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January 22nd, 2008 | Africa

The Ichobezi…

Cruising on the Chobe River on the Ichobezi Houseboat…

While having breakfast the next morning, I had to make a runner for the bathroom, as the Malaria prophylactic I had just begun taking made me nauseous and I could not get through even a quarter of my breakfast, before it came right back up…I resolved to stop taking any further prophylactics and to take my chances with the Mozzies… We checked out of the hotel, and stashed all our gear into one of the back offices. With only a backpack each we walked down the road to the Immigration Offices to clear customs and wait to be collected by one of Ralph Oxenham’s tenders…

Our guide arrived a short while later, and we exited Botswana, crossed the Chobe River to the Namibian Customs on the western end of Impalila Island, and then got back into the boat and were taken further downstream to where Ralph’s two houseboats were moored…

Ralph Oxenham’s two houseboats, the Ichobezi and her sister vessel the Mukwae, moored off Impalila Island in the Eastern Caprivi…

The Ichobezi is an impressive vessel, and once aboard, we were both amazed at the luxuriousness of our surroundings… We were later joined by a German couple, Chris and Pauline, a travel writer, Jeanette, and two young ladies Kirsty and Christina, who were doing site inspections for a British company specialising in Botswana and Namibian Safari holidays. After the introductions had been completed, we cast off and headed up the Chobe River, bound for a mooring at a place called Salondella, on the boundary of the Chobe National Park…

Allan and I wasted no time in becoming acquainted with the Ichobezi’s bar…

We motored past Sududu Island, sovereignty of which had long been argued over by both Namibia and Botswana, resulting in an International Court of Arbitration in The Hague finally determining that Botswana should be the rightful owner of Sududu Island. There is a lonely flagpole stuck out in the middle of a reed covered plain in the island’s centre, proudly flying the Botswana flag…

We dared Allan to swim over, take down the flag and replace it with a Namibian one… We started planning the expedition immediately, with all the passengers joining in to give advice… The Namibian crew became rather anxious at one stage and advised us that we would be shot by the Botswana Defence Force, who closely monitored the comings and goings of boats approaching the island… Each time one of the crew approached, we would immediately resume our plotting, talking in load whispers, until one of them suggested that the skipper call Ralph Oxenham on the radio, to report on our intended “mission”… An international incident was narrowly averted when we agreed to scrap the plan, due in part to the large number of hippo that grazed between the flagpole and the shore… If it hadn’t been for them…!!

Lunch was served on the open deck, and the crew received a round of applause when they carried the meal to the table… The four guys working on board were amazing and at one stage we had to insist that they relax and leave us to chill on our own… They wanted a plan of our desired activities (apart from the expedition to change flags…) and offered to take us on guided walks, boat trips etc…

It took four hours for us to reach our mooring site, and on the way we saw herds of Red Lechwe, troops of baboon, and herds of elephant, all drinking from the water’s edge… Crocodiles cruised in the channels between the islands, and we witnessed one shoot out of the water and grab an African Darter, who was innocently drying its wings on the bank… We had all been watching the croc approach the Darter and it was only the second time I had ever witnessed a croc “kill”… Amazing sighting…

We passed Savannah Lodge on the Namibian bank and saw an enormous herd of buffalo grazing in front of guests who were crowding the decks of the public areas for a better look… We were able to cut the engines and drift close to shore to watch them for a few minutes…

Just before sunset, we arrived at Salondella, tied the houseboat up to a large tree on the banks of the Chobe National Park, and then boarded a tender boat and went for a short cruise upstream… En route, we watched spellbound, as a Fish Eagle left its perch in a large Leadwood tree and skimmed low over the water in front of us to snatch a large Barbel out of the water…! The bird dragged the struggling fish through the water and onto the bank. It then set about tearing pieces from the fish, even though the Barbel was still very much alive!! Allan looked over at me and slowly shook his head from side to side, amazed at what we had all just witnessed… This was not a “set-up” for National Geographic…this was the real deal… The hits just kept on coming…!!

Clouds hovered above, and as the light began fading to make way for early evening, we took a raft of photographs in this beautiful setting…

The Ichobezi, moored for the evening at Salondella, Chobe National Park….

On the way back, we rounded a bend and surprised a small herd of elephant that had been drinking from the river… They took a keen interest in us and we drifted to within a few metres of them. A young bull voiced his displeasure at our intrusion with a load trumpet… He made a short rush towards the boat and as a precaution we backed off into deeper water… Allan was captivated by this scene and I watched the look of wonder on his face, and again I thanked my lucky stars that I was of a continent that could provide these thrills…

The sun drinks water as we drift down the Chobe River on one of the tender boats…

We motored slowly back to the houseboat, mostly in silence…each of us wrapped up in our own private thoughts, marvelling at the scenes which were enfolding around us… We disturbed a large flock of African Darters, who were trying to settle down and roost in a tree at the water’s edge… They flew over us and across the river to find another roosting site. Hippos, which had been swimming close to banks, began lumbering up and out of the water to start their evenings grazing in the tall grass… They wandered about, very close to where we were anchored… A Giant Kingfisher took one last plunge into the river and then flew up onto a perch not more than a few metres from the deck railing, to beat the living daylights out of the Tilapia he had succeeded in catching…

It rained for a short while and then a strong breeze blew the clouds and their contents away to the south of us. After dinner, we sat in the open lounge area out on deck and swapped stories of our travels, all the while depleting the stock of beer in the bar… It was after midnight when one by one, we retired below decks to our various state rooms, showered, and went to bed…

Allan sat on the edge of his bed, gazing out over the water, listening to elephants splashing about on the opposite bank, hippos snorting, and frogs warming up for their concert in the reeds… He repeated the phrase, “Fucking amazing, Dude!” about four times before getting into his bed and falling asleep… I couldn’t have described it any better if I tried…

The moon comes up over the Caprivi to the north of us, the river like a mirror…

The next morning, I awoke at six, and went into the galley to make that all important first cup of coffee…the second and third ones are also important, but it’s that first one that takes the edge off!!

A full English breakfast was served at 8.00am and Allan and I decided not too take up the offer of a further night out on the boat, as we had lost too much time in Botswana, and needed to make up a day or two somehow… We decided to try and make it into Zambia later that day, by crossing over on the ferry. I calculated that we needed to be back in Kasane by 1.00pm, in order to get to Livingstone before dark…

Before we left on one of the tenders, I hopped off the boat and onto the bank to take a photo of the group with whom we had had such an interesting time… I shouted across for them to line up against the railing, and then took the following shot of them in typical mode… Beverages in hand…

Chris, Pauline, Jeanette, Kirsty, Christina and Allan salute the intrepid photographer…

The Ichobezi, with tenders tied up at her stern, Chobe River….

It took about 45 minutes to get us downstream to the Namibian Customs Control Post at Kasika, which is located next to the Lions Den Safari Lodge. We scrambled up a steep bank and walked through thick sand for about 100 metres before arriving at the ramshackle building that served as the Customs office. A dead chicken hung outside the door, ready to be plucked… There was no ink for the stamp pad, and a young boy was despatched to a group of huts nearby to replenish the bottle… Allan had that bewildered look about him again, and I mouthed the word “Africa…” to him from behind the Custom’s Officer… He just smiled…

We were back in the boat a few minutes later, and crossed over to the Kasane Control office on the southern banks of the river to complete our re-entry into Botswana… While we were filling in the forms, Allan let out a strangled laugh, and summoned me over to take a photo of the aids awareness poster shown below…

A different spin on the safe sex awareness initiative……

The last 24 hours had been an amazing experience, one that we will remember forever. I vowed to return to the Chobe at a future date, to take the six day cruise up the Zambezi River, taking the time to fully savour the opportunity to exist so close to the wilderness and see game from a completely different perspective…

The most important thing at that moment however was to get our backsides back into our respective saddles and cross over into Zambia…

© 2008 TBMH




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