Blog: Nelson’s Botswana Welcome

One of my earliest and fondest memories of Botswana was my very first wild camping trip into the country.

I ventured in with my 2003 Land Rover Freelander, which I had converted to take on the rugged terrain. We were a small group… myself and mate Sergio in the Freelander and my mates Harry and Dani in a Defender Td5 90. The first night we set up camp in Khumaga, Makgadikgadi Pans. I shared a ground tent with three of the crew, while Harry, slept in his RTT on top of his 90.

Looking back, sleeping in a ground tent – especially one just bought from Makro which was more suited for a Dads & Daughter’s campout on the schoolgrounds – was quite a risk in that part of the bush.

The rule we made was simple: if you needed to step out in the night, you never went alone. You woke up your partner, and while one went about their business, the other held a torch and scanned the darkness for roving predators.

That evening, when I stepped out to do the business, I noticed the fire had gone out. While my partner scanned the terrain, I threw a few logs into the dying fire to get it going again. Then, as I turned to relieve myself, he kept the Maglite pointed ahead. That’s when we both saw them: four glowing eyes under a bush, no more than 60 meters away.

I asked, “What colour are they — green or red?”

He said, “Red!”

He shifted the beam until the shapes became clear. My heart stopped… two lionesses, low in the grass, in a stalking position, facing straight toward us. By then I had just finished, and the reality hit me hard.

I shouted, “Lion! Lion! Lion!” and without a second thought, all three of us sprinted straight for the Freelander. It was already jam-packed with gear, only two seats free, but we didn’t care. We threw ourselves inside and stayed there, breathless and pondering what could have been. It felt like hours passed until we felt it was safe enough to return to our tent.

Even though I have experienced many more close encounters since then, including standing just a few meters away from a Lion charging a Buffalo through my campsite at Third Bridge, Moremi, that night in Khumaga remains one of the most terrifying… and unforgettable… moments of my life.

The raw, humbling reminder of how small we are in the wild and how pathetically vulnerable, physically and emotionally, us humans are against Africa’s nocturnal and fierce predators

Bots had welcomed me with its fiercest introduction.

Nelson – Navigator 🧭