Leaving Kgaligadi

Bobby-Jo has arranged for us to have a slightly shorter game drive this morning, so that we can begin the long drive back to Upington. Having heard the lion we are keen to see him – and Bobby-Jo has been hoping to see a lion with the distinctive black mane that only occurs here. Our first sighting is 3 spotted hyena, quite close to the gate, and then some giraffe silhouetted against the pinkening of the dawn. We stop for a team photo in the dry riverbed, then drive on. There are secretary birds, more giraffe, two cheetah resting under a tree and some springbok fighting.

We find some giraffe drinking at a waterhole and Bobby-Jo tells us to look out for the water that falls from their mouths in as S-shape as they raise their heads. We’ve been told that the lion who was roaring last night has been sighted along the dry river bed and when we get there the lion spoor is on top of the tyre tracks we made earlier – we may have only just missed it. There’s no sign of it now though.

There is still some packing up to be done when we get back but Mike has made reasonable progress and we’re still ahead of schedule. When most of it has been done Sue, Denise, Karen, Louise and I go to Namibia. We’re conscious that there’s a lion nearby and feel rather vulnerable as we leave the compound of the immigration office. The shop is further then we thought – the small building that can be seen from the border has been closed down and we have to continue to the farmhouse which appears deserted. We manage to locate the owner and buy a few souvenirs and some cold drinks for the journey. We’re back and on the road by 10am.

The journey to Upington is along entirely paved roads, but it’s 370km so it will take a while. The first 120km are inside the park so there are opportunities to spot game along the way, including 2 male cheetahs lying in the shade and a drongo chasing a crow; this prompts Bobby-Jo to call the drongo the “honey badger of the bird world” as it’s fearless (or stupid!) enough to take on anything.  She has been hoping to see a honey badger but it’s one of the few things that have eluded us. We stop to photograph a pair of secretary birds and a kori bustard strides into shot, then a lanne falcon flies by. A moment later a pale form tawny eagle seizes a Namaqua dove from the air and flies above the combi to land in a nearby tree.

We’re almost out of the park when a sleeping bag suddenly bounces down the windscreen and lands on the bonnet, obligingly staying there are Mike slows the combi. He drives carefully to a more open spot where he can safely retrieve it and we continue to the gate. Fortunately nothing else has escaped from the tarp and from here it’s paved roads. We listen to music as we drive, some of Mike’s and some of Bobby-Jo’s. There’s a fair bit of singing, and we all join in the tracks we know, singing Toto’s “Africa” with particular enthusiasm. Although our trip’s nearly over everybody is in good spirits.

We stop briefly to photograph a bushman who has a small display of trinkets hanging from a line by the road. The Australians can’t buy any as they are made from nuts and seeds and wouldn’t make it through immigration. The man is stick-thin and wears just a loincloth made from the skin of a caracal; money changes hands and he poses for photos. I turn to watch a well-built woman striding towards us with an axe in her hand and a basket on her head; she joins the man and I realise they are a couple. I think I know who is in charge …

Eventually the sandy scrub gives way to buildings as we near Upington; Mike points out a heliostat which generates electricity from solar energy using computer-controlled mirrors which keep the sun reflected on a target as the sun moves across the sky. We arrive back at Riverplace Manor and check in once again. Sue, Louise and Karen swim, I sit on a lounger next to the pool and chat to them. We eat here tonight; Kalahari lamb for me and a glass of merlot, which I am learning to love. The hotel's music adds a surreal note ... it has been a long time since I've heard those "hot hits" cover LPs from the 70s.