Actually, April 2014.

After 3.5 months in Tel Aviv, we left for Africa. Last year, I worried that the months we were to spend in Israel would be an experience to be endured, not enjoyed, and so I negotiated a reward in advance for doing time there - a 3 week Safari in Botswana. And I got it. We shipped most of our things home from Tel Aviv in an effort to pack light for the Safari. We were allowed one duffle bag and one carry on due to the very, very, very small planes. As I was packing, I was also, surprisingly, regretting that we were leaving Israel so soon.

We flew 9 hours to Johannesburg and because of logistics, needed to spend one night before we could get to our first camp. We stayed at The Saxon, a gorgeous hotel in the wealthy gated enclave of Sandhurst. The estates and embassies are hidden behind large concrete walls and gates manned with a hefty security presence. This is because of the huge threat of home invasion robberies, frightening because the intruder prefers to strike when the owner is at home.

Like all of its neighbors, the hotel had security gates and guards of their own. It also had 10 acres of incredibly lush garden with sculptures, a large pool, koi ponds and a seasonal organic vegetable garden with a distinctively scary scarecrow. It was obvious that they used local artisans to enhance the furnishings, the fabrics you see framed at Peets Coffee upholstered many armchairs and pillows in the lobby. The corridors of the hotel were covered in photographs of presidents (Nelson Mandela + Bill Clinton) and movie stars (Oprah+Charlize), and one particular gentleman appearing alongside them. I started to get curious about the hotels history. Nelson Mandela stayed at The Saxon while editing his biography when he was released from prison. The hotel was originally built as the dream home of a billionaire with a colorful history. Apparently his fiancee found a naked woman in his suite, and attacked her with a champagne bottle. His fiancee then became his former fiancée and his girlfriend then became his wife.

It was nice to be on a new continent, in a incredible hotel and after all of the planning involved in returning home - having one day with nothing to do.

Jacks Camp : 2 nights

After taking a two hour flight from Johannesburg to Maun, we transferred to a “light aircraft” to transport us to the Airstrip at Jacks Camp. Our plane did a fly over of the airstrip - a warning to the animals to move along. While we were camp-hopping we heard that a plane crashed before take off because a hedge hog suddenly bolted across the runway. The plane was smashed and I can only imagine the fate of that Hedge hog.

Flying over Africa is really incredible. The view is an endless expanse of land, trees, and pools of water dotted with animals. Herds of elephants appear to be the size of ants, giraffes add a burst of white to the tonal green backdrop, and from 10,000 feet, a floating alligator looks like a black cardboard cutout in the pond. The plane flies under the clouds which gives you a feeling of floating in time - a time before buildings, houses and shopping malls. There is really no other way to get around Botswana. The very few dirt roads that are visible seem to just be a random lines of dirt snaking off into the horizon, ostensibly going nowhere.

We were met at the strip by our guide Ruh in an emerald green Land Cruiser with a canopy top. It was then that I started to feel like we were in a film. Throwing the duffle bags in the jeep, hopping in, Roux speeding along one of the very few dirt roads, the tires trailing dust, the wind in our hair, zebras running alongside the jeep as we land at Jacks Camp in the Kalahari desert.

Jacks is like stepping into a vintage movie set from the 1940s. Gorgeous faded rose and russet canvas tents for dining, shopping and swimming welcomed us. The communal dining tent is a virtual museum filled with found ephemera - skulls, ostrich eggs, pottery shards, hand axes, taxidermied King Fishers, Lion cubs and Anteaters. First edition African Bowls, framed family portraits, and, as we are about to find out - absolutely no electricity except one retrofitted antique cabinet that housed 8 chargers. They call this spot the watering hole because eventually everyone shows up there in great need, not for water, but another kind of juice. This really was going to be an adventure - no electricity means no devices, and no devices for two people carrying three devices each, means at least one super cranky person. Who shall remain nameless, or initial-less. On our way to our tent we passed the swimming pool. The turquoise water was surrounded by wood decking and sling chairs, and looked stunning under the giant multi-tufted tent set in the windswept kalahari.

Ralph and his partner Caroline built Jacks Camp on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans to honor his father, Jack Bousfield. Jack was a legend: He survived a killer bee attack, an elephant charge and is in the Guinness Book of World Records for hunting over 50,000 crocodiles. He survived 6 plane crashes but died in the 7th, which I recently read severely injured Ralph - but we had no clue. They were gracious hosts together with their extended family of guides and crew.

Ruh walked us to our tent, a practice at every camp, in case we encountered an unexpected wild animal. We unzipped the layers of plastic and canvas to reveal our accommodations for the next two nights. We were surprised to find two twin-size high-rise wooden beds. The decor included oriental rugs, a glass box holding a skull, bug illustrations and an industrial sized Thermos of water. There is a writing desk fit for Hemingway, velvet folding chairs and scattered lanterns. Little did we know that come nightfall, those lanterns would be our only source of light. There were curtains that led to the antique bathroom complete with a throne toilet, a vintage sink cabinet, and a shower with a companion bucket to catch the excess water. They encourage you to zip up the entire tent at night as a spotted gennets have been known to sneak into the tents and wrap themselves around the necks of women wearing Chanel No. 5. Luckily i’m a Kheils musk girl, although the gennets are rather cute.

In the late afternoon, Ruh collected us to go on our first outing - Sundowners in the Salt Pans.On the way there we saw solitary male Wildebeest and Springbok who stay behind and protect their territory. The females travel and return to find their mates. One thing you are encouraged to spot and learn about is animal poop, or Scat as they call it. It is invaluable for tracking and study purposes. The guides can tell you what animal it was and how long ago it was there. Evidence of the power of poo was the incredible horizon line of Palm trees, not normal for the area, planted by the scat from a traveling herd of elephants. We learned that Zebras are inefficient at processing nutrients which gives them bigger poop. WIldebeast, very efficient, leave mere pellets behind.

We arrived at the Salt Pans as the sun was setting. Two other Jeeps were there sharing the experience. The salt pans stretch into the distance, a sandy white flat that creates the illusion that there is no horizon line. Ruh encouraged us to take photos jumping into the air to show this off. If you can get both feet off the ground only two inches - you appear to be flying. This is actually much more difficult than it sounds. We were then directed to separate and walk far into the distance so that we could sit and enjoy the solitude and the wind swept silence. After 20 minutes the guides called to us and we wandered back toward the jeeps. In our absence they had set up a “bar” for Sundowners - an alcoholic beverage taken at sunset. We met the lovely and adventurous Walker family from Scotland. We headed back to camp and enjoyed a chat by the watering hole, songs from an iPod and a lovely meal with the Walkers, the Guides (Ruh, Tesba, and Chabba) and the staff at Jacks - sweet Clementine form London, and the Owners -Jack and Caroline and little Ralph.

A mob of Meerkats.

The next morning we left the camp after breakfast in the dark. Its our first game drive so I am hoping it gets easier to dress and look presentable for a 5AM breakfast. Or, I can hope that everyone else is so blurry-eyed that they don’t notice? We drive to the area where the meerkats are. We meet Fati -the ironically super skinny meerkat whisperer - who apparently follows them at night to their new nesting location so that he knows where they will be before the sun comes up. For us.

The meerkats travel in colonies and can see up to 4 kms away. They also have an excellent sense of smell. They can be found living with squirrels and mongoose, although they have a different diet. Squirrels eat plants, nuts and fruit, the Mongoose eat snakes, and meerkats eat beetle larvae, lizards and scorpions. While they are hunting they have a lookout called a sentry, it’s the one meerkat that follows behind the others. He is the one who seeks a higher ground to watch for predators. The meerkats see us as a way to a higher ground - a ladder they can climb to see further and watch out for the rest of their colonies or ‘mobs.’

Fati called me over and told me to sit close to him and sit taller than him. I did and the meerkat climbed from Fati’s head up my shoulders and onto my head. It felt weird having his little claws dig into my scalp, I tried to imagine the meerkats have just bathed and are parasite free - just so I didn't have to take a bucket shower when I got back to camp, or some kind of lice-like shampoo when I got home. The Meerkats particularly like A’s head. I guess it has a soft nest-y feel.

We visited Chapmans Baobob named for James Chapman (explorer, photographer and hunter) one of the 3 big explorers of Africa. The others were David Livingstone (explorer and medical missionary) and Thomas Bains (explorer and artist.) Its also known locally as the Seven Sisters because of the number of branches that comprise its 82 foot trunk.

There are no rings in the Baobob, instead it holds water. It was aged by carbon dating and is believed to by 5,000 years old. There is a giant knot on the upper right side of the tree that was used as the unofficial post box for explorers traveling from the cape to cairo during the 19th century. Messages were also carved directly onto the tree, and more recently people have knived their initials into it.

Chapmans Baobob - you had to get far away to get the whole tree in the picture.....

For scale. A putting a letter in the PO Box.

That afternoon we meet The San Bushmen and women and walk with them. They show off many of their impressive survival skills. They are relatives of The Gods Must Be Crazy tribe.

They have a bubbly joyousness about them as they walk, laughing and joking with one another. Their bright white smiles are a contrast to their gorgeous and flawless african skin. The other striking thing about them is their dress, or lack of it. The women are adorned with strings of bright colored beads and beaded headbands - a fashion shared by the men. Their sheaths are made of animal skins wrapped uniquely according to their age, style and maybe level of modesty. They each carry a handmade spear or bow for protection.

The click-talking natives took us out into the bush and showed us animal tracks and the many uses of dung. They dug up tuber and root plants that hold water, they pointed out the actual Hoodia plant - a wild cactus stimulant for the bushman and Dr. oz. that caused a weight loss supplement craze. They showed us how to harvest wild berries, how to make fire and play the eight points game - their version of rocks paper scissors. I took a video of them making fire from 2 sticks in under 2 minutes. In contrast, it took A and I six attempts to make a fire when we first got our pizza oven - and we were using MATCHES and PAPER!

Hunting Demo with Cobra in the background

Cobra is the khaki wearing white dreadlocked elder of the group. He showed us how to clean a scorpions eyes by putting it in his mouth. This could come in handy if you were maybe, CRAZY?His scorpion stung lips make Ms. Jolie-Pitts bee stung ones look normal. I’m surprised the meerkats don’t have fuller lips because of their steady diet of scorpion.

On the walk back to camp I showed one young tribeswoman the video I filmed of their fire making and she was mesmerized. They kept passing my iphone around and playing it for each other. If it hadn’t been the start of our safari, and if the iphone wasn’t functioning as my only piece of camera equipment, I would have left them with the video and my phone. They could have kept it charged at the watering hole.

We shared a last supper with the Walkers, the guides, the owners and the team at Jacks. We were amazed at the quality of the food being crafted in the middle of the Khalahari. We were also amazed at the warmth and familial feeling that grew from just two nights with this wonderfully diverse group of people. We unplugged from the watering hole, surprised at how easy it was to survive two full days without the internet.

Bird Watching:

And there are birds! The variety was incredible. Unfortunately they are difficult to catch on camera. I’m listing them here as a way for me to remember all of them.

The Lilac Breasted Roller Coaster of Color courtesy of HQWallbase

Anteater Charlie • Black Koran with lipstick and yellow stockings • Blacksmith Lapwing • Brown Chested Snake Eagle • Crown Plovers • Desert Cisticola • Double banded Courser • Eastern Kleplock • Greater Kestral • Great Sparrow • Lepwing and baby • Lilac breasted roller • Ostrich and 6 babies • Pale chanting goshawk • Red billed buffalo weaver • Redbird francoli • Red billed teal • Redheaded coolies or curlies • Rufus kneptlock • Secretary bird • Spike heeled Block • Temmincks Courser • Yellow billed Hornbill • Wattled crane