Ecotourism – respecting nature.
Our debris does not form part of the ecosystem.
We have visited Mabuasehube, Botswana previously, however, when our friends, Heinrich and Wendy, invited us again to join them, we said yes.
That meant cancelling our pre-planned holiday to Thailand, and instead of sipping the cocktails in the sparkling pool, we were to test our endurance for the January heat in Kalahari.
Our route was planned via Bray border post, overnight at Cornwall farm, 6 nights at Mabuasehube, then take the Nossob track to Kgalagadi and drive down to Rooiputs.
By the time we sat in our camp chairs at Mpayathutlwa camp in Mabua, drinking in the scenery together with ice-cold gin and tonic, the tension of urban living had lifted from our shoulders.
This Camp is famous for its resident pride of lions who apparently like the campsites as much as campers do, and some have developed a peculiar fetish for car tyres. Indeed the lions were waiting for us. Either vocal or visible in the close distance during our stay. At the next-door campsite, the lions occupied the A-frame most of the day and using the camp chair as a urinal. There they “owned” the camp during the heat of the day while the campers were either driving around or forced to drive around because of the lions.
We saw notably fewer antelopes compared to our previous trip in March 2014. Most likely the harsh heat and lack of rain had driven animals to migrate to less hostile grounds. However it is not the number of animals that make an enjoyable game viewing, but often the small things like blooming desert lilies popped out from the bare sand.
Sustainable tourism
There are not many wild and natural places left, let’s cherish them.
The next three days we stayed at Lesholoago no2 campsite. It had all the camp “luxuries” (water and ablution ) and in my opinion one of the best views over the pan. The flat horizon over the pan made a 180 degree stretch of the sky into a magnificent sunset tableau. Distant rain clouds painted the sky in hues of pinks and purples with streaks of rain appearing red. Every sunset is different, and I have seen many spectacular ones, yet I feel this one would have been priceless if on the art gallery wall.
As expected, the days were boiling hot, with + 36 degrees at 6 in the evening. The best way to prevent heatstroke was to hibernate under a shady spot, depleting our stock of liquid refreshments. During our stay, we encountered quite a few uneaten carcasses of Gemsbok who probably have died from the drought.
At the Lesholoago campsite, we were expecting to meet the tyre fetish Lion as encountered during our previous visit. However, Lions were replaced with a gang of Hyenas; raiding our campsite every night in search of takeaways. Of cause, we left out of their reach, but in the morning we found a massive bag of wood dragged into the bushes and our car tyres tasted, – out of revenge (maybe). Swarms of termite nymphs appeared in the evenings for their suicide mission. It was fascinating to see the nymphs fly under the camp light, wiggling off their wings and join to move in a clockwise motion. The merry-go-round wheel got bigger and bigger, and BIGGER on the sand as millions of them joined in. By the morning the campsite ground looked like a termite nymph mortuary. It was the most bizarre activity. I am yet to find an explanation for it.
The next day a deep sandy road was waiting for us on our way to Nossob, – a challenge that we have been looking forward to. Beautiful terrain with changing vegetation and bouncy dunes.
To sum up, our Mabua to Nossob trip was a leisurely holiday. We had a great time without any let-downs from our cars or other possible mishaps. The only disappointing and annoying factor was finding cigarette-buts and other confetti such as cut cable ties; tins and beer caps at the campsites. My husband with our friends and I are regular 4×4 travellers and have noticed that lately, these findings become more prevalent.
It takes just a common sense, that beer cans will not burn to ash in the fire and ain’t going to disintegrate into the sand. More appalling was a discovery at the Matopi no2 wilderness campsite, – in the centre of the campground stood a hundred years old tree, a magnificent beauty ravaged by selfish campers for firewood. I cannot comprehend why would anyone go for 4×4 camping in the wilderness who does not respect nature and promote conservation. I hope that people would come to realise that we do not own nature and our debris does not form part of the ecosystem. https://ecoexploreafrica.com/what-is-ecotourism/
Recommend News
