A Local Safari

My Local Safari
Last week two Peace Corps friends invited me to share a small house with them for two nights at the Mokolodi Nature Preserve, just 10 K from Gaborone, the capital. Being up for new experiences, I was delighted to join them. Not knowing what we would fine, we were in for lots of surprises.
Our little traditional house was located near one of many watering holes. Morning, noon and evening we were treated to the sight of warthogs with their young wallowing in the mud, groups of gemsbok jumping on and off stage, ostriches overseeing the activity, giraffes spreading their legs to reach down to drink, grey herons perched along the shore, baboons playing in the trees, Egyptian geese floating in the water, kudu with their long twisted horns cautiously coming out to drink and retreating and lots more. The scene was like a stage with the entrance and exit of different species. It turned out to be our favorite pastime between activities that included cheetah petting, giraffe tracking, horseback riding, and viewing rhinoceroses, wildebeest, zebras, hippos, snakes and other game during an evening game ride.
There were no long bus ride, no large crowds and noisy crowds. We slept with the monkeys outside our windows and woke to the baboons barking in the morning. Throughout the visit we saw many colorful birds which we tried to identify before they flew off. Although most of the large animals had been imported to what had been a large ranch, I could not tell where exactly I was in Botswana. with a shrub and tree savannah as a back drop, the animals roamed only to be hunted by a few leopards and brown hyenas.
As we were leaving the park, we stopped by the educational center to see if we could arrange a low cost visit to the reserve for our 20 plus HIV positive teen club to take advantage of the reserves wonderful educational activities. To our surprise, we discovered we were talking to a former Peace Corps volunteer from 1977. He stated in fact that he knew a donor who would pay for an entire two day visits so our students ages 13-19 could spend a night. We were excited and booked a weekend for the club, knowing all we had to do was arrange transportation.
To our amazement, we discovered we were talking to a former Peace Corps volunteer from 1977. He never left Botswana. He came to teach science at a high school in Mochudi and married a local woman who became the first female high court judge and well known author, Unity Dow. Their kids were now grown and several were lawyers like their mother. Peter Dow had gone on to obtain a degree in the environment and conservation. With his wife stepping down from the court to pursue human rights cases and his leaving the Mokolodi Nature Reserve in January, a new chapter will begin in their lives. So Botswana in many ways is a small world and one full of surprises.