I had the opportunity to spend 2 weeks traveling around Botswana and even though the objective wasn't to make it a photographic trip as always I had a couple of cameras with. I took the Fujifilm X-T1 with a couple of lenses and my Nikon FM2 film camera with a 50mm lens. Because I don't normally shoot wildlife, the longest lens I have is the 85mm equivalent so opportunities were a bit limited. Bear that in mind when you view the photos, it will give you an idea of how close the animals came to us. I admit that there were more than a few occasions that I experienced a bit of the old butt hole pucker, case in point was when I shot the hippo photos. It was literally a car length away from us.

Part of the reason I wanted to go on this trip was to remind myself how small and vulnerable I as a human actually am when taken in context of the awe that is nature. I think we tend to forget this very quickly when we live in cities but when you are in the middle of the bush with no one else around for kilometers and you hear a lion roar less than 50m away from you in the black of night as you sit around your fire you are reminded very quickly where you sit in the food chain.

It was also amazing to realize how we adapt to danger, case in point was one day we noticed a small hut literally made from straw with no door. When we met the locals we mentioned this and he causally said that they used to sit in the hut until one day a lion tried to eat them there so now they don't sit in that hut! There are a few other stories I have regarding danger but I'll save those for another time. Just remember, there are no fences keeping anything out so when you need to pee at night, you dangle it out the tent.

I will say that if you haven't been to Botswana then do yourself a favor and go, your life will not be the same. When you have returned and you are sitting at your desk at work months later, you will find yourself reminiscing about that trip and maybe even sometimes wondering why you haven't sold all your worldly possessions and made that your life. 

Again this is a photo blog not a travel blog but I feel obliged to give you a few helpful tips if you are planning a 4x4 trip there.

1. Buy as much of your provisions including water, beer and fire wood outside of the country. The prices get seem to get more and more expensive the further north you travel.

2. Don't forget your first aid kit, when you are hours away from anyone this could save your life.

3. If you have a sense of direction as bad as mine, a GPS with trail maps is a must or you find yourself driving around in circles for hours in a storm.

4. If you are planning on going in the wet season like us, be prepared for some adrenaline fueled driving! Having more than one vehicle gives great piece of mind but we did fine just 2 guys and a Pajero.

5. After eating wash and store all food stuffs inside your vehicle or trailer otherwise you tend to get visits from animals that may decide you are lunch. We made the mistake of leaving a bbq grid hanging on a gazebo and went for a drive. When we returned the gazebo was completely wrecked and could only be used for scrap.

6. When you pull into the camp on your first night in the bush and notice your Dutch neighbour has made his bbq and eaten and is already in his tent as the sun sets, don't be so quick to mock him (see comment above regarding lion roaring at night).

7. Oh and finally, a fellow traveller advised us to sleep with our shoes inside our rooftop tent because the hyena tend to eat them if you leave them outside (note that we didn't actually experience this but we kept them inside just in case).

That's it for tips, the rest you can read on any website when you do your research. Now enjoy the photos.

Cheers

Chad