This is a continuation of a previous post we made last week, from the travel journal of WTA Travel Services client Kathy Barry, detailing her African adventure, which included a trip to the Moremi Game Reserve.
Sunday May 11 Moremi Game Reserve
I woke up really early listening to hyenas barking and howling….they have a huge vocabulary and none of it is particularly charming…..all shrill and screamy, but it is effective. We headed straight out into the brisk morning and immediately came upon our handsome lion, Brad Pitt. He was on a mission and was heading off somewhere important. He made his way down the game path with purpose, direction and confidence. Lions are stocky, muscular and remind me of running backs on a football team – all power – and not at all intimidated. We followed Brad for a while. He stopped and got a nice big drink on the wooden bridge and Cheri got a lovely shot of him all sleek in the sunshine. He walked by the camp and a man and little boy gawked at him for a while…just like us. He was undeterred….just kept moseying on down the path. I think he was looking for his old buddy George.
We headed out on our boat trip to see some wildlife that hangs in the water. It was a beautiful day. Clinton sprawled himself out on the front of the boat with Matt’s Go-Pro and got some great footage of an huge bull elephant just chomping away on water lilies. Clinton is fun, mischievous, has an incredible knowledge of wildlife, habitat, flora and fauna – very professional and seems to tolerate our quirky trio – maybe even enjoy it. We saw papyrus grass with plumy fanned foliage, water lilies and reeds that looked biblical. Altogether it was a Very nice afternoon.
We headed back to camp and to our friends, Lawrence and Degree, who make everything so delightful and comfortable for us- fetch us warm water every morning to wash up with, prepare delicious meals and snacks for us and basically tend to our every possible need. Cheri and I were able to play cards a couple afternoons with these two. They are delightful, genuine and both have an extra dose of simple goodness.
- Lawrence – new father of twins, Nathaniel and Nandi.
- Degree – father of two little girls, Shandy and Shelly.
Clinton tells us that he has always suffered from FOMO – The Fear of Missing Out…..that is a good disorder to have in your toolkit…..I hope that we three have a good case of it as well…..
Monday, May 12 Khwai Area – North Moremi
We all woke early had breakfast and headed out while Lawrence and Degree packed up camp. Clinton, Dad, Cheri and I immediately saw a huge herd of Kudu and new birds….the Double Banded Lapwing. We just see so many beautiful birds I have started to make a master list of them. I’m good at documenting them…but not so good at identifying yet. Maybe I will get better with time but presently my brain is overloaded with rich detail. We headed back and made fast work of loading the entire camp on the Green Mamba set out. We came upon 3 male lions, 2 of which were full grown and lying in some shade. They hadn’t yet accepted the third younger male into their coalition or pride. The youngster was lying in the sun watching them and had to keep his distance while they measured him up from their shady vantage point. I don’t know what the young male lion will have to do to prove his worthiness to join their coalition…maybe assist with a kill, maybe just hang around until they decide he’s not a loser. Whatever it is, I hope they accept him. Lions need each other to hunt as they use strategy and a team. And besides, no one really wants to be all alone….not even the big boss male lions. We came upon a huge family of elephants, 4 ostrich and the biggest flock of guinea hens yet. The guineas are so funny…they remind me of plump little middle aged secretaries (administrative assistants) with prim little suits and matching necklaces and earrings. Very busy little birds scurrying around in a very self-important way – and maybe not getting a lot accomplished!
Lawrence’s Chicken Stew
- Chicken Thighs and Breasts
- Fresh Tomato
- Fresh Onion Roughly Chopped
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Paprika / Salt / Pepper/ Some Other Wonderful Spices
Lawrence fried the seasoned chicken a little on each side to brown it up in some oil in his beloved Dutch oven. He then added the rest of the ingredients and a generous amount of paprika and scooped out some hot Mopani coals to set the Dutch oven on and then heaped more coals on top. It was delicious and very saucy. I am thinking that he must have added some liquid to make this stew so rich and delicious- maybe tomato sauce – maybe some broth of some kind – maybe wine? I will have to play this recipe. I am sure that it won’t be quite the same without the Mopani fire….maybe I can make it on the grill with hardwood and use the paella pan?
Mopani is somewhat similar to Mesquite in appearance and cooking quality.
…more to come next week!
