October 2003

Late last year I had the thrill of flying down the Boteti River with Hal Barker in Randall Moores Super Cub. I wanted aerial photographs of Meno a Kwena Tented Camp. I took a bunch of pictures of the snaking Boteti River bed cutting deep through the desert sands and calcrete. Hal said it would be interesting to see how the aerial view will change in the future. It has already changed. There is a 23 metre wide swathe cut through the riverine woodland along the riverbed! The fence poles are being sunk ahead of the wire gang. There are rolls of 100s of kilometres of wire lying in the yard at the fence crews camp; trucks are arriving every other day with more wire and poles.

I am very happy to say that the 23 metre wide swathe of bulldozed vegetation goes around Meno A Kwena and includes the camp into the National Park side of the fence. Still, I am not 100% convinced, the fence isnt up yet, and there are indecisive minds humming and harring.

There is some confusion over whether a piece of land a few kilometres away should be included in the fence. The owner wants it in; the community want it out I suppose from their perspective, in is out. Depends from where you are looking at it. The farmers consider themselves in and wildlife out. Us environmentalists will say we are in farmers out. So much for agriculture/environmental relations!!! Apparently the wildlife dept want to include it despite having already cleared the way for the fence in front of the site. The more access wildlife has to the available Boteti water the better. Already 50% of the available water for has been excluded from the national park wildlife. A considerable amount for animals already under serious pressure.

I then get a visit from the Land Board asking why there is a land dispute at Meno A Kwena! News to me! It turns out that a gentleman who agreed to have the fence traverse through his ploughing fields is denying it and seeks compensation from the government. His issue is that I had agreed to sink a well point for him if he allowed the fence to cut through his fields. I havent sunk his well point and he has assumed I have broken the gentlemans agreement between us. I had agreed to his fair exchange, land for water, only when the fence was up, and included the camp, would I sink his well point. The whole issue was blown out of proportion and I had to arrange for a kgotla (meeting) with the chief and community leaders to settle the dispute. I went for the meeting in the village; I was the only one there for the meeting! Huh! Must be the heat hottest September Ive experienced for a long time.

Ive been trying to envisage the fence around Meno A Kwena and how its going to influence the wildlife coming to drink. Been thinking about how to avoid getting animals caught on the wrong side and not having access to water. Just yesterday on my way back to Maun from camp I saw the answers.

The fence is up along the boundary of the National Park where it meets the Boteti Riverbed near Moreomaoto Village. We saw a herd of cattle huddled in the shade of an acacia in rich new leaf, trapped on the national park side of the fence! Their watering hole perhaps within sight, but a long walk to get through the fence where it meets the main Maun to Nata road in the opposite direction. All cattle know about fences is that someone will eventually come along and herd them through a gate, there isnt a gate! A little distance away in the riverbed we came across a herd of impala and three zebra. They were on the wrong side of the new fence, trapped on the livestock side, with no access into the national park.

I stopped at the fence contractors camp near Moreomaoto and asked about what we had seen, cattle trapped in the park, wildlife out. Was anyone doing anything about it? Was there a gap for them to move through until the fence was completed? Apparently not! I was told that nature would take its course.

I was interested to learn more about the fence and so invited the supervisors working on the various sections of the project. They turned up Saturday afternoon with a cold box full of beers! Well it wasnt quite so full when they arrived, couldnt find the track into the camp and had been driving up and down the Boteti using up diesel and Castle Lagers! Interestingly they were pro wildlife and concerned about the environmental aspects of the fence they were constructing. Business as usual!

They told me the double fence would be completed by the end of the year, should everything run smoothly. The electrified game fence will run parallel with the veterinary fence ten metres apart for close to 200 kilometres, from the Buffalo fence that surrounds the Okavango Delta, to the Southern boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. The eastern boundary hasnt been tendered and doesnt look like it will be constructed for at least another year. We spoke about the fence while watching hundreds of zebra and wildebeest come to drink in front of camp until it was too dark to see, we listened to their echoing calls, kicking, splashing and farting as they desperately vied for their turn at the water.

The biggest complaint from Jeff, who is supervising the clearing of bush and woodland ahead of the fence crew, was the alignment directed by the Wildlife Dept. through riverine woodland of large, and very old, acacias, leadwood and terminalia. Just a few hundred metres away from the riverbank were scrub and bush, far less impacting on the vegetation - and their machines! The deep Kalahari sand was almost impossible to clear and so they had to hire bigger and stronger earth moving equipment to maintain their impetus. Jeff did say he left some really big old trees and moved the clearing round them, not that it went down well with the Wildlife Dept.

Chris Brookes, the migration researcher, finally came to camp while I was there. I wanted to know more about the movements of the zebra and wildebeest. He told me the pumps werent working in the Kumaga area, which explained the influx of more animals to Meno A Kwena. That was why the elephants were coming to drink more regularly every night. He was impressed to see so many animals concentrated at the water hole and pulled out his notebook and tracking equipment. He picked up several signals from animals he has transmitting collars on. Interestingly, Chris has collared a number of cattle in the area to determine the extent of their encroachment into the national park.

The zebra are grazing up to30 kilometres away in the Puduhudu area to the north. They drink at Meno A Kwena, walk for a day, graze two days and then do the return days walk to drink. They are desperately thirsty when they get back. They are apparently drinking an average of 15 litres every few days. The wildebeest drink less, and cattle will drink up to forty litres each day! So you can imagine the distress I suffer when I see cattle stealing the zebras water. One cow drinks more than two zebra.

The added pressure from elephants has had me seriously contemplating finding another source to drink from. I hired four chaps from Moreomaoto to help dig open a section in the riverbed I knew had water close to the surface. A metre down we found a seep. Unfortunately the animals filled in, in one night what the four humans had toiled over for a week! Thousands of hooves just pushed the sand back into the hole. I needed some heavy earth moving equipment. Plus the elephants were making a nuisance of themselves in the night, pulling the pipes off the pump and even walking off with it, leaving no water for anybody. I tried deterrents; sleeping in a tent at the pump, keeping a fire burning through the night, parking a vehicle near the pipe. They all worked for a while but then thirst drove them to fearlessness.

I asked Jeff, the bush clearer if he would help. He was more than enthusiastic and had a machine delivered on a low bed, he opened up a large new watering hole in a matter of minutes! Water seeped into it straight away and within hours we had an alternative drinking spot for the not so aggressive and demanding animals wildebeest, kudu, impala, jackals, leopard, and loads of birds and insects.

The elephants dominated the original water hole when they were there, otherwise the sheer numbers of zebra polished off the surface water very quickly. Because of the cattle, I then had to cover the new water hole with thorny branches by day and open it up for the wildlife to drink through the night. Ive noticed more and more cattle coming to drink at night now, they are prevented from drinking at Meno A Kwena in the day and so have adapted, changing their routine, as the wildlife has done, out of desperation.

August and September, the two busiest months on the safari calendar here in Botswana were certainly interesting, if somewhat crazy. The demands put on me to run safaris both at Meno A Kwena and into other areas were not really anticipated. Meno A Kwena is a full time project, doing safaris is a full time affair. Something like flying two planes at the same time in opposite directions on opposite sides of the planet. Dont know how I came to use that paradigm. Anyhow, the safaris are financing the whole Meno A Kwena story so they had to be done as much as I hated leaving Meno A Kwena at such difficult times.

There is something strange about how being on a safari takes you so far away from lifes problems, stresses and worries. I think people should spend less on their shrinks and more on a safari and still have some change! Had a yoga master on safari earlier in the year, she agreed.

I did some trips into the delta and Moremi and was astounded at how dry everywhere is. I noticed in the Okavango that the vegetation was sparser than down in the Makgadikgadi where there are at least grassy plains and the acacias have lush new leaf.

The Moremi fringes were leafless and dull, and where grass should be in the flood plains, rippled sand. Dust storms were a regular occurrence. It was a treat to spend some time on the Okavango River, boating from Nxamaseri Fishing Camp and Shakawe to Sepopa, and camping on palm islands. Oh! If I could have just a few hundred metres of that water at Meno A Kwena!

Scary thought. The Okavango River could look like the Boteti some day if Angola decides to build a dam now that their civil war is over and the country needs developing and utilising their natural resources

The Okavango flood was not enough to quench the thirsty delta this year. The river barely got through Maun along the Thamalakane River. It certainly wont reach the Boteti.

I took a number of safaris into the Gomoti area just south of the Moremi where we stayed at Starlings Camp, recently taken over by Nigel Cantle and Stephanie. I do like the area and the traditional tented accommodation at Starlings. We had many fantastic sightings of the not so easily seen - lion, cheetah, leopard, wild dogs, honey badger, and spent a day tracking two white rhinos! They have moved into the area from Mombo where they were released after a decade at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. We never did catch up to them but I havent seen wild rhinos in Botswana for over ten years so was satisfied just seeing their fresh tracks! Still, I was always excited about getting back to the Boteti after these forays on safari to other beautiful areas.

Nxai Pan almost guaranteed lion kills any time of the day. The lion pride hang around the pumped water hole all day, and after several attempts, eventually get a springbok snack. The lions there are fat and lazy as ever, like a bunch of MacDonalds customers would you like a large or small fries with your MacSpringbok?

I had a very nice German couple on safari, Jurgen and Barbara were excited about everything but they really wanted to spend some time with meerkats. I took them on a two-hour drive to the saltpans where wed have a very good chance to see a family living on the boundary of the national park. We didnt have to look hard; they were right next to the road and scampered down safe holes as I drove past, almost squashing a meerkat tail. Like shy children, inquisitive little eyes eventually peeked over the mounds of their holes and one by one they carried on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. We watched them for nearly two hours doing what meerkats do best entertain.

Back on the ranch, at Meno A Kwena, the pressure on water grows. I find that the new spare well points dont work, and I havent used them since they were put in a few months ago. I am going to have to move them to a better site soon. All adding to the larger list of expenses than income!!! I need more visitors!!!

The elephants messing with the pipes story has to end too. I have to put down a concrete slab round the pump and sink sharp rocks into it like broken glass on a security wall so the elephants cant reach it. The pipe has to be buried at least a metre underground to the water hole where the outlet pipe has to be set in a ton of concrete!

Elephants are strong too, not just big. I need to build a trough so the cleanest water is contained for elephants to drink from before it gets churned up into a muddy soup. Im hoping I can hold out until the rains as the whole construction will take some time and prevent the animals from drinking.

Ive spent a lot of time talking about the wildlife, fences, cattle, etc. and feel it is time to acknowledge some of the people involved and who have become a part of the Meno A Kwena saga.

I made the decision in May last year to pitch our, mobile, tented camp at Meno A Kwena for the last time since operating mobile safaris through Botswanas wilderness areas. First and most importantly, the water supply had to be reliable, I didnt know the status of the two well points already sunk in the riverbed some years before. Anyway, we attached the pump, filled it with petrol, primed and started it, no breathing, no animals, no birds, just a warm breeze through the dry valley and the sound of the engine running the pump.

Everything depended on what, if anything came out of the pipes. The engine whirred. More water poured into the pump for priming. No breathing. Just one lonely scrawny cow appeared from nowhere having heard the familiar man made rain water machine. We looked like a congregation in prayer, heads bowed, listening for a hint of engine straining to lift water out of the ground. It strained. And then raced again. We looked at each other in physic acknowledgement. The engine strained again, this time followed by a gulp of bubbly water from the pump. And then the engine strained so much it sounded like it would stall and water gushed out of the pipe. Moments of silence followed as we watched the water being sucked into the dry sand and then flow down the slope into the dry depression that was once a pool big enough for hippos. Wasps and butterflies were already sucking the moisture up their proboscis. The pump has been pumping water virtually every day since for thousands of animals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and insects, a great deal at up to 20 hours each day.

I never really thought about what the consequences of that day were going to be except I promised I would not allow the water hole to dry up, not even for a day. A lot of water has flowed out the pipe since and it is with great respect and appreciation for all the people who have helped and had a part to play in keeping that promise of life-giving water to so many desperate creatures.

Meno a Kwena hasnt just been about the water, sure it is the most important resource in the desert, but water underground doesnt grow on trees! To make the water available to the wildlife I have guests paying to experience a small, but very important part of African wilderness. To make available the comforts of home, I have a small, but dedicated crew of staff to look after their beck and call G&Ts at sunset! Hot bucket showers, crisp clean laundry, excellent camp cuisine, freshly baked tin box oven bread, KK bedrolls. This year, every guest staying at Meno A Kwena has contributed hugely to the maintenance of the water hole for thousands of animals that otherwise might have died.

Kit and Les Cottrell, family friends living in South Africa, fishing crazy, earlier this year stopped at Meno A Kwena on their way to the Okavango fishing! They liked it so much they stopped by on their way home.

Very generously, they came up with the fantastic offer of a new meru tent for the camp. Im still using our old mobile safari tents, which are fine until I am ready to equip the camp with bigger meru tents. The deal is that the Cottrells, by supplying a tent, have in a sense paid for their visits for quite a substantial number of years. Perhaps this is the way to go for the remaining six tents I will need replaced for the 2004 season! Anybody else interested in a timeshare situation at Meno A Kwena?

It is with great respect and admiration for Randall Moore who has given a few very lucky elephants the chance to live a better life in the Okavango than any other prospects available when he started doing elephant back safaris over a decade ago. Randall offered me work as a guide last year; he gave me the freedom to work when needed so I could get Meno A Kwena off the ground. Randalls generosity and deep respect for struggle, his life with elephants hasnt all been rosy, has been an integral part of the struggle down on the Boteti. He has yet to come and visit to see the product of his kindness deep beneath that thick rogue elephant skin.

My weakest attribute in the Boteti scenario has been to account for it financially. I am now counting the costs after months of behaving like a bull in a china shop to keep things going, whatever it took, at ground level. Enter the bank manager! So far away, so distant, and yet without the numerous visits to the bank managers office there wouldnt be thousands of creatures getting a drink from the dry Boteti River.

I find myself staring at Marks water feature on his desk when asking for more breathing space, apologising for going beyond the limit, thanking him for the last months breathing space. I see zebras drinking from the water feature on the desk every time I leave the bank managers office. Mark has yet to visit to see the product of his trust and faith in the words falling over each other when telling him about the Boteti and what Im doing down there.

Towards the end of last year I spoke to Taryn, who was running the Craft Centre at the Power Station, about setting up an art and crafts project at Meno A Kwena. I think her mind was made up then that that is where she wants to be, not in Maun. I needed some marketing material and asked if she would be interested in working on something with me to promote Meno A Kwena Tented Camp, I discovered her vast creative talents. She helped me design some really stunning marketing ideas which some of you have had the pleasure of receiving by email. Taryns creativity included homemade soaps for camp, and, wow! She can cook. She designed a scrumptious, but simple, menu that has been a huge success with our guests.

Taryns cooking skills came to the rescue in the middle of the very busy season when I had to fire my cook after finding out he was selling driving lessons to the villagers for cattle, using the company vehicle! The vehicle is standing with no carburettor, no starter motor and no alternator, casualties of bad drivers!

The old saying, the quickest way to a mans heart is through his stomach, well, one of the many reasons we kept each other warm through very cold wintry nights in a single bedroll. I think a very important thing about Taryn for me has been her incredible support in all aspects of helping me with the camp, marketing in the office, to moving rocks out of a muddy water hole so the animals dont injure themselves. In a word passion.

It is so good to see my father getting involved too; he has long since retired from hunting but still cant stop pottering about with all sorts of things. He does enjoy the trips to Meno A Kwena, and helped out a lot whenever I was away. On one occasion the pump wouldnt start and he, in a mad panic, had to drive into town to get it repaired and returned the same day. This wasnt to happen and he could only collect it the next day, which meant the animals wouldnt drink that night. He collected the repaired pump and rushed back to camp to find the waterhole full and the spare pump running! My maintenance guy, Othomilwe, had managed to get it working after dad hadnt, hey! Othomilwe grew up in a cattle post; he knows how to get a water pump going in the desert with little resources.

Its been a few weeks since I started writing this, rather a busy time now that the October heat is upon us, no rain yet! The pressure on water is desperate, the elephants have kept us busy at night and the pump is struggling to supply enough water.

My brother, William and I watched, one evening, a young bull elephant trying to get a herd of wildebeest to move away from the water hole. The zebra move away quite quickly as the elephant approaches trumpeting like a car approaching a busy intersection blocked by traffic. The young bulls trumpeting made absolutely no difference, the wildebeest, on their knees, sucked at the water like they hadnt drunk in a while and not even an elephant was going to move them.

The elephant wasnt sure how to react to this obstinate behaviour and turned his rump to them gently prodding one with his outstretched leg. The wildebeest maintained indifference. The young elephant turned and trumpeted again. Still no retort. After some moments the elephant did something that I certainly never expected. He pushed a wildebeest with his trunk ever so gently the wildebeest leaned on it. The elephant pushed a little more, still so very gently, the wildebeest never even looked up. The elephant then, as gently as ever, moved the closer wildebeest out of the way like a forklift lifting a crate of crystals! The rest of the wildebeest carried on drinking like their lives depended on it though the young elephant was lifting them out of the way one by one until they had had their fill and moved away from the water hole. The gentleness of that behaviour under desperate circumstances was beautiful to see.

Last week Taryn and I were watching the water hole late into the night as a large group of elephants were standing round waiting their turn to drink. The dominant bull was sucking from the pipe; he stood in a small shallow muddy pool that a zebra would drink, but not an elephant. They will wait their turn for the cleanest water, even if it is a long waiting game. More elephants appeared out of the darkness into the headlights of the car shining on the water hole. The pecking order in constant disarray as smaller elephants move out of the way of bigger ones. The occasional disrespectful bull was shoved aside with a loud disconcerted trumpet. Generally they dont hurt each other, eye contact is enough to show that the boss means business. On the periphery of the bright car headlights a loud trumpet made us look as a full grown bull elephant fell on his side, straight off his feet! All the elephants, ten or more, trumpeted and rumbled, turning to look at the fallen bull about as shocked as I was that such a big animal could be knocked off his feet onto his side in a second. He remained on his side, we were speechless. I didnt think he would get up. The impact of all that weight landing on the elephants side must have been incredible, potentially causing broken ribs, crushed heart; any number of injuries can result from that impact.

After some moments he started swinging his rear legs to get back on his feet. He slowly lifted his heavy body back onto his feet. Stood for a while, and then trumpeted as he walked away slowly, very likely winded, and certainly shaken.

We have seen a number of zebra foetuses aborted near the water hole after chaotic nights of masses of animals vying for a drink. It is very sad to see these perfect little miniatures lying in the sand. Either the pregnant females are being kicked in the mayhem at the water hole, or the stress of little grazing and long distances to water is taking its toll.

I had to get the water story sorted, I have loads of other pressing priorities, but the water is always number one, water is king! Mike Gross, well point fundi from Maun, came down to look at where and what we do to maximise the water resources before getting a crew in with all the equipment. I the got a call from my mother, Cookie, in Zimbabwe. Funny, I knew what she was about to tell me before she said anything. Rosie, her 96-year-old mother, my grandmother, sadly died the night before. My brother, William was in camp and we had to get to Bulawayo to be with mum, ASAP. We left for Zimbabwe two days later having drawn, in detail, where Mike and I had agreed to sink well points so the crew could do it on their own.

I hated leaving Taryn with the responsibility of such a precious and responsible job knowing the elephants were a constant worry.

I know elephants pretty well, I wouldnt suggest anyone does half the things I would feel comfortable doing in close proximity to such large animals. Still, we had to go and give mum the support she deserves after looking after Rosie so well these last 8 years, especially since she has been so dependant on 24 hour a day care.

I returned to the Boteti to find the well point crew still there having had success with one set of well points after numerous previous attempts were a flop. I wanted another set before they left for town even if it took another week. Yesterday was success day we hit water, good water! We found another good supply and started filling another water hole nearby, so have two now to take some pressure off. With three water sources looking good I can now fill the swimming pool as it is just too hot to bear seeing that sad dry hole in the ground. I havent been able to fill it, as it would have taken two days of precious water at the expense of those desperate animals. The added supply means I can keep pumping for the animals.

A pack of scrawny village dogs has been causing havoc around Meno A Kwena of late. They have been hunting kudu and wildebeest around the camp, even chasing a female kudu off the cliff in camp. She fell breaking her neck below tent five. Earlier they killed a beautiful kudu bull a hundred metres along the cliff edge much the same way. It started getting really bad when they hunted every day around the water hole in front of camp, stopping the animals from coming to drink. We started chasing the dogs away whenever we saw them. I employ a cow chaser, and now considering a dog chaser!

It really got out of hand when Taryn and I watched a dog chase down a lamb and try to kill it near the chiefs cattle post. We called a cattle herder over to see what was going on in the area, the pack of up to 15 dogs were killing wildlife, and livestock. It had to be stopped.

A couple of hundred metres from the bleeding lamb we found three dogs eating a young ostrich on the side of the road. The ostrich was lying there exhausted and shocked watching them rip chunks of flesh from its drumstick!!! I chased the dogs away and put the bird out of its misery with a 4-pound hammer. I was sickened.

I heard yesterday that the fence guys had seen a number of kudu chased against the new fence by these dogs. The wildlife department were shown a kudu carcass caught against the fence and sent out a patrol with pump action shotguns to hunt down the villains. They shot eight of the fifteen quite quickly as when whistled for they came running up to the armed men. Boom! Boom! A mans best friend right to the end!

Village dogs killing wildlife, lions killing cattle! The Meno A Kwena pride has been back in the area for some weeks now, they are killing zebra, wildebeest and cattle every night, in fact they are slaughtering, murdering the animals. According to Seamus, the researcher, they were up in the park to the north feeding where the zebra and wildebeest are grazing. They eat very little of whatever they kill and seem to be having a ball in this time of plenty concentrated at the water hole.

We watched a lone young wildebeest charge defiantly at a lioness; the lioness took cover in the bush next to her. The wildebeest ran past into the ambush beyond.

The human-like death sounds coming from a dying zebra another night were haunting. The lions had her pinned down but couldnt finish her off quickly for some reason; it was pitch black in the valley. Stampeding zebra and wildebeest are a regular occurrence now in the darkest hours. Its distressing to see the zebra and wildebeest waiting for the elephants to finish drinking, an hour or two later the last of the elephants depart and the mass moves to the waterhole. A short time passes with few having managed to drink, alarm snort, followed by stampeding and a crescendo of alarm calls. Lions! Casually wander down for a drink before melting back into the cover of bushes. Stampedes and alarm calls attest what the eye cannot see in the darkness. We know when there has been a death, no more stampeding and alarm calls. Just the wailing of black backed jackals.

Carcasses and skeletons are lying all around the water hole in front of camp; fat vultures sit en masse in most of the taller trees along the Boteti. The sound of whistling air through their wings is heard all day as they ride the thermals from one carcass to the next. Its got to rain soon

The situation at Meno A Kwena is the same the length of the Boteti, perhaps worse in the kumaga area where there is a lot more pressure on the bleak water resources. I know of two hippos dying in the poisonous pools they spend the day in. No grass for miles around, they must be wandering huge distances. I see that the wildlife people are putting bales of Lucerne down for the hippos. They cannot drink from their pool, its rank with poisonous gases and filth. They are drinking from the seeps exposed by elephants and zebra and wildebeest digging at the riverbed with their cracked and broken hooves.

I was depressed to see a mud trap surrounded by the carcasses of zebra, wildebeest and kudu, mostly young animals, that had been winched out by the wildlife department people earlier that day. Still stuck in the mud was a young calf, alive and up to its neck, slowly sinking under.

The wildlife department are not responsible for livestock stuck in the mud, though it adds to the rotten muck the wildlife must drink from! The complexed state of the Boteti at the moment.

I suppose that the three hundred or so zebra recently captured in the Boteti area will find an easier life or death, elsewhere! They were herded into trucks using a helicopter and transported to game ranches in Ghanzi.

I heard some interesting news on the fence a couple of days ago. The poles are going up as planned but the wire wont be fitted until, they say, the construction to the north has been completed. More importantly, it should be delayed until the rains break, and the risks of trapping wildlife on tribal lands; cattle in the national park are reduced.

The only Boteti rock pool in Botswana is full! With two water holes providing a good supply of water to the wildlife in the riverbed I am happy to say the swimming pool is operating beautifully too thank goodness, the October heat is absurd. Im pumping water from the well points into tanks, which then flows into the swimming pool, the excess overflows down a small waterfall into a pipe that drains into the water hole in the riverbed for the animals. This way I dont waste precious water that has been chlorinated or salted, fresh clean water circulates through the system. I had a scarletchested sunbird come drink a few feet from where I was cooling off in the pool, more and more birds are coming to join us in the refreshing water, and the bare-breasted, back-scratching, mattress-thasher varieties too!!!
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