Half of the volunteers leave today so we are going to be a
much smaller group until just before I leave when more arrive. After seeing
them off this morning we had some down time and around 10:30 left for a picnic
out by a local dam that provides water for the town. Again it was very cold
this morning but quickly warmed up in the sun to where it was quite hot. This
has been the M.O. of the weather each day with it getting down into the mid
30’s at night and up into the upper 70’s or low 80’s during the day when the
sun comes out.
The picnic was about an hour away from camp and to get there
we had to get off onto a dirt road and onto a paved road that was essentially
abandoned. There was growth right up to the side of the road and trees growing
out into the road at spots where it would have been impossible to get two cars
across. After lunch we lounged around a bit, all the time with the ding, ding
of cow bells in the distance. That was until I found out they were goat bells
when they crossed right behind us, munching away at the grass as they circled
the dammed lake.
A fairly uneventful and relaxed day but just as we got back
to camp we had a visitor. Captain was sitting just outside the camp area,
seemingly waiting for us to get back. Once he knew we were here he sauntered
right through camp and moved off into the underbrush where we lost him. But not
before he wandered through the volleyball area and tried to knock down one of
the posts. We heard a twang of something but the posts appear to still be
standing. Gens, the camp maintenance guy, has a drone which he launched to see
if we could figure out where he went but he was already gone. I am not sure how
a two ton elephant disappears that quickly but as I said before, has a
reputation of being a sneaky elephant. There is a strong expectation that
Captain will return later tonight once the sun goes down.
As for the sun going down, every night we have been treated
to an amazing night sky. You can easily see the Milky Way and there are too
many starts to count. Additionally the Southern Cross is easy to pick out and
every night Saturn and Venus burn brightly over the commissary building. It has
been a very long time since I have been able to see this many stars out at
night. Got a picture of the night sky over the fire pit area, the Southern
Cross is visible just above and to the left of the branches extending from the
roof line.
July 12, 2015 –
Botswana Sunday Day 6
Captain did not come back during the night. Or if he did I
was unaware of it. This is just an off day and not much to speak about. We
mostly just lounge around camp, play card games and eat. I do a little bit more
laundry in the morning and work my way through about 60 pages in my book.
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