The treehouse at Xigara

I got up at 0500 and had a solar powered shower, then when up to the roof deck to watch the savannah come to life.

Predawn light

It was a truly incredible thing watching the moon go down and the sun come up.

False sunrise
The sun breaks the plain

Des showed up at 0645, coffee in hand (I love Des!) and we went looking for leopards. No luck, but an incredible time on the “hunt.”

Des arrives at the treehouse at dawn
  • Look at your zebra. Now look at me. Sadly, he is not me…
  • Lilac throated roller

At 0915 on the dot Des dropped us off, and we packed like the wind, checked out, and then it was off to the airstrip to catch the green-tailed Cessna (for the record, the plane I couldn’t remember was a Cessna Grand Caravan).

We had a great time chatting with Des and Quest and then our plane arrived. We had three stops before Kisawe. The pilot was awesome , and airstrips were less and less improved until we got to Kisawe. It was almost a disappointment to see asphalt. Boring.

Kisawe arrival in the green-tailed Cessna (Grand Caravan)

Once in Kisawe, we were met by the Chobe game lodge staff and driven out to the lodge.

Dig those horns.

We oriented at the lodge, which is super nice though not crazy like Xigara, and went out for our sunset river cruise. I was going to try not to take pics, but I failed. Kitty, our guide was awesome. The boats are electric drive, and generally Chobe Lodge is all about being environmentally responsible. Also, all the wilderness guides are women.

We saw lots of elephants, hippos, crocodiles and birds!

A hippo cools off. They are in competition with the elephants for the grass, so they are forced to eat in the daytime despite their heat and sun sensitivity.
Crocodile enjoying the sunset.

The excitement picked up when we saw a lioness go after a giraffe, but she broke off the chase as soon as she was spotted. Score one for team herbivore. Still, stoked to get this capture.

This lioness was prowling the bank, and eventually went for the giraffe, but broke off pretty early. Giraffes look vulnerable (to me) but they kick HARD, and can crush a lion’s skull with one hit. Being a successful lion is all about correct risk/reward calculations.

After the cruise we went for a G&T and we’re joined by new friends Matt and Kat, and exchanged stories until we were led away for a crazy beautiful dinner in the garden. The ultimate in distanced dining, no table is in view of any others.

Set up a 5:30 wake up for a 6:30 game drive and turned in!