Day 4 - Ostriches, Impalas and Wart Hogs, Oh My! (by Tyler Monroe)

Today we set off on a mini-safari adventure in the Botswana bush at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve, a few kilometers outside of town. Here is a recap of our day…

9:00AM – Our pre-arranged meeting time at the Anglican Cathedral. Half of the group and our host/transportation are missing (late).

9:05 AM – Mark, Tyler and Lida engage in an INTENSE game of Hopscotch with Teyo, the “Botswana National Hopscotch Champion” for the girls under-10 division. By narrow margin, the reigning champion claims her victory when Mark trips over himself.

9:30 AM – The group minus one is still without transportation.

9:50 AM – Still in the parking lot, now trying to jumpstart the minibus . . . with people-pushing power!

10:00 AM – Finally on our way.

11:00 AM – Climb aboard Mokolodi Nature Reserve off-road vehicle and start our Safari.

11:01 AM – Ostriches and Impalas on the road.

11:02 AM – Wart Hogs rummaging for food in the brush!!!!

11:30 AM – African White-Headed Eagle sighting at the Hippo pond. Sadly, no hippos.

12:00 PM – Cheetah enclosure. We were excited to see two amazing Cheetahs roaming their large enclosure on the reserve. They are brothers, orphaned only a few weeks after birth, before they were taught the necessary hunting skills to survive the wild.

12:30 PM – Arrive at a clearing overlooking the hippo pond, where a surprise fantastic, fresh cooked “bush lunch” with all the fixings awaited us; a gift from the Bishop and the church for our work here in Botswana.

12:45 PM – Dancers arrive from the nearby Mokolodi Village to demonstrate the traditional dance passed down generation to generation. Their settlement was only recently recognized as a village, when they reached a population of 500 people. As a result they do not have health or school facilities. These dancers were therefore raising money to purchase a mini bus to transport their brothers and sisters to neighboring schools 15 kilometers away.

1:30 PM – We return to and are allowed to enter the Cheetah enclosure, where Lida reenacts a scene from “Dances with Cheetahs” and then proceeds to get choked up when petting one of our new friends. This was one of the highlights thus far; how often does one have the opportunity to pet nature’s fastest animal? Raphael challenged one Cheetah to a 40 yard dash, but he declined citing the need to take a nap after his chicken lunch.

8:00 PM – We venture out to “Bull and Bush,” a local bar/restaurant, to enjoy an evening out with our team and recount the day’s adventure. Looking forward to tomorrow – Sunday – and seeing the Bishop in action with his congregation at High Holy Mass; something that most of us have not experienced for many, many years, if ever.