Tourist for a Day

      On Thursday I had the opportunity to be a model for a promotion they are filming for seven lodges in Chobe and the Okavango Delta. Rob is friends with James, the marketing coordinator for Chobe Game Lodge and Savanna Lodge, five star lodges in the Chobe that are a part of Delta and Desert Safaris. He hooked me up to be a model at Chobe Savanna Lodge, so on Thursday morning I was picked up in a boat from immigration, got stamped out of the country, then took a boat ride to get checked into Namibian immigration (consisting of one grumpy man that sits a shack and you hope is actually there when you pull up).  Afterward we headed to the lodge, where we got filmed coming into the dock, grabbed some muffins for breakfast really quick, then headed back out on the boat to make a village visit. We went to Kasenu (sp?) a village just down the river where they will often take tourists to learn about local village life. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure how I feel about this, but I guess it was part of the job…. Unfortunately I wasn’t wearing the right clothes, I wish I was wearing a skirt or something longer. It was just a bit weird being a tourist in the village, when I’ve been living here. I started to put on my ‘Africa’ accent, then realized I guess that wasn’t very tourist-y. So we got the ‘tour’ of the village, then pulled out some footballs (soccer balls) and James played with them while I drew with some of the ladies and kids with pens and paper we took. They seemed appreciative but at the same time I hate fulfilling the role of the white American tourist that throws stuff or money at people and thinks of it as helping to fix all their problems. But either way, I think they will enjoy the footballs! It’s a very small village right on the river, and they rely mostly on fishing for their food. Unfortunately overfishing is a big problem in this area because it is their food source and livelihood, but it doesn’t give the fish a chance to recover.

Me with the kids from the village

       After our village visit, we headed back to the lodge and did a few shots of room orientation, then had a little break and had lunch by the pool. Oh, I forgot to mention that we had the entire lodge to ourselves, there were no other guests, and it only hosts a maximum of 24 guests. It is probably the most secluded lodge you will find in Chobe, and is situated just across the river from the park, and is west facing. So in the evening there is a 270 degree view of the river, sunset, and park. Best view from these parts, I promise you. I had my own little chalet room for the night, and it was absolutely beautiful. So after lunch we headed out onto the boat for some river/wildlife shots. There were heaps of giraffe down at the river getting water, then we found some elephants that were just about to cross the river. We drifted in soo close to them on the bank of the river, it was just amazing. Then we backed off and waited for them to start their journey across.

     They stood on the bank making sure they had everyone, then they start to go into the water in a line, making sure to keep the little guys sandwiched among the bigger ones. WOW. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen the largest land mammal swim. I was truly amazed that they could even stay afloat, but they kind of bobbed, using their trunks as a sort of snorkel when they went down. I took some video I will try to post on facebook. We were sitting in our boat on the bank right next to where they climbed out and began to start grazing again. It is just such a humbling experience to stand next to these ginormous elephants. In the words of Walter, the marketing director for Delta & Desert, how can you live in a place without elephants?

    After our boat journey we went back to the lodge and I got changed for sunset cocktails shots in front of the beautiful sunset. The herd of elephants crossed right in front of the lodge at sunset, making it even more breathtaking! After some drinks, we sat down for a delicious dinner of bruschetta appetizer, a chicken dish and yogurt mousse for dessert. Yum. Did I also mention that this was all free…. Phew. Anyways, we hung around for a bit and looked at the footage of the day then I retired to my room to get some sleep. I decided to take a shower just cause the shower was cool.

Relaxing on the bottom level of the lodge

     I woke up the next morning, had a cup of coffee and read my book, then packed up and headed up to the lodge for breakfast while the guys finished up some filming. Then we all had breakfast (yogurt/fruit, croissants, omelet) and headed back to Botswana! They dropped me off at work on their way to the airport to catch a plane to head to the next lodge they are filming. It was a bit tough to get back into work mode after all that relaxation so removed from the ‘real world’, but back to reality and teaching in the afternoon!

    The promotion is just going to be used online, so when they finish and post it up I will definitely share the link!