Africa. 2 1/2 hour drive to Pont Drift border crossing. Exit South Africa. Cross the Limpopo River dangling from a cable in a small steel cage. Frankly, I thought Wendy was going to say HELL NO, but she was a trooper. Enter Botswana. From there it was a 15 minute drive to Tuli Lodge.

The accomodations were awesome and our "tent" was a building that incorporated a bunch of canvas in its design. Very comfortable. No heat. None. Instead the staff would put a "baby" in your bed. A baby is a hot water bottle with a soft furry cover. It works astonishingly well. We slept fine every night when we were not awakened by elephants or baboons.

I took great (and a great number of) photos and Wendy went along for the ride as a spotter. She's a good spotter. We had a very small group and the other photographers were easy to get along with.

I don't know when, but I'm likely to return to Africa.


Ladies in a line
Capture Date: Jul 19, 2023 09:10 AMViews: 92
Tags: Impala

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Capture Date: Jul 18, 2023 08:16 AMViews: 95
Tags: Baboon, Instagram

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This Giraffe thinks that he is hiding. Their camoflage is actually quite good and often when someone called out "Giraffe" they had to point to it before I saw it.
Capture Date: Jul 17, 2023 03:55 PMViews: 104

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Rock Hyrax. Cute, cute cute.
Capture Date: Jul 22, 2023 06:47 AMViews: 102
Tags: Rock, Hyrax, Instagram

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This Jackal is an opportunistic little devil and is known to follow larger predators around to participate in a meal.
Capture Date: Jul 17, 2023 04:19 PMViews: 97
Tags: Black, Backed, Jackal

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Male Impala getting vulnerable to get a drink. He probably took about an hour to come in from the time we first saw him. The Elephants blocked him a few times. They do not like to share.
Capture Date: Jul 19, 2023 09:08 AMViews: 99
Tags: Impala

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Southern Yellow-Billed Hornbill
Capture Date: Jul 17, 2023 04:20 PMViews: 100

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Another way to get low enough to drink. It makes it tough to get a running start if a predator shows up.
Capture Date: Jul 19, 2023 09:13 AMViews: 100
Tags: Impala

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Baobab Tree. All baobabs lose their leaves in the dry season which is when we were there.
Capture Date: Jul 17, 2023 04:31 PMViews: 97
Tags: Baobab, Tree

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This elephant was telling us to back off. We did not. I'm glad we had a trusted guide that knew when to hold them and when to fold them.
Capture Date: Jul 17, 2023 05:08 PMViews: 103
Tags: Elephant

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First night of "Sundowners". At sundown the guide would find a scenic view and we'd have a beverage and a snack. Very nice since they always brought my favorite bottle of Scotch.
Capture Date: Jul 17, 2023 06:04 PMViews: 102
Tags: Sundown

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Heyenas and Black-backed Jackals sharing a meal of Elephant. The Elephant died of natural causes.
Capture Date: Jul 17, 2023 06:33 PMViews: 104

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Black-backed Jackals
Capture Date: Jul 18, 2023 07:23 AMViews: 101
Tags: Black, Backed, Jackal

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You put your left foot in...
Capture Date: Jul 18, 2023 07:53 AMViews: 102
Tags: Elephant

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Chacma Baboon and baby
Capture Date: Jul 18, 2023 08:23 AMViews: 93
Tags: Baboon

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