The next day, I did one of the most difficult drives of my life. But I’ll get to that later. We woke up in the morning, and put away our rooftop tent for the last time. We had booked this trip doing roughly half camping and half lodges, and this was our last time camping. Camping had been a blast, and it was a little sad that our camping adventures had come to an end.
We took a morning drive along the Chobe riverfront, taking in all the scenery and wildlife. After driving for a bit, we Mae wrong turn and came to a dead end. We turned back, and after driving a few minutes, spotted a bunch of safari vehicles. We join them to see what’s happening, and spot a lioness wandering about. A few minutes of watching her, and all of a sudden we see two young lion cubs come out of the bush. And then another lioness. Wow, it’s our lucky day! If we hadn’t made that wrong turn, or had come here just minutes earlier or later, we totally would have missed this. After some time of us sitting there mesmerized, the lioness walked towards our vehicle and came within 10 feet or so, which was incredible. And then, just when it couldn’t get any better, 3 even tinier lion cubs come out.. practically babies. These tiny things were just insanely adorable. They walked around, meowing from time to time, looking super cute.
Eventually we were able to pry ourselves away, and drove on eventually leaving the park. For the next part of our journey, we needed to drive deep into the park to Savuti. Savuti is a legendary place here, deep deep in the park far away from any roads or towns. It is pure wilderness. Aside from a handful of lodges, it’s just a bunch of dusty sandy tracks. Unless you fly in (cheating!), the only way to get here is a 100+ mile long stretch of sandy track. When reading about our trip, every website, every guidebook, every forum post cautions that this is an incredibly difficult drive through deep sand.
Driving here, the two things you need to worry about are water crossings and deep sand (well, also tire punctures, running out of fuel, dangerous animals, etc lol). We were here during the dry season, so water crossings were not going to be an issue. But deep sand was a problem. The sand was slippy, making cars slide all over, and there was a real big possibility to get stuck if you lost your momentum, and your tires would just dig themselves deeper and deeper. Sure, we had the equipment we needed (a huge jack, sand ladders, a shovel, etc) to dig ourselves out if need be, but we are ally hoped we wouldn’t end up having to shovel sand in the brutal African heat.
So we set off. Up until now, nothing that we’d undertaken had really phased me, but this drive was really stressing me out after the countless warnings about it. And they were right. The drive was hard. The sand was deep. The car would slide left and right depending on the tracks sand ridges below it. The road was somehow soft and slippery while at the same time bumpy and rough, causing the car to frantically shake like it was about to come apart at the seams. At a few points, there were hills we needed to drive up, and I was worried whether we’d get enough traction to make it to the top. After one of these hills, there was a even a little sign saying congratulations for making it up, lol. I drove and drove. I felt like 110% of my concentration was on the road and tracks in front of me, I was just in complete focus. The drive took several hours, but felt like it was an eternity.
But incredibly, after what seemed like ages, we reached Savuti camp. We coudn’t believe it. We had done it. I felty like they should have handed out trophies when we pulled up. We were totally elated. For a minute. The elation didn’t last long. A traveler nearby pointed at our car quizzically and asked “You’re roof tent is sideways?”. Huh? I turned back, and holy shit. # of the 4 bolts holding the giant metal frame of the rooftop had snapped off, and the whole thing was skewed diagonally, holding on by one last bolt. Oh no. This was not good.
If this had happened anywhere else on our trip, it would have been bad, but probably not as bad. Towns and supplies would be nearby. But we were in literally the most desolate location on our whole trip. What were we going to do? Driving 100 miles out with this giant thing, that weighs several hundred pounds, hanging by one bolt would be horrible idea. We were utterly crushed and in shock. We drove the last several yards to the lodge, feeling completely defeated.
We got a warm welcome at the lodge, and told the manager what had happened. She didn’t seem too concerned and said she’d have some of her guys take a look at it. In the meantime, we got a tour and a rundown on everything. This camp is not fenced in like all the other places we have stayed, which means animals are free to roam in and out. We got instructions on what to do if we are confronted w/ a lion or another predator while walking through camp. During the talk, I did wonder a bit if this was a bit hyperbolic, but later that night (after we had gone to bed), we heard that two leopards cruised through the middle of camp, literally right next to the area where we ate all of our meals. We saw the fresh leopard tracks the next morning. We are free to roam around during the day, but at night, a guard will walk us to and from our room to ensure we are safe, and there is an air horn in the room that we can sound in case something crazy happens.
The lodge is pretty fancy. Much nicer than any of the places we’ve stayed so far. Nice rooms, and a great spread for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All alcohol included, so the gin and tonics just keep on coming. After dinner, we return to our room to find that they pt hot water bottles in our bed to keep us warm and cozy all night long. Amazing!
Later, before our dinner, the manager told us that they had been able to stitch together the roof rack. Two out of 4 connections were now bolted in, and they had used strong wire to attach the other two sides, even having to drill holes through the roof frame to make the connection. It’s impressive how inventive and resourceful they are here. In the middle of nowhere, we were able to get our damaged vehicle fixed. We were absolutely thrilled.
