It was the cusp of the dry season in Southern Africa.  All living things were desperately awaiting the coming rains.  Savuti, the driest place I have ever been, was littered with death. The image of the eland dying by the water hole will be forever etched into my mind.  Its last moments of life, suffering.  After its long search for the life giving liquid, it had collapsed next to the waterhole, so close, yet the vitality of life beat far away. I hoped the eland’s death had come quickly with a powerful bite to its jugular.  But Africa was a harsh place and the following day when we saw the eland once again, only ragged bones remained.  The vultures and maribou storks picked at what little remained after the feast of the hyenas their powerful jaws pulling away flesh one mouthful at a time.  It was the cycle of the bush, one life traded for the sustenance of another, all in perfect balance.  After 3 nights at the Savuti Lodge, a tented camp with excellent service, views, guides, and food (But no air conditioning.), I was ready to head to Chobe Game Lodge.  Chobe is a luxury camp along the vital endless water source of the Chobe river.  After Savuti, I was grateful to be somewhere where there was water-and cool conditioning.

Chobe had long been one of my favorite game reserves as Botswana is home to the highest elephant population in the world.  During dry season, 50,ooo of those elephants come to the banks of the Chobe River seeking to relieve their thirst.  At the cusp of the dry season, the park was dense with them.  After the heat of the day and the endless sun, we were ready to join the elephants on the water.  We boarded the solar powered boats that Chobe Lodge prides themselves on, taking into account the dark clouds gathering on the horizon.  We hoped that the rain would hold out until our return.

When one travels, we find that our choices are different than the ones we make at home.  At home, we may not choose to wander out into an impending storm or board a boat while dark storm clouds begin to gather.  However, when you travel, the main focus is to experience, to be present, to drink every drop of the moment so as not to miss a thing.  One realizes how every single moment is a once in a lifetime experience.  You may be the one that sees the pride of lion cross the road and disappear into the grass.  You may be the one that sees the impala fawn drop, its first gasps of air on this planet, its long spindly legs awkwardly holding it standing.  You may be the one to see the thrill of the hunt.  Or, you may see nothing.  So you board the boat regardless of what the sky looks like and instead give gratitude for the reprieve of the sun and the cool breeze that holds the scent of wet earth and blossoming jasmine.

The first half hour was picturesque.  The land was backlit, the storm blocking the sun whose rays spilled out from behind the clouds.  Crocodiles and hippos surfaced and disappeared.  Herds of lechwe, buffalo, and impala all came to the banks to sip from the river lifting their heads with mild curiosity as we passed by.  Birds of all shapes and sizes soared and sang, from the mighty fish eagle to the colorful flitting of the bee-eater.  As we rounded the bend in the river, a herd of elephants were playing in water.  Their happiness and playfulness was detectable in their motions and sounds, their snorts of water, their trunks spyglassing just above the surface.  Suddenly, the idyllic scene shifted and the wind rose.  The once calm waters were now crested waves and our boat rocked wildly.  The elephants fled.  Their huge bodies moved quickly as a dust storm engulfed them as they ran for shelter and to higher ground.

We had nowhere to go, neither the land nor the water offered safety.  We were in a land dominated by beasts of prey and of wild things which lurked in bushes and just below the surface of the water.  We huddled close to one another as the ever constant waves splashed against the side of the boat rocking us precariously.  Rain poured down, the sky opening, drenching us and the land as thunder rumbled and lightning cracked.

And then, the storm had passed.  The sun began to stretch out in golden rays from behind the clouds and settle into the golden hour preceding the dusk of the evening.  Calm had returned to the African plains once again.  Calm, and the satiation of thirst.  We celebrated with the land, with the life giving source of all things, the rains.  As we meandered back up the river back towards the lodge, we toasted the rains and our experience with sundowners.  We were filled with joyful feelings that the rain had finally come to the parched land to give life once again.