It all started as a girls’ week at the Savute Elephant Camp. It was going to be me and three of my closest girlfriends heading on our way to a Botswana safari escapade.

Savute Elephant Camp…
When we arrived at the camp, the difference of nature in the Savute Channel district was striking. The word ‘arid’ came to mind as we drove up to our accommodation. We were a bit early for the rainy season and the grasslands were not as green as they would be after the rains. An eerie dry wind was howling, emphasizing our atmosphere for adventure.

After unpacking, we settled on the veranda of our thatch chalet with some champagne to celebrate the first day of our girl’s week. Nina put in a toast of wealth, health and a weekend filled with adventure. Yes, this was going to be a good one.

A different kind of alarm…
After spending the rest of our day and most of the night, sitting on the veranda relaxing after a long journey, we eventually went to bed, only to be woken up just after five in the morning. To say I almost had a heart attack wouldn’t be far from the truth. When you wake up with the sudden sound of trumpets and absolute no idea where you are, the sound of elephants closing in is absolutely terrifying! Claudia actually gave a bit of a scream.

The four of us stormed out to the veranda to the most magnificent sight of a family of elephants a few meters away from us. Between us and them was what used to be a massive lake, but due to the sweltering heat has evaporated into what was now a small kind of dam. Almost everybody at the camp, still in their pyjamas, was enthralled by the sight of the elephants quenching their thirst.

As the day grew hotter…
After our rude awakening, we decided that we might as well get up and dressed. There was no way any of us would be able to fall asleep again. So after a real early breakfast at six-thirty in the morning, we were on the back of the 4x4, ready for our first Botswana safari trip.

During our five hour trip, the day just grew hotter and hotter by the minute. I was really starting to miss the luxury of an aircon; it’s one of those small things that you kind of take for granted in your everyday life.

We saw several kinds of bucks, but the highlight of the day was the pack of wild dogs. They make the oddest sounds. It’s not as funny as the hyena’s laughter, more of a kind of screeching sound. The wild dogs were much friendlier on the eyes than on the ears though. With their cute big round ears, you could see they were on a mission, but the game ranger informed us that no attack was about to happen since they had some younger ones with them. Apparently they are extremely efficient hunters, always attacking their prey in a pack.

Being lazy…
After our outing, we headed back to camp. It was time for us girls to get lazy. The hot sweltering heat left little for the imagination, except being on a horizontal position under a fan with an ice cold beer in one hand.

And that is exactly how the rest of the day passed. Michelle was doing a bit of catching up on the latest gossip news, Nina was reading some designer magazine, Claudia her romance and I was happy with my latest addition of an Allende novel.

I think most people would want to know why four young females wouldn’t rather want to book in at some spa for a girl’s week away, but the truth is that the four of us would rather spent our holiday time in nature, camping or hiking. It’s not that we don’t like spoiling ourselves in such way; it’s just that we always need a little bit more adventure, and what better way to spend it than on a wildlife safari?