7/11/09 After the long torturous 12 hour drive to Kasane in Northern Botswana, we arrived in the beautiful (and WARM) Mowana Safari Lodge. To the left is the Mowana tree the lodge is named after. This particular one is over 800 years old and they are known for how thick their trunks are and that they live for a very long time. Apparently when the lodge was being built it caught on fire during an electrical storm and the original Mowana tree that was 1500 years old was destroyed. We started our drive at 4am and it was freezing cold! I was bundled up in my blankets, cacoon style and thought my ankles/feet were going to go numb. Thanksfully it warmed up about 2 hours into the trip. We stop several times for breakfast, lunch and to use the bathroom. The only thing that could have made a drive like that better was a little Shayne Ward so we could put on a kareoke performance. Our lodge was absolutely gorgeous! We were told we would be staying at the Chobe Marina Lodge but had our hotel changed last minute. After having seen Chobe's pictures I was sure there was no way it could be topped but I was quite mistaken. Mowana is a 5 star lodge that even Bill Clinton, Oprah and other Botswana governmental officials have stayed in so I mean I guess it was good enough for me! ;) Mandy and I decided to room together and we took full advantage of the anemities provided! We lounged around in our robes and watched animal planet to prepare us for the wildlife we would see the next day.
7/12/09 Another early morning, but well worth it. We woke up at around 5:30 to get ready for the open air Jeep game drive through Chobe National Park. There were 3 Jeeps that took our group around and we saw giraffes, buffalo, baboons, impala, antelope, hippos, bald eagles and lions! I was most excited for the lions because I am a Leo! We heard them roar which was pretty awesome also. I wish my pictures had come out better but I know that other people got better ones so I'm not as worried about it. They stopped the jeeps along the Chobe River in an open area. Across the river was Namibia. They provided us with coffee and tea which I think we all really love how tea time is incorporated into everything we do here! As we were roaming the land one of the lions began to roar and they called us tocome closer to the Jeeps...just in case they ventured closer to where we were. Here are some pictures from the game drive:
The breakfast buffet at Mowana is heavenly. They make us omelettes with whatever we want in them! I'm seriously hardly ever hungry for lunch which is probably good since we have to get lunch/dinner on our own. Mandy and I were so lazy, we just kind of lounged around until it was time for the boat tour on the Chobe River. It was low 80s so I opted for a tank top (yesss) and enjoyed the nice breeze as I rode top deck. We saw elephants, hippos, crocodiles, water buffalo, bald eagles and the SUN! lol I don't think anyone realizes how much I have missed being warm. I didn't really expect it to be as cold as it has been but it is winter, I suppose. I think I enjoyed the water tour the most because of the how close we were to the elephants. They were playing in the water with one another and it was the cutest thing! They kept dunking each other and going under and then popping back out. Apparently hippos sleep on land during the day as a way to warm up when the water is very cold. What a life: basking in the sun all day! One hippo got up and was walking away from us...he was pretty much waddling and wagging his nub of a tail. Probably the funniest thing we did was creep our boat up on a crocodile who was hanging out close to shore and then he freaked out and snapped before heading back into the water. A couple of people got really great videos, I wish I had one also! Here are some pictures from the boat tour:
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