Chobe Lodge & New Years

Well, this is quite a place, peacefully settled on the Chobe River.  It's huge, actually!  They have a pretty nice pool.  cam elects to give it a shot as a way to cool down from the heat, but i elect to take Nancy's advice and stay out of the pools.  There seem to be quite a few tourists here; it is New Years after all.  I think they probably hold a few hundred people between traditional hotel rooms, camp lodges, and camp sites.  We have a river view room, complete with a tv, full bath, 2 double beds, air conditioning, and the safety of patio doors and a locking front door.  It's kind of like a Holiday Inn.  There are monkeys in the trees out front, warthogs grazing on the grass below us, and a nice view of the river beyond the trees In front of us.  Up close we have a chance to see how the warthogs graze, getting down on their front elbows and sucking up as much grasss as they can get.  Thank God there are no "activities" planned this afternoon, and we are free to just relax by the pool and enjoy the view.  We did just that!  Oh thank goodness some down time!  It was thoroughly enjoyable to chillax, and even take in a little tv before heading to dinner at 7.  It seems a little silly to be watching tv in Africa, but it's even crazier to drive in excess of 2000 kms in 15 days in bumpy terrain without much of a break, so we will kindly accept this creature comfort!  At 7, we meet the gang for dinner, freshly showered and relaxed, and find out we weren't the only ones that enjoyed the creature comforts of tv!  Dinner is spectacular; an open air dining pavilion with a view out over the Chobe River, and monkeys frolicking in the trees above us.  Shelley and John order a bottle of white for us, and a bottle of red for them, and we share in a fantastic buffet dinner and an evening filled with laughter and great stories (Bre-Ex story, and Austin , Texas, and steakhouse at ?? story for future reference).  It's really been. Treat sharing time with Shelley and John.  we take turns buying drinks and have a blast laughing and being silly all the time!  at one point when Shelley and i were away from the guys, John thanked Cam very much for our company amd friendshio, as he as never seen Shelley laugh and enjoy herself so much.  We've had a few times that we have uncontrollable laughing fits; such a good feeling!  apparently, Shelley is normally sweet and polite, but a little shy.  We retire to our rooms by 9:30 in hopes of a long, peaceful night of sleep.  Unfortunately, we're both so incredibly sore, even a sleeping pill, a Robax, a series of stretches and massages brings us no relief, so we watch another couple movies.  I have to admit, it was a little strange to watch "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" while on an African Safari!  We must have finally nodded off by about 1am.
Up again at 5:15 for a morning safari in the Chobe Reserve (15,000 square km or approx 1.5mm hectares).  It's just a 3 hour sfari, and we know we have a long afternoon before a 3pm boat cruise, so it's quite bearable.  We really enjoy the terrain here.  It's hilly and lush and there is a huge plain running through the valley and along the Chobe River!  We didn't really see anything new, except wild dogs, but we did get pretty close to a pack of baboons, including a couple tiny babies, one of them who looked liked he was still learning to walk, and a few young ones wrestling around like a couple of teenagers.  A bit of head bobbing on our return suggests we should take a nap, particularly since it's New Years Eve tonight, but we elect for down time at the pool, and a  chance to update our notes on the blog, and just some lounge chair action before our 3pm boat cruise.
The boat cruise starts out a little slow, cruising at a trolling speed and much of the same terrain, except from a boat this time,  it's a large boat with about 60 people on it, and an upstairs viewing deck that can hold 10.  About 35 minutes not it, we get to an Island that was once argued over by Botswana and Nmibia, as the river splits the two countries and they each wanted possession.  It was later determined that's the water between the island and Namibia was deeper than Botswana, so Botswana got territorial rights, as evidenced by their flag prominently displayed.  I'm really not sure why either country cared, as it's just a small island strictly for wildlife.  We can see the usual buffalo, hippos, and birds until we pull Ito a little bay of the island, and are suddenly 5 feet from a couple of hippos; a much different experience than seeing them in the distance.  There were also a couple large crocodiles quite close.  Further down the river we see a herd of elephants on their way down to the river for a drink and the driver heads over to greet them.  We are probably 15 feet from them, and it's quite an experience to be so close while they're having a drink and spraying themselves.  Quite a few other boats came over, some big and some small, so we carry on.  Just a short distance away, we pull up next to a couple of massive crocodiles, maybe 8 feet in length.  The hairs on my arm stand up straight.  There's no way they could get us, but they are super creepy that close!  There's a storm looming in the distance, and we got some spectacular shots of he sky and terrain around us.  On our way back, we pull up to another bay and there's a super giant croc, probably 12 feet in length.  He looks bitchy, and is even more scary, and suddenly twitches and rolls into the water giving us all a little scare.  Off we go, don't want to perturb this guy anymore than necessary.  I was a nice cruise back, and we have a few moments to freshen up before New Years Eve.  We meet the crew at 7 for dinner, and agree to take it low and slow; we're all hoping to make it until midnight to ring in the new year.  We have many laughs and a great buffet dinner.  I followed the one water, one wine rule, while Cam and John carry on into the night drinking their fair share, and Shelley takes it easy.  There is a dj in the restaurant, initially playing Orth American music and country music, but as the night goes on, it switches to African club music.  Strangely the place clear out, and most people elect to head to the bar area on the other side of the pavilion.  We elect to stay in our comfy chairs, drink, laugh, and enjoy a great night.  Cam decides it's time to dance, and takes Shelley up for some jive.  John's turn next.  After a few more drinks we agree to switch tables closer to the dj, and we all dance together.  They have a fog machine coming up through the floor boards, and some of the serving staff join us for some dances.  Black people really can dance and have a special rhythm.  Even when we mimic their moves, we still look like crazy white people with no rhythm!  Finally we're getting close to midnight and the free champagne comes out.  I have to run to the restroom, and along the way a damned rat scurries under my feet.  I'm sure you can imagine the scream...the who,e bar and restaurant roll into a fit of laughter.  Unfortunately, Cam, Shelley, and John were told lose to the thumping music to hear so my cries for help as I stand on a chair are not heard.  One of the waiters says, "the true wild Africa experience my friend", and laughs.  I finally make it to the washroom, checking all crevices and under toilet seats on high alarm.  On my way back, I know I have to cross rat territory again, and do a little dance run trying to keep my feet up as much as possible, make it back to the dancing group and they are alarmed as I jump onto a chair and crouch down holding my knees and shaking.  A glass of wine later, a shift to a table further from the edge, and I'm ready to out my feet down and dance again.  Whew!  I think I'm safe now.  As we get closer to midnight the bar patrons move back, the dance floor fills, and we do the countdown, drink cheap champagne, no dance for another hour or so.  What a fabulous night (sans the rat experience)!