• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

We still have time to mess this up!

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Everybody saw this coming.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

75% of people clapping liked the show!

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road – Kabecoo – Botswana

On The Road – Kabecoo – Botswana

by WaterGirl|  August 12, 20225:00 am| 13 Comments

This post is in: Kabecoo Botswana, On The Road, Photo Blogging

FacebookTweetEmail

On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

Submit Your Photos

Kabecoo

Our Botswana travels began in the Central Kalahari, a “semi-arid desert” according to our guide. We saw almost no surface water there; as a result, we saw no large animals that depended heavily on daily water, such as elephants, hippos and buffalo. But as soon as we entered the Okavango Delta, streams and water holes were stunningly popular places to witness the routines of these wonderful creatures. We continued north through the Moremi reserve and Chobe National Park. Water was available everywhere.

On The Road - Kabecoo - Botswana 48
Okavango Delta, BotswanaMay 23, 2022

In the delta we took game walks rather than game drives. In single file we quietly followed local guides who were vigilant about keeping us safe. Each of us had to agree in advance to follow the local guide’s instructions. When he moved us into hiding, we hid. When he stopped us in order to “ask” snakes to move, we stopped. (One lesson, “What to do if a Black Mamba appears,” kept everyone in line.)

On our first walk, we took a short break along a marshy area. Our local guide disappeared for a few minutes; upon returning he said, “We will wait.” Two elephants slowly ambled into view across the marsh, then a third, then the rest of a herd.

On The Road - Kabecoo - Botswana 47
Okavango Delta, BotswanaMay 23, 2022

For each elephant the process was the same: sucking a few liters of water into its trunk, then messily pouring it into it mouth. For the most part, larger adults and juveniles surrounded the youngest elephants. It always surprised me to see a “tiny” elephant emerge from between the legs around it.

I could have stayed all day, but after half an hour the elephants drank and moved on.

On The Road - Kabecoo - Botswana 46
Moremi Reserve, BotswanaMay 27, 2022

But that didn’t matter much because we would see the same thing almost every day from then on. This shot is from a permanent water source maintained by Botswana’s government to help ensure available water year round. With each adult elephant consuming over 100 liters per day, access to reliable water every day is crucial to Botswana’s growing elephant herds.

On The Road - Kabecoo - Botswana 45
Moremi Reserve, BotswanaMay 26, 2022

Of course the most common water animals were birds, in endless sizes and varieties. This Gray Heron stood high above a smallish pond only to swoop down in an unsuccessful effort to seize a fish. I’ve watched Great Blue Herons hunt many times before but I can’t recall seeing one acting more like a kingfisher.

On The Road - Kabecoo - Botswana 44
Chobe National Park, BotswanaMay 29, 2022

Another near constant sight – near water or otherwise – was the lovely Blacksmith Lapwing. And when we couldn’t see it, we could hear its distinctive repetitive call, said to sound like a hammer striking metal. Honestly I couldn’t hear the similarity but I put that off to my declining hearing rather than question its delightful name.

On The Road - Kabecoo - Botswana 43
Chobe National Park, BotswanaMay 31, 2022

Just like its distant relative the cormorant, the African Darter lacks oil to keep its wings from getting wet. This allows the bird to dive for fish more efficiently, but requires frequent air-drying. But unlike the cormorants I’m used to seeing, the darter has beautiful patterned wings shown nicely here.

On The Road - Kabecoo - Botswana 42
Moremi Reserve, BotswanaMay 27, 2022

Having grown up in south Louisiana I was once comfortable with seeing large reptiles. But I also knew about the power and stealth of Africa’s crocodiles from a young age (see Kipling, R., Just So Stories, “The Elephant’s Child,” Macmillan and Co., 1902). We kept our distance even though the coolish weather meant that they were not moving much. At one point our guide stopped the vehicle so I took a few photos of the shoreline, a bird or two, and then put my camera down. He asked why I didn’t photograph the crocodile about ten feet away. The croc blended in so well I hadn’t noticed her.

On The Road - Kabecoo - Botswana 41
Moremi Reserve, BotswanaMay 26, 2022

After the mosquito, the hippopotamus kills more people in Africa than any other animal. We were warned several times to avoid them at all costs, and our most frightening encounter was getting caught between several hippos while taking an afternoon canoe trip in the delta. They vigorously defend their territory against interlopers – humans, lions, and others – while peacefully coexisting with crocodiles. At night they would come surprisingly close to our tents, making sweet huffing sounds similar those made by black bear in the Pacific NW. We stayed inside.

On The Road - Kabecoo - Botswana 40
Chobe National Park, BotswanaMay 31, 2022

I know few people agree with me on this (OK, maybe just the spousal unit), but Cape Buffalos are beautiful. They’re not very graceful, they tolerate carrying around pounds of mud, but I could admire their headgear all day.

On The Road - Kabecoo - Botswana 39
Chobe National Park, BotswanaMay 31, 2022

One of our favorite experiences was watching a small elephant herd cross one of the braids of the Chobe River. We first noticed two elephants thrashing in the water, in a way that resembled fighting. Then they stood up. It was two juveniles playing and pushing each other around. The rest of the group crossed together, with a baby holding an adult’s tail. Once on the dry bank the dust began to fly as it helps keep the elephant cool. The baby – as toddlers will do – lay down and rolled in it. And how about that water line??

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Late Night Open Thread: All the Little Leeroy Jenkins
Next Post: COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday / Friday, Aug. 11-12 »

Reader Interactions

13Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    August 12, 2022 at 6:17 am

    Botswana is on my bucket list now.

  2. 2.

    Argiope

    August 12, 2022 at 6:37 am

    Seeing those elephants emerge the first day must have given you goosebumps! Just reading about it was thrilling. Thank you for sharing your adventures.  I’m ready to sign up for a Botswana trip, too.

  3. 3.

    raven

    August 12, 2022 at 6:44 am

    Damn!

  4. 4.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    August 12, 2022 at 6:52 am

    Loving this series – your observations about Botswana match mine from my trip there a few years ago (we covered a lot of the same territory – Makgadakgadi, Kalahari, Okavango Delta, Chobe River). I even did the same thing with photography – relative entry-model camera body with a quality lens – and came up with fantastic imagery.

  5. 5.

    Wvng

    August 12, 2022 at 7:07 am

    Thank you so much for these posts. Botswana has been on our list for a good while, but really needs to be near the top.

    Speaking of large reptiles, I was part of a team doing the seminal studies of habitat use by American crocodiles at Florida Power and Lights nuclear power plant south of Miami in the late 1970s. We were pretty casual about them because they aren’t known to be a real threat to people. We had a visiting delegation of Aussie croc experts join us in the field one day; they were horrified to see us walk down to water’s edge to look for crocs. In their world that would have been a possible death sentence.

  6. 6.

    Baud

    August 12, 2022 at 7:09 am

    @Wvng:

    Speaking of large reptiles,

     
    Heh. I thought you were going to start talking about the GOP.

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    August 12, 2022 at 7:30 am

    My envy is now a grade 6 Jealousy case, the Docs say I have a 50/50 chance of survival.

  8. 8.

    Anyway

    August 12, 2022 at 8:02 am

    Those elephants make me so happy, they are such noble creatures.

    We need a B-J trip to Botswana…sign me up.

  9. 9.

    YY_Sima Qian

    August 12, 2022 at 8:19 am

    Nice photos, as always! Definitely brings back memories.

    On the crocodiles, we went on a whitewater rafting excursion in the Batoka Gorge, immediately downstream from Victoria Falls. The guides told us to expect to see crocodiles warming under the sun on the rocks at the river banks, but claimed that in 30 years of commercial rafting “no tourist has been lost to crocs, or drowned”, so no worries! At one of the roughest rapids, I naturally nose dived over the side. Took a bit before I finally got my head above water in a calm patch, was lifted aboard another raft, & sure enough there was a croc on a rock, not 10 meters away. Sent a chill down my spine.

  10. 10.

    YY_Sima Qian

    August 12, 2022 at 8:33 am

    Canoeing into the middle of hippos must have been exhilarating!

    Our first night in Botswana, after dinner at the mess tent we were walking back to our tent, after dark & w/o a camp staff. As we got to the entrance to the tent we heard munching sounds close by, & found ourselves not 15 meters away from a hippo.  My heart pounded & the only thing in my mind were admonitions from guides during my Kenya trip – get in the middle of the fixed paths that hippos travel & you are liable to be bitten in half. In the end it was busy eating grass, & we got inside of our tent w/o incident. This being my 2nd safari, I felt confident in the setup made by the camp, but my girlfriend had a very anxious night from the sounds of all of the wild animals obviously near by.

  11. 11.

    Leslie

    August 12, 2022 at 8:35 am

    Wonderful series! Loving all these photos and your narrative.

    A teacher at my high school had a terrifying story about being chased by a hippo while in Africa. He barely got away from it.

  12. 12.

    Kevin

    August 12, 2022 at 8:39 am

    Thanks for sharing the photos and commentary. Good stuff. Sounds like an amazing adventure.

  13. 13.

    arrieve

    August 12, 2022 at 9:12 am

    Wonderful photos! I was in Chobe in 2012, and it’s one place I would love to see again. So many elephants! You’ve captured the magic.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Image by MomSense (5/10.25)

Recent Comments

  • Matt McIrvin on PSA: What To Say To ICE Agents (May 20, 2025 @ 7:25pm)
  • Professor Bigfoot on PSA: What To Say To ICE Agents (May 20, 2025 @ 7:17pm)
  • NotMax on PSA: What To Say To ICE Agents (May 20, 2025 @ 7:16pm)
  • Princess on PSA: What To Say To ICE Agents (May 20, 2025 @ 7:16pm)
  • ArchTeryx on PSA: What To Say To ICE Agents (May 20, 2025 @ 7:15pm)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!