Place: Gwenda
Tunes: CMX
Kittens playing. Deborah - no, you can't have one.
Getting a sniff.
And then wrestling. They bite too.
This cub stood still just long enough to take this picture. Look at the front paws, they are huge.
Another quiet moment with Ari.
Big jump.
Bigger cats handled under supervision.
Or sleepy cats handled without.
Something big lies just behind the corner.
And here they lie. A total of three two year old lions. Two females and one male.
No lions were harmed in taking this picture.
See, the lion is fine.
The only appropriate guide for the blind that adventurer overlanders could approve of. See the cane and the blind person walking behind.
Wake up at six for me and Ari. The rest will go at eight. We needed this time to go and see some kittens - lions and cheetahs to be precise.
The cubs were quite playful but very very different. The cheetahs were like puppies I suppose and they ran around like mad all of the time playing with anything and everything they could get their paws on. And then collapsed with exhaustion. Repeat after 30 seconds. Much fun was had. The lions were a lot different and they were unlike any domestic animal I have seen and did not seem to want to play with us that much, but they were curious and did not stop for a second. Even small cubs like that had massive paws and a very big head.
Adult cheetahs and lions were next and this was really quite something. The animals were not threatening in any way and they were also not drugged or anything. Being around people since they were babies and some rules how to “work” together is enough.
The cheetah were a bit like the biggest dogs you ever saw but also slimmer and leaner at the same time. You could see and feel that this cat was built for speed. Very elegant. The lions on the other hand were built for power. Muscle all around and you can see the power of these animals from far away. We walked for a bit in the bush with three of them but of course did not play with them as that would have been too much even for adventure motorcyclists. The lions we walked around with were a couple of years old and weighed about 80kg. A fully grown male lion can go up to 260 kg. That is some brutal power.
The whole experience was one of the highlights of this whole adventure so far. I have nothing negative to say about it and this would probably be the first time during this trip. It was a rare occasion to connect with wildlife at a very personal level. And much more manly than taking pictures of elephant’s asses from a Land Rover.
When we got back to the hotel about two-three hours late, we got some late breakfast, picked up all the stuff that people had left behind and were on our way. Immigration and customs out and in went like a breeze, but paying the road tax in Botswana was a major pain in the ass as it took absolutely forever. The ferry ride we were warned about was a piece of cake. It was nice chatting to the ferry staff who no doubt have seen a thing or two on this river.
The next little affair on the road did not start well. It had something about stop signs and arrows pointing here and there. We have not paid any attention to any of those after Sweden, so why start now? Nobody else is. In any case, apparently I passed a sign with an arrow in it from the wrong side and the policeman standing next to it was not happy. I was stopping anyway and was just going to park next to the guy.
He ushered us with the bikes to another guy who turned up to be an animal inspector. He had the power of life and death in his hands as he was looking for illegal fruit. And tsetse flies no doubt. After a short inspection and random rummaging through our shit, he decided that the reindeer antlers will be confiscated but being a reasonable man he would not open an investigation of my offence of having “animal products” in my possession.
No fucking way was he going to take the antlers that have been a part of the bike since the start. He did not listen to any reason or explanation that these things come from an animal that lives above the Arctic Circle, not in Africa. As I was almost taking them off – to break them myself – he suddenly decided that we can go. My sad face must have convinced him that I should keep them. Real men never cry unless you have to.
These guys are trying to prevent poaching and the foot and mouth disease, not tourism. For once, reason prevailed but of course he had to show who is boss and that he has the power to do this. And what choice you have? Comply, or pay a fine and comply as encouraged by the police. In this case the police was standing next to the guy and was already a bit aggravated.
The road from Livingstone to Maun is a piece of cake but it was too long. We would have had to press on in the dark for about three hours to reach the others, so we made the first sensible decision on this trip. It was a good call as the lodge in Gwenda we decided to retire to was excellent. We also met this big South African guy at the lodge. He was one of the staff there and had a lot of experience with motorcycles (and other things). Good times were had and many tales were told. This was good!
We got a message from the rest of the group in Maun that the safari starts at 06:30. To meet them for it would have meant a wake up at 03:00 and a ride through the night. On the road we saw so many animals already that you could open a zoo on it. At night the animals are even more active, so we responded with an equally pointless message and decided to skip the safari (like we had a real choice). Still, I would trade the safari for this morning any day.
Tunes: CMX
Kittens playing. Deborah - no, you can't have one. 
Getting a sniff. 
And then wrestling. They bite too.
This cub stood still just long enough to take this picture. Look at the front paws, they are huge. 
Another quiet moment with Ari.
Big jump.
Bigger cats handled under supervision.
Or sleepy cats handled without. 
Something big lies just behind the corner.
And here they lie. A total of three two year old lions. Two females and one male. 
No lions were harmed in taking this picture.
See, the lion is fine. 
The only appropriate guide for the blind that adventurer overlanders could approve of. See the cane and the blind person walking behind. Wake up at six for me and Ari. The rest will go at eight. We needed this time to go and see some kittens - lions and cheetahs to be precise.
The cubs were quite playful but very very different. The cheetahs were like puppies I suppose and they ran around like mad all of the time playing with anything and everything they could get their paws on. And then collapsed with exhaustion. Repeat after 30 seconds. Much fun was had. The lions were a lot different and they were unlike any domestic animal I have seen and did not seem to want to play with us that much, but they were curious and did not stop for a second. Even small cubs like that had massive paws and a very big head.
Adult cheetahs and lions were next and this was really quite something. The animals were not threatening in any way and they were also not drugged or anything. Being around people since they were babies and some rules how to “work” together is enough.
The cheetah were a bit like the biggest dogs you ever saw but also slimmer and leaner at the same time. You could see and feel that this cat was built for speed. Very elegant. The lions on the other hand were built for power. Muscle all around and you can see the power of these animals from far away. We walked for a bit in the bush with three of them but of course did not play with them as that would have been too much even for adventure motorcyclists. The lions we walked around with were a couple of years old and weighed about 80kg. A fully grown male lion can go up to 260 kg. That is some brutal power.
The whole experience was one of the highlights of this whole adventure so far. I have nothing negative to say about it and this would probably be the first time during this trip. It was a rare occasion to connect with wildlife at a very personal level. And much more manly than taking pictures of elephant’s asses from a Land Rover.
When we got back to the hotel about two-three hours late, we got some late breakfast, picked up all the stuff that people had left behind and were on our way. Immigration and customs out and in went like a breeze, but paying the road tax in Botswana was a major pain in the ass as it took absolutely forever. The ferry ride we were warned about was a piece of cake. It was nice chatting to the ferry staff who no doubt have seen a thing or two on this river.
The next little affair on the road did not start well. It had something about stop signs and arrows pointing here and there. We have not paid any attention to any of those after Sweden, so why start now? Nobody else is. In any case, apparently I passed a sign with an arrow in it from the wrong side and the policeman standing next to it was not happy. I was stopping anyway and was just going to park next to the guy.
He ushered us with the bikes to another guy who turned up to be an animal inspector. He had the power of life and death in his hands as he was looking for illegal fruit. And tsetse flies no doubt. After a short inspection and random rummaging through our shit, he decided that the reindeer antlers will be confiscated but being a reasonable man he would not open an investigation of my offence of having “animal products” in my possession.
No fucking way was he going to take the antlers that have been a part of the bike since the start. He did not listen to any reason or explanation that these things come from an animal that lives above the Arctic Circle, not in Africa. As I was almost taking them off – to break them myself – he suddenly decided that we can go. My sad face must have convinced him that I should keep them. Real men never cry unless you have to.
These guys are trying to prevent poaching and the foot and mouth disease, not tourism. For once, reason prevailed but of course he had to show who is boss and that he has the power to do this. And what choice you have? Comply, or pay a fine and comply as encouraged by the police. In this case the police was standing next to the guy and was already a bit aggravated.
The road from Livingstone to Maun is a piece of cake but it was too long. We would have had to press on in the dark for about three hours to reach the others, so we made the first sensible decision on this trip. It was a good call as the lodge in Gwenda we decided to retire to was excellent. We also met this big South African guy at the lodge. He was one of the staff there and had a lot of experience with motorcycles (and other things). Good times were had and many tales were told. This was good!
We got a message from the rest of the group in Maun that the safari starts at 06:30. To meet them for it would have meant a wake up at 03:00 and a ride through the night. On the road we saw so many animals already that you could open a zoo on it. At night the animals are even more active, so we responded with an equally pointless message and decided to skip the safari (like we had a real choice). Still, I would trade the safari for this morning any day.
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